After bidding farewell to Iluna on the water and agreeing to meet again on Thursday to exchange information, Xia De took Mia and re-entered the dense forest, preparing to head home.
The dense fog still permeated the forest, but the traces of the divine ritual on the ground no longer glowed, indicating that the battle in the distance had likely ended.
Although there were some unexpected events just now, the kiss under the Moonlight on the water made Xia De feel very good.
However, he had not walked two steps into the forest when he frowned and stopped:
"Who?"
"Me."
As the voice appeared, Moonlight projected through the branches onto the ground, and the large shadows of the trees looked somewhat terrifying in the night. Stepping out from those shadows was Priest Augustus, wearing a gray Priest's robe. He had an embarrassed expression; if Xia De hadn't seen him, he definitely wouldn't have come out.
"Priest?"
Xia De breathed a sigh of relief:
"Why are you here so late? When did you arrive?"
"Don't worry, I didn't see anything just now."
The Priest quickly shook his head and motioned for Xia De to walk and talk with him:
"When I return to Tobesk, I won't say anything."
He emphasized again, as if afraid Xia De wouldn't believe him. But after speaking, he hesitated for a moment and then softly cautioned:
"It's understandable for young people to pursue pretty members of the opposite sex, but you must control the scale and... quantity."
"Priest, you really arrived early!"
Mia, peeking out from Xia De's arms, also cooperated with a "Meow~," seemingly finding it amusing.
"I arrived when you rushed out of the woods. You hid really well; if you hadn't walked out of the dense forest, I wouldn't have even found you."
The Priest said with a smile, walking quickly with Xia De through the foggy forest. Although he often self-deprecatingly mentioned his old age and inability to do many things, this Old Priest could still walk swiftly through the Woodland at night.
"I came here to find something; the lunatic who summoned the Death Angel's scythe just now had what I need on him."
"You also know that was the 'Death Angel's Scythe'?"
The battlefield in the center of the lake was far from the forest, so the Priest should not have heard Joey Barton's voice.
Priest Augustus snorted and said with some self-satisfaction:
"I can understand most powers related to death with just one glance. Although the power that man used just now was strange, I saw it and immediately knew its name."
This should be related to the power of the Death Angel:
"That was a true death strike, capable of shattering any tangible or intangible entity that intends to destroy, using the concepts of death and ending."
"So, does it have a weakness?"
Xia De humbly asked for guidance.
"Of course it does. No matter how powerful that move is, it's used by a Ring術士. The user himself seems to be only a low-Ring Arcanist? Killing him before he uses that move, or killing him after dodging it, isn't that very easy?"
The Priest said, and Xia De immediately nodded. Compared to Darkness's talent for manipulating Darkness, Joey Barton's death talent, though seemingly intimidating, was not as comprehensive in effect as the dark vortex. Overall, it was even less useful than Iluna's talent for forcibly lowering an enemy's Ring術士 level.
"Then what are you looking for?"
Xia De asked, thinking about the things on Joey Barton's person:
"The rhode cards 【Founding·Death】?"
"You know I always steer clear of games like rhode cards."
The Priest shook his head, lightly leaping over a horizontal tree trunk on the ground:
"I don't know what I'm looking for either, but it's definitely on that person. Xia De, who exactly was that guy? I only know that the Church found someone who resurrected from the dead, using that as a trap to lure in The Society of Truth. Was that guy just now also a member of The Society of Truth?"
So, during the rest of their journey, Xia De introduced the life story of "the one who defied death," Joey Barton, to the Priest. Of course, to avoid getting the Priest involved in the dangerous matters of the Chosen One and whispering chapters, Xia De only said that the person was very important and that various forces were looking for him, but he didn't mention the epic of the sixth epoch.
"So that's how it is, defying death to live."
On the small road back to the City, the Priest pondered:
"I've never even heard of such a person. From his appearance, he should have an extraordinary control over death power... second only to me."
Xia De kept a straight face and said nothing.
"Xia De, I see you also want to find that person, so how about this: if you have any leads on him, call me and I'll go with you to find him."
"Of course, no problem."
Although the Priest was only a Two-Ring Arcanist, he could be of great help, especially in the Between Life and death.
"You need to be wary of that person. His understanding of death will make him stronger in the 【Life and Death Gap】. The essence of death also makes him harder to kill than anyone else. This is a very tricky enemy."
Priest Augustus reminded him again, and Xia De nodded cautiously, lamenting in his heart how unique and unreasonable the powers of the Chosen Ones were.
It was already very late, and Xia De wouldn't enter the City, so he planned to part ways with the Priest outside the City. Taking advantage of the time, Xia De briefly told the Priest about recent events. The Priest did know about the "four nails" but only generally. After listening to Xia De's detailed explanation, he smiled and said:
"Dying and resurrecting from the Between Life and death, but not knowing that he resurrected? Oh, I do have a way to determine the target's general area, but I can't do a detailed search."
"It's okay, I'll do the detailed search."
