My setting is above yours!

Chapter 87 Your Excellency, Where Do You Want to Go? (4k3)

However, no one knew anything about the Gray Mist Eyes; Ron was completely unaware of it and was still pondering his disguise.

'If I remember correctly, Idrila said before that the gravekeepers of the [Society of Truth] and the [Church of the Lost] have a pretty good relationship, which should put Kurt at ease...'

He looked at Kurt in front of him, and fearing that he was still wary, added gently:

“You are an extraordinary being in the [Truth] sequence... You must be a friend from the Academy, right?”

"Members of the Truth Society have come to this place, presumably not to find a place to stay... What did the Society send you here to do?"
"As a gravedigger of the [Church of the Lost]... perhaps I can help you."

Upon hearing Ron's words, Kurt's face froze.

He subconsciously reached for the letter hidden in his pocket, recalling Chairman Elvis's instructions.

'So, the thing that had to be done... was finally discovered?'

The secret mission that he had been hiding since he was imprisoned, which he had been preparing to complete when the opportunity arose, was so easily exposed.

He closed his eyes, feeling the stinging pain in his ankle, and gradually calmed himself down.

'Calm down, Kurt... calm down. This is a superhuman from the Church of the Righteous God. I never even dreamed of having such an assistant before coming here...'

'However, a superhuman from the [Church of the Lost]...why not Father Harvey?'

'Has the influence of the Fire Chasing Ritual reached the point where Father Harvey has to request reinforcements from the higher church authorities...?'

Thinking about this, Kurt felt a mix of emotions, unable to say whether it was good or bad.

The good news is that a transcendent being of a clearly high rank has intervened in the [Ritual of Pursuit of Fire], which might even save Idrila and the other innocent transcendents.

The sad thing is, if the problem is really that serious that Father Harvey has to request support from a higher-order transcendent being, then who knows what might be hidden in the Scorched Earth Sanctuary...

But having something is better than having nothing. If any problems arise, they'll be the big shots' problem!
He was just a nobody who had been innocently caught up in the vortex of events after accepting a mission to deliver a message for the academy... All he wanted was to survive.

Although he knew that Ron's help was not a windfall and would inevitably come at a price—

But no matter who it is, as long as he is given a chance, a chance to escape from prison... he will not hesitate to hand over everything he knows!
A chance to survive... even if it costs you everything, you must seize it!
With that thought in mind, Kurt made up his mind and revealed his identity without reservation, explaining the mission the Society of Truth had assigned him to deliver the message...

However, this time, unlike when Ron actually met Kurt before, Kurt talked about many of his observations and analyses regarding the defensive structure of the Scorched Earth Sanctuary.

He even talked about many of the Sequence Nine transcendents he knew who, like him, had been unjustly imprisoned in the Limb Prison...

He advised Ron that, if possible, it would be best to rescue all these extraordinary beings and then, with the strength of a group, break through the guards of the Scorched Earth Sanctuary and escape.

He even presented a complete plan, seemingly devised long ago, for escaping the prison.

He has been unable to implement it simply because he lacks the strength.

Hearing this, Ron couldn't help but feel a little strange:
"Is it because I didn't disguise myself as an angel this time that Kurt doesn't trust my fighting abilities enough, which is why he's going to go into all this detail?"

'Thinking back, the reason he didn't say anything last time was probably because he felt that for an angel, no amount of guarding was meaningful; brute force was all that mattered...'

Upon closer examination, Kurt's plan wasn't actually that problematic. If Ron were truly a normal gravedigger from the Church of the Lost, doing so would be entirely in his best interest and the optimal choice.

But... that being said, Ron was not prepared to proceed according to Kurt's plan.

While the Fire Riders of the Scorched Earth Sanctuary were changing shifts, Ron knew that rescuing all the innocent superhumans from the Limb Prison would indeed provide considerable assistance, but he knew that was only a facade.

According to my memory of the timeline, it won't be long before it's time for morning prayers...

At that time, Father Sull would personally bring the Sequence 4 containment objects to the Scorched Earth Sanctuary. These Sequence 9 superhumans would only be food for Father Sull.

Although this man will be an enemy of the Silver Knight in the future, Ron doesn't think he can get along with Father Sull when they first meet.

After all... he must have had his own agenda in imprisoning so many innocent superhumans.

