Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

“A troublesome matter concerning the witch.” Rhodes paused slightly, his tone cold. “There’s a traitor in the empire who wants to kill us. Of course, the witch wants to kill us too.”

“I can understand killing you. Witches are nothing more than a group of people who want to take advantage of the empire to plunder. They have been quite rampant in the capital recently. No matter how hard we try to crack down on them, we have never been able to touch their core members.”

"So, you're going to the cathedral now, instead of the college you're familiar with, just for this?"

"Yes, a lot of witches have infiltrated the cathedral. We need to get rid of them."

Rhodes pointed the finger at the witch, without mentioning Lilith's desire to obtain the Celestial Bow.

Because sometimes, trying to explain something only makes things more confusing.

For Cedric, all it takes is to tell him that there are witches and demons in the cathedral, and he will rush over to hunt them with great enthusiasm—this is his most basic quality as a border knight.

"Really? How did you know?"

“Cecilia—my maid.”

“Ah…” Cedric’s voice trailed off, and he was speechless.

He's actually not a talkative person.

He hadn't seen his friends in a long time, and his excitement made him talk a lot more than he expected.

At least ten times more than usual.

Cedric picked up a coin and gently rubbed it:

“I understand. So, from now on, let me and my guards protect your operations in the cathedral. You need combat power, right?”

“My guard has five members who have been upgraded five times, which is enough to protect you.”

Thank you.

He said thank you.

But in reality, Rhodes didn't care about the guards.

Because no matter how many times the witches are upgraded five times, it's useless... Although after the last test he found that once the spatial lock of [Chaotic Slash] is used, the domain will be forcibly closed for one minute, even without using this move, his [Crown] can make all the witches who have been upgraded five times kneel down in piety.

What truly pleased him was the addition of Cedric, a powerful sixth-degree ascendant, which gave him a greater chance of success against the three sixth-degree ascendant enemies in the church.

but.

Having finished their conversation, they finally saw the silhouette of the cathedral – the Tianxing Cathedral.

Chapter 166 I will have a fierce sparring session with Rhodes.

Eleanor got off the train, but was some distance from Rhodes and the others.

She watched calmly as Rhodes and the others were picked up by Cedric and then blended into the crowd.

"So many people..."

She had never seen such a bustling scene before. Even though the wind and snow were still falling, the people in this city didn't seem to know how to avoid the wind and snow and go home to rest.

Is it because of the name of the empire?

Joy.

She trudged through the thick snow, making a soft crunching sound, her lips parted curiously like a little girl who had never seen the world before.

"How amazing. But speaking of which, Rod Chiven Lance, he actually possesses such strength?"

She placed her hand on her chin and gently stroked it, her inner passion for the fierce battle suddenly being rekindled.

After all, her purpose in coming to the capital was to challenge powerful figures from all sides and, incidentally, to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the divine sacrifice. Otherwise, for someone who is not a star god, there would be no point in vying for such a position as a divine sacrifice.

"Let's have another match later."

After saying that, she felt that the snowflakes were increasingly obscuring her vision and making her quite cold, so she turned around and randomly found a shop that looked warm and went inside.

"Ring ring—"

A crisp bell rang the moment she stepped into the shop, and a teddy bear sitting on the chair next to the counter naturally made a sound:

"Welcome to Kita Cake Shop! Would you like to buy some desserts? Or is it for a birthday?"

"There are hot drinks...wait, the doll is talking?" Elenora took a step back in fright. "The Imperial Capital, so they even have this kind of control ability? Like the Machine God?"

"No."

Suddenly, a single hair sticks out from under the counter, and the white-haired, silver-eyed girl, as if she had lost control of her limbs, awkwardly straightened her bent back and stood up.

It's Shirley, or rather—one of the Three Dragon Heads, in spy mode.

She looked calmly at Elenora:

"I was just using ventriloquism."

"Ah, ah, is that so?" Elenora nodded blankly. "You are..."

"I'm the boss. What would you like to buy?"

Do you have any hot drinks?

"This way, please." Shirley came out from behind the counter, gestured for a seat for Elenora, and handed her the menu. "Take a look, what would you like to order?"

"Hmm." Elenora took the menu, but in that instant, her fingertips accidentally touched Shirley's—

zizi——

It felt like an electric current had passed through her body, and a strange sense of disorientation arose within her.

"Um……?"

“By the way, you look familiar to me.” Shirley looked at Elenora calmly.

"Me? I also feel like I've seen you somewhere before."

"Really?" Shirley moved closer to Elenora, her delicate nose snorting like a dog's, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. "You smell like Rod."

Suddenly, it felt like her head had been hit by a hammer, leaving her dazed.

Memory, disordered, blurred, chaotic...

Xia Li frowned slightly, and her body involuntarily emitted wisps of eerie, soul-stirring energy.

Something resembling gibberish appeared on her body.

As a [chaotic soul entity], her mind is actually not quite normal most of the time.

In fact, it could be said that since her rebirth in this life, her memories have become a jumbled mess...

At least, she can't remember many things, and all her memories feel fragmented.

However, she didn't care.

Because she knew that as long as Rhodes was still there, it didn't matter whether she was reborn or dead, as long as she could wait for Rhodes.

But now, this mysterious girl has a trace of Rhodes' soul aura hidden within her.

what.

Elenora.

Shirley suddenly raised her head, as if she had retrieved the name from her memory, and immediately spoke:

“I remember now. Your name is Elenora, and what… I forget. Anyway, we should be friends, because you have Rhodes’s aura on you.”

“Yes, I am. However, I am not Rod’s friend; I just happened to run into him.”

"Really? Really?" A hint of excitement flashed in Shirley's eyes.

It turned out to be the case.

So, this "friend" is actually not familiar with Rhodes in the current timeline?

Because she could guarantee that anyone she remembered was definitely related to Rod.

She doesn't dislike this guy, so he must be Rhodes' friend, right?

In other words—this is it, right? That plot point where the relationship happens earlier after the so-called rebirth.

Since he's Rod's friend from now on, he must also be my friend.

Her guard lifted, and her eyes, no longer cold, became bright and lively.

"You will become his friend in the future."

With that, Shirley reached out and grasped Elenora's hand, then poured the chaotic memories into her mind.

This is Shirley's ability.

Some special memories are unrecognizable to her as a chaotic entity, but can be automatically extracted and the correct past scenes can be identified by the original owner of the soul who personally experienced these events.

The moment this strange wave of soul energy erupted, a flicker of confusion flashed in Elenora's eyes.

Because at this moment, a series of inexplicable, non-existent memories intruded into her mind.

They were very simple scenes.

However, in the scene, she and Rhodes are fighting each other.

Come, Elenora.

[Battle, slaughter.]

The scene was grand and terrifying, with mountains of corpses and skeletons in the background, and her eyes were filled with endless rage, her long sword like a divine weapon that could cleave the heavens and the earth.

At the same time, she was using the devastating Necromancer's ultimate technique, a special ability that she was certain she could not currently attain.

The images of the battle assaulted her soul, sending chills down her spine and causing her to break out in a cold sweat.

“Right? You’re good friends, aren’t you?” Shirley released her hand, her face gentle, and said in a light tone.

"What...is this?" Elenora stared blankly at Shirley in disbelief.

"This is the future! This is foresight."

Elena was lost in thought.

Is this a premonition?

The prophecy says that she and Rhodes will have a terrible final battle?

But if it wasn't foresight, then what was it?