Chapter 196: Crushing Defeat from Karen!

Chapter 196: The Crushing Dominance of Karen!

Waking up at noon once more, Karen remained in bed a while longer with his eyes open, for the bed's greatest allure always manifests at two specific moments: when you have just lain down, and when you are just about to get up.

As the wall clock struck twelve, Karen rose, took a shower, and after washing up, first stepped into the study, picking up a notebook from the desk where Alfred had transcribed for him the two spells, "March of the Black Fog" and "Paper Crow." These two spells were not particularly difficult and could be mastered upon reaching a certain stage, though Karen was currently studying them ahead of his level.

The sun was splendid today, and Wien's rainy season had finally drawn to a close.

Next, Wien would welcome the warmest and most pleasant period of the year, and the people of Wien, like quilts, would seize the time to "take themselves out" to bask in the sun, storing up more beautiful memories for the cold, bleak weather that would arrive with autumn.

Purr was sitting on the swing in the yard, with Kevin behind helping to push it.

From the room of Dora and Dorine came the voice of an unfamiliar woman, presumably the governess conducting her lessons, though Karen, who had been leaving late and returning late these past days, had not yet met her.

However, Alfred was responsible for the household affairs, which left Karen quite at ease.

Stepping into the kitchen, Karen found that the ingredients he had requested yesterday were already prepared. Having frequently risen at noon lately, Xili would always prepare an abundant spread of food for him each time;

Yet this was, after all, his "breakfast," and although it had been shifted to the lunchtime hour, doing it so often meant that eating such greasy food upon waking up remained somewhat uncomfortable.

Karen began to boil water in the pot, picked up a bowl from the side, tossed chopped green onions and cilantro into it, added salt and pepper, and poured in a tiny splash of soy sauce;

Karen was not entirely satisfied with this soy sauce, as its flavor was identical to Wien soybean paste, though he had asked Xili to help dilute it.

Finally, Karen used a small spoon to scoop out a tiny dollop of lard and placed it into the bowl. This bowl of lard was something he had taken the time to render himself, and Karen noticed that although he had only eaten from it a few times, the bowl was already half empty.

Just then, Karen noticed another similar bowl on the spice cabinet, and lifting the lid, he found it also contained a large bowl of lard, though it was yellowish.

Purr and Kevin simply ate whatever they were given, and it was impossible for them to cook personally;

Xili and Mrs. Lake still maintained rather traditional cooking habits, so the one using these had to be Alfred.

In terms of palate, Alfred had completely aligned himself with his master, not out of sycophancy, but because he truly liked and had fallen in love with Karen’s taste in food.

It was only a pity that the lard he had attempted to render himself seemed to have been a failure.

Karen smiled faintly, used a ladle to scoop the boiling water into the bowl to melt the seasonings, and then dropped the noodles into the pot. Because they were thin noodles, Karen scooped them out into the bowl after boiling for less than half a minute.

A low-spec version of Yangchun noodles was thus completed.

Carrying the noodles, Karen sat down by the small kitchen table and took out dried chili powder to add two spoonfuls, as he liked spicy food, though Yangchun noodles were unsuited for chili oil, since the oil therein would make the originally clear broth greasy.

After stirring a few times, Karen began to eat his "breakfast," flipping through the notebook containing the two spells as he ate.

Both the noodles and the broth were finished, leaving him still craving a bit more, though his appetite could not support another bowl.

Recalling Ophelia's astonishing appetite, Karen wondered if he should find a way to improve his physical constitution.

Incongruous with his reservoir-like reservoir of spirituality was his physical condition, which could only be described as ordinary, and even that was the result of his constant health cultivation and conditioning.

Heaven knew how much that "autistic Karen" had depleted this body.

Thinking of that Lord Inquisitor Eisen, who even had a social anxiety disorder regarding his own son, it truly was a case of a nephew taking after his uncle.

"Young Master, there is a phone call; it is Mr. Marlo," Alfred reported.

"Mm, alright."

Karen stood up and went to answer the phone.

