“Out of the way! I must report to the king!” A crazed and angry Bishop yelled as he drove the caravan like a madman.

The group had finally entered Martsirt. When they did, Dyne was stunned. The city was very large. Dyne began to ask the rest, and he found out that Martsirt had a population of over one million people.

“So this what a former Sanctuary leveled fortress looks like. Interesting. What about that Kingdom Sork? When we met, you said I was to relay what happened here to that Kingdom, Sork. But when I pressed you guys about how you got to the region near Trithefert, you changed the topic and talked about Martsirt.” Dyne asked.

“Master Dyne has quite a memory.”

“I ignored it back then because I know you thought there would be no way for me to deliver it to Martsirt, which would be far away, and wanted me to deliver it to Sork first, who could relay it here.”

“That is correct. As expected of Master Dyne! Sork Is roughly like this place. But, they are the opposite, really.” Jaden sighed.

“While Martsirt wanes in power, Sork is rising! One of the mysterious falling rocks happened near it. They would soon have the power of a Sanctuary soon.”

“I see… Interesting. Could the Serpentari be from Sork?” Dyne wondered.

Even when they reached the city, it took nearly an hour for the castle to be finally seen. The castle was large and was built on top of a mountain. At that point, several people met on the street as they were now on the main highway, which led from the city itself towards the castle.

Knights, priests, and the like could be seen passing. Some were stunned to see the figure of the mad Bishop, who was driving like crazy. This was just according to Dyne’s instructions.

Though it was night, the torches that the Bishop carried made the caravan visible.

As for the people nearby, most also had strange torches that could light up as well. Because of this, it was very easy for Dyne to see who the people they meet are.

Some of the people wanted to stop and call out to the Bishop but were ignored. And soon, parts of the things that Dyne foresaw were happening.

“That one! I saw him talking to the Bishop more often when he was possessed.” The priest named Chantel said as he pointed to one of the people that they passed by. Almost immediately, that person began to run back and follow the Bishop.

“Who was he?”

“One of the Ark Knights of Martsirt. To think he is a Serpentari turncoat!” Jaden cursed.

“Ark Knights, you say?” Dyne had a curious expression. That sounded familiar to the enemy Job Class in Final Fantasy Tactics.

“Are they… vampires?” Dyne asked.

“Vamp-what?”

“You know. Fallen creatures that drink the blood of others.”

“… No.”

“Check again. I think they are. Are Ark Knights a new occupation in the kingdom?”

“Actually… yes. It hasn’t been five years since it appeared. Only certain knights who have passed certain criteria can employ in that job…”

“Tell the Bishop later to investigate all Ark Knights. They will have the ability to suck blood from people.” Dyne warned.

Along the way, Dyne observed and watched carefully those who would suddenly follow the Bishop. Among these, Dyne would ask Chantel if any of them seemed suspicious, and Chantel was able to point out a few.

The castle soon came at the view. The caravan had moved so faster than those behind as they could pass through most guarded checkpoints.

Jaden and his group had a strange makeup that Dyne placed over them. He had gathered several herbs and allowed them to look like men disfigured in battle. Still, Jaden had to wear a helmet as the king would have recognized them.

As they reached near the moat, Dyne made a quick peek to see if anyone else was nearby. And Dyne saw it as the perfect time to leave.

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“Remember the plan, guys. Jaden, only reveal yourself if you are sure no one is evil in that group. Chrone, use the power of Sun Wukong wisely. I’m off to play a game!” Dyne vanished as he activated the Golden Compass and allowed Jedo’s darkness to hide him even more.

His clothes themselves were dark as he managed to use various herbs and even grime to turn them dark. Grim appeared on his hand. With a might that could match a Martial Advent at level 10, Dyne threw the hook with great strength.

Grim flew with intense speed and somehow began to curl up to make itself smaller. It flew to the skies and used its floating power. Grim managed to redirect itself to go on and suddenly latched itself on the wall.

In the darkness of the bridge, right before the caravan reached the main entrance leading to the castle, Dyne jumped over the moat.

“Wow. That was amazing. I already lost sight of him!” The priest couldn’t understand what he saw.

“Even my ability couldn’t find him. I can’t sense where he went.” Amorien sighed.

