<h4>Chapter 354: It’s a Masquerade!</h4>


    In an atmosphere so heavy that it could freeze one’s blood, many figures suddenly strode out of the shadows. They wore saintly white robes that looked immacte under the moonlight, and their haughtiness was fully expressed through their postures.


    At this critical moment, they made an appearance.


    The Saints Convocation.


    Roel was bbergasted by the sudden entrance of these evil cultists. The four women who were ready to unleash horrors upon one another also stopped what they were doing and looked over.


    Before everyone’s eyes, Executive Francis stepped out from the group of white-robed disciples with his head held high and his chest puffed out. He first shot a sweeping look at the crowd before nodding matter-of-factly. He made no attempt to conceal the scorn in his eyes, as if he was looking at a bunch of ignorant bumpkins.


    Lostmbs who fail to see the Mother Goddess’ greatness, confused they must be.


    Francis thought that their abrupt assault was beautiful and graceful, reminiscent of an artwork. He had chosen to strike on the day of the Blessing Festival so as to catch the enemy off-guard, and it looked like he had seeded.


    He had carefully assessed the situation before joining the fray.


    For some reason, Aurora Capital Ols was oddly chaotic today. There were several battles going on not too far away, and judging from the natures of their mana, it seemed to be a sh between the church and heretics. However, there were also traces of the Sorofya’s Gemstone Magic and Austine soldiers mixed amongst them too.


    He had no idea what was going on, but he knew right away that the ideal opportunity had fallen into hisp.


    A sh between religions and soldiers of hostile countries—this was an irreconcble conflict. Once the battle had started, it wouldn’t stop until one side waspletely eradicated. There was no better news to Francis than this.


    Opportunities always knock from the most mysterious of ces.


    He had to concede that the sphemous sinner was truly a sly one. Thetter had used some kind of means that blocked off divination spells, making it extremely hard to track him down. However, his actions also made it equally difficult for his allies to find him, resulting in him being more vulnerable than ever.


    There were many powers in the Sia Continent who would go to great lengths to protect an awakener of the Ascart Bloodline, but their intent mattered not when they couldn’t even find him. Only the Saints Convocation’s Holy Envoy possessed the means to track down the sphemous sinner.


    The current situation proved his point.


    An Origin Level 3 and three Origin Level 4s; this was honestly a pathetic forceing from a prime target that the Saints Convocation was determined to eradicate.


    Looks, he’s even trembling out of fear.


    Looking at the trembling ck-haired boy in front of him, Francis felt that victory was in his grasp and smiled gleefully. Oblivious to him, Roel was actually trembling out of relief from their appearance.


    What a cute bunch of people!


    It was not that he bore goodwill toward the evil cultists. It was just that he would rather face an army of evil cultists than to watch Nora and the others attempt to rip out one another’s guts. As a result, this intervention from the evil cultists was ironically weed by him.


    He nced at Nora and the others and saw that they had already put their guards up.


    “These people are...”


    “These clothes... They are the evil cultists from the Saints Convocation!”


    “They’re here to kill Roel!”


    Charlotte and Lilian, who had encountered the Saints Convocation in their respective Witness States, were able to figure out the identity of these intruders right away. With the revtion of their identity, the eyes of all four women immediately turned wintry.


    Charlotte thought about the plight that had befallen Winstor and Isabe due to the Saints Convocation’s actions, and it sparked a raging inferno in her emerald eyes.


    Lilian recalled the prowess that the Saints Convocation disyed several centuries ago, and her expression turned grim.


    The moment Alicia heard that they were here to kill Roel, killing intent had already started leaking out of her.


    As for Nora...


    Nora didn’t show much of a reaction. As someone who hade from the church, there was only one possible response for her to the current situation—ughter all of the evil cultists.


    All kinds of conflicts had broken out amongst these four women ever since they met one another, but as soon as an enemy who threatened Roel’s life appeared, they immediately put aside their differences and stood on the same front.


    This sight left Roel feeling deeply moved.


    Meanwhile, Lilian looked at the enemies in front of her, and her lips suddenly curled into a smile.


    “It looks like we have some uninvited guests, but this doesn’t seem bad at all. Isn’t this a good opportunity for us to show what we’re worth?” she dered grandly.


    Following that, she turned to the dazed Roel and spoke gently.


    “Roel. Unlike those who are all talk and no action, I’ll show you with my actions why I’m the most reliable one in times of danger!”


    “Miss Lilian, please watch your mouth. It has always been the duty of the Xeclydes to protect Roel; it has been that way in the past, and it’ll continue to be so in the future!”


    “Don’t you think that you’re stretching your hands too far, Your Highness Nora? Lord Brother already has a family. Outsiders should stop interfering in the internal affairs of our Ascart House! How many times do I have to say that?”


    “Darling, you need not be afraid. Things have be much simpler now. We’ll determine the winner through our contribution to this battle!”


    Charlotte’s Golden Soul had already begun quivering in excitement in resonance with her emotions as she announced the newpetition rules to fit the change in the situation.


    Looking at the peculiar reactions of these women, Francis and the other disciples of the Saints Convocation felt that something was really off here.


    Why do these women not fear us?


    One must know that evil cultists were feared throughout the Sia Continent! They never thought that a day woulde where someone would look at them as if they were cattle.


    Perplexed, Francis assessed his opponents once more, but no matter how he looked at it, the women standing before him shouldn’t pose any threat at all.


    The assassination of Roel Ascart was an order from the Executive Council, and the one tasked to execute the order was Francis, an Origin Level 2 transcendent. He chose to bring his aide, who was at Origin Level 2 as well, just to be safe. Other than that, there were three Origin Level 3 transcendents and roughly sixty elite transcendents in their team.


    This line-up was indubitably an overkill against the powerless Roel, to the point that it felt like a waste of manpower. Francis couldn’t fathom a single scenario where Roel sessfully escaped from their grasp, but the next moment, the impossible happened.


    Three res were shot into the sky, and the distantmotion suddenly fell silent. There was a brief pause before loud rumbling started echoing all around. The armies that had been fighting one another just a moment ago had begun charging in their direction.


    The ones leading at the forefront were the cavalrymen of the Austine Empire, followed by their mortal enemy, the Rosaians. The clergymen of the church stood on the left of the formation whereas the heretics stood on the right.


    Such was the unbelievable sight that everyone was witnessing beneath the aurora. It was apletely nonsensical formation filled with various parties that were antagonistic toward one another, and yet, here they were joining hands with one another.


    Francis was utterly dumbfounded by what he was seeing. This formationpletely defied hismon sense. However, he soon came to a realization, and he howled indignantly.


    “Goddamnit, they were masquerading themselves to make us lower our guard. We’ve fallen for their trap!”


    With roars of war cries, the two sides finally started shing with one another, thus officiallymencing the battle.