paranoianovel Chapter 438 Stirring Up a Pool of Muddy Waters
Chapter 438 Stirring Up a Pool of Muddy Waters
Chapter 438 Stirring up a pool of muddy water
"Is that the witch you've been searching for—Triss?"
Triss was a wanted criminal that the three major churches had been pursuing since Tingen, so the news that MI9 and the Augustus family had been looking for her could not be kept from the three major churches.
Furthermore, because the three major churches suspected the Augustus family of the Great Uprising in Backlund were also very interested in this witch who seemed to have broken away from the Augustus family and the witch cult, they had been actively looking for her and hoping to obtain evidence from her that the Augustus family was involved in the Great Uprising in Backlund.
After such a long time, they finally found the witch, but Archbishop Simon discovered that she was completely different from what he had expected, mainly in terms of the difference in strength.
According to the intelligence gathered by all parties, Triss has always been a Sequence 6 Pleasure Witch, and her disappearance during this period could at most have led to her becoming a Sequence 5 Pain Witch.
But after today's encounter, it's clear that this isn't a Sequence 5 at all; she's clearly an "ageless witch" at Sequence 3.
Even if we discount it, her ability to use "petrification" only means that she possesses the extraordinary characteristic of an "ageless witch," not that she has any real strength.
However, the method of pulling others into the mirror world and causing a demigod to unknowingly contract the plague cannot be explained by simply holding a sealed artifact.
Only Triss, who has ascended to the level of a witch-path demigod, can explain all of this.
It's only been a short time. If becoming a demigod were so easy, so many people within the church wouldn't have failed at the threshold of demigodhood.
The man in black wearing a golden mask coughed twice more and then punished the virus within his body before things improved.
"My intelligence also says that Triss is at most a Sequence 5 witch at this point!"
The man in black explained that he was also confused about the matter. At the same time, he was also very puzzled because the information from the witch cult said that Triss had just recently completed her advancement.
"Could it be that a witch with the ability to change appearance has infiltrated Backlund, appearing as Triss to deliberately stir up trouble?"
Archbishop Simon suddenly remembered Robert Horn killing Caterina Pelle and taking her extraordinary properties.
"I feel that Triss, who just appeared, might be related to this matter, so I deliberately changed the subject in front of the man in black, trying to mislead his thinking."
After the Backlund Uprising, Archbishop Simon reported his experience to His Holiness the Pope Gard II in person, but Gard II simply told him to pretend he hadn't seen anything and not to mention it to anyone again.
From that time on, Archbishop Simon understood that Robert Horn had a deep secret, and the Church treated him kindly.
Therefore, after realizing that Robert Horn might be implicated, Archbishop Simon took the initiative to mislead and cover for him.
"Well, that possibility cannot be ruled out."
Knowing that Triss was the vessel for the Primordial Witch's divine descent and could not be judged by common sense, the man in black was somewhat convinced that the witch who had just appeared was Triss herself. However, he could not show this, so he could only go along with what Archbishop Simon said.
However, he also felt that Archbishop Simon's guess was correct, and could even be said to be very reasonable.
However, how to make a judgment was not his business. All he could do was report what he had seen and heard that day, as well as his guesses, and then wait for orders.
The two demigods, each intending to mislead the other, chatted for a while, and when they both felt the time was right, they said goodbye and left.
Dunn Smith and Hugh Deercha also said their goodbyes.
"This collaboration went very smoothly, and I hope we will have the opportunity to work together again in the future."
Hugh glanced at the silver-white case in Dunn Smith's hand, his eyes filled with longing.
Dunn Smith glanced at Leonard and Daly behind him before smiling and saying to Hugh, "This collaboration has indeed been very pleasant. It's just a pity that I've received orders to step down from my current position and join the army as a garrison cleric!"
Upon hearing this, Xiu's heart skipped a beat, and he made a guess before asking, "Oh, would you mind revealing which army you're going to?"
"There's nothing inconvenient about it. This isn't a secret. I'm going to the newly formed army of your Deputy Director of MI9, Baron Evan Horn."
"What a coincidence! Baron Evan Horn is not only my superior but also a good friend. Joining his team is definitely the right choice for you. It seems we'll have many more opportunities to interact in the future!"
Dunn Smith was also surprised by the coincidence and was very happy.
Because Dunn Smith was eager to report Triss's situation to his superiors, the two parted ways after a short conversation.
On the way back to the church after flagging down a carriage, Dunn Smith looked at Leonard across the street and asked, "Today is the day the government employee exam results are released. How's the matter I asked you to inquire about going?"
"We've found out that Klein's brother has passed the exam with a high score, and all that's left is the interview."
I have reported his situation to the bishop, and the bishop will make arrangements for a position through official channels!
However, even if we didn't greet him, Baron Evan Horn would still make a move.
As far as I know, he has always been very concerned about the Klein family's situation!
Dunn Smith was clearly hearing about this for the first time and appeared quite surprised.
However, considering that Evan had specifically returned to Tingen to deliver money to Moretti's family, it wasn't surprising anymore. He simply sighed, "That's good, that's good. After all, we're not part of the same system as the government of the Kingdom of Rune; there's always a layer between us. Having Evan Horn's help might be better for Brother Klein!"
Leonard didn't speak, but just thought about his visit to the Moretti siblings a few days ago.
At the time, he had only heard that Benson had bought a house and settled down in Backlund, so he just wanted to go and see if there was anything he could do to help, and also to get acquainted with the area.
Unexpectedly, the "old man" told him that Benson had actually become an Extraordinary, a piece of news that even triggered his sensitive nerves, and he almost took Benson down on the spot.
During their subsequent conversation, Leonard subtly learned that Ivan had already met Benson before his arrival.
He believed that Evan, who could discover the existence of the "old man," would also be able to discover that Benson had become an extraordinary being, which is why he did not tell the captain about it.
Leonard believed that Evan would be able to handle Benson's status as a Wild Beyonder, and that if he told the captain about it now, it would put the very principled captain in a dilemma.
I'll tell the captain about this after Evan has dealt with Benson's matter!
Maxim appeared in a void, absurd world, where there was no distinction between up, down, left, right, front, and back, no distinction between the tangible and the intangible, only densely packed points of light, like passageways, distributed around him and into the endless distance.
These points of light are like twinkling stars in the sky, constantly disappearing and being created, making them quite beautiful.
This is the mirror world that belongs exclusively to the realm ruled by the "witch".
It is a space that is not entirely independent of the astral realm, the spirit realm, and reality; it is more like the other side of these three worlds.
Although Maxim had fought against a demigod-level witch in the Fusak Empire, he had never seen the true appearance of the mirror world.
Only when a witch reaches the stage of "the ageless witch" can she truly begin to control the power of the mirror world.
"The despair of fighting him" The witch can only make preliminary use of the mirror world and is far from having the ability to trap people in the mirror world.
So Maxim was now quite engrossed in the mirror world, a world that only a very few people could see, and he didn't even have time to care about his injuries.
Just then, a point of light suddenly grew larger, expanding into a "gateway" connecting the mirror world with reality, and Triss jumped out of the "gateway" and came to Maxim's side.
"Is this why you were able to evade the pursuit of the Augustus family and the Witch Cult?"
"Can you ascend to demigodhood, a gift from the true Creator?"
Maxim had no doubt about Triss's identity; in his view, Triss, who wanted to contact Lord Akhmatova Einhorn, had ample reason to rescue him.
As he waited for Triss's response, he suddenly saw the entire mirror world spinning continuously. It wasn't until he saw a fountain of blood gushing from his neck that he realized it wasn't the mirror world that was spinning, but his head!
But why?
Maxim, filled with endless questions, lost consciousness forever.
