Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1681 1653. Cult
The statue Lane was referring to was a very peculiar one.

The statue is placed against a brick wall. It can be said that it is not just a statue, but more like an altar.

There are two pillars standing on both sides, and in the middle of the pillars is a huge and tough spider web. In the center of the spider web is the strange lion-faced spider.

The braziers on both sides of the altar burned with green flames, and in the firelight, there were piles of human skulls.

[Lion-faced spider], also known as Black Legba, Conan Agta, and Zolan Ach Terra.

It is a belief in an evil god with followers in many countries.

Those who believe in him think that he is the "Great Weaver" who weaves the giant web of fate. If some people die suddenly, the thread on the giant web of the lion-faced spider will break. Or if the thread breaks, people will die, and those people will be devoured by the lion-faced spider.

This is a kind of concrete worship of "unnatural death".

Because of the uniqueness of this belief, it usually spreads from groups such as executioners and corpse collectors and then grows.

Lan En was not sure whether this god existed or not.

Although the belief in the Lion-Faced Spider has been documented to be founded nearly a hundred years ago in the Geso region by a merchant named Ambrosio and eight followers.

Later they were burned at the stake by the local royal family and the priests of the Clifford Church.

But the lion-faced spider's faith did not end there.

Lan En knew that there were gods in this world, but the gods in this world seemed to care about his beliefs only out of his own choice.

If you are willing to take care of me, then take care of me. If you don’t want to, then just ignore me.

Therefore, it is not credible to judge whether a belief is genuine based on the extent of its spread.

Otherwise, there would really be an 'eternal fire' above the head of the Church of the Eternal Fire, right?

Therefore, Lan En was not sure whether there really was a "Great Weaver" above the Lion-Faced Spider Church.

But I'm not afraid.

After all, he still has the curse of an ancient god killed by his own hands locked in his body, so who is afraid of who?
And this is the understanding that only someone like Lan En, who has sufficient understanding of the deep structure of the world, can have.

For an ordinary sorceress, this group of people would regard spellcasters other than sorcerers as characters similar to "witch doctors taking psychedelic herbs".

They feel that they are the only ones who are "exploring" supernatural powers with reason, while other spellcasters are just relying on luck based on experience.

As for the ancient and huge belief of Melitari, the warlocks only "respect but do not accept".

It would be strange if they could fall for the Lion-Faced Spider's belief, which can even trace the birth of the church and has lost all religious mystery.

The green flames of the altar brazier and the normal torches in the room mixed together, giving people a dizzy feeling.

"Lane of Cintra?"

But after hearing Lan's questioning, Xier Tanshavier calmed down a lot.

The sorceress turned her serious eyes to him.

"Oh, yes. I remember that we did have academic exchanges about the crystal cultivation project. You are truly extraordinary."

Lan En was indifferent to her praise: "Can you recall the issue we discussed at that time?"

"Of course." The sorceress still raised her head slightly, both to look at Lan En and to avoid the Thundercat sword that was still across her neck.

"I remember clearly that you proposed five pathways for bypassing the human immune system, two of which I had research experience fifty years ago. You contacted me because you read my paper, didn't you?"

Lan En nodded silently, confirming that this should be Xi'er Tanshaweiye, and not someone's impersonation.

He had an impression of this sorceress, mainly because she was considered an alternative among the sorceresses.

She didn't like socializing or getting involved in politics and power struggles. In contrast, she preferred to immerse herself in her own research. This person didn't even go to the wizard summit.

She was not a small figure in the warlock circle. On the contrary, she even had the opportunity to serve on the Supreme Council of Warlocks, one of the two governing bodies in the wizarding world.

After she refused, Yennefer filled her gap.

But after confirming their identities, they still had to ask the questions they needed to ask. After all, their only interaction was academic exchanges. They were not clear about each other's positions, personalities, etc.

"Why are you here?"

Lan En got back to the point.

But Sire Tanshavier looked at the three of them with an absurd look.

"Why am I here?" the sorceress asked, "This is a secret room built in the sewers of Long Exeter! It is where the followers of the Lion-Faced Spider worship their gods!"

"And the Lion-Faced Spider is a cult officially designated by the Kovir government! I have recently been living in the Ensenada Palace. Queen Zelica has entrusted me with handling this cult out of personal friendship. You ask me why I am here?"

"Gentlemen, the situation now is: Should you! Explain to me first! Why are you here? What is your relationship with the Lion-Faced Spider Church?"

Cohen was speechless for a moment under Xi'er's questioning, because this question really overwhelmed him.

Lan went down into the sewer with him to clean up the monsters. The rationale for this action came from the fact that he had accepted the task from the Merchants Association.

But now Xier Tanshaweier directly brought out Queen Zelica.

The situation now seemed to have become that the two witchers, along with the flannel ball, had intruded upon the work of a higher-level civil servant while performing an official duty.

Although this is not their responsibility, it is not reasonable to put a knife to someone's neck.

The corners of Cohen's mouth twitched, and he felt his thoughts and mood were in a mess, but he still moved to Lan's side and spoke to him in a low voice.

"It seems so. Indeed, I have heard a rumor lately that she is being entertained at Long Exeter, and is staying at the Ensenada Palace."

"So now," the sorceress spread her hands. Cohen's whisper did not escape her. "Can you get out of the way?"

Lan's eyes flickered slightly, but he still tilted his head towards the ball of fluff.

The calico kitten nodded seriously and cutely, then retracted the sword that was across the opponent's neck.

Xier took a breath.

"You said you were here to wipe out the Lion-Faced Spider followers." Lan walked away from the sorceress and looked around the secret room. "But how could that be? Everything here looks peaceful."

The hand armor of Smaug is sharp and ferocious.

Lan En's fingers rested lightly on the wooden table, sliding with his footsteps. Although he seemed to be weak, he had already left claw marks on the table like a beast.

There was a slight sound of cracking from the wooden tabletop and the candlelight flickered.

On the table were several notebooks, some parchment, quills and inkwells, and at the other end of the table, there was an unfinished chicken pie and half a fried fish, along with the cutlery.

There was a long table, five or six stools, and a few things that looked like torture instruments hanging on the surrounding walls. There were also two rows of empty weapon racks against the wall.

But these things were placed safely in this secret room in the sewer, and not even one of the five or six stools was overturned.

In the flickering firelight, there was no change in Xi'er Tanshavier's expression.

"Don't ask me, I don't know either." The sorceress said calmly, "I just found this place, but I didn't see anyone when I came. I wouldn't throw a fireball at the wall, would I?"

"Before you came out of that wall, I was still looking through their documents to see what these cultists were planning to do."

Lan En did not comment on what the sorceress said, but just casually flipped through the documents of the Lion-Faced Spider believers.

On them are some prayers or some memoranda for preparing sacrifices.

"The cultists wouldn't stay in their secret room all day, they might have gone out." Xier Tanshavier shook his head and said regretfully. "Unfortunately, we don't know where they are going. These cultists are not normal at all."

"Yes, we don't know what they are going to do." Lan En nodded first, but in the flickering firelight, his pupils had already shrank and scanned the secret room uncertainly, "But we can know."

"This matter is no longer a joke." Cohen stopped pointing the crossbow at the sorceress, but the worry between his brows increased instead of decreasing. "It seems that the large group of ratmen were raised by the cultists! My God, who knows what they are trying to do?!"

"Rat man?!!!"

The sorceress, who had been calm and rational the entire time, suddenly had the most intense reaction since they met after Cohen sighed softly.

She subconsciously opened her mouth and eyes, and even the big hat on her head that looked like a gold ingot shook.

"What rat people? What are you talking about? They raised a group of rat people?!"

The sound was so sharp that it was almost a falsetto due to the tension in the throat muscles.

"Don't you know, ma'am?" Lan turned his head and glanced at her. "That's not just a group of ratmen. That's more than 500 ratmen! A small army!"

"I, no, I"

Sire Tanshavier seemed to be tongue-tied in shock.

But when she saw the look in Lan's eyes, she still forced herself to remain calm.

"No, of course I don't. This is shocking. We have to find them!"

Xi'er Tanshaviye said that she was invited by Queen Zelika to deal with the cultists, but she did not seem to be very anxious after Lan En and others broke in.

Of course, this can also be interpreted as 'the sorceress doesn't take this task seriously and is just wasting time'.

But when Cohen revealed the news about the rat man, she immediately became "passionate about work".

At this time, even Cohen frowned and looked at the other party with some confusion.

Instead it was Lan En.

"That's right, ma'am." His witcher senses followed the footprints on the chamber floor to the other wall. "We must hurry."

(End of this chapter)