This is the choice of fate

It took the two of them nearly half a month to go there, and only half the time to come back.

Avoiding the clash with the insects, it was not a problem for the two to simply hurry on. Following the main road back, they could see the sentry checkpoints set up ahead. Thanks to Christine's introduction, the two entered Xinye City smoothly.

The situation in the city was more serious than before I left. I could see victims huddled in corners on the roadside. Even though guards and clergymen occasionally came to maintain order, I could still sense the atmosphere of anxiety in the air.

Christine sighed in a low voice: "New Leaf City's carrying capacity is almost at its limit. If it continues like this, there will definitely be problems."

“Why not move to another city?”

"Because I don't dare." The knight smiled bitterly. "Xinye City has the Church of the Goddess of Destiny, and the Knights and Magicians are always ready to fight. The city is very powerful, and any problems can be dealt with in time. But other cities are different. Once insect eggs get into the city, it will be a disaster. After all the calculations, it turns out that only Xinye City can accept the disaster victims from the south."

The two walked and talked, and soon arrived at the temple.

The Temple of the Astrologers is located in the middle of the Mobius Ring. It is built of silver-grey stone and has a spiral structure. The clothes of the clergy are also mainly silver-grey, with black patterns.

"I dealt with their Pope before when I came to Xinye City. He is very reliable when encountering major events."

Christine led the red-haired young man onto the steps, and a paladin immediately came to ask questions. The armor gleamed in the sunlight. Christine whispered a few words to him, and the paladin showed a look of sudden enlightenment, and politely invited the two to come in.

He brought the two people to the reception room, and then whispered a few words to the clergyman at the door. The latter looked at the two people in surprise, turned around and left the reception room.

The Holy Knight poured them some tea and said politely, "Please wait a moment. His Holiness the Pope will be here soon."

The blond knight responded with a standard smile: "Thank you for your help."

While the paladin was busy entertaining him, Aurelius asked quietly, "What did you just say to him?"

Christine shrugged. “I said it was fate that led me here to visit the Pope.”

"...So they informed you?"

"Yes." The blond knight shrugged. "As long as fate is used as an excuse, astrologers are always very generous."

Oreius: "......"

He looked subtle: "It's... quite free."

"Their pope is also very liberal."

While they were talking, the door to the reception room opened.

A white-haired young man walked in from outside. He was wearing a silver-grey robe, had a handsome face, and had an hourglass-shaped mark on his forehead. His silver-grey eyes looked at the two of them, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Thanks to the stars for allowing us to meet again in New Leaf City. Long time no see, Christine."

Christine went up to him and hugged him: "Long time no see, Andy."

"It's been three years since we last met, who is this?"

"He is my disciple Aurelius."

Some things are more familiar than others, and Christine can already speak fluently. The red-haired young man nodded to the Pope, who stared at him with a look that made him feel uncomfortable as if he was being seen through. Before Oleus could offer his opinion, the astrologer took the initiative to look away.

"Like you, this is an outstanding hero. I believe his future achievements will not be less than yours. But this time I am more concerned about other things. What good news has fate brought you?"

"You'll like the news. We've figured out the source of the insect plague."

"You are worthy of me, Christine. Any problem can be solved as long as you come."

"I dare not take credit for this; this is the information provided by Oreius."

Christine shrugged and immediately told the other party the information he knew. After listening to the plan that Oleus came up with, Andy was thoughtful.

"I understand. This matter is of great importance. If there is a problem, it will directly affect the future of the entire New Leaf City. I can't make a decision so easily."

Christine said: "If we don't take action in time, things will become more troublesome later. Once the insect plague enters the mainland, it will be difficult to take action to contain them."

"The Old Forest Merchants came to me before and told me about the attack they encountered. The danger of the insect disaster is getting bigger and bigger. If it continues like this, it will sooner or later enter the heart of the kingdom. So, as the person who brought this news, can you guarantee the authenticity of the news?"

Andy asked Christine, but his eyes were always on the red-haired young man. The latter looked at him fearlessly, and the blond knight smiled and said, "How should I answer you when you ask me that? Everything can be wrong. I can only say that I believe him."

"Now that you say so, it seems credible. But for the sake of safety, let's do some guessing."

This statement is indeed very astrologer-like. Oreius pricked up his ears to listen to what the other party was going to do next, only to see Andy suddenly take out a dice from his pocket.

...a dice?

Even if it looks like it is made of gold and silver and is extremely luxurious, it cannot change the fact that it is just a dice.

Aurelius looked at this scene in confusion, not knowing what was going on.

Andy's expression was serious: "Big or small?"

The red-haired young man was silent for a moment, then pointed at himself tentatively, and saw the other party nod heavily.

He hesitated for a moment: "That's big?"

