At night, somewhere in East Tivian.
Inside an empty park on the cold night, within the magic circle drawn with soil in the flower bed, Naifnis stood, looking seriously at the floating lynx spirit in front of her, and then spoke to it.
"Let's begin, Soul Whisker."
Listening to Naifnis's words, the lynx-shaped Wilderness Spirit leaped lightly twice in the air, then turned and rushed into Naifnis's chest, possessing her body.
After being possessed by Soul Whisker, Naifnis couldn't help but shiver slightly, then quickly calmed down, closed her eyes, and began the ritual.
Feeling the presence of the Wilderness Spirit within her, Naifnis officially began her promotion ritual. Following the method taught in Davis's notes, she began to coordinate and resonate with the Soul Whisker inside her, allowing the influence of the foreign spirit to spread throughout her body, making her body the other party's body while also suppressing the other party's will with her own.
To be honest, this kind of ritual made Soul Whisker feel uncomfortable. It instinctively wanted to resist or directly leave Naifnis's body, but because it had already received Naifnis's offerings and made an agreement with her, it endured this discomfort and began to cooperate with Naifnis's actions.
Although the Wilderness Spirits of the New World have different personalities, due to their long-term coexistence with Shamans, their contractual spirit is generally quite strong. As long as enough offerings are given, they can get things done.
'The netherworld is deep and far... life and death are limitless... I am willing to use my body as proof... guiding death towards life... I pray here, bowing to the truth of the reverse side, the great akasha, to disperse the clouds for me and show me the way...'
Just like that, Naifnis's promotion reached a critical step. She prayed inwardly to Aka, asking Him to guide her, and not long after, Aka responded to her plea and guided her.
At this moment, a cold wind blew across the flower bed area. Kapak, who was watching from the side, temporarily shielded his eyes from the wind. When he lowered his hand from his eyes, he saw Naifnis standing quietly within the magic circle.
When Naifnis opened her eyes again, Kapak saw the vertical pupils in her eyes that seemed not to belong to a human, emitting a captivating gaze.
In that instant, he felt as if he saw Naifnis and Soul Whisker's figures overlapping. Naifnis grew spirit-like cat ears on her head, and a similar-shaped cat tail floated behind her.
"What?"
Seeing this scene, Kapak couldn't help but rub his eyes, thinking he had seen wrong. After opening his eyes again, he saw Naifnis, looking completely normal, destroying the magic circle on the muddy ground. The spirit tail and ears he had seen before seemed to have disappeared, making Kapak suspect that he had just been mistaken or had an illusion.
"Thief Miss, is your ritual finished? Has Soul Whisker been strengthened now?"
Kapak asked Naifnis, and Naifnis, after finishing covering the magic circle, slowly walked over. After picking up a few iron coins from the ground, she touched her chest and responded to Kapak with a smile.
"Yes... now with me, Soul Whisker will be much stronger than outside.
"Pay attention and follow me closely, Mr. Kapak. Now I will find those guys..."
Naifnis said this, then she quickly walked to the side. The subtlety of her movements and the speed were so great that Kapak, who was right opposite her, didn't notice. When Kapak realized the person in front of him was gone and turned to look, he saw Naifnis's figure had already appeared like a ghost far away.
"So fast..."
Seeing this scene, Kapak muttered in surprise, then he immediately ran in small steps towards Naifnis, following closely behind her.
Just like that, Naifnis walked out of the flower bed and out of the park with extremely fast movements, hurrying along the street in the cold night, while Kapak followed her by running behind her.
Although she was walking, Naifnis's speed was astonishingly fast. Kapak, who was following behind her, was surprised to find that although he was jogging to catch up to Naifnis ahead, he couldn't seem to keep up. Not only that, the distance between them was even widening a bit.
'How did Thief Miss's mobility suddenly become so fast?'
Looking at Naifnis's figure ahead, which seemed to be floating, Kapak thought to himself, 'Before, when I was with Naifnis, she was the one whose stamina was far less than mine. I often had to stop and wait for Naifnis, and Naifnis was almost unable to walk when my stamina was still very abundant. But now, the situation seems to have reversed. Kapak himself actually needs to speed up and run just to keep up with Naifnis's pace.'
'Phew... Is Thief Miss's ritual really enhancing Soul Whisker's perception? Why does it feel more like Soul Whisker possessed Thief Miss and increased her stamina? And I feel like when I was talking to Thief Miss just now, the feeling she gave off was completely different from before.'
Just as Kapak was feeling confused about the changes in Naifnis, Naifnis, who was running ahead, sped up even more. Rushing through the streets at high speed, she constantly scanned left and right with sharp eyes, searching for targets in the darkness of the cold night like a seeker. When choosing a path at intersections, she would also occasionally lick her lips and sniff.
Just like that, Naifnis, who had just been promoted to Soul Appender and was relying on Soul Whisker, tirelessly sped through the streets of Tivian, hunting and tracking. Kapak, who was behind her, had to exert quite a bit of effort to keep up with her.
