Ark, after I died, the operators started to love me.

The Phantom is the chosen one of Dionysus; if he does not see it, it proves that his perception is distorted.

Xingji is a diviner who often looks up at the sky, which is somewhat unusual.

Frostnova is just an ordinary Katarina at the end of the day, but behind her stands the Patriot, the last pure-blooded Wendigo.

Typhon held a giant bow in her hand and possessed a demonic aspect, yet she still could not see the sacred tree standing up.

Finally, the person who actually witnessed this scene was Horhaya, which perfectly corresponds to her identity as a member of the gods.

It seems that the secrets hidden behind the deserted village are far more complex than what we see at first glance.

Now that things have calmed down here, Mike is ready to conduct an in-depth exploration.

He wanted to know more about the purpose of this deserted village blocking his way.

The group circled around the several completely collapsed wooden houses again, and saw that the wooden house that had been hit by the collapsed snow spirit was completely frozen into a block of ice.

The ice is a result of Originium Arts catalysis, and it is impossible for it to melt in the current cold environment.

Mike was very satisfied with the result of the team's first collaborative effort.

……

When Mike returned to the camp, the group arranged the vehicles in a triangle, set up tents in the middle, and found some wood to start a fire. They calculated that the day was almost over.

"Ladies and gentlemen, would you like to tell a story tonight?"

Mike's proposal was rejected by everyone present.

Having fought a tough battle during the day, they just wanted to rest. Besides, there was a Snow Goddess frozen solid on the other side, and nobody wanted to listen to stories in such an environment.

Magellan was about to say she wanted to hear it when Typhon, who was standing next to her, covered her mouth.

"Waaaaah, little typhoon, what are you doing?"

Typhon said with a serious expression, "If you want to hear the story, you can go to the doctor alone. Just don't let him show off his talent in front of everyone."

Even Magellan, as oblivious as he was, realized that Typhon was mocking Mac.

"Weren't the stories the doctor told interesting?"

The Sarkaz girl sighed, "It's cold enough already. If he tells any more lame jokes, we'll all freeze to death."

"It turns out that people have such a serious prejudice against PhDs. I think we should be more tolerant of PhDs."

"The tolerance you show is yours, not ours."

Not only Typhon, but even Froststar had a stern face, looking like she wanted to keep strangers away.

White Carter probably only exchanges a few words with Andorn in this team.

After all, the others were all former Rhodes Island operators, and she was an outsider, so there were some things she shouldn't say.

Mike, on the other hand, came over to say a few words; he was always very attentive.

On the other side, Andorn was clearly more interested in the sacred tree. He walked around the dead tree and even placed his hand on the ice, only to feel a chill.

What do you think should be included?

Chongyue was watching this scene from a short distance away, unnoticed.

The angel lowered his head slightly and said according to his thoughts, "I have seen some Lateran monasteries, and they will place the holy statue in the most prominent position. This tree is the most important thing for the tribe, and no one should be allowed to touch it under normal circumstances. As the priestess, Snow's death under this tree is the end she deserved."

"It would be nice if that was the case."

"Doesn't Mr. Chongyue think so?"

"When Xue Si was corrupted by the evil spirits and became a collapsed body, she was no longer the same person. To be precise, I believe that the sacred tree actively killed her, rather than her dying under the sacred tree."

Chongyue's words alerted Andorn. The angel narrowed his eyes, took two steps back, and carefully observed the distance between the collapsed body and the sacred tree.

Unfortunately, once it's completely frozen, the transparency is compromised, making it impossible to tell from the outside what actually happened.

Why does Mr. Chongyue hold this view?

The Grandmaster hummed in agreement, stroking his chin, unsure how to respond.

At that moment, he felt a powerful force erupting from the middle of the deserted village, unlike any Originium Arts he had ever seen before.

Although they did not come from the same source, Chongyue still believed that they had some similarities in essence.

77. It's better to rely on yourself than on God.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but turn to look at Mike, who was standing by the fire warming himself.

This man seems to be hiding many secrets.

Mike's senses were much sharper now than they were on Rhodes Island, and he immediately noticed Chongyue's gaze. When he looked up, he only received a kind smile from the Grandmaster.

Chongyue knew that the doctor wouldn't reveal this secret, and he didn't intend to ask, as that would be very impolite.

At least this isn't a bad thing.

At this point, Andorn finished observing the sacred tree and recorded some data in the small notebook he carried with him.

"Did you find anything?"

“Almost none. The sacred tree and the snow sacrifice have merged into one, as if a human figure has grown out of the tree trunk.”

