The Smuggling Squad Returns

Mansla picked up his cup, which bore the insignia of the floating city, and slowly set down his curtain. The old butler entered, whispering something in his ear.

Mansla's expression changed as he clenched the cup in his hand, causing the emblem on the back of his hand to become visible.

Glancing at the cup in his hand, Mansla set it down on the table and quickly headed towards the mansion's basement.

Under the dim oil lamp, a brown-haired man lay on the bed, his body wrapped in bandages.

Upon seeing Mansla enter, the man turned his head to look at him, causing Mansla's steps to falter instantly.

"The nobles of Saint Tyan are rotten to the core," Purdo remarked with a sigh.

The sound of his voice made Mansla feel as though he were standing in a courtroom, surrounded by countless people judging him with strange looks. A deep sense of shame washed over him, making him almost want to end his own life.

"You don't understand. This is all for the honor of my family..." Mansla shouted desperately, raising his hand as the emblem on the back of his hand flared to life.

The emblem, a combination of a semicircle and a triangle, seemed to draw upon some unseen power.

Instantly sobered, Mansla controlled that power, glaring discontentedly at Purdo, who lay on the bed.

"Defeated by Shaya, you already wish to die?" Mansla did not disperse the power drawn by the emblem but instead restrained his anger, slightly raising his head as he questioned Purdo.

"You're still a bit off," Purdo said, looking at his pale hand, a touch of melancholy in his voice.

He ultimately couldn't surpass Shaya.

The moment Shaya released his grip, Purdo was overwhelmed by the endless holy power, which destroyed most of him. If someone hadn't saved him through the critical layer and implanted a piece of the ancient sea monster's spine into him, he would have died by now.

"They gave you two choices: continue to target Shaya and forge the sword that points to God, or leave," Mansla said.

"Of course, I'll continue," Purdo laughed. He had indeed been too arrogant, believing that Shaya couldn't activate the power of God. With his own youth restored, he thought he could succeed in killing Shaya.

He planned to leverage the success of forging the sword that points to God to completely reverse himself into a different species, elevating his holy power to the 'ascension' stage.

Like warm water freezing more easily when placed in the freezer, the purer the person, the darker they become after falling.

If he could kill Shaya while still a monk and forge the sword pointing to God, he would surely ascend to the next stage.

But that was too difficult. Holding the ancient sea monster's spine and plotting to kill a near-divine monk while maintaining his faith was almost impossible.

However, with the transplanted piece of the spine, his strength had broken through once again, and Shaya's intervention would undoubtedly affect him.

But the chance to ascend in one step was lost.

"Then stay here quietly. If you make any noise and get discovered, you'll lose all your chances," Mansla said before turning to leave.

"Master, a monk has arrived," the old butler reported softly upon seeing Mansla.

"I know," Mansla said, a look of disgust flashing across his face at the mention of the monk.

He had used the emblem to draw upon the power of merit, something that the church would record, prompting nearby monks to investigate.

This made Mansla feel extremely uncomfortable. It was the church's restrictions that had pushed his family into decline despite their vast resources.

"This is the sorrow of the nobility. The merit my ancestors earned with their lives is now subject to others' oversight."

Using his laboratory as an excuse, Mansla dismissed the monks who came to inquire. Watching the departing monks, his eyes were filled with hatred.

"A bunch of traitors and scum," Mansla quickly calmed his anger and returned to his study to arrange for the reception.

Roya had been restless lately. Since the witch doctor's death, occasional curfews had made his smuggling operations increasingly difficult.

Nobles could indeed ignore curfews and move about at night, but getting caught in certain places could still pose significant problems.

There were two boundaries between nobles and the church. The first was openly illegal activities, which were often overlooked by many monks.

The second boundary was ensuring that the public remained unaware of such transgressions, preserving the church and the garrison's reputation.

Smuggling crossed the first boundary, but it couldn't be done openly during the day. If seen, it would be akin to trampling on the church and garrison's authority, so it had to be done quietly at night.

If you dared to publicize such actions, causing the church and garrison's rules to lose credibility, you crossed the second boundary.

With the city under curfew, trying to smuggle goods out would cross the second boundary.

Unable to smuggle out, they had to smuggle in.

Mansla had received a message. His previously dispatched caravan was returning to Roya with a shipment.

He had to ensure this shipment's safety at all costs.

Gritting his teeth, Mansla said, "Get Jin here. This matter must not go wrong."

In the basement, Purdo shook his head with a smile, thinking these nobles were too arrogant.

They naturally enjoyed all sorts of privileges and deeply resented the church's constraints, thinking others were filthy and lowly while engaging in all sorts of vile deeds themselves.

"Indeed, human hearts are greedy and never satisfied. God cannot save anyone," Purdo's face was filled with sorrow.

"Faith is merely a means of self-deception. God is always an unseen entity, and the so-called incarnation of God is nothing more than a phantom observed in self-deception."

"Faith will never save humanity."

"Is the time confirmed?" Adam sat up, Jin standing nearby, informing Adam of the return time of Mansla's smuggling team and the area he would be responsible for.

"The night after tomorrow, they'll enter the city. Be careful. I only cover the forest section. Don't let your men cross into my area; I won't hold back," Jin said.

"I understand," Adam nodded, feeling increasingly anxious. His general location had already been exposed.

If his guess was correct, that person, despite heading to the Kingdom of Sito because of the ancient sea monster, would still send someone over. Flora being summoned was a warning.

"Just not sure who it will be," Adam thought, looking at the birds by the bed and the sleeping cat on the cabinet.

He began calculating again. If it were someone else, his identity might remain somewhat protected. But if it were another person, based on Adam's understanding, that person wouldn't care about subtleties and would search as quickly as possible.

"In other words, once they know there's an 'Adam' in Roya, they'll realize Adam is Nesser."

"Adam's identity can't withstand scrutiny. Certain risks must be eliminated."

Adam looked at Jin, who was measuring the distance between his head and the doorframe, seemingly wondering if the new house's door was higher or if he had gotten shorter.

"Teacher Jin."

"Ahem," Jin immediately put his hands behind his back and coughed before asking, "Nesser, what do you need?"

"I have some matters that need your help," Adam said with a sly smile.

Seeing this smile, Jin felt as though he had been tricked.