Chapter 762: The Next Day

Southern Continent, Lacré Region.

During the day, Lake Darsh was clear and still, reflecting the blue sky above and the distant snow-capped mountains, beautiful as a dream.

Lumian had no mood to admire the scenery; he walked slowly around a pit at the edge of the side forest, accompanied by Ludvig, dressed in a woolen formal jacket, and Lu Jianuo, wrapped in a thin cotton coat.

Inside the pit lay dozens of highly decomposed corpses, in a semi-melted state, as if fused with the surrounding soil, breaking down in a unique way to return nutrients to the earth.

Seeing this, Lumian roughly understood why Oseto, the "Witch King," had not destroyed the corpses after performing the ritual, leaving behind evidence and traces:

Burying the corpses, letting them return to the earth, must be part of the ritual!

Last night, after reviewing the materials provided by the "Knight of the Sword," Lumian had formed a clearer idea of how to find Oseto, a key follower of the "Primordial Moon."

Clearly, conventional methods like "Magic Mirror Divination" would be ineffective; otherwise, the "Knight of the Sword"'s companion—the highly intuitive member of the Temperance Sect—would have already found Oseto.

Lumian's current strategy had three branches:

First, since Oseto was a member of the "Rose Sect" and had long associated with the Hedonists, embracing indulgence as a philosophy, he would have Franca and Jianna, the two "Witches," dress up elaborately and stroll through Lacré City, hoping to encounter Oseto and provoke this "Witch King," who never restrained his desires, into taking action—of course, under the protection provided by the Temperance Sect.

Meanwhile, Anthony would follow Franca and Jianna using "Psychological Invisibility" or by disguising himself as an ordinary person, observing the reactions of those who saw the two "Witches," watching for any clear signs of malice to identify Oseto before he acted, eliminating the threat before it emerged.

As for whether Oseto had already received the "Great Mother's" blessing and transformed into a woman, this detail did not affect the two "Witches" luring him—Lumian, based on his observations of Madame Pualis and Franca, suspected Oseto would still prefer women, at most also liking men.

Second, leveraging his own Oumibela bloodline, which allowed the "Great Mother's" blessed to sense him within a certain range, he would wander throughout the Lacré region, attempting to lure out Oseto; similarly, Lu Jianuo, who carried some abnormality possibly tied to the "Great Mother," was also an excellent bait.

Third, re-examining Oseto's abandoned site to see if anything there could be eaten.

Pinching his nose, Lumian carefully inspected the traces inside and outside the pit and the dozens of corpses, then turned his head to ask Ludvig:

"Is it dirty?"

"Very dirty," Ludvig nodded vigorously.

"Dirty from the 'Great Mother'?" Lumian pressed further.

Ludvig grunted, his expression filled with struggle.

Then, as expected, he heard his godfather ask:

"Can you eat it?"

Hearing this, Lu Jianuo couldn't help gagging; Marinich, the "Knight of the Sword," who had been quietly observing and suppressing his emotions, twitched his eyebrows slightly.

Ludvig answered reluctantly:

"Yes."

"After eating it, can you sense the child the corpse gave birth to?" Lumian asked further.

Based on his experience, these corpses should have all been passively impregnated during the ritual, their bellies filled with bird-claw monsters growing rapidly, then tearing through their mothers' abdomens, absorbing the remaining essence, and crawling out on their own.

From a mystical perspective, whether willingly or forcibly, the bird-claw infants and the corpses shared the closest bloodline connection, allowing one to easily locate the other—or even perform a curse across distance.

But the "Knight of the Sword"'s records stated their bloodline-based divinations yielded no results; the bird-claw infants that had crawled from these corpses seemed to have vanished from the world.

This might be due to a high-ranking entity performing powerful anti-divination, or perhaps the bird-claw infants' state had changed; Lumian could only hope Ludvig might extract some different information by eating them.

Ludvig frowned and said:

"You can extract a trace of the corpse's bloodline through certain cooking methods; although this won't let me sense the child's location or condition from afar, if both are within thirty meters, I should be able to sense its presence."

"Good," Lumian thought the result was better than expected.

Then he watched Ludvig crouch down and use a silver child's knife and fork to detach a piece of semi-melted, semi-rotted flesh from one of the corpses.

The dripping yellow pus and the revolting state of the flesh made Lu Jianuo turn away, gazing instead at Lake Darsh and the city of Lacré on the other side.

Ludvig then asked Lumian to retrieve from "The Traveler's Satchel" an iron pot, a stand, wheat flour, liqueur, several spices, and a block of congealed pork fat.

