Main Continent, northern Frizland, Yarnstel.
In the central part of Yarnstel, within the Church District of the Grand Cathedral of Soul Suppression, in the Archbishop's office, Sister Vanya, who had just entered the door not long ago, froze on the spot after hearing Klama's words. At this moment, she could hardly believe her ears.
"Purification... purifying hundreds of thousands to one million people... Mr. Klama, what are you thinking!?" Standing at the door, Vanya said in disbelief, finding it hard to believe that such words came from the mouth of a Cardinal Saint of the Church.
"I am thinking about how to stop the evil conspiracy of the otherworld cult! To prevent the danger from spreading to an irreversible point! Sin Sister!" Hearing Vanya's words, Klama, who was facing Sinclair, suddenly turned around and looked at Vanya with a look of disgust. Feeling the clear hostility from the Court of Tribunal, Vanya couldn't help but feel a slight panic in her heart and subconsciously took a step back.
"You're insane, Fanbas! Purifying nearly a million people... How can you even say such a thing! You are one of the Seven Saints! Do you treat the Lord's people like ants?" On the other side, Sinclair, who had heard Klama's statement, was also extremely agitated. She pointed at Klama and accused him in an angry tone, to which Klama responded with almost equal severity.
"Yes, I am insane! But now the insane can get things done, and what about you! At this point, you still can't distinguish between important and urgent matters. With such a large-scale evil ritual, if it truly succeeds, the affected people will number far more than ten million! Far more than Frizland! When the entire northern continent's billions of lives are in irreversible turmoil, will you regret it then?!"
Klama responded to Sinclair sharply, while Vanya also furrowed her brows slightly and spoke with a serious expression.
"Mr. Klama... the cult's objective is not yet clear. We cannot simply conclude that this is a grand evil ritual based on the appearance of foreign objects in the food... A purification on the scale of millions involves extensive consequences. We should investigate thoroughly before making a judgment..."
"Investigate thoroughly... Humph... As far as I know, this problematic food has been circulating in Frizland for several months. Due to the incompetence of the local Archbishop, those otherworld cultists have had ample time to brew their evil plan. With such a long time, the preparation for the entire ritual is probably nearing completion, and it's now on the verge of being triggered!"
"I also want to investigate, but based on the current circumstances, I no longer have time to investigate. I will not gamble with something that could shake the foundation of the saint church! No one can afford to gamble! No one!"
Waving his sleeve, Klama said resolutely, while Sinclair continued to speak sternly.
"This is a matter involving nearly ten million lives. It is not something you can decide on your own! The Holy See is not here now, you must at least pass the review of the Cardinal Council!"
"Cardinal Council? Heh... Discussing with that group of foolish people at this time is simply a waste of time! When they actually made the judgment to acquit this sin Sister, I no longer believed in them!"
"Communicating with that group of foolish people is purely a waste of words. I will take control of the future of the saint church! I believe that when the Holy See returns, he will understand my intentions." Klama said with obvious resentment, clearly intending to bypass the Cardinal Council and act on his own. This made Sinclair slightly startled, then she shook her head slightly in despair and said.
"Fanbas... I know you have a strong personality and cannot tolerate any trace of the otherworld... But this is the lives of nearly ten million people after all. For the sake of the Lord's mercy, please think twice..." Seeing Klama's attitude, Sinclair's originally strong tone suddenly softened, and she began to speak to Klama in a nearly pleading manner, who immediately spoke loudly.
"What else can you do besides talk about mercy?! You speak your method! Tolerance... Compassion... Pity... Benevolence... I have heard enough of these words from people like you! But can this solve the problem? No! People like you will only be tolerant and benevolent there to gain foolish support, but when a problem truly arises, you cannot come up with any other solution! You are useless and always shouting there interfering with those who are doing proper business! It's simply disgusting!"
With obvious anger, Klama looked at Sinclair in front of him and said. Then he scanned the scene, staring at both Vanya and Sinclair as he spoke.
"Listen! My tolerance towards these people who should be purified today is cruelty towards many more innocent people! Time is of the essence! I will have everything ready by tomorrow morning and begin the purification! I will only give you one day. If you have any other methods, use this time to do it! If not, get out of Frizland, so you won't be affected!"
After saying that, Klama flicked his sleeve and led his retinue out of the Archbishop's office door with heavy steps, no longer paying attention to Sinclair and Vanya in the office. Looking at Klama's retreating back outside the door, both of them couldn't help but remain somewhat stunned on the spot.
Suddenly, Sinclair among the two moved first. She quickly walked up to Vanya, grabbed Vanya's hand, and spoke with an agitated expression.
"Va... Sister Vanya... you heard it too, that... that madman is going to kill nearly ten million innocent people on this land! Unacceptable... This is absolutely unacceptable!! Who gave that guy the power to dispose of so many lives at will! Even if he is the Judge, he can't!"
Looking at Vanya, Sinclair said excitedly, her voice trembling slightly.
