Glamorgan is one of the major cities in the southwestern region of Prit, serving as the capital of Hand County. It is situated in a wide mountain basin and acts as a transportation hub for Hand County.
Due to the southwestern part of the main island of Prit being almost entirely mountainous, Hand County is also predominantly mountainous terrain. The only large plain in the entire county is the basin where Glamorgan is located. The land here is primarily used for cultivation, with agriculture and light industry being the pillar industries. Because it is located near Dazzle Star Lake, the largest lake in southwestern Prit, there is also a certain amount of fishery output.
Although Glamorgan is the largest city in Hand County, its total population is vastly different compared to metropolises like Tivian. Due to the relatively small population and lack of heavy industry, the environment here is quite good compared to most Prit cities, with even the surrounding rivers and lakes having minimal pollution.
During the daytime, birds soared in the clear blue sky, and a small number of carriages traveled through the quiet streets of Glamorgan. At a roadside cafe, Dorothy was slowly savoring a local specialty coffee. Across from Dorothy, separated by a table, sat Naifnis, who had a clear look of worry on her face. She was looking at Dorothy, who was enjoying her coffee, and slowly spoke.
"What... Miss Dorothy, do you mean that the people from the Eight-Pointed Nest have already arrived? Did they get here before us?"
"Yes... yes, the lake next to this City is covered by a spiritual blood mist at night. The blood mist is very thin, and ordinary people generally cannot see it with the naked eye in the dark, unless extraordinary means are used for detection."
"I have seen this kind of blood mist before. During the Barret assassination case at the beginning of the year, I briefly encountered Scarlet from the Eight-Pointed Nest, and he possesses this ability."
Placing the cup of coffee she had just tasted back on the table, Dorothy calmly replied to Neff. Hearing Dorothy's words, Neff's expression immediately became more serious. She couldn't help but murmur.
"Scarlet from the Eight-Pointed Nest... This is bad. Miss Dorothy, it seems we were a step too late and they got there first."
Neff's tone was heavy, but Dorothy's expression did not show much tension. After placing her coffee cup down, she slowly sat up straight and then spoke unhurriedly.
"The Eight-Pointed Nest's actions are faster than ours, which I had anticipated before. After all, their influence is spread throughout Prit, so it's normal for them to be in place sooner than us. However, there's no need to be overly anxious. Gaining the upper hand first doesn't equate to achieving the final victory. As long as they haven't found the Mirror Moon Goddess's temple, we still have a chance."
Dorothy said this, and hearing her words, Neff paused slightly, then continued to speak.
"Miss Dorothy, do you mean... the people from the Eight-Pointed Nest haven't found that temple yet?"
"Yes, I've been observing Dazzle Star Lake for two consecutive nights. On both nights, the Eight-Pointed Nest's blood mist appeared over the lake. If those guys had already succeeded, they wouldn't continue to waste their spirituality in this place; they would have already gone back home." Dorothy said this, and hearing her words, Neff blinked, then continued to ask.
"The blood mist has continuously covered the lake for two nights. Does this mean... the Eight-Pointed Nest people are using this blood mist to monitor the entire lake while searching for the temple on the lake?"
"That's right, those blood mists are essentially transformed from the blood within the Eight-Pointed Nest's Scarlet-level Extraordinary, they are a part of their bodies. Once touched by these blood mists, they will immediately be detected by the Eight-Pointed Nest's Scarlet, and these blood mists can even infiltrate the enemy's body and affect its interior."
Dorothy explained this to Naifnis. In fact, hearing Dorothy's words, Naifnis's expression became even more worried.
"Being able to create blood mist to cover such a large area of the lake for detection feels somewhat similar to the situation we encountered in Moncarlo... But if the entire surface of Dazzle Star Lake is covered by blood mist, how much blood does one Scarlet from the Eight-Pointed Nest have..."
With obvious worry, Naifnis said to Dorothy. Hearing Neff's words, Dorothy's eyebrows slightly raised, as if she had thought of something.
These blood mists from the Eight-Pointed Nest's Scarlet have many similarities to the spiritual mist of Edward, the Scarlet Water Manipulator, such as being extremely difficult to detect, being able to perceive information within the covered area in real time, and even being able to damage the interior by being inhaled by the enemy.
