253. Dare Mention His Name
"John Kane from Cascadia."
Upon hearing these words, the remaining three abbey priests appeared visibly confused.
"..." Reverend Thompson froze for a moment, then showed a cold smile, killing intent rising in his turbid eyes. "Say again, who are you looking for?"
Changqing sensed something was slightly off, but dismissed it: "John Kane from Cascadia."
A mere dying Martial Abbey couldn't possibly stir up any significant trouble.
To use such a threatening tone—they must have been cooped up in this crumbling abbey too long and lost touch with reality.
"Good." Before the words had even faded, Reverend Thompson's smile deepened as he slowly closed his eyes.
Everyone looked on in confusion.
In the Martial Abbey, among the thirteen golden statues on the platform, the eyes of the Lion-heart Warrior, the first at Great Paladin's right, suddenly gleamed with light.
His forty feet tall body deftly descended from the platform.
The moment it entered the cloister, dazzling golden light illuminated the sky as it moved with deliberate steps toward the chapter house.
Under Lion-heart's golden feet, the stone steps crumbled like tofu.
With a casual wave of its hand, he turned part of the wall to powder, his huge eyes gazing down at the figures inside.
"..."
Enveloped by the massive shadow and staring at the godlike golden figure towering before him, Changqing unconsciously swallowed and retreated three steps. "What do you mean by this?!" he shouted.
"What I mean is," Lion-heart opened its mouth, its voice like a great bell echoing in the sky: "You, merely an Upper Realm Ward of Nature, being called honorable is already flattery. If you dare mention that name in front of me again..."
"What I mean is," Lion-heart opened his mouth, his voice resonating like a cathedral organ across the chambers: "You, a mere Upper Realm Ward of Nature, are already flattered to be called honorable. If you dare mention that name in front of me again..."
Lion-heart bared his teeth slightly, his expression ice-cold: "You shall perish here today."
"You!" Changqing's face twisted in rage. "Have you forgotten that I represent the Red Party?"
Lion-heart merely raised its foot to step down. Changqing's face contorted with shock as his body began to glow red, his arms crossing involuntarily in front of him for protection.
The golden statue's foot halted mere inches from his face.
Cold sweat had already soaked Changqing's clothes, his eyes filled with fear as he breathed heavily.
Facing Lion-heart's cold gaze, Changqing steadied his breathing and said softly, "I'm merely making an inquiry on behalf of Fox Wonderland. There's no need for such hostility."
"Hmph." Lion-heart withdrew his foot, turned slowly back toward the Nave, and resumed his position on the platform, instantly becoming as motionless as a statue once more.
At the same time, Reverend Thompson opened his eyes and stated coldly, "Please leave. I trust you can find your own way out."
… …
Changqing exited the Martial Abbey, his face revealing nothing.
For the severely declining New Terra, summoning a fallen Fifth Realm Breaker's golden vessel was their second most severe warning—surpassed only by awakening their sole patriarch.
While these golden vessels cannot match the full power of Immortals (Fifth Realm Breakers), they can still completely overwhelm True Persons.
Considering Old Fox Thompson's abilities, Changqing couldn't determine how long he could maintain the golden vessel—perhaps ten minutes or maybe two hours. Regardless, Changqing had no intention of testing these limits.
He gritted his teeth, silently reassuring himself.
These bastards can only flaunt such arrogance within this decaying capital.
Nothing but watchdogs.
John Kane from Cascadia...
After regaining his composure, Changqing silently repeated this name to himself, a look of confusion crossing his eyes.
He had simply been asked to make a casual inquiry about the name, yet the reaction from the Martial Abbey disciples had startled him deeply.
The Fox Wonderland elder had been investigating for months but couldn't uncover John Kane's background. The entire H.A.R.M. Cascadia organization seemed to have taken a vow of silence—no matter what connections were used to probe, everyone clammed up as soon as this name was mentioned.
Even those willing to talk couldn't provide any concrete information about his lineage, fighting techniques, or specific Realm level—they knew absolutely nothing.
They were good at making up stories though, spinning tales that were simply laughable.
A few months ago he was supposedly handling First Realm jackal vampires, then suddenly he was single-handedly slaying fully harmonized Leviasaurs—utterly nonsensical.
I'll simply report what transpired today.
Changqing straightened his clothes, concluding that the Martial Abbey had clearly prepared this deceptive information in advance to mislead inquiries.
For them to protect this person with such extraordinary measures, they must harbor extremely high expectations for him.
Are they still in denial about reality, clinging to dreams of reclaiming their former glory?
Thinking of this, he sneered, glancing back at the towering Martial Abbey with the contempt one reserves for a once-proud noble now reduced to beggary.
Refusing to serve obediently as watchdogs for the Red Party, they couldn't even be good dogs—they would likely need a few more harsh lessons before finally accepting their place.
...
Inside the chapter house, the other three abbey priests looked at each other with confusion. "Brother Thompson, what were you doing?" one of them asked.
Summoning the golden vessel was impressive, but doesn't this essentially confirm John's involvement in the matter?
"Did John Kane actually kill that Fox Wonderland disciple?"
"..."
Calvin Thompson pursed his lips and said coldly, "How would I know?"
Hearing this, the remaining three priests exchanged glances. If it wasn't John Kane who did it... well, obviously it wasn't him. He was a H.A.R.M. General. With the chaos in Cascadia, defending against local vampires alone would consume all his energy. Why would he pick a fight with a passing fox vampire without reason?
"But I know John's talent. Anyone with eyes can see it, let alone those fox vampires from Fox Wonderland."
Thompson glanced at the others. "With his talent as terrifying as the strength of Samson, he's practically a born Path of Redemption follower. Once news gets out, Vampires Valley—or even the Red Party—would certainly do everything to kill him in the cradle."
"That's true."
The abbey priests nodded in agreement, recalling how the young man had completely absorbed the golden body's aura during the Martial Abbey Cleansing.
Shouldering blame for one more incident was insignificant compared to the danger of revealing John's extraordinary talent.
"Brother Thompson should warn him again, unless absolutely necessary, try not to leave the capital."
Hearing this, Reverend Thompson suddenly clenched his fist and let out a rare curse: "Warn him? I turn my back for one night, and the fool runs off to Florida!"
"What on earth is he doing in Florida?" The abbey priests exchanged bewildered looks.
"I gave him a position as deputy inspector in H.A.R.M.," Thompson sighed, thinking of Alon Dakila who had rushed to report the news, and felt a crushing headache coming on.
"Didn't you explain to him that the position is merely for collecting devotional power?" one of the priests asked, visibly dismayed.
Surely no Seeker of Redeemer would actually go inspect the Twenty Five States, failing to recognize that this wasn't a job they were truly meant to perform.
Hearing this, Reverend Thompson hesitated: "I did explain it clearly, didn't I?"
He couldn't outright say "collect a salary without working," but anyone with a functional brain should have understood the implication.
"Look at what you've done. He's a hot-blooded young man—how could he resist all those desperate pleas?" The chubby abbey priest rolled his eyes, turning to walk outside while casually adding, "Don't worry, Aurelio Barragan from Florida knows what's important. He won't actually let your precious junior brother get into any danger."
"Brother Thompson, go rest. We'll take care of the remaining cleansing."
Despite being an Upper Realm Seeker of Redeemer and having mastered the Lion-heart Golden Body technique, Calvin Thompson found controlling the Lion-heart vessel extremely taxing. Those few seemingly casual movements had depleted his energy significantly. His Redeemed Spirit would need at least ten days to fully recover to its peak state.
"No need." Thompson shook his head, gazing silently toward H.A.R.M. headquarters. A sense of unease settled over him, as if his actions had inadvertently set something troubling in motion.
Surely Junior Brother Kane hadn't actually gotten himself into real trouble?
...
A week passed quickly.
The H.A.R.M. office maintained its usual stream of visitors.
Alon Dakila sat at his desk, his gaze unfocused and mind clearly elsewhere.
The newly appointed Inspector had been requested to Florida right under his nose and had yet to return.
He knew Florida's precarious situation better than anyone else.
It was a powder keg ready to explode at any moment. Though appearing stable on the surface, even the slightest disruption could trigger consequences far worse than the chaos in Cascadia.
"Aurelio Barragan! You son of a..."
Alon gritted his teeth, praying that the old man wouldn't do anything reckless. If anything happened to the Inspector, the Martial Abbey would utterly destroy him.
"..."
Aurelio had just approached the counter when he overheard this curse.
The old man pursed his lips, not knowing how to respond.
After a moment of silence, he cleared his throat. "Ahem."
"Huh!" Alon Dakila snapped to attention, recognizing the person before him, and hurriedly stood up. "Admiral Barragan, why are you here?"
Aurelio Barragan shook his head with a bitter smile, seemingly unbothered, and bowed respectfully. "Inspector Kane sent me to headquarters to deliver this report."
With that, he handed over the documents he had carefully prepared beforehand.
Alon Dakila flipped through a couple of pages carelessly, finding it was still the same worthless matters: "Why are you showing me this stuff? Everyone in H.A.R.M. knows you lost four cities. Where is Inspector Kane?"
Florida had only one Lower Realm Seeker of Redeemer defending against two Vampire Kings, and headquarters couldn't spare additional manpower. However, the Martial Abbey understood the difficult situation and wouldn't place the entire blame on this frail old man.
Florida was defended by just one Lower Realm Seeker of Redeemer against two Vampire Kings, with headquarters unable to provide reinforcements. Nevertheless, the Martial Abbey recognized these challenging circumstances and wouldn't place the entire blame on this frail old man.
"Inspector Kane? He's gone back to rest."
Aurelio was stunned, realizing that not only had Inspector Kane disregarded him, but H.A.R.M. headquarters couldn't care less about him.
He had come as the Florida Admiral to accept punishment... they could at least give him some reaction.
"You stay right here, don't move!"
Alon Dakila dashed out of the office, rushed into the Martial Abbey hall, and quickly returned with four old men in black robes.
Alon Dakila bolted from the office, hurried into the Martial Abbey hall, and swiftly returned with four stern-faced old men.
Surrounded by the four Abbey priests in their black robes with cold, austere expressions, Aurelio suddenly realized something was very wrong.