Lumian acted as the "cook's" assistant, mainly tending the fire, while Ludvig first melted the pork fat, then added a bit of liqueur and several spices, stirring up a rich, enticing aroma.

Next, he wrapped the rotting flesh in wheat flour and dropped it into the iron pot, frying it in the dark-colored, fragrant pork fat.

The scent of fragrance and decay mingled and spread.

Finally, Ludvig finished cooking, skewered the golden-brown flour meatballs, and shoved one into his mouth.

As he chewed, tears seemed to well in his eyes; he looked pitiful, as if wronged.

"You didn't complain when you ate raw 'Loki,'" Lumian joked.

Ludvig mumbled:

"Rotten stuff tastes bad, and it has no spiritual quality."

After swallowing the decent-looking fried meatball, Ludvig slowly spoke while savoring it:

"The dead were born on the second day of each year."

"What's special about that?" Lumian asked.

Ludvig quickly stuffed candy into his mouth and replied offhandedly:

"In myth and legend, the first day was when the world was originally created; the second day was when the 'Great Mother' was born."

"I've never heard of such a myth…" Lu Jianuo, facing away, muttered in confusion.

Lumian, lost in thought, turned his gaze to the other corpses:

"Could their birthdays also be the second day of each year?"

"I recall that many southern tribes celebrate New Year differently from the north; their first day isn't always January 1st. So, what exactly does 'the second day of the year' mean? Which calendar are they using?"

Ludvig, candy in his mouth, replied:

"Any calendar will do—as long as it's the second day of the New Year according to the one you believe in."

Pure symbolic meaning… Lumian turned his body toward the "Knight of the Sword":

"Have you confirmed the identities and birthdays of these corpses?"

Lacré, within the Star Plateau, was a relatively prosperous region with a large population, comparable to the area around Lumian's previous destination, the "White City" Lapus, and one of the key pillars supporting the ancient Highland Kingdom's rule over the entire plateau.

It was famed for its rich mineral deposits, yet all mining sites were mysteriously located far from Lake Darsh, preserving the lake's purity in the hearts of the highlanders.

In the past, the Star Plateau was primarily contested between the Intis Republic and the Fursak Empire; after the war several years ago, Fursak's influence waned, and the Ruin Kingdom gradually extended its reach—even the Ruin Kingdom's "Goddess of Night" Church seemed to be beginning missionary work in this region, something Lumian had heard about while in Lapus.

And across the entire Star Plateau, the most numerous Ruin people were in "the city on the mines," Lacré.

The "Knight of the Sword" Marinich nodded slowly:

"We've confirmed the identities of ninety percent of the corpses; according to the northern calendar, most were born on January 2nd; the rest, according to local calendars, were born on the second day of their New Year."

"Those whose identities remain unknown are likely outsiders—voluntary or not—who came here. Give us a little more time, and we'll definitely uncover their identities."

The sample size was large enough to largely support Ludvig's claim—the ritual required a strong "Great Mother" symbol… Lumian did not stop the Temperance Sect from wasting effort confirming the identities of the remaining dead; what if there were other oddities?

Lumian glanced toward Lacré City across the lake and said:

"Let's return to the city and walk around."

Let's see whether Oumibela's bloodline, the anomaly of the "Earth" Path, or the bloodline link to the bird-claw infants proves more effective!

Walking along the shimmering, sky-blue waters of Lake Darsh toward the city of gray-white stone houses, Lumian suddenly thought of a question.

He asked the quiet "Knight of the Sword" beside him:

"In the 'Rose Sect,' does Oseto oversee the Lacré region?"

"Not before. Not sure now," the "Knight of the Sword" replied briefly.

Lumian nodded, muttering to himself:

"If he doesn't oversee Lacré, and merely happened to pass through and performed a sacrifice, he should have left after the ritual—why is he still here?"

"Does he have a deeper purpose in Lacré?"

"Or does the 'Rose Sect' intend to act here?"

The "Knight of the Sword" fell silent for several seconds, then said:

"We suspect he has a deeper purpose."

He paused, then added:

"Before the Highland Kingdom was established, many regions of the Star Plateau worshipped the 'God of Death,' and Lacré was the area most influenced by this faith; even today, local customs still retain traces of death worship."

As they spoke, the three adults and one child arrived outside Lacré City.

Compared to the refined elegance of the "White City" Lapus, all buildings here were rugged; though some passersby wore dark red robes or colorful dresses, most dressed in durable canvas workwear.

Before Lumian even approached the city entrance, he felt the noise and bustle.

PS: Recommend a book titled "Above Fate," 120, 00 words long—easy, fun, simple, and satisfying, featuring a superpower battle. Link and summary in the author's note.

(End of Chapter)