Simultaneous Travel: Becoming a Legend in the Heavens.

Chapter 527: The Disease of Despair - Witch Version
The ruins of the Royal City, the Hall of Selection.

Because it was located in the heart of the capital, it was not attacked, but the repeated alarms still made the atmosphere extremely tense.

"Alarm! The city gates have been breached by rebel forces suspected to be from Princess Priscilla's faction. They have opened the gates, and a large number of witch cultists are pouring in. The Knights are requested to provide immediate support!!!"

"Alert! Multiple 'Archbishops of Sin' from the Cult of Witches have appeared in the Royal City, Upper City, Lower City, and Slums, launching indiscriminate attacks and causing numerous casualties!"

"Alert! It has been confirmed that the 'Archbishops of Sin' have appeared are Petelgeus, the 'Archbishop of Wrath' Sirius, the 'Archbishop of Greed' Regulus, and the 'Archbishop of Gluttony' Batinkets!"

The piercing sirens and announcements rose and fell, and the sounds of explosions echoed throughout the city, which had been shrouded in peace for hundreds of years. Cries, screams, the sounds of rushing and panting reverberated throughout the capital.

"How can we tolerate your rampant behavior!"

Crusch, revealing her anger, strode away, clearly intending to gather her forces to provide support, and taking with her the now somewhat timid Anastasia, her nominal ally.

Although she sold the entire guild and its influence to Lu Ke, no one except a small group of important figures who attended the ceremony knew about what had just happened. She could still command the "He Xin" guild and mercenary group and was still of some use.

“This world is my garden, and Lugnica is my and Luke’s kingdom. If they still flaunt their name here, we have to do something about it.”

Priscilla spoke coldly, deftly choosing a direction and transforming into a streak of light faster than the wind, rushing towards a battlefield. She didn't specifically choose a location, but with the [Sun's Blessing], she would inevitably head towards the most suitable battlefield.

Too many things happened today, too fast, too suddenly: the changes in Wang Xuan, the attack of the three great demonic beasts, the arrival of the Archbishop of Sin... one after another, making people dizzy and overwhelmed.

"What's going on? Did the flag come a little too fast? Is it really my fault?!" Feeling like he was about to go into battle, Sato Kazuma swallowed hard and kept shaking Natsuki Subaru in his arms, trying to find out.

"How could it be your fault? It's clearly the fault of the Archbishops of Sin! What are they trying to do by suddenly swarming up to kill and set fires? Come on, Zhen-ge, let's go and take care of them!"

Natsuki Subaru's eyes lit up with excitement. He hugged Kazuma tightly and kept urging him on. He felt that his rise to power was just around the corner!
Another world duet, a grand serialization!
"No, no, no, I do know a little bit about it. Every Archbishop of Sin in the Witch Cult is terrifying, and there are also the Three Great Demonic Beasts. It is said that the 'Black Serpent' even destroyed a great nation by itself, turning the Five Great Nations into Four Great Nations. How could we possibly defeat such an enemy!"

Kazuma Sato readily admitted defeat, staring longingly at the two demon maids.

"If you ask me, Ram and Rem are both better fighters than us, right?"

Although it is true, this act of pushing women out on the battlefield undoubtedly drew scornful looks.

Ram: "Kazuma looks like a useless piece of junk food, Rem."

Rem: "Kazuma is actually a useless sweet treat, isn't he, sister?"

"If being called a useless piece of trash means you don't have to fight, then say whatever you want!" Sato Kazuma said, pretending to be nonchalant and covering his ears.

"What a useless fellow. He was Betty's apprentice, with such a convenient learning ability. He was taught Yin Magic by Betty for a month, yet he's still timid and hesitant."

Beatrice snorted and glared at Kazuma Sato with her hands on her hips: "How are we going to get Betty to explain this to Luke?"

We clearly agreed that Lu Ke would see He Zhen grow up!

"It's not their fault, things were just too chaotic for me to keep up with."

Roswaal maintained his strange tone, but felt a vague unease in his heart. Luke's sudden disappearance had left everyone else puzzled, but he could roughly guess where Luke had gone.

Al, who caused such a ruckus at the royal selection ceremony, claimed to be Echidona's disciple and was capable of possessing a dragon. It was probably really the teacher's doing. Luke... might be going to collect a debt from the teacher.

According to the instructions in the Gospels, the teacher should be resurrected, right? Hopefully, nothing unexpected will happen.

Just then, Ram suddenly tilted her ear, and her "clairvoyance" received information from afar.

That was Luke's voice.

Theoretically speaking, "clairvoyance" shouldn't be able to perceive such a long distance, but after in-depth communication with Lu Ke, a certain connection has been formed between the two.

