A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 153 The reporter still wasn't fast enough.

The powerful force pierced through the core of the vines, severely damaging the crack through which Mother Earth was penetrating into the material world, thus repairing the flaws in the order of heaven and earth.

The growth, spread, and necrosis all stopped.

On the surface, construction crews were attempting to widen the cracks in the road beside the church; search and rescue operations had to begin before repairs could be completed. "There must be survivors among the underground patrols," Joseph firmly believed, because he knew that the final divine intervention was guided by someone, meaning that there was a resilient and powerful paladin on the underground battlefield who could invoke divine power.

The grey-robed knights and other paladins, buried in the tomb, struggled to climb upwards. Fortunately, the layers of tomb passages hadn't completely collapsed; every now and then, they could pass through rubble and clods of earth to reach a hollow. However, the lingering, dying undead sometimes hindered their movements. But as the evil power waned, these monsters became increasingly sluggish, seemingly reverting to their former forms of earth and bones.

One of the grey-robed knights in the group did not participate in the battle or the excavation, for he had a more noble mission. He solemnly and sorrowfully cradled a mangled body—Odysseus's arms had disintegrated, the cut surfaces of which were terrifying crystals flowing with golden light. These were all the result of divine overload, while his lower body was entangled and torn apart by the struggling and counterattacking vines, and could no longer be found.

The best thing about it was his resolute and serene face and his sword. When the greatsword was found, there were still golden crystals on its hilt, which were once the hands that held it, while the blade and edge also shone with a holy light.

Finally, the teams digging downwards and upwards met, and the faces of those who returned to the surface were covered in mud and sorrow.

Following this battle, the restored Sacred Heart Cathedral will house the remains of a new saint, Odysseus, the Hand of Judgment, the martyr, and the brave.

Thanks to the supernatural power, the bell towers of all the churches in the city were "broadcasting," and the sound reached every corner. For example, Rorschach was having dinner when his head was buzzing from the noise.

If you're looking for a quiet place right now, you might want to go to the Tower of Stars, which is probably the only area in Valuwana that won't be affected by the bell's sound (although whether the main body is actually in the capital is still unconfirmed). Unfortunately, since all the research team members have arrived, they're having a meal together at the city's restaurant.

Is the church up to something? After completing the "Divine Power Dissipation" test, Rorschach had gained some understanding of the great god, the Lord of Light and Order. He could sense the special "symbolicity" and "order" contained in the sound waves, which were magnificent, irresistible, and sublime. However, the sound of the bell was still too "thin". Even when Rorschach concentrated, he could only analyze the vague elements of the feeling.

Even ordinary people, including other diners and waiters, could sense the sudden ringing of the bell and stopped eating and serving. Some even began to pray and praise the God of Light and the Lord of Order.

The sound also disturbed Cano's mood. He put down his wine glass and said, "If any of you have tinnitus, tell me. I can represent you in demanding compensation from those charlatans."

The dinner was held in a semi-enclosed booth, chosen according to the second issue of "The Guide to Spending Money." The entire group was housed in what could be considered a prototype of a private room. Before the meal, Pascal desperately tried to explain to Paulina that he was only responsible for compiling the information and that the "Butterfly" restaurant reviews had nothing to do with him.

The next day, Rorschach got up early. He still needed to translate his findings into a convincing written explanation. As for empirical reproduction, with Carnot leading the roll to demonstrate to those people, there shouldn't be any problem.

"Ah, what a sunny day!" The "sunshine" is now streaming in through the dormitory window, but all the windows of the Star Tower are illusions. Whether the view shown today is a tranquil lakeside forest or a snow-capped mountain meadow is entirely decided by the tower spirit—sometimes Rorschach thinks it's silly, and sometimes he thinks it's too humanized and anthropomorphic.

However, when he read the newspaper at breakfast, the news on the page nearly choked Rorschach.

The headline exposed an underground cult in Valuana that was developing the worship of evil gods, which attacked the Sacred Heart Cathedral and engaged in fierce fighting with the church in the eastern suburbs.

Rorschach glanced around and did not see the source of the initial intelligence from the Holy Mother Order, namely himself.

This evil god group is a bit insane, daring to directly confront the church power in the capital of the Holy King Kingdom. With this report published, Rorschach now understands for whom yesterday's bells rang.

The second one is even more sensational, with the headline "Exposing the Biggest Scam in the Kingdom's History" and the subtitle "Does Sareanna Really Have a Gold Mine?"

