From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 468 Voters
"Thanks to the protection of the Trinity of Justice! I'll be free in six months!" Will's steps were light and cheerful. Even moving through the sticky, writhing flesh and blood, his good mood was not affected at all.

The Three Saints of Justice.

Even in her tattered brain, Xie Nian still remembered this name, just as she knew about the grudges and grievances between Selenne and Shar.

The Trinity of Justice is a group of deities that every mortal in Faerûn has heard of.

They are composed of Tyr, the god of justice; Tom, the god of loyalty; and Irmat, the god of perseverance.

It can be considered a divine combination that rivals the three gods of death: Baal, the god of murder; Bane, the god of tyranny; and Melkor, the god of the dead.

The thought of Baal, the name of the Father God, sent a sharp pain through the wicked mind that had become excited and active due to the stench of blood and flesh.

She believed this was Baal's way of spurring her on for failing to complete Baal's task of assassinating the innocent priest Serene.

Evil thoughts tried her best to stop thinking about bloody murders, but it was difficult for her.

It was an itch that originated from the very bones and blood, which could only be relieved by the slippery internal organs and the scalding hot blood.

Evil thought knew very well that he was very familiar with the feel of various internal organs, just as he was familiar with this Mind Flayer colony.

The Mind Flayer colony hidden beneath the Tower of the Moonrise is a true flesh and blood factory.

Other races of living beings are modified with Mind Flayer tadpoles. Those that succeed become True Souls, while those that do not are dismembered and reused to breed Mind Eaters or to serve as food for the Mind Flayer's mastermind. The remaining residue is then recycled by the necromancers of the Melkor Order as material for creating undead minions.

Every corpse is used very efficiently here.

This also means that the Mind Flayer colony deep underground is always in an atmosphere where the stench of decaying internal organs is mixed with the sweet, pungent smell of fresh corpses.

Aside from those with evil intentions, no adventurer would dare claim to be familiar with this environment. Because she discovered that this was where she was receiving "treatment"—if having a mind-stealing tadpole implanted in her brain and then repeatedly disassembled and reassembled could be called treatment.

The allied forces and adventurers came in from the prison of the Tower of the Moonrise. When they rescued the Iron-Handed Dwarf Urbrun from there last time, they had the evil thought of checking out where the warden had disposed of the body.

Sure enough, they found the entrance to the Mind Flayer colony from there.

However, transporting the prisoners out of here has become extremely troublesome. It requires Flame Fist and Harpist, who are guarding the top of the corpse pit, to pull the ropes repeatedly in order to get these unfortunate souls trapped in the storage bags and who haven't yet been put into the Mind Flayer tadpoles out.

In reality, apart from a few Flame Fist and Harpist players, neither the allied forces nor the adventurers saw any trace of High Duke Ravengard.

However, they did find Zariel's assets, the overlord of Will, Cambyom Mizorah, in a separate storehouse.

Since discovering that the military dog ​​Karak and the son of the Duke of Toys are connected to a huge conspiracy in the Prime Material Plane, Grand Duchess Zariel of Avernus has been trying to investigate the truth behind the Order of the Supreme God.

Mizora was her right-hand woman, and she also had an unequal magical pact with Will Ravengard, who was trapped by Mind Flayer tadpoles, so she naturally became the most suitable person to carry out the reconnaissance mission.

However, Mizora clearly underestimated the danger of the Shadow Curse and the Order of the Supreme God, and inadvertently fell into their trap, becoming a lamb to the slaughter.

Campion is only a half-demon and does not have the right to be resurrected in Hell after death, unlike a true demon like Yogg-Saron, who is bound by Raphael's Hell Pact. Therefore, Mizora cannot gain freedom through suicide.

Fortunately, she still has Will, a cheap henchman, to use.

However, due to the interference of the mage Gale, Mizora had no choice but to agree to break Will's magical contract in exchange for his help in gaining his freedom.

But the devil always reveals his cunning in the details.

Hidden within the terms and conditions that Will hadn't read carefully was an inconspicuous rule.

It stipulates that the sect leader can postpone the execution of this magical contract for six months when it is to be dissolved.

