A man among dragons, building a mysterious ancient church.

Chapter 326 No way? Herzog actually believed that?

In the basement of the pachinko parlor, Xu Lie and Yuan Zhinv were talking, while his clone, Miyamoto Toru, went out to find materials as instructed by his main body.

Other dragon blood materials are actually available at this secret stronghold, but the poisonous mushrooms that Xu Lie requested are not in stock at all; you have to go to some specialized shops to get them.

As Miyamoto Toru left the pachinko parlor, he noticed that the streets outside were gradually filled with more pedestrians peeking and looking around, probably wondering what had just happened that had caused so many people to flee in panic.

As an avatar of the original body, Miyamoto Toru didn't care about these passersby; he only thought about how to complete the troublesome task secretly given to him by the original body—to regain Herzog's trust.

It's a troublesome situation, really. The original body has already begun preparing for the future, planning to take Herzog's place and become a god in Herzog's place when Herzog steals the White King's power.

First, complete the ascension ritual with zero errors in the future promotion sequence.

However, Herzog almost lost everyone due to Ince's manipulation. Without some help, Herzog would most likely not be able to successfully steal the White King's power as in the original story.

So the troublesome task of helping Herzog a little fell to Miyamoto Toru, which also allowed him to keep a close eye on Herzog's movements.

Thinking of these instructions from the original body, Miyamoto Toru slowly took out his phone and started looking through the phone numbers of several 'Kings'.

Because of Miyamoto Toru's past 'loyalty', Herzog gave him several mobile phone numbers so that he could contact the King at any time to report on his work.

At the time, Wang Jiang's excuse was that the mobile phones were mainly used to save the contact information of the members of the Demon Clan in different regions. However, Miyamoto Toru knew that this was just one mobile phone corresponding to one clone.

Miyamoto tried several numbers and finally got through to one of them, but the person on the other end remained silent after answering.

To avoid Herzog overthinking things or worrying about phone tracking, Miyamoto immediately pledged his loyalty: "My Lord, I have successfully infiltrated Ince's inner circle."

"We can deliver intelligence about the apostate Ince to you at any time."

"???" Herzog, who had been hiding behind the scenes and eavesdropping by implanting a radio device into the clones, was full of questions.

"?" Upon receiving this call, the clone of the new king, who had assumed that Miyamoto Toru had already betrayed him, was completely bewildered.

They were all confused. What did Miyamoto Toru mean? Do you want to hear what you're saying?
It was Miyamoto Toru who led the betrayal, was the first to defect to the enemy, and was the first to kneel beside Ince.

That's not all. He then incited the rest of the Ghost Clan to defect to Ince. How come he's turning around now and professing loyalty?

Something's strange, something's wrong!
Herzog, by nature cautious and as steady as an old fox, distrusts no one from the bottom of his heart, and so does the King's clone, who replicates most of Herzog's memories and has the same way of thinking.

Before they could raise any questions, Miyamoto Toru silenced them with intelligence: "Just a minute ago, 'Dragon King' Kazama Ruri came to Ince to make a deal, intending to cooperate against you, Lord Herzog."

"!" Herzog felt an unexpected yet understandable rage. Genji had always been so unruly and rebellious, always thinking of resisting his control.

This time they even found Ince and wanted him dead?
It must be said that Miyamoto Toru's information was very important and timely. Herzog had been thinking about whether he could use Genjiro to kill Ince and prevent Ince from competing with him for the power of the White King.

Now it seems that it's not appropriate to rush to find Yuan Zhinü; we must make proper preparations...
Herzog suddenly realized a crucial point!

Since Ince has read the clone's memories, he may know the secrets of Kazama Ruri and Genji's two personalities!

In this way, not only would it be impossible to control the Genji brothers' infighting, but it could very well escalate into the two brothers joining forces against him. Moreover, the situation on the clone Tachibana Masamune's side might also collapse, not to mention Ince...

Herzog immediately felt a headache coming on.

He felt that his originally smooth and steady progress had suddenly been reversed and turned into an overwhelming disadvantage because of his contact with Ince.

Fortunately, Herzog was extremely cautious; even when transmitting memories to clones, he did not transmit the location of his true self to the clones.

It's impossible for Ince to find him for the time being! This is Herzog's only consolation at the moment. He is completely unaware that the air around him is slightly off.

In such a challenging situation, having a mole like Miyamoto Toru who can provide timely information is invaluable!
The question is, is Miyamoto Toru still believable?
“Miyamoto Toru.” The clone king possessed most of Herzog’s memories and had a similar thought process, so his reply was exactly what Herzog had expected: “So you’ve realized that Ince can’t give you any benefits, and you want to go back?”

"You don't naively think that if I turn back, I'll trust you as much as before, do you?"

Miyamoto Toru held his phone in his left hand and secretly pinched his right eye socket with his right hand: "No, I've always been on the side of the adults, there's no question of turning back."

Although the extraordinary abilities of a scammer are difficult to utilize over the phone, their passive ability to enhance the persuasiveness of their words – their "eloquence" – remains.

This allowed Herzog to take Miyamoto Toru's words to heart more seriously and gradually regain his trust.

“My lord, the reason I first pledged allegiance to Ince was simply to gain his trust and make it easier for me to obtain information about Ince for you.”

"My lord, you must understand that under the circumstances at the time, if we did not seek refuge with Ince, we would only face certain death."

