Crafting Trump Cards (Handsome Guys and Pretty Girls, Come Take a Look)

Jacques turned and left at once. Going back was the best choice; she should follow him.

Whether they reported the abnormalities in Dorsal Fin Village or simply forgot everything that had happened here, either way would let them escape danger.

If they got involved now, they might have to face a priest of the Steel Breed, someone who could possibly control Nest Beasts, and a patient afflicted with Whale-ification Disease.

The two of them were merely clergy who had yet to mature. Throwing themselves into these matters would be overestimating themselves—an utterly unwise choice.

Isabella also carried the dream of reviving her family. Under such circumstances, did she truly need to risk her life for the people of a few small villages?

This time, Isabella understood how the people in The Church whom she so deeply despised had come to be.

They had been shaped by choice after choice like this.

If she chose to flee with Jacques today, then whenever she faced similar matters in the future, she would instinctively look back to today for an answer.

When trouble arose, she would choose to run away.

Then, little by little, she would cast aside the Precept of guiding all living beings and preserving order that The Church taught. Even the kind nature born from her ability to resonate and empathize with others' emotions would vanish as a result.

Gradually, she would become one of those people she herself despised.

And then, one day, an innocent young girl would burst into her life, voicing some "naive and childish" opinions while looking at her with contempt in her eyes.

At that time, she would be stung. Then she would suddenly begin recalling the past, lamenting that her youth was gone, before either regretting it all or stubbornly clinging to her ways.

But no matter how she imagined it, that appearance would be ugly.

"Jacques, you need to keep an eye on the merchant caravan that is about to leave. Secretly place the information from here among their goods, and make sure The Church in Tail-Wagging Town receives it."

The Church had certain secret means of communication, such as Divine Secret Language, which generally only clergy could understand.

Merchant caravans needed to undergo inspections when entering a town.

Even if these people were smuggling Whale Skin Mine, they would inevitably have some cover goods exposed to the priests and Paladins conducting the inspection.

The secret message would then be discovered, allowing The Church to receive the news.

"Of course, if you leave now, that's still fine." Isabella did not want to interfere with Jacques's choice.

"The transfer order from Tail-Wagging Town was very clear. As long as you leave, you'll still be a member of the Dartmenly Family, still a Paladin. You won't be affected by the turmoil here."

"Jacques, I hope you can put aside those emotions and make your choice seriously."

"This may be the turning point of our fate."

"No. I'll stay and investigate this properly." Jacques's gaze gradually hardened. If he left now, he would spend the rest of his life living in unease.

Once they had made their decision, the two began moving swiftly.

Meanwhile, Naimus narrowed his eyes as he waited for movement from Isabella or the Old Priest.

He was certain that once the veil concealing the strange events in Dorsal Fin Village had been pierced, this matter could no longer be settled quietly.

He would let Isabella take the lead and probe the Old Priest's true strength. Only then would it be his turn to act.

"The most critical thing right now is the power of faith that belongs to me." Naimus realized that this was truly not something he could rush.

"Unless..." Naimus's thoughts drifted to the past. Before falling into the Abyss, he had possessed another identity.

Perhaps, back then, he had accumulated some power of faith that belonged to himself.

But Naimus was not certain whether he could still access that former human identity.

"And once I touch that thing, it may very well draw the God of Precepts' attention. I need to consider it carefully."

By noon, Naimus deliberately gathered with a group of young people and lit a fire.

Using bones, cured meat, mushrooms, wild greens, and similar ingredients, they cooked a pot of soup.

Young people's minds had not yet become so rigid. As they gathered around, they listened to Naimus talk about Gas Spring City.

The dazzling extravagance of a great city was beyond anything these people from small villages could dream of.

Much of what they imagined was still at the level of believing that city dwellers had endless cured meat to eat—the emperor's golden hoe.

Naimus merely spoke of a few things Nigel had once seen, and these young people froze in place. Even the bowls of soup they held stopped before their mouths, as though they were pondering all the splendor and richness of that world.

"Not bad desires..." Naimus slowly collected the desires rising within them.

This was one of the primary materials for summoning Demons.

Ordinary people, without a method to collect desires, could only choose blood sacrifice.

At the instant they killed someone, they would stir the emotions of that person's soul to attract Demons.

But Naimus could not use such a wasteful method.

A person could be used in many ways. Simple sacrifice would only waste most of the useful things.

As long as one understood the rules, summoning Demons was absolutely the most cost-effective choice.

Demons flooded the Abyss like a disaster. Most of them wanted to come to the Material Plane and take a bite of fresh flesh and souls.

A Lesser Demon had to hunt at least several hundred of its own kind before it could advance using their flesh and souls.

But with humans, perhaps only half that number was needed.

And most importantly, humans were very weak at resisting.

Hunting one's own kind was like a Beast hunting prey of its own size in the wilderness. One careless move could lead to injury, and then the injured hunter would become someone else's prey.

There was no such worry in the Material Plane.

And because they were summoned here, if they encountered danger in the Material Plane, they still had the option of retreating to the Abyss.

Of course, in recent years, summoning Demons had become rather troublesome for those who did not know the trade.

Those Wizards liked summoning Demons as magical materials, ruining the market.

Wizards learned quickly. In the early days, mages had merely been little followers trailing behind Demons. Once they gradually escaped Demon influence, they began modifying Demon summoning beyond recognition.

After all, as naturally supernatural creatures, even a single drop of Demon blood counted as supernatural material.

Thus emerged a group of Wizards who used all sorts of methods to deceive Demons that were not particularly clear-headed into coming to the Material Plane. Then they used contracts, magic arrays, and other methods to cut off the Demons' retreat, raising them as materials.

From then on, the Demons of the Abyss grew increasingly wary. Every time they were summoned, they had to test the energy reactions outside.

Once they detected the energy fluctuations of a Wizard, the summoning would very likely fail because of it.

Fortunately, as one of the Demons, Naimus naturally knew how to summon Demons efficiently.

Once he had made all these preparations, Naimus had another trump card.

But at that very moment, Naimus heard a violent commotion coming from nearby.

There must be an author's note.