ajfa

The Advantages of Dual Paths

Chapter 1079 The Advantages of Dual Paths

Facing the aggressive Elaine, "Count" Gu Xin just chuckled, sat back in the high-backed chair, took off his half-high silk hat and hung it on the civilized stick, turning it playfully, looking at him with blue eyes, and said jokingly:

"I just want to observe first to see whether you came to Morola on your own initiative for some purpose, or whether you are like the other exiles, who killed people, broke the law, and were bought by the Church of Knowledge."

"Now? Which one do you think we are like?"

Elaine simply put her feet on the table with a thumping sound, and asked back with a hint of provocation.

"Neither of them. That witch seems to be wanton. She wanders around the city every day, looking for men or even women, but she never really goes to bed. Even when she chooses her 'prey', she only chooses those who are extremely vicious. That 'monster' should be Sequence 6. He is rude and unruly, like a veteran pirate, but he is actually a cultured person. I even suspect that he is an undercover agent of the Church of Knowledge...

"As for you, you must be here to look for the item hidden underground, but I'm not sure who you are employed by, an official Beyonder? The Einhorn royal family of Feysac? Or some secret organization?"

Gu Xin said all this in one breath, shook the stick in his hand, let the hat return to his head, covering his short brown hair, and stared at Elaine.

"I came here for a chance to become a demigod, and my companions came here for the chance to be promoted, for greater power."

Elaine answered half-truthfully, and without waiting for the other party to ask further questions, she took the initiative to attack:

"What about you? The 'Iron Cross' sent you to infiltrate this 'Exile City', didn't they just want to open a bar, sell cigarettes, and raise cattle outside the city?"

She hinted that the industries that the other party secretly controlled were under her surveillance.

"Those are just means to maintain a large number of subordinates and obtain intelligence. Didn't you also kill some Beyonders through 'Duel' and obtain their assets to recruit cannon fodder to explore the underground mausoleum?"

Gu Xin said with a smile.

It seems that he has already sent people to follow me, William, and Tia... Elaine nodded without surprise and continued with a smile:

"Since you discovered our actions, why didn't you stop us? Aren't you afraid that I will get there first, enter the underground mausoleum before you, touch the item, and take it away?"

Because she was unsure of Gu Xin's knowledge of "0-01", she did not reveal the specific name and code of "Salinger Blood Flag".

"I'm so happy that a powerful Beyonder is rushing to enter there. How could I stop him?" Gu Xin touched his pocket and took out a box of Morola cigarettes. He took out a cigarette and sniffed it without lighting it. "As for taking away the sealed object, it's not as easy as you think..."

Elaine pretended to listen attentively and motioned for the other party to continue.

"…In the past two years since entering Morola, I have tried many times to send ordinary people and extraordinary people into the underground mausoleum, not only from the main entrance behind the church, but also from other passages that appeared due to collapse caused by earthquakes and volcanoes, but no one has ever come out alive.

"I heard that before I arrived, the strongest Beyonder who entered the underground mausoleum was already Sequence 5, but the result was no different from that of an ordinary exile. As for higher sequences, they have never appeared in Morola in the past thousand years...

"I can only choose another method, which is to have people commit serious crimes in this city, become 'experimental subjects', and voluntarily enter the underground mausoleum under the organization of the Church of Knowledge. They seem to follow certain rules, so they will not be harmed by the power inside the mausoleum and can often escape unscathed, but those people will become dull and slow, and even forget me..."

There was something immersive about Gusin's tone, which made Elaine listen intently.

Suddenly, there was a noise outside the closed door. Gu Xin immediately shut his mouth, while Elaine curiously moved closer to the door, opened a crack and looked outside.

Several men in black robes with indifferent expressions pushed away the onlookers who were still surrounding the two duelists. The leader looked around, found a few people to learn the details, and then announced that the duel did not violate the law. He dragged away the body of the strong man who had died on the spot from a knife wound in the chest.

These are the enforcers who are made up of what Gusin calls "experimental personnel." They have rigid thinking and stiff movements, like some kind of humanoid puppets.

But a few months ago, they were all ordinary exiles. They became like this only after they committed serious crimes and were forced to be used as experimental subjects.

It was as if she had become a different person after entering the underground mausoleum, or perhaps she had been brainwashed and manipulated... Elaine had been in Morola for nearly two months and was already accustomed to these things. She just took a glance, closed the door, and sat back in front of Gu Xin.

"Aren't you afraid of being captured by law enforcement officers and sent to the underground mausoleum?"

Seeing Gu Xin waiting for her calmly, she couldn't help but ask.

"Everything I did before was legal and compliant. I didn't even need to duel to rob other people's property," the "Count" said with a hint of sarcasm. "Of course, if I can't find a safe way to go underground, I plan to start a riot in the near future and let the exiles attack the Church of Knowledge. I will find some clues from the church's response. By then, I may actually break the law and become a wanted criminal."