"Unfortunately, if I weren't currently unsure whether Ahomatova Einhorn would discover the City of Calamity's machinations, I would have actually wanted to use the City of Calamity to capture you and then send you back to the Fusak Empire."
Ivan had witnessed Maxim's performance throughout the day.
It is truly remarkable that he was able to hold out for a whole day while being pursued by two demigods, even without any sealing artifacts and with his whereabouts impossible to conceal.
He even successfully completed the cleanup tasks assigned by Ahomatova Einhorn, so it's no wonder that Ahomatova Einhorn chose him as his dirty glove.
That's really a bit of a pity!
As Evan watched the "Iron-Blooded Knight" extraordinary characteristics slowly emerge, he shook his head with a crocodile smile and sighed.
Even he didn't expect that Maxim would be able to persevere until now.
"Given Maxim's performance, everyone who received the news must be completely bewildered by now, right?"
Rescuing Maxim in front of the two demigods under the guise of "Triss" was part of Evan's plan to stir up trouble.
First, there's the witch cult; Evan believes they are capable of roughly assessing Triss's situation.
For example: what stage has her skill reached now, and how is she in good condition?
Therefore, in the understanding of the Witch Cult, Triss should now be a Sequence 5 Witch of Pain, rather than a Sequence 4 Witch of Despair.
So when they learned the latest news about Triss from the Augustus family, they either began to doubt themselves, suspecting that Triss had found a way to escape the original witch's transformation and was gradually breaking away from the witch cult's control, and that there must be a true god involved behind the scenes.
Then the Church of the Goddess of Night and the True Creator will be suspected by the Witch Cult.
Their suspicions about the third-party forces that killed Katarina Pelle and Panatia will also focus on these two organizations, otherwise it would be impossible to explain the source of Triss's extraordinary ability to ascend to demigod status.
One suspects that the Gnostic witch is impersonating Triss and taking advantage of the chaos in Backlund.
Once they conclude that the Gnostic has once again sent a Sequence 3 immortal "witch" into Backlund to find Triss, the Witch Cult will certainly not sit idly by.
It's better for Triss to fall into anyone's hands than to fall into the hands of the Gnostic, so they will definitely take action.
Furthermore, Triss's act of rescuing Maxim could be seen by the Witch Cult as a symbol of the Gnostic Society's growing closer to the Fussac Empire.
So no matter which way the witch cult's suspicions ultimately lead, the final result will make them nervous, and once they are nervous, they may make mistakes.
According to Natasha's mother, Christina, the Gnostic angels have already decided to go to Backlund to find Triss.
And if the angels of the Witch Cult and the Gnostic Society, two irreconcilable organizations, were to gather in Backlund, the scene would surely be spectacular.
At that time, Evan can take advantage of his hidden position and do everything he can to gain benefits.
Both the Witch Cult and the Gnostic Society are Evan's enemies and targets for him to deal with in the future. Regardless of who suffers losses, it will be a good thing for Evan.
The thought of another major battle between the Witch Cult and the Gnostic Society brought a smile to Evan's face.
At that moment, Maxim's extraordinary properties were fully revealed, and Evan reached out and took it in his hand.
"Triss is probably still waiting to contact the Fursac Empire, little does she know that I've already paved the way for her. As long as she possesses this extraordinary property, it will be enough to gain the trust of Akhmatova Einhorn!"
Evan was absolutely serious about planting a spy in Akhmatova Einhorn and wouldn't let go of the slightest opportunity.
Thinking of this, Evan assessed his surroundings, reached into the mirror world, grabbed a golden mask, put it on his face, and flew toward a point of light.
As he flew away, the point of light quickly transformed into a gateway to reality, and on the other side of that gateway was the place where Triss now lived.
"Good evening, Miss Triss. We have made contact with the Fursac Empire. Are you ready to meet the angel?"
When Triss saw Mr. Z emerge from the vanity mirror, she was stunned and didn't even notice her eyebrow pencil falling from her hand.