Chapter 248 (1): Slacking off Is Comfortable

Rumble!

The phoenix spread its wings. Golden light pulsed and extended left and right, filling the sky with fire that rained down in golden streaks.

Wayne looked up and sensed a tremendous vitality within the fire that blocked out the sun. Unlike the vitality of nature’s cycle of life and death, the vitality coming from the phoenix soared and surged powerfully. Nature’s vitality was like a shield protecting all, while the phoenix’s vitality was like a spear that destroyed everything. They could be viewed as sharing the same origin, but their focus differed.

Amid the flames surrounding the phoenix, two slender figures stood side by side, wearing combat suits woven with golden scales; the form-fitting one-pieces clung to their exquisite figures and left nothing to the imagination.

Wayne narrowed his eyes. His super vision pierced through the flames, allowing him to see both women clearly. He cursed his exceptional eyesight. Refocusing his eyes, he saw the two women standing within the hazy firelight. With their golden combat suits becoming indistinct, their alluring curves immediately appeared provocative.

They looked like naked ladies censored with pixelation.

A gust howled. Veronica appeared beside him and said with displeasure, “Phoenix blood. I didn’t expect Ottilia to have such a bloodline. What a surprise. No wonder she could take a spot from Prussia.”

“Perhaps...” Wayne responded vaguely. Based on the information Regina had volunteered and what little Wayne knew about this dungeon, he could guess which church higher-up was the two women’s backer.

The Pope.

Not every major district could find supporters among the church’s leadership. The candidates sent by Iberia and Graeci, for example, were mediocre at best. They were talented but not quite geniuses. Without support, they would be nothing but background characters for the selection. Others brought cheat sheets to the exam, while they had to solve the problems themselves. At best, they would make it through two rounds. It was impossible for them to get to the final.

The higher-ups could easily lower their scores by pitting them against powerful rivals.

Windsor started out without support from any of the higher-ups since Senna had cut ties with Silvia. It was only because of Veronica’s dragon blood and Senna’s obsession with Hoy Maiden that Windsor was given a walkthrough.

The headquarters of the church was located in Ostarrichi, now belonging to Prussia. In total, they had six candidates.

Of course, not all six of them were the Pope’s pawns. The other higher-ups needed their share. Ottilia and Regina, though, were definitely sent by the Pope. The reasons were manifold:

Sky City was a dungeon provided by the Pope; Regina stated that no one was paying attention right now; there was no flora on the surface of the Moon, so elves who could communicate with nature enjoyed no home-ground advantage here; Ottilia’s master, Flora, was once the Holy Maiden supported by the Pope, and she had the phoenix bloodline just like Regina; finally, the phoenix bloodline could resonate with the red gem in the sky, granting homeground advantage.

All signs pointed to the Pope being the two women’s backer and them being ordered to take down the Windsor candidates at all costs, eliminating them from the second round.

Clearly, the Pope had the means to give the phoenix blood to anyone he wanted, just like how Senna had injected Silvia with dragon blood to make her the Holy Maiden. The question was when Ottilia had acquired the phoenix blood...

“Probably not recently, or Flora couldn’t have persuaded the Pope to replace a candidate. She must have possessed the blood from a very young age, most likely from Flora...”

After his analysis, Wayne concluded that Flora was just like Senna, which would explain the phoenix blood Ottilia possessed.

“Holy Maidens are pitiful, manipulated by the higher-ups like puppets. The latter alone controlled who might win the spot,” Wayne muttered to himself. “No wonder Flora went into retirement like a senior citizen, doing idle work like pruning flowers. She showed defiance during her term and earned the Pope’s displeasure, ending her career unceremoniously.”

Wayne described her as defiant rather than power-hungry and ambitious for a simple reason: she didn’t have the power to back it up.

The only ones who could fight the Pope for power were Oracle High Reverends or the High Prophet—the higher-ups of the church who held real power. Flora wasn’t part of the circle, and she couldn’t even be considered a player in the game. When she asked for equal power, it was nothing but insubordination.

“Poor woman. After working so hard to mentor Ottilia for years, she turns out to be nothing but the Pope’s tool.”

Wayne sighed. The Pope wouldn’t support Ottilia to become the Holy Maiden. He had people of his own whom he trusted more. An outsider like Ottilia would only be tasked with the dirty work.