The Morning Post, whose sales in Valois have always been far ahead, was naturally invited to visit the "mining site" in the sub-plane. Representing the Morning Post in the media delegation was Mr. Mike, who had previously interviewed former miners.

He first released detailed interviews with miners, summarizing how mining companies faked mining sites. This was followed by his travelogue of the tour, with details corroborating the miners' accounts, greatly increasing credibility.

Finally, there was one more crucial piece of evidence: he discovered that the mining company's smelting workshops had been receiving recycled gold and ore from elsewhere, not from the sub-plane at all!

"Thank goodness I got off the train safely." That night, Rorschach accepted Duke Melovyn's deal and, over the past few days, used the Duke's white glove to cash out all his stocks at a high price—90% of the then-peak value, half in banknotes and half in gold coins. Sigh, the Duke is definitely stuck now; he'd better treat apprentice Philip better from now on.

Rorschach secretly made up his mind.

Meanwhile, the stock exchange and the adjacent company building were in complete chaos.

"Sell! Sell!" The asking price kept dropping. Everyone who came wanted to sell but couldn't find a buyer. The shouts from the exchange could be heard in Valen's office, while shareholder representatives and reporters were banging on the company door.

Cough, cough, cough. Varon seemed to be coughing up his lungs. He removed his handkerchief and saw a pool of blood. He threw it away as if he had seen a plague. The doctor who had given him cough medicine a while ago had suddenly disappeared, and his lung disease had spiraled out of control ever since.

It's over, it's over. He pulled out the donkey hide from his undergarments; it was now only the size of his palm, its edges curled up as if it were still shrinking.

What other options were there? Varen clutched the donkey hide in his hand. Where did his only hope lie now? The royal palace? Necker? Or the deadly evil donkey hide?

The office door opened, and the secretary rushed in. This time, instead of reporting on the ever-decreasing stock price, he earnestly suggested, "Lord Varan, we should suspend trading!"

"But then what? Arrest them! Tell the palace to arrest all the reporters!" He roared and coughed at the same time.

"Yes, but please take a look at this first, Lord Necker's private message."

Upon hearing the Finance Minister's name, Varen snatched the letter, staring intently at each word as if he wanted to devour it whole. "Good, good, good," he said three times, then dashed out of his office like a gust of wind towards the downstairs door.

"Press conference! Hold a press conference immediately! We must reveal the truth to everyone!"

Shareholders and reporters were ushered into the exchange's lobby, all trading was suspended, and traders and others were asked to remain. Once other shareholder representatives and journalists who had rushed to the scene had arrived, two horse-drawn carriages pulled up at the exchange's entrance.

The first vehicle was a magnificent carriage from the royal palace, from which stepped the finance minister, his assistant, and bodyguards.

The second vehicle was an unexpected church vehicle, with tall, armored warriors escorting two dead dogs with their heads covered, and a priest walking behind them.

The headscarf was removed, and the former miner who escaped from the sub-plane, the cult member "Salamanda," and the core members of the Mother of God's Order in Valuwana were brought onto the stage under the watchful eyes of the audience. Due to the lack of the drug powder, the two were mentally disoriented and drooling.

Necker also stepped forward. A third rapid hoofbeats sounded outside the door, and the captain of the security force trotted in, reporting to the minister and everyone present in a firm, resounding voice:

"Report to the Minister: Mike, a cult member and former Morning Post reporter, has been successfully apprehended by our team during his escape!"

Thank you to readers "July 9th Noon" and "Neurotic" for their monthly ticket support!

Thank you to readers "进击的呵呵哥", "日月源澈", and "SEERS" for their recommendation votes!

Some readers commented that the previous chapter was too "padded" and that there was indeed too much description and the pacing was not well controlled.

This plot serves two purposes: firstly, it provides a brief conclusion to the underground cult's storyline in the capital, and secondly, it connects to the main plot. The focus is on showcasing the way the church wields its supernatural power, such as Joseph, as a relatively strong gracious recipient, using scriptures as "words of power" and "laws," and the choir and the performance of consecration songs providing massive blessings and divine intervention to the paladins. For the Holy Kingdom, as a religious nation, demonstrating the church's existence is necessary for the plot.

However, looking back, the description was indeed too lengthy. I was overly focused on creating an atmosphere belonging to the church, and the author made a similar mistake during the final battle in the Black Forest. I will pay attention to this in the future. I sincerely apologize and regret that this has caused readers a bad experience.

(End of this chapter)