Chapter Forty-Five: Within Seven Steps, Advantage Is Mine

Wayne retched twice, but nothing came out. He wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and his disgust towards the Heart of the Earth reached its peak. Whether it was a matter of great righteousness or small righteousness, from now on, Wayne and the Lord of the Void were irreconcilable!

Wayne wanted to ignite the tentacles immediately, but he didn't dare to act rashly without rescuing Isabella. He speculated that the tentacles were the body of the so-called King of the Underground, judging by their size, although he couldn't determine where they extended from. However, it could be inferred that the King of the Underground was massive in size, matching the information he had gathered.

The King of the Underground.

Entrance to the underground tunnel.

The coincidence of the chicken farm, the headquarters of the Heart of the Earth, and the government hall being on the same line indicated premeditation...

"Isabella was right. The intelligence agencies in Windsor have noticed something wrong with the Heart of the Earth, indicating that there have been issues with them for a long time."

Wayne gritted his teeth in hatred. The tentacles laying eggs indicated that the King of the Underground was directly beneath the chicken farm. Once this behemoth moved, the entire town would face disaster.

The strength of the Heart of the Earth's mages was unknown. He had to rescue Isabella; only she could deal with the Heart of the Earth.

...

The entrance to the underground tunnel was located behind the chicken farm. Compared to the complex underground terrain, the surface entrance was not conspicuous.

A hastily constructed factory building obscured the chasm, guarded by four believers who would immediately stop anyone from approaching.

Wayne noticed holsters at their waists. Time was running out, and he had no better option but to push forward.

"You, stop. It's not night yet; you can't go in."

"I know, but the situation has changed. Our people were attacked, and I've come to interrogate the prisoners on the orders of the Archbishop. I must find out the whereabouts of our comrades, or I can't justify myself to the Archbishop."

Wayne stared coldly at the guard. "Open the door and lead the way."

"But the Archbishop's orders are that no one is allowed in. I really can't let you in..."

The guard looked embarrassed. Wayne's forceful attitude made him uneasy; he seemed like a close confidant of the Archbishop. Moreover, Wayne had brought the Archbishop's orders. If he obstructed them and caused damage to the interests of the Heart of the Earth, would the Archbishop punish him?

The guard's confidence waned, and Wayne's firmness increased. He grabbed the guard's collar and threatened, "If it weren't for us all devoutly believing in the Master of the Void, I would report to the Archbishop to sacrifice you to the King of the Underground tonight. Open the door quickly; you can't bear this responsibility."

Wayne's firmness and contempt overwhelmed the guard's doubts. He didn't dare to continue obstructing and waved his hand to let his companions open the factory door. Leading the way, he tried to appease Wayne's anger.

Playing the role of a lackey was tough; it wasn't about achieving merit but avoiding mistakes.

One word: tough.

The complexity of the underground tunnels exceeded Wayne's imagination. They were crisscrossed, resembling mines at first glance.

Wires were pulled along the way for lighting, and at every intersection, believers stood guard with firearms.

After a few minutes, the guard knocked on a wooden door ahead. A hidden passage opened, and endless darkness engulfed Wayne.

Standing on the edge of a cliff, Wayne looked down at the abyss below, where a massive creature seemed to crawl. Every gust of wind stirred up waves, and blue lights flickered in the darkness.

The lights weren't only below the abyss but also on the cliffs. Wayne vaguely saw traces of wandering tentacles.

The King of the Underground was even larger than he had imagined, far more than eight tentacles. It was definitely of ancestral proportions compared to the sea stars in the government hall.

A walkway had been built on the edge of the cliff, complete with a fence to prevent believers from falling into the abyss.

Wayne silently praised the construction team and quickly followed the guard.

The walkway was about five hundred meters long and led to a cavernous underground plaza. The security here was tighter than at the Heart of the Earth's headquarters.

Without a familiar face guiding him, Wayne wouldn't have been able to break in.

In the center of the underground plaza, a circular pool was built, with fist-sized gravel piled into pyramids. At the top, a golden statue was placed.

The statue wasn't large, about a dozen centimeters tall, but it emitted a breath-taking glow.

It was dazzling, undoubtedly made of real gold.

Wayne squinted, unable to see the true appearance of the statue due to the dazzling light. He could only see a distorted human figure wrapped in tentacles.

"Lord of the Void, please allow this humble and insignificant believer to offer you the sincerest praise..." The guard bowed deeply towards the statue's location.

Wayne quickly followed suit, learning from the guard's humility and offering humble praise.