"Don't be agitated, Archbishop Sinclair... Although it's extreme, Mr. Klama is also fulfilling his duty. There is still time, we will definitely find another solution before Mr. Klama acts." After stabilizing her emotions, Vanya tried to calm Sinclair down. Although it had some effect, it wasn't much, and Sinclair still looked very agitated.
"Yes... we need to find a solution, but with such a large ritual, we can't find a solution within a day. We must have more time... So the priority is to stop that madman!"
"As a Cardinal Saint... only a Cardinal can stop that madman. Sister Vanya... your close relationship with the Cup is well known. That madman was so crazy just now that he didn't even care about the Cardinal Council, but he didn't directly attack you with hatred. He probably is afraid of attracting the Cup... You should have some means left by the Cup..."
Holding Vanya, Sinclair said very seriously. Hearing Sinclair's words, Vanya also slowly nodded.
"Is that so... That's good, that proves that that madman is still somewhat wary of the Cup. Listen to me, now only the Cup can stop that madman! I've heard that the Cup and that madman had a big fight on the Holy Mountain before. Among all the Cardinals, she should have the highest ability to act against that madman..."
"So... for the lives of nearly ten million innocent people in Frizland, please, Sister Vanya, contact the Cup immediately and ask her to hurry to Yarnstel to stop that madman's actions! Of course, it would be even better if the Cup could call other Cardinals!"
"I know, Sister Vanya, you are benevolent and have been in grave danger to save thousands of lives. You will definitely not abandon the people of Frizland!"
Holding Vanya's hand, Sinclair said excitedly. Looking at the sincere light in Sinclair's eyes, Vanya was speechless for a moment. After a while, she nodded heavily and then spoke.
"Mm... I understand, I will immediately contact Mr. Amanda and inform her of the current situation here. However, you also need to hurry and find out the method to break the ritual before it starts..."
"Of course, I will do my best. As for the matter on the Holy Mountain, I'll leave it to Sister Vanya... Let's go..." Seeing Vanya's reply, Sinclair was clearly slightly relieved. Then she released Vanya's hand, gave her a solemn instruction, and left the office with her people.
For a moment, only Vanya was left in the vast Archbishop's office. With a hint of disbelief, she slowly walked to the floor-to-ceiling window of the office, looked at the scene of the Church and the City in the early morning outside the window, and couldn't help but murmur softly.
"A massive ritual affecting... tens of millions of people? This is... too much..."
...
In the early morning, somewhere in Yarnstel, in a luxurious suite of a high-end hotel.
Dorothy, in a thin white nightgown, was standing on the balcony at this moment, blowing in the cold morning wind while looking into the distance at the gradually dazzling morning glow on the horizon, her expression solemn.
'Why... Klama also knows about Frizland. I just found out about the problem with the food logistics, and he got similar news shortly after and rushed over in a hurry. Is it such a coincidence?'
With a serious expression, Dorothy thought to herself. She now realized that the situation, which had been relatively relaxed, had become extremely critical at this moment.
'Klama intends to stop the Corpse Coffin's ritual by purifying nearly twenty percent of the population of a country... and only plans to spend one day preparing before starting... In a sense, without considering the excessive sacrifice, this is indeed a feasible solution. Such a large ritual cannot withstand a significant loss of ritual materials. Without knowing how far the Corpse Coffin's ritual has progressed... it's a method to avoid gambling...'
'If in the end, even I can't find a way to solve the ritual... then there is only Klama's simple and brutal solution left. But... looking at the previous oddities, why do I always feel that things won't be that simple?'
'Also, Klama's state is a bit strange. Since he has decided to bypass the Cardinal Council and start the purification directly, why didn't he target Vanya? He has already torn off the disguise, he should have no scruples, even if he is worried about the means Amanda left on Vanya, he shouldn't just let Vanya go...'
'After all... the result of Amanda rushing over because she sensed Vanya's danger... is the same as Vanya reporting to Amanda and asking her to rush over later. Just now, Klama had a strong reason to attack Vanya... but he ended up letting her go...'
Sitting on the chair on the balcony, Dorothy thought to herself with slightly furrowed brows. At this critical juncture, she didn't spend more time thinking, but after some consideration, she immediately began her deployment.
After slowly closing her eyes, Dorothy issued her instructions in meditation. At this moment, she began to make arrangements in various aspects.
...
In the cold morning wind, high in the sky somewhere in Frizland, the enormous steel object that outsiders could not easily see was slowly flying towards the rising sun.
On the cloaked Holy Steel Ship, the Twilight Pious Shadow, many crew members belonging to the Bureau of Secrets were busy inside and out, carrying out their tasks. In the corridor near the bridge, there was a hidden Sister dressed in a black Sister's habit, covering her face, standing there and looking at the sky outside through the porthole.
Suddenly, the black Sister felt the originally stable ship suddenly begin to accelerate, and during this process, it also tilted slightly, seemingly turning. The crew members, priests, and Sisters in the corridor behind her became even busier, and the noise level on the entire ship increased.
