Chapter 1099: 1368
"..."Lucca Brewster looked down at himself and hurriedly raised his
right hand to grab something beside him.
Then, his grayish-green eyes darkened.
The gold that mixed with the stairs suddenly flew out and fused in
midair, forming a thin piece of armor that then covered Lucca Brewster.
Lucca stretched his arms and explained as he took in the feedback,
"Stiano's Golden Armor Art. Its defensive capabilities are equivalent to
that of a Sequence 5 Guardian."
"Stiano?" Klein asked casually.
Lucca said in a tone as though he was introducing a famous historical
figure, "One of the earliest founders of the Moses Ascetic Order.
"I heard that Emperor Roselle had previously modified this Golden Armor
Art. I wonder what effects it eventually produced."
...I can roughly imagine... Maybe this "Golden Armor" has twelve
different styles[Reference to Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac.]... After muttering inwardly for a while, Klein changed
the topic to the main topic at hand:
"Will Feynapotter and the Church of Earth Mother officially join the
war?"
When Lucca introduced the Stiano's Golden Armor, Audrey opened her eyes
and turned her head in a controlled manner. Without any perturbation in
her eyes, she looked at the glimmering demigod.
Lucca sighed and said, "Regardless of what they were thinking
previously, they'll officially join the war tonight.
"Of course, they wouldn't target Loen for the time being. There's a high
chance that they will attack either Lenburg, Masin, or Segar. It's to
prevent an extended battlefront and from making too many enemies which
would prevent them from being able to concentrate their strength.
Furthermore, the Church of Earth Mother might not be willing to exert
too much strength..."
After sighing, this demigod from the Church of Knowledge earnestly said
to the silver-masked Audrey, "What kind of consultation fee should I pay
you?"
Audrey glanced at Mr. World beside her.
"He has already paid."
Lucca Brewster immediately shifted his gaze to Dwayne Dantes.
Klein thought for a moment before saying, "Let me ask a few questions."
"Please speak." At that moment, Lucca didn't look like a demigod at all.
Instead, he looked more like a professor waiting to answer his student's
questions in class.
Of course, if he could take off that set of golden armor and change into
a three-piece suit, the resemblance would be uncanny.
Without thinking, Klein directly asked, "What do you know about the
corruption from underground?"
In his opinion, if the Church of Knowledge, which was famous for being
knowledgeable, knew about it, then he was definitely at a strong enough
level to bear the effects. And if this wasn't suitable for Miss
Justice's ears, then he believed that Lucca would bring it up. After
all, he wasn't merely a bookworm.
As the discussion about the underground corruption stemmed from their
experiences from exploring the sea of collective subconscious in
Groselle's Travels, Audrey had a certain understanding of it. At that
moment, it didn't feel as though she couldn't understand anything. She
was very focused on waiting for the demigod to give an answer.
Lucca frowned slightly and said, "I don't know much about it. It's as
though just knowing about it will result in corruption in of itself.
"Uh, I've seen a sentence before in an ancient book: The higher the
Sequence, the more dangerous it is to be closer underground."
So the Dragon of Imagination Ankewelt left an extremely deep trauma and
some kind of fear down there? Audrey instantly thought of the object
sealed in the bronze door of the City of Miracles, Liveseyd.
She then looked at Mr. World beside her, but she didn't notice any
changes in his expression.
However, Klein made his marionette nod gently, so as to tell Miss
Justice that the connections he made with were identical to hers.
This made Audrey feel like she had returned to the past. Back then, she
was still a Low-Sequence Beyonder of the Spectator pathway. There was no
way she could decipher any useful information from Mr. World's
expression and actions.
The higher the Sequence, the greater the threat of underground objects?
This doesn't make sense... Realizing that Lucca was unable to provide
more information, Klein thought for a moment and said, "Second question,
what prophecy do you have regarding this war?"
With the mention of a prophecy, Lucca Brewster suddenly became spirited.
"It's only the beginning. It's far from reaching its peak.
"Also, a greater portion of the damage stems from the war and is also
present beyond the war. I don't know what it is exactly though."
The war has just begun... Audrey's heart sank uncontrollably.
Stems from the war and is also present beyond the war? Is it the
apotheosis ritual of Amon's brother, or is it the advancement of the
Black Emperor? Or perhaps, the return of Roselle? With a guess, Klein
nodded and raised the third question:
"Have you heard of the prophecy of the apocalypse? How do you interpret
it?"
Lucca Brewster's expression instantly turned serious.
"No, this is not a prophecy•
"Anyone with the ability to predict the future is certain that the
apocalypse will definitely come.
"God mentioned in 'His' holy bible that the apocalypse will happen in
the year 1368 in the Fifth Epoch.
"Of course, God also said that there will be a savior."
