Chapter 145: Whose Trap?

Chapter 145: Whose Trap?

Leonard did not actually have a very direct impression of Amon. He only knew that this was the enemy the parasite inside him feared the most—the “murderer” who had wounded that mysterious and powerful old man to his present state. Therefore, his emotions quickly calmed. Lowering his voice, he asked, “What should we do now?”

Inside his mind, the slightly aged voice echoed only after a pause of two or three seconds.

“What has come should not be Amon’s main body, but His avatar.”

His… As expected, Blasphemer Amon is an angel, possibly even a Sequence 1 angel. After all, the old man is also suspected to be an angel walking the earth…

Leonard absorbed the information and confirmed his guesses while listening to Pallez Zoroast continue.

“If Amon’s main body dared appear in Backlund, it might very well trigger a divine descent.”

Divine descent? How many years has it been since something like that happened? Since the Fifth Epoch, that has belonged entirely to legends recorded in scriptures. It has never appeared publicly! Does this mean that even among Sequence 1 angels, Amon ranks near the very top? No wonder He is called Blasphemer…

In only a few sentences, Leonard gained a clearer understanding of just how terrifying that angel named Amon was.

Standing before the mailbox, his thoughts rose and fell. Suddenly, he had an idea and hurriedly said in a low voice, “Since Amon is taken so seriously by the gods, can we find a way to inform the Church that He has appeared in Backlund?”

In Leonard’s view, the Churches of Evernight and Storms, both born in earlier epochs and spanning the entire Fourth Epoch, should have rich experience dealing with angels. They would be the best “candidates” to handle Amon.

Inside his mind, Pallez Zoroast chuckled.

“That would be useless. It might even be exactly what Amon wants to achieve.

“To Him, losing an avatar only wastes a little power. He would not suffer any substantial harm. And through the death and encounter of that avatar, He can see the corresponding changes in fate, thereby locating the source of the disturbance—or, to put it another way, the source of the ‘wave.’ Although that cannot directly lock onto you and me, it can greatly narrow the range and create conditions for a fatal strike from His main body.

“Besides, surely you do not think Amon has only one avatar in Backlund?

“According to His habits and style, perhaps only one openly reveals His own existence. But in reality, surrounding that ‘beacon’ are several, a dozen, or even a hundred more avatars.

“When we try to remove that conspicuous fellow, we may very likely be watched from different angles by several, a dozen, or a hundred Amons. He could be a passerby, a bird on a roof, an ant on the ground. He could also be a worm in wood or tiny organisms in the air. Below the demigod level, even if one of His avatars invades your body, you would not sense anything…”

Listening to the old man’s detailed description, Leonard gradually felt his back turn cold. All of a sudden, he had the feeling that countless Amons were hiding in the very air around him.

“Frightened?” Pallez Zoroast chuckled. “If you knew that Amon could steal away your fate without leaving behind a single abnormality, you would be even more frightened.”

“What does stealing away fate mean?” Leonard asked, both vigilant and confused.

Pallez’s aged voice sighed.

“He will follow you home. Then you will discover that your parents treat Him as their son, your wife treats Him as her husband, your children treat Him as their father, and your friends—everyone you know—will all believe that He is you. Meanwhile, you become one with no fate, losing all connection to the real world and slowly dying.”

“…”

Leonard could not help drawing in a breath.

“Would that theft remain effective forever?”

Pallez Zoroast gave a heh.

“Before a thief is caught, does he voluntarily return what he stole?

“Unless He has already had enough fun.”

Leonard abruptly fell silent. He felt that an enemy on Amon’s level could no longer be described by whether one could or could not resist. Rather, it was a question of whether one could even imagine Him.

After a few seconds, he asked in a voice difficult to hide as low and hoarse, “Then what should we do?”

He no longer proactively offered his own ideas, because they would most likely not match reality.

Pallez Zoroast was silent for a while.

“Let us observe a little longer.”

…

Inside the Bravehearts Bar, Maric had already arrived as agreed and was waiting in billiard room number three.

Since Sherlock Moriarty had agreed to help, discussing the operation’s details face to face was absolutely necessary.

Such things could not be clearly explained by letters alone.

After gulping down a mouthful of beer, Maric lifted a hand and combed back his hair. His pale face was bloodless, and the vague madness showing through him had faded considerably compared to before.

Just then, his heart stirred. He looked to the side and saw a figure wearing a top hat and formalwear swiftly outline itself into existence.

It was Sherlock Moriarty.

Teleportation?

Maric’s heart tightened. His pupils contracted, and he instinctively raised his guard.

This was not because he distrusted Sherlock Moriarty, but because it was the natural reaction of any creature facing an existence closer to the top of the food chain.

At the same time, from the corner of his eye, he saw Sharron’s puppet-like figure appear on a high stool.

