Chapter 1380 The Contract of the Black Vatican
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
The mysterious man looked at General Bin Wei, who noticed everyone was looking at her. She replied after a moment, “Are you referring to the Great Wall?”
“Yes, the powerful Beijiang Desolate Beasts were the greatest threat in North Valley in the past. The people here were constantly at war with them. The ancient defensive mechanism was built during that period. It had been a long time since then, long enough for the people to forget about it,” the mysterious man said.
“The defense of the ancient Wall is outstanding indeed, but I’m afraid it’s still not enough to stop the undead of the Great Pyramid of Giza, right?” Commander Ye Hong said.
General Bin Wei emphasized when she realized something too, “It’s true that the ancient wall of the Northguard Fortress isn’t enough to stop the Great Pyramid of Giza, but if we work with the other fortresses in North Valley and set up a barrier at the right place, even the undead of the Great Pyramid of Giza will not be able to set a single foot in our land!”
“That’s right!” the mysterious man said. “It’s the strongest defense that our ancestors built. Our first priority is to evacuate everyone in North Valley. We should be able to reduce the casualties to the minimum once we activate the defense!”
The eyes of the people in the memorial hall glittered with hope after hearing the mysterious man’s words!
If they could activate the defense of the ancient wall, they might be able to stop the Great Pyramid of Giza’s forces!
“That’s right, fighting them head-on is out of the question. Even the whole army of North Valley wouldn’t be able to take them on, but if we can stop them from advancing and buy the people enough time to evacuate, we wouldn’t mind giving them the land!” General Ye Hong knocked his head as he came to that conclusion.
“How can we activate the defense? I don’t think we have many successors of the Great Wall, like General Bin Wei, left?”
“Don’t worry; if I’ve come up with the plan, I have a way to activate the defense. However, the process isn’t simple, and I’ll need the help of everyone here…” the mysterious man proposed.
Commander Ye Hong patted his chest and said, “Prophet, just tell me if you need any help. I’m willing to risk my life to ensure North Valley’s safety!”
General Bin Wei showed firm determination, too. She had more reason to do it, as a successor of the ancient wall.
“There really is a way, as long as there is a will. See, Old Zhao, it’s not as terrible as you thought!” Mo Fan said.
Zhao Manyan twisted his lips and said, “Do you really think it’s not terrible enough? We aren’t even sure if we can activate the defense. Even if we did, we still don’t know if it can hold off the undead, let alone guarantee that the people will have enough time to evacuate. The plan might work theoretically, but it’s extremely difficult to execute it! We don’t even know what kind of accidents might happen…”
“But we still have to give it a try!” Zhang Xiaohou countered.
“We need the exact location where the Great Pyramid of Giza will show up, which means Mo Fan will continue to infiltrate the Black Vatican to obtain more information, and the others will come with me to activate the defense to hold off the army of undead!” the mysterious man declared.
The hope served as a glimpse of light, motivating people stuck in a pitch-black abyss to move forward. Instead of waiting to rot in the darkness, they would rather use all their energy to climb toward the light, regardless of how filthy, difficult, and lengthy the journey was. It was better than waiting in silence and despair. If they made it out, they would surely be reborn to a greater height!
—
—
It was just as the mysterious man said. Mo Fan had to split up from the others.
Mo Fe had now infiltrated the Black Vatican. He believed he would find out the exact location where the Great Pyramid of Giza would be once the Black Vatican proceeded with its ceremony. He would also witness the Cold Prince carrying out his crazy plan!
Killing him was all Mo Fan wanted to do. He had sworn to become stronger in Bo City, to prevent the disaster from happening again. However, it had all happened so quickly, and there was really nothing Mo Fan could have done.
But this time, Mo Fan would not back away again!
He would surely send all sc.u.m of the Black Vatican to h.e.l.l, including the Cold Prince that dared to stir up troubles in their country!
Mo Fan said goodbye to the others and proceeded along the path alone, the same path that Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong had chosen!
—
“Where’s Old Zhao?” Mo Fan asked Zhang Xiaohou and Lingling before leaving the village.
Zhao Manyan had left the memorial hall in advance. He seemed to be reluctant to commit to the necessary sacrifices, nor was he willing to let Mo Fan bear the risk alone. He was right that the plan was only theories; there were too many unknown factors about it. If anything went wrong, they would die because of it. Besides, there was no plan to retreat if things went out of control. They were basically placing their lives in the hands of fate!
“Maybe he went out to get some air, Brother Fan, we won’t be able to support you from here on, do be careful,” Zhang Xiaohou told him.
“I’ll be fine,” Mo Fan replied.
Mo Fan went around, but still could not find Zhao Manyan. He felt a little sorry for Zhao Manyan, since he did promise he would retreat after collecting the evidence, but they had somehow ended up in a situation where they had to face a true Pyramid. Anyone would have lost their mind by now!