Xia De patted his right shoulder. The Red Butterfly given by Grace and Helen could find the remaining two targets within a small range. Now, the Red Butterfly searching for the clown had dissipated, leaving two more.
"Alright, tomorrow is Wednesday... I need to prepare for a day. We'll meet on Thursday and see if we can find those nails in one day."
Priest Augustus's tone was quite casual, as if they were just going hunting for wild rabbits not much bigger than Mia in the forest:
"No need to worry about their power; I also saw that clown just now. These dead people who should have died are what I fear the least. What we need to worry about is not being able to find them."
"Alright, Priest, we'll meet on Oak Street on Thursday noon."
"What are you doing on Thursday morning?"
Priest Augustus asked curiously. He knew that with Xia De's personality, if he didn't have something to do in the morning, he would never drag the time until the afternoon.
"I have an appointment to meet Iluna Bayas in the morning."
Upon hearing this answer, Priest Augustus's mouth twitched, and he turned to look at the nearby mountains:
"If one day you're stabbed to death by Annette or Louisa, I won't help you."
Of course, the Priest didn't say this out loud, but he truly believed such a possibility existed.
The events in Middlesburg would not halt because of Xia De's departure. In places he couldn't see, the Church had also done a lot of work.
Xia De heard about the aftermath of The Society of Truth's encirclement battle from Miss Aurora on Wednesday morning; the Witches were also very concerned about this matter.
In short, the Church learned from the lessons of the Tobesk and Coldwater Port incidents, believing that allowing those seemingly harmless lunatics, whose actual actions were unpredictable, to roam freely in a City where major events were about to happen would cause serious damage to the harmony and stability of the material world.
Therefore, the Natural Church of the Middlesburg Diocese applied to the Holy See to unite with other Orthodox Church to completely wipe out the most active The Society of Truth in Mi Fort before the sealing ceremony next week.
"The Church is really determined this time. Yesterday, they even sent a local Thirteen Ring Sorcerer to participate in the battle."
Xia De and Miss Aurora were sitting in a carriage heading to Cassandra Auction House. Xia De had already returned the golden ring.
And judging by the Witch's tone, she was also near the battlefield last night:
"The Society of Truth is truly surprising; they even managed to bring out the angel-level relic 【Star-Calling Demon Stone】."
Afraid Xia De wouldn't know what that was, the Witch explained further:
"The angel-level relic 【Star-Calling Demon Stone】 is related to the evil entities sleeping in the starry sky. Using the demon stone can summon a meteorite filled with curses, plagues, and spiritual pollution to strike the area where the demon stone is located. As for the side effect, each time the demon stone is used, there is a ten percent chance of awakening the evil entity in the starry sky to personally project its image, appearing in the material world along with the meteorite. Among all known angel-level relics, this one is the most dangerous, very close to the standard for Angel-level items."
Correspondingly, Xia De's 【Night Watchman】 longsword should be the least dangerous type among angel-level relics.
The brown-haired Witch tutted, and at the same time, the carriage jolted, temporarily pulling Xia De out of his memories of last night:
"Were all the Ring術士 sent by The Society of Truth to this area eliminated or captured?"
"Of course not, two escaped, but it's not important. The significant meaning of the Church's operation this time is to deter those Ring術士 who came in pursuit of the Chosen One from acting rashly recently. Speaking of which, Grandma Cassandra received news that the Church confirmed who the Chosen One was yesterday, but he ran into the Between Life and death, and I heard he's a man, and a lunatic."
She shook her head:
"The Church used 'nails' as bait this time, but they didn't expect to actually hook the Chosen One, and he even got away. It's truly laughable. Since he's a man, then the Council's task for me here becomes simpler. Find him, and if he can't be completely controlled, eliminate him. Since he's unwilling to submit to the Orthodox Church, then he's probably not a good person either."
But Xia De believed Joey Barton couldn't be considered entirely a bad person.
"【If you had the chance, would you kill him?】"
The whispering chapters at his ear softly asked, and Xia De turned to look out the window:
"Ask him if he's given up on resurrecting the dead. If he has, I'll chop off one of his arms as the price for attacking Iluna, even though he held back against me, his attack on Iluna and her group was truly a fatal one. If he hasn't given up, then let him return to death. If the Between Life and death collapses because of him, how many living people would be left in Middlesburg?"
Xia De had gained a deeper understanding of Joey Barton's personality. This gentleman would absolutely not easily harm those he was close to and trusted, but he would act without hesitation against strangers. Perhaps it was the turbulent times of his youth or old age that shaped this personality, and his complex character and methods of action made this person even more real and clear in the fog of Middlesburg.
There are never purely good or bad people; Xia De was very clear about this.
"【Are you sure you're not doing this for that 'founding·death' card?】"
"Her" laughter echoed in the wind, and the City outside the window was still shrouded in that strange heavy fog.
"You mustn't falsely accuse me."
Xia De's expression did not change in the slightest:
"But if it truly comes to a situation where Joey Barton must be killed, I will definitely obtain that 'founding·death' card."
Xia De never concealed his desire, especially from "Her."
