During the day, Darsh Lake is clear and quiet, reflecting the blue sky high in the sky and the snow-capped mountains in the distance, making it as beautiful as a dream.
Lumian was not in the mood to appreciate the beautiful scenery. He was taking Ludwig, who had put on a small woolen formal coat, and Lugano, who was wearing a thin cotton coat, walking slowly around a pothole on the edge of the forest on the side.
And go.
There were highly decomposed corpses in the pit. They were in a semi-melted state, as if they had merged with the surrounding soil, decomposing themselves in a unique way and returning nutrients to the earth.
Seeing this scene, Lumian probably understood why Osetto, the "Witch King", did not destroy the body after performing the ceremony, leaving behind evidence and traces:
Burying the bodies and returning them to the earth should be part of the ritual!
Last night, after reading the information provided by the "Knight of Swords", Lumian had a clearer idea of how to find Oseito, an important believer of the "Primordial Moon".
Obviously, conventional methods such as "magic mirror divination" cannot be effective. Otherwise, the companion of the "Knight of Swords", a member of the Temperance sect with very strong spiritual intuition, would have found Oceto long ago.
Lumian currently has three ideas:
First, Ossetto is a member of the "Rose School" and has been hanging out with the sensualists for a long time. He has accepted the concept of indulgence and asked the two "witches" Franka and Jenna to dress up seriously and hang out in Lacre City.
Let's see if we can meet Oceto and let this "Witch King" who never restrains his desires take the initiative. Of course, this will definitely be under the protection provided by the Temperance Faction.
Moreover, Anthony will also use "psychological invisibility" or disguise as ordinary people to follow Franka and Janna, and observe the reactions of the people around them after seeing the two "witches" to see if they will show obvious malice, so as to
This identified Oceto before he actually took action and eliminated the danger before it happened.
As for whether Oceto has accepted the gift of the "Great Mother" and turned into a woman, this detail does not affect the temptation of the two "witches" - Lumian speculated from the situation of Mrs. Pualis and Franka,
Oceto will still like women, or at most men at the same time.
The second is to take advantage of the special conditions that the benefactor of the "Great Mother" can sense within a certain distance because he has the blood of Omi Bella, and wanders around the Lacre area, trying to fish out Oceto. Similarly, there is something about him.
Exceptionally, perhaps Lugano involving the "Great Mother" would also be good bait.
The third is to re-explore the remains of Ossetto to see what can be eaten.
Lumian pinched his nose and carefully inspected the traces inside and outside the pit and the dozens of corpses. He turned his head and asked Ludwig:
"Is it dirty?"
"Very dirty." Ludwig nodded vigorously.
"Dirty from the 'Great Mother'?" Lumian asked further.
Ludwig said "Yeah", his expression full of struggle.
Then, as expected, he heard his godfather ask him:
"Can I eat it?"
Hearing this question, Lugano next to him couldn't help but retched. "Knight of the Sword" Maric, who had been watching quietly and suppressing his emotions, moved his eyebrows slightly.
Ludwig replied reluctantly:
"able."
"Can you sense the child born from the corpse after eating it?" Lumian asked further.
According to his experience, these corpses should have been passively pregnant during that ceremony, with bird-claw monsters growing rapidly in their bellies. Then, these bird-claw monster babies tore into the mother's belly, absorbed the corresponding residues, and crawled on their own.
came out.
From a mystical perspective, whether active, passive, willing, or forced, the bird-claw monster baby and the corpse have the closest blood connection, and one can easily use one to find the other, or even complete the curse from a distance.
However, the "Knight of Sword" information stated that their divination with the help of blood connections was fruitless, and the strange bird-clawed babies that crawled out of the pile of corpses seemed to have disappeared from this world.
This may be because someone in a high position has done powerful counter-divination, or it may be that the status of the bird-claw monster babies has changed. Lumian can only hope that Ludwig will get some different information.
Ludwig said with a slumped face:
"You can use a certain cooking method to get a little blood from the corpse. Although this won't help me detect the child's position and status from a long distance away, I should be able to sense it if both parties are within thirty meters.
It exists."
"Okay." Lumian felt that the effect was better than expected.
Then, he watched Ludwig squat down and use a silver child's knife and fork to separate a piece of half-melted, half-rotten flesh from one of the corpses.
The flowing yellow pus and the disgusting state of the flesh made Lugano turn around and look at Lake Darsh not far away and the city of Lacre on the other side of the lake.
Ludwig immediately asked Lumian to take out an iron pot, a stand, wheat flour, liqueur, several spices and a piece of congealed lard from the "traveler's bag".
Lumian served as the "chef" assistant, mainly responsible for lighting the fire, while Ludwig first melted the lard, then added some liqueur and several spices to stir-fry out a rich and attractive smell.