"What happened?"
At this moment, the black Sister asked. A priest standing beside her, who had been waiting for who knows how long, answered seriously.
"Sister... our ship has just received a message from the Oracle Machine. We must immediately proceed south at full speed and return to the Holy Mountain. There is an important mission."
"Returning to the Holy Mountain at full speed now?" Listening to the priest's words, the Sister nodded thoughtfully, and then continued to speak.
"If we go back like this... won't we wait for your leader? She is performing a dangerous mission alone..."
"Our leader?" Hearing the black Sister's words, the priest of the Bureau of Secrets couldn't help but be slightly startled. After a moment's pause, he asked in confusion.
"Our leader is the Oracle Machine, isn't it? I have told you this many times. The Bureau of Secrets has always followed the instructions of the Oracle Machine since ancient times. How could the Oracle Machine perform a mission?" The priest said to the Sister in front of him. Listening to the priest's words, the masked black Sister couldn't help but nod slightly.
"Is that so... Then continue forward." After speaking, the black Sister slowly walked into the distance, and the priest who had just responded to her also quickly followed. Looking at the Sister's back, a hint of doubt couldn't help but arise in his heart.
'What a strange Sister... She doesn't belong to the Bureau of Secrets but was arranged by the Oracle Machine. She has been asking strange questions since yesterday evening... I don't know where she came from.'
Harboring these doubts, the priest followed the black Sister's back directly.
...
In the morning, the rising sun from the east had begun to illuminate the vast land of Frizland. Under the morning sun, in various cities of Frizland, people who were asleep woke up and began their new day's work. Although a severe crisis was approaching, the ignorant people were still continuing their usual lives.
The bright sunlight meant the beginning of a beautiful day, but not every inch of Frizland could enjoy the nourishment of this sunlight. In the forgotten place that everyone overlooked, dark clouds shrouded the sky.
Dark clouds covered the sky, and although it was daytime, the entire land was dead and silent. A cold chill permeated the air. On the land beneath the sky, there were vast, endless fields, and a road wound forward in the middle of the fields.
Archerry walked invisibly on this road. In a state that was almost imperceptible to anyone, she walked and observed the gloomy environment around her. Although it looked gloomy, it was unexpectedly busy.
Archerry could see that although most of the flowers, plants, and trees on both sides of the road had withered, the crops in the fields were growing very well. Figures were moving among the crops, and at first glance, they seemed to be farmers working in the fields, but upon closer inspection, it could be seen that these so-called "farmers" were all extremely thin, their clothes were tattered, and the exposed parts were not normal skin, but dark yellow bones and shriveled skin patterns. The empty eyes had long lost any trace of eyeballs...
Looking at the terrifying skeletons and mummies working tirelessly in the fields, tending to seemingly normal, vibrant crops, Archerry felt an immense sense of strangeness in her heart for a moment. She only glanced at the dead farmers a few times before turning her gaze back to the road ahead. Staring forward, she could see several carriages loaded with goods driving towards her. However, the horses pulling the carriages had long since lost their flesh and blood, and the one sitting in the driver's seat was merely a skeleton.
Yielding slightly by the roadside, Atcherly watched as the carriages of the dead passed by one by one, heading in the direction she had come from. Then, she refocused her gaze forward, ignoring the skeletons and continuing on. At the end of the road she was traveling, a massive City stood.
It was a cold and desolate-looking City under dense black clouds, shrouded in a hazy gray mist. Above the City, sky-covering dark clouds gathered into a giant vortex, and within that vortex, an ominous pale green light shone through.
That was the forgotten City of Friesland, Stinam...
"Finally..."
Looking at the Stinam City in the distance, Atcherly's expression became more solemn. She then continued her unhurried pace, moving forward in a highly concealed state. As she traveled towards Stinam, she could see that almost all the farmland beside her had not been abandoned but was being carefully tended to and growing. Carriages also frequently passed by on the road, and the entire City outskirts seemed very busy, although this busyness was created by the dead.
'Using dead people to farm, huh... Do dead people need to eat too?'
With a hint of question in her heart, Atcherly continued forward. After a short while, she finally arrived in the City and stepped onto the streets of Stinam.
The streets of Stinam were far from as busy as its outskirts. The entire street was quiet, without a single sound. Not only were there no people, but not even a single dead person was seen. All the windows and doors were tightly shut, and the entire street was desolate and gray, looking completely dead.
'There's no sign of life on the street... nor of the dead... The buildings are so well preserved, it doesn't look like there's been any large-scale fighting or anything like that...'
'Such a large City... where did all the citizens go?'
Looking at the situation on the street, Atcherly analyzed in her heart. After she had walked forward for not long, the sound of wheels and hooves stepping on the ground appeared on the street ahead of her. Atcherly saw another fully loaded carriage turn out from a corner, driven by the dead, and head towards the direction outside the City.
