Chapter 284
Xia Er continued to observe Tara's performance, his previously half-closed eyelids growing heavier by the moment.
The significant blood loss had begun to make Xia Er feel dizzy, and in this moment of relaxation, his eyes slowly closed.
He had no idea how long it had been, but when he heard Tara's soft footsteps, he suddenly opened his eyes wide and turned toward the source of the sound.
At that moment, Tara was tiptoeing as she placed the completely cooled notebook on the table. Seeing that she had startled Xia Er awake, she quickly picked up the notebook with both hands, holding it to her chest, and stammered, "My lord Xia Er... I’ve finished deciphering it and was just about to put it away. I’m sorry... Did I disturb your rest?"
"It’s fine..."
Xia Er shook his head and glanced at the system clock. He had only been dizzy for about an hour, which was well within his limits.
"That was pretty quick."
Xia Er nodded, offering a compliment.
However, to Tara, Xia Er's words sounded like a thunderclap. She lowered her head in a bit of a panic and explained, "I’m sorry, my lord Xia Er. I haven’t deciphered a spiritual notebook in a long time, so I was a bit slow. I’m willing to accept any punishment you deem fit."
Could it be done faster?
Xia Er looked at Tara in surprise and asked, "What’s the fastest you’ve ever completed one?"
"The 'Missionary' has certain advantages when it comes to breaking spiritual notebooks. This is just a simple seal. If the owner of the notebook were to release it, it might take less than a second, and once released, anyone else could read it."
"But if someone tries to forcefully break it while the owner is absent, the owner will notice. Generally, a transcendent below level three might need a whole day to break it, but those with mental specialties like 'Missionaries' or 'Psychologists' might only need about thirty minutes."
Tara seemed to think Xia Er was upset with her for being too slow, and she hurriedly continued to explain.
After all, she had just made a mistake in front of the Mother Goddess, wasting her precious time due to her own selfish desires.
"Mm."
Xia Er nodded and reached out to take the spiritual notebook from Tara's hands, beginning to flip through its pages.
He skimmed through the earlier mundane details quickly, but slowed down when he reached the sections related to the current incident, allowing himself to think more deeply.
So, the Keybearer had already been marginalized within the Joyous Society? After her guide's death, she couldn't even find someone to help her read the spiritual notebook.
This time, the Keybearer was eager to accomplish something significant, not only to fend off the invasion of the magical drugs but also to regain the Joyous Society's recognition.
However, judging by the chaotic handwriting and the Society's attitude toward her... Xia Er felt that the Joyous Society was treating the eager-to-prove-herself Keybearer as a source of amusement, watching her flail about like a monkey, completely indifferent...
And the Keybearer herself seemed oblivious to this fact.
Because she couldn't even think from the true "instigator's" perspective; her mind had already strayed, and her magical drugs could never be successfully digested.
Moreover, Xia Er had caught an important piece of information.
Bolen City was not the true target of the Joyous Society; it was merely one of the tasks assigned to the Keybearer...
Their real goal seemed to be to distract the Goddess of Salvation, preventing her from attending to matters on the other side.
And that other matter was the great famine in Beiansu.
The Joyous Society was involved in the famine incident?
The main districts of the Goddess of Salvation were mostly in impoverished and backward areas, especially Beiansu, which served as the stronghold of the Goddess of Salvation.
During the famine, the Goddess of Salvation had been tirelessly seeking aid from the higher-ups in Ansu, continuously violating the Queen's orders to send supplies to Beiansu.
It was precisely because these supplies were believed to be used by the Orlan Republican Army that several relief houses in Beiansu were ordered to be dismantled by the nobility, and even the porridge factories were shut down.
Combining this with the letters from Adele in Beiansu that described the situation during the previous simulation...
The number of people likely to perish in Beiansu would probably be several times, even a dozen times, that of Bolen City's population.
Was this some sort of revival ritual being conducted by a high-ranking member of the Joyous Society?
Or were they assisting some other powerful individual in performing a revival ritual?
Regardless, the Joyous Society was undoubtedly connected to the famine.
Xia Er looked at the notebook in his hands, his expression growing increasingly serious.
He had initially thought that as long as he eliminated the Keybearer and moved to Ansu, he would be safer.
Now, it seemed that the safety of the capital, Ansu, was also in question.
But no matter what, the Keybearer had to die.
Not just because of the evil she had committed and intended to commit.
But also because her plan included the name Aivina.
Aivina, who was at the top of her assassination list.
This was something Xia Er could never allow to happen.
Moreover, at the beginning of the spiritual notebook, the Keybearer had written about her itinerary, and there was a segment where Xia Er could potentially encounter her—he also learned from the notebook the identity she was using to disguise herself and her real name.
Lydia Ashcroft.
Looking back a month, she would only appear in Bolen City under this identity once, and Xia Er had to seize that opportunity...
To kill her, directly.
---
Tara stood nervously in place, occasionally stealing glances at Xia Er sitting nearby, quickly averting her gaze as if afraid of being caught.
What should I do? The Mother Goddess's gaze is becoming more terrifying...
Did I make the Mother Goddess upset?
Just as Tara was contemplating self-harm as an apology, the Mother Goddess's voice rang out again, this time with a tone that seemed to have returned to calmness.
"Tell me what you know about Ansu, like those few transcendent beings you encountered earlier."
Xia Er closed the notebook in his hands and looked in Tara's direction.
With only a few hours left, there was just enough time for some minor disruptions, which seemed pointless. There was also the risk of being directly arrested due to unfamiliarity with Ansu's power dynamics. It would be better to pass the remaining time steadily while gathering some information from Tara.
Earlier, Tara had only caught a glimpse of the few transcendent beings while blending into the crowd at the station, so she hadn’t seen them completely, but she did remember two of their figures.
The Mother Goddess surely wasn’t asking to know their identities; it was more about understanding them from her perspective.
So, Tara chose to start with someone she was more familiar with.
After a moment of gathering her thoughts, she began, "The one from the Goddess of Salvation, the 'Saint of Divine Punishment,' Eleanor, I know a bit more about her."
"If we’re talking about her faith in the Goddess of Salvation, she is extremely loyal. But like most others in the Goddess of Salvation, she blindly reveres the new doctrines, viewing the teachings of the Holy See as the ultimate truth, having strayed from the original pure faith in the Mother Goddess."
As she spoke, Tara couldn’t help but take a jab at the Goddess of Salvation.
"Our Holy Church holds such forgetfulness in disdain. They even consider those who don’t believe in the Mother Goddess but merely follow the doctrines as faithful believers. What kind of logic is that?"
After a brief pause, seeing no change in the Mother Goddess's expression, Tara continued, "She is the Archbishop of the Tribunal and one of its key figures, having presided over numerous purges against our Holy Church, greatly damaging the bonds among the Mother Goddess's followers. I’ve heard that within the Tribunal, she is referred to as the 'Dark Worm Preacher.'"
"When she sees the true projection of the Dark Worm, she should reflect on her past mistakes..."
After a slight pause, Tara continued, "As for the other white-haired man I saw earlier, he doesn’t have an official name, just an internal nickname, 'Strong Sound.' He is a level four 'Sound Illusionist,' specifically responsible for handling large-scale riots and chaotic events... This person has also disrupted many of our church's activities."
"The power of the Dark Worm's projection is nearly depleted, and it’s likely this rogue was involved in sending it back to the divine realm, as I also heard the echoes of the notes..."
Tara carefully chose the word "send."
"This person is very mysterious. Besides knowing he is loyal to the Queen and is one of the founders of the 'Royal Symphony,' the only other information we have is that he has lived for an exceptionally long time—conservatively estimated to be at least 270 years old."
"And there’s another one, probably from the Russell family, but he’s just a 'Crown Guard.'"
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