The gathering originally agreed upon yesterday had been forced to cancel due to the incident at the educational administration building. It was not that Mr. Marlo was impatient to schedule it for today, but rather that the Captain had scheduled a formal gathering tonight, so Marlo thought about whether everyone might gather ahead of time this afternoon.

Karen agreed.

After hanging up the phone, Karen thought to himself: Is the Captain’s formal gathering meant to introduce Richard, the new member, to everyone?

The moment this thought surfaced, Karen shook his head: Highly unlikely, the Captain could not possibly give his little cousin that much face, nor did he deserve such treatment.

The Captain could allow him to join the squad as an external member because of his family background, but he would absolutely not enshrine him like an ancestor. Neo, with his rich experience in managing a squad, would not make such a mistake that would destroy unity.

So... was there a new mission again?

Karen felt somewhat melancholy; he hadn’t even spent much of the points he earned last time.

It could only be said that after joining Neo's squad, the sharp increase in his income level easily covered the expenses of Dora and Dorine, as well as the expenses for the daily materials required by Purr, Kevin, and Alfred.

Karen pursed his lips,

So,

Should he try to buy some special ingredients that could only be purchased with points to research how to cook them?

That roasted Draconic Lizard meat, Karen had always felt the preparation was too crude; the tender meat of the Draconic Lizard’s neck was very suitable for the Dongpo pork cooking method.

"Forget it, it's still a bit too extravagant; I should wait until I save up a bit more reserves."

Karen personally strangled the bud of overconsumption in his heart ahead of time.

When he walked out, Alfred was already prepared, holding a work case.

"Young Master, do we depart now?"

"Mm."

Karen drove that secondhand black Purns, while Alfred drove the hearse, and the two of them first arrived at the Ivy Cemetery together.

A hearse entering a cemetery was like red wine with steak, nothing could be more fitting.

After stepping out of the car, Alfred opened the case, took out a cloth measuring tape, walked up to Old Saman, and began to take his measurements.

Old Saman held up his arms, permitting Alfred to proceed.

Karen walked over, took a cigarette from his case, placed it in Old Saman’s mouth, and then used a lighter to help him light it.

"I have things to attend to this afternoon and must leave first; there is also a meeting tonight."

Old Saman said grumpily, "Once the refrigerator was hauled away, your attitude turned cold instantly. Last time, no matter how perfunctory, you at least came over to boil shuijiao for me."

"It is shuijiao," Alfred corrected Old Saman’s pronunciation.

"When I return tonight after the meeting, I will come find you for a late-night snack. I have prepared pre-cut vegetables and broth base in the new refrigerator; you and I will have hot pot tonight."

Old Saman nodded and said, "That’s more like it."

"Whatever requirements you have for the funeral, just tell Alfred; he will record and arrange them."

"Alright, alright, I understand," Old Saman urged, "Go tend to your business."

"Then, see you tonight."

Karen drove away from the cemetery. There would be no traffic jams at noon, and twenty minutes later, Karen arrived at that factory building.

This factory building was a venue shared by a fighting club and a shooting club, owned respectively by Peige and Fannie, two women who were also two big bosses of a local gang.

This was truly a gang established in passing, just to provide an "entertainment venue" for themselves and the people in the team.

Karen was already a frequent visitor here, and the gatekeeper would not stop him. After entering, Karen went straight to the basement level.

Pushing open the heavy iron door, to Karen’s slight surprise, there were quite a few people.

A total of 12 people, except for Captain Neo, everyone was present.

During the last gathering at the barbecue shop, those in wheelchairs were now able to move freely as well; the treatment methods of the Church Hospital were indeed advanced, though they were not open to ordinary people.

Because internal personnel of the Church could enjoy discounts when going to the Church Hospital for treatment, and if injured during a mission, they could enjoy full reimbursement, whereas those not belonging to this Church could not enjoy such treatment.

One must know that even a family like the Allen Manor, which possessed so many secular assets under its name, was extremely desperate for points.

