Chapter 509: Clash Between Director and Captain

Chapter 509: The Clash Between the Director and the Captain

Neo was still savoring the sensation of his sword piercing through the Minister's chest moments before. It felt much like sitting on a balcony on a late autumn evening, scooping up a piece of cream ice cream with a spoon and bringing it to one's mouth;

Immediately following that was a perfectly timed tremor in his body and a faint, dizzying ache in his mind, weaving into a melody that could set the soul dancing.

He liked this feeling very much. Though it lacked a sharp bite, it was still thoroughly satisfying.

After all, he had just killed a Minister of the Whip of Order, and top-tier ingredients required no overly complex cooking methods to yield their delicious flavor.

This very scene was witnessed by the three people in the VIP car that had just driven up.

There was no need for a closer look; even though the man wore a mask, Karen recognized who he was instantly.

In the past, Karen had never believed the phrase "I'd know you even if you were turned to ash," but now he felt that even if Neo were reduced to ash and he went to gather the remains, Neo's pelvic bone would still make a mocking clatter.

The damage from that single sword strike had pierced straight through the back of the vehicle and carved a molten trench into the road behind it. What was happening here was crystal clear.

"Philomena, place a used cup and a half-eaten piece of bread on the seat next to you.

Furthermore,

The Director is currently riding in our car and arrived at the scene together with us. Have you committed that to memory?"

"Understood, Captain," Muri responded immediately.

Philomena froze for a moment, but also replied promptly, "Understood."

Muri was completely reliable, and in fact, Philomena was quite reliable too. In the eyes of outsiders, she was aloof and cold, but from Karen's perspective, this girl was actually very pure. At least, before her grandmother's funeral took place, she was worthy of trust.

Neo, who was currently enjoying the afterglow following that moment of joy, swept his gaze forward. There was no car ahead, yet he caught the scent of his beloved vehicle's engine oil.

That was a car he had spent all his previous savings to acquire, the absolute favorite he had redeemed even at the risk of being executed in the Mipos Archipelago. How could a mere concealment array truly block his perception of his own car?

Neo twisted his neck and looked around. The struggle between Minister Enzo's security personnel and those assailants had reached its final stage. According to the plan, he should retreat now.

However, he wanted to wait a little longer.

Because he knew that the one cooperating with him in tonight's operation was not Richard.

If it were that fellow Richard, Neo would have long since done whatever he pleased, but he knew well that the one sitting in the car could instantly comprehend his intentions.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Karen did indeed wait for a short while. Then, seeing Neo still standing there struck in a self-indulgent pose of a murderer, he let out a helpless sigh.

"Muri, signal for reinforcements."

"Captain, should we signal our own squad? Or use the crows?"

Karen reached down to open the lower drawer, pulling out a large plastic bag filled entirely with all kinds of signal flares. These were all part of Neo's collection; samples of flares from many different Whip of Order squads were inside. As long as one had seen this type of flare and made a conscious effort to memorize it, counterfeiting something similar on the black market was truly not difficult.

And this was indeed the sort of thing Neo would do. Whether it was to call people for support or to find a scapegoat, Neo would never lack such things.

"Fire them all. Call for as many reinforcements as possible."

"Yes, Captain."

"Philomena, get out of the car with me. I will handle the masked one, you handle the others. Remember, kill if you can, but do not force it if you find them troublesome. Your priority is to protect yourself."

"Yes, Captain."

The three of them stepped out of the car, and Muri began to set off the fireworks.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! ..."

One signal flare after another soared into the sky, displaying the unique characteristics of various Whip of Order squads.

Seeing this scene, the face

Furthermore, he believed that even if he accidentally pierced Neo anywhere, Neo would not die, let alone blame him.

Well, he probably would not blame him.

After a rapid and enduring clash, Kallen could not help but marvel that Neo's Light power was even more terrifying than before; during the exchange, it felt as though he were facing a sun, as if he would be melted if he drew any closer.

Neo, meanwhile, was marveling in his heart that Kallen's physical conditioning used to be subpar, requiring a great deal of energy during battle just to condense armor and withstand the bodily strain, which in truth limited him severely, though it could be masked by his terrifyingly profound foundations, amounting essentially to running a race while wearing heavy armor, whereas now that his physical conditioning had improved, the effectiveness of his combat was heightened by no small margin.

Most importantly, was this fellow's eyes able to anticipate his moves in advance?

Otherwise, there was no explaining how calmly Kallen met his every strike during their clash.

Neo felt rather helpless; on the Mipos Islands, he had accepted the gift from Rayan, thinking he could easily handle Kallen upon his return, but he had not expected that Kallen had not been idle either, having casually absorbed the Divine Bone.

Furthermore, although Kallen had been repeatedly refusing to advance lately, it also meant his realm had already reached this level, and his mastery over his power had risen a notch.

Though he and Kallen had long ceased to fight purely based on their realms—after all, Lord Taixisen on Fire Island possessed a very high realm, yet his fighting posture was quite ugly—realms were still of some use.

As the fight wore on, neither side showed any intention of stopping or even taking a breath, carrying a distinct flavor of two good friends who had initially started out playing around, only to end up getting serious as things progressed.

As for Philomina's side, she had been quite successful at first, directly killing two of the attackers by means of an ambush.

The opponents, being attackers themselves, had never expected another attacker to appear and ambush them, so Philomina achieved considerable results in the beginning.

