Chapter 485

Chapter 370: Asking the Spirit

As soon as Vania finished speaking, several injured individuals lying on stretchers, still conscious, raised their hands and began to state their affiliations. One of the bandaged guards trembled as he spoke.

“Excuse me, Nun… what do you want to ask us?”

Listening to the injured guard, Vania explained further.

“Well, a better medical team from the Church will arrive soon, and I need to make some preliminary preparations for their treatment. To better address everyone’s medication, I need to understand some basic health information about the injured, including Her Highness the Princess. I mainly need to know their ages and medical histories.

“Additionally, since we may need to help the An Yin Bureau with the preliminary examination of the corpses, we also need to understand some basic information about the deceased, primarily Duke Barret and his close attendant to Her Highness the Princess. They are your colleagues and served you. For the sake of facilitating the follow-up work, I ask for everyone’s cooperation in providing this information.”

With a gentle tone, Vania addressed the injured individuals. Before the Church and the An Yin Bureau’s main forces arrived, Vania was the medical leader and highest official commander here. Thus, the injured guards began to cooperate with her in documenting the basic information of the wounded and the deceased. Because Vania’s reasons were sufficiently justified, her actions did not raise any suspicions.

After all, it is completely normal for doctors to ask patients for their names, ages, and health statuses… and for medical examiners to inquire about the deceased’s physical condition and age from those close to them.

In this manner, Vania gathered intelligence from the injured guards, and after a short while, she collected key information regarding Duke Barret’s age from the injured guards.

Once the age information was obtained, Vania immediately prayed silently in her heart to Akka, sending the information she gathered to Dorothy.

…

Sitting cross-legged against the cold wind by the street, Dorothy shivered as she calculated in her heart after receiving Vania’s information.

“Hiss… Barret is 64 years old. His 64th birthday banquet was held on August 12 last year. Today is the first day of the year 1360 in the Glimmer calendar, which means last year was 1359. Doing the math, his birth date would be August 12, 1295 in the Glimmer calendar…”

In the cold wind, Dorothy calculated Barret’s birth date, and this date was very likely to be true because, given the power Barret exhibited, he was not the type of Extraordinary Being who could have a long lifespan.

Being assassinated like this, Barret as an Extraordinary Being would not exceed the tier of White Chalk, and Dorothy understood that the White Chalk tier does not extend lifespan to a great degree. Among the few hundred-year-old age monsters Dorothy knew were only Audric and Lu Ke—a crippled golden tier and a Red Tier—and then there was Beverly, whose strength was unclear.

Based on Dorothy’s current experience with the Extraordinary, she could judge that unless there were special methods, Extraordinary Beings below White Chalk should not live much longer than ordinary people. Once reaching Red Tier, it seems one could live for several hundred years; the leap from White Chalk to Red Tier appeared to be a significant one.

After calculating the date, Dorothy quickly informed Brandon to notify Nephnis.

“Your Excellency, I have gathered more information…”

In a narrow alley, Brandon spoke to Nephnis, who was in a state influenced by Uta. Upon hearing this new information, she nodded slightly and began to raise her hand, reciting the Spiritual Seal Language incantation again, using the new information to strengthen the summoning ritual, and the effect was immediate.

“Very well, the summoner who was previously opposing me can no longer withstand my power. The spirit has successfully been drawn. In a moment, it will appear.”

After reciting the new incantation, Nephnis spoke in a weary tone. Listening to her words, Dorothy let out a sigh of relief and patiently waited for the results of the summoning.

After three or four more minutes, accompanied by a gust of cold wind in the alley, a blurry figure gradually began to materialize at the center of the summoning array, becoming clearer with each passing moment.

Before long, Duke Barret’s pale, translucent spirit appeared in the center of the array. His face was blank, dressed in the formal attire he wore at the New Year’s banquet, his body covered in wounds from sharp blades, with a deep cut on his neck, just as it had looked before his d*ath.

“I have summoned the spirit you requested. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I will command him to answer you, so don’t worry about not being able to get a response.

“However, you should ask quickly; the summoner who opposed me hasn’t given up yet. He is still interfering with me, and I probably can’t hold onto this fragment of the soul for much longer.” Nephnis, relying on Uta, stated. After hearing her words, Dorothy felt a surge of energy within her and urged Brandon to express gratitude.

“Thank you, Your Excellency.”

After expressing thanks, Brandon turned his attention to the dazed spirit of Barret in the summoning array and asked.

“Duke, I heard you were researching the Mirror Moon Statue, is that correct?”

“Yes,” the spirit of Barret replied simply, and Brandon continued.

“How is your research progressing? Have you made any important discoveries?”

“Of course, according to the clues provided by the An Yin Bureau, I visited all the Mirror Moon Statues they control and developed a deep interest in these statues located throughout Prit. After that, to investigate the relationship between the statues and Prit, I entered the royal forbidden library of the Moon Mist Palace to sift through various materials. I started from…”

“Stop for a moment, no need to say too much. Just tell me one thing: Is that Mirror Moon Goddess the pure god of the field of ‘Shadow’? If so, do you have her Holy Emblem?”

Dorothy interrupted the spirit of Barret, realizing that if he began to give an academic report, it might lead to a long-winded discourse. She immediately stopped him and redirected the conversation to the crucial question she needed to ask.

After all, the current Uta was only utilizing a fragment of a soul for the summoning, and time was limited. Moreover, if Barret directly mentioned any findings, it would likely involve knowledge of Poison Recognition. While Dorothy herself was fine with hearing Poison Recognition knowledge, Uta could not handle it.

After being interrupted by Brandon and prompted again, the spirit of Barret paused slightly before continuing to respond.

“In my research, it is almost certain that this goddess, who once had a tremendous influence in Prit, possessed a powerful sect studying the ‘Shadow’ field during the Third Age. This sect had a structure similar to that of the Radiant Church, and the Mirror Moon Goddess is undoubtedly the main deity of the ‘Shadow’ field.

“As for her Holy Emblem, I have also conducted research. While excavating ruins in the Razor Mountains, I unearthed items suspected to be the Holy Emblem of the Mirror Moon Goddess, and this item is currently in the research chamber of my manor.”