Klein pressed a hand to his hat and bowed to the two of them. Then he smiled and said, “What I care about most is this: how much intelligence do you actually have?

“The more complete the intelligence, the higher the chance of success and the lower the danger.

“A very simple example: can you confirm that the mummy of Tutanthis II has no problem? Can you confirm which coffin it is inside? If so, I can simply Teleport over before the guards react, take it, and Travel through the spirit world. That would solve the problem.”

Maric was just about to think back when Sharron’s calm voice sounded.

“We can confirm which coffin. We cannot confirm whether there is a problem.”

Klein nodded, pulled over a chair, and sat down.

“Other than that, what else do you know?”

Sharron’s azure eyes shifted faintly.

“It may be a trap set by the Rose School of Thought, or it may be a trap set by the Loen military.”

You did not mention the second possibility earlier… Then again, if the other party has not yet confirmed cooperation, I would not reveal too much either…

Klein thoughtfully asked in response to the latter point, “A trap prepared for the Rose School of Thought?”

This time, Maric answered. He explained in detail:

“In the ancient Highland Kingdom, making mummies was a custom prepared for the honored. It was extremely sacred, and the pharaoh’s mummy was an object not to be profaned. Back then, before the allied forces of Loen, Intis, and Feynapotter captured the kingdom, the pharaohs’ descendants had already transferred away the most important batch of mummies. Among them were the remains of successive pharaohs.

“This time, a secret base of the Highland resistance army was breached. Loen soldiers discovered the mummy of Tutanthis II on the lowest level. They are preparing to send it to Backlund and hand it over to an unknown military institution for research.

“To the pharaohs’ descendants, this is the greatest insult. They have more than enough motive to snatch back Tutanthis II’s mummy. And among those descendants, there is a demigod named Mahmos. He is one of the main leaders of the resistance army, as well as an important member of the Rose School of Thought. He is a student of Abomination Suah.”

Klein nodded slightly.

“In other words, the mummy of Tutanthis II may be bait the Loen military is using to lure Mahmos. Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that the Rose School of Thought is deliberately sacrificing a pharaoh’s remains in order to eliminate you.”

He had originally wanted to say: one of you is Sequence 6 and the other Sequence 5. There seems to be no need for the Rose School of Thought to go this far. But when he thought that the faction currently leading the Rose School of Thought was the indulgence faction, which had no restraint whatsoever when it came to retaliatory desire, he felt it was impossible to judge them according to normal thinking.

Besides, Sharron and Maric had been able to break free from the Mother Tree of Desire’s restraints and successfully escape the Rose School of Thought. Apart from luck, perhaps they had received hidden support… If that was truly the case, then the source of that support would inevitably be a priority target for the Rose School of Thought…

These thoughts naturally turned through Klein’s mind, but he did not say them aloud.

“Correct,” Maric said, rubbing his forehead. The large amount of speech just now seemed to have stirred some spiritual and desire-related fluctuation in him.

Klein thought for a moment and said, “If it is the former, then matters are even more troublesome than I expected.

“To deal with a demigod—a demigod with companions—the Loen military must at least have two Beyonders of the same combat level as Mahmos lying in ambush. Besides that, they will certainly leave a certain margin against accidents. For example, preparing a Grade 0 sealed artifact. In short, unless this is near Backlund, or unless they are conducting a joint operation with the three Churches, they likely would not be able to complete such a trap with relative ease.”

Sharron’s chin moved faintly as she nodded, acknowledging Sherlock Moriarty’s judgment.

Klein did not keep emphasizing the difficulties. Instead, he said, “Therefore, we need more accurate and detailed intelligence so that we can make more targeted preparations. Only then is there a possibility of achieving the objective.”

Before Sharron and Maric could speak, he added, “I know of a hidden existence capable of performing mirror divination. He strictly obeys the principle of equivalence. So long as one does not mind exposing one’s privacy, or can endure behavior that carries intense shame, one can obtain answers to many questions from Him.

“Are you willing to try?

“I will summon Him.”

Whoever performed the summoning in “black divination” would also be the one bearing the greatest risk.

“What if one refuses to expose privacy or refuses to perform that kind of behavior?” Maric narrowed his eyes.

Klein answered sincerely, “Then one will suffer a lightning strike. It can cause no small amount of damage.”

Lightning strike… Maric had originally thought that, with a living corpse’s physical toughness, directly enduring harm would not be too big a problem. He had not expected it to be lightning, which significantly restrained the undead.

He hesitated for a moment and glanced at Sharron. After receiving an affirmative nod, he exhaled.

“Alright.”

Klein said nothing more. While taking paper and pen from his pocket, he instructed, “Prepare a mirror.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a palm-sized compact mirror appeared on the billiard table.

A compact mirror in court style… Klein glanced at it, then drew on the paper the symbol combining Peering and Concealment.