Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 522 As expected, a saintly figure is the most annoying no matter where she is.

“So hard”

The kitten, which had been waiting outside the door, whimpered and tilted its head as it spoke to Black Charcoal.
"Meow?"

"You're saying that all the tough, manly people surrendered?"

Aowu stroked his chin and nodded thoughtfully.

"That seems to be the case. No wonder we always run into tough guys; we never see anyone surrendering."

The door to the small building was pushed open, and Li Xia was the first to walk out. He looked at the gloomy sky in the distance, where a patch of sky appeared particularly dark.

That was the final destination of this trip: Edmunds.

"if you can."

Sander's deep voice came from beside him. This short, stocky man looked like a strong warrior, but in reality, he was an excellent mechanic who had focused all his energy on intelligence.

"Please stay a little longer, I will do my best to prepare more things for you!"

Li Xia nodded and watched as Sande ran towards his workshop with his head down.

"Actually, Uncle Sanders is very capable; he can create many, many interesting things."

Those things were very useful, but unfortunately, since the destruction of the Mechanicus, Uncle Sander has been confined to the camp.

Iris's voice rang out from behind, tinged with regret.

"why?"

"Because the suppression of the mechanical heart is gone, the corruption will also affect the uncle's mechanical creations."

The more intricate and sophisticated a creation is, the faster it decays; it grows flesh and blood and begins to have its own thoughts.

Li Xia and the three little ones, who were standing nearby, felt that something was wrong as they listened.

Why does it feel so strangely familiar?
Just a short while later, Sander rushed over again and handed a heavy backpack to Iris.

"You know how to use it, so there shouldn't be any problems. If you find anything wrong, just throw it away immediately."

Iris took the backpack, opened it curiously, and peered inside:

"This is... wait, Uncle Sander, you've finished the simplification?"

The more sophisticated the machinery, the more likely it is to grow flesh and blood and undergo mutations in the dark and corrupted area. The only way to prevent corruption is to simplify the structure of the machinery without simplifying its function.

In this back-to-basics design, every step of simplification requires tremendous effort.

Sander devoted all his energy to this.

"Yes, only part of it is finished."

He was silent for a moment, then patted Iris on the shoulder:

"Remember to submit your user experience report when you get back; it's my responsibility as your assistant!"

"It's the end of the world, why be so sentimental? Just wish for peace, don't beat around the bush."

Aowu secretly chattered with its second and third crickets, then shook its head and sighed.

"Sigh, men."

Cats and dogs wholeheartedly agree.

"We're almost ready here too, and we can set off anytime."

Having changed into their new clothes, Fafnir and Priest Victor also emerged from the room carrying a bag.

In an instant, everyone's gaze turned to Li Xia, and these gazes seemed to carry an unusually heavy weight, causing his back to hunch involuntarily.

It was as if it carried the weight of the entire world, or as if the world was making its final cry, sending its last bit of strength to its side.

This is the whole world, everything.

The forces that were finally able to stand up and resist were all here.

Li Xia's back slowly opened up and straightened up again, as if she had gotten used to this heavy weight.

His gaze slowly swept across everyone's faces, as if answering them or answering some being.

"Let's go! Wait for our return."

The magic vehicle drove along the abandoned road, occasionally undulating slightly due to the potholes in the surface.

But this was already an extremely comfortable journey, at least we were still in the 'clean zone'.

There are no monsters. Perhaps some small animals have been corrupted and mutated, but they are still weak and pitiful.

"Once we get to the Thorn Forest, the magic vehicle will be unusable, and we'll have to walk."

Iris, who was driving, shouted:

"The magic-powered vehicle is too sophisticated. The last one had an accident not far from leaving the thorny forest."

Uncle Sand asked me if I had added powder to the Magic Car, and then I realized I had forgotten, but the car just kept running as if it didn't need any powder.

Later, when we went to check, we found that the core of the magic vehicle had grown blood vessels, and it was beating continuously like a heart.

Fafner and Victor both shook their heads, clearly aware of the matter.

"Snapped!"

Victor raised his remaining left hand and snapped his fingers. The noise from the bumpy ride of the magic vehicle immediately disappeared, and the surroundings became as quiet as a still room.

