Chapter 882 Conspiracy
“…”
"…Tracy…"
"Tracy?"
The voice that repeatedly appeared in Tracy's dreams called out to her and woke her up.
When she opened her eyes, Tracy found herself sitting next to a tree, with soft grass beneath her and Elaine squatting in front of her with a gloomy face.
She subconsciously moved her hands and feet and found that her legs were tied together from bottom to top with strong ropes, leaving no room for movement. Her arms were crossed behind her back and were also unable to move. She could confirm by touch that they were similar ropes.
No need for spider silk... Hasn't the witch's spirituality recovered yet?
Tracy was delighted and straightened her back slightly. Just as she was about to try to do something, a cold voice came from behind her:
"If you make any more movements, this dagger will pierce your cervical vertebrae."
It was that witch... The cold metallic touch on the back of her neck made Tracy quickly give up struggling.
Her substitute wand had been used up and her magic mirror had been taken away. If she wanted to escape, she could only condense a frost blade to cut the rope, or use the disease to make the two people beside her fall down, but that would take time, while it would only take a second for the dagger to pierce her cervical vertebrae and end her life.
The battle between the "Black Death" and the "Red Haired Girl" in the distance has also ended. The arrival of the "Hunter" who turned into a spear and flew to the battlefield seemed to make everyone lose their fighting spirit.
"No need to look over there. Anderson Hood has a pretty good reputation. At least his fighting ability matches the rumors. I hired him to wait in Berens and quickly come to protect the red ship if a battle breaks out at sea. It seems he arrived just in time."
Elaine glanced at the sea, a smile on her lips, and said as if to show off her foresight.
"Pre-hire?" Tracy twisted her body twice, causing the rope to cut into her tight pants, highlighting the extremely well-proportioned fat in her lower body. "Did you expect me to attack you and your ship here?"
"Of course, the route from Bayam to here mostly lies within the narrow, safe channel of the Raging Sea. Our ships have similar speeds, so we're not in a position to intercept them. The best time to attack is when we arrive near Berens Harbor and I drop anchor and prepare to go ashore. If I were you, I'd attack right then and there, too."
Elaine chuckled, seeming to enjoy Tracy's struggle, which made the latter's face turn even redder.
Ever since they met, she had always been the only one to treat Elaine like this. She had never dreamed that there would be a day when she would be humiliated... No, I thought I had dreamed about it once...
Is my nightmare coming true?
Tracy's face turned pale, and nightmare scenes flashed through her mind. After a moment, she continued:
"So, everything else, including the Golden Queen's flagship heading to the Sonia Sea and her being held hostage in Backlund, is fake?"
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"You guessed correctly. The Queen Anne's Revenge simply vanished from view. She's been hovering near Bayam and hasn't headed for the Sonia Sea. And the Golden Queen currently communicating with Duchess Georgina Augustus is also played by German Sparrow... Of course, I was the first person to appear in the mirror. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to hide it from the other witches who might be observing from the shadows... like you."
Angel folded his arms, standing casually, and spoke as if he were talking to an old friend.
She had already put her "Angelica's Blade" back into the mirror space, to prevent the burning desire to fight from filling her brain and making her chop the "White Saint" in front of her into two pieces. The latter had no intention of taking action and stood quietly not far away, her boldly cut white robe fluttering in the wind, revealing her fair skin and beautifully shaped thighs from time to time.
After hearing Angel's explanation, she smiled calmly and asked:
"If that's the case, how can you be so sure that Tracy will lose the battle? Did you hire other demigods, ask the 'Archon of Death' to intervene, or are you connected to the 'Queen of Mystery' as the rumors say?"
"If there were other demigods or even angels joining the battle, I would have them ambush you here and kill you completely instead of trying to capture Tracy," Angel laughed. His right middle and ring fingers stroked the mark on his palm that belonged to Anne. The secret holy emblem on the same hand also drooped and swayed. "I can have two angels appear on this island at any time. I believe they have the ability to prevent the Mirror Man from resurrecting, or at least to prevent your resurrection from being so smooth."
Feeling the faint sense of majesty and the elusive "secret" power, Catalina's expression finally became serious. She knew that the other party was telling the truth. During the time when the two were fighting for the right to use the "mirror channel" and were both trapped on the island, the arrival of any angel would completely change the balance of power.
"In that case, why don't you do it?"
After a while, the "ageless" witch smiled again and asked in a cheerful tone.
"I said, there's no reason for us to fight to the death. You did provide me with clues to the potion ingredients when I was promoted to Despair, and your other daughter, Laura, also gave me a lot of help... Besides, you should be thankful that you're not the culprit of the 'Great Smog'."
Angel replied, mimicking the other's tone, only becoming slightly more serious when mentioning the heavy smog.
"Is this why you're asking what George III is doing? It seems you've already learned from somewhere that he's involved in the Great Smog..." Catalina said thoughtfully, "Unfortunately, I don't know much, and most of it is restricted to 'secrets'. If you're willing to hand it over..."
Having said this, her expression suddenly changed and she looked towards the south involuntarily.
