eurekapd Chapter 224 The Witch Cult's Conspiracy: The End of the Old Era of Rune
Chapter 224 The Witch Cult's Conspiracy: The End of the Old Era of Rune
Chapter 224 The Witch Cult's Conspiracy: The End of the Old Era of Rune
When Evan realized that the entire world had become a pressure cooker that could explode at any moment but had no pressure relief valve due to the stability of the Fifth Age, he was overjoyed, because this was extremely beneficial to him.
At the same time, he also wondered why the seven gods restrained each other and prompted the signing of the "Divine Oath" to no longer interfere too much with reality.
Evan didn't believe that these high-ranking gods would do this for "peace"; there must be some force compelling them to do so.
However, all of this was too far removed from Evan's life. He wasn't even a demigod yet, so it wasn't the time to delve into the secrets of the gods. Therefore, he put his questions aside.
Evan went to Backlund University and handed the 30,000 gold pound check that Mr. Hope had given him before he left back to Mr. Murphy. After looking at the latest research results, he felt that the most basic prototype could be produced in less than half a month, and then he left satisfied.
After leaving Backlund University, Evan thought for a moment and then instructed his coachman to take him to an apartment in the Hilton district, where Evan would settle Helen.
Helen was off work today, and Evan hadn't even gotten out of the carriage yet when he saw Helen at home through "Gray Vision," so he told the coachman to leave.
As he approached the apartment door, Evan saw the ethereal spider silk floating in the air, knowing it was Helen's warning measure.
He was about to push the door open when he remembered something, a wicked smile appeared on his face, and he extended his own spider silk, entangled it with Helen's spider silk, and kept teasing her.
Sitting in front of the dressing table, looking at her perfect face in the mirror, Helen sighed and lamented that Evan hadn't come to stay for several days. Suddenly, she felt a change in her warning spider threads, and her eyes sharpened as she looked towards the door.
Just as she was about to become invisible and use her previous plan to ambush the uninvited guest, she suddenly stopped all her movements, her face flushed red as she lay on the dressing table, panting heavily.
Although Helen was also a prisoner who had been reformed by Evan, the reformation was based on her original will, unlike Natasha, whose entire inner self was replaced by Evan. She still had "love" for Evan, and she could throw tantrums and act coquettishly, instead of blindly obeying him.
So even though Helen knows who's behind this, she doesn't want to admit defeat, so she can only lie there and endure it, not even letting herself make a sound.
But within seconds, Helen's struggle failed, and she was forced to make low, guttural sounds again.
After another ten seconds or so, Helen could no longer bear the feeling. She knelt down and ran to the door, opened it, pulled Evan, who was constantly pressing the spider silk with his right hand, inside, pushed him onto the bed, and pounced on him.
Evan offered no resistance, allowing Helen to remove their clothes and straddle him, and the two immediately entered into a fierce battle.
The clouds dispersed and the rain and mist lifted, and Helen lay naked on Evan's body, her sweat-drenched hair scattered across his chest.
"You're welcome to come, but why do you have to humiliate people like that? You're so mean!"
After resting for a short while, Helen sat up reproachfully and started pounding Evan's chest with her delicate fists.
At the same time, it revealed its snow-white mounds, making Evan dizzy.
Evan didn't argue; instead, he wrapped his arms around Helen again, stroking her back repeatedly to comfort her.
Helen quickly calmed down, and Evan became interested again, and the sweet voice of a nightingale could be heard again in the apartment.
Has your mother been corresponding with you recently?
As Evan curled and played with Helen's hair with his fingers, he asked.
"Not long before you arrived, my mother contacted me through the mirror. She informed me that the Witch Cult was acting strangely again, and the White Witch was preparing to re-enter Backlund. She would also be arriving soon. I was just about to contact you."
Evan nodded slightly, not at all surprised by the news, because Prince Grove had told him personally last night that the witch would return. However, Evan was somewhat surprised that the Gnostic Society could get the news so quickly and act accordingly.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. The Grim Reaper is clearly much weaker than the Witch Cult, yet it has survived so well and even caused the Witch Cult considerable trouble. It must have some tricks up its sleeve.
This is beneficial to Evan, making it easier for him to use the Gnostic Society to secretly attack the Witch Cult in the future.
"When you communicate with your mother next time, remember to remind her to be careful of the alliance between the Witch Cult and the Augustusian royal family. They know that the Grim Reaper is paying attention to Backlund. The last incident showed them the destructive power of the Grim Reaper on their plans. Tell your mother to be careful of the two sides joining forces to plot against them."
"I see. Evan, you didn't come here just to ask about my mother's whereabouts, did you? Is there something you need?"
