### Chapter 640: Accurate
Under the nightfall in Tivyán, countless pedestrians and carriages traverse the streets illuminated by street lamps. Somewhere in the shadow by the roadside, a black carriage is currently parked. Inside the carriage, Dorothy, dressed in a shirt and a fitted plaid skirt, her feet adorned with black leather boots, sits focused, receiving information relayed by a distant zombie puppet.
“I didn’t expect… the personality enhancement of the Path of Desire to be so domineering… It’s astonishingly effective, even enough to substitute common sense…”
Dorothy thinks to herself, currently testing her new capability from the Path of Desire, shifting from personality profiling to personality modification.
Using a large number of letters exchanged with contacts from the Wolf bl**d Association as a medium, Dorothy successfully completes a personality profile of that mysterious contact. Then, leveraging the information obtained and her powerful information-gathering skills, she effortlessly locates the contact and confirms his identity.
Vorn Hunter is the target confirmed by Dorothy. His public identity is a supervisor of a carriage company, but secretly, he is a hidden member of the Wolf bl**d Association planted in Tivyán. For the past year, he has been corresponding with Vania.
After searching nearly all the hospitals, cemeteries, slaughterhouses, and entertainment districts of Tivyán, Dorothy finally finds clues leading to Vorn. She then instructs her zombie puppet to make contact with him and utilizes her newly acquired recognition modification ability to disrupt Vorn’s perception of the event’s significance, leading him to consider originally critical matters as trivial and vice versa. This way, any information can be easily extracted.
Once Dorothy completes a personality profile on someone, their worldview and values become malleable like clay in her hands, allowing her to make significant alterations with minimal effort. This is evident in Vorn, who, despite being an Extraordinary Being at the White Chalk Tier, is easily manipulated by Dorothy, remaining unaware of any deviations from his thoughts.
“Although this cognitive modification experiment yielded excellent results, it’s crucial to recognize the presence of tier suppression. If I were facing a same-tier Red Tier individual, the effect might not be as strong. Moreover, cognitive modification is predicated on personality profiling, and these cult members at the Red Tier are deeply concealed, making profiling them extremely difficult.
“While this ability is powerful, it comes with many limitations; I need to apply it judiciously rather than rely on it excessively.”
Continuing her contemplation, Dorothy sums up the experimental results of her new ability, then shifts her focus to the new information obtained from Vorn.
“According to that werewolf’s remark, the Wolf bl**d Association is determined to acquire the True Crimson Holy Mother, even mobilizing Red Tier individuals this time, with arrangements much larger than before.
“From the current situation, the Wolf bl**d Association remains cautious. Vorn is unaware of their entire plan; he’s only responsible for conveying information obtained from Vania. However, on the day of action, Vorn will also participate, allowing me to at least know the specific date of their operation.”
Dorothy ponders, concluding that if she wants to investigate the overall plan of the Wolf bl**d Association, she can only aim to find their traces in the peripheral areas of Tivyán, which is evidently challenging. Even if she successfully locates them, using a zombie puppet to probe the Red Tier “Cup” would involve significant risks.
Thus, Dorothy has no intention to seek out that werewolf ahead of time; she doesn’t need to waste her precious spirituality to shield the church from disasters. Instead, she will subtly assist the church and the An Yin Bureau on the day of action.
“Currently, the Tivyán Church has no Red Tier combat power. If the church encounters a Red Tier threat, it can only depend on the official Red Tier from Prit.
“Within Prit’s secret police and various military and political systems, the primary leaders are often held by Red Tier individuals, at least two of whom should be stationed in Tivyán. The coverage of Tivyán’s Tiered Vision is extensive, as its power derives from the faith of the city’s residents. The population of Tivyán, about five million, serves as the eyes of Tiered Vision. Every citizen who believes in the Radiant Church can provide Vania with a Red Tier monitoring zone with a few hundred to nearly a thousand meters in diameter centered around themselves, thereby radiating outward to encompass the entire urban area and its suburbs completely.
“Theoretically, as soon as that Red Tier werewolf elder approaches the vicinity of the city, Vania will immediately detect him. Vania can inform the official Red Tier from the Prit Kingdom, prompting them to come to support.
