Wizard Earl

"I think Margaret, you guessed right. Christant is very likely the top intelligence chief of your Storm Church!" Connor replied with a bitter tone via telepathy. "This old man doesn't even know his identity has been guessed by you. He's still speaking to me as a formal wizard-level priest, but I can sense that he's hiding some kind of powerful enchanted artifact. That's definitely not something an ordinary formal wizard-level priest should be able to carry!"

Upon hearing Connor's words, Margaret, who was watching the opera "La Traviata," seemed to realize something, and her expression changed slightly. She tentatively transmitted her voice to Connor, asking, "Connor, do you mean that Christant has a level three enchanted item?"

"That's possible, but I can't be sure what it is yet. As an alchemist, I can only vaguely sense a powerful aura emanating from Christant, a aura unique to enchanted objects!" Connor nodded and replied telepathically.

Hearing Connor's words, Margaret nodded subtly, then asked Connor again, "Connor, what did Christant talk to you about at the Destin Tavern?"

In response to Margaret's question, Connor recalled his conversation with Christant and pondered for a moment before saying, "From the very beginning, Christant deliberately acted very assertive, both to try and control the situation and seemingly to give me a hard time, hoping I would obey. After sensing the powerful energy of that enchanted artifact emanating from him, I subtly tested him with my words."

"Christant seemed somewhat angry at my probing, but he remained relatively restrained and didn't storm off, which showed how much he valued this meeting. He then threatened me, demanding I do something for the church. He threatened to issue a warrant for my arrest if I refused, preventing me from becoming Earl Ferguson and even banishing me from ever returning to Frosinone. However, after I agreed, he didn't tell me what it was; he just told me to go back and wait for the delivery!"

"The next day at Ferguson Mansion, I received a package from Christant. The contents were exactly what Margaret had asked me to investigate!"

After recounting the whole story to Margaret, Connor, sitting behind her, couldn't help but glance at her. He was genuinely confused about some of the details of what Christant had asked him to do, so he was eager to learn something from Margaret.

Margaret was clearly aware of Connor's expectations of her. After carefully considering her words, she explained to Connor, "Because Christant is very likely the intelligence director of the Black Organization, using the Storm Church's intelligence network to investigate would easily alert Christant. So this time, I didn't use the Storm Church's connections. Instead, I found a reliable friend who used the Earth God Church's channels to investigate the man named Ruiz whom Christant asked you to kill!"

"This man named Ruiz, like you Connor, is a member of the Secret Society. However, what's strange is that although Ruiz has the cultivation of a high-level wizard apprentice, he only joined the Secret Society five years ago. However, he has never been able to squeeze into the core circle of the Secret Society and can only be considered a dispensable little minion on the periphery of your Secret Society."

"That guy Ruiz's identity was exposed three years ago, and he was targeted by the Earth God Cult. However, because of his secret society affiliation, neither the two major churches nor the Ninth Bureau took action against him. Everyone was planning to play the long game and catch a big fish. Based on my investigation, apart from the possibility of a blood oath, I can't imagine why Krestant would want you to kill him!" Margaret's tone became somewhat doubtful at the end, clearly Ruiz had caused her a lot of confusion.

Based on the information Margaret provided, Connor pondered for a moment, then asked Margaret again, "Margaret, do you know why Ruiz joined the secret society?"

"In the secular world, Ruiz is a pawnshop owner, but he actually has connections in the business of disposing of stolen goods. Three years ago, the secret society needed to distribute a batch of items, and Ruiz helped a lot, making outstanding profits. As a result, he was recruited by the secret society as an outer member. The Cult of the Earth God has surveillance records on him, and the records show that apart from distributing goods, the secret society rarely contacts Ruiz!" Margaret explained.

After listening to Margaret's explanation, Connor frowned. Apart from the fact that Ruiz was a member of the secret society, he couldn't detect anything wrong with Ruiz.

Two days ago, when Connor received the package from Christant, instructing him to kill a man named Ruiz from the Malaga neighborhood of Ipurua, a city 200 kilometers from Frosinone, he realized that Christant was setting a trap for him. That's why he didn't head to Ipurua but immediately contacted Margaret to find out who this Ruiz was. But now it seems he really has to go to Ipurua to find out!

In short, Connor was convinced that Christant was the head of intelligence for the Church of Storms and the intelligence director of the Black Organization. He believed that Christant's meeting with him, disguised as a priest, was not solely for Connor Ferguson's sake, but that Connor Ferguson did not yet have the power to do so.

Christant must have a deeper purpose in doing this, and in Connor's eyes, that deeper purpose was undoubtedly the Secret Society and Reyes. Only a behemoth like the Secret Society and a second-level wizard like Reyes could make Christant, the head of intelligence, travel thousands of miles, taking several days and nights by train, from the capital Bernabéu to Frosinone specifically to meet him.

And now that Margaret has revealed that Ruiz is a member of the Secret Society, it undoubtedly further confirms Connor's idea!

Just as Connor was lost in thought, Marguerite, during an intermission in the opera, telepathically called out to him again: "Connor, Philo has disappeared!"

Connor, who was deep in thought, was slightly taken aback when he heard the news, and then asked Margaret, "What happened?"