Gazing at the map spread out on the table, Dorothy's eyes were filled with rare astonishment. She hadn't expected to see a map in this secret transmission that had such a huge discrepancy with reality. What was the situation with this Main Continent, which was a full third larger than the current map?
Although the map in this secret transmission was drawn very simply, with rough and blurry lines and many details not shown, the general outline was sketched quite accurately. Except for the eastern part of the Main Continent, other areas did not show serious deformation problems inconsistent with the current map. Therefore, Dorothy was certain that this was not a mistake by the person who drew the map, but that they truly intended to draw it this way.
This drawing in the secret transmission was a copy of a wall carving from the Empire era in the previous epoch. On the map from the Third Epoch, the land area shown was significantly larger than it is now. What did this truly mean?
With various doubts, Dorothy looked at the map before her, deep in thought. In her memories, she recalled the message she had seen next to the Mirror Moon Saint Altar in the underground ruins of Crown University. It was left by a priestess of the Mirror Moon Goddess, stating that... they had to leave Prit and go to a distant place due to some agreement. This distant place was unknown, only that it was in the east.
'The east... A large area added on the map from the Third Epoch... The place where the clergy of the Mirror Moon faith collectively migrated to. What is there in that place?'
Thinking this, Dorothy looked out the window towards the distant eastern horizon, various thoughts arising in her heart. After gazing there for a long time, she gradually shifted her attention back to the secret transmission.
'It feels like... I've gained quite a few incredible secrets this time, but for now, these secrets aren't very useful to me. Spirituality is more practical.'
Dorothy thought this and then extracted the Spirituality from the content she had obtained from the secret transmission before her. She then gained a total of 10 points of Spirituality: 5 'Light', 3'Shadow', and 2 'enlightenment'.
Sitting on the chair, Dorothy, who had finished extracting Spirituality, paused slightly, then focused her attention on the types of Spirituality she had just extracted. She had simultaneously extracted 'Light' and'Shadow', two opposing forms of Spirituality, from this secret transmission, which confirmed some of her previous conjectures.
'Indeed... The scimitar on this map symbolizes'Shadow', and the god in the sun disc holds symbols of two opposing Spiritualities. Could it be that he intends to control these contradictory forces simultaneously?
'And in Natsuki's documents about the Fertility Goddess, I also extracted a small amount of'Shi' (Stone). The situation here is very similar. Does this mean that the Fertility Goddess is also trying to explore the power of'Shi' (Stone)? What about the King of the Underworld? Why did these pure-colored gods of the Third Epoch suddenly become interested in the types of Spirituality opposite to their own?'
For a time, Dorothy began to try and speculate about the intentions of the pure-colored gods in the Third Epoch, speculating why they were interested in Spiritualities opposite to their own, and whether this was related to the collective loss of the pure-colored gods' faith today. However, due to the limited information she possessed, she temporarily gave up after failing to deduce any reliable conclusions and instead began to continue extracting Spirituality.
Next, the Spirituality Dorothy was to extract came from the information obtained at Qiwen Temple. This primarily contained the complete advancement methods for the Crimson Tier, which brought Dorothy a large increase in Spirituality, 4 points for each type.
Then Dorothy calculated her consumption during the battle with Mukhtar. Thanks to the Spirituality provided by the temple, although she had unleashed countless lightning bolts, the Spirituality consumed by the Roaring Path ability was zero. The main consumption points were using the 'cup' to stabilize her state and transfer injuries, and the'Shadow' in her ring being completely illuminated.
Dorothy used 1 point of 'cup' with Life Devour, and transferred the extensive ten-fold chest injury that was almost completely destroyed using injury transfer, costing 7 points of 'cup'. The'Shadow' in her ring instantly lost 5 points and needed to be recharged.
Calculating the total increases and decreases, Dorothy's Spirituality status was now as follows:
24 cup, 12 stone, 22 shadow, 25 light, 25 silence, 50 enlightenment.
'My Spirituality... has become much more abundant all of a sudden, especially 'Light'. Before, it was only single digits, but now it has jumped to 25 points. As expected, this is the reward after taking down a Crimson 'Light'. It really is a case of getting what you need from what you fight...
'Also, now, except for'Shi' (Stone), all the other Spiritualities seem to have met the requirements for promotion. This is faster than I expected. As for'Shi' (Stone), I don't need to worry about it. The Qiwen Temple library is right there. Although most of the content is incomprehensible, if I spend some time, I should still be able to find some Common Sense Text content with Spirit Sight. Then I can replenish my'Shi' (Stone) points.'
