A few seconds later, a group of cultivators led by Martinez and Gloria arrived at the entrance of the underground base. They were escorting seven people, the strongest among them being at the middle emperor stage. The most powerful of the group was a middle-aged man with a blonde mustache and sharp eyes. He wore armor exuding peak heaven-grade energy, golden mayor mansion’s insignia and red cape, a clear display of his status as the mayor of Arbares City.
He was accompanied by several knights, all of whom were at the king stage, a truly formidable composition. The mayor had personally co to verify the shocking news he had just received. When two mbers of the Paladin Knights had approached him with claims of a devil base near the city, his first instinct was to dismiss it as absurd.
How could the devils have created such a massive underground base, housing thousands of them, with an emperor-stage devil as their leader, all without anyone noticing? If they had managed to build such power right under his nose, it would be a humiliating blow to his face.
However, he couldn’t simply dismiss the report from the Paladin Knights, especially since the vice-captain himself had co to deliver it. With the captain of the Paladins already leading an assault on the base, he needed to see it for himself. A base of such size and strength would undoubtedly cause chaos, and the ensuing battle could easily affect the city.
He ordered the city guards and knights to secretly prepare an evacuation plan in case the Paladins’ report was true. After that, he followed the two Paladins to the location they claid to have discovered the devils’ hideout.
When he arrived with his knights, he was astonished to see that there was indeed an entrance to an underground base. However, his attention was quickly drawn to a black-haired man standing near the entrance, as if guarding it.
The mont he laid eyes on the man, an overwhelming sense of discomfort washed over him, as though he were facing sothing repulsive. He couldn’t understand why he felt this way, but his instincts as an emperor-stage cultivator warned him that this man was dangerous. The sa unease was evident in the knights behind him—they, too, felt sothing was off about the mysterious figure.
"He is with us. Don’t worry," Martinez assured the mayor and his knights.
He then turned his attention to the entrance, seeing it for the first ti. From where he stood, he could sense sothing ominous emanating from within. Glancing at the others, he spoke.
"Let’s go. They might need our help—" However, before he could finish his sentence, he sensed several presences erging from the underground. A wave of relief washed over him as he recognized familiar auras. Monts later, Aldrian and the others erged from the underground base.
But then, Martinez froze. Among them was an unfamiliar face—a strikingly beautiful woman. The sight of her left him montarily stunned, and he wasn’t the only one confused by her appearance.
The mayor of Arbares City also took notice of the woman, and in an instant, the discomfort he had felt earlier intensified. The unsettling sensation he had when looking at the black-haired man was nothing compared to what he now felt. A cold sweat ran down his forehead, yet he forced himself to suppress his unease.
To steady himself, he turned to Arthur, soone he knew personally and greeted him, hoping that the exchange would help him shake off the bad feeling.
"It’s truly a surprise to see that the investigation team from the capital was led here. How is the situation inside, Sir Arthur?"
"I’m rely following the young master and assisting him in the investigation. All the findings are thanks to his efforts and knowledge," Arthur replied, signaling toward Aldrian.
The city mayor turned his gaze to Aldrian and couldn’t help but be surprised by how young he was. He had already heard about the prophesied one— the man who cured His Holiness of his mysterious illness, strengthen the church’s holy energy and triggered the phenonon in Heavenly City. However, seeing him in person, he found it hard to believe that soone responsible for such incredible feats was still so young.
Naturally, he had no intention of getting on Aldrian’s bad side. Stepping forward with a respectful deanor, he slightly bowed in greeting.
"I have already heard of Your Eminence and the miracles you have perford. I even traveled to the capital once in hopes of eting you, but at the ti, you were still in seclusion at the Shrine of the Beginning. It is truly an honor to see you now, Your Eminence. I am Franco Mardini, the mayor of Arbares City," the mayor said.
"It is a pleasure to et you, Mayor Franco. Though our eting takes place under troubling circumstances, your involvent as the city’s leader is crucial. I had to act swiftly to prevent the devils from having ti to react, which is why I was unable to coordinate with you earlier. My apologies," Aldrian replied.
"Ah, it’s quite alright, Your Eminence. However, what about the devils? Is it true that there are thousands of them down there?" the mayor asked, glancing toward the entrance.
