Oh? There's Black Dragon? I've never heard of it before?
And it seems that Aduolin is...
The priest was drawn to the somewhat intimidating title, rubbed his withered finger to his lips, and then began to read it carefully.
Yes, the experimental subject escaped, two priests are missing but confirmed to be alive, and the Soul Tree is still intact, but there are obvious signs of Aberration, which is preliminarily judged to be Tree Transformation after going out of control.
The bishop, tax collector, and three priests conducted a follow-up investigation and encountered the Black Dragon " Nige Ganhuo " in the wilderness. All of them died from the dragon's flames. Evidence: the Soul Tree of the five people were inexplicably ignited, and nearby residents could confirm that Black Dragon had swept across the sky and disappeared without a trace.
Subsequent investigation results:
The four groups of priests secretly sent to Aduolin Province to investigate all returned safely, confirming that the province was operating normally and there was no trace of the Black Dragon. It was preliminarily determined that the Black Dragon " Nige Ganhuo " had left Aduolin Province and entered the Wilderness of Chaos.
Currently, there is only one wild dragon in the Aduolin Province, Red Dragon. Sixty years ago, it signed a non-aggression pact with the then bishop and is unable to launch an attack on members of the Tree Worship Church. It is also impossible to confirm whether the Black Dragon " Nige Ganhuo " entered the Aduolin Province to hunt Red Dragon.
Huh? There really are dragons in the Aduolin Province?
The priest raised an eyebrow; he had assumed that dragons had long since become extinct after the Demonic Tide.
However, this open and covert struggle between the two sides was quite interesting. It seems that the Red Dragon backed down, resulting in the Black Dragon gaining nothing, and then killing a few onlookers, the priests of the Tree Worship Church, to vent his anger.
He continued reading the last part of the report:
As of August 20, 908 AD, the Aduolin Province is operating well. Investigator: Kele. Report submitted to: Cardinal Geliwusi.
Pshaw, it's just such a trivial matter... a baseless Black Dragon rumor, what a waste of time.
He cursed under his breath, then closed the report in his hand and was about to throw it into the incinerator beside him.
But just before he released the document, he suddenly couldn't help but frown—
Instinct told him that things weren't that simple.
There's nothing wrong with this report. If, as it's said, the Aduolin Province is still functioning well, then why was it sent to the Records Office's incinerator for destruction?
The report is due at the end of August, so...
The priest tossed the report aside in an open area, then retrieved another report awaiting destruction from a vehicle full of documents.
Investigation into the Blood Corpse Resurrection Incident in Aduolin Province
Oh, there's also the matter of Blood Corpse?
He quickly flipped to the end of the report and confirmed its submission date—the end of September.
At the end of August, everything was fine in Aduolin Province, but by the end of September, Blood Corpse appeared?
This is just too outrageous...
The priest stroked his chin, beginning to speculate about the fate of the Aduolin Province.
This was a hobby he had developed over the past few decades: to glean insights into the full picture of events by reading these soon-to-be-destroyed core documents of the Tree Worship Church.
Most of the time his guesses were quite accurate, so this time he had no doubt about his deduction.
Blood Corpse are a " Calamity " that swept the world after the outbreak of the Demonic Tide. A mere province may now have become a living hell.
Thinking about this, the priest suddenly understood why these documents had to be destroyed.
Clearly, after months of devastation, Aduolin Province has now become the stronghold of the Blood Corpse, and the province as an administrative region may even be abolished, rendering these investigation reports meaningless.
But the Blood Corpse unsealed so quickly?
To be honest, the seal's quality is rather average; I just wonder where those two Short-Eared Elf responsible for after-sales service are now.
The priest gently tapped his head, recalling some distant memories.
Leaning back in his chair with his eyes half-closed, he began his habitual muttering to himself:
"Once the resurgence of the Blood Corpse begins, it cannot be stopped. Four months have passed so far, and the number of resurgenced Blood Corpse is at least 300,000. Considering the weakening effect of the low winter temperatures on the activity of Blood Corpse, this number can be reduced to 200,000."
"Two hundred thousand Blood Corpse have revived on the border of Aduolin Province. Hmm, who is the Archbishop of Aduolin again?"
The priest opened his eyes, rummaged through a pile of documents, and quickly found what he needed:
" Antiya Lisi, male, an outstanding graduate of the Garrison Academy, should be... sixty-two years old this year."
He clicked his tongue and muttered to himself:
"He's in his sixties, the prime of his life. I remember this kid isn't hot-tempered, so he probably won't take the initiative to attack. Hmm, then the best way for him to defend against the Blood Corpse is to hold his ground and wait for reinforcements."
"However, given the Holy Crusaders's configuration in Aduolin Province, it's impossible for them to defend every town. Knowing his personality, he'll most likely hold the capital and send a small force to assist in the defense of other towns."
The priest sighed at this point:
"Sigh, why can't he understand that this is a waste of effort? To deal with swarms of Blood Corpse, you either attack with all your might or defend with all your might. Dividing your forces is just sending them to their deaths."
His tone revealed an undisguised regret. The priest pondered for a moment and muttered to himself:
"In conclusion, most of the Aduolin Province should now have fallen, and Antiya Lisi is still locked in a standoff with the Blood Corpse!"
He nodded in satisfaction at his judgment, then began rummaging through the documents in the trolley, trying to find text that could corroborate his idea.
He was extremely confident in his judgment, and his hands moved faster involuntarily. From reading the general content of the documents to just looking at the title and time, he quickly found the document with the latest time in the list of documents awaiting destruction:
Analysis of the Current Situation in Aduolin Province
The priest happily unfolded the document and found the part he wanted:
"Upon investigation, Antiya Lisi's report is accurate; the entire Aduolin Province, except for Fir City, has been completely occupied by the rebels."
Yes, my judgment was correct...
The priest nodded smugly, then suddenly felt that something was amiss.
Wasn't it possessed by Blood Corpse?
Where did these rebels come from?
Is this a typo?
He read it several more times, still not believing it, and confirmed that the entire report was about the rebels. As for the Blood Corpse Blood Corpse, they were only mentioned briefly, with the statement that their activities had greatly decreased after winter and that they had received strong resistance, and that many villagers in the province had returned to their villages.
Clatter
The report fell to the ground, and the priest slumped back into his recliner, somewhat dazed.
How could his predictions and reality have such a serious discrepancy?
This, this is simply...
That's so much fun!