My health recovery is incredibly fast.

If such a large group of motivated and promising alchemists and mages are all the work of Black Flag... what kind of situation is that?

Sodexo Black Flag R&D Achievement Gift Pack? Click to claim, limited quantity, first come first served?

The mission given to Black Flag by the Church of the Otherworldly Demons is called "Candied Poison Pill".

The name of this mission seems to be a good one.

txt80.com

Chapter 83 Heart Knot

Two hours later.

Shazo and Christo, among others, concluded their discussion, with the pureblood mage faction unanimously supporting the use of the Judgement Thorn for investigation.

The same applies to other factions.

The matter was passed unanimously without hindrance, and a review was scheduled to be conducted in batches three days later for all personnel on the list.

For the Temple, it would be best if the great review three days later could find the whereabouts of the Black Flag; otherwise, the list of people to be reviewed would have to be expanded to include all 682 male mages who entered important departments of the Temple after 1880.

If the second round of major review also fails to achieve the desired result...

That would be troublesome.

Either the Blade of Sin is useless against Black Flag, or... Black Flag has completely changed its identity this time, entering the temple as a female mage instead of a male mage.

Neither scenario is what the Temple wants to see. With the Church of the Otherworld about to launch a full-scale war, time is of the most precious thing. Every day that the Black Flag is delayed in being identified will create another potential threat to the Temple.

After the second matter was reviewed, the results of the 【Star Orbit】 deduction came out.

A crack appeared again in the starry sky pattern on the ceiling, and a beam of dark blue light fell onto the podium in front of Rexor, condensing into a parchment scroll.

Rexol picked up the parchment scroll, read through the text, and said:

"The results of the 【Star Orbit】 calculation show that we can trust Callus and give him the status of a member of the Temple. The possibility of him betraying the Temple is 0%."

"But that doesn't mean we don't have to impose any restrictions on him."

"Among the many plans you have proposed for supervising Callers, the following plans are the most feasible."

"The proposal put forward by the Wild Hammer Alchemist Association has been highly recognized, and [Omniscient Star Orbit] has given it a perfect score of 100."

"The Wild Hammer Alchemists Association advocates making Kalles a safe and reliable all-metal pure-blood mage because none of the existing intelligence about Black Flag can prove that Black Flag has the ability to fuse metal objects, thus basically eliminating the possibility of Black Flag fusing with Kalles again."

Rexol paused, glancing subtly at the pure-blood mage camp. "Of course, this plan preserves Calles' basic physiological functions."

Rexor continued:

"The Bloodline Power Research Working Group, established about half a year ago, believes that we should extract Karles' pure-blood mage bloodline, give a portion to the pure-blood mage camp, use a portion as research material for bloodline power, and only keep a small portion for Karles. This way, we can increase the temple's control over him."

"This plan received a score of 92 from [Omniscient Star Orbit]. The risk lies in the fact that the act of extracting bloodline power may cause dissatisfaction among Karles and the pure-blood mage faction."

Xia Zuo nodded. No one with bloodline power would allow such a thing to happen to their own kind.

Hmm… aside from the demons of the Demonic Church. Half-blood mages are experts at extracting bloodline power…

Rexol then mentioned several other plans that scored above 90 points.

They implanted an alchemical heart in Kales to control his life.

Or, give him special performance-enhancing drugs regularly to induce drug addiction that is difficult to access.

Alternatively, they could extract all his past memories and weave new ones for him, replacing his real memories with fictional, entirely new life experiences, transforming him into an ordinary pure-blooded mage who grew up within the temple's territory…

To be honest, Xia Zuo's brow twitched when he heard the last proposal...

Who came up with this solution?

hold head high?

Are you a screenwriter for time-travel dramas?

Why don't you also take this opportunity to address the decline in the pureblood mage faction's bloodline, and arrange a marriage between Kales and a female pureblood mage, starting from when they meet at the academy...

Hmm? Wait a minute, why does this plot sound so familiar...?

Xia Zuo was taken aback, never expecting that his wild thoughts would somehow end up affecting him.

Just then, Rexor announced the end of the meeting. The final decision on which plan to adopt would have to wait until the major review was complete. This was because within each of the Temple departments that proposed a plan, there were individuals who needed to be reviewed by the Blasted Thorns.

