The Beinz Blood Lake was the sacred land of the Disciples of Glory. There were outposts set up by the Church Knights at regular intervals along the shore of the Blood Lake. Foreign adventurers or mercenaries had to report to the outposts after getting permission from the Church before they could carry out their activities within the designated area. Although there had been a lot of incidents around the Blood Lake recently and the management here was a little messy, these basic rules could not be violated.
Fortunately, although the Blood Lake was a sacred land, it had not reached the level of a "forbidden area". The outpost was a little more lenient on the inspection of foreign mercenaries. Hilda, as a member of the mercenary group, successfully passed the inspection. She followed Hao Ren and the rest to the resting place by the lake.
The small outpost did not have many facilities. It consisted of two towers and a few rectangular barracks, covering an area of more than 200 meters. The entire outpost was built on an artificial stone foundation made of magic. There was a warning circle around the outpost, so there was no need to worry about security. The defense here was basically used to deal with the occasional monsters that rushed out of the forest. The sacred island in the middle of the lake had other strong guards.
There was a barracks in the outpost specially prepared for outsiders. As most of the mercenaries here had withdrawn to Leyton, the outpost had plenty of rooms. Becky led Hao Ren to find the chief of the Church Knights stationed here. After a simple registration, they were allowed to stay here for a short period of time. However, in addition to providing rooms, the outside mercenaries had to pay for the food and medicine. The Church Knights transferred some of the supplies from their own armory and sold them to the outsiders. This was also one of the financial sources of the Church in the Beinz region. Every year, there were many mercenaries who came to the Gnarled Grove for various reasons.
By the time they settled down in the simple barracks, it was already night time.
After completing the registration, Becky went to find a low-level monk who specialized in dealing with mercenaries to understand the situation. When she appeared again in front of Hao Ren, she did not look good.
Hao Ren and the rest were discussing their next step. They were surprised to see Becky with a sullen face. Vivian asked with concern, "What's wrong? Bad news? "
"Looks like it's not that easy to get lucky." Becky plopped down on a chair. "I talked to the person in charge here and found out that a rather famous mercenary group had just finished searching the last area in the Beinz region seven days ago. So far, the area around the Blood Lake has been turned upside down except for the holy mountain of the tribal countries in the west. Even the bottom of the Grand Canyon in the north has been searched by six teams for twelve days. Do you still remember Marshal Ophra? She was here to personally oversee the search for the Orb. Many areas were under the charge of her elite troops. Now, there are no unsearched areas. "
Becky tirelessly followed Hao Ren and the rest to the Beinz region. One reason was that she felt bad accepting the "music box" as a "big gift". This honest girl really did not want to owe anyone favors. Another reason was that she was more or less hoping for luck. If she was lucky enough to find the Orb of the Holy Synod, then she would become famous.
However, she did not expect the search to be this bad. The number and quality of the people involved in the operation made her feel helpless. Marshal Ophra had led her elite troops and a large group of well-known mercenaries to search the area, but they still could not find the Orb. Her teammates were a tank who could not hold aggro, a melee mage who led a bunch of greenhorns, and a healer who crouched down with her hands on her head and never healed in battle...
Hao Ren and the rest were not interested in the Orb. It could be said that Becky was the only one who came for the Orb. So, the rest did not feel the same way. Vivian analyzed the situation from a bystander's point of view. "To be honest, according to the report on the day the Orb went missing, it seemed to have been moved away by dimensional magic. In that case, the possibility of the Orb still being in the Blood Lake area should be very low. Searching here is probably a psychological comfort."
"You really have the guts to say that." Becky looked up at Vivian. "The chapel where the Orb is kept is guarded by the holy bones of every pope. Using dimensional teleportation within the chapel would not be able to leave the Blood Lake area. After that, it would be confined by the holy power within a fixed distance. Currently, no one in the world can break this confinement."
Hao Ren did not expect the Disciples of Glory to have such a trick up their sleeves. No wonder they still believed that the Orb of the Holy Synod was still in the Beinz region. It seemed like they had something up their sleeves. So, it was guarded by the holy bones of every pope...
Hao Ren shuddered. If that was the case, the chapel in the middle of the lake was actually a large graveyard?
"So what do you plan to do next?" Lily said straightforwardly. "Let's be clear, we're not here for the Orb... We've already said from the start that we're only interested in the Blood Lake itself."
"You guys are still serious?" Becky looked at Hao Ren in surprise. She then scratched her head and said, "Well, it doesn't really matter. Anyway, we agreed that I'll be your guide and after we reach the Blood Lake, we'll go our separate ways. We're just a temporary team anyway. Tomorrow, I'll go to the island in the middle of the lake. I have some knowledge of magic, so I want to see if there are any clues there. If you're interested, follow me. If not... then we'll go our separate ways. But no matter who leaves first, remember to say goodbye. We'll have a good time working together. "
Hao Ren and Becky were just a temporary team. Both parties had confirmed this when they set off from Lamberg Town. Becky accompanied them all the way as a guide, but when they arrived at the Beinz region, their cooperation actually ended there.
Lily's ears drooped. "Oh, I'm not happy. I don't like to say goodbye."
Becky was very open-minded. After all, she was a seasoned mercenary. "Ha, it's just that from tomorrow on, we'll go our separate ways. It's not like any of us are going to run away. Anyway, you guys won't be leaving Holletta for a while, right? We'll have plenty of opportunities to work together in the future. "
After saying this, Becky looked at the few of them. As experienced as she was, she had already realized that the common goal of this small team had ended. This group of people in front of her really had no interest in the Orb. So, she waved her hand and said, "Then I'll go back and pack my things. My house is at the easternmost side of the house at the back. If there's anything, we'll talk tomorrow. I'll be here until noon."
After Becky left, the room was quiet for a moment. Hao Ren and the rest actually liked this mercenary girl: honest, cheerful, straightforward. Although a little greedy, she was sincere. She was a reliable companion when they were out. But after all, it was a temporary cooperation, and she was an 'outsider'. Sooner or later, they would have to part ways.
Now that Becky had left, Hao Ren and the rest could continue to work on some things.
"Tonight, I plan to go to the center of the lake." Hao Ren looked at the few of them in the room. "I'll do it secretly, bypassing the church's guards."
"Why so sneaky?" Lily was suddenly confused. "Didn't you say you're not interested in the Orb? If you also want to find the Orb, we can go with Becky tomorrow. "
"I'm not interested in the Orb, but I'm interested in what happened in the church in the center of the lake. But I'll have to use some means that are beyond the understanding of this world, so it's best not to attract attention."
As he spoke, Hao Ren put his precious daughter's pot on the table, opened the lid and summoned his MDT. "Come out, get ready to work."
"Shh, your daughter is sleeping," the MDT's voice rang in his mind. "Now think of a way to get me out …"
Hao Ren poked his head into the pot and found that Lil Pea had curled up into a ball and was asleep at the bottom of the pot. She was hugging the MDT like an octopus. You have to say, she looked like a New Year's painting with fish (surplus) every year …
"Oh, then continue to soak in the pot. We'll only be moving out at night anyway."
Hao Ren put the MDT aside irresponsibly and looked up at Hilda, who was sitting quietly in the corner of the room.
"Alright, there's still some time before night falls. Let's talk about you. You've looked over here a few times. You must be full of question marks, right?"
"It seems that what you told me in the afternoon was half true." Hilda had been paying attention to the group of strangers since the afternoon. By now, she had some clues from Hao Ren and the rest's behavior. "The one who just left … wasn't with you guys?"
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