In the name of the true god

Chapter 110 Failure

Edmund could guess his fate from Jude's previous attempts to conceal it, and therefore he was remarkably calm in the face of news of his death.

"Did Leonard kill me?"

"Yes. You will become the most powerful entanglement wizard in history, gathering thousands of your kind, and be regarded as a major threat by the Holy Church. However, their hundreds of attempts to capture you have failed. Instead, Leonard, with his guards, has managed to arrest you by some unknown means."

Edmund smiled faintly. "I will be the most powerful entanglement wizard in history?"

"Seventh rank," Jude said. "That's why Leonard became the number one contributor."

"Seventh rank, huh?" Edmund murmured. "Come to think of it, I thought that even if I died, it would be at the hands of a priest."

Jude was also puzzled by this: "I don't know why a pampered crown prince would personally hunt you down."

Perhaps—you've done something to offend him? I'll investigate your interactions with him more thoroughly.

"When did I die?"

"427 AD (Chinese calendar)".

"There are still about eight years left."

"No." Jude shook his head. "From the moment I told you this, the outcome should change. When you come to the Kingdom of Florence in the future, be careful of Leonard. If necessary—kill him."

He killed Leonard.

This was the most direct way Jude could think of to reverse Edmund's fate.

As for whether the capital's heavy prison lost its power to detain wizards and resonance sorcerers from the outset after Leonard's death, thus preventing the subsequent series of events from occurring—

As long as Edmund is alive today, none of these things will matter.

"I'll definitely go to the Kingdom of Florence. But killing him would be troublesome, so I'll try to avoid him as much as possible." Edmund didn't have any murderous intent.

Are you worried about the future impact?

"There are concerns in that regard."

"Don't worry about that." Jude saw things clearly. "Whether he's dead, or he's alive but failed to catch you and lost his title as the number one hero in the pursuit of heretics, the capital's heavy prison will certainly not imprison any more wizards or resonance sorcerers involved."

"And what about you here—"

"I had to tell you this sooner or later. Rather than waiting a few years and making things more complicated, it's better to tell you now so that the impact will be smaller."

"I understand," Edmund said gratefully. "Thank you, Jude."

"You've helped me so much, this is nothing," Jude said, feeling a great sense of relief.

His previous deliberate concealment of Edmund's fate made him feel constantly guilty when seeking Edmund's help.

I feel ashamed.

Now that Edmund and I are completely honest with each other, the lingering torment has finally dissipated.

"boom----"

A roar echoed from the mysterious space.

The black mist floating on the ground began to rise.

"Perhaps this time, after leaving the mysterious space, we will be able to meet in reality." Edmund, having seen the way forward, looked forward to his formal meeting with Jude.

"Then let's talk about the rest in the real world." Jude looked up at the space that was falling apart and smiled as he agreed.

November 1, 419th year of the Divine Calendar.

In the villages near the city of Elliott in the Republic of Verea.

"call-"

Outside the house where Edmund and his party were staying, the wind and snow were howling, and the not-so-sturdy doors and windows were trembling in the wind.

Two male wizards stood by the window, smoking and gazing anxiously outside.

Two other female wizards and resonance sorcerers sat around the fireplace, sorting through and recording valuable information from newspapers such as the Elliott City Daily and the Veria Southern News.

The last companion, the eldest resonance mage, leaned against the bedroom door, staring intently at Edmund who had just sat up in bed, and said resentfully, "We don't have much food left. Instead of gathering this meaningless information, we should hurry up and find a way to raise money to get through this winter."

Edmund remained calm and composed as always.

He gently stroked the ouroboros ring on his left index finger, rose, stepped past the old man, and entered the living room to face the crowd: "Does anyone have a spare notebook?"

"I have another one here." A female resonance mage pulled out a brand new notebook and handed it over.

Edmund took it and examined it closely.

This notebook is exactly the same as the one he saw in the mysterious space.

He smiled and said, "Everyone can stop what they're doing. From now on, I'll be in charge of collecting and organizing information."

"what?"

