Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 324 The Tragedy of New Fog City
Before leaving Fog City, Roger seized an opportunity to use Philemon's Bell to teleport to the location where Lindsay had previously offered him a prayer.

Because Linssaya's prayer was connected to the "Primal Core," the spiritual coordinates corresponding to her location were directly projected onto the "Primal Core."

Although it was only a small area, it was enough for Roger to use Philemon's Bell to travel to the corresponding area.

With a flash of blue light, Roger appeared in front of Linssaya, who was sitting on the ground chewing on a hard, crispy biscuit with a worried expression.

When Linssaya saw Roger appear, she was slightly taken aback at first, then cried out in surprise, dropped the pancake, rushed up and hugged Roger tightly.

"what."

Roger smiled somewhat embarrassedly, then looked around at the exploration team members who were also sitting in the ruins, lost in thought.

These people, who were eating supplies, had been looking worried, but when they saw Roger appear, they immediately felt reassured and their expressions quickly brightened.

"Everyone has worked hard."

Roger hugged each member of the exploration team in turn, comforting them.

"Boss."

Linsaya's eyes were a little red, and she took out two small cloth bags from her baggage:
"These are the ashes of two fallen brothers... We only recovered a portion of their limbs, and then cremated them with Guderian's help."

"I'm entrusting these ashes to you for safekeeping. After we leave this 'forsaken land,' please bury them properly, okay?"

Guderian is one of the henchmen of "Siren" Ophina King, a Sequence 7 "arsonist," and also one of the more capable members of Linssaya's combat squad.

"it is good."

Roger nodded solemnly, carefully put away the two cloth bags that Linssaya had kept, and placed them into the "Original Motion Core".

"Stop eating dry rations, let's get something good."

Roger, as if performing magic, took out a lot of cigars, wine, and various snacks from the "Original Dynamic Core" and distributed them to everyone.

Upon seeing these items, Linsaya's combat squad finally broke into smiles.

Originally, they were preparing for a long march, so apart from the necessary food and water, they dared not bring any luxury items.

Only a few people carried some tobacco, but they all used it up during the past few days of marching.

They immediately started eating and drinking, and the silent and dejected atmosphere caused by the death of their comrade improved considerably.

Even Linssaya started chugging a bottle of rum, seemingly trying to soothe her tense nerves.

Anyway, given her physical condition as a Sequence 5 Extraordinary, she would be able to completely sober up from the alcohol in no time, and it wouldn't affect her subsequent battle at all.

Seeing that everyone's mood had improved considerably, Roger learned more about the specific situation of the ruins from Lindsay, and then began to do another thing he had come to do.

He took out the rolled-up "True Star Map" from his body, checked the opening method he had written on the scroll in imitation of the giants' language, and then used the "Chaos" ability of "Fallen Count" Chunaskorg to distort space and send it into a nearly hollow, dilapidated wall in the ruins.

"It's done."

Roger took a deep breath. All he needed to do next was to notify "The Sun" Derrick to come here, then deliberately start a battle and break the wall during the battle to retrieve the "True Star Map".

Under the surveillance of the Council of Six, Derrick had a perfect alibi, and Roger and his group, these outsiders from the Forsaken Land, were unknown information to Silver City. Therefore, even if Derrick found the sealed artifact, the Council of Six would have no evidence to cause him any trouble.

This was the safest approach Roger could think of. As for the approximate location between this ruin and "Silver City," he had a general understanding of it through his conversation with Linseria.

In addition, he memorized all the details of the ruins so that Roger could later materialize them with the help of Mr. Fool at the "Tarot Meeting" and make it easier for Derrick to recognize them.

Afterwards, Roger distributed some extra supplies and medicines to Linssaya and the others, chatted with them for a while, and did some ideological work and emotional support. Only then, amidst their reluctant gazes, did he use the "Traveler's Dice" to return to "Fog City".

Once the joint exploration team had completed its search of the "Fog City" heritage, they officially set off.

Roger and Leomaster led the way, while the shadow minions surrounded the outermost perimeter, protecting the members of the exploration team.

Because the "servants of the gods" are not afraid of darkness and pollution, are absolutely obedient to Roger, and can efficiently eliminate or deter the monsters that lurk in the darkness, this is equivalent to providing everyone with a powerful protective barrier.

From this perspective, those extraordinary individuals who follow the "Secret Prayer" path are truly like the "true creator's" favorite children in the "Forsaken Land," enjoying all sorts of conveniences.

