The Master of the Strange Realm

The big merchant said, looking at the fire in the fireplace, but he didn't seem to care much.

"It seems so..."

Jenkins raised the wine glass to his lips to hide his expression. He had heard about this matter. The Church of the True God suspected a few months ago that this was the preparation for some large-scale ceremony, because killing is usually related to sacrifice. But because the locations of the midnight serial murders were very scattered, further investigation took a long time. At least before leaving Nolan City, no follow-up news was heard.

"Beldilan City should be safe. After all, this is the capital, and it is one of the few cities on the continent that can shine at night."

Jenkins said.

"But it's still not as good as Rune in the Kingdom of Hampavo. The palace where the royal family lives is bright all night."

As he said this, the merchant laughed, not knowing whether he was mocking or envious.

"That's different. Loen's light shines for the royal family, and Beldiran's light shines for ordinary citizens like us."

"Oh, that's true."

The businessman raised his glass and clinked it with Jenkins: "To ordinary citizens."

Mr. Rodriguez's butler quickly found a carriage, and Jenkins exchanged a few polite words with his business partner before leaving.

The coachman drove him through the city and headed for the suburbs. Perhaps he was too tired today, so he leaned against the carriage and was about to fall asleep. But he suddenly had an idea, and was swept by Chocolate's swaying tail, and he suddenly felt that the sleepiness just now was a bit abrupt.

Carefully looking at the street outside from the wooden window grille, Jenkins really felt something was wrong. Although he was not a local, at least he could tell the direction. If he continued like this, the destination would definitely not be the Holy See.

"Excuse me, did you take the wrong road?"

He leaned out and asked the coachman, and the extremely low temperature made a white mist blow out of his mouth. But the driver held the reins motionless, and only his back could be seen shaking regularly due to the bumps of the carriage. He frowned, turned back to the carriage, grabbed the dozing cat, took out the pistol, and grabbed the cane.

He blinked his eyes and confirmed that the driver was just an ordinary person, and there was some shallow yellow aura on the horse.

He poked the driver with his cane out of the carriage, and he was still sitting like a wax figure.

"Chocolate, don't sleep, we are in trouble!"

He hugged his cat and jumped down the carriage. Who knew that as soon as his feet left the edge of the carriage, the yellow spell light lit up from the bottom of the carriage, and the man and the cat were bounced back.

"Oh no, someone arranged a ceremony in the carriage in advance, damn, I can't leave!"

Hausen Manor is located on the outskirts of Beldiran City. It is necessary to walk through a large area of ​​farmland to get there from the edge of the capital. There is only a small road connecting the manor and Beldiran City, and the manor itself relies on this road to purchase food and daily necessities.

The establishment of Hausen Manor was more than 30 years ago, but whether now or in the past, few people know that there is such a mansion in the valley. It is so low-key that almost no one knows about it, so no one can tell who the owner is. Normally, there would be no lights here even at night, but tonight was a little different. Two old men holding candles stood in front of the manor's magnificent iron gate, looking far away at the end of the winding muddy path.

"We should be there soon. I hope we can find enough sacrifices."

His voice was hoarse, like a snake spitting out its tongue.

"No problem. The carriage we have tampered with can more easily find ordinary people with strong souls, and the spell on the chassis of the carriage also ensures that the fish caught will not run away."

The voice of the other person was even stranger, as if he had not talked to humans for a long time, so that he had forgotten how to speak.

The subtle sound of horse hooves and wheels came from the end of the path, and accompanied by the sound of clattering, three carriages came to the door of Hausen Manor one by one.

The drivers jumped down in a stiff posture, and the two old men held candles to see if there was any harvest.

"I have a man here."

A young man wearing glasses was roughly pulled out from the second carriage and thrown to the ground.

"Lucky, this is the fifth one tonight. Enough, let's go in too."

The driver returned to his carriage and went back the same way, and the candles in the hands of the old men could briefly illuminate their lifeless eyes.

The young man was dragged into the manor like a dead dog, and the path returned to peace again, with only the cunning moonlight still watching here.

A few minutes later, a few frightened birds flew out of the dead woods on both sides of the path, and then the air seemed to fluctuate twice, and more than 20 men appeared out of thin air from the woods.

