They didn't even struggle - Sheriff Dabe saw with his own eyes that a police officer had been pierced through the body by an insect-man and nailed to the wall. The insect-man's sickle and claws were about to swing down to cut off its head, but when the root came, the insect-man immediately stopped and obediently let it roll up its body, sucking out its blood and soul, and turned into an empty shell that scattered all over the ground.
"Save me! Save me!"
The police officer just breathed a sigh of relief, but the next second he found that his back was just pressed against a "white tube". It seemed that the thing had taken him as food that was delivered to its door. Although it did not roll up directly, tiny roots sprang out from the contact point and inserted them into the police officer's skin, quickly pulling him to a dry skin.
"what!"
Everyone watched as he let out a shrill scream, his skin sliding down from mid-air, his faint soul being sucked away by the roots, and his entire image being squeezed and appearing on the surface of the roots.
"This is hell! It's hell!!"
Finally, some people couldn't stand the horrible sight and went crazy. They started to attack the white rhizome with machetes and guns, but neither the blades nor the bullets could cause any scratches on its surface.
Instead, it seemed to have angered them. These things fell down one by one and slowly crawled, surrounding them from all directions.
I'm dying?
Seeing a pure white root aiming at him, Sheriff Dabei trembled all over, staring at the countless outlines of living creatures piled together on the surface of the thing, his entire consciousness went blank.
But, there was no warning.
Just when they were almost in despair, the roots stopped moving.
"Hitzfeld?"
Darent immediately looked at the girl next to him.
He was the only one who noticed that at the same time as the "roots stopped", Hitzfeld's body shook slightly.
"I am fine."
Hitzfeld held the white whale against the wall with one hand and pinched his forehead with the other.
"This is the nature of this thing... It's unwise to fight it in reality."
"What did you do?"
Darent's eyes widened.
Such a good effect...could it be some forbidden technique that overdraws life?
"It's just the old trick." Hitzfeld shook his head. "Similar to how I deceived Evernight... I just pulled it into my dream."
"But it's a bit forced. Should we say that a great man who has fallen on hard times is still a great man... He is not that easy to control..."
"Are you sure?" Darent asked.
Pulling such a huge monster into your dream?
What kind of method is this?
It sounds extremely dangerous. Can we really hold on like this?
"That's definitely not possible." Hitzfeld still shook his head. "I think the situation will be reversed in a while... I will be pulled into its dream... just like I was sleeping before."
"But it doesn't matter... This is what I have to do... Some things can only be achieved in dreams... I have to go, it's only a matter of time."
"Aisun! Hitzfeld!"
"Please help me keep watch during this time."
Count Xieyang simply gave a faint instruction, then sat down against the wall, his head closed, and he fell silent.
Chapter 40: The Source of Disaster (Two in One)
"Aisun..."
The woman who was reading a document on the sofa was suddenly startled and uttered a muttering that only she could hear.
The distance to the dream world was getting closer and closer. For someone like Xia Yibing who had a particularly keen sense of spiritual perception, the sense of oppression became heavier. She thought that maybe this was the reason why she could vaguely sense the trembling of Hitzfeld's soul. She was now 100% sure that the girl must have temporarily changed her plan for today and went to investigate the case in her dream alone.
But... judging from the trembling reaction and the feeling she conveyed, it seemed like she had a plan in advance, and there was no sense of surprise at all.
Then you don’t need to worry too much, just read these things and then catch up.
Thinking of this, Xia Yibing turned her attention back to the information. While reading it, she asked Frick across from her about the details of the investigation.
"If you only look at these things, there's nothing wrong... Have you checked all the undertakers?"
"Not all of them," Frick said. "Several of the corpse collectors are missing. They are said to have caught a cold and are recuperating at home. After identifying them, we found their respective residences, but no one was there. There is a high possibility that they have escaped."
"Aisun's sensitivity in this area is trustworthy." Xia Yibing threw the things on the table. "It seems that the direction is correct. Are you sure you can find the person?"
"We have also blocked off the several exits into the mountain. It's like a closed sheepfold." Frick stood up. "If we can't catch him, we're pretty useless."
"Don't say such things." The woman stared at him. "You don't know what they have done."
"I understand." Frick bowed to her, "I just want to find my former self again, and I'm pushing myself this way."
