Annan could clearly feel that Sumarokov Melvin's body was trembling slightly.
"What are you afraid of, Lord Melvin?"
Annan turned his head, looked at Sumarokov with his peripheral vision, and raised the corners of his mouth slightly: "I will make a special trip to take you home next. I will never lie about this kind of thing.
"Or are you afraid of your own home?"
"No, no, no, how is it possible..."
Sumarokov smiled sarcastically.
But his rebuttal was so feeble.
Annan chuckled and said: "It's reasonable for you to be afraid. After all, you are just a puppet.
"With your family's style, just knowing the secrets about the Death Chrysalis and the Living Skeleton will be bound by someone to keep it secret. And your status is much more important than that kind of consumable. You can contact other families.
The higher-ups can have more reasonable access to bishops and even the pope.
"If I don't put a curse on you, how can the [God on earth] rest assured?"
"how do you know"
Sumarokov's pupils trembled and he exclaimed.
He suddenly paused mid-sentence, his eyes showing even greater fear and panic: "Did you see it in my mind?"
"Sooner than that."
Annan sneered: "You don't think that I really abandoned the entire Principality of Winter without any reason and let you make trouble for Dmitri, do you?
"Why did I leave at that moment? Why did I come back at this time? You really can't guess what I was thinking...or do you know it in your heart, but you still can't help it?"
First, he disappeared inexplicably for a period of time. More than two months ago, a wave of Hands of Winter was mobilized to the United Kingdom. After returning from the Hands of Winter, various forces continued to send people to the United Kingdom to inquire, and the final information they obtained was that Archduke Annan was
Entered the underground city.
Since then, there has been no news.
Although at first, these rebels in the cold winter always doubted whether this was a fishing trap...
But as time passed, they became more and more restless:
Because if Annan really loses contact with Winter and he cannot come back in a short time, then now is the best time to support Gryaznuha's rise to power!
Once Annan returns, they must confront the Hand of Winter if they want to launch a coup again.
There is no need for the old grandmother to be afraid... because Gryaznuha himself is also recognized as a "winter" by the old grandmother. The only problem is that they do not have the Three Sirens in their hands.
This scepter symbolizes the supreme power of the Principality of Winter.
Not because of its shape, but because of its identity as a "great-level cursed object".
This means that imitation is also invalid.
If Annan leaves the Three Siren in the Principality of Winter, then they will not hesitate to start a coup. They indeed have a "Winter" who can hold the Three Siren.
but none.
Not only had Annan thought of this a long time ago, but he simply wanted to carry a great magic weapon with him. When he left the cold winter, he actually took this national treasure abroad.
Didn't he ever think that it might be lost abroad?
As a result, because of Annan's behavior, they began to wonder if Annan was fishing.
They were obsessed with this, so they never took action.
But the longer it goes on, the more panicked they become.
Finally, they couldn't bear it anymore and decided to take action.
And just at this moment, Annan came back.
"Except for the fact that 'Gryaznuha' is still alive, I didn't get any useful new information from your mind. Because I already knew everything... from the other Melvin's mind. That's
A girl named Euphemia who gave up her surname."
Annan said with a smile: "I knew you had disobedience from the very beginning. Even from the last time I visited Noah and before dealing with the Northland Alliance, I have been eyeing your family.
"Or……"
He reached out and grabbed Earl Melvin's shoulder: "Are you still lucky?"
Chains of light emerged from his cuffs and tied Earl Melvin tightly in the blink of an eye. The chain looked very strong and loose, just like a leash for walking a dog.
Very polite.
"It's so..."
Was it a conspiracy from the beginning?
The fact that there was a traitor in his family who betrayed Melvin's name made Sumarokov Melvin feel cold all over.
Sumarokov did know the rebel named Euphemia.
In terms of seniority... she is considered his niece.
"That rebel!"
Sumarokov gritted his teeth: "She was not grateful for not turning her into a death pupa."
"I prefer to call it, turning from darkness to light."
Annan sighed: "Of course, objectively speaking, she is not a born saint. Nor is she a good person in the strict sense... She is just an ordinary person, a normal person who wants to live and not be reduced to a prop.
people.
