Viscount Lampard sat in the carriage listening to the conversation of the trio from Team Beautiful Heart.
He felt something was off from every angle.
Weren't you here to defend Tristin City?
Why does it feel like you're just tourists here for sightseeing?
Furthermore, you’re planning to take advantage of the festive activities to join in the excitement?
The lord wanted to say something but held back.
The fame of Dekan's team had been heard by him before.
But regardless of how Dekan and Cornelia acted arrogantly in the Demon Academy and the Blizzard Mountain Villa, that was all in the Shadow Worlds.
This was the real world.
Do you still not feel any tension?
The combat between the real world and the Shadow Worlds could be said to be vastly different.
If faced with a major crisis, the real world would be far more dangerous than the Shadow Worlds.
The most obvious point being the Shadow World has reasonable mechanisms for protection, something that does not exist in the real world.
In addition to providing certain intelligence indications, the strength of enemies in the Shadow Worlds were also within a certain range.
It was all to ensure that challengers cannot fall into a dead end from the beginning.
Even the final formidable enemies in the Shadow World can be roughly inferred by the tier of the Shadow Worlds.
At worst, even if things turned bad, challengers can survive until the time limit ends and be transported back to the real world, thereby resolving the crisis.
Moreover, people like Dekan can completely let go of moral burdens in certain Shadow Worlds and do as they please.
But in the real world, Dekan can't completely unleash himself.
Many of his actions in the Shadow World would directly land him in prison in the real world. For example, the great things he did at the Demon Academy.
"Dekan, are you confident?" Viscount Lampard hesitated for a long time, and still somewhat worriedly asked Dekan.
The more critical the moment, the more he realized that his state was at odds with the other three. He felt more nervous and occasionally had strong palpitations.
Although the situation seemed good for now, it was completely possible that the Resurgence Church was about to reveal its true trump card.
If, at that time, an unstoppable disaster is imminent, everything will rapidly turn for the worse in an instant.
It was possible that not only the Ice Princess will be captured. The entire city of Tristin will also be shattered into pieces.
If there was a chance for a city massacre, the Resurgence Church probably wouldn't let it pass.
After all, Dekan and Viscount Lampard's actions must have thoroughly angered the Resurgence Church.
Watching the lord's troubled expression, Dekan chuckled silently.
"Don't worry, as long as it's not the Pope of the Resurgence Church who shows up, I should be able to handle it somehow." He patted the lord's shoulder.
Dekan still had a high opinion of the lord.
This reliable lord had helped him a lot.
Most importantly, the lord's attitude towards Dekan made him feel very comfortable. He liked people who made him feel relieved and at ease the most.
So, Dekan decided to temporarily establish a connection with the lord.
He was not an arrogant person. He was well aware of the difference between the real world and the Shadow World.
Should something major happen in the real world, he might encounter enemies several tiers higher than himself and get killed at any moment.
After all, in a storyline where the protagonist is at tier 3, it's illogical for enemies to conveniently show up in groups of tier 4 to provide experience.
That kind of brain-dead situation only appears in some novels.
Dekan had long wanted to criticize many novels he had read in his past life.
Regardless of whether the antagonist team had a clear understanding of the threat level to the protagonist, even if the protagonist randomly encountered enemies, they shouldn't always conveniently encounter enemies just slightly higher in tier than themselves, right?
From the perspective of statistics and probability theory, it was completely unreasonable.
So, Dekan was always prepared to face enemies several tiers higher than himself.
Even if one day he returned to his dorm and found a Cardinal of the Resurgence Church sitting on his couch, he wouldn't be too surprised.
If it really happened, whether he could win the fight or not, at least Dekan had seriously considered how to fight.
Opportunities are always left for well-prepared experienced schemers.
However, at the moment, Dekan believed that the situation in Tristin City wouldn't be too bad.
The Resurgence Church’s Pope must have been subject to certain restrictions and couldn't personally intervene.
Otherwise, there would be no need for elaborate planning, and the elite Resurgence Church members wouldn't need to cause trouble. He could have come directly to capture the Ice Princess.
Based on the information obtained from the interrogation, the main force sent by the Resurgence Church this time was just a trusted aide of the Cardinals.
In other words, the enemy's highest combat power this time was probably at tier 7. The Cardinals couldn't even come to personally to deal with the Ice Princess.
"Just trust our team of professionals." Dekan said.
