Even through the mask, you can smell the stench coming from the barn in front of you. The sticky air is mixed with the pungent blood and the unique fishy smell of livestock.
A filthy totem made of broken limbs and wooden stakes was inserted at the door. The human torso, the skull of a goat, and the four hooves of a cow were placed in the shape of a "big", spliced together into an extremely blasphemous and grotesque shape - —
Behind it is a ring of spikes made of thorns, connected to the hands, feet and head. Just looking at this blasphemous thing gave one an inexplicable, sickening feeling of hunger.
"Damn it, humans are not humans and ghosts are not ghosts..." Anvil saw the totem from all the way and cursed as he walked.
"This is the totem pole of the Brotherhood of the Circle..."
Ed whispered the name behind the totem, no wonder Miss Olivia came.
"Do you know the origin of this thing?" Anvil was full of disbelief.
Because of Quinn and Olivia's affairs, during the days when Ed was recuperating in the stronghold and taking care of Charlotte part-time, he made a special trip to the Crow's Nest to check the information:
"The Ring Brotherhood is a secret society composed of 'Full Moon Sect' werewolves, advocating the use of hunting to complete inner transformation. They will pile up the gluttonous trophies left after hunting into "totems" as a tribute to the evil god they believe in - —Sacrifice of "Moon-Eating Demonic Wolf" Managam. "
There were still dozens of steps away from the barn, he repeated to Anvil seriously.
"Tsk... I think I heard Stinky Fish Head mention this name when I was drinking. I heard that this thing was so rampant in the past that the people in the city would even be woken up by the sound of dogs barking in the middle of the night."
Anvil has served in the Bureau of Divine Adjustment for less than five years and is from the north, so it makes sense that he has no idea about this:
"...until twenty years ago, the former branch director Christo united all forces in Silvermist City and launched an operation codenamed "Aconite Grass". "Ed continued.
"——The Divine Bureau, the Auckland Family, the Royal Society, the Holy Church, the City Garrison, and even the Woodcutter Gang and some bounty hunters... almost every faction joined in and successfully uprooted the Brotherhood of the Ring. .”
Christopher led the congregation to their secret sanctuary through misinformation passed to enemy infiltrators, then blocked every known access -
The "Blizzard" gas bombs specially made by the Royal Society were continuously poured into the sanctuary, and floc dust containing silver particles flooded every space.
Subsequently, the heavily armed agents entered the sanctuary and eliminated all living creatures they could see except their own people. This operation completely destroyed the organizational structure of the Brotherhood of the Circle and made it disappear for a time.
"Christopher, isn't that Nightingale's father? Why did I hear the sea monster say that he was murdered by cultists?" Anvil asked in confusion.
"He is right. About ten years ago, the remnants of the long-dormant Brotherhood of the Ring suddenly attacked Mr. Christopher's mansion. Christopher and his wife died tragically at home that night."
The newly appointed Director Lafayette immediately launched a retaliatory action, and the remaining members of the Ring Brotherhood who were exposed due to the assassination were quickly annihilated——
"——At least that's what's recorded in the official documents."
What Ed didn't tell Anvil was that he suspected there was something hidden in the file:
Quinn may not be Christopher's biological daughter, but the descendant of the leader or member of the Ring Brotherhood who survived the operation.
Judging from the time of the incident and Quinn's age, it almost exactly matches. This can explain her innate lycanthropy, super self-healing ability, and completely different appearance and personality from Miss Olivia.
The "Eton's Conjecture" mentioned by Rowan may also be related to the Brotherhood of the Circle, but what exactly is it?
"Hmph, no matter what, I'm not afraid of these crazy wild dogs. I'll kill one of them."
With that said, Anvil has already stepped up to the totem pole and smashed it into pieces with one hammer.
"Wait, let me take a look inside first..." Ed was about to throw out the one-eyed spider to investigate the situation inside the barn, but was stopped by Anvil:
"Okay, I've been here a long time ago. There are several rooms behind me, so don't waste your time."
