Volume 2: Empire Chapter 188: Informant
The change in the plot made Luke leave the Adventurer's Guild with complicated thoughts. Now it is time to truly test his ability to develop the plot.
Luke did not return to the Fecochek family immediately, as it was not the time to discuss world fashion with Mrs. Fecochek. He used his familiarity with the terrain to cross a small path, climb up a mountain wall, and reach the vicinity of the Abyss Temple before Priest Egbert performed the sacrifice.
The former site of the Blood Oath Temple is a pyramid-shaped building located on the top of the mountain. The former site is now only used for memorial activities during major festivals. The mountain below the temple was opened up to build the Celtic Duke's castle. When there are no public activities, the Abyss Temple is located in the closed lower level of the castle. Now that the Celtic Duke has publicly recognized the Abyss Temple as a legal organization of the Tedega Hills, the Abyss Temple has opened an entrance and exit to handle external affairs.
The gate of the Temple of the Abyss is located on the carved mountain wall. The four ten-meter-high pillars are embossed with exquisite patterns, making it look magnificent.
Outside the gate, there are Bloodsworn Barbarians who have been transformed by mystic arts guarding. An eye hangs over the open hallway. The white of the eye is very large, and the yellow pupil only occupies one-tenth of the entire front area of the eyeball. The eye is very alert, and anyone who passes by the gate of the Abyss Temple will attract its attention. If you stay outside the door for too long without reason, the yellow pupil will turn red and issue a warning sound, and the Bloodsworn Barbarian will immediately come forward to question you.
Luke saw that the eye was placed outside the gate of the temple, and soon found a blind spot that the eye could not observe. There were branches blocking the gap between a stone house and a big tree, and part of the eye's view was blocked by stone pillars.
Luke hid behind a tree and observed the Temple of the Abyss through the cover of branches and leaves.
There weren't many Abyss Mages coming in and out, and they were all very low-key, wearing hoods to hide their appearance as much as possible. The eyes on the gate were very strict, and everyone who came in and out had to show their appearance to be identified.
After waiting for a while, Luke saw the Egbert priest.
He lowered his head and walked in a hurry.
As he passed the temple gate, he flashed a badge and was about to go in, but was warned by a piercing scream from the Eyes.
A blood-sworn barbarian stepped forward, saluted respectfully, and said, "Priest Egbert, according to the orders of the apostles, anyone who enters or leaves the temple must be identified by the Eye of True Sight."
Egbert said sarcastically: "A fellow who only knows how to tell tales has gained the appreciation of Lord Victor through flattery and framing."
The Eye of True Vision sneered sharply, "Egbert, I can regard your slander as your envy of me. I was transformed into the Eye of True Vision by Lord Victor using the power of the abyss. As Lord Victor's eyes, I watch your every move.
Don't do anything that will harm the Abyss Temple, because you will never be able to escape my gaze on you!"
Egbert lifted his hood and looked up at the Eye of True Vision: "I envy you, but I definitely don't slander you! Don't think about making up lies about me. I accept the judgment of the Abyss, and Lord Victor believes in me."
The Eye of True Vision smiled and said, "Yes, you accepted the judgment of the Abyss. Many people have accepted the judgment of the Abyss, but what Lord Victor was worried about still has no result.
Who colluded with outsiders to betray the temple?
Is that you?
Egbert said angrily: "You have no evidence, don't talk nonsense."
"Evidence? Go in, Priest Egbert... If it's really you, I will find evidence."
Egbert walked into the temple angrily.
Luke carefully left the temple and stole a set of clothes where no one was paying attention. After changing his clothes, he transformed into an ordinary native human being of the Holy Mountain.
I walked down the road for two blocks and turned into a narrow alley. I first bought a buckwheat pancake at a pancake shop and got some change.
After walking two steps, Luke gave the cake to the child playing on the roadside. He walked another ten meters and turned a corner to find an ordinary stone house. He walked forward and knocked on the slightly shabby wooden door.
A small window on the wooden door opened, and a man with sores all over his face asked impatiently, "What's the matter?"
Luke took out the change he had just received and found a worn-out note that was stained with the pine nut oil unique to the Holy Mountain.
"My wife has some disease and keeps coughing." Luke handed the money in with a sad look on his face. "Old Ham introduced me here. He said you have some wizard's medicine, which is very magical."
