Even during the hot summer, the ice at the top of Hermes’ plateau never melted.
Standing on the top of the heaven tower and looking at the far distance, Mayne merely saw a mixture of two colors of the green grass and the white snow from the wilderness behind the walls, resembling a scar left behind by war during the Months of Demons. Within this climate it was impossible to grow any sort of crops, so all the food they consumed in the New Holy City came from Old Holy City that was at the foot of the plateau and brought up by some animal drawn carts.
After staying in the city for more than a decade, Mayne had already become accustomed to the omnipresent cold of Hermes.
“This time it will only be the two of us?” Tayfun pushed the door open and stepped in, “Furthermore, shouldn’t we hold the meeting in the secret room?”
“Don’t tell me that you are fond of being shut into that narrow place?”
“No… of course not,” the old Bishop touched his white beard. “If it wasn’t for Heather being in charge of all the rules and proclaiming the commandments over and over, I would be only too eager to exchange information at this spot each time. Even if she became lost in the gossip of the city talk again, I would at least be able to enjoy the scenery of the Holy City below. And…” He smiled and said, “I never expected someone like her who is always punctually, to not return on time.”
“Perhaps she had met with some difficulty,” Mayne said, going back to the table to take a place. “Or perhaps she is already on her way back.”
“Maybe…” Tayfun curled his lips, “You really should not help her look for an excuse, everyone should be able to send word even during their travels, these are words she had often said herself. Even if you are in trouble, you should always report to us first. Furthermore, she isn’t alone in the capital of the Kingdom of Endless Winter, so sending a messenger wouldn’t take any more effort than raising a finger would’ve.”
“Let’s leave that matter for later,” Mayne said, then pushed three letters over to Tayfun. “We seem to have a problem.”
“There’s trouble?” The latter became startled, but then sat down across of the round table, spreading out the letters, “Are this all bad news?”
“Yes,” he took a deep breath, “It’s so bad, that it can’t get any worse.”
Tayfun lost his smile and began to carefully read the first letter, “… the spread of the demonic plague has been stopped and the whereabouts of Faceless is unknown? Wait a moment, what is the demonic plague?”
“It is the result of the Pivotal Secret Area’s latest research, you do not need to know all of the details, you must only know that it can be regarded as a rapidly infectious disease,” Mayne simplified. In fact, according to what Grandmaster Crow Eye had said, it was a kind of micro-demonic beast, that after special cultivation would mutate to directly attack the human body, and the Holy Elixir able to restrain the disease were also demonic beasts, merely with an even more smaller body. “The cause of the disease cannot be directly observed with the eyes, and thus cannot be healed through conventional methods, and there should only be one kind of person that can stop the demonic plague.”
“Is that a witch?” Tayfun quickly thought of the answer.
“Moreover, it should be more than one.”
After reading the letter, the old Bishop hit with his fist on the table, “This idiot, what was he thinking? Not even mention that he wanted to let the rats encircle and annihilate the mercenaries, he had even sent out Faceless? In the end, isn’t he even aware of the fact how important a pure witch is for us?”
“His plan wasn’t wrong,” Mayne frowned, “If the numbers in the letter aren’t a lie, then a thousand rats should have been enough to annihilate those one hundred mercenaries. However, the other side seems to have powerful long-range crossbows, which can be continuously fired. Regarding this matter, I remember that Priest Taylor who was stationed in Longsong Stronghold had also mentioned that those weapons were the reason why Duke Ryan had lost his battle against a group of miners, the other side’s crossbow were simply too powerful. A shield could significantly reduce the power of a crossbow bolt, but rats don’t have any such equipment.”
“Granted that it was right to send out those dregs, he should still have never easily sent out Faceless!” Tayfun answered enraged, “I’m afraid that after Heather comes back she will fly into a terrible rage, being able to grow a pure witch, furthermore, one with such a rare ability. The training alone is already very energy consuming. From a certain attitude, they are even more valuable than the God’s Punishment Army.”
“But whether it is a witch or the God’s Punishment Army, in the end, their final goal is to annihilate the enemy, and gaining victory.” Mayne slowly said, “Losing some of them during this process is inevitable.”
“Don’t tell me you are thinking of keeping Priest Ferry?”
