Evidently, it was not so simple. Not even Team Rocket had managed to reach that point, much less a Sacred Church like this one.
The plan was good, and they had many methods of concealment, but Cain did not believe that a League which had ruled the Pokémon world for so many years would not have hidden cards. At the very least, that mysterious elderly council chairman of the League was not someone so simple.
Salamence's speed was still extremely fast, and it did not take long before they arrived at the summit of Mt. Silver.
Perhaps because Cain arrived in time, or perhaps because he and Steven dealt with Marcus quickly enough, when he had not yet entered the psychic barrier erected by the Sacred Church, the Sacred Church's forces had just fully descended and clashed with the defensive forces of the League headquarters.
To be honest, this surprise attack by the Sacred Church had indeed exceeded the League's expectations.
Because the League's president chairman, the elderly council elder, possessed a certain special ability. To a certain extent, he could foresee some special events and also perceive occurrences of great impact throughout the Pokémon world. It was precisely because of this special ability that everyone in the League held enormous respect for him.
Naturally, his own strength was also a very important reason, but those special abilities had indeed played no small role.
During the time he had led the League, the fact that the League had been able to develop smoothly to its current level had much to do with that ability.
However, for some unknown reason, this time the council elder had not perceived this great threat to the League. In fact, due to certain misjudgments, some experts from headquarters had been sent out to suppress Sacred Church disturbances in other regions.
Various Elite Four members and combat personnel from the Kanto and Johto regions had, during this time, shifted their attention toward the various cities of their regions.
Thus, at that moment, the League headquarters at Mt. Silver could be said to be at its weakest defensive state, and the Sacred Church had precisely seized that opportunity to mobilize all its forces.
They completely covered the summit of Mt. Silver, isolating all signal transmissions, so that people outside had no idea what was happening up there.
Fortunately, the summit of Mt. Silver had year-round League military units stationed there, only now, under the assault of the main force of the Sacred Church, they were in a rather precarious situation.
Moreover, in terms of high-level forces, there were not many people present either, so they could only resist with difficulty.
However, at that moment, the bishop of the Sacred Church floated in the air without intervening, and the League's president chairman, the council elder, had also not yet appeared.
People of their level were the ones who would truly decide the outcome of this battle. No matter how fiercely the others fought to the death, those who would ultimately determine victory would still be only a few individuals.
At that moment, inside the main building of the League headquarters, the council elder sat cross-legged, his face full of helplessness and his expression somewhat withered.
"Ah... in the end, we have still reached this point. Since all of this began because of me, in the end, it will also be me who resolves it."
As he spoke, the council elder slowly stood up, gently brushed the dust from his clothes, and straightened the waist that had previously been slightly bent. The gentle aura surrounding him suddenly changed and became sharp.
His body was enveloped by a circle of white light and suddenly disappeared from the room.
It was also at that moment that Cain, riding on Salamence, passed straight through the psychic barrier created by the Sacred Church in a single push without encountering any obstruction.
Now, as long as Cain wished to go somewhere, aside from certain specially prepared barriers, basically nothing could stop him.
Even if he wanted to go to the Distortion World, where Giratina was located, he could do so. It was just that once he left, he would probably never return.
When Cain quietly approached, he discovered that although the battle between the Sacred Church and the League had already begun, the two true leaders of both sides had not yet taken action.
The middle-aged man dressed in a purple robe was the bishop of the Sacred Church. And the upright elderly man, with his hands behind his back and dressed in a simple gray coarse robe, was the current true ruler of the League, the president chairman, the council elder.
Just as Cain was thinking about whether he should reveal himself or not, he felt the Sacred Church bishop turn his gaze toward the place where he was, with a faint smile on his face, as if he could see him.
But at that moment, Cain was completely enveloped by the ability of the question-mark Unown.
Even so, upon seeing that man's gaze, Cain felt the hair all over his body stand on end. He simply had the feeling that the man knew he was there.
If the bishop of the Sacred Church had not withdrawn his gaze from Cain after that single glance, Cain would almost have run straight out of the barrier.
That Sacred Church bishop's smile was truly unsettling.
"Old man!" the bishop was heard calling through the air toward the gray-robed elder. He did not use psychic power; he simply spoke aloud.
Hearing his call, the council elder nodded slightly. "Kael, in the end, you have come."
"Kael? Is that the name of the Sacred Church bishop? It seems that, just as Giovanni said, it was not only him who discovered the bishop's identity, but others as well, and the League's council elder is one of those people," Cain thought silently.
Hearing this, Kael smiled broadly. Looking at him like that, he seemed like a grown youth, without the slightest appearance of being the leader of a dominant force like the Sacred Church; rather, he resembled a League trainer.
Cain narrowed his eyes. It seemed highly likely that this Sacred Church bishop had also once belonged to the League in the past, and moreover held a rank that was not low. Otherwise, he would not possess such detailed knowledge of the League nor have been able to infiltrate so many spies into it.
(End of chapter)