His voice grew even colder.

"Since there are no remnants of the Sun Church here, nor are there any dreadful Evil Spirits running rampant!"

"Then... I must ask that you take your leave, Lord Bishop Andre!"

"After all, Split Mist Town is a key development project for Ogrande City Hall."

"From now on, we will handle our internal affairs ourselves."

From deep within the gray mist, Bishop Andre of the Holy Fierce Sun Church gazed intently at Duke Mu Huo before speaking slowly.

"Perhaps the results of Duke Mu Huo’s investigation were flawed, but he was on the right track!"

"Furthermore, the Sequence he has cultivated is not something that can be trifled with!"

With that, he and his people began to depart.

Lord Bishop Andre’s intentions were obvious: he was protecting Duke Mu Huo.

Only an [Evil Spirit Sequence] could digest an [Evil Spirit Sequence].

This was what Duke Mu Huo had told them, and he had been absolutely certain of it.

His investigation had also confirmed that Zorn Corick was the [Fighting Master].

Furthermore, Zorn had captured and absorbed the fleshy remains of an Evil Spirit, and the power of the Calamity Black Mist was present within his manor.

All of this should have been enough to confirm his identity as an [Evil Spirit].

’Since the man was a damned [Evil Spirit]... ’

...then it was the Church’s duty to strike him down.

Then they could capture the damned Evil Spirit, Zorn Corick, and his collaborator, Madam Mable.

They could then launch an investigation under the pretext that the two were collaborating with the Evil God Organization known as the [Sun Church].

In doing so,

they could seize complete control of Split Mist Town and turn it into a source of resources for the Holy Fierce Sun Church.

Yes, their true objective was to seize the valuable resources deep beneath Split Mist Town.

The supposedly hidden [Evil Spirit], Zorn Corick, was merely the trigger.

And the bountiful rewards Madam Mable reaped from her extensive development of Split Mist Town were the fuse!

That was what led to this operation.

But!

After a tense standoff,

the most troublesome complication was that Zorn was not an [Evil Spirit] at all.

If Zorn Corick had possessed an [Evil Spirit Sequence], he wouldn’t have survived the day.

The Holy Fierce Sun Church would have been guaranteed victory today.

Instead!

What they discovered was that this [Fighting Master] had killed the "Evil Spirit Knight" from deep underground.

Moreover, he had used his own powerful Sequence to digest the dreadful flesh, yet he bore no trace of an Evil Spirit’s aura.

You couldn’t just kill someone for eating a piece of dreadful flesh.

At least, not in front of Marquis Albert Wilde.

After everyone from the Church had gradually departed,

Duke Mu Huo, who had been concealing the Gray Mist Rift ritual, stood rooted to the spot, his face ashen. The pungent smell of cinders and smoke clung to him.

Although his scheme had failed utterly,

he still had the confidence of his Sequence to fall back on.

He, Duke Mu Huo, did not fear death. He possessed Resurrection!

Besides, the Lord Bishop had just spoken up to protect him, so his life was in no immediate danger.

At worst, he would be stripped of his duties and exiled from the center of power in Ogrande City.

When Madam Mable performed the ritual to begin deep excavation of the Ancient Ruins, securing vast resources for Ogrande City,

he knew that if he hadn’t fought back, he would have been sidelined anyway.

After all, his collaboration with the Church was for the express purpose of halting the excavation of the Ancient Ruins and, at the opportune moment, diverting the resources within to the Church.

If he had done nothing, his fate would have been even more miserable!

When he first obtained the ritual that allowed him to consistently open the Gray Mist Rift,

he and the Church had already devised this plan to seize the resources.

The original plan was—

wait for Ogrande City to complete most of the excavation, then use an investigation as a pretext to seize control of the area. Taking advantage of the fact that Ogrande City Hall didn’t know they could proactively open the Gray Mist Rift, they would then harvest a massive amount of resources in a short time.

Unfortunately!

The intervention of Madam Mable and Zorn, who had also obtained the ritual to open the Gray Mist Rift, drove his and the Church’s plan into the ground.

And so, they had devised this new plot, using the Evil Spirit as a trigger.

It was supposed to be the perfect way to expose that damned "Evil Spirit," Zorn Corick.

But the plan had failed, all because there was something unexpected about the Sequence of that damned "Evil Spirit," Zorn Corick!

And now, he was about to pay a terrible price for his failure!

His gaze was bone-chilling, like an Evil Spirit that had clawed its way out of Purgatory.

Within the afterimages trailing behind [Soul Shepherd] Marquis Albert, several powerful Evil Spirits materialized, their auras grim and sinister. A strange wind stirred as waves of their hissing cries echoed through the air.

As a man of power in Ogrande City,

Albert understood perfectly the intent behind Duke Mu Huo’s betrayal and his plan.

After all, he himself had always maintained a degree of cooperation with the Church.

Ogrande City had also wished to borrow the Church’s power, so the two sides cooperated even as they vied for control.

But this time, Duke Mu Huo had brought a large contingent of Church members and had even summoned Bishop Andre Burke.

He had dropped all pretense in a direct attempt to seize the vital resources of the Ancient Ruins for himself.

To call it treason would not be an exaggeration. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

They knew full well that the Holy Fierce Sun Church intended to suppress Ogrande City’s Extraordinary Power.

If the plan had succeeded, the Church would have plundered at least a portion—if not the majority—of those vast resources.

And by leveraging the power of the ever-expanding Church and its unrivaled authority,

he, Duke Mu Huo,

might have one day become the ruler of Ogrande City!

Fortunately, the ambitious man had not succeeded.

The true nature of the [Fighting Master], a man forged in brutal trials, had become a thick wall blocking the Duke’s ambition.

After staring at Duke Mu Huo for a long time,

Marquis Albert finally spoke, his voice slow and deliberate.

"Gustav has attempted treason and, what’s more, has disrupted the great process of developing Ogrande City’s Extraordinary Power."

"Effective immediately, he is stripped of all his official duties and will be imprisoned!"

"I will then submit a full account of his treason to the Republic’s Parliament. I will also submit a detailed report and official materials to Congress, proposing that his noble title be revoked and that he stand trial before them!"

"Now..."

Marquis Albert looked coldly at Duke Mu Huo.

"Arrest Gustav Medis! Take him into custody and begin the investigation!"

A team of Transcendents, having long been prepared, immediately moved to surround him.

Duke Mu Huo, his face the color of cold ash, did not resist, despite his own formidable power.

The Lord Bishop had already said he was useful alive.

If he didn’t resist and accepted the investigation, he could survive.

But if he resisted,

the nature of the situation would change entirely.

Besides, he was certain that the damned Fighting Master was hoping he would resist.

The moment he made a move,

that cunning bastard would surely seize the opportunity to join forces with the others and crush him.