This method is not bad, but a group of exiles with a maximum Sequence 5 attacking a church guarded by a demigod is probably just courting death. Or maybe he also knows that Morola's population cannot be lower than a certain limit, and wants to use this to force the church to make concessions?

Elaine thought for a moment, put a smile on her face again, and said:

"If that's the case, we should have a basis for cooperation, at least until we find a safe way to actually go underground, so we can help each other."

Clap, clap, clap. Gu Xin clapped his hands exaggeratedly, and replied under Elaine's gaze:

"That's the answer I've been waiting for. You seem to be a smart and cooperative hunter.

"Are you interested in working for me?"

The truly smart hunters are already studying in the church library... Elaine muttered to herself, stood up from her chair, and said as she walked toward the window facing the street:

"If there is any action, remember to contact me in advance."

As for being a subordinate, she simply didn't bother to answer.

Elaine opened the window and jumped out directly onto the busy street. The law enforcement team just happened to pass by, and a few pairs of lifeless eyes subconsciously glanced over, then quickly retracted their gazes, like a team of puppets carrying the body onto a carriage, and left the "Fallen Nobles" bar.

Behind her, Gusin's eyes followed her until she left the street and walked towards the church in the city center, where they were blocked by other buildings.

It was just like the gaze Elaine felt when she followed Iris on the first day she arrived in Morola.

But in addition to the gaze of the "reaper", another hidden gaze did not escape Elaine's perception. She took the opportunity to turn in another direction to look back, but did not find anything unusual, but the shadow that flashed by on a glass window facing the street made her alert. She reached into her pocket and touched the "Ice Mirror" talisman.

As expected, with the combined power of her hunter's "precision", the witch's perception of the mirror world, and the effects of advanced talismans, the glass window behind her emitted a sharp touch as if piercing her spirit, and the color was different from other glass in her eyes.

Pretending not to notice anything, Elaine quickly came to the door of the church with a square and a huge cemetery. She felt the sharp touch coming from different mirrors and stayed at one end of the square, no longer approaching the church.

As expected... Elaine smiled secretly and stepped into the church hall filled with light. Before she walked between the rows of brass bookshelves, she suddenly touched the stained glass beside her. The hand hidden in her pocket also activated the "Ice Mirror" spell, making the red, green, yellow and multi-colored glass turn black, and the inside was deep and dark.

Immediately, Elaine passed through the glass and came to the mirror world with dark passages around. Without any delay, she immediately went to the mirror where she felt the gaze just now.

There, a figure with a blurred edge, like a reflection in the water, seemed to have just realized that he had changed from a tracker to the tracked, and without hesitation, he entered another passage and fled into the distance.

Is it possible to escape at this time... Elaine stared at the opponent's back like a hawk. Taking advantage of the "Ice Mirror" spell that Miss Angelica had given her over and over again in the past two months and her familiarity with the terrain in the mirror world, she quickly found a shortcut. Her body turned into a white-hot flaming spear, piercing the opponent's vest like a sharp arrow.

Seeing that there was nowhere to hide, the figure stopped at the nearest mirror and emerged from the mirrored world. Elaine followed suit and a flaming spear appeared in the instantly shattered mirror and exploded violently. Flames re-condensed into her tall body, and her red hair fluttered behind her head like a blazing flame.

This was the street that was destroyed by a local volcanic eruption on her first day there. It had long since become a no-man's land because it had not been repaired. The solidified lava on the ground was covered with volcanic ash, and the shops on both sides were burned by flames, leaving only ruins.

The figure being chased by Elaine landed lightly on the street and slowly stood up.

Her eyes were as black as ink, her nose was high, her chin was round, her long hair of the same color was simply tied behind her head, and she was wearing a long skirt that was slit to her thighs. She looked pure and had a bit of wild beauty, which made Elaine, her same-sex friend, inexplicably moved.

Based on her appearance, Elaine immediately recognized the other person as the "boss" that Tia had repeatedly mentioned, the "painful" witch Lisa who was originally "joyful" but seemed to have been promoted recently and sent to Morola.

Did Gu Xin ask her to follow me, or did she find out that I was in contact with Gu Xin and wanted to see what I would do... Doubts emerged in Elaine's mind, but her actions were faster than her thoughts. Crows made of fire appeared beside her, drawing various trajectories and flying towards each other.

Boom, boom—

Explosions continued to sound, and the Fire Crows kissed the suddenly appearing black flames one after another. The black and yellow flames danced in the air. Elaine took the opportunity to transform into a blazing white flaming spear again, whooshing across the distance between the two of them, and in an instant arrived in front of the Witch Lisa.

Swoosh——

The spear pierced through the witch's thin body without any hindrance, staining her long skirt with high-temperature flames, but then the flames quickly went out due to lack of fuel, and pieces of tiny mirror fragments fell to the ground.

Lisa was outlined next to another window on the street. Before her shadow turned into a solid entity, she stretched out her hand stained with black flames and touched the mirror formed by the window, touching the reflected figure of Elaine who had returned to human form from the flaming spear state.

Mirror curse!

