No, I can't let myself get caught here! "
John Dana touched his left eye and made up his mind. He turned around and ran in the other direction.
That was the path to the heart of Lancaster, where the city guards were usually the most numerous. Now that most citizens had headed to the western suburbs to watch the tournament, the once bustling streets were now empty and no one could blend in with the crowd. Moreover, the dye ball had rendered John Dana's illusionary concealment ineffective, and running there was no doubt that he would be walking right into a trap.
That was when Leah and the other two who had been giving chase came out of the sewers, running into the Players who had agreed to help them stop John.
"That direction … so he ended up running in circles to the embassy where the new emperor's envoy is staying …" Edward couldn't help clicking his tongue in wonder at how things had turned out.
"He's just panicking and running out of options. After all, that guy's goal doesn't seem to have anything to do with the new emperor's envoy. Moreover, the new emperor's envoy has guards, so we don't have to worry. That guy can't escape. " Marni took off his helmet and took deep breaths of air as if he was suffocating. "By the way, does anyone know if the blacksmiths in the newbie village could help adjust the size of my armor? I feel like I'm a little bigger than before … "
Edward stared speechlessly at Marni's belly, but didn't point it out since he didn't want to offend the quest's sponsor.
"No, we have to stop him as soon as possible!"
Princess Leah, however, was uncharacteristically serious. "Did you forget what he said before?"
"What …" Edward did a double take, but quickly reacted. "Are you talking about that 'city-devouring ritual circle' he mentioned? But wasn't that not completed? We've already found and destroyed his ritual ground … "
"I've learned a little about heraldry before, and the so-called ritual circle is essentially a type of magical circle that encompasses part of heraldry … my mentor once said that the core of a circle is usually very simple, and later additions and improvements are mostly to ensure that the circle can be activated, maintained, and controlled, or even used to guide and restrain energies or other things within the circle."
Princess Leah explained to the Players beside her as she chased after the cultist leader. "The reason he chose to run to the center instead of sneaking away without us noticing is definitely because the core of the sacrificial circle is complete, and could be directly activated through some special means!"
"Isn't he afraid of losing control of the sacrificial array?" Edward asked in surprise.
"After all, compared to failing from the start, it's even harder to accept a failure that's so close to completion only to be interrupted by an unexpected situation. It's not impossible for the cultists to do anything!" The knowledgeable Marni agreed with Princess Leia's opinion. "It's like holding in your pee. It's fine if you keep holding in, but it's very uncomfortable if you hold it back halfway."
"I think your analogy is fundamentally different from the current situation."
Edward said calmly.
As they spoke, they arrived in front of the embassy and saw the cult leader, John Dana. He had climbed up to the roof of the embassy and was climbing towards a lightning rod carved with a thunderbird totem in the center.
"What's so special about that place?" Edward asked, puzzled by his actions. "Could the mechanism to activate the sacrificial circle be set there?"
"That's the center of Lancaster!"
That was when Gerald, who was still a city watch officer, rushed to the scene with his city watch. "Lancaster was built around the mayor's residence at first, but the business district became more prosperous and expanded faster than the slums and residential areas. That's why the center of the city became here unwittingly."
"Gerald, why are you here?"
Marni curiously asked the youth who was once his guard but failed to stop him from being led to death.
"I received a quest from the System." Gerald, who had just become a newbie Player but was starting from Level 15 (in fact, his combat ability was around Level 25 Players, but Xi Wei's System didn't have AI and only looked at basic stats) replied. "Some cultists are plotting something evil, and they want me to stop them or something …"
"It's true … I didn't notice it because I was busy chasing after that guy. So I've received a quest too!" Edward exclaimed as he turned on his System's quest page.
[Side quest: Investigate and capture the Mystery Cultist]
"Mystery Cultist? Don't they worship that evil god called Aojo? "
Marni muttered curiously after glancing at the System page, having clearly received the same quest as well.
Meanwhile, Gerald had already ordered the city watch to get into formation and fire arrows at the roof.
As a commercial city, the quality of Lancaster's city watch was a mix of good and bad, with the standard being lower than the average city. However, the city watch's weapons and equipment were superior to other cities.
After all, Mayor Corinth wouldn't lack that bit of money since it was a commercial city …
Soon, John Dhana was struck by three arrows and was bleeding profusely. His movements appeared much weaker as well, as if he would fall off the roof at any moment because he couldn't hold on to the roof tiles.
"Weird … isn't that guy a little too weak when he's clearly Level 32?" Edward suddenly felt uneasy.
Although the opponent's template wasn't that of a Boss, and it wasn't even an Elite template, even if it was the most common creature template, it would definitely have entered the realm of Extraordinary at Level 32. No matter how weak it was, it shouldn't have been destroyed by a few arrows …
Just as Edward was left puzzled, John Dhana finally reached the highest point. Panting heavily, he turned to look at the crowd below, a fearless smile appearing on his pale face due to blood loss.
"I hate you lackeys of the gods! I hate those so-called gods who only know how to exploit this world! "
"I've seen with my own eyes how many families were sacrificed as the gods fought for their faith, their families homeless and refugees, just as countless innocents were reduced to ashes by the gods' wrath!"
"There is no reason for the gods' existence. They have no meaning apart from stripping the world of possibilities!"
"Be it mortals, Transcendents, humans, or elves, all creatures in this world are like livestock that they raise. Their lives and deaths are all in their hands!"
"The gods suck the marrow out of every intelligent being, and are the enemies of every living being in this world! They are the cancer of this world! "
His expression slowly turned hysterical as he drew out a small and exquisite silver dagger from the pendant hanging over his chest. Holding the short hilt with both hands, he pointed its tip at his own face.
"And I, we! We will banish every single one of these lofty monsters from this world! "
In the next split second, he stabbed the tip of the dagger viciously into his left eye socket.
"For the glory of Finnea —! Silver Oak Never Darkens —! "
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Chapter 306
The Blasphemer
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