Endless Debt-Chapter 967 - 61: Cut Off from the World

Without a sound, Church crossed layer after layer of defenses, reaching the core area without a hitch.

The Fog Abyss Fortress was much larger than Church had expected. It could have been that for so many years, the King’s Shield Guard had continuously been constructing and reinforcing it, carving many hollows in the rock to further expand the fortress’s size.

Now it was not just a fortress ruin; it was a man-made maze and nest, breeding darkness and evil, along with the Shadow King’s subversive conspiracy.

Church lowered his breathing. His presence was extremely faint, as if he did not exist.

At this moment, Church felt like a kite rising with the wind. In the strong wind, only a thin thread connected him to the ground to prevent him from getting lost at high altitude.

With the deepening of the Secret Energy, Church’s presence reached a subtle critical point. This was a safe node Church had attained after years of training.

As long as he maintained his presence within this range, Church could greatly conceal his existence and make his enemies overlook him.

Like a ghost.

Now this ghost had reached the core, standing on the steps where Church could see many figures busy below. He approached a few steps, a wary gaze falling upon Church, who immediately froze, standing still like a sculpture.

Morrison looked suspiciously toward the steps. He vaguely felt something was there, rubbed his eyes, and the abnormal sensation disappeared.

Out of caution, Morrison came to the steps, checked carefully, and confirmed there was nothing unusual, only attributing it to the eerie atmosphere pervasive within the Great Rift.

He refocused his attention on the area below, becoming even more alert, and shouted loudly.

"Speed up!"

The people below worked even harder, with ethereal shock faintly attacking from behind layers of buildings, as if someone was fighting in the Fog Abyss Fortress, never ceasing the booming.

The Order Bureau’s invasion was somewhat serendipitous. Morrison was leading preparations against the Decline Plague, ready to coordinate with the Tyrant’s power to stir the great fog.

The current situation made Morrison feel slightly anxious. The Order Bureau’s objective was still unclear, and he absolutely could not let them discover the plot here. They would not allow such dangerous things to exist within Fog Abyss Fortress, and once discovered, it would surely advance the decisive battle.

Morrison felt a bit of pressure. Clearly, this was a safe area, and the Silent Ones had gone forth to confront them, yet he still felt a strange sense, as if something ominous was nearby.

As the most prominent, youngest Negative Power User, even among those of the same tier, Morrison was among the most outstanding. After a short hesitation, he believed in his own intuition.

Something was about to happen.

Church concealed his figure, using his own Secret Energy to weaken his presence, hiding in the shadows of the Fog Abyss Fortress.

At this moment, Church also noticed Morrison’s peculiarity. He was brimming with the power clearly evident in Negative Power Users, and unlike previous enemies Church had encountered, Morrison was very young, which meant his Alchemy Matrix’s iteration was surely the most advanced type.

This was different from the battle with the Elders of Wind Source Highlands; those Elders were too old, their Alchemy Matrices were ancient and failing, making it difficult for them to detect Church’s presence, but Morrison was different. Church felt that any mistake would allow this sharp Negative Power User to discover him.

Church’s Secret Energy did not possess any combat abilities; he had to be extremely cautious.

No...

Suddenly, Church remembered he was not entirely without combat abilities. He was an unknowable ghost, and a ghost is a natural-born assassin.

Thinking this, Church slowly drew his dagger. He could move behind Morrison at any time, delivering a fatal strike to his neck, cutting his throat.

Church did not do this. He was very aware of the limits of his Secret Energy. The reason his presence was so thin, causing cognitive distortion and achieving near "invisibility" in people’s eyes, was because he had completely detached himself from the world.

As if he was in another parallel spacetime, once Church interacted with the outside world, a so-called connection would appear, thus breaking his nearly perfect, self-looped cognitive distortion.

In other words, the moment Church launched an attack, Morrison would become aware of Church’s presence.

Morrison was a Negative Power User; Church did not know to what extent his body was Etherealized. If he acted rashly, he might fail to kill Morrison and instead get hurt.

Church was different from Bologue, that brute. He still remembered the purpose of his journey.

Avoiding Morrison’s sight and keeping a safe distance from him, Church walked into the crowd, observing their actions. Quickly, he discovered the gas tanks being carefully transported.

Many dangerous symbols were engraved on the sealed gas tanks. From these symbols, Church saw the logos of the Order of Truth and the Gray Trade Association, further complicating matters.

Church did not know what was stored inside these tanks, but from the solemn attitude of the King’s Shield Guard, it must be something of critical importance.

Scanning the area, when Morrison’s attention was elsewhere, Church silently approached a nearby soldier.

The soldier struggled to lift the gas tank. Morrison had repeatedly emphasized that the gas inside was highly corrosive; the material of the sealed tank was insufficient to withstand its erosion, plus they had been gathering dust in Gray Trade Association’s warehouse for ages, so nobody could ensure their airtightness as before.

A slight accidental bump could cause leakage and lead to disaster.

The soldier carefully lifted the sealed gas tank, just as he was about to place it onto the transfer rack, he suddenly felt a cold wind as if someone had pushed him from behind, his body abruptly losing balance.

"Ah!"

The soldier couldn’t help but scream, his body losing balance, slamming toward the rack. The sealed gas tank slipped from his grip, directly hitting the sharp corner of the rack.

Church hid in the shadows behind, quietly watching the development, while Morrison heard the soldier’s scream. When he looked over, the sealed gas tank had collided with the metal, falling to the ground, producing a crisp sound as it rolled.

The whole world seemed to fall silent until the slight and sharp sound of gas hissing began, wisps of gas escaping from the sealed tank.

The soldier fell sitting on the ground, looking in shock at the gas emerging, while the soldiers around reacted and fled the area in panic. By the time the soldier realized, the gas had already attacked his body.

Without even having time to scream, his entire throat shriveled visibly, and as he turned to rise, half of his leg and pants had already been corroded into dry bones.

Even Condensers struggled against the Decline Plague, let alone ordinary people. It was like time passed swiftly over the soldier; his body quickly withered into dust, leaving only a dry, jagged corpse behind.

Church stared blankly at the gas emerging; immediately he recognized this strange existence — during the first negotiation, the Order Bureau had detected this thing’s existence, and its presence was what had made the Order Bureau wary, suspecting whether the King’s Shield Guard had similar items.

Their suspicions were correct.

"Decline Plague..."

Church murmured, looking nervously around at the sealed tanks densely packed, each containing this deadly gas.

He felt his heart turn cold. These people were not merely plotting a conspiracy; they were planning a massacre. Once all the gas leaked...

Church could not imagine such a future.

The Negative Power Tier’s Ether rose as Morrison strode over. He could temporarily resist the Decline Plague’s corrosion, and only he could manage the leaking sealed tanks.

Watching Morrison stride forward, a crazy idea surged in Church’s mind. He couldn’t help clenching the dagger and, driven by some impulsive force, walked toward Morrison.