The man with the ulcer took the money, looked at Luke again, and opened the door: "Come with me."
Luke looked around warily, made sure no one was paying attention, and walked in.
Behind the door was a very narrow corridor, with mosses growing on the stone walls on both sides, and large scorpions and centipedes everywhere. The man with the sore face walked in front, chanting a spell in a low voice, and the poisonous insects were very smart and found a nearby gap to crawl into.
After walking about twenty meters along the winding corridor, Luke followed the man with the pimple face into a dark room.
There was a large pot in the middle of the room, in which the bones of an unknown animal were boiled, and the soup was dark green. The walls of the room were shelves filled with various materials, including animal limbs and bottles and jars filled with unknown liquids.
The man with the acne-prone face searched the shelves and soon found a medicine jar. He took out a small glass bottle, poured some powder from the jar into the bottle, and finally scooped some green soup from the pot to fill the bottle.
After shaking it vigorously a few times, he handed it to Luke.
"Let your wife drink it before dinner, get some sleep, and you'll be fine tomorrow."
Luke took the bottle, the green liquid inside looked nauseating.
"This...is not what I imagined. Wouldn't you like to ask about my wife's condition?"
The man with the sore face said, "Ask or not, this is the medicine . One thousand Reichsmarks, you can pay for it now."
"Didn't I just give you money?" Luke asked in confusion.
"That's just the entrance fee." The man with the pimple face showed an ugly smile: "Didn't the old man make it clear to you?"
"But this bottle of medicine costs one thousand Reichsmarks. Is n't it too expensive?"
"A thousand Reichsmarks is not expensive compared to your wife's life. If the disease is not treated in time, it will be fatal."
"But...if you take the medicine carelessly, it can also kill you."
Luke's change in attitude made the man with the ulcer face alert: "Who are you?"
Luke handed the medicine bottle to the man with the ulcer on his face and said, "If you drink this medicine, I will give you money."
The man with the ulcer face saw that Luke was not here to buy medicine , so he immediately said sternly: "Boy, if you don't want to die, put the medicine down and leave the same way you came. I can pretend that you have never been here, otherwise..."
"Otherwise..." Luke took out the steel wing with brilliant feathers and turned it into a two-handed sword with a flick of his hand: "What do you want to do to me?"
The man with the ulcer face was a connoisseur of goods. When he saw Luke take out such a high-level alchemical weapon, he immediately said in submission, "Sir, I am just a potion seller. My medicine can really cure diseases."
Luke walked around the small room and didn't see the person he was looking for, so he asked the man with the pimple face, "You are not a wizard, where is he?"
Hearing that Luke was looking for the wizard, the man with the ulcer face immediately said, "Something happened to the wizard. These medicines are what he left behind. They are very effective!"
"What happened to him?" Luke asked as he walked back to the man with the ulcer.
The man with the ulcer didn't answer immediately, but asked Luke warily, "Who are you?"
Luke said: "The Abyss Temple would secretly use nearby residents for human experiments. Some people would get sick unknowingly and eventually die without treatment. An Abyss mage wanted to make money. Whenever the Abyss Temple conducted human experiments, he would develop corresponding treatment potions.
And let you sell it secretly.”
The man with the sore face was shocked: "How did you know?"
Luke put the sword on the man with the ulcer on his face's neck. "It doesn't matter how I know this. I came here to find this wizard, but he's not here. Also... let your little friend go back to his nest. My sword is definitely faster than their poison."
Several scorpions that had been secretly crawling towards Luke immediately turned around and left.
The man with the scabby face said fearfully, "I'm sorry, sir. The reason you didn't see the wizard this time is because he was arrested."
"Go on!"
Luke's sword pressed against the man with the pimple-faced shoulder, and the heavy sword caused his body to tilt involuntarily.
In order to get out of this situation, the man with the pimple face immediately told what he knew.
"A few days ago, the wizard told me that he was going to flee the Holy Mountain. His whereabouts and a large amount of unknown money attracted the investigation of the Abyss Temple. I was supposed to help him escape, but when the agreed time came, he did not show up.
I think he was captured by the Abyss Temple."
Luke relaxed a little and asked the man with the ulcer face, "The wizard was captured, but you didn't run away. Are you hiding something from me?"
