The glow moss cavern was empty, except for the tiny moss that still glowed faintly and unconsciously.

Scott cautiously led Isis forward in that strange light, he had to consider the possibility that it was the necromancer who attacked the village, and this cave originally belonged to the necromancer, and they probably knew about this place.

In the deepest part of the cavern, they stopped.

"What is this?" said Is, looking at the huge symbol on the stone wall in confusion.

“...... Symbol of Nethers. Scott replied, "At least it was." The villagers used it as an altar to Nesses. ”

The symbol that had been carved deep into the stone had been cut beyond recognition.

The catastrophe that befell Valland and Cantril, wherever they came from, seems inseparable from their faith.

Scott clenched his fists. He knew that as a priest he was not even as religious as the simple people, but he should have been here to protect them anyway - they believed in him as much as they believed in their gods.

And he chose Is, his younger brother. He didn't regret it, he regretted that he refused to accept the power that should have been available to him because of the fear from the bottom of his heart.

He could have been stronger, strong enough to protect everyone he wanted to protect, instead of always having to face the hurt of his weakness.

A finger hesitantly poked at his waist, causing him to shake involuntarily, and turned his head to look at Is, who had been fond of poking people with his fingers since he was a child.

Maybe he'll have to teach him. That was not an appropriate move for a man who was over twenty years old.

"Where are we going now?" asked Is. Every time Scott was silent for too long, he couldn't help but be a little worried.

“...... Go to a place where you can get the news. Scott replied. The priest did not leave him with any news, probably too late, but two villages were burned like this. It is impossible for someone in the neighborhood to know nothing.

"Giant's axe?" Is, had heard of the people gathered there who could not be trusted, but were well informed.

"It's too far. Scott said, "Let's go to the bayou." ”.

The estuary Scott is referring to is not the mouth of the Kuz River, but the real "estuary" of today, located at the confluence of the Deer Shadow and Vinez rivers, renamed the Murray River.

Unlike the Kuz estuary, where adventurers come and go, the estuary is the most frequented place for people from nearby villages, where people can exchange their belongings with each other. Or sell to merchants who come from farther away cities.

Eth followed Scott as he squeezed through the bustling crowd. While looking around curiously. He seldom entered such a town as it was more of a chaos than a bustling town - and his ancestors had no interest in burrowing into such a place full of stinking humans.

It didn't take long for disgust to overpower curiosity. The air was filled with a mixture of decaying plants and animals, strange spices, choking tobacco, excrement spilling down the drains, and the smell of sweat on people's bodies...... The smell of blah blah. I just don't want to breathe anymore.

It was only when he followed Scott into a more remote alley with fewer people that he opened his mouth and furrowed his eyebrows in disgust - it didn't taste much better.

Maybe he should have listened to Scott and stayed in the Glowing Cavern and waited for him to come back. But before he could say anything, Scott changed his mind, and he probably didn't feel comfortable leaving Is, who was now just an ordinary human - not even as strong as many young people of the same age in the north.

"Follow. Scott turned back and ordered.

The ice dragon, which was no longer powerful, silently jumped over a puddle of sewage, and his mood was a little complicated.

Scott tightened his cloak and strode forward unconcernedly, stepping on the snow that was not much like the mud. There's a priest from Nesses who lives here - hiding his identity. From the outset, they understood that gaining recognition and faith in a new god would not be an easy task, and that it would require some covert activity. Not only in the estuary, but also in several towns in Anktan, they have secret contacts. Scott used to think it was ridiculous to make faith as full of conspiracy as politics, but now it seems. What's even more ridiculous is probably such a naïve self.

As he approached his destination, he began to realize that something might be more serious than he had imagined. There was a blacksmith shop in the alley, which usually tinkled non-stop, but today there was no sound.

He walked quietly past the shop, the fire that used to burn was now so cold that it seemed to have been abandoned for a long time, the iron felt on the stove and all the tools around it were gone, and the door of the shop seemed to have been smashed. Hung crookedly on the door frame.

Scott's heart tightened, and his footsteps did not stop. Walked straight to the front of the shop. He could feel a few glances falling on him and Is, but that feeling disappeared as they walked through the alley and into the street at the other end.

Convinced that no one was following them, Scott had no choice but to take Iss into a tavern. He's not good at asking for news in this kind of place - whether it's as a paladin or a priest, he's more used to asking questions directly. He had to think back to how Nia had gotten the news he wanted in such a place without making anyone doubt his true purpose.