Anvil carried the hammer and walked over to push the door open, only to find that the door was locked with a chain. Before Ed could summon the one-eyed spider's abdominal tool set, he had already picked up the hammer and smashed the wooden door into pieces.
All right……
Seeing that Anvil had broken into the door, Ed had no choice but to put the one-eyed spider back into his coat pocket, lower his gun and follow him.
The light in front of him was dim, with only the faint orange-red fire coming from the power boiler of the dragoon's armor.
The straw on the ground was covered with fragments of hair and flesh. In the dim light, he saw a pair of bright red eyes with rectangular pupils——
A mutated female goat had disgusting, scale-like growths growing out of its hooves and the corners of its mouth. The bulging eyeballs were covered with bloodshot eyes, looking extremely ferocious.
Creak, creak...
Its mouth was chewing continuously like eating grass, and half of its tender pink body was still twitching. It was a newly born lamb that had not yet grown hair.
This is its cub.
A chill arose in Ed's heart. He aimed at the mutated creature in the corral and was about to pull the trigger when he noticed a stream of transparent liquid slowly flowing down the scarlet eye sockets——
Those are tears.
It...is crying?
He felt an inexplicable discomfort, and his breathing and heartbeat became disordered. The figure in front of the muzzle gradually overlaps with another shadow——
No, kid, you don't understand madness at all...
Time seemed to freeze, and the hand holding the gun stopped in mid-air. The whisper of old George, the bookstore owner, suddenly sounded in my ears:
You will watch the human part of you slowly die and turn into a monster, and there will be no other way...
Dolores - who is that? Why do you call me this name? !
The voice suddenly turned into Quinn's hoarse roar with a crying tone.
Every kill brings us closer to madness... Dear little Dolores...
If my failure makes your fate even heavier, I'm really sorry...
Regardless of the "full moon" or "new moon", for any faction, there is no possibility of curing lycanthropy——
Pfft.
A loud bang interrupted Ed's thoughts. The anvil had already been raised and hammered down, killing the mutated creature.
"Why are you lingering? You're just a crazy beast." The man from the north reminded, "Let's go, there are still several houses waiting for us."
"Sorry." Ed clenched his fist and cleared his throat, put down the gun, and followed Anvil silently.
The two of them were silent all the way. There were no enemies or mutated creatures in the next few rooms, only a few totem poles similar to the ones before.
"Are you sad?"
On the way back to the watchtower, Anvil suddenly spoke, his voice deliberately lowered a few degrees.
"Not really..." Ed said, "I just thought of-"
"Thinking of Quinn?"
"Hmm..." Ed replied in a nasal tone.
"Yes, sooner or later she will look like this."
Anvil opened his visor, revealing his rough orange-gold hair and beard. He picked up the cigar from his ear and lit it in the boiler:
"Be more open-minded, kid. In our business, we are meant to live one day at a time. As long as we are happy in the remaining days, with wine to drink and meat to eat, it is better than living with hemiplegia for a hundred years."
"You're right," Ed admitted with a shrug, "Maybe we both have to go ahead of her."
"That's right." Anvil patted Ed on the shoulder with a smile, and puffed out a large stream of smoke from his nostrils, like a train whistle, "That little girl can hit hard, even if she's dead, Sooner or later I will see her again in the mead hall."
Northerners who believe in the Old Gods believe that after death, people will be stranded on an island in a sea of mist. Only those who demonstrate bravery and skill will be transported by longship to the mead hall of the old gods for eternal feasting.
"It's hard to tell. She doesn't believe in the old gods of your northerners." Ed rubbed his shoulders, which were so sore it felt like they had been twisted with iron pliers. "Do you think I deserve to go to the mead hall after I die?"
"you?!"
Anvil laughed contemptuously at first, and then became a little more serious:
"Okay, if you want to have a drink with someone, I'll be with you anytime."
