Chapter 342: The Old Fox Alger

Suggestions? My advice is to stay as far away as possible...

Upon hearing The Sun's question, Klein instantly had such an answer in

his mind.

However, in order to preserve the image of The Fool and see what the

others would suggest, he remained silent and did not manipulate The

World to speak.

After a short moment of silence, Alger turned his head to look at The

Sun. He said in a staid and gentle voice, "You have provided too little

information, so it's difficult for us to give any useful advice.

"The only thing we know of regarding that semi-destroyed temple is the

presence of the True Creator, or in other words, the Fallen Creator's

unique statue. We don't know what else is there, so naturally, we aren't

able to make much of an analysis of the situation."

*The Fallen Creator is indeed the True Creator... To think that there's

faith in the True Creator in the City of Silver where The Sun lives.

There's even a temple built...* The Magician Fors listened with

relish and almost wanted to write it down. Justice Audrey waited for The

Sun's description of the strange temple in anticipation.

Derrick nodded, his eyes looking up for a few seconds before he said,

"In addition to the statue, there are also many incomplete murals with

terrifying evil spirits lingering around. However, they have already

been eliminated by the exploratory team led by two elders from the

six-member council...

"I've yet to see those murals with my own eyes. It's said that it

records the prophecy of the end of days and how the Fallen Creator will

save his believers, as well as the corresponding bloody ritual...

"In the corner of a certain mural, there are some strange characters

that appear to be evolved from Jotun. After some deciphering, a few

elders believe that they meant: Rose Redemption.

"This might a code name for the original muralist. It might also be the

code name of the organization that built the temple and the city.

"According to the Chief's judgment, these murals are at least a thousand

years old.

"The thousand years I'm referring to is the one that you know, uh, but

I'm not completely sure. In the City of Silver, w-we use the frequency

of lightning to demarcate our days. It's considered night when the

lightning eases up and day when there's plenty of lightning. One cycle

is a day, and the four seasons only exist in books, so we can't grasp

the specific number of days. Only the Chief can confirm that."

At this point in The Sun's story, Fors suspected that she was listening

to a fairytale.

A city without the sun, without the red moon, without day and night or

changes in the seasons, it sounded unreal no matter how she listened to

it! Only fairytales or novels would make such daring descriptions!

*And the author has to smoke cannabis and be in a state of psychotic

madness in order to create such a city...* The first thought

that came to her mind after her astonishment was, *I want to use the

City of Silver as a blueprint for a novel!*

However, she soon gave up on this idea, for she didn't know what the

City of Silver really implied. She wasn't sure if it was a secret that

was collectively concealed by the Seven Churches, and she was afraid

that as soon as the book was published, she, as the author, would have

the Nighthawks knocking on her door, claiming to collect the copper

pennies in her gas meter.

*So that's the kind of environment which the City of Silver has. Hmm,

The Sun also often mentions of monsters lurking deep in the darkness...

Unfortunately, I'm only at Sequence 8. Otherwise, I would really like to

ask Mr. Fool to send me there for an adventure. No, Audrey, you are no

longer an innocent girl. You should be aware of how much danger is

involved in this matter...* Justice Audrey switched between

letting her thoughts run wild while also engaging in self-reflection.

*At least a thousand years? The Aurora Order hasn't been in existence

for more than three centuries. It might not even be two centuries old.

It's unlikely to be built by them... Hmm, perhaps the True Creator's

faith had begun as early as the Fifth Epoch or even the Fourth Epoch.

However, the organization that revered "Him" wasn't the Aurora Order...

In the next one to two thousand years, the seven Orthodox Churches have

been repressing it, causing the True Creator's believers to be in a

crisis. The Churches have destroyed them again and again, and finally,

they had resurrected themselves as the Aurora Order?* Klein, who

had some guesses, made his seating posture and state appear unchanged.

Derrick paused for two seconds and continued, "A preliminary clean up of

the terrifying monsters in the city ruins and the half-destroyed temple

has been done. Our mission this time is to explore the underground parts

of the temple.

"Do you have any suggestions? With your understanding of the Fallen

Creator, what should I pay attention to?"

"My suggestion?" Alger said without almost any hesitation, "My advice is

absolutely not to go!

"The Fallen Creator is a true evil god. Even if 'His' temple has been

destroyed, it might still contain abnormal danger which cannot be easily

detected. If the one leading your team is one of the other elders of the

six-member council, then there's nothing wrong if you insist on going.

It will just be risky. But you just mentioned that the person in charge

of this matter is Shepherd Lovia, and the True Creator is the deity

standing at the peak of this Beyonder pathway! Therefore, absolutely do

not go," Alger added.

*Your suggestion is the same as mine, but it doesn't require The Sun to

describe the half-destroyed temple. You could've come up with this

conclusion with the conditions at the beginning... I understand. Mr.

