Mystery: A Spark

What he was considering was that his next image should ideally match the gun, Abe no Kiri, perhaps by completely altering the appearance of the gun's owner to create his new image.

The problem is that Klein forgot to ask Arthur what Abeche's original owner looked like.

Well, in that case, I'll have to go back to Backlund with Zhou Mingrui's modified face first, and then ask Arthur... Klein finally made his decision.

Of course, he didn't plan to wear gold-rimmed glasses, since that would somewhat overlap with Arthur's image.

After settling into his temporary appearance, Klein took out a thin glove from his pocket that looked as if it were made of human skin.

This is “the creeping hunger,” which Mr. Azik just gave him.

When Klein had just dealt with Ambassador Beckron, he had exchanged letters with Mr. Azik and learned that this powerful magical item had fallen into Mr. Azik's hands.

However, since Klein didn't have enough chips to exchange for it at that time, and he was only at Sequence 7, it was still too difficult for him to use the magical item "Crawling Hunger".

Furthermore, being in a metropolis like Backlund, he wasn't suited to the term "creeping hunger."

Therefore, Mr. Azik did not hand over this powerful magical item to him at that time.

Now Klein has become Sequence Six, and just now, to thank Mr. Azik for his rescue, he intended to give Mr. Azik the "Black Emperor" card for him to study.

So, naturally, Azik took out the sealed item and handed it to Klein.

Of course, to make it easier for Klein to use, Azik sealed this magical item with living properties, so that it would not go hungry under normal circumstances.

But each time it is used, it must be fed with the flesh and soul of a human, otherwise it will devour its master.

……

In the spirit world, inside the grand hall of a solemn black castle.

On the long table, a quill pen lay there quietly, motionless.

Beside him, a middle-aged man with blond hair and red eyes chuckled and said:

"What? I asked you to walk a few steps even though you're not sick, and you're not giving me face?"

"If you don't give me face, then I'm going to lose my temper."

Upon hearing this, the quill immediately stood up, moved symbolically twice, and then lay obediently back down on the long table.

He was incredibly honest, a far cry from the wanton and reckless behavior he displayed when under Ince Zangwell's control.

"What are you afraid of? I'm not going to eat you. In fact, I've lost most of my power and become very weak. I can't do anything to you." The middle-aged man chuckled.

The quill pen remained lying there silently, not daring to move.

The middle-aged man shook his head helplessly and said:

"Fine, since you don't want to move, then don't move at all from now on."

"That young schemer wants to play a grand game in the modern world and doesn't want to see you, a variable, causing trouble. So you'd better stay by my side obediently from now on."

"After all, I also want to see how he will ultimately play this game."

……

Harvest Church, south of Backlund Bridge, at night.

Although it was already night, the place was still brightly lit and bustling with people.

Outside the church, many large tents were erected, and under the tents, tattered quilts were laid out, inside which lay plague-infected people groaning in pain.

Men dressed in brown priestly robes kept coming out of the church and distributing medicine to the people outside.

This is the scene that Arthur saw when he arrived here.

He glanced around and knew that the people outside were barely doing well; those with more serious conditions were inside the church.

The church also categorizes the treatment of these people according to the severity of their illness.

Those with more serious conditions were given priority treatment inside the church, while those with milder conditions had to wait outside.

Now that priests have started distributing medicine to people outside, it means that the condition of the patients inside the church has begun to stabilize.

However, these people were not actually in the worst condition in the heavy smog; those in the worst condition were sent to the Peace Tavern, which was nearby.

Arthur set up a similar place over there.

The person in charge of the potion manufacturing there was his old acquaintance, Bishop Raman.

The most critically ill patients during all the major smog events were transported there as quickly as possible by the security team and members of the mutual aid society.

A considerable quantity of medicine had already been prepared there.

Even so, a considerable number of people still died in this incident.

The divine intervention that Arthur summoned earlier could alleviate people's illness at the time, but many people had already died from the plague before that.

Even though he had made many preparations, there was one crucial problem he couldn't solve.

That is, Arthur could not confirm the location of the Nightingale of Despair in the East District in the shortest possible time.

This was the part of his entire plan where he was most powerless.

Due to the threat posed by 0-08, Arthur could only act in the most reasonable way and could not do anything too unusual.

