Winter was over.
In the depths of the Pinnacle Base, in a room with its doors and windows tightly shut, a magic network terminal was running.
There was not a single person in the room. The thick curtains blocked out the already dim sunlight, making the entire room inexplicably dim. The white noise from the Weave terminal was like a lamp with insufficient brightness, casting shadows on the furniture one by one.
On the only wooden table in the room, the printing machine connected to the magic network terminal was making squeaking sounds as it ran. Sheets of white paper were pushed into the machine by a paper feeder, and then the information from afar was printed on the paper and sent to the printer.
At the front of the machine, there was a small pile of printed information.
Suddenly, the information on the table floated up as if it was held up by a pair of invisible hands, and the paper began to flip.
A moment later, the information was placed back on the table, and the magic network terminal that was running automatically also gradually quieted down. A weak wind blew in the empty room, and the curtains not far away shook a little. With a little light in the room, everything returned to silence.
In the center of the base, Gwen was flipping through the technical information from the elven magus Banner. Due to the shortening of the construction period, the sub-tower and related facilities in the Duchy of Cecil were about to be completed ahead of time. Currently, the sub-tower was undergoing the later stage of the installation and debugging of the magic equipment, and several purification nodes were also mostly completed. To ensure that this important project could be completed smoothly, Gwen dared not relax at all.
An invisible wind suddenly blew into the room, and Gwen sensed a familiar presence at the window. He casually rolled a paper ball and threw it over, and with a "Aiya!", he saw Amber emerge from the air in the next second, and fell awkwardly off the windowsill.
The windows in the Pinnacle Base were specially made, and the windowsill was narrow and had a concave and convex sealing structure, so there was no way to put a mouse trap. This was something that Gwen was very regretful about.
"What's the situation?" Gwen looked up at the half-elf who was getting up from the ground. "It's rare to see you here at this time."
Amber got up and patted his clothes, as if nothing had happened, and casually came to Gwen's table. "I just received a batch of information from the north. There are a few things that I feel are not right."
"Information on the north …" Gwen put down the documents in his hands. "Tell me about it."
"Since the end of the Month of Fog, the Eastern Region has started a large-scale purge of cultists. At first, we guessed that it might be Prince Edmund's' acting ', guessing that he was trying to deceive the public. But according to the latest intelligence, the Eastern Region has captured hundreds of believers of the Demise of All Things, and destroyed dozens of secret altars where they secretly held dark rituals. The preliminary judgment of the intelligence personnel is that the secret altars and evidence of the cultists are real."
"... It seems that the cooperation between Edmund and the Perish Society is not that close..." Gwen frowned slightly. "But just because of my warning letter, isn't the Eastern Region's reaction too big? Considering that Edmund had at least a certain degree of cooperation with the Demise of All Things, it is very suspicious that he immediately made such a big move after receiving my warning letter... "
"The more suspicious thing is yet to come." Amber had a strange expression on her face. "Can you believe it? Since last month, in the Holy Spirit Plains, the number of Demise cultists and secret altars destroyed by the noble army is even more than that of the Eastern Region?!"
Gwen blinked and did not react for a moment. When he did, his first thought was: How is this possible?
The old nobles in the north suddenly stopped being good-for-nothings. Is there anything more suspicious in the world than this?!
Did his warning letter really have such a big effect? The Ansu nobles suddenly realized the danger of the Demise of All Things and decided to unite to punish the cultists? Victoria Weld completed the brainwashing project of the old nobles in an instant?
Gawain would rather believe that the cultists of the All's End had committed suicide!
"What is going on?" Gwen looked into Amber's eyes. "I don't believe that the old nobles suddenly became more efficient."
Amber had more to say. "The reason why the Eastern Region and the Royal Family are so efficient is because someone reported them."
"Report?" Gawain frowned. "Wasn't it the Military Intelligence Officer you sent who reported it?"
