To be fair, these cultists are actually quite cautious.
They didn't believe the words of this strange "compatriot" just because Duncan took out the Sun Amulet, nor did they easily believe Duncan's words and deeds just because Duncan told what happened in the sewer sacrificial site.
, even after arriving at the meeting place, an additional verification was required to confirm the stranger's identity - for a group of cultists hiding in hiding, they had done their best.
But all their screening measures were to treat Duncan as a "normal human being."
These means are meaningless to the captain of the Lost Home.
The tall and thin little leader took back the inconspicuous piece of cloth from Duncan. He seemed completely unaware of the change in the power of this extraordinary item. After expressing his welcome to the new compatriots, he
He raised his hand and pointed to a corner of the assembly hall: "Compatriots, please rest here first. You are not the only unfamiliar face here."
Duncan nodded and walked towards the inconspicuous corner, paying attention to every face that appeared in the gathering.
Different from what he had seen in the sewer sacrificial site before, he was surprised to find that none of these sun believers were wearing the iconic black robes, but were dressed like ordinary citizens. They also did not wear hoods that obscured their faces.
Instead, he showed his face calmly.
He asked the believers beside him curiously: "Don't we all need to cover our faces when gathering here?"
The believers he asked looked very surprised: "...the local believers in the city-state of Purland always covered their faces during gatherings before?"
Duncan immediately frowned slightly: "You are not Prand..."
"We are from Lensa," another believer next to him said frankly. After confirming that the stranger in front of him was indeed a fellow church member, the followers of the Sun here had obviously lowered their guard. "Everyone just settled here last week.
But before we could establish contact with our local compatriots, the attack happened..."
"Everyone here is from Lensa?" Duncan was a little surprised. He finally knew why there were so many sun believers in this city after the sacrificial site in the sewer was destroyed.
"Well, the people gathered here are all compatriots from Lunza, but there are also teams from other city-states, and everyone is scattered in different strongholds." Another believer next to him participated in the conversation, "Oh, Purande
Everyone has heard more or less about the situation in the city-state. In the past four years, that damn Archon and the hyenas of the church have been attacking our cause... It's not easy for you either, but fortunately it's all over."
Duncan nodded noncommittally, and then heard the believer he was questioning at the beginning speak: "The dove on your shoulder is really... unique."
Duncan's eyes twitched.
He knew that more than one person at the scene was paying attention to the pigeon on his shoulder.
If I have to say it, there is nothing strange about a pigeon, but it is strange to attend a rally with a pigeon on your back.
He could only respond casually: "This is my pet. It can help me do many things."
He was perfunctory here, but the thoughts in his mind were already surging rapidly - a large number of followers of the sun were pouring into the city-state of Puland, which confirmed one of his previous guesses:
The Church of the Sun, which has always been low-key, suddenly started a high-profile job in the sewers. These cultists are really planning to do something big!
This time he fished in troubled waters and found the right direction!
At the same time, he also understood why the cultists attending the gathering here did not cover their faces, but dressed like ordinary citizens.
Previously in the sewers, the Sun believers' costumes that completely concealed their identities and the single-line communication system between the lower-level believers were all designed to resist the church's rounds of purges, and at the same time avoid the possibility of traitors or key members being arrested and leaked within the church.
The situation was a last resort choice made by the local church who was in an embarrassment, and the ragtag group of people who had just gathered in Purland from various city-states in front of them obviously had no experience in this area - after all, they were just cultists, not well-disciplined special forces.
On the other hand, there is no need for them to make such a disguise: because the people gathered here are all "fellow villagers" who came from the same city-state, they are already familiar with each other, and there is no point in concealing their identity during the gathering.
The current appearance of ordinary citizens made it easier for them to escape immediately when their stronghold was exposed, and dispersed among the civilians in the Lower City who lacked a strict management system.
With this thought in his mind, Duncan's eyes swept across the assembly hall. Suddenly, he felt a line of sight falling on him.
He immediately followed the feeling and saw the owner of that line of sight.
A petite girl with short black hair was standing more than ten meters away.
The girl was wearing a black dress with white lace. She had a delicate and quiet appearance. She seemed to be about the same age as Nina. The most eye-catching thing was that she wore a dark red neck ring around her neck. That neck ring
Decorated with a delicate silver bell, although it looks a bit cute, it also looks particularly weird.
When Duncan turned his gaze, the girl naturally turned her gaze elsewhere - she moved her gaze quietly, but Duncan was sure that the gaze just now definitely came from this young girl!
Why is there such a young child among these cultists?
Duncan couldn't help but have doubts in his mind, and at the same time he took another look at the girl's dress... For some reason, he always felt that this girl was out of tune with the environment here.
While he was thinking about it, the sound of a door pivot suddenly came from not far away. The tall and thin cult leader ordered the basement door to be closed, and then he walked to the center of the assembly hall.
All eyes at the scene immediately focused on the leader. Duncan also gathered his thoughts and paid attention to the changes in the scene. He saw the tall and thin man standing in the eyes of everyone with a confident and calm attitude, slightly sinister.
With a smile on his face, he then took out something from his arms and held it high in the crowd.
It was a pale golden sun maskâexactly the same mask worn on the face of the cult priest who presided over the sacrificial ceremony in the underground assembly hall.
"Pay homage to the glory of the Lord and recite the mantra silently under the gaze of the Lord," the tall and thin man said loudly, with a very pious tone. "Bow your head to this blessed mask. May the protection of the Children of the Sun rest in it and help you."
I guide the brothers and sisters gathered here."
The surrounding believers immediately recited the name of the real Sun God in unison, and then placed their fists between their eyebrows and lowered their heads in a gesture of respect - they were not paying tribute to the tall and thin man in the center of the assembly hall, but to the tall and thin man in the center of the assembly hall.
It was a tribute to the golden mask, as if the mask was the true identity of a superior person, and the man holding the mask was just a carrier.
Duncan also pretended to be among a group of cultists and performed actions, but he didn't know what the so-called mantra was, so he muttered a few multiplication tables and began to carefully observe the actions of the cultists. At the same time, he learned from their ritual movements
The Chinese and the reverse push forward the meaning behind each link.
The tall, thin man solemnly put the mask on his face.
The next second, Duncan immediately noticed that something seemed to have... changed in this man.
He couldn't explain what this feeling was about. It was as if the other person changed his temperament the moment he put on the mask, and there seemed to be an extra shadow in his figure. Duncan looked at the one that imitated the shape of the sun.
Looking at the golden mask, the lines on the mask seemed to be swimming slowly - at this moment, the mask seemed to come to life, as if a distant and powerful consciousness projected its tiny power onto the mask, making this originally
Ordinary objects possess extraordinary qualities.
Ordinary people wearing masks, with this act of "wearing" and this brief ceremony, complete the "sanctification" and become a symbol of some kind of divine power.
The surrounding believers chanted in unison: "May the glory of our Lord last forever! May the way of our Lord come to earth!"
Duncan memorized the multiplication table to the sixth column while recalling it quickly in his mind.
He had also seen a priest wearing a golden mask at the assembly hall in the sewer before, but the priest had already completed the "wearing" process at that time. In addition, Duncan did not understand the surrounding situation at the time, and the temporary body used was not in good condition.
Good, so he didn't realize what was special about this seemingly ordinary golden mask, nor did he think about why the priest wearing the mask was called "messenger" by ordinary believers.
Now it seems... is this so-called sun mask the "communication device" used by the "descendants of the sun" hiding outside civilized society to remotely control believers and observe the world? Or to be more precise, it is some kind of spiritual projection device
?
After suddenly realizing that it was a very interesting item, Duncan's eyes suddenly changed when he looked at the golden mask.
This thing... maybe it has something to do with him.