89. News

Roy came up behind Jasper, put his hand on his shoulder, and whispered to him before he could lift the linen cloth, "Don't lift it, Jasper. Have you forgotten Priest Anderson?"

Jasper hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said to Roy, "It said it would tell me how it convinced the teacher if I would uncover the linen."

A hoarse voice echoed again from behind the bronze Bronze Mirror covered with linen, "I can make Magic Contract with you. If you're willing to lift the curtain on this mirror, I'll tell you what Anderson and I talked about that night..."

Roy ignored the voice and stared at Jasper, saying, "Whatever it said to Priest Anderson... it turns out it didn't convince Priest Anderson at all."

"How did you know?" Jasper asked, puzzled.

Roy chuckled and whispered in Jasper's ear, "If he could have convinced Priest Anderson, it would have escaped long ago. Why would it still be trapped here? Don't be silly, Jasper, it's just scared, but it can't leave and wants your help..."

Jasper took a deep breath. "Roy, you're right!"

After saying that, he picked up the Bronze Mirror again and walked towards the Main Hall.

No matter how much the hoarse voice in the Bronze Mirror pleaded with him, Jasper remained unmoved.

The warehouse wasn't far from the Main Hall. After Roy, Jasper, Abbott carried the four Bronze Mirror covered with linen into the Goddess of Freedom Temple, the sounds inside the Bronze Mirror abruptly stopped.

Perhaps sensing the sacred aura within the Main Hall, the spirits reflected in the four Bronze Mirror became docile.

Priest Theodore sat on a bench at the back of the Main Hall, looking somewhat dejected, as if he had finished his questioning.

Although the outcome is unknown, it seems that Priest Theodore is not in a good mood...

High Priest Sandike Amos stands beneath the statue of Goddess of Freedom in the Main Hall.

Neat hair, serious face, and sharp eyes made Roy and his companions shut their mouths as soon as they entered the temple.

High Priest Sandike Amos instructed the three Novice Priest to place the Bronze Mirror in front of the Goddess's relief statue, then walked to a Bronze Mirror, reached out and lifted the lining cloth...

When he saw the Bronze Mirror, his pupils contracted sharply, and a dense and pure holy light immediately appeared in his palm.

A scream immediately came from the Bronze Mirror...

"You pathetic souls, completely forgotten by that self-righteous woman, instead of going to Gorfito to wait for your deaths, you actually came here to deal with an innocent dead soul. Come on, purify me with your holy light, and then let those things of the Dark Land tear you to shreds. This is the law of survival of the fittest, and it makes perfect sense!"

The woman in the Bronze Mirror finished speaking quickly...

Roy, Jasper, and Abbott, standing opposite High Priest Sandike Amos, only saw a wisp of smoke in the holy light. A pale blue outline of a soul appeared above the Bronze Mirror and drifted towards the temple dome...

Then, High Priest Sandike Amos began to carefully examine a Bronze Mirror, saying as he did so, "This is a vessel containing a soul with its own magical seal. The designer was very ingenious; the souls inside have been completely purified..."

Finally, he wrapped the linen around the Bronze Mirror.

Turning to look at Roy, Jasper, and Abbott, he asked Roy, "What's your name?"

"Roy."

"Roy, listen, when did you see Priest Anderson chatting with the spirits in the mirror in the warehouse?"

High Priest Sandike Amos stared at Roy and asked, his clear eyes seemingly able to see into Roy's heart.

Roy paused for a moment, but did not look away. Instead, he met the gaze of High Priest Sandike Amos, looking him in the eye.

"After the last gathering at the temple, Jasper and I were cleaning the Main Hall. We needed to move a few benches to the storeroom. Although the Main Hall is a large room, it looks messy if there are too many benches. We usually move the last two rows of benches to the storeroom," Roy said.

"When we moved the bench to the warehouse, we saw Priest Anderson sitting in the chair, talking to a Bronze Mirror, but I didn't hear anything else at the time..."

High Priest Sandike Amos then questioned Jasper, Abbott, and the other two in turn.

The questions are essentially: Has Priest Anderson been behaving strangely lately? Were they present when Priest Anderson performed his séance, and what did they see...?

Actually, Roy remembered quite clearly the incident of seeing Priest Anderson talking in the warehouse that day, because when he later saw the mirror on the Black Pearl, he immediately remembered that there was something wrong with the mirror in front of Priest Anderson.

The investigator then had the men sign their names on the parchment he was making notes on before waving to the three Novice Priest, signaling that they could leave.

After Roy and the others left the Main Hall, High Priest Sandike Amos remained silent for a moment before speaking to High Priest Reed:

"I will report this matter truthfully to the High Priest, and I will also take these four Bronze Mirror back to headquarters."

