A Core Ship From The Start

Lorena was following behind Duanmu Huai, spoke timidly. At this moment, she was adorned in a black cloak, and so was Ogis next to her. As for Duanmu Huai, he marched on like a bodyguard in front of the two women. Presently, the three of them were blending in with the congregation going to the church, their appearance not attracting any particular attention.

Of course, someone was the exception.

“What else can we do? Wait until nightfall and then hop the wall?”

Duanmu Huai snorted lightly, moving towards the front of the church while surveying the congregation around him. The congregants were all bowing their heads, muttering as if in prayer. Their morose attitudes gave the impression of being among the dead.

“Is this how your congregation always prays?”

“No, everyone here is usually sincere and enthusiastic…”

Lorena was equally worried, watching those followers around her. It was clear the ghastly demeanor wasn’t normal.

Unexpectedly, there were no guards or priests or nuns in the perimeter around the church. Cloaked followers entered the church’s main entrance and turned into programmed robots each forming a procession toward different destinations. The three hadn’t anticipated this situation and for a moment, they stopped, unsure of where to go.

Then, suddenly, a voice sounded from behind them.

“Hoo-hoo, you three look very troubled. Would you like to talk about it?”

They turned to the speaker, a young nun with a smile on her face, was approaching from behind. She tenderly waved at them. She was in a plain nun’s robe, wore the black headdress of a nun. Her pure face was filled with youthful vitality, and she looked like a friendly and lovable nun.

“Welcome to this fantastical temple! Isn’t this place dreamily great?”

While speaking, the nun gestured towards them.

“Don’t hesitate, allow me, Merlot the temple counselor, to guide you.”

“……….”

Staring at the nun in front of him, Duanmu Huai furrowed his brows slightly. Her demeanor and speech were no different from a typical nun, yet her voice seemed a bit peculiar. He wasn’t sure if it was the environment, but her voice seemed to emanate from all around him, even carrying with it a strangely sweet allure which left him uncomfortable — akin to the annoying cos-player voices that were once a viral sensation online.

“We’re just here to have a look.”

Duanmu Huai stepped forward, putting Ogis and Lorena behind him.

“Also, we have some matters we wish to discuss with Mr. Eevier. Can you lead us to him?”

“Ah, are you referring to Archbishop Evile? Certainly, please follow me.”

The nun twirled around as if dancing and then headed down the corridor into the depths of the church. Duanmu Huai and the others urgently followed after her.

Under the nun’s guidance, they traversed the corridor, and then followed a spiral staircase downwards.

However……..

“Knight, Sir Knight… I feel a bit unwell……”

Trailing behind Duanmu Huai, Lorena reached out to clutch his cloak, uttering softly.

“What’s wrong? Are you ill?”

Hearing Lorena’s whisper, Duanmu Huai also lowered his voice to ask. But Lorena, seeming almost ready to break into tears, just shook her head.

“I, I don’t know, the aura here… It’s terrifying… It makes me a bit uncomfortable… And it seems really cold….”

“Cold?”

Hearing that, Duanmu Huai blinked. He looked at the data displayed on his helmet’s scanner. The temperature was within normal range, and would not have exceeded what a human could endure. But Lorena really did look ghastly pale, her lips appearing bluish, and she was even shivering a bit as she gripped her own arm.

Could she be prone to cold?

“Do you want to come in?”

Duanmu Huai contemplated for a moment, then parted his cloak. Lorena hastily nodded and hopped beneath the cloak. Ogis, after a moment of silence, also eased open Duanmu Huai’s cloak and slipped in.

“Isn’t it amazing here? After all, this church was built through the painstaking efforts of the Archbishop…”

The nun leading the way seemed oblivious of the movement behind her, and continued with her introduction with enthusiasm. However, Duanmu Huai was on high alert. He could sense that he was led deep into the temple. Normally, there would be no need for a church to dig such a level deep underground.

Well, under normal circumstances.

But if they wanted to stir up trouble, it would be another story.

Furthermore, even Duanmu Huai could sense changes in the surroundings. Although the torches on both walls remained bright, an inexplicable cold wind kept sweeping across this dark space. The torch flames shivered in the wind and the shadows around were also beginning to distort and sway – as if they were alive.

“Here we are.”

Finally, the nun stopped in front of a large bronze door. She extended her arm to push open the tightly-shut door and gestured with an inviting hand towards Duanmu Huai and his gang.

Duanmu Huai glanced at her, then walked in with Ogis and Lorena.

“Thud!”

