It has been two weeks since the eight candidates of Sorcerer Supreme Tournament came to San Venganza.
Each of them took action and began to carry out what they thought was "rescue".
Loki, this Princess of Asgard, prankster and God of Mischief, together with her silly old brother, first found the mayor.
"What? San Venganza Is there gold buried under the ground?"
The mayor met the two strangers in his office, and then learned a surprising news.
"That's right."
Loki adjusted the tortoiseshell glasses on the bridge of his nose and said seriously.
She changed her outfit, wearing a black lace hat and a pair of long riding boots.
Wearing a half turtleneck white shirt and suit trousers makes you look particularly smart and dashing.
Of course, it fits the image of a female scholar she designed.
"We are geologists from the Royal Academy of England. After careful investigation and repeated confirmation, we believe that there are huge gold reserves buried under the town."
Seeing the suspicion on the mayor's face, Loki spoke firmly and pulled out a stack of drawings from the satchel hanging on his waist, which described the topography and landforms near the town.
If you want to win people's trust, act like a professional.
Loki thinks that there is no problem with her impersonation.
The mayor's distrust must come from Thor.
He's more like a bodyguard than a geologist.
"Mr. Mayor, look, here and here, there is gold that has not been discovered or mined yet."
Loki pointed at two places and lowered his voice.
"I have explored the composition of the rocks nearby and verified the age. It can be initially determined that a gold mine with rich reserves is located underground at San Venganza."
She said excitedly and danced.
The expectant eyes and excited tone constitute superb acting skills.
Thor, who was standing aside, almost began to wonder if there really was a gold mine waiting for the residents of the town to mine it.
"Then what do you want to do?"
Undoubtedly, the mayor was moved.
There was indeed a gold rush in the western region, attracting an endless stream of adventurers in the past century.
With dreams of getting rich, they took the train and traveled long distances to this desolate land.
At that time, everyone said that the West was full of gold.
They lie exposed on the riverbed, and simple digging can yield chunks and chunks of gold.
However, in fact, not many people in the vast gold mining brigade made a fortune from this.
The ones who really made the first pot of gold were the businessmen who provided services to the gold diggers.
"We can provide professional advice, mining methods, and some machinery and equipment."
Loki acted very shrewdly, and she made a condition. "But I need a large number of workers to carry out excavation work."
"This is no problem. However, how should the salary be settled?"
The mayor stroked his beard.
He already believed in the two foreigners in front of him.
Although the gold rush in the western region has long passed, people's yearning for gold and their desire to get rich overnight has never cooled down.
If there is an undiscoverable gold mine waiting to be mined underground at San Venganza.
Well, this is good news for everyone.
"That's exactly what I wanted to say."
Loki smiled slightly, as if he had already thought about it.
"The reason why I found Mr. Mayor is that I hope you can lean in this aspect and reach cooperation."
"Workers' remuneration is a huge expense. I need to purchase mining equipment and hire a professional team, which will inevitably consume a lot of money in the early stage."
The mayor frowned slightly, understanding what Loki meant, and asked uncertainly, "You mean, I will bear the workers' compensation..."
"That's right. This is like investing in a stock. For every ounce of gold mined in the future, you will have one-third of it, Mr. Mayor."
Loki said slowly.
The mayor hesitated, thought about it for a while, and finally nodded vigorously.
Westerners are always irresistible to the temptation of gold.
"San Venganza has no gold."
Walking out of the mayor's office, Thor scratched his head and said.
He doesn't know why Loki bothers to weave a lie. Will this help in passing the test?
"I know. But people are hungry for gold."
Loki put his hands behind his back and said with a slightly raised corner of his mouth, "The residents of San Venganza's town sold their souls to the devil and became degenerates."
"So, every night, those desires of violence, greed and killing will prompt everyone to commit evil acts like Beast."
"The test question set by Vishanti is 'rescue'. But what is rescue?"