Ron's rescue of these superhumans from prison will clearly cross Father Sue's line... He won't let this go easily.

However, the sacrifice of these innocent people in the "Rite of Fire Chase" is only the opinion of President Elvis, and it is unclear what Father Sull's true motives are...

Is it truly a ritual to sacrifice them, a "fire-chasing ceremony," or are they confused by the "trick" of the fire, or do they have other motives?
With the [Trickery] Seed present, Ron had no way of discerning from appearances who were unaffected normal people and who were pawns influenced by the [Trickery] Seed.

But Ron wasn't going to investigate this matter this time.

His time and the number of times he can start over are infinite.

If he wanted to investigate which of these people could be trusted and which could not, he could have done so in a dedicated session of "Tracing the Shadows of Time".

But this time... he wasn't going to waste his time on these things.

Because he had a simple and immediate solution that could perhaps help him resolve everything that was happening in Evening Bell City very quickly.

'Foggy City... If I hadn't rescued Idrila, and hadn't encountered Charles the gatekeeper with his quill and notebook, and had simply hidden myself in the shadows and quietly escaped the Scorched Earth Sanctuary...'

'Wouldn't that give me a chance to escape Evening Bell City directly, then immediately seek help from Fog City and summon a true high-sequence superhuman to handle everything that happened in Evening Bell City?'

—That's right, the most immediate solution Ron has come up with is to report it!

Since the Silver Knight was using power at least exceeding that of a Sequence Six to bully lower-sequence kids and was using the [Trickery] Flame to thrash the weak, it's no wonder Ron reported him directly to the higher church.

Although this matter would involve some risk, Ron knew that as long as he released the information about the [Trick] Seed in Fog City...

Regardless of what torture and imprisonment Ron might suffer for this, and regardless of whether they truly believe the "Trick" spark is currently lingering in Evening Bell City, they will at least be inclined to investigate by various means.

If they were to see the Silver Knight and the [Trickery] Seed...

Ron believed that when the time came, all the superhumans interested in the [Trickery] Seed would flock to Evening Bell City, igniting a battle for control that belonged only to high-sequence superhumans, and unleashing a bloodbath!
Taking advantage of the chaos in Evening Bell City, Ron was able to fish in troubled waters and use this opportunity to find out the Silver Knight's purpose and, incidentally, to understand his strength...

In any case, as long as he gets the intelligence, the price paid by [Flowing Light and Tracing Shadow] will all be false, and Ron can start over and make new attempts based on that intelligence.

'Hmm... let's do it that way!'

'It's just one attempt at [Light and Shadow]... If it fails, we'll just start over and try a different approach next time.'

With that thought in mind, Ron finalized his plan and looked at Kurt with pity in his eyes:
"Hmm... your information is quite helpful to me. I think you shouldn't be here."

He casually lit the necromantic fire in Kurt's cage, and with another wave of his hand, gave the order for the husk to tear the cage that imprisoned Kurt to shreds, and also to remove Kurt's bronze shackles and throw them aside.

As he watched the cage being torn apart and the shackles being removed, Kurt was momentarily dazed, then a look of wild joy spread across his face.

At that moment, looking at the decaying face of the corpse before him, he suddenly felt that it had some beauty, and he was extremely grateful to it...

But he still knew who had helped him. "Thank you, thank you... sir, I am so grateful to you..."

He forced himself to stand up, looking at Ron with gratitude, only to see a serious expression on Ron's face:

"It was just a small favor, don't worry about it. Let's get down to business..."

"When I came from the Fog City after receiving Father Harvey's report, I did not expect that this matter was so serious and involved so many superhumans."

As he said this, Ron sighed:
"To be able to capture so many Sequence 9s and have the assistance of so many Fire Knights, Father Suer's strength has probably surpassed that of an ordinary Sequence 7..."

“I’m not going to take any risks… Mr. Kurt, why don’t you come with me?”

At this point, Ron naturally revealed his purpose:

"When President Elvis goes to other cities to participate in academic salons, there are probably very few members of the Fog City Society who can ask for help from the Fog City Society. You are one of them."

"I'm going to take you away from here and back to Chongqing for help..."

"That's perfect, it also puts you there—you're only a Sequence Nine, you shouldn't get involved in this kind of thing..."

