Chapter 557

Chapter 410 – Poison

At the north shore of Conquer Sea, in Navaha.

In the darkness of Navaha, within the church in the west of the city, many pilgrims from the Church fleet were earnestly praying. Among them was Vania, who usually focused intently on her prayers. However, due to the intervention of an extraordinary ability, she fell into a deep sleep.

Sitting on a long bench in the church, Vania had already fallen into a deep slumber and was now in a dream controlled by someone else. In this dream, her mind was completely open, unable to keep any secrets. Although her sleeping state did not attract the attention of those inside the church, outside the church, there was a pair of eyes closely watching her.

“The white nun has fallen asleep completely. It seems Pablo’s dream trap was successful. I should find another target for my dream trap.”

Outside the not-so-large church, at a window, a young man dressed simply stood there, gazing through the window at the scene inside the church. He alternated between staring at the sleeping Vania and looking at another window nearby, where another man was taking a nap.

These two men were executing a special detection task. They needed to select suitable candidates from among the praying people inside the church and use their abilities to make them fall asleep, then enter their dreams to steal information. One of them had already chosen his target and started his mission, focusing on a nun with a distinct uniform in the church. Now, the other man also needed to choose his own target.

Their goal was to uncover the true purpose hidden behind the Church fleet’s apparent mission of transporting refugees. Therefore, they needed to find individuals in the fleet who appeared to be of higher status or significance to perform a dream trap on. The previous nun was selected because her white habit was distinctive, and now the remaining man needed to find a suitable person.

After carefully observing the interior of the church, the man finally chose his target: a young male sitting in the front rows wearing the uniform of a Church knight officer, seemingly a low-ranking officer.

Gazing at the officer seated in the front row, the man standing outside the church began to use his ability, making the already drowsy officer fall deeper into sleep as he closed his eyes.

…

At the same time, in the dream of the white nun.

“You say your fleet… is going to Ivig for pilgrimage? If so, why suddenly come to Navaha?”

In the church square within Vania’s dream, the shadowy figure, confused, responded to Vania’s words, while Vania herself remained in a dazed state.

“Our fleet came to Navaha to deliver passengers from the Shining White Pearl. Since the sinking location of the Shining White Pearl was closest to Navaha, we arrived here.”

“It’s really just about delivering passengers…”

Listening to Vania’s words, the shadow nodded and muttered, thinking that they originally believed the Church fleet’s sudden visit to Navaha concealed some secret purpose, with delivering passengers being just a surface excuse. Now it seemed that delivering passengers might indeed be the fleet’s true objective.

‘These deities are truly here to deliver people. It looks like Garcia was too suspicious… or perhaps this nun’s rank isn’t high enough to access core information. Anyway, to be safe, I should ask more questions…’

With such thoughts in mind, the shadow decided to continue questioning Vania for more information.

“Besides delivering refugees, does your fleet have any other purposes? Especially anything that needs to be kept confidential?”

“No,” Vania answered succinctly. The shadow continued.

“So, what was the unusual noise from the harbor yesterday afternoon?”

“Yesterday afternoon, the noise from the harbor… came from Sir Jorde and his subordinates fighting two exposed members of the Abyss Cult.”

“Abyss Cult? Those water ghosts?”

Hearing Vania’s words, the shadow showed surprise. He hadn’t expected this matter to be connected to the Abyss Cult. The Church’s targets were not them but the Abyss Cult!

‘Who would have thought this matter would be linked to those water ghosts… This is extremely important information. Since the Church’s target is not us, Garcia can rest assured.’

The shadow continued to think, relieved that the Church was not watching them. They didn’t need to take major countermeasures; they just needed to be cautious and avoid exposure.

After confirming that the Church was not targeting them, the shadow sighed in relief and continued questioning Vania.

“Also yesterday afternoon, there were explosions and gunshots heard from the desolate stone beach in the eastern part of the city. Do you know what happened?”

“Yes, it was caused by Masimo Russo, a member of the Abyss Cult, who was ambushed after swimming ashore. The gunshots and explosions were sounds of battle.” Vania answered expressionlessly, and the shadow paused slightly before continuing.

“Sounds of battle after an ambush? Did the Church foresee his escape route and set up an ambush at the desolate stone beach?”

The shadow asked Vania, but her answer was quite unexpected.

“No, the one who set up the ambush there… was not the Church.”

“Not the Church? Are there other forces in Navaha besides the Church?”

The shadow asked in surprise, and Vania nodded, confirming his statement. After confirming that there were indeed other forces in Navaha besides the Church, the shadow was stunned.

“Who? Who ambushed that Masimo? What is that other force besides the Church?”

“It was… Dorothy…”

Just as Vania was about to reveal everything she knew, an unexpected situation occurred.

In Vania’s dream space, the wide church district square, the passersby who had been moving around and serving as background characters suddenly stopped. They stood still, looking up at the sky with a bewildered expression, and then all began to chant in unison.

“We all were born from the bl**d of our mother’s womb, hence when offering sacrifices to the Holy Mother, we should worship our birth mother as a substitute idol…”

“bl**d and wine mixed, I am with the Holy Mother as I am with my birth mother, I was born from my birth mother’s womb as I was born from the Holy Mother’s…”

“Oh… Great Judge of Heaven, forgive our sins, for falling is for continuation, betrayal is for loyalty…”

“Knight Arthur of the Wind wanted to capture Aglo but did not know the path ahead. Then, a witch with eight eyes and eight fingers appeared before Arthur…”

Suddenly, various voices echoed simultaneously in Vania’s dream square. The passersby, who had been merely background elements, suddenly spoke up, chanting in tones that were either exalted, sorrowful, or devout.