Unsurprisingly, this back door is not completely defenseless.
Two sturdy believers wearing dark black robes with star and moon patterns leaned against the wall like shadows. When they saw Eliza come out, they immediately stood up straight and saluted silently.
"Let's go check out the Dark Sanctuary." Eliza said briefly without introducing the two people behind her.
The believer nodded silently, turned around and led the way, his steps steady and powerful, obviously very familiar with the terrain.
What frightened the two women was that when the team turned a corner full of discarded ore, the distance was only a hundred meters.
A black stone building with an equally strange style and a twisted dark holy emblem hanging on it appeared in front of them.
The Dark Church guard stationed at the entrance merely glanced at Eliza and the Star-Moon believers behind her, without much vigilance in their eyes. They just nodded slightly and stepped aside to make way.
That familiarity and tacit understanding is far more than what can be achieved by normal neighbors interacting with each other.
What's more, in the history of various churches in the Central Continent, the relationship between these two sects is not so harmonious.
Monica's fingertips gently rubbed her sleeves, and the cold sensation brought by the identification technique flowed silently.
The guards' bodies, the style of the building, and the energy fluctuations of certain defensive runes inside the Star-Moon Church all had subtle but similar remnants of magical circuits.
The details were silent, but they confirmed her guess.
The cooperation between the two major churches in this lawless place is far more profound than the apparent peaceful coexistence.
Perhaps their initial idea of gaining useful intelligence by entering these churches was a bit simplistic.
…
When Anna and Monica felt Enzo's violent aura, Mark and Xiao Mu also felt the same aura.
"Mm?" Little Mu scratched Mark's collar with his little paws and asked a faint question.
"It's okay. Enzo is a guy favored by the God of Darkness and blessed by the 'Mysterious Existence'. Most of the people in this small gathering place are of mid-level strength. No one can do anything to him."
The hotel room was empty, with only a little warm steam remaining.
Mark had already quietly climbed out the window and hid in the shadows of the maze of low buildings in the collective center, like a fallen leaf blending into the darkness.
His soul perception was firmly locked on the old dwarf stall owner from the Black Anvil Church.
That turbid and greedy soul was like a swaying lantern, moving through the dirty and crowded alleys.
The old dwarf may have just wanted to confirm his residence, and he quietly left shortly after discovering that he turned off the lights and went to bed.
And Mark has been following the old dwarf since then.
After leaving the hotel, Mark disguised himself as the owner of an ice caravan.
A tattered cloak with a strong smell of tobacco and rust, which he had bought at the market, covered his iconic leather armor and cross necklace.
The brim of his frozen animal-skin hat was pulled down, covering half of his face. He walked with a slightly hunched back and unsteady steps.
He looked like a hapless merchant who had been beaten to pieces by the cold wind of the north and just wanted to finish the transaction quickly and get out.
The old dwarf had no idea that he had become the caught fish.
He took many turns and finally entered a backyard with a simple wooden sign hanging on it, with the words "Rock Supply Station" written in crooked Dwarven.
Guarding the door were two guards with stern faces, wearing fine black iron plate armor and black whetstone emblem arm guards on their arms.
These two guards were not dwarves. They were tall and strong, and looked more energetic than most ordinary people in the Fordragon Settlement.
Mark's soul perception could clearly "taste" the strong smell of blood and iron will emanating from the two guards. They were typical elite guards.
Through the low courtyard wall, you can see that there is a simple but busy supply warehouse inside the yard.
Piles of frozen potatoes piled up like mountains, emitting a restrained and cold breath of life.
On the other side is a large amount of deep red "Heart of the Earth Fire" ore. The weak heat energy contained in it is like countless dormant small fires, making the snow in this small area melt faster.
A dozen dwarves and several human workers were sorting, packing, and weighing the supplies. Their movements were quick but silent, and the atmosphere was filled with a suppressed sense of efficiency and vigilance.
Mark took advantage of the brief confusion when the guards were checking the goods of other merchants and slipped like a loach into a pile of empty wooden boxes deep in the courtyard.
In the corner, two people who seemed to be in charge were talking in low voices.
"...The demand from the 'Furnace Core' has tripled! The elders have issued an urgent order. At all costs, we must collect the quantity on the last list within three days! Especially those 'potato babies' that are frozen solid. The more vitality they have, the better! And the 'belly-warming stones', take as many as possible with strong energy reactions!" A hoarse-voiced dwarf manager wearing thick leather gloves spoke in an anxious tone.
"Three days? Do you think digging frozen potatoes is just a game of shoveling snow?" Another voice, equally hoarse and filled with dissatisfaction, said, "We've almost dug up all the potatoes in that frost giant's lair to the north! The Deep Rift is too dangerous, and the 'Warm Belly Stone' mine has been targeted... What on earth is the elder trying to do? Haven't we already had enough food reserves for the winter? Why are you so anxious? Could it be..."
"Shut up!" the hoarse dwarf interrupted harshly. "Stop asking about the elders! Do your duty! Even if you have to rob or steal, you must prepare everything! They said that 'igniting the core' is the key this time! The smelting force must reach critical point! It is related to..."
He lowered his voice for the rest of his words, and Mark listened intently, only catching a vague glimpse of "...the remnants deep within the star remains...the power is fully aroused...it concerns the survival of the clan..."
Mark hid behind the wooden box, his heart skipping a beat.
"Core of the Furnace", "Ignite", "Remnants Deep Within the Star Remains", "Fully Unleash Power"...
These fragmented keywords instantly overlapped with the history of the Graybeard Clan's "Starfall Disaster" that he had heard from Elder Bruno!
The Black Anvil Church is plundering a large amount of materials rich in vitality and heat energy, not for survival, but for a huge ritual that seems to be related to the core energy of the alien meteorite!
But according to Enzo, wasn't the most valuable thing that fell from the Falling Star Lake taken by him and forged into the Dark Rune Hammer?
Could it be that Enzo had been sleeping for hundreds of years and was actually confused?
Is there something wrong with his memory of the "meteorite disaster"?
Mark didn't know the whole picture yet, but he felt that as long as he kept his eyes on the group of dwarves in front of him, he would definitely get the answers he wanted.
…
Cold, sticky air mixed with rust, strong incense, and a hint of... an extremely subtle smell of blood penetrated into the nostrils.
Enzo's senses slowly revived amidst the severe pain in his heavy head and the surge of stimulated power in his body that had not yet completely subsided.
When he regained consciousness, he found himself thrown haphazardly in the middle of a huge, cold underground stone chamber.
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