'Transportation is quite busy too...'
Looking at the scene before her, Atcherly decided to see where this carriage had come from. Using skilled tracking techniques, Atcherly followed the tracks of the dead carriage along the street. After turning a few corners in this dead City, she finally approached her destination, which turned out to be a huge factory.
'This is... a slaughterhouse...'
Looking at the towering factory building before her, Atcherly couldn't help but stop in place. With her sensitive nose, she could already smell an extremely, extremely strong and unsettling Fishy smell...
That was blood... it was a very large amount of thick, stale, and rotten blood that had accumulated over a long time, and it wasn't animal blood...
With a heavy expression and footsteps, Atcherly walked out of the slaughterhouse gate before her. What she stepped on next was a dark red ground, a layer of solidified blood that covered the entire ground. Atcherly could feel that its thickness was unusually thick.
Continuing forward, what Atcherly saw next were two or three carriages parked in the open space in front of the factory building. The canvas on the carriages had been lifted, and what was inside was a carriage full of flour that looked very heavy. Several skeletons were walking out of the factory building carrying buckets, which they placed beside the carriages. Then, one skeleton used a large spoon to scoop up an unknown white powdery substance from the bucket and sprinkle it into the flour in the carriage's cargo hold. Another skeleton thoroughly mixed and stirred the powder with the flour.
Seeing this scene, Atcherly paused slightly, and an ominous premonition couldn't help but arise in her heart. Then she turned around and walked towards the open factory gate of the slaughterhouse. And when Atcherly walked out from the other direction of the factory building, her face had completely darkened.
"Beast..."
Biting her teeth and with a darkened face, Atcherly suppressed her surging emotions and murmured softly. The various scenes she had explored in that factory building just now made even her, who had seen countless things in the world, feel disgusted.
Standing in place, Atcherly finally completely calmed her emotions after taking a deep breath. When she finally raised her head and looked forward, what she saw were small mountains standing tall. If she looked closely, she could see that these so-called small mountains were actually piles of clothes.
These numerous clothes, which seemed to be worn by ordinary people, were piled up on the dark red ground like this, forming several hills that had overflowed the slaughterhouse fence and spread onto the street next to it...
'Someone must pay for this... Must...'
In silence, Atcherly walked out of the slaughterhouse without a sound, then continued to wander in the empty City, searching for valuable clues.
During her search in the empty City, Atcherly gradually approached the City center. Finally, she arrived at a location she had planned to investigate, the local Church of Stinam.
In the cold wind, Atcherly looked at the tightly shut doors of the Church before her, then submerged herself and turned into a shadow, slipping through the crack in the door and entering the interior of the Church.
After looking at the empty and dusty chapel with no one in it, Atcherly began her search step by step, looking for everything of value with a professional eye. Finally, she found a clue in an empty office.
Under the desk in that office, Atcherly found an unsigned envelope. Inside that envelope, Atcherly also found half a sheet of paper. Atcherly carefully took out the paper and began to read its contents.
"Recently, the upper court, presided over by the Judge, has conducted a large-scale review of old files, combined with the latest progress in several cases involving Netherworld officials and otherworld in recent years. It was found that there were some omissions in the results of the Great Trial of Friesland sixty years ago.
"Sixty years ago, the Friesland Rectification Trial dealt with many corrupt individuals, the so-called 'Lord Judge'. During their tenure, they arbitrarily abused their power, expanded the scope of trials, and created a large number of wrongful and false cases. Although the evidence was conclusive, many of the judges involved still insisted that their verdicts were correct, the reason being that for hundreds of years, Friesland had never experienced a large-scale disaster of vengeful spirits.
"The investigation results at the time were that the 'Lord Judge' colluded with each other, deliberately concealed the situation, and confidently suppressed the vengeful spirit disaster. Many grassroots clergy and common people could testify that the vengeful spirit disaster had occurred. The 'Lord Judge' defended themselves with lies, and they may have been highly corrupted, with their souls not spared either..."
"At that time, all the 'Lord Judge' were executed, but during the review of the files today, combined with the progress of some new cases in recent years, it was found that there was still a hint of strangeness regarding the vengeful spirit disaster at that time, and therefore..."
Here, the letter in Atcherly's hand abruptly stopped, and the rest of the text was torn off and its whereabouts unknown. But even just these words alone were enough to pique Atcherly's interest.
'This... seems to be a letter from the Court of Tribunal to a subordinate Judge. Looking at the content... it should be the Holy Mountain Court of Tribunal asking the Friesland Judge to reinvestigate the events of the Rectification Trial sixty years ago...'
'If I remember correctly, that trial was presided over by the current Klama and the Archbishop of Friesland, Sinclair. This Great Trial was itself a self-rectification action by the Court of Tribunal. Because of the success of this trial, Van Basten and Sinclair both accumulated important political capital, which gave them the opportunity to touch the position of Judge.'