Her expression turned serious. She glanced around, taking in Rem, Beatrice, Kazuma Sato, Subaru Natsuki, Emilia, Puck, and Roswaal, and solemnly began to speak:
"His Highness Luke has given instructions for us to go to various battlefields to fight, and Lady Beatrice will teleport us to our respective locations."

“Um… since you’ve managed to get in touch with Lu Ke, could you ask him to come back and resolve these problems?” Sato Kazuma cautiously raised his hand.

Ram: "..."

Ram: "Do you remember why we came here? Now is the time to gain a lot of experience points, so perform well, and after this, I'll take you to the succubus shop to get the hidden item... That's what Prince Luke said."

"Let's go. There's no room for negotiation. They're just monsters and bishops. Any creature that stands in my way, even a god, I'll kill it."

Kazuma Sato's expression instantly changed, becoming serious and transforming into that of a reliable adventurer. He put his arm around Subaru Natsuki's shoulder and drew his magic short sword from his waist.

Natsuki Subaru: “…”

Captain, please, please be more reliable!

After informing Beatrice of everyone's destination, the young girl-like elf glanced with some concern at her cheap disciple, Subaru Natsuki, and the oni sisters.

"Let me state upfront that Betty trusts Luke 100%, but are you sure you want to carry out this arrangement? The distribution of combat power is too unbalanced."

As Echidona's daughter and the Archspire of the Forbidden Library, she could roughly estimate the combat strength. No matter how you looked at it, the people on this side were just asking to die.

"Please rest assured, Lady Beatrice, Ram and Rem should be a little stronger than you imagine." Ram smiled slightly, lifted her skirt and bowed, then looked at Kazuma Sato and Subaru Natsuki.

"As for them, His Highness Luke has instructed that there will be external assistance."

"understood."

Betty raised her hand, and the magic power that had been accumulating within her for over four hundred years and had recently been injected into her again erupted, creating four enormous vortexes of magic power in front of them.

The first to be swallowed by the vortex were the "Otherworld Duet" duo, Kazuma Sato and Subaru Natsuki. Before leaving, Kazuma Sato looked on incredulously, as if accusing Beatrice of sending them to their deaths.

Ram gently touched Rem's face, which was almost identical to his own, and spoke in an exceptionally tender tone:
Is Rem scared?

Rem shook her head and grasped Ram's hand in return: "No, since it is Prince Luke's order, an order conveyed by my sister, Rem will not feel uneasy at all. It is my sister who will make Rem a little worried."

Ram smiled and shook her head. "Rem is Ram's sister, so... no matter how precious something is, Ram will share it with you."

"Let's go to Prince Luke's room together after this is over."

"Sister... what is Big Sister saying, Rem... Rem..."

Rem's face instantly turned red, and she stammered, unable to speak clearly. She shook off Ram's hand and rushed into the second vortex.

"What an unreliable sister. After this, you probably won't live in Ram's shadow anymore." Ram calmly walked into the third vortex.

"Betty, is this really okay?"

Parker flew to Beatrice and looked at her seriously: "Kazuma Sato and Subaru Natsuki are both friends of Luke, and Ram and Rem are also Luke's women. As a result, the four of them were assigned to three dangerous locations, while the rest were all concentrated in the weakest location?"

Beatrice bit her lip. "Betty doesn't know, but since it's Luke's order, Betty has to believe and obey it. Betty has waited for over four hundred years. Even if Luke really wants to hurt his friends and women, Betty will still do as he says!"

The final vortex expanded rapidly, engulfing Emilia, Puck, Roswaal, and Beatrice.

…………

Echidona looked at Luke with an expression that could only be described as admiring, and chuckled softly while covering her mouth:
"I'm a little embarrassed, but have you never played strategy games before?"

Lu Ke answered sincerely: "When I was a child, my grandfather would make me play chess, but even when he gave me a handicap of rooks, knights, and cannons, I always lost. Later, when I grew up, I would occasionally watch abstract chess players play Go."

"I see. But you should at least understand that you need clever strategies to win when your forces are vastly outnumbered. Otherwise, wouldn't you be handing victory over to me for nothing?"

Echidona's smile became much more genuine, and her anthropomorphic appearance became somewhat superficial.

"You feel you have a high chance of winning, so you're very happy?"

"I……"

"Echidona, you're clearly a smart woman, yet you never figured out the right way to win this game?"

Lu Ke interrupted her, glancing with slight disappointment at the witch who was stunned by his words. The emptiness in his eyes sent a chill down the spine of even the emotionless, knowledge-seeking glutton.

Echidona shrank back a step, her brows furrowed deeply.

Did she do something wrong?

No, as things stand, everything should be proceeding according to her plan. The difference in combat power should already be quite obvious. Just considering the three great magical beasts alone, they would be enough to conquer a royal city without a dragon and a sword saint.

