Chapter Sixty-Eight

Reminded of this, Twelve immediately realized the problem.

The rats here are not as erratic as they used to be. Strictly speaking, there is only one rat that has been standing not far away watching this place for a very long time.

About an hour later, a new mouse will arrive, while the original mouse will dart away to some unknown place. The new mouse will remain standing there, staring intently at the scene.

It's really weird. The sewers, which were already annoying, have become even more irritating after this.

"Are there any intelligent beings?" the nameless man asked. "Are they demons?"

“No way, that guy’s IQ is pitifully low. If you were the one keeping watch, would you stay in one place motionless for an hour?” Twelve said. “But what’s certain is that we’re being watched by something.”

"I can already guess who's in charge of these rats. If it's not a person, it's a big rat, either a witch or an old man." Nameless shrugged helplessly. "Interested in following them? I'm so bored, I need to find something to do to avoid getting so bored I kill myself."

"Speaking of which, don't you have your own space?" Xie Ying suddenly remembered that this guy could tear space apart. It was a blessing he received from him, but he hadn't seen him use it for a while.

“The space here is locked.” Wuming hesitated for a moment before saying, “I can’t move around as freely as before. Each time I cross space, it consumes a lot of my physical strength and magic power. So I can’t do that now. There are demons here too, and they’re different from the ones in that city. They’re demons who can control their power very well. That guy is hiding in this city, and even the church can’t confirm his existence.”

"Very likely, after all, being able to bypass a locked space is something that normal people cannot do."

"Another demon?" Yan's eyes lit up. "Maybe I can find someone to help me."

"Not necessarily. This guy is very cautious. He chose to hide in this city, so well that even the church here hasn't sent any clergy. I don't think you can drag this kind of guy into your suicide mission." Shadowy poured cold water on the idea without even thinking.

"Another coward?"

"You can't accuse those who made the right choice of being cowards. You've seen what the Church will do for a demon that may or may not even exist. They use overwhelming force to cut off all hope for the enemy, thus minimizing casualties. If the outside world knew there was a fully-fledged demon here, how many do you think they would send? You can try persuading this city to become an enemy of the Church, and you can also take the opportunity to see how the Church deals with rebels." Shadowy paused and said, "They will not hesitate to go to war. Their hesitation and mercy are always based on the premise that the other side submits."

"Shut up."

"Ha, alright, from now on, Demon King." Xie Ying said in a mocking tone, "But speaking of which, I think we should go check on that rat."

"You used to have a relationship with angels, don't you know what happened?"

"That's why I'm absolutely certain that thing has neither magical power nor holy magic; it's just a rat. And did you notice how clean that rat is? In this sewer, for a rat, its cleanliness is almost abnormal."

......

The little spider looked at the little mouse standing in front of it, rested its chin on its hand, and fell into deep thought.

The little mouse was so frightened that it didn't move, because there was a cat standing on either side of it.

Where had it ever seen a cat like this before? One was angelic with wings, the other had spider legs and looked like a demon crawling down from hell.

"This thing has been watching us since last night." Dark's voice was hoarse, like a bellows being turned on.

“I noticed it too.” Gray looked at the mouse with great interest.

It poked the little thing with its paw, and the creature remained completely still despite being pushed around. It was very bouncy. Although its own paws were made of bone, it still felt like it was pressing something soft and squishy.

For some reason, the two cats showed a great deal of interest in this little creature. They didn't know what the mouse meant to them, but they inexplicably felt a sense of fascination.

And for some inexplicable reason, I wanted to put it in my mouth, even though it didn't look any better than the food the team was eating.

The rat is now trapped in this room, and all the gaps have been closed to prevent it from escaping.

The inn's once-luxurious rooms are now crammed with monsters and the last remaining cargo.

The blankets on the bed haven't been touched yet, because the little spider is curled up in a ball in the corner. The two cats are sleeping on top of the coffin.

The rat stood at the window watching them, keeping an eye on these guys.

They haven't changed locations all night. If this doesn't happen again, they're either blind or haven't experienced anything supernatural.

"Squeak." The little thing huddled there, trembling.

“But this rat isn’t the same one from yesterday.” The little spider hesitated for a moment before saying, “There should be many more of the same rats. I’ve probably spotted about fifty of them around here.”

As he said this, he turned to look at a small spider struggling to unravel a web at the entrance of a hole—it had been tested to be able to cut through metal.

"Do you want to save your friend?" He secretly tried to grab the thing, but then he realized that the little spider had removed the web.

In an instant, the trapped spider darted out through the gap and disappeared into the hole.

“You let him go.” He paused for a moment and then said, “The reason, I need the reason.”

“I left a mark on him,” Spider-Man paused and said, “I used magic to leave the mark, but of course, I didn’t hurt him. As long as he’s in this city, I can’t lose him.”

Are you going to chase after it?

"I'm somewhat interested."

"Let's go together then, I'm interested in that stuff too."

"I want to go too," Gray said a little shyly. "That thing looks interesting."

The group looked at each other, then turned their heads away somewhat embarrassedly.

This seemingly meaningless thing suddenly caught the attention of these guys. The reason was absurd: the mouse looked soft and cute, and for some inexplicable reason, it looked like it would taste delicious.

For a monster like this, there's absolutely no resistance to something so funny and absurd.

