NOVPUBChapter 163: Chapter 162 Forbidden Knowledge
Chapter 163 -162 Forbidden Knowledge
Shandela’s injuries were not light.
The wound on her waist was nearly fifteen centimeters, deep enough to reach the abdominal cavity; it was only the force of her muscles closing the injury that kept her internal organs from spilling out.
Even Ge Wei couldn’t help but show a surprised look when she saw the injury.
“Shall I help you contact a medical priest?”
“If I don’t have to queue, that would naturally be good,” Shandela said with a wry smile, “but unfortunately, Magnificent Castle is a small place. By the time your Mechanical Sect’s priests get here, I should have already healed.”
“That’s not necessarily the case… it’s just about a month’s wait,” Ge Wei coughed twice, then lay on the hospital bed next to her.
“High Priest, I’m going to remove the clothes and bandages on your body,” the physician cautioned.
“Do as you please, don’t mind me.”
When Ge Wei’s clothes were removed, everyone gasped in shock.
Her body was covered with dense scars; some had healed long ago, while others still showed a fresh pink hue. What was more surprising was that the way these injuries were sutured was very crude, with some seeming to be fixed with screws.
“This…” Shandela didn’t know what to say for a moment.
She had thought that the other’s style, full of piercings and hanging ornaments, was just an alternative fashion, but now it seemed not so simple.
“Don’t stare at me, I’m going to blush,” Ge Wei purposely grinned, the silver bead on her tongue glittering, “It’s because of this I didn’t want to bother you.”
“But the other priests I’ve seen seem…”
“That’s because they usually hide it well,” she said nonchalantly, “This is our way of getting closer to the divinities. There’s a common saying that the more one resembles a machine, the more one can exert their power. Wouldn’t you like to give it a try? It’s actually quite nice once you’re used to it.”
“Thank you, but I’ll pass,” Shandela declined without hesitation, yet her eyes revealed a hint of amusement. After the battle at Distant View Tower, she felt that their relationship had grown significantly closer, and Ge Wei’s ostentatious appearance no longer irked her as before.
Once the wound was treated, and everyone else had left, Ge Wei sat up straight from the hospital bed, “There is a mole within the City of Defense.”
“It’s not necessarily leaked from the military; those close to the lord are also suspects… The identity of the person who turned into a heretic beast has already been found out. He’s not an ordinary soldier but a captain constantly stationed at the lord’s castle,” she said gravely, her smile gone.
The timing of the attack was also perfectly orchestrated, right after she met the Earl and secured his support.
As for the meeting with Paradise’s envoy, that probably wasn’t in their plan.
Shandela felt a headache coming on, “But I don’t know if he really wanted to kill me, or if he was controlled by the Heretical Cult.”
“There is no fundamental difference between the two. If you grow that thing on you, I will still kill you,” Ge Wei shrugged, “Believe me, it’s for your own good.”
She nodded silently, without responding.
Shandela acknowledged that she could not become a heretic cultist, but she couldn’t guarantee that everyone in the military shared her sentiments. After three years together, she had grown fond of the City of Defense. If possible, she didn’t want to personally kill any of her subordinates.
Moreover, hunting for a mole was an internal military affair; there was no need for an outsider to worry about it.
Ge Wei didn’t dwell on the topic, “Did you really see him? I mean… not just his followers.”
“Him?” Shandela was puzzled why she would use such a description, “The person I met is the instigator of a series of events, as well as the savior in your eyes who exterminates heretic beasts, who calls himself the envoy of Paradise. Who are you referring to?”
“…Of course, it’s… no, never mind. I can only confirm that when I see the other party.” Ge Wei shook her head, indicating that they should move on from the topic, “So, what did you talk about? What does ‘Paradise’ mean?”
“Paradise is just a symbol, or rather, a delusion. This organization hopes to make the mundane world into a paradise where everyone can have their fill of food and drink… Although those aren’t their exact words, that’s roughly what I understood from them.”
Shandela was clearly skeptical.
