In the early morning of January 16.

The search has finally made some progress. Griffith is woken up in his sleep and goes fully armed with Amber to hide outside a mansion on a hilltop.

It was still early in the morning, and the garrison mage Conix had already arrived with the paladin Second Lieutenant Skortz and the Finnish sergeant major. They were accompanied by a squadron and a half of city defense troops.

On the orders of the garrison mage, the soldiers quickly dispersed in all directions, blocking the exits on all sides of the mansion.

"Didn't Team Winston come?" Griffith asked.

"They won't come, and even if they do, they'll just come up with a bunch of forms and processes, and by that time the cultists have already run out. Conix said disdainfully, "Incompetent guy, so he can't even choose a garrison mage." ”

Conix laid out the floor plan of the mansion on a stone and made a brief comparison: "The mansion originally belonged to a maritime merchant, and it was transferred a few months ago. Intelligence indicates that there has been a large number of unidentified suspicious persons in and out of the past two days. The internal layout is not complicated, and cult rituals need enough space to draw a circle and place sacrifices, so I think the cultists are likely to gather in a secret room or hall on the basement floor.

"We attacked from three directions, leaving gaps for them to flee for their lives, forcing them into an ambush circle of infantry squadrons. Do you have any questions?"

"What is the source of the information?" Griffith asked casually, "how did you get their clues?"

"Confidentiality. ”

"It's likely that the cultists have remodeled this mansion since they took over," Amber hurriedly raised her hand to speak, "The corridors and rooms in the house may not be as registered in the archives, and we may encounter traps and preset circles, so it's better to gather and act." ”

Listening to Miss Trainee Investigator's speech, Conix immediately frowned. The Finnish sergeant major nodded to the side.

"The gang must have set up quite a few traps," said Second Lieutenant Skortz first, "and we must be careful when we break in. ”

"Since this is a cultist den, and the area around it is empty, we don't need to rush in and drive them out," Griffith drew a circle on the map, "We'll stay here, gather the artillery brothers from the port, and the ballistas will break through the walls and the trebuchets will tear down the roofs." ”

“......”

Everyone stared at Griffith with wide eyes. Finland opened its mouth, not knowing what to say.

"Griffith, you know what? Not every place is the same as the battlefields of the East...... The force that can be used in different events is limited by the Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Disasters in the Country. Amber raised her eyebrows, and from the bottom of her heart, she objected to the military's artillery supremacist style.

What is this? Griffith shook his head, saying he didn't know anything about it.

"The council divides the country into three regions according to the degree of threat," explained Second Lieutenant Skeltz, "the capital and the provinces and provinces, the territories of the lords are in the Blue Zone, that is, the safe zone, and the island of Neopolis and the surrounding seas are within this boundary, and the provinces and territories that have not been conquered for more than five years and are not in a state of war are the security zones, mainly the newly conquered southern provinces. ”

"The rest are non-security zones, mostly territories like the eastern part of the Eastern Province that are still at war and in a state of security warfare," Mage Connicks continued, tapping his fingertips on the map. It is also only there that artillery can be used without restrictions. Neither the Blue Zone nor the Public Security Zone is OK, and a detailed report and disaster control plan must be submitted to the regional authorities for review. Griffiths?You need to study the Regulations on the Prevention of Disasters of the Black Magic in the Country, Chapter 2, Sections 6-19. ”

"En~" The extraordinaries present nodded together.

So that's it...... It seems that I lack relevant common sense. Griffith nodded ashamedly, thanking everyone in his heart for not mocking him.

"Is there a reason I'm proposing to disperse?" Master Connicks further said? A preset circle may have a imprisoning effect, enough to trap us for a short time, if not to threaten our lives. Once the entire concentrated assault is trapped, the cultists can take advantage of the situation to break through from multiple directions. We have a limited number of extraordinary people here, and if that happens, we won't be able to stop them.

"On the other hand, in order to prevent us from being ambushed and isolated during the assault, I will provide you with echo crystals, which can communicate in real time over a short distance by infusing the Extraordinary with mental power. These are the latest products that have just been sent by the Governor's Office of the Sea District. Thanks to the wise Senate, these subtle magical tools are rapidly becoming popular in various regions of the country, and they are very useful. We keep in touch and act in batches so that even if some people are trapped, others can come along. ”

Conix took out a few green crystals and distributed them to everyone: "Echo crystals can build a communication network in advance, and the sound is transmitted to each crystal through the main crystal, and it directly reverberates in the brain." As long as the Master Crystal is in my hands, I don't have to worry about our communications being interrupted or eavesdropped. You guys test it. As an Extraordinaire from Sequence 8 onwards, you can also create a unique ripple reverberation of crystals, and you can use this method to directly connect with specific companions. But either way, there is a limit to the communication range, no more than 2 kilometers.