Helen, nestled in Evan's arms, endured the constant back-and-forth of his large hands as she asked in a low voice.
For safety reasons, Evan usually only comes to Helen's apartment at night and not during the day. This time, he is obviously here on a mission, and it must be something more complicated.
"During this time, I unexpectedly learned about the secrets of the Horn family."
The Horn family is the main branch of the Einhorn family, while the branch of the Fussac Empire is the secondary branch. The two families split at the end of the Fourth Age.
This kind of secret from over a thousand years ago might not be well known to smaller factions.
But there's no reason why the Witch Cult, which experienced the entire Fourth Epoch, and the Gnostic, which actually split from the Witch Cult, wouldn't know the inside story, let alone that it concerns the inside story of a rival family occupying an adjacent path. Did you know this inside story before?
"Is that true? Of course I didn't know about this! If I had known, I would have told you already!"
Helen was clearly surprised that the Horn family was actually the Einhorn family.
"Tell me again how you discovered that Mrs. Sharon of the Witch Cult wanted to recruit me. I want to recount what happened back then."
After learning that the Horn family was essentially the Einhorn family, Evan became puzzled by the fact that Mrs. Sharon and Helen were vying to win him over.
Mrs. Sharon and Helen may not know the Horn family's secret, but the high-sequence witches of the Witch Cult and the Gnostic Church certainly do.
Therefore, whether it was the Witch Cult and the Gnostic Society valuing him, or the Witch Cult taking the opportunity to corrupt him using "Bonaparte's steadfastness," their motives were not pure.
Evan used to think it was because of Robert, but now it seems that the Witch Cult and the Gnostic were more concerned about the surname "Einhorn".
"My original intention was to find an informant, find a way to infiltrate the Witch Cult, and find out what they were planning to do in Backlund!"
I discovered that "White Witch" Katarina, "Desperate Nightingale" Panadia, and Natasha all shared the same bloodline. I followed this bloodline to find Mrs. Sharon, and then to you. You know what happened after that.
Evan reviewed Helen's actions and felt that she was simply going with the flow, and there shouldn't be any "conspiracy" involved. As a schemer himself, he had that much confidence.
Helen's attempt to win over Evan was likely not an action orchestrated by the Gnostic demigods, but rather a passive response after they discovered the Witch Cult's movements, prompting Helen to take action.
The Gnostic Society was also very wary and interested in the Witch Cult's sudden interest in the Horn family.
As for whether Lady Sharon's attempts to win over Evan were behind it, and whether there were higher-ups within the Witch Cult involved, Evan had no idea. "Once your mother arrives in Backlund, your main task is to do everything in your power to find out from her the Gnostic Society's attitude towards the Horn family, and their speculations about the Witch Cult's actions against the Horn family!"
The group that understands the Witch Cult best in the world must be the Grim Reaper, their old rival. The Grim Reaper should have some idea about the Witch Cult's purpose in approaching the Horn family.
Evan doesn't have much information, so his deductions might be inaccurate. In contrast, the Gnostic's guesses might be more accurate.
"Okay, I'll definitely find out for you. Sigh—why are you getting dressed? Stay a little longer!"
Helen had just shyly agreed to Evan's request and reached down, ready to enjoy another erotic dream, but unexpectedly, Evan pulled the handle out of her hand and picked up the clothes that had fallen off the bed and put them on.
"I still have to go to Natasha's place, so I can't tell you everything. I have to leave some for her!" Evan said with a light laugh as he put on his clothes.
Helen closed her mouth, but didn't say anything more. She just got up and helped Evan put on his clothes, but had to endure Evan's constant application of nail polish.
After leaving his apartment in the Hilton district, Evan spent another hour traveling to Viscount Morgan's Mansion in Queens.
Previously, they traveled in a carriage inlaid with the Horn family crest, but it was inconvenient to attend Backlund's largest banquet with the old count having just passed away, as it would cause gossip.
Now everyone's probably off to Earl Akhova's mansion to hang themselves, so Evan can come here to give Natasha a task.
With a long moan followed by a muffled roar, Evan, panting heavily, pressed down on Natasha.
After a while, having regained some strength, Evan inquired again about Natasha's relationship with her relative, Mrs. Sharon, whose relationship he couldn't quite define as either brother or sister.
Natasha couldn't explain it either. She only learned about Evan's recruitment of peripheral members after Evan's mother, "The White Witch" Katarina, informed her to take over Evan's liaison work after Evan arrived in Backlund.
"However, there is one detail that I hadn't noticed before, but now, hearing the suspicious points the owner mentioned, I feel that something is amiss."