“Even if Ince isn’t targeting us, the current head of the Snake Clan, Genjiro, and the bishop of the Tokyo Diocese, Aso Makoto, are both present. They won’t let us off the hook.”

“Death is not scary; what is scary is losing your value to adults.” “As long as I still have value and am still useful to adults, I cannot die.”

"As it turns out, I was right. Not only did I and the elite members of the Demon Clan survive and escape the pursuit of Genjiro and Aso, we also successfully infiltrated Ince's inner circle and can provide you with intelligence at any time, sir."

Herzog felt a little itchy; he actually thought there was some truth to what Miyamoto Toru said!
Given the choice between dying in vain and infiltrating Ince's circle to steal intelligence, the latter is clearly more valuable.

Given that Miyamoto Toru contacted him so soon, and considering the limited time, it's possible that Miyamoto Toru had just settled down with Ince and immediately sought an opportunity to make this call.

Judging solely from the intervals between events is enough to prove Miyamoto Toru's loyalty.

Based on a comprehensive assessment, it's possible that Miyamoto Toru still harbors feelings for him?
No, no, no, there's still a problem. We can't just trust Miyamoto Toru again like this.

Herzog had a final worry, as did the King: "Heh, Miyamoto-kun, aren't you afraid that Ince will read your memories by doing this?"

Mind reading—this is the reason Herzog was exposed, and it's also the mysterious method he hates most now! It's this ability that caused his conspiracy, which he had been secretly planning for twenty years, to be exposed on the spot.

Miyamoto Toru had already prepared his answer, and he spoke immediately: "Lord Herzog misunderstands. Do you still remember the Instons?"

Herzog and the King were almost driven mad by this question. Good heavens, the last clone was devoured by Ince in the same way. Do you remember?

"I just learned that Ince's ability to read minds relies entirely on that special glove; each time he uses it, he has to devour a person."

"Sounds amazing, right? But this is a unique sealing artifact of the Old Church. I suspect it might be some kind of supreme alchemical tool, which is the [Wriggling Hunger] on that church wanted poster."

"As long as I am careful, given my special status as the first to pledge allegiance to Ince, it is unlikely that Ince would casually use gloves to read my thoughts."

Oh, I see? So that's how it is!

Herzog and the clones of the new king began to feel pleasure. Ince's mind-reading ability has such limitations? Those gloves, yes, Miyamoto Toru shouldn't be lying!
After Ince intimidated the members of the Snake Clan at the convenience store, he also used his glove to devour the blond-haired Demon Clan member, which matched the information provided by Miyamoto Toru.

Herzog blinked, completely affirming Miyamoto Toru's value. The only thing he couldn't understand now was Miyamoto Toru's purpose.

The clone of the king who answered the phone had the exact same thoughts as the original: "Miyamoto-kun, you really do surprise me time and time again. What do you want?"

Herzog, a self-interested individual, simply does not believe in loyalty without a reason. He believes that Miyamoto Toru must have a purpose in being so loyal to him. What exactly is Miyamoto Toru after?
“Me?” Miyamoto Toru chuckled, a hint of madness clearly emanating from his laughter: “I have no doubt about the ghoul theory proposed by you, sir.”

"Everything in the world has value. Only by consuming all value can one stand at the top of the world. I only want to witness the birth of something that consumes all value!"

"I want to see a god who will devour the entire world descend upon the earth!"

A madman, this is a madman, a madman who disregards humanity, life, and even his own existence, and only wants to destroy the world!
Herzog mentally diagnosed Miyamoto, but how could he forget that madmen are good, madmen are wonderful?

The Ghost Clan specializes in producing lunatics! If you're not crazy, you don't deserve to be in the Ghost Clan's middle ranks!

Herzog's wariness of Miyamoto Toru immediately diminished. Herzog was confident in his understanding of the psychology of such a madman; as long as you followed his ideas, he would never betray you.

“Very good, Miyamoto-kun.” The clone king, just like Herzog, clearly accepted Miyamoto Toru back. Although he didn’t completely trust him, he at least didn’t doubt every word Miyamoto Toru said: “I can promise you.”

"One day, you will see me devour everything in the world."

No way? Herzog actually believed that?

Miyamoto Toru blinked. So easily fooled? Or is it that a con artist's passive abilities are so effective? He can even convince this cunning old fox over the phone?
“Then I’ll wait and see, Lord Herzog. To avoid arousing Ince’s suspicion, I’ll head back for now.”

"I will continue to make this call if there is any new information."

After hanging up the communication, Wang Jiang's clone began to ponder how to use the information provided by Miyamoto Tooru to temporarily change his overall plan.

This newly created clone, despite having only been awake for less than an hour, constantly believes itself to be the original because it possesses past memories and has been engaging in behind-the-scenes activities.

Before Wang Jiang could think for a few seconds, another phone suddenly rang. Upon hearing the unique ringtone, Wang Jiang quickly answered it.

There was no voice on the other end of the phone, only strange and eerie tapping music. Wang Jiang's eyes gradually became blank, confused, and mechanical.

The tapping music faded away, and Herzog's shrewd voice came through the phone: "You'll forget this call."

"At the same time, you will come up with the next plan. You will think that you have already contacted Tachibana Masamune and asked the clone Tachibana Masamune to find a way to bring Erii back. You will personally ambush Minamoto no Wakana and regain control of this weapon."

He hung up immediately after speaking, giving no chance to track him down. Even if the clone king's secret base was very safe, Herzog would not trust it.

This is the rat in the gutter, Herzog's cautious approach.

(End of this chapter)