Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 375 Soul
The next day, early in the morning.

The phone alarm jolted Merlin awake from his sleep, and almost at the same time, he reached for his chest and began to breathe heavily.

He couldn't remember when he had fallen asleep. The .45 pistol he had prepared slipped onto the wooden floor. He quickly checked the magazine in the gun, which was still full of bullets.

Merlin looked around in a daze.

Everything in the bedroom was normal; there were no signs of forced entry, and no bullet marks on the walls or closets.

Was that a nightmare?
Merlin carefully recalled the events of his nightmare. First, the time traveler broke into his house, then he rushed to the council district, and behind that door, he faced the being known by the believers as the God of Truth—a huge white orb of light, who was among the stars and knew everything.

If we disregard the horror-movie-like scenes in the first half, the encounters in the second half are more like the scenes described by believers of truth during an audience.

but……

What does "100% cognitive pollution" and number 3791 mean?
Merlin wrote down the last echo he heard on a piece of paper. After that, his consciousness seemed to be sucked into a ball of light, and he woke up in his bed. In fact, he did not see any of the committee members in the meeting room.

Nightmares can indeed explain everything.

It is always connected to the human subconscious. The strange creatures he had encountered would be released by his subconscious, and he would just fall into a deep sleep at some point in the middle of the night.

A voice echoed in Merlin's mind, trying to rationalize everything he had experienced in his nightmare.

But there is still a flaw in this nightmare.

Merlin rolled out of bed and went straight to the bookshelf where the hidden camera was located. He opened the book on the cover, which read "The Shelter Code," and took out the still intact camera.

With a mix of trepidation and excitement, I retrieved the video recording.

From the moment he returned home in the evening until he turned off the recording mode just now, most of the time was filled with boring scenes. In the long night, a man living alone lay in bed, playing with a .45 caliber pistol. When the time reached 4 a.m., the scene in the picture finally changed.

The man on the bed seemed to hear something unusual. He stuffed his pillow into the blanket to pretend he was still in bed, then slipped behind the curtains—this was in line with Merlin's nightmare. He knew the time traveler would break into the bedroom, and he had emptied his magazine.

The only difference was that no one else appeared in the shot from beginning to end.

The man hiding behind the curtains fired a few bullets into the air, then moved as if possessed in front of the camera. He struggled with the air, tiptoeing and then crashing to the ground before running out of the house with all his might.

After that, the bedroom was returned to its original state.

At six o'clock in the morning, the exhausted man slowly returned to his bedroom. He went to the bedside and fell asleep immediately, until this moment when he suddenly woke up from his sleep.

Merlin frowned. He couldn't explain the footage either. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe the videotape as performance art. If he had died in this bedroom last night, it would be difficult for Zhuang Xiao to explain what happened last night when he found the video. From an objective point of view, it only recorded a crazy man doing some dangerous things in his own bedroom.

At the same time, other inexplicable things began to happen.

He carefully compared the contents of the video, but could not find the bullet hole that should have appeared on the closet.

The pistol, which was in a blind spot of the camera, somehow moved to the floor next to the bed, and it looked as if it had slipped down after he fell asleep.

Apart from himself, no one else appeared in the video from beginning to end.

Merlin suddenly wondered if this was also what happened to Du Li on the night of his suicide.
He was awakened in the middle of the night, discovered that there was an intruder in his home, and was then killed by the intruder... But if there had been anyone present at the time, they might have seen a different scene. They would have seen Du Li leaning against the bed, slowly putting the muzzle of a gun into his mouth and pulling the trigger.

Following "cognitive pollution" and the number "3971", the question posed by the God of Truth is intriguing.

Merlin found it intriguing that He had survived the time travelers.

The answer lies with Ethan, who becomes the "variable" in the entire nightmare.

Without the protection of wind blades and elemental spirits, death would be an inescapable fate.

He had to take action.

Before the second "nightmare" arrived, he needed to convey everything he knew to Zhuang Xiao. He organized the data on the videotape and walked towards the door.

