Brain bloom

Earlier—

Having tasted the sweetness of making money through counterfeiting, this highly profitable business was far too precious for her. Her fighting power was built on money, so naturally, the more the better.

Just so happens—

The heir to the Holy Coffin Kingdom who bought the sacred artifact yesterday, also known as the unknown prince, invited Mori to have a cup of tea.

The latter agreed, secretly plotting how to squeeze more money out of him. Regardless of whether the other party was smart or not, at least the money in his pocket was genuine. The other party had a high status and had lived a life of wealth and luxury; to him, money was probably just a number.

Given the right opportunity, the other party wouldn't mind sharing some of the figures with Sen Shi.

"So, how did you obtain this sacred object? I know you are the supplier; there's no point in hiding it."

"I'm sorry, it's a secret. There's more hidden there... oh no, nothing."

Mori feigned panic, inadvertently revealing something, his teeth clenched. The prince noticed all of this. A greedy glint flashed in his eyes—but who wouldn't?

Just as Senshi had laid out numerous traps, intending to lure her plump prey into them for her slaughter, an annoying troublemaker came running over.

It was the Woodpecker Master, still holding onto that haughty air. It stood on the wood, which was being carried by its protector, a beautiful but never-spoken, powerful woman.

“Master Neil, yesterday’s dinner was truly delicious…” The prince immediately stood up and praised the woodpecker.

"You'll be able to eat it again at the banquet in the Holy Coffin Kingdom in a while."

"it is good!"

"Where is that... sacred relic?" Its voice softened, and it glanced at Mori every now and then.

"It's still with me, but something's happened in my country, so it's not advisable for me to go back right now." He didn't explain clearly because he himself didn't quite understand; he had only received the king's order to stay in Silver Ring City. It was said that this would keep him away from war and chaos, at least ensuring his safety.

Sen Shi wasn't interested in those things; he only cared about making money.

"Woodpecker, shouldn't you go back now?"

"I still need to go to the church. After all, it houses the relics of the saints, and I need to absorb some of that atmosphere."

Upon hearing about the holy remains, Mori asked a few more questions and learned that the ugly, colossal statue of the coffin bearer was actually a very famous church. It even housed the bones of the first pope… For some reason, Mori wanted to go see it too.

What if the bone somehow ends up in her hands again? Wouldn't that mean she'd suddenly have another treasure? As for going back to see Dandelion? Mori had temporarily forgotten about that…

"I'll go see the church too."

“Alright, I also want to ask you about that owl.” Master Woodpecker flapped his wings, flew onto Sen Shi’s shoulder, and then instructed his servant to wait.

Panic flickered in the prince's eyes, fearing that the girl who held even more secrets about the sacred artifacts might run away.

"Then... I'll go too."

After quickly finishing their tea, the two men and the bird headed into the city. Along the way, Mori repeatedly tried to shoo the bird away from his shoulder, feeling uneasy. What if it habitually tried to peck at the wood and then came at his head?

Helpless, the woodpecker master could only whisper—

"Don't send me off, and I don't want to put my arm around your shoulder. But, coffin bearers... can you feel it? There is the aura of a god... following us."

Volume 1, Chapter 316: You Dog

"I didn't feel anything at all," Mori replied truthfully.

At the same time, she flicked the woodpecker hard with her finger, but the creature's claws gripped her firmly, and she dodged it by simply tilting her body. The woodpecker seemed a little anxious; even with Sen Shi's rough handling, it didn't utter a curse.

Sen Shi paused for a moment, wondering if this guy wasn't just making a fuss.

Perhaps, there really is some divine presence permeating the surroundings?

"...You felt it?"

"Faintly...didn't you notice? There are some similar...very faint divine auras." Its head kept turning, its two eyes scanning all directions, its gaze piercing as it tried to find the source.

Mori tried to calm down and feel it—but to no avail.

"Closer... not like a complete true god like you. Hmm... but not a demigod or a false god either." Master Woodpecker murmured, trying to find the answer. "Very strange, very strange."

At this moment, the prince who was leading the way slowed down, and if you looked closely, you could see that his body inside his clothes was trembling slightly.

Due to the succession trial, despite his esteemed status, he currently holds no real power and is even unaccompanied when he travels. But this is not the reason for his trembling; rather, it stems from a deep-seated fear of something.

Seeing his appearance and his brick-like face, Sen Shi felt strange. Why hadn't she sensed anything? Logically, as the one who carried the coffin, she should have been more perceptive in this regard...

Amidst a multitude of questions, they continued walking forward—yet they never descended the hill that was supposed to be short.

About five minutes later, Mori noticed something was wrong: "This road isn't that long, is it?"

"There really isn't..."

"Um……"

Sen Shi noticed something amiss and intently observed his surroundings, inwardly groaning: How did things get so messed up on his own turf when he tried to visit his own church? He wondered who was so foolish as to deliberately pull this stunt…

In her eyes, the dirt road in front of her seemed endless, leading to some very deep and secluded place.

She looked back and found the situation was even worse. Sometime later, there was no path left, only towering cliffs. She immediately looked down; Silver Ring City was still there, but the once bustling city was now deserted.