With a bang, Elaine's body, which had just lost its blazing white flames, was stained with inky black cursed flames. Before she could even utter a sound, she twisted and fell in the flames that could ignite the spirituality and burn the spiritual body.

Just as a smile appeared on Lisa's round but uniquely beautiful face, it froze completely.

The "Elaine" in her sight was quickly burned into a small stick-like object like a branch, making a crackling sound of burning wood.

This scene was very familiar to her. It was clearly the "magic wand substitute" that only witches had!

Even if a hunter got the help of a high-ranking witch and had the ability to travel through the mirror and use the mirror as a substitute, it would be impossible for him to have a similar ability!

As her surprise gradually turned into astonishment, Elaine's figure emerged in front of her. Her neutral and beautiful face seemed to be blended with a hint of charm, which made Lisa, a witch of pain who possessed the ability to actively seduce, stunned.

Then, a dagger with black flames pierced her heart Not Much Time Left

Chapter 1080: Not much time

left -

The rough feel, along with the sound of metal and glass friction, was transmitted to Elaine's hand through the dagger. The figure of "Lisa" in front of her shattered and turned into a shrinking mirror, which was deformed and melted by the black flame attached to the dagger.

The real body of the "painful" witch walked out of an unmanned shop at the other end of the street. Her expression was still surprised, but she did not despair because of her opponent's unexpected strength.

She stretched out one hand and invisible threads spread out, some of which tied to Elaine, and some were scattered around the streets, forming a trap that could transmit curses and black flames at any time; with the other hand, she took out a palm-sized cross from her chest. It was golden in color and was hung around Lisa's neck by a thin chain of the same color, shining brightly in the sunlight.

"captivity!"

Lisa clutched the cross and shouted in ancient Hermetic language.

An invisible force instantly surrounded Elaine, making the air around her sticky like liquid and making it difficult for her to move.

Taking this opportunity, the spreading threads quickly entangled her, and black flames spread along the spider-like, sticky threads. In the air, deadly germs also floated towards her on the wind, about to fall on Elaine who was unable to move.

boom--

A huge flame shot up into the sky, the white incandescent light mixed with black. The shock wave swept through the nearby streets violently, shattering glass one after another. The volcanic ash on the ground was blown up, creating a thick fog that blocked the vision.

The spider silk that was not resistant to flames and the germs that could not survive in high temperatures were all swept away. The invisible cage of "imprisonment" was still there, but Elaine was no longer inside.

She turned into a flaming spear and pierced through the "weak spot" of the force field that imprisoned her, flying into the sky like a meteor, and then falling rapidly under the combined effect of gravity and the invisible threads she emitted, almost directly hitting Lisa who was caught off guard.

Another fireball exploded on the street that had already been baptized by flames multiple times, mixed with the sound of shattering mirrors.

Before the flames faded away, Lisa's staggering figure slowly emerged next to a broken glass not far away. Her dress was on fire in many places and her exposed skin was a little charred. It was obvious that she had not completely avoided Elaine's attack.

Her pale face was filled with shock. She couldn't understand why she was blown to pieces even though she had clearly used the mirror as a substitute to leave the spot.

Could it be that she possesses some kind of seal that can harm her real self through the mirror?

At this moment, Lisa had already begun to feel like retreating. She was unwilling and afraid to continue fighting with this powerful female hunter.

But as she looked at him with fear, Elaine's tall figure emerged from the slowly dissipating flames and smoke, and once again transformed into a flaming spear that could penetrate everything, shooting towards her.

"die!"

Holding the cross on her chest, Lisa issued a majestic pronouncement, her body seemed to be integrated with some strange power, and then she took the initiative to run towards the flying flaming spear.

The moment the two came into contact, she leaned sideways onto the flame, and her body instantly turned into a burning magic wand, but the "Reaper" flame was also blocked by her seemingly weak but actually infinitely powerful impact, and she was directly transformed back into Elaine with red hair and a shawl.

Her expression was a little pale, and it was obvious that she had suffered some damage in the previous collision, but her eyes were still firm. She quickly scanned the messy streets, trying to find the "pain" witch who used the magic wand to substitute and avoid the attack.

However, the latter's figure did not appear on the street. Instead, he quickly moved away with suppressed coughs and stopped abruptly behind a glass window that survived the explosion.

She ran away... But my "disease" that can resist high temperatures has taken effect on her. Although it is not fatal in a short period of time, and it is difficult to kill a witch who is also proficient in this ability, it can weaken her for a period of time...

Elaine touched the "Ice Mirror" talisman in her pocket, and realized that she was delayed for a moment by the opponent's sealed object that was suspected to be "Judge" or "Punishment Knight". It was unlikely to catch up with the opponent again, so she did not follow him into the mirror world.

But before she could leave the scene, a team of Morola law enforcers wearing black robes and with numb expressions came to the deserted street. The one leading them was the man who had just helped collect the bodies of the duelists in the "Fallen Nobles".

He glanced at the several shops still ablaze, then looked at Elaine and said,

"Arson and destruction of public property should be punished.

