Mystery: The Ultimate Tarot

Chapter 395 Questioning the Gods

At the Tarot meeting.

"The Demon" Raphael is negotiating with "The Hermit" Cattleya about transporting the people of Sen'er City to Gas Island.

As one of the most powerful "Pirate Generals", and with access to the "Mysterious Queen" and the "Morse Penitentiary", Cattleya can gather a large number of ships in a short period of time.

However, she was not confident that she could transport everyone out at once, so she suggested that the people of Sen'er City be transported out in three separate trips.

"The Demon" Raphael thought for a moment: "That works too."

"I'll take this task," said "The Hermit" Cattleya readily. "Of course, I won't do it myself. I'll entrust this task to someone with sufficient ability and knowledge. As for the reward, I want 20 pounds."

She knew the "devil" was very rich now, so she offered such a high price.

"The Fool" Klein thought to himself: When she sent me to the "Ruins of the Gods" back then, it only cost 1000 pounds.

However, Klein also understood that the two concepts were different. He had gone there by himself before, but now Raphael was going to transport a large number of people out of there.

Raphael replied without hesitation, "Okay."

Cattleya regretted it a little: she hadn't ordered enough.

But since the matter had already been discussed to this point, Cattleya couldn't say anything more and could only say, "Deal."

After finishing this topic, everyone discussed a few other topics, and the tarot session came to an end.

Backlund, West End.

Back in the real world, Raphael took a deep breath. Everything that needed to be coordinated had been coordinated, and it was time to put the pilgrimage on the agenda.

So he entered the "Dark Hut" and, in the guise of the "Lord of Evil Desires," instructed the high priest Zede to prepare for the pilgrimage.

In the following days, Raphael did not make any substantial progress on the pilgrimage, but instead focused on the development of the hoax and the "devil" Zeno.

Although Raphael withdrew from the scam, it continued. The wealthy and noble people who had gone to the northern cities returned, and they used the funds they had just raised to pay out principal and interest to a group of investors in advance, which indeed triggered a new wave of investment.

At this point, the twelve "partners" finally breathed a sigh of relief. They quickly recovered their losses, and at the same time, the principal and interest of the nobles they couldn't afford to offend were also returned, plus they made a huge profit.

Having tasted success, they started a new round of financing and changed Raphael's minimum investment limit of 3000 pounds to 30 pounds.

This is clearly an attempt to exploit the middle class in Backlund.

At the same time, Raphael realized that things had progressed to the point where he could advance in rank and absorb a significant amount of the "devil's" potion ahead of time.

At this point, Raphael, posing as Warren Buffett, appeared at the offices of the Ruhnn Daily News and explained the massive scam to the newspaper's editor-in-chief. He also had a reporter take photos as evidence.

However, he lied. He was the mastermind, but he claimed that the twelve "partners" were also the masterminds, so the masterminds of the scam became thirteen people.

The editor-in-chief broke out in a cold sweat. He told his subordinates to finish writing the article as soon as possible, while secretly sending someone to call the police.

But Mr. Buffett suddenly disappeared before their eyes.

As journalists, editors-in-chief and reporters have all encountered extraordinary events to varying degrees, so they didn't show much surprise. They simply asked the colleague who went to report the incident to explain that the other party had suddenly disappeared.

That day, "Buffett" appeared in the offices of editors-in-chief of major newspapers, looking as if he was going to expose this scam to the public.

Before the newspaper was even printed, the twelve "partners" had already received the news. While they were trying their best to cover it up, they also started looking for new "partners" in preparation for extricating themselves from the scam.

Two of the "partners" immediately fled Backlund. However, the nobles among the "partners" were not worried. The powerful nobles had almost paid off their debts, and the interest on the penny had not been reduced. As long as no powerful nobles made things difficult for them, they would not be greatly affected. At most, they would be reprimanded by the king and disappear from public view for a period of time.