After this tracking continued for a while, Naifnis reached the side of a large river. Just as she was continuing to walk quickly along the riverbank, she suddenly stopped and turned her head directly to look at the river.
Seemingly sensing something, Naifnis perched on the riverbank railing like an animal. She stretched out her neck to look at the opposite bank of the river, and the pupils in her eyes once again elongated into slender vertical slits.
"The opposite bank of Moonflow River... so it's in the South District..."
Looking at the lights on the opposite bank of the river, Naifnis couldn't help but mutter. At this moment, she had already found the target she needed to search for.
...
South Tivian, Bishop Square.
Under the night sky, a bustling crowd gathered in the open square. Although the cold wind of the winter night was chilling, it still couldn't stop people's enthusiasm. Most of the attendees at this evening party held in the South District were residents from the lower strata of the city. For them, free large-scale public performances like this were a rare opportunity.
After the host's opening remarks, the evening party had officially begun. However, there were no performers on the stage at the moment, because the organizer of the party at this time, Princess Isabel, was giving her brief speech.
"I am truly delighted... to have so many people gathered here today to spend the last night of the year with me. As I have always said before, Prit belongs to Despenser and the people together. Regardless of status, if we are in the same country, we are one family. On this night of family reunion, I want to represent the Royal Family and be with all of you, welcoming the new year together like a true family.
"Come, let us all enjoy this wonderful night together. A mysterious surprise gift has been prepared for everyone tonight, please look forward to it."
On the balcony at the edge of the square, Princess Isabel, dressed in white and surrounded by numerous bodyguards behind her, spoke to the crowd in the square with a generous smile. Her words also stirred up an intense reaction below, with the crowd shouting the Princess's name in response, waves of enthusiastic cheers rising higher and higher.
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Amidst this warmth, Isabel slowly sat back down in her seat. At this moment, by her side, the Duke also spoke with a smile.
"Although I often heard that you are very popular among the common people, I finally saw it with my own eyes this time, haha... I never expected that little Isabel from before is now loved and supported by so many people. Your daily actions have played a positive role in improving the Royal Family's image among the poor. I'm sure His Majesty the King will also be very happy. I'm glad you invited me to witness this scene this time, it's more interesting than the New Year's banquets I used to hold at home."
"Not at all, Duke Barret, I merely provided some assistance within my capabilities to these suffering people. I am just doing my best to perform the good deeds a Holy Mother follower can do, nothing more. As for the enthusiasm of the people below, besides me, it is probably more due to your arrival. It is my honor that you could accept the invitation and come." Facing Duke Barret's words, Princess Isabel responded with a humble expression, while Duke Barret continued to speak with a smile.
"Hehe, little Isabel is getting better and better at speaking. Alright, the show has already started, let's not talk anymore and watch the show first."
"Mm…"
After a brief exchange, the two on the balcony turned their gazes to the stage in the distance. At this moment, the first performance had already begun there. Actors in exaggerated costumes were making comical movements on the stage, causing bursts of laughter from the crowd below.
"Haha… Miss Dorothy, did you see how that clown just fell? It was so funny!"
In the crowd, close to the viewing stand, Grego looked at the comical performance on the stage and couldn't help but laugh as he said to Miss Dorothy beside him, while Miss Dorothy also quietly replied.
"Mm… Yes, it's very funny…"
As Miss Dorothy said this, although she said it was funny, there was no trace of a smile on her face at this moment. Instead, there was only a solemn and serious expression. Although her eyes were watching the performance on the stage, her attention was completely elsewhere.
The reason for this phenomenon was the prayer she had just received in her heart, from Naifnis.
'Great Aka, please relay this to Miss Dorothy for me, tell her that we have initially found the location of that native named Sado. He should now be somewhere in the northern area of the South District. We don't know the exact location yet, but we are trying our best to rush over and should know the specific location soon.'
Not long ago, Naifnis, who had finished her advancement, began to quickly search for Sado using the ability of the Soul Whisker attached to her body. Due to the Soul Appender's ability, the originally weak Soul Xu's perception was instantly amplified by more than ten times through relying on Naifnis. Naifnis, who had a perception range of several kilometers, quickly sensed Sado's whereabouts and used prayer to notify Miss Dorothy. However, after hearing this prayer, Miss Dorothy immediately had no mood to watch the performance at all.
The reason was none other than the fact that Bishop Square is located in the northern part of the South District. If that Sado wanted to cause trouble on New Year's Eve, then the most likely target would be here!
This means that Sado is likely very close by now, and the revenge he threatened to carry out is likely about to happen during this evening party.
'Damn... I didn't expect this guy to actually want to cause trouble here. With so many significant places in all of Tivian, he chose here? Your revenge isn't targeting the Prit government but the Prit civilians?'
