Mystery: The Witch of Desire

Before Livre could express her surprise, Arrodes continued with another question:

"Now, it's your turn to answer my questions."

"My question is: Could you take me to see the great ruler above the gray fog?"

Livre raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by Arrodes' question.

The great ruler above the gray fog refers to Klein...

Why did Arrodes want to see Klein? It seemed to have always been very interested in the gray fog.

Could it be that this perverted mirror intends to unleash its twisted desires on Klein? Tsk…

Livre pondered for a moment, then nodded and said:

"Sure, I'll let you meet him after I return to the Northern Continent, but..."

She revealed a sly look and said:

"I'm currently facing a lot of trouble in the Southern Continent. In order for you to see him as soon as possible, you need to help me get rid of these troubles."

The mirror of Arodes trembled slightly, and after a long while, somewhat dejected words appeared:

"I have never seen such a shameless person."

"Fine, I can offer you a free question as a way to help you leave the Southern Continent as soon as possible. Now, tell me your question."

Livre thought for a moment, then tentatively said:

"I'd like to know where Rowling Augustus is right now?"

She had previously tried to divine Rowling's location using the magic mirror, but had not received any effective answers. Livre was not surprised; after all, if she could easily divine Rowling's location, then the Rose School and the Witch Cult could as well.

Arrodes was very resistant to the 'business' of finding people, so Livre was never able to obtain any useful clues about Rowling through occult means.

Sure enough, upon hearing the question, Arodes immediately displayed words of dissatisfaction:

"I can easily find answers to known facts that are now history. But to find someone whose position is constantly changing, I need to constantly make corrections from the spirit world, which is a very troublesome thing!"

In the past, Livre would have given up, but now, she has Arrodes's weakness in her hands.

Livre crossed her arms over her chest and gave a cold laugh:

"If you still want to see the great ruler above the spirit world, you'd better answer my questions honestly."

Arodes paused for a moment, then uttered a few words with extreme humiliation:

"Okay, wait a moment."

Immediately, ripples began to appear on the surface of the Arodes mirror, and several tens of seconds later, a hazy coordinate appeared.

"Here."

"The Pass River Valley, the border between East and West Bairon."

“The Pass Valley?” Livre frowned. “That’s quite a large geographical area, with several cities inhabited by hundreds of thousands of people. Please narrow down the scope a bit more.”

"It's impossible. To be able to limit such a small area with just a name, you really should thank the great power of Arodes."

Arodes proudly displayed new words, the mirror's light gradually faded, and he went off to enjoy himself somewhere else.

Well, anyway, at least we've narrowed down the search area; it's better than searching for a needle in a haystack across the entire Southern Continent...

Moreover, the Pass Valley is located at the border of East and West Bayron, where people from the two major colonies gather. It is a favorite hiding place for various resistance organizations, and the 'Bound Ones' organization that Miss Sharon mentioned is probably located in this area.

Okay, it's decided, let's head to the Pass Valley!

The following day, Livre went to the Gurain City steam train station and bought a ticket to Highland City, the central city of the Pass Valley.

As the front line dividing the eastern and western Byron colonies, Highland City was separated by thick walls, dividing the city into East Highland City and West Highland City.

The entire Pass Valley was under the colonial rule of the Intis Empire, so East Highlands City was essentially an enclave of the Kingdom of Rune within the Pass Valley.

Normally, there are dedicated steam trains and horse-drawn carriages running directly from East Byron to East Highlands City, and airships in the sky for transporting supplies and exchanging people. Intis also allows Rune's transportation lines to pass through its territory, and the two sides have reached a certain degree of tacit understanding.

But in the tense situation, shortly after entering the Pass Valley, the steam train carrying Livre was stopped and searched by Intis.

Because of her gender, Livre was not subjected to excessive questioning, but several gentlemen in the same carriage were found with pistols and confidential documents and were detained by the Intis gendarmes. They could become victims of colonial conflict or additional bargaining chips at the negotiating table.

Finally, the steam train arrived at the East Highlands station. Seeing the heavily armed Kingdom soldiers at the station, the passengers breathed a sigh of relief and began to loudly complain about the rudeness and barbarity of the Intis.

During the great colonial era, the Intis Empire entered the Pass Valley first. Through diplomatic negotiations and naval pressure, the kingdom secured its rights in this treasure land of the southern continent, obtaining half of the former capital of the Highland Kingdom: Highland City.

But now, this right is more like being a hostage of the Intis Empire.

