"Hehe, this is normal! I, I usually just do theoretical research in Crescent City, I don't often join battles, so I rarely get hurt! That's why my rank is so low."

Hiding behind a big rock, Judith kept making excuses and defending herself.

Her low rank had somehow become her excuse for avoiding getting shots... uh, no - for avoiding getting hurt, even though it was just a minor injury!

"Don't waste time, we need to go up the mountain quickly, or else we might get spotted by those Apostles if we take too long!"

Adrian didn't have the patience to reason with her. The "speed" arrow he had shot at Judith earlier had let her avoid running on her own, but there was no way he'd let her off the hook so easily this time.

"Wah - umph -"

Without a word, Ron and I rushed forward, one covering her mouth and the other grabbing her limbs, quickly pinning Judith to the ground.

"There we go!"

Adrian gently pricked a small hole in her arm, and suddenly Judith disappeared completely, along with her clothes. Except for a slight disturbance in the nearby light elements, it was almost impossible to tell she was there!

This was much more useful than regular invisibility magic. Invisibility spells still give off some light element, but this hid that completely.

"Mmph mmph, I'm not pure anymore, Feliciana just touched my chest..."

Though we couldn't see anything, we heard muffled sobs from the ground.

"Ah... sorry, that was an accident!"

I panicked, not sure if she was telling the truth, so I quickly apologized.

"She's just making excuses. If it was real, she'd probably be feeling up her whole body by now."

Without looking back, Adrian went to Mike and stabbed his arm with another battle qi-infused arrow.

"As if I'm that kind of loose person..."

Judith's voice changed as soon as she heard that, but she was still invisible.

"This battle qi is so fun! Even though it's not from any element, it can still make you invisible like light magic. But now my wound is hidden, will I bleed a lot? Will I die from blood loss?"

No one replied to her.

Just as Adrian had said, the journey up the mountain went smoothly. Aside from the steep slopes, where it was hard to climb with our invisible legs, we didn't run into any real danger.

"That's weird! Even if our bodies are hidden, Feliciana and Ron's light element should still be detectable by the God of Light. So why haven't any Apostles shown up?"

An arrow floating in the air led the way, when suddenly I heard Judith's voice next to me.

"Hehe, maybe Beluto is really as the legends say - incomplete when he was born, so his abilities didn't reach the theoretical level, which is why he hasn't noticed us?"

"Feliciana, you angels must have some records about this, right?"

"Oh, I know about that. You mean Beluto's abilities are incomplete, and he's not very smart, right?"

I'd heard that before - Liana's memories showed the God of Light acting rather unintelligent, even getting mocked by Cyra.

"But those Apostles don't seem that stupid, do they?"

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From another direction, Ron chimed in to argue.

If the Apostles were soulless, directly controlled by the God of Light, they shouldn't be that intelligent. But that wasn't the case - at least the four-winged Apostle didn't seem dumb, and I even felt she was a bit cunning.

"Saint Angel Cyra should have normal intelligence, right? I notice the Apostles usually just mention the God of Light Beluto, but the actual orders come from Saint Angel. If the Apostles have an indirect subordinate relationship with Beluto, could that explain it?"

Adrian, holding the arrow in front, suddenly asked. But no one could answer, since none of us had actually seen Saint Angel Cyra to know if she was unintelligent.

Saint Angel Cyra and the God of Light Beluto were both legendary figures who had disappeared thousands of years ago.

By the time we reached the mountain top, another two hours had passed.

"From now on, everyone needs to be on high alert - every step from here may be dangerous!"

On the quite spacious mountain top, in the farthest corner from the palace, Adrian gave a final deployment briefing.

Although we couldn't see it clearly before, now that we were at the mountain top, we realized the "Cloud Palace" was actually a massive architectural complex, not just a single building - it was a cluster of multiple grand palaces in classical Greek style.

"This huge area, how are we supposed to find the target? We don't even know which building she's in!"

Ron was stunned, starting to doubt the feasibility of the mission.

"It's probably in the largest one, right?"

Mike guessed uncertainly. From a distance, that towering palace, hundreds of meters high, was the most prominent and majestic of the buildings.

As expected, all the materials used were light element solidified - the stones, wood, and metals were all made of light. To achieve this scale, there was only one possible creator: Beluto.

But luckily, these light-infused buildings provided some camouflage, allowing Ron and I to avoid being detected by the Apostles from afar.

"Don't worry about that, I've already mapped out the path! The main issue is the guards. Even if a large group of Apostles have gone down the mountain to attack us, there are still many left in the palace. Just being invisible won't be enough to reach Cyra."

Invisibility still relies on manipulating light, so if we get close enough, the Apostles would still notice.

You could clearly see with the naked eye - there were at least dozens of Apostles left at the mountain top. Five of us charging them head-on would never stand a chance.

"You guys said last time Feliciana almost got captured to see Saint Angel, but got cut off on the way. Why not just let them capture us, wouldn't that be easier?"

Ron shook his head, still thinking it was too risky.

"You don't understand. If we get captured, how can we negotiate? We have to force our way to their face with strength to have a chance!"

Before I could say anything, Mike jumped in to educate him.

"The reserved time is almost up, everyone follow the plan! If Mike and I get discovered..."

Adrian waved his hand, not saying more. Turning towards the target palace, he gave the orders in a stern voice.

"Then we launch the full-scale assault!"

The plan was simple - Adrian and Mike, the battle qi users, would infiltrate the palace invisibly, hoping to reach Cyra directly if things went well.

Meanwhile, the rest of us - me, Ron, and Judith - would create smoke bombs and distractions down below, trying to draw as many of the defenders away as possible to give them an opening.

Of course, this was all based on the assumption that Cyra and Beluto wouldn't join the battle. Saint Angel Cyra was uncertain, but if she was only at six wings level, she wouldn't be too much of a threat. But if Beluto showed up, that would be dangerous.

Fortunately, we didn't sense any particularly powerful light elemental being in the palace complex, so Ron and I believed Beluto was likely not home at the moment. A deity like the God of Light would definitely be noticeable to us from this close.

With the explosions starting down the mountain, the operation was underway!

Adrian and Mike used the "stealth" arrows to become invisible and rushed towards the palace.

Hopefully their infiltration wouldn't turn into an all-out brawl in the "Celestial Palace".

As for us three distractionists, we immediately turned and ran back down the mountain. But we didn't need to go too far, since Judith had already set up several timed magic arrays along the way - everything from fireworks to loud noises, meant to draw as many Apostles as possible down to investigate.

With the situation on the mountain top guaranteed to get chaotic, and our light element making us too easy to detect, Ron and I had to retreat and hide.

Sitting in a small cave, I retracted my wings, feeling a bit restless and itchy. If those magic arrays weren't enough, we might have to intervene personally. The waiting was so boring and nerve-wracking.

"I saw seven or eight Apostles fly towards the explosion array."

Soon, the lookout Ron reported in, and Judith also entered the cave.

"There are five or six Apostles going to the fireworks."

"So that's at least ten or more Apostles drawn away already? Maybe I should go check the other decoy arrays..."

Just as I was about to get up and leave, the two of them stopped me.

"You can't! Your angelic light element is too strong, you might get spotted easily. Just stay here and wait for news."

"Don't worry, I won't spread my wings!"

I argued, trying to insist. With my wings hidden, my light element was weaker than even Ron's.

"Hehe, without your wings you can't fly. Your strength is even less than mine! You might slip and fall off the mountain if you go out."

Judith firmly refused to let me leave.