The two "partners" who escaped were two wealthy men who knew very well that without the protection of their noble titles, they would certainly become scapegoats.

With the help of the Church of the Goddess of Night, the newspaper published the news as quickly as possible.

Suddenly, 355 King's Road was packed with people holding tickets hoping to get their principal back.

Meanwhile, the middle-class and small-time millionaires who were about to invest breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that the £3000 investment floor had saved their lives.

The manager who had initially intended to invest, in particular, secretly thanked Mr. Buffett.

In his living room, Raphael looked at the newspaper descriptions of the shocking scam. Five wealthy people had already been summoned for questioning, and the police had launched a thorough investigation.

Raphael estimated that the official extraordinary beings should have already begun investigating the case, and might even have deployed demigods. After all, the wealth Raphael took, and the wealth accumulated by the "partners" later, amounted to tens of millions of pounds. If such a huge amount of wealth is not handled properly, it could cause chaos on a small scale.

The key point is that those who were scammed are all important believers in the church, and the church will take this matter very seriously.

Thinking of this, Raphael smiled slightly.

-

Even if angels were to be dispatched, no one would be able to find him.

When Raphael was forging the identity of "Mr. Buffett," he used the power of "Dark Lodge," ensuring that no one would ever find him in person.

After putting down his newspaper, Raphael instructed his steward to prepare a carriage, which he then took to a large warehouse in the dock area.

The warehouse is now overflowing with various supplies, the result of the Aurora Club members' efforts over the past few days. Tents,

There are enough supplies of daily necessities. Raphael ordered that starting tomorrow, large quantities of food and water be sent here, mainly bread and dried meat.

After finishing his business here, Raphael returned to the villa, summoned Sophia and Wagner, explained the matters that needed attention recently, and then went to Sener City to meet with Speaker Harden Hawke, High Priest Zede, and other councilors.

After confirming the departure time and the precautions, Raphael said to the councilors, "I need your cooperation to help me complete a ritual during this pilgrimage."

Harden immediately said, "Please speak, divine messenger."

Raphael said, "For the next period of time, I will try to express myself less with words and instead use my eyes and body language."

"Ideally, when we reach the exit of the Forsaken Land, you will understand what I mean even without me saying a word."

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Zeder spoke first: "We will do our best to cooperate with you."

Raphael laughed and said, "Don't feel pressured. If we encounter any danger, I will of course speak up. Safety should be our top priority."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief: "Yes."

No one knows what dangers might lurk in the land abandoned by the gods. If the commander-in-chief of this pilgrimage is unable to speak, it would be a disaster.

Raphael waved his hand, indicating that everyone could go and prepare.

He was led by Zedd to the room prepared for him.

Sitting in a simple chair, Raphael stared blankly at the continuous flashes of lightning in the sky.

The lightning was like a large silver tree suddenly appearing in the sky, then slowly disappearing.

Strangely, the thunder wasn't loud, as if the lightning was very, very far away.

In the land forsaken by the gods, there were no factories, animals, or carriages. As Raphael watched the lightning, he could also hear the sounds of people packing up in the distant city of Senr, as well as weeping and joyful conversation.

Raphael could understand those who were crying. Although this was a land of despair, the people of Sener had lived here for a long time, and their parents and grandparents also lived here.

Now that they're suddenly leaving, it seems like they no longer hate this land. Instead, they've started to miss the resources this land provided for their growth, the few moments of happiness they had, and the friends and family who died here.

Raphael continued to watch the lightning in the sky in silence until a melodious flute sound rang out. He then turned his gaze toward the direction of the sound.

The next second, Raphael appeared on top of a tall building, looking at the young man playing the flute on the city wall in the distance.

The melodious sound of a flute echoed through the empty, dimly lit streets, as if expressing a deep reluctance to leave the city. Gradually, people began to approach, carrying lanterns.

More and more lanterns appeared, illuminating the entire street.