"It seems Tracy has been captured by Elaine." Angel's smile widened upon seeing the change in her expression. "Don't worry, she won't kill Tracy for now. The answer to your question is simple. Just like our confrontation, it only takes one Sequence 5 'Supreme Hunter' to tip the balance of battle in one direction. And Elaine hired the 'Supreme Hunter' Anderson."
"Anderson? Who's that..." Katarina retracted her gaze, muttered softly, then smiled again. "Let me guess, Elaine designed to capture Tracy in order to completely digest her potion and complete the ritual to become a 'Reaper'?"
It seems that the members of the Witch Cult also know about the potion of the "Hunter" path. Perhaps they have all considered whether to jump to another path and restore their male identity... Angel thought about it, nodded, and said:
"That's right. Most of the 'conspiracy' was designed by Elaine. She arranged the disguises for Hermann and me, and she was the one who suggested hiring Anderson. Even the ambush location that Tracy thought was perfect was something she had anticipated long ago."
"I see... I remember that the final step of the Reaper's promotion ceremony requires Elaine to reveal her entire conspiracy to Tracy in person, and then take the potion in her remorse, right? Oh, this will plunge her into utter pain and despair..."
Hearing that her daughter was caught up in the conspiracy, Catalina smiled instead, making Angel feel that the "ageless" witch was genuinely happy.
"Then I agree to your terms. I will tell you everything I can, and you bring Tracy back alive."
Having made up her mind, Catalina looked straight at Angel and spoke in a serious tone.
She agreed right away... It seems the reason still lies with Tracy. Is it because the "pain" of being betrayed can allow her to completely digest the potion, giving her the opportunity to advance to "despair" at her current age, and even hope to become an "immortal" witch?
Angel's mind was full of thoughts. After a moment, he nodded and said:
"I want to know what important items George III hid in the Tudor ruins."
"That falls under the realm of 'keeping secrets,'" Katarina replied, shaking her head. "I have a way to circumvent this restriction. If I die immediately and then resurrect with the power of the Man in the Mirror, the contract will naturally be lifted... But I know you wouldn't trust me with that."
Indeed, who knows whether you were resurrected in front of me, or used the "mirror world" to escape... Angel frowned, and after a moment's hesitation between turning hostile and changing the question, he continued to ask:
"What did the 'Witch Cult' do to help George III? And what was his reward?"
She still remembered Laura saying that the Witch Cult had obtained an extremely important item through this.
"What George III was doing required a large number of workers, but this had to be concealed from the Orthodox Church, making it impossible to hire openly. Therefore, he kidnapped many people from all over the country, as well as from the populous and poorly governed East District of Backlund. He ostensibly engaged in the slave trade, but in reality, they were sent to further his cause... The sect's mission was to help him cover his tracks, such as controlling local gangs, pretending to transport slaves at sea, and... killing large numbers of people through the 'Great Smog' and counting the missing people as dead."
Catalina still had a smile on her face, but her tone was quite formal. It was unclear whether she felt that this method was despicable, or she was worried about angering the witch in front of her who was obviously dissatisfied with her actions.
"Through this cooperation, the sect will be able to obtain a copy of the Conqueror's extraordinary characteristics. We have already obtained it and are ready to dedicate it to the Original."
Conqueror... That's the "Hunter," or the Sequence 1 of the "Red Priest," one of the paths through which a Sequence 0 True God has yet to appear!
Angel nodded in realization.
No wonder the Witch Cult worked so hard to cooperate with George III. After the death of "Lady Despair", they sent "White Saint" to continue the cooperation. If the purpose was to obtain a Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic, then it is completely understandable.
But wasn't the "Original Witch" already a True God of the "Witch" Path? Why did He need this trait? Could He allow a "Disaster" Witch to jump to an adjacent path, solving the problem of the True God's throne being unable to possess Sequence 1?
"Next question, you mentioned 'those' ruins. This means there are more than one. Where are the other ruins located? What are their functions?"
Angel put his doubts about the "Conqueror" to himself and continued asking.
She chose not to inquire about the whereabouts of this Sequence 1 characteristic, because Katarina must have handed it over to other members of the Witch Cult. Otherwise, she would not have stayed in Backlund and made herself a sitting duck for someone with a huge sum of money.
Instead, what she cared about most was what George III was doing, and it was worth testing the boundaries of "secrecy" by asking questions from different angles.
The effort was rewarded.
"There are eight other ruins in total. They have been repaired and can be used at any time to complement the most important one."
This time, Catalina didn't mention "keeping it a secret," but answered in a natural tone.
Then, she revealed the locations of the other eight ruins:
"They are located in the southwestern suburbs of Backlund, at the foot of York Mountain in Ahowa County, outside Stoen City in Eastchester County, and on Escorson Island in Disi Bay..."
As Catalina narrated, a map of the northern continent emerged in Angel's mind. Red dots were marked on it. Together with the ruins in the Stryven section of the Tussock River, they formed a random group of ruins spread throughout the Kingdom of Loen.
The nine red dots kept flashing in Angel's mind, as if they had some deep meaning, yet it was difficult to understand.
Wait, nine?
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