Although Shade had already heard Wei Ge mention some local matters while chatting with the Witch that afternoon, he still wanted to look into the Local Black Market's intelligence.
The merchant in the black silk top hat accepted the banknotes and invited Shade into a separate reception room to the side.
The room was not large, furnished only with wooden tables and chairs. A Kerosene Lamp hung above the tabletop.
"Our area is fairly peaceful. Though troops are stationed outside the city, after they stopped those refugees from elsewhere, inside the city has changed little from before the war began. The biggest recent event is that Mr. Gerald Delong, the Thirteenth Ring Warlock known as the 'Construct Master,' who had originally been stationed in the Weilun Dai'er Diocese, returned from the diocese to the Creation Church's headquarters.
"So there are currently three Thirteenth Ring Warlocks here. Aside from the 'Construct Master,' there is Mr. Miguel Conti, the 'Scarlet Sage,' who also belongs to the Creation Church, and Sister Sophia Lopez, the 'Grieving Nun.'"
The Black Market Merchant knew such information because news of Thirteenth Rings was meant to deter enemies in the first place. The [Creation Church] currently had five Thirteenth Rings in total. Besides those three, there was Mr. Sari Pirot, the "Iron Right Hand," stationed in Tobesk City, and Mr. Chris Evans, the "Illusion Master," who had participated in many major events.
The capitals of both the North and South Kingdoms had originally been guarded by Thirteenth Rings of the Creation Church, which also reflected the [Creation Church]'s influence over this world in the age of the Steam Revolution.
And for three Thirteenth Rings to be gathered at the headquarters was clearly not a normal situation:
"What happened here? If I remember correctly, the headquarters of the Five