"If she had been elected as an elder, instead of being a victim of marriage, the material of a death chrysalis or a living corpse, if she had not suffered from the fear that life was worse than death every day, maybe she would not have left the Melvin family.
Maybe he won't choose the so-called "abandoning the darkness and turning to the light". Instead, he will enjoy the power he has.
"But there's no 'what if'."
"People are forced out. The turbid light can force people into the darkness, and the filth of darkness can also force people back into the light."
Annan said quietly: "The fact that this kind of rebellion can be born in the family just shows how unbearable this darkness is."
"Your Majesty, the ceremony is ready."
At this moment, Jacob's voice sounded: "The transmission location has been locked."
"Direct transmission."
Annan ordered.
"yes."
Jacob agreed.
As he removed the curtain covering the mirror, the same candles were reflected in many mirrors of different sizes surrounding the newly renovated "Teleport Hall" of the Grand Duke's Palace.
There were thirteen candles of different sizes and thicknesses.
They are respectively attached to thirteen copper rings, forming thirteen concentric rings. When the rings are turned to different scales, they are like a complex compass, anchoring specific positions.
Countless candles are reflected in countless mirrors.
Under the reflection of many mirrors, they turned into an ocean of light.
The figures of Annan and Sumarokov Melvin gradually became blurred in this sea of light.
This was also the first time that Annan experienced teleportation clearly. He did not fall into coma during the teleportation process, but remained awake throughout the entire process.
"It turns out that the principle of teleportation is like this..."
Annan thought to himself: "In this case, it seems that I can also build my own teleportation ritual... No, Tianche originally has a teleportation ritual. Then I may be able to optimize this ritual..."
And precisely because of his sobriety, before landing, Annan noticed that there were many people at the place where they teleported. They were all waiting quietly.
Have you been waiting for me here for a long time?
There is no way they could use prophecy magic to track the crane.
That should be some kind of curse mark engraved on Count Melvin's body that even Annan didn't notice... that could locate his distance.
So Annan did not hesitate.
At the moment of appearance, he summoned his noble false body
as expected.
Melvin's family residence was surrounded by people on three floors and three floors outside.
But there is a wonder here.
That is, apart from old men and women in their sixties and seventies, there are also young people in their teens and early twenties. Except for Earl Melvin, there seem to be few young and middle-aged people here.
And all "Melvins" have colorful hair: black, brown, red, white, pink, green...
Their hairstyles also look quite "fashionable", to the extent that they wouldn't feel out of place even if they went to the Night City next door. For this world, it is obviously an art that is too early.
All of them looked at Annan and Earl Melvin in silence with expressionless faces.
An overly quiet atmosphere will remind people of dolls and rag dolls in toy stores after nightfall.
Their mere presence fills the surrounding air with an abnormal and weird atmosphere.
Earl Melvin's face had turned pale.
The titular patriarch trembled and shouted loudly: "Everyone, listen! This is a trap from the beginning."
"You are no longer pure."
An elder in front of Earl Melvin sighed.
Earl Melvin was like a duck being strangled by the throat, losing all his voice in an instant.
"You have lost your divinity."
Another elder behind the count sighed in exactly the same tone as the previous one.
His words made the count look back in panic, but at this moment a third voice sounded: "You are afraid."
A girl who was only twelve or thirteen years old spoke up and made a voice like the sound of nature: "You are starting to fear death."
And a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old said seriously: "You should leave this world."
"You should leave."
"You should leave."
"You should leave."
One after another, everyone repeated this.
The mood is neither passionate nor sad. Not angry nor fearful.
There was no smile or scowl, just like a toy on the shelf.
Earl Melvin's face became paler and paler.
He said nothing, his throat stretched out and he made a gurgling sound, and his fingertips trembled like Parkinson's disease.
But as he repeated this sentence after sentence, the fear in him gradually calmed down. His whole person became quite unusually quiet again. Even his fingertips no longer trembled.
There is no difference between them and those of the same race around them who are like dolls.
"I should leave."
He replied expressionlessly.
The next moment, Earl Melvin suddenly stretched out his hand.
Both hands started from the stomach and caressed downwards. Like unzipping clothes, he easily cut open his abdomen and the clothes he was wearing.
The fingertips of Lord Melvin's hands were covered in blood.