“Veronica, the mission that Master assigned us is already complete,” Wayne lamented. It was said that reading ten thousand books wasn’t as informative as traveling ten thousand miles, and it was so very true. He had thought that the Ministry of Magic back home was a mess where the higher-ups never did anything right; he never imagined that the leadership of the church’s headquarters could lower the bar even further.

Those who held power didn’t even regard anyone but themselves as humans.

How dull!

Wayne suddenly found the whole ordeal dreary. He felt his fighting will vanish as he looked at the flying phoenix. With these vermin around, the church would have no future. This was his first visit to the headquarters, and it would be his last if nothing unexpected happened.

He would never come back even if they begged him to, or he would be a fool.

Rumble!

The sea of flames filling the sky contracted and swirled. Within the red clouds, the elemental bird of fire transformed into a blazing rainbow, diving down with its impressive wingspan of a hundred meters.

Veronica’s eyes flashed. Fine white scales emerged on her arms. With mana erupting beneath her feet, she drew her fist back and leaped into the air.

Wayne grabbed her ankle and pulled her back down.

“What are you doing?!” Veronica raged, her fury coloring her tone. “Are you still going to protect her? Tell me, what is your relationship with her?”

“We haven’t had one.” Wayne patted her on the shoulder seriously. “I’ll handle them quickly. After the fight, we’ll withdraw from the selection. I miss Kristen and Vera.”

What are you on about?

His logic was so all over the place that Veronica couldn’t understand, but sensing his foul mood and his urge to vent, she let him take on their opponents.

With explosive mana, Wayne jumped, cutting through the air like a sharp sword. Wind blades enveloped his fist, colliding with the phoenix’s fierce beak.

After a brief stalemate, the phoenix’s diving momentum proved stronger and shattered the wind blades, bringing him down with unstoppable inertia. Torrents of flames embraced him from the sides as the phoenix folded its wings, transforming into a sphere of fire to wrap around him tightly.

Regina shouted, “Now, Ottilia! Hurry up and attack!”

The church had studied the phoenix blood for years, developing numerous complementary spells with formidable power. Some were even more powerful than divine arts.

Regina and Ottilia were both lacking in some ways, thus unable to cast destructive bloodline magic individually. The phoenix’s elemental body, for example, was a magic they could only use by working together.

Ottilia looked hesitant. Bloodline magic was powerful magic that killed a thousand enemies by sacrificing eight hundred troops. She wouldn’t mind the loss since she could continue with the Holy Maiden selection after recuperating, but it was hard to accept the damage she would do to her opponent. She might hate Wayne’s damn mouth, but not him as a person. In some way, he was her first close friend.

One misstep lost them the whole game. Ottilia’s momentary hesitation cost them their best chance. By the time she made a hurried move, Wayne was already charging toward Regina.

The phoenix of fire elements could do nothing to Wayne. Wherever he went, the fire elements followed—not to attack but to defect.

The fire elements were leading the charge to join him!

The sphere of fire visibly shrank. Wayne waded through the ocean consisting of his old friends and made several explosive mana steps to reach Regina. When he saw her unleashing her mana for a power move, he unhesitantly swung his mighty fist at her.

It was human nature to appreciate beauty. Wayne couldn’t bear to ruin Regina’s pretty face, so he punched her in the chest instead, disrupting her mana and interrupting her spellcasting.

The sharp pain in her chest shot through her body, making her vision blur and almost knocking her out cold. She endured the pain with superhuman willpower, pressing her five fingers together and wrapping her hand in flames to slash at Wayne’s neck.

Bam!

Wayne grabbed her shoulders with both hands and struck her torso with his knee. With mana erupting from his feet, he switched legs to deliver a second knee strike.

The punch and two knee strikes were all made with full force; he didn’t hold back in the slightest.

Regina trembled in pain, half her body hanging limply and powerlessly as a hand clutched at Wayne’s collar. On her pale face, her eyes yet burned with fighting spirit.

Keep going. She could still fight.

“Regina, isn’t it? Remember to seek me out in Londan.”

Wayne knocked her out with a hand chop and grabbed her wrist, hurling her toward the ground in an arc. Seeing the golden figure flying toward her, Veronica caught her with a frown before tossing her aside.

Without Regina, the phoenix’s elemental form crumbled. The small burning sun fell apart.

Wordlessly, Wayne walked on air with explosive mana to make it to Ottilia. Speed, strength, reflex...

His life essence overwhelmed her in every aspect. Ottilia only had time to establish a barrier before she saw a fist obscuring her vision.