Dyne had used Jedo’s power to coat himself with dark energy that allowed him to move unseen even by trained force users.

Dyne began to silently and quickly climb the rope. Using his trained parkour and calisthenics, which he had acquired from his previous life, Dyne was easily able to climb the tower. His costume and the Golden Compass allowed him to remain unseen from the guards watching over the place.

Whenever Dyne found a footing, he would cause Grim to detach from its latch, and he would then throw it to the higher parts of the castle. And like this, Dyne was able to scale the extremely tall walls of the castle.

Soon, Dyne found an entrance through a small window. The room was empty, and Dyne began to change his clothes. Borrowing the clothes of the Priest, Dyne was able to disguise himself as one of the young priests in training. And like this, Dyne began to move inside the castle.

The castle was very large in that it housed the main church, the houses of various nobles, the main training areas, weapon forges, and many more. Dyne had already had a rough idea of the place through Jaden, who told of the basic layout of the castle.

His first target was the most important place of all. He had asked permission from the Bishop, and the Bishop agreed. But since time was short, Dyne said that he would move ahead and hurry towards the temple grounds, located on the higher parts of the castle where the mountain was built, would peak and face the rising sun in the mornings.

Soon, Dyne arrived at the long staircase that led to the temple of Light. Using a written introduction that Chantel wrote for Dyne, Dyne entered the temple grounds as someone who was one of the new deacons in training.

Dyne smiled at the guards and walked over to the many priests.

Various Bishops were there, and Dyne could sense powerful light energy in many of them.

“Wow. Even these guys would die?” Dyne could sense the poor fate that would befall these people.

“Hmm… I guess I should really think of a way to save this kingdom…” Dyne secretly thought as he gave his warm greetings to the many priest and Bishops that welcomed him.

“Maybe if I can give them a Vera… I guess I should try to go on a hunt in the Forest to nab some Veras. If these Priest and Bishops had Serus, it would solve the problem!” Then, Dyne realized what he could do to help them.

“I hope the Hunters are up for it…” Dyne sighed.

Strafe secretly smiled. He could clearly see what the Hunters were doing in the Imaginarium Bond. If Dyne only knew how capable they were now.

As all the pleasantries continued, a loud clamor was heard as several guards moved inside.

“Bishop Chrone has returned! And he is demanding an audience with the king! The Knight Jaden has betrayed us!” The guard alerted.

All of a sudden, a powerful force erupted.

“Woah. Now that is a cultivator.” Dyne could clearly sense it.

“What did you say?” A shocked voice was heard.

The source of the voice belonged to an aged man with a thick beard. He began to run with great haste that was befitting his clothes and attire.

“It is as I said, Cardinal!” The guard answered. His face looked as shocked as ever.

“Hmm… So the Cardinal is a good guy. This could be why the Serpentari isn’t making their move yet. Strong cultivators like the Cardinal supports Martsirt and King Ciroel.” Dyne noted.

Of the Bishops present, most had a confused expression, but Dyne found two who had strange expressions. Their faces held no concern but curiosity.

“Are they spies, or are they controlled by a Spirit Stone?” Dyne wondered.

Many of the Bishops were moving to accompany the sudden rush of the Cardinal outside.

The Priests were told to watch the place as the Bishops slowly went outside.

Dyne took the opportunity of the commotion to slip into the library.

Dyne ignored most of the books and teachings and went straight to the spell section. Bishop Chrone had already told him of the general outline of the area, and he knew where to go.

Immediately, Dyne took away the entire bookshelf and sent it towards the Monster Hive. Dyne left and went towards the place where all the medicines would be stored.

The storeroom was already closed, and the doors were locked.

Dyne reached out and channeled his soul on the doorknob, and it moved in to unlock the room.

“So this is what happens when a spy learns soul cultivation.” Strafe laughed.

Dyne took all the medicines that the Bishop said he would take. He also took some that he needed for his alchemy. Some random items like healing roots, leaves, and animal parts were also taken. Unlike the bookcase, Dyne had only to get the items that he needed for the trip as it might make things hard for the Cardinal.

Dyne then began to leave the room.

“Now to meet with Chantel and see if the baddies had already talked to Chrone…” Dyne began to leave the church grounds inside the castle.