Chapter 549: 548

The sky gradually dimmed.

The entire Holy City was ablaze with lights. Brand hid in the shadows, watching the palace before him. He could see the armored Holy Knights patrolling back and forth, nobles in splendid attire alighting from carriages, laughing loudly and walking over the red carpet to the open doors under the accompaniment of an orchestra.

This scene was all too familiar to Brand. There was a time when he had been one of them, but now he could only hide in the shadows like a rat, unable to show his face. The nobles who once looked up to him with adoration and the subordinates who trusted him now regarded him as if seeing a walking plague, steering clear at all costs.

But what had he done wrong?

At this thought, Brand clenched his fists tightly.

Exactly, what had he done wrong? Why must he suffer such harsh punishment when he had already lost his daughter? Was that not enough?

That’s it…

Brand looked up again, watching everything before him with a cold gaze. This time, there was no trace of confusion or hesitation in his eyes, only a resolute madness.

If the Goddess has abandoned me, then… let me indulge just this once!

Though the defense of the Holy City was formidable, almost impenetrable even to a mouse, this did not deter Brand. As a former Knight Captain, he knew there were many crisscrossing tunnels within the Holy City. Some led to the underground crypts beneath the churches, others were used for transporting resources and tools, and some for emergency evacuations. Brand was undoubtedly familiar with all these, and he knew exactly what to do.

After all, for Brand, nothing could be more familiar.

Meanwhile, inside the hall, Fang Zheng held a glass of red wine, quietly standing in the corner, carefully observing the crowd coming and going. By his side stood Black Katie, Iona, and Rodney. Occasionally, someone would come over to greet Fang Zheng, including nobles and some knights. After all, with the power that Fang Zheng currently displayed, he could almost be considered the most dazzling rising star in this land, and for many, building a good relationship with this young man was a wise choice.

Especially for those nobles with daughters, who were even more enthusiastic. After all, if they could make connections with this master, then having one or two daughters was absolutely no problem!

Unfortunately, they almost always left empty-handed.

This was not because of Fang Zheng himself, nor because of Iona and Rodney. As the leader of the Heavenly Dao Palace, Fang Zheng knew what to say on such occasions. This banquet was about recognizing his achievements, and sulking would certainly not foster unity or cooperation.

And Rodney was inherently gentle-natured; unless in battle, one would never guess that this cuddly girl was a maniacal killer.

Even Iona just stood by the window, daydreaming, showing no intention of blocking anyone.

Nevertheless, the visitors came and went, staying in front of Fang Zheng for no more than ten minutes, and even those who initially planned to introduce their daughters ultimately gave up and retreated, all for one reason–Black Katie.

The Grand Priestess stood motionlessly by Fang Zheng’s side, not uttering a word, looking like a doll. However, an icy aura emanated from Black Katie’s presence, compelling those people not to linger near Fang Zheng, especially the lavishly dressed noble ladies who initially wanted to chat with him, but after encountering Black Katie’s frosty gaze, they were too scared to speak and turned to run away.

This girl, really…

Seeing Black Katie beside him, Fang Zheng was at a loss for words. Ever since she had chatted with the Golden Dragon Girl, Black Katie had been like this, silent but radiating an icy low pressure while following him around. Even Iona and Rodney were a bit scared. Ultimately, Fang Zheng had indeed refused the Golden Dragon Girl’s “proposal,” but judging from Black Katie’s expression, she seemed ready to erase the Golden Dragon Girl from this world completely with Sealing!

Luckily, Fang Zheng had timely halted any further action from Black Katie, otherwise, there would have been no banquet at this moment.

In a way, Black Katie’s behavior was a relief for Fang Zheng. After all, he was not in the mood to chat with anyone. Although he appeared relaxed from the outside, only Fang Zheng knew that he was in a state of full vigilance. The reason was simple because just as he entered the banquet hall, Fang Zheng had once again felt that sudden sensation, as if his life was in danger.

Though short-lived, the sensation had become vividly clearer, as if a knife was pressed against his back, about to plunge into his body.

