The path to the deepest part of the underground palace.
The endless flight of stairs seemed to lead to the abyss of hell. The ancient and deep black stone walls seemed to seal the original malice of this world. Rows and rows of magic crystal lamps were inlaid on both sides of the slanting stairs, but the bright light seemed to be unable to fight against the darkness in this passage. The light emitted by the magic crystals could only illuminate a small area on the walls and stairs. The places where the lights could not reach were always in awe of darkness.
The sound of vines and roots rubbing against each other rang between the stairs and the corridor. Bertilla walked unhurriedly in the passage leading to the abyss of flesh and blood. The faint crazy ravings echoed in her mind. Her figure moved forward in the weak light of the magic stones, and the darkness kept closing behind her.
The stairs leading to the deepest part of the palace were divided into several levels. Basically, after a long sloping ramp, there would be a relatively flat corridor. These relatively flat corridors seemed to provide some kind of buffer for the descending stairs, allowing the people walking on the ramp to take a break and reduce the psychological pressure that was enough to drive people crazy. But in fact, Bertilla knew very well that the best way to safely pass the stairs was not to stop anywhere.
Each flat corridor had two stone doors. Every time one passed through such a pair of stone doors, the people in front would be more deeply affected. The crazy ravings and the fear of being swallowed by the darkness would become stronger and stronger. Every minute one stopped on this path meant one step closer to madness and death.
An extremely heavy and ancient stone door appeared in front of Bertilla. The surface of the stone door depicted twisted flesh and blood, plants, and a mysterious starry sky that did not exist in this era. This was the last barrier to the "secret chamber".
In front of the stone door, two tall figures bent slightly and silently saluted Bertilla.
They were two intimidating creatures. Although human characteristics remained on them, they could no longer be described as "human". They had swollen and deformed heads full of excrescences. Their eyes and ears had severely degenerated into wriggling tentacles. Their limbs were thicker than human and were wrapped in layers of bandages to prevent the out-of-control flesh and blood from separating from their bodies. They were the "watchers" of the underground palace.
These watchers could not speak, see, or hear. Even their way of thinking and perception had mutated into an inhuman state.
Before they became Watchers, they were the most fanatical and loyal members of the Everything-Endgame. They paid a price unimaginable to humans, and even mutated into this chilling state, all so that they could guard the deepest secret of this underground palace for a long time. Because normal human Watchers would not be able to last long in this passageway.
Even Bertilla could not help but shudder when she thought of the hierarch who had been in the "secret chamber" since 700 years ago. She nodded to the watchers and then walked forward with a solemn face.
The heavy and ancient stone door that was built by an unknown person opened automatically in front of Bertilla, and a small hall with three forks appeared before her.
The middle path led to the real "Abyss of Flesh and Blood", the left path led to the "Sacrificial Ground", and the right path led to the secret chamber where the hierarch was.
Bertilla walked forward. The moment she stepped through the door, the crazy ravings suddenly became louder and reverberated in her mind as if they were going to devour her. The hierarch could not help but frown. She then walked into the secret chamber in the midst of the crazy ravings.
The "watcher" standing in front of the secret chamber still silently saluted Bertilla and helped to open the door of the secret chamber.
The moment she walked into the secret chamber, all the crazy ravings disappeared in an instant. The mental pressure that had been pressing on her was also gone. Bertilla breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that this was the power of the hierarch.
The secret chamber was not big. There was no extra decoration in it except for some stone tables, chairs, and furniture. The awe-inspiring hierarch was sitting in the middle of the secret chamber. He sat behind the stone desk and was reading a thick and ancient book.
Beltila couldn't help but look at the book. A powerful mental attraction immediately gripped her, but before she was completely controlled by the Book of Finality that she could never finish, she forced herself to move her eyes away and bowed at the grand patriarch behind the desk who was wearing a black robe and whose face was blurred. "Grand Patriarch."
The voice of the hierarch came from under the hood. It was mixed with a hoarse voice. "I heard that you were exposed and injured?"
"… Yes." Bertilla hesitated for less than a second, but she nodded and confessed. "I was careless."
"It's okay. It's just a small matter." The hierarch said faintly as if he really did not care about the failure. "We don't have to hide very soon. Those elves can't cause much trouble. Compared to this, how's the investigation that I asked you to do? "
"The Eternal Sleeper called Gwen an 'extraterritorial wanderer.' They seem to have gotten some information and judged Gwen based on it. Cecil's resurrection is actually an illusion. They think that some foreign 'evil spirit' or 'indescribable person' has occupied the body. "
"An extraterrestrial wanderer …" the great hierarch muttered to himself. Then, he casually brushed his hand over the Book of Ultimate. The latter immediately made a buzzing sound. The pages of the book automatically flipped and stopped at a certain page.
