Wizard Earl

Chapter 431 Fatica Church (1)

After completing his trip to the underground palace with Margaret, Connor originally planned to rest and recuperate, waiting until he and Varga fulfilled their "one-month agreement" in half a month before making further plans. However, things didn't go as planned. Connor only stayed at home for a few days, eliminating the fatigue from the trip, and before he could even digest the "benefits" he had gained from it, a letter from Martina once again shattered Connor's peaceful life.

On a quiet, secluded lawn in the northwest corner of DuPont Racecourse on the southern outskirts of Luen, Connor and Martina, both dressed in tight-fitting outfits, each rode a strong, handsome steed.

Adjusting his hat, Connor gazed at the endless lawn in the distance and whispered to Martina beside him, "What brings you here today?"

"Can't I ask you to come out if there's nothing wrong?" Martina asked calmly. Today, she wore a rather heavy makeup, which made Martina, who was already very reserved, look exceptionally beautiful.

Upon hearing Martina's question, Connor remained silent, shifting his gaze from the distant lawn to Margaret. He looked at Martina intently. Although their relationship had improved somewhat after the previous alchemy task assigned to him by the secret society at the secret manor, where he had taught Martina some alchemy techniques and had her assist him, their relationship was not as tense as it had been at the beginning. However, it was still not so good that they would visit each other regularly.

Meeting Connor's gaze, Margaret shrugged and said, "Okay, you guessed it! I—or rather, the Secret Society—do have something to discuss with you! You need to go to the Fatica Church in the North District tomorrow evening at six o'clock!"

"You want me to go to Fatica Church? Are you sure you're not crazy?" Upon hearing the name "Fatica Church," Connor immediately sneered and mocked.

Rune, an economic powerhouse on the west coast of the Empire with a population of over a million, is the traditional sphere of influence of the Storm Church. It boasts eighteen churches of varying sizes scattered across its four districts: southeast, northwest, and southwest. The Faticalo Church, which Martina just mentioned, is the second largest of these eighteen churches, after the Storm Cathedral, the Storm Church's headquarters in Rune. Rumors circulate in the world of dark wizards in Rune that a secret prison, specifically for imprisoning dark wizards, is hidden within the Faticalo Church. The Storm Church permanently assigns a full-fledged wizard to guard this secret prison.

This rumor may not be true, but the Faticalo Church, as the second largest church of the Church of Rune Storms, is undoubtedly heavily guarded! For Connor, a dark wizard, to go there is like a mouse visiting a cat—he's never coming back.

"Connor, calm down, let me finish!" Martina wasn't surprised by Connor's reaction and continued, "I'll tell you a secret. You've probably heard the rumor about Fatica, haven't you?"

"You mean...the secret prison?" Connor's heart skipped a beat, and he asked:

"That's right! I can tell you with certainty that this rumor is 90% true!" Martina nodded, stating with absolute certainty.

"Ninety percent correct? That means there's still ten percent incorrect?" Connor thought to himself.

Before Connor could ask, Martina whispered again, "Underground in Faticaro is the legendary secret prison of the Church of Storms. Thirteen dark wizards are currently imprisoned there. However, because these imprisoned dark wizards are only novice wizards, the Church of Storms' arbitrators in charge of guarding the secret prison are not the rumored formal wizards, but rather a high-level wizard apprentice leading a seven-person arbitrator team including two intermediate wizards!"

Hearing Martina describe in such detail the people imprisoned in the secret prison and the guards, Connor was secretly alarmed. Could it be that among the guards there were... members of the secret society?

"Connor, don't worry about your identity being exposed at the Eye of the Storm in Fatica Cathedral. There are members of the Secret Society in Fatica Cathedral. They will arrange a small malfunction in the Eye of the Storm at 2 PM tomorrow, making it unable to function properly. Without the Eye of the Storm, Connor, you just need to keep your disguise in place and conceal your presence, and there won't be any problems!"

"Once you enter the Fatica Church, Connor, all you need to do is pretend to be someone going to pray. Your contact will be sitting in the inner sanctum, the second seat from the left in the third row. When you get there, sit in the second seat from the left in the fourth row. Your contact will give you the code phrase 'Praise the Goddess,' asking for her blessing to continue increasing my wealth. You respond with the code phrase 'Goddess, protect my family's health.' Then, your contact will give you something. You need to keep this safe and return it to me in a week!" Martina explained in detail to Connor what he needed to do the next day.

"Why send me?" Connor asked in a deep voice, looking into Margaret's eyes. Martina's description made it seem like there was no danger in this operation. No one would ever imagine that members of the Secret Society would meet at the Storm Church Faticalo Chapel. But Connor couldn't understand why the Secret Society would send him. What was their purpose in doing so?

"Connor, you actually have a choice, but I suggest you accept this mission!" Martina said with a slight smile. "Do you know why that thing was kept in your possession for a week before I went to retrieve it?"

Connor looked coldly at Margaret, showing no intention of answering her question.

"You've probably heard of the Dark Beacon, the dark wizarding organization, right? The Rune Society is planning to attack it within the next week. So, Connor, you have two choices: either you go attack the Dark Beacon and I'll go to Faticaro to retrieve the items, or you go to the Faticaro Cathedral to retrieve the items and I'll attack the Dark Beacon." Seeing Connor remain silent, Martina wasn't embarrassed and explained with a slight smile:

"To be honest, I'd really like Connor to go and fight the Dark Beacon. Those two old devils are a real headache. If you go, I can have a lot more free time. Of course, you can also choose to refuse the missions assigned to you by the Secret Society, but you should know very well the consequences of doing so, Connor!"

(End of this chapter)