However, there are also fundamental differences between the two. The mist created by the Scarlet Water Manipulator is essentially ordinary water vapor with spirituality, while the blood mist of the Scarlet is a part of the Extraordinary themselves. In terms of sensory sensitivity and operational efficiency, the blood mist is superior, while in terms of coverage and overall control volume, the Water Manipulator's mist is stronger. And judging from the ability of the Spiderfang Priest that Dorothy encountered, the blood mist should have more functions than water vapor.
'No matter what, the production volume of the Eight-Pointed Nest's blood mist should be much smaller than the production volume of the Scarlet Water Manipulator's water vapor. One directly uses the moisture in the air for transformation, while the other has to release the blood in their body and atomize it into the air. No matter how you think about it, the scale of the Eight-Pointed Nest Scarlet's blood mist production should not exceed the water vapor produced by a Scarlet Water Manipulator like Edward.
'And the fact is, the scale of the blood mist released by the Eight-Pointed Nest every night is quite astonishing, enough to completely cover the entire surface of Dazzle Star Lake. Although the concentration of the Eight-Pointed Nest's blood mist in the air is relatively thin, the surface area of Dazzle Star Lake is quite large, larger than the area of the entire Glamorgan City. Although a Scarlet-level Extraordinary might have an unusual amount of blood, can the blood mist they produce truly cover such a large area of the lake?'
Thinking of this, Dorothy's heart suddenly had a bad premonition. The scale of the blood mist produced by the Eight-Pointed Nest exceeded her expectations. Such a large scale of blood mist was close to the mist that Edward had released in Moncarlo back then.
'No matter what, it feels a bit exaggerated for a Scarlet to create so much blood mist. Could it be that the Eight-Pointed Nest has already deployed some ritual in Glamorgan to expand their abilities? But the Eight-Pointed Nest and I should have received the information about Glamorgan at the same time. They didn't arrive here much earlier than me. Do they really have time to deploy a ritual of this magnitude? Or... are there more than one Scarlet from the Eight-Pointed Nest who came to Glamorgan?'
Dorothy thought this in her heart. When she thought of this possibility, her face couldn't help but sink, and she froze in place for a moment. Naifnis, who was beside her, saw Dorothy's appearance and asked.
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"What's wrong? Miss Dorothy, is there something serious?"
"Ah... Not for now, I just thought of some potentially bad possibilities, and there is no corroborating evidence yet." Hearing Neff's words, Dorothy replied like this, and then she changed the subject, looking at Neff and speaking instead.
"In short, our goal now is to find the temple before the people from the Eight-Pointed Nest. And the clue to finding the temple is likely in those riddle-like prayers. Since the Eight-Pointed Nest chose to blockade the lake at night, it must be that their people also believe that the so-called Mirror of Grakhomir refers to Dazzle Star Lake, and this view is consistent with mine. If we can interpret the other content in those prayers, then we will most likely find the location of the temple."
"By the way, Senior Nefelnis, you have also been collecting information in the City these past two days, right? Have you found anything?" Looking at Neff in front of her, Dorothy asked directly, and Neff replied preparedly.
"Oh, I was just about to tell you. For some time now, I have also been looking for clues related to those riddle prayers. Thinking that Miss Dorothy, you are already collecting information in the City, I specifically chose areas far away from the City to see if I could find anything. Finally, in a small town south of Glamorgan, I made a discovery."
"A small town? What did you find?" Hearing Neff's words, Dorothy said with interest, and Neff continued.
"In an abandoned old house on the edge of that town, I found a bound Ghost. It was the Ghost of an old man who missed his son who had gone out to work and never returned. Because of his thoughts of his son, he did not enter the Netherworld and became a bound Ghost. Since he did not specifically harm anyone, no official Extraordinary came to deal with him. I found him based on some small spiritual rumors in the town. According to what I learned, he was born over a hundred years ago and grew up in the Glamorgan area, so he is very familiar with the situation here. I offered to help him transcend in exchange for some valuable information."
"Oh... A Ghost born in this area a hundred years ago, interesting... What did you ask him?" Hearing Naifnis's words, Dorothy said with interest, and Neff continued.
"After dissecting the content of the riddle prayer, I asked him about each part. He had no idea about things like the'Scythe Blade Gate' or the 'Longbow Gate'. However, when I mentioned the 'Mirror of Grakhomir', he immediately pointed out that it was Dazzle Star Lake. He said that this lake was previously directly called Mirror Lake."
"Besides the lake, another important clue he knew about was the'Silver Top'. According to that Ghost, there is a mountain around Dazzle Star Lake called 'Cave Silver Mountain'. It is said that there was once a silver mine in this mountain, but the silver mine in the mountain was already mined out before he was born, leaving only the mine tunnels leading into the mountain body.
