novelraw Chapter 876: Another Group
Chapter 876: Another Group
The camp of the Church of Twisted Vines.
A massive, blazing bonfire greeted the final group of guests.
The Church of Shadows had arrived first, and then the heretics, who should have been adversaries, turned out to be unexpected visitors.
The ordinary believers of the Church of Twisted Vines did not object to this cooperation, and the tentacled cultists leading the followers of the ancient deep gods fanatically supported this holy war. Only a few residents feared it would provoke hostility from the still-existing Old God.
The Distorted Figure ultimately decided to cooperate with Lu Li. It would make the Church stronger, and because She trusted the Prophet.
"I'm glad we can work together again, just like before..."
The Distorted Figure's low hum was like a musical instrument, its sound echoing through the empty church.
Twenty-four years ago, when She was still the Library Spirit, She had chosen the right books for Lu Li.
That nostalgia, that memory of the past, was enough to make one set aside any stubbornness regarding their collaboration.
After Lu Li's arrival, Bishop John retreated behind him like an old servant, following his lead.Lu Li took out the book titled "Belfast," leaned over, and placed it on the pew beside him.
"Do you know the outcome?" he asked.
"The Prophet told me..."
The Distorted Figure did not hide anything.
Perhaps in the future foreseen by the Eternal Dreamer, the prophecy conveyed to the Distorted Figure, and Her use of "Belfast" to hint at it to Lu Li, was another one of those seemingly small but indispensable details that shaped events.
"How far are the heretics?" Lu Li asked.
"I can feel them in Belfast... and they are getting closer."
The coming battle could not take place within the Church of Twisted Vines; even if they won, they couldn't afford the losses from the destruction of their camp.
They decided to fight on the streets outside the camp; the followers of the Distorted Figure and the Church of Shadows were already making preparations.
As the only non-believer, Lu Li would not go near the battlefield.
Without the distorted faith that semi-permanently anchored the consciousness of the Church's followers, even the residual contamination from the start of the battle would be enough to cause Lu Li's mind to shatter, driving him to madness.
One of the cultists entered the church, lifted the sleeping Prusius with both hands, and carried him away like a sacrificial offering, taking him to the ambush point to serve as bait.
Soon, the Distorted Figure and Bishop John also departed, and Ophelia went along to help.
Only Lu Li and the Merchant remained in the empty, candlelit church.
It was the safest place in the camp.
...
A simple watchtower, erected in just a matter of minutes, stood in the middle of the district.
A tentacled cultist and his companions were drawing magic circles on the ruined streets and among the rubble of houses, intending to return the curse placed on Prusius—along with their hatred—back upon their enemies.
Thirty-six believers from the Church of Shadows gathered in the hall of a former tavern, casting malicious curses upon the heretics.
Everything was ready. After a brief flurry of activity, they concealed themselves, the lights dimmed, and darkness and fog reclaimed the area.
The snowy night was silent here.
Time passed unnoticed, and something gradually emerged from the gloom at the end of the street.
They held oil lamps in their hands and advanced in two winding lines.
An unbearable stench of rot and fish spread out around them.
They passed through the fog and stopped at the intersection, on the edge of the ruined street where the magic circles had been drawn.
"The man, where?"
The leading silhouette uttered a garbled whisper, answered only by the wind and snow from the deep darkness.
"We, do not, want, to fight. Find, man, help, us, build ship."
The silhouette continued its slow whisper.
Whoosh—
A bright flame flared in response.
Twisted, scattered shadows and light surrounded the Distorted Figure, who hovered low in the air.
"What do you mean, build a ship..."
She said.
...
"The deity they worshipped was torn apart by an anomaly; before its death, the deity delivered a prophecy: darkness will fall, there will be no more light, leave this land."
A devout member of the Church of Shadows bowed before Lu Li, recounting everything.
"The heretics came to Belfast to build ships in the port, but they didn't know how and were forced to stop. That's when you passed by and were spotted by them. They left a mark on Prusius to follow you."
"They want to get ship blueprints from you."
"Where are Katerina and Andrea?" Lu Li asked.
"The tentacled one... said... they... are not... those... heretics."
They were not the ones who left the contamination in Himpfast, nor were they the ones who took Katerina and Andrea.
The actions of these heretics trying to build ships and escape, and the contamination of Himpfast, had merely coincided by chance.
"They want to communicate with you," the believer continued, relaying the heretics' goal.
The Distorted Figure would not recklessly allow them into the camp or near Lu Li. However, they had a suitable candidate for communication—Prusius.
The Distorted Figure and her believers remained outside the camp, watching the heretics. Ophelia returned with Prusius, and through him, Lu Li communicated with the heretic leader.
Just as the believer had reported, they only wanted ship blueprints.
Whether the heretics decided to negotiate because of the power backing Lu Li, or if that had been their intention from the start, remained unknown.
Everyone believed it was the latter.
Lu Li could indeed give them what they needed. And providing ship blueprints to a group of fleeing heretics posed no threat to human settlements—at least, not nearly as much as the threat of the worm invasion.
The Merchant contacted City Hall. A message came back that Mayor Matteus seemed to be occupied with something important, and the Secret Council had decided to provide Lu Li with several blueprints for non-military ocean vessels.
The heretic leader chose a medium-sized ocean vessel, similar in size to their half-finished keel. In exchange, he paid with a bag full of Anomaly Currency and removed the mark from Prusius.
The deal hardly seemed equal; Lu Li and his companions, especially Prusius, had paid a certain price. But the fact that it averted a battle was good for everyone.
After receiving the blueprints, the heretic leader invited Lu Li and the others from the camp to the port to watch their departure, once the fog tide and the Eternal Night had lifted.
When the heretics had left, Bishop John whispered to Lu Li that they could have taken care of them... at only a small cost.
"It's better this way... They already took the mark off, right? I feel fine now," Prusius said, not wanting to cause everyone more trouble.
In the end, Lu Li decided not to waste these followers of Anna on a pointless conflict.
Lu Li stored the bag containing 96 units of Anomaly Currency with the Merchant. Then he found the tentacled cultist who had returned to the camp and asked him:
"Can you tell me about the forces of the Old God that are hostile to you?"
"Why do you want to know..."
The tentacled cultist was puzzled.
"Our companions disappeared after being contaminated, and we suspect it's connected to them."
The cultist's vertical, toad-like eyes swept over Lu Li, Ophelia, and even Prusius.
"I will tell you."
Anomalies didn't need a pointless sense of glory from "personally killing their enemies." Hostility drove their hatred to destroy everything their opponents possessed, by any means necessary.
"If you can weaken them, you will earn the favor of our Lord."
"We... do not... need it."
Ophelia had no desire for Lu Li to turn into an ugly, slimy fish.
Just then, the heretic leader who had left returned.
"You, are looking for, Andrea, is it a ship?" he said.
"A kinsman, told me... it, is, in the bay, will sink soon."