"Do you have anything to say?"

Elaine immediately raised her hands to look innocent, then pointed in the direction where Lisa ran away and said,

"I was followed by a woman. I suspected she was going to assassinate me, so I hid in the Church of Knowledge. When I tried to track her down, I was ambushed. After a short battle, she was injured and escaped.

"This is self-defense! I am the victim and she is the criminal!"

As her words became more and more excited, Elaine used the witch's ability of "instigation" to strengthen the persuasiveness of her accusation.

Moreover, during her two months of living in Morola, she has determined that these law enforcers are nothing more than "law enforcement machines" with rigid thinking. They are not omniscient and omnipotent. They rely heavily on the reality they see and the information they get from questioning to make judgments. At most, they have some ability to identify lies.

And much of what she said was true.

Sure enough, the leading law enforcer stared at Elaine for a moment, as if using some ability to confirm whether she was lying. After a moment, he nodded and said,

"Can you confirm the identity of the attacker?"

Elaine immediately replied,

"Her name is Lisa. She should have come to Morola two months ago."

The law enforcer took out a thick book from under his black robe and started flipping through it. He quickly wrote a few words on it as if to confirm something, and said to Elaine in a calm tone:

"We found her registration information. We will confirm with her what happened today. If she was indeed the one who attacked you first, she will be charged with arson and destruction of public property, as well as intentional injury to you."

"Will she be an 'experimenter'?"

Elaine felt relieved and asked curiously again.

"Won't."

The law enforcer replied coldly, and then began to disperse on the street, putting out the remaining flames and cleaning up glass windows and other items damaged by the explosion.

Elaine looked for a while, and when she saw that the law enforcers were no longer paying attention to her, she left the street and returned to the Church of Knowledge in the center of the city.

Only after entering the absolutely safe church hall did she feel completely relieved. In an empty corner, she took out the magic mirror that she carried with her, which had its connection strengthened by her blood, and performed a divination with clumsy skills in order to find Lisa's trace.

As she expected, the divination failed.

"It seems that her injuries are not serious. She still has the leisure to do counter-divination. This may have become the instinct of the members of the witch sect..."

She muttered, put away the magic mirror, and walked towards the rows of brass bookshelves.

"The battle just now really demonstrated the power of 'Gift'. Even though I didn't use many witch abilities, the special combination of the two pathways gave me an overwhelming advantage over the single-path 'Pain' witch. For example, 'Harvest' combined with the cursed black flame can penetrate the mirror double and cause certain damage to the main body. For example, using high temperature to remove the opponent's 'disease', my own is not affected...

"If I were still the same 'reaper', I wouldn't have much of an advantage against a witch of the same order. She also has a seal that can restrict movement and launch fatal attacks, which looks like a 'judge'... I didn't bring most of my magical items into Morola, which is a big problem. I wonder if Miss Angelica can provide some help...

"Did Lisa follow me because of Gu Xin's intention, or did she make the choice based on the interests of the Witch Cult... How far has their cooperation with the Iron Cross progressed?"

Summarizing the gains and losses of the battle and her guesses about Lisa in her mind, Elaine walked to the long table where she often read, and was surprised to find that Archbishop Heraberg was already waiting there.

"Have you finished reading those books?"

His first words made Elaine's face fall. After a moment of silence, she nodded.

"Very good," Heraberg said with satisfaction, placing several test papers on the table, "After you finish these papers, you can go back."

Elaine, who thought she would be assigned more reading plans, looked at the archbishop with gray hair and clear and gentle eyes in surprise and asked:

"Don't you need to read any more books?"

She regretted what she had said as soon as she finished, fearing that the other party would point at other bookshelves and say something like "You have to read these and those."

Fortunately, Heraberg just shook his head and said:

"You never stop learning, but your time is running out.

"The knowledge you have learned so far is enough for you to complete your tasks. Of course, whether you can do this ultimately depends on your efforts, not just relying on those books."

Time is running out... Is he referring to the changes on Morola's side, or other problems in the outside world?

Elaine was startled, and immediately thought of Lisa's stalking today, and Gu Xin's active invitation. She nodded under the gaze of the other party's amber eyes, sat down obediently, spread out the test paper, picked up the pen and looked at the first question:

"Have you had nightmares since you started studying?"

What a weird question… Elaine's gaze froze again.

She has been having nightmares a lot lately!

————

It was not until nightfall that Elaine, who had finished all the test questions, returned to her residence. William and Tia had already returned and were lazily lying on the sofa and rocking chair. They had not even prepared dinner, but were waiting for takeout from a nearby restaurant.

Tia is fine, but William is a relatively self-disciplined person, but now he has become lazy. This city will allow people to gradually integrate into it, making every exile no longer himself... Elaine's mind is full of the contents of the test paper and the knowledge in the books she read this month. She is extremely dissatisfied with the performance of the two.

But because of this knowledge, Elaine realized that the various abnormalities in Morola were most likely caused by the negative effects of the seal below, and the "gift" she possessed could resist this effect to a certain extent, but William and Tia were inevitably affected.

