Chapter 168: Recruitment of a Captive

The figure in the black cloak gazed at the fully matured Seed of the Demon God at the center of the secret chamber, a look of satisfaction crossing his face. His doubts about whether to include the "Bridger" before him on the purge list began to waver.

According to his previous plan, he intended to eliminate this person immediately after securing the Seed of the Demon God. This was to prevent any betrayal of the "Dark Cult" before a new Grand Archruler emerged, as past experience indicated that more than a decade typically passed between his own death and the birth of a new Grand Archruler.

However, the situation had changed. The hidden greed previously sensed in this person had vanished, replaced by peace and deference. If he could successfully convert this individual into a true believer of the "Dark Cult," given the target's strength as a legendary powerhouse and the Toransi family's influence in the northern part of the empire, it would be of paramount importance to the uniquely situated "Dark Cult."

Just as the cloaked figure was deep in thought and reached out to take the Seed of the Demon God,

"Crack!"

A crisp snap echoed from beneath his feet.

The secret chamber, forged entirely from solid steel, had actually had a corner crushed by his step?!

As the sound reverberated, it was as if a series of hidden mechanisms had been triggered. An invisible wave swept across the area, the environment of the secret chamber instantly vanished, and the cloaked figure found himself standing in a gray, hazy space.

At that moment, Rando also dropped his disguise and appeared alongside Claire, who had been waiting in the gray space beforehand. They flanked the cloaked figure from front and back, forming a pincer movement.

This gray space was embedded with the infamous Anti-Magic Domain, which exerted an extreme suppressive effect on professions like sorcerers and mages that excelled at harnessing external elemental forces.

"Hum!"

A second invisible ripple swept across the space. The expression of the cloaked figure, who had still been brimming with confidence, finally changed. He clearly sensed that the divine endowment force within him—previously as obedient as his own limbs—had suddenly gone silent, plunging into a deep slumber as it ignored every attempt he made to activate it, refusing to budge even an inch.

The second formation had been activated. It was equally renowned: the Anti-Divinity Domain. While it could not suppress true deities, it exerted a massive suppression over priests, chosen ones, favored of the gods, and descendants of divinities.

Claire calculated silently for a moment, then said with a smile, "I didn't expect two formations to be enough to solve this. And here I was, just in case, preparing six formations waiting for you to step into!"

Being wealthy meant being willfully extravagant!

"See, Rando? I told you long ago that the essence of this world is right here; it's practically impossible for a presence surpassing the legendary tier to appear," Claire said to Rando with a look of I-predicted-this-all-along.

*Hmph, the timid look you had when setting up those formations one by one was far more adorable than your arrogant expression right now.*

"Snap!" Claire clicked his fingers, activating the third formation. Transparent gelatin emerged from the void, wrapping around the cloaked figure's body and limbs, leaving only his head exposed, making him resemble an insect trapped inside a piece of amber.

Rando silently noted that he had learned a valuable lesson from Claire's approach of leaving the opponent absolutely no chance even after victory was securely in hand. He would definitely do the same when he got rich in the future!

Claire unleashed a wave of death energy, intending to shatter the hood shrouding the cloaked figure's head and reveal his true face. Instead, the hood merely flickered slightly and easily neutralized the energy. Claire's smile stiffened, and the atmosphere instantly turned somewhat awkward.

"Hah! I didn't expect your cloak to be quite a treasure."

Claire strode forward and directly pulled off the hood, revealing a face that took both Rando and Claire by surprise.

"You are... an atavistic awakener?!"

The cloaked figure turned out to be the absolute apex existence among the awakener clans of the Dead Corners—an atavistic awakener.

Claire said in amazement, "You're people of the Imperial Court?"

Before the cloaked figure could reply, Rando asked in confusion, "Why do you say that?"

"According to my research, although everyone in the Dead Corner clans possesses the conditions for awakening, the only ones capable of true atavistic awakening are the ruling bloodline of the Imperial Court and the major noble families who intermarry with them."

"That's because atavistic awakening requires a specific factor, one possessed only by the topmost tier of the Dead Corner clans. Ordinary commoners, and even ordinary nobles, simply do not meet these conditions."

*It works like that?!*

"Good thing I didn't disguise myself as an atavistic awakener when I first came to this world, otherwise my cover would have been blown for sure."

Claire teased, "Perhaps your cover wouldn't have been blown. Who knows, you might have just been mistaken for some long-lost descendant of a major noble family!"

Rando: "..."

"Alright, enough idle chatter. Care to explain?" Rando interrupted the banter, directing the last sentence at the cloaked figure.

"I was once a person of the Imperial Court, but now the Lord of the Imperial Court and I are enemies. However, in their eyes, I ought to be a dead man."

Rando and Claire exchanged a glance, not expecting to unearth such juicy gossip.

Before the two could press further, the cloaked figure continued on his own, "Not only did I undergo atavistic awakening, but I am also a natural atavistic awakener—a rarity even within the ruling lineage of the Imperial Court. According to the original trajectory, I should have been the one to become this generation's Lord of the Imperial Court."

"Next comes nothing more than the clichéd plot: the dear brother I trusted most pushed me into the abyss with his own hands just for the position of the Lord of the Imperial Court."

"Fortunately, on the verge of my demise, I received the illumination of my god's radiance."

It truly was a cliché tale of high-society grievances and feuds. What genuinely surprised the two was that the cloaked figure was cooperating to this extent.

"Since you two ambushed me here, you must have a considerable understanding of the 'Dark Cult.' What are your thoughts on my god?"

A question mark slowly floated above the heads of both Rando and Claire: '?'

Seeing the puzzlement on their faces, the cloaked figure bluntly laid it out: "If I'm not mistaken, you two are outsiders, right? Coming to this world, you are undoubtedly looking to reap benefits. As long as you are willing to serve my god, unimaginable rewards will surely be yours. What do you say?"

Is it really appropriate for you, a prisoner awaiting trial, to say something like that to us?

Claire probed tentatively, "When you speak of unimaginable rewards, what specifically do you mean?"

"Everything, because my god is omnipotent!"

The corners of Rando's twitching mouth betrayed his strong urge to debate whether his god could create a "stone so heavy he couldn't lift it," but he dared not, fearing that opening such a topic would drag out at least fifty thousand words of filler from the author!

"You expect people to help you based on empty promises? Even mercenaries demand a deposit first, don't they?"

"You can rest assured completely. My god belongs to the orderly alignment and will strictly fulfill his promises. Furthermore, once you join us, you can freely utilize the influence of the 'Dark Cult' to carve out benefits for yourselves—this must have been your original goal all along, wasn't it? You must realize the 'Dark Cult' is far more complex than what you've seen so far."

Rando and Claire exchanged a calm, inscrutable glance.

Claire spoke with a hint of feigned reverence, "What a truly magnificent deity indeed! My brother and I have deeply admired the divine beings since childhood. I wonder if we might have the opportunity to pay our respects?"