In the current tense situation, East Highlands has become a piece of meat on Intis's chopping board. If they want, they can cut off the connection between East Highlands and East Byron at any time, besiege it, or even launch a large-scale attack.

What fate awaits the thousands of soldiers and nearly 100,000 residents of the Northern Continent who are stranded in the Eastern Highlands?

The scene was too beautiful for Liviel to think about in detail, so she went to the main street of East Highlands and found a reasonably nice inn:

Peace Hotel.

"Miss, which side's spy are you?" The hotel receptionist with a small mustache asked, looking at Livre's forged identity documents. "Are you from the Empire or the Kingdom?"

Before Livre could react, the man with the mustache continued in a mocking tone:

"If you're from the Empire, I'll arrange for you to stay on the fifth floor; if you're from the Kingdom, you'll stay on the sixth floor. Don't worry, you'll eventually find your organization here... Haha, don't mind me, I was just joking."

Could you please stop telling these Soviet jokes? They give me the illusion of being back on Earth...

Livre muttered to herself, and under the mustachioed man's arrangement, she moved into room 508 on the fifth floor. Clearly, this mustachioed man thought that Livre's alluring temperament was more like that of an Intis.

At this moment, a dark brown-skinned Aboriginal waiter came over and took Livr's heavy luggage, while another Aboriginal led her to a row of small rooms.

"This is a direct elevator that will take you to your desired floor."

The waiter grasped the handle and pulled open the door to one of the small rooms that was not in use.

Livre entered the elevator and found it to be a small cubicle like an elevator building, supported by an iron plate at the bottom and surrounded by iron railings with chains connecting to pulleys above.

In an era without electricity, how did they manage to power elevators with steam...?

As Liviel was pondering this with some curiosity, she suddenly felt a series of blank stares.

She looked down at the metal plate below, where four dark-skinned aboriginal men, strong and with unfocused eyes, were pulling a chain connected to a pulley above.

As the waiter pressed the button for Liver, the four indigenous people pulled on the chains one by one, taking the elevator to the top.

"The chain and pulley mesh in a reverse tooth shape, so the ladder can only move in one direction. There's no need to worry about the slaves not being strong enough, causing the ladder to suddenly fall..."

The waiter, who was also an indigenous person, noticed that Liver's brows were furrowed and assumed she was worried that the elevator would fall, so he offered to comfort her.

"lackey? Is that how you address your fellow countrymen...?"

Livr sighed deeply, said nothing more, and walked out of the elevator.

In the corridor, two blond-haired men were communicating in Intis. When they saw Livia approaching, they stopped talking and looked at her with amazement.

One of them stepped forward to greet Livia, bowed deeply, and spoke in Intis:

"Miss, your beauty is sweeter than the most delicious Porto wine. Just one glance at you and I feel like I'm about to fall at your feet."

Although Livre had temporarily mastered the Intis language using the ritual staff, she didn't want to pay any attention to this man who perfectly fit the Intis stereotype. She simply nodded slightly, walked past him, and returned to her room.

"A Rune?" The man looked at his companion in surprise. "I never expected that Rune would have such a charming and beautiful lady. I thought their women were all as old and rigid as nuns."

His companion replied coldly:

“Meyer, don’t act like a stallion in heat. We have important business to attend to…”

Could this entire floor really be inhabited by Intis people...?

Liviel thought to herself, "It seems that the 'Intis content' of East Highlands City is really quite high. If a war breaks out, it's only a matter of time before it falls."

Pushing open the door and entering the room, Livre dismissed the servants and began changing her clothes while studying the map of Highland City.

Looking west from the window, she saw the long line stretching across the map: the High Wall.

Chapter 223 The Fate of the Bound God

On a map, it is just a line, but in the real world, it is a city wall more than ten meters high, half a meter thick, and hundreds of kilometers long, enclosing the entire East Highlands City and blocking the flow of people and goods between the East and West Highlands.

On the high walls are sixteen gates, guarded day and night by soldiers from both the kingdom and the empire. These gates function as import/export ports, enforcing either strict or lax inspection systems, depending on the tension in international relations between the kingdom and the empire.

Not far west of the central avenue where the Peace Hotel is located is Gate No. 1 of the High Wall. Livre can see the gate, which is about four meters high and six meters wide, directly from the fifth floor. It is wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side.

Normally, merchants and ordinary people only need an official certificate to pass through, and some certificates are valid indefinitely, so there is no need to apply for them repeatedly.

But now, even with proof in hand, she would be subjected to layers of questioning by the enemy soldiers and might be treated like a spy. Therefore, Liviel could see that Gate 17 was deserted and there were not many people coming and going.