To a certain extent, this achieved a further degree of "equality for all"; no matter how much secular wealth one had, without points, you could not obtain a "lease on life" here.

Everyone was present. Karen exchanged greetings with each person in turn, tossing the notebook containing several arrays directly to Marrow. Marrow moved to pull out some tickets, but Karen refused him with a shake of his head.

On the stage, two people had just finished their sparring match; it was Zema and Cutro.

Wind actively approached Karen, smiling. "I want to see your exchange with Gray."

Standing nearby, Gray frowned slightly, though he quickly relaxed his expression.

He had no desire to exchange pointers with Karen anymore. Once he confirmed that Karen had mastered the combat techniques, he had told him that the remaining experience could only be found in actual combat, decisively ending their nearly week-long exchange.

Aside from Fanny and Peggy, no one knew how he had truly survived that week!

Every day he returned home utterly exhausted; even walking from the bathroom to the bedroom after a shower felt like climbing a mountain.

Yet, if it were just a brief clash for one or two rounds, Gray felt there would be no issue.

This time, everyone was here exchanging and sharing, so it was impossible for Karen to drag him into another three-hour grand battle.

"Sure thing."

Karen agreed immediately, having been looking forward to this himself.

Upon killing Inquisitor Luke, Karen had advanced to the rank of Adjudicator, realizing his previous accumulations and talent, though there hadn’t been much technical maneuvering involved in that final blow.

After returning home, he had formed a symbiotic contract with Purr. Now, within his body, it was as if he possessed two functioning systems of faith—one of Order and the other of Light—and he also shared the progenitor Allen bloodline from Purr, causing his Sea God's Armor and Dark Moon Blade to be further developed and enhanced.

To describe it in Captain Neo's manner of speaking, it was roughly this: Karen's eyes were practically bloodshot with eagerness, carrying a water gun down the street wanting to splash anyone he saw, just to lure them into the small woods.

For Karen was no longer simply holding a new toy and wanting to show it off; rather, he himself desperately wanted to know what exactly his new toy was capable of.

In other words, Karen had now lost any benchmark for his true strength.

Karen and Gray each selected their weapons; Karen still held a longsword, while Gray retained his spear.

The rest of the team members below immediately gathered around, preparing to observe.

"Just ordered by the Captain to be promoted to the Second Sequence?" Cutro asked Zema.

"Yes," Zema nodded. "Didn't Fanny already announce it?"

"I'd like to see it in detail, though," Cutro said.

This was also the true sentiment of most of the teammates right now. They did not care much about the distribution advantage of the Second Sequence's spoils, nor would they question the Captain's nepotism; what they cared about was how to coordinate during future missions.

The Captain was the alpha hound, and the Second Sequence consisted of the powerhouses directly beneath the Captain. The rest had their respective divisions of labor, but the ultimate goal was to support them. If they did not know the true strength of the frontline, rendering assistance and cooperation would become very difficult.

Quincy nudged Marrow's arm and urged, "Quick, the fight is about to start."

Marrow kept his head down, flipping through the notebook, completely engrossed. He looked up, glanced at the stage, and said, "I heard from Fanny that Gray has been instructing Karen for a long time."

Wind stood at the closest possible distance, arms crossed over his chest.

Peggy shoved a straw into the bottle of brandy, took a massive gulp, and then held it to Fanny’s lips. Fanny also leaned in and took a deep draught.

"Why are you watching so intently? Haven't you grown tired of it yet?" Peggy asked.

"You didn't participate in the last mission. There are some changes you don't know about."

"Heh, what kind of change could possibly cause a subversive transformation in a person?"

"For ordinary people, that's true, but what about a true genius?" Fanny countered.

Peggy froze for a moment, then sucked down another massive gulp of brandy as if it were soda. "I take back what I just said."

Gray raised his spear and said, "I agree with the Captain placing you in the Second Sequence, and I've heard Wind mention a few things about the last mission. So, this time, I want to get straight to the point."

Karen smiled faintly. "Very well, straight to the point."

A dark aura emanated from Gray's body, and even the spear in his hand was enveloped in a layer of blackness.

