In the dark of Mont, atop the high tower of a certain clock tower, the Corpse Puppet man, using the alias Ney, stood in the cool evening breeze, facing the young General before him, the supreme ruler of Adus. According to the information arranged beforehand via the "wen hai hang zhi", they were meeting in secret tonight to exchange intelligence.
"In my many years of treasure hunting, I have indeed come across some information about Heopolis, which I can give you. However, before that, I also want to clarify some things. How much do you know about this Heopolis? What is your purpose for wanting to go there?"
Looking at Ney before him, Shadi spoke with a solemn expression. After hearing his words, Ney also quickly replied.
"What I can tell you is that Heopolis is an important ruin of the First Dynasty. It was once called the Land of Enlightenment and was an important area of belief for the great Holy Master Judge of Heaven. We have been guided to return there. Returning to Heopolis again is a test for us, and therefore we need more information to analyze."
Ney said this to Shadi. After hearing his words, Shadi couldn't help but ponder for a moment, then continued to speak seriously.
"The Land of Enlightenment? It seems you want to further pursue that ancient power..." Shadi said this, then, staring at Ney, he changed the subject and continued to speak.
"Regarding the rumors about Heopolis, I once heard from an elder when I was serving in a former treasure hunting society. He said that Heopolis is a mysterious and magnificent ancient city. It did not belong to any of the Pharaohs' kingdoms during the First Dynasty, but was directly administered by the priestly system of the Judge of Heaven, ruled directly by the High Priest 'Heaven-Decreed Sage'. For thousands of years, many large and small treasure hunting societies and other extraordinary organizations have tried to find it and uncover its secrets, but all ended in vain, not even finding a Shadow..."
With his hands behind his back, Shadi seemed to be speaking while recalling something, then he turned his head to look at the bright moonlight outside the window and spoke again.
"Legends about Heopolis have been widely circulated among countless treasure hunting societies, and many people have been searching. But let alone finding it, no one has even been able to roughly determine its location. Therefore, many people now tend to believe that Heopolis is merely a legend and does not exist in reality at all. My elder told me this.
"'Heopolis does not exist in this world; it only exists in history.'"
Shadi said this as he recalled. After finishing these words, he turned his head again to look at Ney, who was now speaking with a slight frown.
"'Heopolis only exists in history'? What did this elder mean by that? Was it a hint? Or just a sigh?"
"That, I don't know. Regarding Heopolis, he only told me these things. I have told you all of it. As for how you understand it, and what you can figure out from it, that is your own business." With a slight wave of his hand, Shadi said to Ney. Listening to Shadi's words, Ney nodded silently, then spoke again.
"'Okay... we will see for ourselves. Thank you, General, for the information you shared. We hope it will be useful.'"
Ney thanked him thus. Hearing his words, Shadi spoke again, adding.
"Although I don't know where you got the information that Heopolis is located in Buserite, if you are really going there to look for traces of the First Dynasty, I suggest going to Bastis. Several short-lived dynasties in Buserite's history had their capitals located there. It should be the most relatively stable place in the entirety of chaotic Buserite, and the information you can gather should also be the most abundant."
"However, if you are entering Buserite with that Church mission, you will eventually get there without me telling you. After all, it is also the most populous settlement within Buserite, the place that best fits that Sister's need to'Save the World'."
"However, speaking of this, I am also very curious to ask, what is the relationship between that Sister Vanya and you now? Her relationship with you is very close. Whether it was last time in Adis or this time here, your actions are consistent. Your connection cannot be as simple as your people said last time."
"Sister Vanya has a high position in the Church and is fully supported by the Redemption Faction. You must have put in a lot of effort to influence her. Could it be... that you are currently plotting something against the Church?"
With a rather serious expression, Shadi questioned the man before him. As the current ruler of Adus, he had to constantly pay attention to his diplomatic relations with the Church. Now, after this mysterious Judge of Heaven caused the Thunder Judgment Incident and supported him in officially controlling Adus, it seemed they were again plotting something against the Church. This couldn't help but remind Shadi of when the Savior Sect otherworld attempted to hijack Adus to oppose the Church. He worried that this Judge of Heaven would eventually force him to take a side, just like the Savior Sect in Adus did back then.
