Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

Rod's hand trembled slightly uncontrollably for a moment.

To prevent them from stealing the Heavenly Star Bow, they actually dispersed one-third of their forces to the church, leaving only two-thirds at the Imperial Capital Advanced Academy.

However, if it's only this level of power... it doesn't seem to be a big problem.

The Grand Pope himself was a powerful figure who had ascended seven times, so they only needed to deal with the three who had ascended six times.

"How is their progress on the fragments of the divine throne?" Rhodes asked again.

"Currently, we are still in the process of breaking the barrier, and it is expected to be lifted in about four days."

"Then, after the debunking, within about three days, you can enter the abyss to obtain the fragments of the Demon God's position."

"Of course, all of this is just a plan. It may be brought forward or delayed. The leaders certainly cannot give me a complete plan for five upgrades."

"But anyway, it will take at least five days, right?"

"Yes, at the shortest it will be at least five days, and at the latest it will not be more than ten days, because the divine sacrifice will be held in twelve days. Cecilia must obtain her divine position before the sacrifice so that it will be more conducive to her fusion of power."

“That’s enough.” Rhodes leaned back slowly on the sofa.

His first step was definitely to seize the Celestial Bow and restore Lilith to at least the level of a seventh upgrade.

After all, once Lilith recovers her strength, obtaining the fragments from the Abyss will be a piece of cake.

Since these are all traps and taboos set by Lilith herself, it will only take a few hours at most to complete the game.

The most crucial point is that now that he has already turned the first witch against him, he can turn the second, the third, or even a whole group of witches against him.

Therefore, he needs time to ferment, to reduce the number of enemies and increase the number of his teammates...

"Understood." Rhodes reached out and gently patted her shoulder. "There's one more thing I need you to do."

"Yes!"

Rhodes took a map out of his pocket, poked a hole in the capital city with his finger, and handed the map to Dolorana.

"Two days later, under the pretext of hunting Natalie, try to gather as many witches as you are on good terms with, the stronger the better. Of course, leave the witches who have been promoted to level six alone for now, and then bring them to this place."

"Father……?"

"I will give them the right path and free them from the treachery of the betrayers."

"I understand!"

"Alright, if you stay any longer, your life will be in danger. The train is about to pull into the station. Once we reach the platform, dash out and disappear, understand?"

This town is located beyond the snow-capped mountains; even if you hike to the capital, it would only take you half a day.

"Yes." Dolorana's tone became increasingly firm, and she pulled her hood up tightly.

She changed from kneeling on both knees to kneeling on one knee, placing her palm in front of her chest:

"I will certainly live up to your expectations."

"three."

"two."

"one."

【Ding--】

[The train arrives at Jenas City.]

The stop will last one minute. Passengers are requested to board in an orderly manner.

"Father, goodbye." Dolorana stood up instantly, her figure as swift as a sword.

puff-

Dolorana vanished without a trace.

She rushed out so fast that even Elenora on the other side didn't have time to react.

Elenora hadn't expected Rhodes to be so powerful; how could a witch possibly escape from his grasp?

But that's the truth... Dolorana disappeared, vanished without a trace, before the people on the train even boarded.

Chapter 164 Felicity is just a sister?

"Rhodes, holy crap, what's going on?"

Ivina's petite figure wrapped around him, her fair hands resting on his shoulders, shaking him wildly;

His bright, vermilion eyes lit up, and his face was full of excitement.

"No swearing." Rhodes gave Ivina a slightly terrifying look.

In an instant, Ivina's joyful mood froze, her waving hands stopped, and her bottom, along with the hem of her snow-white skirt, shifted to the side as if disappointed. "Oh."

"Rhodes?" Even Lilith couldn't help but ask, her heart filled with worry, "Just now, you absorbed her resentment?"

"Ah."

"you……"

Rhodes' lips curled up, his expression calm but with a hint of amusement in them, and he shook his head, saying:

"Of course I can't be a reincarnation of a demon god. Don't you know that better than I do? If I were a reincarnation of a demon god, would I have had to suffer so much in my previous life? I could have just inherited the demon god's position myself."

