Ring of Fate

Chapter 763 The next day

Southern continent, Lacre region.

During the day, the Dash Lake is crystal clear, reflecting the blue sky and the snow-capped mountains in the distance, making it look like a dream.

Lumian was in no mood to appreciate the beautiful scenery. He was walking slowly around a pit on the edge of the forest with Ludwig, who was wearing a formal woolen jacket, and Lugano, who was wearing a thin cotton coat.

There were highly decomposed corpses in the pit. They were in a semi-melted state, as if they had merged with the surrounding soil. They were decomposing themselves in a unique way and returning nutrients to the earth.

Seeing this scene, Lumian roughly understood why Osetto, the "Witch King", did not destroy the body after the ceremony, leaving behind evidence and traces of the crime:

Burying the bodies and returning them to the earth should be part of the ceremony!

Last night, after reading the information provided by the "Knight of the Sword", Lumian had a clearer idea of ​​how to find Osetto, an important believer of the "Original Moon".

Obviously, conventional methods such as "magic mirror divination" would not be effective, otherwise, the companion of the "Knight of the Sword", the temperance member with a very strong spiritual intuition, would have found Osetto long ago.

Lumian currently has three ideas:
First, since Osetto is a member of the "Rose School" and has been mixed with the hedonists for a long time and accepted the concept of indulgence, the two "witches" Franca and Janna should dress themselves up carefully and wander around the city of Lacre to see if they can meet Osetto and let the "Witch King" who never restrains his desires take the initiative to attack. Of course, this will definitely be under the protection provided by the temperance faction.

Moreover, Anthony will follow Franca and Janna by using "psychological invisibility" or disguising himself as an ordinary person, observing the reactions of the people around them after seeing the two "witches" to see if they will show obvious malicious intent, so as to identify Osetto before he actually takes action and eliminate the danger before it happens.

As for whether Osetto has accepted the gift of the "Great Mother" and turned into a woman, this detail does not affect the two "witches" seducing him - Lumian speculated from the situation of Madame Puaris and Franca that Osetto would still like women, and at most like men at the same time.

The second is to use the special condition that the recipient of the Great Mother's bloodline can sense within a certain distance, and wander around the Lacre area to try to fish out Osetto. Similarly, Lugano, who has some abnormality and may be related to the Great Mother, is also a good bait.

The third is to re-explore the site where Osetto left behind to see if there is anything edible.

Lumian pinched his nose and carefully examined the traces inside and outside the pit and the dozens of corpses. He tilted his head and asked Ludwig:

“Is it dirty?”

"Very dirty." Ludwig nodded vigorously.

"From the 'Great Mother'?" Lumian asked further.

Ludwig hummed, his expression full of struggle.

Then, as expected, he heard the godfather ask him:
"Can I eat it?"

Hearing this question, Lugano next to him couldn't help but retching. The "Sword Knight" Maric, who had been watching quietly and suppressing his emotions, raised his eyebrows slightly.

Ludwig replied reluctantly:

"can."

"After eating it, can you sense the child born from the corpse?" Lumian asked further.

According to his experience, these corpses should have become pregnant passively during the ceremony, with bird-claw monsters growing rapidly in their stomachs. Then, these bird-claw monster babies tore through the mother's stomach, absorbed the corresponding residues, and crawled out by themselves.

From the perspective of mysticism, whether actively or passively, willingly or forced, the bird-claw monster baby and the corpse have the closest blood connection, and can easily use one to find the other, and even complete the curse through the air.

But the information of the "Knight of the Sword" said that the divination they performed with the help of blood connection was fruitless, and the strange bird-clawed babies that crawled out of the stomachs of the corpses seemed to have disappeared from this world.

This may be due to a powerful counter-divination performed by someone in a higher position, or it may be that the status of the bird-claw monster babies has changed. Lumian can only hope that Ludwig can eat some different information.

Ludwig said with a gloomy face:
"I can use some cooking method to obtain a little blood from the corpse. Although this cannot help me detect the child's position and condition from a long distance, if both parties are within a range of thirty meters, I should be able to sense its presence."

“Okay.” Lumian felt the effect was better than he expected.

Then he watched Ludwig squat down and use a silver children's knife and fork to separate a piece of half-melted, half-rotten flesh from one of the corpses.

The flowing yellow pus and the disgusting state of the flesh and blood made Lugano turn around and look at the nearby Lake Dash and the city of Lacre on the other side of the lake.

Ludwig then asked Lumian to take out an iron pot, a stand, wheat flour, liqueur, several spices and a piece of congealed lard from the "traveler's bag".

Lumian served as the "chef" assistant, mainly responsible for making fire, while Ludwig first melted the lard, then added a little liqueur and several spices, and fried it out of a rich and tempting aroma.

Then he wrapped the rotten flesh in wheat flour, threw it into an iron pan, and fried it in the dark-colored, fragrant lard.

The fragrance and the stench mixed together and gradually spread out.

Finally, Ludwig finished cooking, picked up the golden fried flour meatball with a fork, and stuffed it into his mouth.

As he chewed, tears seemed to well up in his eyes, and he felt aggrieved as if he had been bullied.

“You didn’t complain that Loki tasted bad when you ate him raw.” Lumian joked.

Ludwig muttered:

"Rotten ones are not tasty, and they have no spirituality."

After swallowing the delicious-looking fried meatballs, Ludwig said slowly while "relishing" the taste:

"The birthday of the deceased is the second day of each year."

"Is there anything special about this?" Lumian asked.

Ludwig quickly stuffed the candy into his mouth and answered casually:

"In mythology, on the first day, the world was first created, and on the second day, the 'Great Mother' was born."

“Why have I never heard of such myths and legends…” Lugano, with his back to Ludwig, muttered to himself in confusion.

Lumian cast his gaze towards the other corpses thoughtfully:

“Isn’t their birthday also on the second day of every year?
"I remember that the New Year of many tribes in the southern continent is different from that in the northern continent. The first day of each year is not exactly January 1st. So, what day is the second day of each year, and what calendar is used?"

Ludwig said while holding the candy in his mouth:
"Any kind is fine, as long as it's the second day of the new year according to the calendar you believe in."

Pure symbolism... Lumian turned his body and looked at the "Sword Knight":
"Have you confirmed the identities and birthdays of these bodies?"

Rakre is a relatively prosperous area in the Star Plateau with a large population. It is similar to the area where the "White City" Lapus that Lumian had visited before is located. It is one of the few support points for the ancient Highland Kingdom to rule the entire Star Plateau.

This place is famous for its rich mineral deposits, but the mining sites are magically far away from Dash Lake, so that the holy lake in the hearts of the highlanders remains pure.

In the past, the Star Plateau was mainly contested by the Intis Republic and the Feysac Empire. After the war a few years ago, the power of the Feysac Empire declined, and the hand of the Loen Kingdom slowly reached out. Even the "Goddess of Night" Church in Loen seemed to have begun to preach in this area. Lumian heard about this when he was in Lapus.

In the entire Star Plateau, the place with the largest number of Loen people is the "city on the mine" called Lacre.

The Sword Knight Maric nodded slowly and said:
"Ninety percent of the bodies have been identified. According to the Northern Continent calendar, most of their birthdays are on January 1nd, while the rest are on the second day of the New Year according to the local calendar.

"Those whose identities we cannot confirm yet are probably outsiders. They may or may not have come here voluntarily. If we give us a little more time, we will definitely be able to figure out their identities."

The sample is already large enough, and it basically fits Ludwig's statement. The ritual requires a strong symbol of the "Great Mother"... Lumian did not stop the Temperance Faction from wasting energy on confirming the identities of the remaining dead. What if there are other oddities?

Lumian looked across the lake at the city of Lacre and said:
"We are going back to the city now and moving around."

It depends on whether it is Omibella's bloodline, the abnormality of the "Earth" path, or the blood connection with the bird-claw monster baby, which will play a greater role!

Walking along the Dash Lake, which was as blue as the sky, towards the city with many gray and white stone houses, Lumian suddenly thought of a question.

He asked the "Sword Knight" who was walking quietly beside him:
"In the 'School of the Rose', Osetto is in charge of the Lacre region?"

"Not before, and not sure now." The Sword Knight answered concisely.

Lumian nodded and said to himself:

“If he is not in charge of the Lacre area and just initiated a sacrifice when passing by here, he should have left after the ceremony. Why is he still staying here?

“Does he have a deeper purpose in going to the Lacre area?

"Or, does the 'Rose School' want to take action here?"

The Sword Knight was silent for a few seconds and said:
"We suspect there is a deeper purpose."

He paused and said:
"Before the Highland Kingdom was established, many areas in the Star Plateau believed in the 'God of Death', and Rakre was the place most affected by the belief in the 'God of Death'. Even today, some customs of the local people still have traces of death worship."

As they were talking, the three adults and one child arrived outside the city of Lacre.

Compared to the exquisite "White City" Lapus, the various buildings here are quite rough. Although some people wearing dark red robes and brightly colored skirts, most of them wear more wear-resistant canvas workers' clothes.

Before Lumian even got close to the entrance to the city, he could already sense the hustle and bustle.

PS: I recommend a book called "Above Destiny", which has 120,000 words. It is a superpower battle that is easy, fun, simple and refreshing. For specific links and introductions, please see what the author has to say.
(End of this chapter)