They came to a dirty back alley in Fog Town, and two meters in front of them were obscured by thick fog. Jacob had already taken one eye out of the head he had collected, but the second eye was difficult for him because a layer of bone had formed around the eye socket.

After carefully slashing it with the sharp index finger knife on his demon glove, he sucked it and pulled it out, holding it closer so he could see its retina.

"The first one is better," Heskell commented, looking back.

"Still, it's amazingly beautiful, don't you think?"

White gave him a look, causing Jacob to wonder if there was a mushroom growing in his ears. Then he grunted and looked away.

Jacob doesn't know when this happened, but White seems to see him differently because it's not the first time in recent weeks that he's felt like he's being judged.

Maybe it's the greedy demon lord who has a little influence on me...... The idea is shocking, but not impossible. After all, he saw that everyone around him, except for Heskel, had changed because of his exposure to the aura of the God of Wealth.

He shook his head, as if to dispel the thought, and then pulled out his other eye and placed it next to the one he had just plucked. They are the same size, but the patterns inside are very different.

The center of the first eye has a crimson flower that is almost fractal, and the black pupil is painted in an elongated shape, more like the eyes of a snake or a goat. Half of the second eye is covered in a dense layer of bone, but the rest resembles a black snowball in which a galaxy lives. Somehow, Jacob is convinced that both eyes belong to the watchman himself, who, after all, is an entity that is said to see everything past, present, and future; So his eyes must be endless in shapes and patterns, each staring at something unique.

Jacob tucked his eyeballs safely into a special compartment of his devil's flesh apron. In terms of functionality, his devil-shaped outfits have endless possibilities and practicality. He once saw the tail of self-reflection as the pinnacle of the tools he could create, but now he sees it as an intermediate stage. Although he was apprehensive about using the devil's soul and body because of their tendencies and flaws, it was clear that he was swayed by fear. After all, the two demons on his body now, Mar and Poole, are docile and easy to control, as they only have a few demon marks engraved on them.

Heskeel chose to make his poncho-like apron soulless. White doesn't seem to like to bind the souls of lower creatures, preferring to rely entirely on his own strength. Grandfather instilled obedience directly in him, but Jacob was unsure of how absolute it was, for Heskell had rebelled against his creator at Jacob's instigation.

"Show me the relics." Jacob said to his lifeguard.

Heskel pulled it out of the pocket of his robe and placed it in front of him. This thing was placed in the palm of White's hand, and it appeared very small.

"What about the rest of the money?"

"That's it."

Jacob picked up the ring from Heskeel's palm with his left index finger and thumb and examined it carefully. It's a very simple wedding ring, made with some silver-plated cheap metal, given its weight and the fact that the shiny outer layer comes off.

"I believe the whole hand is a holy thing." "But that's just his ring?" Typical. ”

"The clergy consider marriage to be a virtue."

"If their contract is upheld," Jacob retorted.

Heskel snorted in agreement.

"So, that's the secret toll we're looking for, because its inner oath has never been broken?"

Huai Ting nodded. He seemed quite adamant about the latter, so Jacob decided to believe him. After all, despite their differences, he had never seen a misplaced trust before.

"What's next?"

"First Branch."

Jacob pondered, releasing a stream of condensation from his mask. The North Market doesn't seem to deal in such humble trinkets, although it would be a grave mistake to go back there, while the West Market is in ruins. The East Market, which borders the East Gate district, may have such small businesses, but it's located at the other end of the metropolis and takes a few hours to walk. This leaves only one viable option.

"Let's go to the Mage Zone."

Hesquel nodded, no doubt coming to the same conclusion.

In the darkness of his private tower, Sirelius used his middle finger around the circumference of the clay bowl. The black water inside has hundreds of overlapping rings that are beating and amplifying each other and cancelling each other out, creating a steady balance that makes the rings appear as if they are constantly jumping up and down, even though this is only an illusion of the eye.

"Show me what I want to see," he chanted clearly. For many days, he had been trying to find out where Jacob, the butcher and demon summoner, was. For the first week, all he saw was a strange golden glow, like the dawn shining through the mist over his hometown of Mount Leman. However, in the last few days, completely different results have happened, and today is no different.

