Blood trickled down in rivulets, flowing on the metallic surface like crimson snakes and converging into a pool of blood.

Ninjia was sprawled on the ground, covered with bruises and bloodstains. Underneath him was a huge mechanical suction cup in the shape of a triangle, lit with a faint blue light. It was this huge gravitational force that fixed him to the ground.

His hands, feet, and torso were also bound by heavy-looking black alloy rings. This was a special mechanical shackle. With a strong interference field attached and through the use of spatial conversion technology, it could disperse the energy released by the target.

At the same time, four pipes protruded from the ground on both sides, inserting into his spine and injecting nano worms that interfered with his pneumatic operations, causing his nervous system to go haywire, affecting his control.

Ninjia could only barely lift his neck. His vision was blurred but was fixed toward an area full of mechanical limbs, where a dense number of mechanical soldiers were surrounding him.

Both parties were currently on the surface of a steel fortress, a mobile base brought by Manison, and there were marks of battle and broken mechanical parts scattered everywhere.

Because space was locked by Manison’s spatial stabilizer equipment, along with magic jamming to render teleportation invalid, Ninjia could only fight.

However, with the numerous equipment and machinery he had with him other than the host he utilized for [Lord’s Descent], there were still four other Apostle Weapons, which made it such that Ninjia was not his opponent.

“I was waiting for you to utilize the scepter, but you did not. Now I can see why…”

Manison caressed the amber sealing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, feeling the energy insulation properties and letting out sounds of praise.

“To dare snatch even our Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, Manison, are you not afraid of angering my Arcane Church‽” Ninjia gritted his teeth.

“Don’t be mistaken. I’m not interested in the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter; I’m just doing the Federation of Light a favor.”

Manison eyed Ninjia before waving his hand.

A silver Apostle Weapon walked over, its body as smooth as a mirror without any sort of mechanical seams.

The Apostle Weapon squatted down, turned its fingers into spikes, and inserted them into Ninjia’s body. After which, its entire body turned liquid and flowed into his body through the wounds.

Next, Manison released the shackles. However, the Apostle Weapon within Ninjia’s body suppressed his ability to control his body, and he could only glare at Manison.

“What do you want to do to me‽”

“The Federation of Light allowed me to kill you and destroy the evidence. However, your body is still useful to me.”

Manison threw out a compressed orb, which transformed into a restraint cabin, locking Ninjia within.

After confirming that he could not escape, Manison turned his head, gazing at the amber-sealed Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. An interested look appeared in his eyes.

“Oh, what a special new material, and it seems like Black Star has mastered the manufacturing method… I’ll find an opportunity to contact him.”

…

“Lost contact? Explain to me, what does it mean by lost contact‽”

The upper echelons of Arcane Church quickly received the news that Ninjia, who was supposed to pass through the stargate a while ago, had lost contact with them!

This gave the Bishops a big scare. They had thought that Ninjia had gotten away from danger and could successfully bring the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter back. To think that an accident had occurred.

Since they could not contact Ninjia, the worst possibility was that he had been ambushed and killed.

But even if he was attacked, he should have been able to send news back, or the Arcane Church should have discovered some abnormalities.

There was only one explanation for this… The attacking party had a Virtual Mechanic who was able to tamper with the data and prevent any communication.

The first suspect that the Arcane Church thought of was Black Star.

However, Han Xiao had been at the Star Pupil Holy Race not too long ago and was still en route to his headquarters. There was an alibi… but they did not forget that Han Xiao could command troops from a distance to complete the attack.

“If Black Star is the murderer, is he being supported by the dynasty? They have already captured four of our people and forced Psyker to apologize. Is this not enough?” someone wondered out loud.

“The possibility is not high. Both sides are in negotiations, and we have reached a preliminary conclusion. The dynasty knows that it is not beneficial to continue chasing and fighting them. If they take away our Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, it will force us to flip the table. I’m afraid it is not worth it for them.”

“Could it be that Black Star wants the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and decided to move on his own?”

“But… if we think about it closely, this will give Black Star more problems than benefits. He has already obtained a huge benefit from this matter, and there is no need for him to also steal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. He will not be able to use it either, and just having it with him will cause numerous problems. The only way would be to give it to the dynasty. However, what we’ve checked about Black Star shows that he is not someone who enjoys taking risks, and he is still in his honeymoon period with the Dynasty. He would not do such a thing behind the back of the dynasty.”

The Bishops frowned. Everything pointed to the fact that Black Star was not involved.

Could it be that there were people who wanted to fish in muddy waters?

To be able to attack Ninjia, one had to fulfil two criteria. One was a strong enough intelligence network to be able to track Ninjia, and the second was to possess the ability of a Beyond Grade A Mechanic to be able to silently kill him off.

Thinking about this, a plausible answer floated up.

The Bishops present all lurched.

“Could it be… the Federation of Light‽”

The Shattered Star Ring was still their territory, and while it looked like they did not care, it would be careless for them to ignore their intelligence system. After operating for so many years, their network would naturally be seamless, and their intelligence gathering would trump the dynasty’s, who were newcomers in the region.

While the Crimson Dynasty did not spot Ninjia’s traces, the Federation of Light did. This explained everything.

The faces of the Bishops were green. The more they thought about it, the more it felt as though the Federation of Light was the culprit.

From the start, when they loaned out the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, that bunch of robbers had intended to fish in muddy waters.

This time, not only did the Arcane Church lose a lot of their Beyond Grade A combat power, they had also strained their relationship with the Crimson Dynasty. To the Federation of Light, this was their best chance.

The Bishops realized that this meant that their entire expedition had been captured and annihilated, and they almost spat blood.

Federation of Light, f*ck your mom!

At this time, the virtual screen on the conference table appeared, showing the command of the pope.

“Stabilize the situation with the Crimson Dynasty and redeem our allies… We’ll settle the scores with the Federation of Light at a later point.”

The Bishops exchanged glances, and within each gaze, they could see depression and helplessness.

Yesterday, they thought that at least the scepter was returning. Today, they once again received bad news. This feeling of falling from heaven to hell made them extremely uncomfortable.

It was a total loss.

Without evidence, the Federation of Light would never admit it. After all, both sides were of the same strength, so they would not be threatened.

They could only take things one step at a time.

…

On the mother planet of the Federation of Light, President Bader put down the communicator, smiling at the elders present.

“Manison has achieved the objective. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is ours.”

At his words, everyone revealed smiles of success.

The Chief Elder fiddled with his cane, praising, “Indeed worthy of being one of the strongest Ancient Ones. The Mechanic Empire is still as reliable as ever.”

Bader nodded with a smile. Manison was an ally whom he deeply valued, not because of his frightening power but because of their ability to appear at long distances and wipe out all evidence, perfectly completing secret operations.

“The Arcane Church will suspect the Crimson Dynasty and may even suspect us, but they have no evidence. Besides, they will not tell the world about theft of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

“According to our intelligence, the usage of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is simple. It’s just that we do not have the necessary skills to repair it. However, we can use it as a trump card with limited uses, as it can greatly damage a Beyond Grade A… Cough cough, just don’t use it in front of Black Star.”

“While it may infuriate the Arcane Church, we’ve earned big by obtaining the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. This is also a chip to deal with the Arcane Church in the future.”

Many of the elders revealed smiles as they discussed their success.

“Manison said that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is sealed by the special material. When he returns, I’ll have the research team crack it.”

Bader’s tone was confident; he did not doubt that the seal could be removed at all.