As usual, Griffith got up early from bed.
According to the plan, he was going to report to the Holy Grace Church in the town this morning. If there are any orders or urgent reports, both extraordinary people and official personnel can get the news as soon as possible.
He put on his coat, put on double armor, and inserted the corrupted feather fencing sword into the scabbard at his waist. His long sword was melted in the previous battle, and he needed to apply for a main weapon from the local official as a temporary supplement.
Griffith walked softly through Elodie's room. The girl turned 180 degrees on the bed with her pillow in her arms, sleeping soundly without even closing the door.
What a carelessness~ Griffith closed the door with a smile and tiptoed downstairs.
From Dr. Zion's villa to the Holy Grace Church, you have to go around a section of seaside cliffs. The cool morning breeze blows on my face, and snow-white seagulls fly low over the sea. On the rocks beside the cliff, Griffith saw a man painting, and walked over curiously.
The painter is a young man. He was wearing a loose cloth coat, with the left and right lapels overlapped up and down, and a black cloth belt tied casually around his waist. On his feet were wooden shoes the likes of which Griffith had never seen before, made entirely of boards and battens, with thick ropes holding the toes in place.
On the drawing board in the hands of the young man, the quiet Hepu Town, blue sky, green mountains and sea blend together. His superb skills can be seen in both composition and coloring.
"It's really good." Griffith praised sincerely. The work of the young painter is indistinguishable from the masterpieces of the great masters that fill the drawing-rooms of Larmour House and Homemonworth.
"Thank you," the young painter nodded politely to the apprentice knight, "it's far from finished."
"Really? Is there anything missing?" Griffith felt ashamed of his appreciation level for a while, "Isn't the scenery in front of me already vivid on the page?"
"I don't know, I always feel like something is missing somewhere?" The painter threw away the brush with regret.
Griffith looked at the painting curiously and then at the bored painter.
The painter's face is thin and handsome, with neatly combed short black hair, but he has a sense of decadence and melancholy that cannot be concealed. Just from this short gaze, Griffith found himself attracted.
Different from the cuteness of being attracted to beautiful women, the painter has a kind of attraction that makes people want to get close to her from the heart.
Griffith felt in a daze that the melancholy and trouble in the young painter's eyes were incompatible with his paintings, and he wished he could fill the painting paper with ink for him. The painter looked at the drawing paper quietly, but his eyes seemed to be staring into the unknown distance.
oh! Going to be late.
Griffith, who was almost immersed in the scene in front of him, suddenly suddenly remembered that he had to rush to the Holy Grace Church.
"Excuse me, I still have some trivial matters," the trainee knight waved to the young painter, "I hope I can have a chance to see it after you finish it."
"Okay," the painter nodded slightly, "thank you."
"Huh? Thank me for what?"
"After meeting you, I seemed to have an idea," the painter said with a smile. His smile seemed to be filled with memories, but upon closer inspection, there was nothing there.
"That's great! Goodbye." Griffith turned around and hurried towards the Holy Grace Church.
"Um."
The painter watched the trainee knight leave, slowly opened the tool box he carried with him, and took out a small paper knife.
"Sure enough, it's the color. Well, the color is not expressive enough?" The painter cut his wrist with a paper knife and dripped blood into the paint tray. He then picked up the brush and tapped it lightly, then suddenly threw the brush away.
"That's right? It should be like this? Like this, like him." The painter quickly drew lines on the canvas with his fingers dipped in blood.
…
Griffith's destination, Holy Grace Church and the residential area of Heura Town are just at opposite ends of a bay and can be reached by boat in less than an hour. The Holy Grace Church is located in the quiet woods on the middle of the mountain. It is built of white stone. The materials and structure are quite high-quality.
Although it is still early, several people are already waiting here. The resident mage Conix sat at the head of the long table in the hall.
"This is the trainee knight Griffith Brandon, the Sequence 8 'Agent', the second son of Knight Brandon, and the second-level captain of the assault cavalry? He is also the Shutoral of the Larmore family? It is a special selection of young guards who are undergoing training courses for officers and knights." Master Connix introduced the trainee knights seriously, and then briefly introduced the team members to him.
"Mr. Trainee Knight, the island's garrison knight is out on a mission and cannot return in the short term. He took some Beyonders away? So our mobility is relatively lacking.
"In front of you is Second Lieutenant Skoltz, 8th 'Deputy' of the Neopolis Garrison, Sergeant 1st Class Finland. Amber from the 'Beacon'? You already know each other. The Garrison, Police Department and There are still some Sequence 9 Beyonders in the city hall, but their training and extraordinary abilities are still very unreliable? The Extraordinary Mobile Team is mainly composed of a few of us."