After a moment's thought, Livre sketched out a wall of spirituality and summoned the messenger.

After the four bright heads emerged one by one, Livre asked:

“Miss Renette, I have arrived at the Pass River Valley. Could you tell me the exact location of the ‘Bound One’?”

Upon hearing this, the messenger girl closed all four of her eyes simultaneously and began to quietly sense the sensation.

Livre found this scene rather strange: the messenger seemed not to know where the "bound ones" were, but rather to be sensing their location on the fly.

After a long while, the messenger girl opened her eyes, and the four heads spoke in turn:

"In, Bai, Lin, Street"

Numbers 1, 3, and 6.

Best, fastest, point

They will move.

Miss Messenger, please don't describe them like cockroaches...

Livre didn't dare to delay and quickly packed her things before setting off.

She intended to carry all her important belongings with her at all times, which has always been her habit.

However, Livre now finds herself embarrassed to discover that she has far too many important things. Carrying them all with her would be too bulky, and she doesn't feel comfortable leaving them at the hotel.

If only I could throw things into the gray fog like Klein did. Do I have any similar spatial containers...?

As Liviel pondered this, she took out a mirror, preparing to travel downstairs. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind: Could she store things in the mirror world?

Yes, the mirror world is indeed a space that can exist stably, but whether it can safely store things remains to be further verified.

On a whim, Liviel put some not-so-precious materials and some spare change into the mirror world.

Then, she walked out through the other end of the passage and came to the outside of the Peace Hotel.

As soon as she appeared, many coachmen who had been waiting nearby approached her, eagerly asking if she needed a ride. Because the residents of the northern continent of Highland City made up a large proportion of the population, horse-drawn carriages were the main mode of transportation in the city, and the number of "coffins" was relatively small, which was exactly what Livia was happy to see.

She always felt strange being carried around in the "coffin".

After boarding a carriage, Livre headed towards 136 Whitewood Street. Through the carriage window, she saw many shops with "Closed" signs, and many merchants were busy loading their goods onto their carriages and moving them to a safer place.

"There have been rumors that those Intis guys are about to attack. What's a beautiful lady like you doing wandering around the city?"

The carriages in the city didn't move very fast, and the indigenous driver chatted idly with Lively through the ventilation panel at the front of the carriage.

"We don't need to run, and we have nowhere to run anyway. No matter which group of 'masters' from the north comes, we'll all be slaves..."

Although the driver spoke with an air of optimism, he honestly expressed his inner concerns. After all, if a conflict were to break out between the two sides, a large number of indigenous people would undoubtedly be sent to the front lines as cannon fodder, undertaking logistical tasks such as building fortifications and transporting supplies and ammunition. The mortality rate for these tasks was even higher than that of regular army soldiers.

Before getting off the carriage, the driver gratefully thanked Livre for the generous tip she had given him, and at the same time advised her to take it easy: in Highland City, tense situations are as common as rainy weather, but a storm big enough to destroy the entire city has never occurred.

After getting off the car, Livre looked at No. 136 Whitewood Street in front of her. It was a four-story building with several signs, including "Northern Restaurant" and "Michel Foreign Trade Company". The exterior was painted white, which looked clean and tidy, but it didn't quite match the colonial atmosphere.

Liviel sensed the interior of the small building but found no unusual spiritual fluctuations. She left a mirror at the door and went inside.

The first and second floors housed a general store and a restaurant serving Northern Continent cuisine, respectively. Liviel didn't notice anything amiss and went straight to the third floor. Outside the stairwell was a reception desk belonging to Michelle's Foreign Trade Company.

Because the decor was so similar to that of Blackthorn Security Company, Livre almost instinctively assumed that the so-called Michelle Foreign Trade Company was just a front, and that their true identity was that of the 'bound ones' resisting the kingdom's colonial rule.

Behind the reception desk sat a woman from the Northern Continent, about 1.6 meters tall, with light brown skin and a somewhat withered face, appearing malnourished. Upon seeing Livia's arrival, she stood up in surprise and spoke in Rune, which had a strange accent:

"Miss, the restaurant is on the second floor."

How long has it been since you last served a customer...?

Liviel, slightly embarrassed, muttered to herself, then cleared her throat and said:

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Michelle Foreign Trade Company, is this the right place?"

The receptionist looked Livia up and down strangely for a moment, then nodded and said:

"This is the place... However, we're undergoing bankruptcy liquidation and will be moving soon. Is there anything I can help you with? We shouldn't have any external business anymore..."

Livre paused slightly, looked at the rooftop, and asked again: