Chapter XII
"She's the new priest of the Corrupt Lady," I added, thinking that Aiola was still in an "uncivilized" state, "not yet, to be exact, she's still in the 'assessment period', and hasn't officially taken office yet. ”
"Sure enough, I smell a strong smell of Didra from her, I'm afraid it was deliberately smeared by the Rotten Lady."
Flora worriedly pointed out the abnormality in Iola's body. I poked my nose out and sniffed carefully, but there was no suspicious sign in the air.
"Can you smell it?"
"The smell was very hidden, as if the Lady of Decay was identifying her and not wanting her to know about it. But I am a prophet of the goddess Dibella, and Andra is always very sensitive to the smell of Didra – and vice versa. Besides...... How did you and she meet? ”
I told Flotra about my previous trip with Iola, including my encounter in the Hall of the Dead in Marcus City, the location of the Temple of the Corrupted Lady, and the turmoil caused by the sacrifices, but I omitted to mention the specific healing process in the temple.
"So she was involved in my treatment?" Flotra frowned slightly, and there was a hint of panic in her tone, "Has she done anything else to me?" ”
"No, she only used the power of decay to dissolve the arrows in your body, and she hasn't touched you since."
"Really...... And how did the corrupt lady heal me? I was so nervous when I saw her that day that I forgot all about it. ”
"Well, how could I possibly see anything from the action of a king of Didra......" Noticing that Flotra's expression had become a little strange, I asked her suspiciously, "Did something happen?" ”
"I'm just a little worried, Andra and Didra's attributes are completely opposed, and I'm afraid that the Corrupt Lady will secretly plant hidden dangers in me, which may cause me unexpected trouble."
"Why don't you check your chest for a mushroom tattoo when you're alone?"
"Unlike Sangeon, who is a pure hedonist. The Corrupt Lady is a real doer, so she doesn't act like this. ”
My teasing didn't make Flotra relax, and she still frowned, as if she had thought of something less than rosy. I remember the Lady of Decay once saying that she had no interest in Flotra. It is believed that a king of Dedra would not go back on his word and take the initiative to act contrary to his words.
"Didn't the Rotten Lady already say to your face that she was not interested in you? Has it ever been documented in history that the Lady of Decay is a guy who doesn't talk much? ”
"No...... But I ......"
"Alright, don't be cranky, aren't you as good as you were now? Nothing was left. ”
My slap lightly slapped Flotra's head, interrupting her unfounded worries. Before I knew it, the topic was pulled into a mess, and I re-asked Flotra the question I was going to ask. Florella is Di Bella's prophet, and Aiola is the future Lady of Decay Priestess, both of whom are clergy and must have something in common in their way of thinking. With Flotra's feedback, I may be able to deduce a way to deal with Iola.
"Suppose I slaughter the temple of Dibella in Marcus City. How would you react when you heard this? ”
"But you don't have a motive to do that?"
"Uh...... I mean, if I do. ”
"Didn't you say that those people are 'hypocrites'."
Flora was unimpressed by my question, and it seemed that I should ask it in a different way.
"If you're in Iola's position, how can I clear up your misunderstanding?"
"Hmm...... I see what you mean. Instead of answering me directly, Florette gave me another piece of advice, "Actually, for people like us, it only takes one way to clear up misunderstandings. ”
"Oh? In what way? ”
"Those hypocrites must have a negligible status in her mind, and the Corrupt Lady's disregard is the root cause of her hatred of you. If she can feel the power of the Corrupt Lady again, all misunderstandings will melt away. ”
"That's true, but the Corrupt Lady has told me not to be in Aiola's presence. I'm going to have to handle everything on my own. ”
"The kings of Didra have their own dignity, and they do not do everything themselves; But unless an equally powerful god stands in the way, things always go the way they want. ”
Hmm, does that mean everything is the way it is? I never understood why the Lady of Decay had asked me to come to help Mednaqi, but now that I had finally figured it out under Flotra's guidance, it turned out that the Lady of Decay had already anticipated the changes that followed.