Evidently, because there were so many onlookers this time, he did not particularly wish to lose face.

The Sea God's Armor manifested upon Karen's body, but now, the armor not only had currents of water flowing over it, but snowflakes were also swirling about, and its overall hue was noticeably darker.

Immediately following that, Karen raised his longsword, activating the Dark Moon Blade. A layer resembling a flame effect coated the blade, and this flame, too, belonged to a dark palette.

The two techniques had undergone a transformative fusion with the progenitor Allen bloodline within Karen. Coupled with the immense increase in his mastery over power, he could now disguise these two previously utilized techniques, ensuring he no longer had to worry about outsiders discerning their true nature.

Gray initiated the attack, his spear carving through the air with a whistling roar.

He said he would get straight to the point, but did he still hold back?

Otherwise, why did his movements seem so slow?

A faint doubt arose in Karen's mind. He did not yet realize that because his perception of his surroundings had elevated to another level, Gray's movements had become "slow-motion" in his eyes.

Then, Karen focused his mind and slashed downward with his longsword, intending to parry Gray's spear away first.

But... Karen's slash struck empty air.

"..." Karen.

"..." Gray.

The reason was that the speed at which Karen swung his sword was too fast, exceeding his own established perception, so the sword failed to make contact with the spear.

Gray was also somewhat dazed. This thrust of his was like a break shot in billiards, merely an opening warmup move; he did not think Karen would fail to parry it. Yet the reality was that Karen missed the parry, leaving his defenses completely wide open.

"Hum!"

The tip of Gray's spear pierced into the armor on Karen's chest. Just as Gray prepared to withdraw his force to avoid seriously injuring him, he discovered to his astonishment that the area of the armor on Karen's chest had frozen into black ice, and his spear tip could not pierce through at all!

Karen drew back his longsword.

"Bang!"

Gray felt nothing but a terrifying wave of heat transfer to his palm, accompanied by an immensely powerful concussive force. Having no choice, he loosened his grip, and the spear was sent flying away.

Out of habitual reflex during an exchange, Karen's longsword came to rest against Gray's shoulder.

The exchange was over.

Karen was somewhat dazed, and Gray was also somewhat dazed.

The team members watching below the stage were collectively dazed as well.

Quincy said in astonishment, "Is this what Fanny meant by Gray instructing Karen for a long time?"

Marrow licked his lips. He finally closed the notebook and asked in bewilderment, "Yeah, so, how did Gray manage to keep up the exchange for a whole week?"

Cutro let out a long breath. "Heavens."

Zema wrenched his neck. "Damn!"

Peggy took another fierce swig of brandy. "Fanny, am I drunk?"

Fanny shook her head. "I suddenly feel that your failure to use brute force to bed him when we first met will become the greatest regret of your life."

Peggy placed a hand over her heart. "Say no more, my heart is already aching."

Karen retracted the longsword resting on Mr. Gray's shoulder. Gray smiled faintly and raised both hands. "There's truly no fighting this."

"It is because you taught me well," Karen said.

"How thick would my skin have to be to reply: I am deeply gratified."

"Actually, if we were to fight again, it wouldn't turn out like this," Karen said.

Because Gray was akin to an assassin, yet he had actively closed the distance to match brute force against Karen. First, he had misjudged the current defensive capability of Karen's Sea God's Armor, meaning his attack failed to disrupt Karen; second, he had not expected that the fire-attributed power within Karen's body could conduct through and heat his spear to a burning red.

Had he been wielding his own service weapon, things likely wouldn't have ended this way;

furthermore, had he foreseen these pitfalls and chosen to maneuver around Karen anew, he could have sustained the bout for quite some time—at the very least, he wouldn't have been disarmed so effortlessly.

"Had this been our initial clash, a matter of life and death, I would already be a corpse; I truly look forward to seeing you exchange blows with the Captain." With that, Gray turned, casting his gaze below toward Wende, who was silently retreating from the front row back into the crowd, and called out:

"Wende, it is your turn to step up and share your insights!"