Andorn tried his best to describe everything he saw in words that others could understand.

The angel's eyes were full of doubt.

Sami is a magical place.

Even as a Sarkaz, he was perplexed by the snowfields teeming with miracles.

The Sami gods are far too diligent.

Destle, holding a cup of hot water, didn't understand Andorn's question: "Is there something wrong with this?"

As Kazimierz moved into a new era, the worship of gods greatly diminished, or perhaps they chose a different object of faith.

In the Great Knights, you can live without faith, but you cannot live without money.

Top lawyers understand this principle well.

“This isn’t normal. I’ve been to many places that claim to have gods, including Shelag, nestled in the mountains…”

As Andorn spoke, he flipped through his notebook, his tone becoming unpredictable: "Starting two hundred years ago, miracles gradually disappeared from Terra. Perhaps it doesn't mean much to ordinary people, but it is very important to the clergy."

Yelena, with her long, gray-white hair, saw the crowd gathered together discussing something. After thinking for a moment, she decided to join in and listen, so that she could tell the Yeti Squad children about it later.

Mike naturally followed her.

To be honest, Yelena didn't dislike this man; it's just that sometimes his presence was too strong.

For example, many women in the team have a crush on him.

Men who are philanderers are generally unreliable.

However, when the White Rabbit heard Andorn say that the miracles were gradually disappearing, he couldn't help but interject, "Isn't this a good thing? Even if people believe in gods, the poor who are starving and freezing will not get hot soup and cotton clothes. If they want to survive, they can only rely on themselves."

Everyone turned their eyes over.

Destle agreed with her companion's statement: "Yelena is right. What's the use of praying to God? We'd rather pray to ourselves."

"But...but the gods of Sami are different. There really are miracles here..."

A hesitant voice rang out from the crowd.

Mike immediately looked in that direction and saw Magellan with his head tucked in. The explorer had clearly received divine favor, which was why she was making a different sound.

Andorn nodded and said, "That's right. I just copied some runes from the sacred tree. It's said that only the locals can understand what they mean. Based on my speculation, they should be the Sami tribe's prayer to their local god, or perhaps a symbol of the god revealing a miracle."

His words caught the attention of another person.

The petite Sarkaz girl squeezed in, walked up to the angel, took the notebook from his hand, glanced at it, and said irritably, "This is cipher text for prayer, not very useful. If you can find the cipher tablet, that's the really important thing."

Unfortunately, there was nothing like that at the camp.

Mike remembered the snowball in his pocket that wouldn't melt, which was also part of the miracle, but the problem was that it wasn't time for it to work yet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, while you're discussing, don't forget to eat something. The hot soup will be ready soon, please sit down."

The feathered serpent's voice, tinged with amusement, came from behind.

The crowd then slowly dispersed, ending a pointless argument.

Some members of the team believe in the people of God, while others believe in themselves, which is consistent with their life circumstances. However, in Sami, since they are here, they should follow the local customs. Anma is not an evil god, so believing a little bit won't hurt them.

……

Late at night.

The fire crackled, tents surrounded the heat source, and weary people drifted off to sleep.

Mike closed his eyes, his mind replaying everything that had happened during the day.

What seemed like a dangerous scene was actually within his sight. If Xingji and the others could not kill the collapsed Xuesi, he would take action.

There must have been some secrets hidden behind what happened back then.

Gradually, the scene before his eyes changed.

In a hazy state, Mike vaguely heard sounds outside the tent. The man suddenly opened his eyes and realized that it was already daytime.

"No, I don't usually dream. This feeling is like..."

Mike clenched his fists, his center of gravity immediately becoming unsteady. He looked back, but the tent and the campfire were gone.

A figure passed him and ran quickly ahead; it was Magellan the little penguin.

Upon seeing the familiar figure, McMurphy remained silent and quietly followed behind, seemingly unaware that someone was following him.

They crossed a snowy road and came to the place where the battle had taken place during the day. The collapsed houses remained unchanged, but the Snow Spirit, who had died beside the sacred tree, knelt before the trunk, murmuring prayers.

Mike himself confirmed that the collapsed object was dead; he would not be mistaken. The miraculous scene before him could only be seen as an echo of the past.

But Magellan didn't think so, and he slowly approached, trying to reach out and touch Yuki's body.

Mike, watching from a few meters away, was at a loss for words, unsure whether to praise the little penguin for her courage or scold her for being reckless.

Are all explorers so fearless?

He couldn't possibly just stand by and watch Magellan, that blockhead, actually touch Xue Si, so he quickly took two steps forward and grabbed Li Boli's arm.