Mori touched his shoulder and then massaged it—

"Why are you pinching me! It's terrifying at times like this!" The frightened woodpecker master complained, yelling into her ear.

"I'm just wondering if this is one of your little tricks."

Why would I do something like this?!

"For money?" With a large sum of money in his pocket, Sen Shi naturally thought of that.

Master Woodpecker looked helpless: "I'm not short of money. I thought you were holding a grudge against me, so you made this illusionary maze... just to eat me."

"The Illusionary Labyrinth..."

“My intuition tells me that this is a vision that is infinitely close to the level of a true god, and that it was deliberately made to look so strange in order to deal with us.”

Mori stroked his chin and pondered for a while—

"Hodge".

“I think so too.” Master Woodpecker nodded with a pained expression.

The next moment, Mori held a bow in one hand and a book in the other. He no longer let his hat cover the strawberry leaves on his head; in this illusion, he could use branches and leaves to enhance his senses, just like in reality.

At this juncture, the only one who would come knocking on his door to deal with him is Hodge.

"Hodge, is that you?" Mori tried to keep his tone calm.

"That's right—it's us." A faint, yet extremely annoying voice suddenly arose. It seemed to come from nowhere, but it had no physical form.

“You despicable coffin bearers, stay here until all the dust settles…” another voice followed, even higher and more excited.

"Even you cannot leave... From the moment you took your first step, the ending was already written by us."

This voice was quite different; it sounded like a young boy's innocent voice, yet it conveyed a sense of maturity.

Mori swallowed hard, her outward expression calm and composed, but inwardly she felt a little uneasy. She could understand why Hodge, who wanted to awaken the primal evil, had come to restrain her. But could the so-called sea god really create so many voices?

This hallucinatory technique is probably part of the illusion.

However, the woodpecker master's mutterings caught Mori's attention.

"These are... Hodge's three divine cores, I see. This guy kept his original form and the evil god's divine core, and secretly sent out the rest to deal with you..."

"Five true gods? What the hell are those?!"

Sen Shi wiped away a cold sweat. She considered herself to have many followers in the human world and had invested a huge sum of money to solidify their faith, yet she was only able to use her divine power for a short while under certain conditions. How come these people are so powerful, and they have five of them at once?

How am I supposed to fight this...?

"Now, do I have to take on at least three Hodges?"

"...You have no common sense to surprise me."

The woodpecker master found it unbelievable and immediately explained to the ignorant coffin bearers, subconsciously using its usual mocking tone.

“Listen carefully, the sea god only has one body, which is the body of a true god. It is what humans are meant to deal with, but it has now been taken over by the evil god Hodge. At the same time, that clump of seaweed also has five different divine aspects. Just imagine that the sea god can split into a super-large evil god, a larger benevolent god, and three smaller things.”

"Oh……"

"These three lumps are merely beings of consciousness, spirit, and soul. Creating this illusion for you is probably the limit of what they can do. However… it is, after all, the work of a true god…"

Master Woodpecker's speech gradually slowed down, as if it were being infused with heaviness, finally turning into a thick sigh.

"We might not be able to get out anytime soon."

Hodge's lesser deities sneered, their laughter echoing through every corner of the illusion. Sen Shi and Master Woodpecker could still hold on, but the prince was struggling, kneeling on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

Fear clouded his judgment, so much so that he didn't even notice the girl behind him being called the coffin bearer.

Having understood the current situation, Mori didn't find it strange.

At that time, in order to protect herself, she had no choice but to reveal herself in front of the group of melon slayers, acting like a giant megaphone broadcasting her presence to various powerful figures. The Sea God must have known of her existence as well; perhaps afterwards, it used some special power to learn the identity of the coffin bearer.

After all, it's not a secret anymore.

Or perhaps, someone revealed their identity?

Could it be that wretched bird on her shoulder? But it didn't seem likely; that guy had a rather loyal air about him, and his current panic wasn't fake. As for the others… she remained silent, deciding to stop thinking about such complex problems. Doubt was futile, and she couldn't find the answer now.

Let's focus all our attention on figuring out how to get out.

Although she doesn't need to deal with the crisis in the human world—a large number of hidden powerful beings wouldn't stand idly by—being trapped here presents significant challenges regarding food, water, sleep, and safety…

As Sen raised his slingshot, wanting to test the waters—

"Are you curious?" the young boy asked.

"what?"

"Why were you discovered so easily and fell into their trap so silently? Aren't you curious, great coffin bearer?"

"Could it be... that you're going to tell me something else?"

Mori was quite surprised. Such a cheap and friendly traditional villain was extremely rare in this day and age, and he actually wanted to reveal all his secrets.

"After achieving extraordinary success, it's only natural to want to share it with others. Besides, it's insignificant; it just makes you aware of your carelessness."

"Then please tell me?"

With a broad smile, three voices—one low, one high, and one medium—mingled together, shaking the entire space.

"You're staying in a human's home, aren't you? Do you think she's deaf and can't hear the world secrets you're discussing? Or do you think she's blind and can't see the seals on your heads? Or... is she an idiot and doesn't find you people strange?"