I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Hecate sighed and sat at her loom for a long time without moving.

She held the thread in her palm.

Strangely, there was no malice online.

She noticed that immediately.

Inspiration lines never go wrong; they follow anyone who harbors truly malicious intentions towards you or someone connected to you.

The moment an idea takes shape, the line will start to vibrate.

Demeter's thread didn't shake at all.

Hecate lifted the thread a little and slowly reached over, only to find that the other end of the thread was actually attached to the ground.

As she touched and touched, she found herself touching Demeter's field.

The other party's field is situated on an old, vulnerable spot, a fact known to everyone at the table.

How many times did Demeter report something amiss in the fields during that year?

She probably can't even count them anymore.

Hecate let the string fall; she had seen many similar situations before.

Some were bribed, some were threatened, and some had a phrase planted in their minds, so they didn't even know what they were doing.

I've seen Demeter's type before, but I've never seen one done so cleanly.

The other party's methods are quite clever... There's no need to bribe Demeter; just grow a crop in her field for one season.

Demeter herself tilled the field barefoot every day; she had dealt with this field for countless years and made no precautions against it.

Following this contact, the other side read all the messages that Demeter had seen.

Hecate sat at her loom, but her gaze was fixed on the window.

She saw ships weighing anchor in the harbor, their winches turning very slowly.

The row of ceramic pots is still there on the windowsill.

The pot was filled with branches that had been picked up from elsewhere, and the scissors were placed next to it.

Hecate picked up the scissors.

I've picked up these scissors many times in the past two months.

The thread broke as soon as it was cut.

Once the line is cut, the other side's methods set up in the field will no longer be able to read the information from this table.

But the line broke, and Demeter could no longer stay at the table.

Hecate sighed again, weighed the scissors in her hand, and put them back by the basin, deciding to play along.

………………

Time quickly passed to the night of June 15th. Richard closed his eyes and counted to seven before the starry sky receded.

The seven stone chairs around the round table were all occupied; naturally, no one would be absent from such an important gathering.

His first glance caught his attention: Demeter.

The sheaf of wheat on the other person's head was even fuller than last time.

She sat very still, with her hands on her knees, seemingly lost in thought.

Richard looked away.

Hecate spoke up: "There's only one thing to do tonight: the team battle with the Rome table has been scheduled."

No one at the table interrupted at that moment.

"It's scheduled for two days from now, on the evening of June 17th."

Hercules' chair creaked. "How could it be so fast?"

He was clearly nervous when he spoke.

Hecate shook her head.

"They can't wait much longer. The Italians declared war on Austria-Hungary on the 23rd of last month, and the military is pressing them hard."

She placed her hands on the table: "Now start reporting your foreign aid."

As per the rules mentioned in the last letter, only one person is allowed, and they must invite themselves and bring their real person.

Noticing the somewhat subdued atmosphere, she took the initiative to speak first: "In that case, I'll start by saying what I have to say."

Upon hearing this, all eyes at the table turned to the person in the main seat.

Throughout the year, Hecate was always the last to speak, but this time she was unusual.

"I have invited a master of hidden directions."

Upon hearing this, everyone's breathing quickened slightly.

"She follows the traditions of the abyss."

Upon hearing this, Hercules tightened his grip on the armrests.

Dionysus's amphorae remained suspended in mid-air, as if he had forgotten to put them down.

Demeter lifted her calloused hands from her knees and then put them back down.

"Abyss!" The flames on Prometheus's head flared violently.

"Chief, there are probably no more than three registered masters of the Abyss tradition throughout the entire empire, right?"

Hecate nodded: "Yes, there are no more than three registered within the country, but we don't know how many are overseas or unregistered."

"The person I invited is neither in the country nor registered."

Richard sat in his chair and spread out the still water.

When Hecate said this, the ether around her was deliberately stable, as if she was intentionally showing something.

A line of words appeared on the scales above Nemesis's head: "So, what is the price?"

Hecate waved her hand: "I've already paid, so there's no need for anyone to worry about it."

She only said that one sentence and then stopped talking.

No one dared to ask further questions.

The price of a master's intervention in the Abyss tradition is something that everyone at this table can come up with in several ways, but none of them are pleasant.

Hercules spoke again, somewhat sullenly: "Chief, is that one really going on stage?"

"Of course it's the real body."

"Then she'll deal with..."

"Of course, it's to deal with that great scholar of star charts, Minerva."

Hecate continued.

"Star Chart is good at observation and deduction. She will make sure that everything is clear to her table when she is on the table."

The person I invited is best at making themselves invisible.

She withdrew her hand: "That's why I went to ask her for help."