“Though the An Yin Bureau tends to be quite useless against Eight-pointed threats, they can still exert some intimidation over other societies. The speed of a Red Tier wind mage is extremely fast; before that elder reaches the Church District, he would be intercepted by a Red Tier wind mage, preventing him from accessing the St. Hymn Cathedral…
“So… on the day of action, the Wolf bl**d Association will either use the White Chalk to sneak into the church to steal books or find a way to create an opportunity where that elder is forced to enter amidst the interference of the Red Tier wind mages… What action they will finally take, I can only determine on that day…”
Dorothy continues her analysis, having grasped the current situation. Her plan is to keep collecting information while waiting for the opposing party’s move on the designated day. Meanwhile, she needs to prepare for battle, which essentially means replenishing her spirituality.
To restore her urgently needed spirituality, Dorothy agreed to accompany Adele to her next engagement, allowing her to exchange for two secret transmissions from Adele’s collection.
One of these secret transmissions, titled “Dance of the Flower Tread,” is purely a dance book filled with many types of mysterious dances, including those performed publicly, those offered to deities, and those meant to woo a lover… Allegedly, these dance forms have been passed down from the Faith of Abundance culture. This was the teaching material used by Adele when she was part of the dance society. Dorothy extracts 2 “Cup” and 2 “Enlightenment” from this secret transmission.
The other secret transmission is a damaged ode written in the Faraluo Language, praising a deity.
This deity, a goddess, is called the Goddess of Love and Beauty, Goddess of Flowers and Dance. The poem emphasizes her unparalleled beauty as the protector of all things beautiful. It also states she is the Goddess of Love and Romance, bringing together and guiding all who boldly seek love. People pray to her for their true love. The poem further mentions she is the Goddess of Dance, capable of performing the most dazzling and enchanting dance in the world, as well as the Goddess of Flowers, making flowers bloom wherever she goes, creating vast and intoxicating flower seas.
From this secret transmission, Dorothy retrieves 4 points of “Cup” and 3 points of “Enlightenment.”
“These two secret transmissions must have been left to Adele by her teacher… If I remember correctly, both Adele and her teacher seem to be Faraluo people, and the flower goddess described in this ode written in Faraluo Language, could she be associated with the Path of Desire? The artistic style of the hymns is entirely different from those in the three teachings of the Amniotic Sac, so she might be a demigod under the Goddess of Abundance from the Third Age, one of the dance girls among sailors, hunters, pharmacists…
“Just like the Wind Knight faith is linked to Prit… Has the faith in the Beautiful Goddess circulated on the land of Faraluo?”
Continuing her analysis, Dorothy soon shifts her attention back to spirituality and secret transmissions. The secret transmissions she’s read so far are not solely the ones obtained from Adele; recently, Vorn directly sent her another to expedite Vania’s corruption.
This secret transmission is titled “Chronicles of the Murky Flow,” detailing various atrocities committed by the church during the Murky Flow War, including but not limited to large-scale religious trials, mass executions by fire, countless innocent wrongful imprisonments, and the overt massacre of villages harboring heretical beliefs… Each item is a bloody tragedy, portraying the church as a demon far worse than any devil; an ordinary person without any bias reading this would certainly grow to despise the church intensely.
“This secret transmission… is specifically used by the Wolf bl**d Association to malign the church in front of Vania. Even if one disregards poison recognition, it will provoke disgust for the church. Yet, this secret transmission is authored by the Abyss Cult; it’s unknown how much embellishment is involved. Even if every detail is accurate, the Radiant Church isn’t innocent either. How can the Abyss Cult be any better? I have seen enough of your conduct during large-scale wars to know you only grow more brutal…”
Dorothy judges this secret transmission in her heart, then begins to extract spirituality from it, gaining a total of 2 “Lamp,” 1 “Cup,” and 1 “Enlightenment.”