"What details?"
"That means Mrs. Sharon has become a Sequence 6 'Pleasure Witch'. Although the White Witch is somewhat dissatisfied with her gradually losing herself in her female body and is preparing to stop focusing on cultivating her and instead use her as high-level cannon fodder, she shouldn't have been sent to Tingen City!"
It's important to understand that while Tingen is a first-tier city, it's not really a major city. The strongest official force there is only Sequence 7. Sending him there is a huge waste of his talents. I have requested more than once to recall him to Backlund, but I have not been able to get permission.
It now seems that his dispatch to Tingen may have been on a mission, and that mission might have been to develop you.
A glint flashed in Evan's eyes as he thought for a moment and said:
"Mrs. Sharon may not have gone to Tingen City on a mission, but the White Witch Katarina must have given her some mission to develop valuable peripheral members. Therefore, it is highly likely that Mrs. Sharon has her eye on me, who is very valuable."
The reason they sent Mrs. Sharon to Tingen to recruit me was mainly because they weren't prepared to let her survive after she completed her mission; they were prepared to silence her from the start.
Evan is now a high-ranking intelligence officer in MI9. He has read a lot of documents, knows many cases, and knows that when people want to achieve their goals, they always take a roundabout way and hide their main objectives in seemingly unintentional actions.
If Evan hadn't known that the Horn family was essentially the Evan Horn family, and if he hadn't already "subdued" Natasha and learned the secrets of the Witch Cult from her, he would have had no way of knowing the true intentions of the Witch Cult. This is the true meaning of a plan laid out invisibly.
Realizing that he had been the target of the Witch Cult's higher-ups, Evan broke out in a cold sweat and kept reviewing his previous interactions with the Witch Cult to see if he had overlooked anything.
After much deliberation, Evan concluded that he should not have been exposed to the witch cult.
It wasn't that the Witch Cult was too stupid, but rather that Evan was too good at causing trouble. Ever since Evan arrived in Backlund, before the Witch Cult could even assign him any tasks, he had already created far too many problems for them.
Whether it was Mr. Z of the Aurora Society contacting Triss, or Mr. A finding Triss, and the subsequent fight between the Witch Cult, the Gnostic Society, and the royal demigods at Red Rose Manor, Duke Negan's first assassination attempt, the Witch Cult being forced to evacuate Backlund—and so on, a series of events kept the Witch Cult busy and left them with no energy to focus on Evan.
"You have two tasks ahead. First, you must do your best to find out the attitude of the higher-ups of the Witch Cult towards the Horn family, how they intend to use the Horn family, and whether their targeting of me is their own will or the royal family's intention."
The second task was to do everything possible to cover up anything about me that might arouse their suspicion.
When your mother returns, she will definitely ask you to report my whereabouts to her. You must be careful and not give yourself away.
"Don't worry, I'll do my best even if you don't say anything!"
Natasha wrapped her arms around Evan's arm, rubbing her large breasts against him as she spoke, clearly not yet "satisfied" and wanting to start a second major battle.
Evan understood the principle that to make a horse run, you have to feed it well. With a light laugh, he flipped over and pinned Natasha down again, and the room was filled with her soft moans.
In this world with supernatural powers, every church emphasizes "quick burial," ideally burying someone who dies in the morning before nightfall.
But the old count was no ordinary man. He was a pawn in the extraordinary world, but he was very influential in the secular world. In his youth, he even achieved the best of an ordinary person. He used secular means such as internal governance and diplomacy to reshape the relatively chaotic situation in the Northern Continent after the death of Emperor Roselle, and thus reshaped the pattern of the extraordinary world.
Therefore, the entire funeral lasted three days, during which not only nobles from all over the country came, but even envoys stationed abroad came to pay their respects.
The royal family was very respectful this time, emphasizing the old count's lifelong contributions to the Kingdom of Loen in the newspapers. This made many young people who grew up during the reign of George III aware that there was such a remarkable figure who made historical contributions to the rise of the Kingdom of Loen. Ordinary citizens also came to pay their respects with white chrysanthemums on the day of the old count's burial.
Whenever Evan thought about the old count's experiences, he felt very sorry. The thousand-year-old feud of the Horn family had to some extent dragged down the old count. Being born too early or too late was also a misfortune. The old count did nothing wrong from beginning to end, but he still suffered a complete defeat.
Born too late, he missed the era when Emperor Roselle dominated the world. Both he and Roselle can be said to be destroyers of the order created by the gods of the Fifth Age, and they had a natural common language.
