boyutpedia Page 402
Page 402
However, Latis did vaguely sense something from this "discussion".
Although he was merely engaging in a "cross-server chat" with the Pope based on his own knowledge of physics, the entire conversation seemed to offer a comprehensive and insightful assessment of Romnia's situation. Compared to the details of the White-Robed Disciples' actions in various villages, this "discussion" appeared to be more helpful in understanding Romnia.
The overall shape of the puzzle is now complete; all that's left is to slowly gather the pieces and piece them together to create the final image.
Calm footsteps echoed on the steps of the holy city of Romnia. Latis's brow twitched slightly, and this time he seemed to hear the echo reverberating from the hollow space beneath the steps.
According to the Pope, since the Dwarf King could polish the "Dispersed Lens" for Romnia, the entire Romnia may have been built with the help of the Dwarves, and it is very likely that the entire staircase was built on top of a rock-solid tower.
To trace back to the time of the dwarves, or perhaps even earlier...
Latis couldn't help but shake his head. Romnia was not just Romnia at this moment. The Illuminati had been buried in the dust of history, but it had ultimately survived. All of this was beyond the comprehension of a guest he was meeting for the first time.
However, he couldn't back down now. While the Romnia problem could be temporarily set aside, the pressure would still fall on Jennifer and the Cult of Light. In love, one could believe in "the wisdom of posterity" like Arte, but when faced with such matters, Latis felt that it was best to fight his way through a path long enough to see into the future.
Wait, what fist? Aren't I a mage...?
Latis scratched his head, then suddenly frowned and looked at the white-robed disciple leading the way, who was walking faster and faster.
To be honest, he felt something was off when he first met this disciple. With his keen senses, he could clearly perceive that the light power emanating from the disciple's body was somewhat out of place with the overall atmosphere of Romnia, and instead felt more like the holy knights and believers of the Holy City of Promia.
He quickened his pace slightly and walked to the white-robed disciple's side. Just as he was about to ask, the white-robed disciple suddenly raised his hand, stopping him from speaking.
"..."
The white-robed disciple stopped, glanced left and right, stepped into the shadows at the corner of the alley, raised his hands to pull down the mask under his hood, revealing a pair of alert eyes.
He reached into his hood, pulled a slip of paper from behind his mask, and handed it to Latis in his bewildered gaze. Then he started walking again, stepping out of the alley and steadily heading down the steps.
No, is there really a problem?
Latis clutched the note in his hand, suddenly feeling as if he had inexplicably triggered a side quest. Scenes from Infernal Affairs flashed through his mind, and he inwardly cursed his luck before calmly and quickly following after them.
A faint light gathered beneath the feet of the white-robed disciple, making his movements silent. Where he passed, patches of light lingered on the steps before vanishing in an instant, dissolving into the shadows as if into water.
A faint sense of being watched came from the houses on both sides. Latis slowed his pace slightly, exchanged a glance with Jennifer, and then, as she immediately understood, hooked his arm around her shoulder. In the brief moment of whispering in her ear, he glanced at the note in his hand.
"Walk out of the castle calmly; someone will be waiting for you at the gate."
what's the situation?
Latis put away the note, glanced once more at the white-robed disciple's retreating figure, and several question marks immediately popped into his mind.
He pondered for a moment, then suddenly recalled the gray-black marks left on the hinge of the white glove that the disciple had revealed when he took out the note. Thinking about it, the Pope seemed to have tried to attack them at the last moment using so-called "invisible light," but the attack was stopped because the "dispersive lens" device malfunctioned.
It seems there's another group hidden among these white-robed disciples. What is their purpose?
Recalling what he had heard in Tree Peak Village, Latiston suddenly had some clues. It was very likely that the villagers who were rebelling against the White Robe Disciples were, or perhaps... believers from the Holy City of Promea?
