Truth be told, the voice wasn't loud.
But it did startle Arthur and Caesar immensely.
After all, their conversation had been held in an extremely private environment, protected by countless layers of shields, utterly incapable of accommodating a third party…
How could it be that, inexplicably, a person's voice appeared out of nowhere?
Thus, the very next second after the voice sounded, Caesar abruptly released his hands, and Arthur, with a grave expression, retracted his silver crystal.
"Who's there?! How dare you play tricks here?"
"Do you not know who we are?"
Arthur gritted his teeth, cautiously observing all the decorations within the carriage, and boomed sternly.
The voice, however, seemed to laugh gleefully:
"Oh? Such commonplace knowledge, how could I not know?"
"A prince of the Holy Empire, a chief judge of the Holy Light Diocese… both of you are considered prominent figures within the Holy Light faction…"
"I never expected that when you're having a dispute, you'd still be so childish and laughable!"
The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, ethereal and indistinct, truly making the two of them search in vain.
But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't find any clues or traces within the carriage…
At this moment, Arthur's mood could only be described as utterly soured.
His interaction with Caesar had not been perfect to begin with, and he had even entertained thoughts of killing him…
Now, with an unknown entity playing mind games within the carriage, and him being at a complete disadvantage in terms of information…
The frustration and resentment of it all were enough to drive him mad!
Moreover, judging from the tone, the hidden individual's voice was becoming increasingly mocking.
This feeling of looking down and toying with others, a feeling that normally belonged to him, had now been stolen!
With no other recourse, Arthur took a deep breath, then said in as steady a tone as possible:
"Who exactly are you! And what is your purpose for being here!"
"If you're here to befriend us or negotiate, you can come out in the open…"
"If you're here with ill intentions, just make your move. Why all this unnecessary chatter?"
"Hiding and sneaking around, what kind of capability is that!"
After hearing Arthur's words, the voice burst into laughter:
"As long as I can provoke a reaction from the other party, that is indeed a capability."
"After all, you can't break through it, can you?"
"And your guess about my purpose is quite wrong, what a pity…"
Arthur truly felt his inner annoyance reaching its peak, so he mustered his last shred of patience and asked in a low voice:
"Then, would your Excellency be so kind as to inform us of your true purpose for being here?"
The voice chuckled softly:
"Originally, it was just an unintentional act, but I didn't expect to encounter dear old friends here…"
"So, my purpose for traveling such a long distance to be here, naturally, is only one."
"That is, to have a good chat with my old friends!"
Hearing the resonant answer, Arthur's expression instantly became complex.
Old friends? Catching up? Traveling a long distance?
In that instant, countless possibilities flashed through his mind, only to be rejected by himself one by one.
It was impossible. Anyone qualified to speak like this would absolutely not be here now…
He racked his brain, utterly unable to comprehend who would have the leisure to play such a prank on him.
Seeing Arthur's dazed expression, the source of the voice finally let out a long sigh:
"A pity… a pity…"
"Even after I've given such a hint, you still can't remember me…"
"I can only say, dear Chief Judge Arthur, you are indeed too forgetful…"
As he spoke, an incredibly brilliant light materialized within the carriage where the two of them were alone.
Condensed by this light was the physical structure of a young man…
"Lin Ran?! It's actually you?!"
Upon seeing the nearly formed body beneath the radiant light, Arthur, along with Caesar, cried out in disbelief.
Ever since that parting at the competition venue, they hadn't seen the fearsome Lin Ran for a very, very long time.
Even the arrogant Arthur had to admit inwardly that Lin Ran was an extremely infuriating entity.
Powerful, terrifying, unpredictable, resourceful, and brimming with countless devious ideas…
To be constantly on the mind of such a person would likely prevent one from sleeping soundly.
After all, you could never know if everything you encountered in the future was a trap set by Lin Ran beforehand…
A moment's carelessness could lead to a crushing defeat.
Therefore, their conclusion in private was that facing an entity like Lin Ran, whom they couldn't outsmart and couldn't kill, the best approach was to never make an enemy of him.
Even interacting with him should be done with extreme caution…
And now, Lin Ran had inexplicably sent a mysterious clone, condensed by some unknown power, to this place, truly enough to give them heart palpitations.
Seeing the radiant light curve into a smile, Arthur finally managed a slight twitch of his lips, though his smile was extremely awkward:
"Lin… Brother Lin, so it's you… How have you been?"
"You've suddenly appeared here, do you have any advice for us?"
Lin Ran's clone stretched leisurely, his smile growing even more radiant:
"Advice is certainly not the word… I merely came to catch up with old friends."
"But I didn't expect to stumble upon your little spat…"
"Of course, I certainly didn't do it on purpose! Please don't take it to heart."
Arthur's expression darkened slightly:
"If that's the case, Brother Lin, why don't you appear in your true form? Why hide behind a clone?"
"Could it be that now that you've won the championship, you're starting to shun us, your old friends?"
Lin Ran quickly waved his hands:
"No, no, no, how could that be…"
"The reason I dared not appear in my true form is that there are 'dirty things' lurking outside right now!"
"Brother Arthur, take a good look at the personnel configuration you have outside…"
"There are red-robed archbishops, holy knights, deputy chief judges, it's truly terrifying."
"If I were to rashly appear before them, I might very well be dealt with as a heinous heretic, along with all the residents of Kyushu Island!"