The middle-aged man with a serious face and a monocle standing in the front was holding a mining lamp with a blue flame, which could help them hide their figures; the young girl with beautiful long hair standing behind him on the left was holding a purple gem, and the glimmer on the surface of the gem was flying into the air, which could help them resist the detection capabilities of divination and prophecy; further back, the old man in the priest robe of the Church of Sages was holding a silver bell, which could help them eliminate the sound of their actions; and the young man in the center of the crowd was holding a black and white kitten, which could help them... This cat was just brought by Jenkins, and it was of no use at all.

Just now, Jenkins almost became a victim of the midnight urban legend "The Carriage That Cannot Leave", but he was very lucky. The combat team of the Sage Church happened to be investigating this matter, and before Jenkins set fire to the carriage, they happened to find the abnormality of the carriage - the driver was kicked down by Jenkins, so he and Chocolate were saved.

The third carriage that arrived at the gate of the manor just now was the one that Jenkins was riding. The captain of the team originally disagreed with Jenkins' participation in the action, but he forced to follow him on the pretext that he was a precious healer.

It's not that I feel that I have nothing to do at night, so I recklessly want to explore with my life. I just think that since this matter involves me, there is no reason not to continue. He is very lacking in practical experience now, and this opportunity to participate in large-scale operations is rare.

Chapter 441 Chapter 435 The Empty Mansion

"If I had only heard about this, I would definitely not get involved, but since I am involved, I would also like to know what happened."

"But..."

"Sooner or later, I will participate in this kind of action. Even in Nolan City, I have participated in more dangerous things. If I am strictly protected just because of my identity, it is actually irresponsible for the future. Besides, didn't the sage also say? [Excessive favor is the beginning of murder.]"

Since Jenkins has lowered his head and started to draw the holy emblem, Dana Kelly knew that he would never find a better way to dissuade him.

On the way to here following the carriage, Captain Kelly also briefly explained the whole story.

Since the start of [The Craftsman and the Moon of Sweet Rain], the civilian staff working in the police station have gradually noticed a series of unusual disappearances. These disappearances are not very frequent, so the past is submerged in the numerous files of the capital.

But if we follow this clue, the disappearances that occurred at night and were related to the carriage can be confirmed to have started at least three years ago.

The specific investigation lasted for several months before the church finally determined that the incident was indeed related to supernatural power. After coordinating with other orthodox churches in Beldiran and making detailed task arrangements, tonight's action was carried out. Captain Kelly and his team are the vanguard, and reinforcements are being deployed behind.

There are many invisible warning rituals and mechanisms near Hausen Manor, but this team has participated in many similar operations. Although it is a bit troublesome, they were finally able to successfully break a gap in the fence and enter after half an hour.

Before the operation, the internal design drawings of Hausen Manor could not be found, which added a lot of difficulties to the operation. But there was only one mansion standing inside the manor, which made everyone feel a lot more at ease.

Leaving two people to serve as peripheral guards, the rest of the people used the method just now to hide their bodies. In addition to the main force, seven scribes with other divisions of labor moved in different directions.

There was no sound in the wind, but Jenkins smelled a faint smell of blood.

Captain Kelly stood in front of Jenkins calmly, waiting for the signal, and then divided into three teams to move forward in turn.

It was also extremely troublesome to clear the secret sentries and warning measures near the mansion, especially since everyone didn't want to make too much noise. The geological morphology nearby did not have the conditions for digging long-distance tunnels, so once the mansion was surrounded and waiting for subsequent reinforcements to arrive, it was almost certain that the operation would not fail.

The operation lasted until nearly midnight, and every inch of land near the mansion was carefully checked and cleaned. Some sentries and rituals that could not be physically cleaned, or warning items that could not even be moved, were tried by professionals in the team to reverse analyze.

The gifters with different beliefs would have different characteristics when arranging rituals. According to the traces found by everyone in the manor, the illegal personnel active here should not have the same beliefs, and they were more likely to gather for some reason.

These people did not have special warning items with numbers, which made the preliminary work go smoothly. Although there were still people injured, since Jenkins, an excellent healer, was there, these were not difficult.