Soon, the group arrived at the main gate of the holy city. A disciple in white robes stepped out from under the battlements connected to the gate, seemingly having received the Pope's decree to assist Latis's investigation. He was holding something resembling a hiking stick, giving the impression that he was about to embark on a long journey.
Latis's gaze swept over their indifferent eyes behind their masks, his brows furrowing slightly. Suddenly, he heard a soft footstep, and the small door at the bottom of the battlements opened again, with another white-robed disciple emerging with a cane.
"Looks like this is the one..."
Latis's gaze swept over the slightly thin, white-robed disciple, and seeing the disciple beside him who was leading the way nod, he was certain of his guess.
But what exactly are their identities?
"Have this junior colleague assist the guest with the task."
The disciple who led the way pointed to the disciples who came later and said calmly. The disciple who came first tilted his head, his indifferent eyes narrowed slightly in confusion, then nodded and left.
The two disciples, who appeared to be from outside the Holy City organization, exchanged a glance but did not exchange any further words. The disciple who had led the way stepped forward, handed over a note, and then they parted ways.
"..."
The thin disciple who remained behind glanced at the note in his palm, paused for a moment, and without reading it carefully, forced himself to calmly walk away.
Latis led the girls out of the holy city gates, glanced back at the tall stone gate that was slowly closing, and for some reason, felt a sense of profound mystery about the depths of the courtyard.
He took a deep breath, temporarily putting aside the unresolved questions about the Holy City, and quickened his pace, leaving the area of the Holy City.
……
"That should put Snyder in a safe position..."
Astin concealed his hands, stained with the dirt from the hinges, inside his robes and moved silently through the underground passages of Promea.
As the older brother, he has always been in charge of the more dangerous activities, while Snyder, who is slightly weaker, is assigned to tasks such as surveillance and guarding the house.
Therefore, although Snyder knew that there were also some lurking comrades in the Holy City of Romnia, Astin never let her meet with them in order to protect his own safety.
Therefore, Snyder was unaware that their underground organization was already in dire straits.
Not every outsider who infiltrates the city can receive the protection of the God of Light through their devout faith, like the Astin siblings. And amidst the mysterious murmurs that frequently echo in the Holy City, many outsiders have quietly transformed into true disciples.
hum...
"Oh no, what I said came true!"
The sudden buzzing sound made Astin's expression change instantly. He then remembered that the hinge mechanism of the "Discrete Lens" that he had previously stuck would definitely be restored and opened again after the disciples checked it!
That is to say!
A cacophony of babbling exploded in Astin's mind, like countless overlapping whispers, roars, sneers, and curses echoing in his ears. He clenched his teeth and muttered:
"God of Light... I pray..."
A faint light enveloped him like a diluted film. He took a deep breath, not having time to think, and stumbled toward his basement.
In a flurry of footsteps, Astin slammed open the hidden door to the basement with his shoulder, then staggered a few steps inside before collapsing headfirst into the rice stalks.
The voice in his head made him oblivious to his surroundings. He could only struggle to keep breathing amidst a hangover-like headache, unconsciously reciting prayers and desperately resisting in every fleeting moment of clarity.
After an unknown period of time, the buzzing sound that resounded throughout the entire holy city finally gradually dissipated.
After finally catching his breath, Astin fainted for a moment before opening his blurry eyes and struggling to sit up.
However, the next second, he was horrified, and his whole body was instantly soaked in cold sweat.
Standing prominently before him was a tall disciple in white robes!
The violent power of light and the cold aura made him shiver. He hurriedly took out the propaganda scroll of the Church of Light, stood up while praying, and instantly prepared to fight to the death.
However, when he saw the disciple's eyes behind the pale mask, a sudden inspiration flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but exclaim:
"Your Excellency Knight!"
……
……
"This distance should be about right..."
Under the curious gazes of Latis and the other two, the thin, white-robed disciple walked silently for two or three kilometers before letting out a long sigh, removing his mask, and turning to look at Latis.
