My Goddess is Good at Pretending

Chapter 597: Quarterfinals

Elena put a silencer on her sniper’s muzzle. It took her a bullet to take down the bull demonic beast.

The noise was barely audible to the sleeping Elysia, and the bull demon’s leg was pierced by the bullet, and the beast fell like an out-of-control rolling ball.

"You’re welcome~" Elena made a peace hand sign.

"We need to guard Ely." Ai voiced her mind out, and Zera nodded in agreement.

The two of them entered the void to ensure Elysia would get a good nap without any disturbance. The carriage was moving leisurely, and anyone who entered the two-hundred-meter range with bad intentions would be attacked without conditions.

---

On that sunny day without wind and clouds, the Elysion Church, whether it was the branch church or the central holy cathedral, everyone reduced their activities to the outside world as if the disaster was about to happen.

In the inner hall of the grand cathedral, Ella went to visit the crippled old sage, but the meeting was so brief.

"The Almighty Goddess already noticed your faith and Her Divine Grace bestowed upon you her favor. We shall await the glory and honor you may bring to Elysion." Ella walked away, leaving the lingering words ringing in the old sage’s mind.

"Everything for the Almighty Supreme Goddess!" Old Sage Guam tightly held the healing elixir, still kneeling before the Goddess statue with great reverence and awe.

He would never let his faith falter despite his crippled state, but if he managed to return to his prime, then the world should know that he was still alive and the Elysion would take a leap and bound.

With two active Deities in service, the Elysion Church might be relatively small compared to the other major forces, but it would raise their faction prowess. It was no longer a faction to be reckoned with, but a force that would be greatly feared by the evil and greedy as they would trample the enemies with no mercy.

"Years... it has been years since then. And in these years, they had been causing so much trouble for us. With my recovery and the Supreme Goddess’s return, we fear nothing. Those heretics will pay for their sins dearly with a very bitter price." Old Sage Guam’s eyes burned with determination.

He drank the healing elixir carefully, leaving not a single drop behind.

A miraculous phenomenon occurred, and the magical effect began to spread throughout his body, repairing the damage and any broken cells. Even his crippled dantian began to slowly take shape to his prime Deity-level condition!

He sat cross-legged and focused on circulating the long-lost qi and energy within his body.

Ella noticed it and just smiled before leaving the hall for good. She ordered several trustworthy holy knights to guard the hall as the old sage required some time for closed-door cultivation.

After that, she returned to her room because Megami and the others were already waiting for her.

"Saintess Bhae, we’ll leave the rest to you. Took a defensive measure during this week. You may inform me directly if something happens." Ella handed over an advanced telecommunication talisman to Bhae. She forgot to give it last week, and that caused the delay in the information reaching her ears.

"Understood, high priestess." Bhae held the talisman close to her chest.

"We shall leave to visit the Chthonic World."

"May I inquire what is happening in that world, high priestess?"

"We will send an elite force to assist the imperial heroes to subjugate a Demon King and his army. It will be very chaotic for at least a whole month. Holy Knight Myra and Saint Daemyx will be busy with their holy task, but they will join the purge next week."

"..."

"You also received the holy task, and it is relatively dangerous in this week. Our Supreme Goddess already planned to uproot the heretics and their schemes. You need to be very careful as we shouldn’t ruin Her Divine Grace’s plan."

"Everything is according to Her Divine Grace’s will."

Ella noticed Bhae was feeling a bit gloomy and quickly explained that everyone received their share of holy tasks. Fortunately, it managed to cheer Bhae up as there was no one better than the other as everything was for their Goddess and Elysion.

Ella bid her farewell and when she returned to her room, Megami brought Morfina, Yae, and her back to the Sacred Mountain right away.

"We’re ready to watch the fun!" Nell was the first to greet Megami upon return.

"Should we use the fox disguise again?" Sylvia asked the nearby soul fox.

"I think, we should wear no disguise this time. Let’s ask the Goddesses for it." Lynn rubbed her head and then went to the Goddesses to seek the answer.

"Mm, we should use no disguise this time." Lifa nodded in reply. The fox disguise yesterday was caused by Elysia’s plan to change how the world would perceive the foxkin, but they wouldn’t cause any major scene today.

"No disguise." Megami nodded in agreement.

"Then, it’s decided!" Gaia put her hands together. She really wanted to know more about how the Quadtria Gods could summon someone from Earth.

