Night World Players

Chapter 264 Akshia: What is a woman's sixth sense?
The capital city, the inner city.

Inside the luxurious palace complex, in a secluded and deserted room.

A tall, elderly man stood by the window, seemingly waiting for something.

Suddenly, he turned his head slightly and looked at a dim shadow in the corner of the room.

A faint halo of light spread slowly along the ring on his finger, scanning directly across the corner covered by shadow.

After a moment, the old man spoke indifferently: "Have you retrieved the tokens and ritual procedures of the Lord of Twilight?"

As a legend within the empire and having held a high position for a long time, he was well aware of the immense risks involved in his actions.

Colluding with the tomb keeper and the cult to orchestrate a divine descent ritual of an evil god within the capital... this is a true act of treason, an attempt to overthrow the entire empire.

Once the truth is revealed, neither Aaron nor the soon-to-be Holy Sword Wielder Hiltina will spare no effort to hunt him down to the ends of the earth.

Therefore, he was extremely cautious when contacting the gravedigger and the cult.

Not only did he work behind the scenes, but he also brought out assassins who had taken alchemical potions and would die within days without taking the antidote, thus putting their lives and fortunes completely in his hands.

Afterwards, multiple layers of verification were conducted... to ensure that the assassins' tracks would never be detected by divination or prophetic abilities.

"Reporting to the Lord, the tokens and the specific requirements for the birth ceremony have been obtained."

A respectful reply came from the shadows.

Immediately afterwards, a sculpture, seemingly cast in bronze and with iron-colored rust patterns on its surface, quietly emerged from the shadows and was respectfully presented to the old man.

"It is indeed the contaminant from the Lord of Twilight."

"If my perception is not mistaken, this evil god sculpture harbors an extremely powerful spiritual force... It should be a wisp of divine thought left behind by the Lord of Twilight."

The old man examined the sculpture of the evil god and nodded slightly.

As a veteran legend, he has weathered hundreds of years, and his spiritual strength has become incredibly powerful.

However, the spiritual imprint residing on that evil god sculpture, though incredibly thin in quantity, was frighteningly high in quality, so much so that even with his legendary status, he could not see through it.

Even just releasing a little mental energy to probe caused the old man to feel a strange sense of dread.

It was as if it were a black hole that had swallowed up all the light; if one were to probe any further, one's own soul would be completely assimilated and devoured by it.

In his understanding, only a wisp of spiritual power could possess such a terrifying status... naturally, it could only be an evil god who, as a mythical being, had truly entered the realm of gods.

As expected of the true evil god who once descended to earth in Deep Blue Harbor during the Sixth Epoch and unleashed the catastrophe known as the "Iron Cross Plague".

He turned his gaze back to the assassin standing in the shadows: "What are the specific procedures for the descent ritual?"

"My lord, there seems to be something wrong here..."

For some reason, there was a strange hesitation in the assassin's words.

"Hmm?" The old man was somewhat dissatisfied with his assassin's confused and uncertain attitude, and urged, "Speak quickly, what kind of behavior is this, hesitating like this?"

The assassin hesitated for a moment, then moved with shadowy movements, arriving beside the old man and whispering a few words.

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the old man's stern gaze.

"Ridiculous! You've been with me for so long, and you can't even handle such a small matter?"

The confidant hesitated before defending himself: "But the oracle of the Lord of Twilight did indeed give such instructions."

"Absurd!" the black-robed elder sneered. "I ask you, whose sacred object is this?"

"It is the Lord of Twilight..."

Because he needed to explain the prayer, this assassin naturally also knew the name and identity of the person he was praying to.

"Yes, you know this is the catastrophe that once swept across the Western Continent with the Iron Cross Plague..."

"The Deep Blue Harbor evil god, known for its tyranny, bloodlust, cruelty, and inhumanity, created the Iron Cross, a creature that corrupts life."

The old man laughed in anger; he had completely lost trust in his assassin.

Even at the risk of leaving some traces and not being able to clean up the mess, he decided to go and check it again himself.

With a wave of his hand, he quickly retrieved the catalyst and materials needed for the prayer ritual from the storage subspace and swiftly set up a new ritual site.

Then, the old man spoke respectfully.

"Supreme, great Lord of Twilight, Serpent of Dawn and Dusk—"

"In accordance with the covenant with you, I pray that you would grant us divine grace, bestow upon us the sacred objects to be used in our descent, and inform us of the preparations required for the descent ceremony."

