In the name of the true god

Chapter 116 Prison Break (Part 1)

He stood by and watched Edmund's execution with indifference.

Is there another plan, or has some irreconcilable conflict arisen between the two sides?

If it's the former, what kind of scheme would make them disband the thousands of involved wizards and resonance sorcerers they had painstakingly gathered? And miss the best opportunity to confront the Holy Church head-on?

If it is the latter, could Edmund's estrangement from these key members be the root cause of the organization's dissolution?

With such limited information, Jude found it extremely difficult to piece together a plausible truth.

"—Mr. Monroe." Before closing the partition, he gave Vincent Monroe his final instructions, "No matter what happens in the future, please do not reveal anything about our affairs."

"I will." Vincent Monroe himself was living up to this promise.

I wish you all the best in the future.

After offering his heartfelt blessings, Jude closed the partition.

7:50 a.m.

Jude returned to his apartment on Hearthstone Street.

Chairman Frost sat in the living room, having already fed the golden retriever and the Siamese kitten: "Anything unusual at the prison today?"

"Is that right?"

"No." Jude hung his coat on the hanger, then sat down opposite Frost. "And you? Have you found the exit of the tunnel?"

"We've made some progress." Guild Master Frost pointed to the floor plan of the Royal Capital's heavy prison spread out on the table. "I think that since someone deliberately left this tunnel for the imprisoned wizards and resonance sorcerers to escape, the exit won't be too close to the prison. And if the exit is too far from the prison, such a large-scale project will inevitably attract attention."

Jude nodded slightly, quite agreeing with Chairman Frost's analysis.

It is highly likely that the tunnel was completed in 437 AD, coinciding with the overall renovation of the capital's heavy prison.

So the prison was under the cover of a massive renovation project.

What about outside the prison?

Without cover, how can a long tunnel be dug silently, how can the tunnel's exit be kept from suspicion, and how can it remain open for the next ten or twenty years?

"So—" Chairman Frost concluded, "the tunnel won't be very long, and its exit should be connected to Montorus's sewer system."

"The sewers, huh? —" Jude thought it made perfect sense.

The royal capital of Montorus had its extensive and interconnected sewer system built decades ago. Relying on this...

By installing a network, the amount of work and the risks involved in digging tunnels will be greatly reduced.

At the same time, as long as the Royal City Hall regularly maintains the sewers, this escape route will always be unobstructed, with thousands of exits for them to choose from.

"From what I understand, Montorus's sewer system is very well-developed, and the walls inside the sewers are clearly marked with the corresponding street names and house numbers on the ground. Allen can use these signs to guide people accurately to the pre-arranged meeting point."

"Where is the rendezvous point?"

"The prisoners only get half a loaf of bread a day, and their stamina is quite limited. Making them trek long distances through the sewers is unrealistic. Even if they could manage to cross a dozen kilometers, it would take them several hours. We can't waste those crucial hours in the sewers." Chairman Frost tapped another suburban map on the table heavily with his index finger. "Golden Sands Street, located three kilometers south of the Royal Capital Heavy Prison. It has less foot traffic and is closer to the edge of the capital. I plan to set up the rendezvous point here—"

The previous rescue plan had stalled because they couldn't think of a way to take down several priests and hundreds of armed prison guards head-on and break through the encirclement with minimal losses.

Things are different now.

The tunnel helped them avoid all the problems, allowing Chairman Frost to fully utilize his efficiency. Starting at 7:30 tonight, he will lead the members of the Descendants of God disguised as plumbers, voluntarily opening manhole covers and entering the sewers under the guise of unclogging pipes.

If things go smoothly on Allen's side, he should be able to poison the two priests around 8 o'clock, and at the latest reach the area directly below Jinsha Street through the sewers by 9:30.

Then, around 10 o'clock, Chairman Frost led his men back to the ground and continued southward.

Midnight is the designated time for emptying the sewage bins in the heretical prison ward. The prison will definitely notice something amiss then, prompting a rapid search of the tunnel exits and a complete lockdown of the entire area.

"—Two hours is enough time for us to cover our forty-two companions as they leave the capital." Guild Master Frost explained the entire plan to Jude. "What do you think?"

