From the moment Gasco and the others betrayed the Locke Territory, barely half a year had passed.
That amount of time was nowhere near enough for a group of fugitives like Gasco to locate another person with a Pure Soul.
What's more—Locke didn't believe that anyone within the Radiant Temple's sphere of influence would be careless enough to lose track of someone with a pure soul.
There was only one possibility:
This Pure Soul individual was someone Gasco's group had originally discovered inside the Locke Territory.
But in that case… why would Gasco's group remain in the Locke Territory after finding their sacrificial offering? Why wait until now to perform the ritual?
The most likely answer—
The person meant to be sacrificed… wasn't theirs.
Within the Locke Territory, Locke had never conferred the rank of earl. That meant the five viscounts, including Gasco, held the highest noble titles in the entire domain.
And so, within the territory, who could possibly possess something that didn't belong to those viscounts… but stood above them?
Only Locke.
Across the entire territory, only Locke qualified.
Yet Locke would never need a sacrificial offering used by the Radiant Temple.
Which left only one person who would—
Locke bent down lightly, casting a deep look at the still-trembling Cole.
"Rest assured, Your Majesty Celes."
"This battle… won't even start."
Celes was briefly stunned.
The meaning behind Locke's words couldn't be clearer.
Under what circumstances would this battle fail to begin?
Only if the newly advanced Saint of the Radiant Temple abandoned the idea of expanding the Temple's territory.
Both Locke and Celes knew that after fleeing the Locke Territory, Gasco's group wouldn't dare step outside the Temple's sphere of influence again.
After all—they had personally witnessed Locke kill three Saint-level experts in an instant.
Even if Gasco and the others had truly reached the Saint level now, before Locke, they were still trash.
And the idea that they would form a knight brigade to invade the Frostsnow Empire without the Radiant Temple Pope's involvement?
Locke didn't believe they had the guts.
"Heh…"
"Well, I look forward to seeing it."
Sensing that Celes' spiritual presence had withdrawn, Locke lifted his hand from Cole.
"Sorry."
To Locke's surprise, Cole didn't start acting up this time—instead, he sincerely apologized.
"Big Brother, it's all because I—"
"Stop."
Locke cut him off. Having been exposed to Cole's usual mess of wild fantasies for so long, this sudden sincerity actually felt uncomfortable to him.
"All right. I'll be heading out for a few days. Don't leave the city lord's manor."
"Mhm, I know, Big Brother."
"Don't worry—I'll behave this time. I won't run around."
Locke glanced at him and nodded lightly.
He could tell—Cole, having realized how badly he'd messed up this time, had truly learned his lesson.
"These next few days, have Lem keep a constant watch on the Radiant Temple."
"If anything major happens… or if word spreads that I've fallen in battle—don't hesitate. Abandon the Locke Territory and take everyone somewhere remote to live."
"Remember this, Cole."
"If I die… then you're the strongest in this family."
"Every decision you make must be for their sake."
Although Locke didn't think he would actually fail this time… seeing Cole's change, he hoped this experience would finally reignite some ambition in him.
Cole was currently a mid-stage eighth-rank warrior, with over ninety years left before reaching the three-hundred-year limit of human lifespan.
An eighth-rank warrior's peak lasted until around age 230.
Cole still had more than twenty years to train.
Even though he had slacked off due to managing the territory, the foundation of an eighth-rank warrior was solid. If he pushed himself, it wasn't impossible to break through to the ninth rank before 230.
If he reached ninth rank, he would gain another two hundred years of life.
Though with Cole's talent, he probably wouldn't reach peak ninth rank—but becoming a bit stronger would still allow him to contribute more to the family.
After all, Locke's personality made it impossible for him to spend much time nurturing the clan.
Patting Cole's shoulder, Locke's mind stirred—and his figure vanished from sight.
High in the sky, Locke concealed himself within a drifting mass of mist.
From the ground, one would only see a cloud slowly moving from the Frostsnow Empire toward the direction of the Radiant Temple.
To avoid raising suspicion, Locke matched his movement speed with that of the surrounding cloud layer.
After a week, Locke arrived smoothly at the heart of the Radiant Temple—the Great Cathedral.
"According to His Majesty Celes' intel, the Radiant Pope performed the sacrificial ritual for Gasco just one week ago, allowing him to break past the ninth-rank barrier and reach the Saint level."
"In other words… the Pope is very likely not in closed-door cultivation yet."
"Under these circumstances, if I enter a state of 'man and heaven as one' within the Great Cathedral and activate the Mysteries of the Laws, I definitely won't escape his detection."
Hovering above the cathedral, Locke's gaze deepened.
He had come to kill Gasco—not to throw his life away.
How to kill Gasco while escaping the Radiant Temple's core territory unharmed—that was the real question.
Suddenly, Locke looked at the mist surrounding him. A thought flashed through his mind.
He began drawing in the surrounding moisture, merging it into nearby clouds. Then, he manipulated the water vapor within those clouds, slowly blending them with the larger cloud banks.
Gradually, the cloud mass grew larger… thicker… darker.
Even its color turned a deep gray-black.
Boom!
At a certain moment, water vapor collided within the clouds, releasing the first bolt of lightning.
"Rain?"
People on the ground noticed the dramatic cloud changes.
Those experienced with weather immediately called others to take shelter.
But to everyone's surprise, despite the ominous clouds… what fell was only a thin drizzle.
Carried with that misty drizzle descended a heavy fog.
Within ten minutes, the fog—borne by the Radiant rain—completely blanketed the Great Cathedral of the Radiant Temple.
"How strange…"
Someone scratched their head under the fine drizzle.
"Clouds like that should've dumped a torrential downpour… Why just a drizzle?"
Locke naturally understood how bizarre it was for clouds of this scale to release so little rain.
But if a real storm fell, those clouds would empty themselves within minutes.
And that wouldn't suit his plans at all.
(End of Chapter)
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