The young man was playing a bone flute. He was looking at the land outside the city, completely immersed in it, as if he were saying goodbye to this land.

When the song ended, not a single person carrying a lantern on the street spoke.

The young man put away the bone flute and bowed slightly to Raphael: "My lord."

Raphael stepped forward and easily jumped to the young man's side: "You played very well."

"Thank you." The other party said, "Sir, I have a question that I hope you can answer for me."

,"you say."

Why are the gods testing us?

A middle-aged man below the city wall suddenly interrupted, "Bacchus, some things can be said, and some things cannot be said."

The young man named Bacchus's expression changed visibly, and he bowed deeply to Raphael: "I apologize, Divine Envoy, I was just overthinking things."

After saying that, he turned and tried to run away.

Raphael calmly replied, "This isn't just wild speculation. If I were you, I'd be questioning those damn gods."

Bacchus suddenly stopped, and the people below the city wall immediately began to discuss the matter.

Raphael said to everyone, "Do you think the Lord of Evil Desires would care if you talked about Him like this? No, the Lord of Evil Desires is a special deity, and I am not saying this because I believe in Him."

"He doesn't care about such blasphemous talk, and even hopes that you will raise some questions."

Then, in a commanding tone, he said to the young man holding the bone flute, "Finish what you were saying."

"Yes." Bacchus was somewhat surprised and astonished, but he still mustered his courage to continue, "I just—I just can't understand, what is the meaning of the gods' test of Sen'er City for over two thousand years?"

Raphael replied, "It's meaningless, because it wasn't some bullshit test at all, but a tragedy caused by the gods' mistakes."

"Unfortunately, for more than two thousand years, your ancestors have been the victims of this tragedy."

The city walls were completely silent. The people of Sen'er City might occasionally think about these things, but they dared not continue to think about them, because such thoughts would be blasphemous to the gods.

Bacchus was even more shocked than before: "Why—why is this happening?"

Raphael laughed and said, "Don't you think it's better if this is all a test?"

He then said seriously, "Often, the truth is harder to accept."

Bacchus forced a smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

Raphael stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder: "This is not your fault, it is the fault of the gods."

The "Hanged Man" is atoning for his sins because he truly sinned, but you shouldn't be atoning for yours along with him.

Raphael continued, "Alright, it's all over. I will take you away from this hellhole and let you live normal lives, so that everyone can live in the sunlight again."

Everything will be alright.

Bacchus nodded vigorously.

Raphael then looked at everyone: "The city of Sen'er has been in despair for thousands of years, but now we have finally found hope."

"Gentlemen, do not look sad, and do not be afraid of the new life that is about to come."

Raphael's words stirred everyone's emotions, and the once resentful city of Sen'er finally regained some vitality.

Raphael returned to his residence and continued to stare blankly at Tianyi's lightning.

Just now, he seemed to understand how to process the "devil's" demonic affairs.

Raphael said that although both "devil" and "demon" are evil creatures, they have other differences besides being on different levels.

For example, "devils" are more cunning. They may not be as bloody and cruel as "demons," but those who encounter "devils" often suffer a more tragic end.

If you encounter a "demon," you might die a quick and painless death. But if you encounter a "devourer," even the thought of dying a quick and painless death is a luxury. He will definitely deceive his target completely, sell them out, and then help the "devourer" count the money.

Just as Raphael had said on the city wall, the people of Sen'er transformed their pent-up doubts about the gods into faith in the "Lord of Evil Desires." All other gods became beings that brought them endless disasters, and only this special god, the "Lord of Evil Desires," was willing to save them.

Is this the truth?

Sadly, this is not the truth.

Raphael had very practical purposes for saving them: in the short term, it was for the promotion ceremony, and in the long term, it was to expand his own power.

No one truly cares about what the people of Sener City think.

But as Raphael said, the truth is often hard to accept, so Raphael told the truth in another way, turning a despairing event into a hopeful one.

This seems to be one of the "devil's" specialties.

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