"Silence spell, a very useful little spell."

Victor patiently explained, his expression somewhat serious as he said:

"While we have this last bit of peace, we need to come up with a rough plan."

Xia, you've fought Collins head-on. How much weaker do you think you are compared to him?

Collins was originally a 'lower-level god' powerhouse, and one of the most outstanding among them.

Judging from the fact that one's strength will leap forward after corruption, Collins is now at least at the top level of 'God's Side'.

Both Victor and the Archbishop believed that the current corrupt Collins had definitely surpassed the four bishops of the Church of the Night, second only to the fallen Archbishop Simmons.

"As for strength."

Li Xia pondered for a moment, then slowly said:
"Let's split it 30-50."

He originally wanted to say 3:7, with himself at 7 and Collins at 3, which was already a very dangerous number, because this kind of strength comparison could basically be described as evenly matched.

Even the weaker side has a good chance of winning, because Li Xia himself has fought many battles like this.

I have three points, and the other side has seven.

However, saying 37% is a bit too risky and could lead Victor and Fafner to make a misjudgment.

Therefore, it was wise to be cautious and chose a relatively safe bet of 50/50.

"Evenly matched?"

Victor was taken aback. He had always thought the strength comparison was 3 to 7, with Collins at 7 and Li Xia at 3.

While the Bewildered are top-tier combatants, they have one major problem: memory loss, meaning they often fight based on instinct.

Their strength would naturally be much weaker. After pondering for a while, Victor quietly changed the strength to 4-6, Li Xia 4, Collins 6.

“If that’s the case, I think we can start with Edmunds’s satellite cities.”

Fafner had quietly taken out a rather old-looking map from his backpack. What was remarkable was that the map was quite detailed, complete with a scale bar and contour lines.

"This is the last map exploration before nightfall. After darkness falls, the development of the entire world will essentially come to a standstill."

So even though this map is a bit old, it's still very useful.

Victor slid his left index finger across the map and tapped the bottom right corner:

"We are currently here, in the former Kingdom of Dawn Province, while the Church of the Night is located in—"

He then pointed to a marker for another city in the distance:

"Emmondes, the original capital, is about six hundred miles away."

Li Xia nodded. "Chili" is a unit of measurement unique to this world. One chili is approximately equal to 2.5 kilometers, which means that the two sides are more than 1500 kilometers apart.

That's already considered a very long distance; in the modern world, that distance would be enough to span most of China.

"Edmons once had several satellite cities, which were settlements that gradually formed around people who could not afford to build a home in the capital."

Later, it was transformed into a city with a very high population density, and due to poverty and other reasons, the largest number of people there were religious.

Therefore, the Church of the Night has sizable strongholds in all four satellite cities, and the four bishops are also scattered throughout these cities, serving both as a reward and as the outermost line of defense.

A howling sound suddenly broke in:
"These bishops can't possibly be unconnected to Simmons, can they? If we attack one, won't the others know?"

Victor glanced at Awoo, and even the well-informed priest was surprised by Awoo's existence.

Even before the Dark Ages, the Dragonborn were few in number, and this type of Dragonborn was unlike any recorded before.

It's clearly a special species, not to mention it can talk.

This thought only briefly crossed Victor's mind before he was immediately preoccupied with more important matters.

“That’s right, Simmons and his four bishops do have some kind of connection, perhaps even closer than we think.”

Fafner, who had been silent all along, suddenly opened his eyes. His gray eyes held an emptiness, and he murmured:
"Eight hundred and seventy-one warriors left records—I dragged Simmons into the Light-Extinguishing Array, which blocked his senses, yet I still managed to pinpoint his location precisely."

I suspect that the four bishops and Simmons could share the same senses!
Simmons was badly injured! But he recovered quickly, and the same injuries appeared on the four bishops. I suspect they have something like a life link, which needs further verification.

After surrounding one of the four bishops, Simmons and the other three bishops immediately rushed over. During the process, they did not find that the bishop who was surrounding them was sending messages or engaging in any other activities.

The space has also been sealed off, raising suspicions that Simmons and the four bishops have a spiritual connection that cannot be prevented by conventional methods.