Furthermore, Leomaster has now regained his full power—according to him and Roger, he enslaves the souls of nine different extraordinary beings, including the "Witch King" and an Ancient Alchemist of the "Cultivator" pathway, a Sequence 4.

According to Leomaster, the "ancient alchemist" was originally an extraordinary being and a candidate for archbishop of the Church of the Earth Mother, but after barely succeeding in his promotion, he developed an uncontrollable tendency.

Leomaster, who happened to be nearby, managed to snag a great deal—in his words, he turned the "ancient alchemist" into his soul servant so that she could continue to exist and not turn into a monster.

It is precisely because of this that Leomaster is still wanted by the Church of the Earth Mother, but he seems to be completely unconcerned about it.

In short, with three demigods and 36 "servants of the gods" on the scene, the exploration team's morale improved considerably.

The group explored southeastward, in the direction that the survivors of "Fog City" might have gone. After trekking for two more days, the team members responsible for surveying and reconnaissance discovered some signs that appeared to be the activity of human survivors.

"...There were signs of a fire here, and nearby there were also humanoid monster remains with keratinized shells on their bodies, cut by sharp weapons."

"However, some of their body parts that could be used as extraordinary materials were taken away... Considering the previous point, it should be that the surviving human city-states killed them when they were exploring this place."

"Is it possible to discern which extraordinary individual is using what method to take action?"

Roger frowned slightly and asked.

Based solely on the current information, it cannot be concluded that the survivors of "Fog City" were responsible, as "Silver City" may have also explored this area. Only if Derrick can be 100% certain that no expedition from "Silver City" has recently visited this area can this evidence be considered credible and related to the survivors of "Fog City".

"It was a slash that was clearly made of a weapon, and it seemed to have an explosive effect as well, but I don't know anything else."

The members of the exploration team looked at each other in bewilderment, because the monsters had been mostly smashed to pieces, and very few details could be discerned from their corpses.

"...Roger."

Just then, Leomaster, who was squatting on the ground inspecting the scene, suddenly spoke:
"Those monsters weren't injured by ordinary explosives; they were injured by the 'Rose Bishop'."

"The Rose Bishop?"

Roger narrowed his eyes slightly upon hearing this.

He strode over to Leomaster, knelt down, and began examining the monster fragments and severed limbs on the ground.

As the "Rose Bishop," he was very familiar with the effects of this sequence of extraordinary abilities.

The Rose Bishop's blood storm has a distinct characteristic: the explosions it causes do not result in noticeable burns, and many of the monster remains before us fit this description.

Another detail is the degree of limb destruction.

Because the "Rose Bishop's" explosive is triggered from within the body through the fusion of flesh and blood, the shockwave from the explosion is relatively small, while the explosive power is more concentrated.

This results in an effect where, at the point of direct explosion, flesh and blood are almost completely shredded, but outside the direct explosion zone, limbs are preserved in relatively intact, large pieces.

From this perspective, the remains of the monster before us also fit the description.

After Roger shared his thoughts with Leomaster, Bernadette, who had been observing the surroundings, suddenly came over.

She raised another point that supported Roger and Leomaster's judgment:
"Besides the two points you just mentioned, the amount of meat in these monsters is also incorrect."

"Amount of meat?"

Roger and Leomaster paused upon hearing this, and they began to examine the scattered monster bodies nearby once again.

"...Yes, judging from the number of bones and shells, even if a part of the body was taken for materials, the amount of flesh and blood in these monsters clearly doesn't match the amount of bones."

As "Rose Bishops," these two had a very accurate intuition about the proportion of flesh and bones within a living being's body. Even if the monsters in the "Forsaken Land" looked different from those in the outside world, this general proportion should not be too different; otherwise, those heavy bones and shells would not be able to be supported by muscle tissue.

This means that these "Rose Bishops" not only kill these monsters, but also use their flesh and blood to replenish their own blood and flesh!
"Hey."

Roger suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

While not 100%, most of the monsters in the "Forsaken Land" have significant problems. Even though the "Rose Bishop" has extremely powerful flesh-fusion abilities, it cannot be ruled out that spiritual issues may arise after fusing with these flesh and blood, and that madness may slowly accumulate.

Roger was originally considering whether the "Rose Bishop" might be Elder Lovia of the "Six-Person Council" within the "Silver City" or some other related person. After all, Derrick had previously purchased the "Shepherd's" potion recipe from him, which proved that there might be other people in the Silver City who had accidentally obtained the "Mystic" potion recipe during their explorations.

