Three days later, at dawn, the core members of the expeditionary force sat on the ground, around a large brazier, listening to Victor's story.

“...... The devil promised to satisfy the fisherman's curiosity, and the fisherman said, "Your body is so large, and this bottle is so small that it can't fit even one of your fingers, and I don't believe you have lived in this little bottle for ten thousand years...... When the devil heard this, he was very angry and roared at the fisherman, "You humble mortal dare to question me?!"

The fisherman was not afraid, shook his head and said: Anyway, you are about to kill me, you can't scare me, unless you enter this little bottle in front of me, I will believe that you have really lived in the bottle for 10,000 years. ”

The devil laughed and said, "What's so hard about this?" So saying, it turned into a puff of smoke, and got into the little bottle, and said triumphantly inside, "Foolish and lowly fisherman, do you see, that's how I live in the bottle?" ”

The fisherman swooped down and closed the bottle with a lid engraved with runes. The devil in the bottle panicked and shouted for the fisherman to release it......"

Wrapped in a thick bearskin cloak, Bertina sat beside Victor and listened with relish. Victor paused, and then she raised her round face with a fluttering red face, and asked in a childish voice, "And then?"

Victor smiled, petted the little girl's head indulgently, and continued: "The devil swears not to harm the fisherman, promising him countless treasures, the power of kings, great strength, and a long life...... The fisherman laughed and said, "I don't want any of these things you promised, so you can live in a bottle in peace...... With all his strength, he threw the bottle containing the devil back into the sea...... That's the end of the story, Bell, have you learned anything from listening to this story?"

Bertina blinked her big pure eyes, was stunned for a moment, and said happily: "I see, the devil is a fool, and he has been deceived by the fisherman." ”

"...... fisherman is a fool, if I meet that devil, I will catch him and ask him about the whereabouts of the treasure, and if he dares not tell me, I will roast it slowly with dragon breath. The red-haired and red-eyed Leila said.

Her statement was unanimously agreed by the other dragon maids, and the four Argonian females chattered about how to concoct the devil in order to claim untold treasures.

Even if it was a fictional story, it didn't stop them from fantasizing about the joy of collecting treasure. After all, they have only been born for more than a year, and they are actually more naïve than Bertina and Caligula.

Todd, who was furthest away from Victor, also commented: "The gap between the fisherman and the devil is too great for him to guarantee that the devil will keep his promise, and throwing the bottle containing the devil back into the sea is the wisest choice." I think the fisherman is a smart man...... At the very least, he knows how to restrain greed and is self-aware. ”

"The Fisherman and the Devil" is a well-known fable in the earth world. When it comes to its moral meaning, every reader will have their own opinion, and even the same person will interpret the fable differently at different ages.

Victor told this story mainly to Emerson and, of course, to Pastor Dane.

"The focus of this story is on bravery and revealing a fact. Victor looked around at everyone, and his gaze finally fell on Emerson's body, and said, "The soul of the intelligent seed is sacrosanct, and you should be well aware of this. Your sorcery can infect the souls of animals, but not the wisdom seed...... Although the devil's power is strong, it cannot read the fisherman's thoughts, so he is deceived by the fisherman and put back in the bottle. If the fisherman is very afraid of the devil, how can he see the foolish nature of the devil? Although the fisherman's strength is weak, his soul and the devil's soul are equal, and both have self-knowledge, and neither can be omniscient. Therefore, self-aware devils are not true gods, they cannot interpret your memories and thoughts, and you can bluff them, but if you actively let go of your memories and thoughts to the devil, you are tantamount to jumping into the dark abyss. ”

"Imerson, are you ready?"

As Victor asked, everyone's eyes were on Imerson, and Nelson put his arm around his shoulders and cheered him on, "Hey, man, be brave, you can do it." ”

Imerson grinned and pulled out a forced smile, his personality and ideas are not so easy to change, he is also a bit of a communication barrier, and he is cautious in normal conversations with ordinary people, always worried about showing his feet. He is going to fight a "devil" with wits and courage, and it is normal to be afraid. But he was also an amazing father.

"Emerson is the bravest!"

Bertina stood up and said loudly, she seemed to realize something, ran to her father's side, put her arms around his neck, rubbed Emerson's cheek with her fleshy face, and asked coquettishly, "Daddy, are you going to deal with the devil? Do you have a bottle for the devil?"