"'General, you are overthinking it...'" Seeing Shadi's serious expression, Ney couldn't help but chuckle softly, then continued to reply.
"'We currently have no intentions regarding the Church; the Church is not our target. Could it be that you had that thought just now because you consider Sister Vanya to be someone we have 'corrupted'?'" Ney said this. Hearing Ney's words, Shadi paused slightly, then immediately spoke.
"'Otherwise? If Sister Vanya hasn't been 'corrupted' by you, then why would she take the immense risk of violating Church rules and get so close to you behind her superiors' backs?'"
"'Heh, General, have you ever considered this possibility: Sister Vanya getting so close to us doesn't necessarily mean she has to hide it from her superiors...'" With a smile that held a hint of deeper meaning, Ney said to Shadi. Hearing these words, Shadi couldn't help but freeze on the spot, then, as if realizing something, he asked incredulously.
"'You mean... the Church has a cooperative relationship with you? The Shining Light Church is in contact and cooperating with otherworlds?'"
"'Not all of it, at least... with one faction among them, General. I can give you a little hint: times are different now. The Church is very different from before. Those Cardinals now prefer to hold more power in their hands rather than spreading the truth of the Three Saints... As long as they can gain more power, some past taboos are now just bargaining chips.'" With a mysterious smile, Ney said to Shadi, walking towards the stairs as he spoke, seemingly preparing to leave.
"'Wait, can you tell me more about the current situation in the Church?'" Looking at Ney who was about to leave, Shadi, with a serious expression, spoke directly again, but Ney did not seem to have any intention of stopping.
"'I have said all I can. I am not authorized to say much more. Perhaps next time, I can reveal more information to you... For now, farewell.'"
Waving one hand, Ney walked down the clock tower stairs, gradually moving away amidst the creaking of wooden boards, finally disappearing into the darkness, leaving only Shadi standing there.
"Heh... listening to that puppet, there's a very serious power struggle within that Church. This can barely explain why that little Sister dared to contact that puppet's organization without fear of her superiors finding out... If her superiors also have issues, then it makes sense..."
At this moment, within Shadi's heart, the ancient undead known as Seytut spoke in a gloomy tone. Upon hearing Seytut's words, Shadi paused slightly, then also spoke in a deep voice within his heart.
"The Light Church is known for the loyalty of its faith. Even low-level clergy are very difficult to corrupt. High-level members of the Light Church are even more so. Would they really easily violate their doctrine and cooperate with heretics? It feels highly unlikely... I always feel that the possibility of what that guy said is not high..."
"You are right not to completely trust that puppet's words, but you are completely wrong in saying that all high-level 'Light' believers are loyal to their god and established doctrine... You don't understand this group of 'Light' fanatics at all." Seytut continued to speak to Shadi in a gloomy tone. After hearing these words, Shadi was stunned for a moment, then continued to speak in his heart.
"What do you mean by that? Could it be that high-level 'Light' believers are not devout enough?"
"It's not that they aren't devout enough; on the contrary, they tend to be too devout, so devout that they lose their minds and intellect. Let me put it this way: even if the doctrine and rules are set strictly and rigidly, these faith fanatics will eventually have their own understanding and views after believing for so long, and then they will stubbornly dig themselves into a hole with unwavering conviction. These understandings and views are sometimes bizarre and extremely distorted compared to the original doctrine, so much so that they can do anything in their mutual conflicts, including contacting heretics. After all, they all have their own explanations, and they are quite elaborate. At such times, unless the god they believe in personally comes down to stop and correct them, they often go astray irreversibly."
"And although the specific situation of the gods in this era is completely unclear, it is certainly basically not right. There is a complete possibility that the thinking of those high-level 'Light' fanatics will slide and deviate."
Seytut said this solemnly to Shadi. Listening to Seytut's words, Shadi couldn't help but furrow his brows slightly, then continued to speak.
