Within the dense forest, the human figure condensed from faint white smoke above the magic array was still solidifying. After hearing the words of the man named Yakaru, the white smoke figure fell into momentary silence, seemingly contemplating something. After the silence, he continued to speak to Yakaru.
"The current situation is still very chaotic, and the circumstances are not entirely clear. After you are safe, continue to lie low in Kankdar and try to find out what happened between Robert and Ma'ad. Try to contact Ma'ad and ask him how the Craftsmen's Guild's procedures are progressing and how long it will take to retrieve the item."
"Yes, I also plan to change my disguise and return to Kankdar," Yakaru responded upon hearing the instructions of the white smoke figure. The white smoke figure then spoke again.
"Before Sazhuoya disappeared, were there any strange signs?"
"Strange? If you're talking about strange, Sazhuoya has been very strange ever since she was afflicted with Spirit Sight. She's been mumbling incoherently all day long, so I suspect her disappearance might be related to the sudden worsening of her Spirit Sight."
"Understood. Then, for a period of time, you can try your best to find Sazhuoya. Once you find her, gain control of her and don't give her a chance to run around randomly. I will transfer some people to support you. Remember, your most crucial task is to get your hands on Baruk's sacrificial book, no matter what means you use."
Facing Yakaru, the white smoke figure finally instructed seriously. Listening to the white smoke figure's words, Yakaru also nodded solemnly.
"Yes, I understand!"
...
In the foreign residents' district of Kankdar, inside a certain hotel, Dorothy, after inspecting Baruk's national treasure box, put it back into the magic box. Then, sitting at the table, she began to calculate her resource consumption during this Kankdar incident to check her status.
Firstly, on the day the assassination occurred, in order to compete with Sazhuoya, who was possessing Vanya, for control of the body, Dorothy increased her use of ""Cup"", consuming 2 points of ""Cup"". She used two Spirit Dispelling Symbols to expel Sazhuoya's soul, consuming 4 points of ""Silent"". The small Corpse Puppet was caught off guard by Robert's high-intensity Extraordinary detection, consuming 1 point of ""Shadow"". To create conditions for Vanya, she also used the last tube of Eight-Pointed Nest milk smoke she had left.
Next, during the investigation phase of the incident, in order to prevent the special envoy team's guards from being tortured into falsely implicating Vanya under Clifton's interrogation, Dorothy used Puppet Marks to "help" them get through the difficult time. This "help" included forcibly controlling those who wanted to confess to keep silent, and also sharing some of the effectiveness of the Raw Consumption Symbols with them to alleviate their physical pain, costing a total of 3 points of ""Cup"".
Finally, during the wrap-up phase, she obtained the Spirit Sight information from Baruk's ""Royal Sacrificial Book"", which was worth 4 ""Silent"" and 3 ""enlightenment"". Combining consumption and acquisition, Dorothy's Spirituality status is now as follows:
19 ""Cup"", 12 ""Stone"", 9 ""Shadow"", 15 ""Light"", 26 ""Silent"", 50 ""enlightenment"".
'Phew... That's good. Although this incident was significant, thanks to Awei's help, the Spirituality consumption wasn't too large. Except for ""Cup"", other Spirituality consumption can be ignored. It's just that ""Cup"" has dropped below 20 points again, which is a bit troublesome.'
After letting out a sigh of relief, Dorothy thought this to herself. She thought that if it weren't for the large ""Cup"" gift package she replenished in Natsuki, her ""Cup"" would have already been insufficient by now.
'One of the current problems... is how to deal with the legacy left by Mazhar. Although his legacy is extensive, most of it isn't easily usable assets. Either sell all of it and convert it into cash, or discuss with Beverly about using these assets as collateral to directly rent Divine Artifacts. Hopefully, I can directly mortgage the assets, otherwise, with so many securities and properties, I don't know how long it will take to sell all of them. And if these things that originally belonged to Mazhar are sold, it might attract the attention of some interested parties and lead to an investigation...'
Dorothy thought this to herself. She planned to try discussing with Beverly later about directly using Mazhar's assets as money to rent Divine Artifacts to see if it works. If not, she would have to find a way to sell them slowly, which is a relatively troublesome and somewhat risky process.
'Problem two is the one named Sazhuoya. To prevent her from being caught by the Church, I've already had her escape in advance. This Sazhuoya is controlled by Spirit Sight. Leaving aside whether the control is stable or not, she might still be pursued by her original organization and companions. Before confirming her safety, I can't have direct contact with her. Let her temporarily leave Kankdar, run far away, and hide for a while. Then, we can make long-term plans for her matter, as this Sazhuoya is a member of the Netherworld Coffin Society and needs to be treated cautiously.'
