Torch City, the Holy Oak Cathedral.
A black carriage pulled up to the side entrance. The driver pulled a bell cord inside the carriage, but after a few seconds, the cabin remained as quiet as ever.
The driver hopped down from his seat and knocked on the door. Hearing no sound from within, he called out loudly, "Miss, we’ve arrived."
There was still no response. He had no choice but to open the door and look inside, only to find a young woman in a short, interwoven brown and green robe leaning against the carriage wall, fast asleep. A thin trickle of drool ran down the wall, in time with her soft snores.
The driver looked at the round-faced, red-haired girl. The braids coiled at the back of her head had been slightly messed up from rubbing against the carriage wall.
"Miss, we’re at the Oak Cathedral," the driver said, leaning in and giving her a gentle push.
"Ah! Demon, die!" the girl shouted, sending the driver flying out of the carriage with a swift kick.
She then sat up straight, her dazed eyes scanning her surroundings. Once she recognized where she was, she immediately shook her head. ’Ah, I fell asleep again.’
"Oof, my back," the driver groaned, sprawled on the street, unable to get up for a long moment.
The girl stepped out, holding onto the carriage door for support. She wiped the drool from her cheek and said apologetically, "I’m so sorry. I was just dreaming that I was fighting a Demon. Are you okay?"
"What do you think, Miss?" The driver struggled for a while before finally managing to sit up.
"Don’t worry, I’ll get someone to heal you." With that, the girl immediately ran into the Cathedral and dragged out two Priests a moment later. "Help me out here."
"Sofia, what is it this time?" one of the Priests asked with a sigh.
"Please, help me out. I beg you. The Lord Bishop is still waiting for me." The girl pressed her palms together, a pleading smile on her face.
"Just go. We’ll handle it." The Priest waved her away, then cast a Wind of Revival on the driver.
Not long after, outside the Bishop’s office on the fifth floor of the Cathedral, a woman’s voice called out, "Sofia, the Bishop will see you now."
A nun pushed open the office door and scanned the quiet hallway. Then, the corner of her mouth twitched, her expression one of someone who had seen it all before.
"Don’t fall asleep. Bishop Luther is calling for you." The nun nudged Sofia, who had been dozing against the wall, awake.
The two of them then entered the inner office.
"Lord Bishop." Sofia bowed in greeting.
"You’re back, my child." The gray-templed Bishop Luther put down his pen, looking up at Sofia with a smile. He then said to the nun, "Please make us two cups of coffee."
"No, no, that’s not necessary, Lord Bishop," Sofia said, waving her hands hastily.
"*I* don’t need it, but I can’t say the same for you," the Bishop said with a laugh. "Just one cup, then. For her."
After the nun nodded and left, Bishop Luther took a file from his side and placed it in front of Sofia. "Is the previous matter dealt with?"
"Yes, it’s done. It was just a couple dozen sailors’ spirits. They’ve all been purified," Sofia said with a nod.
"Take a look at this." The Bishop pointed at the file.
Sofia picked it up, opened it, and quickly read through it. "Druid Vissans has defected and disappeared?"
"Correct," Bishop Luther nodded. "He has fallen. He no longer believes in the glory of the Main God and has forsaken his vows. You are to either capture him and bring him back or kill him. If we let this go, it will lead to disaster."
"The file says he’s been missing for two years." Sofia looked through the records in the file.
"Yes. The Church gave him ample time to reflect, but to no avail." Bishop Luther sighed. "He used to be so exceptional, but now..."
"Understood, Lord Bishop. I will depart for the Nightmare Forest at once." Sofia folded the file and tucked it into the pouch on her belt.
"There’s no need to be in such a hurry. The Cathedral is serving creamed mussels for lunch today, as long as you don’t sleep through it." Bishop Luther gave a kindly smile, then added a reminder, "You are to bring back everything Vissans had in his possession, including all books and notes."
"Yes, Lord Bishop," Sofia said seriously.
"He is very powerful, strong enough to have been a contender for an assistant Regional Bishop position. Even though you are the best Judge in our diocese, you must still be careful," Bishop Luther said earnestly.
Sofia nodded firmly.
"Alright, you may go. Remember, *all* books and notes," the Bishop emphasized one last time. Then he added, "The coffee should be ready. Drink it before you leave. Don’t oversleep and miss the creamed mussels. It’s a delicacy even the Merlot Clan praises."
"Yes, Lord Bishop." Sofia nodded several times in a row, a wide grin revealing her two small canines.
"Lord Bishop, the coffee." The nun knocked and brought in a cup of coffee.
Sofia took it, tested the temperature, and downed it in two gulps. "Lord Bishop, I’m going to take a nap now."
She walked to the window and, with a WHOOSH, leaped from the fifth floor. Moments later, a chubby owl flew past the window.
