Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 240 Trial of Trickery
It's always with you.

Ethan had to admit that Lao Ba did have the talent to become a horror film master. It only took him two sentences to make him feel cold in his heart.

He looked at Rin Dong and the blue-haired girl almost reflexively.

When he decided to use the universal process of elimination to eliminate the problem, he was immediately blocked.

Winter was born on the border of the Empire. Until he was invited by his mentor at the academy, he had been living in a cave deep in the North with a cat monster. The existence of the Northern Tribe itself is full of mystery. They are characterized by their iconic white hair and red eyes. Their history of existence is longer than that of the Empire itself. When the first king established the Empire, the Northern Tribe already existed as indigenous people.

Ethan found some history about the Northern Tribes in the Imperial Library.

When the first kings established their capital here, they, as natives, warmly welcomed their arrival and educated them about the ecology and dangers of the North.

Then, as expected, when the empire grew stronger, the Northern Tribes were ostracized by the imperial people because of their strange characteristics, until the contradictions escalated to an irreconcilable point, and they had no choice but to leave the imperial capital and live deep in the north. Some extreme imperial citizens insisted that the Northern Tribes were all sub-humans.

But there is still no clear historical document that can explain the origin of the Northern people, and it seems that no historian is keen on studying a group of alien people.

So, is it possible that the Northern Tribe is the ethnic group mentioned by Lao Ba that has been passed down from ancient times?

When Ethan turned to the blue-haired girl, he suddenly felt that the wind element seemed to be very suspicious.

According to what is currently known, the elemental elves are the oldest "indigenous people" of this world, and they already existed when the old gods were invited here.

The old gods generally regard the humans in this world as dust, but they are somewhat wary of the elemental elves.

Among the many elemental elves, the blue-haired girl is the most interactive and has the most obvious emotional curve. When he first came into contact with the wind blade technique, this literary girl ignored him. This was due to her seemingly quiet and introverted personality. In fact, the wind element has social phobia and is not good at dealing with other people.

After they became familiar with each other, she seemed to become the clingiest one, often showing up when he did not summon elemental spirits.

It is precisely because of the existence of the wind element that Ethan's meditation has gone a step further, allowing him to see things that ordinary people cannot see.

However, in the eyes of some psychologists, this should be considered a precursor to mental illness.

Hallucinations are often a sign of mental illness.

Feeling Ethan's gaze, the blue-haired girl shifted her gaze from the "Tentacle Encyclopedia" that she had found from somewhere, and looked at Ethan with her innocent big eyes.

Not her.

She seemed to be trying to convey this message with her eyes.

Even if he looked at this issue from an absolutely fair and just perspective, Ethan felt that he could not completely rule out suspicion. In the past, the Vatican and the Lofik Foundation were eager to find out his origins, but his identity before coming to Ximu Town was mysterious enough, so mysterious that even Ethan had to ask, "Master, what do you do for a living?"

When he regained consciousness, he was already in the refugee group heading to Ximu Town.

Teacher Winter has emphasized more than once that his talent in elemental energy magic cannot be explained by common sense. "Fireball and Ice Arrow Magic" is the teaching method that most tests students' talent and comprehension ability, and he has almost taught himself to a level that many college mentors cannot reach in their entire lives - and that was before he went deep into the contaminated area and comprehended the elemental upgrade.

"Old Ba, you might as well speak frankly."

Ethan stopped his endless doubts. He knew very well the magic of doubt. If you look at the world with a skeptical eye, you will probably find that even Miss Chloe is not simple.

"Who is that person, who is one of us?"

--have no idea.

?

"Are you kidding me?"

—The signs of its existence are faint, but they are among you.

The red-haired woman explained.

——It doesn’t have as long a lifespan as us, so it can only leave a little mark.

——But it likes you very much.

This was the most regretful part for Bazatos. When he first knew Ethan, he was already a powerful elemental shaper, so powerful that the brilliance of fire magic transcended the planes and blinded his eyes.

This success aroused His interest, and when He witnessed Ethan's use of the upgraded ice element, He knew that Ethan was simply another Him.

The Red Death corresponds to the Scarlet Plague, which means that they have common pursuits in the field of art.

And today, they have jointly discussed the future map of the virtual world.

Bazatos was very excited, so excited that he hoped that this trial would end immediately, so that their affairs in the Abyss could come to an end as soon as possible and they could return to the Empire to prepare for the film.

But according to the tradition of the festival, Ethan and Winter will go through a third trial.