He seemed to be more direct in his words and actions than when he went to Brays Island before...
Looking at Frick's departing back, Xia Yibing thought that he had indeed regained the purity of a knight.
Is this the result of practicing with that group of fanatics in Onsayin?
It is said that the gold strength there is much higher than the average in the East, and I don't know what positive impact these tin cans have.
Well, I should have nothing to do for now.
The special envoy did not need to do the execution personally, so Xia Yibing took the document back and planned to put it back into the bag to seal it. Then he went to find Old Bal, who was guarding the gate, and went to Hitzfeld's side to take a look.
But there was a pause in the middle of the action because she suddenly saw a word written in pen on the seal of the file bag - "Tree House".
The word was circled, underlined twice, and there was a question mark next to it, which clearly expressed how confused the person who wrote it was at the time.
Is this from Flick?
Xia Yibing frowned and stared at the "tree house". After a little thought, she realized that Frick was dissatisfied with the fact that there was no treeman settlement in Manion, which made it very difficult for them to connect the information here.
For example, if Carlo wanted to call for help, he had to catch a plane first. This kind of thing would never happen in any other parish...but why didn't Frick use blood magic?
Oh, it seems that the person contracted by him for blood spirit magic is Carlo.
I have to endure the excruciating pain of having my skin torn off my hands to pass on the information, but I can't pass it to the person standing in front of me, right?
Thinking of the interesting part, the corners of the woman's mouth curled up slightly. But soon she frowned - it was indeed unusual that Manion didn't have a tree house.
The so-called "tree house" is a shorthand for the tree people's base. It can be a roadside bookstore, a library, a grocery store, a hotel...any place you can think of. The counter of these places is likely to be a tree person. There is a root network exclusive to them. Many agents can choose to find these hidden tree houses when they encounter emergencies while running missions and ask the tree people to help them pass on messages.
Tree people have strange tempers, which may be related to the tree species. Not every tree person is easy to talk to, but it is better to have one than not, and it is a choice after all.
And if Manion really has a tree house, given her and Aisuen's current status, no treeman should refuse their request for recruitment.
She sat on the sofa, thinking about something, and heard the sound of light footsteps beside her.
It was a little maid with two ponytails and an apron. She looked at the woman shyly, bent down, and filled the woman's teacup while revealing her relatively thin cleavage.
"who are you?"
Xia Yibing suddenly looked up and asked her.
"I am..." The little maid was originally planning to use a made-up excuse, but as soon as she met those eyes, she couldn't help but tell the truth: "I am Mr. Exon's carrier... I followed his orders to approach you, hoping to gain your kindness."
"Goodwill?" Xia Yibing narrowed her eyes and shifted her gaze to the collar of her shirt that she had deliberately pulled down.
She was a little confused at first, but suddenly, she thought of the recent negotiation between Hitzfeld and Lieutenant Colonel Cab.
At the beginning of the conversation, the girl emphasized that "Special Envoy Emaar is on the same level as me." In their assumption, the locals would not know how close they were - maybe they were always harsh with men, which led to some rumors, such as "Director Emaar actually likes women", but if they were not as close as Team 17 or the assistants and clerks they used in the office, others would definitely not understand their relationship.
After all, this matter has never been made public.
Aisuen... I guessed at the time that she was using this to set a trap for the lieutenant colonel. That is, if this person was problematic, then he might think that I... thought that I, the Shadow Lion Leader, was sent by King Sara to balance the power of Count Xie Yang. He might contact me privately, or reveal this news to those who had illegal cooperation with him, and let them test me instead.
The appearance of the little maid now just proved how prescient this action was. Xia Yibing did not completely believe Colonel Bilis's accusations against Lieutenant Colonel Kabu at first, but now she is sure that Lieutenant Colonel Kabu will definitely not be in the same camp.
"Is Exxon Malon Exxon?" Xia Yibing asked, "If it is a carrier, why do we need to do this?"
Malone Exxon is the phantom warrior that Hitzfeld and others encountered in prison - an evil person who resurrected with the help of corpses.
He must have used some means, either a virus or a flesh and blood parasite, in short, it was nothing more than these methods to achieve this. Then the word "carrier" is easy to understand. She estimated that the little maid could become the container for this person's arrival at any time.