"Heh, that child." The Bishop waved the nun away, then picked up his pen and continued looking at his documents.
A few seconds later, with a SNAP, he crushed the pen in his hand.
Bishop Luther took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He then pulled open the drawer beside him and tossed the broken pen inside. The drawer was already filled with several other crushed pens.
...
"I, Vissans, have failed again. I can’t accept this. Those three goblins didn’t become controllable zombies. Instead, they went mad, even starting to tear each other apart. These spores still need improvement. The research direction that old bastard Luther mentioned is completely wrong."
Shire turned to the next page of the Experimental Notes in his hand and continued reading.
After lunch, he had brought his men to the underground stone chamber. The room had been completely ravaged by fire, leaving behind nothing but black ash and a foul smell.
He inspected the chamber and decided it was usable, though it would take time to clean. He also discovered signs of something buried along the east and west walls.
Shire had his men start by digging through the mound of earth on the west side. It revealed a straight tunnel leading to another stone chamber. That chamber was only about 300 square meters, less than half the size of the Druid’s mushroom room.
This must have been where the Druid first lived and conducted his experiments. Various pieces of experimental equipment, crucibles, and culture media were scattered everywhere. On a crude wooden table, Shire also found several books, one of which was the *Experimental Notes* he was currently reading.
’He failed again. This guy is really persistent. How many times has he failed now?’ Shire shook his head and grumbled, idly stroking the fur on Rubus’s head.
Rubus lay on the ground, motionless, letting Shire ruffle its fur.
Shire had been heartbroken after the Star Realm Dog was injured last time, terrified that something might happen to it. But it seemed that, aside from a lack of energy, there were no major issues.
However, Rubus was full of spirit when it was time to eat. Every day at noon when the goblins butchered their prey, Shire had them set aside the innards to feed the Star Realm Dog. By noon today, Rubus had started proactively waiting by the side for its meal.
Shire guessed it was probably replenishing its Energy to recover more quickly.
Moreover, Rubus seemed to have grown closer to him over the past few days. Shire figured that in a little while longer, the Star Realm Dog might even recognize him as its master.
"The experiment is finally showing some progress. One goblin can now act on my commands, but its reactions are very slow, and it can only crawl on the ground. Perhaps the zombification is incomplete. I’m running low on test subjects; I’ll need to go out and capture more goblins tomorrow."
"That bastard. He’s already killed dozens of goblins," Shire said resentfully. ’It would’ve been great if he’d left them for me.’
The next alien character had already appeared. Its content was: [Forest Whisper: You can occasionally hear whispers carried on the forest breeze, which will contain information about you. Advancement Condition: Possess 300 subordinates.]
’If I activate this character, I’ll be able to hear the forest’s whispers too. I just don’t know if what they say is true or false,’ Shire was still a bit bothered by what happened before. ’It said only I could solve it, but it never mentioned what the cost would be.’
’Still, it’s not bad. It’s like having a predictive Ability.’ He thought for a moment before continuing to read the notes.
"I’ve succeeded! Luther, you old bastard, you never saw this coming, did you? You wanted me to do your research, and then you wanted to steal my results. To hell with your Earth Main God! I will become the Forest God!"
’This guy has gone completely insane,’ Shire sighed, putting away the research notes. This couldn’t be seen by anyone, or it would cause an even greater catastrophe.
’This Vissans actually wanted to use Zombie Spores to control the people of Yangjiao Town and then spread it from there. What a fantasy.’ Shire shook his head. ’And this Luther behind him is no good either.’
’Luther... that name sounds familiar. I think it’s the name of the Bishop of the Torch City Cathedral.’
Shire’s entire family were followers of the God of Night and Destiny, so they didn’t have much contact with the Bishops of the Earth God.
FWOOSH. Shire held the notebook to a torch, burning it to ashes. He then started looking through the other books.
"The *Earth Covenant*... this is the scripture of the Earth and Life Church. And this one..." He casually tossed the scripture aside. "*Alchemy Manual*. This guy was also an Alchemist."
’This should be useful. I’ll take it back for Agatha to see.’
"*Laboratory Supplies List*?" Shire flipped to the end, grinding his teeth at the final number. "A true academic, I see. Not a single coin left. He even gave his last 10 Copper Coins to a beggar."
Muttering curses, he tossed the supplies list next to the scripture.
"Only this *Alchemy Manual* is of any use." Shire patted Rubus on the ground. "Get up. We’re done here."
"Chief, we’ve dug through the other side," Red Eyes ran over to report.
"Let’s go take a look," Shire said with a nod. This chamber contained the Druid’s research results. ’What could the Druid have sealed away in the chamber on the other side?’
"It couldn’t just be a pile of Mushrooms, could it?" Shire said.