Immediately afterwards, he wrapped the piece of rotten flesh and blood in wheat flour, threw it into an iron pot, and fried it in dark-colored, fragrant lard.
The fragrance and smell mixed together and gradually spread out.
Finally, Ludwig finished cooking, picked up the fried golden flour meatballs, and stuffed them into his mouth.
As he chewed, tears seemed to appear in his eyes, and he felt aggrieved as if he had been bullied.
"You don't think it tastes bad when you eat 'Loki' raw." Lumian joked.
Ludwig muttered:
"It's rotten and doesn't taste good, and it's not spiritual at all."
After swallowing the good-looking fried meatballs, Ludwig said slowly while "aftertasteing":
"The birthday of the deceased is the second day of every year."
"Is there anything special about this?" Lumian asked.
Ludwig quickly stuffed the candies and replied casually:
"In myths and legends, the world was originally created on the first day, and the 'Great Mother' was born on the second day."
"How come I haven't heard of such myths and legends..." Lugano, who turned his back to Ludwig, muttered to himself in confusion.
Lumian looked thoughtfully at the other corpses:
“Isn’t their birthday also the second day of every year?
"I remember that the New Year of many tribes in the Southern Continent is different from that in the Northern Continent. The first day of each year is not exactly January 1st. So, which day does the second day of each year refer to and which calendar is used?
"
Ludwig said with candy in his mouth:
"It doesn't matter which one, as long as it's the second day of the New Year according to the calendar you believe in."
It's purely symbolic... Lumian turned sideways and looked at the "Sword Knight":
"Have you confirmed the identities and dates of birth of these corpses?"
Lacre is a relatively affluent area in the Star Plateau with a large population. It is similar to the area where Lumian has visited the "White City" Lapus before. It is one of the several supporting points for the ancient highland kingdom to rule the entire Star Plateau.
.
This place is famous for its rich mineral deposits, but the mining sites are miraculously far away from Lake Darsh, allowing this holy lake in the hearts of the highlanders to remain pure.
In the past, the Star Plateau was mainly contested by the Republic of Intis and the Feysac Empire. After the war a few years ago, the power of the Feysac Empire declined, and the Kingdom of Loen slowly extended its hand. Even
Loen's "Night Goddess" Church seems to have also begun to preach in this area. Lumian heard about this when he was in Lapus.
In the entire Star Plateau, the place with the largest number of Loen people is the "city on the mineral deposits" Lacre.
"Knight of the Sword" Maric nodded slowly and said:
"Ninety percent of the corpses have been identified. According to the northern continent's calendar, most of their birthdays are January 2, and the other part is also on the second day of the new year according to the local calendar.
"Those whose identities cannot be determined yet should be outsiders, who may or may not have arrived here voluntarily. If we give us a little more time, we will definitely be able to figure out their identities."
The sample was large enough, basically in line with Ludwig's statement that the ceremony needed to have a strong symbol of the "Great Mother"... Lumian did not stop the temperance faction from wasting energy on confirming the identities of the remaining dead, in case there were other weird things.
?
Lumian looked at the Laclay City Road across the lake:
"Let's go back to the city now and walk around."
It depends on whether it is Omi Bella's bloodline, the abnormality of the "earth" pathway, or the blood connection with the bird-claw monster baby, which is more effective!
After walking for a while along the sparkling Dalsh Lake, which was as blue as the sky, towards the city with many gray and white stone houses, Lumian suddenly thought of a question.
He asked the "Knight of the Sword" who was walking quietly beside him:
"In the 'School of Roses', Oceto is in charge of the Lacre area?"
"Not before, but I'm not sure now." "Knight of Swords" replied succinctly.
Lumian nodded and said to himself:
"If he was not in charge of the Lacre area and just launched a sacrifice when he passed by, he would have left after the ceremony, so why did he stay here?
"Did he have a deeper purpose in going to the Lacre area?
"Or, the 'Rose School' wants to take action here?"
"Knight of the Sword" was silent for a few seconds and said:
"We suspect there is a deeper purpose."
He paused and said:
"Before the establishment of the Highland Kingdom, many areas on the Star Plateau believed in the 'God of Death', and Lacre was the place most affected by the 'God of Death' belief. To this day, the shadow of death worship still remains in some customs of the local people.
"
While they were talking, the three adults and one child arrived outside Laclay City.
Compared with the sophistication of Lapus, the "White City", the various buildings here are quite rough. Although some people coming and going wear dark red robes and bright robes and skirts, most of them wear canvas workers' clothes that are more resistant to wear and tear.
.
Before Lumian even got close to the road into the city, he felt the commotion and excitement.
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