Moments later, Baldy Burke arrived at the scene. It wasn't that he was slow; Mad Lion had simply ended the battle too quickly.
Staring at the extraordinarily bloody battlefield before him, Baldy Burke couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. "Is this truly the power of the White Eagle Eight?" he wondered inwardly.
No wonder Mad Lion usually acted like a hands-off manager, doing nothing, and the White Tower never complained. With such overwhelming combat prowess on display, who would dare cause trouble?
In truth, after failing to contact Elysia, Baldy Burke had tried reaching out to the other members of the White Eagle Eight for assistance, but all his attempts had ended in failure.
He couldn't reach Prophet or Hermit, Manor Lord had read his message but offered no response, and he didn't even have Mad Lion's contact information. Yet Firefly had casually summoned Mad Lion with a single phone call—the irony was almost comical.
After wiping out the cultists, Mad Lion stared at the altar pulsing with crimson light. Unsure how to deactivate it, he simply strode over and kicked it, shattering the entire structure into fragments.
Meanwhile, Baldy Burke was meticulously identifying the corpses on the ground. "These two halves... must be the same person. And here's another one, and another..."
But as he counted, he suddenly realized something was amiss. "Hmm?" Baldy Burke muttered, puzzled. "I thought there were only four remaining high-ranking members of The Eldritch Concord. How are there five bodies here?"
According to Burke's intelligence, Wrath, Pride, and Lust were already dead. Seven minus three equals four, right? Could it be that the Seven Sins actually consisted of eight members?
Unbeknownst to Baldy Burke, as he grappled with this discrepancy, a high-ranking member of The Eldritch Concord codenamed Sloth, whose ability specialized in concealment, had swiftly fled the battlefield the moment Mad Lion arrived. Sloth was now the sole survivor of the battle.
In the distance, Sloth watched as the towering pillar of crimson light gradually dissipated. Gritting his teeth, he vowed, "Damn the White Eagle Eight! This isn't over! I will return!"
After spitting out his threats, Sloth turned and fled.
The scene shifts back to the altar, where Baldy Burke reported the discrepancy in the body count to Mad Lion. Mad Lion nonchalantly picked his nose while racking his brain. "Right, right," he drawled. "I think I only killed five people."
Burke's face twisted in exasperation. Mad Lion's flippant attitude made him seem utterly unreliable. How could he "think" when it had only been a few minutes ago?
To be fair to Mad Lion, the cultists were so weak that they failed to hold his interest. He'd been fighting on autopilot, his mind wandering elsewhere.
All he could think about was how to lure SAM out for another fight to test his recent martial arts progress.
In the aftermath, the Eldritch Concord's White Eagle branch suffered a devastating blow. All seven of their strongholds were destroyed, and nearly all of their leaders were eliminated. For the foreseeable future, this cult organization would be unable to cause any significant trouble.
Two days later, Elysia emerged from the Dimensional Rift and hurried back to the White Tower. As soon as she stepped inside, she spotted Baldy Burke lounging in the living room, a steaming cup of tea in one hand and his phone in the other, looking utterly relaxed.
Elysia even noticed that the dark circles under his eyes had noticeably faded.
In fact, these past two days had been the most relaxed Baldy Burke had enjoyed since Mad Lion's dramatic arrival and swift handling of the cultists.
As Elysia's reputation soared, crime in Florida plummeted. Instead of causing trouble on the streets, most people were now joining the Church of Elysia to experience the simple joys of life.
With crime rates plummeting, Burke's workload had naturally eased. Moreover, the recent crisis involving the Eldritch Concord had been resolved flawlessly. At that moment, Baldy Burke couldn't help but inwardly acknowledge that recommending Elysia for the White Eagle Eight had been one of the wisest decisions he'd ever made.
A bright future seemed to be beckoning him!
His bald scalp even felt a little itchy! Who knows, he thought, maybe my hair will grow back someday!
Then, a flash of pink caught the corner of his eye.
Baldy Burke immediately put down his phone and stood up. "Lady Elysia?! You're back?"
Elysia nodded. "This Dimensional Rift was particularly tricky. I just finished dealing with it."
Seeing Baldy Burke looking so refreshed, Elysia's guilt eased slightly. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "Um... Burke, have you ever considered a promotion?"
Baldy Burke: "???"
Wait a minute... he thought. I'm already the deputy to the White Eagle Eight, the second-in-command of the White Tower. Where else could I possibly be promoted? Instantly, the warning sirens of a corporate slave nightmare began blaring in his mind, and a terrible premonition washed over him.
Elysia turned her head slightly, avoiding direct eye contact. "Well, this Dimensional Rift is rather unique, you see. The Scholar needs to stay inside for a while and can't return just yet. So she entrusted me with the management of the White Tower, but as you know, I'm not exactly skilled in administrative tasks..."
Baldy Burke's eyes widened in surprise. Before he could speak, Elysia clasped her hands together, closed one eye, and tilted her head in a cute, pleading manner. "Pretty please?~"
Baldy Burke: "..."
What could he possibly say? Duty demanded he obey the White Eagle Eight's orders, even though Elysia hadn't technically given him one. Personally, he couldn't bring himself to deny such a charming young girl's request.
Unless you're gay, it's practically impossible to refuse a super-cute girl when she's batting her eyelashes and begging you to do something, right?
Some time later, Baldy Burke obtained the contact information for the second-in-command of Scholar's White Tower and successfully reached him.
During the video call, Burke saw a tall, lean man with glasses and a white lab coat. More importantly, Burke immediately noticed the man's severe dark circles and exhausted demeanor.
As if he had found a kindred spirit, Baldy Burke instantly perked up.
That's it! he thought. Scholar is a scientist. They must spend most of their time in the laboratory and have little time for White Tower affairs. This second-in-command must be the one handling those responsibilities!
Therefore, if he could reach an agreement with this man, Baldy Burke's workload wouldn't double!
Baldy Burke never expected the bespectacled man's first words to be, "I'll send you the backlog of Scholar's work that's piled up while she was away."
Baldy Burke: "?"
The bespectacled man continued, "I still have an experiment to finish, and I'm pressed for time. We'll discuss the rest later."
Then he hung up.
Baldy Burke: "..."
Because Scholar was a scientist with an exceptionally high IQ, she typically handled the administrative tasks of her territory with remarkable efficiency, often completing them in minutes. As for the bespectacled man—the second-in-command of Scholar's White Tower—his dark circles were purely the result of pulling all-nighters in the laboratory, a far cry from what Baldy Burke had imagined.