Five Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Transmission of Message
In the west of Adus, Dosa.
At noon in Dosa, within a hidden spacious room somewhere, Nephnis, dressed in traditional Adus robes, was sitting inside the room with her body leaning forward. She held a handful of white animal bone powder in her hand, slowly releasing it, letting the powder fall to the ground. As she moved her arm in the air, the bone powder on the ground gradually formed a magical array.
Shortly after, a pale magical array centered around a closed-eye symbol appeared on the ground. After finishing drawing the array, Nephnis put the remaining unused bone powder back into the jar beside her, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began reciting an incantation.
The profound incantation echoed in the space. In the midst of the incantation, a distorted shadow gradually appeared at the center of the array. When the shadow stabilized and became clear, it revealed the familiar lynx-like semi-transparent spirit body. The spirit lynx licked its paw and floated to the edge of the array, puffing up its chest, lifting its tiny head, and looking proudly at Nephnis. Upon seeing this, Neve immediately pulled out two iron coins and respectfully placed them in front of the spirit lynx.
Seeing the iron coins, the spirit lynx’s eyes lit up. It circled around Nephnis joyfully before returning to the coins, lowering its head immediately and licking the coins. After licking for a while, it raised its head and continued to look at Nephnis with a proud demeanor, nodding in satisfaction. Seeing this, Nephnis quickly approached and communicated silently with the spirit lynx using the language of the extraordinary being “Silence.”
After hearing Nephnis’ message, the spirit lynx floated in the air for a moment, then nodded again. It turned around and dived downward, piercing through the ground as if entering the earth.
After seeing the spirit lynx disappear, Nephnis silently stood up. She slowly came to the window, gazing outside at the city under the sun’s rays, and beyond it, where the Adus Revolutionary Army was stationed.
…
On the other side, outside Dosa City, numerous soldiers were standing in formation on a wide open space. On a high platform in front of the formation, Commander Aidan was still giving his speech. Hearing that they might face the terrifying undead as rumored, fear and tension appeared in every soldier’s eyes.
No matter what Aidan said about how weak the undead were, and that they could win if they had courage, the soldiers’ unease didn’t easily dissipate under such terrifying rumors. Everyone in the formation felt a bit apprehensive about the upcoming probing offensive action.
Up on the high platform, Aidan was making his final rallying speech. Just as he was about to announce the departure, an officer suddenly ran up from one side of the platform, whispering something to Aidan. Upon hearing the officer’s words, Aidan’s expression changed. After a brief pause, he addressed the soldiers in front of him.
“Ladies and gentlemen, due to some other circumstances, our operation needs to be temporarily delayed until tomorrow morning!” Aidan announced to the soldiers. Hearing this, many soldiers who had been worried about the probing offensive let out a sigh of relief, their anxiety temporarily alleviated. Many also speculated about what situation had caused the originally planned probing offensive to be canceled.
Following this, the soldiers were dismissed from their positions. The soldiers and officers dispersed and returned to their camp. Among them, a lower-ranking officer with dark skin, resembling someone from Northern Ufeiga with a beard, glanced up at the high platform during his retreat. He saw Commander Aidan discussing something with Advisor Nei, who had just arrived in Dosa the previous day. After watching for a moment, the officer adjusted his hat, lowered his head, and silently mixed into the crowd, heading away.
The officer did not go directly to the camp but left the crowd at the right moment and headed into the city. Entering Dosa, he walked straight into a hotel. Shortly after coming out, he had changed out of his military uniform, replacing it with a common Northern Ufeiga male robe.
Dressed in the robe, the officer continued to wander through Dosa. Sometimes he crossed major streets, other times he walked through narrow alleys, constantly taking detours and looking back. After a series of twists and turns, he arrived at a poor residential area in Dosa, characterized by low houses and dirty surroundings. Here, he turned into an empty alley and walked to its end.
Turning around, the officer faced a small wooden door on one side of the alley. After a rhythmic knock, a series of unlocking sounds came from behind the door. After the locks were opened, the wooden door opened, revealing a young white man wearing a Northern Ufeiga robe, with the appearance of a main continent white person. After looking at the officer, he stepped aside, allowing the officer to enter the house.