The prophecy of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom? 1368, there's only
about ten years left... Could the Goddess's act of destroying the
alliance with the God of Combat to control the Uniqueness of the Death
pathway have something to do with the impending apocalypse? Without
realizing it, Klein's expression turned serious. However, he didn't show
his reaction on the marionette's face.
It will be the apocalypse in about ten years... As for Audrey, she
ruminated over the demigod's words in a daze.
To be honest, she felt that it was fake. It was used by people who
pretended to be mysticism experts and were religious cheats so as to
deceive the people and earn money through that.
Although she could foresee a large-scale war breaking out, she had never
imagined that this world was very close to ending.
This was the understanding of almost all ordinary people and Beyonders.
"Why 1368?" Klein couldn't help but ask.
Lucca Brewster shook his head.
"I don't know either. That's what God's prophecy says."
At the thought that he was only a Sequence 4, making him not have the
ability to resist the apocalypse, Klein rationally ended the topic. He
said to the saint of the Church of Knowledge and Wisdom, "That shall be
all."
What he really wanted to ask were things that the other party probably
didn't know either---matters like the corruption that stemmed from the
cosmos, or whether Roselle could return or not, or what his state was.
Lucca Brewster nodded and said, "In the future, if there's anything you
need help with, you can come to me. For the details, find them out
through Edwina."
He remembered that Dwayne Dantes's firearms transaction with Maysanchez
had been facilitated by Edwina Edwards.
Edwina... Vice Admiral Iceberg? Audrey was taken aback for a second
before coming to a realization. She glanced at Mr. World curiously.
She remembered that she had read a newspaper article before. It
contained the story of Gehrman Sparrow and the three female pirate
admirals.
"Alright." Klein was never worried about having too many helpers.
After he nodded at Justice Audrey, Lucca Brewster's figure quickly
turned transparent, as though he had fused with the spirit world.
Then, he disappeared.
Looking at the spot where he had been standing earlier and then at the
hall that no longer had any gold. Klein let out a terse remark inwardly
and fell silent for two seconds.
He then made his marionette look at Justice Audrey.
"I thought it would be a little more troublesome."
"That saint had saved himself in time and was willing to trust me,
allowing me to plant a psychological cue," Audrey replied with a faint
smile, trying her best to appear sincere and humble.
Dwayne Dantes nodded and said, "This help will be taken into account. Go
back as soon as possible. It's very dangerous here."
Seeing that a demigod had nearly lost control, Audrey had no doubts
about the danger Mr. World warned her about. She immediately used
Creeping Hunger and "Teleported" back to the Northern Continent through
the spirit world.
After she sacrificed the human-skinned glove to Mr. Fool and settled the
rest of the matters, Earl Hall and his eldest son, Hibbert, returned
home.
Just as Audrey was about to head out to meet her father and chat with
him, she heard her mother, Lady Caitlyn, ask in the hall, "Did something
happen again? You came back a lot later than scheduled today."
Earl Hall sighed and said, "Feynapotter has invaded Lenburg."
"Extra! Extra! Feynapotter invades Lenburg!"
Leonard, who was wearing a pair of red gloves, got off the carriage.
Just as he was about to enter Saint Samuel Cathedral, he saw the
paperboy waving a newspaper and running quickly across the streets and
square.
He stopped the paperboy and took out a penny and bought a newspaper. As
he flipped through it, he said in a low voice, "Perhaps it won't be long
before the south becomes a battlefield."
"That's right." Pallez Zoroast's slightly-aged voice echoed in Leonard's
mind.
"But why am I still staying in Backlund..." Leonard muttered in
confusion.
After advancing to Spirit Warlock, he had already become the captain of
a Red Gloves team. The members had been transferred from other teams,
including the familiar faces of Cindy and Bob.
After the war broke out, Leonard had originally thought that his team
would be transferred back to the Holy Cathedral like Soest's team, so as
to participate in the battle at the Amantha mountain range. To his
surprise, he was arranged to be used as a reserve force for the Backlund
diocese.
As for this large city, due to its implementation of a night-time curfew
and other emergency policies, its security was good, and there weren't
many Beyonders who came out to cause destruction. Even the Devils who
liked to murder didn't create chaos. It made Leonard rather free, making
it more relaxed for him than during non-wartime duty.
At that moment, Pallez Zoroast smiled and said, "I have a guess."
"What guess?" Leonard hurriedly asked in a low voice.
"I'm not telling you now," Pallez replied leisurely.
Leonard didn't say a word. He straightened his collar and entered Saint
Samuel Cathedral. He exchanged a few words with the archbishop and
prayed for five minutes.
Then, he went underground and pushed open the door to his Red Gloves
team's temporary office.
"Good morning, Captain." Bob, Cindy, and the other Red Gloves all stood
up and bowed.
Upon hearing their greetings, Leonard, who felt that he was already used
to it, was once again in a daze.
In the blink of an eye, it was Monday afternoon. Leonard arranged for
his team members to go on separate missions, and he found a lounge to
wait for the gathering to begin.