"'Light' believers... can such a situation actually occur? It's truly incredible..." After Shadi murmured in a low voice, he changed the subject and continued to ask Seytut.
"By the way, just now, as you instructed, I revealed information about Heopolis to Ney. How was it? What do you think of his reaction?"
"You can't see anything special from his reaction alone. The key is whether they can truly find Heopolis based on that hint alone." Seytut continued to answer, and Shadi continued to speak.
"What if they successfully find it in the end? What does that mean?"
"It means... they have truly obtained the inheritance of the Divine Master, and they are the true revival and orthodoxy of 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) in this era... I, and a few other old fellows, should formally contact them..."
Seytut just spoke in Shadi's heart. Listening to Seytut's words, Shadi couldn't help but fall silent for a while, then put his hands behind his back and looked at the bright moon in the sky outside the window, imagining what kind of impact it would have on this world when Seytut contacted that Church.
...
"Heopolis only exists in history..."
Also within Mont, in a certain high-end hotel, Dorothy sat in her room, savoring the information she had just obtained from Ney.
"Why do I feel... that Shadi's words contain a deep meaning... Is this kind of information something that a high-level member of a regular treasure-robbing society would know?" Touching her chin, Dorothy thought deeply, and for a moment, various thoughts popped up in her mind, but due to the lack of clues, she did not delve into them deeply.
'Forget it, don't think too much for now. It's still unknown whether this strange intelligence will be useful or not. In short, everything will have to wait until we get to Buserite...'
Dorothy thought at last, then got up from her seat to wash up and prepare for rest, to conserve energy for the journey that was about to begin again.
...
Dorothy and Neff stayed in Mont for a day with Vanya's delegation, and then set off again for their true destination, Buserite. Since the Church delegation's trip was for relief, they carried a large amount of relief supplies. In addition to the Church's original escort and guards, they also directly hired a large number of local people in North Wu to serve as logistics. Dorothy and Neff, under Vanya's cover, mixed into the logistics team and traveled to Buserite with the Church's team.
After leaving Mont, the Church delegation's team first took a train to Liaka, another city in Adus. From there, the railway extending southwest from Adus had reached its end. Vanya and the others had to abandon the train and continue their journey by camel caravan, quickly approaching the border of Adus.
In the border area between Adus and Buserite, the Church delegation team encountered soldiers of the Adus Revolutionary Army who were dealing with border plague refugees here. In the centralized isolation center for the epidemic here, Dorothy and Vanya finally witnessed this disease that was spreading widely in Buserite.
Under the scorching sun, within the epidemic isolation center on the Adus border, inside a large temporary tent, Vanya, dressed in a white robe, wearing a mask and full protective gear, stood accompanied by several medical staff from the delegation. In front of them were several simple camp beds, on which lay emaciated, listless, moaning patients.
"Sister Vanya, we have examined most of the patients. The symptoms are basically pain, fatigue, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, accelerated nutritional loss... The symptoms worsen with time. Many people who have been infected for more than half a month are directly bedridden and have lost their ability to act..."
Beside Vanya, a Black Earth Stage Sister who also belonged to the Holy Mother's Path reported respectfully to her. Listening to the Sister's words, Vanya responded after a moment of thought.
"What about the fatality rate and recovery rate? How many people in this isolation center have died from this disease so far, and how many have naturally recovered?" Vanya asked her subordinate this question, and the other party answered after a slight pause.
"This... it's very strange, Sister Vanya. According to the data compiled by this isolation center, so far, there has not been a single case of natural recovery from this plague. Once infected, this disease seems unable to heal naturally. The natural recovery rate is zero."
"As for the mortality rate... it's also very strange. So far, no one in this isolation center has died directly from the plague itself or its complications. All death cases are due to the plague worsening to its peak, causing loss of mobility, and then due to severe lack of personnel and supplies, leading to lack of care and ultimately malnutrition."
"Although this disease seems incurable... it doesn't directly kill people..."