A Trial of Wisdom prepared by Sincarlo.

Oh my god, why is this damn Xinkalo so bad!

Now Bazatos just wanted to punch Sinkalo.

"So, how do I communicate with him?"

Ethan asked again, and Lao Ba's words successfully turned this adventure into a werewolf game. Now it is known that there is a "werewolf" among them, but even Lao Ba can't tell where he is.

——He will take the initiative to find you.

——Maybe you didn’t realize it, but you have communicated before.

Other than that, Bazatos has nothing more to reveal. His interest lies in art rather than studying the world. He has already fulfilled his original contract and brought the concepts of evolution and death to this wild land.

In His view, the evolution and iteration of living things is also an art, but the direction of evolution of the creatures in this world always develops in a direction different from what He expects.

——I can help with the next trial.

After thinking for a moment, the red-haired woman spoke again.

——We can gang up on Xinkalo together.

Bazatos did not like to take the initiative to make enemies with other people of the same kind. After all, everyone was invited to this wild land together and could be considered as passengers on the same bus. Only he did not feel the slightest bit of guilt towards Xinkalo.

Everyone agreed that inviting Sincarlo was a wrong decision.

"No need."

Ethan waved his hand.

——Then, do you want to take a group photo?
Bazatos looked around, and the red-haired woman only gave a glance, and the eleven worms in the lake once again happily emerged from the water, each of them sticking out its tongue, like a pug trying to please a guest, and the bloody water poured over its body and splashed onto the shore.

This was the scene He had carefully arranged for Ethan, this eleven-headed worm that He had only recently created.

Its body submerged in the red water was connected to the core of this world. It seemed that Ethan also liked this worm creation, so Bazatos decided to let this insignificant plane be taken care of by this worm.

“But we didn’t bring our cameras.”

--I have.

Bazatos had prepared everything in advance, and he also asked Nightmare to buy the camera from the Empire. This was a death order. If Nightmare couldn't even handle such a small matter, there was no need to go back to the dungeon.

"Then come on."

This is bound to be an unusual photo.

The red-haired woman with seven eyes was in the center of the photo. She folded her hands gracefully in front of her, holding down the hem of her skirt which was made of unknown flesh. Ethan stood beside her, and at the other end was Winter, who was leaning against his shoulder.

Behind them were eleven worms, which were equivalent to war lords in terms of power. They were swaying their bodies happily, with two of their heads bent forward to block the splashing red water for everyone.

The red waterfall also enters this moving photo.

The only regret is that although the blue-haired girl was always standing in front of Ethan, she did not appear in this photo in the end.

The photo was divided into three copies, one of which was carefully kept by the red-haired woman.

Of course, the way she treasures the photo is as consistent with Bazatos's art as ever - a snake-like head emerges from her wriggling skirt, opens its mouth, and swallows the entire photo.

——See you in the Empire.

The red-haired woman felt a little lost.

When friends get together, after a brief moment of excitement they have to see each other off.

She tore a gap in the front, and the gap gradually took on the shape of a portal.

Before leaving, he did not forget to remind me.

- Whatever Sincarlo says to you, don't believe Him.

……

At the same time, the believers of the old gods in the dungeon were extremely anxious.

They guessed that this might be the most dangerous trial ever, because its prologue was not in keeping with the celebration, and before the three returned, the souls that were supposed to be sacrifices were temporarily sent back to their temporary residences.

Everyone witnessed the change in the celebration.

The sudden candidate, a man named Heisenberg, tore a crack in the altar out of thin air and then walked in with a swagger.

Even the most loving “Father in Heaven” must be angry.

Members of the Dream Eclipse Elder Council speculated that they would undoubtedly face the most brutal evolutionary trial in history. In the trial, they might encounter flesh and blood creatures that only existed in legends and face the wrath of Heaven.

Of course, worse scenarios are possible.

For example, when the celebration is declared over, what returns from the plane rift is not the three candidates, but some horrible creature created by the hands of Heavenly Father.

There are already signs of this.

"Nightmare, call a three-party meeting immediately."

Everyone in the Council of Elders was waiting for Nightmare to express his opinion.

Winter was brought back from the Empire by Nightmare, and the two of them were both teacher and friend. It was also said that Nightmare listened to the guidance of God before returning to the Abyss, which made her the decision maker that everyone expected.

Now everyone has noticed the abnormality inside.

