Azure Scepter

Page 159

“That’s not the same thing. Just because I can control multiple bodies at the same time doesn’t mean others can. It’s my…talent.”

Trier nodded slightly.

He knew very well that "Parallelist" Orenroz was a lich transformed from a mind flayer.

Ordinary people can only think linearly, but mind flayers can think in multiple linear ways. With multiple linear thinking, controlling multiple bodies is naturally easy. Even when they become liches, this special mental structure of mind flayers still exists.

“Too bad this tavern doesn’t sell brains,” Trier said.

Upon hearing this, the metal monster Orenroz remained silent for a moment, then laughed and said, "Even if I did, I wouldn't need to eat it."

At this moment, the elf Jesmin became increasingly confused. She couldn't understand why Trier had suddenly switched the topic to "brain" again; she also couldn't understand why the metal monster opposite her was still responding.

“So, what is your answer to my proposal?” Trier asked.

This time, the metal monster remained silent for a long time, but in the end, it still shook its head: "If you don't clearly state your true identity, we will not help you. This involves investment risks, and this is our bottom line."

Trier seemed to have anticipated this. He nodded and said, "You won't agree, but you can—Orenros, help me figure something out. Get me at least 10 high-ranking mages, and I can help you completely eliminate the mastermind. I know it's still hunting you."

Any stray mind flayer is hunted by the mind flayer community to which it belongs. This is because the mind flayer community is a special kind of society connected by a psionic network, similar to a swarm of bees. A stray mind flayer will permanently damage the strength of the psionic network of its community.

Orenroz became a mind flayer because it was born with a psychic disability.

Logically, such a mind flayer should be executed on the spot, but Orenroz happens to be a genius in arcane magic. By using arcane magic to disguise his psionic spellcasting, he carefully disguised himself and, after more than a decade of long dormancy, finally seized the opportunity of a great riot by the gray dwarves and fled his community.

After a series of adventures, he finally escaped to the Great Swamp and became a lich, but the Mastermind's pursuit of him never stopped.

Due to their compatible research ideas on necromancy, Trier had a good relationship with Orenroz in the game. However, towards the end of the Age of Insects expansion, Morion discovered Orenroz's secret and ultimately used it to successfully kill him.

The metallic monster, Orenroz, asked in a gruff voice, "Trill, I'm willing to believe you, but how can you prove you're capable of dealing with the mainframe?"

“My enemy now is Lothaway,” Trier said in a deep voice.

“Lo...Ser...Vi...…” Orenroz repeated, emphasizing each word, “Loser...Vi!? The founding monarch of the Kingdom of Orco, the fallen god-ascended one, Loser...Vi?!”

Trier nodded slightly.

At this moment, the elf Jesmin felt that she had gone completely mad. She even suspected that she had come to another dimension. She knew every word Trier said, but when put together, she couldn't understand it at all—wasn't Trier fighting against cultists? How come he was fighting against people from myths and legends?

Every bearing inside Orenrods's metal shell seemed to groan, the temperature of his internal power unit rose sharply, and puffs of steam billowed out from the exhaust pipe behind him.

He suddenly realized that he had just overheard some incredible secret.

After a moment of internal struggle, he suddenly realized an extremely terrifying fact.

Lothaway is at least a top-tier demigod, so what is Trier, her enemy?

Could it be the truth that I just jokingly said that "Trier is a saint of the Church of Radiance"?

While the main brain is powerful, the saints who walk on the material plane are even more terrifying.

But why would a saint descended from the Radiant Light Cult help him?

After a moment, he let out a long breath and made up his mind.

He had had enough of his life in exile and it was time to end it all.

“I agree to your suggestion, and thank you for your generosity,” Orenrods said in a deep voice. “—I’ll use the portal to go back and find them later. Would you like to come with me?”

Trier shook his head, grasped the holy symbol, and cast a holy heal on the orc's body.

In the warm white light, the wound on the orc's neck healed rapidly, and in less than half a breath, the orc's body seemed to be completely healed.

"Here you go." With a gentle push, the unharmed orc slid off the table and into front of Orenroz.

"..." Orenroz remained silent for a moment, then manipulated the orc to sit up again.

"I should be back with my men by this evening at the latest," the orc said in a hoarse voice. "But there's one more thing I need to say."

"What's up?"

The orc hesitated for a moment, then said, "Last night a demon entered my dream. He advised me to leave the Southern Duchy immediately. I think that perhaps a certain duke in hell has also become involved in your struggle with Loseweg."

Trier shook his head slightly: "Thanks for the reminder, I'll be careful."

This is clearly another instance of the crowd causing trouble. It also realizes that its time is running out, and it is hesitant to act, so it disguises itself as a devil to enter the dream.

But no matter what tricks the other side plays, this conflict surrounding divinity and priesthood is coming to an end.

However, we should indeed be wary of demons. The scantily clad waitress next to us was a demon in disguise. They may indeed be monitoring the progress of the blood plague crisis.

Just as Trier was pondering the various possibilities, Orenroz suddenly spoke again: "By the way, Lord Trier, I have one last thing to say."

"What is it?" Trier looked up, frowning in confusion.

“I sent a ghost to you.” Orenroz paused, then said hesitantly, “It was paid quite well, and in order for me to better fulfill our agreement, I hope you can return it to me.”

Trier nodded, then mentally commanded Noy to bring the Banshee over.

After doing all this, he asked with considerable curiosity, "Why did you insist on hiring a banshee?"

“She saved my life when she was still alive,” Orenrods said. “But a mind flayer robbed her of half her brain, and I didn’t want to lose her, so I turned her into an undead. However, due to the severe damage to her soul, she suffers from periodic amnesia—every time she has amnesia, I rehire her. It sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?”

“It’s quite romantic,” Jasmine said wistfully, finally finding a topic she understood.

Trier pondered for a moment, then came to his conclusion: "So, every time she loses her memory, you can take the opportunity to recoup the wages you pay her? What a brilliant idea! It can motivate her without costing a penny!"

This time, everyone fell silent. The others were silent because they felt Trier's judgment was too outrageous; while Orenrods was silent because what Trier said was the truth.

That's exactly what it did.

PS: Second update! Double updates tomorrow! Thank you for your support, dear readers!

Chapter 307 Water Sprite and Fireball

"Eternal demise is near; in the shifting stars, I see the signs of our deaths."

In the darkness, a spark suddenly vanished.

The next moment, the falling sparks transformed into a raging fire, which then suddenly coalesced into human figures. These figures twisted, intertwined, and overlapped, resembling a giant fireball.

The light dispelled the darkness, revealing a petite figure within.

Compared to the light of the crowd, the figure appeared dim and unclear, with only a faint glow emanating from its body and a few strands of blue hair moving without wind.

Fusada tilted her head back, her eyes narrowing slightly, and then she said with considerable surprise, "There's such a good thing?"

She pulled a magic wand from her skirt, waved it at the crowd, and in the next instant, a dazzling light swept over everything.

The darkness dissipated, and the azure sky appeared out of thin air like a backdrop. Immaculate silver buildings rose from the ground—silver pavilions, silver bridges, silver domed clock towers, and silver flat roads.

Fusada leaned back in her ochre-red chair, holding a silver spoon in her left hand and a teacup in her right.

Through the steaming tea, she looked at the miniature versions of the crowd who were forcibly fixed to the other side.

"Fusada, you're about to die! And you still have the mind to drink tea?!" The crowd's voices were filled with thunderous anger. "If you die, I won't live either! You and I both know that Trier has a way to kill us completely."

"Oh, I see, I understand now~" Fusada absentmindedly stirred the silver spoon. "So, you went through all that trouble to break the seal and contact me just to tell me this?"

She yawned and looked up at the crowd opposite her with sleepy eyes.

The flames around the creature suddenly burst open, as if it had been thoroughly enraged by the water sprite. But the next moment, the flames on its body dimmed again.

“I have a way to save you,” the crowd said in a deep voice. “Fusada, even if you don’t care about your own life, you should at least care about Loseville.”

Before the incomprehensibly insane water sprite lord could speak, it suddenly raised its hand, and scattered sparks swept across the tea set on the table. Immediately afterward, a three-dimensional city model appeared on the table.

“I used the ritual at the door to further weaken my soul, and now the weight-bearing capacity of my broken body has become very small.”

The crowd extended a flame and pointed to the upside-down Wiltshire Town Hall above the model.

"Right now, this place can only support the weight of two demigods at most. In other words, that monster Trier won't be able to come in in person anytime soon."

A cold wind howled past, its biting chill seemingly capable of freezing every drop of water in the air into dry, cold ice crystals.

Trier stood alone before two magnificent statues. One was of the spirited Laurence Rosé, holding a sword in one hand and scales in the other; the other was of a saintly figure, holding a longbow and presiding over human justice and vengeance. The bow and scales intertwined, forming an arched doorway.

He had planned to explore the terrain himself with the scouts he had previously sent before starting the attack, but to his surprise, the entire space became distorted as soon as he approached the two statues.

In Trier's vision, the originally smooth and continuous space seemed to have suddenly become glass compressed to its limit by a heavy object. The originally straight lines had all turned into elliptical curves that were moving away from him. In some places, he even saw voids that seemed to be shattered space, beyond which lay the vast and boundless depths of the dream world.

"interesting."

Trier stopped and stared for a moment before realizing why.

The space here suddenly seemed unable to support its own weight.

Without a doubt, this was the work of either the crowd or Fusada.

