Chapter 539 The So-Called Truth
Herman wasn't tied up or anything. Honestly, at Tiger Mount, there was no way he could bail. He just had to sit tight in the room, sweating bullets.
When Ethan and the crew barged in, Herman shot up from his chair. The second he spotted Jessie and Elmer, he went ghostly white.
"Herman, man, it's been ages. If I hadn't seen you today, I'd have thought you kicked the bucket," Elmer said, his eyes flashing cold as ice.
"Elmer, Jessie." Herman instinctively took a couple of steps back before flopping back into his chair like he was drained.
"After all these years, you've leveled up from a regular fighter to a Half-Step Grandmaster?" Elmer noticed Herman's new power level and couldn't help but mock him.
"Now that you've got me, ask away," Herman finally sighed after a long pause, sounding like he'd accepted his fate.
"We're all dying to know why you got mixed up with Cross Christianity. Caught you red-handed this time, so no point in denying it, right?" Ethan raised an eyebrow, grilling him.
"Yeah, I joined Cross Christianity on the down-low ten years ago," Herman said with a bitter smile.
"Don't you get what Cross Christianity stands for?" Ethan squinted, pressing him.
"Of course I do. But so what? Can you guess who roped me into it?" Herman's face twisted as he stared at Ethan and Jessie, throwing the question back at them.
After a beat, Jessie suddenly asked, "Was it Matthew?"
"You know?" Herman's eyes popped wide in shock.
"So it really was him." Jessie finally pieced it together. Even though she was braced for it, her face still went pale.
Ethan and Elmer exchanged a look, seeing the same helplessness in each other's eyes.
"Yeah. Who would've thought Matthew could hide so well? You all got played by him." Herman suddenly burst out laughing.
"Where's he at now?" Ethan squinted, pushing for more.
"I wanna know too. The whole Cross Christianity is hunting for him. He tricked me into joining, and now I'm stuck. I've had to do all sorts of dirty work. I wanna ask him why he did this to me," Herman got worked up, slamming the table and shouting.
"You're all looking for him?" Ethan was pretty shocked by this.
"Yeah. I know he didn't die in that car crash years ago, but he vanished. I had no choice but to use the contact method he gave me to reach out to Cross Christianity and then skipped town," Herman nodded slowly.
"How'd you get in touch with Cross Christianity?" Ethan's heart raced, and he pressed on.
Herman continued, "Matthew gave me a token of Cross Christianity and told me to leave it with the Wilson family. He'd come get it."
Ethan and Elmer exchanged another look. So, the token was a plant by Matthew for Herman, hoping the Wilson family would find it. But why? That part was still a head-scratcher.
Jessie suddenly piped up, "Do you know when Matthew got mixed up with Cross Christianity?"
Herman, looking blank, said, "I had no clue back then. Only after I officially joined Cross Christianity did I find out Matthew got recruited while he was studying overseas."
"So it was during that time. Only then would he have had the chance." Jessie shut her eyes, clearly pained.
Herman gave a bitter smile, "Since we're here, might as well spill everything. Just promise me a quick end."
Ethan got serious, "If you come clean, we might not touch you. Heck, we could even let you chill in the Tiger Mount secret realm and live out your days in peace."
"You're still the same as when you were a kid, never changed," Herman sighed, looking at Ethan. "I know what you really wanna know is what Matthew's game is."
"Exactly. Cross Christianity must have had a reason for roping in my dad. I need to know their plan." Ethan nodded.
"It's about the secret realms," Herman dropped a bombshell after a moment of silence.
"Secret realms?" Even Francis, who'd been quiet, looked floored.
"You guys know Cross Christianity's been trying to break into Vexa, but Celestia Vale's been blocking them. I found out by accident that a big shot in Cross Christianity in Vexa got their hands on an ancient book. It had the locations and ways to open various secret realms in Vexa." Herman's explanation left everyone stunned.
It all clicked now. No wonder Matthew had been snooping around the SA Guild secret realm. His mission in Vexa was to find these secret realms, and Cross Christianity had given him the leads.
"Did he find that bead and those ancient books in some secret realm back then?" Jessie seemed to have pieced together a lot or at least confirmed her suspicions.
"But why? He's from Vexa, the future head of the Wilson family. Why would he do this and work for Cross Christianity?" Ethan shook his head, baffled.
"Even now, I can't figure out why he did it back then." Herman shook his head, looking bitter.
"Something's off." Ethan suddenly frowned.
"What's off? Everything I've said is true, not a single lie," Herman's face changed, getting defensive.
Ethan explained, "I'm not saying you're lying. I'm saying there's something fishy about this whole thing!"
Elmer, surprised, asked, "What's fishy about it?"