The temple remained quiet for a long time, and Richard silently made a mental note of it.

The Abyss's Hidden Secrets Mastery, not listed, price paid—all heavyweight information.

Every word Hecate uttered at this table was meaningful.

She was the first to announce her foreign aid tonight, and she did it so decisively, just to intimidate everyone at the table and make whatever others announced seem like mere extras.

In fact, she did achieve that.

The others at the table now looked at the person in the head seat differently.

They followed along that year because they had access to masks, channels, and intelligence, and could see the path to advancement.

But tonight, for the first time, they truly saw how many cards this leader held in his hand.

A master who has traversed the abyss can be summoned at will.

Hecate raised her chin: "Let's continue."

"Dionysus goes first."

The double-eared cup beneath the ivy mask wobbled slightly, as if a little embarrassed: "Sorry, I couldn't get anyone to come."

Hecate was neither surprised nor surprised: "Not a single one?"

"Yes, not a single one," Dionysus said readily.

"I know a lot of people, and there are plenty of people at the dinner table who call me brother."

He placed his wine glass on the table.

"Among these acquaintances, quite a few have paid for my drinks on their behalf."

There were a few people willing to speak up for me;

But if I asked someone to come with me for a deathmatch, I doubt a single one would be willing to come.

Dionysus remarked with some emotion, "People you meet while soaking in wine, all of them disappear as soon as you sober up."

Hecate offered no comment, turning to the next person: "Hercules, and you?"

A muffled reply came from beneath the lion's mouth mask: "Neither do I."

"You don't have any either?" Hecate's voice changed.

"Don't you have an elite hunting squad?"

"You're right, if I asked, many of my brothers would be willing to go with me."

"Then why didn't you call them over?"

Hercules changed the way he positioned his legs.

"Because none of them are experts, at most they are senior practitioners."

You yourself said that those who died in this battle are truly dead. Bringing them over would be of no use and might even increase casualties.

He scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and said, "Actually, my wife is quite the expert in the field of secrecy."

The people at the table looked at him with some surprise.

"She's smarter than me, and she has more surgical techniques and methods than I do."

If she were on that battlefield, perhaps she could play a greater role than I could.

"Then why don't you go find her?"

Hercules clenched his fist.

"When I returned home last month, I found that my daughter had learned to climb onto the stool by herself."

If I take her mother upstairs in a couple of days, and only one of them comes back, or neither of them comes back, then…”

He stopped there: "So I can't ask her."

Hecate nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

Demeter.

A soft breath came from beneath the terracotta mask: "No, there's no one here either."

Why?

"I'm a farmer, and the land is what I deal with most in my life."

Of all the people I know, none are willing to die for me.

Hecate was also aware of her old sister's situation.

She just asked a routine question and quickly moved on to the next person.

"Nemesis, it's your turn."

The situation took a turn for the better here.

On the tilted scale, a line of writing appeared: "I have someone on my side."

"Who is it?"

Hecate nodded silently to herself, never expecting that even the three little experts would be less reliable than a professional at a crucial moment.

"He is an elder in my family, a skilled hunter in the tradition of hunting the moon."

Hecate offered a word of encouragement and promised to make some compensation later.

Richard mentally searched for potential candidates.

That elder was probably the one Catherine mentioned who failed to break through to the minor mastery level, or perhaps the uncle who achieved the minor mastery level.

"Prometheus, what about you over there?"

The man in the crimson-gold mask calmly said, "I will bring something with me that day."

"Did they bring outside help?" The people at the table were all a little puzzled.

Prometheus explained:

"My master was a craftsman who was also not good at direct combat, so he provided me with a puppet."

He projected a two-meter-tall armored doll, its entire body made of dark bronze, with inscriptions engraved on its armor plates.

"This advanced puppet's combat power is at least equivalent to that of a minor proficient hunter."

Under the skillful control of an expert, its combat power may approach that of a master.

Hercules sat up straight immediately: "Nearly mastery?"

Prometheus didn't make any absolute statements.

"Yes, it's close, but if it really comes down to a fight, it'll last at most half an hour."

Half an hour later, I ran out of ether.

If my master were to wield it, he could unleash its true, masterful combat power.

"What is the price?" Hecate asked.

Prometheus said, "I mortgaged the workshop's production capacity for the next few years."

"So you're just working for free?" Dionysus whistled softly.

"It's worth it, there's no going back if I die." Prometheus himself didn't think it was a big deal.

Hecate looked at Richard one last time, her words carrying a hint of expectation.

"Hermes, do you have any here?"

Everyone at the table turned to look at Richard, their eyes gleaming.