Andy threw the dice high into the air. Under the gaze of three pairs of eyes, the gold and silver dice fell on the table, spun around, and revealed the number on top.

The white-haired pope said readily: "Okay, I believe you. I'll do as you say."

“…”

Aurelius was full of complaints. Why, this concerns the fate of a city, aren't you being too casual?

As if seeing through his thoughts, Andy smiled softly, with a faint golden glow in his eyes.

"Don't worry, this is all the guidance of the goddess."

......

Gems rolled down from her white fingertips, spreading tiny, translucent lights. The beautiful woman held her cheeks, playing with the expensive jewelry in boredom. A handsome male insect knelt beside her, carefully peeled the grape skin, revealing the jade-like fruit, and then put it into the queen's mouth.

The Queen's wet/soft/red/tender tongue licked the insect's fingertips, and her eyes were shining. Seeing the infatuation in the other's eyes, He smiled softly, and then slapped the other's face. The beautiful face that was smiling like spring just now was full of frost, and she said coldly: "Waste!"

The male insect's cheeks were red and swollen. He didn't dare to resist at all and immediately knelt down in front of the other party. The woman stepped on his head and sneered at him from above.

"I gave you wisdom and power, and this is how you repay me? The bugs I sent out to kill the God's Knights died, and I asked you to monitor whether that damned human had come to this world, but I didn't find any trace of him until he entered New Leaf City. Garbage, all garbage!"

The insects fell in large numbers, trembling in the anger of the gods. The queen felt happy in her humble appearance, and her anger subsided a little, and she lazily fell back on the couch.

"No matter what you do, I just want to see the results. Waste has no value in life."

When she first fell into this world, the Queen of Insects landed near a human village. She relied on that village to restore some of her strength, and then quickly discovered the problem.

This is not the Dark Mist Era, but the world before that. He actually returned to the God-favored Era!

The Queen's heart was filled with ecstasy, but she quickly calmed down. Now He was no longer a simple god. In order to integrate into the Dark Mist Era, He had paid a lot, including the essence of being a god.

For gods, faith is the only food. But after falling into the black mist, the Queen of Insects only needs to absorb the black mist to survive.

Therefore, the era of divine favor brought her a lot of trouble, but fortunately, the artifact of the goddess of fate protected the Queen of Insects. After that, she hid in the south for a long time, observing whether Oreus would appear.

Yes, just as the red-haired young man speculated, the Queen of Insects really didn't want to leave here.

Compared to the Black Mist Era, the God-favored Era was undoubtedly much better. He breathed in the fresh air and tasted the sweetness of the fruit intoxicatedly. With the divine weapon, even the gods could not easily capture his whereabouts. As long as there was enough time, he could dominate this world.

So, why go back?

This world is a beautiful blank sheet of paper, waiting for Him to paint. The only problem is that there is another guy. The Queen pressed her chest. She had taken out a piece of her heart and made it into the [Heart of the Worm]. The artifact now rested in the cavity of her chest. It was densely covered with patterns belonging to another person, symbolizing that the other party had equal ownership.

If the other party gets the artifact, they can control the movement of time and space. At that time, they will definitely return to the black fog.

No! That's impossible!

The Queen was very careful to solve this hidden danger. After losing the Insect City, she used humans as materials to create a group of useful insect people. Unable to observe with the eyes of the Creator, she used the insect people as a medium to control the insects and provide intelligence to Him who was hiding in the dark.

It was not until a year ago that the queen confirmed that the red-haired young man was not here that she really let go and started the insect plague. In just one year, she became the overlord of the south.

But why does that blind human always jump out at this time! Damn human! Damn bastard!

The Queen's hatred for Oleus was equal to her hatred for Rex who took away the [Insect Heart]. She was really jealous of his ability, and there was also Christine beside him.

God's favored knight Christine, the darling of this era.

Being blessed by the gods, if something unexpected happens, it will definitely attract the gods' attention.

But it must be said that such a person has a fatal attraction to the Queen of Insects. She had deliberately spread the news of the insect disaster in order to get Christine to take action. If it weren't for Oreius' sudden appearance, the Queen would have definitely gotten him.

The queen licked her lips gently, her eyes moving with extraordinary charm: "Christine, I really want someone to get him... It must be fun to see him fall. But Oleus is too troublesome, we have to find a way to get rid of him."

"Your Majesty, I have an idea."

The insect man who had just been slapped said respectfully: "A few days ago, we found a new wanted person among the humans. It is said that he is your admirer and has been active near Xinye City recently. If we can get in touch with him, we will be able to lure that human out."

"It's the human who spread the eggs." The queen thought about it and thought this was a good idea. "Go check if it's true. If it's really a human who defected to us, give him some benefits and let him lead Oreius away. You guys do something and don't let them fight too quickly."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The insects quickly started to act, and messages came from the front. With the efforts of the insects, the insects successfully found the target.

In other words, it was the other party that took the initiative to contact their insects.

"After all, it's troublesome to be watched all the time. I don't want to live under the surveillance of others all the time."

The man in the black robe spoke lazily, exuding a rebellious air, with no respect for Chongzai at all.

As soon as he opened his mouth, the person in charge of contacting the insects immediately realized that the message seemed to be wrong. He calmly replied: "Aren't you a worshiper of the insect disaster?"

"Of course not, I just do it for fun."

"But since you found me, I will help you reluctantly. Isn't this also interesting?"

The man in black robe chuckled softly, his tone full of frivolity.

"He's just a human. Once I've dealt with him, I'll come over and help you guys."

"If you can."

The insects looked at each other, even they thought this human was too arrogant. But this had no effect on their plans, so they just let it go.

Everything was ready. They agreed on a time with the human, and after the human took action, they learned that the red-haired young man had left Xinye City.

The Queen was very happy and said, "In that case, let's give them a big gift."

How many bugs are there in the area south of Xinye City over the past year?

This is a question no different from asking how many stones there are.

Under the Queen's orders, countless insects approached New Leaf City stealthily. They were like snow falling in early spring, bringing silent death and silence.

The targeted cities seemed unaware, but in fact they had already begun transporting various strategic materials and were ready for a major war.

Compared to other places, New Leaf City has a very good feature: the church does not need a reason to issue an order, it only needs to say "this is a revelation from fate." No matter how unreasonable the matter is, it will be executed.

After all, this is someone who can see the future, right?

However, the astrologer who possesses the [Eyes of God] and is known as the greatest genius in the past hundred years has a hidden worry: "Will the Queen of Insects really come?"

Christine stood side by side with him and laughed when he heard this: "You know how to eat radishes, don't you? Why don't you try eating radishes for yourself?"

Andy said as a matter of course: "Of course my talent must be used for the most critical things."

"Yes, yes, yes - you are right. After all, you are the one who can see the future." Christine smiled, his expression as firm as ever. "Don't worry, fate will be on our side."

"Is this the confidence of a knight favored by God? Those favored by the goddess are indeed extraordinary."

"I prefer to call it taking your destiny into your own hands."

The number of insects is too large to hide once they get close.

After discovering the insect disaster, the citizens of Xinye City believed in the church's prophecy of the future and did not realize that this was a self-directed and self-acted show. The rushing insect tide collided with Xinye City, which had been prepared for it, forming an unimaginable fierce battlefield. The insects covered the sky and the ground, covering the original color of the land.

"Magician starts attacking!"

As the main city of the Church of the Goddess of Destiny, New Leaf City is very powerful. The magician army came to the wall and performed magic in an orderly manner.

[Second Ring of Fire: Flame Wall Technique]

The blazing flames formed a huge wall, blocking the New Leaf City. This was an entry-level magic for magicians, but the combined power of dozens of magicians should not be underestimated. All the insects that approached were roasted into charcoal.

[Second Ring of Wind: Wind Boundary Lock]

The wind that blew from nowhere formed chains, trapping the insects within a range. Any insect that wanted to leave this range would be crushed by the wind. When these chains came into contact with the fire wall, they instantly formed a composite fire wall, firmly protecting Xinye City.

This method was simple and effective. When the magic power of the magician legion was exhausted, the insects overcame the obstacles and rushed to the city wall without hesitation.

"Push the sandbags and stakes down!"

The captains of each team shouted loudly, and the soldiers pushed down the thick wood and sandbags that had been prepared long ago from the city wall, crushing the climbing insects. But soon, more insects gnawed the wood, stepped on the corpses of their companions and climbed up, approaching the humans throwing the wood.

“——”

As the first bug landed on a soldier's hand, human casualties finally began to occur.

"Bring me the hot water!"

"The gun has gone into cold mode!"

"Hurry up and send the injured away. The rest of you should take this time to recover!"

A chaotic mix of sounds. Shouts of killing, cries of pain, the rustling of insects crawling, explosions, running, shouting... all kinds of sounds stimulated the nerves, and the air was filled with the smell of burning and blood.

Christine took the lead and led the knights to jump down from the city wall!

"Four Edges of Ice - Enchanted Weapon."

He drew his sword and whispered a spell. A cold light shone on the blade, and the Knights became the strongest shield in front of the city gate, brazenly facing the insect disaster.

Just when everything was going well.

"Tick, tick."

The sound of clocks rang in everyone's ears. The dark sky descended, isolating the entire New Leaf City from the secular world.

The shadow of a pocket watch appeared in the sky. Andy looked at the pocket watch solemnly, sensing a strong breath of destiny from it.

"This is indeed the power of our Lord, but why did it fall into the hands of heretics?"

A charming figure walked out of the void. As she appeared, the hands of the pocket watch began to move backwards, and the insects on the ground came back to life.

The endless tide of insects is dense and chilling. No matter if they are burned by fire, blown by wind, or crushed into debris, these insects will still be revived again and again, attacking their targets unwaveringly.

Under the strong psychological pressure, the defenders became somewhat restrained. If these bugs were not killed, it would be a waste of effort to fight them. Bugs would revive, but consumable supplies and physical strength would not. As long as the pocket watch was still in use, they would be the losers.

"It's time for the Temple to take action."

Andy carefully opened the box and took out a black veil. It was extremely light, as if woven into the soft night sky, and its surface was covered with tiny dots of light.

He murmured softly, throwing the veil into the air. "One who reads fate must not look directly into the river, so my Lord wears a veil, just as fate itself cannot be seen."

The veil flew into the air and expanded infinitely, eventually transforming into a sky inlaid with countless stars, blocking the sound of the pocket watch turning.

Andy's wrinkled brows never relaxed. He stared at the starry sky and sensed an extremely powerful force behind it.

"In addition to the temple, there is actually such a powerful artifact circulating outside..."

The priest finally made up his mind and walked back into the temple. Most of the priests had gone to the front lines to provide support, and only a few remained in the temple.

"Your Holiness."

The gatekeeper bowed slightly, and Andy said, "Open the door for me."

The heavy door slowly opened, revealing a magic circle suspended behind it. This was a defensive circle used for identification and automatic attack. If an alarm was triggered, it would immediately launch an attack. Andy pressed his right hand on the center of the magic circle, and with his palm as the center, the entire defensive circle melted into a gap as tall as a person. After the man walked in, it immediately returned to its original state.

Behind the door was a mountain of treasures and magical items, any one of which would cause a frenzy among the world. Andy looked straight ahead and went to the deepest part of the treasure house. There was a door leading to a deeper place.

The young man used the same trick again, and the treasures behind the door became more gorgeous, valuable and sought after. Andy walked through one door after another, and the locks became more and more strict.

From the hand at the beginning, to the secret text, to the door that can only be opened with blood. After the last door was opened, there was only a table in the middle of the room, with transparent bubbles floating on the table, and a green leaf wrapped inside.

It radiates mysterious and powerful fluctuations, as if one can see the fluctuations of fate from its pulse.

Andy kept his expression normal. He bowed to the leaf and then walked to the table.

Typically, astrologers use astrology to predict the future.

The stars are the carriers of destiny, so the conclusion drawn is more hazy and safe. If you need to observe carefully, you need to hold things related to destiny.

The leaf of the world tree is the best material. No astrologer would use it for observation unless it was absolutely necessary. This is not only a leaf of the world tree, but also a proof of the goddess's gift. Andy's palm gently brushed over the bubble, and his expression gradually became firm.

A strange light shone in the depths of his pupils. If someone were here, they would find that the leaves of the World Tree and Andy's eyes were both glowing, as if they were responding to each other.

The pulse of destiny rushed forward, converging somewhere far away and invisible. Andy walked towards the future following the breath of the medium, and scenes flashed before his eyes.

Humans accidentally discovered a strange insect monster that had strong fertility and vitality, making it very suitable for fighting. In order to improve their fighting power, people began to raise these monsters in large quantities. Through the fights between insects, the best varieties were selected for cultivation. Gradually, the largest female insects were sacrificed as holy beasts, and were promoted to gods in the blood and human greed.

He feeds on human emotions and blood, and is influenced by too many wishes. People wish him power, glory, killing enemies, jealous friends... So he became the most terrifying alien god, raising those who believe in him like beasts. The forms of man and insect are thus different.

Andy wanted to see more, but he was shrouded in black mist in the distance, forcing him to stop. Andy frowned and looked towards another road after a while.

That was the road that belonged to the red-haired young man, filled with blood and sorrow. He had never seen so many dead souls before, they were like some kind of curse entangled with each other, from his angle he could only see the young man's back.

Andy walked towards him, and scenes flashed before his eyes: killing, killing, killing, killing...

Killing weird giant worms in the wasteland, fighting with unimaginable monsters, hurting each other while getting hurt, blood, pain, sorrow...

Peeling off the layers of mist, the white-haired pope looked intently at the other person's past. What exactly is the plan of this mysterious man who appeared beside Christine? He is definitely not an easy person to get along with.

Faintly, he saw the starlight.

Bright and dazzling starlight fell from the end of the road, attracting his attention. The sound of dripping water came from afar, and just when Andy wanted to see more clearly, he suddenly groaned, took a step back and covered his eyes.

Blood flowed from his palms, wetting the young man's cheeks. The white-haired pope knelt in front of the leaves of the World Tree, trembling all over, and could no longer hide the deep shock on his face.