Wende, who had been hoping to escape this particular ordeal, let slip a wry smile but nonetheless leapt onto the stage, muttering softly to Gray as the latter flipped down from the ring:

"How hard it must have been for you to keep it a secret for so long, secretly stealing lessons from him all this time."

"..." Gray remained silent.

Gray deeply wished to explain, yet he knew not how, for he himself found the reality too absurd and could hardly expect anyone else to believe it.

He could scarcely tell them that during their very first bout, Karen didn't even know how to hold a sword properly, could he?

Wende offered a slight bow to Karen, and Karen returned the gesture in kind.

In the next instant, Wende's form dissolved into a gray mist, beginning to drift rapidly across the confines of the stage; this was his innate combat habit, hounding his opponent with absolute speed, and furthermore, with Gray's precedent before him, he dared not rashly close the distance.

Witnessing this, Karen chose not to employ the spell he had casually picked up while eating noodles at noon to counter it.

The stage was only so large, after all, was it not?

Karen began to incant: "Order—Guardian Wall!"

"Hum!"

A massive guardian wall materialized upon the stage, but Wende simply swerved around it.

"What is he trying to do?" Quincy asked in bewilderment.

Gray, who had just stepped down and stood nearby, took in the scene and remarked, "The stage is only so large; Karen intends to use the guardian walls to seal off Wende's room to maneuver."

"Is that even possible? How many walls would that require, and does he possess enough spiritual power?" Quincy questioned.

Hearing the question, the corner of Gray's mouth twitched.

Asking if his spiritual power was sufficient?

Gray truly could not answer that, because except for the first day, the absolute despair and helplessness of being ground down to submission by the overwhelming superiority of Karen's spiritual power over the subsequent days was simply too deeply engraved in his mind.

At first, Wende too was oblivious to Karen's intent.

Not until the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth... until the twelfth guardian wall manifested did Wende finally realize something was amiss.

He attempted to use his own might to shatter the barriers, but this rudimentary spell, which even a divine servant could learn and master, proved so unyielding now that it drove Wende to near despair; his daggers slashed continuously against it, yet failed to carve even a single fracture.

Had Wende known that not long ago, an Inquisitor utilizing two summoned skeletons had struck violently with scythes all along the way without managing to breach these walls, his heart might have felt a measure of comfort.

The appearance of the twelve guardian walls effectively partitioned and locked down the space of the arena.

Then, Karen raised his longsword, prepared to herd the fish.

Seeing this, Wende chose not to leave the boundaries of the stage to concede with grace and decorum; instead, he materialized on the spot, raised both hands, and spoke in the most straightforward manner:

"I surrender."

Immediately following that, Wende added another line:

"You are simply bullying people."

With a wave of Karen's hand, all the guardian walls dissolved into nothingness.

This exchange concluded in a highly peaceful manner.

Karen smiled faintly. "This wasn't actual combat; in a real fight, I wouldn't be able to catch you."

Wende cared little for such face and spoke directly, "But I wouldn't dare approach you either."

Following that,

Wende turned to face the team members standing below and shouted:

"You may all cheer now, for the strength of our squad has grown even mightier because of Karen's addition!"

Initially, everyone was merely struck with awe, yet none felt envy; those who lost had conceded in a clean and decisive manner, without the slightest hint of resentment.

Because every soul present understood clearly that only when the hound leading at the front was stronger would they, the hunting dogs following behind, stand a chance to devour more meat and obtain greater resources!

They could only feel joy and excitement for this; who wouldn't wish to remain within a more competitive close-knit group?

Only a fool would be displeased!

Consequently, everyone below raised their hands and began to cheer enthusiastically.

...

Outside the factory building, a vehicle pulled to a halt, with Richard at the wheel.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Neo pointed toward the interior

and said:

"Get out of the car; I shall take you inside to meet your teammates."

Richard nodded vigorously, his face flushed with excitement:

"Very well, Captain, I... I... I have looked forward to this moment beyond measure!"