“That’s true.” Felicity’s soft voice rang out, her amber eyes shimmering with tears as she looked at Rhodes. “So, what exactly happened just now?”

“It’s a secret.” Rhodes rested his elbows on the chair, his hand supporting his chin, and chuckled. “A little trickery can deceive her, and it can also deceive many more witches.”

"You really haven't fallen into demonic possession?" Natalie asked uncertainly.

"If I were to fall into demonic possession, would I be able to speak normally like this? Stupid."

“Hey, I’m not stupid.” Natalie raised her hand and waved it at Rhodes as if swatting a mosquito, as if to shoo him away.

"I just had a sudden idea to use this to surprise those witches and get some information out of them."

"We can't always be the only ones playing tricks on us, without us being able to play tricks on Cecilia, can we?"

"Our goal is still clear: the first step is to seize the Heavenly Star Bow."

"Then, when we return to the Imperial Academy to retrieve the fragments, give Cecilia a big surprise... a surprise that lets her discover that all her teammates have betrayed her."

"We can even use these witches who have sided with us to find those spies, and to deal with and restore order in the capital, and kill those demonic creatures."

Rhodes spoke each word clearly and forcefully.

"Let's set aside the issue of the demon seed for now," Lilith interrupted again, "Let's talk about the ability you just used...?"

"Upgraded to a mid-level attack five times." Rhodes nodded. "The previous improvement was slight, but of course, after consuming these witches, the improvement is even greater."

"Um……"

Even Lilith was speechless.

If Rhodes in his previous life could be considered a cunning leader, then in this life, Rhodes possesses an additional, bizarre and terrifying talent besides his intellect.

It's a very clear thing.

In less than a month, it was upgraded five levels.

She had never seen anyone in the world improve so rapidly.

Or rather, Rhodes' ability to absorb demon seeds was beyond her comprehension.

She is a deity, one of the twelve gods, the pinnacle of existence in this world. If even she cannot understand something, then no one else in the entire world can.

"Rhodes, how did you do that?"

"secret."

"Do you... have a way to inherit the abilities from your previous life?" Lilith pondered for a moment before finally voicing this possibility.

"No."

"So, does that mean you were actually reborn a long time ago, and thus obtained those items in advance?"

"That's even more impossible."

“Then…” Lilith’s eyes flickered, as if she had thought of something, and she raised her head: “You, fused with multiple divine seeds?”

"?"

Rhodes' body stiffened, and his eyes met Lilith's gaze. "Humans cannot fuse multiple divine species. This is a universally acknowledged fact. Otherwise, they would become the root of desire, a demonic species."

“But you’re wrong.” Lilith shook her head. “Your sword has the aura of the Dragon God. I sensed it the first time I saw it. You can even regenerate on your own; that’s the power of the God of Life.”

"And then, this time, you also absorbed the resentment of the demon seed..."

Rod chuckled, leaning back on the sofa, his eyes turning serious:

Want to know?

"Ah."

"Um--!"

The girls all asked questions.

Even if they don't know how Rhode absorbed the demon seed, they should at least know some of the truth.

Otherwise, it would feel like being ostracized or guarded against by Rhodes...

Of course, they also understood that Rhodes didn't say anything for their own good, and that he was considering the bigger picture. So even though they knew Rhodes was acting strangely before, they never questioned him.

But today... I really can't control myself.

"I'll tell you when we get to the capital," Rhodes said with a smile.

"Huh—?" Ivina, who had been listening intently to Rhodes' words, deflated in an instant and pouted, "You bad Rhodes, why are you keeping me in suspense?"

“Let’s wait a little longer.” Rhodes shook his head, his eyes calm. “When we’re a bit stronger, that’s enough. I’ll also tell everyone, so you don’t need to worry about favoritism or anything like that.”

"Oh, this is so boring." Ivina kicked Rhodes twice with her little feet.

"Alright, alright, we should arrive in the capital in about an hour."

Rhodes pointed outside, "This city is now part of the northern city."

"We will soon see it—the most prosperous city in the North."