At about one o'clock in the morning, the follow-up team finally arrived. After exchanging the current intelligence, the captains of the team made an attack plan.

This plan definitely did not include Jenkins, and he himself had no intention of participating.

He hid in the dead woods in front of Hausen Manor with the logistics personnel. Everyone wore a black coat, which was more conducive to hiding.

Five minutes after the vanguard entered, the first gunshot indicated that the battle had begun.

"Why do I always have an ominous premonition?"

He muttered in a low voice, but no one except Chocolate heard it.

In the vision of the Eye of Truth, the light spots representing the church scribes kept spinning in place after entering the house, and then suddenly went down. The original guess was that they found the secret passage, but after entering a certain distance underground, all the light spots disappeared.

This is very abnormal. If it is out of Jenkins' observation range, those light spots should also have a process of becoming blurred from clear.

And... Jenkins did not find any non-church gifters in the house, as if no one had said it in the first place.

The moonlight is getting thicker, and there are only a few lonely birdsong in the distance between the silent heaven and earth. The people hiding in the dead woods remained motionless. Except for the frowning Jenkins, no one realized that the accident had happened.

"Is it a space transfer? But how can we transfer so many people at once? Or can the underground building materials shield my eyes? This kind of thing has never happened before."

He debated in his heart whether he should tell what he saw. After all, according to the original plan, the leading troops lost contact for ten minutes before the second batch of reinforcements could enter.

The current situation is that Jenkins' backup team is at the furthest location from the house, and there are dozens of people hidden inside the iron fence. Since the team in front didn't notice anything was wrong, it might not work if he pointed it out rashly.

"There's no sound...I have a bad feeling."

After all, I wanted to give it a try, so I whispered "quietly".

"This is a normal situation. Wait patiently for a few minutes and you will probably get results."

The woman next to her comforted her in a low voice without passing on Jenkins's opinion to others.

People outside the house finally discovered that something was wrong inside. When the second batch of scribes broke into it, they found that the house was empty. They found traces of fighting in the corridor on the first floor. They followed these traces to investigate, but did not find the next direction.

After confirming that the mansion was really safe, Jenkins and other support staff also followed in. The scribe responsible for the divination had already begun working, and Captain Kelly led his own team members, with the faint Jenkins escorting them.

"Have our actions been discovered in advance?"

Jenkins asked, looking up at the huge oil painting in the foyer on the first floor as he spoke.

It faces the main entrance of the mansion and is located in the center of the spiral staircases on the left and right sides. The tone of the oil painting is cooler, mostly black and dark blue, and the content of the oil painting is dry grassland under the gloomy sky.

Chapter 442 Chapter 436 Corpse Python

The painter who created this oil painting must have very superb skills, because everyone who sees this painting for the first time can't help but feel fear oozing from the bottom of their hearts. It seems to have magic power, making people keep their eyes there for a long time.

The location of the hall is where Jenkins observed the vanguard going deep into the ground. The problem could only be this oil painting. In Jenkins' eyes, there was a very faint aura of mixed yellow and gold.

"The probability of the action plan being leaked is very low. Problems should have arisen after entering the mansion. Do you also think this painting is strange?"

Captain Kelly asked.

"There is something strange. In my impression, the portraits in this position are usually portraits of ancestors. Even if they are not, the style should not be like this..."

He thought about it and picked out the right words:

"It shouldn't be a landscape painting with such a weird style."

"We also think about it this way. The current detection result is that there is no cavity directly below the hall. We are dispatching manpower to conduct further detection and dig out the entire house to find the secret passage!"

Based on the internal structure of the mansion, the scribes drew rough drawings. After careful observation, I found that the structure of the entire house is centered on this painting. Although the main body of the house looks normal, it actually goes against the prevailing architectural style of the period in which it was built.

The original purpose of building a house should not be for living, but to cover a huge ceremony.

Based on this idea, some strange items were found in the walls of the house. This is an item to assist in the ceremony, which further confirms the speculation just now.

It was only when the professionals sent by the Holy See arrived that they finally cracked the ceremony with the oil painting as the core based on the structure of the mansion.