When the rings in the water shrank into an image, they suddenly took on the appearance of an eye, albeit with few details, apparently not belonging to the creature he knew. Its long, long, horizontal pupils seemed to be staring at him as well, and then it blinked, and the spell was broken.

He sighed and got up from the floor, his knees resting on a soft carpet and a bowl of water in front of him.

“…… They are guarded...... Hmm......" said the demon slave in the corner of the room. Unfortunately, Sirelius' favorite squire was taken over by the immortal Guillaume, whose magic kept King Helmsgarten alive. A man long accustomed to frustration, Sirelius forged an unstable alliance with the Patronus, allowing him to use his black-eyed retinue as an advisor to rituals, rituals, and magic that he himself knew little about.

"How?"

“…… Old...... Tongue ......"

However, no matter how many times he talked to this evil entity, he couldn't help but twitch and tremble whenever it spoke.

"How do I circumvent it?"

“…… You can't...... Watchmen...... Protect them ......"

Sirelius was disturbed that even the ancient magic he had passed down from generation to generation could be defeated by some obscure language he had never heard of before. Although this does explain why he used to try to spy on U

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G's actions produced similar results.

There was a commotion in the stairwell outside his scry room, which suddenly caught his attention. After a while, there was a sharp knock on the door.

"Please come in." Sirelius shouted.

When a messenger and two guards entered his private shelter, the dark chamber was filled with light.

"Your Majesty! I need your presence so badly!"

"Did the king send you?" He asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"No, Your Majesty."

"What's that?" I'm busy. ”

The messenger looked at the two guards, and they exchanged uneasy glances.

At this time, one of the guards cleared his throat and said, "Your Majesty, you had better go and see for yourself." We don't know how to explain it......"

"Very well, you lead the way."

"Your Majesty, your carriage is waiting at the door."

“…… I still want to...... Look at ......"

The three newcomers turned, and the Courier let out a scream of horror when he saw the black-eyed squire in the corner.

"You can go along." Sirelius replied. The fact that the immortal Guillaume was interested in all this haunted him to a great extent.

Sirelius heard reports of incidents on the bridge at the intersection of the West Market and the residential area, and it was he who began to look for the one he thought was U

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g's motivation, but it turned out to be his primary apprentice. However, when he stood on the edge of a large square in the harbor area, the reports were nothing compared to what he saw.

He had never seen such large-scale destruction and mutilation since the border war between Heimdale and Leman, north of Helmsgarten, which was precisely why he was sent to the metropolis as a young man, but, if the reports were to be believed, the perpetrators, if such a person really existed, were unknown. He couldn't shake off his fear that Jacob was the summoner of some evil ritual, but there was also a good chance that it was U

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G's act of terrorism after a failed attempt to take over the metropolis with his monsters.

Sirelius stared blankly at a monster captured by his men, with more questions than answers. It was like a mythical creature, a mixture of a horse and a man, except that its body was made up of twelve men, whose faces covered its terrible face, and whose bodies and limbs were intertwined like the branches of a hedge in the King's Garden. Even if you have witnessed the U

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ki

G's Chimera, he also had a hard time looking at it a little longer.

“…… Under the watchful eye of the Watchman's flames...... They're like...... Moths......" Guillaume's terrible voice buzzed from the mouth of his black-eyed puppet.

"It's this 'watchman' again. Who is he?"

“…… He's the ...... His indifferent gaze...... Scalded the whole kingdom...... Whether it's human or demonic......"

“…… Endless Eyes...... ...... in the abyss"

“…… He testified to ...... Everything now...... Everything in the future...... Everything in the past ......"

“…… Watchman of the World......"

Sirelius struggled to resist the fear that the demon's words had aroused in his heart, but he failed. The fact that a despicable entity like an immortal elf could revere a person, and that person's gaze could cause everything he saw before his eyes made him feel like a child in a dark forest. This makes him realize how powerless he is and the dangers inherent in the magic of the boy Fleischcraft and his mentor. They must be eradicated, regardless of the orders of the father-killing king.