Dorothy thought this in her heart. Most of the book content in Qiwen Temple was recorded in ancient Ufija language, with only a small portion in Common Sense Text. And she didn't have permission for much of the Common Sense Text portion, so the content she could read was very limited. She estimated she would need to spend time searching to find what she needed.
"Anyway, given the current situation, I won't be leaving Adis for the next few days, so I'll find another opportunity to look for it later."
Having made up her mind, Dorothy began the task of distributing the spoils of war. Since the success of this battle was the result of multi-party efforts, the final spoils needed to be allocated.
After some consideration, Dorothy decided to give the Sun Eye Stone and the Floating Spirit Amulet to Vanya. It was normal to give the Sun Eye Stone, an item only usable by 'Light' Extraordinary, to Vanya. As for the Floating Spirit Amulet, Dorothy gave it to her out of consideration for increasing Vanya's movement technique. Anyway, with the Reading Method, Vanya could quickly accumulate the Spirituality needed for the Floating Spirit Amulet.
As for Mukhtar's empty magic box, Dorothy decided to give it to Shadi. Although this item was very precious, it was not very useful to her, who already had a better version. Giving it to Shadi was just right. The Soul Piercing Ring was suitable for'Silent' Extraordinary to use in close combat, making it the best choice for Neff. The remaining Soul Contract Scrolls, Talisman Seals, and the secret transmission were kept by herself.
Having finished organizing, Dorothy put away everything on the table before her, then stood up and slowly walked to the balcony. Looking at Adis, which had been filled with the smoke of battle and was now slowly returning to peace, Dorothy knew that Shadi had controlled the situation and the chaos in Adis had ended.
"The situation in Adis is settled, but the overall situation in Adus is not yet clear. The next few days will depend on how that Revolutionary Army leader operates..."
Gazing at the city ahead, Dorothy murmured. She knew clearly what kind of waves the events in Adis today would stir up throughout Adus... and even the whole world, once they spread.
...
Over the next few days, the sudden situation in Adis rapidly spread throughout Adus through the mouths of traveling merchants and travelers, in telegrams exchanged between relatives, in confidential dispatches from spies in various places, and in the secret communications of Extraordinary societies.
In just two or three days, everyone within Adus, from ordinary civilians up to the leaders of the Revolutionary Army and the remnants of the Baruk Dynasty in various places, heard a piece of news that shocked everyone.
In the mutual exchanges among ordinary people, what they knew was that something unexpected had happened in Adis. The sky suddenly became covered with dark clouds, and thunderstorms were constant. For several hours within a single day, lightning struck continuously. All the civilians were frightened by the continuous thunder and lightning, and they all hid in their homes, closing their doors for fear of being struck by lightning.
Fortunately, the lightning seemed to concentrate only on the direction of the Baruk Royal Palace and the Church, showing no intention of affecting other places. This made the civilians wonder for a moment if the Revolutionary Army officers in the Royal Palace and the Savior Sect priests who preached everywhere daily had suffered divine retribution? And after everything had passed, many Revolutionary Army soldiers still came out to maintain order, while the priests who used to walk the streets and alleys preaching and trying to make people abandon the Three Saints faith were nowhere to be seen.
This made the people feel that it wasn't the entire Revolutionary Army that had suffered divine retribution, but only the Savior Sect. This couldn't help but make them wonder if these lightning strikes were divine punishment sent down by the Three Saints. However, there were also rumors that this thunderstorm was not sent by the Three Saints, but by an ancient deity named Judge of Heaven, because when the thunderstorm descended, many people near the Priory of Radiance heard declarations like thunder, proclaiming the crimes of the Savior Sect members who had desecrated the temple that originally belonged to the Judge of Heaven.
Rumors among the civilians were varied, but at a higher level, the news obtained by the Revolutionary Army garrisons in various places was much more accurate and clear. They all knew that this thunderstorm did not come from the Three Saints, but from a priestess who claimed to serve the Judge of Heaven. It was she who summoned this super thunderstorm that almost wiped out the entire armed force of the Savior Sect in Adis!
Members of the Savior Descends Faction stationed in Adis, except for ordinary civilian believers, from the Extraordinary Captains down to the fanatical armed followers, were almost without exception killed under the thunderstorm! More importantly, the highest leader of the entire Adus Savior Sect, the powerful Crimson Tier Extraordinary Mukhtar, also died under this thunderstorm!
The news of Mukhtar's death swept through the entire Adus Revolutionary Army like a bolt from the blue. Within the Revolutionary Army, whether from the Savior Sect or Shadi's faction, everyone was astonished by Mukhtar's sudden demise. He was a high-level Extraordinary of the Crimson Tier! Possessing a long lifespan and powerful strength, a Scarlet, who formed a crucial foundation for a nation, was gone just like that?! There was a qualitative difference between him and Chalk and those below him.
The death of Scarlet Mukhtar caused an uproar throughout Adis's hidden world. They were not only surprised by Mukhtar's death but even more astonished by the manner of his death. Struck dead by a lightning storm summoned by a priest of a revived ancient god? This way of dying was too unbelievable. They were more inclined to believe Mukhtar died from a conspiracy by the Holy Proximity Mountain Church or the Revolutionary Army leader, and were reluctant to admit Mukhtar died for such a reason. However, multiple pieces of information from Adis forced them to believe that the demise of Mukhtar and the entire Adis Savior Sect armed forces was at the hands of the Church of that ancient god, the Judge of Heaven, because they had desecrated the sacred Church that rightfully belonged to the Judge of Heaven.
Mukhtar's sudden death had the greatest impact on the parts of the Revolutionary Army scattered throughout Adis that were highly infiltrated by the Savior Sect and loyal to Mukhtar. Mukhtar's death left them leaderless for a time, and chaos began to spread among the different units.
At this time, Mukhtar's death was not the problem; the problem was the cause of his death. If Mukhtar had died at the hands of Shadi or the Church, if they had colluded in Adis to assassinate Mukhtar, then the Savior Sect members within the Revolutionary Army would have a target for revenge. Someone among them could raise a banner to rally all the Savior Sect forces in the Revolutionary Army, calling on them to launch a joint attack on the Shadi's faction around them and initiate a full-scale civil war. During this time, other high-ranking figures from the Savior Sect would surely come to Adis to consolidate these forces, posing a significant threat to the Shadi's faction.
But the reality was that Mukhtar died at the hands of some Judge of Heaven Church that inexplicably appeared, killed by heavenly lightning in a way no one had ever seen before. This left the Savior Sect forces in various parts of Adis feeling somewhat bewildered. Their leader was dead, not killed by another suspected leader, but struck by lightning. This left them temporarily unsure of what to do, and they fell into disarray, leaderless among themselves.
That's right, Shadi kept the news of the Royal Palace battle very well-guarded. He concealed the news of his falling out with Mukhtar from the outside world, instead publicizing that Mukhtar had died because he had desecrated the Judge of Heaven Church and suffered the Church's punishment, with the endless heavenly lightning as proof, unrelated to himself.
In the battle of Baruk Royal Palace, because Dorothy possessed the Sky Eye and infinite lightning strikes provided by the city defense system, none of the Savior Sect armed personnel who participated in the coup managed to escape alive. Therefore, what actually happened inside the palace was completely unknown to outsiders. For ordinary citizens, the continuous thunder directly suppressed the sounds of shouting, killing, and gunfire inside the palace. They didn't even know there was such a large-scale shootout in the palace that day. Besides the Savior Sect armed forces who were all killed, the only participants in the palace battle were Shadi's heavily casualties personal guards and the few remaining envoy escorts, so it was naturally impossible for the truth to be leaked.
To prevent news from leaking, Mukhtar's secrecy regarding his coup plan was also quite thorough. No one knew about it beforehand except his confidantes in Adis. Even the fanatical armed forces involved in the coup only learned the news moments before the coup began. Because the conflict between Shadi and Mukhtar had rapidly worsened during the few days of negotiations, from the perspective of the outside forces, although there was some friction between Shadi and Mukhtar, their relationship hadn't reached the point of complete breakdown. Therefore, Shadi's words had a certain degree of credibility. The power of heavenly lightning was not something Shadi could control, and the priestess of the Judge of Heaven, Isis, had also publicly appeared before the populace and administered the punishment. Thus, from the perspective of outsiders, Mukhtar's death truly could not be absolutely attributed to Shadi for a while.
One of the more crucial points was Shadi's attitude towards Mukhtar and those under him who died in the lightning disaster after the event. In the notice sent to all units of the Adus Revolutionary Army, Shadi claimed that he felt immense grief over Mukhtar's death, expressed deep regret for the Revolutionary Army's loss of such a pivotal figure, and called it a terrible disaster.