Aldrian suddenly took out several corpses, each one exuding a sinister devil energy. The sight made the mayor and his knights widen their eyes in shock.
From the lingering aura and remnants of energy, he could tell that these devils were at least at the king stage, even one of them is emperor stage, confirming that an underground base had indeed existed just outside the city.
"These were so of their higher-ups," Aldrian said. "All the devils inside have already been eliminated. There was also a giant summoning formation—identical to the one that appeared in Larson City. If you wish to inspect the site, there’s no danger anymore; I’ve already disabled all the trap formations."
The mayor’s eyes widened in shock before he quickly turned to his knights.
"Van, return to the mansion and bring more n. The rest of you, check inside."
"Yes, my lord," the knights responded before swiftly carrying out their orders.
Aldrian looked at Mayor Franco. "I need to discuss sothing with you. It would be best if we spoke in a more appropriate place."
"Alright, let’s go to my mansion. It will be much more comfortable there."
Aldrian glanced at the human forms of the great Peng and Phoenix.
"You two stay outside the city. Don’t wander too far, and avoid being seen."
"Yes, master."
With that, the two figures vanished, making the mayor unconsciously sigh in relief. Standing near the black-haired man had already made him uneasy, but the woman’s presence was even more suffocating.
They flew to the mayor’s mansion, and upon arrival, Mayor Franco imdiately led Aldrian and Arthur to his luxurious office, while the others remained outside. Once they were seated, and the maids had served their drinks, the mayor turned his gaze to Aldrian.
"So, Your Eminence, what is it that you wish to discuss?"
"It’s about the traitor—Cardinal Carsius."
At those words, Mayor Franco let out a weary sigh.
"The investigation team led by Cardinal Frost from Heaven’s Judgnt Order visited several tis more than a year ago. I already provided him with testimonies regarding the traitor. But if you’re asking whether I know his whereabouts, I have no idea where that traitor went," the mayor said.
"Can you explain in more detail?" Aldrian asked.
The mayor nodded. "Although I supported him within his faction and even backed him to beco the next pope—especially when we believed His Holiness could not be healed—I am, above all, a mber of the church. When news of him being hunted by the main church reached , I still had to do what needed to be done. So, I followed the will of his holiness and was prepared to detain Cardinal Carsius if he ever ca here. However, the problem is... he never once visited ."
Arthur frowned upon hearing that.
"What? But the investigation showed that Cardinal Carsius was seen walking toward your mansion," he said.
Mayor Franco sighed again.
"That’s why I’m so confused. How could soone have visited my mansion without knowing? None of my butlers, maids, or guards saw him either, which only added to my confusion. At first, we thought the investigation team had mistaken soone else for Cardinal Carsius, but after speaking with several witnesses, I had to conclude that he did, in fact, co to my mansion."
"Were you at the mansion at that ti?" Aldrian asked.
Mayor Franco shook his head. "No, I was in the capital on business. That was also when I visited the main church and attempted to et Your Eminence."
Aldrian sensed that Mayor Franco was not lying. He pondered for a mont before turning his thoughts to a few individuals within the mansion.
"Mayor Franco, can you summon these people?" Aldrian asked as he took out a piece of paper, quickly writing down several nas before handing it to the mayor.
Mayor Franco accepted the paper and, upon reading the nas, frowned slightly before looking back at Aldrian.
"Of course, Your Eminence. But these individuals are just one of my butlers, a guard, and the operator of my private teleportation portal. Why do you want to et them?"
"If we want to uncover the truth about Cardinal Carsius’s whereabouts that day, they might have the answers we need."
Mayor Franco frowned deeper, confused by Aldrian’s reasoning. It was true that these people might have so knowledge about Cardinal Carsius, but he had already questioned them, and they seed unaware of anything. However, if Aldrian was this certain, did that an they had lied to him?
"Alright, I’ll call them right away," Mayor Franco replied. He then retrieved a communication artifact from his storage ring and issued orders to summon the individuals.
A few minutes later, three n entered the room, looking confused as to why they had been called. However, their unease grew when they noticed Aldrian watching them with a smile that gave them a bad feeling.
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