Hanged Man, you were doing it on purpose. This way, you got a rough idea

of the state of the temple without paying anything... You're really just

bullying a little kid...* Sitting at the end of the table, Klein

leisurely reached out his hand to support his forehead.

The Sun was silent for a few seconds, and seemingly having been put in a

tough spot, he said, "But the mission is compulsory."

The Hanged Man chuckled and said, "Nothing is necessary.

"Will you still be participating in patrols before this mission? Find an

opportunity and deliberately let the monsters injure you. As for how

serious it should be, you can reference the past cases in the City of

Silver."

At this moment, Audrey read a message from Sun's eyes and movements.

"That actually works?"

After a brief period of surprise and confusion, Derrick frowned and

said, "But I don't have any patrolling missions in the near future..."

Alger sneered.

"You can always pretend to be on the brink of losing control. No, to be

precise, you can push yourself to the brink of losing control. Under

such a situation, I believe the higher-ups of the City of Silver would

definitely not bring 'dangerous baggage' with them on the exploratory

mission, right?

"There is a trick; as long as you keep your spirituality in an empty

state for two days, you will begin to hear auditory hallucinations and

show signs of losing control. If you stop suppressing yourself, then

your situation will improve in a week, and you wouldn't really lose

control.

"Of course, your City of Silver definitely has some solutions and

contingencies to cure those who show signs of losing control. Your

recovery would definitely be quick, so you need to time yourself

perfectly. It's best if you start doing so two to three days before you

set off."

Derrick was stunned for quite a while before he muttered to himself,

"Yes, those who show signs of losing control will be placed under

control and be quarantined underground in the spire, where they will be

treated with medicine, rituals, and mystical items. If the situation

isn't too serious, then they only need to consume medicine..."

*Sigh, an honest and good kid has been corrupted by an old fox just like

that... But, Mr. Hanged Man, how do you know of this trick of pushing

yourself to the brink of losing control? If you use this trick often,

losing control might really happen...* Klein sighed in his

heart.

Audrey was dumbstruck when she heard this. She felt as though she'd been

educated.

Seeing that The Sun was still hesitating as though he didn't wish to lie

to the City of Silver's elders, Alger slowly asked, "Do the other elders

of the six-member council know that the Fallen Creator controls the

Shepherd pathway?"

"They don't." Derrick shook his head honestly.

Alger asked again, "Do you think it's possible that Shepherd Elder Lovia

will do harm to the City of Silver? Just answer yes or no; there's no

need for any explanations."

"...Yes." Derrick finally couldn't lie to himself.

Alger chuckled and said, "So, you are the only one who knows of this

matter, but you haven't found a way to warn the other elders of the

six-member council, right?"

"Yes." Derrick's expression grew heavier.

Alger changed his seating posture as he leaned back.

"This mission carries immense risk. This is something you know. If you

die in that half-destroyed temple, then who will be able to find a way

to expose the strangeness of Shepherd Lovia? Who can save the City of

Silver from this crisis? The Fallen Creator is a real evil god!"

"You are not pretending to lose control or lying to others for your own

personal interests. You are doing so to save the City of Silver!

"Comparing your honor to that, which is more important?"

Derrick clenched his teeth and nodded solemnly.

"I understand.

"Thank you, Mr. Hanged Man."

Audrey and Fors suddenly had the urge to facepalm themselves.

*He really is an easily fooled child... However, that's good too; it

prevents the Tarot Club from losing members in the near

future...* Klein sighed silently as he controlled The World to

say, "I have a question to ask Mr. Sun.

"This could involve a transaction.

"Therefore, I'm requesting a private exchange."

Klein quickly switched back to himself and nodded indifferently.

"Sure."

After the others were screened, The World looked at The Sun and asked,

"Does the City of Silver have a way to remove an evil god's mental

corruption on a Beyonder characteristic?"

This was something Klein had wanted to ask a few times before, but

considering that Justice and the others might also be interested, and if

The Sun was unable to answer questions that involved an evil god, then

all eyes would likely be cast toward the godlike Mr. Fool; therefore, he

had restrained his impulse. It was only moments ago when he got

inspiration from Miss Justice and came up with the idea of communicating

privately.

"We have never encountered an evil god." Derrick answered earnestly, "We

can only separate a Rampager's mental corruption from a Beyonder

characteristic."

*That's it! This might actually work; after all, I have the gray

fog...* Klein suppressed his joy and made The World speak, "What

do you need in return?"

"It's not a matter of compensation." Sun shook his head. "That method

and the corresponding knowledge requires me to be at least the Captain

of a patrol team, or even a strong warrior like the Captain of an

exploratory team in order to be privy to such matters. The former

requires being Sequence 7, while the latter requires a minimum of

Sequence 6."

Phew... Klein sighed, letting The World hoarsely say, "I hope

that you can attain the qualifications as soon as possible."