There is one person in this world who always believes that Emerson can do anything, and that is Bertina. Emerson is willing to do anything for Bertina, even if it's a fight with the devil.

The smile on the wizard's face became natural and sincere, and he replied, "Baby, Master Randall has a bottle to catch the devil, and I will stuff the devil into it." ”

Little Bell said seriously: "Dad, you have to be like a brave fisherman, throw the devil far away, we don't want its treasure, okay?"

Imerson looked at his precious daughter with soft eyes, smiled and nodded, stood up with her in his arms, and said to Victor, "Master, I'm ready." ”

Victor gave the wizard a deep look and said, "Go, Father Dane is waiting for you in the church." ”

At Dain's request, the expeditionary force spent a day erecting a chapel. The chapel was very rudimentary, with no roof, and there were benches, a pulpit, and a prayer platform for the Light. Dane meditated alone in the chapel for a day and a night, and now it was time for him to perform his magic spell on Emerson.

Imerson took a deep breath and walked to the chapel of the wooden house not far away. At this moment, Victor looked up at the dark clouds, and his dark golden eyes lit up with an indigo halo. A storm rolled up in the distant sky, tearing through the clouds like a pair of giant hands, allowing a glorious morning light to flow down and fall on the roofless chapel, shining on Dane, who was dressed in a priest's robes.

The morning light is like a spear thrown by the sun god, piercing the gray forest shrouded in cold mist, and it is particularly magnificent and dazzling. This miraculous sight made everyone stand up, stunned, and fascinated.

Victor exerted all his strength and called on the wind elemental to tear through the dark clouds at a height of 10,000 meters and lead to a ray of sunshine. But his power could not last, and the thick clouds would soon obscure the sun again, but that was enough time for Dane to perform a whole set of strengthening spells.

The supernatural power of the clergy comes too easily, and as long as you sincerely believe in the Lord of Radiance, the Resonant Light can perform the most rudimentary divine arts. Because of this, it is extremely dangerous for the clergy to elevate their lives and freely grasp the holy power. The Church continues to improve its theology in the hope that the clergy will recognize the relationship between themselves and the Holy Power, and transform from servants of the Holy Light to masters of the Holy Power.

But how easy is that to say?

The clergy of the Radiant Church have a huge base, and there are still very few clergymen who have really reached the golden level. If Dane could recognize the nature of the Lord of Light as the core of the Holy Force, and find a balance between faith and self, Victor would not have to make such a great effort to blow away a small dark cloud.

Although Victor does not know how to perform magic spells, he has insight into the mysteries of the light of the heart, and pulls a ray of sunlight to brighten Dane's spiritual will, making him feel the favor of the Lord of Radiance, even if it is a false illusion, it can make him firm in his faith, so as not to have thoughts of self-denial, so as to avoid being assimilated by the holy power.

Coupled with the special effect of Portanos' secret method to protect the soul, Victor felt that Dane would not die from the rebuilding of faith, at most he would be demoted. As long as he can pass this spiritual test, he will not encounter obstacles in adjusting his faith in the future.

On top of that, the expeditionary force has only one priest, Dane, whose magic can restrain the undead. Victor, of course, must do everything he can to save Dane's life. Even if Dane was demoted to a first-class priest, he would be able to use the powerful magic in the Relic Crystal. That's enough.

The truly strong always turn the chaotic future into the reality they want. The Fury Wind Sword Master did everything he could to create a miraculous landscape that was no less than divine magic with his extraordinary wisdom and strength.

Imerson didn't know what his master was doing, and as Victor had predicted, the emergence of sunlight made him and Dane focus on the only one, and the casting effect and the spell receiving effect broke through their respective limits and reached the true golden realm.

Dane was draped in the golden morning light, his expression was serene and tenacious, and he blessed Emerson with a whole set of magic spells. When the dark clouds cut off the sunlight again, his spell had been cast, and his aura was rapidly fading, but his eyes were unusually bright.

After Wizard Emerson finished kneeling down and bowing to the Holy Crystal and got up to leave the chapel, Victor quietly came to Dain's side, looked each other up and down with dark golden eyes, and asked with a smile, "How do you feel?"

With a long exhalation, Dane said with both loss and rejoicing, "I ...... I lost my fifth-level divine skill and returned to the level of a fourth-level priest, but I helped Emerson communicate with the devil without being swallowed by the light......"

He raised his right hand, the end of his index finger bloomed with a white-gold glow, frowned and said, "I am obviously weaker, but it seems to be stronger, this feels strange?"