Because if that were the case, the whole story wouldn't make sense, and Ince Zangwell would realize something was wrong.

Therefore, Arthur could only resort to a rather clumsy method.

That is to rely on human power, or more accurately, canine power, to find the source of art and literature.

In fact, Arthur had considered flipping the table.

For example, directly exposing everything to the three major churches.

But he later realized that this approach would not expose the conspiracy of George III and Ince Zangwell's gang; it would only make these vipers hide even deeper.

Arthur himself will certainly be relentlessly pursued by these people.

In that case, Arthur would have no choice but to hide in the church and become a recluse, doing nothing else.

And the forces he has now built, such as Hugh's security team and the workers' mutual aid association, will inevitably be eliminated one by one.

Ultimately, George III was the king of the Kingdom of Loen.

Without him committing any actual wrongdoing, the three major churches were simply unable to impose any sanctions on him.

Even after the major smog event in the original story, the three major churches could only send people to question them.

Instead of simply getting rid of this dog king and replacing him with a reliable person, we can't just do it.

Didn't the three major churches in the original work suspect that George III had problems? Of course they did, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Because this is secular power.

Even Roselle was assassinated at White Maple Palace by the two churches and the Soren family after suffering from some unknown contamination, which drastically changed his personality and alienated him from everyone.

Otherwise, he would almost certainly be immortal.

In the Fifth Age, when the gods were hidden from the world, secular dynasties were the mainstream of the world, and the Church was not usually able to interfere with secular affairs.

They are the ones who maintain order in the extraordinary world, and they have no power to adjudicate against the king.

Not to mention, the three major churches did not agree on George III's ascension to the Black Emperor.

When Arthur first conceived the idea of ​​overturning the table, he had already tested the Steam Church.

The situation was bad because he discovered that even the Steam Church, which should theoretically be the most opposed to Joe San's promotion to Black Emperor, was not entirely united on this matter.

Then let alone the other two.

So Arthur knew then that it was impossible to use the power of the church to kill Joe San with one blow.

A secular king must be dealt with using secular power.

Therefore, Arthur set a few small goals during this smog event.

The most important thing is to eliminate the interference from 0-08.

Because as a schemer, I hate the existence of variables the most.

Even a brilliant strategist like Zhuge Liang suffered from unpredictable events, so Arthur certainly didn't think he could predict everything in the world.

Arthur's other goal was to take the opportunity to introduce the influence of the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess, making it the fourth pillar of the church's power in the Kingdom of Rune.

However, if the Church of Mother Earth wants to gain a foothold here, it must establish its own faith base.

But a country's number of anchors is limited, so what can be done?

This is why Arthur is here now.

……

Late at night, in the basement of the Harvest Church.

It's no longer just a basement; a very spacious underground space has been excavated here.

Just like the other three major churches did.

In a small conference room, three people were sitting.

Bishop Raman, Bishop Utravsky, and Arthur, who had just returned from their work in the eastern district, were among those present.

“I would like to hear your opinion, Arthur, on how we should establish ourselves in this kingdom where three orthodox churches coexist,” Bishop Raman asked gently.

"Headquarters should have already made arrangements for this, so I won't embarrass myself by showing off," Arthur said with a smile.

“No, when I arrived, the headquarters instructed that all of my church’s policies and strategic plans in the Kingdom of Rune should be carried out according to your wishes, Arthur,” Bishop Raman said, shaking his head.

Good heavens, such great power? Then wouldn't that mean...? Arthur glanced hesitantly at Bishop Utravsky.

“You don’t need to worry. You make the plans, and I’ll execute them. That won’t be a problem,” Utravsky said at this moment.

"Well then, let me share my opinion. If you two seniors find anything wrong, please point it out." Arthur glanced at the two of them.

Seeing the two old men nod, he cleared his throat and began to explain his thoughts.

"During this major smog event, my teaching staff gained considerable fame because they were well-prepared beforehand."

"And those we help will naturally develop a good impression of us, and may even become faithful believers of our Lord."

"In this way, my religion will have a base of support in the Kingdom of Rune."

Arthur raised his index finger, then shook it twice, and said:

"However, this is still not enough. The goodwill and favor of the people are indeed very important to our church, but the most important thing is the attitude of the upper echelons of Rune towards us."