Chapter 73
About to win!
In all the matches against the damned demon, Messai finally saw victory within her reach for the very first time.
Like the remains of a candle fluttering in the wind, the life of the character Ynor was controlling, Gul’dan, was about to die out at any moment. Messai only needed two more turns to defeat this damn demon!
She would be able to prove to everyone in the tavern how powerful the Paladin class was!
But, the cheers of the upcoming victory did not make Messai forget about her surroundings. She heard an aged yet familiar voice.
“Messai, it’s time to leave this place.”
Hearing that voice, Messai immediately stood up and turned around. She quickly found the thin and haggard figure standing among the specating dwarves.
Desireless was simply too eye-catching standing among a bunch of robust yet short dwarves. It was like a half bamboo suddenly appeared in a pile of water buckets.
“Messai… what is this arcanotech device? No… the principle behind this thing, it’s a reflection of the runes? No, that’s not it either… There’s no reason for the pictures to move on their own. Furthermore, there’s those crystal symbols that continue to grow.” [1]
Using his boney hand, Desireless moved to touch the old bandage on his head. He was using his ‘third eye’ to perceive the surroundings.
While he no longer possessed vision, the information Desireless received was much more detailed than those with vision. Take the arcanotech device before him. The images portrayed by it as well as the vast amount of runes working behind the scenes to create those images, were enough to make Desireless feel like his head was spinning.
But, what truly caught his interest was how those images were capable of being manipulated and moved.
“Regarding this… it’s called Hearthstone, Lord Archbishop.”
Messai felt the scene before her to be slightly familiar.
Having lived for so long, the only desire Desireless had left was likely his desire for knowledge. Like the mages, he was eternally interested in novel things.
Of everything in the world, the most novel thing would be Norland’s arcanotech devices. But now, Desireless seemed to have seen something over a hundred times more complicated than the arcanotech devices. No, it was something countless times more complicated.
“Hearthstone? Is that the name of this arcanotech device?”
Desireless repeated the name Hearthstone. Soon, he remembered their situation.
“Let’s leave this place. Your comrade-in-arms are still waiting for you outside.”
Not being dominated by his curiosity, Desireless leaned himself on his crutch and quickly walked toward the tavern’s exit. As this place was the demon’s territory, it was unsuitable for clergies like themselves to linger here.
It was destined from the moment they left the tavern that a silent war would begin in Norland.
“Take care!”
Joshua watched as Desireless and Messai left the tavern. Then, he walked over to the arcanotech device that they were by earlier and removed a seemingly decorative originium crystal.
“What’s this?” Ciri saw Joshua’s expression. She knew from his expression that he was scheming something.
“Video recording of the match.”
Joshua poured some of his magic power into the originum crystal. In an instant, the match between Messai and Ynor appeared on the crystal.
“Why are you recording that? You should have those female demons go to the church to record the templar’s disgraceful behavior instead. They will definitely tarnish your tavern’s name all around Norland. It’s better that we strike first and gain the upper hand!”
When Ciri was ‘backpacking,’ she had witnessed the disgraceful behaviors of the Ecclesiastical Templars. Once they knew that Joshua was a demon, they would definitely proclaim his identity to the entire city of Norland.
“Calm yourself. I will think of a way to handle the propagandas and public opinions. But, before we can do that, don’t we need some opposing materials?”
Joshua looked to the female mage. He felt that Ciri was more angry about him being vilified by the Ecclesiastical Templars than he was.
That said, Joshua had made preparations to take on the Ecclesiastical Templars. At least, he was prepared in a battle of public opinion. What remains now was selecting a suitable candidate.