Chapter 164: Arresting the Bishop

Having eaten and drunk his fill, Lando patted his belly with satisfaction, left the Trancy family estate with an unperturbed expression, and decided that since Ragna City was not far away and the evening was still early, he would go and finish off Bridget right away.

A moment later, Lando arrived at the side of Ragna City, bypassing the guards' line of sight to slip directly into the city.

Suddenly, a trace of palpitation welled up in Lando's heart, which was immediately neutralized by the power of his Mind Palace.

Lando quickly retreated, and it was only when he reached a spot close to the city wall that the palpitation in his soul slowly faded away.

This left Lando somewhat perplexed. After a brief probe, he discovered that this seemed to be a grand formation—a formation that enveloped almost the entire Ragna City.

The function of the formation was to absorb and collect the power of emotions. This reminded Lando of that evil ritual, but the efficacy of the formation here was remarkably gentle. Living in such an environment for a long time would presumably dampen all emotions, whether positive or negative, such as joy, excitement, happiness, anger, sadness, and hatred.

Huh? Wouldn't that leave only a peaceful state of mind? This is practically the ultimate setup for longevity and wellness!

Protected by the Mind Palace, the power of the formation was unable to affect him. Once he confirmed his own safety, Lando ceased to worry.

Ragna City did not have a curfew system. Although it was already late, the taverns and restaurants remained lively, yet there was no shouting, bickering, or cursing. Even the vagrants and beggars huddled together for warmth in the corners of the streets all wore placid expressions.

Continuing further toward the center of the city, the lights became increasingly brilliant. In the affluent district, half of the households were hosting banquets, while the other half had gone out to attend them. Even ordinary families were indulging their senses in their own ways and enjoying life, while patrolling guards occasionally stopped by the roadside to chat quite casually, showing a complete lack of vigilance, as if this relaxed atmosphere was the city's traditional way of life.

Lando suddenly felt that a city like this might not be so bad after all.

The City Lord's Mansion was located right in the center of the city and was not overly sprawling. The City Lord was a member of the Trancy family, but he was currently absent from the mansion, perhaps having returned to the family estate to attend the eldest son's grand birthday celebration.

However, Lando no longer needed to question anyone. As he approached the vicinity of the City Lord's Mansion, he sensed that the core of the formation enveloping almost the entire city was located right within the mansion, and there was also a Legendary-level aura nearby, which should be the person Lando was looking for.

Gently pulling at the void, a layer of veil covered Lando, and the power of his Mind Palace completely masked his aura and figure. Little Gray on his shoulder seemed to understand the current situation and stopped throwing tantrums, the light in its eyes beginning to condense as it clearly grew serious.

When Lando reached the artificial rockery in the center of the small lake within the City Lord's Mansion, he sensed that the core node of the formation was directly beneath it, and that the Legendary powerhouse was down there as well.

Although the person below was most likely Bridget, just to be safe, Lando decided not to give the target any time to react or sound the alarm, aiming to resolve the battle instantaneously if possible.

The power of the Mind Palace slowly spread downward.

Bridget was an ancestral figure of the Trancy family, a veteran Legendary powerhouse, and an old monster who had lived for hundreds of years.

The secret chamber where he currently resided was not large—about five meters square—and was cast from some kind of strange metal. All six sides were engraved with bizarre incantations, and at the junctions of these incantations, rays of light shot out toward the center of the chamber.

At the center of the chamber, connected by countless rays of light, was a colorless, translucent sphere of light the size of a human head, which continuously rippled like a pool of water. Floating at the very center of the light sphere was a mist that seemed both completely transparent and yet possessed countless colors, no larger than an infant's fist.

Directly beneath the light sphere stood several bizarre statues, from which wisps of black aura representing despair and resentment drifted upward, blending into the sphere of light above.

Bridget had been staying in the secret chamber beneath the City Lord's Mansion for nearly ten years, but he showed not the slightest sign of impatience; rather, he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Today, as usual, he was meditating on the divine object before him. One had to understand that the reason his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds, growing more in the past decade than in the previous century, was entirely due to this divine object before his eyes, which only deepened his gratitude and awe toward the gods.

Suddenly, a strange force invaded the secret chamber. Because the power of the Mind Palace bore an extreme similarity to the energy absorbed by the surrounding formation, Bridget, who was entirely engrossed in his cultivation, failed to notice it. Without any warning, the stars shifted and the universe inverted.

By the time Bridget perceived that his connection to the formation had been severed, it was already too late. He opened his eyes in shocked uncertainty, only to find himself standing in the middle of a vast grassland.

Lando exchanged glances with Little Gray. Neither of them expected everything to go so unexpectedly smoothly. Little Gray let out a bored snort and crawled back onto Lando's shoulder to sleep. By the time Lando leisurely stepped into the Mind Palace, Bridget had already been beaten to the ground, covered in wounds. The Skeletal Skeleton King and the Lich stood guard to his left and right, while traces of dragon breath from a corpse dragon lingered on the ground, though the creature itself was nowhere to be seen.

Lando stepped forward to inspect the scene briefly and found that Bridget had lost consciousness.

With a slight wave of his hand, numerous tiny chains materialized out of the void, burrowed into Bridget's body, and sealed off all his power. A mental spike was then flicked out, jolting the latter awake.

When Bridget regained consciousness from his faint and recalled what had happened before blacking out, he immediately tried to struggle, only to feel that the power within his body had turned into a pool of stagnant water, refusing to respond no matter how he urged it. His expression inevitably turned somewhat ugly.

He raised his head and saw a skeletal king and a lich—two Legendary undead—standing on either side of a young man. The youth was staring right at him with a smile, seemingly waiting for him to figure out his current predicament.

"You are Bridget Trancy, am I correct?"

"...... I am." With the other party holding the knife and he himself being the fish on the chopping board, Bridget wisely chose not to resist and answered directly.

"Very well, tell me about the situation of your 'Dark Cult', Lord Bishop Bridget!"

Bridget's pupils contracted sharply. He hadn't expected the youth before him to be targeting the 'Dark Cult'. Even within the Trancy family, only a handful of people knew about the 'Dark Cult'. Furthermore, the subordinates he had recruited were meticulously handpicked and could not possibly betray him. Outside of them, the only ones who knew his identity as a 'Dark Cult' bishop were others of the exact same rank within the cult. For a moment, he couldn't determine whether the other party was bluffing or had genuinely acquired certain information.

The shock lasted only for an instant. The next moment, Bridget asked with a blank expression, "What 'Dark Cult'? What bishop? What are you talking about?"

Lando said with a look of disdain, "Oh, putting on an acting performance for me, are you? Even though you've lived a few hundred years longer than me, when it comes to acting, you're still far behind!"