"You were originally a fourth-level priest, and Pope Clement won you a chance to be promoted, and it may not be a good thing for the Cardinal to forcibly promote you to a fifth-level priest. Victor patted Dane on the shoulder and said meaningfully: "Perhaps, you will see part of the truth of the world in the next trip, and your heart and will will inevitably be impacted." You're now dropping an Divine Skill Level, which is thankful. ”

Dane raised his head and asked in surprise, "What ......does Your Highness mean by the truth of the world?"

Ancient alchemists mastered the god-making plans of the high goblins, and Victor was now largely convinced that the Lord of Light was the extraordinary creature of the Alchemy Empire. The Alchemists' Council and the Mage's Guild did not create gods to ride on their heads, but used "gods" as a tool.

This conclusion will cause the faith of most mediocre clergy to collapse, and the higher the level of divine magic, the faster they will die. Of course, it is unlikely that the Radiant Church will end because most of the middle and lower clergy only believe what they believe. Who dares to say that the Lord of Radiance is a tool, and the clergy can kill him, but if they can't beat him, they will spit on him. Only those who have seen it with their own eyes and experienced it firsthand need to face the severe test of the collapse and reshaping of their faith.

Father Miller chooses Dane to join Victor's expedition, and Dane has to undergo this life-and-death test. Randall, the Sword of the Furious Wind, also had to make a big effort to help Dane grow.

Does this count as a ploy by Old Man Miller?

My lord is not my lord, and my lord is not my lord...... It's hard for Victor to say whether the Lord of Light is self-aware or not, but in this battle that transcends time and space, the power of the Lord of Light has entered through Pastor Dain.

Victor was silent for a moment, and said with a bow: "Dane, congratulations on becoming a senior silver-level priest, the gold-level is not far from you...... The rest is up to Emerson. ”

After leaving the chapel, Emerson walked straight to the largest wooden house in the center of the camp, which was the command room of Randall's Expeditionary Force and the residence of His Highness Randall, which was now vacated by His Highness Randall and was used as a laboratory for Imerson.

Approaching the hut, before Emerson could raise his hand, the red pine door, which still had its thick bark, was opened from the inside. Two delicate sword-wielding maids welcomed Emerson into the house, and one of them said, "My lord, is there anything else you need us to prepare?"

These two sword-wielding maids were the Earl's favorite concubines and personal guards for Emerson, taking care of his daily life and keeping him safe. Emerson usually dotes on them, and their relationship is certainly close. The sword-wielding maid was strict and polite towards Emerson at the moment, and she was not as kind and charming as before.

Imerson didn't feel strange, he was immersed in the power he had never had, his five senses became extremely sharp, the whole person seemed to be withdrawn from the real world, everything around him was clear in his eyes, and even through the eyes of the pet concubine, he saw his dark red eyes shining with white and gold brilliance, and the whole person had a daunting indifference and majesty.

A strange thought came to Imoson's heart, and he wanted to take advantage of his blessings of Heroism, Spiritual Fire, Holy Light Mark, and Divine Protection to find two favorite concubines to compete in martial arts. He felt that now he could defeat both of them at the same time with one hand, but in the past, the sword-wielding maid accompanied him to practice martial arts, and he couldn't beat them with one hand.

The absurd thought was immediately expelled from the wizard's mind, and his gaze fell on the large wooden table in the middle of the room, on which was a black-blooded snake head with shaved wings and claws, and its torso and beak were bound with tough silver spider silk, immobilizing it.

Looking at the pale flames flickering in the eye sockets of the black blood monster bird, the corners of Imerson's mouth hooked up a grim smile, and he said lightly: "Heh, weak monster...... I don't need anything for you, stand back, I'm going to infect its soul and unearth its secrets. ”

"Your Excellency, please wait. A sword-wielding maid took out a thick stack of parchment, held it to Imerson with both hands, and said, "This is a secret letter written by the master, and the master has told you that you must read these secret letters before you can proceed to the next step." ”

Emerson took the parchment and quickly read all the secret letters with his current mental intensity. The content of the secret letter is how to deal with the devil's cross-examination and to use all kinds of fraudulent means.

Imoson carefully combed through the contents, and with his current intelligence, he didn't find any loopholes, and nodded admiringly: "The master's wisdom is extraordinary, like a god, I have remembered it all." ”

He still fails to understand that the spread of ideas is also a manifestation of the light of the heart, and accepting what Victor writes is tantamount to inheriting his attitude and method towards the devil, which not only weakens Immerson's fear of the Old Gods, but is actually Victor's battle of wits and courage with the revival of the Old Gods through him.