At least according to official records, Griffith is still the representative of Sequence 8. Except for Galadia and Sonia, no one else knew that his paladin characteristics had been burned away. He didn't know how to report this either.
"Hey!" Amber waved to Griffith, "We meet again so soon."
With a serious expression, Master Connix took out several scrolls and spread them out on the table:
“Let’s start today’s reminiscence by looking at the conclusion of the investigation regarding the dark magic items held by Quaxor.
"It has been found that, in addition to the "Lin Yuan Collection" he stole from Councilor Milovan Neville, the other item is a first-level dangerous item called the 'Insect Shell Organ'. After careful search, it was finally found We found it in the bottom hold.
"This is a pipe organ made of insect shells of unknown origin. After the player uses it more than three times, it will become parasitized. The poisonous insects gradually eat the brain through the blood vessels, and eventually turn the player into his own body and granary."
"That's how Quaxor looked on the ship." Amber felt sick when she thought of the situation at that time.
"Not only is it disgusting but extremely dangerous," Mage Conix said, "Using the organ summons dangerous tentacles that feed on poisonous acid; the prey dissolves and becomes part of the tentacles, replenishing the organ's energy.
"After devouring more than 500 pounds of flesh and blood, the organ will create a fusion monster composed of a player, a venomous snake, and a reptile. The more flesh and blood obtained, the more powerful the fusion monster will be."
"Are there any sealing measures?" Paladin Lieutenant Skoltz asked.
"We have sealed it in a solid basement wrapped in iron sheets without leaving any gaps," Master Connix said. "The 'Insect Shell Organ' will only eat the flesh and blood of nearby creatures as a source of energy. It only needs to be isolated."
"Our mission to investigate the fallen mage and his dark magic items has been completed," Amber said to Griffith. "Mr. Resident Mage has submitted relevant information to the Arcane Council and the region through the local echo hub."
Wait, I have questions. Before Griffith could speak, others continued the conversation.
"But you have a new job," Master Connix glanced at the beautiful blonde girl, his expression still serious and rigid, obviously completely immune to her beauty.
"The local police station and the city defense army reported that a small group of cultists entered Hepu Town. They carried out a small-scale attack last night and robbed some things without causing any casualties. They acted strangely and said some incomprehensible words. , so he was judged as a crazy cultist.
"However, the Hanami memorial ceremony in Heura Town will be held in the near future. As an extremely important festival on the island, thousands of wealthy tourists are coming from all over the world. The memorial site is at Cangyue Mountain not far from here. Any Hidden dangers cannot be ignored. The investigative forces of the Beyonders will be rotated here, Hepu Town, Tilt, Amber and Finland to assist Griffith in taking charge of the extraordinary events and patrols in this area.
"The threat of cultists cannot be ignored. The Arcane Council has circulated the situation to Count Larmore and Beacon Academy, and has assigned you a new task as a follow-up investigation task for your trip. Each of you can get 2 Points for extra merit points will be rewarded. Your mission order book will arrive shortly. The mission difficulty is level B. You may encounter strange cultists, which is a dangerous mission."
"Isn't it enough to be an extraordinary person?" said Lieutenant Scholtz, the agent.
"Not enough. After learning this information, the Maritime Governor's Office has begun to mobilize nearby troops to support us," Connix replied. "The port area and urban area will be reinforced by a brigade, as well as some regular troops and city defense troops. They will be dispatched to enrich the patrols in this area, and we can use them. But don’t expect many reliable Sequence 8 and above official Beyonders.”
"Why?" Finland took over the topic.
"Why? Why are there no official Beyonders to support you?" Connix paused, "The kingdom has so many large cities and hundreds of towns that need to be inspected, even if there are hundreds of thousands of official Extraordinaries scattered there. Being diluted, this island is already considered a relatively powerful area."
"Slowly!" Griffith seized the opportunity to interrupt them, "I think the issue of the Equinox is not over yet, so don't jump to other issues first."
"Oh? What do you say?" Amber asked.
"The only function of the insect shell organ is to turn people into monsters?" Griffith thought the question was obvious, "Is Quaxor out of his mind to do such a thing?"
"Don't expect people who use black magic to gain much sanity," the resident mage said, "but I understand what you mean. There must be enough motives or other forces to promote Quaxor's behavior. Since he himself has been eliminated by you, The motive is difficult to find out in a short time, so I will tell you the rumors about the sealed artifact.
"I have consulted Beyelan's opinion, and they believe that the playing of the Wormshell Organ may be able to open some kind of power barrier and is a tool used for high-level descent. However, this is limited to speculation."
