Chapter 373 City in the Rain
In the eastern suburbs of Backlund, a group of night watchmen in black windbreakers appeared from the ruins where only broken walls remained. They formed teams of three and quickly searched the ruins before reuniting.
"Your Excellency, Archbishop, four bodies have been found. The altar has been completely destroyed, seemingly due to an internal explosion."
A Nighthawk captain reported.
The person he called the Archbishop was none other than Anthony Stevenson, the Saint of the Backlund Diocese. After the Sealed Artifact "0-17" returned to the Chanis Gate, he re-sealed it and then led half of the Nighthawks here to search for any trace of the "Witch Cult."
"Try divination to find clues, but remember not to use psychics, as the wronged spirits here are still lingering."
He frowned and looked at the sky, gave the order, and then led a team of Night Watchmen to push open the inner door of the ruins and continue forward along the downward passage.
Along the way, they found several rooms that had been occupied recently, some of which belonged to guards and some to prisoners. It was obvious that there were people active underground in the ruins not long ago, and even the outer shells of the kerosene lamps were hot, but at this time, both the guards and the innocent prisoners were nowhere to be seen.
Anthony didn't stop until he entered the deepest room.
"This is the last place they stayed..."
After looking around with deep eyes, the saint spoke slowly.
Suddenly, the oil lamps in the hands of several night watchmen who were following them lost their light, and the whole room became dark.
After a moment, everything returned to normal. The walls around the room disappeared as if they had evaporated, but there was no secret door or passage behind it, but an uncut stone wall.
"Bring down '2-155' and attempt to track him."
Anthony was silent for a while, then gave instructions to the night watchman beside him.
————
At the same time, East District.
A four-wheeled carriage with a police badge on it slowly drove on the street, avoiding obstacles on the ground from time to time. Some of them were unmanned carriages with dead horses, some were survivors seeking help, and there were also freight carriages going in the opposite direction, heading out of the east district, covered with white cloth, with long strips of "cargo" stacked underneath.
Only when the carriage was completely blocked and unable to move forward did the five Night Watchmen jump down from it.
They wore thin windbreakers that made it easy to move, half-high silk hats on their heads, and blood-red gloves on their hands.
"We're not far away. Keep walking and be careful. The smog is no longer deadly, but it can still be dangerous."
The middle-aged man in the lead looked at the obstacle in front of the carriage, frowned and gave an order, then he took the lead and continued to run forward.
Several Night Watchmen behind him responded in a low voice and followed their captain.
Leonard Mitchell, who was at the end of the group, had a gloomy expression on his face. He looked at the freight wagon parked in the middle of the road in front of the carriage. The white cloth above its bed was half lifted, revealing corpses lying randomly underneath.
"Old man, what's going on?"
He didn't know who he was asking the question to, his voice was trembling, but his tone was very low, for fear of being heard by his teammates in front.
"My senses come from you. How could I know something you don't know?" An old voice came from Leonard's ear, containing a subtle shock. "But I suspect it's likely related to the High-Sequence Beyonders of the Witch Path. The last time there was such a large-scale disease was hundreds of years ago... I just don't know if their purpose this time is sacrifice, or if they're hiding some larger conspiracy."
"Sacrifice..."
Leonard muttered, sadness welling in his eyes. He had witnessed a similar scene in Tingen just three months ago. Back then, the Aurora Society had sacrificed nearly a hundred lives in an attempt to bring forth the offspring of the True Creator, killing his captain and teammates. But now, the dead within his sight were already over a hundred. He wondered how many more would be killed in the entire East District and all of Backlund.
So who will be the target of this sacrifice and what is the purpose?
Full of questions, he hurriedly caught up with his teammates in front of him and soon arrived at a deserted street.
It would not be accurate to say that there was no one there. Countless victims with tragic deaths lay on both sides of the street and in the corners of the alleys. The doors and windows of the buildings on both sides were closed, as if the entire street had been abandoned long ago. But Leonard knew that with the population density of the East District, there were at least hundreds of people living here.
At this moment, there was silence.
"The divination clue is here."
Soster, the captain of the Red Gloves team, said slowly.
Without divination, one could tell that this was the hardest-hit area in the eastern district. There were no sobs or curses as elsewhere, no groans or cries for help from survivors, only a deathly silence. Yet, the smog here was the lightest they had seen on their journey. Above their heads, they could even see the setting sun.
"There are traces of battle: bullet holes, shell casings, and ice that hasn't melted yet..."
"The broken wand, keep it carefully, divination may reveal new discoveries..."
Without time to feel sad, several night watchmen quickly got to work, quickly spreading out to conduct a detailed search around, trying to find out the truth about the heavy smog.
Leonard gently picked up a bullet casing from the ground and examined it closely.
"The storm is gathering..." He quickly recognized the intricate patterns and the Holy Symbol of Night on the shell casing, stood up and walked towards Soest. "Captain Soest, are there any other teams participating in the battle?"
"We were the first to arrive. Other teams are searching other locations in the East District, where there are also traces of large-scale ceremonies. The Archbishop has taken the remaining half of his men to the suburbs, so there's no way they can be faster than us."
Soest replied, his curious eyes looking at Leonard, then moving to his hands.
That was odd. The only Saint belonging to the Church of Evernight in the Backlund Diocese was Archbishop Anthony. Besides him, only the "Sword of the Goddess," stranded there, possessed comparable strength. Could it be that the latter had arrived early and resolved the source of the smog? But his fighting style didn't seem to involve pistol ammunition...
