Chapter 501

Three Hundred and Seventy-Nine: The Shadow Ring

“What should I do? How should I handle this? Is there any way to make the bird zombie puppet fly faster… If this continues, I’ll be caught by that guy before I can get the holy emblem…”

Dorothy urgently thought within her heart. At this moment, in the distant sky, the rapidly flying Spider Fang Priest had already caught up with Dorothy’s bird zombie puppet which had taken off earlier.

…

The Spider Fang Priest spread his pitch-black wings and flew forward at high speed under the night sky. His colored gaze focused on the front, as if he could see an invisible thread extending from his body to the distance.

Following the guidance of the spiritual thread, the Spider Fang Priest quickly flew toward the source point of the thread. In just a few minutes, he would meet the controller who once manipulated this spiritual thread.

Suddenly, while flying, the Spider Fang Priest seemed to see something. With his excellent night vision, he stared intently into the distance and discovered a bird flying in the same direction nearby.

Seeing this scene, the Spider Fang Priest instinctively descended and dived at high speed towards the bird below. In a short time, he reached above the bird.

Dorothy realized the approach of the Spider Fang Priest behind her. She immediately controlled the bird zombie puppet to plummet downward, attempting to evade the rapidly approaching Spider Fang Priest. As she neared the ground, she dropped the holy emblem she was holding in her mouth. However, even so, the bird zombie puppet still couldn’t escape, and the Spider Fang Priest quickly followed behind, reaching out to grab the struggling bird.

Without saying much, the Spider Fang Priest tightly squeezed the bird zombie puppet in his hand, crushing it directly, then scattered the remains on the ground. Then he suddenly flapped his wings, quickly pulling himself up to maintain his high-speed flight towards Dorothy.

This casual move directly announced that it was impossible for Dorothy to obtain the holy emblem.

…

“d*mn it…”

On the carriage, feeling the disconnection of the link to the bird zombie puppet, Dorothy’s face turned even paler. Originally prepared for a quick promotion, she now lacked one holy emblem, making it impossible to complete the promotion conditions and hold the ceremony.

“It’s still because too much time was spent dismantling those iron grilles… Why did Barret install such sturdy grilles on the ventilation openings? Was he trying to prevent some super rat?”

Seeing that it was impossible to deliver the holy emblem, Dorothy angrily thought, but she quickly stabilized her emotions, forcing herself to remain calm.

“Whew… Calm down. Now is not the time to complain or think about other things. The key is to solve the problem… Think, what methods can still solve the problem… What methods can allow promotion despite lacking that emblem…”

Taking a deep breath, Dorothy closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, using all her thoughts to consider ways to solve the current dilemma. She used her scholar’s abilities to frantically search through her memories, hoping to find any crucial information.

Just as Dorothy recalled her first encounter with the “Shadow” holy emblem, she suddenly opened her eyes.

When Dorothy first saw the “Shadow” holy emblem, she noticed how familiar it looked. Now, after careful consideration, she finally understood why it looked so familiar—it was because she herself wore a very similar one.

Dorothy stretched out her left hand, gazing at her index finger where the Veil Ring, the only keepsake left by her mother, was worn.

The structure of the Veil Ring was simple, with a ring band and a seat adorned with a crescent moon pattern.

Previously, Dorothy hadn’t paid much attention, but now she noticed that the crescent moon on the Veil Ring matched exactly with the one on the “Shadow” holy emblem.

This exact match wasn’t just a rough similarity; it was a precise match at the craftsmanship level. Dorothy, with her scholar’s memory and information processing capabilities, could meticulously compare the crescent moon on the Veil Ring with the one on the holy emblem in her memory.

As a result, Dorothy found that the two crescent moons were absolutely identical! The discrepancy was only measurable in millimeters.

Crescent moon patterns weren’t uncommon in mystical items related to “Shadow,” but they each had slight differences. However, the crescent moons on the holy emblem and the ring seemed to have been mass-produced from the same production line, with all details being exactly the same!

To find the holy emblem, Dorothy had put in a lot of effort studying it. She had read a secular book dedicated to researching the holy emblems of the Radiant Church, which mentioned that a “Holy Emblem” was more meaningful than its form. A single badge was merely the basic form of a holy emblem. Since not everyone liked wearing badges on their chest, these holy emblems were often attached to various other objects for aesthetic reasons, such as crowns, necklaces, gloves, walking sticks, etc. Naturally, this included rings.

The Veil Ring left by her mother might have had a “Shadow” holy emblem attached to it.

All the efforts Dorothy had made to find the “Shadow” holy emblem might have been unnecessary, as it had always been on her since the beginning. She had thought the “Shadow” holy emblem she sought would be her first one.

When Dorothy, the young peasant girl named Dorothyia Meyshos, was still enjoying her carefree childhood, before the soul from another world and the “Enlightenment” system crossed over to merge with her nearly dead soul, this holy emblem left by the mysterious mother had already been on her.

“Huh… What a mysterious mom… All this effort for nothing, as the key item was already on me… This is truly… an amazing feeling…”

Looking at the Veil Ring on her hand, Dorothy couldn’t help but chuckle and shake her head. If she had known this earlier, she wouldn’t have needed to go through so much trouble and risk.

“You saved my life, Mom… It seems our family has some connection with the Lake Fairy. So, what is your true identity? But no matter what… Gregor took the path of ‘Shadow,’ and in a sense, he took the right path…”

Dorothy continued to smile and thank the mother she had never met before, then raised her hand to control the coachman zombie puppet to stop the carriage. She opened the door and jumped down.

Outside the carriage, Dorothy removed the Veil Ring from her hand and placed it in her right palm, along with the other five holy emblems. At this moment, Dorothy’s six holy emblems were truly “complete.” Her last piece of the puzzle for promotion was finally “in place.”

Next was the moment of the ceremony.