'According to the content of this letter... Klama presided over the Court of Tribunal's review of old files before, and found that this trial, which had a crucial impact on him, was strange, so he wanted to conduct a review... If I remember correctly... the most recent file review personally presided over by the Judge of the Court of Tribunal was at the beginning of last year, not long before Klama came to Friesland. Could it be that Klama came to Friesland in March for this matter?'
Atcherly analyzed in her heart like this, then she shifted her attention to the "vengeful spirit disaster" mentioned in the letter.
'If a person dies with extreme resentment, their soul may turn into a vengeful spirit. Many vengeful spirits gathering together can cause a vengeful spirit disaster. After the Turbid Current War, the saint church implemented religious terror rule in many places. During the trials in various places, countless wrongful cases were misjudged, and a large number of innocent people were unjustly killed.
'These unjustly killed people have stronger resentment than ordinary dead people, and there are many of them, making it very easy for them to gather together and form large-scale vengeful spirit disasters. This type of vengeful spirit disaster was quite common in the religious terror areas immediately after the Turbid Current War. It was precisely because these increasingly frequent vengeful spirit disasters were noticed by the Holy Mountain that the Cardinal Council at that time realized the seriousness of wrongful cases, which was one of the important factors for the decline of the Court of Tribunal later.'
'From this letter... it seems that there was no vengeful spirit disaster during the period of religious terror in Friesland at that time. Because there was no obvious signal of a vengeful spirit disaster, the period of terror in Friesland ended much later than in other regions. During the Rectification Trial at that time... the trial result determined that those 'Lord Judge' had concealed the situation of the vengeful spirit disaster, and there were also common people and grassroots clergy testifying...'
'Why did such a matter that had already been concluded appear strange in Klama's eyes last year when there was no problem? What did he experience after arriving in this City?'
Such doubts couldn't help but linger in Atcherly's heart. After a slight pause, she put away the half-finished letter in her hand and continued to look for other clues.
However, unfortunately, Atcherly did not find any other useful clues. She could only reluctantly leave the Church and begin to go to other parts of the City for reconnaissance.
And this time, the target Atcherly set for herself was the City center. At this moment, the black clouds in the sky above Stinam were in a strange vortex shape, and the center of that vortex seemed to be directly above the City center of Stinam. Atcherly wanted to go and see what was there?
After a short while, Atcherly arrived in the City center of Stinam in concealment. She was on the rooftop of a tall building on the side of the cross street in the City center, looking up at the sky, and then saw a scene that astonished her.
The large expanse of black clouds covering the entire Stinam City was constantly swirling in a vortex shape with the City center as the origin. In the center of that vortex, a pale green ghostly light was radiating out, and what was emitting that ghostly light was actually thousands of Ghosts!
Souls, countless souls! Tens of thousands... hundreds of thousands... and even who knows if there were over a million souls, gathered together in the center of that black cloud vortex, converging into a mass, silently wailing, shrieking, and twisting in pain.
This immeasurable number of giant Ghosts collectively formed a colossal pale green skull. That skull, which seemed to be hundreds of meters large, was in the center of the black cloud spiral, looking down indifferently at the dead land with horrifying and terrifying eyes...
...
West of the Main Continent, on the other side of the ocean, Starfall Continent.
In the afternoon, above the hinterland of Starfall Continent, in the clear blue sky, an object was moving forward at high speed.
Above the vast wilderness, a ten-meter-long, extremely ancient-looking longboat was flying at high speed in the sky. This longboat was entirely made of wood and had no canopy. Even on the gunwales on both sides, two rows of many oars extended out and were rowing at high speed. There were clearly no people, but they were rowing automatically, and at the bow of the boat, a ferocious and terrifying Dragon head was carved, roaring against the strong wind ahead.
"Achoo!"
Sitting on the high-speed flying longboat, blowing the refreshing, bone-chilling cold wind, Naifnis, who was hugging herself and constantly shivering, finally couldn't help but sneeze loudly, then spoke while chattering her teeth.
"Not... not there yet?"
"We'll be there soon, it's just ahead... Ha, you little girl finally couldn't take it. I told you to buy more thick clothes to wrap yourself in before coming up, but you didn't believe me. Now you're tasting the bitterness, right? I told you my boat's speed is not to be trifled with! See how much more obedient that kid is."
Standing at the front of the longboat, Harald, who was a Ghost, looked at Neff, who was finally unable to help but sneeze from the cold wind at high altitude, and couldn't help but mockingly say. As he spoke, he also looked at Kapak, who was sitting elsewhere in the harbor. Unlike Neff, who was wearing ordinary clothes, Kapak was directly wrapped in several layers of animal skins and was squatting there.
"Mr. Harald's Dragon boat is very fast... several times faster than any transportation tool currently popular on the Eastern Continent. It's normal for Thief Miss to not have experienced such speed before and not be mentally prepared." Hearing Harald's words, Kapak also said frankly, and Neff, who was still shivering from the cold, also responded with a tremble.
