Adam donned his "Mystic Renegade Monk Attire" once again and made his way towards South River Road, House Number Seventeen. However, this time, his luck seemed to have taken a turn for the worse.
The Church monks had always coordinated their patrols with the stationed military, and Adam had quietly observed their routes before, relying on his werewolf-enhanced senses to navigate the city. After all, the city was vast, the military were mere mortals, and the monks were few in number. As long as he was cautious, traveling by night was not particularly difficult.
But tonight, things had changed. The patrol routes had shifted, and more monks had been dispatched to patrol the streets. As Adam slipped silently through an alley, he suddenly felt the weight of someone's gaze upon him. When a voice rang out from the alley, two more perceptive forces zeroed in on him.
"Have I overlooked something in these past few days?" Adam mused to himself. He had not visited the church for three days, so his knowledge of the Church's movements was sparse. In the past few days, between his awakening, injuries, and analysis of his abilities, he had inadvertently neglected the risks.
"I've been too careless. After multiple successful nocturnal excursions, I underestimated the Church's defenses," Adam thought as he hid in the shadow of the alley and swiftly moved in the opposite direction. It seemed he had already been spotted.
Monks primarily used their perception to sense the divine presence, a skill that was somewhat specialized. In most situations, they were no different from ordinary humans, but when they entered combat mode and communed with the divine, their perception expanded, surpassing that of most people. Unfortunately, there was a vast distance between man and deity. While their communion could last for a brief period, prolonged exposure would cause their bodies to dissolve, merging with the natural forces to meet their god.
"Three monks on patrol, spaced apart at intervals, each taking turns to commune with the divine. This is likely their strategy to ensure the widest possible search radius for nocturnal wanderers in the city," Adam quickly deduced.
His expression darkened. When the monks entered this state, it signified that the Church was in combat mode.
"Has something happened?" Adam could sense that the three perceptive forces were closing in on him.
"Could it be that Adell and the others have been exposed?" Adam thought, anxiety creeping into his mind. If Adell had been exposed, a lockdown might be imminent, making it difficult for Adam to continue his nighttime operations.
"However, the immediate priority is to shake off my pursuers." Adam discarded his monk attire. If it wasn't for Adell's exposure, his monk disguise could have caused serious problems. Fortunately, the monks' perception had only detected his presence, not his appearance.
With a quick motion, Adam completed his transformation. In the monk's divine communion state, if they got too close, Adam's human disguise might not be enough to conceal his true identity. Should they discover he was human, it would all be over.
Adjusting his soul-weight, Adam heightened his intuition to its fullest, mapping out his escape route.
At that moment, Adam's senses were triggered by the presence of the nearest monk, already closing in on him.
The monk's perception flared to full intensity, as if attempting to peer through the night and uncover Adam's form. Adam couldn't allow this to happen. Although he had transformed, even the smallest detail could reveal his identity.
His enhanced perception flared as well, and the two perceptive forces collided, intertwining with the environment. Almost instinctively, a thick mist began to swirl around Adam.
A monk, stepping through the light from a distance, entered the alley, as if to illuminate everything.
"Sinner, reveal your true self before me!" The voice was familiar, but the tone was entirely different.
Brother Vra, brandishing a ceremonial sword, was surrounded by an aura of light, attempting to dispel the mist surrounding Adam. He sought to reveal Adam's form, but his efforts were thwarted by Adam's interference. All he could discern was a faint, vague sense of a white werewolf.
"You cannot escape!" Vra shouted again, but this time his voice carried a penetrating force, imbued with divine power.
In this clash of perceptions, if Adam had not prepared himself to withstand the voice, the divine energy would have flowed through the sound, harming him. But Adam, aware of the Church's use of the Sacred Voice, was ready.
As the voice reached him, it seemed to encounter an invisible barrier, distorting as it entered his ears. The divine energy within it erupted, scattering in waves through the air.
Then, the invisible force exploded, unleashing a terrifying aura that stirred a fierce wind. Adam's white fur billowed as he stood in the alley, exuding the presence of a king emerging from the darkness.
Disrupting Vra's attack was simple, but achieving any significant result in this confrontation would be far more challenging. In communion with the divine, the monk's perception and mind were shielded by their god. Unless Adam's spiritual will vastly surpassed theirs—or the monk's faith faltered—attempting to infiltrate their mind with spiritual force was utterly impossible.
So, Adam's aura flared briefly, disorienting Vra's perception, and with that, he sprinted through the alley and onto another street.
There were three monks in total, with Vra being the strongest. Adam had also sensed another monk casting a divine spell, a subtle ripple emanating from him and spreading far into the distance.
Adam deduced that this was some form of long-range communication magic. If he delayed any further, more monks would likely converge on him. However, due to the nature of this divine spell, the monk who cast it was the slowest to arrive, leaving the largest gap in their encirclement.
Thus, Adam focused on him as the point of vulnerability.
From the aura, Adam sensed that this monk's energy was the weakest. He was the first to activate his perception, and only later did Vra and the other monk enter their divine communion.
"This is the moment when he is at his weakest," Adam thought, his crimson eyes narrowing with cold precision. As he crossed the alley and leaped onto another street, Adam spotted the monk.
Adjusting his weight toward his physical form did not mean his perception had faded. Perception was made up of all three elements, and while Adam's intuition and soul-based senses had weakened, his basic senses—smell, hearing, and sight—had been greatly enhanced. His crimson eyes gleamed in the night, and these enhanced senses combined into an animalistic instinct, allowing Adam to lock onto the monk in an instant.
"Raven Reed." Upon seeing the monk's red hair, Adam immediately recognized him.
"He's been with the South District Church for three years, has an outgoing personality, dislikes the nobility but is too afraid to voice it," Adam quickly gathered information, including Raven's preferences and daily habits. "He's right-handed and has a past injury on his waist."
Without hesitation, Adam pounced. Raven raised his sword, stepping back with his left foot, and the blade shimmered with golden light. Adam even heard the rhythmic ringing of the sword, a clear indication that divine magic had been added to the weapon.
Raven's eyes showed no fear as he struck at Adam, but after the blow, something felt wrong.
Then, a massive claw appeared beside Raven's left side. With a swift motion, Adam raked across, severely wounding Raven's left waist.
"Is my perception being suppressed, causing hallucinations?" Raven realized, staring at the werewolf's cold expression. Expecting death, Raven watched as the werewolf disappeared swiftly, without delivering the fatal blow.
Vra arrived quickly, seeing Raven on the ground. He abandoned his pursuit, kneeling beside the monk to perform a healing spell.
Meanwhile, Adam had already evaded the other monk's perception, donned his "Mystic Renegade Monk Attire" once more, and arrived near South River Road, House Number Seventeen.