Six Hundred Fourteenth Expert
As dusk fell over Gramorn, the setting sun cast its glow upon the vast surface of Twinkling Star Lake, creating shimmering orange-yellow ripples.
On the enormous church that suddenly appeared in the middle of the lake, the defenders from the Radiant Church and knights were searching and exploring under the lead of the relic pilgrimage group. The local church and An Yin Bureau had completely taken control of the church and the surrounding waters. Any boats attempting to approach were driven away, and many curious people who had come by boat to investigate were turned away at a considerable distance from the church.
Now, the church that had suddenly appeared in the lake had become a forbidden area for the public. After news spread about it being driven away, this fueled even more curiosity among the citizens of Gramorn. Various rumors flew around the city rapidly, with countless ordinary citizens eagerly discussing the origins of the mysterious church and why the authorities took immediate control of it.
Since the church only appeared when Sister Vania visited Gramorn, one of the rumors circulating among these citizens was that Sister Vania was the cause of the church’s appearance. It was considered a miracle granted by the Holy Mother, and Sister Vania, as the Holy Mother’s earthly messenger, had manifested in Gramorn. The church was a blessing the Holy Mother brought to Gramorn through Sister Vania.
This statement seemed far-fetched, but it was the most widely circulated rumor among the various speculations in Gramorn, thus linking the two hottest topics in the city together, achieving the highest credibility.
Just as Gramorn was bustling with excitement due to the mysterious church’s appearance, on the lakeshore far from the city center, deep within an uninhabited riverside forest, a series of rustling sounds could be heard in the woods. Tiny shadows flashed through the twilight.
Countless bats were flying through the uninhabited forest, gathering at the same location. In the dim forest, these bats formed two black silhouettes, one male and one female, which were none other than the two high-ranking members of the Eight Pinnacle Nest, Ed and Gethsmoor.
After the figures of the Eight Pinnacle Nest’s spider fang priest and witch reappeared, they looked towards the direction of the lake, both showing a heavy expression. Gethsmoor, in particular, had an angry and displeased look on her face.
“That deity-following nun… she actually wants to take our territory, turning the temple that should belong to the Deep Web Queen into their sheep pen for faith. Have they not taken enough already? They dare to be so presumptuous! Disgusting!”
Gethsmoor clenched her teeth, recalling the information she had eavesdropped on in the church, and angrily said. Her hand slowly tightened, drawing bl**d from her palm.
“Now I really want to capture that deity-following nun and torture her slowly to d*ath, making her understand that she is treading on someone else’s land…”
“Calm down, Gethsmoor! Think about what you said before. This is not the time to deal with that nun. We… even the entire nest cannot afford the consequences of the Church deeply intervening in Prit’s situation! That nun cannot have any mishaps in Gramorn!”
Ed said seriously to Gethsmoor. Hearing this, Gethsmoor took a deep breath and coldly replied to Ed.
“Hmph, I know… I was just saying. I still have my composure. I always found those deity-followers detestable, but I never thought they could disgust me like this…”
Gethsmoor slowly said, then shifted her gaze to Ed beside her and continued speaking.
“So, what exactly is going on now? Why did that moon-b*tch’s temple suddenly rise? And right in front of those deity followers? Don’t tell me this is some coincidence, Ed.”
“I certainly don’t think it’s a coincidence. The appearance of the temple in the night sky is not a normal occurrence. If it were due to the temple’s own mechanism, the locals here wouldn’t be so surprised. Someone must have deliberately made the temple appear at this time. The key question is, who or who are those people?”
With a serious tone, Ed slowly said, then continued his analysis.
“First, although that Radiant Church nun seems suspicious, I don’t think she’s very likely. If the Radiant Church knew the secrets of the lake, they would have sent specialists to investigate rather than a pilgrimage team. We’ve monitored that nun and her subordinates throughout, and their behavior clearly shows they didn’t know about the night sky temple. For them, this is also an unexpected situation. Therefore, the person or persons responsible for bringing up the temple are definitely not from the Church.
“If we exclude the Church, the most likely suspects are those who have been secretly opposing us. The force behind the wind mage who fought the night demon in Tivyán, most likely belongs to the alert faction in the upper echelons of Prit. They know the secret of this lake. They might have secretly come here and conducted investigations, even getting ahead of us. We didn’t even notice them…
“Ed spoke with a serious attitude. Listening to him, Gethsmoor couldn’t help but furrow her brows and continue.
“It can’t be… We monitor the lake every night. How did they investigate it? And how did they make such progress faster than us?” Gethsmoor said in confusion. She had known that other forces might be probing Twinkling Star Lake, but until today, she believed her side was leading in the investigation progress. Now, she didn’t understand how others managed to find the temple first, despite her side controlling the lake.
“Well… currently, it’s unclear. One possibility is that the secret of the lake is not hidden on the surface but elsewhere, where we haven’t monitored. Another possibility is that some of those individuals are at the Red Tier level ‘shadow,’ possessing extremely outstanding concealment abilities. They managed to avoid our surveillance and secretly investigated the lake, getting results faster than us…
“Ed continued to analyze with a serious expression. Gethsmoor couldn’t help but sneer.
“Hmm, it looks like… we underestimated those people. Their ability to investigate here proves they’re quite capable. We were too complacent before.