"Who... who knew it could be this... this fast? I'm not afraid of ordinary cold. But this ghost boat itself has heavy Yin energy, and you're driving so fast... This is no longer ordinary cold."
Neff said with a shiver. As an Extraordinary of the auxiliary "Cup", she had a strong physique, but the low temperature on this boat at the moment was already approaching her limit of endurance. Harald was not bragging before, his boat was really fast.
"We wasted a lot of time yesterday, how can we not go faster now? But we're almost there now. Look, you can already see the destination ahead." As he spoke, Harald turned his head to look ahead, and hearing Harald's words, Neff also couldn't help but hold onto the gunwale and stabilize herself to stand up.
"What... are we finally there?"
Neff looked excitedly into the distance. Then, on the edge of the Eastern land, at the end of the vast wilderness, a large area of ruins appeared, and behind those ruins, Neff saw a large area of Bump, which was a range of towering mountains!
After approaching the destination, Harald began to decelerate and lower the Dragon boat's altitude, heading towards that range of mountains. During this process, Naif discovered that the distant horizon began to show many large flying spirits, mostly in the form of birds, and in the wilderness below, Neff also saw many large spirits moving forward, heading in the same direction as them.
Many of these large spirits were attached to various physical entities carrying different figures. Neff could feel the power of these spirits, they were Wilderness Spirits!
"These... are all Wilderness Spirits? There are so many of them at once, it's really magnificent... This is the first time I've seen so many Wilderness Spirits at once!" Looking at the scene outside the Dragon boat, Kapak said somewhat excitedly, while Harald, who was steering the boat, responded casually.
"This is the most important Holy Land of your Shamanism. Of course, there are many spirits, you inexperienced kid."
As Harald spoke, he continued to steer the boat closer to the mountains ahead. After a short while, they had already flown over the ruins in front of that range of mountains. Neff and Kapak looked down from the Dragon boat, and what they saw was a vast expanse of broken walls and crumbling ruins. Countless broken thick stone pillars and wide foundations seemed to show the prosperity of this place in the past.
"Down here... it looks like the ruins of a city. Did this continent have such large-scale cities in ancient times?" Naifnis said curiously, looking at the scene below, while Harald answered directly.
"Of course. Don't forget, their soul king... or rather, the evil spirit king later, once established a kingdom. This was his former capital... After it was destroyed in the war, these natives were unwilling to rebuild it, so it has become like this..." Harald said, and Naifnis nodded thoughtfully after hearing it.
Just like that, Harald piloted the Dragon Boat all the way into the mountains. After flying for a while, Naifnis saw a deep rift valley appear in the towering mountains below. Harald's Dragon Boat continued to fly forward along the direction of the rift valley's opening. The further forward the rift valley went, the deeper and larger it became, gradually becoming extremely spectacular.
"Is this the Ancestor Valley down here?"
Looking at the lush river vegetation and the Wilderness Spirit in the rift valley below, Naifnis couldn't help but ask, and this time it was Kapak who answered her.
"Yes... but it's only a small part of the Ancestor Valley. According to teacher, the main body of the Ancestor Valley is the place where the four divine valleys meet. This rift valley below us is just one of them."
"The place where the four divine valleys meet?"
Listening to Kapak's words, Naifnis showed a thoughtful expression. As time passed, after the Dragon Boat flew forward for nearly a hundred kilometers, Naifnis finally saw the appearance of the Ancestor Valley that Kapak had mentioned.
On the vast, barren land covered with mountains, there were four huge rift valleys extending from the horizon in the four directions of southeast, northwest, converging towards the same central point. These hundred-meter-high spectacular and huge rift valleys became wider the closer they got to the central point. The width of the four rift valleys gradually widened as they approached the center, from tens of meters wide to hundreds of meters and nearly a thousand meters wide, finally converging into a huge basin.
In the center of the huge basin with a radius of over a thousand meters, there was an extremely spectacular geoglyph. On the ground, strange, radiating geometric circular patterns were drawn, circle after circle. In the center of the pattern, stood a hundreds-of-meters-high, huge, withered, ancient totem pole that seemed to have gone through countless years. On the totem pole, various strange and somewhat blurry runes were drawn, and at the very top, the largest drawn rune could barely be discerned as a huge closed eye.
That totem pole was the center of the basin, and at the four corners of the basin, which were the places where the four rift valleys extended and met, there were other things.
Among them, at the mouth of the eastern rift valley, there was also a huge geoglyph. Flying in the air, Naifnis could clearly see that the geoglyph drawn with simple lines depicted a giant bird soaring with spread wings.
Besides the opening of the eastern rift valley, the southern and western rift valleys did not have geoglyphs. The southern one had nothing, and the western one was a mess of lines, like a scar left after a rough scribbling out of a mistake in a notebook. And at the opening of the northern rift valley, not only was there no geoglyph, but there was a hill piled up with rocks. On that hill, countless wooden poles were stuck, and colorful strips filled with runes were tied to the wooden poles, swaying in the wind.