Leonard held the shell in his hand in silence, lost in thought. He hoped the old voice in his head could give him some hints, but this time, the other party also remained silent.
"Captain, the other teams have arrived."
The voice of another Nighthawk interrupted Leonard's thoughts. He looked to the side and saw three Nighthawks who were not wearing red gloves rushing over. They did not belong to the "Red Gloves" and were therefore sent to explore in another direction to avoid facing the most dangerous enemy.
"Sir Soest," said the Nightmare who led the group. His eyes were deep, yet filled with fatigue and worry, as if he had witnessed many post-disaster scenes on the way here. "We discovered a sacrificial ceremony not far from here. Based on the traces left behind, it's part of a larger ceremony. There are three locations in total, and this is the center."
"Also, there's a young woman's body next to the altar. I suspect she was the one who presided over the sacrifice. There are no external injuries on her body, but her extraordinary characteristics have been removed."
As he spoke, the Nightmare looked at Soest with a puzzled look, as if suspecting that the Red Gloves had disrupted the sacrifice in advance and eliminated this Beyonder.
"Unfortunately, I don't know the specific circumstances. Perhaps only His Excellency the Archbishop knows the full picture..." Soest shook his head and lowered his voice. "But I heard that the church activated a '0' level seal this time."
Leonard behind him widened his eyes slightly and lowered his head.
"Old man, do you know which one it is?"
He asked silently.
After the battle to hunt down the "Apostle of Desire," Leonard had personally understood the power of "Level 1" Sealed Artifacts. Almost every one of them possessed abilities no less than those of a High-Sequence Beyonder. And above that, "Level 0"...
"You're getting bolder, actually asking about things of this level," the voice in his head replied with a playful tone, "All I can say is, the less you know about them, the longer you'll live..."
This vague answer obviously did not satisfy Leonard. He looked towards the center of the street, imagining the battle that had taken place before and the origin of these bullet casings.
"Boom—"
Suddenly, there were several thunders and raindrops as big as beans fell densely. The sun, which had just been trying hard to penetrate the haze and shine on the ground, was covered by dark clouds. A heavy rain came without any warning.
A strong wind blew, dispersing the smog that still enveloped Backlund. Rain fell, carrying away the germs clinging to the streets and buildings.
But in the severely affected areas such as the East District and the Dock District, the doubts and anger of the living and the resentment and reluctance of the dead are still lingering.
————
The Hall family's luxurious villa in Queens.
Audrey Hall stood quietly in the living room on the east side of the first floor, looking at the dark clouds outside the window and the faint sound of thunder.
This belated storm blew away the thick yellowish fog. Although the fog had already turned from a frightening iron-black color to a more familiar hue before this, it was only then that she was certain that Backlund's great crisis had gradually dissipated...
...I think so?
She looked worriedly at Susie at her feet. This extraordinary dog, who could already communicate normally with people and even began to think about complex problems, was also looking out the window with a bitter expression, wondering what she was thinking about.
“Click—”
The door was pushed open, and Earl Hall walked in with a tired look on his face. He handed the coat and hat he had just taken off to the maid beside him.
Audrey immediately went up to him and asked with concern:
"Dad, how's it going?"
"It should have been resolved, but the specific process is still unclear." Earl Hall forced a smile and patted Audrey's head. "My little princess, you have been of great help. His Majesty the King should give you a medal weighing a ton."
Hearing this praise, Audrey's heart leaped with joy. Unlike the previous times, this time she truly played a crucial role, relaying the information gathered by Mr. Fool and his followers to the Goddess Church. Therefore, the sense of accomplishment was far greater than before.
But she soon calmed down in the face of Earl Hall's worried expression and asked softly:
“Is the situation in the East End bad?”
"It's more than terrible, it's already..." The Earl sighed, choosing his words carefully so as not to scare his daughter. "...The statistics won't be out for a few days, but there are probably tens of thousands of casualties in the East District alone. There are also large numbers of patients struggling on the verge of life in the nearby factory districts and docks. The church and the military have both dispatched personnel, and all the hospitals and churches in Backlund are busy, but it's just a drop in the bucket. Patients will continue to die in the next few days."
"I never thought the smog that appears every winter would become so deadly... Try not to go out these days. The plague will spread, and the public security situation is foreseeable to get worse."
Tens of thousands, or even more...
Audrey's eyes rarely showed a blank look.
"Dad..." She started hesitantly, then mustered up more courage. "What should we do? Can you donate the medal you mentioned to the East District? And the gift you mentioned for me after my coming-of-age ceremony..."
Earl Hall raised his eyebrows, as if shocked by his daughter's words. After a moment, he smiled with relief and replied:
"Don't worry, Audrey. I've already promised the Goddess Church to donate no less than 50,000 pounds in cash and supplies for the treatment and resettlement of survivors after the disaster. Other nobles may also contribute some, but ultimately, whether these can be implemented depends on the decision of the one in the Sodrak Palace..."
50,000 pounds sounds like a lot, but it's not even enough to cover our family's expenses for one social season. Even if we add in donations from other nobles and the decision of His Majesty the King, can it really offset the impact of this disaster?
Audrey pursed her lips and looked out the window, watching the rain clouds gradually approaching. Her heart felt heavy as if something was pressing on it.
Susie, who was at her feet, rubbed her legs gently, looking at her owner with some concern.
Thanks to the leader of "不祈十弦" (づ￣ 3￣)づ~☆
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