The sudden turn of events sent a shock through the hearts of both Celestia and Astel, who were locked in a fierce struggle.
Almost simultaneously, they twisted their bodies, their sharp gazes darting toward the direction of the explosion.
Deep within Astel’s pitch-black eyes, which lacked any whites, a violent ripple of emotion appeared for the first time.
He could no longer maintain his composure.
‘Who is this? How could someone tear through the Evernight Veil from the outside? This is impossible!’
Furthermore, what made his blood run cold was that the moment the barrier was torn, his mental connection with the several followers responsible for maintaining it was abruptly severed!
Those several followers had all met an unknown fate at the exact same time!
Under these circumstances, “unknown fate” was essentially a confirmation of death.
At the same time, Celestia’s heart was also filled with doubt and surprise.
To be honest, she had not expected reinforcements at all.
She had just been prepared to drag her opponent down with her, choosing death over letting him walk away unscathed.
She never imagined she would find a turning point!
Regardless of the intent, that black-robed man had broken the Evernight Veil and saved Lovela from her predicament.
For her, that was enough!
The moment the gap appeared in the Evernight Veil, Celestia felt the weight on her body lift.
The omnipresent suppression suddenly weakened!
The elements and energy of the outside world became clear and perceptible once more.
Without the slightest hesitation, she reached into her robes and crushed a communication mana stone with her left hand.
An invisible wave of magic spread rapidly, sending out a signal for help!
“It seems the roles of hunter and prey have swapped, Mr. Shadow-Touched who sold his soul.”
Celestia mocked him.
Simultaneously, the radiant spear in her hand shook violently as a majestic sacred glow erupted.
She launched a fierce counterattack!
“GLOW: JUDGMENT!”
On the other side.
Lin Hong looked down at Lovela, who was barely standing, and spoke.
“Can you still move?”
His voice had changed; it was now hoarse and deep.
This was the result of a Disguise Potion he had exchanged from the mysterious panel not long ago.
The effects were startling; it not only altered his physical form but even masked his voice.
Lovela took a deep breath, enduring her injuries.
“I am fine. Thank you for your assistance, Sir.”
She bowed slightly, performing an aristocratic gesture of gratitude.
“May I ask who you are?”
“Miss Wayne may consider me Evan Wayne’s teacher.”
Lin Hong’s answer was crisp and direct.
This was the excuse he had prepared beforehand to explain the anomalies he had shown while controlling this body.
He paused, and before Lovela could say anything, his tone shifted as he began to question her.
“Miss Wayne, if I may be blunt, the security of your estate and the Imperial family is so riddled with holes that it is absurd. Do you not find this ridiculous?”
Lin Hong was truly speechless.
How many days had it been since he was resurrected in this body?
He had already experienced two assassinations!
The first time was at the Imperial Royal Academy, a place that should have been a national stronghold.
In the end, the martial arts arena was blown up, and a spiritual body had tried to fish in troubled waters to possess his physical form.
This time was even more outrageous.
The Duke’s mansion, located in the core area of the Imperial Capital and belonging to a powerful Archduke of the Empire, should have been invulnerable!
Yet, the enemy had managed to walk right up to the door, set up an isolation barrier, and nearly wiped out a princess, the Duke’s eldest daughter, and the young son all at once.
There were so many points to criticize that he didn’t even know where to start.
Lovela looked slightly embarrassed.
What could she say?
The Evernight Veil shattered with a thunderous roar, the sound echoing far across the midnight sky of the Imperial Capital.
Before reaching the corridor, Lin Hong had already taken a quiet lap around the massive Duke’s mansion.
It was truly mind-boggling.
The enemies who had infiltrated the mansion were far more numerous than just the ones in this corridor.
The various magical barriers had been as useless as a sieve.
It was as if they had invited the whole world to dinner.
Lin Hong had moved silently, using his palm to crush their skulls one by one.
Once the barrier lost its stable energy supply and its controllers—combined with his firefly firecracker—it finally collapsed.
As the gap appeared, moonlight and starlight poured in, reflecting in the pitch-black eyes of the Shadow-Touched, Astel.
The mission had failed; he had to retreat!
He was extremely decisive.
Shadows boiled around his body as he endured a thrust from Celestia.