Ge Wei saw the teasing in her eyes. “Don’t underestimate the power of faith, they are already on the path of fulfilling divine will.”
“A Latter God that makes sacrifices for others? That’s impossible by common sense… Let’s talk about the real issue. Have you seen this kind of altar?” She struggled to gesture, “With a bouquet of wild roses on top, and a human brain underneath.”
The female priest immediately furrowed her brow, “Where did you see it?”
“Not me, the people from Paradise. It was in the third-floor library of the Heigang Building.”
Unfortunately, an explosion had completely destroyed the library; she could only choose to tentatively believe the messenger from Paradise.
Ge Wei fell into a rare silence, her lips slightly pursed as if in deep thought.
After a long while, she finally sighed, “That is indeed an altar of a Heretical Cult, and the Evil God they worship isn’t quite the same as those from the past. They are a power that have emerged in recent years, usually operating on the Old Continent, and I didn’t expect them to appear on the new continents as well. This is a dangerous sign; I must report this to the bishop.”
“A different Evil God? Could it be that a new Evil God has appeared?”
“To say they’ve appeared isn’t quite right; they are Primordial Gods, already existing in the world, we’ve just discovered them,” Ge Wei corrected.
“Could you explain in more detail?”
For the first time, Shandela was genuinely interested in understanding this matter.
“To avoid causing panic, the church has decreed that knowledge about Evil Gods must not be spread to the laypeople, naturally, to prevent the ignorant from emulating and worshipping them as well,” Ge Wei lay back on the hospital bed, “If it were anyone else, it wouldn’t be okay, but since you’re asking… I’ll make a small exception. Simply put, there are currently six Evil Gods confirmed by the church: ‘Rot God,’ ‘Chenxing,’ ‘Void Ming,’ ‘Hidden Mist,’ ‘The World,’ and ‘Unfathomed.’ They have, to varying degrees, entered our world, but most of the people only know about the Rot God and Hidden Mist because they have genuinely caused massive disasters.”
Shandela knew about this.
It is said that people suffer from birth, aging, illness, and death, and materials wither and decay because heretics introduced the Rot God into the world. Long, long ago, humans were able to live forever.
At least they didn’t die of old age.
The most memorable event was the Poisonous Decay Water incident over one hundred and fifty years ago, when a Heretical Cult called Terror Shadow summoned the power of an Evil God in Meli City on the Old Continent, turning an entire river running through the city into poisonous water. Anyone who drank it would immediately wither and decay like a plant, their lifespan drastically reduced to a matter of days or weeks. Even more terrifying, these people seemed to feel no discomfort or pain but greeted the end of their lives as if they had lived through their complete lifespan. This disaster caused nearly a hundred thousand deaths and the complete abandonment of the city.
Hidden Mist was even more familiar.
The entire new continent was the work of this Evil God; the omnipresent fog trapped people at the edge of the continent, breeding hysteria, mist spiders, and other unknown monsters, requiring great sacrifice to forge ahead. The tragedy of the City of Defense became etched in people’s hearts, happening just fifteen years ago with most who experienced it still alive, making it the widest known and most infamous Evil God.
Even a three-year-old child knows the name of the followers of the Hidden Mist Sect.
“What about the other Evil Gods? Their names don’t seem to have much to do with evil…” Shandela was somewhat puzzled.
“Every new recruit to the church has similar questions, and the church has two explanations for this,” Ge Wei held up two fingers, “First, they are Primordial Gods and should not be described using human terms of good and evil. What we can confirm is they indeed pose a significant threat to human survival. Second, the naming should be accurate rather than demonizing the enemy, and since our main fight is against heretical beings and cultists, the names of the Evil Gods are not that important.”
“Hmm… I suppose that makes some sense.”
“But I think there’s a third reason,” Ge Wei added, holding up another finger and whispering as if sharing a secret, “And that is, someone is afraid. They fear these Evil Gods and dare not give them overly horrific names, in case they are overheard by them one day. Only bland names can alleviate that fear.”