If we want to enter the underground mausoleum and get close to the "Salinger Blood Flag", we must not bring them with us, otherwise it will only kill them... Elaine thought about it, coughed lightly to attract the attention of the two, and said:

"You should be careful recently. Lisa from the Witch Cult followed me today and will probably follow you later. If you meet her, don't get into a direct conflict with her. Use the Ice Mirror spell to escape."

After reminding the two, Elaine returned to her room, set up the altar skillfully, sealed the room with the spiritual wall, chanted the name of the "Golden Queen", and successfully saw Miss Angelica's figure in the mirror placed on the altar.

After a while, she walked out of the room, looked at William and Tia, who were much more energetic because they might be being pursued by the Witch of Pain, took a deep breath, and said,

"Go and order an extra dinner for me, all meat."

Around her neck, a ruby necklace sparkled with charming brillianceNightmare

Chapter 1081 Nightmare

Enjoying the thick-cut medium-rare steak and chicken and mushroom soup, Elaine's rising desire to devour flesh and blood was finally satisfied a little.

She no longer hesitated and took off the "Rose Necklace" with a huge ruby on her neck. She sealed it in the accompanying jewelry box according to the method taught by Miss Angelica. The rustling voices that kept coming to her ears disappeared.

Looking at William and Tia who were looking at her worriedly, Elaine smiled slightly and said:

"It's just the negative effect of this seal. After eating, the corresponding desire has been alleviated. Don't worry about me crawling onto your bed in the middle of the night to eat your flesh and blood."

As she spoke, her eyes lingered on the plain-looking jewelry box with only brass edging, and she repeated in her mind the information that Miss Angelica had just introduced about this item:

"The Rose Necklace is a fusion of the 'Shepherd' and 'Black Knight' characteristics of the Secret Prayer. It has the powerful ability of 'Blade of Flesh and Soul' that can kill both the physical body and the spiritual body at the same time, and can quickly restore the wearer's physical damage. Last but not least, it can herd a total of 6 souls of different paths, allowing them to use their abilities for themselves. The souls of the saints will take up two places.

"Currently, these 'quotas' are full, with a Sequence 4 'Law Mage', a Sequence 5 'Crimson Scholar', 'Ocean Singer', 'Chaos Mentor', and 'Apostle of Desire'. Each soul has three to four abilities that they mastered during their lifetime, and can switch between them at any time and use them proficiently.

"When wearing the necklace, the user will experience a gradually increasing desire for flesh and blood. At first, it is the desire to eat meat, and then the desire to contain and absorb the flesh of the same kind. Eventually, they may lose control and become a monster that only pursues flesh and blood. In addition, the wearer will constantly hear the mumbling of the 'True Creator'. Normally, they can barely tolerate it, but the effect will be enhanced when using the soul of grazing, making the user want to pray to this evil god and surrender."

Elaine, who had just received the necklace in the "Bestowing" ceremony, merely put it on to switch the corresponding soul and understand the attached abilities, but she was already dizzy and her spirit was unstable because of the noise made by the evil god, and she was full of desire for flesh and blood.

This made her feel impressed by the power of the "Rose Necklace", but also made her realize the negative effects of this seal. She understood that it was difficult for a Sequence 5 Mid-Sequence Beyonder like herself to control a demigod-level seal. She could only use it with caution and seal it up at other times.

"No wonder many people at sea say that the 'Shepherds' are the most difficult Beyonders to deal with below the Demigod level. The former 'Vice Admiral Hurricane' Qi Lingos, who was a Sequence 6, was able to join the ranks of pirate generals with a similar item. As long as the souls they shepherd are properly matched, they are not much worse than Beyonders with dual paths and integrated abilities. They even have more diverse methods…"

After roughly telling William and Tia about the ability of the necklace, Elaine exclaimed.

Hearing that the necklace in the small box combined the characteristics of five extraordinary people and was itself a magical item equivalent to a "level 1" seal, the "Disaster Priest" William and the "Joy" Witch Tia were a little excited, but they were also filled with doubts.

William's eyes kept moving between his increasingly charming captain and the priceless "Rose Necklace". He frowned and asked in a deep voice,

"Captain, Miss Angelica gave this item to you. Does it mean that He thinks the situation in Morola has become more tense?"

Elaine forked the last bit of steak into her mouth, then drank the lemonade beside her, then nodded and said,

"This is exactly what I want to tell you. Gu Xin of the Iron Cross invited me to join them. They are planning to start a city-wide riot in the near future to test the bottom line of the Church of Knowledge and learn about the underground mausoleum and the sealed objects. Lisa of the Witch Cult followed me, and she escaped with injuries after I fought back, but her purpose is obviously to learn about the progress of our investigation and steal some secrets... This city may soon face the biggest turmoil. This is a danger, but also an opportunity for us.