"I believe in your combat capabilities. Following you, I feel extremely at ease. But what worries me are the citizens who cannot resist destructive attacks." Viscount Lampard lowered his head with some helplessness.
As a lord, he had too many things to care about.
He knew that Dekan's combat capabilities were difficult to measure by tier.
After all, Dekan's unique system allowed him to cause powerful control effects that disregarded tier differences as long as he could execute a coordinated set of moves.
What the lord feared the most were the limitless means of the Resurgence Church.
"Don't worry, civilians won't be under much threat." Dekan shrugged, explaining quite casually. "If I'm not mistaken, the Resurgence Church is likely planning to use their elite forces of tiers 5 and 6 combatants to attack Tristin City’s key faculties in one night."
"For example, assaulting the Lord's mansion, the magic energy station, kidnapping students from Tristin Academy as hostages, directly blowing up the prison, and so on."
"Then, they might threaten the Ice Princess, putting her in a situation where she can't fight back."
"After that, they’ll create a period where the Tristin City's knight order and security forces can't come to support the Ice Princess."
"In the end, the enemy's main force will try to defeat the Ice Princess under these ideal conditions and take her away."
"But now, we've successfully dealt with the elite Resurgence Church members. So, whether the Ice Princess is safe or not, you don't need to worry too much about the civilians’ side."
"Their follow-up measures probably involve preparing countermeasure cards against the Ice Princess. They likely don't have the resources to harm the civilians further."
Dekan explained leisurely. As an expert, this was how he judged the Resurgence Church's operational strategy.
The lord listened in amazement.
What you're saying makes perfect sense. How does it feel like you've personally seen the Resurgence Church's plan?
...
Tristin Grand Cathedral.
In the spacious cathedral, only one graceful nun sat.
Sunlight penetrated the church's glass, refracting a faint glow that illuminated her surroundings as bright as day.
She sat in an inconspicuous position, palms pressed together, like a devout believer in prayer.
However, she seemed to sense something, and her body trembled slightly.
Gradually finding it difficult to maintain composure, she clenched her teeth and her expression gradually became distorted.
She had just used scouting spells to investigate the situation outside.
The entire Tristin City had turned into a hell for the Resurgence Church!
The masses were hunting down church members??!
This absurd scene, which wouldn't even appear in the Shadow Worlds, made her momentarily doubt if there was a problem with her scouting spells.
"Hah... hah..."
She placed her hand on her chest; Dekan's sinister plan made her somewhat breathless with anger.
Utter humiliation!
Especially for her, the commanding officer leading this operation!
She had originally considered avoiding Dekan. Unexpectedly, this guy actively threw himself into the fire and even successfully disrupted their plans.
"Dekan, you'll regret this!"
Soon, she adjusted her state.
Shadows wrapped around her and, when they dispersed, she had transformed into a different appearance.
A black leather armor covered with scale-like steel shone with a cold metallic luster in the sunlight. A hint of coldness appeared in her eyes, as if she could freeze a person's soul.
She was Isabel, the trusted aide sent by the Cardinals.
In the original plan, she had absolute confidence that, without interference, she could use a set of countermeasure cards to defeat the Ice Princess.
However, now there was a variable, and she wouldn't have the chance to go one-on-one with the Ice Princess.
Fortunately, this unexpected situation was still within their tolerance.
Even if those elites were being hunted down and restricted within the city, it wouldn't change the fate of the Ice Princess being captured!
The Church had a foolproof plan and preparations so thorough that Dekan couldn't imagine.
Isabel had even prepared several countermeasure cards targeting Dekan.
If Dekan insisted on meddling further, she would not hesitate to deal with this fool who didn't know his place. But now, the most crucial thing was to report the current situation to the Cardinal in charge.
So, Isabel activated a spell card.
[Super Long-range Communication Magic]
[Category: Spell Card]
[Rarity: Purple Rare]
[Tier: 6]
[Effect: Enables super long-distance communication without the need for a terminal. Communication consumes a significant amount of mana, and the farther the distance, the greater the mana consumption.]
[Note: Be your best self, I can.]
Isabel: "Cardinal, Dekan managed to eliminate our elite forces hidden in Tristin City and has gradually increased the difficulty of our activities in the city. I need your support so as to capture the Ice Princess as soon as possible."
The other end of the communication seemed a bit noisy, but soon a voice came through:
"Alright, support will arrive soon. Get ready to take action."
After saying that, the other party cut off the communication.