Count Melvin, who was bound by the chains of light, opened his arms as wide as a scarecrow, and said solemnly and calmly: "And I have opened my arms."
"And you are open."
"And you are open."
"And you are open."
The other Melvins clapped as they read again.
There was no excitement, no relief, no hatred, no joy on their faces, they were just applauding calmly. It was as boring as completing their daily tasks.
Blood flowed out from under Count Melvin, but he was still stubborn and did not lose his life. Even a wizard and a silver-level transcendent would not die so easily.
But Count Melvin didn't try to heal himself... He even opened his arms like a scarecrow without wavering. If he let the blood flow like this, sooner or later he would die here due to excessive blood loss.
Annan on the side did not stop his action.
Nor was he afraid of the strange behavior of the Melvin family.
He just watched all this calmly.
Originally he was not sure, but now he is finally sure.
He had glimpsed the true nature of the Melvin family.
"So that's it."
Annan took a deep breath: "The Melvin family, who are good at the law of similarity, create divine children to keep them away from the world and resemble gods; let the best divine children inherit the profession of gods on earth...
"In the school of idols, the 'law of contact' makes the fates of idol wizards close to each other and attract each other. Weak idol wizards will unconsciously get closer to the robber idol wizards, and their fates will be disturbed by each other.
.
"This is the secret of the 'law of contact' that is well known to wizards.
"But the law of similarity is different. Because there are not that many idol wizards who are good at the law of similarity, and they are mainly concentrated in the Melvin family, this makes the knowledge of the law of similarity rare.
"But by chance, I have read the book "The Law of Similarity and Predictive Dreams". It mentioned in it that the destinies of two idol wizards who are similar enough can be connected together.
"The so-called precognitive dream means that they are so similar that their dreams can be connected with each other. The experiences and memories of one of them flow into the dream of another. And because of their similarity, what this person has experienced may have been experienced by the other.
You may experience it sooner or later.
"Their spirituality is linked together. Just like two twins, if they are raised together, they will have more and more tacit understanding. If the relationship is good enough, they may even speak at the same time, or they can understand each other's thoughts without speaking.
Whatever you want, if one of them is injured, the other one can also feel it.
"But if their living circumstances are different, then this spiritual link will be terminated. Because they are no longer similar. The difference in life terminates this similarity.
"I was thinking at that time... If the idol wizards who hold the law of similarity can link spirituality together, then what about the Melvin family?
"I had doubts like this at the time. But those Melvins who left the winter were so normal... This made my doubts groundless.
"Now I finally came to the Melvin family's residence and witnessed it all."
Annan sighed: "Can you tell me something?
"Your Excellency, [God of the World]?"
"certainly."
At this moment, an elderly Melvin next to Annan replied: "It's my pleasure."
"You old man...are you a god on earth?"
Annan raised his eyebrows.
"No."
A girl of sixteen or seventeen years old replied: "I can also be a god on earth."
"We are all gods among men."
"We are all gods among men."
Sounds came one after another.
"So, where is the gold-level one?"
Annan asked: "Isn't 'God on earth' a profession?"
“Where can gods come from in this world?”
one Melvin retorted.
"We who thirst for the blood of the Son of God will have our own divinity."
Another Melvin replied.
"We can all become gods on earth if we need to."
"But it existed in no one until God appeared on earth."
"Why have you never seen God on Earth?"
"Why can't Melvins remember the appearance of the person who inherited the 'God on Earth'?"
"Because it's not always there."
"Because it's not always remembered."
"Because it's our shared fantasy."
"It only exists here."
"Showing up at the right moment."
"You shouldn't have come."
Now that the matter is over, the truth is clear.
The so-called "god on earth"... does not refer to a special individual.
It is a spirit and a will.
There is an earth-bound god that has been invisibly entangled in this land and has existed for an unknown period of time. It is the "common wish" generated by the Melvin family that has completed the synchronization of the entire family.
The process of "inheriting a profession" is to allow the tribesmen to partake of the "blood of the Son of God".
He/she can then provide new power to the "God on Earth".
That is not the successor, but the victim.
In this way, it is understandable why the Melvin family needs so many death chrysalises and living corpses...
It’s not about letting clan elders fly humanoid Gundams.
It is to provide the "God on Earth" with the "best body" to use when he appears.