"If the Dark Demonic Wolf is indeed preparing the ' Attendant of Mysteries ' ritual, then its whereabouts are not entirely untraceable..." Klein nodded slowly, already having some vague ideas in his mind, but he couldn't quite put them into a coherent form yet.
His instinct was to use the soil stained by the " Curtain " to Divination the whereabouts of the item and pinpoint the location of the Dark Demonic Wolf. However, considering that the other party was Angel, this method would likely disturb Him, alerting Him and causing Him to take evasive action. Klein rationally abandoned the idea and returned to the real world to ponder the whole plan.
The next day, as the frequency of lightning gradually increased, another group of Moon City residents, led by a priest named Duke, came to Gehrman Sparrow's campfire to listen to his preaching, eat mushrooms, and wait for Purification.
After each Moon City resident had been baptized, tears streaming down their faces, Klein looked around and asked, seemingly casually:
" The Sun God has instructed you to guard this place and watch out for anyone emerging from the fog."
"Yes." Duke, whose edema had been cured, knew that the high priest had already mentioned this to the messenger before him, and answered quite frankly.
Klein nodded slightly and followed up on the topic with another question:
"What would you do if you actually found someone emerging from the fog?"
Duke didn't hesitate and said directly:
"Immediately recite the name of the great the Sun God and report this matter to Him..."
As he spoke, his tone became very low, and in the end, he could no longer speak, because the Sun God, the Creator, had not responded for more than two thousand years. Even though Moon City held the most complete ceremonies time and time again and repeatedly chanted the name of the revered one, it did not receive any feedback.
"Besides this?" Klein asked astutely.
This is both a revelation of Spirituality intuition and, to some extent, a result of reasoning. It is obvious that the Ancient The Sun God and the Creator City of Silver would not have overlooked one possibility: that the person who emerged from the gray-white mist was very careful and cautious, disliked being watched or monitored, and upon discovering the Moon City patrol team, tended to use his extraordinary abilities to influence their minds, making them forget that they had seen him and forget to recite his name.
Faced with this situation, the Ancient The Sun God must have made some arrangements.
Of course, this is not absolute. If Amon's father could accurately foresee that the person who emerged from the gray mist was a novice, then there would be no need to say too much in the oracle.
However, considering that this Ancient The Sun God and Creator City of Silver even Error where he would emerge from the gray mist, Klein was skeptical of the above possibility.
Duke thought for a moment, hesitated, and said:
"Welcome that person and tell him a single word."
Klein immediately perked up, but outwardly remained calm as he asked:
What word?
Duke's lips moved a few times, as if he were imitating a sound, and then he said in a strange tone:
Chernobyl.
... Klein's mind froze for a second, then he let out a silent sigh.
In the Kingdom of Loen, in East Chester County, in a woodland.
Farmers from nearby villages gathered here to pick the unusual mushrooms that grew from tree roots, decaying wood, and bushes.
According to the kingdom's laws, this woodland and everything growing within it should belong to its owner, Miss Audrey Hall. However, the protracted war, the levy of grain, and the exorbitant taxes have made the farmers disregard breaking the law; that's something to consider only for survival. Moreover, with more people involved, their audacity naturally grows.
They formed small teams and efficiently harvested the mushrooms, dividing those covered in gold flecks or with fatty patterns into two groups: a small portion for their own consumption, and the majority to be sold to grain merchants waiting outside the woodland in exchange for gold pounds to buy necessities such as salt and cloth.
These farmers didn't go too far; aside from the mushrooms, they only took some of the fruit growing on the trees, leaving enough for the woodland keepers to hand over.
In just two or three hours, the farmers sold a large quantity of mushrooms and fruit, pocketed their gold coins, carried their rations, and returned to their respective villages with smiles on their faces.
For them, everything that happened today was what they wanted to do, and they achieved their intended goals.
The grain merchant with the bushy beard was equally pleased, as these were unexpected gains that, given the current situation, would allow him to earn a considerable sum of money.
He led his workers to move a large quantity of mushrooms and fruits to a processing point outside the city, where they were processed and then stored in a warehouse.
As a meticulous businessman, he inspected the warehouse again after dismissing the workers, and only after confirming that everything was in order did he personally close and lock the door.
Just then, he saw a thick stack of cash on the ground, all in 10-pound denominations.
"When did I lose so much money?" The grain merchant bent down thankfully and picked up the stack of banknotes.
While counting the money, he suddenly remembered where it came from:
That's the profit they made from selling those mushroom powder, dried mushrooms, and preserved fruits!
"What a generous reward!" the bearded merchant exclaimed with satisfaction, then turned and left the warehouse.
Inside the warehouse, Audrey, dressed in a light blue dress, deactivated her " Psychological Invisibility " and took out a black bag.
