Lord of Mysteries: The New Black Emperor

Chapter 96: The Horn of Battle

Having met with Upton and donned his mask, Hobert said, "I understand.

"Don't panic. You sensed danger; they might monitor you within six hours.

"This is Backlund. They won't launch their attack until at least the latter half of the night. We have enough time."

Hobert's calm demeanor eased Upton's anxiety.

Hobert continued, "You should go back. When the battle erupts tonight, if the enemy matches our earlier estimates—one Sequence 6, two Sequence 7s, and one Sequence 8—you need to use the sealing item to at least entangle one Sequence 7 for half a minute."

Upton nodded repeatedly and quickly left.

Hobert turned to Bishop Utravsky, saying, "Father, the horn of battle has sounded. Please prepare yourself."

Utravsky nodded slowly and began confessing to the Sacred Emblem, repenting for resorting to violence again.

After leaving the church, Hobert took off his mask only once he was seated in a cab.

At home, he left a note for Christian: Tonight is the time for hunting.

This was Hobert's trump card. Although Christian hadn't agreed to help, he would surely come to watch. If things spiraled out of control, he could ask Christian to intervene for safety.

Next, he went to the North Borough to pick up Daly from the Blackthorn Security Company and collected 2-355.

Finally, he went to fetch Xio and Fors.

Hobert and Daly arrived at the address left by Xio. Hobert knocked for a long time before an old woman opened the door. "Young man, who are you looking for?"

Hobert stood dumbfounded. He didn't recall any mention in the original text of Xio or Fors having hired a maid! Moreover, this old woman looked like she could drop dead on the spot—who would dare hire her as a maid?

At that moment, the door across the way opened, and Xio smiled at the old woman, "Aunt Martina, he's looking for me. I think he must have mistaken the door number."

Hobert twitched his mouth in resignation. Once everyone was in the carriage, he said, "You all are being too cautious."

Xio looked a bit embarrassed, turning her head to smooth her tousled hair. Fors, however, smiled, "You're the only man who knows our address."

She might have realized her words sounded a bit ambiguous, so she added, "We need to evade the searches of official Beyonders and be cautious of other wild Beyonders."

Hobert pointed to the silent Daly, "I have unfortunate news for you. This is an official Beyonder."

Fors's eyes widened as she looked at Daly, who wore blue eyeshadow. She immediately prepared to bolt from the carriage, her first thought being: Did Hobert betray us?

After all, even wild Beyonders who had committed no crime could still be arrested by official Beyonders, imprisoned, and used as experimental subjects for sealing items.

So wild Beyonders were like "born prisoners."

Xio asked, "Does this official Beyonder also participate in our operation?"

Normally slow to process, Xio remained calm, knowing she could trust Hobert not to betray them.

"Exactly." Hobert introduced, "Madam Daly is a seasoned member of the Nighthawks team. She agreed before we boarded that she wouldn't use today's opportunity to hunt you down."

Daly was taken aback; they hadn't even discussed that topic.

"But the condition is that I will monitor your states," Hobert continued. "If there are any signs of losing control, come to me immediately. Trust me, I can help you avoid losing control as long as it's early enough."

Fors sighed in relief and assured Xio that they would keep a close eye on their states.

Daly subtly nodded as well. Hobert's words meant he was responsible for the states of the two ladies. If their conditions fell within the monitoring scope of the Nighthawks, it wouldn't necessarily warrant their arrest.

With Daly as the official Beyonder, Fors and Xio were less lively than usual.

Amid the slightly tense atmosphere, the group arrived at the Harvest Church.

Daly stood at the door, "Harvest Church?"

Hobert, walking ahead, confirmed, "That's right, the Harvest Church."

Fors gazed at the modest church, "I had no idea there was a Harvest Church in Backlund!"

Upon entering, they sat in the front row, and the imposing figure of the "Giant Bishop" caught their attention.

Hobert felt as though he had returned home, saying, "Make yourselves comfortable, don't be shy."

After Daly and the others took their seats, Hobert explained, "Among the enemies, there is a Beyonder skilled in divination. Waiting for them here in the church can effectively disrupt their predictions.

"Don't underestimate this church; even the smallest church holds significance."

As long as it's connected to the divine, the results of divination could be affected or distorted.

Daly remarked, "You really know a lot."

Xio and Fors also felt a sense of enlightenment.

Suddenly, Utravsky interjected, "Your plot will catch the attention of the divine. This is not a good thing for you."

Hobert directly ignored the priest's warning, "This is my other helper, Bishop Utravsky. You can call him Father.

"Father, please come here; we need to hold a pre-battle meeting."

Utravsky reluctantly bowed his head for a moment of confession before sitting down.

Xio and Fors exchanged glances, wondering what sort of friends Hobert had.

"I suspect the enemies' divination can roughly determine Upton—oh, my friend who's being hunted. Haha, just by your expressions, I can tell you didn't expect I really had such a friend, did you?" Hobert said cheerfully. "They can likely discern that Upton is currently a Sequence 8 with a Sealed Artifact.

"Facing such an enemy, deploying one Sequence 6 and two Sequence 7s is quite a luxury. Meanwhile, we have two Sequence 6s, two Sequence 8s, two Sequence 9s, and can utilize a Grade 2 Sealed Artifact—our strength is not to be underestimated."

Xio, Fors, and Daly were momentarily stunned before realizing that Hobert had indeed leveled up.

"Daly and Father Utravsky have more combat experience than I do," Hobert stated. "So I'll only outline a general tactical plan. If necessary, you can adjust tactics at any time…"

…

Just past midnight, a carriage halted on the street adjacent to the Harvest Church.

Five individuals, four men and one woman, disembarked one after another, swiftly moving towards number 103 under their leader's guidance.

The plan had already been discussed in the carriage. Upon nearing 103, two Sequence 8s approached the building across from it. During their reconnaissance earlier that afternoon, they had discovered Upton had hired two relatively weak female helpers, and the two Sequence 8s were tasked with dealing with those two helpers.

The leader commanded the attack, and three "mid-sequence" Beyonders launched a surprise assault.

At that moment, a beam of dawn light suddenly appeared on the street, and a tall figure descended from the sky.