The heavy door closed behind the three, and then, the nun’s voice echoed once again.

“Archbishop Eevier, your guests have been brought over,” she mentioned.

“Thank you, Merlot.”

What stood before Duanmu Huai and the rest was a round and spacious hall, but, dissimilar to the Temple Church Duanmu Huai had seen earlier, the walls of this place were lined with gruesome statues that didn’t seem to have any connection with deities.

However, this fell within Duanmu Huai’s expectations.

Welcome to my temple, lost lambs.”

Standing in front of Duanmu Huai was a middle-aged man with neatly combed hair, dressed in white priest’s robes, a small goatee framed his face. He welcomed Duanmu Huai, Ogis, and Lorena with a polite smile.

“I am Archbishop Eevier. What brings you here?” he asked.

When questioned by Eevier, Duanmu Huai shrugged.

“Honestly, by this point, I think following the usual procedure is meaningless. But out of respect for the plot progression, I guess I’ll ask the obvious question— why did you create all those murderous puppets to kill people in the Holy City?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Seriously, we’re this far along, and pretending to be oblivious now would just be insulting our intelligence, sir.”

Duanmu Huai silently tightened his grip on his War Hammer.

“Since you invited us here, I suppose… we don’t need to waste more time.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s words, Eevier nodded and snapped his fingers. Almost instantly, masked female puppets appeared from the shadows, surrounding the trio from all sides.

“Either way, it ends here. And I have no need to explain to the dead.”

Heh, the boss isn’t playing by the rules.

Hearing this, Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes. Isn’t it in the script for villains to reveal their plan at this very point? And now you’re keeping silent? Was this trip for nothing?

You’re lacking integrity as a boss!

Well, then, since you’re playing hardball, don’t blame me for doing the same.

Duanmu Huai tightened his grip and pressed the button.

“Boom————!”

The entire temple quaked with the ear-splitting noise of an explosion. The sudden sound made Eevier’s expression flicker. He stared at Duanmu Huai.

“What have you done?!”

“Do you think I’d tell you? Attack!”

Before his words could fully drop, Duanmu Huai wielded his War Hammer and charged toward Eevier. Simultaneously, he flapped his cloak, and hundreds of puppets appeared out of nowhere, rushing toward the Masked Girl Legion.

“Tsk…Gavi!”

Seeing Duanmu Huai charging at him, Eevier’s expression changed, and at his call, Gavi suddenly leapt out from the shadows, manipulating her giant puppet to pounce on Duanmu Huai. But Ogis and her Guardian Puppet quickly appeared, blocking Gavi’s path.

In truth, this was all part of Duanmu Huai’s predetermined plan. As soon as he detected something was off, Duanmu Huai would trigger the explosives set up around the island. This wasn’t meant to destroy the church, but to send a signal to Merlot. Upon receiving Duanmu Huai’s signal, Merlot would rush back to the temple under the pretense of “helping to put out the fire.”

Duanmu Huai was confident they would respond. After all, he did set a real fire, and if the Temple Church didn’t send help, the entire city would be at risk.

Plus, he wasn’t fighting alone.

Apart from Ogis and Lorena, Duanmu Huai could summon the Creaturess series and puppets for reinforcements. And currently, they weren’t in the main material world but within the fragments of subspace. Hence, they didn’t have to worry about overheating from spiritual energy, and Duanmu Huai could summon all the creaturess at once to maximize the output of spiritual energy.

Want to win by numbers? I ain’t scared!

As for Eevier, he clearly had not expected Duanmu Huai’s play. He initially believed he had the home advantage and his forces would be more than enough to suppress the three intruders.

But, what exactly was happening?!

Eevier looked at the unfolding scene, unable to comprehend. The temple was filled with an army of puppets, and above them, countless bizarre objects flew around, periodically emitting rays of light, aiding the puppets causing destruction all around, making a mess of his precious temple.

In the face of the densely packed puppet army, Eevier’s prized Masked Female Puppet Army was rendered useless. These specially modified masked female puppets, gifted in stealth and assassination, were no longer their usual selves. When Duanmu Huai filled the hall of the temple with summoned puppets, theirs was no place to hide or stealth in such tight space. What’s the use of stealth and hiding now?

“You…damn bastard!”

Just then, the puppet army in front of Eevier suddenly parted, and Duanmu Huai flew out from the gap, his War Hammer raised high, and shouted as he smashed down.

“You bloody bastard!”

Seeing Duanmu Huai, a furious Eevier yelled, and with it, a giant metallic hand materialized behind him, reaching out to grab Duanmu Huai!