Lord of Prayer

On the night of the Red Moon when monsters are born, awaken the slumbering Evil God with the souls of sacrifices...

Zhou Chen mulled over the ritual’s description. The mention of "thirty-six devout souls" and "seventy-two sinful people" made him think of the three Undead he had encountered before, and of the eight victim families, including Lin Ya’s.

Bai Qinyong and Jia Ran had both broken the law and caused deaths, fitting the description of the "seventy-two sinful people."

Tang Zhongwen was a devout follower of the Life Church, fitting the description of the "thirty-six devout souls."

And among the eight victim families, including Lin Ya’s, there were devout followers of the Life Church, which also fit the condition of the "thirty-six devout souls."

It seemed Sasha was undoubtedly one of the sacrifices.

’So Soul Rest Cemetery is where the killer keeps the sacrifices. By killing all those Undead, I must have disrupted the ritual’s preparation... Hiss... No, probably not. Those Undead were Ascenders. They weren’t sacrifices, but enforcers. No one would painstakingly select sacrifices just to use them as cannon fodder...’ A thought flashed through Zhou Chen’s mind as he continued to listen quietly.

White Bird continued, "This is an awakening ritual for a powerful, evil entity. The Church has performed divination on the ritual’s source many times, but every attempt was met with interference and attacks from a corrupting power. They never succeeded.

However, seven years ago, we discovered that evil entity’s true identity. But I can’t tell you, because It is exceptionally evil. Even Its revered name is filled with corrupting power. Anyone below Tier Four would be tainted the instant they learn Its name."

’Tainted just by knowing the name...’ Zhou Chen was surprised. "Is this evil entity’s Status higher than an Abyssal King’s?"

"No, It is a Demigod. It’s just that due to the unique nature of Its Authority, even Its revered name is full of corruption."

’A Demigod is still incredibly powerful...’ Zhou Chen’s eyelid twitched involuntarily. He then asked, "What about the killer?"

"I can’t tell you that, either."

White Bird replied, "Because the Church doesn’t know the killer’s true identity either."

"Huh?" Zhou Chen was stunned. According to his deductions, the killer was a high-ranking member who had betrayed the Life Church. There was no reason for the Church not to know their identity.

White Bird’s voice turned solemn. "The killer is an extremely cunning individual. Just as you suspected, they were indeed a high-ranking member of the Church. But when they betrayed us, they used a certain Forbidden Object to erase all traces and proof of their existence. They severed all ties to their past, leaving no clues for us to follow. Afterward, they gained that evil entity’s protection and used it to resist the Goddess’s divination.

And in the decade-plus we’ve been hunting them, no one has ever seen the killer’s true face. No one knows their gender, their age, or their physical build. We haven’t even fully identified their Extraordinary Abilities. They’re like a ghost, a mysterious blank slate.

The only reason I knew we could find a clue in Feng City recently is thanks to an unbreakable, secret connection between the Church and Soul Rest Cemetery. Otherwise, we might not have even been able to determine their whereabouts."

’This...’ Zhou Chen took a sharp breath. ’All I can say is, it’s no wonder the killer has been able to evade the Life Church’s pursuit for over a decade. They’re really something else.’

He thought for a moment, then asked, "I have a question... The number of sacrifices required isn’t that large. Why would they spend ten years preparing them?"

"Quality," White Bird answered succinctly.

’So they spent over a decade just to select high-quality sacrifices? The preparation period for this ritual is absurdly long. But that must mean the results will be incredibly effective...’ Zhou Chen mused to himself.

"Your actions may have alerted the enemy, but they’ve also created an opportunity. The Church will now dispatch two Knight Orders to carry out the capture operation. Since you’ve chosen to know all this and get involved, you must take on the corresponding responsibility. I will send you the Knight Commander’s contact information shortly."

White Bird’s meaning was clear: she wanted Zhou Chen to participate in this capture operation.

"Okay." Zhou Chen agreed readily with a nod.

He glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then covered his mouth and lowered his voice to ask, "So, what does Dupe have to do with this?"

"Dupe is a treacherous villain. To reach his position as Grand Councilor of the Asian Region, he’s undoubtedly done plenty of dirty work behind the scenes.

Within the Church, we’ve codenamed the killer ’Ghost.’ About five years ago, while we were hunting ’Ghost,’ we encountered covert obstruction from Dupe. His people were very subtle, and we didn’t realize what was happening at first. By the time we figured it out, the opportunity for action was long gone.

Later, we began investigating Dupe secretly and discovered he was colluding with ’Ghost.’ ’Ghost’ has done some unspeakable things for him... Ahem, the related incidents are top secret, so I can’t disclose the details."

’So the Life Church has a grudge against Dupe, too. Maybe I can use this to get more support for Jiang Che...’ Zhou Chen decided to discuss it with Jiang Che first. This couldn’t be rushed. He couldn’t just reveal everything on the basis of his relationship with Father Daun.

On the surface, Dupe was a Grand Councilor with a good reputation. Many of the policies he proposed were beneficial to the public, and several of them in the medical field were related to the Life Church, bringing it immense benefits.

No matter what, "White Bird" was the Palace Mother of the Life Church. She had to consider the Church’s interests. It was impossible for her to side with them completely just because of this one issue. Besides, the Life Church’s decisions weren’t hers alone to make.

To give a simple example, in the ten-plus years since Dupe took office, the Life Church had used the policies he enacted to recruit countless followers across the Asian Region. Its influence had skyrocketed year after year, eventually spreading worldwide and cementing its position as the number one religious organization in the World.

In comparison, "Ghost" had merely killed a few people every now and then over a decade to prepare a sacrificial ritual. This was practically insignificant in the face of the Life Church’s grand future. Even without "Ghost," there was no shortage of madmen in the world plotting its destruction every day.

Trying to take down Dupe was equivalent to messing with countless people’s livelihoods. If news got out, before Dupe even had to act, the beneficiaries would proactively clean up the trouble for him to protect their own interests. At that point, he would probably be making an enemy of the entire world.

This matter required careful long-term planning.

After finishing her explanation, White Bird added a few instructions and then hung up. A moment later, a number came through. It was the Knight Commander’s contact number.

Zhou Chen first told Jiang Che what had happened before dialing the Knight Commander’s number.

"I heard from the Palace Mother that you want to join this mission?" a steady voice said from the other end of the line.

"Yes."

"Get to the location I’m sending you within fifteen minutes. If you’re late, don’t bother coming."

The call was then disconnected, and a location pin was sent over immediately after.

Zhou Chen glanced at the time and sighed helplessly:

"I hope I can have a normal dinner..."