Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1486 Human Calculation
The retreat went relatively smoothly under Lu Ning's arrangement, to the point that Lu Ning wondered if the remaining monsters were preparing some grand conspiracy.

Before the blockade of the Clockwork River district, the very place where Lu Ning had previously seen Kyrios dealing with the "Blood King's Palace" plague, the area had been burned down, leaving not a trace of flesh or blood.

The plague in the "Blood Palace" seems to have been completely resolved, as long as it hadn't spread beforehand.

"Bishop Crom, just how many Plague Apostles have infiltrated Violet City?"

"I don't know, maybe one or two hundred," Krom said.

"So the church knows..."

"The church doesn't know everything. After all, we can't predict who will suddenly hear the voice and become an apostle. We have some information about the apostles' movements, but we're not in a hurry to deal with them. They can't cause much trouble. Keeping them around is actually more beneficial for us to monitor them."

"This is clearly not a situation where things can't escalate much, is it?"

“This is outside the normal scope, Edwid, the one you killed. We cannot monitor an apostle like that.”

Unable to monitor... Danxi's drawing for finding people is indeed quite skillful.

“No one is guarding the blockade here anymore. The blockade… can only provide a certain degree of isolation based on the operation of the Kishi's own magic. It’s useless for church members.” Lu Ning looked at the still-standing light wall. This thing can only serve as a psychological comfort now; the blockade is no longer of any use.

However, after entering the Clockwork River area, everything was much better. Lu Ning noticed the fuzz growing on some stones on the ground, which were colonies of bacteria spawned by the plague.

Vanessa had already placed her surroundings under her guard. She adapted even faster than Lu Ning had expected; only one day had passed.

As Lu Ning entered the church, she saw Knight Gael pacing anxiously in the hall, along with some monks on duty, but no one in charge. She was slightly puzzled, and Gael rushed over to her upon seeing her.

"Madam Pharmacist! You're finally back!"

"What happened?"

"Vanessa and Father Thorne had a fight this morning, and then Vanessa went out, while the priest locked himself in his room and hasn't come out! Veronica is currently leading a team to build a house and can't come back either!"

"Wait, I've only been gone for a day, what happened?"

Regardless, Lu Ning needed to find a safe place for these wounded people to settle down first. Fortunately, the pharmacist had stocked up on a lot of medicine here. As for space, although there weren't enough beds for about two hundred people, the church space was enough to accommodate them.

Fortunately, thanks to Krom's treatment, these people's injuries have improved considerably. At most, the insects carry some plague-like characteristics that prevent direct healing. Otherwise, the thought of so many wounded people crammed into a small space would be incredibly oppressive.

Then, Lu Ning went straight to the room where Father Thorne had locked himself, kicked the door open and went in. She saw Father Thorne sitting in front of the Holy Symbol of the Saviour, with his hands clasped together and his eyes closed, as if he were praying.

"You actually pray like that."

“Pharmacist, you’re back early.” Thorne opened his eyes, his emotions not as agitated as Gale had described. “If necessary, I will pray. Although I know the gods won’t answer me, it helps me calm down and think about what to do next.”

"I heard you had a fight with Vanessa. Tell me about it?" Lu Ning looked around the small room and saw that there wasn't even a second chair. She stood directly next to Thorne, facing the Holy Emblem.

“She was protecting this neighborhood yesterday, maybe she was too tired. And the night was so unsettling, so she realized something… I don’t think it’s wrong, she’s just naively thinking,” Thorne said. “Pharmacist, you must have experienced all of this last night? I can smell the blood and mud on you.”

"I wouldn't call it an experience, but I moved around to several different places in the city and barely managed to survive," Lu Ning said.

“Survival, huh, it’s gotten that serious. I understand Vanessa’s anxiety now… She’s very talented, and so is Veronica; they’re both favored by the gods. But last night, that must have been a disadvantage, am I right?”