However, judging from Roger's understanding of the culture and customs of "Silver City," it was absolutely impossible for the extraordinary beings there to absorb the flesh and blood of monsters so recklessly, especially the flesh and blood of humanoid monsters. Heaven knows what kind of contamination they had been subjected to.

For them, the first priority option must be people—such as teammates who died in battle and could not return home, or the corpses inside "Silver City" that need to be disposed of harmlessly.

If someone absorbs a lot of monster flesh and blood, they will definitely be subject to repeated questioning and investigation by the "Council of Six," which will inevitably cause trouble.

Considering this, the "Rose Bishop," who can absorb the flesh and blood of monsters with impunity, is very likely related to the survivors of "Fog City"!
This stems partly from their already problematic faith, and partly from the fact that they are far less populous and resource-rich than "Silver City." To support the fighting power of the "Rose Bishops," they must resort to extraordinary measures to ensure the continuation of their race and the improvement of their fighting strength.

"...So, there's a pretty good chance this was done by people from 'Fog City'."

The three demigods quickly reached a consensus. Roger and Bernadette used their divination and prophetic methods to vaguely pinpoint a direction to move forward, and the main force advanced again.

Referring to the star map revealed in the spiritual sky of the "Primordial Core," as the stars in the sky returned to their positions from the previous day twice in a row, the signs of human activity that the exploration team could see began to become increasingly dense.

These signs of activity are consistent with the previous traces that were highly suspected to have been left by the "Rose Bishop," and there is even a site that is clearly a battlefield where a large-scale battle took place. Roger can clearly confirm from the bloodstains at the scene that two humans died in battle.

The only problem is that it is unknown whether the remains of these people were taken back to the settlement of the "Fog City" people, or whether they were devoured by the "Rose Bishops" to replenish their own flesh and blood.

Just as Roger and Leomaster were discussing the specific details, they suddenly heard a low growl from the "servants of the gods" on the outskirts of the group.

The roar contained a sense of warning, but also some doubt. Even Roger, their master, was somewhat confused about what these guys were up to.

Out of curiosity, Roger took a step and walked towards the direction from which the roar came.

He used both hands to push aside the obviously extremely nervous "servant of the gods," and then, somewhat surprised, saw a faint yellow light in the pitch black.

After a moment's thought, Roger summoned Seamus, the "Ocean Singer".

As lightning, like tiny, dense snakes, flashed through the night, Roger finally saw clearly what was causing the "servants of the gods" to be so nervous.

There were two brown-haired humans, a man and a woman, hiding under a collapsed stone slab about several dozen meters away from the "servants of the gods" group, their eyes filled with fear as they looked at Roger and the "Ocean Singer" spirit he had summoned.

Judging from their physiques, both men appeared to be only teenagers. However, Roger, with his "Secret Insight," immediately discerned that the man was actually in his early twenties. For some reason, his bone development was abnormally slow. Conversely, the woman's actual age was not far from her apparent age. Compared to "The Sun" Derrick, their appearances were quite peculiar.

First of all, both of them have various different markings on their bodies. These markings are not normal tattoos or paint, but seem to be some kind of skin keratinization mutation, which looks like psoriasis and is quite creepy.

These markings covered their cheeks, arms, and jaws, and the two men also had unusual physical appearances.

The man had seven fingers on his left hand and a fist-sized growth behind his ear, which looked extremely horrifying and ugly.

His left corner of the mouth also appeared to have some kind of deformity, with a crooked crack that almost reached the corner of his eye.

The girl was slightly better, but she was in poor mental condition and had many small pustules on her body, making her look like she had recurring herpes, which made people instinctively want to stay away from her.

However, in stark contrast to their ugly and terrifying appearances, both men had very pure eyes, and the desire to live that shone in them deeply attracted Roger.

Upon seeing Roger approach, the man immediately began chanting something to Roger in a hoarse voice.

At the same moment the sound rang out, a large patch of darkness in front of the man suddenly became tangible, writhing and twisting rapidly.

A moment later, the shadow transformed into three wolves, which pounced on Roger one after the other!

"what?"

Roger's mind raced, and he immediately summoned the "Black Knight" armor, using the released aura of corruption to instantly shatter the three shadowy wolves.

To Roger's surprise, the strangely shaped young man in front of him was actually a "hermit"!
The ability he used earlier to summon the Shadow Wolf was one of the Hermit's abilities, "Shadow Shaping."

This ability can shape shadows into weapons or animals to attack targets, and imbue targets with properties such as coldness and corruption.