For this reason, Fang Zheng was now at his highest alert, having seated himself at a spot closest to the Pope, and had discreetly applied every Protective Class Spell from “Soul Barrier” to “Anti-Magic Aura” that he could muster. Additionally, he held a Soulstone in his hand with Invincible on standby. Moreover, Fang Zheng’s right eye had activated “Future Sight,” advancing in three-second increments. In this manner, every three seconds, he could see what would happen in the next three seconds, allowing him to preemptively detect and respond to any surprise attacks…

Of course, such behavior was very energy-consuming. If Fang Zheng had not already grown into an adult Time Dragon, he would not dare to indulge in such activities. Just the constant influx and replacement of future consciousness alone could drive an ordinary person completely insane. It was only because Fang Zheng, as a Time Dragon, could ignore the characteristics of time that he was able to sustain it.

Nevertheless, even so, such a large amount of data processing indeed gave Fang Zheng some headaches. If possible, he also did not want to waste time in meaningless small talk with those nobles.

In this regard, Black Katie had indeed done Fang Zheng a big favor.

Seconds and minutes passed.

The banquet began, and according to the procedure, first was the Pope’s speech praising the recovery of the Northlands and commending those who had performed excellently in the process of recovering the Northlands. Honestly, if Fang Zheng did not know the true identity of that “Pope,” he might not have felt anything. But after learning that the “Pope” was a Golden Dragon Girl in disguise, no matter how he listened, it all seemed awkward.

However, the Golden Dragon Girl had clearly already become accustomed to playing this role. She took great lengths to praise the crucial role Fang Zheng and his subordinates had played in the recovery of the Northlands, and she also announced some news–that Fang Zheng was being re-awarded the honor title of Holy Spirit Knight and that from today, his position would be upgraded from Grand Knight to Knight Captain, and he would be awarded the Order Spark Medal.

Upon receiving the medal from the hands of the Cleric, Fang Zheng also gave a speech, revealing the real reason he had risked his life to come to the Holy City. If Fang Zheng had just come to eat and drink, of course, he would not stake his life. But the main goal of this banquet was to formally announce the collaborative relationship between Heavenly Dao Palace and the Kingdom of the Holy Church. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for Fang Zheng to let someone else replace him.

Following that were various celebrations, and then the dance party began. The nobility gracefully danced, while the Knights held their wine glasses and talked and laughed loudly. The mellifluous music echoed throughout the hall, presenting a peaceful and harmonious scene no matter how one looked at it.

Was it really just his nerves being too sensitive?

Looking at the bustling dance floor in front of him, Fang Zheng also felt a bit puzzled, but even so, he did not relax his vigilance. Fang Zheng was very clear that on many occasions, danger often came at the moment you let your guard down, so he had decided to maintain this heightened state of alert until he returned to his room in Heavenly Dao Palace–after all, life was the most important thing.

However…. whether it was a cruel joke fate was playing on Fang Zheng, he did not receive any attacks until the end of the banquet.

But even so, Fang Zheng did not relax his vigilance; after saying goodbye to the Golden Dragon Girl, he walked towards the airfield with Bishop Carl.

“Everything inside the Holy City is normal, no problems at all.”

Bishop Carl also shook his head.

“We didn’t find any intruders, and the Barrier has not been breached.”

“Sorry, I might just be overly nervous; maybe I should see a doctor when I have the time.”

Fang Zheng also felt somewhat sorry for having made Bishop Carl work so hard for so long, especially since the Old Archbishop should have been leisurely mingling in the banquet hall. Yet, because of his own warning, he personally took charge of this banquet’s security, which made Fang Zheng feel obliged to apologize.

“It’s nothing, after all, it’s better than nothing happening…. Then, take care, Your Excellency Fang Zheng.”

“Alright.”

Arriving at the airfield dock, Fang Zheng nodded to Bishop Carl, then walked towards the platform at the far end of the airfield. Seeing the arrival of the people, the guarding Paladin also lowered his head, respectfully saluting Fang Zheng and the others.

But just then, suddenly, Fang Zheng felt a pain in his right eye, and the future he saw three seconds ahead through that eye, at this moment, became fragmented and disjointed!

Not good!

Although he did not know exactly what was going on, the ever-prepared Fang Zheng immediately leaped backward!

Just at that moment, a Paladin standing to the left in front of Fang Zheng suddenly lifted his head, then looking at Fang Zheng, revealed a ferocious smile. Following that, Fang Zheng saw the Paladin draw a dagger from his waist and swiftly pull it from its sheath!

And just as he saw the dagger being drawn, the world around Fang Zheng abruptly changed!