After Baines suggested their next course of action, no one argued.
There was no point in finding faults in his plan after all, they had no leads of their own.
Soon, they stood before a towering white cathedral, its pristine facade gleaming under the midday sun. At the top, five golden suns were emblazoned in a circular pattern, each one representing an aspect of their faith.
To enter the Empire, one had to first embrace their religion. Well, joining the army was probably the only leeway. The Church of the Five Suns was not just doctrine, it was law. Branches of the church existed in every major city, with this branch being one of the most prominent in the whole darkan land.
As they approached, the enormous cathedral doors creaked open, revealing robed men in immaculate white. Embroidered around their flowing garments were gold-threaded suns, radiating from their chests.
The middle-aged man leading them wore a more elaborate version of the garb, with his suns layered in double gold. His steps were serene, and his smile even more so.
"What brings the noble Darkan family to this humble branch?" he asked, voice filled with gentle reverence. He was the head priest.
"We missed the last mass gathering," the branch head replied, bowing slightly. "I came to remedy that."
"Hohoho, there's no need for apologies. Only the Merciful One may judge. We are but His servants." The priest chuckled kindly. "Besides, the Darkan family has long done more than most."
"Haha," the branch head chuckled in return, masking his tension.
"And these?" the priest asked, turning his gaze to the others.
The branch head gestured casually. "My niece, Tasha."
"Oh, Lady Tasha." The head priest stepped forward and clasped her hand with soft reverence, smiling warmly.
"And you've met Roy," the branch head continued—Roy was the head of knights in the Darkan branch family, "but this—this is Jin. The young Sun Commander from the last front." His voice sounded a bit elated.
He had also heard of his deeds. Immediately he mentioned his name and the last front, he quickly pieced it together and agreed to the plan.
The priest's expression shifted subtly, eyes widening with recognition. "Ah. I've heard… interesting things." He examined Baines closely. "The one who brought down a 6th star barbarian… summoned lightning to fall… all while being only a 5th star."
Among the elite circle of the darkan land, Baines' deeds had become whispers of awe and doubt.
"Nice to meet you, young Commander Jin," the priest said, extending his hand.
Baines took it firmly. 'Eye, send it.' he commanded silently.
"Come in, come in," the priest gestured warmly after greeting them. "We're in the middle of prayer."
The group entered.
Inside, the place was even more elaborate. White and gold chandeliers lighting the grand hall, and a sermon was underway, hymns echoing in the chamber with haunting harmony.
People knelt in fervent worship, others waving their hands to the sky. The place felt holy, and maybe because of his ashenfall, he felt it more than others.
This was the effect the church had on people. So much faith was placed on it that, till now, no one believed anything would come up from their search.
Yes, they attended the service to scan the place for any abnormalities.
Baines scanned everything—faces, auras, exits, potential traps. But, unfortunately, by the end of the service, nothing stood out.
As they left, the branch head handed over a heavy sack of gold under the pretense of offering, and the priest accepted it with a wide, knowing smile.
...
Back at the branch family's estate, tension was thick.
"So… it wasn't the church." The branch head sighed. "No clue at all."
But then—
"What are you talking about?" Baines asked flatly.
Everyone turned to him.
"Hey, you were the one who said it was the church," the 5th star beside him sneered. "Guess even a 'commander' can be wrong."
No one defended Baines.
He just closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Dull. These people were so dull. Maybe it was because he was betrayed once, he never took anything at face value, and that was why he had made preparation.
He reached into his coat and placed a small circular device on the table. It was a voice player that outputted anything inputed in it.
"What's that?" the branch head asked.
The device clicked. A voice crackled out.
—Did you send them off well?
—Of course. Who do you think I am? They don't know a thing.
—Good. Now all that's left is to compress their blood—and we're done with this place.
Everyone froze.
It was unmistakable. The voices belonged to the Deplorable Brothers, two notorious fugitives from the north. Masters of deception.
"They need blood?" Tasha whispered, horrified at what had happened to the kidnapped. "That means they've kidnapped—how many people?"
"Branch head, we need to act," Roy said urgently. His own thought was different. They had probably killed the originally head priest and the disguised as him. Wasn't that just the best to acquire sacrifices, as a head priest? And with their skills, the church priests and knights wouldn't suspect a thing.
"Huh? Act now?" the branch head hesitated. "Shouldn't we plan a coordinated assault—?"
"No." Baines' agreed, his tone was like cold steel. "They think suspicion has passed. Which means they'll move fast. They're likely gathering civilians right now."
The branch head stood up, furious. "Then why didn't you tell us earlier?!"
Baines stared at him calmly. "You forget the First Rule of the Church?"
The room fell silent.
No blood must be shed within holy ground. No exceptions. Not even if a criminal ran inside.
The branch head gritted his teeth and sighed.
"Haa… fine. But how do you know they're still there? They might've moved."
"They're still there," Baines replied quietly, thinking. But, there was a big problem.
There was a high possibility the kidnapped civilians were already dead. So just capturing the brothers wouldn't mean much compared to hearing the loss of two hundred and fifty lives. Using this mission, he wanted to make as much and attract as much enemies, after all, those enemies were his goal.
'I will have to, escalate this matter.' He looked down again and saw the gazes on him.
"Branch head," he said. "We'll need support from the main family. A lot of it." He turned to the rest and brought out quite a number of plants and placed them on the table.
"With these, we can infiltrate undetected for about 20 seconds for a plant" These was supposed to be his second special, but the mission came faster.
"What?!" The branch head reeled back. Everyone else looked stunned.
In the right hands, seconds of invisibility was more than enough to eliminate an entire unit.
"How did you get those?" the branch head demanded. Baines was just a soldier after all, he would answer whatever he, as a main branch member asked, right?
However, Baines met his gaze in silence.
"I said—"
"Uncle." Tasha interrupted.
The branch head's eyes widened. His earlier confidence faltered. He understood the meaning immediately.
The Darkan family's prodigy wasn't a pawn.
"…Alright," the branch head finally said, lowering his tone. "Let's prepare."
Baines stood, eyes already set on the next move, "Infiltration begins at dusk."
***
In the bowels beneath the cathedral, a hidden chamber pulsed with red light.
The Deplorable Brothers stood before a grotesque pond, filled not with water, but blood.
Thick, dark, clotted blood.
How many lives did it take to fill such a pond with blood? Surely, above 300.
"Today went well," the bulkier brother said to a leaner one, licking blood off his fingers. "Another fifty gone."
"Of course it did," the leaner one replied casually, concentrating on the magical glyphs etched around the pond, as if it was normal for his plans to work.
They had told half the congregation they had been "chosen by the Divine." and they followed willingly. No one asked a question afterwards.
"But what if someone notices?" the younger asked. "Half the church missing?"
"Before they do, it'll be over."
The elder brother opened his eyes.
Whirrrrr...
The blood pond began swirling rapidly, spinning into a vortex of red. Its volume shrank as it compressed and thickened.
"See? We're almost done," he said, grinning with madness.
However, unknown to them,
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Silent shadows passed through the cathedral walls.
Baines and his strike team had begun the infiltration.