“That’s a pretty clever idea,” Trier muttered to himself. “But thankfully I had a backup plan.”

Fusada stopped stirring the tea and stared blankly at the people opposite her.

"So, the reactivation of that ritual in the underground labyrinth of Wilt City Hall isn't Saint-Ser trying to use it against Trier, but rather you using it to weaken yourself?"

The crowd chuckled softly: "Saint-Sel certainly used it—but I used it too. How could I possibly place all my hopes on that fool? I have my own plans as well."

“You could never have come up with such an interesting idea before,” Fusada said sincerely, putting down her silver teaspoon.

Then, her speech suddenly quickened: "I thought you would always remain dark and perverted, gloomy and stern, self-righteous, unimaginative, always telling jokes colder than iron, acting erratically, and hated by everyone, until the day you die completely!"

“But look, you’ve improved.” Fusada took out a silver spoon that had been corroded black by the tea and revealed a bright smile. “Congratulations, you, the One! Ah… no, you’re the Humorous One now!”

"..." The crowd fell silent.

Fusada was still as annoying as ever; even though she had taken everything from him, her strange personality remained unchanged.

It suppressed its frustration and anger as much as possible, then extended another flame and pointed it at the city model.

“As long as Trier doesn’t come in personally, he won’t be able to anchor the city’s coordinates in the dream world with his divinity. I can then infinitely multiply my remaining body—so no matter how many people he sends in, I’m confident that he won’t be able to find the throne room in a short time.”

“As long as we keep dragging this out, something will always happen,” the group sneered. “At least we should drag it out until Saint Seil’s conspiracy succeeds.”

It slammed a flame at the city model, sending sparks flying and exploding everywhere.

The holy light flashed and disappeared in an instant, and the pure white specks of light fluttered and scattered like fireflies.

Trier withdrew his hand and nodded to Edith in front of him.

"What kind of divine magic is this?" Edith asked curiously.

“Something like a dimensional anchor, but anchored to space,” Trier explained. “I suspect they will choose to expand their cities to hinder us, thus preventing them from expanding their cities without limit.”

Edith nodded, then asked, "So what should I do?"

“You don’t need to do anything,” Trier said, shaking his head. “You just need to be in Wirth’s underground mirror city to stop their operation.”

Princess Edith paused for a moment, then suggested, "Why don't we cast this spell on more people? That would seem to be a safer approach."

"Currently, only legendary paladins and priests can receive this special divine spell, which means that only you and Noi can receive this divine spell."

Edith looked up, and beneath her gray-white hair, a hint of a smile seemed to appear in her emerald eyes.

"It sounds like a blessing from a saint to the chosen people."

Before Trier could react, she suddenly grabbed his shoulders, tiptoed, and swiftly kissed him.

“I will bring you victory, I swear on my oath,” Edith said slowly, gazing into the other’s eyes.

Fusada patted the flame on the table with disdain, gulped down a cup of tea, and then looked up at the crowd.

“Although you have been sealed away by me and Losevie, your news is far too outdated—don’t you know that Trier already solved this problem a long time ago?”

She put down her teacup, clapped her hands, and then several tiny fairies, no bigger than a thumb, flew in from the silver tower, struggling to carry a huge screen.

"That Asmo army only set off yesterday evening!" the man said in a deep voice. "What do you mean by 'the problem was solved long ago'?"

"Watch closely~" Fusada commanded the fairies to put down the screen, then she raised the blackened silver spoon and gently tapped the screen.

The city model created by the crowd suddenly exploded into scattered sparks, and a brand new 3D projection took its place.

“This is a real-time projection of the underground mirror city of Wirth,” Fusada said. “And most importantly, it’s in full color!”

At this moment, the massive and complex city model twisted and trembled continuously, with new houses and streets being generated at the edges of the model, only to vanish in an instant, as if some invisible giant cage was pressing down on this living city.

Fusada gently raised her hand, and the blackened silver spoon transformed back into a slender silver wand. She lightly waved the wand twice.

The scenery around her suddenly collapsed, and the model instantly grew larger, engulfing her and the others.

In an instant, the two felt as if they were in the real underground mirror city of Wirth. The silver buildings around them transformed into the pointed-roof buildings commonly seen in the southern duchy, except that none of the buildings here had windows.

In the shadows between the buildings, the dark gold spiral staircase appears and disappears like a snake lurking in the dark.

At this moment, they seemed to be in a narrow alley. The alley looked quite complicated, with forks and height differences everywhere. At the end of the alley, on the street, they could already see the trembling Asmo soldiers.

“Look, the Asmos are advancing very fast.” Fusada then tucked her wand back into her skirt. “Your attempt to multiply your own corpse is completely useless.”

The next moment, the surrounding scenery disappeared again, and the two returned to the silver courtyard.