My health recovery is incredibly fast.

Adhering to the principle that seeking the top leads to the middle, and seeking the middle leads to the bottom, Xia Zuo took to the podium with a very tough attitude, strongly demanding that all parties present abstain from voting on the proposed solution to the Callers issue.

He has the right to do so.

He helped Calles bring back important intelligence and was one of the reasons why.

Secondly, after secretly signing an agreement with the Temple army to establish a pseudo-blood mage legion, the Temple army gained a deeper understanding of blood magic, including blood magic clones, blood magic puppets, and blood element servants.

They realized that this was a strategic force that could turn the tide of battle at crucial moments.

Therefore, the Temple army quietly made some moves, finding several great alchemists and high tower scholars who had long supplied the army with military supplies at the two temple meetings to support Xia Zuo when he took the stage to speak, giving Xia Zuo strong support.

Most of the attendees in the meeting hall were unaware of Xia Zuo's relationship with the Temple army, but that did not prevent them from keenly sensing the undercurrents in the meeting. As a result, these people changed from Xia Zuo's opponents to neutrals.

Then, as more people realized that the tide had turned, radicals among the neutrals took the initiative to become supporters of Xia Zuo, leading more people to follow Xia Zuo's proposals.

The final resolution and voting results greatly satisfied Xia Zuo and the other pure-blooded mages.

Callus preserved his body, bloodline power, and all blood magic. The only two restrictions were an alchemical bomb implanted in his heart and a fixed annual contribution of [Life Essence].

Nukalofa's insistence on seeing "Shazo" disguised as Kalles... no matter how you look at it, it seems a bit strange.

Rexor turned to the high-level codebreaker, Kadum, and asked, "Why do you think Nukalofa insists on seeing 'Shazo'? Could he be hiding some insidious scheme that we don't know about?"

"I think it might be related to memory."

Kadum's octopus-like ears moved automatically without wind, and his tentacles swayed slowly on both sides of his head, an outward sign that he was in a state of deep thought.

"The labyrinth of consciousness is winding and profound."

"Just when we thought we had figured out everything about Callus, there might be some kind of 'mind mechanism' hidden deep in his consciousness that could be triggered by members of the Church of the Otherworld."

Kadum bowed slightly. "I'm not questioning your or the other Witcher Masters' professional competence; this is merely a well-intentioned reminder based on my duty. I feel it's absolutely crucial that Karles doesn't appear before Nukalofa. The triggering conditions for the [Mind Machine] are difficult to detect; a mere gesture, action, or command could cause someone who has already submitted to the Temple to fall back into corruption. He might not show it on the spot, but given the right moment, he will inevitably bring severe consequences."

“Hmm… There have been similar instances in the Temple before, so we must remain vigilant.” Rexor frowned in thought, his gaze shifting to Shazo’s face in front of him.

"Do you think it's alright for you to go and meet Nukalofa in place of Calles? Normally, I shouldn't let you take such a risk, but time is of the essence now, and it might not be enough to quickly create a blood magic puppet that closely resembles you..."

“I…” Xia Zuo hesitated for a moment, then pondered, “Okay.”

“Alright, I’ll protect you.” Rexor patted Shazo on the shoulder and looked at Selena. “Prepare an Image Orb for Shazo. I want to see what Nukalofa will do to him. Also, get some amulets to protect against mind magic.”

Selena rummaged through her alchemy pouch and pulled out two metal rings and a pearl necklace.

“Here, put these on.” Selena shoved the items into Shazo’s hands. “These two rings are powerful amulets. Wearing them together can withstand mind spells with a power of less than 200 points. The pearls on the pearl necklace contain image beads inside. When you wear them around your neck, you can record what is happening in front of you.”

Xia Zuo put the thumb ring on his left and right thumbs, and then hung the pearl necklace around his neck.

Rexor set up a new [Mind Seal], the sole purpose of which was to help Shazo block out the language of the Otherworldly Demons.

The bald man then set up several trigger-based protective spells to ensure Xia Zuo's safety in all aspects.

"Gentlemen, get ready. Shazo and I are going in." Rexor instructed Kadum, "If Nuk'alofa speaks any Otherworldly language, translate it for me immediately."

“Yes.” Kadum nodded.

"How long until brain death?" Rexol asked.

Selena glanced at the countdown timer on the alchemy instrument. "13 minutes."

Rexol said, "With the last 10 seconds left, regardless of whether Nukalofa has revealed the whereabouts of the Black Flag, you must activate the freezing device on the incubator."

“Okay,” Selena replied.

“Let’s go in.” Rexol patted Shazo on the shoulder and walked towards the glass wall first.

The enchanted glass wall has the function of screening visitors; only authorized people can pass through it.

Xia Zuo took a deep breath, followed the bald man into the glass wall, and entered a state of mind where he kept his eyes and nose closed and his nose closed. He walked past the death row inmate with a blank expression and sat down in the seat opposite the inmate under Rexor's arrangement.

"Xia...Zuo..." The death row inmate gritted his teeth, glared angrily, and rattled off a long string of words of greetings to his relatives.

Although... Xia Zuo knew that the other party didn't want to curse him, he still felt strange... No one would feel good being pointed at and cursed at.

Rexor reached out and pressed down on the agitated death row inmate, his right hand gripping the man's shoulder blade like an iron clamp, firmly pinning him to the seat.

“Nukalofa, it’s time for you to keep your promise.” Rexol’s tone left no room for argument.

"Huff~ Huff~" The death row inmate's chest heaved violently, then gradually calmed down, his eyes still fixed fiercely on Xia Zuo.

"Okay, I'll tell you."

Nukalofa slowly loosened his clenched fist. "Although Sodike Black Flag is a member of the Church of the Otherworldly Demons, no one can restrain him."

"What do you mean?" Rexor sat down across the table, next to Shazo.

“Sodike Black Flag will never obey the Church of the Otherworld. Do you understand?” Nukalofa said.

“He was left behind by Lord Vasaksat to monitor us. He is of higher status than all of us; even Gersbech, the Shadow Demon Overlord, and the Bishop have to bow to him.”

Nukalofa scoffed, “Ha, this guy is so carefree and has never taken the war between you and us seriously. His attitude… he treats it like he’s playing in his own backyard. He often sneaks away from the church headquarters and disappears without a trace without reporting to the bishop, only to come back when he’s tired of playing.”

Rexor Mosso's bald head feels somewhat... how to say it, somewhat unbelievable.

Nukalofa's description is completely different from what Rexor imagined, and it cannot be ruled out that Nukalofa is making things up.

“Hard to believe, isn’t it?” Nukalofa chuckled self-deprecatingly. “But it’s true. The last time he appeared at the Church of the Otherworld was 30 years ago. He indulged in pleasure there for several days, then left a letter and disappeared again. In the letter, he said that he was interested in your achievements over the past thousand years and that he wanted to have some fun on your turf.”

Shazo remained indifferent, sitting motionless in his seat, and quietly activated his bloodline connection, asking Rexor:

'The information he provided is completely different from the battle plan my Bloodline servants found at the Demonic Church headquarters. How did Sodike Blackflame become a high-ranking member of the Demonic Church? Is he just trying to stall us for time?'

'Let's assume he's telling the truth for now.' Rexol tapped the table. 'Nukalofa, get to the point. Your time is more precious than ours.'

“Give me a map of your territory and a pen,” Nukalofa said.

Rexor reached under his leather armor and pulled out a parchment scroll, which he spread on the table. Unfolded it into a topographical map of the territory without place names, followed by a charcoal pencil without a tip.

With his silvery palm, he removed the chains from Nukalofa's right arm.

Nukalofa gripped the charcoal pencil and slid it across the map, quickly drawing a dozen circles. "Here, here, and here..."

Rexor watched the other's movements and noticed that the circled areas all had one thing in common—Sordic Blackflag had separated creatures in those areas at least twice.

After Nukalofa finished drawing the circles, he connected the locations with arcs and pushed the map and charcoal pencil back in front of Rexor.

“This is a map that Sodike Black Flag left in the church. He said he would follow these routes and play around your territory. If we want to find him, we just need to wait at these places.”

“When I was still a church deacon, I was tasked with finding Sodike Black Flag. I sent many half-blood mages to stake out these places. They would disguise themselves in specific ways, wear specific ornaments, stand in conspicuous places, and perform specific actions. Of course, secret codes were also indispensable.”