"Miss Angelica gave me the 'Rose Necklace' because she wanted to enhance my strength and give me an absolute advantage in the battle against them. This just shows that He believes that Gu Xin and Lisa have hidden powers. The former is a 'reaper' like me. He has been developing in Morola for many years and has continuously gained new forces. He should have many extraordinary people under his command. Lisa also used a certain seal in today's battle. This is just the performance when she was hastily engaged in the battle. Maybe she has brought more other items..."

"So how should we respond? Take the initiative or wait and see?"

Upon hearing that her former boss had not only been promoted to the Witch of Pain, but also possessed a powerful seal, Tia couldn't help but ask.

"The riot that Gu Xin is about to plan is a good opportunity. William, you should contact him in the next few days and convey my intention. Tell him that I am willing to let our men cooperate with his actions. Anyway, they are all extremely vicious exiles. We can let them attract the attention of law enforcers and let Gu Xin think that we want to deal with the clergy of the Church of Knowledge just like him. Tia, while Lisa has not recovered from her injuries in the next few days, go to the vicinity of the church, especially next to the cemetery, to place some mirrors marked by us, so that we can use the 'Ice Mirror' spell to transfer at any time..."

After casually sentencing the forces they had recruited over the past two months to death, Elaine said,

"As for me, I will seize the time to summarize the knowledge I have learned from reading during this period. Both Bishop Heraberg and Miss Angelica have said that this knowledge is the key to entering the underground mausoleum, and my intuition is the same... This is the key point that neither Guxin nor Lisa has grasped, because Heraberg said that no one had thought of borrowing books before..."

As she spoke, she took out a bunch of thick books from her backpack under the table and placed them in front of the two people:

"The Principle of Sealing", "The Making and Maintenance of Dolls", "Examples of Building Underground Mausoleums", "Code of Conduct for Morola Residents", "Gods and Divine Power"...

William recently accompanied her to read a small part of it, and he felt it was okay. However, the moment Tia saw these large books, she jumped up from her chair and said hurriedly:

"I'm going to the cemetery now... No, I'm going to buy some dressing mirrors first and mark them..."

Before anyone could say anything, she rushed out of the room and disappeared.

Look at the stupid witch you taught—Elaine mouthed to William, then snorted and said in a normal tone:

"I will sort out some floor plans from "Examples of Underground Mausoleum Construction" tomorrow, and you will be responsible for piecing them together into a complete map of the underground mausoleum, accurately marking the proportions and angles."

She read this book several times and was absolutely sure that the various "examples" in it were actually the underground mausoleum under the church cemetery where the "Blood Flag of Salinger" was sealed. It was just that it was broken into different parts, and she needed to use her brain to put them together.

And it is most appropriate to leave this matter to a "monster" with extraordinary computing power.

After assigning the tasks, Elaine moved all the books back to the bedroom, lit the oil lamps and candles, and made a ball of burning bright flame as supplementary lighting to replace the non-existent gas wall lamps in the city, and began to "review" in front of the brightly lit table.

After being reminded by Heraberg and Angelica, she already knew that this knowledge was the greatest guarantee for reaching the underground mausoleum, and she dared not relax at all.

Flipping through the illustrations of various iron soldiers in "The Production and Maintenance of Dolls", the means of balancing different forces and pollution in "The Principle of Sealing", and the densely packed map fragments in "Examples of Underground Tomb Construction", Elaine gradually entered a state of total immersion in it.

"...According to the information provided by Miss Angelica, the experimenter who replaces the puppet that seals the 'Blood Flag of Salinger' must be blindfolded and hold a lantern. If the lantern goes out and the surroundings fall into darkness, he will immediately disappear, and everyone who knows him will forget him...If he is not blindfolded, the one who leaves the mausoleum will be a monster like him...

"William and I thought we had only sent five waves of exiles to explore the underground mausoleum, but in Miss Angelica's memory, we actually sent a full ten groups of people, half of whom went deep into the mausoleum, but because of various accidents, the lanterns were extinguished and we forgot about them!

"According to the description in "Gods and Powers", the former is likely related to the secrets and disasters of the Goddess of Night. There is also a similar power in the underground tombs of Trier... and the latter is not controlled by the true gods, and it is suspected that the "man in the mirror" has replaced the body. Of course, they will later join the ranks of law enforcers and "experimenters", so it is difficult for the outside world to find out...

"The seal itself will also release a fog that makes people's spirituality dull and difficult to perceive the outside world. This will make it even more difficult for blindfolded intruders to discern the environment, and they will need an accurate map to guide the way...

"According to the description of The Principle of Sealing, the sealed object will try to escape, and even look for a suitable person to transform into a puppet or 'agent' to help it leave... Bishop Heraberg said that time is running out. Is he worried that such a person will appear soon?"

Thoughts flashed through her mind, and the book in front of Elaine became increasingly blurry. She lowered and raised her head like a chicken pecking at rice. Finally, she could not resist the sleepiness and fell directly on the page of "Gods and Divine Power" with the dark holy emblem on the deep black background and a red moon in the center dotted with stars.

In a daze, she came back to the scene that had recently appeared repeatedly in her dreams.