But then, the old man's gaze froze in mid-air.

Because the pale gold characters that were quietly appearing in mid-air were exactly the same as the description given to him by the assassin.

"1. Finely chop 1,000 jin of lean pork into minced meat, making sure there isn't a single bit of fat on it..."

2. Take one thousand catties of fatty meat...

……

The old man's gaze froze completely.

As a true legend, although he had never had much contact with the Lord of Twilight, the Deep Blue Harbor evil god who created the Iron Cross Plague in the Sixth Era, but had only heard some news about him.

However, he still possesses the most basic common sense.

What exactly is the Iron Cross?
According to intelligence gathered from the Night World, it transforms all the beautiful and sincere emotions in the hearts of ordinary people into the purest destructive desires and sadistic tendencies, turning them into intelligent beasts.

As the master of the Iron Cross, the evil god who could create such a thing—even though He has learned His lesson and is no longer as unscrupulous as He was in the Sixth Age, has allowed His followers to retain the most basic rationality.

But as the saying goes, "It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature."

Since it's supposed to be a divine descent ritual, then at least a few hundred or a thousand humans should be used as sacrifices to make sense and to fit the tone of the so-called "evil god".

It's possible that the lives of an entire neighborhood, or even half a city, might be lost in the process.

He had even made preparations in advance, secretly mobilizing his trusted henchmen to gather a group of prisoners and slaves from black markets and secret bazaars across the country, in preparation for the needs of the divine initiation ritual.

But at this moment, the pale gold characters that appeared in mid-air were so clear and distinct that there was no room for misinterpretation.

hum-

The sound of the crystal vibrating echoed in the empty room.

On the old man's finger, another ring emitted a clear, magical glow that spread throughout the room.

This is a top-grade alchemical artifact, inscribed with runes used to dispel hypnosis and illusions.

However, even after ten seconds had passed and the magical light that dispelled the illusion had completely dissipated, the text that appeared in mid-air remained unchanged in the slightest.

"Actually, it's not entirely incomprehensible."

He let out a long breath and forced himself to calm down.

"After all, it's such an important matter as a divine descent—"

"This directly relates to the fate of the entire empire, and even the redistribution of faith among the people of the entire Western Continent after the great upheaval." "Back in the Sixth Epoch, because it was too rampant and did not know how to restrain itself, the Iron Cross Plague was quickly discovered and suppressed by human civilization."

"As the saying goes, 'A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit,' someone who can become a god must be extraordinary and should not fall twice in the same place."

"The deliberate lowering of the threshold for the divine descent ceremony is presumably to increase the secrecy of this divine descent, so as not to be discovered by outsiders and thus affect the progress of the plan."

The old man pondered for a moment and felt that he had grasped the key point.

After all, the ritual part of the so-called initiation ceremony only serves as a prelude.

In some ways, this is a superficial project that prioritizes appearances over substance.

Ultimately, to bridge the gap between the Skyward Threshold and the mortal world, allowing the demise of the evil god to truly descend into the mortal realm, the primary force must come from the Twilight Lord atop the Skyward Threshold.

"Lord..."

Beside him, the assassin hidden in the shadows scrutinized the old man's face and tentatively spoke.

"So, shall we prepare according to the requirements of these initiation rites?"

"Chop all that lean meat, fat, cartilage, ripe watermelon, and unripe melon seeds... finely into a topping?"

"That's right, and you must be sure to follow the requirements strictly. There can't be a single bit of fat in the lean meat sauce, and there can't be a single bit of lean meat in the fatty meat... Raw watermelon and ripe watermelon must never be mixed together."

"My subordinate understands."

The assassin nodded solemnly: "I will immediately mobilize our network of connections to gather skilled chefs and butchers from within the empire to prepare the meat sauce."

"and many more."

The old man spoke up, interrupting the assassin: "The materials required for these divine descent rituals are too numerous, and Princess Hiltina's coronation ceremony is scheduled for ten days from now."

"Time is too tight, so we need hundreds of skilled chefs to prepare for the Advent ceremony."

"But the sudden disappearance of so many cooks within the empire is too commotion and could easily cause unnecessary trouble..."

"So, you hold a cooking competition in the name of Prince Guro, ostensibly to recruit a new royal chef for the Prince's residence, and invite famous chefs from across the empire to participate in the assessment."

"In this way, thousands of chefs gather together... and the preparations for the divine descent ceremony can be mixed in, which can also serve as a cover."

"My subordinate understands."

The old man looked at his subordinates not far away: "Remember, all of this must be done in secret. Under no circumstances should the military or the Bureau of Control be allowed to detect the slightest clues... especially Ophelia and Aaron."

"You should know what the consequences will be if this matter is exposed."

"nature."

The assassin quickly nodded in agreement.

After all, both he and the old man knew perfectly well that this was a deal that could cost them their lives.

The assassin raised his head and recited the ritual requirements written in pale gold ink in mid-air.

Before leaving, he paused slightly at the door and spoke with a hint of hesitation.

"My lord, what about those living sacrifices we collected through various clandestine channels, the ones we intended to use for the blood sacrifice..."

"Process the memories, then send them back to where they belong."

The old man thought for a moment and then responded.

Although the Granville Empire has a vast territory, the sudden disappearance of hundreds or thousands of people is bound to attract the attention of the military and the command bureau, those hounds.

As a legendary figure with high status within the empire, he was well aware of the true nature of the Second Princess Ophelia and Aaron. Perhaps these seemingly minor details could arouse their suspicion and lead to the exposure of their plans.

Since the living sacrifices were no longer of any use, it was more appropriate to return them intact.

"Remember, there can't be a single piece of lean meat in fatty meat, and there can't be a single piece of fat in lean meat. The same applies to cartilage, ripe watermelon, and unripe melon..."

"Yes."

The assassin nodded respectfully, then turned into a shadow and quietly disappeared into a dark corner untouched by the moonlight.

It can only be said that the superhumans in the long-term sequence of "Shadow" are indeed born scouts and agents.

However, neither the old man nor the assassin noticed.

In the dim moonlight outside the window, a fluffy, seemingly harmless ferret was silently watching.

Seeing the conversation end and the assassin leave, the ferret bathed in moonlight listlessly licked its paws, flicked its tail, and stuffed a small dried fish into its mouth.

……

"Sigh, I never thought that coming to visit Tina's sister after so long would result in being assigned a task like keeping an eye on her. I should have known better than to come out."

"Forget it, we've done all the surveillance. Now it's up to Aaron, the old Deng, and Ophelia, the young Deng. It's none of my business."

Dean Yin's figure flashed and disappeared in the moonlight, and the next moment, it had already appeared a thousand meters away.

As a magical creature of the lunar sequence, like the Lord of Twilight and the Serpent of Dawn and Dusk who gain a great boost during the transition from dawn to dusk... Dean Silver's rank also gains a great boost under the moonlight.

Although, according to Dean Yin himself, he is a peace lover and doesn't fight much... even a true legend at this moment cannot detect Dean Yin's spying that is right next to him.

"Sigh, I've been used as a tool ferret all day, and I'm finally free... I'll have to find a chance to complain to Tina next time, saying that her sister completely disregards the Fantasy Animal Protection Act."

"Now that I think about it, Xiao Xia is better. Although she is always quiet and doesn't say much, at least she doesn't make the ferret do chores for her all the time."

While muttering to himself, Dean Yin had already left the capital and appeared in the dormitory area of ​​Starry Sky University.

"It's a pity that Xiaoxia's personality is too aloof and she doesn't know how to take the initiative. I feel that she's probably no match for Tina and Ai in this love battle..."

Just as the ferret tiptoed into Akshia's living room, its movements suddenly froze in mid-air.

It was already late at night, but the girl with long, ice-blue hair was still awake. Instead, she sat quietly in the living room, as if waiting for Dean Yin, who hadn't come home all night, to return.

"Hahaha, little Shia, why aren't you asleep yet so late?"

"Aren't you going to the hospital to visit Rust tomorrow? Staying up so late will give you dark circles under your eyes..."

"It wouldn't be good if Last woke up tomorrow and saw you looking so haggard."

Dean Yin chuckled, revealing his big, watery eyes, and tried to jump onto the girl's head, hoping to get away with it by being cute.

But then, it saw a girl with long, flowing ice-blue hair looking at it indifferently.

Although her fair, delicate face, as white as ice and snow, showed no superfluous expression, it was as if she could see right through Dean Yin's innermost thoughts.

"You and Ophelia are hiding something from me."

The delicate, ice-blue handwriting appeared in mid-air, standing out clearly under the soft glow of the magic lamp.

"Raster, he's in trouble..."

"Someone is plotting against him, isn't that right?"

(End of this chapter)