Chapter 207 talisman and Hazel
Four candles and delicate food on a plate were placed in the corner. Triss and Edsas Augustus stood in the empty room, specially prepared, silently chanting the incantation.
Suddenly, where the candlelight converged, a shadow condensed out of thin air beside them. The figure's face and outline were blurry, revealing only a pair of pitch-black pupils with bright yellow starlight.
"Respected Angel of Time, what task do you have for us?"
Edsas composed himself and spoke respectfully to the shadow before him.
As a prince of the Kingdom of Loen, Edsas Augustus inherited part of his father's personality. Although compared to George, Edsas had a milder personality, he was by no means hesitant or cowardly.
On one side was his father's path to godhood, and on the other was his own life. Edsas naturally knew how to choose.
That was, of course—
Goodbye, Father, and my cowardice!
It was you who were unjust first, Father. Edsas warned himself in his heart. It had been two weeks since he last chose to chant the honorable name of this Angel of Time from the ancient era.
During this time, Edsas and Triss had barely managed to escape some suspicious arrangements. At the very least, both of them could feel the obvious traces of "coincidence" in the things around them.
It was precisely the existence of these traces that made Edsas more terrified the more he looked. Only now did he realize that the constraints and lack of freedom he suffered as a prince were merely the tip of the iceberg.
He had originally thought he could see the essence behind some things, but now he realized how many means were hidden in the Darkness behind these "constraints."
His father really was a "good" father—
While waiting, various thoughts emerged in Edsas's mind. Just then, the blurry shadow before him sat down as if on a chair, speaking slowly and relaxedly to the two: "The day the Demoness Sect creates disaster is approaching."
Edsas and Triss looked at each other. Although they had expected this, they couldn't help but exhale deeply after receiving the news. After all, this was a matter concerning their lives; they had to be cautious.
The two did not speak but quietly listened to the Angel of Time's next sentence: "The 'Despair Nightingale' of the Demoness Sect will spread pathogens in Backlund, inciting a great smog to help the royal family clear out the civilians with poorer health in Backlund."
"Regarding this point, the Church of the Night has already made a judgment based on your current situation and is now busily preparing to counter the disaster the Demoness Sect is about to incite."
"Simply put, you can seek the protection of the Church of the Night now and get rid of the surveillance by the Demoness Sect. Congratulations—"
Nimrod clapped his hands, making a loud sound.
However, Edsas and Triss looked at each other, feeling that this matter wouldn't be so simple.
Sure enough, after the applause ended, the Angel of Time continued: "But the actual situation is not like that. If you blindly seek the help of the Church of the Night, you will surely face death. Because the mastermind behind you has already made preparations to divert the Church of the Night and will not let the Church catch the royal family's true evidence."
Adam cooperated with the royal family, and Adam would still perform micromanagement on this matter.
And Nimrod continued: "Heh, for you, you cannot even know the name of the person arranging you or what kind of abilities he has. Because once you know him, he will know that you know this situation."
"Therefore, I will give you a few tasks. If you can complete them excellently, you will be able to escape this calamity."
"Afterward, I will arrange for you to go to the Southern Continent. Although it will be more dangerous there, it won't be much different for you right now."
Speaking of this, Nimrod's face revealed some profound meaning: "After all, going to the Southern Continent at the very least won't involve demigod-level powerhouses specifically targeting you."
For Edsas and Triss, everything regarding Ince Zangwill could not be known.
Even Klein would be written into "0-08" when he knew about Ince Zangwill. It was just that because of the existence of Sefirah Castle, "0-08" had no way to arrange for Klein, who possessed a high status, and Klein only had the power not to be discovered by "0-08" when he was located in Sefirah Castle.
What Nimrod just said to the two was just a prelude, yes, a prelude to a play called "Backlund Smog."
After the Aurora Order, the Church of the Night, and Adam intervened in this matter, the "Despair Nightingale" was no longer the protagonist on the big stage of Backlund.
Now, the true protagonists of this disaster had become those Sequence 3, angels, and even true gods.
With enough information, without relying on divination, just by inference, Nimrod could currently calculate a part of the whole story.
First, after the so-called Backlund Smog began, the "True Creator" would use the Believers of the Aurora Order and the assistance of Sefirah Castle to get rid of the erosion of God Almighty's will and create an avatar that could walk on the earth.
The level of this avatar would not be too high, at most not exceeding an angel, but it would be completely capable of uniting all Believers who believed in the True Creator and taking root in the form of a church.
Before this, the "Red Angel" Medici had been responsible for this matter, and Mr. Z had already set sail for the Southern Continent, starting the first round of missionary work and laying the foundation for the cause of the True Creator.
After the True Creator awakened, the center of the Aurora Order's missionary work would gradually shift to the Southern Continent, accumulating strength for the further awakening of the True Creator's power.
And the moment the True Creator descended, this disaster would truly begin.
After the True Creator descended, the Lord of Storms would inevitably descend, and the saints and angels of the Demoness Sect and the Church of the Night would also join this battle.
The saints and angels of Night and Storm might care a little about civilians, but the multiple "Ageless" that might exist in the Demoness Sect would not care.
Not to mention there was Adam, as well as Amon, who might be called over by Adam together.
Nimrod knew very well about the losses he caused to Amon.
Although he inexplicably lost a few clones, the target Amon locked onto should be high-Sequence Beyonders of the mystery Pathway like Pales, so he also had a high probability of coming here.