With an anxious expression, Miss Dorothy thought this in her heart. At first, Miss Dorothy thought that Sado's revenge would likely target various important government agencies in Tivian, but she didn't expect the opponent's target to directly fall on this evening party, focusing the revenge on ordinary civilians.
'This is a bit bad now. Since those guys are nearby, they could launch a surprise attack at any time. I can't just wait here for Neff and the others without doing anything. I also need to act immediately to find these guys…'
Miss Dorothy thought this in her heart, and then, while continuing to pretend to watch the performance on the stage, she began to manipulate the Corpse Puppets hidden in the crowd.
That's right, there were Miss Dorothy's flesh puppets among the crowd in the square. Another important purpose of this evening party for Miss Dorothy was to find a way to contact Duke Barret, and the method Miss Dorothy thought of for contact was to use the final fundraising segment of the evening party, attracting Duke Barret's attention by donating enough money in one go. For this purpose, she specifically arranged a Corpse Puppet dedicated to donating money, hidden among the audience.
Under Miss Dorothy's secret manipulation, at this moment, the Corpse Puppet man who was originally waiting in the audience for the donation segment to arrive began to move. He started to squeeze his way out of the crowd, and soon after, he squeezed out of the crowd and then walked towards the shadows.
In a shadowy corner far from the crowd, that Corpse Puppet opened the small bag he carried with him, and from it, several Corpse Puppet birds struggled and flew out. These were bird corpse puppets Miss Dorothy had prepared on him for unexpected needs.
Before, Miss Dorothy had anticipated that some unexpected situations might occur, requiring reconnaissance, so she had prepared the bird corpse puppets on the donation Corpse Puppet so they could be released at any time. After all, she herself was beside Grego, and it was inconvenient for her to personally do many things.
After the five bird corpse puppets were released, Miss Dorothy manipulated them to fly into the night sky. After using spirit silk to cover them with the effect of a Ring of Concealment, she had them circle above the square, trying to find any abnormal situations. After being unable to find anything abnormal from high altitude, Miss Dorothy lowered the height of the bird corpse puppets and began to search the square at close range, and soon, one place attracted Miss Dorothy's attention.
It was an attic on the roof of a building on the east side of the square. When Miss Dorothy's bird corpse puppets flew near here, they discovered that this place had a problem.
Smoke was seeping out from the window facing the outer wall of this attic. The location where the smoke was drifting out was very hidden and could not be seen from the rooftop. Only when Miss Dorothy used a bird's-eye view did she detect a hint of something unusual.
Observing this scene, Miss Dorothy immediately had the bird corpse puppets approach to investigate. During the approach, she heard a few words, a few words that should not have appeared here.
This was Spirit Seal Language, the language of the New World natives.
After hearing the Spirit Seal Language, Miss Dorothy's heart trembled, and then she had the bird corpse puppets continue to approach until they stopped on the roof of the attic, observing the situation below through the skylight.
Using the Corpse Puppet's vision, Miss Dorothy saw that the small attic room was crowded with over a dozen people with brownish-yellow skin. They were all sitting on the ground with anxious expressions, some talking to each other, while others were gathered by the window, holding large pipes and smoking, exhaling smoke out the window.
'Found them…'
Seeing this scene, Miss Dorothy thought in her heart. Having spent a long time in the library, she knew that the New World natives had a widespread and long tradition of smoking. The habit of smoking in this world originated from the New World natives; they were the originators of tobacco use.
When feeling mentally stressed, it is inevitable for people to use tobacco to soothe their nerves. This is the same for natives, or rather, those with a stronger tobacco tradition are more likely to do so. Therefore, when she saw the wisps of smoke drifting out, she immediately had the bird corpse puppets investigate, and sure enough, she found the people here.
Having successfully found the natives' hiding place, Miss Dorothy began to carefully monitor and eavesdrop. Using the Corpse Puppet bird's perspective, she saw that in the attic room, a tall figure was sitting on the ground, smoking a pipe with a solemn expression. Having heard Kapak's description, Miss Dorothy immediately recognized this was Sado.
At this moment, Sado was sitting on the ground smoking, and beside him, another young native man was holding a rifle in his hand and speaking to Sado with a hint of anxiety.
"Sado, how long do we have to wait before we act? I can't wait anymore, why don't we go out and give them a few shots now!"
"Don't rush, Aku and Pam have already infiltrated that large crowd. After they detonate the explosives on them at the scheduled time, we will act next and reap those who are fleeing in panic."
"Is it that troublesome, Sado? We can already act for revenge now!"
"I understand your feelings, Ushatu, but what we need now is patience. In a little while, the white people's New Year's transition moment will arrive. We must give them the greatest pain at their most important moment so that our actions can be more meaningful."
After taking a long puff from the pipe in his hand, Sado said this with a calm expression, and after hearing his words, Miss Dorothy's heart couldn't help but be greatly shocked.
'These lunatics… they actually prepared bombs among the crowd!'