"Did Vanessa discuss with you how to preserve the Clockwork River District?"

"Yes, based on her intuition last night, she deduced what might happen next. But she and I have different views on how to manage the Clockwork River area now."

“Obviously.” Lu Ning shrugged.

“I think we should manage people in a centralized manner. If there are refugees from other regions, we should expel them. We don’t have the capacity to manage so many people, and the church won’t ignore them either. We only need to manage our own territory,” Father Thorne said. “I’m the kind of person who only does what I’m capable of. Minute Church only has this many people. The expanded staff won’t be able to make a difference in the short term. If this becomes a long-term task in the future, Minute Church won’t be able to operate.”

"I can guess that your radicalism is within the limits of what you can control. What about Vanessa?"

"She agreed that this could be a long-term project, but she believed that the more this was the case, the more people should be helped. She thought that Violet City would undergo a dramatic change afterward, although she couldn't judge what that change would be due to her limited experience. Under these circumstances, it was necessary to gather more people and unite more forces to have a greater voice."

“She’s still being a bit naive.” Lu Ning shook her head. “The people she’s gathered are all insignificant. They’re probably not as valuable as the two first-level bishops I brought back.”

“I guess even a First-Class Bishop isn’t quite up to par, is that right?” Thorne asked.

“I can’t say that,” Lu Ning smiled. “Thorne, you’re quite cunning. You must have seen something far more… distant?”

Father Thorne looked at Lu Ning, and after a moment of silence, said, "Pharmacist, if I'm not mistaken, Grand Duke Toril and many other powerful nobles in the city have already left, haven't they?"

"Correct."

“As expected.” Thorne smiled bitterly. “If it were up to me, I would immediately take my belongings and run away, if I could still do so now. Pharmacist, Violet City has been abandoned. As for the reason for abandoning it, for the nobles, there is only one: profit.”

“Violet City was used to exchange for greater benefits.” Lu Ning nodded. “But what are these greater benefits?”
"—Divine Transformation."

Charles said to Remington.

The two first-class bishops who accompanied Remington had both died in their battles with the gods. Remington was able to return alive thanks to his extensive experience and the help of some unique spells from the Burial Pivot.

But Remington couldn't understand why Violet City had become what it was, and when Charles returned to the city and met him, he could only explain it to him first.

"Divine molts are an irreplaceable resource. The Church accumulated a certain amount of resources through the three Holy Wars and the excavation of the ruins of the Divine Wars, while the Empire also amassed a considerable amount through plunder and trade. All items made from divine molts are expensive and extremely useful, yet even so, the actual quantity of divine molts is not large. Remington, you know how many weapons made from divine molts are in the Bone-Stacking Training Ground in Violet City, and you also know why your supply of bullets to the gods is decreasing."

"The reserves are running low. I haven't heard of any new divine creations appearing for many years. Rosalind has been wanting a new knife for a long time," Remington said.

"And our Grand Duke Roswell, if he wants to rise to the position of Grand Duke through his own abilities, he should have his own merits. The war is certainly a merit, but the merits of the war alone are not enough. Even if he stands on one side, he cannot play a role in deciding who becomes emperor. Even if Toril comes, it won't work."

“Oh…this kid has been ruthless since he was a child. Toril has indeed raised a wolf cub,” Remington remarked.

"So he wants to become a warmonger. Only by doing this can he be the winner no matter which side wins. But how can he do it? Although Toril is a grand duke who rose to power through war, the mineral resources, crafts, and magic within his territory are not the most outstanding. His military training is excellent, but he can't exactly train someone else's troops, can he?"

"Therefore, he set his sights on the divine transformation."

The technique of divine transformation is already quite mature, but the raw materials are very difficult to find. The church would never do anything like divine descent. The only ones who would bother with this are some cultists who have long since died in some unknown corner of history, or plague apostles.

"That kid wants to use this place as a mine for divine transformation... This is even more insane than the actions of a war maniac."