She strolled in the dark tunnel, with old, mottled stone slabs under her feet and large stone walls on both sides. Rusty iron wall lamps were embedded at regular intervals, but there was no light at all.

As usual, Elaine's body moved uncontrollably in the dark passage, passing through a team of law enforcers wearing black robes, holding lanterns, and with their eyes covered by black cloth. She repeatedly circled in the winding passage and finally came to a huge underground square.

There, there is a towering mountain made up of countless corpses.

At the top of the mountain is...

As soon as Elaine's eyes moved upwards, her head buzzed and her whole body seemed to be set on fire by burning flames. The pain made her scream, but no sound came out.

Bang——

There was a loud noise, and she felt her body rise into the air and then fall to the ground.

She opened her eyes and saw the flat ceiling of the bedroom, the dim light of oil lamps and candles, and the faint morning light outside the window.

(End of this chapterRiot

Chapter 1082 Riot

Shaking her head, Elaine found herself lying on the bedroom floor with a chair under her, her whole body aching from the wrong sleeping position.

She slowly got up and looked at the table covered with thick books and the street where many people were walking around. She couldn't remember when she fell asleep.

Of course, that strange nightmare was still echoing in her mind, and combined with the content of the book she read before bed, Elaine was basically certain that those scenes were the underground part of the church cemetery mausoleum, and the part close to the seal core.

The black-robed law enforcer, blindfolded and holding a lantern, the fog that made it impossible to see the environment clearly, and the mountain of corpses at the end... She picked up the chair and sat back at the table, flipping through the "Examples of Underground Tombs Construction" again, and soon found a partial map of the winding passage she had walked through in her dream.

But the hall piled with corpses was blank on the map.

"There is no doubt that this is where the 'Salinger Blood Flag' is sealed. That's why the map was deliberately erased... Anyway, let William combine the rest of the map and find the way to that location..."

She muttered, closed the book, and moved her aching joints and muscles. The dark holy emblem tied to her left wrist with a silver chain shone dimly in the morning light.

Didn't Miss Angelica say that this holy emblem, in addition to its anti-divination and anti-prophecy effects, can also prevent people from being disturbed by nightmares... Doesn't that dream fall under the jurisdiction of the goddess of night? But I do feel more awake in dreams, at least I can remember the entire dream, but the object on the mountain at the end...

Looking at the holy emblem that was exactly the same as the one she saw in the book last night and had a somewhat cold surface, Elaine fell into deep thought.

————

In the next few days, Elaine and the other two did not change their plan of action because of Gu Xin's plan and Lisa's possible spying.

William quickly pieced together the images in "Examples of Underground Mausoleum Construction" and drew a map of the huge underground mausoleum with complex terrain. According to the complete map, it can be seen that this mausoleum is almost a quarter of the size of Morola, divided into several layers and hidden about 50 meters below the city.

Tia arranged many hidden mirrors in the corresponding areas on the ground according to the map. They were marked with the "Ice Mirror" spell, which was equivalent to a kind of positioning method. Even if you get lost in the underground mausoleum, you can use them to determine your position, or enter the mirror world and escape back to the ground.

Most importantly, she and William sent several teams of "volunteers" to sneak into the underground mausoleum. Each of them carried a marked mirror. Even if they died or disappeared due to various accidents, there was a chance that the mirror would remain in the underground area and expand these coordinates into the mausoleum.

As for Elaine herself, apart from occasionally going to the Church of Knowledge as usual to inspect the properties, shops and bars under her jurisdiction, she spent most of her time in the bedroom, relying on her "hunter's" sensitivity to the environment to memorize the complex map of the underground mausoleum.

She still had similar nightmares every night, appearing in different locations in the underground mausoleum. With her gradual familiarity with the map, she was able to determine her location, and by corroborating the map, she became more and more familiar with the mausoleum that she had never actually entered.

But as this "familiarity" deepened, Elaine could feel that her thinking in the dream was becoming increasingly dull, and she was becoming more and more similar to those "experimenters". Even every time she stepped into the hall where the mountain of corpses was located, she seemed much more pious.

She suspected that if she continued to read related books and memorize the map of the mausoleum, she would one day be completely controlled by this power and become one of the puppets without her own thoughts and ideas.

"In the Principles of Sealing, this situation is considered as contamination of the seal. The more I understand that powerful seal, the more I am contaminated by it..."

Sitting at the desk, Elaine muttered to herself, and finally she understood why Miss Angelica gave her this seemingly useless holy emblem along with the "Rose Necklace".

Without the ability to stay awake in her dreams, she would have been more deeply contaminated. Perhaps in these two days, she would have become a puppet of the seal, joined the "experimental personnel" patrolling the underground, or become a new corpse in the mountain of corpses.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Elaine walked out of the bedroom and found that it was William who came back.

He was still dressed in the same breeches, short boots, and loose coat, except that he no longer wore a cocked hat, which made him look almost the same as when he was at sea.