"Priest Anderson's situation can be defined as a failed Divine Descent ritual, which led to Priest Anderson's return to the embrace of the gods..."

High Priest Sandike Amos addressed High Priest Reed and Priest Theodore.

He walked back to the base of the Goddess of Freedom Statue, turned around, and waved to High Priest Reed and Priest Theodore.

When High Priest Reed and Priest Theodore approached, he lowered his voice slightly and said:

"In addition, I have brought two notices from the High Priest with me this time."

He paused for a moment and said:

"The first thing I need you to do is keep an eye on the movements of the Moon God Temple. During this period, the Moon God Temple has been constantly causing us trouble. The reason I came out to investigate the cause of death of Priest Anderson was because I suspected that the Moon God Temple had done something behind the scenes. But now it seems that Anderson's death is not directly related to the Moon God Temple."

Priest Theodore's expression was slightly unnatural...

High Priest Sandike Amos glanced at him, then lowered his eyelids and continued, "The second thing is to inform you two that the Dark Gate is currently under construction in Gorfito. The first batch of the Temple Legion has already assembled in Gorfito. Once the portal to the Dark Land is completed, the first vanguard of the Elf Continent will soon head to the Dark Land."

High Priest Reed and Priest Theodore have been waiting for this notification, and it seems that the Goddess of Freedom Temple in Castleton has not been spared either.

High Priest Sandike Amos said:

"Although Castleton City may be the last Expeditionary Force to depart in the order of departure, I must still remind you two... to prepare in advance."

He glanced at High Priest Reed, a look of dissatisfaction on his face:

"Just a reminder, although the Holy Wisdom Holy Grail of Wisdom Holy Grail that your temple lost was a replica, it's still quite important to you because you need to participate in the Temple Expeditionary Force. Once you enter the Dark Land, that world is completely cut off from the Holy Light, and without the Wisdom Holy Grail during your campaign, you won't be able to replenish your Holy Light..."

High Priest Reed and Priest Theodore exchanged bewildered glances, both of them revealing shock in their eyes.

High Priest Sandike Amos added:

"Yes, only the Wisdom Holy Grail... even a trace of divinity, can give birth to holy light on the battlefield of the Dark Land."

"Did you two understand?"

High Priest Reed and Priest Theodore replied simultaneously, "Understood."

"Alright, you two—let's encourage each other!"

After saying this, High Priest Sandike Amos turned around and walked to the Bronze Mirror, putting them into his Magic Pouch.

Before it got dark and while there were still people setting up stalls at the Fish Market, Roy hurriedly ran Fish Market and bought four Blue Mackerel before carrying the fresh fish home.

He didn't intend to eat those four fish himself.

He was going to feed the pan-fried fish fillets to Mrs. Winnie's Night Blade Leopard.

Otherwise... Roy even had a feeling that if he dared to walk past the Potion Shop alone, the Night Blade Leopard might break free of its chains and show him with some real action that he shouldn't test a Night Blade Leopard's patience.

Seeing Roy walk by carrying four Blue Mackerel, the Night Blade Leopard, lying in its den, finally let out a lazy yawn...

In the temple, Roy saw High Priest Sandike Amos holding a silver scepter. Although it looked new, neither the patterns nor the jewels on the crown at the top of the scepter were comparable to the one lying under Roy's bed.

When I got home, I first marinated the Blue Mackerel, then changed out of my clothes, and washed them together with the skirt that Ms. Belinda had changed out of but hadn't had time to wash yet. I then hung them on the clothesline on the second-floor terrace to dry.

After doing all this, Roy returned to the cabin and retrieved the Holy Scepter hidden under the bed...

It felt heavy, definitely more substantial than the one in High Priest Sandike Amos's hand.

Roy tried to swing his arms twice with one hand, but with his current arm strength... it was still very difficult, unless he used both hands.

Roy tried casting a ' Strength Blessing ' on himself, which helped a little, but it was still a bit too much.

It seems that it won't work for now. Roy glanced at the Wooden Hammer hanging on his waist. He had borrowed it from the Elf Academy and hadn't returned it yet.

Roy deftly fried the fish, then placed it on a wooden plate, carried the plate out of his house, and walked along Brown Street toward the Potion Shop at the street corner...

The Night Blade Leopard nimbly emerged from its den, a chain still around its neck, and hid behind a low wall of bushes near the front door. It cautiously peeked out and looked at Roy, who was slowly walking towards it carrying a wooden tray, letting out a 'woof' sound.

Roy followed the sound and placed the wooden tray in front of the Night Blade Leopard. He then saw Sabrina, dressed in Apricot Yellow Dress, standing behind him, holding several thick books, leaning forward and looking at him with curiosity...