Xia Zuo tidied up the table and walked towards the door of the venue.

Before he left the room, Christo came up to him and said, “Come with me, let’s discuss how to deal with the Thorns of Sin.”

"A countermeasure?" Xia Zuo asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Hmm, you don't actually think that your unauthorized manipulation of the Blood Element servants into the anti-magic field is something so secretive that even the Blazing Thorns couldn't detect it, do you?"

"Oh, right. I almost forgot about that..." Xia Zuo scratched his head.

He had already mentally prepared himself for punishment, but when Christo offered to help him find a solution, he was immediately struck by how wonderful it was to have an organization to rely on.

Christo led the way. The two walked through a long corridor, through a teleportation room to the teaching area, and entered Christo's office.

Selena was already waiting there.

Two minutes later, the bald man stepped into the room.

Krestor had arranged a round table and chairs beforehand, and after Rexor sat down, she used magic to seal the door, blocking any prying eyes.

Selena took out a parchment scroll and placed it in front of Xia Zuo. "Take a look. This is a call-to-action contract for a rescue team. Once you sign it, your name will be on the list of members of the rescue infiltration team. Your act of sending Blood Element servants into the anti-magic field will no longer be an unauthorized and illegal action."

Rexor also took out a parchment scroll and placed it in front of Shazo. "An emergency spellcasting permit specially approved by the Witcher School. Once signed, your Blood Element servant's unauthorized actions within the anti-magic field will be wiped clean."

Xia Zuo looked at the parchment scroll on the left, then at the one on the right.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over Rex's bald head and Selena's face. "Why are you helping me? I think I can handle the consequences myself..."

“Alright, Shazo. I think I’ve figured something out.” Selena leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed, shaking her head slightly. “You were independent and disciplined when you were studying alchemy, and you never socialized with colleagues or friends after you started working. It’s not just because you’re fully committed to your studies and work, but also because you’re naturally solitary. You enjoy solitude, you like doing things alone, and you enjoy the fruits of your labor and take the risks on your own. Many people might think you’re unsociable, even a bit aloof. But I think that’s a good quality.”

Selena paused. "While I admire your character and ideas, I still have to remind you that what you did in the magic-free area will not only affect you, but also your fiancée. Do you want her to be punished as well?"

Xia Zuo fell silent.

He and Anru had discussed this matter over the past three days.

They carefully studied the Temple Laws and finally concluded:

Even if Xia Zuo takes all the blame, Anru'er will only receive a minor punishment, such as being restricted from purchasing controlled materials. This punishment won't be very powerful, but it might affect Anru'er's future advancement to Eternal Mage or her promotion.

Anru was able to accept this outcome.

She felt that as a little girl born in the Western Continent, it was a great blessing to have reached this point and have a pure-blooded mage by her side. She had no more desires in her heart and only wanted to cherish her current life and keep it going. As for advancing to a higher mage level or making further progress in her career, she would just let things take their course.

Seeing how open-minded Anru was, Xia Zuo also felt it didn't matter anymore.

He will outlive everyone in the temple; what is a short confinement to him?

But since Selena has offered a better solution, that's a different story.

Xia Zuo pondered for almost a minute, then nodded and said, "Thank you, Selena."

He looked at the bald man.

Rexol pointed at the parchment scroll. "I'm helping you mitigate the negative impact of your violation not only because you saved my life, Ceres's life, and the lives of the other infiltrators, but for another reason. However, I'll only speak to you privately after you sign this document."

“Alright.” Xia Zuo shrugged slightly, carefully read the two parchment scrolls, and then signed his name with a flourish.

Rexor gave Krestor and Selena a look, and the two of them picked up the parchment scrolls on the table and left.

After the office door closed, only Shazo and Rexor remained in the room.

The bald man dragged a chair to sit next to Xia Zuo, his face showing some anger. He lowered his voice and said in a dissatisfied tone:

"Xia Zuo, you probably haven't realized it yet, but you're like a complete jerk!"

"What?" Xia Zuo frowned and turned to look at the bald man. "Why do you say that?"

"Hmph, do you remember a few years ago when I was helping you practice with the chain mace, and you awakened blood magic during training?" Rexor asked, arms crossed.

“Of course.” Xia Zuo nodded.

"What did I say?" Rexol asked.