Evan believed that if the old Earl had lived in Russell's time, he would have joined Intis at all costs, helped Russell succeed, and in turn helped the Horn family get out of trouble to some extent.
After all, at that time, Roselle was truly unrivaled in the world, even overthrowing the powerful northern continent nation supported by the gods.
A little more destruction wouldn't be a big deal.
Born too early, he didn't become a contemporary of Robert and Irwin, nor did he have the opportunity to be a trendsetter. Instead, he ran headlong into George III's plan to become a god, and his own schemes were shattered in the face of this plan.
Even more tragically, the old count never knew where he went wrong. He could only curse the Augustus family, the boulder blocking his path, in his dying moments of grief and indignation, simply because he was not even a demigod and could not access the deeper secrets.
But the old count's life efforts were not entirely in vain. Because of his efforts, the once dimmed signboard of the Earl of Ahova's mansion shone brightly again. Otherwise, where would Robert have come from to dominate the political arena, and where would Evan have come from to thrive in MI9? Do you really think the world operates according to predetermined rules? Just because you have a title, does that mean everyone else has to listen to you?
(This coup in South Korea was so abstract that if it had happened in China, it would have been recorded in official history, and historians would have recorded it in its entirety, making it an epic example of a reverse operation that everyone would remember.)
One generation plants the trees so that another can enjoy the shade; the old count planted the trees so that Robert and Irwin could enjoy the shade.
Thinking of this, Evan felt a deep sense of gratitude towards the old count. Under the gaze of many people, he followed Robert to carry the coffin of the old count, Aristotle Einhorn, and then filled the grave with soil.
As they gazed upon the old Earl's tombstone, and the Storm Church choir sang, everyone present removed their top hats and bowed in respect.
This is not just a farewell to the old count, but a farewell to the old era of the Kingdom of Loen decades ago.
With the death of the old count, the last iconic politician of the older generation passed away, and the old era of the Kingdom of Loen finally came to an end, and a new era officially began.
On the train from Run to Tingen, in a luxurious carriage, Robert and Evan sat around a coffee table, drinking tea and flipping through documents in their hands.
The old count's funeral was held in the morning, and Robert, who had officially become the count of Akhova, set off for Tingen in the afternoon.
With the old count's death, a new count has taken over the title. Tingen is the headquarters of the Earl of Akhova's household, and Robert needs to make a trip to Tingen as soon as possible, both for personal and professional reasons, to solidify his title.
After all, Robert did not inherit the title through the normal father-to-son succession. To prevent those with ulterior motives from taking advantage of this, Robert's line of work was inevitably affected. Fortunately, it was still the recess of Parliament, so the timing was still convenient.
Evan volunteered to go along, mainly because he wanted to dig up Klein's grave, and also because he still had debts to pay.
Evan bought two "Sunfire" talismans from Klein for 10,000 gold pounds each. However, since he didn't have enough cash on hand and still owed money, he naturally had to repay his family. He also took the opportunity to get closer to Benson, Melissa, and the Night Watch team.
Two days ago, Cecima, a senior deacon of the Church of the Night, met with Evan through Archbishop Anthony's introduction.
During the meeting, while Archbishop Anthony was temporarily out, Lord Cecima quietly told Evan that he had already taken care of the Tingen City Nightwalker Squad for him and that he didn't need to worry. Evan was completely confused.
After learning the truth, I found it all quite ridiculous. It turned out that Cecima thought she was cultivating a powerful team within the church in preparation for the future ceremony of becoming an "Iron Knight"!
However, this was an unexpected bonus for Evan. He was indeed the mastermind behind the leak of the acting method, but it was part of a plan to counter Ince Zangwell, and he hadn't thought much about it.
However, Lord Cecima's imagination also broadened Evan's thinking. The Tingen Night Watchers are a capable squad, and recruiting one or two of them would be very helpful for his future rituals.
"It seems that my first proposed solution is not feasible."
After flipping through the documents in his hand, Evan couldn't help but sigh, take a sip of tea, and say dejectedly.
Ivan had been planning the formation of an air force and military mobile forces for a long time, and the day after persuading Robert, he presented a detailed plan.
Robert did not hesitate at all after receiving the plan, nor did he submit it to Parliament for discussion as Evan had expected. Instead, he went directly to Sodrac Palace to meet with George III in person and explain the plan for military reform.
King George III was indeed very interested in this military reform, especially in the creation of the world's first professional air force.
This was an absolutely groundbreaking change, and he immediately expressed his support for Robert, even breaking with his previous habit of staying behind the scenes and preparing to personally take the lead.
As expected, it was met with comprehensive resistance from all sides, not only from the political and military circles, but also from within the Augustus family itself.