The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 267 Infiltration

The next morning, Eric, Natalia, and Kasha changed into the clothes of ordinary adventurers and traveled light to the vicinity of Xingyuan Academy to scout out the situation.

"Let's take a look at the specific situation here first."

Eric controlled the speed, and the horse trotted forward.

"Your Highness wants to recruit mages and sorcerers here to support the front lines. I need to find someone, and whether we can achieve our goal depends entirely on whether the demons have truly infiltrated this area."

Natalia nodded, then glanced back at the church, which was already far away. "Are you sure you don't need to take those knights with you?"

“Too many people will make us too conspicuous and attract attention.” Eric glanced down at the weapon at his waist. “We’ll send them out when needed.”

“I will try my best not to be a burden to Your Highness,” Natalia said.

Eric turned and looked at her.

Keeping Natalia, who has little fighting ability, in the church is actually the safest option.

However, seeing things with one's own eyes is one thing, and hearing them from others is another. Since she intends to use the power here to fight against the demons, she must witness and understand the actual situation here firsthand.

"Use those spell scrolls I gave you, Your Highness, when necessary. You just need to protect yourself."

"I see……"

Eric then looked at Kasha on another horse; she looked at him and blinked.

Before long, the three arrived near Xingyuan Academy.

Outside the academy, the streets were still bustling with activity, filled with a diverse mix of people, including mages, alchemists, merchants, and adventurers who looked much like them.

"There are too many people here, let's get off and walk."

Eric rode on his horse for a while, then pointed in a certain direction. "Let's go to the inn over there first, and park the horse there. If we tie it here, it'll be stolen in the blink of an eye."

"it is good."

Arriving at the hotel they had stayed at before, Eric spent a little money to tether their horses in the hotel's backyard, where someone was looking after them.

Back outside the academy, the three squeezed into the crowd, looking around as they went.

Natalia and Kasha were both visiting for the first time, their eyes darting around, unsure whether to look at the people or the various stalls along the roadside.

"Your Highness, spell scrolls are also sold here."

Eric glanced at the stacks of scrolls on the nearby stall, and there was a sign next to it that said ordinary people could use them at will. He guessed that Natalia was attracted by this sentence and was preparing to switch to a pay-to-win mage on the spot.

“Take a look.” He paused. “Also, just call me by my name here.”

Natalia looked at him. "Okay, Eric."

The three stopped in front of the stall, picked up the scroll and looked at it, but since none of them knew magic and there were no markings on the scroll, they still had to ask.

The stall owner was a monk in his forties or fifties. He didn't greet the three of them when they stopped, which seemed a bit cold, but he explained things quite carefully when asked.

"This is a basic Wind Shield scroll. It lasts for five minutes after use and can block arrows shot by ordinary bandits. You can also place it overhead to block rain."

"This is the 'Clear Water Flowing Scroll,' which can condense water elements in the air and create clear water... Drink it? Of course you can drink it. That's the greatest significance of this spell, and the clear water summoned by the spell is the cleanest water."

"This is the Scroll of Explosive Flame, an offensive spell with decent power. If you're quick enough, you can use it to blast a bandit away when he swings his knife at you. Or you can use it to clear away boulders and fallen trees blocking your way. One isn't enough, two or three should be enough. If you buy five scrolls at once, I can give you a discount."

Although she believed Eric could protect her, Natalia wasn't one to be easily protected and was quite interested in it. Eric, on the other hand, knew more and wasn't really interested in these low-level spell scrolls.

"Aren't there any more advanced scrolls?"

"Yes, but those aren't for ordinary people," the stall owner said.

“But I’ve also seen high-level scrolls that ordinary people can use, such as the scroll for the advanced Flame Cloud spell,” Eric said.

"Advanced Flame Cloud Technique?"

The stall owner glared at him. "If I could make such advanced spell scrolls that even someone who knows nothing about magic could use, why would I be setting up a stall here? You'd have to bow down and call me 'Master Mage'!"

Natalia immediately put down the scroll in her hand and glared at him, while Eric remained unperturbed.

"Never mind if you don't have any. I'll buy twenty scrolls from you and ask you about some things while I'm at it."

The stall owner immediately beamed, "Please pick what you like, ask whatever you want."

Eric let Natalia and Kasha continue choosing, then asked, "I heard that there are demons disguised as dark elves appearing near the academy. Is this information reliable?"

The stall owner nodded quite calmly, "You heard me right. Recently, some demons have appeared here, always wearing cloaks and hoods, acting as if no one has noticed them."

Natalia couldn't help but ask, "Since you recognized them as demons, didn't you ever think about dealing with them?"

The stall owner glanced at her, then looked at Eric, "I'm not saying this to be mean, but sir, your companion is far too naive. No wonder she has absolutely no talent for magic."

"..."

Natalia took a breath, and Eric quickly grabbed her arm and squeezed it.

"What she asked was also what I was curious about."