At this moment, next to the huge basin, there were many simple tents scattered throughout. Except for the areas near the geoglyphs and the hill, these tents were everywhere and extended onto the cliffs. Many people were moving between the tents, and wisps of smoke were rising. Combined with the wandering Wilderness Spirit, it made people feel a sense of peace.
"Is this... the main part of the Ancestor Valley? It's really spectacular..."
"Yes, this is my first time here too... I've always heard about it in stories... This sacred place shared by all tribes."
Looking at the scene below, Naifnis and Kapak couldn't help but sigh with emotion. At this moment, Harald, who was at the bow of the main ship, was gazing at the distant hill with countless colorful cloth strips fluttering, remaining silent for a while, until Kapak noticed and asked.
"Captain Harald, what's wrong?"
"Ah... nothing. We've arrived. I'll take you to that old man right away."
Saying that, Harald, who had come back to his senses, piloted the Dragon Boat in one direction, gradually lowering its altitude as he went, and finally landed on a small slope in the basin. There was a tent that had been set up beforehand, and in front of the tent, a familiar figure wearing a feather crown and a long robe was standing there waiting for them. It was Uta.
"Hey, old man, I brought the people over for you!"
"Teacher, we're here."
"Hmm... is this our first meeting in the true sense? It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Uta."
Getting off the Dragon Boat, Kapak and Naifnis greeted Uta. After nodding to Kapak, Uta politely responded to Naifnis.
"You've come a long way and worked hard... friend from across the sea..."
"You've come at the right time... The Great Wilderness Sacrifice is about to begin. The official start time is expected to be no later than tomorrow..." Uta said. Hearing Uta's words, Naifnis couldn't help but be startled.
"No later than tomorrow... Wait, Kapak said the Great Wilderness Sacrifice was going to be held within a week? How did the time suddenly get set for tomorrow?"
Naifnis said with a look of surprise, while Uta looked at the huge totem in the distance and said calmly.
"This was a temporary decision made by the True Spirit Shaman this morning... I estimate that the situation of the'Spiritual Change' has changed again..."
"Spiritual Change?" Hearing Uta's words, a hint of confusion appeared in Naifnis's eyes, and Uta slowly explained.
"The so-called Spiritual Change is a super-large-scale soul anomaly. Sometimes, it is also called a'Soul Disaster'.
"In this world, when a huge amount of spirits cannot smoothly return to the great soul due to various artificial or natural reasons, it is a terrible disaster that has a serious impact on the normal flow of spirits at the world level."
"Severe soul phenomena... But what does this have to do with the Great Wilderness Sacrifice?" Listening to Uta's words, Naifnis continued to ask in confusion, and Uta then slowly replied.
"Generally speaking, there wouldn't be any connection... The pulsation of the world's spirits has a strong and sufficient self-healing ability. Generally, even large-scale Spiritual Changes won't cause any problems, as long as the spiritual practitioners in the area where the Spiritual Change occurs can handle it. But this time is different... According to the True Spirit Shaman, the scale of the Spiritual Change he predicted this time... is simply unheard of! It probably hasn't happened in thousands of years!"
"An unprecedented scale of Spiritual Change... Has this, has this already happened? Where did this happen?" Hearing Uta's words, Naifnis said in surprise, and Uta continued to speak.
"It has initially happened... According to the True Spirit Shaman, it is on the eastern land across the sea, where an extremely huge Spiritual Change is brewing. This Spiritual Change is supported by a massive ritual. The fluctuations in its ritual structure have deeply affected the Netherworld, allowing him to even sense it...
"This Spiritual Change has already begun in part... and will soon explode completely, severely affecting both the Netherworld and the present world. The order of the world's spirit operation will be severely damaged!" Uta said with a serious tone, and Naifnis, after hearing this, swallowed her saliva and couldn't help but speak again.
"So... the Great Wilderness Sacrifice can deal with that powerful Spiritual Change?"
"The Great Wilderness Sacrifice cannot, but the thing the Great Wilderness Sacrifice brings out can." At this moment, Harald on the side spoke. Under the curious gaze of Kapak and Naifnis, he looked at the eastern rift valley and continued to speak.
"What do you call that thing... that big bird, it seems to dislike Spiritual Changes, so you use this sacrifice to call it out."
"That's right, Soen the Soul Burier, the maintainer of the world's spirit order. When the spirit order is severely unbalanced and difficult to adjust on its own, following the ancient precepts, the True Spirit Shaman and we should gather here to hold the Great Wilderness Sacrifice and awaken the Soul Burier from slumber. He will carry out the will of the great soul and fly to the problematic area to correct the spirit order..." Following Harald's words, Uta continued, and Naifnis's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What... This Great Wilderness Sacrifice is a ritual to awaken a deity? You want to summon that... Soen the Soul Burier, and let He solve the Spiritual Change?"