Summarizing, her current spirituality status is as follows:
8 Cups, 4 Stones, 14 Shadows, 8 Lamps, 11 Silences, 8 Enlightenments.
“Huh… Even though I haven’t increased my spirituality by much, having something is better than having nothing, especially that ‘Cup’ increase, which is truly significant. That previous single point was downright terrifying…
“Next, I just need to wait patiently for the Wolf bl**d Association’s actions. It shouldn’t take long.”
After a long, relieved sigh, Dorothy murmurs and then turns to gaze out the carriage window at the streets beneath the night sky.
—
During the daytime, in the outskirts of Tivyán.
Under an overcast sky, a light drizzle falls slowly, the air carrying a hint of chill.
Amid the dreary rain, several figures stand atop a small hill, all cloaked in black raincoats, looking together toward the hazy outline of the massive city in the mist.
Among this group, one figure stands taller than the rest, around two meters tall, his robust frame noticeable beneath the wide black raincoat. Hidden beneath the coat’s hood is a notably fierce face.
It belongs to a man with deep-colored skin, his face thick with flesh, eyes gleaming with menace, and cheeks covered in dense red tattoos depicting abstract wolf totems. He exudes a dangerously volatile aura, as if ready to strike at any moment.
“Elder Duval, new information has come from the Remnant Limb Altar. This time, it’s from Max; the intel left by Smith’s covert lines is finally willing to cooperate.”
At this moment, a similarly garbed subordinate approaches the tall figure, respectfully reporting, while Duval turns slowly, responding in a deep voice.
“What’s the situation?”
“The white prayerer’s intel has been inscribed by the Remnant Limb Altar. According to the contents, Francesco is indeed no longer at the St. Hymn Cathedral. To date, the Sacred Summit has not dispatched a new archbishop, likely due to political struggles at the saintly level. Currently, the one running the St. Hymn Cathedral is just that little nun named Chafiren; she has a great reputation but is merely a White Chalk. The only thing she can rely on is the Divine Blessing Object to maintain Tiered Vision.
“Now, that white prayerer has even drawn us a map of the Church District within the cathedral, marking the location of the forbidden book library. We have obtained everything we desire.”
The subordinate dressed in a raincoat continues respectfully reporting. Hearing his words, Duval pauses slightly before speaking again.
“Has the authenticity of the intel been verified?”
“It has been corroborated with the information previously collected by Mr. Sander; they are almost identical. The two sources, entirely different, align so closely that the accuracy can be nearly confirmed.”
The subordinate continues respectfully, and upon hearing him, Duval lets out a slight sigh of relief. He then starts to move, walking to the far side of the hill, where another figure hidden beneath a black raincoat stands, separated from the Wolf bl**d Association members.
“I didn’t expect your organization to provide accurate intel without hiding other tricks… It seems this time you truly mean to cooperate…”
Duval slowly addresses the isolated figure, who turns around to reveal a man with a slightly stout face. Upon seeing Duval, he immediately smiles and bows.
“Of course, esteemed Elder, we genuinely hope that the families of the Amniotic Sac can unite without holding grudges. We will not resort to trickery as before.”
“Hmph, you weren’t like this in the past…”
“Alas, times have changed. After all, our Pestilence Lord and your Gluttony King were born from the same womb. We are all siblings, and it is normal for siblings to clash occasionally. However, when it comes to major issues, everyone should work together. We are family, bonded by one great mother, are we not?”
Still smiling, the man named Sander speaks to Duval, and upon hearing his words, Duval refrains from further comments and coldly replies.
“Enough talking; now that all the intel is confirmed, we will begin our operation tomorrow. Since you claim to express sincerity, you should come along, too.”
“Understood…” Sander continues to bow towards Duval. As he watches Duval prepare to leave, Sander immediately calls out to him again.
“Please wait a moment, Elder. Since you’ve trusted my intel, I can now explain the next phase of our plans.”
“Next phase? What else can your infested hive make you do?” Turning back, Duval says to Sander, who takes out a small box and holds it.
“Nothing much, just a gift for you, Elder Duval. According to Chief Karuaa, this is an apology for our past rudeness and also a guarantee for this operation.”
As he speaks, Duval opens the box, and inside is a bizarre worm that is slightly wriggling, slick and glistening with moisture.