Add to that Pandora the Deceiver, and the four archbishops of sin who act in accordance with the Gospels, and the battle power is a complete annihilation.

In addition, she had many other options.

"Are you trying to join the battle? If so, I certainly can't win. I know this even if I've only glimpsed a part of you."

Echidona's doubts are genuine.

Lu Ke sighed, "You still don't understand even after all this... It seems you're not entirely without emotions. Although your thirst for knowledge almost completely consumes you, you also have other emotions, such as pride and sloth."

He ignored Echidona and looked in a certain direction of the royal city, his voice calm, as if he were telling a story.

"Pandora, the 'Witch of Pretense,' has always been wary of Echidna, the 'Witch of Greed.' She wasn't foolish enough to believe she had truly defeated the witch who was supposedly dead. Therefore, the witch's followers still kept a copy of the Gospels in their hands and acted in accordance with its contents. This was to use the Gospels to discern Echidna's intentions and actions."

"When she discovered the targeted nature of the Gospels, she understood what Echidona was planning, and that she was at her weakest point, having exhausted all means to achieve it. Therefore, when the other high-ranking bishops went to infiltrate the royal city, she did not accompany them, but instead used her powers to conceal her whereabouts..."

As Luke spoke, the surrounding scene transformed into a flickering landscape.

At the center of the reference point is a beautiful girl with pure white hair and eyelashes, and clear blue eyes, wearing a white robe. Her appearance is completely different from the scheming Echidona; she is as pure and innocent as an elf from a fairy tale.

Lu Ke gave Echidona a deep look as she frowned. "Go to the Sanctuary and try to find a loophole to enter the Sanctuary when Echidona communicates with the outside world through the Gospels."

"..."

After a few seconds of silence, Echidona shook her head with a smile, looking relieved, her smile radiant.

“You know Pandora’s intentions, and of course I do too. Going to the capital I’m attacking, or coming to the Sanctuary, are both part of the plan. It’s not surprising that she chooses either one. I did underestimate her a bit.”

"Are you planning to expand the scope of 'chess game' from the chessboard to the 'chess players'? I must say, your vision is truly remarkable. I admit this was my mistake."

She suppressed her smile, changed the subject, and her voice became exceptionally serious and confident: "But the Sanctuary's domain is not something that can be easily opened, otherwise Pandora would have already taken action. However, communicating with the Gospels wouldn't even reveal a flaw, let alone a loophole that would allow the 'Deceptive Witch' to enter."

“That’s right. In terms of magical skill alone, ‘Witch of Greed’ Echidna is the strongest in this world. She put all her effort into building the barrier, even sacrificing her adopted child ‘Ryuzu’. Without meeting the requirements, receiving an invitation, and passing all the trials, it would be impossible to enter the core area and break through it.”

Lu Ke calmly and deliberately recounted the current situation, a slight smile playing on his lips, pausing briefly:

"The premise is that the barrier of the Sanctuary is intact."

"The barrier is of course intact. No one has ever been able to... no one has ever been able to..."

Echidona's voice trailed off, her eyes wide with disbelief. She staggered back a step, a possibility forming in her mind.

"Are you saying that no one has ever been able to break the rules and force their way into the Holy Land over the years?"

Lu Ke smiled slightly, making a tiny gap between his index finger and thumb, and spoke apologetically:
"I apologize, I was a little rough when I entered the Sanctuary, so the barrier has a slight problem."

Despite her seemingly calm smile, Echidona's face grew paler and paler, cold sweat broke out all over her body, and her heart sank involuntarily.

That's right, no one has ever been able to force their way into the Sanctuary in all these years, except... Luke!
The "Illusion Witch" possesses the power to alter reality. Although she lacks the freedom one might imagine, she faces no difficulty in navigating broken barriers. As a top-tier powerhouse, dealing with her own soul form would be effortless for her.

They were outmaneuvered from the very beginning, yet remained oblivious, basking in the glory of their previous schemes and smugly flaunting their achievements before that important figure with the composure of a victor…

Wouldn't this make me just like the clown she used to manipulate at will?

Caught off guard by such a brilliant ambush, Echidona forced herself to calm down and managed a weak smile.

"Was this also part of your calculations?"

"Ah, I guess so. It feels pretty good to see the once radiant witch defeated and trampled underfoot by her most proficient 'scheming'."

Luke walked into Echidona and lifted the head of the "Witch of Greed," who had once been high and mighty.

He quietly observed that face, which was originally beautiful but lacked emotion, gradually developed more human emotions such as frustration, resentment, and resistance, and revealed a flippant smile.

"Whether you're an outsider or an insider, I'm going to destroy everything about you, crush everything you have, and make you reveal your truest and most intense emotions."

"I'd rather see you crying and shaking your head than laughing at a woman with such a terrible personality like you."

(End of this chapter)