As the words fell, Wayne seemed to sense a response from the statue, a whisper in his ear. A complex blend of eerie, evil, sacred, and pure voices merged together, causing every listener to fall into a trance.

Bad news: sanity points dropped.

Good news: Wayne had a strong foundation. Even though they dropped, it was as if they hadn't.

As the saying goes, having experienced the torment of the Gate of Truth, ordinary mental contamination couldn't easily shake his thoughts and will.

The guard had clearly been contaminated. From his expression, Wayne could tell. His devotion and madness towards the Lord of the Void were evident. Wayne followed suit, raising his eyebrows, curling his lips, and twitching his eyelids.

This skill was at least ten years of training for a stroke.

Wayne didn't seem like he was acting. His performance was too real to arouse any suspicion. Following the guard, he arrived at the east side of the plaza and entered a hidden door.

This time, there were no twists and turns. At the end of the passage was a prison cell.

Two believers guarded the prison, and upon learning that Wayne was sent by the Archbishop to interrogate the prisoners, they immediately let him through.

The defense was lax, but it was human nature. At this point, there was no reason to suspect an intruder; it had to be someone from their own ranks.

Wayne entered the prison with a candle. There weren't many prisoners, about a dozen or so, each with a wooden stake and hemp rope.

Wayne ignored the unfamiliar faces, but two faces surprised him.

Hood!

Wesley!

The two tilted their heads, murmuring, their minds somewhat unclear due to mental contamination.

You guys aren't dead yet?

Wayne was surprised by their luck, feeling that good people had good rewards. Referring to a successful case, he was sure to have good karma in the future.

However...

He didn't see Isabella, all the prisoners were male, and none of them had outstanding builds.

"Cough!"

Wayne coughed and clenched his fist, asking the guard next to him, "What's going on? Where are the female prisoners? Where are they being held?"

The guard chuckled knowingly, "You're late to the party. The female prisoners have all been taken care of, used as sacrifices to the Underworld King. We haven't found any new sources yet."

"What nonsense! Who asked you about that? Am I the kind of person to do such a thing?" Wayne narrowed his eyes and mentally added the guard to his hit list. He said coldly, "I'm talking about the intruder from a couple of days ago, a very fat woman. Surely you didn't miss her? She must have been taken care of too, right?"

"Are you mistaken? There were no fat women who intruded a couple of days ago. The only intruder we caught was him." The guard pointed to Hood. "We only caught him, he's Hood, a detective from Ennold Town. The old man is pretty good at hiding; he almost slipped away from us."

Wayne was stunned. If they had caught Hood a couple of days ago, then where was Isabella? He found it hard to believe. If, and he emphasized if, Isabella hadn't been caught, then why had he gone through all the trouble of reconnaissance and infiltration?

He recalled Hefei's words, suggesting that Isabella, an experienced magician, must have discovered something and was waiting for an opportunity to strike a fatal blow to the enemy.

"So you're saying there really wasn't a fat woman caught?" Wayne raised his hand to his forehead, trying to salvage the situation.

Please tell him that there was, not only was there, but she was also taken care of by you guys.

"Indeed, there wasn't," the guard said firmly, shaking his head. Then he added, "Maybe there was, but those are important prisoners only known to the bishops. I don't have the authority to know, let alone detain them here. These prisoners are all destined for tonight's sacrifice."

Wayne nodded, pondering how to safely get the prisoners out. As the wooden door opened, a voice came through:

"About that fat woman, I might have an answer for you!"

It was a middle-aged man dressed in a coarse robe, robust in stature, and full of vigor when he spoke. He wore a hood that obscured his face, and the flickering candlelight revealed his teeth, which were white and cold.

With a smile that wasn't quite a smile, he seemed to be either commending Wayne for finding his way here or, more likely, mocking him for walking into a trap.

Wayne's heart sank as he sensed danger.

"Bishop Sean," the guard bowed respectfully, bending his waist very humbly.

Wayne followed suit, trying to play along.

The Earthheart Church had four bishops, one archbishop, all of whom were the highest-ranking members of the Earthheart Church. In Wayne's imagination, they were all powerful magicians. Suddenly being cornered by one of them in their underground lair...

Wayne's heart sank further as he estimated the likelihood of embedding the opponent into a wall.

It didn't look good.

He reached for the pistol at his waist, borrowed magical props from the maid for self-defense, and had the scientific artifact at his side. At least he had some assurance.

Within seven steps, the advantage was mine!