The sword-wielding maid took the letterhead, bowed her head, and took a few steps back. Emerson took a deep breath and walked to the large wooden table in the middle of the room, turning on his talent for communication, and the light of his mind invaded the soul of the black blood monster bird.

This process went surprisingly smoothly, because the structure of the animal's will-side was much simpler than that of the intelligent species, and it could not resist the erosion of Imerson's soul at all. The soul of the black blood monster bird has long been modified by an unknown existence, and the will side is simpler and more fragile than ordinary beasts, and Imerson's spiritual will easily penetrates into the soul of the undead.

Then he saw a pale ball of soul fire, instead of the usual red soul fire. Under normal circumstances, Emerson would then observe and change the life form of the Black Blood Monster Bird by infecting his soul.

That's exactly what Imerson did. But he then discovered that the black blood monster bird's soul fire had been infected by himself and turned a flame-like red, and the black blood of the monster bird began to corrode its body from within. At most 12 quarters of an hour, the undead creature will usher in a true death.

The wizard managed to seize control of the Black Blood Monster Bird, but was only able to control it for six hours.

There was not much time to waste, Imerson did not hesitate to activate the wisdom guidance witchcraft, fiery runes emerged from the void, surrounding the wizard's face to form an esoteric figure, and the dark red in the eyes of the black blood monster bird instantly became bright, like a burning flame.

The Shadow Speaker's puppetry can control a corpse, but that is by replacing the soul fire with his own psychic power, creating an undead under his control. Imerson's wisdom guidance witchcraft is different from puppetry, which attaches his psychic will to the target's soul, sharing the senses and communicating commands without barriers, as well as reading the target's memory.

In fact, wisdom guidance is aimed at the manipulation of the will side, and the will side of the undead puppet has long since dissipated.

Imerson didn't need to give instructions to the Black Blood Bird now, he flipped through the memory fragments of his new pet and entered the Black Blood Bird's life memories from a third person's perspective.

Deep in the mountains, a snake tail and its companions crouch in a cliff lair, patiently waiting for the warm air currents of the rising sun to glide effortlessly through the skies in search of delicious animal carcasses.

Shadows fell from the sky, and a huge "bat" appeared in the sight of the snake tail vulture, its body was more than ten meters long, and in the hollow eye sockets were two burning pale flames, and the spread of flesh wings obscured the sun, casting a large shadow on the cliff.

Imerson could feel the grief in the snake's heart.

Will a scavenging bird of prey know how to grieve?

This is clearly the extraordinary influence of the big "bat". Emerson watched as the big "bat" devoured three immobile snake-tailed vultures, then grabbed the remaining five and flew them up into the clouds towards a lower mountain. Through the eyes of the snake vulture, Imerson could clearly see a tall building standing at the top of the mountain. It is made of boulders, with a square at the bottom, and the walls are closed diagonally upwards to form four triangular walls.

If Victor had seen this, he would have recognized it as a solid pyramid, the easiest building for intelligent life. But Imerson had no impression of this type of building, and he marveled at the majesty of the triangular tower. The big "bat" is only a small point compared to the tower, and it flies directly through the gap in the middle of the tower with its prey, and comes to an empty platform.

The snake head entered a darkness where it could not reach its fingers, and this memory ended there, and when it woke up again, it had become a black blood monster bird, and its eyes could see through the darkness with its burning pale eyes. So, in the middle of the gray hall, Imerson saw a huge hole, and from it came a slippery and sticky tentacle, which was even larger than the big "bat", and the tentacles were covered with mysterious patterns.

Just as Imerson was about to carefully discern the pattern of the tentacles, a consciousness burst into his mind like a storm that destroyed everything.

"Save Me ......"

On the table in the middle of the cabin, the dark red eyes of the black blood monster bird rekindled a pale flame. Imerson was completely ignorant of this, and although the consciousness that broke into his mind was as strong as a storm, it could not shake his mental will, and he even had to open a gap in his mind to hear what the other person was saying.

There is no doubt that he has come into contact with the consciousness of the revived old gods!

Unfortunately, the Old God's consciousness is full of confusion and madness, always sending a distress signal to Imerson. This situation is dealt with in a secret letter written by His Highness Randall, and Imerson tries to hear the words of the old gods as instructed by his master, but to keep his own will clear.

