Apocalypse Circular-Chapter 477 - 476: The Sword Practitioner

Next, Nightmare Demon and Lu Luo each explained their part of the operation.

Nightmare Demon primarily discussed her future plans for the Inner Ring. She wanted to shift the Fourth Ring’s stance from defensive to offensive. Therefore, she needed to discuss in detail with the key members of her team what they would gain and the benefits of this operation.

After Nightmare Demon finished discussing the team’s benefits, Lu Luo began to outline the decapitation plan from his perspective. He primarily discussed the specific intelligence requirements for the operation. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"I hope that within ten days, you can help me obtain detailed information about the Inner Ring Guard, the Inner Ring Church, the four major Knights Groups of the Inner Ring, the Inner Ring Pope, and the Inner Ring Archbishop. This detailed information must be extremely thorough. In addition to their appearance, strength, identity, and personality, I need their home addresses, whether they have families, and even their daily routines listed out. This intelligence is crucial because this operation might not target Pope Luo Dan alone. The more detailed the plan, the higher our chances of success."

Lu Luo’s request was indeed challenging, but the few people on Nightmare Demon’s side raised no objections. The stakes involved were too great.

If they could really infiltrate the Inner Ring and assassinate the Pope... Could it be the dawn of a new era? A truly unified era? And Lady Nightmare Demon would become the new Monarch of the Wasteland Alliance. No, by then it would be called the Wasteland Imperial!

"We have taken note of Mr. Lu Luo’s requests," Yang Liya said. "In fact, we also investigate these matters regularly, but this intelligence information is only relayed about once a month. And..." Yang Liya trailed off, looking troubled.

Lu Luo promptly asked, "If there are any difficulties, you must speak up now to avoid issues later on."

Yang Liya nodded. "Actually, the other targets are manageable since they leave traces. But Pope Luo Dan is a different story. Over the past year, her whereabouts have become somewhat unpredictable."

Yang Liya’s words took Lu Luo slightly aback. "The Pope being unpredictable? That doesn’t seem likely, does it? Besides her personal strength, the Pope has many Church duties to adhere to. Luo Dan isn’t someone who rose to her position solely through strength; she should be observing her duties, right?"

Yang Liya shook her head. "That was in the past. Luo Dan did indeed adhere to her duties and performed them very well. However, everything changed after the conflict over a year ago. Since the disappearance of the Holy Radiance, the Church’s power has been clearly weaker than that of the Council. From certain perspectives, under the guidance of the new Alliance, the Council has begun targeting the Church, both intentionally and unintentionally. The Church was almost utterly defeated in that Outburst of conflict. It was only Luo Dan’s intervention that turned the tide."

"What’s the issue with that? The Holy Radiance vanished, but the Pope turned the tide. Such an event should have earned Luo Dan great prestige within the Church, shouldn’t it?"

Yang Liya looked at Lu Luo with a peculiar expression. "Most people would think so, but the actual situation is not like that at all."

"What do you mean?" Lu Luo frowned slightly.

"The actual situation is complicated. After Luo Dan defeated the Council’s experts and returned to the Church, she did not receive the support of other members. Instead, she faced hostility from other members, who even went so far as to cause trouble for her during prayers."

What on earth is that about? Lu Luo couldn’t understand.

"Initially, we couldn’t understand why the Church members acted that way, but later information helped us grasp the reason," Yang Liya continued. "It’s because Luo Dan’s strength was too conspicuous. After losing the Holy Radiance, the Church as a whole was very weak. When everyone is weak, then everyone is equal, the same. But Luo Dan was strong, and that’s a problem! Since everyone had already lost the Holy Radiance, why should Luo Dan be strong? Just because she is the Pope? With this question in mind, many began to doubt Luo Dan, and even began to question whether the power she used was pure."

Upon hearing this, Lu Luo narrowed his eyes.

The Church’s maneuverings were truly something else! But this seems to be a common human failing, doesn’t it?

"They don’t resent poverty, but inequality, right?" Lu Luo mused aloud.

"Right, that’s roughly what it means," Yang Liya confirmed. "After that, Luo Dan began to live a reclusive life, and no one knows where she is now. Some people even speculate whether Luo Dan has abandoned the Church. But whenever such voices emerge, Luo Dan makes an appearance. However, she no longer takes part in prayers or delivers the Pope’s lectures. The current Luo Dan, although still the Pope, seems to have become estranged from the Church’s system."

Lu Luo nodded emphatically. Luo Dan’s situation was indeed beyond his expectations. If a top Seventh Tier expert intended to hide, gathering intelligence on them would be extremely difficult. Regular intelligence personnel simply weren’t capable of tracking a Seventh Tier expert’s movements. Moreover, the strong perception of a Seventh Tier expert could easily detect any lurking individuals.

"This does make things a bit difficult," Lu Luo said, supporting his chin as he began to consider a solution. "If she doesn’t have a clear pattern of movement, then even if we go to the Inner Ring, we’d be like headless flies. It’s even possible that we won’t find her. If we declare war outright, we’ll face a siege from a large number of Inner Ring experts. In such a case, a month is definitely not enough."

At this moment, Lu Xiaotian interjected, "Didn’t she just mention Luo Dan’s movement pattern?"

"Huh?"

"What, you didn’t notice?"

She probably meant that Luo Dan always makes an appearance when the time is right, Lu Luo thought.

"You’re saying, every time voices in the Church question Luo Dan’s position as Pope, she appears?"

"Exactly," Lu Xiaotian affirmed. "That’s her unique pattern of behavior. Since she appears every time this happens, why don’t we create a public opinion crisis for the Pope? Wouldn’t that work?" As the current leader of the Fourth Ring, Nightmare Demon knew all too well the power of public opinion. Public opinion, while devoid of any offensive attributes, could kill invisibly. Using public opinion to pressure Luo Dan into showing herself wouldn’t really be considered an unfair tactic.

"It’s a possibility," Lu Luo conceded.

"Not just a possibility, but an effective one," Lu Xiaotian said, her eyebrows arching slightly, her eyes filled with smugness and a hint of mockery. "If handled correctly, we could not only force Luo Dan to appear but even gain additional allies. Allies from the Inner Ring."

Watching her, Lu Luo suddenly felt a tingle on his scalp. He certainly hadn’t forgotten the things Lu Xiaotian did during her time as Nightmare Demon; she was inherently a very playful individual. Although she had mellowed somewhat over the years with age, essentially, Lu Xiaotian still loved to play.

Now, she must be ready to play.

"What do you want to do?" Lu Luo asked.

"Luo Dan operates outside the Church, so the Church is displeased with her. We can totally use this to create some conflict, quite intense conflict. Let Luo Dan and the current Church have a fight. Then..."

"And then what?" Lu Luo was slightly surprised. Just how wicked was a woman who could devise such a scheme? Such a woman definitely shouldn’t be brought into one’s home... What am I thinking?

"Pah, pah, pah, my thoughts went astray," Lu Luo muttered.

At this moment, Lu Xiaotian glanced at Lu Luo suspiciously and said, "Are you even listening to me?"

"Of course, I am. Hurry up and tell me, I can hardly wait."

"Hmph, good that you know your place. If the Church and Luo Dan truly clash, the nearby Council will definitely be alerted and take action. The conflict between the Council and the Church isn’t so simple. Their differences can be traced back hundreds of years. Now that the Council has an opportunity to turn the tables, do you think they will give it up?"

Lu Luo roughly understood Lu Xiaotian’s point. Force Luo Dan out with public opinion, then let her clash with the Church. Next, use the Council to strike at the Church. With this, indeed, all strategic targets could be accomplished, and it could significantly weaken the Inner Ring’s power. From Lu Xiaotian’s perspective, this was an almost perfect plan. Killing three birds with one stone.

"An excellent scheme," Lu Luo commented.

"Thank you for your praise," Lu Xiaotian replied.

「 」

That night, Lu Luo, faced with Lu Xiaotian’s pouting, turned down her invitation to dine together. A woman capable of devising such schemes was best avoided. Moreover, his time was extremely tight. After saying goodbye to Lu Xiaotian, he had another place to go. His destination: the new church in the Fourth Ring, the Church of Light!

No longer believing in Li Ming, but in the Light now? That’s quite a change, Lu Luo thought as he slowly approached the church district of the Fourth Ring. As he passed through the church district, he casually walked over to the swordsmanship training area for a look. The Thrusting Sword Stone was still there, and from the marks on it, it was evident that it was frequently used for practice.

Is Teacher Qiao Xing still teaching swordsmanship? Lu Luo remembered the first time he had come here to practice swordsmanship; several years had passed in the blink of an eye. He wondered how his former classmates and his elder brother, Lu Yang, were doing. Lu Yang had stayed in the Inner Ring, a choice that Lu Luo once found hard to accept. But in the end, he could only come to terms with it.

