A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 86 Staying Overnight

Are there no believers of gods within the empire?

Of course, they exist, and they are quite common. However, the Imperial Council stipulates that all faiths must be registered, church activities require approval from the Inquisition and the resident sorcerer, and…

No tithes allowed, no indulgences allowed!

The end of the old empire coincided with the arrival of the Age of Silence of the Gods. When people discovered that the signal between the divine realm and the mortal world was no longer as strong as before, the divine religion was impacted. The Church of Light and Order, which had once dominated the continent, suffered the greatest losses.

The bishops and priests, who usually drank newly brewed "holy blood" and ate soft white "holy communion," were kicked aside by a group of old farmers and merchants carrying mass-produced copies of "The Book of the Order of Light." The rulers of the principalities north of the Holy Kingdom took the opportunity to get rid of the Church's political interference.

Some might say that these priests and bishops are blessed with divine grace. Although they are big and strong, they are still capable of performing miracles. How could they be broken by the hoes of the northern country bumpkins?

The passing magic guild claimed they were merely acting out of a sense of justice and offered a small helping hand to the righteous individuals. What right did the Pope have to declare them heretics? Just because they didn't want to pay you? Could you summon a god to personally speak? If not, then shut up and take your beating; times have changed!

Of course, the Church of Order is not just a facade. After its defeat in the north of the continent, it made many changes, regained its footing, and did not lose its base in the Holy Kingdom and the south.

From the beginning of the Silent Generation, a grudge was formed between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom. Another negative impact was that the religious order constructed by the Imperial Order Church was chopped up, leading to the emergence of various frivolous sects and cults.

Therefore, a registration and management system was established, and resident monks were appointed to suppress the rampant demonic activities in the realm of faith and the supernatural.

Now the Grand Master needs to know who or what kind of demon the hotel owner is referring to as the "Tree God".

The shop owner realized the seriousness of the situation: "Master, I'm not actually a follower of anyone. Many people here worship tree spirits; I just heard it so often that I said it offhand."

Are there any believers of the "Tree God" in the village now?

"Yes, yes! Only one family is left, and they pray every day!"

The shopkeeper pointed to the only couple remaining at that time. The man's face was flushed and he reeked of alcohol, while the woman's eyes were evasive, and her eye bags and messy hair made her look particularly haggard.

It was Archmage Humboldt who spoke again, and he took the question very seriously: "Hello, do you have any statues of the 'Tree God'? Could I take a look?"

"Hahaha, what need is there for statues or paintings?" The man let out a burp, emitting a foul odor. "This is the Black Forest! Everywhere you look, there are incarnations of gods! You're surrounded!"

Not referring to Dryaz or Silvanos?

The man's words implied that the so-called "tree god" was indeed a tree, which surprised Rorschach.

The woman kept biting her lip and didn't speak. Her winter clothes didn't fit properly, and they concealed her shivering.

Humboldt turned and exchanged a glance with Peterson, who shook his head. The archmage stopped bothering the drunkard: "Alright, thank you. Sorry to bother you."

Back at the hotel, the owner had already packed the luggage and was putting a lasso on the donkey.

"Esteemed mages, to be honest, you're a bit late! If you had arrived when we reported to the resident mage, the village wouldn't have been wiped out. It could snow at any moment, and with snow and that...that beast tide, who knows what even worse things might happen!"

"What's the deal with that couple? Why didn't they leave with you?"

"Them? Their precious son died a few nights ago, and it's no different from him being dead now." The boss muttered as he sat in the hood of the car.

"We need to stay at a hotel."

"What? I'm leaving, you guys."

Peterson tossed out a gold coin and said impatiently, "How much is your shabby shop worth? We can buy it if we want; we're not going to tear it down."

The innkeeper nearly missed catching the gold coins; he had already changed his demeanor, beaming with smiles: "This venerable mage is right, gentlemen, I wish you a pleasant stay!" The inn's key was tossed over, and Cavendish caught it by chance.

"Farewell! Farewell!" The donkey, pulling the cart, swayed back to Rorschach and his group before disappearing into the forest path.

In the hotel lobby, the fireplace, long forgotten, crackled with warmth. The investigation team's impromptu meeting was being held there.

"There's something wrong with the forest, so why don't we leave before it gets dark?" Cavendish's words drew nods of agreement from the other apprentices, except for Ella.

Ella frowned and said, "The Empire doesn't have a Church of Order; dealing with such anomalies is simply the duty of mages."

"That's the duty of the resident mage and your Forest Tower!" Upon hearing this, the other two apprentices who nodded also looked at Cavendish with unfriendly expressions.

Archduke Humboldt stopped the discussion, explaining his decision to stay overnight in an unquestionable tone: "We cannot stand idly by and watch this abnormal development unfold; we must allow the forest to return to its balance. Judging from the fact that the villagers can still withstand the nighttime beast tides, the situation at night should not pose a threat to us."

We should gather more intelligence from the unusual activity tonight to assess the severity of the situation and decide on our next course of action.

Peterson added, "If the animal frenzy is simply due to animal disturbance, we can consider going deeper into the forest to find the source of the problem."

"If other, more complex situations arise, we can contact the Forest Tower and the resident mage for assistance from here." He then looked at Rorschach: "Mage Rorschach, do you have any other suggestions?"

"I agree to your plan." Although Rorschach wasn't sure if things would escalate, he was bound by the covenant with the gods, and he also had a backup plan.

"They're not leaving anyway," Cavendish whispered, only heard by Rorschach sitting next to him.

This guy was tricked into coming here for just one credit; Cano is really ruthless. Rorschach felt sorry for his student.

The next part of the meeting was room allocation: "Everyone will be in pairs, and Ella, you'll be in a single room, but each of your adjacent rooms must be occupied by a full-fledged mage."

Everyone should live on the second floor, with a window facing the small room of the couple they just saw, so they can take turns watching them.

Then came the restoration of the village's defenses. The chevaux-de-frise and palisades were rearranged by the apprentices, and the gaps were filled with thorns summoned by Master Humboldt, with thorny vines tightly binding the chevaux-de-frise on both sides.

When Rorschach approached the thorns, the plants sensed it and automatically released their entanglement, like a sensor door.

"In the Druid Grove, the Master chose to place Entangling Bushes," Peterson explained. "They can inherit the Master's will, entangle enemies, and protect us. Aren't these thorny bushes quite spiritual?"

Rorschach nodded; the sensor door that could distinguish friend from foe was indeed convenient.

He and Peterson discussed it and used the [Stone Shaping] technique to construct an earthen wall behind the barricades. After a flurry of activity, the simple bastion began to take shape.

To save time and magic, Rorschach only compressed and hardened the outer surface of the earthen wall, leaving the inner side as an earthen slope. After completing this, he returned to his room, slowly channeling magic into his body to accelerate his recovery while unrolling his meticulously drawn communication scroll.

As dusk fell, everyone nervously surveyed the forest surrounding the village, except for Cavendish, who began fiddling with his instruments on the hotel rooftop.

Humboldt sat at the entrance of the hotel, his eyes closed, seemingly resting.

Suddenly, three or four jays appeared in Humboldt's arms, rubbing against the archmage's palm as if vying for his affection, before taking flight one by one and circling over the village.

Night is approaching.

Thank you to "Blown Clouds", "A Beauty in Tianshui", "The Great Ruins Candle Dragon", "BurstStream", and "The Monkey King Returns" for their monthly ticket support! Thank you to "A Bear in the World", "Her Toes Are Every Alp of My Own", and "Gold Foil Used" for their recommendation votes! Sorry for the long wait!

(End of this chapter)