Using the force of the blow, he drifted backward, his form suddenly blurring as if he were about to melt into the darkness.
This was his life-saving divine art for escaping.
By using the darkness to flee, he was almost always successful.
However, someone was faster than him.
Lin Hong made a grasping motion with his left hand.
The magical shortsword belonging to Lovela, which had fallen to the ground, hummed and flew back into his palm.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, the shortsword turned into a streak of light and shot out!
With a pssh, the streak of light was precise and terrifying.
It caught up instantly with the shadow trail that had almost merged with the darkness, piercing through it!
The shadow suddenly froze, and the figure of Astel fell out, the sword impaling his shoulder blade.
At the same time, the magical runes on the shortsword were activated, interfering with the flow of shadow energy in his body.
It made it difficult for him to struggle and impossible to vanish into the shadows again.
“This…”
Not far away, “Robert,” who had been sent flying by a strike earlier, witnessed everything.
His face turned pale.
He was decisive, quickly severing the physical connection with the old steward Robert’s body.
Reverting to his original form as a monstrous insect, he shot out of Robert’s mouth like a bolt of lightning.
His speed was truly astonishing! With a whoosh, only a faint green light could be seen as he charged toward Lin Hong.
“How much did you drink to be this bold? Do you want to guess how your previous partner died?”
Lin Hong sneered.
He casually raised his hand, spreading his five fingers slightly to catch it in mid-air.
As the Creation Return to Origin Sutra operated, an invisible film of energy covered his palm, allowing him to catch the monster firmly!
Screee—!!!
The monster let out a piercing, high-pitched screech, struggling and twisting frantically in his palm.
It was a truly hideous creature.
Its mouthparts snapped open and closed, spraying corrosive energy as if it cost nothing.
Its appendages were like blades, seemingly sharp enough to cut through metal and iron!
But it was useless against Lin Hong.
His physical body was powerful, and with his energy coating his palm, he was completely unafraid.
He was cold and felt a sense of disgust.
He immediately prepared to crush this filthy thing.
“Please wait, Sir!”
Celestia endured the pain and weakness in her body and took a step forward.
She requested politely that he spare the monster’s life.
She wanted to capture it alive to hand it over to the Imperial Bureau of Investigation and the Church’s Inquisition.
She hoped to dig out the hidden network of the Evil God cultists within the Empire and pull them out by the roots.
This was far more valuable than simply destroying it.
Lin Hong remained silent.
Beneath his hood, his expression was unreadable as he looked at Celestia.
The area fell silent for a moment, save for the struggling screeches of the monster.
Celestia felt a chill run down her spine.
Even though this black-robed man’s face was completely hidden and she couldn’t see his expression, she felt as if she were being watched by a ferocious beast.
Her hair stood on end.
Lin Hong stared at her for a short while, thought it over, and decided her reasoning made sense.
He gave a slight nod in agreement.
Seeing this, Celestia’s tense mind relaxed slightly.
She thanked him elegantly.
Though she was exhausted, she maintained her etiquette.
She wanted to say more, but Lin Hong didn’t give her the chance.
He summoned the shortsword back from a distance.
As the sword flew back, the hilt “accidentally” bumped the back of Celestia’s neck with perfectly controlled force.
“You…”
Celestia’s golden eyes widened.
She only had time to utter a blurred sound before her body went limp.
She collapsed forward, only to be caught by a gentle gust of energy from Lin Hong that lowered her slowly to the ground.
With a flat expression, Lin Hong turned around and used the same method to knock out Lovela behind him.
‘There’s no other way. I really was too careless.’
After knocking the two of them out, Lin Hong used his techniques to turn the monster in his hand into a temporary prison sphere, tossing it casually beside the unconscious Celestia.
Next, he walked over to Astel and knocked him unconscious with a kick.
The sound of footsteps was already approaching from the distance.
It was noisy and hurried; the reinforcements Celestia had called for had likely arrived.
Lin Hong watched, his gaze falling on the unconscious silver-haired girl as he rubbed his chin.
A God-Touched carried a portion of a deity’s divine power and authority.
If a God-Touched died, the deity behind them would also suffer.
He had a grudge against the gods of this world.
Sooner or later, he would face them and slay them.
In other words, this princess, Celestia, was highly likely to be an enemy in the future.
The question was: should he strike first and finish her off now?