"When that old Ghost was still young, people often went into the abandoned mine tunnels to look for silver ore that hadn't been cleaned out to sell for money. It is said that if they were lucky, they could also pick up finished silver items on the mountain. However, because those abandoned mine tunnels were very dangerous, many people who went in to pan for silver died in accidents. Finally, the local City government sealed the mine tunnels directly to prevent further accidental deaths from occurring. After that, the mountain also changed its name and is now called Lake View Mountain. It seems that it was renamed this way because the view of Dazzle Star Lake from the top of that mountain is particularly good."
Naifnis recounted to Dorothy the information she had gathered using her ability to communicate with spirits. Hearing Naifnis's words, Dorothy's face couldn't help but show a hint of interest, and then she recalled the map around Dazzle Star Lake in her mind.
"Lake View Mountain, huh..."
...
Dazzle Star Lake, known as the Mirror of Glamorgan, is bordered by the Glamorgan City on one side, and surrounded by mountains on the other three sides. Among the hills of varying sizes surrounding Dazzle Star Lake, Lake View Mountain is undoubtedly one that stands out.
Lake View Mountain is located to the west of Dazzle Star Lake and is one of the higher mountains around the lake. Although it is high, its slope on one side is gentle and easy to climb, and it is not too far from the Glamorgan City. Therefore, the top of the mountain has become an excellent area for viewing the scenery of Dazzle Star Lake. After the mountain's mining function was abandoned and the mine tunnels were sealed, its biggest function became providing a good viewing platform for the citizens of Glamorgan and tourists from other places, which is why its name was changed to Lake View Mountain.
In the afternoon, under the clear blue sky, many well-dressed citizens were gathered on the simple wooden viewing platform at the top of Lake View Mountain. They were enjoying the refreshing breeze and gazing at the large expanse of beautiful lake scenery before them. These citizens, clearly from the wealthier class, often came here with their entire families to relax and play together. On the mountain top viewing platform, there were also many ordinary small vendors setting up stalls, selling small commodities and snacks.
Among these people viewing the lake, there was one of Dorothy's Corpse Puppets mixed in. Dorothy, who was by the lake in the distance, was looking out at the vast Dazzle Star Lake from the top of Lake View Mountain through the Corpse Puppet's vision, watching the shimmering waves on the lake surface, and she couldn't help but fall into thought.
'Is this... what is described in the riddle prayer as the so-called Silver Top? Indeed... looking from the top of this mountain, almost the entire Dazzle Star Lake can be seen, it is indeed an excellent viewing spot.
'Although the Silver Top has been found, there are still no clues about the other content. Looking at Dazzle Star Lake from here, although the scenery is good, there is no unusual sight to be seen, it is all ordinary lake scenery, and there is no sign of the so-called Invisible Gate or Scythe Blade Gate... I can't see anything related to them...'
Dorothy thought this in her heart. As she thought, she focused her attention on the surface of the lake in front of her main body, looking at the calm water.
'These past two days, I have made many fish Corpse Puppets using the fish bought at the nearby fish market, and scattered them throughout Dazzle Star Lake during the day to search the conditions inside the lake, but I still haven't found anything. Besides lake sand and water plants, there are some ancient silver artifacts sunk at the bottom of the lake, but they don't have any spiritual traces, they are all ordinary items...'
Dorothy thought this. She originally thought that the Mirror Moon Goddess's temple might be at the bottom of the lake, but after searching the bottom of the lake for the past two days without finding any clues, she had to give up on this idea.
'I can't find clues outside the lake, and I can't find them inside either... Could it be that the secret of the Mirror Moon Goddess's temple can only be revealed at night? But... at night, the entire surface of this lake is monitored and blockaded by the Eight-Pointed Nest, so how can I search for things on this lake at night?'
Rubbing her chin, Dorothy sat on the grass by the lake and fell into deep thought. It was clear that as the Night Sky Empress, the Mirror Moon Goddess, who is the Lord of the'Shadow' with night and the moon as her main symbols, her temple is naturally more closely related to the night. To truly reveal the secret of the Mirror Moon Goddess's temple, Dorothy must explore Dazzle Star Lake at night, but the Eight-Pointed Nest, who also thought of this point, chose this time to begin their actions.
If Dorothy cannot break through the Eight-Pointed Nest's blockade of Dazzle Star Lake at night, her investigation will be difficult to continue.