Upon hearing this, Kurt froze for a moment.

His pupils were clouded with gray mist, but he quickly returned to normal, his face beaming with joy.

—Why wouldn't Kurt want a chance to escape the vortex of the incident directly and be completely safe?

For a nobody like him, survival is the best option...

Ron's words resonated deeply with him!

"Of course! Sir, why don't we leave now?"

Although he was clearly very weak, the prospect of a peaceful retreat to the foggy city was right in front of him. Kurt suddenly stood up with renewed vigor, as if he had gained a lot of energy and couldn't wait to leave and complete his goal.

He immediately started walking out of the cell, but inexplicably tripped and fell to the ground...

As luck would have it, a piece of gravel landed right where he had fallen, piercing his chest and abdomen with a bloody gash, seemingly puncturing a major artery.

It's a coincidence, but it makes perfect sense.

'This guy... he's so weak he'll stumble and fall when he walks?'

Looking at the blood-soaked scene, Ron couldn't help but feel a sense of doubt.

But upon closer reflection, I felt relieved...

Kurt was just a Sequence Nine transcendent, and he had been imprisoned in the Limb Prison. Just by looking at him, you could see that he was physically weak and spiritually depleted, so it was only natural that he fell down.

If it were just a normal [Death] Sequence Seven transcendent, the "medium" without any treatment would probably be completely helpless and at a loss by now.

Fortunately, Ron has plenty of tricks up his sleeve...

Seeing Kurt turn pale and his lips tremble so much that he couldn't even cry out in pain, Ron didn't hesitate and immediately switched to [Vector Manipulation].

While durability is extremely important, it won't use up much durability just to stop Kurt's bleeding...

Ron temporarily stopped Kurt's bleeding, but if he maintained this state of hemostasis, it wouldn't even take half a day to deplete one percent of the durability of [Vector Manipulation].

Soon, Kurt's face regained its color.

Unbeknownst to Ron, the invisible gray mist in Kurt's pupils became increasingly solid.

He paused for a moment, then looked at Ron with gratitude and awe, as if he was about to launch into another round of flattery and boasting.

But Ron waved his hand, too lazy to waste time listening to Kurt's boasting, and swallowed his words.

Soon, thanks to Kurt's familiarity with the prison and the extraordinary abilities of a Sequence Seven "medium," the two stealthily made their way through the prison, attempting to escape...

But on the way, Kurt seemed to be too weak and kept having various minor mishaps, such as accidentally falling down or almost knocking over something fragile and making a sound.

If it weren't for Ron's keen observation and his constant attention to Kurt after his fall, the Fire Riders might have discovered him long ago.

Therefore, even though they eventually escaped the Scorched Earth Sanctuary, they wasted a lot of time in the process and almost failed to leave before morning prayers, as Father Sue blocked their way at the door...

But the result is always good.

Standing on the outskirts of Evening Bell City, Ron couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile.

'Once you reach the Fog City... it's like birds soaring into the blue sky, fish swimming in the vast ocean, free from all constraints!'

'A mere Silver Knight? Wait till I report him to the Mist City! When the Allied Forces of the True God Church are on their way, let's see if you'll still be laughing then!'

Thinking this to himself, Ron waved his hand smugly and called to Kurt beside him:

"Let's go, Mr. Kurt, don't waste time. Fog City is waiting for us..."

But after he finished speaking, Kurt, who had been quite obsequious and responsive before, remained silent for a long time without saying a word.

Ron was slightly taken aback, and a bad feeling immediately arose in his heart.

He turned his head and saw that Kurt's pupils were now completely shrouded in a thick gray mist, staring at him with an extremely stiff and rigid expression. The gray mist swirled in his pupils, revealing a scrutinizing look.

At the same time, behind Ron, there was a sudden, crisp sound of armor plates clashing and footsteps...

'This sound, this situation...?'

'Could it be that……'

Ron's bad premonition grew stronger. He turned his head and saw a young knight wearing bright silver armor and holding a spear as tall as a person. He looked neither male nor female and walked out from somewhere.

The bad premonition came true.

"Your Mightiness."

At this moment, the Silver Knight watched with great interest as Ron, whom he was meeting for the first time, looked at him with the utmost suspicion, and slowly raised the spear in his hand:

"Where do you want to go?"

(End of this chapter)