Do ratmen dream of the sacred tree of spirits?

Chapter 102 Arrival (Part Two)

"Damn it—and how can you use your spirit form in the material world?" Aldrich was being "dragged along" by Victor, which made him feel embarrassed and helpless. After exiting the spirit world travel state, although he could forcefully fly in the material world through the spiritual force field and lift, it consumed too much spiritual energy, and he couldn't continue for long.

Victor was currently manifesting his spirit form in the material world. He was transformed into a raven, flying swiftly through the material world, with Aldrich, who was much larger than him, hanging beneath his feet.

"Stop talking nonsense. Besides, we'll be in Lorraine soon." Victor's "voice" rang directly in Aldrich's mind; it was a spiritual transmission.

The third-tier spell "Spirit Barrier" only held the attack for a fleeting moment. Bishop Layton exhausted all his strength to barely dodge an attack. In that instant, Layton truly felt death brush past him.

But struggling was useless. Bishop Layton's heart calmed down. He sensed the spiritual energy of the second top messenger about to emerge from the void. Bishop Layton confronted it for a few seconds. The demon was a black outline of mist. It tilted its head, seemingly not understanding why the elf with half a body missing could still stand. Another attack came at him. In the instant his body was torn apart, Bishop Layton was as fragile as a thin sheet of paper being punctured. His spirituality was about to completely dissipate. Bishop Layton knew he was going to die. His spirituality was draining away too quickly. He could feel his consciousness becoming blurred, and everything in the spirit world was fading. The outline of the demon began to sway.

Is this all there is to his life?

Cedric Layton, First-Class Bishop of the Church of the God of Death and Bishop of the Lorraine Territory in the Eastern Region, had, in less than a quarter, botched the renovation project of the school for the poor children of the Eastern Region, suppressed the spiritual pollution, and then had it reported to his superiors by an eleven-year-old rat-man priest—how ridiculous!

At the moment Bishop Leighton's consciousness shattered in the shallow spiritual realm, it did not immediately dissipate. Full of vigor, dressed in his brand-new priestly robes, the raven feather on his chest still brown—a second-level assistant priest—Leighton felt different; he was learned, spiritual, and idealistic.

He did some things: he helped coordinate compensation for the miners, though the compensation was meager; he wrote a petition on behalf of a merchant being bullied by a lord, though the petition went unanswered.

His most triumphant moment was when he discovered a small village nearby that had been subjected to a minor, accidental spiritual contamination. He rushed over twenty miles overnight to deliver the message. By the time the messenger arrived, the villagers had already been quarantined, and no one had died. One of the children later wrote him a letter thanking him. He later became an apprentice to a craftsman in the capital and did quite well. He kept that letter for many years, but after moving around so much, he lost it somewhere.

Later, Layton was promoted to First Class Priest, then to Fourth Class Bishop, and began to handle bigger matters. Things gradually changed; it was all about small things—gifts from subordinates, lists of accounts from colleagues, banquets hosted by councilors. Each time, Layton thought it was a trivial matter, and that it would only happen once, and never again. But every time, there was a next time—

Later, he stopped thinking about it. Things piled up, people became more diverse, and Layton learned to read the winds, to take sides, and to say things in meetings that never offended anyone.

Bishop Layton closed his eyes, separating the last wisp of his spirit from his body. Instead of pointing it at the demon approaching him, he spread it outward along the lines of the spirit realm. "In the name of Eldrasil," he silently recited the prayer one last time. The roots of the sacred tree trembled slightly deep within the spirit realm, as if responding after hearing something.

He self-destructed. There was no fire, no loud noise, only a ball of spiritual energy that suddenly contracted at a certain point in the shallow spiritual realm, then expanded outwards, spreading outwards in concentric circles. The demon was thrown back half a step.

Second-tier Enlightened Beings and first-tier Transcendent Beings who have mastered second-tier spells and spiritual perception can sense the intense fluctuations in the spirit world. Of course, this "intense" level refers to the full power of a Messenger-level being.

Those still on the second floor sensed the fluctuations in the spirit world. "Excuse me, gentlemen, is there any fluctuation in the spirit world?" Fafnir's spiritual perception passively and vaguely sensed the anomaly in the spirit world.

"No—something terrible has happened in the spirit world, it's—the messenger self-destructed," Edmund Grey quickly issued the order: "This is Lord Layton's warning and reminder! Quick! We must head there immediately! In the East District."

Fafnir, go downstairs immediately and notify the council members to contact all relevant departments and evacuate the people from the streets. Kingsley —

Do we have a telematics system? — Use the telematics system to contact the police department and have them assemble in the Eastern District, quick!

Bishop Kingsley, Sister Fanning, you and I must hurry to the East End. We're the only enlighteners the entire territory can truly rely on!

Without hesitation, Fafnir turned and ran downstairs. In the lobby, he rushed over and shouted at several officials, his voice much louder than he had anticipated: "Bishop Leiden is in trouble! There's an emergency in the spirit world! Immediately contact all departments and evacuate the people on the streets!"

"What did you say? Bishop Leyton—"

"Stop asking, just do it!" Fafnir's voice carried an urgency he himself didn't realize.

After giving the notification, Fafnir went to the carriage. On the steps outside the city hall, Bishop Kingsley was already standing beside the carriage, using a telematics system to contact various police stations and inspection teams within the territory. He spoke very quickly, and Fafnir only heard a few fragments: "————In the district————All mobilized————Emergency————".

Sister Fanning and Edmund Grey were standing next to another carriage, and Edmund was carrying something into the carriage. "Fafner!" Bishop Kingsley called out, "If you come with us, be careful. Ride in the same carriage as Sister Fanning. I need to contact the inspection team."

Fafnir ran to Sister Fanning's side. Sister Fanning glanced at him and gestured towards the carriage with her chin: "Little guy, come on board. You should be safe with us."

The carriage was launched forward almost instantly, its wheels screeching as they rolled over the stone pavement. Inside, Edmund Grey was quickly examining the metal box. His fingers pressed against the latch on the lid, and silvery-white spiritual threads seeped from his fingertips into the keyhole. A few seconds later, the latch popped open, revealing neatly arranged spiritual materials inside.

It was spirit amber, Fafnir thought, what on earth had happened?

Sister Fanning sat opposite Fafnir, her expression grave: "Edmund, what do you intend to do?"

"First, we need to get to the eastern district to confirm the location and scale of the spiritual fluctuations. I suspect—"

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