"No problem." Jude was practically clapping his hands in approval.

"No, there are still problems." Chairman Frost was quite meticulous. "We still can't be sure if the tunnel is working properly, or if it's connected to the sewers. If it can't be used, Allen will have to proceed as planned."

Although he had already used the law of contact to confirm that the tunnel was open, Jude still pretended to be serious:

That----"

"If things go according to plan, Allen should be released from prison around 8 PM. If we haven't seen him by 9 PM, it means he's either trapped in prison or is leading a group to escape through the tunnel," said Chairman Frost. "In short—when you see Allen tonight, you must remind him that if the tunnel becomes impassable, he must leave immediately so we can hurry back from Sands Street and wait to meet our comrades who have broken through. The tunnel is feasible, but it's not connected to the sewers, so let him improvise. Once he's out of prison, he must contact me as quickly as possible."

"clear."

"There's one more thing." President Frost's index finger slid from Sands Street further south. "With the Church's methods, they'll quickly realize we were heading south. Even with forty-two companions in extremely poor physical condition, we could still be overtaken by them."

"Yes," Jude said, sharing the same concern. "And you'll have fifty or sixty people with you, making you a huge target."

"Therefore, my next plan is to leave the capital together from the south, and then split into two groups. One group, led by Allen and forty-two companions, will turn east and find a place to lie in ambush. The other group, led by me, will continue southward, making more noise to distract the priests. Once they have recovered and shaken off the church's pursuit, we will meet up at the border of Florence and Alsani."

The plan is very comprehensive.

The forty-two imprisoned wizards and resonance sorcerers were so malnourished that even walking was a problem, let alone fighting.

Instead of rushing to escape with them, it would be more reliable to give them a chance to rest and recuperate, turning them from a "burden" into an asset.

only----

The "forty-two heretics" have escaped, and the Holy Church will certainly dispatch a large number of priests to hunt them down.

President Frost had to maintain control over the Holy Church for a long time while ensuring his own safety, which was no different from playing with fire.

"This is the entire plan we've formulated so far." Chairman Frost nodded to himself. "You pick out the key points and find an opportunity to tell Allen tonight. I'll talk to him personally. At this critical juncture, you should continue to keep your distance from him."

"Understood—" Jude was somewhat worried about Chairman Frost's safety, "Are you confident you can hold off the Church's pursuit?"

"Don't worry. The most difficult part of the entire rescue plan is still getting out of prison. Once we're out, everything will be fine." Chairman Frost calmly put away the two maps. "Also, we're parting ways today, and who knows when we'll see each other again. Be very careful on your own, and proceed with caution in everything you do."

Jude's feelings were very complicated.

In his initial plan, he intended to delay the rescue operation until the year of God's descent.

In this way, they can save as many of their kind as possible, and also have mutual support with the God's Descent Society in the capital.

Unfortunately, plans always seem to go awry.

Lacking the exact location of the Penitentiary Society, and with his former companions nowhere to be found, Edmund is now alone in the capital. Perhaps for a considerable period of time, all he can do is silently improve his Contact Law and Similarity Law ranks.

but----

This isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Just as most of life's troubles stem from poverty, the various problems we face now will naturally be resolved once we become strong enough.

Therefore, instead of busying yourself with miscellaneous things when your abilities are limited, and in the end not only do your abilities not improve, but you also don't do your job well, it's better to become stronger first and truly be able to stand on your own!

After sharing the plan with Jude and giving him some brief instructions, Chairman Frost went on to deploy the operation.

7:20 PM.

Snowflakes, neither too big nor too small, began to fall from the sky.

Jude arrived at the capital's heavy prison at the usual time.

Inside the temporary rest room for prison guards in the special prison ward building.

"Wow, why did you buy so many cups of coffee? That's thoughtful of you, Alan." The vain Colin saw that Alan had brought three cups of coffee and reached out to take them.

"..." Allen quickly stopped him, "This is for the priest."

"For the priests?" Colin was taken aback. "You gambled money on them and bought them coffee. What were you thinking?"

"We need to maintain good relations with them," Allen explained with a smile.

Colin scoffed and sat back down on the bench. "Seriously, you don't need to fawn over them. The more you try, the less they respect you. Think about it, how much money have you spent trying to please them over the past three years? And what have you gotten in return? Not a single benefit?"