The man with the ulcer immediately replied, "I haven't finished yet. Later, I received a message from the wizard using secret magic. He said that he was a small character, and the Abyss Temple was busy interrogating the big shots and had no time to deal with him for the time being."
"And then where?"
"Then... he told me the formula of the potion and asked me to continue buying the potion to make money. When he found a way to escape, I could run away with the money."
It turned out to be that guy who was greedy for money.
Luke retracted his sword, then turned it into a dagger and put it away.
He came here this time just to find the wizard, but the wizard was affected by the internal strife in the Abyss Temple.
This road is blocked, what should I do?
Luke asked the man with the ulcer face, "It seems that your communication is very smooth. Do you have a way to pass the message to the wizard?"
The man with the ulcer face didn't expect that such details could be caught by the other party, so he had to continue to reveal: "The scorpion I trained dug a small tunnel that can deliver the note to the wizard's prison."
Luke felt that the plot of the Abyss Temple had been changed too seriously by Qingkong. If he looked for other ways, he would not only have to face the changed plot, but would also incur great risks.
Now that we have found this place, we might as well treat it as a breakthrough point.
Luke pulled out a gold ticket: "I am an Imperial spy."
The man with the scabby face snatched the gold ticket from Luke and said, "I am willing to serve the Empire!"
They are indeed birds of a feather!
Luke said to the man with the ulcer on his face, "Don't think that the wizard is a small character and that the Abyss Temple will not take his crime seriously. With so many big figures in the temple being tried, the fate of the small character will probably be to kill the wrong person rather than let him go."
Luke's words awakened the man with the pimple face. He knew something about the Temple of the Abyss. Many powerful Abyss wizards in the past had disappeared and were never seen again.
Under the crushing pressure of this kind of wheels, what good ending can a small character have?
"My Lord, although I am in the Holy Mountain, my loyalty to the Empire has never wavered."
Luke said, "I don't care whether you are loyal to the Empire or not. As long as you work hard for the Empire, I will ensure that you can leave Tedega Hills safely and be properly resettled."
As he spoke, Luke took out another gold ticket.
The man with the ulcer face immediately grabbed it and said, "Please rest assured, sir. I will do whatever you ask me to do... Can you rescue the wizard and pardon his crime of being an abyss wizard?"
"sure!"
Luke revealed his identity because he knew these two people. Although they were greedy for money, they were reliable at critical moments. They sold potions to people who were under the spell not only to make money, but also because they had compassion.
One thousand Reichsmarks to save a life is indeed not expensive.
With Luke's promise, the man with the ulcer face seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw: "My lord, what should I do?"
Luke said: "Continue to sell your medicine and pretend nothing happened. Then tell the wizard that we are trying to save him... and ask him to report the current situation of the Abyss Temple."
"Yes, sir, I will contact him tonight. Is there anything else I can do?"
"Don't be so nervous." Luke comforted the man with the ulcer on his face, "Relax a little, and do what you need to do. You are working for the Empire now. When the Empire's army captures the Holy Mountain, you will be a great contributor to the Empire.
Only by keeping a positive attitude can you better serve the empire."
The man with the sore face asked, "Can the Empire really get here and capture the Holy Mountain?"
Luke smiled and said, “In terms of industrial capacity and war potential, Tedega Hills is in no way comparable to the Empire. All the Celtic Duke can rely on is the secret arts provided by the Abyss Temple.
You should know what the Abyss Temple is like now better than an outsider like me. Even the big shots are worried and walking on thin ice every day. How long can the Abyss Temple last?
The reason why Tedega Hills can hold out until now is because the northern border of the empire was invaded by the Art County Alliance. Once the empire solves the troubles in the northern border...it doesn't even need to solve the troubles in the northern border. The empire can solve the rebellion of the Celtic Duke with just the northern border army. "
The man with the sore face said, "But I heard that the Northern Army is negotiating with the Duke of Celtic and is preparing to unite with the Barbarian Army to avenge the eldest prince Fania."
Luke smiled and said, "Revenge, revenge on whom? Is the royal grandson Sinclair going to kill his grandfather and regicide to avenge his father?
This is a family affair of the Golden Shield royal family. The royal grandson Sinclair wants to prove that he is different from Fania and re-participate in the competition for the throne. Only by defeating the Duke of Celtic can he be qualified.
Do you think the Barbarian Legion is qualified to unite with the Northern Legion?"