Upon seeing the door open, the officer immediately entered the house. Inside, there was a carpet and some simple furniture. Other two figures in robes were seated on the carpet. After the officer entered, the man who opened the door promptly closed the door and locked it several times before turning to face the officer.
“What news have you brought? Why are you here now…”
The young white man asked the officer. After sitting down on the carpet and taking a sip of tea, the officer replied.
“Commander Aidan has new moves. I don’t know if he listened to the advice of the new advisor, but he decided to organize troops to conduct a probing offensive in the undead defense zone, aiming to eliminate some undead to boost morale.”
“Probing offensive…” The young man pondered upon hearing the officer’s words and then continued.
“Hmm… It seems the undead have hit Aidan’s soldiers hard. They need such actions to boost morale… When exactly will they start?”
“Tomorrow morning, originally it was today, but for some reason, Aidan changed the time after receiving a sudden message, postponing the entire schedule by a day. You should use your ritual now, Sir Shahab, to prepare him.”
Listening to the officer, the young man nodded thoughtfully and responded.
“If we ambush them in advance and wipe out this probing force, not only will Aidan’s morale-boosting plan fail, but the morale of the entire Dosa might suffer even more… I understand. I’ll notify Karnak about this information immediately. Try to investigate the cause of Aidan’s sudden delay on your end as well.”
“I know that already.”
With these words, the officer swiftly left the house through another hidden exit. After sending off the officer, the young man returned to the room, pulled back the carpet, and revealed a trapdoor. Opening the trapdoor, he found himself facing a staircase leading to a basement.
Descending the stairs, the young man entered the basement. In the cramped space, a gas lamp hanging on the wall illuminated the dim surroundings. On the ground of the basement, a magical array drawn with animal bone powder was present, with a closed-eye symbol at its core.
Looking at the array, the young man reached into his robe and pulled out a bone fragment. Shaking the bone fragment, a translucent, peculiar substance emerged, rapidly expanding and forming a human figure. This was a male ghost with scars on his face, dressed in a Northern Ufeiga robe.
Observing the ghost, the young man opened his mouth and communicated silently with it using the language of souls, conveying the information he had just heard. After fully listening to the information, the ghost floating above the array bowed to the young man, then descended and entered the array.
…
As dusk fell over Dosa City.
The sunset’s light bathed the city, casting a golden hue over everything. Hidden within the secret hideout in Dosa’s alleyways, the young man stood in the basement, looking at the magical array drawn with white bone powder. Anxiety crept into his eyes.
“What’s going on… Why hasn’t he returned yet…”
Staring at the array, the man muttered anxiously. Since he had instructed his undead to deliver a message at noon, hours had passed. During this time, he had waited in this place, expecting his soul to return from Karnak with a reply. But so far, there was no sign of his ghost.
Normally, traveling through the realm of spirits, a ghost could travel between Dosa and Karnak in less than an hour. Previously, when communicating with Karnak, the response was quick. However, after a whole afternoon, the young man had not seen the ghost return, causing him great unease.
In his anxiety, the young man paced back and forth in the basement, his growing tension reflecting his urgent desire to know what had happened to his ghost and whether Karnak had received his message.
Finally, unable to contain his anxiety any longer, the young man turned around and walked up the stairs, exiting the basement and heading to the small hut in the hideout. Glancing at the other two subordinates in the hut, he spoke directly.
“Prepare yourselves. Once it gets dark, set up the radio immediately. We need to send an urgent telegram to Karnak!”
…
Under the sunset, atop a tower in Dosa, a strong wind blew through. Dorothy stood at the top of the tower. The wind whipped her robe, and she looked down at the not-so-large Northern Ufeiga city below.
Surveying every corner of the city, Dorothy’s expression was serious. With the activation of her spirituality, her ability as a thunder summoner spread. Enhanced by the precise calculations from the otherworldly model, this ability was now linked to Dorothy’s senses.
At this moment, Dorothy felt like a receiver, sensing the electromagnetic waves spreading over Dosa.