Nukalofa struggled, the chains binding him rattling. "You have to untie me before I can demonstrate for you."

Rexol looked at him warily. "Have you made contact with Sodick Blackflame?"

“Yes.” The death row inmate said calmly, “If I haven’t had amnesia for too long, the last time we contacted him was nine months ago. We got his approval before we finally decided to sacrifice civilians in the territory.”

Rexor paused briefly, then used Telepathy to ask Selena, 'What is his mental energy reading?'

'26 points, a significant drop from before.'

It seems that Nukalofa has calmed down considerably after his previous outburst.

Rexor considered for a few seconds, cast a spell shield on himself and Shazo, and then used Silver Sand Hand to remove the chains from the death row inmates.

The heavy chains hit the ground, and the condemned prisoner breathed a sigh of relief.

He moved his aching wrists and other joints a few times, then stood up shakily from the chair and went to the table.

He struck a strange pose:

Stand with your feet staggered, right foot forward, left toes touching the right heel. Keep your thighs straight and together. Lean your upper body forward at a 90-degree angle, arms at your sides, hands forming an arc, then right hand on left chest and left hand back against your lower back.

This gesture... looks a lot like the way actors thank the audience after a performance.

The death row inmate raised his upper body, facing forward, and opened his arms again, with his right arm close to his ear and pointing straight up, while his left arm was held horizontally at his left side, parallel to his shoulder.

"%！@#￥%.."

Strange sounds came from the condemned prisoner's mouth.

"It's the language of the Otherworldly!" Kadum alerted the bald man with a telepathic spell. "It sounds like he's chanting a spell."

"The energy reading is rising, it's back to 45 points," Selena said.

Rexol remained calm, staring intently at the condemned prisoner.

Xia Zuo patted him on the shoulder and pointed to the parchment scroll on the table. "Look!"

Rexor glanced at the exam paper out of the corner of his eye, then immediately shoved Shazo aside, "Get out of here!"

The circles and lines on the parchment were flowing back onto the charcoal pencil in an inverted manner.

When the last trace of black ink was added to the charcoal pencil, the pencil, which had been used up by more than half, was restored to its original state.

The parchment scroll also rolled itself upside down, flying towards Rexor in a bizarre trajectory. At that moment, the charcoal pencil turned into a black shadow and shot towards the bald man.

While dodging the parchment scrolls and charcoal pencils, Rexor used Telepathy to command, 'Don't freeze the incubation tank yet, let's see what he's up to!'

Just as Xia Zuo was about to walk through the glass wall, a dark figure instantly blocked his way.

The death row inmate stood in a strange posture in front of Xia Zuo, continuing to loudly recite an unknown language.

Now let's look at Rexol.

At some point, charcoal pencils and parchment scrolls caught up with him.

Chains woven from charcoal powder bound Rexor tightly, while the parchment scroll was enlarged several times, transforming into a tough leather bag that completely enveloped Rexor.

"Hahaha!" The death row inmate let out a series of arrogant laughs. "I succeeded! Letso! Didn't expect that, did you! Shazo is ours..."

The laughter stopped abruptly the next second.

The death row inmate stared at Xia Zuo in astonishment. "Why isn't there any reaction?"

"What does it have to do with me if you're looking for Xia Zuo?" In an instant, Xia Zuo conjured several long whips of blood magic, whipping them into blood shadows and lashing them at the death row inmate.

"You're not Xia Zuo?!" The death row inmate was lashed away by the blood magic whip with a bang, crashing into the glass wall with a clang, his body limp and slowly sliding down.

His eyes blazed with fury as he shouted at the bald man bound by charcoal chains and sheepskin:

"Despicable! You're still as despicable as ever! You actually deceived a dying man! He's not Xia Zuo at all! He's not!"

The blood magic whip lashed out again, striking the condemned prisoner's lungs.

Xia Zuo intentionally held back a bit of force to avoid whipping the death row inmate to death... although he didn't know what negative consequences would be involved in killing the medium.

The condemned prisoner was whipped away by the blood magic whip, spitting out a mouthful of blood that spilled onto the ground, creating a pool of blood.

He collapsed to the ground, his chest noticeably sunken.