"When they said the new Shadow Lion leader was a woman, I laughed and said Sarah was crazy."
The little maid's mouth broke into a smile, and her entire demeanor, temperament, and even the tone of her voice changed drastically in an instant.
"But now that I'm actually dealing with you, I think I may have been too arrogant in the past."
"What on earth does Eclipse want to do?"
Xia Yibing stared into the maid's eyes. "Yinsel is your leader, right? He's dead. You guys didn't have any internal strife? What about the legendary undead fleet? Who else is here besides you? Du Lin? Marandis?"
She casually reported two names. These were the top leaders of Eclipse who had been found out before. They were at least district leaders and they almost caused huge damage to the two cities.
On the contrary, this was the first time Exxon had heard of this person. This person had never shown up before. It was not known whether he was hiding well enough or had come to power after a struggle after Insel's death.
Struggle - this is one of the directions of speculation within the Security Bureau.
Any organization, as long as it is made up of people, will definitely not be a monolithic entity. In the past, there was a terrifying character like Yin Seer who restrained them and molded them into a whole. Now that Yin Seer is dead, there is indeed a high possibility that factional fighting will break out in Eclipse.
"You know us very well." The maid simply sat down opposite, "But I admit that you are right. Xunette and I had some disagreements. She took the fleet away, while the Slit-Mouth Wolf and the Dead Souls chose to follow me. This should be our first action after our reunification."
Is it really split?
Xia Yibing's heart sank slightly.
In the long run, killing a "hero" like Yinsel is certainly a good thing, but in the short term... the maned hounds that have lost the restraint of the lion king must be eager to do something to prove that they still have strength.
The power of the Eclipse Church was indeed weakened by the loss of its leader, but this also caused it to split, become chaotic, disorderly, and even more difficult to predict.
"What are your disagreements?" Xia Yibing asked.
She tried to judge the core appeal of this semi-eclipse through Exxon's response.
"Before we get into that, I'm going to talk about our differences first." The maid crossed her legs.
Xia Yibing sneered: "I don't think there is anything to talk about this kind of disagreement."
"Look, I'm willing to admit my arrogance, but you're not willing to admit yours." The maid glared, "Isn't this attitude enough to prove my sincerity? You know I can just use force. Our plans here are much more far-reaching than you think."
"Then come on."
Xia Yibing was not moved at all.
"Let's see if I can smell where you are if I do this for a long time."
Still testing...testing whether the so-called "Marlon Exxon" is a collective consciousness or there is an "original entity".
"Honestly." But the other party was not fooled and returned to the original topic, "The reason why you have such great malice towards us is nothing more than that you think we are evil, crazy, and want to destroy everything that exists."
"Aren't you?"
"Maybe Yinsel is, maybe Schneider is, but I... I'm definitely not."
"That's funny, you talk like you're planning how to save the world!"
"That's exactly what I thought."
Exxon didn't laugh. Instead, he seriously controlled his body and nodded.
"The ancient fog gods... well, this is what we call them internally."
"You have dealt with these things before, so you should know how difficult they are to deal with. You may think that I trust these things, that I am an evil believer, and that everything I do is to attract them to come..."
"Aren't you?"
"Not anymore." The maid narrowed her eyes.
"Speaking of which, I have to thank you... Yinsel's death and Aishazhou's return caused the plan there to fail completely, which means the end of an extraordinary path. Some of us finally realized that those ugly things would not be so kind to grant us power. They just want to use the little knowledge that leaked out to lure us into madness, and become vessels for their coming after we cross that boundary."
You say this with a contemptuous tone, but you actually do the same thing.
Xia Yibing's lips moved, but she resisted the urge to ask what would happen to the little maid's body after he left.
Because the first answer at the beginning was given by the little maid on her own initiative, it can be seen that she was not unaware of the situation.
Maybe there is something behind this...but given the current situation, she no longer has the time to care about a stranger.
"You understand the reason behind this," the maid emphasized.
"Even if it's Yin Seer, not everything he does is for destruction."
Hearing him say this, Xia Yibing suddenly felt dazed.
She remembered Insel-Alesia's confession before she chose to self-destruct.
"I have always stressed to you all...I am not here to spread destruction."