After all, Amon couldn't feel "the mystery is reviving in me" just because a clone died—to Amon, this was also a joke.
Which angel of the three mystery-related Pathways hadn't lost a few marionettes or clones? It was fine to divine after losing them, maybe you could even find some unexpected joy.
And in the situation where the Error Pathway was only missing one Beyonder characteristic, the Beyonder characteristic and Uniqueness required for the Door Pathway to become a god were in the sky, and the Uniqueness of the Fool Pathway was on the mountain, Amon was naturally relatively unscrupulous.
Looking at the Angel of Time, Edsas hurriedly asked him with high emotional intelligence: "Please tell us what we should do."
Nimrod smiled at Edsas and Triss and said: "I will give you a boon."
As he spoke, he turned his wrist over, and two translucent talismans emitting faint mist fell into the hands of Edsas and Triss.
Edsas and Triss very carefully held the talismans in their palms, and Nimrod's voice followed the next moment: "Pay more attention to the smog in the East Borough of Backlund. Once there is a tendency for rapid change, crush this talisman immediately."
"The subsequent changes will be enough to protect your lives and buy you time to leave."
"When the storm falls, call my name, and someone will take you away from here to the port."
The expressions of the two suddenly became more solemn. They nodded and tucked the talismans in their hands into their close-fitting clothes.
After handling Edsas's affairs, Nimrod left the state of responding to the summoning. He stood up, pushed the door out of the Fool's divine kingdom, and incidentally pressed the flush toilet.
He was currently at a banquet. Unlike the tense Red Rose Manor, the atmosphere here was quite lively.
This was actually normal. After all, the King had just shown the latest ironclad ship not long ago. The naval strength of the Kingdom of Loen seemed to be further enhanced, and with it came the distribution of benefits among nobles and the plunder of colonies.
The whole of Loen was in a state of rapid development.
After returning to the banquet, Nimrod's gaze turned to the location of the host of the banquet—in the center of the banquet, a Loen gentleman with black hair and brown eyes stood there, and beside him was a young girl with ink-green long hair and an arrogant expression.
This was Councilman Morry Macht and his daughter, Hazel Macht.
Dionysus Fried previously had some friendship with Morry Macht, having helped people with military connections handle a batch of arms trade, and now it was only natural to attend Morry Macht's banquet.
Because the schedule was quite tight before, and some banquets held were not suitable for bringing family members, this was his first time seeing this girl named Hazel.
Well, although Hazel was not directly parasitized by a "Marauder" Pathway demigod like that guy Leonard who couldn't tell if he was lucky or unlucky, this rat demigod of the Jacob family obviously did not treat Hazel as a person.
Once Hazel supported the rat demigod to the point of full recovery, the rat demigod would likely take the opportunity to parasitize her or her father, directly entering the upper class of Backlund and putting herself in a relatively safe and stable state.
What a coincidence, Nimrod remembered that the rat demigod of the Jacob family seemed to be a female, and she might prefer the body of Hazel, whom she had deliberately cultivated.
After all, although both were being chased by Amon, the Marauders of the Jacob family and the Marauders of the Zoroast family were obviously not on the same level in terms of moral standards.
What a pity, if I were in the Circle of Inevitability world now, I could directly parasitize Hazel to approach that rat demigod of the Jacob family—Nimrod shook his head slightly and began to size up every detail of Hazel.
Of course, he did not let this action, which could be said to be rude in a social setting, be seen by the surrounding guests.
After the banquet ended and he returned home, Nimrod reached out his finger and gently touched his cheek. A white mask immediately fell off slowly, swallowed by thick gray mist, and disappeared into the air.
And now, although he had to take some risks, it was acceptable compared to the gains.
Only by becoming a demigod could one truly control one's destiny in this world to a slight degree.
In the middle of the night, Hazel Macht suddenly opened her eyes, skillfully rolled off the bed, and nimbly sneaked into the Darkness.
She climbed down along the sewer of Bercklund Street, took about 10 minutes to crawl out again, and did not forget to restore the sewer cover when she left.
The method the teacher taught was indeed useful. It wouldn't be long before I could become more powerful—
Just like what those stories said, this is a miracle that belongs only to me!
Hazel's heart was full of hope, and for a moment, she was full of hope for the future.
But just as she followed the route she came from, avoiding the gaze of patrolling servants from the garden, and returned to her room, she was suddenly stunned.
Just as Hazel pushed open the door of the room, she saw a pair of eyes quietly watching her there, and after seeing her, they even smiled at her.
Hazel knew very well who the owner of these eyes was.
After all, every time she looked in the mirror, Hazel could see these eyes—her own eyes.
Her heart was suddenly in chaos. Somewhat unwilling to face reality, she quickly recalled in her heart whether there was a mirror in her room facing the window.
But reality was cruel. Her memory told her a cold and ruthless truth:
In the room at this moment, there was a "Hazel" who looked exactly like her, watching her.
Teacher, save me! Hazel's pupils suddenly dilated, and she immediately made an aggressive posture.
But just then, the "Hazel" in the room moved.
"She" stepped forward swiftly. Hazel didn't even react to how the "self" in front of her suddenly disappeared from in front of her, only feeling her mind go blank.
The next moment, a huge force erupted at her neck, making Hazel fall into sweet Darkness.
Before Hazel passed out, she only heard a chuckle: "Sleep for a while first."
"Your Sequence is not low either. How could you trust the words of a demigod 'Swindler' so much?"
"If I hadn't discovered it in time, your life would have been ruined just like that."