Chapter 728: The Mastermind

"The final intelligence sent back from Falling Star Valley is not just the fall of Your Excellency Domoko and millions of civilians! Just half a day ago, a destructive-level energy fluctuation that ignored the rules of the Heavenly Dao erupted in that area. Three main legions sent to blockade the periphery were instantly completely evaporated along with the mountains within a hundred miles radius, leaving no bones left!"

Another legion commander immediately stepped forward and shouted, "And the Old Days Mountains to the west! Just a few hours ago, the vitality of the entire mountain range was drained by an unknown force! Thousands of miles of primeval forests turned to ashes!"

"According to the footage sent back by edge scouts before their deaths, a huge Void Realm crack split open in the sky, where a grey-clothed man tore apart the Heavenly Dao thunder and swallowed some kind of massive, terrifying monster alive!"

Legion Commander Ryan gripped the marble floor tiles with both hands.

"Lord Holy Master! That force draining all vitality is still continuing to spread! Millions of civilians in the three provinces near the Old Days Mountains are falling into extreme panic. Influenced by invisible Laws, they are aging and dying in large batches!"

"Archbishop Andrew Your Excellency has stayed behind closed doors ever since returning from Falling Star Valley, only activating the holy city grand array. My Lord, we can no longer wait! I earnestly beg you to issue an oracle and immediately dispatch all main legions to the western territories to suppress the heretics; otherwise, the Foundation of our Free Federation will be completely ruined!"

The three legion commanders stared at the layers of gauze curtains.

There was no sound behind the gauze curtains.

On the huge bed, Holy Master Francis half-leaned against the pillows with an expressionless face.

He held a glass of wine in his hand, and his eyeballs rolled slightly.

Francis slowly raised the wine glass and took a sip of red wine.

"Are you done speaking?"

An aged voice came from behind the gauze curtains.

The three legion commanders were stunned, and Ryan blankly opened his mouth, "M… My Lord?"

"If you are done, then withdraw." Francis shook the wine glass in his hand, looking at the residual red wine on the cup wall, "Pass down my oracle. Have everyone within a five-hundred-li radius near Falling Star Valley and the Old Days Mountains evacuate. Do not attempt to investigate, and even less attempt to stop it."

"What?!"

Legion Commander Ryan stood up, "Evacuate?! Lord Holy Master, that is our Federation's wealthiest western plains! If we retreat, it is equivalent to handing over tens of millions of citizens and territory to that unknown demon on a silver platter!"

"Isn't the meaning of the existence of our Holy Judgment Knights to protect…"

"Audacious!"

Francis raised his hand, and the gravity inside the grand hall doubled.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The three legion commanders were pressed down with their knees slamming into the ground, smashing deep pits into the marble floor. Blood overflowed from the corners of their mouths.

"This is the will of the gods."

Francis looked at the three struggling people below.

"That is not a power you can contend against. Sending any more people there is nothing more than meaningless suicide. Andrew did the right thing by contracting all defense lines and tightly closing the holy city. From now on, no one in the Federation is allowed to approach those two ruins within half a step."

"Violators will be executed on the spot for the crime of heresy!"

Only heavy breathing echoed inside the grand hall.

Several legion commanders looked at each other in dismay.

But facing absolute authority and suppression of power, they were completely unable to resist.

"Subordinates… obey."

The Holy Master's bedchamber was pitch black and silent.

Looking at the empty grand hall, Francis raised his withered hand and waved at several close personal maids huddled in the corner.

"All of you withdraw. Without my oracle, no one is allowed to step into the bedchamber within half a step."

"Yes… Lord Holy Master." As if granted a great amnesty, the maids scrambled out of the grand hall.

When the last footsteps disappeared, this ancient Holy Master who had ruled the Free Federation for a long time finally sat up from the soft couch.

He lowered his eyelids, his withered lips moving, and emitted a low murmur, "Almost… it is time."

As his voice fell, Francis reached his hand into the cross-embroidered robe at his chest.

A moment later, he took out the item hidden close to his body.

A brass mirror.

This mirror was only the size of a palm, with intricate ancient runes carved on its edges, and the color of its patina was dull. It was originally a Federation holy artifact representing light and holiness, but held in Francis's hands, it emitted a chilly light.

This was precisely the country-protecting Divine Artifact that mysteriously disappeared in the holy city's secret treasury — the sky mirror!

Archbishop Andrew could not have imagined even if he racked his brains that the mastermind who caused the million population of Losga City and Newt City to evaporate overnight was none other than the Holy Master they worshipped!

Francis held the sky mirror horizontally in front of his eyes, looking towards the depths of the gloomy mirror surface.

If anyone else were to take a glance into this mirror, they would surely be frightened out of their minds. Within that flat mirror surface, the Hell was suspended upside down. Dense human corpses piled up like mountains inside.

Over a million bodies were connected end to end. Their mouths were wide open, their eyeballs protruding, and their Souls were imprisoned within this square inch, emitting silent wails.

Facing this human tragedy sufficient to make the gods weep, Francis's aged face still remained expressionless.

"I'm sorry, everyone."

He stretched out his withered fingers, stroking the brass edge, and said in a flat tone, "For the future of the Free Federation, and to fight against the upcoming catastrophe, I have to make the necessary sacrifices."

"Life is great, and your dedication will transform into the everlasting Foundation of the Federation. When your Souls ascend to the Eternal Kingdom of Heaven and bathe in the holy radiance, you will understand my painstaking efforts… and you will choose to forgive me."

Having said this, Francis no longer hesitated, his eyes staring intently at the mirror surface.

He bit his fingertip, letting a drop of dark red fresh blood drip onto the mirror surface of the sky mirror.

"Hum—!"

Ripples of scarlet waves stirred across the mirror surface, and the life energy of the over a million people compressed within the mirror world transformed into hundreds of bloody threads, drilling into Francis's seven orifices and pores!

"Uh ah—"

Francis raised his head and let out a long howl.

Miracles happened to him. Under the infusion of life energy, that slack, sagging skin began to tighten and plump up; his withered muscles bulged again; and his sparse white hair also faded from its pale roots, turning into thick black hair!

In merely the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

When the bloody threads cut off, that dying old man disappeared. Standing in place was a youth in his twenties with a tall, upright figure, a handsome face, and exuding fluctuations of Qi and blood!

Francis walked in front of the floor-length dressing mirror, stretched his neck slightly, and listening to the crisp cracking sounds of bones inside his body, he nodded at the youthful physique in the mirror.

"Not bad, truly not bad."

Francis smiled, "That guy didn't lie to me. Using the ancient sacrificial method to forcibly extract the life Origin of Mortals can break the limits of lifespan."

He lowered his head, looking at the SSS-grade Peak Law power surging in his palm. He perceived that the forcibly plundered power was slowly leaking away and could not last long, but this was already enough.

"It can only maintain a brief Peak, but it also gives me the bargaining chips to sit at the table." Francis clenched his five fingers into a fist, "Duan, do you think you can control everything? In this game of chess, it is now my turn to make a move!"