"Only our officers reported them at the beginning. But after the end of the Moonfrost Moon, the number of reports suddenly skyrocketed. Almost every day, clues about the cultists were sent to the local lords. It took the officers a long time to find out the identity of the informants. Guess who? "
A strange thought suddenly surfaced in Gawain's mind. "… Could it be that the All Things Finality Society itself?"
"That's right, it's really themselves. And the situation is extremely strange!! The reported cultists were all at the scene after the dark ritual. All the cultists who participated in the ritual had committed suicide during the ritual. So strictly speaking, both the Royal Family and the Eastern Region 'caught' the cultists' corpses after receiving the clues... "
Before Amber could finish, Gwen's eyebrows suddenly twitched.
So this is really suicide...
Then he realized that behind this absurd situation, there was an extremely unsettling strangeness.
It was like some kind of secret, continuous, large-scale sacrificial ritual! The cultists were sacrificing themselves on a large scale!
Undoubtedly, Amber, who often dealt with all kinds of intelligence, had also thought of this. The half-elf's face also showed a serious expression. "It looks like a large-scale sacrificial ritual, right? The cultists in the Plains of the Holy Spirit had at least hundreds of suicidal dark rituals in the past two months. There could be as many as thousands of cultists who had completed the sacrificial ritual!"
"That's right, sacrificial ritual. This is undoubtedly a sacrificial ritual." Gwen's brows had unknowingly knitted together. He could not help but press his hand on the table. His voice was low and serious. "But why would they report it... why would they expose the secret altars and strongholds after the sacrificial ritual... unless it was a ritual... Wait, it doesn't have to be a ritual!"
A thought suddenly flashed through Gawain's mind. He suddenly raised his head and stared into Amber's eyes. "Have you burned all the corpses that were found?"
"Only a part of it. Two-thirds of the Eastern Region's corpses were burned, and less than a third of the Royal Family's corpses were burned. The rest were thrown directly into mass graves, or even into the wild. Although their respective lords had ordered to burn all the corpses and purify all the altars with holy water, but you should know how inefficient the lower-level Knight and noble soldiers are. "Amber had already guessed Gwen's thoughts." You think the cultists are using the corpses after the sacrificial ritual as a source of contamination? "
"The Dark Druil is very good at spreading the plague with flesh and blood remains..." Gwen said quickly. "But that's not right, there's still a problem... This still doesn't explain why they have to report it after the sacrificial ritual... This will cause some of the corpses to be burned and purified!"
Gwen had stood up from behind the desk. He frowned and walked slowly behind the desk, guessing the cultists' intention to disclose the remains, altars, and strongholds after the sacrificial ritual. Suddenly, he thought of something. He remembered that Victoria Werder and Edmund Moen were both "wise men" among the traditional nobles. He thought of the orders they might give after receiving the information about the cultists.
"After discovering the cultists' information, the local lords and their guards, the Knight, must be present at the scene in person?"
"Yes, this is Duchess Victoria's order. Edmund Moen also has a similar order. This is to prevent the lower-level nobles and the Knight from being perfunctory and to ensure that they can at least be present at the scene..." Amber said. She suddenly slowed down, and her words finally converged into a gasp. "... Oh my..."
Gwen slowly took a deep breath. "Something big is going to happen. When the cultists voluntarily expose their altars and strongholds, it means that their ritual has reached the last step."
He cursed in his heart. Damn it, everyone just happened to fall into the trap!
Who would have thought that the last step of the sacrificial ritual of those lunatics who always talk about the end of all things is to report themselves?!
"I'm afraid it's too late to remind the Duchess and the prince now. At least half of the nobles and Knight in the eastern conflict zone of the Sacred Plains may have been infected by something." Amber also realized the horror of the situation. Her tone became urgent. "But do you think Duchess Victoria and Prince Edmund have realized that something is wrong? They are not stupid... "
"They are not stupid. But if the cultists started their operation from the grass-roots villages and did not enter the big cities, bypassing the royal family and second-class fiefs, then in just one and a half to two months, the news from all sides would not have reached the ears of Victoria and Edmund."