Since the celebration began, the Abyss has been changing in an increasingly unstable direction. Creations outside the dungeon have become restless, and the creatures of Heavenly Father have had their biological instincts awakened, becoming violent and aggressive.

The guards of the dungeon brought their findings.

They witnessed many creatures fighting each other, and some groups gathered together and took the initiative to attack other creations of the old gods.

This is really abnormal.

Heavenly Father's creations seemed to want to start a war in this oppressive environment.

Nightmare’s face was as gloomy as water.

She couldn't determine the extent of the relationship between Heavenly Father and Ethan, but forcibly opening the door to the plane without sacrificing any souls would undoubtedly violate the taboos of the dungeon.

Could the Heavenly Father tolerate such an offense?
Although she tried to think positively, all signs indicated that the abyss was undergoing changes that they could not predict.

But she couldn't be sure whether this was the anger of Skyfather and the other old gods, or the lasting effect of Ethan's spell.

Other elders made some suggestions. They suggested that the souls of the sacrifices be offered to the old gods in the form of "supplementary tickets", but before the situation was clear, no one was willing to stand up and be the villain. They all heard what Heisenberg said before he left. Using magic to tear a hole in space was obviously not a miracle that humans could do.

If Heisenberg became the chosen one and knew that they disobeyed his ideas, their lives would become terrible.

So the elders came up with the idea of ​​a second best solution.

As the saying goes, the law does not hold everyone responsible. They want to bring in the top leaders of the War Council and the consortium to make decisions through consultation.

"I see."

Nightmare made his decision.

The tripartite meeting is an important tradition of the dungeon. The top leaders of the three forces will only get together when facing some urgent and major issues.

In the past, they would only hold meetings when facing foreign invasion.

The War Council and the Consortium responded quickly, and they seemed to be waiting for someone to take the lead.

The top leaders have all observed the changes in the abyss. These changes make people's backs cold and bring ominous omens.

Representing the Lofik Group was Rattle. After Flor lost power in the internal strife, she became the group's official agent.

The number two person who is always dependent on others.

This is Nightmare's impression of Rattle. When Flor was in power, she had always been Flor's right-hand man. And not long after, she had close contacts with Ethan, an outsider, and it was obvious that she had already prepared her "next home".

Xiangwei still wore her somewhat gaudy makeup and always had a formulaic smile on her face.

"We should wait until they come back before making a decision."

Rattle made its position clear.

"But what if they don't come back? What if they come back for someone else?"

The representative of the War Council said so, his face heavy.

"Did you know something?"

Nightmare asked.

Seeing that the burly man hesitated to speak, Xiangwei also echoed, "This is an extraordinary period. Only by exchanging information in a timely manner can everyone get through the difficulties."

That's the good thing about the Caesars followers, they always go straight to the point, a bunch of crazy warmongers.

It is difficult for them to keep secrets in their hearts.

Rattle knew very well how to pry open the mouths of the followers of Caesaros - they had made many attempts before the incident of Ophira.

“You just have to know that things aren’t good on that side.”

"We need a more specific explanation."

"The result of the first trial... seems to be that all three of them failed."

"Impossible, this doesn't conform to the tradition of the festival!"

Nightmare blurted out.

The ceremony is to select the Chosen Ones who are recognized by the three old gods at the same time. They themselves have been carefully selected. According to the information they currently have, the difficulty of the trial is fluctuating. If the three candidates participating in the trial are of similar level and the competition is fierce, then the pressure brought by the environment in the trial will also increase. If the three of them decide the winner early, so that two candidates die in the first trial, then the subsequent trials will become easy.

Since the birth of the festival tradition, there has never been a situation where everyone died.

"But we didn't follow the traditions of the festival either."

The face of this warmongerer actually showed a palpitating expression. "For a moment, I observed it. I observed the wrath of the Father of War."

It was a rage that they could hardly imagine, as if it was going to bring the entire world to an end.

Even though he was used to war and killing, he was still frightened by the flashing fragments and stood there in a daze.

He seemed to see the dead war lord and the sun swallowed by darkness. The sky and the earth were torn apart, allowing the darkness on the other side of the crack to occupy everything.

But he had no idea what happened in the trial from these fragmented pieces.

Why did the Warlord die?

Who else can put an end to the creations of the Father of War?

He was feeling uneasy in his heart, as he did not think that offering a few "lambs" would be enough to quell such anger.

“We have to be prepared for them all to fail.”

the man said.

If that happens, what emerges from the crack may become a creation of an old god.

He asked, "What about you? Didn't you observe any anomalies?"

"There is something abnormal about Heavenly Father's creations. They took the initiative to attack the creations of other old gods."

This is not something the Council of Elders can control. For the dungeon, the creations of the old gods in the wilderness are a natural barrier. In the eyes of humans, they are wandering monsters rather than domesticated pets. No one can control their behavior except the old gods who created them.

"Nothing happened on my end."

Rattle shrugged, "Then let's vote. I'll vote against it, and he'll definitely vote in favor. Then the final decision will be in your hands, Miss Nightmare Witch."

Nightmare frowned.

As expected of a follower of Xinkalo, he directly threw this hot potato to her.

"I……"

Nightmare was about to say something but stopped herself. The War Council brought bad news. Although she didn't believe that Ethan and Winter would die in the first trial with their abilities, things were undoubtedly heading in a bad direction.

But now is not the time to consider who will be the winner of the festival. Even if they offer sacrifices again, can they appease the wrath of the old gods?
Thinking of this, Nightmare made a decision.

……

“I didn’t expect that I would vote against it in the end.”

On the way back to the consortium, Rattle muttered to himself.

She deliberately threw the problem to Nightmare, expressed her position, and then stayed out of the matter. This is the way of life for Xinkalo believers.

Rattle thought further than the others. She was present when Ethan left and heard what he told Nightmare.

I'll leave it to you here.

Ethan specifically mentioned Nightmare's name, indicating that the two have a close relationship.

Is it because of the winter?
Nightmare's decision at the three-party meeting showed her position - she trusted Ethan more.

Thinking of this, Xiangwei returned to her mansion. She had already prepared sufficient materials, including sheep skulls, thorn grass, and bone meal as fuel. She drew a red circular magic circle on the bedroom floor and placed the sheep skull in the center of the circle. The ignited bone meal burned with a faint green flame.

The same flame suddenly burned in the skull's black eyes.

A puff of black smoke came in through the window and attached itself to the skull, followed by a lazy yet seductive voice, "Why are you here again? What do you want from me this time?"

Rattle called her by name, "Lilith, what's the commotion outside the city?"

"……you do not know?"

The voice sounded very surprised, and the dark green flames kept flickering.

"Should I know?"

"Wait a moment, let me sort it out."

Lilith's voice weakened a lot. Xiangwei could even imagine this high-level demon with his arms folded across his chest, lost in thought. She gave him enough time.

Time passed by minute by minute.

The green flame became brighter and brighter. After several minutes, Lilith finally came to a conclusion. "So that's it! So that's it! You are not deceiving his trust!"

"Who are you lying to?"

"Ethan, the human."

Lilith suddenly laughed. Her laughter was clear and pleasant, but she did not hide her venomous tongue at all. "You are such an idiot, so stupid that even I was fooled by you!"

There is a fine line between being foolish but appearing wise and being wise but appearing foolish.

When she was betrayed by Rattle, she was naturally filled with resentment, but Xinkalo's followers have always been willing to admit defeat. She admitted that this inconspicuous human was more skilled than her, but now it seems that this is not the case.

It was clearly Xiangwei's simple and foolish behavior that made her mistakenly believe that Xiangwei had calculated everything.

Now it seems that this human really just simply believes that Ethan can solve her predicament.

"But it is precisely your stupidity that makes the plan go so smoothly, Xiangwei. Maybe you don't even realize how great a thing you have done."

Allow a mere human being to correct God's behavior?

Perhaps only Rattle could come up with such a plan, "Thanks to you, they took the initiative to enter that place."

Lilith looked at Xiangwei's expression and smiled more and more happily, "Haven't you realized it yet? They can't come back."

Anxiety spread in Xiangwei's heart.

Ethan explained the master's pathology to her from the perspective of a psychiatrist, and she seemed to be one of the few people who could understand the master.

But is everything they see real?
"This is also part of the master's plan."

Lily made no effort to hide her admiration for her master.

This time, even Rattle's fragility and stupidity were within His calculations?
……

On the other side, after Ethan's vision was briefly distorted and deflected, the scene on the other side of the door appeared before him.

This seems to be a library.

A library shrouded in darkness.

"Please don't make loud noises."

There are slogans like this in the corridor.

In addition, there is a welcome speech.

——"Warmly welcome Lao Sen to visit us."

——"Old Sen has regained his youth with his miraculous hands."

(End of this chapter)