Seeing Allen so humble, Captain Foster couldn't help but advise, "Allen, you're not one of them."

Jude chimed in, "Yeah, what's so great about being a priest?"

Allen just kept smiling foolishly, without arguing.

A few minutes later, the eldest brother Killian and the poet Anders arrived one after the other. Seeing that Allen was unmoved by reason, Colin angrily told them both about buying coffee. However, the eldest brother Killian never interfered in other people's private affairs, and Anders could barely speak properly, let alone preach any grand principles.

7:40.

"Hey?" Allen, who was waiting by the phone, answered with a big smile as soon as it rang. "Yes, it's me, Allen. Okay, okay, I'll be right there!"

"Clatter".

The phone hangs up.

Allen grabbed his still-warm coffee and walked towards the guards' temporary break room, turning back to greet Captain Foster: "Captain, the priest wants me to play cards, I'll head over now."

Captain Foster gave a curt "hmm".

As Allen walked past him, Jude refrained from greeting him or glancing at him. Aside from the stirring in his heart, his expression remained almost unchanged.

After all, it should come.

Success or failure hinges on this moment.

But regardless of the outcome, he will have to focus his energy on dealing with the routine interrogations in prison and at the church.

"Bang!"

The door to the lounge was closed.

Colin, who was seething with anger, immediately spoke up: "Captain, we really have to do something about this."

"How can we manage him? He's an adult, spending his own money." Captain Foster felt helpless.

"But—I—I really feel so choked up seeing his money go to waste—" Colin was very upset and took his anger out on Anders, who was the easiest to bully. "Look at you, you read so many books every day, can't you even say a few words?"

"I, I, I think, this, this, this kind of thing, thing, thing..." "Fine, fine, go recite your poem." Colin waved his hand impatiently.

Jude didn't participate; he simply held the newspaper in his hand. As time passed, his thoughts seemed to cross walls, steps, and gates, and he saw Allen in the heretical prison, engaging in a final, desperate struggle with the priests.

Actually.

At the same time.

Allen hadn't even passed through the first gate leading to the heresy prison.

The prison guard on duty saw the cups of coffee in his hand, frowned, and blocked his way: "Don't you know the rules? You can't bring in items that aren't related to your work."

"I know," Allen explained with a smile, "These are for the priests."

"For the priest?" The prison guard's expression softened.

As prison guards who had long been stationed at the gates of the heretical prison, they were all too familiar with the priests' behavior.

The prison guards were conscientious and dared not slack off in the slightest.

These priests, burdened with heavy responsibilities, smoked, drank, and played cards; they were just short of hiring an orchestra to entertain the heretics in the prison.

Oh shit----

I almost let a fourth-tier entanglement wizard escape just a few days ago, which led to the deaths of several colleagues.

And now he actually has the nerve to drink coffee!

The prison guard cursed under his breath in annoyance, but dared not openly offend him.

"Give it to me."

"."

The prison guard took the coffee from Allen, held it up to the light to check for any contraband, and then coldly handed it back: "Go in."

"Thank you." Allen breathed a sigh of relief and passed through several gates to enter the heresy prison.

"You've arrived?" The bearded priest sat at the table, casually tossing his burnt-out cigar on the ground and crushing it out with his foot.

"Good evening!" Alan jogged over eagerly, presenting the coffee with both hands. "I noticed you two were yawning a lot last night, so I specially bought a few cups of coffee today."

"Then win them all! The most important thing is to have fun!" Allen nodded and bowed, offering another cup to the fat priest.

The fat priest sniffed it with a look of disdain: "This stuff is terribly bitter, I don't understand why anyone would like to drink it."

Alan knew the stout priest didn't drink coffee, so he said seriously, "This is a new shop that opened near my house. They say they use imported coffee beans, and just one cup costs two gold coins."

"Two gold coins a cup?! That's so expensive?"

"Are these coffee beans made of gold?"

The two priests clicked their tongues slightly, their interest piqued by Alan's words.

Immediately, after exchanging glances, they simultaneously lifted the lids, tilted their heads back, and drank it with curiosity.

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