"A book on mysticism written by a Sanguine Duke?" Xio's interest was piqued when she heard that. She took the book and found that it felt very thin, as though there were only a few pages.
After flipping it open and roughly reading it, Xio realized that the first few pages only contained the ordinary knowledge of some dukes when they were in the Mid-Sequence Beyonders. She couldn't help but ask in puzzlement, "Why are there only these few pages? And… from the handwriting, it looks like you copied them?"
"Yes… I've only read a few pages of that book so far. I only copied it down for you after making sure it's fine." Ebner smiled and nodded as he explained.
He knew very well that Xio was now very different from her original self, especially after becoming a tool for the ancient dragons in East Chester County. This Miss Judgment had become sufficiently cautious. Although her habit of chanting silently remained, it was almost impossible to use Rosellewen as bait to induce her to recite The Fool's honorific name.
Therefore, Ebner planned to copy the contents of the Feast of Blood bit by bit and give it to her, gradually lowering her vigilance towards the book. Finally, he would create an opportunity for her to get the copy of Viscount Cullen's book. The honorific name of The Fool was hidden in this final step, and she would discover it herself.
Speaking of which, although the "Feast of Blood" that Cullen had given him was a copy, it was still quite far away from the current age. It definitely had a history of at least one or two hundred years. This could be seen from the style of the book.
And this sense of the times could be used to tamper with it.
In this world, some knowledge itself was dangerous. For example, the Sights in the Spirit World in Fors's hands was like that. Xio, who understood this, felt that Ebner was taking the risk for her by doing so. Therefore, she pursed her lips and looked at Ebner intently. Without saying anything, she said seriously, "Thank you, Ebner."
Upon hearing Xio's gratitude and feeling her deep emotions, Ebner sighed and felt ashamed. After all, although he had done this to help Xio, he was still using the trust between friends…
In fact, if Klein hadn't forbidden her from casually revealing his name, Ebner really wanted to tell Xio The Fool's honorific name. He believed that with their current relationship, Xio would likely choose to believe him and recite The Fool's honorific name.
Unfortunately, doing so would violate The Fool's decree. Although Klein couldn't do anything to him at the moment, he would definitely plant a seed of distrust. This way, Xio and even Fors would find it even more difficult to join the Tarot Club.
After Xio put away the handwritten portion of the Feast of Blood, she chatted with Ebner about the new information she had received in East Borough, which was a series of sudden "deaths" regarding the Lord of Storms believers.
"Is there such a thing in East Borough? It looks like the person behind this plan doesn't want the Mandated Punishers to have too much free time…" Ebner sighed and put this matter aside. After all, what did the trouble of the Church of Storms have to do with a Blessed of Knowledge? It was already very kind of him not to gloat.
…
Under the Holy Wind Cathedral.
Spellsinger of God Ace Snake, who was wearing a black bonnet, swept his silver eyes and said to his Mandated Punishers,
"You should know very well that the death of the believers of the Lord in East Borough, Bridge Borough, and the dock area is a disgrace to all of us Mandated Punishers.
"Your next mission is to investigate the mastermind and capture him.
"After the report, you have the right to use a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact. You have to find out who's targeting us!"
Standing at the front, a middle-aged man wearing a modified captain's hat immediately led everyone and punched his chest with his fist. "Yes, Your Excellency!"
He was thin and didn't have any special features, but he had an anchor-shaped bluish-black tattoo on his neck. He was the captain of the Mandated Punishers in Backlund.
…
West Borough, in the garden villa on Williams Street.
Ray stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window with the flower pot in her arms, allowing the crimson moonlight to shine on her body. The expression on her face was gentle and kind. In addition to her witch-like charm, it produced a different kind of beauty.
Moreover, her figure was even more well-rounded than before, not as slender as when she was enjoying herself.
Berner stared at her in a daze for a long time before coming back to his senses. His expression suddenly turned extremely ugly as he said fiercely, "Ray, what curse did you put on me? Why do I find it harder to resist your charm?!"