Jacob had never set foot in the Mage Quarter, but he remembered something that Weeks had told him about the area before. Still, he couldn't really appreciate what made this area unique, especially when all the other regions seemed to follow the same schematic map to a greater or lesser extent.

While the tall buildings of the late ghost theologian first caught people's attention, there are countless equally ridiculous buildings. After experiencing the endless sameness, Jacob personally found the scenery in front of him to be refreshing.

"Who will have what we are looking for?" He asked aloud. Sieg the Resurrected was listlessly trotting after them, while Heskeel was constantly on his toes, keeping a sentry in front.

"Minister of Gardening."

"Gardening?"

"Study plants."

"Seems like a good start," Jacob agreed. He was curious to know how much the White family knew about the city, after all, he and his grandfather had been practicing among the living for years before the king forced them underground. "Where are we going to find them?"

"Southwest Corner."

Jacob nodded, and although White couldn't see, he instinctively walked in that direction. After a while, a figure ran past the crowd of pack animals, carts, and servants, catching Jacob's attention.

"Sig, grab that man," Jacob ordered, then added, "alive." ”

The undead slave silently shot at the runner, her golden prosthetic limb waving limply behind her, her black corpse blood gathering on her reconstructed left palm. Hesquel quickly followed, but Jacob was unhurried and made sure they didn't attract any unwanted attention.

While a few people looked this way, they didn't seem to want to get themselves involved, or might think that the runner might be a thief, as they are as common as rats in the western region.

When Jacob catches up with his lifeguard (who takes Sieg and the runner into an invisible alley), he sees that the man has many small holes in his legs, and the visible skin under the shorts has turned blackish-purple like a severe bruise, which is undoubtedly the result of Sieg hitting him with her dead blood, which is poisonous to the living and can cause necrosis and many other diseases once it enters the bloodstream.

Sieg stood beside the runner, her dark eyes staring at him, he was prone and his legs useless. Her hands were still covered in blood, and she was ready to end his life whenever there was an order. To his credit, he held back and did not whimper, even though he must have been in great pain.

Heskel stood next to her, perhaps wondering what the hell they were doing.

Jacob walked up to them, crouched down in front of the messenger, and asked simply, "What message are you so anxious to deliver?"

"Please don't kill me!"

"Then answer the question."

"Of course! I gave two different instructions: one for the royal team in the West Market, and the other for the Simon Guards and the Mage District Guards. He refers to them by the nicknames of the Royal Guard, which greatly exaggerates their status, as they are mostly civilians with above-average military abilities and magical powers.

"What about the contents of these letters?"

"I don't read letters, sir, I'm just sending letters. Please, that's all I know!"

"Do you have a message on you?"

"This is the last one for the guards in this area."

"Give it to me."

The Courier struggled to pull out a small shoulder bag from under his fitted brown woollen shirt. The design of this piece of cloth looked complicated, but when Jacob spotted the man, it immediately caught his eye.

Jacob took the bag from his hand, unbuttoned it, and picked up the parchment rolled inside. He looked at the prone man again and quickly estimated that in less than an hour he would be dead when the blood from the corpse reached his heart.

"Sig, get rid of your insidious blood. I told you he should survive. I have promised him. ”

The black-eyed servant raised his blood-stained hand, and black tendrils as thick as hair snaked out of the many punctured wounds on the messenger's legs, like small leeches or parasites. He could no longer control his legs, nor could he control other parts of the corpse that were infected with blood, but he survived.

"You will survive," Jacob said to the man, trying to show bravery, which to him must have been death. “Heskel。 Carry him out into the street. ”

Heskel snorted in exasperation, but graciously picked up the lame messenger and took him away.

Jacob threw away the pouch, unfolded the thin piece of parchment, and read the hastily written letter in Novarosian:

To the following district guards:

Noble District Market, North West Gate, Mage District, Residential Slums, East Gate Market, East Bread Basket, Craft Smoky Town

Watch out for teenagers wearing stolen governor's robes or flesh-colored leather robes. Similarly, watch out for a giant dressed in a similar costume. They travel most often in groups, often using sewer tunnels to bypass our outposts.