"Then we—"

Edmund used the Law of Contact to easily recall the information recorded in the booklet: "Our first objective now is to rescue our kind imprisoned in the Elliott City Heavy Jail. Also, Tristan, Luke, and Sylvia, the three of you will each go to the Simpol Mine No. 2, Norton School in Elliott City, and the slums in Clifford City."

"What are you going there for?"

"We want to mine?"

Tristan and Luke, standing by the window, asked a question.

“No,” Edmund added immediately. “There’s a miner named Quillan Summers at Simpson City’s No. 2 Mine, and his true identity is a second-tier Resonance Mage. There’s a math teacher named Mia Castillo at Norton Academy, and her true identity is a third-tier Entanglement Wizard. There’s a wanted criminal named Ronald Carter who just smuggled himself into Clifford City’s slums, and his true identity is a first-tier Resonance Mage—you need to find them quickly, or the Holy Church will have to come knocking on our door before us.”

"You—" The old resonance mage at the door, seeing the remarkable detail in Edmund's revelation, asked with a mixture of surprise and suspicion, "Where did you get this information?"

Edmund didn't answer directly, but instead methodically made his arrangements: "There are many more like them waiting to be rescued, so you set off immediately and bring these three back as quickly as possible. The rest of you, pack your things and come with me to the Elliott City Heavy Jail. We're going to make a big splash."

October 5, 448 (Monday), 2:28 AM.

Jude clearly felt his consciousness return to his body.

But instead of opening his eyes, he couldn't help but start imagining.

What would the world be like if Edmund lived?

In just eight years, Edmund grew to an unattainable level.

Now that he has an additional twenty-one years to develop, is it possible that he has already become a ninth-tier wizard? Is it possible that his companions have reached tens of thousands?

They probably overthrew the Holy Church long ago, didn't they?

Wouldn't that mean I could finally live a peaceful and happy life?

wrong----

It's so cold!

Why do I feel like I'm still on duty in the watchtower?

"Jude, wake up, the disciplinary team is here!" Allen shook Jude awake.

Jude opened his eyes, quickly stood up, and held the bolt-action rifle to his chest.

"Thump thump thump"

A dozen seconds later, a member of the disciplinary squad wearing a "Disciplinary" armband climbed up the watchtower, coldly stared at Jude and Allen for a moment, and said: "Names."

"Alan Granger".

"Jude Viera."

"Have you noticed anything unusual?"

"no."

"no."

"Do your job well and don't slack off."

"Yes."

"Yes."

After confirming that everything was normal, the patrol team members climbed down and went to other areas to conduct patrols.

Allen watched the disciplinary team disappear into the distance, then yawned wearily. "How long did you sleep? Want to take over for me for a bit?"

After dealing with the disciplinary team, Jude was still somewhat bewildered. He didn't bother to pay attention to Allen, first scanning his surroundings and then carefully checking if there had been any changes in his memory.

----No.

Nothing has changed.

"Jude?" Seeing that Jude was acting a bit strangely, Allen reached out and patted him.

"Alan—" Jude snapped out of his daze and reluctantly confirmed with Allen, "Reiterate our plan."

"Huh? You forgot?" Allen was a little confused.

"I want to go through it all from the beginning."

"Our plan—you work with Melanie to get His Majesty Leonard involved in the conflict between the royalists and the clergy when necessary, in order to delay the transfer of the 4,220 imprisoned wizards and resonance sorcerers." Allen had no choice but to reply, "Once we're on duty at the heretic ward this Saturday, I'll approach the priests on duty under the guise of playing cards, poison them with coffee, and then release our kind—"

The plan remains unchanged.

If nothing has changed, it means that my memory is indeed correct.

If the memory is accurate, it means Edmund is still dead, Leonard is still the number one hero in "suppressing heresy," and the capital's heavy prison still has the right to imprison wizards and resonance sorcerers implicated in the crime.

Can----

How could this be?

Hadn't I already told Edmund about the future?

If he takes precautions at crucial moments, he should be able to survive. If he survives, the situation involving wizards and resonance sorcerers will be completely different from what it is now.