"Let them be saved and ascend to the kingdom of heaven?"
"This is impossible. The fallen who betrayed God cannot be forgiven."
"A lot of wealth, a good life, a bright future... these are the things people aspire to."
"I give San Venganza people a goal and let them dream about it. Isn't this a kind of salvation?"
Princess of Asgard smiled slyly, San Venganza's day and night are two sides of the same body.
She believes that as long as the town residents can find some way to calm down during the day, they can be saved at night.
"Dreams are the easiest thing to feel satisfied."
Loki whispered softly, with complex emotions hidden in his eyes.
"But they will always wake up."
Thor said hesitantly.
Loki, who was walking in front, raised his chin and said proudly, "Don't forget, I am a master of illusion."
"Dark Dimension is Mind Stone a peaceful place, and it is Eternity a place of immortality. There is no concept of time there, and there is no death."
Kaecilius Like a pious preacher, he distributed handwritten leaflets and kept talking.
At the beginning, the residents of San Venganza maintained an attitude of rejection, ridicule and contempt for this heretic.
But in the next few days, Kaecilius showed an unusual side.
He was like an ascetic who had never eaten.
After five or six days, not a drop of water came in.
Still energetic and rosy.
In addition to distributing leaflets and announcing doctrines every day.
Just sit at the entrance of the town and meditate.
People's curiosity began to grow, and they took the initiative to approach Kaecilius and asked what the specifics of Dark Dimension and Dormammu were.
"Dormammu is the ruler of Dark Dimension. His believers will be able to obtain eternal life after returning to the embrace of darkness."
Kaecilius said seriously.
He spread his hands, and a bright and warm light slowly emerged.
Seeing such a miraculous sight, the small town residents began to understand more deeply, and then some of them became believers.
In this way, San Venganza Protestantism appeared.
Every day, Kaecilius brings an increasing number of believers to pray and preach together.
It only took more than a week from the beginning of a few or two to the massive momentum.
"Did you learn this at Kamar-Taj?"
Mordo stopped Kaecilius, who was about to become the leader of the religion, and asked coldly.
Behind his head, the triple halo was bright and dazzling.
The powerful aura of the legendary mage rose up.
"Spiritual belief is an indispensable thing for everyone."
Purple-black lines bloomed in Kaecilius's eyes, and Dark Dimension's energy eroded his body, while also providing him with a steady stream of abundant magic power.
"When I was most helpless, I heard about Sorcerer Supreme and I heard about Kamar-Taj, so I spent everything, went through trials, and finally found the legendary place."
"When the Ancient One showed those 'miracles' and opened the door of magic, I thought I had met the Mentor of Mind Stone, and I believed everything he said."
"But he's a liar, Mordo."
Kaecilius looked at his former classmate from afar, with a sneer on his lips.
In the instruction of Kamar-Taj, it is expressly prohibited that Mystic Arts Master can only worship Vishanti and must not come into contact with other Dimensional Demon God.
Even using spells, such as Cyttorak's Crimson Bands, Raggadorr Rings.
That's just a temporary loan, not a contract and full trust.
"The Ancient One, he violated his oath."
Kaecilius said angrily.
"Behind the mask of Sorcerer Supreme's brightness, greatness, and selfless dedication, he is actually an old liar!"
Mordo pursed his lips. He didn't believe what Kaecilius said.
A magic wand suddenly appeared, and wisps of electric light lingered, exuding an aura of destruction.
"What? You want to solve the problem through force?"
Kaecilius glanced at the increasingly dazzling triple halo, which was the embodiment of the spirit of the three great mages who signed a contract with Mordo.
He didn't think he would lose to Mordo.
In fact, if Strange's contractor was not too powerful, he would have ended the second game in a simple way that was beyond everyone's expectations.
Kaecilius is ready to make a real settlement with Mordo at that time.
"I will defeat you openly and openly, after passing the test of Vishanti."