What's more, in the days following the coup, Shadi held a memorial service for Mukhtar in Adis. Shadi personally attended the ceremony and delivered a moving speech at the assembly, mourning Mukhtar, his staunch comrade and great warrior who had fought alongside him until now and together overthrown the Baruk Dynasty. He affirmed Mukhtar's personal contributions to the Adis revolution and declared that he would inherit Mukhtar's will and lead Adis towards the jointly agreed-upon future.
The ceremony was very grand. Shadi invited representatives of the Church envoy delegation and Revolutionary Army officers from around Adis to attend, and it was open to all citizens of Adis. Dorothy also joined the fun and went to eat a few times, sitting at the children's table.
Shadi's memorial service temporarily confused many Savior Sect forces within the Revolutionary Army. For a while, they genuinely believed that Mukhtar had died at the hands of the Judge of Heaven Church and that Shadi was not involved. They thought Shadi was willing to continue Mukhtar's work and build an Adis for the Savior Descends Faction.
Simultaneously with the memorial service, Shadi immediately dispatched his confidantes to various locations in Adis, the strongholds of the major centrist and pro-Savior Sect forces. They carried promotion and transfer orders for the local high-ranking Savior Sect officers. Citing the near total annihilation of the Savior Sect high command within Adis, these local Savior Sect officers with real power were summoned to Adis to fill the newly vacant central high official positions, thus filling the huge power vacuum left by the complete destruction of Mukhtar and his subordinates.
When issuing these transfer orders to the local generals, Shadi also acted mysteriously, saying that many generals throughout Adis were eyeing the power vacuum left after Mukhtar's death, so whoever arrived in Adis first would get the first bite. Therefore, others would definitely try every means to prevent others from going and go themselves first. Furthermore, Shadi spoke at length to these local generals about external threats, primarily targeting the Savior Descends Faction headquarters outside of Adis.
In his words to these generals, Shadi explicitly and implicitly stated that the Savior Sect headquarters now wanted to parachute in new people to Adis to replace Mukhtar and take over all religious authority. But we are all Adis people, how can we let outsiders so easily seize the power that belongs to us? We all believe in the Lord, so why should someone from your headquarters be superior? Why can't our Savior Sect in Adis be our own masters, and instead have to be dogs for the North Wu Savior Sect headquarters?
Shadi hinted to all the local Savior Sect generals across the country that although everyone was grieving over Mukhtar's death, it was also an opportunity for the Adis Savior Sect to seize power for themselves. We can use this opportunity to break free from the control of the Savior Sect headquarters and let Adis have its own Savior Sect.
Shadi's hints made a large number of local Savior Sect military leaders incredibly eager, especially those generals born in Adis who felt excited because they had been marginalized and suppressed by those parachuted in from the headquarters within the Savior Sect. Such individuals constituted the majority within the Savior Sect forces. They were all eyeing the large piece of cake left behind after Mukhtar's death, wanting to become the new Adis Savior Sect Patriarch.
Of course, some Savior Sect generals also saw through the issue. They were highly skeptical of what Shadi said, even suspecting that Mukhtar's death was related to Shadi, and thus did not accept the transfer orders to Adis. Among these generals, some also used mediums in their possession to successfully summon the souls of Mukhtar's relatives and friends who died in the lightning storm in Adis. From the mouths of their souls, they learned the truth of the Royal Palace incident and knew that Shadi was also involved in Mukhtar's death.
Thus, in their anger, they contacted other local Savior Sect generals, attempting to expose the truth and unite with them to resist Shadi. However, Shadi was well-prepared for this move. He immediately turned the tables, accusing these generals of being agents of the Savior Sect headquarters, controlled by the Savior Sect headquarters, and attempting to obstruct the great cause of the Adis people having their own Savior Sect Church. He directly labeled them as traitors to Adis. The Savior Sect armed forces within the Adus Revolutionary Army were left dizzy and in utter chaos by these mutual accusations.
Through various methods such as co-opting, dividing, and deceiving, Shadi effectively and bloodlessly dismantled the enormous Savior Sect forces within the Adus Revolutionary Army after Mukhtar's death. Meanwhile, earlier, a secret telegram was being sent from the envoy delegation in Adis to Holy Mountain.
This secret telegram recorded the so-called "truth" of the major historical event later recorded as the Adis "Thunder Judgment Incident".