This is a " Traveler's Bag " that she rented from " The Judgement " Hugh.
Then, Audrey, with her blonde hair simply tied back, easily poured bags of food into a black sack.
After doing all this, she took out a hard-covered, copper-green notebook and turned to the page with the Record " Teleportation " written on it.
This is from " The Magician " Fors's " Lemano's Travel Notes ".
All that happened before was Manipulation Audrey in secret.
She first gave the rapidly multiplying mushrooms provided by the " The Hermit " to the animals in the woods, and with their help, they all "planted" them in suitable places. Then, she "influenced" the farmers in the surrounding villages, strengthening their inner desires and enabling them to overcome their fear of the law. The grain merchant and his hired hands "just happened" to pass by and discovered this.
This kind of " Manipulation " of people's hearts is captivating, like the dominion of all spirits, but Audrey didn't smile at all; instead, she sighed softly.
"It's still not enough... so much, so much more..."
The mushrooms she obtained weren't the type that Little " The Sun " had described, capable of feeding on Monster flesh and blood to grow and reproduce. They required sufficient nutrients from the environment to grow quickly. Therefore, this woodland couldn't be planted with mushrooms a second time in the short term, otherwise it would likely turn into a desert.
Gazing at the empty, deflated cloth bags, Audrey's emerald eyes flickered, and she thought, unable to suppress it:
"Large quantities of grain are concentrated in the hands of the church, the royal family, the military, the government, nobles, and large merchants..."
"They also have them in Feysac, Intis, Feynapotter, but relying solely on ' Traveler's Bag,' it would take countless trips to make enough..."
" Manipulation nobles, wealthy merchants, and the military is dangerous; one wrong move and you're discovered..."
"If the situation hadn't deteriorated to this extent, I might never have known that some people could have that side..."
"Different environments and circumstances lead to different Persona Mask; I need to be more mindful of that in the future..."
As her thoughts raced, Audrey, who lacked experience in handling similar situations, decided to consult Mr. "World" in the next couple of days to see what advice he had.
Because "The World" Gehrman Sparrow had been walking alone in the desolate, Forsaken Land of the Gods for a long time, surrounded by a dark and desperate environment, Audrey suggested that he see her regularly for psychological counseling. This didn't necessarily have to be for actual treatment; just talking to her could effectively relieve his depression, loneliness, and distress.
Gehrman Sparrow followed the doctor's orders, and Audrey learned from their conversation that this powerful adventurer, besides seeking her psychological counseling, would also occasionally chat with "Mr. The Star " above the Gray Fog, maintaining a remarkably good emotional state.
Having made her decision, Audrey immediately activated her " Travel " ability to return to Backlund.
But then, she felt a little frustrated.
She knew that even if she managed to gather a large amount of food, it would only bring peace to the residents of Backlund for a short period of time; if the war did not end, the situation would worsen.
"War..." Audrey closed her eyes, completely unsure how she could stop it.
She had heard from the " The Hermit " lady that the essence of this war was likely a war of gods, and the prelude to a war of gods was always the same: to spend a certain amount of time and effort to shake the opponent's anchor.
After thinking for a moment, Audrey pursed her lips and decided to start with what she could do first.
As the page of the notebook emitted a faint glow, her figure swiftly became transparent and vanished.
Beside the quietly burning campfire, Klein, having seen off the "guests" from Moon City, couldn't help but recall some of the words that " the Blasphemer " Amon had once said.
He said that Chernobyl contained the history He wanted to explore, and many clues to its secrets.
The Ancient The Sun God also specifically emphasized " Chernobyl "... Amidst his flurry of thoughts, Klein suddenly felt an urge to explore Chernobyl.
This wasn't an impulsive act; it was something he had always wanted to do, but he hadn't dared to put it into practice because of Amon.
I traveled eastward for more than half a year, and no one could have imagined that I would suddenly descend upon Chernobyl now... Amon obtained the last " Worm of Time " Beyonder Characteristic and is preparing for the ritual. His true form cannot still be hiding in Chernobyl... Hmm, He is a very patient Angel King, perhaps he has an avatar waiting in Chernobyl... Klein analyzed the current situation and decided to let the image in the Historical Void give it a try.
In any case, his true form will absolutely not go there directly!
After making up his mind, Klein first went above the Gray Fog to perform Divination, and then returned to the real world, reached out and grabbed his past self from five minutes ago.
As the original body disappeared, this Historical Projection gained consciousness. Then, it made several grabbing motions and pulled out the black cane inlaid with many gems.
" The Staff of the Stars "!
Klein plans to use the power of the " Staff of the Stars " to Blink directly to Chernobyl!
P. S.: Updated first, revised later.