Marissa was so shocked that she almost fell to the ground, and hurriedly reached for the smoke rune in her pocket, which was used to save the scene in emergencies. But before throwing it out, I immediately noticed something was wrong; the man remained motionless and had no expression or reaction at all.
Marisa plucked up the courage again, turned around the lighting crystal in her sleeve and looked forward, and found that it was actually a lifelike puppet. Like the dummy on the bed in the bedroom just now, it has been cast with high-level illusion magic and looks exactly like a real person from the outside. It has not been activated. There are countless wires inserted into the body, connected to the charging array on the shelf nearby.
Marissa was slightly relieved, but immediately became alert, because when she looked deeper into the secret room, she saw countless more of the same puppets on display. They were all disguised as people of various ages, genders and races, including city hall dignitaries and high-ranking military officers.
After opening some safes and locked drawers (no lock could stop her), Marissa found a large amount of paperwork and letters. There are various documents and official letters from state and county officials, regular corps, and magic federations, as well as royal edicts and papal edicts, etc.;
There are many kinds of them. The only thing they have in common is that, like the dummies, they are all fake replicas. Next to it are the mechanical devices for making these documents, as well as engraving corresponding seals and magical codes.
If it had not been known earlier that this was under the church, the officials and documents in this huge secret room could almost support the operation of the entire Black Mountain County City Hall. No matter the type or scale of the facility, it cannot be accomplished by the Scorpion Sister alone. She must have a large number of helpers and enough behind-the-scenes forces to support them.
So who is it? Marisa couldn't figure it out with her nine-year-old mind, but she vaguely realized in her heart that this might be the most critical intelligence that Skar had said; the shadow that existed behind Montenegro County.
Although she couldn't understand all the words, Marissa still tried hard to read some of the letters on the table. Based on the intermittent content, she felt more and more that this room was not simple.
"To my dear father: The Brotherhood's top experts are here, and although not all of them are willing to cooperate, I have plenty of ways to deal with these former colleagues."
"...Unfortunately, no trace of Van Cleef's daughter has been found. She is closely protected by some of the most loyal remnants, and the whereabouts of the fragments are unknown."
"Recently, a group of bandits wearing red masks appeared near Montenegro County. They pretended to rob the rich and give to the poor, just like the brotherhood in the past, which is disgusting."
"No matter who the mysterious mage is, he has pointed out a clear path for us. The county government, the Corps, and you will definitely make Stallman pay the price."
"The last fragment is in the tomb of the traitor in the north. I have found the way to lift the curse for you."
"...God bless my father! This way, we have all the cards in hand."
"Oh my God, I understand now why everyone is willing to go through life and death for these holy objects and fragments. Just by taking a few glances, our technology and power have improved by leaps and bounds. What if we get another piece?"
"By the way, all the informants you named have been dealt with. As for the vacancies, the puppet technology that relies on the power of fragments to upgrade has reached the point where fakes can be confused with real ones. If I had known it was so convenient, there would be no need to waste time and money in the first place. Money buys these trash.”
"...After the matter is completed, the position of Great Lord will belong to you. It should be yours in the first place."
A series of evidences all point to the same person: the Lord of the Northern Knights, the Templars of the Southern Pope, and the Marquis of the Kingdom Garris Vishack.
There are various signs that this person is the culprit responsible for the deterioration of the situation in Montenegro. He colluded with the town mayor Ernests and the regiment commander Huntington, and assembled a group of exiled mages and former Brotherhood traitors. They used Defias' magic technology to forge official documents, create dummies to replace assassinated military and political officials, and plotted rebellion. The highest administrator of the Western Territory State - Great Lord Grian Stroman; because Vishak firmly believed that he should be the one who has the qualifications and strength to serve as the Great Lord.
Regardless of the year of great disaster and the deprivation of life for the people, they robbed famine victims and local people, levied non-existent exorbitant fees and heavy taxes, occupied large amounts of land and mines, trafficked people into slavery and young men, and forged imperial edicts to close the Xiquan Bridge channel and exploit Boiler merchant. Through violent expropriation, he accumulated a large amount of money, food and ammunition, greatly expanded the size of the guards and regiments, and also smuggled in a large amount of military-grade magic powder as contraband, which was hidden in the holy vaults of churches in various parts of the Northern Knight Territory.
The half-human, half-puppet nun named Serena Hogia is Vishak's adopted daughter. Originally a senior engineer at the Defias Engineering Academy, his parents died when he was young and he was personally adopted by Edwin Van Cleef, the leader of the Brotherhood. But she completely ignored the kindness of raising and reinventing her. After the defeat of the Brotherhood, she immediately took refuge with her new adoptive father, betrayed the hiding senior Defias craftsmen, and used various means to force them to serve Vishak.
The letter also stated that under the prompts of a mysterious mage, Wishak found and brought back fragments of ancient holy objects from Northrend in the north. This holy object is called the Curse Code, and there are three pieces in total. It possesses the magic power of the Legion Lord and the knowledge of the orc genius scientist. With the knowledge and power contained in this fragment, Vishak's consecrated armor is indestructible and has mastered the manufacturing technology of a large number of legion machines. As a result, he no longer feared Lord Stallman, who also held a fragment, and began to carry out a rebellion plan.
And just when they were about to take action, a group of red-masked vigilantes appeared around the unforgiving Black Mountain County, which was Skar's team. . They robbed the rich, gave to the poor, and rescued the people. They grew rapidly in just a few months and defeated the state guards. The red mask is the symbol of the Defias, and the rune guns and engineering bombs they use also clearly have traces of the Brotherhood. According to rumors, the third fragment of the sacred object is in the hands of the heir of the Brotherhood.
In order to avoid this only possible change, Vishack once again forged an imperial edict and a papal edict, ordering the Kingdom Corps and the Holy Knights to dispatch at the same time to suppress the Montenegrin rebels. Not only to regain control of Black Mountain County, but also to seize the third fragment held by the remaining Defias party, at least to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Sentinel Ridge state capital.
Unexpectedly, these red-masked rebels were extremely tenacious and defeated the corps and county guards one after another. This matter has alarmed Stormwind City, and important figures from the royal family have made a special trip to Sentinel Hill for this matter, urging Stallman to investigate the matter thoroughly.
Seeing that the matter was about to be exposed, Vishak decided to make a desperate move, abandoning the Black Mountain County and the Crossroads Corps, which were unable to hold up the wall, and personally led his troops to attack the rebels and seize the third fragment. The Paladins and elite Skitarii who were transferred back from the northern front line without authorization have secretly gathered in large numbers at the border of the Knights Territory, and can raid Black Mountain County and Sentinel Ridge at any time.
Witnessing such shocking information, Marissa quickly took out her crystal ball and took photos one by one, and took away some forged documents, seals and other key evidence. Just then, with a "meow" sound, a lazy black cat walked along the bookshelf, jumped onto the corner of the desk, sat down and began to lick its paws and wash its face.
Marissa has always liked cats. Seeing the cute black cat, she waved to say hello to it and wanted to pet its head. What she didn't see was that the pupils in Black Cat's narrowed eyes were rotating, making a faint sound of mechanical bearings.
