The dragon carriage creaked as it moved along the bumpy gravel road. After a few days of travel, they could already see the walls of the Blood Shadow Town. But at this moment, the caravan stopped.
Aston didn't plan to let the carriages enter Bloodshadow Town. Instead, he sent a group of people to buy some goods. When they returned, they would go southeast from the fork in the south of Bloodshadow Town.
Tang En had wanted to take the opportunity to find out more about Bloodshadow Town, but now he had to give up.
After leaving the area of Bloodshadow Town, although they did not deliberately avoid the passers-by along the way, they went further and further away. Soon, they could not see any signs of human habitation. Finally, they came to a forest. Tang En could even vaguely see Gorgallon Crater in the distance. It should now be called Lake Gorgallon.
Ever since the battle with the Shamans, Gorgaron Crater had become a huge inland lake. The pure water from the Water Elemental Plane had made the dry area very moist. The lake water slowly flowed out from the crevices of the mountains, gathering into rivers that meandered into the distance. These rivers nourished the surrounding land, making the surrounding forest more dense and full of vitality.
This kind of green was very rare in the Ryan Empire.
When the vegetation was dense, there would be more plant-based magic beasts. When there were more vegetarian magic beasts, there would be more carnivorous magic beasts that would feed on these magic beasts. Thus, an ecological cycle would be re-established.
The headquarters of the Glorious Revival Alliance was hidden in the forest about forty kilometers away from Bloodshadow Town.
This part of the forest was very secluded, and there was no one to be seen. The dragon caravan slowly drove into the forest, and the surrounding light suddenly became much dimmer. Tang En, who was carrying Winette, had a playful look on his face. This part of the forest looked quiet and peaceful, but there were many hidden sentries. As soon as he entered the forest, he felt many hidden eyes observing him.
Suddenly, there was a commotion and shouting in front of him.
Aston frowned. "What's going on?"
"Sir, there seems to be a hunter who accidentally came here. The guards are giving him a choice."
Aston nodded. "Let's go. Don't worry about them. Our business is more important."
The dragon carriage continued to move forward, and soon Tang En saw the unlucky guy who was caught.
"Tell me, what's your choice? Did he die here? Or choose to become a slave? Or do you choose to believe in our Lord and join us? "
"I, I …"
"You don't want to join us, and you don't want to die either. You're making things very difficult for us …"
Seeing the blood-stained battle axe raised high, the man panicked and shouted: "I'll join you! I choose to join you! "
"Very good. Join our organization and you will be one of our companions. This is your honor. You should call your family and children here and let them worship our Lord together. However, you must know that worshipping our Lord is a sacred and great thing. You are not allowed to withdraw. Once you choose to withdraw from our organization, you will be a traitor. Traitors … must die!"
That person was obviously scared out of his wits. "I, I understand …"
Tang En watched all this happen expressionlessly. He was even more determined to destroy this evil cult.
If this kind of forced brainwashing and preaching was not stopped, it would become more and more terrifying and difficult to control. Sooner or later, it would become a cancer that would corrode the entire civilized society.
This was not an exaggeration, but a fact.
Not long after entering the forest, they arrived at a village hidden in the forest. At first glance, this village looked similar to the shaman village they encountered in Gorgalon Crater, but there were more villagers here. It seemed that during the time they had been developing the organization, the members of the organization had already formed a living area of a certain scale here.
When the villagers saw Aston and the others, they all bowed to greet them. They prostrated themselves on the ground with their heads lowered. Their attitudes were very pious and humble.
Tang En narrowed his eyes. It seemed that the hierarchy here was very strict. There was a clear distinction between the upper and lower classes, and no one dared to cross that line.
The living environment in the village was similar to the villages in the Leon Empire. It was neither primitive nor advanced, and could not be compared to Ellington. However, the residents here seemed to have been brainwashed and seemed to be very satisfied with their lives here. It was as if those living outside were living in an abyss of suffering.
This was too strange.
Tang En silently looked at this strange village. If this was a sealed village isolated from the rest of the world, it would not be strange for them to have such an attitude after a long period of brainwashing. However, this village had clearly not been formed for long, yet the residents here seemed to have been deeply brainwashed.
This was too abnormal.
North of the village was a cliff, and there was a huge cave at the bottom of the cliff. The ceiling of the cave was covered by vines, shrubs, and other plants, so it was impossible to see this place from a distance or from the sky. One would only discover this cave when they were close by.