Amber's eyes widened. "Why?"
Gwen looked at her and said word by word, "Because 'my vassal's vassal is not my vassal'."
Then he went back to his desk and quickly pulled out a letter. "Whether it's too late or not, we have to remind the north. Send this letter directly to the Rock Fortress and ask them to use griffin couriers, the fastest griffin couriers to send this letter to the Royal Army and the Army of the East. Also, withdraw all MIB agents in the conflict zone to the Rock Fortress and temporarily quarantine them. They will undergo a full set of checks on divine spells, curses, and epidemics before entering the city. Arrange the same thing for the Chamber of Commerce. From today onwards, the Rock Fortress and the Glen Pass will be closed. All magic sensor towers in the border area will be set to the highest sensitivity. "
As he spoke, he quickly wrote an urgent letter and stamped it. "I have to return to Cecil City. You come with me."
Amber blinked. "What about the project here?"
"The project here is almost finished. Bruce Rock and Archmage Banner will ensure that it is completed smoothly," Gwen said. "The most important thing now is to ensure the stability of the south and find a way to control the situation in the north. If there is a problem in the south... there is no more work."
After that, Gwen thought carefully to see if he had missed anything. Finally, he added, "Ask Sonia and the rest to go to the western camp. If the situation in the north really deteriorates, and if there is a problem with Duke Bodwin Franklin, we will take over the western camp project."
He was thinking about the cultists hiding in the wasteland. He was worried that the situation in the north was just a smokescreen, and that their real purpose was to destroy the barrier.
...
At the same time, in the eastern part of the Sacred Plains, the royal-controlled town.
The winter snow was gradually melting, and this year's Month of Recovery seemed to be warmer than previous years. Snow dripped down from the roofs and towers, and almost all the roads in the town became wet. The residents who had been hiding in their houses for the whole winter went out to the streets. In this month of hope, they put an ear of wheat that had been preserved from last year on the door of their house. In Ansu folklore, this meant praying for a full year.
A pair of elven sisters who looked almost identical strolled on the streets of the town.
They were beautiful, and their clothes were gorgeous. Whether it was their outstanding appearance or their identity as elves, they did not look like people who would appear in such a remote town. However, they seemed to be familiar with the town, strolling leisurely on the wet streets.
Some of the pedestrians seemed to ignore the eye-catching pair of elves, while some stopped and greeted them with a smile.
"The season of recovery is so good," the elven sisters said in unison as they walked. It was not clear if they were talking to each other, or if they were talking to themselves. "Once the cold days are over, the new shoots will soon grow."
A man in a soldier's armor passed by them. He stopped slightly and bowed slightly like a gentleman. "Yes, the new buds are about to grow."
"Your new armor is so beautiful."
The elven sisters said with a smile as they walked briskly through the streets.
On both sides of the street, young women were arranging the wheat stalks in their doors. Men were repairing farm tools. Craftsmen were drinking and chatting. Apprentices were yawning as they walked out of their houses. Everyone had a peaceful smile on their faces as they greeted the elven sisters passing by.
"Good morning, Miss Rayna."
"Good morning, Miss Firna."
"Good morning, Uncle Sam. Your beard is so energetic."
"Good morning, Aunt Bobbi. It's such a good day today."
The smiles on the elven sisters' faces were bright and bright. The peasant woman they called Aunt Bobbi stopped fiddling with the wheat stalks and straightened up with a little confusion. But the next second, she smiled. "Yes, it's such a good day today."
"Seeing the sun on the first day of the Month of Recovery means that we will be full for the next year," the elven sisters said with a bright smile. "Is that so?"
The peasant woman smiled even more brightly. "Yes, we will be full..."
Everyone smiled brightly.
Men, women, craftsmen, apprentices, soldiers, civilians, and people on the street laughed one by one.
They grinned, and under their lips, neatly arranged crystals sparkled.
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