Sigh, everyone has their own choices—my brother’s choice, Han Shiyu’s choice, my teacher’s choice.

Lu Luo lowered his head and walked towards where he remembered Qiao Xing’s house was. But after a few steps, he stopped again, for he heard the sounds of sword practice. The blade sweeping through the air created a series of vibrating hums. This indicated that the sword wielder was somewhat weak, perhaps even unable to grip the hilt properly, which would cause such a sound.

Lu Luo initially wanted to leave, but after a moment’s thought, his interest was piqued.

Who could it be this late? If I go over and offer a few pointers, wouldn’t I seem like one of those legendary secluded masters?

With this cheerful thought, Lu Luo slowly walked towards the source of the sound.

Is that... Qiao Xiao Mi?

Beside the Thrusting Sword Stone, illuminated by the night, stood a girl with clear eyes. Her appearance wasn’t particularly outstanding, but she exuded an aura of striking purity. Though he hadn’t seen her for a long time, Lu Luo recognized her immediately.

CLANG!

The tip of the sword grazed the Thrusting Sword Stone, Qiao Xiao Mi’s arms trembling. At thirteen, she hadn’t Awakened yet and could only rely on her raw Constitution to practice swordsmanship. Lu Luo looked around, verifying that Qiao Xing was not there, which he found strange. Logically speaking, Qiao Xiao Mi shouldn’t be practicing swordsmanship at her age. She was too young, too early.

Despite being only one year younger than Lu Xiaotian (Nightmare Demon), their situations were entirely different. Lu Xiaotian possessed a pure Exotic Species Constitution. With Monarch-level talent inherent to her Exotic Species physique, she was a super genius who had awakened powerful energy from birth. Qiao Xiao Mi, on the other hand, was unlikely to Awaken before adulthood. This was a self-preservation mechanism in humans, with almost no exceptions.

Why hasn’t her father come to advise her? Practicing like this will harm her body, Lu Luo thought. He moved closer and realized that even Qiao Xiao Mi’s grip on the sword was incorrect. She had not undergone any systematic swordsmanship training; currently, she was just swinging a sword wildly, without any real technique.

"You need to use your wrist, not just your arm strength," Lu Luo’s voice, calm yet stern, cut through the night. "Your fingers must grip the sword, not just hold it. Without enough strength, don’t even talk about practicing swordsmanship."

Qiao Xiao Mi frowned and turned to him. She initially looked like she was about to get angry, but upon seeing Lu Luo, she froze for a moment. "You? Are you... Big Brother Lu Luo?"

Seeing that Qiao Xiao Mi recognized him, Lu Luo smiled as well. "Yes, it’s been a long time, Xiao Mi."

"Big Brother... teach me swordsmanship!" Qiao Xiao Mi suddenly gripped the long sword in her hands firmly, her face set with determination.

But Lu Luo became even more puzzled. If it were about swordsmanship, there was probably no one in the Fourth Ring stronger than Qiao Xing. If Qiao Xiao Mi wanted to learn swordsmanship, why would she look past her father to ask me?

"Your father... If you want to practice swordsmanship, why not ask him? Your father is the top swordsmanship master in the entire Fourth Ring. If he were to teach you..."

"Dad doesn’t like me anymore!"

"Er, huh?" Lu Luo didn’t quite understand. How could Qiao Xing possibly not like Qiao Xiao Mi? The Qiao Xing of the past, for Qiao Xiao Mi’s sake, had single-handedly taken up his sword to challenge Noah. How fierce was that resolve back then? Such deep feelings couldn’t possibly be forgotten overnight. So, when Qiao Xiao Mi said Qiao Xing no longer liked her, Lu Luo found it utterly unbelievable and incomprehensible.

"That can’t be right! You’re your father’s treasure. He once..."

"But, as you said, that was in the past," Qiao Xiao Mi interrupted, lowering her head as tears welled in her eyes. "Now, Dad only has eyes for my younger brother. He stays with Mom and my brother all day and isn’t willing to come out and spend time with me. He’s not interested in me at all."

Her tearful appearance made Lu Luo’s heart ache. She was too pure. After all, the sword is an instrument of slaughter. This... isn’t right.

"Then why do you want to learn swordsmanship?"