But soon, Philomina found herself matched against Anita.

Every time Philomina tried to close the distance, Anita would use a restriction beforehand to seal off her pathing, making Philomina feel rather uncomfortable, as she, who excelled more in an assassin's burst-combat style, could not fully unleash her strength if she could not gain an opportunity for close-quarters combat.

In truth, it would have been great if Richard were here at this moment; he could stand in front to take a restriction hit or two, likely ending up heavily injured but not dead, yet creating an opening for her;

or alternatively, he could remain in the rear, laying down a formation at a slower pace than Memphis and Mars to suppress the opponent's restrictive methods, which would also create an opportunity for her.

Philomina suddenly snapped out of it, what on earth was she thinking?

It could only be said that having heard Richard's story of the "Battle of the Peak" too many times these past few days, it was truly impossible to remain completely unaffected; when a song was played on loop for several days, one would involuntarily hum its tune.

Anita was preparing to retreat; she knew today was a farce, and what she needed to do now was to leave this place and go into hiding, keeping a sufficiently low profile for the foreseeable future.

Philomina also remembered Kallen's instructions to ease up when encountering a tricky opponent, so upon sensing Anita's intention to leave, she offered an opening.

Anita smiled at Philomina, her figure vanishing into a flanking alleyway as the snowball Remer swiftly enveloped her body to help alter her aura, and as she flew across the walls, she also snatched a set of women's clothing from a drying rack, appearing at the next alley entrance almost entirely transformed.

The effect of the flare signal had already manifested, and two or three Whip of Order squads were beginning to appear in the vicinity.

Seeing this, Neo not only failed to retreat but instead intensified his assault on Kallen, no longer limiting himself to close combat as he began to employ spells.

Spells of Light were inherently spectacular visually, so for a time, streaks of Light power rained down toward Kallen like a meteor shower.

However, the intensity of this spellcraft was not particularly high, bearing a slight resemblance to Sindy learning a dragon's breath.

Kallen did not sustain much damage, and did not even feel much pressure, but he understood Neo's intention.

"Boom!"

A pillar of fire erupted from beneath Kallen's feet, and he took the opportunity to retreat, creating a distance between them.

Neo's figure began to pull back, and Kallen first shouted to the other Whip of Order squads appearing nearby: "Go capture the other attackers, I will pursue that Remnant of Light!"

The Remnant of Light was someone everyone wanted to pursue, but the problem was that this Remnant of Light was a bit too ferocious, and the several Whip of Order squads that had just arrived were not prepared for a pursuit, nor did they dare to rashly split their forces, so they could only obey Kallen's command to deal with the isolated attackers who were currently attempting to flee.

After Kallen gave chase and broke away from the battlefield, both he and Neo tacitly concealed their respective auras.

Neo stopped emitting light and heat like a lightbulb in the dark night, while Kallen neither released his aura nor left markers for the subsequent reinforcements.

After Kallen pursued for another distance, he saw a marker of Light left by a trash can nearby; opening it, he found a set of divine robes and boots inside, with identification papers and several spell scrolls tucked into the boots.

Kallen bundled these items together, held them in his hand, and continued to "pursue."

At this moment, Kallen sensed a powerful consciousness sweep across the area before passing by; evidently, Neo's previous "wanton" behavior had prompted a certain powerful entity to release its consciousness for a scan.

However, because the two of them were currently keeping a "low profile," it was impossible for that consciousness to discover them.

It could be said that at this point, there was no longer a Remnant of Light and a pursuer, but merely a director and a captain practicing Black Fog movement techniques in the night.

Furthermore, the direction the two of them were heading, one behind the other, was not toward the periphery of York City in the conventional sense, but was instead advancing toward the core area of York City, which aligned perfectly with the logic of hiding right under the enemy's nose.

Their figures even passed by the Educational Affairs Building from a distance.

Kallen simply kept following, and after passing the Educational Affairs Building, he knew he had to leave some marks on himself; drawing a scroll from the divine robes, he opened it, and a powerful sealing spell floated up from it, into which Kallen crashed his own body without hesitation.

In an instant, the flow of spiritual energy within him began to slow, and his soul power was suppressed, leaving him to forcefully maintain his speed, which was already highly strained.

After traveling another distance past the Educational Affairs Building, Kallen took out another scroll, which revealed several scorching points upon being opened.

Kallen hesitated for a moment but ultimately destroyed the scroll, condensing the power of Light at his fingertips to inject injuries into his own shoulder, arm, abdomen, thigh, and other locations.

The treatment Richard received not long ago was now being enjoyed by Kallen himself.

But this was a matter of necessity; otherwise, there would be no explaining why you failed to leave markers behind during your pursuit and how you yourself became "hidden."

Finally,

the destination arrived.

This was a villa district within York City beside a river; the villas were not large but very exquisite, inhabited by many truly prominent figures, though not prominent in the secular sense.

After all, a grand estate like that of the Allen family was more like a nouveau riche within the church circle, whereas entities within the true clerical class did not care much for the enjoyments of ordinary people in reality.

Ahead, Neo raised his hand, gesturing a "5," then a "4," followed closely by... 3, 2, 1!

The next moment,

Neo leapt forward,

arriving in front of the villa where Dolph resided,

directly summoning a Tower of Light to smash down upon his house,

while roaring in fury:

"You old beast, how dare you plot against me!"