Dorothy thought this in her heart. Before this, she had already roughly learned about her identity during her brief contact with Sazhuoya. She is a mixed-race individual of New World and Main Continent descent, born in a plantation in the New World, a product of a scandal between the plantation owner's daughter and a local plantation laborer. In her childhood, she was sold by the plantation owner to another plantation as a lifelong laborer, having a low status from a young age and spending her childhood in hard labor. Because of her innate spiritual talent, she encountered a Wilderness Spirit in the wilderness and became a ""Silent"" Extraordinary under its guidance.
After Sazhuoya became an Extraordinary, she was wanted for killing her master and thus became a bandit, killing and plundering while on the run, preying on both innocent poor people and the rich. Later, she fled to North Wu for her Extraordinary path, becoming a treasure hunter. Relying on her own strength, she rose all the way to become a Chalk Tier Extraordinary. In order to seek resources from a large Extraordinary society, she joined the Netherworld Coffin Society during a contact with them, becoming a relatively peripheral member. For several years, she had been partnering with another member named Yakaru.
Sazhuoya had been partnering with Yakaru for several years. According to Sazhuoya, Yakaru is a more core member of the Netherworld Coffin Society and, in a sense, her evaluator. Yakaru directly contacts the high-level members of the Netherworld Coffin Society, takes on tasks, and then they execute them together. During the execution process, Yakaru is responsible for evaluating Sazhuoya. After deeming Sazhuoya trustworthy, she will enter the inner layer of the Netherworld Coffin Society, and this mission was the final assessment.
According to Sazhuoya, their mission this time was to accept the Employment of Robert and Ma'ad and help them by providing spiritual support in the matter of framing the special envoy team. After the matter was successful, Robert and Ma'ad needed to hand over an item as compensation to the Netherworld Coffin Society, but Sazhuoya was not entirely clear about what that specific item was. This was information exchanged between Yakaru and the higher-ups of the Netherworld Coffin Society.
Currently, although Sazhuoya's actions of being controlled and betraying her teammates may not have been exposed yet, Dorothy dared not keep her by her side, fearing that Sazhuoya would attract the Netherworld Coffin Society. And Sazhuoya is essentially someone afflicted with Spirit Sight, mentally unstable and unable to handle undercover work.
If Sazhuoya returned to the Netherworld Coffin Society, she would inevitably face the Netherworld Coffin Society's full efforts to treat her Spirit Sight. If the Spirit Sight is cured, Dorothy would lose control over Sazhuoya, and if it's not cured, it would make the Netherworld Coffin Society suspicious. If Sazhuoya stays in a sickroom for a long time and doesn't truly join the Netherworld Coffin Society, she cannot provide valuable intelligence to Dorothy. Therefore, Dorothy did not choose to let Sazhuoya return to the Netherworld Coffin Society as an undercover agent, but rather let her hide directly. Let her hide for a while to see if the Netherworld Coffin Society can find her. If they can't, she will assign her other tasks later.
'The last problem, which is the most urgent problem, is how to rob the Lakheman Royal Tomb and get the minyin zunzhan out. The Lakheman Royal Tomb is the tomb of the founding king of a country, a Crimson Tier Extraordinary. The difficulty of robbing it is definitely not ordinary. Although I have read a few books on tomb raiding, my practical experience is far from sufficient. Moreover, robbing a large tomb is a team effort, and my current manpower might be insufficient for a while, so I probably need to find some helpers, some experienced helpers.'
Dorothy thought this in her heart. The first helpers she thought of were Shadi and his team. Shadi was a treasure hunter by origin, and his team was professional. Moreover, the Lakheman Royal Tomb was within Adus, so it would be easier for people to come from his side.
However, Shadi was currently busy with internal affairs. If she contacted him for help now, he might not be available. Therefore, Dorothy decided to wait for a while and go to the Lakheman Royal Tomb after she was prepared.
"It's time to take a little break now..."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Dorothy put everything she used back into the magic box, then stretched herself greatly.
...
At the foot of Holy Mountain, somewhere in Holy Shield City.
Beneath a magnificent dome adorned with intricate ceiling paintings was a clear pool of pure water. Tall stone columns lined the edge of the pool, supporting the massive dome. Beyond the columns was a clear blue sky. In the pool stood a towering statue of the Holy Mother. The statue held its hands high, from which pure spring water continuously flowed down into the pool. Within the pool, at the end of the water flow, a figure was situated, bathing in the spring water from above while praying.
Suddenly, at the edge of the clear pool, a blurry figure gradually appeared. After a short while, the translucent phantom of Awei materialized on the scene, silently watching the figure praying in the spring water, and then spoke.
"Your Eminence, there has been a preliminary outcome regarding the matter in Kankdar."
Listening to Awei's words, the figure in the spring was slightly startled, then ended the prayer posture, stood up in the spring, and slowly walked out. After stepping out of the water, the figure of a mature woman appeared. Her thin white dress, soaked with water, clung to her body, completely outlining her form. Her wet golden hair hung down to her chest and waist, and a hint of realization appeared on her delicate face. Amanda thus walked in the clear pool towards Awei.
