291: Chapter 285 The kitten girl said again—

On a wide dirt road, Lia sat crouched on a brand-new two-wheeled flatbed cart, while the Pope, like a beast of burden, sprinted ahead, pulling the cart.

"Can you pull any faster?" Lia urged, still dissatisfied, even though the Pope's legs were moving so fast they were just a blur.

He squeezed every last bit of strength into his legs while muttering under his breath: "Even the plow oxen in the villages at the foot of the Holy Mountain aren't as..."

"What did you say? Speak up!" Lia didn't hear him clearly and shouted against the gale.

"Uh, I said I'm already going as fast as I can."

"Then why did it only take you a short while to find me?"

"Saintess, the True Word Spell is ineffective against you, so I could only run."

Lia was angry when she heard this and really wanted to conjure a whip to lash him with, just to make the cart go faster.

Perhaps sensing her hostile gaze on his back, the Pope quickly explained: "You know that the True Word Spell used by us believers is strongly suppressed in your presence; otherwise, I would have already blessed myself with space-attribute magic."

Seeing he had done his best, Lia pursed her lips and complained: "I'm worried we'll be late. There are too many of them, and Brother Mu won't be able to fight them all off. If we arrive at the Capital even a step late, maybe... Hmph! If anything happens to Brother Mu, I'll punish you by making you guard his tomb!"

"Huh?" The Pope turned his head without stopping his feet. "Why me?"

"Because you're running too slow."

"I—"

Meeting Lia's gloomy gaze, the Pope wisely chose to shut up and switched topics: "Saintess, after saving Zhang Mu, you must return to the Holy Mountain."

"What for?"

"To undergo the trial and succeed to the position of Pope."

"I'm not going."

She replied, then looked up at the luminous figure floating in the distant sky, which had grown significantly larger, and muttered to herself: "He shouldn't care about the Saul Continent, so why did he insist on dropping me down here?"

Lia truly found it hard to understand.

You have to understand that as an area where mortals live, its space is not tough; to a god, it could even be called fragile.

Ensuring the Saul Continent remained intact while stuffing her in consumed a massive amount of energy, and it also required the assistance of various wonders—such as that Lucky Crystal that Zhang Mu had crafted into a necklace pendant.

Going through all this trouble just to control the mortals of this continent?

Lia's memories regarding the Divine Kingdom were quite fragmented, but even from the sporadic, broken images, she could infer that the gods absolutely did not care about humans.

Nor anything derived from humans.

If one had to describe how gods view humans, it would probably be like a child viewing their collection of toys.

Can you say they don't like them?

The answer is no, otherwise why would they "collect" them?

But to say they are deeply loved, or even cherished, that would be a stretch.

Because... toys eventually get played out.

When the novelty fades and boredom sets in, the end result is basically being swept into a corner of the storage room.

The master's shadow leaves the room, sweeping over the toys; the door crack closes, blocking the last sliver of light, and in the dimness, as time flows by, a thick layer of dust eventually settles upon them.

This is actually considered a good ending.

After all, if the house is cramped, no one wants a few useless toys taking up space in an already narrow living area.

Then...

Lia kneaded her cat ears, deep questions arising in her heart—did he really bring me here just for the position of Pope?

Surely not?

After thinking for a long time without result, the Little Cat Girl became a bit irritable.

"You." She said with a straight face.

The Pope slowly turned his head, the bewilderment in his eyes fully reflecting his inner confusion—what did I do now?

After pondering for a while without finding a proper excuse, Lia forced out: "When we set off for the Capital, why did you step with your right foot first?!"

After saying this, she put her hands on her hips, feeling extremely smug.

The things Brother Mu taught really are useful!

The Pope could tell, she was just picking a fight...

What could he do? He was also very desperate!

Think about it: he was the dignified Lord Pope, the only Legendary on the Saul Continent, the only believer of the gods on the continent—how many people could he not afford to offend?

Who knew that on a rare trip out, he would encounter nothing but people he couldn't afford to offend.

How pathetic!

Lia seemed to sense something and wrinkled her little face: "You seem dissatisfied?"

"How could I be? Serving my God is an honor!"

Can't mess with her...

The Pope lowered his head in humiliation, turning his inner grief and indignation into strength, pulling the cart so hard the wooden wheels almost flew off.

Feeling the headwind suddenly howling, Lia narrowed her eyes unconsciously, feeling quite pleased that her urging had taken effect.

After a while, the Little Cat Girl didn't know what she thought of, and asked in a muffled voice: "Tell me, what should Brother Mu do in the future?"

"Do about what?"

"About the siege from the neighboring countries, didn't you say that?"

"Oh, that. Just run, find a remote village where the church hasn't established a chapel and live under an assumed name."

"What if he's accidentally discovered?"

"Change to another similar village."

"Isn't there any other way?"

"There is."

"Really?" A pair of cat ears stood straight up.

"If you go to the Holy Mountain, pass the trial, reclaim your power, and then succeed as Pope, on that day, you would only need to give a casual command, and no one on the continent would dare provoke Zhang Mu again; they would even treat him as the most honored guest."

Hearing this, Lia's straight back slumped again: "But... I want to be with Brother Mu."

"Once you become the Pop—"

"I don't want to wait even a single day."

The Pope was very helpless: "Saintess, originally you didn't have to wait a single day. My God had prepared everything for you, but you... the wonder crystal is in Zhang Mu's hands, you didn't get the True Word Spell, and the Transformation Technique and Shadow Technique are also gone, now who knows where they've been discarded in the bushes of some mountain range..."

"My memories were still sealed at that time."

"It's such a pity."

"Not a pity at all."

"Sorry Saintess, I don't understand."

"I would find it abnormal if you could understand."

Seeming to be looked down upon, although it wasn't the first time, the Pope still stubbornly tried to regain some face: "I understand what you mean, I'm saying, does that kind of low-level emotion have such precious value?"

"That's why I said, you don't..." Halfway through, Lia seemed to remember something, her face darkened, "It has nothing to do with you, run faster!"

The Pope accelerated his legs again, muttering in his heart.

I wonder if my God's trial path has descended upon the Holy Mountain yet.

Hurry up, quickly go back and push this master onto the Pope's throne, and then I can be liberated.

Pope?

Damn it, not even a dog would do it!

He suddenly shuddered all over, thinking that his complaining tone felt very familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before...

Soon he remembered a certain man who also liked to curse like this.

Associating this with the intimate relationship between the Saintess and him, the Pope couldn't help but ask: "Saintess, are you really not going back to the Holy Mountain?"

This time, Lia did not decisively reject him, but remained silent for a long time.

"If I succeed as Pope, can I really help Brother Mu?"

"Yes."

"I see."

Seeing that things had taken a turn, the Pope was invigorated.

Although he wasn't short on time, even if he had to wait ten thousand years, it would be fine, but where outside is as comfortable as the Holy Mountain?

Naturally, the sooner he went back, the better.

Thinking of this, the Pope no longer resisted going to the Capital, seeing the man who was the root cause of his suffering, and used all his strength to stride forward.

About an hour later, the silhouette of the city appeared on the other side of the horizon.

...

"A... Mr. Zhang Mu, you actually lied!"

In the center of the Capital, atop a pile of ruins.

Danielson narrowly dodged a giant rock falling from the sky, staring dumbfounded at the majestic figure stretching out in the smoke and dust, pointing his finger and cursing: "Stras Falling Spirit, Master-level magic, and you still say you're not a Magister?! I trusted you so much!"

Zhang Mu ordered the Fallen Spirit to attack freely, then said happily: "When did I ever say I don't lie?"

The twenty or so people besieging him were all stunned; it seems so, indeed.

Coming back to their senses, they hurriedly continued their attacks.

The Great Knight swung his weapon to hack at the Magic Shield, while the magicians poured out magic with brilliant light effects.

According to common sense, even if Zhang Mu were a Magister, being ganged up on by several Professionals of the same level and a large number of those one level lower, he should have been defeated long ago.

But the reality was, after fighting for nearly an hour, Zhang Mu was like a big tree swaying in a torrential storm, tottering, but always able to stand tall.

The more they fought, the more alarmed they became; what kind of monster was this exactly?

They still couldn't sense Zhang Mu's magic fluctuations, but they had already guessed that it was the effect of some magic item that concealed his aura.

Because in several magic collisions, the shock amplitude Zhang Mu blasted out was not even quite up to a Magister's level.

Yet, this guy who was barely even a Magister had managed to single-handedly hold off over thirty Professionals of the same level.

As the battle continued, there were even casualties on their side.

Danielson cast magic with a grim face, while racking his brain to figure out what exactly he had practiced.

In the blink of an eye, an Ice Cone shot out against the crowd's magic, silently.

He caught a glimpse of it in his peripheral vision, his expression even more terrified than when he saw the Fallen Spirit appear.

Ignoring the backlash of magic overload on his body, Danielson forcibly interrupted the magic he was halfway through condensing, spat out blood, and dodged to the side.

The Ice Cone flew past his nose, piercing through the shield and chest of a Magister behind him.