The hierarch glanced at the page and shook his head slightly. "There is no information about extraterritorial wanderers in the Ultimate Book."
Bertilla said cautiously, "So … this information is false?"
"It may also be beyond the understanding of mortals and involve the secrets of the gods." The hierarch closed the Ultimate Book and said indifferently, "Gwen? Cecil can't be resurrected. You know that. "
"Yes." Bertilla lowered her head slightly. "What do we do to Gwen? What is Cecil going to do? "
The great hierarch opened the Book of Ultimate once again and gently brushed his hand across the pages. This time, the pages of the Book of Ultimate flipped at an even crazier speed and amplitude. After a few seconds, it stopped at a certain page.
"The answer of the Ultimate Book has not changed," the hierarch said faintly. "Do not touch, do not interfere, keep a distance."
"Yes."
The hierarch nodded slightly. His low voice came from under the hood. "Have our arrangements in Ansu and Typhon been activated?"
"As per your order, the war will come in a false peace."
The hierarch was silent for a long time before he sighed slightly. "… This is the price that mortals have to pay to break free from their fate."
"There is one thing that concerns me, Hierarch," Bertilla suddenly said. "The activities of the Church of Holy Light are getting more and more extreme. They have begun to suppress other sects in the name of fighting heresy. They have also begun to absorb shallow believers and new believers on a large scale. In a short time, their scale has doubled …"
"Shallow believers … They want to rely on numbers …" The hierarch muttered to himself and finally shook his head. "They are digging their own graves … If they continue to develop, they will be swallowed by the Holy Light of their faith sooner or later. All their efforts now are just weaving a noose for themselves."
"But if they succeed, the God of Holy Light will become an existence that no one can compete with …"
"The other sects will not sit still. The stronger the power of the Holy Light, the stronger the resistance it will face." The hierarch shook his head slightly. "In any case, now is not the time for us to intervene."
"Yes."
Dozens of minutes later, Bertila left the bottom floor of the underground palace. Passing through the deep corridor that was filled with crazy, dark, and terrifying ravings, and leaving all the auditory hallucinations behind, the female imam took a long breath in relief.
Looking at the brightly lit corridor of the underground palace, she whispered to herself, "Even the Book of Ultimate can't give an answer to the 'extraterrestrial wanderer' …"
Saint Sunil City, in front of Cecil's mansion on No. 4 Crown Street, there was an endless stream of visitors.
Ever since the Cecil family hit rock bottom overnight, this was the second time in a century that the mansion was so lively.
The last time was Gwen? When Duke Cecil returned to the Captical.
The many recruitment messages sent by Santis were indeed effective. Even though people still had doubts about the Gloom Mountain Range, there were still many people who came to see the situation. However, most of the people who responded to the recruitment could only meet and report to the contacts left by Santis in the Craftsmen's Association and the Scholar's Association. Those who were qualified to come to No. 4 Crown Street had to at least be official Extraordinary members of the Association of Mages or have a recommendation letter from a big shot.
But even with such a "filter," No. 4 Crown Street still received dozens of visitors during the day.
There was a reason there were so many responders. Half a year ago, when Gwen first issued a recruitment message in the Captical, the development of the Southern Territory was just a blank piece of paper. Other than a development plan, people could not see any guarantee or prospects, so naturally, there were no responders. But now, half a year had passed, and the development team in the Southern Territory had at least gained a firm foothold. This was equivalent to breaking most of the bad rumors about the Gloom Mountain Range. At this time, Santis, a member of the Association of Mages, took the duke's order and led a glamorous team in the Captical to carry out an official public recruitment, so the situation was naturally different.
At least, this time, the scholars, mages, and craftsmen of the Captical could see some practical guarantee.
Those who had achieved something and did not have to worry about survival might not be swayed, but those who were down and out and only wanted to survive would inevitably be tempted.
Among all the people who responded to the recruitment, the most were rune craftsmen and mechanism masters who signed up in the Craftsmen's Association, followed by scholars and scribes who signed up in the Scholar's Association. The number of mages was the least, and a considerable number of them just maintained a wait-and-see attitude.
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