"Oh, tell me about it? How are they planning to handle that Robert Mayor and those old Royal Family members?" Amanda said as she walked towards the edge of the pool. Awei immediately responded after hearing her.
"Under the will behind Kankdar... that is, under the instruction of the major powers on the Main Continent, the main responsibility for this incident has been placed on Ma'ad and the associated part of the old Royal Family, specifically on Robert personally."
"They claimed that Ma'ad and others heavily bribed Robert, making Robert help them carry out the assassination of Mazhar and the plot to frame the special envoy group. Robert, knowing it was wrong, was bribed and tempted. Without consulting the Faloro national government and without communicating with representatives of other countries in Kankdar, he accepted Ma'ad's bribe to help him carry out his plot, deceiving both superiors and subordinates."
"Not long ago, the Faloro government has already sent a telegram to Holy Mountain, expressing anger and condemnation for Robert's crime of being tempted by interests and violating principles, and expressing apology and condolences for the losses suffered by the saint church special envoy group. Before Faloro, telegrams from other countries had already been sent to Holy Mountain, with similar content..."
With her usual indifferent expression, Awei slowly responded, while Amanda, listening to Awei's words, had already stepped onto the edge of the clear pool. Then, the water stains on her body completely disappeared in an instant.
"Heh... they severed ties really quickly. That Mayor seems to have become a discarded piece... but since they said they would offer condolences to the special envoy group, did they make any specific gestures?"
Amanda said as she walked beside the clear pool, while Awei, floating nearby, also continued to speak.
"Faloro and other countries stated that they are willing to more actively promote the settlement of disputes and the construction of new Churches in the five free port cities in North Wu, including Kankdar, where there were disputes over construction issues before. They are also willing to build them in the style of the Holy Mother Church. Regarding the dispatch of personnel, a certain number can be increased. In addition, they are willing to listen more to the opinions of the saint church regarding the election of the new Mayor of Kankdar."
"Five free ports... that's quite a big concession this time. Do they have any other demands?"
"Yes, Faloro hopes Your Eminence can use your influence to have the tribunal hand over the right to judge Robert to them." Awei calmly responded to Amanda, while a look of understanding appeared on Amanda's face.
"It seems... they are also afraid that after Robert falls into Klama's hands, he will be forced to confess something else, and Klama will extort something from them after catching him."
"That should be the case. After a person falls into the hands of the tribunal, the final confession is often decided by the tribunal. If a high official like Robert confesses any otherworld intelligence within the Faloro sphere of influence, they will have an excuse."
Awei then spoke to Amanda, and Amanda nodded in response.
"In this incident, we have also managed to catch a little tail of Klama, and it is possible to use this to put some pressure on him. But Faloro also needs to give something else... How about this, if they can agree to allow the relief agency to unconditionally use at least five Faloro military ports in the future, then I can try to save this Robert..."
"Unconditional use of five Faloro military ports... I understand, I will respond to Faloro's side later."
"Hmm... then... what about Sister Vanya and the other members of the special envoy group?" Amanda continued to ask Awei, and Awei immediately replied.
"Sister Vanya has been protected by me and was not harmed by the tribunal. The other members of the special envoy group have also been released. They show signs of having been frequently tortured, but about three days of torture did not make them talk. They are currently receiving comprehensive treatment."
"Three full days of torture without a false confession? Commendable. I didn't expect Hilbert to actually arrange such elites as guards for that little Sister..." Listening to Awei's words, Amanda spoke with some surprise, and Awei then confirmed her response.
"Yes, they did not give false confessions, which was indeed somewhat unexpected for me, but it also saved me a lot of trouble. My original countermeasures haven't even been used yet." Awei continued, and after thinking for a moment, she added.
"In addition, another point worth noting is... the anti-divination that originally shrouded the special envoy group, whose source was unknown, lost its effect after Robert was arrested. According to indications, this anti-divination may have originated from Faloro. Seeing that the situation was irreversible, they withdrew the anti-divination..."
"After the anti-divination disappeared, Clifton, who dispatched the tribunal, seemed unwilling to give up and requested a public divination under the notarization of all parties. I agreed to his request and summoned the relevant parties. On the Fire Punishment, he performed a divination on all members of the special envoy group, including Sister Vanya, to determine if there was any saint church otherworld among them. The result was negative. Sister Vanya and all members of the special envoy group have been completely cleared of suspicion. I have now notified all dioceses to re-include their information under the saint church's anti-divination systems at all levels."
Awei said this to Amanda, and Amanda, listening to Awei's words, also nodded gently.
"Completely cleared of suspicion? That's good... It's good if they are really not otherworld..."
Amanda said slowly, but what she didn't know was that Sister Vanya's current situation was not called otherworld, but heresy.