Naifnis said in disbelief, and Uta continued to nod in response.
"Yes, this is our duty. When the spirit order is severely threatened, we call upon the Soul Eagle with the agreed-upon ritual to correct the order. At this time, the imbalance on the Eastern Continent cannot be repaired by human power. We must rely on the power of a deity..."
As he spoke, Uta turned his head and looked into the distance. After scanning countless tents, he focused his gaze on the center of the valley, beneath the huge ancient totem. At this moment, four figures dressed in brighter and more luxurious clothing were sitting cross-legged there.
They wore larger and more complex feather crowns than Uta, and were draped in colorful ribbon robes filled with spells. They sat facing each other in the four directions of the ancient totem, silently meditating with their eyes closed. From their appearance, there were three wrinkled old men and one seemingly young man. They were the only ones present who could approach the ancient totem. Many tribal people were outside, respectfully worshipping them. Naifnis, following Uta's gaze, couldn't help but feel a surge of curiosity.
"That is..."
"Those are the four Great Shamans. Below the True Spirit Shaman, they are the four most respected people on this entire land, the wisest people... They will be the main force assisting the True Spirit Shaman later." Uta explained to Naifnis. Hearing Uta's words, Kapak couldn't help but cast an envious look in their direction. Just then, Harald, who was floating to the side, spoke again.
"Great Shamans... Hmph, it's nothing special. It's not like I haven't dealt with those guys before. Old man, you just praised their knowledge, but honestly, I feel your level of knowledge is about the same as theirs... maybe even better than one or two of them."
"Heh... Captain Harald is too kind. I am just an ordinary tribal Shaman. How can I compare to the Great Shamans..." Hearing Harald's words, Uta immediately said humbly, while Harald spoke directly again.
"Ordinary tribal Shaman? Hmph, I don't believe it. I don't believe an ordinary level Shaman knows how to spiritualize me. Just be honest with me, what is your background?" Harald continued to press, and Uta, upon hearing this, replied somewhat helplessly.
"This... I really am just an ordinary Shaman, with no other special qualities. It's just that I've traveled more than other Shamans and know more things. Please don't overthink it, Captain."
"Still trying to fool me? I don't believe it..."
Just like that, Harald and Uta began to argue back and forth. Harald insisted that Uta was special, while Uta firmly denied it. This scene made Naifnis feel a surge of confusion.
'This Utar Shaman... feels somewhat extraordinary. Sometimes he doesn't seem like a Chalk... So when that barbarian spirit said Uta was unusual, I believed it... But now Uta is strongly denying it, and his expression doesn't seem fake... What exactly is going on?'
Looking at the argument between the two sides before her, Naifnis thought to herself in confusion. Just then, in the center of the valley, next to the ancient totem pole, among the four Great Shamans who were meditating, the extremely young Great Shaman suddenly opened his eyes and turned his head to look in one direction. The direction he was looking was the direction where Naifnis and the others were.
The young Great Shaman, with his eyes slightly narrowed and his face painted with oil, was thinking about something at this moment, though what it was remained unknown.
...
Main Continent North, Friesland.
Sunset and moonrise, the day was over. As dusk faded, the heavy, dark night once again enveloped the entire Arnster.
Lights dotted the streets of Arnster, and in the dark night sky above the brightly lit City, a huge steel warship, hundreds of meters long like an iron Corpse Coffin, was flying rapidly from a distance, sailing towards an unknown target under the cover of the night, which the mortals below could not see clearly.
"Holy Steel Ship... Sister of Annihilation?"
In the City center of Arnster, on the roof of the Soul Requiem Church, Sinclair, dressed in a solemn Archbishop's robe, gazed at the huge steel ship flying into the distance in the dark sky, and couldn't help but mutter softly.
"Finally here... Savior Cardinal, Saint Amanda..."
"Yes... Captain Amanda has arrived. This should be as you wished..."
Just as Sinclair's soft murmur fell, a voice familiar to her sounded behind her. Hearing this voice, Sinclair slowly turned around and saw a face that did not surprise her.
"Ah... Sister Vanya, good evening." Looking at the white-robed Sister in front of her, Sinclair said with a smile, and then she bowed slightly.
"Thank you for finding the Savior Cardinal in time... Finally, the innocents of Friesland have a chance to be saved..."
The evening breeze gently blew the white Sister's robe. Vanya looked solemnly at Sinclair, who was bowing to her, without much joy on her face. She said in a steady tone.
"I have found Captain Amanda... So, Archbishop Sinclair, have you found a way to lift the ritual now? You know... it's not enough for us to just stop the Cardinal, only by lifting the ritual can we truly complete the salvation..."
"Ah... about that, we have used all our strength to investigate seriously, and there has been some progress. I think we will be able to find a way soon..."
Sinclair said to Vanya. She met Vanya's gaze, but when she didn't see the same gentle and kind eyes as she had in the morning, her expression couldn't help but stiffen.