"

Fafner quickly summarized the intelligence he had recorded, every word of which was the result of the sacrifices of former warriors of the Burning Heart Cult.

Ultimately, it was summed up in a short sentence that Fafner remembered forever.

Li Xia listened to this extremely valuable information: Fafner suffers from Alzheimer's disease and often falls into a daze, forgetting things that happened not long ago.

But he never forgot any of the soldiers; his dementia was more a result of Fafner having endured too many heavy stories.

The image created by the instinctive act of escape.

"This is the intelligence we obtained with great effort. We've been trying to find a solution for all these years."

Victor held up one finger and said seriously:
"Half. The methods we've developed so far can at most guarantee that you can take down two bishops."

Simmons will definitely find out after you kill the second bishop.

At that time.

Victor pursed his lips and said in a low voice:
“I, Fafner Iris, will do everything in my power to hold off those two bishops for you. As for Simmons, you'll have to figure that out yourself.”

Although I can't guarantee how long I can hold them off, but...

He exhaled and said firmly and resolutely:
"They must be stepping over our corpses!"

Li Xia stared at the map, lost in thought. If what Victor said was true, the four bishops were indeed much weaker than Collins.
That might allow for a quick kill. The unique characteristic of this player is that they can amplify the gap between themselves and weaker enemies, ultimately resulting in a crushing victory.

And Victor can guarantee that he won't be discovered when he kills the first one.

Wait a moment——

Li Xia suddenly froze, and at the same time, Aowu, who was also stunned, opened his mouth:

"That----"

Aowu immediately shut his mouth and let the boss speak. Li Xia continued:

"Could we restrain the bishops before killing them, and then kill them all at once once we have them all under control?"

Wouldn't that avoid the risk?

"control???"

Victor looked at Li Xia as if he were a monster; it was the first time he had ever heard of the idea of ​​controlling the mutants.

No, it's not that no one has tried to control or even manipulate the mutants before, but all those who tried have died.

and
Victor recalled the four bishops who were like monsters during the final battle. They weren't at the level of God, but their fighting power was definitely stronger than that of 'below God'.

Being able to defeat such a monster is already quite an achievement.
He shook his head, taking the statement as just another effect of the bewildered person's amnesia.

Extreme self-confidence.

Although they didn't receive a reply, Li Xia and Aowu exchanged a glance and understood each other's thoughts.

That means this idea might be feasible, but if it can't be implemented, it's a matter of capability!
If we can truly crush them, then we must control them!

"Besides that, there is another uncontrollable variable—"

Victor quickly put his previous words out of his mind. His thinking was simple: if a real fight broke out, such unrealistic ideas would just remain just that – ideas.

"That's the Holy Mother! She's the one who suddenly appeared during the final battle."

Unlike Simmons and the four bishops, we had already tested them many times, and we knew almost nothing about the Virgin Mary.

Fafner nodded silently and said slowly:
"There is indeed no record of the Virgin Mary's abilities or speculations. According to information left by others, the Virgin Mary seemed to simply stand there, and the warriors in the distance fell to the ground one after another."

He peacefully faced his death.

"Ability unknown, potential unknown, strength unknown."

"If everything goes smoothly, with Simmons and the two bishops as our team, we might have a slim chance of winning if we fight with everything we have."

But with the addition of the Virgin Mary.”

Victor shook his head. This was why his friend, the Judgment Knight Ken, had been so pessimistic back at the camp.

They were clearly bewildered souls who had survived the torch-passing ceremony and gained a new life.

But that battle shattered all their confidence, plunging them into extreme pessimism.
Holy Mother!

Li Xia frowned. This was indeed a troublesome fellow. Two monsters stronger than Collins, plus one of whom had no information yet.

The pressure on oneself can become so great that it's hard to bear. Indeed, no matter where you are, those called "saints" are always the most troublesome and annoying people.
Just then, the magic-powered vehicle suddenly stopped, and Iris released the steering wheel, turned around, and shouted:

"We've arrived at the Thorn Forest!"

------------------

1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

Sigh, Little Carp's kindergarten suddenly changed its homeroom teacher, and the parents were furious. They went and made a scene all afternoon. I have a headache.

(End of this chapter)