"Hmm..." Short, dark brown curly hair slipped down the sides of the girl's face. She hesitated for a moment, then awkwardly knelt down and performed a deep bow, a gesture of respect for a commoner meeting a nobleman, and said:
"Sir, and young ladies, please forgive us for taking the liberty of making this decision..."
Latis was taken aback. Since arriving in this world, he had never truly met a commoner as a noble lord. This grand gesture startled him; he quickly used his magic to support the girl, then awkwardly and fearfully took a step to the side, whispering:
"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. Tell me slowly what happened."
Jennifer was so startled that her hair stood on end. She stepped forward, helped the girl to her feet, and soothed her with the gentle power of light for a moment before asking:
"The power within you... is very similar to the divine power of light that originates from the same source as mine. How did you end up in the Holy City of Romnia? What happened?"
The girl took a deep breath, unfolded the almost sweat-soaked note in her hand, and said in a dry voice:
"I... my name is Snyder, and this is what happened..."
……
……
After asking around for more than half an hour, Latis finally figured out the origins of the disciple who had led the way and the girl in front of him.
It turns out that there were some outsiders within Romnia who had infiltrated the sect to rebel against the disciples. They did not believe that Romnia's light was good, but they could not fight against it on their own, so they went into hiding to find evidence that could prove Romnia's problems.
However, this was still too difficult for a group of ordinary people with limited power. The occasional silent departure of their companions made it even more difficult for them to continue. In this state, although they still held on to their goal of finding the truth and helping the victims, they also hoped to get help from people with real power.
Snyder paused for a long time after speaking, then opened the note in his hand.
The instructions there were completely different from what she had imagined; there were only two simple words written there:
"go home."
……
The outsiders' quest for the truth seemed to have reached a dead end; otherwise, Snyder's brother wouldn't have so hastily seized this opportunity to send her out.
Latis and his two teammates pondered for a moment, but couldn't think of any way to help Snyder's companions.
According to her, the true disciples were like puppets. Although they would communicate through language, they did not engage in social or recreational activities like humans. Even amidst the frequent "humming" sounds, the disciples could still act as if they were completely unaffected.
According to this theory, Latis strongly suspects that the White Robe Disciples may have been parasitized or controlled by the so-called Will of Light.
As for the Pope's condition, he seemed quite lucid, but Latis couldn't tell. He only knew that his conversation with the Pope in the simulation was not dangerous, but he had no chance to explore the Pope's condition.
Various clues swirled in his mind, then slowly converged into one goal—the underground.
The will of light leaks from underground, and the entrance to underground is in Tree Peak Village.
It seems that while investigating the missing persons case in Shuluan Village, the truth hidden in the holy city of Romnia is finally about to be revealed.
Chapter 398 The Girl Galloping on Horseback
After renting a carriage at a post station along the trade route, Latis and his party planned to take her back to Isok Village, following the instructions on the note in Snyder's hand.
"What are your thoughts, ladies?"
Latis glanced at Snyder, who was steering the harpoon in the front seat of the simple carriage, then turned to the girls sitting cross-legged on the hardwood floor in front of him and asked:
"You've seen the situation in the Holy City of Romnia. We certainly can't take it by force with our own strength. Miss Snyder's companions are likely in grave danger. Should we investigate the truth first or try to rescue the civilians?"
Little Leafa, having removed her helmet, blinked at Latis's serious expression, then obediently knelt to the side, listening to the adults' discussion.
“This is a difficult question.”
Jennifer kept sharpening the longsword resting on her lap with both hands. After a moment of contemplation, she said:
“I can place our cult’s communication devices along the road, and nearby knights will come to retrieve them and take them back to the Holy City after receiving the message of the Light… However, simply requesting aid from the Holy City is not a sufficient reason to enter Romnia for a search and rescue operation, which means…”
"In other words, we still need the truth, or at least a piece of the truth." Latis immediately understood and continued: