Demon Bible

Chapter 141: Inside Information

"There is no need!" the Scavenger leader declared, shaking his head as he vetoed his subordinate's proposal.

"Right now, we are uniting both openly and in secret to pressure the Leader."

"We are fighting to obtain the Rampage Augment IV."

"And then, we will truly seize control of the Construct Protocol's interests."

"We cannot afford to stir up any more trouble on the outside. The Dartmenerly family is, after all, a Great Noble house."

The man's words instantly connected the dots in Isabella's memories. She finally recalled who that person from earlier was.

'Bain?' Isabella realized. She had previously visited the Dartmenerly family. During that visit, she had met Nels's maternal uncle—Bain.

Jacques had also mentioned him to her before. Because Bain's younger sister had married Nels's father, the man had eagerly attached himself to the family.

On one hand, he helped manage some of the family's businesses; on the other, he handled the unsavory matters that the Dartmenerly family could not openly pursue.

The man was quite capable. Therefore, even after Nels was estranged from the family, Bain retained the trust of the Dartmenerly patriarch and continued to work for them.'The Dartmenerly family is collaborating with the Construct Protocol... No, they are working with a splinter faction within the Construct Protocol?!' Isabella immediately grew vigilant, continuing to eavesdrop on the conversation unfolding inside.

At the same time, she paid close attention to the mention of the Rampage Augment IV.

Currently, their intelligence only covered up to Type II. Had the Construct Protocol already developed the Type IV?

"I don't know what qualifies that brat Fass to receive the Type IV. They even want to hand the entire Construct Protocol over to a kid like him," the leader sighed, providing Isabella with even more crucial information.

Rumor had it that very few individuals within the Construct Protocol were appointed as bishops, and Fass was one of them.

It now seemed that Fass, positioned as the future Leader of the Construct Protocol, could not convince these followers to submit, sparking an internal rebellion within the organization.

This was actually excellent news.

Once the Construct Protocol's infighting erupted, their secrecy would inevitably be compromised. Eventually, everyone involved would be dragged out into the light, allowing the Church to capture them all in one fell swoop.

'People like these Scavengers, since they are so dead-set on rebellion, will undoubtedly look for a way to break the restrictions of their protocol,' she analyzed.

'Normally, even if we captured them, we might not have been able to extract any further intelligence. But now, the situation has changed.'

A Covenant was not something easily broken, especially when the location of the original pact remained unknown.

However, if they had the active cooperation of the signee to gradually erode the Covenant's binding power, it would be an entirely different story.

The Church had considerable Reserves and experience in this field, having previously helped many individuals sever their Covenants with Demons.

Just as Isabella was contemplating whether to capture these Scavengers and use their leader as a breakthrough point, she heard them resume their discussion about their next steps.

"Even though that brat is definitely unqualified, the Rampage Augment IV is genuinely powerful," one of the men noted.

"If we want to defeat them, we still need to secure outside support." The Scavenger leader hesitated for a moment before deciding to take a risk. "Gather our men. Prepare to make a move on the Tavern and blow this situation completely out of proportion."

"Boss, this..." The subordinate seemed hesitant.

"We already have irreconcilable conflicts with the Tavern as it is. But since we've gotten mixed up in the feud between the Dartmenerly family and the Tavern, we have to pick a side."

"The Tavern operates more by the rules. If we escalate things there, the Church might be too distracted to pay attention to the internal affairs of our Construct Protocol," the leader explained seriously.

"When you strike, just be careful not to reveal too much about the Rampage Augments."

These men had previously mastered some rudimentary Supernatural Cultivation methods, but because their progress had been far too slow, they had defected to the Construct Protocol. They merely used the Rampage Augments to rapidly increase their Attribute Values.

Compared to those who relied entirely on the Rampage Augments, their combat methods were much more versatile, and their corresponding abnormal traits were much less pronounced.

That was exactly why they felt Fass, who depended wholly on the device, was entirely unworthy.

The murmurs of conversation quickly died down. The subordinate hastily slipped out of the room, and the leader fell silent.

Sensing the residual echoes of her Spells fading, Isabella didn't linger. She silently slipped away from Clean Alley.

After sharing the gist of her gathered intelligence with her team, they began discussing their next steps.

"It's just as we expected. These people can't hold back; they are bound to act in their own self-interest." Gabriel's hands trembled slightly. Although he was discussing the mission, his thoughts had clearly drifted elsewhere.

"If the Construct Protocol falls into chaos, then the so-called Leader pulling the strings behind the scenes will surely be forced to reveal himself, right?"

"When that happens, I'll make sure he gets another taste of my Blood Blade."

Previously, the Blood Blade technique he had created himself had been harshly criticized by Nemus for its numerous flaws. The demon had even casually improved it and unleashed it right back at him.

Now, the only thing Gabriel wanted was to unleash the Sword Art he had spent the last six months painstakingly refining.

"No, we still need to report this!" Al declared, filled with indignation after hearing the news. "For the Dartmenerly family, as Nobles, to actually collude with the Construct Protocol is an outrage. We must report this so they can be investigated and punished accordingly."

"We can't. The implications are too massive," Brent quickly shook his head. He glanced around and noticed that David and the other veteran members of the Church all wore grim expressions.

After a brief hesitation, he added, "According to what my family says, the Tavern is very likely connected to quite a few high-ranking figures within the Church."

"By targeting the Tavern, the Dartmenerly family is most likely trying to..."

At this point, Brent found himself unable to finish the sentence.

Hearing this, Gabriel, who had been solely focused on proving himself, suddenly seemed to recall a certain rumor as well.

Since Isabella was a recent arrival, she wasn't fully aware of the underlying complications, but she didn't rush to ask questions.

Suddenly, it seemed that Al was the only one left utterly confused as to why a place like the Tavern—a hub for smuggling Whale Products—would have any ties to the Church.

"Does this have something to do with Grand Knight Nels?" Isabella calmly asked, only speaking up after everyone had settled down.

One had to look at the essence of things. Isabella had a fairly good understanding of what was currently most important to the Dartmenerly family.

By working backward from the core issue, she could easily pinpoint the key conflicts and identify the opposing factions involved.

No one answered her. However, in moments like this, silence was an answer in itself.

Isabella furrowed her brows, sensing that the situation was becoming incredibly messy.

What had originally been a straightforward investigation into a cult had suddenly escalated into an intricate power struggle between the Nobles and internal factions within the Church.

"If I remember correctly, the previous Grand Knight, Westbin, was stripped of his position precisely because he smuggled Whale Products to a cult."

"I will go question Grand Knight Nels. I hope he can give me an answer," Isabella stated. Beside her, Al immediately fell into step behind her. He, too, wanted to confront Nemus and demand to know why he was involved in smuggling!