The couple was initially terrified upon seeing the minotaur and Roger, the leader of the exploration team. However, upon witnessing Roger summon the "Black Knight" armor and dispel the Shadow Wolves, the man seemed greatly shocked, and a moment later, a clear look of confusion appeared in his eyes.

Then, the man mumbled something in English, seemingly testing Roger.

"Giants?"

Roger was slightly taken aback. Although he could deduce the meaning of Giants' language from Old Fussack, he was not very good at direct conversation.

After all, the history of the language of giants is too ancient, and not many of the elders in Abraham's family have mastered it.

Of course, Sam was an exception; he was fluent in almost all verifiable alien and supernatural languages ​​and could have normal conversations in most of them.

Fortunately, just then, Bernadette came up, said something to the man in the same gibberish, and then asked him some questions.

The man answered immediately, and then asked some more questions. After receiving Bernadette's reply, a look of joy appeared on his face, and he tried to shake his mentally unstable sister, as if trying to bring her to her senses.

What are you talking about?

While the couple was talking, Roger quickly approached Bernadette and asked a question.

"He asked me where we came from and why I possess the armor and sword of an 'elder'."

Bernadette smiled and said:
“I said that we are messengers sent by the ‘First Creator’ to rescue the scattered refugees of ‘Fog City’.”

"Then I asked him about his identity, and he said he was a resident of 'New Fog City,' but he was driven out of the city because his sister had contracted an incurable plague."

“I said we could try to cure your sister’s illness… He seemed very happy, as if he had seen hope.”

Upon hearing this, Roger finally understood.

"Bernarde, could you ask about his sister's condition for me? I should have the appropriate medication here."

"Until then, don't let the rest of the team get close. We can't rule out the possibility that the disease is highly contagious... We don't need to worry about our demigod physiques, but the other members of the team might be a different story."

"it is good."

Bernadette stepped forward, spoke with the man for a while, and then checked the girl's condition before speaking to Roger:

"It looks like some kind of herpes caused by a virus with mystical effects. The man said that the disease has a high mortality rate in 'New Fog City,' so once you get it, you'll be kicked out."

"I see."

Roger suddenly realized, nodded, and began rummaging through the medicines he carried with him.

A moment later, he took out a red test tube:

"This medicine should be the right one... The vampire who made it said that this medicine is very effective against any infectious disease at Sequence 6 and below, even occult pathogens."

"It also has some effect on pathogens at the sequence 5 level... Anyway, give it a try."

Bernadette nodded, took the test tube, and then continued to negotiate with the man.

This time, the two talked for quite a while. The man seemed to have never seen vampire potions before, so he was quite wary.

Bernadette gave a lengthy explanation, even bringing up the "original creator" in the end, before she finally convinced the man.

He glanced at Roger, who was wearing the "Black Knight" armor, then resolutely took the test tube and personally fed his sister the medicine.

Strangely enough, just a few minutes after Emlin took the potion, the girl, who had been breathing somewhat rapidly, immediately relaxed and her complexion improved significantly.

At the same time, the blisters on her body became less red and swollen at a visible rate and showed signs of gradually subsiding.

The man burst into tears of joy. He hugged his sister and wept for a long time before suddenly remembering something. He knelt down and worshipped Roger and Bernadette.

Bernadette tried to help him up, but Roger stopped her.

“We must maintain our image as messengers of God. If we act as if we are indifferent to the gratitude of the people of ‘Fog City,’ then we will not be behaving like a messenger of God who saves people from suffering.”

After hearing Roger's words, Bernadette realized what was happening and stopped talking.

After a while, the man finally stopped worshipping, and Roger finally had the opportunity, with Bernadette's help, to ask the man about "New Fog City".

At this moment, the man believed Roger and the others' identities, and he was grateful to them for healing his sister, so he spoke almost everything he knew.

The man's name was Evan Campbell, and his sister's name was Mina Campbell; both were residents of New Fog City.

After the people of "Fog City" were almost completely slaughtered, the two's parents, as devout believers of the "True Creator," left "Fog City" together with the bishops of the "Church of Truth"—whom they now called "Elders"—and headed towards the sanctuary of the "True Creator" as they had previously guessed.

However, it is only natural that, since the sanctuary of the "True Creator" is actually in another direction, they did not succeed in finding that sanctuary. In the end, they could only re-establish themselves in a place with a very special terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and pass on their faith in the "True Creator".