Aiola returns to the temple. When you see the tragic situation in front of you, you will inevitably feel resentment. The Corrupt Lady naturally stopped paying attention to her, and Iola, who had lost her shelter and abandoned herself, would definitely look for a new place to stay. It is not difficult to imagine that Aiola must have joined the camp of the crow ghost woman, and she had received similar invitations before. Now the Raven Ghost Woman has declared war on Mednaqi. Aiola threw herself into the ranks of the war and stood on the opposite side of us.
The Corrupt Lady's plan is obvious, we just need to defeat Aiola on the battlefield. After that, Aiola became my prisoner, and she couldn't help but listen to me. By the way, according to the meaning of the Corrupt Lady, doesn't it mean that Mednaki will be invincible in this war? The Corrupt Lady must have liked to see Aiola on the right path under my teachings, rather than me running around chasing her.
It seems that we do not have the upper hand in the war at the moment, so what will the corrupt lady do to turn things around and win for us?
Calling for foreign aid? This is the simplest and most straightforward way to do this, and if a new force suddenly arrives to fill our gap, the odds of victory will be greatly improved. It's just that the only two people who have a connection with the Corrupt Lady - her spokesperson and her priest - are now in a-for-tat confrontation, and the other false believers are long dead, and I can't think of any more forces she can mobilize to influence the big picture.
Induce infighting on the other side? As a Didra king, Lady Rotten usually has some crow ghost women offering sacrifices to her and praying for strength, which means that if Lady Rotten speaks, the crow ghost women of Quan Ruichi will have to coax her with good words even if they are not happy in their hearts. But if the Corrupt Lady was willing to do so, she didn't have to wait until now.
Miracles on the battlefield? Impossible, under the constraints of the rules of the Holy Spirit, King Didra could not manifest his true body and strength in the mortal world.
Empower us directly? Come on, give me a chicken rib ring and chirp crookedly for a while.
Anyway, let's wait and see.
……
Mednaci's face was gloomy, and his hands trembled slightly. When he finished reading, he took a deep breath to calm his trembling mind, put away the war book and put it in a drawer, and got up and paced.
"It's too bad that war is going to come so soon."
"When did the other party agree?"
"Three days later."
I smiled and comforted, "You should be glad that the other party is willing to tell us the time." If the other party doesn't say a word, and waits until the soldiers come to the city to shoot a war letter with a bow and arrow, then we won't even have to be mentally prepared. ”
"You're optimistic......" Mednach squinted at me, but his face was more ugly than crying.
"The people above are not optimistic, how can you expect the people below to create miracles?"
"That's the reason, but we're talking about serious things now. We are not fully prepared for the war, and this is not something that can be compensated for by optimism! ”
Mednach paced back and forth anxiously, probably thinking that it was useless to be in a hurry here, and asked me again, who was standing calmly.
"You've been out there all day, do you have any solid ideas for me?"
"I have participated in the battle of dragon slaying with Xueman's legion, and I have also experienced several life-and-death battles with my comrades, and I remember some of their tactics and training methods, but ......" I spread my hands helplessly, and gave a regrettable conclusion, "To be honest, I can't change anything with less than three days left." Now all I can do is have a little cleverness left. ”
Mednach nodded calmly and called the secretary outside the door in, "Pass the order, let everyone put aside all irrelevant matters, and focus all their energy on the upcoming big battle, just like we arranged before!" ”
After the secretary took the door and left, Mednach paced in front of me, "You can do it yourself, I have already given you enough permission." I hope you'll surprise me, even if it's a little bit more likely to win. ”
I walked to the door of the hall with peace of mind, and at the same time turned back to make a promise to Mednaci.
"You can rest assured that the other side will lose this war."
Mednach looked up at my back, "Where did you see that?" ”
"Oracle."
Mednach squeezed out an unnatural smile, "The oracle of the goddess Ginalais? ”
Actually, I've never spoken to Ginares, it's all deduced from the oracle of the Corrupt Lady. If we lose, there will be no room for recovery, and Aiola will throw herself into the arms of the Raven Ghost Woman and become the successor of the Raven Ghost Woman, and the Corrupt Lady will certainly not allow this to happen.
"Almost."
Whether it's Gina Les or the Corrupt Lady, they are all well-known gods after all, and no matter who gives the oracle, the weight is as heavy as a thousand pounds.
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