“Okay.” The stall owner shrugged and spread his hands. “I don’t really know what they come here for. I just occasionally see them come here to buy some alchemy materials. They’re quite generous and don’t haggle. They pay whatever the price is quoted, as if they don’t know they’re holding gold coins.”

He paused for a moment, then continued, "As for dealing with them, why should we deal with them? If someone steps forward and organizes a group of mages to fight the demons, I might join them, but I can't just fight them by myself."

Eric nodded, then said, "If I were to organize a group of people to fight these demons, or even go to the front lines in the Northern Empire to fight the demons, would you join me?"

"Uh……"

The mage paused for a moment, then looked at the scrolls in Natalia and Kasha's hands. "I don't have much practical combat ability. Making scrolls is where I can be more useful... As long as there's enough money and materials, I can arm as many people as you have with magic."

Eric smiled, said nothing, paid for the scroll, and pulled the two of them to continue exploring.

Holding twenty spell scrolls in his hands was inconvenient, so Eric found a roadside stall selling waist pouches commonly used by mages and alchemists and bought one for Natalia and Kasha respectively.

"So this is a pouch used by mages... I remember seeing court mages wearing one of these pouches when they needed to cast multiple spells in the Lutia Palace."

Natalia carefully tucked the spell scroll into her pouch and tried to quickly retrieve it; it was indeed very convenient.

The three continued to explore and inquire, discovering that the presence of demons in the area was no longer a secret, and many people were aware of it.

When asked about their attitude, they were all similar to the mage who sold spell scrolls—the demons didn't bother me, so why should I bother them?

As they walked, Natalia's expression grew increasingly grim.

"It seems we can't count on these mages..."

“I don’t think so,” Eric shook his head.

Natalia looked at him, "Your Highness... Eric?"

"Most mages here don't care about the demons, but they do care about gold coins."

Eric looked at her too. "We can't expect them to be conscious of resisting the demons, but we shouldn't underestimate their thirst for gold. Treat them like you would merfolk, pay them to do your bidding, and think of them as a bunch of mercenaries who can use magic."

Natalia pursed her lips, then sighed.

"you're right."

After wandering around for a while, they arrived at the south gate of the academy. Eric took out three badges that he had prepared beforehand and put them on himself, Natalia, and Kasha, respectively.

"Let's see what the official attitude is here."

The South Gate is also the main gate of Xingyuan Academy. A dozen pairs of tall gargoyles stand on both sides. Natalia noticed them from a distance, and when she came to their feet, she couldn't help but hold her breath.

As she followed Eric a few steps further inside, she suddenly heard him make a slightly puzzled sound.

"What's wrong?" Natalia asked.

Eric looked at the gargoyles and recalled the terrifying scene when he first came here, when these gargoyles, which were over ten meters tall, peered at him.

Now, let alone come closer to look, these gargoyles don't even move, as if they have lost their ability to move.

Could it be because of the moon elf's departure?

“When I first came here, they were moving.” After giving Natalia a brief explanation, Eric led the two of them forward into the academy.

At first glance, the place looks much the same as last year. Mages of various schools of thought wander around the academy, and most of the classrooms are empty, with only one teacher and a few students.

Natalia marveled at the scale of the former palace. Eric found a classroom where only one person was lecturing on stage, and sat down to listen for a while.

"...Therefore, the enrichment of elements in these places must have its reasons. From both natural and human perspectives, I have summarized five possibilities."

The man only glanced at them when they came in, and didn't stop talking for another ten minutes or so before finishing. Then he leaned on the table and wrote furiously for a while before suddenly looking at them: "Ask away." "I didn't understand a thing," Eric said frankly.

The man lowered his head again, muttered something, and continued writing in his notebook.

“I’d like to ask about the academy.” Eric stepped onto the stage and showed him the academy badge that the moon elf had given him.

The monk paused for a moment, then looked at him again. "What do you want to ask?"

“I heard that the moon elf archmages in the academy have all left. What’s the situation here now?” Eric asked.

The mage looked at him and said, "It's the same as it was before. Those moon elves never cared about us anyway."

“I’ve heard that demons have recently infiltrated Castelfel, especially around the academy. Are you aware of this?” Eric continued.

The monk didn't even look up, and began packing his things.

"You mean those that look like dark elves? There are a few in the academy."

Eric was startled, and Natalia immediately stood up as well. "What are they doing here?"

"It seems like they're looking for someone, but I'm not sure," the monk said. "They came quite frequently a while ago, but I haven't seen them these past few days."

Eric turned and exchanged a glance with Natalia, then asked, "Is no one in the academy managing this? Are they just letting demons find people anywhere in the academy?"

“A mage from the empire tried to intervene, but he was killed, and then nobody took care of it anymore.”

The mage replied, then shrugged, "Those demons came with several human archmages from the academy. They said that if we cooperated with them, nothing would happen, so everyone just ignored it."

Natalia clenched her fists, her arms trembling. Kasha looked at her with concern and stroked her arm.