In the real world, the pale flames and dark red light in the eyes of the black blood monster bird gradually formed a balance. Emerson began to ask the Resurrection God, "How can I save you?"

The consciousness of the plea for help finally changed somewhat, and it said intermittently, "Gather ...... The Law of Bloodline...... Reshape...... Perfect body. ”

Imerson heard the words of the old gods and asked, "Why should I save you?"

The consciousness of the old god was no longer frenzied, and fell into a long silence, as if to straighten out his thoughts. Imerson waited patiently, and carefully remained awake, and after not knowing how long, he heard:

"Well, it turned out to be a law-friendly native species, no wonder it can break into my realm...... Can you tell me, whose vote are you?"

According to the contents of the secret letter, Imerson said: "I don't know what you are talking about, I am an envoy of the Elven Empire, and I have come to find the holy relic left by the Moon Goddess, we call it 'Freya's Tears'...... Do you know where it is?"

"The law affinity of the Elven Empire, I see that your soul has a law power that is different from that of the Moon Goddess...... Tell me who He is, and I'll tell you where Freya's Tears are. ”

Emerson sneered and said arrogantly, "Who do you think he is...... Ancient Behemoth, King of the Spirit Realm?"

The consciousness of the old god fell silent again, and after a moment, he sighed deeply, "King of the Spirit Realm, I haven't heard of this name for a long, long time...... But I am not the king of the spirit realm, His power is stripped away, His body is dead, His will is torn apart, I am only a part of Him...... You can call me the Lord of Sorrows. ”

"Listen, the primordial species who wields the power of the law, I am of the same essence as you, and the existence behind you is nothing but a poor creature driven away by Tyron Riel, whose will sooner or later will be devoured and worn out by the great ape. He can't give you what you want, but I can. ”

Emerson asked rhetorically, "Oh? What do I want?"

"What else could it be? Of course, like me, a perfect body, a complete law power, and an eternal will, which is the pursuit of all law creatures, because we are all the embodiment of the creation of the great ape. ”

Now it was Imerson's turn to be silent, his heart was pounding, but he could still remember Victor's warning, so he said in a thin voice: "I can't believe you...... It's as simple as that, and that's the end of the conversation. ”

"Wait!" the Lord of Sorrow slowed down and said leisurely, "My strength is too weak to show you the mysteries of the law. You don't trust me, and that's okay. I'll help you get the 'Freya's Tears' first, the Moon Goddess's relic is at the bottom of the pit you see, it traps the Black Blood Master, and it is guarded by the Black Blood Master......"

"The Black Blood Master, the big tentacle?"

“...... You won't want to see Him in real form, you can't even go down from the front to the bottom of the pit. But I know a secret path to avoid the Blackblood Lord and his Blackblood Beasts...... When you reach the Temple of the Azores, as you are now, infect the soul of a black blood beast and call on the Lord of Sorrows, I will guide you to the secret passage and help you avoid the Black Blood Lord and get the 'Tears of Freya'......"

"No, you'll either tell me the location of the secret passage now, or I'll find a way to find the goddess's relics myself. ”

The Sorrowful Lord weighed for a moment, passed a vision to Imerson, and said, "This tunnel leads in all directions, and only I can guide you to the right way." If you don't believe me, try it yourself, but I must warn you to watch out for the undead and His minions...... I don't want to miss the opportunity to gather my will, and I certainly don't want you to die on the way. ”

Emerson took the opportunity to ask, "The one who asked me for help was the Black Blood Master?"

"...... He appeals to all beings for help, He is a mindless beast who can only regain his body and will by collecting natural blood. ”

"What is your relationship with the Black Blood Lord and the giant ooze monster in the forest? it also seems to have the power of the law of grief and despair......"

"Hehe, you'll know, if you survive, you can get everything you want......"

The consciousness of the Lord of Sorrow quickly faded, and Emerson suddenly woke up, leaning on the table and gasping for breath, sweat seeping out of the pores of his body in an instant with his relaxed spirit.

"Imerson, are you okay?"

A familiar voice came from behind him, and Emerson looked back and saw His Royal Highness Randall and Father Dane, he raised his hand to wipe the sweat beads on his face, and said with a weak smile: "Master, I have seen the will of the devil." ”

A gentle smile appeared on Victor's handsome face, and he said, "You relax first, and we'll talk later." ”