But two months of life in Morola inevitably made him a little lax and lazy. He would only stand up straight when reporting:

"Captain, 'Count' Guxin's people just contacted me. They will act as planned at noon today. I hope our people will participate at the same time."

"So soon?"

Elaine asked subconsciously.

The "action" that Gu Xin mentioned was naturally the riot he had mentioned a few days ago to test the power of the Church of Knowledge. After two years of operation, this "Count" already had hundreds of subordinates in Morola, including many mid- and low-sequence Extraordinaries. Once he incited the already extremely vicious and vicious criminals who were dissatisfied with being exiled here and having to abide by the law, he could easily gather tens of thousands of people to attack the Church of Knowledge in the city center.

But this matter requires careful planning and long-term preparation, but Gu Xin only informed Elaine a few hours in advance?

"Heh, they want to use my manpower, but they don't want me to gain too much benefit from this riot... You can try to enter the underground mausoleum and find out some information, but you must not allow me to find the sealed object first..."

After figuring this out, Elaine continued to analyze on her own:

"Unfortunately, our advantage is that we have already obtained the map of the mausoleum and relevant information about the seal with the help of the collection of the Church of Knowledge, while they can only collect information slowly...

"William, go and promise them now. Let us use all the forces we can control to besiege the Knowledge Church together with Gu Xin's people at noon. Don't be too active and agree to their conditions slowly, which makes you look reluctant."

"Yes, Captain."

William nodded in agreement, and then asked doubtfully:

"Do we need to inform the archbishop?"

He knew that Elaine had been studying and taking exams under the guidance of Heraberg in the past month. She might have stepped one foot into the Church of Knowledge and become half a "cultured person".

"If the Church of Knowledge didn't even know these things, then they would never have been able to control this city for thousands of years," Elaine replied with a chuckle, "But I'll still go and tell him. At least it will show our attitude, which may be helpful for future actions."

After seeing William leave again to look for Gu Xin's contact, Elaine returned to the bedroom and put on the shadow cloak she bought from "Flame" Danitz. She turned into a shadow that was almost invisible to the naked eye, slipped out of the window by the wall, came to the street, and moved quickly towards the direction of the Church of Knowledge.

The reason why she didn't use the "Ice Mirror" spell to enter the mirror world was that she was worried that the "Pain" Witch Lisa, who might have recovered from her injuries in the past two days, would find out.

Since she could sense the changes in the mirror when someone was using it, there was no reason why the Sequence 5 witch couldn't do the same.

…

Passing through another batch of serious criminals sent to the "City of Exile", Elaine soon saw Archbishop Herraberg, who was holding the registration list with a calm expression and a little smile. He was still wearing the white robe inlaid with brass threads, which almost blended with his gray hair and beard. Only his amber eyes were majestic and not cloudy.

"How's your review of the book going? Are you still having nightmares lately?"

Heraberg asked with a smile as soon as he saw Elaine.

He really is like a teacher... Elaine muttered, nodded and replied:

"As I learn more, my nightmares have become more frequent and real. I even feel like I'm wandering in the winding passages of the underground mausoleum and seeing mountains of corpses and seas of blood... Does this represent a kind of 'pollution'?

"Well, this is what I learned in The Principle of Sealing."

Hearing her question, Heraberg nodded slightly, as if he was very satisfied.

"You can think of this, which means you have truly put the knowledge in the books to good use," he said with emotion, narrowing his eyes. "Some high-ranking beings will be 'contaminated' just by knowing something about them. But in Morola, every exile will continue to be contaminated in this way until they completely become a part of this city... What you have to do is to get closer to that item than them, but you can't completely obey it."

Complete obedience means becoming a puppet, becoming one of those experimental personnel whose life is worse than death, with only a shell in the body... Elaine added in her mind, and then asked:

"Is this the reason why you, I mean the clergy of the church, use puppets instead of real bodies to operate in Morola?"

Compared with the exiles whose life and death no one cares about, and the law enforcers and experimenters who have become puppets, the Church of Knowledge certainly values its precious clergy more and will not allow them to be easily contaminated by the "Blood Flag of Salinger" and voluntarily stay in this city to become a part of it.

"You can understand it that way. Of course, there are other reasons, but they are not important to you..." Heraberg explained patiently, "Since you have begun to dream about the underground mausoleum and the hall, it means that the time is almost right. All it takes is an opportunity..."

"Opportunity?"

Elaine asked back, and suddenly remembered that the purpose of her coming to the church was to tell the other party that Gu Xin was going to start a riot at noon. Just as she was about to speak, there was a commotion at the main entrance of the church.

A middle-aged man in a white robe walked quickly towards them. His expression was a little flustered and his steps were not so coordinated, but in Elaine's view, these vivid performances were just part of the "puppet's" performance.

"Riots! Riots are breaking out all over the city! A large group of exiles is heading this way!"

The puppet priest pointed at the gate and shouted before he could even stand in front of Heraberg.

The latter did not show any emotion, but just looked at Elaine calmly and said in a calm tone:

"This is the opportunity you want