Denos watched the things run away and shrugged.

He wasn't worried about the guy getting into danger, and these guys could get a piece of intelligence about the city just by leaving them alone. Such a stable source of intelligence was fantastic.

He had nothing to worry about now; the city was relatively safe. They were there to rest and recuperate, and his task was simply to purchase whatever they needed.

The carriage that's standing at the door right now is the one he bought yesterday, the one he asked Connie to buy.

That guy, having spent a long time here and possessing considerable power, naturally offered up something valuable upon learning that the high priest needed the carriage. He wouldn't even accept money unless practically forced upon him.

There are four in total. The first one was brought over as a sample, and the rest are still under construction.

Although it's called a carriage, this thing doesn't need horses. It's powered by steam and uses a steering wheel inside to turn. Denos was genuinely shocked; this thing was far superior to horses, at least it wouldn't be injected with tranquilizers in places where riots broke out.

He's currently tinkering with the carriage, making some simple additions inside.

Denos tapped the outer shell with his hand, marveling at its sturdiness. With this thing around, there was nowhere he wouldn't dare go.

When he opened Ark's money bag, he knew just how wealthy this guy was; a handful of it was all pure gold coins, not a single one of any other color.

It seems that Ark has regained his spirits and, having not gathered so many people in a long time, wanted to properly organize his equipment to make his journey smoother ahead.

Meanwhile, Karl sat to the side, glancing at the ghost duke out of the corner of his eye while reading the scriptures. This guy was incredibly audacious, daring to flirt with Lori right in front of her, knowing he wouldn't be killed... "flirting" is a bit of an exaggeration; he just kept trying to talk to the cute girl. This guy also had something called Gomoku (Five in a Row), something I'd never heard of before. But the rules did sound quite interesting, and he and Lori were currently playing it on a stone slab.

As for the chessboard on the stone slab? Oh, Carl drew it with his finger. He even cracked the stone where he pressed down. He made a chessboard exactly as he wanted by controlling the pressure. Partly to provide a prop for their entertainment, and partly to remind the kid not to go too far. He didn't mind letting it crack.

Lori was smiling happily now, her adorable face and smile were truly heartwarming. She was also wearing beautiful clothes now, no longer a nun's robe, but a long white dress with a light blue shawl and sheepskin ankle boots.

Yesterday, for the first time, he took Lori for a stroll in the surrounding commercial district. It was indeed a fairly large city, surprisingly possessing a commercial street even in such a chaotic world. Karl's salary had remained unspent, accumulating into a considerable sum. Therefore, he certainly wouldn't be too frugal with Lori's needs yesterday. He had promised to buy her beautiful clothes, which were now kept separately in a large wooden box.

They no longer needed to eat simple food like before, because food here wasn't rationed, but purchased with money earned through labor. This meant the yield was good, and there was no need to worry about widespread hunger due to unequal distribution. In their original city, everyone was in a state of chronic hunger. Lori had also been constantly hungry here.

Here, food can be bought as long as you have money. Carl didn't have to worry about that, so yesterday they went to a restaurant and had a proper meal. They ate their fill, and it was delicious.

Perhaps this journey should have started much earlier. Karl thought to himself that even without Ark, he should have taken the child on a long trip, to many, many places, to see many, many things. No longer worrying about food and clothing, and at the same time, witnessing the beautiful side of this world on the verge of collapse.

"This guest?" Suddenly, Karl heard someone calling him from behind. He turned around and saw that the innkeeper had appeared there at some point.

"Has what we did affected your business?" Karl seemed to be waiting for the guy's answer so he could take Lori back to their room. That way, he could get away from this guy called Ghost Duke; he always felt uncomfortable around him.

"No." He quickly shook his head.

Carl was a little disappointed, but he didn't show it and just waited for him to say something.

"Are you a priest?" the boss asked in a very low voice.

“Yes, I am a priest.” But Karl answered in a very normal voice, so loud that even people across the street could hear him.

The people who had been making a racket suddenly fell silent. In fact, everyone who had heard them fell silent, turning their heads to look at Karl. Everyone was looking at him.

Karl frowned, scanning his surroundings, his golden pupils seemingly reflecting incantations. He closed his scripture and stood up, becoming slightly taller than his boss.

Is this an area not under the control of the church? Judging from the reaction, they probably really dislike the priests.

Karl wasn't afraid of these guys attacking him; fighting was the last thing he feared. And if they showed any resistance to the Church, they would definitely send more people to intervene. They might even force them to leave the Church's mark on the administrative system. Given their continued independence, these guys probably wouldn't dare to openly express their resentment.

Lori sensed something was wrong and looked at Carl with some concern. She then placed her hand in his palm, and Carl took her hand in return, indicating that she didn't need to worry.

But then this guy suddenly knelt down in front of him, so suddenly that it was completely unexpected.

"Sir, please save my child," he pleaded. "He's dying, and I can't help it."

“I’m not a doctor.” Karl paused, then saw despair in the man’s eyes. “But if your child’s problem is related to corruption, then I can help. I’ll take a look, but I’m not sure if I can cure it.”

“I’m going too,” Lori said, blinking her big eyes. “I won’t cause any trouble.”

“I never intended for you to be alone.” Karl turned his head and looked at Ghost Duke with murderous eyes, forcibly suppressing his desire to go.