Chapter 310

Chapter 279 Cooperation

“Gluttonous Wolf, Abyss Serpent, Plague Vulture…?”

Hearing Adele’s words, Dorothy couldn’t help but furrow her brows. This was the first time she heard about other deities within the Placenta Sect, and the first time she learned of the deities on the path of the “Cup” apart from Gluttonous Wolf.

“According to Adele, it seems that at the end of every branch path, there corresponds a deity. Gluttonous Wolf is at the pinnacle of the beast path, which is primarily ‘Cup’ and secondarily ‘Shadow.’ Abyss Serpent is at the pinnacle of the wave path, primarily ‘Cup’ and secondarily ‘Lamp.’ Plague Vulture is at the pinnacle of the plague path, primarily ‘Cup’ and secondarily ‘Silence’…

“I’m quite familiar with Gluttonous Wolf’s beast path, but this Abyss Serpent’s wave path… feels like it’s related to the Hydro Elementalist’s path. I’ve heard from ‘Cup’ before that it cannot coexist with ‘Stone,’ so it has its own special elemental manifestation method. Now it appears that ‘Cup’’s elemental expression actually relies on ‘Lamp’? Does ‘Lamp’ somehow catalyze ‘Cup’ to express its elements? How interesting…

“And then there’s this Plague Vulture’s plague path, which sounds like an extraordinary branch path that masters diseases… It seems that the extraordinary categories of the ‘Cup’ path are quite rich…

“Additionally, it’s worth noting that the structure of the Placenta Sect seems somewhat similar to the Radiant Church. If we place the Cup Mother where the Savior of Radiance is, then don’t Gluttonous Wolf, Abyss Serpent, and Plague Vulture correspond to the Three Saints of Radiant Church? Both the Savior of Radiance and the Cup Mother appear to be pure color deities of ‘Lamp’ and ‘Cup,’ while the three deities of the Placenta Sect and the Three Saints seem to both be mixed color deities. In the Radiant Church, the Savior of Radiance is not the primary object of worship, and in the Placenta Sect, the Cup Mother, also lacking an oracle, has shifted the focus of worship primarily to the three deities of the Placenta Sect… Could there be some connection in this?”

After hearing Adele’s information-rich words, Dorothy was organizing her thoughts internally. For a moment, Ed, sitting in front of Adele, fell silent as well. Adele, not in a hurry, lit a cigarette and began to smoke, watching the man before her with a smile. Finally, after a while of silence, Ed slowly spoke up.

“Thank you very much for your information, Miss Adele. I truly haven’t had much exposure to matters regarding the Placenta Sect before this; it’s been quite enlightening.”

“Not at all~ In this Secret World, information itself is not easily communicated. What is common knowledge for some extraordinary beings may be completely unheard of by others. Perhaps some of the knowledge you’ve mastered as a detective could be entirely novel to me~”

Adele said to Ed, and after exhaling a puff of smoke, she continued.

“Relative to your lack of understanding about the Placenta Sect’s information, I’m more interested in your poison recognition skills. Although the poison in the information just now was particularly treated and not very high, your ability to recover so quickly was somewhat unexpected…”

Adele’s words indicated that it was impossible for that piece of information not to carry some poison. Dorothy, who had previously been set up by Audric, was well aware of this, so while organizing the information, she caused Ed to lapse into momentary confusion, giving Adele the illusion that he was affected by the poison.

“As a detective, gathering and analyzing various information is of utmost importance, so carrying some kind of instant-use poison prevention is quite normal,” Ed said calmly to Adele. After hearing Ed’s words, Adele smiled in response.

“Heh… you really always think of yourself as a detective, don’t you, Mr. Ed? Well then, do you have any further questions? I’m not someone who commonly owes people favors, so make good use of this opportunity~”

“Well then, I’d like to learn more about the Placenta Sect. According to your saying, Miss Adele, the Placenta Sect primarily worships three deities… Add in the Cup Mother, who lacks an oracle, and the structure of the Placenta Sect feels somewhat similar to the Radiant Church? What’s the reason behind this?”

After Ed’s question, he awaited Adele’s response. Adele glanced at him after listening to his words and answered with a smile.

“Heh… You seem to hold me in high regard, detective. Indeed, the structure of the Placenta Sect is somewhat similar to that of the Radiant Church, but the specific reasons for this probably involve some divine secrets that are beyond my current understanding,” Adele said slowly, holding the cigarette between her fingers.

“However, I must say that the similarities between the Radiant Church and the Placenta Sect are merely superficial. At their core, these two are as different as heaven and earth.

“Although at first glance you might feel the structures are similar, the conflicts among the three major factions of the Placenta Sect are quite significant. The three deities often engage in internal strife and attack each other. Rather than viewing them as three sects of the Placenta Sect, it would be more accurate to see them as three independent churches.

“The Wolf bl**d Association that worships Gluttonous Wolf, the Abyss Cult that worships Abyss Serpent, and the Rotten Sect that worships Plague Vulture are nominally part of the Placenta Sect, but in essence, they all operate independently, unable to control one another. In this regard, it’s very different from the Radiant Church, where although the Three Saints have their own factions, they can maintain unity and act in concert, working together to build their church. This is quite unlike the Placenta Sect, which is rife with internal conflict.

“If the three deities of the Placenta Sect could align their efforts, they might stand a chance against the Radiant Church, but unfortunately, that’s likely impossible.” Adele spread her hands as she said this. Listening to Adele’s words, Dorothy gained a deeper understanding of the Placenta Sect. She realized that the gods in the “Cup” field seemed to not get along with each other, and that the Placenta Sect appeared to be more of a façade, with real power and strength residing in its nominal three sects.

“From this perspective, the Radiant Church seems very united. It appears that it’s precisely because of the tacit cooperation between the Three Saints that has created the dominance of the Radiant Church. I wonder what factors enable the Three Saints to be so unified. Is it because they are all embodiments of the Savior of Radiance, fundamentally being one entity? Meanwhile, over at the Placenta Sect, the three offspring of the Cup Mother are bickering among themselves?”

As Dorothy pondered this in her heart, after a while, she turned back to Adele and spoke.

“Thank you for your answer, Miss Adele. However, I have some lingering questions. You previously mentioned the three branch paths of the path of ‘Cup,’ but your ability to control desires doesn’t seem to fit into any of those three paths; your branch isn’t among them, right?”

Dorothy continued to prompt Ed to ask Adele, and upon hearing Ed’s question, Adele smiled slightly.

“Oh~ You’re asking about my branch path? Asking an extraordinary being about their branch is quite impolite, you know. It’s like asking a lady about her age, Mr. Detective.”

“It’s purely out of curiosity. I believe I’ve shown enough good intentions previously not to cause any misunderstandings. If you feel offended, I can apologize.”

Ed said politely, and after shaking the ash from her cigarette into the ashtray, Adele continued to respond.

“Hehe… It’s fine; I was just joking. You’ve been a great help to me tonight, so how could I refuse a request to learn more about myself? I can tell you, but don’t let it leak to the reporters, okay~”

Adele said half-jokingly, her tone still full of teasing. Seeing this, Dorothy couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth, thinking that this woman might really be trying to charm Ed. Just as Dorothy was considering this, Adele spoke up once more.