The magic cards I made are absolutely flawless!

If you cross the bridge, it will only take a few hours to get from the town to the city.

If you take the long detour, you will travel along rugged mountain paths and it will take about two days to reach the city.

Upon discovering that High Priest Kevin was missing and the bridge had been destroyed, the townspeople's knights quickly rushed to the city-state.

But it took two whole days to successfully convey the situation.

It took Dekan, who was sent by the church, two more days to arrive in the town.

After listening to the mayor's account, Dekan couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.

He didn't know how the Holy Church judged the seriousness of the "disappearance of the high priest" and the "damage to the bridge".

Is it too much of a disregard for this incident to send only one priest, Dekan, to investigate?

Of course, since Dekan knew the background story of the Shadow World, he was certain that something would happen later.

The Church of Sacred Rites was unaware of this crucial spoiler.

"Could you please take me to see the damaged bridge?"

"Come with me."

At Dekan's request, the mayor took Dekan to a cliff not far from the town to take a look.

Even before reaching the edge of the cliff, Dekan could sense the powerful visual impact of looking down at the hundred-meter drop.

He carefully examined the damaged bridge.

Although the broken bridge looks exactly like it was destroyed from the middle.

However, upon closer analysis, it becomes clear that the fracture did not appear to have been caused by a physical attack.

Instead, someone standing on one side of the bridge used powerful magic to destroy the entire central section of the bridge, causing it to gradually collapse.

It's as if someone wants to stop the townspeople from quickly establishing connections with the city-state.

Dekan seemed unsatisfied with observing from a distance, and took a few more steps toward the edge of the cliff until he stepped onto the very edge.

"be careful!"

The mayor wasn't worried about Dekan; he simply didn't want anything to happen to the priest in town.

However, Dekan simply wanted to confirm his favorite high-altitude terrain.

He looked down the cliff and saw only steep natural rock walls and sparse vegetation. On both sides of the cliff were narrow paths, and the center was occupied by a rushing stream.

If you accidentally fall in, you might not die, but you don't know where the river will take you.

Dekan stepped back from the edge of the cliff, looking thoughtful.

He felt that the rapids were a hindrance, so he banned terrain-based kills.

If the area below the cliff is rock, or even spikes, that would be even better.

"Can this bridge be repaired?"

Dekan looked at the mayor and asked.

"The knights we sent to the city-state also notified the bridge repair contractors, but after looking at the bridge from the other side, the contractors seem to need to come here to investigate the situation. They should arrive in town by today at the latest."

Just as the mayor was speaking, there seemed to be some movement coming from the forest on the other side of the river.

Then, Dekan and the mayor looked around and saw a large caravan of carriages appear on the other side of the cliff.

Apart from a few guards, the rest were engineers and workers, and they looked like a professional engineering team.

They brought their manpower and various materials, seemingly ready to start work at any time.

Next, the two leaders rode a small flying dragon across the cliff to the town.

"Why don't I get this kind of treatment?"

"Ha, do you think the church would specially provide you with a dragon for such a special circumstance?"

The mayor made no attempt to hide his contempt for Dekan.

The dragon belonging to the Chamber of Commerce is clearly of considerable value.

Unless there is a special purpose, it probably wouldn't be used easily.

The two people who landed from the dragon were a middle-aged man and an ordinary-looking guard.

The middle-aged man is probably the engineer who came to this side of the bridge to observe it carefully.

Furthermore, he would provide a quote based on the situation, sign a contract with the town mayor, and collect a deposit.

When the mayor saw the engineer, a rare smile appeared on his face.

He then looked at Dekan and asked:

"Priest, would it be convenient for you to leave for a moment?"

Dekan frowned beneath the mask; he had already yielded time and again.

If Cornelia were here, he would really like to tie up this mayor and take him to church to make him repent.

“The bridge is relevant to my investigation, and the engineer’s analysis of the bridge may help me deduce the truth, so please allow me to continue accompanying you.”

Dekan answered.

"Let's do it together then."

The mayor gave a barely audible hum and then gave a perfunctory reply.

"Priest, if there is anything I can do to help you, please don't hesitate to ask."

The engineers, however, were very friendly and respectful towards Dekan.

Even though this priest's appearance is a bit... bizarre, since the mayor didn't question anything, it's clear that he's a legitimate priest.

After all, no one would dare to easily impersonate a priest of the Holy Church.

Dekan noticed a fleeting look of surprise in the eyes of the guards surrounding the engineer the moment they saw him.

It seems they've realized that this [Red Mask] is a magical card product that doesn't belong to this world.

Even the slightest touch of emotion was noticed by Dekan.

Dekan was quite certain that the Guardian was a challenger.

The guards could have concealed the emotions in their eyes.

But perhaps because Dekan's current look was too outrageous, the guards couldn't keep their composure for a moment.

The engineer quickly completed the assessment of the bridge's condition and offered the mayor a price of 300 Saint Gold Coins.

The mayor decisively took out 100 Saint Gold Coins as a deposit.

Just as the engineer was preparing to return to the other side of the bridge with his guards.

"I've noticed that the old church also needs repair. Could you please come and take a look at it as well?"

Dekan suddenly asked the engineer a question.

"No problem, Priest."

The engineer responded in a friendly manner.

So, led by Dekan, the four of them went to the church together.

Beneath the mask, Dekan's smile gradually became harder to conceal.

We've gathered most of the key intelligence; it's time to make our move.

One hundred holy gold coins is a decent amount of activity funding, enough for him to comfortably advance his mission in the city-state.

Incidentally, you can also "borrow" that dragon and quickly head to the city-state to find Cornelia.

The moment everyone entered the church.

Dekan immediately closed the door and used the hypnotic gas, then held his breath and put his hand under the mask to cover his mouth and nose.

He wanted to take down the other three without them even realizing it.

however.

To Dekan's surprise, the guard also skillfully covered his mouth and nose!

even……

He also used a hypnotic gas!

The two people moved in remarkably unison.

It seems they even share the same modus operandi!

Without a doubt, the [Hypnotic Gas] in the guard's hand was also produced by Dekan.

He only ever sold this card in his hometown!

Despite the guard's disguise, Dekan already knew who he was!

153 Dekan's Surface Brothers

The two covered their mouths and noses, looking at each other with disdain.

The guard then showed a relieved expression and shook his head helplessly.

His appearance changed.

He seemed to have shed his disguise and transformed into a young man.

"It's you. I didn't expect to run into you here."

The slightly familiar voice did not surprise Dekan.

Dekan guessed that this guy was Morion as soon as he saw the [hypnotic gas].

"You unscrupulous businessman, you're still alive, you're really lucky."

Dekan said without any politeness.

"Same to you, unscrupulous card makers in border towns."

The young man with pear-colored hair wore his usual casual smile.