“But there’s another issue. If those people found the method to bring the temple out, why choose now? By publicly revealing the existence of the temple, do they really not want to monopolize it?”
Gethsmoor asked after some thought. Ed, after a moment of contemplation, continued to answer slowly.
“Perhaps… they truly don’t want this temple. The past secrets of this land are no longer known to Despenser. Those alert faction members found this place because we came here. They might not know the significance of this temple to us. They might only see that we, as enemies, are targeting this temple, so they tried to find it, reveal it, and make things difficult for us.
“Even if they know the significance of this temple, they might choose to abandon it. A temple-level site requires deactivation to function fully, which will inevitably draw our attention. They may believe their strength is inferior to ours and unable to secure the temple once it’s activated.
“Therefore, their goal is to prevent us from obtaining the temple. They seized the opportunity when that deity-following nun came to the city on pilgrimage, releasing the temple in front of the Church and everyone, handing it over to the Church. For them, as long as the temple doesn’t fall into our hands and obstructs our goals, their objective is achieved.”
Ed continued his analysis. Gethsmoor’s face darkened further as she continued to speak with a dangerous tone.
“Fine… If we can’t get it, at least they successfully annoyed me. If I catch the person who came up with this idea, I’ll make sure they live to see their tendons pulled out.”
Gethsmoor said coldly. Although finding the temple was primarily Ed’s responsibility and her main task was to ensure nothing else would interfere, her presence was to prevent any other force from forcibly seizing the temple. If the temple appeared, she needed to ensure it was secured and the ritual completed smoothly.
Now that the temple had appeared, the situation exceeded Gethsmoor’s expectations. Facing Sister Vania’s pilgrimage group, she felt powerless, causing her frustration.
“Now that those Radiant deity followers are occupying our temple and planning to replace it with their own, once their replacement ritual is complete, all our efforts will be wasted. Come up with a plan, Ed!” Gethsmoor urged Ed. Ed responded with evident distress.
“It’s not easy to come up with a solution. The current situation is complicated… We can’t wait for the Radiant people to come from Tivyán to perform the replacement ritual. We need to control the temple and perform the ritual before they arrive, but this will inevitably conflict with that nun. If anything happens to her and brings Sacred Summit’s deep intervention in Prit, even if our ritual succeeds, it would be counterproductive. Therefore… we must interfere with the temple and perform the ritual while ensuring the nun isn’t harmed or even aware of any abnormalities.”
“Binding that deity follower isn’t a problem, but keeping her unaware is too difficult. The replacement ritual isn’t small; it’s neither quick nor easy. Even though that nun and her subordinates are just chalk, they are still ‘lamps.’ Conducting the replacement ritual without them noticing is impossible unless they’re all blind or we hypnotize them.”
Gethsmoor said, waving her hand. Ed responded calmly.
“Directly binding the nun carries significant risks. Who knows what emergency measures Sacred Summit might have given her. A direct confrontation could be uncontrollable, and there’s still a chance of Sacred Summit’s involvement afterward. We can’t do this unless absolutely necessary.
“As for hypnosis… There’s a White Chalk from the Path of Suffering in the nun’s team. Hypnosis from the Path of bl**d Darkness isn’t strong enough to effectively hypnotize those protected by the Path of Suffering. The likelihood of detection is high, and I don’t recommend it…”
Ed responded. Gethsmoor became frustrated and said bluntly.
“Nothing works? What other options do you have?!”
“Well… I do have one idea.” Ed said with a thoughtful expression. Gethsmoor’s face showed confusion again.
“You actually have one? What is it? Tell me.”
Gethsmoor asked curiously. Ed continued with a mysterious smile.
“Do you remember, the nun mentioned she wanted to perform the replacement ritual herself to convert the temple into a Holy Mother’s shrine? Since she didn’t know the procedure, she contacted Tivyán to send experts.”
“Experts…”
Hearing Ed’s words, Gethsmoor’s eyes widened slightly, then she smiled as if she understood something.
“Oh… I see… This could indeed be a viable method…”
…
Time passed quickly, and soon a night had gone by. When the sunlight shone again on Twinkling Star Lake the next day, the mysterious church that had risen yesterday still stood in the center of the lake, bathed in the morning light.
On the church in the lake, Extraordinary Beings from the An Yin Bureau and the church in Gramorn were moving around, conducting exploration work under the arrangement of the relic pilgrimage group members. Due to the sudden appearance of the mysterious church, they temporarily put aside their original pilgrimage plans and stayed in Gramorn.
“Sister Vania, as per your instructions, I had people guard the church all night, and we didn’t discover any abnormal phenomena. Apart from its sudden appearance, this church hasn’t shown any other extraordinary abilities.”
In the corridor of the chapel, Sister Vania was walking with Captain Gaspare of her pilgrimage group. After hearing Gaspare’s report, Vania nodded.
“Thank you, Cleric Gaspare. If there are no other extraordinary signs, it’s for the best. This indicates that the extraordinary power above either dissipated or stabilized, which is beneficial for our subsequent work.
“Last night, I contacted St. Hymn Cathedral and explained the situation there. Archbishop Francesco agreed to my request and sent an expert to handle heretical or heretic ritual sites. She will take over our investigation of this church, and if necessary, directly conduct the consecration ceremony.”