Therefore, for Will, rescuing Mizora means becoming a free man, no longer bound by the devil, in six months.

But for Mizora, who has escaped from the storage sac, this means she has six months to "persuade" Will to sign another magic contract.

“Six months is a long time,” Gale said, rubbing the fleshy sole of his boot against the hard bone box lid that had been pried open by evil thoughts. “Enough for Mizora to run away from his promise.”

“I can’t imagine.” Will remained optimistic, even though his own father’s fate was far more tragic than that of the sect leader Mizora, and they still hadn’t seen the Duke. “This magic contract binds her just as tightly as it binds me. All I have to do now is survive and make it to today, six months from now. With a group of partners as skilled as you by my side, that should be easy to achieve.”

Just as Gail smiled after receiving the praise, the wet, writhing sounds emanating from the surrounding fleshy walls gradually amplified, eventually transforming into a roar.

“We’ve found it.” Gale recognized the voice; it was that visitor who only appeared in dreams, the resident of the Astral Prism, a beautiful and alluring Tyflin. “The Supreme God is down there.”

After the dream visitor's voice disappeared, Gale looked up at the abyss in front of her. Apart from an elevator made of a material similar to the chitinous shell of some kind of beetle, there was an ominous scarlet light emanating from below.

This godforsaken place exudes an ominous atmosphere, and all adventurers have become immune to it.

Looking at the expressions on her companions' faces, Gail was certain that they had also heard the voice of the dream visitor.

"So... this is the lair of the Supreme God?" Will perked up. "Duke Gao... my father must be down there... this is the only place we haven't searched yet."

“Hatching pool.” Leezel sniffed the sour smell in the air and said with certainty that it seemed the lack of a nasal bridge had not caused any functional impairment to the Gisyanki. “I smell lye.”

This is not surprising.

Gale thought to himself. The Githyanki hatcheries had similar structures, but they used strong acid to fill the gaps between the eggs, which was almost the opposite of the alkaline brine in the Mind Flayer hatcheries.

No wonder Lyezal's short nose could smell the Mind Flayer hatching pool. "The hatching pools in the Mind Flayer colony..." Gale recalled another piece of knowledge about the Mind Flayer breeding process, "I think this means there's a Mastermind waiting for us down there... Masterminds always appear in pairs with hatching pools, and besides the Mastermind, the pool usually also houses a large number of young Mind Flayer tadpoles, the water providing nutrients for both... However, for the Mastermind, those tadpoles are also food. Because all Masterminds believe that only the most cunning tadpoles are worthy of being transformed into Mind Flayers... But judging from the number of True Soul Beings we've encountered, the Mastermind inside probably hasn't eaten tadpoles for a long time..."

"Is Professor Decarios's Mind Flayer lesson over?" Asdalon nudged Gale in the back with his elbow. "Get on the elevator!"

The shell-like elevator is powered by some kind of mind flayer biotechnology, and judging from the constantly waving tentacles on the control device, it is likely alive, just like other objects in the colony.

Fortunately, the adventurers were all infected by the Mind Flayer Tadpoles, and under the manipulation of their evil thoughts, the elevator quickly sent them deeper into the darkness.

Below was still the fleshy passage that revealed blood, and the dream visitor who had warned them earlier was silent, as quiet as a grasshopper in autumn.

Something invisible seemed to be constantly changing shape in the air, twisting and contorting into countless menacing monsters. Gale tried to calm his mind, silently reciting the task Mystra had given him.

Once he sees the true face of the Supreme God, Gael will persuade his companions to leave, while he will stay behind to detonate the Orb of Destruction, atone for past mistakes, and lead Faerûn to a brighter future.

The companion ahead stopped in his tracks; a large, fleshy door with sharp teeth blocked their path.

The psychic energy permeating the entire Mind Flayer colony identifies these adventurers with tadpoles in their brains as their own, which is why they are able to penetrate into such a place.

The fleshy gate did not deter the adventurers; they continued deeper, trying their best to conceal themselves.