After ordering two beers for himself and Iss, Scott asked the jovial-looking young man behind the counter who was humming a tune in his own amusement, "Hey, do you know where the blacksmith in the alley up there has gone?"

"Ansel, what are you looking for him?" the young man's voice was a little wary.

"What else can I do? I ordered a sword from him the last time I came, but when I came to pick it up, he was nowhere to be seen. Scott frowned angrily, "I even paid the deposit!"

The young man shook his head sympathetically, "Oh, if you had come a few days earlier, you might have been able to get something of value back from his shop." There's nothing left in there now!"

"What the hell happened? Did he get killed?" asked Scott, confused.

The young man shrugged: "Probably not dead yet, at least I haven't heard of it." ”

Scott secretly breathed a sigh of relief and took a sip of wine.

"Messed with the guy you don't mess with?" he guessed seemingly casually.

"The hardest guy to mess with. The guy nodded. "Did you know he's a pastor?"

“...... What?!" Scott didn't know if his surprise would be exaggerated, but the young man looked very pleased with his reaction.

"Nobody knows!" he said triumphantly, "he has been a blacksmith since I was born, and no one in the town knows him, who would have thought of this? He had already run away when the mayor had sent someone to arrest him a few days earlier, and the soldiers had turned his shop upside down. You know this place, too. In less than half a day, there was nothing left, and the sword you ordered might now be on the waist of a soldier - or someone here. ”

"I guess he wouldn't give it back to me even if it had my name engraved on it. Scott glanced back at the people in the shop, his face gloomy, "Which hell god did that hellish blacksmith believe?" How can you alarm your mayor? I've never heard him do anything like that. ”

"I had never heard of him being in charge. The young man gave him a tacit look, "But this is the king's order, and even he has to take his ass off the bed." ”

The mayor of Kawaguta has always been the object of ridicule, and it is the town's Chamber of Commerce that is really in charge of this place, and Ansel is actually a member of the Chamber of Commerce, so it is not surprising that he was able to get the news and flee quickly.

He wondered why Nether had been declared a false god by His Majesty the King of Anktane - when it came to gods, no ruler of any kingdom or city-state would make such a decision lightly, and besides, the followers of Netherths were not important enough to attract the attention of Llewellyn in Anktan.

"Has His Majesty begun to meddle in the work of the temple as well?" he asked nonchalantly. "I thought he was busy, he hadn't been on the throne for long. ”

"Who knows. The guy said, "Maybe he's got some kind of revelation from God or something." ”

Someone next to him sneered: "What god do you think this has to do with it?

"What do you mean by that?" said Scott, with genuine curiosity.

"You know another estuary?" said a middle-aged man with a big beard. The pretense mysteriously lowered his voice.

Scott nodded: "Kuz Estuary." ”

"I have a brother who lives there, and who fled to my house ten days ago, and he says that the place is completely in disarray, and that His Majesty has sent troops directly from Llewellyn - to the land where they have not been in charge for hundreds of years, because the barbarians fought there?"

"That's right. The young man nodded approvingly, "That's a strange thing. ”

"But what does this have to do with the false god or his followers?" asked Scott, confused. He had heard about the riots at the mouth of the Kuz River. But that obviously has nothing to do with the followers of Nessah, and their power has not yet affected the town.

"Be patient. Friend. The slightly drunken middle-aged man held up a finger at him, "The soldiers have arrested a lot of people in the town, and many of them are accused of this--Nesses, the priest or believer of the false god, but my brother said that they had never heard of such a god at all, and that the soldiers were looking for a person, the one who was in charge of the Kuz estuary, Borena Cruz." No one knows how he offended the king, but there must be a plausible reason for arresting people, what kind of god is that, who knows if His Majesty made it up himself?"

"But I've heard that there are a few villages in the neighborhood that believe in that god. "The guy objected.

The middle-aged man hiccuped dissatisfiedly: "I heard, who said, which god would find believers in those villages that no one knows? I know all these things that my brother told me!"

Scott frowned slightly, a little irritated. The middle-aged man's brother may have told him the truth, but the relationship with Nesses was very far-fetched, and it was probably another thing that was completely unrelated.

The middle-aged man began to argue with the young fellow about the topic further and further, which was the most common case when inquiring about news in such taverns, and Scott had no intention of getting involved.

He didn't feel the need to ask any further, and if the order had been issued by Llewellyn, the people here wouldn't know much of the truth.

As he threw a few copper coins at his fellow and wanted to leave unnoticed, Is, who had been quietly drinking, suddenly screamed, his voice filled with anger and pain.

(To be continued)