........................

Meanwhile, a meeting was also taking place in the capital.

The participants in this meeting were all heavyweight guests. It is no exaggeration to say that no meeting in the limited history of mankind has ever been recorded that can compare with it. From the dawn of the day, the Imperial Knights have been under unprecedented pressure.

The residents of the capital city witnessed many famous figures in the city. These uninvited guests all had a common identity - followers of evil gods. Every face was a regular on wanted posters. Below those portraits were a series of astronomical figures. Huge bounties became their medals of honor.

This era is about to go completely out of control!
Reporters from various newspapers in the capital sensed a major news story and began rushing around before dawn. Some had even already drafted today's headlines.

In addition to the ever-appearing cultists, the residents of the capital also discovered another group of guests who had traveled from the western continent.

When the black steam locomotive stopped outside the royal city, the reporters with cameras had already found a good spot.

This is a visitor from the Western Continent, Yug from the Deep Sea Council.

He looks as young as Ivy, and just as rumored, Yug is always accompanied by a well-mannered head maid dressed in a maid outfit.

This meeting was not only about the Empire and the Western Continent, but also about the future of the entire world. The inhabitants of the Empire could imagine that if the negotiations at the conference table broke down, a war between humans and evil gods might break out again for hundreds of years.

This time, however, the people of the empire were not crushed by fear and despair.

Because the Imperial Knights are by their side, especially the Knight Commander, Lady Beyond, whose strength surpasses that of Henry VI, who has gained the approval of the Knight Lords and obtained the "Sword of Oath and Victory." She is undoubtedly the strongest in the Empire now, and above her is a majestic being who protects everyone, as great as the sun!

Look, even when facing vicious and wicked followers of the evil god, the Knight Commander of the Other Shore remains calm and collected!
The residents on the street looked towards the other side with boundless reverence.

They had recently seen recruitment advertisements for the Imperial Knights, which made them want to give up everything, answer the Knights' call, become a glorious Imperial Knight, and fight for freedom and democracy!

And the new leader of the Lofik Foundation, Rattlesnake, is regarded as a "vicious and evil follower of the evil god".

However, only the soldiers who were very close to the other side knew that this conversation might be somewhat different from what the people imagined.

There was no air of gunpowder, nor any tense atmosphere.

The two were simply chatting under the shade of a tree. If drinking in broad daylight hadn't been contrary to the glorious image of an imperial knight, this conversation would likely have taken place in a nearby tavern.

"Why are you here too?" Higan asked, somewhat surprised to see Rattlesnake.

“The Lofik Foundation’s intelligence network spans the globe, and we have our own considerations.”

Rattlesnake responded fluently, “We will lend a helping hand when the Empire needs us. I believe the new cabinet will not discard us after using us, which is a practice that even believers of evil gods would despise.”

She reminded the other side that during the Golden King's invasion, the Lofik Consortium's intelligence network provided much support to the Empire, and she herself had placed her bets on Ethan from the very beginning.

As a powerful figure who has participated in the Trial of Trials and faced the three evil gods, how could Ethan possibly lose to a spaceship guy who appeared out of nowhere?

The woman on the other side lowered her voice, "No, what I mean is, aren't you feeling bad?"

"Feeling bad? Why should I feel bad?"

"As far as I know, Sincarlo is not on the list of invitees to the meeting."

She tried to be as tactful as possible, because this could easily turn into a classic bullying scene. As far as she knew, the Old Gods, including Bazartos, Kane, Ampolis, and Argos, would be attending the meeting, but their old acquaintance, Sincarlo, was not invited.

Some rumors suggest that this was not Ethan's original intention; he had planned to invite Sincarlo to the event, but the suggestion was met with unanimous opposition from the Old Gods, including Barzatos.

There was nothing that could be done; the vote was 5 to 1, and even Ethan couldn't turn the tide.

Besides the four resolute Old Gods, Ethan's black cat also suddenly appeared in the meeting room and cast a rather unimportant vote.

Thus, the current situation inevitably arose.

Sincarlo, we're having an amazing conference in the capital, guess who didn't get an invitation?
"You're worrying too much."

Rattlesnake said, "In fact, most of the conglomerate's operations are no longer under His control."

Today, the relationship between Sincarno followers and their "master" is somewhat unusual. All the sacrifices and prayers continue as before, and they still believe in Sincarno. In fact, they are more loyal than the followers of any other evil god because they are the only ones who have carried out the rules set by the old gods to the end.

Sincaro himself was subtly "invited" out of the decision-making team by his followers due to his poor performance in the Western Continent and "Abyss" events.

He is a symbol of wisdom and cunning, and it was Sincargo himself who established the rule to eliminate fools who repeatedly make mistakes.

Therefore, He was eliminated.

Rattlesnake's stance on this matter remains firm.

Our great "master" still loves and respects you, but you have reached retirement age.

Rattlesnake said, "Now the conglomerate is the conglomerate, and Shinkalo is Shinkalo. This way of getting along has actually eliminated the grudges between us."

“He actually tolerated you doing this.”

"Because the 'Master' has never been interested in the trivial matters of the conglomerate; it is merely a means to achieve its goals. After the 'Triple Trial,' the conglomerate has completely lost its value to the 'Master.' As far as I know, the 'Master' is very concerned about Mr. Ethan's affairs. It cannot be ruled out that He is still plotting a conspiracy against Mr. Ethan in a place unknown to us, but... that is not something you or I can get involved in."

Rattlesnake spoke in one breath, then paused briefly before steer the conversation back on track, "And the conglomerate only needs to continue to maintain normal relations with the Empire."

To this, the other side can only continue to smile.

No wonder the Old Gods dislike Sincarlo. If you disregard his status as an Old God, his behavior is essentially no different from the perverts the Knights usually arrest in the capital.

Even in prison, perverts are the least popular type of prisoner, belonging to the lowest tier.

She glanced in the direction of the royal city.

The meeting there must have started a long time ago. Since she met Ethan, she had never seen him take the initiative to organize an event of this scale. In her eyes, Ethan was an easygoing person who always tried to stay away from politics. However, this meeting involved the new cabinet and the Western Continent. Bazartos and Kane, who were important believers in the sect, were all present.

This means that something big is indeed about to happen.

At the same time, in the Royal Conference Room.

The first meeting had very few participants, and the ancient gods, whom they hadn't seen for a long time, never imagined that one day they would sit in such a small meeting room in this way.

Their true forms could not be contained here, so they could only attach themselves to the bodies they created themselves.

A woman with six eyes wearing a long, fleshy dress, a small, limp octopus on the conference table, a spirited young man in military uniform, and a hunter uncle who looks like an ordinary passerby—Argos had to recruit a follower on short notice in order to attend this meeting.

“You’ve made a mistake, Ethan.”

After a brief silence, the six-eyed woman said, “This is not a racial issue. Our power is by no means limited to human use. Monsters, beasts, poultry, and even insects... It’s just that among these species, humans are the most compatible, so they can often share more of our power.”

Through Ethan's account, they have come to fully understand what happened in the City of Truth.

"Is it because they are too far away, and the faith and beliefs here cannot reach them?"

"Distance has never been a problem."

The little octopus commented, "As long as they pray the way we left behind, we'll be able to notice them."

The meeting reached a stalemate.

Both of the conjectures put forward by the philosophers and the democratic parliament have been overturned.

Ethan pondered Old Bar's words. "So, you mean maybe they're not human?"

Such a verdict is undeniably overly aggressive.

"The soul is the key to everything, and all sacrificial rituals are the same. They are the process of harvesting souls, one of the few valuable things that mankind can provide us."

Kane said that he had lived in human society for a long time and understood human thought patterns better than his old friends in the room.

"Perhaps you have encountered a group of soulless creatures."

(End of this chapter)