Along the way, they had already noticed that the Flame Fist and Harpists were more conspicuous than them in the Mind Flayer colony. After there were no people in the group who were not infected by the Mind Flayer tadpoles, they were attacked much less frequently.

If one can hide oneself deep within the colony, there might be a chance to witness the true face of the mastermind behind the Supreme God Order.

Beyond the fang-shaped gate is a downhill slope, followed by a circular platform built on a giant incubation pool.

On the high platforms on both sides of the circular platform stood several transformed Mind Flayers, as well as Death Acolytes serving Melkor.

But these minor characters didn't attract the adventurers' attention. What truly sent chills down their spines and made them break out in a cold sweat were the two guys standing on the circular platform.

They were a man and a woman; the man was pacing, while the woman was sitting still. They both looked very young.

The young man was an aristocrat, dressed in lavish and flamboyant clothes. The luxurious black fabric had a subtle sheen, and the gold thread embellishments on it further accentuated his domineering air.

“Gortash! That bastard!” The hell warrior Karak recognized the face the moment he saw him. “Even if I’m burned to ashes by hellfire, I’ll never forget the face that sold me to Zariel!”

That was indeed a very distinctive face.

The stubble, dark eye bags, and bloodshot eyes made the owner of this face look very tired, but judging from the glint in Gotash's eyes and his arrogant expression, this man did not feel that he needed to rest. He must have thoroughly enjoyed this busyness, the richness of power, and the pleasure of controlling the fate of others.

The other figure appeared to be immersed in blood. She was dressed in a highly revealing red armor, and her skin was a shifting bluish-black, like the skin of a squid or octopus covered with pigment cells.

The man was sitting on a stool with his legs crossed.

“Father!” Will recognized the stool under the woman’s buttocks. It was the very target of the adventurers’ journey: High Duke Urd Ravengard of Baldur’s Gate.

Although he was still wearing the armor that belonged to Marshal Flame Fist, Ravengard's face was full of frustration. Even with the enemy sitting on his back, he showed no intention of resisting and was just like a puppet.

“Crimson Orin,” Minsara murmured the woman’s name. “The leader of the Baal Order. Duke Gao is beyond saving; she has the ability to subdue her prey through torture and interrogation.”

“We’ve waited long enough! Where’s Katheric?” Gortash stopped and complained to his ally, “Baldur’s Gate is waiting for her hero!”

Sitting atop the Duke, Crimson Orin tapped his fingernails with his dagger, a red crystal gleaming on his gauntlet: "Perhaps the Bone King's subordinates have already been crushed. Like a weathered thigh bone, that old thing lived far too long."

"Hmph—it's best if nothing happens to our partner before our plan succeeds..." Gotash turned around, scrutinizing Orin's expression, trying to guess how much murderous intent she harbored towards Katheric.

His answer was 10.

The Triad of Death was never an unbreakable alliance, nor were their chosen people. Before the plan succeeded, the Triad of Death's cult could cooperate sincerely, but as success was imminent, everyone wanted to monopolize the spoils and offer them to their own masters.

Crimson Orin, Katherik Sorm, and Enver Gortash. The three are united in their plan to eliminate their ally; the only uncertainty now is who will strike first and who will be the first sacrifice.

Gotash prepared a flawless fortress for himself, filled with steel soldiers that Orin could not disguise.

Gortash is no easy nut to crack for Baal's shapeshifting assassins.

In this way, he can reap the benefits while waiting for the killer and the immortal to fight to a standstill...

Speaking of which, hasn't the general of the Supreme God dealt with his enemies yet?

A purple light shone from Gotash's right hand, from the Netherstone embedded in his gauntlet.

These Netherstones were taken from the Crown of Kalthus. The three Netherstones resonate with each other, and once one is used, the other two will also light up.

After all, the three Netherstones have only one purpose: to control the creature wearing the crown.

Gotash looked at Orin, or more precisely, at the dagger in her hand inlaid with Netherstone.

The purple and red nephrite stones reflected each other, mirroring the enigmatic expressions on the faces of the two voters.

"Katheric... he's really in trouble..."

(End of this chapter)