"I wonder what the young heroes from Earth who were summoned to this world are like. They received the local God’s blessing and Earth’s superhero power, sent to exterminate the Demon King. Fufu, such a cliche story." Fortuna covered her mouth in amusement.

Megami could tell that the Goddesses already understood the gist of it from the other family members, so it spared her from explaining further. "Let’s go."

After bidding their farewell to Zi Xuan and Sakura, Megami brought everyone from the sacred shrine with a poof. They teleported to the Imperial Arena at the Chthonic World right away.

"Lady Ely has an appointment with Miss Alicia this evening. I need to remind it once the night falls." Zi Xuan waved her hand and looked up at the sky.

To be honest, her current life was super comfortable and peaceful, and she truly appreciated this kind of environment as it would help her to progress further.

"Rua, rua?" Sakura asked about the newly dispatched group that went to investigate the evil root in the Flower Gate Sect.

"They should be fine. Their target is only one person, and I think they are more than enough to assassinate the evil root." Zi Xuan was not too worried because the dispatched team wasn’t small, and it also involved the Guardian of Dream’s secret network, so nothing would fail.

---

The Elysium Family camped at the higher ground on the Imperial Arena’s outermost wall, watching how the Martial Arts Competition unfolded. The sound of clashing blades, the roar of the crowd, and the thunderous magic confrontations of powerful warriors reverberated through the air.

Unfortunately, the participant placement draw was tweaked by the Emperor, causing none of the Elysion Church’s representatives to face the summoned heroes in this round.

The White Hero, and the Scarlet Swordsmaster, secured their tickets to the quarterfinals with ease.

Richard gained an easy victory, but Mashiro had to take a relatively big deal as he had to defeat his opponent without triggering the problem that might follow, considering that his opponent was the Long Clan’s young master.

Mashiro invited his opponent, Long Ya, to the hero expedition team, and he managed to achieve his goal after winning the battle with honor, ensuring Long Ya did not feel humiliated by the defeat.

The other major families, Gu Clan’s young master, Gu Cheng, and Cai Clan’s young miss, Cai Hong, also secured their tickets to the next round.

The only holy knight who managed to qualify for the top 14, Sebas, had to suffer a defeat in front of the most talented prodigy from the most powerful sect. Jensen, the Starlight Vanguard from the Heavenly Manor defeated Sebas with just less than ten moves.

As for the Sacred Sakura’s disciples, they had to face each other in this round. Remiel conceded defeat after accompanying Gabriella for a warm-up, and Azrael had to give the victory to Michael after sparring and exchanging a few blows.

"..." Megami squinted her eyes because she wished to do something with the foul draw of participant placement arranged by the Emperor of Stevia.

The previous round was pretty much less interesting because her people had to face each other and the summoned heroes gained victory easily.

"Well..." Gabriella heaved a sigh as she received a lucky pass once again. Her luck was pretty good, but it worked on something it shouldn’t. She wished to cross blades with one of the summoned heroes!

"I’m good." Michael picked up his card and smiled when he found that his number was the same as the White Hero.

"..." Mashiro felt a little nervous for some reason. His opponent in the quarterfinal was one of the strongest competitors who could actually defeat him.

"Oh-o~ is this divine interference? Why do I always face beauty in each round? What do you think, Lady Rainbow Butterfly?" Richard brushed his hair back, glancing at the nearby young miss with a bright smile.

"Hmph! If you let your guard down, you won’t know how you’ll lose, Scarlet Swordmaster." Cai Hong crossed her arms and snorted.

"Hahaha, we are the last, so there is no need to draw the card. I will become your opponent, brother." Jensen put his arm around his opponent’s shoulders with an easygoing laugh.

"Well, unfortunately, our turn is the last match of the round. Also, I am not your brother." Gu Cheng pushed aside Jensen’s arm.

Honestly, he did not expect that the renowned talent in the younger generation was this friendly and easygoing, but he knew there was a great power hidden beneath that smile.

"Haha, might tell the weight! If you are strong and fit my criteria, then you are a brother of mine." Jensen smacked Gu Cheng’s back.

"You’re a bit peculiar, but not bad. Don’t lose to me, or you won’t be worthy of being my brother." Gu Cheng forced his smile with veins popping out on his forehead.

Since the placement had already been determined, they entered the quarterfinal round, but after a short break of half an hour, the participants had to prepare themselves and recover to peak condition.