' Why not? Heh heh, isn't that nice?' Ray turned back and smiled flirtatiously.
Berner knew that she wasn't willing to reveal the truth, but he didn't dare to continue questioning her. He didn't even dare to look at her again. All he could do was turn his head and say, "Some of the subordinates I sent to corrupt ordinary people with Beyonder characteristics have already fallen into the hands of the Church of Storms. Although the captured don't know who they are working for, they will be exposed sooner or later."
"Alright, there's no need to complain. Retract your people. They have already shown their value… Heh heh, I'm afraid you still don't know. Because of their efforts, not only did they drag the members of the Mandated Punishers into investigating the complicated matters of the dead, they also made the God of Mask decide to use a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact at the appropriate time," Ray said slowly as he used his fair fingers to stroke the flower bud.
However, her words completely frightened Lieutenant Berner. He immediately widened his eyes and said, "Are you crazy? What do you plan on doing? If you provoke the Church of Storms's Grade 1 Sealed Artifact, we will be doomed sooner or later. The organization won't go against such a dangerous thing just to save us."
Ray listened to Berner's hysterical shouting with interest. After he finished venting, she smiled and said, "Have you calmed down? Heh heh, speaking of which, you've done very well with the things I handed you previously, so I've decided to give you some more rewards…"
As she spoke, she removed her clothes and the thin veil from her body as she carried the flower pot towards Lieutenant Berner.
"What… What are you doing?" This time, Berna wasn't fooled by the "beautiful scenery" in front of him. This was because his spirituality was already frantically warning him, as though the people opposite him were about to become some terrifying monster.
"Of course… I'll reward you with a chance to transform and make you a part of my little fellow."
Ray's voice was still so crisp and pleasant. Her tone was still so alluring and charming, but at this moment, Berner felt that she was even scarier than the devil's voice!
Seeing Ray approach step by step, Berner no longer hesitated. He rubbed the Sun domain mystical item on his finger and was about to take the initiative to attack.
This was the Ring of Light ring he had bought at a Beyonder gathering. It could make the wearer an envoy of light, a servant of the Sun, immune to many diseases, and was very effective against Demoness of Agony. It could also control divine powers, allowing the wearer to summon dazzling beams of light and use most of the Sun domain spells.
Unfortunately, just as he had this thought, he felt a sharp pain in his head! The pain was so intense that he couldn't even stand straight, much less use a mystical item.
As for the Ring of Light's immunity to diseases, it had no effect on the headache.
At this moment, Ray had already leisurely walked in front of Berner in a naked manner. She looked down at the lieutenant who was lying on the ground in pain and said with a smile, "I remember telling you that it's neither a Beyonder power nor a curse… An item from the Sun domain? Heh heh, the price shouldn't be low, but it's not very useful."
With that, she turned around and faced Berner with her smooth back.
Berner no longer had the energy to answer her. He raised his head with all his might, but the last thing he saw in his life was an extremely strange scene.
The crimson moonlight seemed to have a life of its own as it extended itself to the complicated patterns on Ray's back. The tattoos began to slowly wriggle under the moonlight and then came to life, turning into a beautiful blooming flower.
At the same time, the flower bud in the flower pot that Ray had been carrying suddenly opened up, turning into a flower that was extremely similar to the living tattoo. However, it was as tall as two people and extremely huge!
Right on the heels of that, the flower in the flower pot flew towards Lieutenant Berner like a ferocious beast in the blink of an eye. It opened its huge petals and enveloped him before swallowing him.
When it was all over, Ray put on her gauze pajamas again and looked at the flower bud that was still tightly closed in her hand. She said to herself,
"Berner, I didn't plan on touching you so early, but do you think you can hide it from me by deliberately sacrificing the petty tricks of a large number of low-level personnel?
However, since the Church of Storms has decided to use a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact… Then, I can lure those few people into the trap.
"Heh heh, Berner's methods are still somewhat effective. At the very least, he made the Demoness Sect and MI9's upper echelons suspect me… But so what? Without you, I can still find helpers to complete the plan."