"After all, Violet City has the clearest ownership and has been nurtured for so long. Roswell obviously thought of this. To those who don't know, the main city within the territory he's about to inherit has become a land of divine calamity, which he could use as bargaining power later. But to those who do know, he's a ruthless character who can exchange a well-established city for a divine transformation mine. Dealing with such a person requires caution. He'll profit no matter what."

"So he went to this extent for this little bit of divine transformation?" Remington sneered.

"It might even be better than he thought. The plan went awry; an unexpected deity descended, and what this deity left behind is probably an active mineral vein." Charles looked at Remington. "Now you know why I'm making that face, right?"

"You didn't get angry right away, which shows you're more composed than me," Remington said, waving his hand.

Seeing the city in complete chaos, with even the Second District command post breached, the two were utterly helpless. Although they quickly found the letter left by Krom, the hastily written piece of paper was only enough to explain the current situation; it couldn't possibly offer any advice.

“It seems that the two of them won’t be able to form a fighting force for the time being.” Charles put away the letter. “We need to regroup and clear the mountain. At least we need to take back the Church of East. That way, we’ll have a weapon we can rely on for the final battle.”

"Is the problem that serious?"

“If Vajya can’t decide how to handle this on his own and has to wait for others, it means that too many stakeholders are involved. We need a certain amount of military deterrence and support for our colleagues outside.”

=
"Based on all the indications, I must estimate in the most pessimistic way, Pharmacist, that we may be among those abandoned or sacrificed. I've seen this kind of tactic many times among the nobility; even the most mediocre nobles in the countryside can come up with shocking methods when faced with profit. Vanessa, however, she's oversimplified things. But that's all our argument has to do with this. I only locked myself up to think about what to do next; I need some quiet time."

“Okay, I can listen to Vanessa’s opinion, but this is still your family matter. Remember to have a good talk with her about what you have to say.”

“Yes, it’s time for her to learn about these things,” Thorne agreed.

Lu Ning walked out the door and found that Knight Gael was still standing not far away, looking somewhat uneasy.

"Knight Gael, thank you for your hard work."

“Haha, I just don’t want the priest to have a falling out with his two daughters, otherwise everyone will be uneasy. It’s only the three of them who are keeping the church afloat. Sigh… I’m just a rough guy, I don’t know how to advise them. Let my wife come, but she doesn’t understand anything.” Sir Gael stroked his beard, his rough face full of unease. “At a time like this, they absolutely cannot be harmed…”

Lu Ning watched him mutter to himself as he walked away, his figure slightly hunched. To be honest, she didn't have a very good impression of Gail, but now she felt a little sorry for him. This was probably what an ordinary person looked like during a disaster—someone even worse off was about to die.

She returned to her bedroom and was finally able to lie down on her bed.

"Pharmacist, I need to rest... Although it's earlier than expected, the mental stress from this past day and night has been quite intense. Apart from avoiding further contact with Danxi, just do as you wish."

After saying that, Lu Ning closed her eyes.

The pressure from the gods on her mind, and the pressure from the battle on her body, made the intensity of this day comparable to many battles she had experienced before. But it was fortunate that it was her; the pharmacist's mental strength might not have been able to withstand it.

When I opened my eyes again, the pharmacist had already returned.

"Divine disaster..."

She experienced everything Lu Ning went through through shared memories, but thankfully it was filtered through Lu Ning's memories, so she could only empathize, and there was still a difference between that and her actual experience.

After giving herself a quick wash, the apothecary went to where the wounded soldiers were. Lu Ning had no respect for the First-Rank Archbishops of the Salvation Council, but she couldn't stand it.

By this time, the Na used up by Lu Ning yesterday has begun to be replenished one by one, and she can still participate in some treatment work. At least this group of wounded soldiers should be able to recover their fighting strength soon.

But just as they were passing through the Eternal Sanctuary, Vanessa returned.