Bishop Morris paused for a moment, then frowned. The exhaustion of the past two days and the bad news from the city had etched spiderweb-like wrinkles around his eyes and face. "Yes, the water for drinking in South Mile comes from the Munisla River, which, along with its tributaries, flows right through the city. The residents of South Mile usually draw water directly from there. But the residents of Numas, on the other hand, draw water from the Sisa River, which is brought into the city by a special waterway. So you suspect it's the water source that's the problem?"
Phil Gray nodded. "I can't think of any other possibility besides drinking water. It's impossible for the blood from the bite to turn all those reclusive people into zombies in the middle of the night. Water, on the other hand, is something everyone drinks."
Angelo chimed in, "Heavens! Your Highness makes a lot of sense. We survivors are all at the 'Prominent' level, with abundant divine power within us, capable of purifying diseases in the water. That's why we didn't become those zombies. You're so clever!"
Eli realized he had been preempted and looked at the pretentious nobleman in front of him with some displeasure, but Angelo seemed oblivious.
Tracy, standing to the side, exclaimed, her eyes widening, "So that's how it is! Yesterday morning, I was jealous of His Highness the Holy Son and felt very uncomfortable, so I drank more than a dozen bottles of wine and passed out. I didn't drink any of the city's water until Angelo woke me up. We were supposed to go back to headquarters together this morning, Uncle. I don't have the strength of a prodigy, and I almost became a zombie too..."
He grabbed Maurice's arm, almost crying.
Morris coughed, indicating that he didn't need to reveal his resentment towards the Holy Son, and then patted him on the shoulder reassuringly, "You have successfully escaped this ordeal thanks to the blessing of the Prophet of the Day. You must not harbor any more grievances against the Holy Son in the future."
Phil Gray had no intention of arguing with him about these things, but instead suggested that they first verify the conjecture and see what was going on on the other side of the river.
And they must return to Numas, with its eerie and malevolent symbols and sacrificial arrays. No one can guarantee that Numas won't become the next South Mili.
They hurried to the Munisla River, which runs through the city center. There were wooden buckets on the stone-paved roads on both sides, indicating that people often draw water from here. The river water was crystal clear and there was nothing unusual on the surface.
Bishop Morris closed his eyes, but they emitted a pale golden light as he slowly scanned the river, presumably using his skills to examine it.
Phil Gray stared at the river, feeling as if it were drawing him in. He crouched down and dipped his hand into the water, immediately feeling a strange force coiling around his fingertips. At the same time, an inexplicable panic surged in his heart. The force felt like ants biting his hand, draining his life force.
He quickly pulled his hand away, "There's definitely something strange about this river!"
After being pulled out of the river, only a trace of the strange power that had been wrapped around his hand remained, and then it completely disappeared after he activated the power of dawn.
There's something at the bottom of the river.
As soon as Morris finished speaking, he jumped into the river. Phil Gray was too late to stop him and could only shout, "Bishop, be careful! This river water will corrode your life force!"
Morris swam toward the center of the river. "It's not the river's fault, it's what's in it."
The others followed Maurice on the bank until he reached a certain point, then slowly submerged into the river.
Tracy's eyes revealed her worry for her uncle.
Fortunately, a few minutes later, Maurice leaped out, his body flashing with a layer of golden divine power, his wet clothes instantly drying, and the strange power also disappeared.
Everyone saw that he was holding a wooden sculpture in his hand.
"What is this?" Melody asked in surprise.
Morris displayed the sculpture in his hand; it was incredibly eerie.
It looked like two humanoid monsters were tightly embracing each other, connected by what appeared to be sticky red flesh and blood, and their faces and bodies bore the same strange runes as those on the ground in South Milli City.
"The source of evil? It's the culprit that polluted the river and turned those people into zombies?" Phil Gray asked.
“Yes, it will spread disease through the river. I have temporarily sealed it away. And didn’t you notice? The two people embracing are not people, but two gods!” Morris’s hands holding the sculpture trembled uncontrollably. Fear gripped the seventy-year-old bishop for the first time.
"Gods?"
Amidst the surprised and puzzled expressions of the crowd, Maurice explained, "The one on the left is Enni, the god of disease, and the one on the right is Bita, the god of plague. They are both servants of the god of death."
So this is what the gods worshipped for disease and those who succumb to plagues look like. They're all so distorted and look sick. No wonder the believers are so perverted.
Phil Gray was seeing the two gods for the first time.
"Then why are they embracing each other?" Melody asked, puzzled. She couldn't understand the meaning of the sculpture. Did it represent the union of two gods?
Did they or their followers create this zombie outbreak together?
“These two gods didn’t get along very well,” Maurice said slowly. “Back then, there weren’t many positions left for the gods of death. The authority over disease and plague should have been given to only one god. Eni and Bita, who were quasi-gods at the time, fought fiercely for this position. But later, for some reason, they shared the position. One became the god of plague, and the other became the god of disease. However, the authority they held overlapped significantly, so the stories that have been passed down are about their discord.”
"How could there be such a statue of two gods who can't stand each other embracing? Did their followers do it without permission?" Melody's doubts remained unresolved. Morris shook his head; no one knew the meaning of the statue.
"What are those flesh and blood carvings? They connect these two gods like a bond, and what are these strange symbols? I've never seen them before in all these years." Steven searched his memory for the books he had read in the library of the Cult of Dawn, but found nothing.
"Now is not the time to solve the mystery. I will collect the statue and hand it over to the Pope. Our current task is to rush back to Numas City and stop them from sacrificing the city's residents to any god. Now that it has been confirmed that their appearance is due to disease, they must still have a way to recover. Dealing with the disease naturally requires the Church of Life. Lord Steven, I will take them into the city to stop those people. You go and find an Elder of Life as soon as possible," Morris instructed Lord Steven.
"good."
Steven rode away on horseback with a Dawn Knight. Phil Gray didn't know where they would go to find the elders of the Church of Life, but they would surely have their own methods.
Watching Steven's departing figure, it was time for them to head back to Numas.
Phil Gray watched as the desolate, pitiful city slowly faded into the distance, a sense of melancholy washing over him. "Right," he thought, "the prophecy of the God of Death instructed him to purify the corrupted spirits of the dead."
But where are the spirits of the dead? The entire city is empty, without a trace of the dead.
Did they all go to the Abyss of the Dead? But how can I purify them then? Wouldn't I have to go to the abyss to purify them?
Phil Gray frowned. The god of death shouldn't issue such a prophecy; perhaps the souls that need purification are in Numas.
...
They didn't dare to delay for a moment and rushed to Numas.
Standing on the city wall and looking into the city, the whole city was filled with the smell of blood. Fortunately, the city's residents were still there, and since they had all turned into zombies, they had stopped tearing each other apart and were wandering aimlessly in the city.
"Look there!" Melody exclaimed.
Several men in black were scattered across several different streets. They used fresh blood from the ground to carve strange symbols, which were forming an unknown magic circle. At this moment, the magic circle was already taking shape!
"We have to stop them!" Morris, along with several Dawn Knights, leaped down from the city wall. A golden path of sunlight appeared beneath their feet, leading directly to the men in black.
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