“The Four Pillar Cult…”
Cleios murmured under her breath. Qinna, Annan, and a few others raised their eyebrows, but most sorcerers only wore expressions of bewilderment.
High-ranking sorcerers who had served in the Red Hats generally knew of the Four Pillar Cult, and agencies that prioritized intelligence gathering had some understanding of it as well. Other sorcerers, however, had virtually no way of knowing anything about this secretive organization—primarily because the Four Pillar Cult had always fared rather miserably in Gospel Country.
Not merely now, but historically so. Only during civil wars and dynastic upheavals within the country could the Four Pillar Cult briefly rise to prominence, yet it was always swiftly suppressed.
The ubiquitous Gospel system simply countered such clandestine organizations too thoroughly. Even if the Gospel did not deliberately leak intelligence regarding the Four Pillar Cult, as long as the Red Hats utilized the Gospel to conduct investigations, it was only a matter of time before the cult was uprooted.
Within Gospel Country, the Four Pillar Cult, the Abyss, Void Realm passages, and agencies were collectively dubbed the “Four Pests”—minor nuisances that could never be eliminated completely, yet posed little real danger. Consequently, few paid the cult much mind.
Soon, however, they would realize that the cult's past failures in Gospel Country were not merely a matter of historical tides, but were tied closely to the personal capability of its leader.
“In an underground hall, the leader of the Four Pillar Cult, known as ‘Rust Crow,’ sat upon a throne that appeared to be woven from iron crow feathers, looking down at countless kneeling cultists in black robes.”
“His voice was elusive and drifting, sounding simultaneously like man, woman, old, and young, carrying a penetrating, ear-catching charisma: ‘From this day forth, you are all Rust Crow. You are my eyes, my tongue, my ears… you are my Touch.’”
“‘You shall delve deep into every shadow of this nation.’ Inside the Mermaid Palace within the sewers, sirens were performing sacrifices to the heretical Four Pillars.”
“‘You shall set foot in every grand hall of this nation.’ In a resplendent banquet hall, several elegantly dressed figures displayed the white gloves on their right hands, exchanging knowing smiles.”
“‘You shall become pillars of support for the virtuous.’ In a war-torn city, sorcerers rescued civilians in peril. Every rescued child was gifted a pitch-black crow feather, and this gift became the wellspring of their courage.”
“‘You shall become saviors to villains.’ As a vault’s massive door was blown open, thugs swarmed in to loot gold, silver, and sorcery spirits. They gazed upon the white-gloved sorcerer leading them with eyes of reverence, captivated by violence that was far more elegant, and far more cruel.”
“‘And then, you shall feed their desires and sell what they need.’”
“‘For those fixated on their family's name, show her how to be crowned.’ In the agency, Annan looked down at the invitation in her hands.”
“‘For those who yearn for power, show him how to inherit wisdom.’ In the training grounds, a sweat-drenched Zuvendas attempted several times to tear apart the note in his hands, yet that slip of paper, thin as a cicada’s wing, was now as immovable as a mountain.”
“‘For the lonely and isolated, show him how to be understood.’”
……
“‘For those chasing prominence, show him how to forge glory.’”
“‘For the heedless and unfeeling, show her how to govern the foundation.’”
Watching up to this point, a deep chill welled in the hearts of everyone—whether the supporting characters who had been named and made cameo appearances in the projection, or the spectators safely looking on from outside.
What lay before their eyes was no reactionary faction relegated to remote hinterlands, waiting to be wiped out by the Red Hats at any moment, but an insidious, deeply entrenched cult that had spread throughout the entire country.
They controlled the underworld’s greatest intelligence network, the Mermaid Palace, had infiltrated deep within the ten major consortia of Gospel, boasted supporters among the common folk, and were idolized by criminals!
Most horrifying of all was their keen insight into human frailty and their ability to unearth humanity’s darkest recesses. Even Sanctuary Sorcerers were reduced to pawns under their manipulation!
Those who placed high on the Scheme Board were actually just like Zuvendas—in their hearts, they knew that if they truly received the ritual knowledge provided by Rust Crow, they would in all likelihood carry out the very scheming crimes prophesied by the future board.
It was precisely because they could not refuse that it was called a weakness.
Moreover, they realized that the first nine schemes on the Scheme Board were merely preludes to the first!
They were indeed the masterminds behind their respective schemes, but beyond those schemes lay yet another scheme!
Amidst the silence, an indescribable terror ignited within the hearts of all who watched—what in the world was Rust Crow trying to achieve? He had built such a massive organization, subjugated so many sorcerers, and orchestrated so many schemes… just what unspeakable purpose did he harbor?!
