When the old woman saw that the young cleric was willing to help, she was overjoyed. She thanked him profusely before hurrying back home to retrieve her belongings and hand them over to Reynolds.
The other sheriffs could not help but have some complaints about Reynolds's actions.
"Pastor Reynolds, we're already at a time like this. Let's not cause any more trouble."
"This old woman's grandson has been missing for a few days now. I don't think it has anything to do with this incident."
What he said was the truth. Missing persons cases were common in a place like the Sinless City. Not long ago, there was a mysterious incident in the neighboring town of York where an entire town disappeared.
Although the Sinless City appeared to be prosperous on the surface, there was always an undercurrent that never stopped. No one could control it, and criminals like the Skull Crusher were still on the loose.
Various countries, sects, and forces regarded the Sinless City as a hot steamed bun where every inch of land was fought over. Even undead creatures like the Lich had always coveted the city and wanted to get a piece of it.
No one could clearly explain why the Sinless City was so popular. Perhaps only the gods knew the reason.
In short, the sheriffs hoped that Reynolds would not be distracted by trivial matters. There was nothing wrong with that.
However, Reynolds had his own insistence.
"I have a premonition that these two matters are somehow related …"
"There is only one truth. We can't give up on any clues!"
"If it's possible, can you ask around if there are any other missing persons cases here?"
Although the sheriffs felt that Reynolds was being overly sensitive, their superior had ordered them to listen to Reynolds's arrangements. So, they could only bite the bullet and continue to ask around.
In the end, they found out that there were more than 20 people who had gone missing in this village in the past three months. The number was even more than the number of followers of Mia's cult!
They also heard that there were people who had gone missing in the neighboring villages as well. If they were to add up the number of missing persons, it would be at least a hundred!
However, these people did not go missing all at once. They went missing one after another at different intervals. There was no fixed pattern. So, it did not attract much attention and was treated as an accident.
After all, these villages weren't too far from the Empire's borders, and from time to time, there would be foreign races, bandits, evil cults, and so on. They were also relatively close to the ruins and wastelands, and they would occasionally be attacked by ferocious beasts, magical beasts, and even all kinds of magical creatures. Therefore, it wasn't rare for people to go missing occasionally.
However, more than 20 people had gone missing in half a year. This number was enough to raise alarm. Even the sheriffs were aware of this.
They even suspected that the anonymous letter was sent by a relative of one of the missing people. He might have realized that something was wrong earlier and associated it with a cult. After all, cults were the most common cause of missing people, and it was common for entire villages to believe in cults. This person was probably afraid of being discovered and retaliated against by the cults, so he chose to send an anonymous letter.
Reynolds hurriedly ordered his men to retrieve the belongings of the missing people. Then, he hurried back to Mia's Church with the sheriffs and asked the old bishop for help.
With the personal belongings of the divination target, the accuracy of the divination would greatly increase.
The old bishop immediately busied himself.
However, the divination was still disrupted.
"Looks like this case is really unusual. I even used my personal belongings to help with the divination, but in the end, there was still interference …"
"But in the end, the range was slightly reduced …"
The old bishop looked at the circle of petals on the map that had shrunk slightly. Then, he began to divine the next missing person's whereabouts.
He divined a dozen times in one go, and finally, the circle of petals was reduced to a barely acceptable range.
It was a forest located northwest of the city. It was a little far from the original destination, the village. It was close to a mountain range called the Serpentine Mountains. Beyond this mountain range was the mysterious and dangerous wasteland known as the Abandoned Ruins of the Gods.
The road from the Sinless City to the village basically extended along the periphery of this forest.
"So, it looks like some dangerous monster from the wasteland came to this forest and lurked there to attack passersby?"
"But it doesn't have a big appetite. It only attacks a few people each time, so it didn't attract much attention …"
"Lieutenant Undine must have noticed that something was wrong, so she led her men to seek death …"
Reynolds roughly guessed the whole story and said, "That's right.
"Anyway, we'll know when we get there."
He immediately prepared to move.
The old bishop hurriedly exhorted.
"Although I don't know what kind of method it used, it can even interfere with my divination. It must be very dangerous. You must be careful!"
"And this trip is mainly to find and save people. We need more help. Don't act alone. Bring those sheriffs with you."
"If you need to make a move, try to be as low-key and secretive as possible."
Reynolds naturally nodded and agreed. He hurriedly called the sheriffs and set off again.
It was almost dusk. Everyone had been busy since early morning. Reynolds was fine, but the others were already very tired. Now, they still had to risk entering a dangerous forest at night …
But in order to save the lives of their colleagues, no one complained, and no one was afraid to decline.
The sheriffs of the Nine Sections were indeed different from other sheriffs.
So, the group spent a few more hours. When it was close to dawn, they arrived at the area marked by the old bishop. This was already deep in the forest. Other than Reynolds's donkey, the horses of the others could not enter at all.
The surroundings were dead silent. Even the sound of insects could not be heard. The sky was not good tonight. There was no moon in the sky. They only relied on the weak light provided by the torches. It was eerie and terrifying …
If ordinary people came to such a place, they would probably be too scared to walk.
But these sheriffs were not afraid at all. In their hearts, they were looking forward to some powerful magical creature that would appear and fight it for three hundred rounds!
At the same time, they did not feel tired. Instead, they felt full of energy and wanted to run wildly in the forest …
They even had the energy to call out Undine's name loudly.
"Lieutenant! Lieutenant, are you there? "
"Lieutenant, come out quickly! We won't laugh at you for not having a boyfriend anymore! "
"Lieutenant, marry me! If you don't agree, I'll take it that you agree! "
Of course, this was all thanks to the divine arts. The level three divine arts of the protection system, Durability and Fanaticism.
Reynolds actually wanted to use the Brave Prayer and Brave Hymn that could not be used without permission, but the old bishop said to keep a low profile, so he could only regretfully choose these simple divine arts.
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