Initially, due to the harsh environment and food shortages, the residents of "Fog City" were forced to eat the flesh of monsters, which triggered a series of tragedies, including mutations, madness, and sudden deaths. As time went on, the residents of "New Fog City" gradually figured out a way to survive.

That is, to have the "Rose Bishops," who are more resistant to shadows and evil, eat the flesh of monsters, then use their own bodies as containers to transform into "purified" and less polluted flesh, and then distribute this flesh to the residents.

In addition, the residents of "New Fog City" have also discovered a special monster called "Night King Flower" during their long-term exploration. This is a plant-like monster that can extract some nutrients through its hunting process and form its own nectar.

Although this nectar smells terrible, it can provide some essential nutrients and is much less likely to cause pollution or mutations.

Through these two types of food, the residents of "New Fog City" barely managed to survive. However, because the flesh and blood were forcibly transformed through the power of the "Rose Bishop," pollution would gradually accumulate in these people's bodies. As a result, not only did the probability of the "Rose Bishop" going mad and dying increase sharply, but the bodies of the residents who consumed these meats for a long time also showed varying degrees of mutation. Even the rate of birth defects and premature death of newborns increased sharply.

Furthermore, although "New Fog City" has a complete "Secret Prayer" path to advance potion recipes, it is no longer protected by the "Servants of God" and the old "Fog City" seal, making it difficult to find some auxiliary materials in the middle sequence and beyond. This forces them to take a risky approach to advancement, similar to the "Chosen One" method on Planet Butak.

Over time, "New Fog City" gradually compiled a list of the safest monsters for flesh-and-blood transformation. In addition, they would prioritize those with obvious physical mutations or disabilities to become "Listeners," "Hermits," or even "Rose Bishops."

In this way, they can create combat power and meat products at a relatively low cost. Furthermore, if these physically defective residents of "New Fog City" are lucky enough to become "Rose Bishops," they will have the opportunity to change their physical condition and correct their physical defects to some extent through flesh magic.

Therefore, in "New Fog City", becoming a "Mystic" is both an honor and an extremely risky path of no return, and it was during this period that Evan Campbell became a "Mystic".

This situation lasted for about ten years, during which "New Fog City" paid an extremely heavy price.

Until one day, perhaps it was the blessing of the "true creator" that truly descended, or perhaps the luck of the residents of "New Fog City" rebounded in an unusual way, by chance, an out-of-control "Rose Bishop" became a special sealing artifact.

This sealed artifact has only one function: to transform any fleshy or bloody substances introduced from the outside into a special kind of edible, bloodless white flesh.

Unlike the meat of monsters obtained in the wilderness, and even unlike the flesh and blood directly transformed from the "Rose Bishop," the pollution content in this white meat is almost negligible. Apart from its poor taste, it has no other problems.

The only problem is that the amount of meat produced by this sealed artifact each day is very limited, barely enough to meet the minimum daily consumption of the city's residents.

For those extraordinary individuals who need to contribute their labor, explore the outside world, and search for various magical potion ingredients and resources, even though the leadership of "New Fog City" has specially allocated more white meat quotas for them, they have never given up on searching for edible protein from the outside world.

Mutations caused by contaminants in food, famine, shadows in the darkness, and all sorts of terrifying monsters have become insurmountable barriers to survival in "New Fog City".

It is precisely because of this that the city's population has been reduced by more than half in the past twenty years. If it weren't for the arrival of the exploration team led by Roger, Leomaster, and Bernadette, "New Fog City" would probably have been completely destroyed in another five or six years at most.

"My God, this situation is much worse than 'Silver City'."

Roger sighed deeply after hearing this.

In fact, if Silver City hadn't possessed the divine seal artifact "Gift of the Earth," it probably would have met the same fate as New Fog City, disappearing into the annals of history long ago.

"I already have a general understanding of your situation."

Seeing that the girl was feeling better, Roger spoke up:
"If possible, please lead the way and take us to see 'New Fog City'."

When Evan heard Bernadette's translation, he first nodded, but then hesitated.

"But we've already been banished from 'New Fog City'..."

"Forget about exile, your sister is cured now, it's time to go back."

With Roger's support, Evan finally nodded and led Roger and the others toward a dark area not far away.

After walking for about an hour, a huge, empty, and deep cave appeared in front of the group, behind which was a huge, vertical, dark mountain.

Even just standing at the entrance of the cave, Roger could smell what seemed to be the odor produced by the burning of some kind of fat.

"arrive."

Awen began to speak:
"This is the entrance to 'New Fog City'."

(End of this chapter)