【What is the cost? 】
[The End of the Reincarnation: The End:
[A hundred years of life is like a dream or lightning...
【The reckoning will come.】
After careful counting, there are a total of five messages. The content is ambiguous and mysterious, as if it contains a mysterious and wonderful power, and as if it contains sinister and cunning malice, or... both.
As the scroll containing the five pieces of information completely stabilized in his field of vision, Toby Inld heard the crystal-clear voice of the cloaked girl, which sounded directly in his mind:
"Make your choice."
Her voice was still ethereal and childish, but no longer as smart, lively and playful as before. Instead, it was full of sacredness, solemnity and unyieldingness, just like a supreme god who was high above, overlooking the world and all living things!
Hearing these words that sounded like a declaration, Toby Inld immediately understood something.
The five pieces of information presented in the scroll before him were the five paths bestowed upon him by the cloaked girl. They were five great powers that could enable him to escape from the unimaginably terrifying and desperate situation!
And now he has to make a choice among these five great powers!
"I choose..."
After knowing this, consideration and deliberation only lingered in the mind of this humble beggar boy for a moment.
Just half a second later, he activated his mind and directly selected the second option -
The Thread of Life: Continuity
【Surprise, curiosity, and kindness——the gaze cast was so doting, surging like the bright sun in the sky...
[Seems too enthusiastic? ]
The thread of life marked with "continue"!
He is not a character of any value, just a smelly rat in a small ditch. No one will care whether he lives or dies, but he has his own persistence.
He had to live... He absolutely had to live, and he couldn't die no matter what...
He wants to live...
Longer than anyone else!
"Very decisive."
After he made his choice, the scroll disappeared on the spot, leaving no trace, as if it was just an illusion or a dream.
But before the thought of doubting reality arose in his mind, a surge of powerful force suddenly exploded from somewhere in his body and spread throughout his body in an instant!
"what!"
He felt that all the muscles in his body were tensed at this moment, his neck straightened, and his throat let out a loud roar uncontrollably, as if air was pouring out of his mouth.
Hot! Hot! Hot!
Every tiny tissue in the body is generating heat!
No one knew where the strange and intense heat came from, but it continued to flow, almost igniting the thin and tattered clothes on his body!
But this fervent enthusiasm did not make him feel any pain. Instead, he felt as comfortable as a fish entering water and enjoying the spring breeze, as if every cell in his body was leaping for joy and reveling for it!
He could feel that his frail and thin body was undergoing earth-shaking changes.
A huge amount of compassionate, eternal, and bright power was injected into his body from a great being, filling out his skinny and slender limbs and making his weak and feeble physical strength vigorous.
It was far more than that… that power was still continuously exerting its influence, and with every passing second, he felt that his body was moving towards some higher, more complete realm!
Endless and never-ending!
Refreshing! Comfortable!
There is a sense of complete satisfaction as if all the impurities in the body have been cleared away and the body has achieved perfection!
The unknown cloaked girl calmly watched her performance, smiled meaningfully, and said:
"Then, we have signed the contract for the Threads of Life. We will meet again in the future."
"Uh...wait! Excuse me...sir, what exactly is this...contract..."
Toby Inld recovered slightly from his daze and shock, and wanted to ask something else, but he saw the girl's figure blur and disappear in an instant.
Only a sound slowly faded away in the dark dungeon:
“The gift takes effect immediately.
"The price will be collected on a later date."
When the girl disappeared, the candlelight she used to illuminate her fingertips also disappeared.
The lifeless dungeon fell into almost absolute darkness again.
A boy named Toby Inld, a boy who encountered a strange adventure in a desperate situation...
Standing in the darkness, silent and speechless.
It is like a statue solidified into a statue, a statue that exists forever.
……
…………
……
After leaving the dungeon, Qi Ji's figure appeared on the street not far from the Final Vatican Cathedral.
"Although it was just a casual act...I hope this kid can give me some surprises later."
She put her hands behind her waist and walked lightly on the open ground, strolling leisurely, feeling very comfortable:
"With the power I gave him, it will be no problem for him to survive the hands of the Church of Redemption... But, to what extent can you do it? I will wait and see... Haha, I am really looking forward to it..."
There was no special reason for Qi Ji to give the hope of life to Toby Inld instead of anyone else in the dungeon.
It was just that she had some affinity for this boy.
As for innocence, there were many prisoners in the dungeon who were tied up like him for some harmless petty thefts, and some of them were even completely wrongly accused.
Qi Ji can see through these truths at a glance.
Qi Ji only helped Toby Ender, and she didn't want to show off her righteousness - she just wanted to have fun, there was no other reason!
She was quite frank about this.
As for why he didn't rescue all the prisoners who were imprisoned in vain, and personally solve the "rust plague" curse of this land, and grant salvation to hundreds of thousands of people in the last kingdom... it still comes down to this: people have to rely on themselves after all.
She might be able to give a push at some critical junctures, or set up a few variables that could turn the situation around, but it's impossible for her to take care of everything.
She has the ability to do so, but she doesn't think she should.
In the end, people have to rely on themselves.
"By the way, after staying in this place for such a long time, my understanding of the nature of the situation here has deepened a lot."
She stopped and looked up at the endless, lead-black clouds covering the sky.
"When the Star Girl saw me communicating with Hill using the Redmormon Mirror, she once said 'vortex'... Oh, so this is what 'vortex' means?"
She had been in the Gray Forest for more than half a month, and she had not been busy playing adventure and development games with Hill and others.
During this period of time, she has never stopped perceiving, exploring and analyzing this world, just like peeling an onion, analyzing layer by layer the root causes that have caused this place to fall into such a predicament.
Until now...
She seemed to have basically figured it out.
"Well, let's go meet Hill first. She and Otilia seem to be having some unpleasantness."
Before the patrolling Vatican soldiers and dark guards noticed her, her body suddenly shrank and twisted, turning into a small lizard with a pitch-black and red body.
Chapter 504: "Rest Place" Expedition Plan
Two updates today, the second chapter may be uploaded later.
===================
"My Lord, you are going to...a resting place?!"
In a three-story building made of stone bricks, two slender figures, one tall and one short, sat opposite each other, with a square wooden table between them.
The orange-haired girl sitting near the door widened her eyes and raised her voice in disbelief:
"Deacon...Your Holiness, are you...are you sure?!"
Hill's tone was full of shock and his expression was extremely stunned, as if he had heard something unbelievable.
The silver-haired lady sitting opposite her did not answer immediately. Her blue eyes swept across her face indifferently. After a second or two of silence as if she was thinking, she slowly said in her cold voice:
"You know with my current status, there will be no joking."
This thin and gaunt young lady was Ottilia, the former senior deacon of the Seventh Parish.
Now she has received the sacred blessing and protection of the great "Pure White Gate", and has been promoted to the sixth generation "Pure White Pope". She has mastered the power of "purification" that can eliminate the "Rust Plague" curse and has become the only supreme leader of the entire Last Kingdom.
Faced with her orders, even the grand elders of the Holy See must obey her orders and have no right to disobey in the slightest!
"But……"
Hill seemed to want to say something, but when he opened his mouth halfway, he choked for some reason, and many words were stuck in his throat and couldn't be uttered.
She looked at Otilia with a complicated expression. After becoming the "Pure White Pope", the appearance of this silver-haired, blue-eyed lady did not change significantly.
Apart from the fact that her gray and white robe had been changed to a more solemn and serious style with more sacred patterns, she was not much different from the senior deacon Otilia she had known before.
Even his eyes were still cold and distant, like the blue sky in ancient mythological times, clear, transparent, distant and empty, making it impossible to grasp.
"Your Holiness... Are you really planning to go on an expedition to the Resting Place? No one has ever done such a thing from ancient times to the present..."
Sitting on the chair, Hill clenched the cloth on his thighs with both hands, several emotions entangled in his eyes, and no one knew what he was struggling with.
"Now there is."
Otilia, the sixth "Pure White Pope", answered clearly and without hesitation:
"In the next few weeks, personnel from our headquarters and other camps will gradually gather at Camp No. 19. The expeditionary force will be formed in a month at the latest. At that time, the expedition will officially start, and I will accompany them throughout the journey."
After she finished speaking, she glanced at Hill coldly:
"If you have nothing else to do, go back first. I still have to arrange the personnel deployment and mobilization strategy for the expeditionary force. I also still need to practice and consolidate my own divine power. I don't have much time to chat with you.
"Congratulations on returning to the Last Kingdom alive. You can return to the headquarters and relax. You don't have to participate in most activities in the future. This is a privilege I give you as the 'Pure White Pope'.
"But that's all. Don't do anything extra."
When she said the last sentence, Ottilia narrowed her eyes slightly and her tone changed subtly, as if she was admonishing... or even warning someone about something.
"I……"
Hill wanted to say something else, but when her eyes met Ottilia's blue eyes that seemed to keep people away from her, she pursed her lips and said no more:
"Okay, thank you for your permission, Your Holiness..."
She stood up with a heavy heart, bowed to Ottilia, then turned and left the small building that belonged to the "Pure White Pope" and came to the still bustling camp.
"Expedition to the Resting Place... Lady Otilia, do you really not know about it?"
After leaving the residential area in the center of the camp, Hill carried the document that Otilia had given him before he left. He frowned and walked slowly toward the edge of the inner city, looking at the ground below him with a serious look:
"The essence of the so-called 'purification' power of the 'Pure White Popes' of all generations..."
"You don't seem to have reached an agreement with Otilia."
A familiar pleasant voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Master 105?!"
Hill was startled and immediately freed from his thoughts. He subconsciously reached for his shoulder with one hand, but touched nothing.
Only then did she realize that the invisible black animal that had been crawling on her shoulder...had disappeared at some point.
Following the figure just now, I saw a hooded figure walking out from an inconspicuous corner and approaching me step by step:
"So, her apparent plan is to prepare troops to march in the direction of the 'resting place' in order to open up new territory, right?"
Hill looked around quickly and found that no one nearby paid any attention to him. He immediately realized that 105 was almost the same as when they first met in the "Abyss". He was the only one who could sense his existence.
So she felt relieved, lowered her voice, nodded and responded as if talking to herself, trying not to show any abnormality:
