Over the next few days, similar things happened in several taverns, and these taverns were located in several different towns on the border between the aristocratic and merchant factions.
As the adventurers spread the news by word of mouth, it quickly spread, and the more it spread, the more bizarre it became.
This was how rumors worked. Starting from 'Zhang San bought a painting of a tiger', it wouldn't take long before it became 'Zhang San killed a tiger', or 'Zhang San was eaten by a tiger'. Ordinary things would most likely be spread as bizarre, and peaceful things would most likely be spread as bizarre.
So, what if it was originally a dangerous and terrifying thing?
Anyway, in a few days, an atmosphere of panic spread across the long border. A large number of cautious adventurers left, leaving behind brave or reckless adventurers who were full of ambition. The civilians could not leave, so they could only be more careful. Many families would lock their doors during the day. As for the villages, they simply organized militia patrols and patrolled day and night, hoping to use this method to stop the crazy and dangerous evil cultists and protect their own safety.
But these measures did not have much effect. About ten days later, another evil cult sacrificial incident occurred.
This time, it was more serious than the previous few, because the evil cultists almost completed the whole sacrificial ceremony. If it were not for a ranger who believed in the God of Justice who came quickly, the demon that had received the sacrificial offering would have even stretched half of its claw out of the summoning gate.
Fortunately, the ranger was very skilled, and his arrows were as fast as lightning. In one breath, he shot through the four nodes of the sacrificial array, preventing the summoning gate from being completed. No matter how much the demon roared, it could not really rush over. Instead, it was besieged by the clergymen of the Church of the God of Law, and lost one of its claws. For the demon, it did not know whether it had gained or lost.
This news was supposed to be kept secret, but for some reason, it quickly spread. Many adventurers rushed to the village and saw the traces of the demon summoning with their own eyes.
Although the clergymen of the Church of the God of Law had completely dispelled the aura of the abyss, the traces of sulfur left by the demon summoning, and the bloodstains left by the massacre in the village, all told the people that something terrible had happened here.
Especially in the small square in the middle of the village, there was a large piece of ground covered with fresh soil, but there was still the smell of blood, which made one's hair stand on end.
Some of the less daring adventurers left quietly. They realized that they weren't that brave, and they weren't that confident in themselves. In the face of a terrifying cult that could easily wipe out an entire village, they felt that it was better not to confront them head-on.
If he wanted to make money, he could make money anywhere. There was no need to risk his life.
Meanwhile, some people with different ideas gathered around. They felt that this might be a good opportunity.
Although demons were terrifying, offering sacrifices to them would definitely bring them benefits.
Unlike the adventurers, the suzerains, sheriffs, and churches of good Gods all over the land felt a little overwhelmed. They had put in 120% of their efforts to track down the whereabouts of the mysterious cult, but they could not even find any valuable clues.
That strange cult seemed to have grown wings, disappearing without a trace every time. Even the most powerful Ranger couldn't track them down.
Every time they retreated, there were clear footprints, hoofprints, and ruts. But all these traces would suddenly disappear about a mile or two after leaving the village, and even the smell would disappear. It was as if the group of people had really flown away.
But even if people could fly away, horses couldn't. Even if horses could grow wings and fly away, it was impossible for carriages to grow wings and fly away!
Bounties were quickly posted in every town, and the amount of money was constantly increasing. Correspondingly, the atmosphere became more and more tense. All the soldiers held their weapons tightly all day, and the adventurers were equally nervous and careful. They would draw their swords at the slightest disagreement.
Some of the more insightful suzerains and sheriffs began to worry. They knew that the situation was not good. As time went on, it was likely to cause large-scale panic and even a wave of refugees. It could also lead to fierce conflicts.
But … there was nothing they could do if they could not catch that group of strange cult followers.
The news gradually spread, and finally even reached the ears of the exploration team who were camping in the wilderness in the north of the Commonwealth of Gold Coins.
"Have you heard? Something big has happened in the south! "Fira said mysteriously to Hoppes during lunch." It's very scary! "
Hoppes chewed on his carrot and looked at him with some confusion. He asked in a muffled voice, "War?"
"Much scarier than war!"
"Scarier than war? You must be joking. "
"Why would I be joking?" Fira looked around, lowered his voice, and said, "At the border between the merchant party and the aristocratic party, there is a cult that is conducting sacrifices. It has already been done several times!"
Hoppes was stunned for a moment. He hurriedly ate the carrot in two or three bites and drank a big mouthful of vegetable soup to compose himself. Then, he asked for more details.
In fact, Fira was not very clear about the specific situation. He had only gotten the news when he was chatting with the team members who were transporting the vegetables. But in front of his friends, of course, he would not say things like "actually, I'm not sure either." Instead, he would rely on his own imagination and try his best to fill in the blanks, describing the matter in a way that made sense.
Although many of his statements were rather bizarre, when compared to the truth, the deviation was not too big. Because the team member who had told him about this had made it sound very outrageous. Fira, of course, could not accept a statement like "a terrifying demon was summoned. Its head was as big as a mountain, poisonous smoke and flames spewed out of its nose, and countless poisonous insects flew out of its mouth. It took hundreds of knights and Saint Samurai working together to drive it back into the Abyss." Although he was not strong, he was not an ignorant villager. In the end, a negative made a positive, which was closer to reality.
It was precisely because of this that the situation he had described was more realistic. When Hoppes went back to talk to Ruby about it, the experienced Ruby thought about it and felt that maybe … there was really some possibility.
Thus, Ruby was a little worried. He specially looked for the adventurers who were escorting the carts of the merchant party that was transporting their supplies and asked them in detail.
After getting a clear understanding of the situation, he finally felt at ease.
"Don't worry, it doesn't have much to do with us." After returning, he said to Hoppes, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. "The cult's sacrificial acts are concentrated at the border between the two influences, and there's no sign of it spreading to the north. We're now at the northernmost part of the merchant party's influence. Those cult members won't be able to come here. "
Hoppes heaved a sigh of relief, but it was not as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Instead, he asked with some worry, "Then … have those cult members been captured? Has their organization been wiped out? "
"Not yet."
"I keep feeling that it's very scary …"
"That's right!" Ruby sighed as well, shook his head, and said, "I hope that our work here can end soon. I really want to return to the Republic as soon as possible. That's the only place that's truly safe!"
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