Does this mean that the outcome that has already occurred is unchangeable?

Or perhaps————

Do parallel universes exist?

The fact that he and Edmund changed the past wouldn't affect their current world. Instead, it would create a parallel universe where the altered outcomes would continue.

"I think the biggest problem with the plan is how they will get from the inner ring of the prison to the outer ring. There are just too many guards in the inner ring." Allen was still carefully looking for loopholes.

"Go get some sleep first, we can think about these things during the day." Jude, whose mind was in a mess, had no intention of listening and could only urge Allen to go and rest.

"Alright then." Allen sensed that Jude was acting strangely, but he assumed it was just because he was under too much pressure. "Remember to call me when the disciplinary team comes."

"Um.

""

As Allen curled up in the corner and dozed off, Jude stood in front of the railing, his brow furrowed.

He still couldn't understand why something that had affected the past on such a large scale hadn't changed anything now.

Previously, he had successfully commissioned Edmund to have Vincent Monroe teach him about the law of similarity in prison.

This matter concerns Edmund's own life or death, so he can't possibly treat it lightly.

Why exactly is that?

Jude looked at the Möbius strip ring he hadn't had time to remove and realized that he was increasingly unable to understand the power and logic contained in "cause and effect" and "time".

finally.

He could only come to one conclusion with difficulty: the information he provided was too limited, and even if Edmund had taken precautions earlier, it would have been to no avail.

It is not difficult to verify this.

After finishing his shift, Jude specifically sought out his brother Connor to ask about the details of Leonard's personal arrest of Edmund.

"Why are you asking about this?" Connor didn't understand why Jude was suddenly interested in something from decades ago.

"I want to know His Majesty Leonard," Jude said truthfully.

Connor now had complete trust in Jude, so he didn't ask any further questions: "All I know is that when His Majesty Leonard last pursued Edmund, Edmund seemed to be alone."

"Alone?" Jude pressed. "Wasn't he surrounded by thousands of heretics? Were all those heretics wiped out?"

"No. Edmund and the Church have been fighting for years, with casualties on both sides, but they haven't been completely wiped out."

"That----"

"I don't know the specifics either. If you want to know, I'll try to ask around for you when I have the chance."

"it is good."

Jude felt the fog surrounding the past growing thicker and thicker.

The difficulty of "fighting against the heretical army" is naturally vastly different from that of besieging Edmund alone.

Leonard's success is logically justifiable.

But the question is, how did Edmund end up alone? Where did all his companions go?

Moreover, he was already a seventh-level Entanglement Wizard at the time, so he should have more or less the ability to foresee danger.

Is there some unknown change?

Or was Edmund framed by his own people?

The latter sounds like a pretty good possibility.

Many of the arrested wizards and resonance sorcerers would seek refuge with the Holy Church to avoid execution and imprisonment.

Therefore, twenty-one years ago, the Holy Church and Leonard were fully capable of infiltrating the heresy through coercion and enticement, and getting close to Edmund.

It still feels rather forced.

No.

Besides relying on Connor to look up relevant information within the church, when he rotates to the heresy ward, he'll have to ask Vincent Monroe again!

Jude was secretly planning his rise to fame when he suddenly remembered something important: "Brother, there's something else I'd like to ask you."

"explain."

"On September 23rd of this year, a fire broke out in the basement of a warehouse at the Royal Capital Wharf. Following the investigation, the church suspects that the person who died in the fire may have been a heretic publicly wanted for decades." This matter was originally handled by High Priest Rodney, but it's unclear who has taken over. I'd like to ask you to help me confirm the identity of this "heretic." Jude was worried about how to continue investigating the fat wizard's trail, but now that he and his brother Connor have cleared up the misunderstanding, this matter has a renewed opportunity to be investigated.

Jude has already said that.

It's obvious that this heretic is connected to him.

Considering divine oversight, Connor did not openly discuss Jude's relationship with this "heretic," but readily agreed: "Priests have different responsibilities within the church, and sometimes it's not appropriate for them to overstep their bounds. However, I will do my best to investigate. Wait for my news."