Mordo was silent for a moment, then turned and left.
The grudge between him and Kaecilius will be settled later.
The top priority is to complete the last game and get the approval of Vishanti.
Kaecilius uses faith and religion to deceive and fool the residents of San Venganza in order to "save" them.
In Mordo's opinion, this is just a crooked way and will not last long.
If you want to redeem those fallen souls, you can only rely on the right path.
"The incompleteness of your limbs does not mean that your Mind Stone and your soul are also incomplete."
Mordo said this.
He learned from Sorcerer Supreme and showed patience, tolerance and kindness.
Try to save every decadent and desperate poor person, and tell them how the spirit can control the body.
Unbelievable medical miracles continue to appear in San Venganza.
A paralyzed patient who cannot stand on his legs can actually run.
The blind old man regained his sight.
Those who are down, get up again.
Soon, Mordo was regarded as a master and gained a group of staunch fans.
"Stephen, have you figured out how to practice your own way of 'rescue'?"
Seeing Strange who looked sad and clueless, Luke asked jokingly.
"Loki treats the town residents as donkeys, dangles a carrot in front of them, and uses gold to drive workers to work hard and make efforts. As long as the beautiful dream is not broken, everything can be maintained."
"Kaecilius became a religious leader, preaching, praying, and promoting doctrines every day. He told everyone that reality is full of life, old age, sickness, and death, but Dormammu's Dark Dimension has eternal life and tranquility."
"Mordo cures the physical disabilities of small town people while teaching them how to face life."
"Doctor Voodoo, Magik... everyone is actively completing the Vishanti exam questions."
Strange The more he listened, the more he frowned.
After a while, he shook his head and said, "I don't know what to do."
"If I can't even save myself, how can I save others?"
A trace of self-mockery appeared on Strange's face. He was once a doctor who pursued fame and fortune and was blindly proud.
A car accident knocked him from the upper class life of the elite into dust. After losing everything and being reduced to the bottom, he began to reflect on his previous mistakes.
"I can't understand them."
Strange said this.
"The residents of the town of San Venganza, they were deceived by Mephisto into handing over their souls."
"If I were the former Stephen-Doctor Strange, I would feel that this is the price I should bear."
"I would stand on high and laugh at their stupidity."
Luke nodded, this is indeed a common style of the elite class.
Ridicule those who have made mistakes, criticize them for their ridiculousness, and express their opinions by the way.
"But now I am Sorcerer Strange, a guy who has suffered and found himself."
"So, I naturally sympathize with them and want to save them."
"But how to do it, I have no idea."
Strange showed his confusion unabashedly. He didn't think what his competitors were doing was very effective.
Deceptive lies will always be exposed. Blind faith is a rootless tree. If you give kindness without knowing it, you may not be able to gain kindness...
It is already so difficult to save a person.
How to save three thousand people?
"Can you teach me?"
Strange looked at his contractor.
"To be honest, I have no experience in this area."
Luke shrugged. Seeing a hint of disappointment in Strange's eyes, he smiled and said, "But, I have a suggestion that is neither too good nor too bad."
"When you don't know what to do, you might as well put yourself in Sorcerer Supreme's position."
Strange was silent for a long time, and his frown slowly relaxed.
"I understand!"
he laughed.
"You want to say that if other means cannot be used to save the sinful souls of those fallen people."
"It's better to solve the problem directly from the source! I'm going to find Mephisto now!"
Strange took a deep breath, his eyes full of determination.
Take back San Venganza Contract from the hands of the old devil and free the souls of those sinners!
"Uh..."
Looking at Strange who put on the magic resistance armor and opened the transmission channel, Luke couldn't laugh or cry.
"Actually, what I want to say is... forget it, this idea is correct."
Anyway, Sorcerer Supreme who has never beaten Mephisto is not a qualified Sorcerer Supreme.
ps: This is a soul that has broken free from overtime hell and is about to die from overwork.