When the color of the surface gradually faded with the divine light, a dark hole appeared on the surface of the painting. A cold wind blew out of it, filling the building with a foul smell of decay. Some human bones and dried blood could be vaguely seen at the entrance of the cave, as if they had been bitten by some animal.

But in fact, there is still a solid wall behind this oil painting, and the hole in the painting is directly connected to an unknown space.

Jenkins stood at the back, and Chocolate had been asleep for hours in his arms. The furry ears suddenly shook a few times. The cat opened its eyes and looked at the hole warily, and then stood up from Jenkins' arms.

"Meow~"

It made the most ferocious cry so far, and its tail stood straight up and almost hit Jenkins' chin.

"What's wrong?"

Worried about disturbing the people in front of him, Jenkins rushed to comfort his cat. But at this moment, something seemed to be crawling out from the darkness deep inside the hole in the oil painting.

The rustling sound was not obvious at first, but after a few seconds it almost reached the edge of the painting. Severe nausea was the first sensation, followed closely by the hallucination of being covered in venomous snakes. Before everyone had time to react, another stream of green, foul-smelling gas spurted out from the hole, and a few people standing near the front fainted.

"Back up!"

Captain Kelly pulled Jenkins and was about to leave, but a hissing sound came from the hole, and a gray tongue as thick as Jenkins' waist shot out, wrapping around Jenkins' waist with unusual accuracy.

As the terrifying sound came out, the border of the illusory cave in the oil painting showed signs of collapse. The creature in the cave finally revealed its appearance. It was a giant python that had turned into a mummy. It was wriggling and trying to stretch out its snake head from the cave, but it was always blocked by an invisible barrier in the air.

It was hidden in the obscure darkness, and only the pair of gray-white eyes full of death could be seen clearly. The looming body was covered with strange and sacred symbols, but it was more like a pattern formed naturally as the scales grew.

The boundless chaos impacted everyone's mind, and the spirit seemed to be bitten by countless small snakes. The grotesque and terrifying hallucinations appeared in front of them. There was a short tinnitus in the ears, and the five senses were all confused at that moment.

With the appearance of the giant python, the air seemed to stagnate, and those who could stay awake were wrapped in an inexplicable sense of panic, as if the deepest darkness would come immediately. These feelings drove them to turn around and flee, but Jenkins could not escape.

"Ha~"

The snake's long and thin tongue wanted to pull him into the cave. At the moment when his feet were about to leave the ground, he stretched out his cane to the side and stuck it in the crack of the door of the house, and then the whole person was pulled up.

He was lying on his back, holding the cane with both hands, and the long and thin tongue wrapped around his waist pulled him back with great force. The clothes in contact with the tip of the tongue were quickly corroded, and the numbness spread from the skin to the whole body.

The chocolate fell off Jenkins' body. While Jenkins couldn't see it, he turned around and yelled at the giant python. The force that was almost pulling Jenkins in two was actually weakened a little.

All this happened in less than two seconds. Jenkins realized that the creature in the cave was definitely not an ordinary alien species. This level of mental pollution meant that this was a higher creature that exceeded the level of human life.

His strength was not enough to compete with the giant python's tongue, so he could only activate the healing ability to remove the snake venom or corpse poison on his body.

The posture of lying on his back had an extremely narrow field of vision, and he didn't know if there was anyone around him who could help him. Thinking about the abilities he could use, the life orb emerged from his forehead.

Green mist surrounded Jenkins' body and finally gathered towards the tongue. They followed the tongue and rushed towards the hole in the painting. The undead creatures themselves conflicted with the spirit of life, so the tongue broke into two pieces and fell to the floor only halfway through. A deafening roar came from the hole again, and the snake head retreated a few feet into the darkness, but still lurked in the darkness to observe the people in the hall.

Until the reinforcements that arrived later rescued the fainted scribes and burned the painting to make the hole completely disappear, the giant python kept that peeping posture.

It was obviously unwilling to lose its connection with the material world, but it seemed to be afraid of something and did not dare to fully exert its power. After the fire, there were only some corpses thrown out of the hole in the lobby. These were not the church's gift-givers, but the missing citizens of Beldiran City in the past three years.