“Rust Crow turned his throne. Hanging on the wall behind him was an enormous map—a map of Gospel. The geography of Gospel Country formed an overall rectangular shape, long from north to south and narrow from east to west. After more than a millennium of development, nearly every region was inhabited by intelligent beings.”
“Rust Crow pulled out a notebook filled with information on various sorcerers.”
“‘Crown.’ Annan’s photograph was pinned to the northernmost city.”
“‘Wisdom.’ Zuvendas’s photograph was pinned to the city in the upper right.”
……
“‘Foundation.’ Evalin’s photograph was pinned to a city in the lower-central region of Gospel.”
“As Rust Crow drew lines connecting the photographs, the pattern of an inverted tree took shape across the map of Gospel.”
Seeing this, everyone finally understood the full truth of the first scheme.
“Madman,” Renn muttered.
A madman indeed—not only had Rust Crow manipulated multiple Sanctuary Sorcerers, but every single Sanctuary Sorcerer’s scheme was merely part of a larger ritual. The true ritual would envelop the entirety of Gospel Country!
No wonder every single scheme was scheduled for the exact same day. They even suspected the timing discrepancy among the first nine schemes would not exceed an hour, all to ensure the activation of the final ritual.
Renn and the others could hardly muster much anger; their hearts were filled instead with utter incredulity.
If only they had noticed something amiss through the Gospel,
If only a single link in this chain of schemes had gone wrong,
If only…
To put it bluntly, failure was the expected outcome for such a plot; success was nothing short of a miracle!
They could not fathom just how much preparation Rust Crow had carried out to flawlessly steer the first nine schemes. The sheer volume of work was despair-inducing to even contemplate.
The first scheme had earned its title beyond any shadow of a doubt!
Yet the inverted tree pattern had ten nodes in total. The first nine schemes each accounted for one, meaning Rust Crow would personally oversee the last.
And that final node lay in…
The southern city, Azula.
“Rust Crow stood on the lowest tier of the inverted building, overlooking the bustling steel forest below. As a single firework shot up, fireworks burst continuously across the first tier of the city, and trails of sparks danced along a ring, slicing out a colossal circle in the center of the city!”
When the sorcerers saw the space within the ring of sparks tear open into gray chaos, their expressions became extraordinarily vivid, for they all recognized this sight.
Not only did they recognize it, they strolled through it every single night!
“How could there be such an enormous Gate of Truth?!” a sorcerer could not help blurt out.
“Wait, if physical matter comes into contact with the Gate of Truth…”
“Theoretically, no physical matter can pass through the Gate of Truth, but under these circumstances…”
“When the colossal Gate of Truth fully formed, Rust Crow seemed to receive a message. Shattering the floor-to-ceiling glass, he leaped out, plunging straight toward the Gate of Truth.”
“‘Crown.’ Denzel, having just descended into reality, suddenly discovered that he had separated from Annan’s body, his soul form rapidly burning and turning to smoke as it flew south.”
“‘Wisdom.’ The diamond-shaped blood mark that Zuvendas had slaughtered his own kin to form suddenly flew south on its own.”
“‘Understanding.’ ‘Mercy.’ ‘Severity.’ ‘Beauty.’ ‘Victory.’ ‘Glory.’ ‘Foundation.’”
“Pulling the perspective up to look down upon Gospel Country from high above, one could clearly see the pattern of an inverted tree. Ritual energy from every corner of Gospel Country converged, flowing directly into Azula!”
“‘And finally…’ Rust Crow bit his index finger and scattered his blood into the Gate of Truth. ‘Kingdom.’”
“Boom!”
“A clearly visible curtain of aurora rose across the entirety of Gospel Country. Mermaid Palace, the consortia, the Red Hats, criminal syndicates… Without anyone realizing, the Four Pillar Cult had already eaten Gospel Country from within. With their leader's command, their life energy surged along the inverted tree, flowing together toward their destination: Kingdom!”
“Duping countless sorcerers, scheming against hundreds of millions of lives!”
“The Gate of Truth violently collapsed into a single point, flattening the first tier of Azula and blasting open a massive circular crater.”
“After a brief gestation, the Gate of Truth shrank into threads of lightning-like luminescence. Then, as though tens of thousands of people were weaving simultaneously, heels rapidly took shape within the radiant glow, followed by knees, a waist… until the final strand of hair was woven into place.”
“He stepped lightly upon the crystallized earth and looked down at his bare body. With his right hand, he tore open the Gate of Truth, pulled out a dark red trench coat to drape over himself, and raised his head toward Rust Crow standing at the rim of the crater.”
“The weather tonight was splendid, with brilliant stars laid out across the sky, thousands of starlight beams greeting them. And so he waved toward Rust Crow and smiled, saying—”
“‘Good morning, Igola.’”
Chapter 409