Calming his pounding heart, Danielson recalled the dozen or so City Lords who had been sneak-attacked and killed by it before, and couldn't help but curse again: "This is an Ice Cone?!"

A companion moved a few steps away from Zhang Mu, recovering magic at full speed, and happened to glance down at the figure smashed into the ruins on the ground: "If my eyes aren't failing me, it's an Ice Cone."

"Your Ice Cone can pierce a Magic Shield?!"

"Uh, Danielson, I know Zhang Mu's strength is very high, but I hope you can stay a bit calmer."

"Where am I not calm?"

"I'm a Knight, how could I know Ice Cone?"

If Danielson knew a certain movie from Blue Star, he would definitely curse at this moment, "I said I kill without blinking, and you ask if my eyes are dry?"

Obviously, he couldn't have seen it, so now he could only rap his staff against the back of his head, delivering a rebuke that the companion thought was weak and powerless: "Idiot!"

This strike didn't use any magic, the Knight-class companion only felt an itch, raised his hand to scratch it, and said in a strange tone: "Damn it, I'm sure my blade hit him several times, but his body... why can't I see any wounds?"

Hearing this, Danielson was also puzzled: "And his magic, I can feel it gradually weakening, but after a while, it suddenly returns to its peak state. This phenomenon... I've only seen it in Holy-level beings."

"He is Holy-level?"

"If he were, would we still be able to talk here?"

"That makes sense."

The two retreated to a safe distance to absorb the magic in the air, their eyes fixed on Zhang Mu, who was being mobbed, trying to find the key to the problem.

If Zhang Mu knew they had run to the side just to observe his "weakness," he would only advise them not to waste their effort.

Zhang Mu was not unscathed; on the contrary, he had already resurrected three times.

The reason no one noticed was because he had ingeniously cast an illusion of himself upon himself.

Thus, in everyone's eyes, he seemed to have become a god, stabbed for ages without any visible wounds.

"Boom—"

A pure white fireball blasted back the knight hacking at him, and Zhang Mu took a moment to glance to the left.

Blova and the old man sent by the Second Prince were confronting each other from a distance.

He didn't understand why the old man hadn't attacked for so long, but since delaying was beneficial to his side, he cooperated by standing still.

Seeing the old man silent, Pestoya and Avril worked together to slaughter the City Lords; after half an hour, there weren't many City Lords left surviving.

Withdrawing his gaze, Zhang Mu felt much more assured.

As long as he had another half hour, he would be able to wear down the remaining dozen or so City Lords on his side.

Next, even if the old man made a move, with the spear formation distracting his attention, and Blova and Pestoya ganging up on him, he wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble.

The only variable at the moment.

Zhang Mu threw an Ice Cone, piercing another Magister, and pondered in his heart where the Second Prince, who had gone missing since the chaos began, had gone.

Initially, they were allies, that was true, but after he spoke, it was open to debate.

Was the Second Prince standing on the side of the City Lords, or was he neutral?

Zhang Mu felt there were only two possibilities; as for helping him, that was directly ruled out.

As if to respond to him, the Second Prince suddenly ran over from the nearby ruins, followed by over a thousand High-level Professionals.

He glanced over.

No wonder I wondered where he ran off to, so he was gathering the legions.

These High-level Knights and High-level Magicians... did he urgently pull out all the High-level Professionals from the entire legion?

The Second Prince led everyone and arrived in an instant, coming to a spot a thousand meters away.

He drew the sword at his waist and pointed it into the air: "Listen to my order, attack the City Lords!"

Zhang Mu and the enemies were all stunned for a moment.

The Second Prince looked up and locked eyes with Zhang Mu, suddenly laughing: "Don't underestimate any heir of the Ice and Snow King."

Danielson looked left and right, sighing as he said to his companion: "Sure enough, we are going to die in the Capital."

"Whatever, die early or die late, it's all..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he was gripped by an invisible rule, his whole body stiffening, unable to move no matter how much his mind urged him to.

In his fixed line of sight, several City Lords were just like him, maintaining various postures, motionless.

What happened?

A god?

Everyone inevitably thought of the luminous figure in the sky.

However, the True Word that rang in their ears denied their speculation.

This voice was not as stiff or mechanical as when the luminous figure spoke earlier, as if the owner were a machine without emotional fluctuations.

It was the voice of a little girl, crisp and childish; if one savored it carefully, it even had a bit of a well-behaved and cute flavor.

What did the little girl say?

The City Lords, who regained control of their bodies, recalled it.

"I say, Lake prohibits the use of force!"