Eric finally asked, "Do you know where those demons are now?"

"I don't know," the monk replied.

After packing his things, he left the classroom before the others.

Eric sat back down next to the two of them and looked at Natalia.

Her emotions had calmed down somewhat, but her voice still carried anger and trembled slightly when she spoke, "A human archmage has actually sided with the demons."

“I suspect Simmagu played a significant role in this,” Eric said.

Natalia paused, then looked at him. "They also want to study that mysterious power of the demons?"

Eric nodded, then thought for a moment, "Maybe Simmagus is in Castelfel right now."

Natalia held her breath.

“We need to be more careful,” Eric said.

Natalia nodded.

Just as the two were talking, a monk in his forties or fifties walked into the classroom, looked at them, and began to explain his ideas.

Neither side paid attention to the other, each talking their own thing. Only when Eric and the other two were about to leave did he ask them what they thought.

“That was better than what that mage said earlier,” Eric said without turning his head.

"Really? Thanks."

After leaving the classroom, the three wandered around the academy for a while, gradually moving deeper into the academy.

Passing by a magical floating staircase, Eric thought for a moment and decided to go up and take a look.

Upon reaching the top of the tower, the room was indeed empty, with all the magical scrolls and books still there, but the Moon Elf Archmage who had been presiding over it was nowhere to be found.

"Can I come up here freely?" Natalia asked.

“This will suffice.” Eric tapped the badge on his chest.

The moon elf's room had many good things, but he wasn't there to steal, and besides, he didn't recognize anything, so he didn't dare touch anything. He looked around the entire academy from the high place, and then went down with Natalia and Kasha.

"Let's go outside, there's nothing to see here."

"it is good."

Leaving the academy through the south gate and returning to the streets outside, Eric said to Natalia, "Let's get a general overview today. Tomorrow, I plan to visit the Bado Cottage that Rusdy mentioned in his letter to Simmagu."

Natalia nodded, understanding the deeper meaning behind his words: he was going to go alone.

She didn't insist on following, suggesting, "Shall we wander around here a bit more?"

"Lets see."

Eric glanced around, then suddenly stopped and stared in a certain direction for a while.

Natalia looked around; the road was full of people, and she didn't know who he was looking at.

"People you know?"

Eric nodded, squeezed his way over, and stopped next to a young alchemist. After a moment's thought, he said, "Fred?"

The latter was selecting materials at the stall when he glanced over casually and then paused.

"You are……"

"Your boss."

The alchemist paused for a few seconds, then suddenly remembered, "Mr. Eric!"

"Looks like I didn't choose the wrong person."

This was the apprentice among the alchemists he had sponsored before leaving Castelfell last year.

If he hadn't happened to run into them, Eric would have almost forgotten about it.

Now that more than a year has passed, and since he's already here, he might as well take this opportunity to see the results of the sponsorship.

Eric asked a few questions about their situation, and Fred said that with his generous sponsorship, their research had progressed rapidly and achieved considerable breakthroughs.

"Of course, the materials needed in various aspects are increasing, and the expenses are also getting bigger and bigger..."

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Take me to see your results. Money is no object."

"No problem! But I still need to buy some materials that the teachers need..."

"It's okay, we'll wait for you."

Eric and his two companions went to the inn to retrieve their horse and waited at a nearby intersection. Eric took the opportunity to explain to Natalia how he met the group of alchemists.

After a short while, Fred drove out in his carriage.

"We've wasted a bit more time, we need to hurry back... it'll be dangerous after dark."

"Let's go."

Following Fred's carriage, the three arrived at the mage tower where the alchemists were staying.

Eric noticed that there were significantly more protective measures around the mage tower, such as an additional fence with spikes, and even an alchemical ballista placed at the entrance of the mage tower.

“We’ve been getting more and more attention here lately, so we have to step up our security measures,” Fred explained.

Eric nodded without saying anything more and followed him inside. Soon he met his main target, the alchemist Ferdinand.

"Mr. Eric! You actually came..."

“I’ve come to see the results of your research,” Eric said to him, surveying the newly transformed environment inside the mage tower. “And while I’m at it, take what’s rightfully mine. I remember you promised me before I left that you would provide me with at least one Pure Heart of Life every year.”

In the game, the Heart of Pure Life is a rechargeable instant-recovery potion, and in this world, it can also instantly heal most injuries. Back when the Battle of Lutia began, Eric gave his own Heart of Pure Life to Eileen.

Ferdinand stated that in the past year or so, they have created more than a dozen Pure Hearts of Life, but none of them have reached the level of the original Pure Heart of Life created in a state of out of control.

They dared not lose control again.

Eric understood their predicament. "Let me see first."

Ferdinand had Fred retrieve the Pure Hearts of Life. Eric examined them and found that the largest one was only half the size of the original Pure Heart of Life, but the effect was still present. The difference was likely in the maximum healing power.

"I'll take them all." Eric accepted them, then gave two each to Natalia and Kasha.

(End of this chapter)