"What did you say..." Xia Zuo was lost in thought.

If he remembered correctly, the blood magic he awakened at that time should be [Blood Reversion] and [Flesh Disguise] - the former can bring back the life force lost outside the body and restore some of the damaged blood, while the latter is used to disguise appearance and body shape to cover up the true blood pattern characteristics.

The process of awakening [Blood Reversion] and [Flesh Disguise] was both impulsive and somewhat reckless for Xia Zuo.

He always prioritized keeping his secret, fearing that others would discover he was a cheat code user and then drag him into a lab for research... This matter had almost become a deep-seated anxieties.

While practicing with Rexor's chain mace, Shazor gained the inspiration to awaken blood magic.

He should have suppressed his inspiration for the time being and waited until he returned home after training to continue the awakening, but perhaps because of his trust in Rexor, or perhaps because he was more familiar with the other party, Shazo decided to awaken in front of the bald man.

Afterwards, Shazo asked Rexor what kind of blood magic other pureblood mages knew.

Rexor said that this was a secret of every pureblood mage; the temple did not require pureblood mages to hand over their spell lists, only that they remain loyal.

Okay... I think I know why the bald guy came to argue with me... Xia Zuo scratched his head and didn't say anything.

Seeing his expression, Rexol chuckled emotionlessly and said:

"Heh! It seems you still remember what I told you, right? The Temple has only one requirement for every pure-blood mage: loyalty, loyalty, and more loyalty! You can keep your secrets like everyone else, or you can proactively reveal some secrets at the appropriate time to help the Temple solve thorny problems, just like when you told me the name of the Blood Demon, Khurooqi, after you awakened blood magic during training. I didn't question the source or reliability of the clues precisely because I saw your loyalty to the Temple, which is why I chose to trust you unconditionally."

Rexol paused. "Think about what you did during the mission to infiltrate the anti-magic field. You concealed your strength, didn't tell me beforehand that your blood element servants could transform humans into blood mages, didn't tell me that your blood element servants possessed the ability to resurrect the dead, and didn't mention to me the immense power of your blood curse! If I had known you possessed this power earlier, I would have changed the plan, and many of our sacrifices could have been avoided, and we could have even gained a greater advantage!"

Rexor growled, “Do you think what you’re doing is loyal? No! Disloyal! You should know very well what the first rule of the Temple is—do nothing that harms the Temple’s interests, do not harm any Temple member, and do not invade any unauthorized Temple territory. Violating any of these rules will label you disloyal. Now, do you still think that creating Blood Element Servants on your own, controlling them to cross the territory of the Hammer of Desolation and the High Tower Mages, and sneaking into the anti-magic field is a trivial matter? You don’t think you’ll only be imprisoned for ten years, do you? How naive. The Blasting Thorns don’t care about your initial intentions; they only care about the results. Anyone who has committed disloyalty will only face death when facing the Blasting Thorns.”

Rexor tapped Shazo's chest with his hard fingertips. "If I die, and the entire infiltration team is wiped out, then what you did will remain unknown and unpunished. But unfortunately, you saved me, so I must fulfill my duty and keep an eye on each and every one of you. At the same time, I will strive to repay your life-saving grace. Although your concealment of your strength makes me feel that my act of sacrificing myself is laughable like a clown's performance, the fact remains that you saved me and the other infiltration team members. We will repay your kindness. Just now, when you signed that special authorization letter, the Witcher School and you were even. Do you agree?"

“I agree with your approach.” Xia Zuo took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Master. I admit that I made a serious mistake. Thank you for helping me correct it.”

Perhaps seeing that Shazo's attitude was good, Rexor suppressed his anger and his tone became calmer:

Our world is only this big... for now, it's only this big.

"So don't try your bold ideas on the edge of the law, because if you break the law, you'll have nowhere to escape."

"No matter how powerful an individual is, they cannot contend with the Temple. Even the Shadow Demon Overlord, who controls the Dark Chamber, only dares to cower within the Dark Chamber plane, because it knows that once it steps into the natural world, only destruction awaits it. We are always preparing a great gift for it."

"I have met many, many pureblood mages. Although you all look and have different personalities, you are all the same in your caution. You are worried that if you expose your blood magic talent, you will be used by otherworldly demons or other malicious people."