"If the relay is done through a large echo hub, the range of communication can be greatly expanded, but we don't have that at the moment. ”

Griffiths, Amber, Scoltz and Finland each received the allotted Echo Crystals. These small pieces of crystals are set in pendants or rings, and they shimmer with pure light, which is very beautiful. After testing, the communication effect is very clear and stable, as if speaking face-to-face.

"Are you sure you want to break in in batches?" Second Lieutenant Skortz, still uneasy, "we might be broken by each one. ”

"It's okay, second lieutenant, you and the sergeant major group will attack from the south gate frontally, and Griffith and Amber will enter through the window on the east side, and the two Sequence 8 Extraordinary will be partnered, which is at least the combat effectiveness of a squadron of the city defense army. You bring some more soldiers, and even if you are suppressed, you will be able to hold out until reinforcements arrive, or you can retreat directly, it will not be difficult," Mage Conix waved his hand nonchalantly, "I myself entered through the west side door. ”

"Master Mage and Amber are in a group, I'll bring a squad of infantry in," Griffith said hurriedly, "My flesh has a restraining effect on the circle traps. ”

Amber's eyebrows furrowed as Griffith listened. Before she could protest, the stationed mage laughed: "The second-level squad leader who has no knowledge of magic can act alone, but I, the wizard of Sequence 7, want the protection of the little girl? ”

"Humph!" Amber, who felt that she was most despised, glared at Griffith.

"Alright, I'm the Garrison Mage, and I have the final say on the arrangement of the Extraordinary's battles," Conix said, retracting the map, "Everyone, carry out the order." ”

......

In the silent darkness, Griffith silently leaped into the window, holding the vanguard shield and a longsword in hand.

This room is a study. There was a thin layer of dust on the shelves full of books, and clutter was littered with clutter on the wooden floor.

An adult man is lying on the ground. His description is withered, and he looks like he's been dead for a long time.

Amber followed into the study, followed by five other city defense soldiers. They were unarmoured, only uniformed, armed with short swords and round shields, and looked around nervously.

"Soldiers, stay here and secure the way to retreat," Griffith whispered, glancing at the city guards, "tie the hands and feet of the corpses and make no sound." ”

"Why are you holding your hands and feet? He looked dead. A soldier asked, puzzled. His companions nodded their heads as they listened.

"The occult is different from your common sense, and the resurrection of the dead is not impossible," Griffith pulled out a ball of rope and threw it over, "If you want to live, hurry up." Remember, don't touch anything else in the room, there may be hidden traps. ”

Reluctantly, the soldiers began to tie the hands and feet of the dead. Meanwhile, Griffith and Amber carefully avoided the clutter on the ground and crept to the door.

"Don't take them with you?"

"No, most of these cultists have very dangerous seals in their hands, and there is no need to send the city guards to death," Griffith slowly unscrewed the handle and opened a gap.

The hallway outside the library was dim. As the door slowly opened, the faint moonlight was blocked by the thick darkness not far from the door.

Griffith carried a lantern in his hand and shook it in the dark.

"Nobody, let's go," Griffith whispered, "watch out for traps......

Before the midshipman could finish his words, Amber's hand suddenly pressed against his arm. The blonde girl shook her head slightly: "The trap, it has been triggered." ”

What, where, when?

Amber raised her finger and tapped lightly on Griffith's head, "You have to get used to using psionic vision, you are an extraordinary being, and you can see the ripples of psionic energy that ordinary people can't see through the insight crystal." Do you have the Insight Crystal?"

Griffith was stunned. Just as he mobilized his spiritual power to activate the insight crystal sent by Galadia, wisps of thin black lines appeared in his field of vision. They were like bugs, pouring into the study through the open door.

"The door seems to have been specially processed to block psionic ripples, and when we open it, the seal dissipates energy before entering the study," Amber explains, "and this design creates a very simple but effective trap that triggers whenever we open the door. And the trap must be ......"

Needless to say, Griffith and Amber were already looking at the withered, wrinkled corpses on the floor. The soldiers stood around with ropes in hand, and they hadn't even decided who would do it.

Reptilian illusory threads were wriggling and entering the dry corpse......

"Disperse!" Griffith roared, "soldiers, get out of that body. ”