Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 425 - 51: The Plot of Divine Servants_1

Chapter 425: Chapter 51: The Plot of Divine Servants_1

"Ah?" Even with the controlled enthusiasm, Pannis’ gaze made her jump, and her upper body kneeled backward slightly subconsciously as she repeated, "The president mentioned something about the reopening of a door."

"I see." Pannis squinted, hiding the knife-like gaze in his eyes, as a scornful smile appeared at the corners of his mouth, "So they turned to the door-opening because of the persistent failures with the sacrifices. Hahaha."

"Pannis, do you understand?" Catherine asked in confusion, "What door are they trying to open?"

"It’s the Death’s Gate." Pannis responded quite casually, his tone airy, "The Death’s Gate in the Sighing Desert."

For a moment, the room fell into silence. No one spoke, even the sound of breathing had ceased. The empty room felt frighteningly quiet, as if it were a void-like world after death. Feeling this odd stillness, the five Silver Wolves that were lying around simultaneously lifted their heads with curiosity, seemingly unable to understand why the humans had abruptly fallen silent. The two Little Undead who were playing by Catherine’s side too noticed this shift in atmosphere and cautiously looked around, assessing if they had angered their ’siblings’.

"Haha, hahaha, you must be joking, ouch, it hurts." With two sections of Indulgence’s leg thoroughly cleaned, Lina was carefully adjusting the position of the broken blood vessels and tendons with a pair of Divine Healing Spell-imbued forceps. Indulgence suddenly spoke against the order, and Lina jabbed the forceps gently into the wound, making him scream out in pain. However, he persisted to finish her thought, "This joke isn’t funny at all, hahaha, how could there be such a foolish being who’d want to reopen a door that heroes had sealed with so much difficulty? It’s impossible, haha, uh..."

No one responded, and soon, Indulgence stopped laughing too. After all, the implication was too reasonable, and even if it were just Pannis’ speculation, it was easy to believe, especially considering that Pannis was speaking with certainty, and appeared very sure.

"They... they are undead mages." Catherine caressed her black hair at her temple habitually and sighed with a stiff expression, "It’s indeed something they would do. We should have figured it out sooner. Whether it’s Soul Sacrifice to strengthen the power of a dormant deity, or trying to reopen the Death’s Gate using this ritual, their ultimate goal is most likely to turn the world into a playground for the undead just like the chaos from Return of the Dead a hundred years ago."

"Pannis." Though Lina strictly asked Indulgence not to speak, she couldn’t resist her own curiosity and looked up to ask, "How certain are you that this is true?"

"You should go ask the two of them to return and ask their president about this, I’m just speculating. Didn’t Passion say that he’s been investigating this recently?" Pannis shrugged, his previous shock and seriousness not visible any longer, "So he should know more about this than I do, right?"

"To inquire the president, huh." Passion’s indifferent expression carried a bitter smile, "It isn’t very appropriate to ask such a thing."

"The president you’re talking about, they aren’t a human, right?" Pannis suddenly asked, "Is it that Thorn who is a Sand People?"

"Huh? How did you know?" Indulgence once again spoke and got a furious stare from Lina, "Nobody ever knew about the origins of President Thorn, you’re saying you actually know him?"

"Heh, I don’t, it was just a guess. After all, it’s a tradition of the Shadow Hand." Pannis replied, "Every generation of president with the code name Thorn are Sand People. This tradition has been followed for nearly a thousand years, it’s just that you all didn’t know."

"Is... that so?" Passion suspiciously glanced at Pannis’ face, shaking her head without asking anything else. Instead, she buried her inquiries in her heart.

"Alright, now, stay immobile for two hours." Lina lightly patted Indulgence’s thigh and wiped the sweat off her face. After two hours he would be able to move without any problems, but he must still be careful; he should not engage in any intense battles for two months. After that period, he would be completely alright."

"That was quick." Indulgence touched his newly healed leg and tried to move his toes. This earned him a glare from Lina, causing him to obediently keep his whole leg absolutely still, catching Lina’s attention in the process. "

Lina smirked scornfully, but it was unclear what she was mocking. Anyway, she washed her hands with a water bottle and, still smiling, tidied up the tools she used for Indulgence’s treatment. She came to Catherine’s side hopping along, "Big sis, it’s your turn, to freeze you first."

"I think I can hold on a bit longer." Catherine said with concern, "Why don’t you treat your own leg first? Keeping it like that will be painful."

"I thought you were the priest." Lina didn’t care one bit that Catherine was the elder sister and looked at her with a dead fish-like glare, "Or did I remember it wrong, are you the priest?"

"Alright alright." Catherine surrendered with a resigned smile, "You’re the boss here, go on."

"I’m almost out of mana." After Lina placed her hand on Catherine’s frozen and somewhat blackened leg, she finally explained in a low voice, "Other than the pain, there’s nothing much to worry about with my leg. It can still hold on for a while. But your situation is different. If I waited till treating myself and regaining my mana, then treating you, it might already be too late. By then, I may have to cut off the flesh layer by layer until I reach the innermost fascia. That kind of pain is much more intense than what I’m bearing now. You wouldn’t want to endure it without cause, right?"

"You’re right." Catherine, although disheartened by the recent news, pats Lina on the head as one would a child. Despite Lina shrugging off her hand with a look of distaste, her movements visibly lighten, signifying her delight. Catherine, finding Lina’s reaction amusing, smiles and continues speaking to Passion and Indulgence, "If the cultists have such a dangerous plan, why haven’t we heard of any large forces or powerful individuals making moves on the Yarran Continent?"

"Two reasons, firstly even at this stage, we can’t be sure if their aim is to open the gate again. All we have are conjectures, and without solid proof, it’s impossible for the various tribes to unite as they did a hundred years ago. Besides, even if we want to unite against them now, there are no leaders like Nellie and Lord Kyle who can command all the powerful beings outright." Indulgence, seeming helpless, spread his hands and continued, "Secondly, the world is vast, no one knows where exactly the cultists will hold their ceremony. The fact that we were able to find this place is due to Thorn President constantly despatching people to investigate and analyze information for half a year, along with a bit of luck. Replicating this result will be immensely difficult."

"Indeed, there’s also a third reason." Passion interjected, "The third being, how do we know that these powerful individuals have not already started investigating? Similar to how, without Thorn President directly issuing us orders, we wouldn’t know about this news. It may be the same for the other powerful individuals; they could be secretly monitoring the cultists already."

"Correct! Those weird demigods always operate in mystery." Indulgence chimed in, "Without their actions, no one knows what they’re thinking, so there’s no need to rush. Many are still alive among those who participated in the action all those years ago. They definitely take this matter more seriously than us, so there’s no need to worry, everything is as before."

"Right, contribute as much as we can when the time comes." Pannis, seeming detached from the conversation, carefully prepares the evening meal while Marcia kneels by his side. Despite the deep, internal wounds on her arms and legs from the previous explosion, waiting for dinner doesn’t seem to faze her. Pannis spreads olive paste on a slice of black bread and hands it to Marcia before saying to Catherine, "As for the rest, worrying won’t change anything."

"Alright, maybe you’re right." Catherine nods, accepting everyone’s opinions, but continues to probe, "So, what now? We disrupted their ceremony, surely this will affect their plans, right?"

"Not sure." Indulgence replies, "Aside from the cultists, I don’t think anyone knows. But, judging from the undead mage’s reaction, it probably has a significant impact. When we arrived, Thorn President also said, if we disrupt the ceremony, it may substantially delay their plan, I don’t think he’s wrong."

"That’s reassuring." Catherine lets out a sigh of relief, "Our world still has time to prepare, we won’t be caught off guard like that last attack."

"What are you talking about?" Vivian abruptly sits straight up, "What attack?"

"You finally woke up." Catherine responds assuredly, "How’d it go? Found the path?"

"Not so fast." Vivian shakes her head, but doesn’t look disheartened, "But, I have a clue now, a month at most. Hehe... You and Lina made substantial progress too, right?"

"Not like yours, but we’re getting there, it won’t take more than a year for sure." Lina raises her hand from Catherine’s legs, stretches, and lies down saying, "Out of mana, need rest."

"Looks like this battle was successful." Vivian raises the corner of her mouth in triumph. If one observes closely, they can see the flicker of magic fire in her eyes, "That potion worth two hundred thousand gold coins didn’t go to waste."

Seeing this, Catherine’s face noticeably drops, she covers her head looking ready to cry, "I feel if converted into gold coins and given to me, I’d progress faster."

"Clap, clap, clap." Noticing that Vivian has awoken, Pannis attracts everyone’s attention with a round of applause, "I’m leaving for some time after we return to the tribe tomorrow, likely about a month."

"Really?" Catherine asks, "Got stuff to deal with?"

"I’m heading deeper into the North." Pannis explains, "To a large tribe in the North."

"Understood." Catherine nods, "Something we should be wary of?"

"Nah, not necessary, it’s just that I haven’t been to the plains for a while and want to pay my respects to two old friends with whom I haven’t met for many years." Pannis gives a complex smile, "You’re welcome to join, since a visit to the plains is rare. If everything goes well, we should just make it in time for the Horse Herding Festival, the most exciting event there."

"Sounds like a plan." Catherine, pleased with Pannis’s newfound openness, grins from ear to ear, "Passion and Indulgence, you two should join too. Given your current states, I wouldn’t consent to you returning to the City of Innocence."

"As you wish." The two shadowy ladies exchange smiles.

"Also, Little Deer and Annie." Catherine continues, "You two join us as well. Don’t worry, I’ve figured out how to disguise the two of you. So, everyone should be ready for a joyous festival." (To Be Continued... If you like this story, feel free to vote for it on qidian.com. Your support would be my greatest motivation. Mobile users can browse m.qidian.com and read.)