If contact is made with these people, alert the nearest representative of the Royal Guard and try to arrest the couple. They are all extremely dangerous, but they must be captured alive and put on trial for their heinous crimes. The number of the squad that captured them should not be less than 24 people.

I command you, in the name of our glorious King, Partridge I of Helmsgarten.

As Heskell turned the corner, Jacob crushed the fragile piece of parchment with his fist and tossed it aside. White glanced at him and the ruined letter, and connected the two.

"It seems that the royal family's promises are worthless."

"Virtue belongs only to the world of fairy tales"

"And the dead heroes." Jacob replied mockingly.

The Horticultural Chancellor and his three apprentices had a spacious workshop with a shop not unlike the "Apothecary" shop that Hargraves undoubtedly operated in Jacob's absence; a dormitory, with enough space for three apprentices to bring their families, two of whom seem to have taken action; huge botanical gardens; several small greenhouses for plants that require a special environment; Finally, there's a well-ventilated attic for distilling, refining, and blending the various alchemical recipes they sell.

"It's a very strange request." The governor replied, and an attendant followed closely behind, looking warily at Jacob and his attendant. "I don't have anything like that here."

Jacob was about to turn away from the shaggy beast governor when he continued, "But, my apprentice has studied trees more deeply than I do, so he probably knows such branches, or trees of that age, at least. ”

"Get Mira." The governor commanded his retinue. After a while, he realized that he had received an order, so the governor clapped his hands, kicked him out of the room, and made a series of sharp criticisms of his work ethic.

He turned to Jacob and stroked his thick, gray black beard with his long fingers. "Of course, an agency like ours doesn't publish free information on the market. After all, we have more important things to do. ”

Heskel stepped forward, pulled something from his robes, and placed it in front of the Doge standing behind the apothecary's counter. The sculpture makes a heavy crashing sound on the wooden top.

"Really, really?"

"Yes."

The priest happily held up the severed demon claw to himself, the flawless golden claw glittering in the light of the many candles in the shop. They also brought some petrified, golden body parts from the Fortuna's mansion because they were easy to carry around. This is a special aspect of the Demon Lord's aura, and all those who die in his vicinity are turned into gold, not rot.

A few minutes later, the waiter returned with another person. He wasn't as stout as his mentor, who was still admiring his golden limbs, he was tall, a little pot-bellied, and had light brown skin.

"Mira. These customers are looking for information on how to target...... Mistake...... What is it?"

"The first branch of a thousand-year-old tree," Jacob said.

"It's very specific," the apprentice replied. "It's not something I've collected, but I know of a few trees that lived to that age. Some are even older. ”

"It has to be a thousand years old." Jacob demanded without flinching.

"Well......" Merab began, but he pondered for a moment, and then replied: "There is a sacred grove not far west-northwest of the city of Helmsgarten, next to a small town called Rothskeld. I've only been there once, but their sacred grove is famous for the giant trees in its center. As I recall, their millennial festival began after the next year's harvest. ”

"How lucky, you say?" The Governor said happily.

"It's good for me," Jacob replied. He could wait a year, gather the branch, and at the same time find a way to get the tolls of the other two mysterious sects, which were much more vague in nature and difficult to obtain.

"Then it's decided." The Governor announced. "Now, in return, how about we say I keep a finger?"

"Keep the whole thing."

The Governor was stunned for a moment, then calmed down and looked away from the Golden Claw and into Jacob's eyes. "Does that mean silence?"

"Indeed."

"Good. I forgot to see you people. ”

"I will too." Merab chimed in, seemingly easily following his mentor's commands. Still, given the peculiarities of the governors and the strict restrictions placed on them by the king, they may not have been unaccustomed to secret deals.

When they traveled to Westgate, Huskell expressed his concerns. "Don't trust humans."

"Am I not human?"

"You're more than that."

"It's great that you say that, but, anyway, I don't believe they have anything to trust."

"They'll denounce us."

"So what?" What does it matter if the royal family knows that we are heading west? We will be close enough to Lehman that they may believe that we continue to cross the border. They won't bother to chase us that far. ”

"They will."