Deep Sea Embers

In all fairness, these cultists are actually quite cautious.

They didn't believe the words of this strange "compatriot" just because Duncan took out the sun amulet, nor did they easily believe these statements because Duncan told the story of the sewer sacrificial ground. They observed Duncan's words and deeds along the way. , Even after arriving at the venue, an additional verification was required to confirm the identity of this stranger-as a group of cultists hiding in XZ, they have done their best.

But all their screening measures deal with Duncan as a "normal human being".

These tactics meant nothing to the captain of the Lost Home.

The tall and thin little boss took back the inconspicuous strip of cloth from Duncan's hand. He seemed completely unaware of any changes in the power of this extraordinary item. After expressing his welcome to his new compatriots, he immediately He raised his finger and pointed to a corner of the meeting place: "Compatriots, rest here first, you are not the only strange face here."

Duncan nodded, and walked towards that inconspicuous corner, while paying attention to every face that appeared in the assembly hall.

Unlike what he saw in the sewer sacrificial place before, he was surprised to find that none of these sun believers were wearing the iconic black robes, but dressed like ordinary citizens, and they didn't wear hoods to cover their faces. Instead, he exposed his face frankly.

He curiously asked the believers beside him: "Don't everyone need to cover their faces when they gather here?"

The believers who were questioned by him seemed very surprised: "...you local believers in the Puland city-state had to cover their faces when they gathered?"

Duncan immediately frowned slightly: "You are not Prand..."

"We come from Rensa," another believer next to him said frankly. After confirming that the stranger in front of him is really a member of the church, the Sun followers here obviously let go of their guard. "Everyone just settled down last week. But before we could establish contact with our compatriots in the area, the attack happened..."

"Everyone here is from Lunza?" Duncan was a little surprised. He finally knew why there were so many sun believers in this city after the sacrificial ground in the sewer was destroyed.

"Well, all the compatriots from Lensa gathered here, but there are also teams from other city-states, and everyone is scattered in different strongholds," another believer next to him participated in the conversation, "Oh, Prand Everyone has heard about the situation in the city-state more or less, in the past four years, that damned consul and the hyenas of the church have been attacking our cause... It’s not easy for you, but fortunately, it’s over.”

Duncan nodded noncommittally, and then heard the believer he questioned at the beginning: "The pigeon on your shoulder is really... unique."

Duncan's eyes twitched.

He knew that more than one person was paying attention to the pigeon on his shoulder.

If you have to say it, there is nothing strange about a pigeon, but it would be weird to come to the rally with a pigeon on your own.

He could only perfunctory: "This is my pet, it can help me do many things."

He was perfunctory here, but the thoughts in his mind had already surged rapidly - a large number of followers of the sun were pouring into the city-state of Purand, which confirmed one of his previous guesses:

The Church of the Sun, which has always been low-key, has suddenly engaged in a high-profile event in the sewers. These cultists really want to do something big!

This time he sneaked in by taking advantage of troubled waters, and unexpectedly found the right direction!

At the same time, he also understood why the cultists attending the rally here did not hide their faces, but dressed like ordinary citizens.

In the sewers before, the sun believers' outfits that completely concealed their identities and the single-line connection system between low-level believers were all to resist the church's round after round of suppression, and at the same time avoid traitors within the church or key members being arrested and leaking secrets The situation is a last resort choice of the local church in dire straits, and the rabble who have just gathered from various city-states to Puland in front of them obviously have no experience in this field-they are only cultists after all, not strictly disciplined special forces.

On the other hand, there is no need for them to carry out this kind of disguise: because the people gathered here are all "fellow villagers" who came from the same city-state, they are already familiar with each other, and it is meaningless to conceal their identities during the assembly.

The ordinary citizens' attire now makes it easier for them to escape immediately when their strongholds are exposed, and disperse and mix among the civilians in the lower city who lack strict management systems.

Thinking so in his heart, Duncan's eyes also swept across the assembly hall, and suddenly, he felt a line of sight falling on him.

He immediately followed his feeling and saw the owner of that line of sight.

A petite girl with short black hair was standing more than ten meters away.

The girl was wearing a black dress with white lace, her appearance was delicate and quiet, she looked about the same age as Nina, and the most striking thing was that she was wearing a dark red collar around her neck. There is a delicate silver bell adorned on it, which looks cute, but also extraordinarily weird.

When Duncan turned his gaze away, the girl also happened to turn her gaze to other places naturally - she shifted her gaze quietly, but Duncan dared to conclude that the gaze just now definitely came from this young girl!

Why is there such a young child among these cultists?

Duncan couldn't help but have doubts in his heart, and at the same time, he took another look at the girl's attire... For some reason, he always felt that the girl was out of place with the environment here.

While thinking about it, the sound of door hinges turning suddenly came from not far away, and the tall and thin leader of the cult ordered to close the door of the basement, and then he walked towards the middle of the meeting place.

All eyes on the scene immediately focused on the leader. Duncan also restrained his thoughts and paid attention to the changes on the scene. He saw the tall and thin man standing in the eyes of everyone with a confident and calm attitude, showing a slightly sinister look. There was a smile on his face, and then he took out another thing from his arms and held it high among the crowd.

It was a pale golden sun mask—exactly the same as the mask worn on the face of the cult priest who presided over the sacrificial ceremony in the underground assembly hall.

"Pay homage to the glory of the Lord, and recite the truth silently under the watchful eyes of the Lord," the tall and thin man said loudly, his tone extremely pious, "Bow your head to this blessed mask, may the protection of the children of the sun rest on it, help I guide my brothers and sisters gathered here."

The believers around immediately chanted the name of the real sun god in unison, then put their fists between their eyebrows, bowed their heads in a gesture of respect—they were not paying tribute to the tall and thin man in the center of the assembly hall, but It was a tribute to the golden mask, as if the mask was the body of a superior person, and the man holding the mask was just a carrier.

Duncan also pretended to be among a group of cultists, but he didn't know what the so-called mantra was, so he muttered a few multiplication tables in his mouth and began to seriously observe the behavior of these cultists. The meaning behind each link is reversed.

The tall, thin man put the mask on his face solemnly.

In the next second, Duncan immediately noticed that there seemed to be... some kind of change in this man.

He couldn't explain what was going on with this feeling. It was as if the other party had changed his temperament the moment he put on the mask, and it seemed that there was an extra shadow in his figure. Duncan looked at the figure imitating the sun. The golden mask, seeing the lines on the mask seem to be walking slowly - at this moment, the mask seemed to come alive, as if a distant and powerful consciousness projected its tiny power onto the mask, making the original Ordinary objects take on extraordinary qualities.

Ordinary people who wear masks, with this "wearing" action and this brief ceremony, complete the "sanctification" and become a symbol of some kind of divine power.

The surrounding believers sighed in unison: "May the glory of our Lord last forever! May the way of our Lord come to the world!"

Duncan memorized the multiplication table to the sixth column, recalling it quickly in his mind.

He had also seen a priest wearing a golden mask at the meeting place in the sewer before, but the priest had already completed the process of "wearing" at that time. In addition, Duncan still didn't understand the surrounding situation at that time, and the temporary body he used was not in good condition. Good, so he didn't realize what was so special about this seemingly ordinary golden mask, and he didn't think about why the priest wearing the mask was called "messenger" by ordinary believers.

Looking at it now... Could this so-called sun mask be the "communication device" used by the "children of the sun" hiding outside civilized society to remotely control believers and observe the world? Or more accurately, some kind of psycho-projection device?

After suddenly realizing that it was a very interesting item, the way Duncan looked at the golden mask suddenly changed.

This thing...maybe it has something to do with him.