"Welcome back! Lord Aston! "
Aston asked loudly, "Where is Lord Prophet?!"
"The Prophet is communicating with our master in meditation. He has already foreseen your return and instructed us to bring you to the Hall of Dignity to wait for you after your return."
Aston was filled with deep veneration. "As expected of the Prophet —"
Vanilla suddenly laughed coldly. "What an idiot."
"You stinking bitch, how dare you slander Lord Aston?!"
Vanilla sneered and said, "Did I say anything wrong? Isn't he an idiot? 'Foreseen your return'? This kind of trick can only fool idiots like you who don't even understand 'survivor bias.' "
Aston stared coldly at Vanilla. "What do you mean?"
"Have you never thought that if you died outside, you would still hear these words?"
Vanilla looked at him mockingly. "If you don't believe me, you can ask these fellows. See if that so-called Prophet of yours had foreseen that we would also be kidnapped by you."
Aston turned his head to look at them.
"This … The Prophet did not say —"
"Hmph!"
Aston snorted coldly. He stared at Vanilla and said, "Do you think you can sway my devout heart by using this kind of sophistry? You're too naive! Behave yourself! "
Vanilla shut his mouth. Then they followed Aston deep into the cave. They had probably dug and strengthened the foundation of a natural cave to make this cave. The cave had been expanded to an extremely wide area, and there were torches all around, illuminating the place.
After entering the great hall, Tang En and the others instantly felt numerous gazes filled with malice land on them.
The people here … were all very abnormal.
Spiritual fanaticism had completely taken over their minds. When they saw Tang En and the others tied up, their eyes were filled with a strong desire to kill. It was a fanatical impulse to completely wipe out all heretics from this world.
"Crazy … These people are all crazy …" Coco muttered to herself.
Coco muttered to herself as she looked at those guys who were obviously mentally unsound. She subconsciously moved closer to Tang En. Perhaps it was just her instinctive reaction, but it was enough to show her uneasiness.
Vanilla was in a similar state as her, but the calmer Vanilla wouldn't give in so easily. Faced with those dangerous gazes, she glared back and began to think about how to purify these heretics.
They didn't have to wait for too long. After about half an hour, a male Leon Lion wearing a long white robe slowly walked out from a cave on the side. The moment he appeared, the flames in the cave instantly surged as if welcoming his appearance. They could even faintly hear music in the cave. The heretics all prostrated themselves on the ground, and so did Aston.
Annelin Goldmane, the fugitive of the Fire God Vatican who had been hiding from place to place, the blasphemer, and the leader of the heretics, appeared before them just like that.
"Welcome back, my dearest family member and most reliable companion, Aston …" Annelin smiled.
He looked at Coco and Vanilla with a faint red glint in his eyes. "My lord told me that you've brought back a precious gift for me … Now, can you tell me what you've brought back for the Glorious Revival Alliance?"
Though he was asking, Annelin's gaze was fixed on Coco and Vanilla. He clearly knew who these two cat-eared girls were.
"Yes! Great prophet! "
Aston's spirits were roused as he spoke loudly. "After cooperating with Leo on this mission, we were ready to begin our return journey. But then, we unexpectedly ran into them … the Twin Saintesses of the Fire God Vatican!"
Annelin was unusually surprised. You actually brought the Twin Saintesses back?! — No, what I mean is that you did well! "
"Not just the Saintesses, but this human as well!"
Aston flashed a savage smile. "The noble and holy Saintess of our Leon Empire, Vanilla, actually had a child with this human when she wandered to a human kingdom a few years ago! It's this girl he's holding in his arms! "
"Oh, oh, oh!"
Annelin's eyes suddenly widened as he flashed a dazzling smile. "Saintess Vanilla, I didn't think that you would actually do such a thing. The gods you believe in are indeed false gods. Otherwise, why would they sit and watch you do such a disgraceful thing? Only my lord is the true and only supreme existence! "
"My lord!"
Aston looked at him with a fervent expression. "Now that we have this secret in our hands, along with the two Saintesses and this human father and daughter as evidence, we can completely shake the foundations of those believers' faith. This is a rare opportunity, my lord!"
"Mm, you're right," Annelin said with great satisfaction. "However, we can't act yet because I haven't fully grasped the great power my lord has bestowed upon me. We still need to wait … At least until the plan at the Gris region is smoothly carried out. Only then can we truly begin to act."
"No, you won't have the chance."
They were stunned by the sudden voice.
Was that … the stay-at-home dad holding his daughter?
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