He wanted to say goodbye to Zhao Manyan, but the man was most likely holding a grudge against him. He might even be hiding somewhere, waiting for a chance to knock him out and drag him away… Mo Fan had overstayed slightly. He could not afford to wait any longer.
—
—
Mo Fan returned to the Black Vatican’s base, located on a mountain fifty kilometers away from the village.
The mountain only had a few dried plants scattered over it. It was almost barren, with only some dried trunks, branches, and exposed roots.
The old roots intertwined with one another on the dried land. They had scattered across half of the mountain. Blue Bat soon showed up when Mo Fan returned to the camp.
“Where have you been?” Blue Bat asked.
Blue Deacon was wearing a crystal blue outfit, and looked gorgeous in it. If she had not been in the Black Vatican’s base, no one would even think of her as a vicious member of the Black Vatican. Blue Bat had spent a lot of time with Mo Fan recently. Perhaps Blue Bat felt that Mo Fan was different from the rest of the fanatical members of the Black Vatican. She enjoyed talking to him.
“I went to get some supper. I prepared some for you too,” Mo Fan grinned and tossed a plastic bag to Blue Bat.
Blue Bat opened the plastic bag in confusion. Her face paled when she saw human organs inside it. Blood poured out from it and fell to the ground. She quickly fled the scene.
Mo Fan bust out laughing, when he saw Blue Bat running into the distance.
Some disciples of the Black Vatican saw everything that happened too. They all looked at Mo Fan like he was a psychopath, and tried their best to avoid him.
Violet Ghost wearing a dark blue outfit showed up while Mo Fan was laughing. He looked at Blue Bat who was running away in fright and said with a mocking grin, “You seem to enjoy giving her surprises.”
“I’m just too bored. I’ve been around for some time, but no one enjoys the things that I do,” Mo Fan did not bother picking up the organs that were covered in dust on the ground.
There was no way he would be eating them, of course. Most of the members of the Black Vatican were driven by their desires. They might have committed a lot of crimes, but not many of them were mentally ill. Mo Fan was acting like a psychopath as part of his disguise. That way, even if he did something unreasonable, the others would not be suspicious of him.
Luckily, Northdeer had joined the Black Vatican not long before, yet had already made a reputation for himself. Even if Mo Fan accidentally revealed a cloven foot, the others would not be suspicious.
Besides, since the Chief Extraditor was not here, no one could really prove that Mo Fan was a fake, as his face had been destroyed. On top of that, the Chief Extraditor did send Northdeer to receive the Shepherd and Cheng Ying, so it all came together perfectly!
“Tall Sparrow is a fan of them, just like you. Do forgive me for not having a great appet.i.te like you,” Violet Ghost said.
“Tall Sparrow… maybe I can be his friend if I have the chance. Were you looking for me?” Mo Fan asked.
“We are done with our mission here. Unas has asked us to regroup for the ceremony, but since all your men are dead, you won’t be able to take part in the ceremony alone,” Violet Ghost said.
“Humph, even though I’ve failed, I still gave the church everything I had,” Mo Fan harrumphed with a cold grin.
“I’ve told Unas about it. You also helped us to avoid the Enforcement Union, allowing us to summon the Underworld Monarch Frog quicker than the other groups. It’s why we are being allowed to partic.i.p.ate in the ceremony and wors.h.i.+p the Cold Prince!” Violet Ghost explained.
“So what now? Are you going to abandon me, or let me join you?” Mo Fan said.
“You can join us, but you will be under me, just like Blue Bat,” Violet Ghost said.
“Under you? Are you kidding me now? I’m a Blue Deacon just like you, why do I have to be under you?” Mo Fan said in a displeased tone.
“Then I’m afraid I can’t bring you to the ceremony,” Violet Ghost said.
“You’re threatening me now. Is this how you treat someone that helped you?” Mo Fan snapped angrily.
“The Cold Prince set the rules. After all, we can’t guarantee if anyone among us is having second thoughts. We must ensure that those taking part in the ceremony are absolutely loyal to Master Cold Prince,” Violet Ghost said.
“I can swear my loyalty to the Cold Prince, but you.. I’m sorry, I’m more ambitious than that,” Mo Fan said.
Violet Ghost was not angry. He added when he saw Mo Fan taking his leave, “Feel free to see me if you change your mind.”
“Farewell,” Mo Fan said.
—
Mo Fan packed his stuff. It was obvious that he was planning to leave.
The truth was, Mo Fan was not planning to leave at all. He could not afford to accept Violet Ghost’s offer so easily. Violet Ghost was suspicious of everyone around him. He had a chance to come into contact with Unas, someone who was directly under the Cold Prince. To ensure that there would be no problem when Violet Ghost led someone to meet them, the person had to sign a Cursed Contract!
“Are you leaving?” Blue Bat asked, frowning when she saw Mo Fan packing up.