OBS Chapter 3318 [Clown Troupe]
Chapter 3318 [Clown Troupe]
Chapter 3318 [Clown Troupe]
The bound fourth-ring warlock was quite panicked:
"I'm not a bad guy. I didn't attack you in a fatal position when I attacked you from behind just now! Believe me, never touch the ring directly. I came here just to track down this ring. The ring is not just an alchemical tool, it is tainted by the power of the devil.
I know you are strong, very strong, but you must not touch it directly."
"Oh?"
Xia De raised his eyebrows, but still squatted down beside the unconscious black-haired man. However, he didn't have any rebellious psychology, so he didn't touch the ring, but just frowned and moved closer to observe.
With his current perception ability, this distance is enough even without contact:
"This is."
Xia De turned and looked at the fourth-ring warlock again:
"Please introduce yourself. I need to know what's going on."
The other party could see that he had really encountered a strong person in a big city like Tobysk:
"I'm affiliated with the Harlequin Troupe. I wonder if you've heard of us? Our group isn't particularly large, and we've been based in the art capital 'Artek City'."
Shade had heard of the other party. When the leader of the Cult of Doom attacked Miss Reinhardt near the spring last week, his guess about her identity included the Clown Troupe.
Most of the members of this ring wizard organization appear wearing clown masks. It is said that the main body of the organization is a troupe that specializes in clown performances - this is similar to the [Golden Dawn Opera House]. They are relatively neutral ring wizards. Although they are distributed in the capital of art, they are actually active in various parts of the Old Continent.
But the purpose of their actions was quite puzzling. Xia De had limited knowledge of them before. He only knew that they were always doing strange things, but he had never heard of them doing anything really bad.
"I've heard about you."
After hearing what Shade said, the ring warlock who was crawling on the ground felt more relieved. At least their reputation was not bad:
"My companions and I were ordered to track down a group of evil followers in a town in the north of the Art Capital. They were spreading a terrible plague of thoughts. Before the end of the year, our troupe had a big battle with them and barely drove them out of that area.
But many dangerous things in the hands of those evil followers have fallen into the hands of ordinary people. I was ordered to track them all the way from the west coast of the old continent to here and recover one of the more dangerous ones. "
He tried to sit up, and when he found that Shade did not stop him, he indicated that the ring he was looking for was:
"On the surface, the ring is only attached with a 'powerful charm', but in fact, anyone who touches it will have their soul corrupted uncontrollably. Yes, anyone! From my investigations along the way, the final result is either turning into a pile of wriggling meat, or being transformed into a terrifying thing that looks like a human, but is actually no longer a human."
He tried to be honest with Shade:
"It can only be blocked with high-purity gold. If you believe me, find a gold container to store it. Or if you have a way, you can destroy it now. After all, I didn't come here to recycle it."
After he finished speaking, he wanted to see what this strange "strong man" would do, but he found that Xia De was looking at him with an inquiring look. After staring at each other for a moment, Xia De asked:
"What evil thing?"
The ringmaster shook his head:
"I can't tell you. If I tell you, both of us could be targeted. The enemy is very ancient and very powerful. Have you heard about the Pantanal Swamp? The evil creatures that appeared there are nothing like what I'm talking about. If you don't believe me, I can..."
"No, I believe you."
Xia De frowned and looked at him:
"You only need to answer one question for me - are the followers of the evil creatures you mentioned the 'Apostles of Desire'?"
"you know?"
The strange ring wizard was shocked:
"Wait a minute, the followers of that thing, can't they have already appeared in a big city like Tobesk? Have you fought with them?"
"No, there are no such things in Tobesk. I have encountered them in other places. It is impossible for them to appear here in a short time."
The mermaid knew that Shade was in Tobesk, and she would not easily expand her influence here.
The restraint of the bright yellow moonlight was lifted, and the ring wizard of the Harlequin Troupe regained his freedom. He put away his dagger and stood up to thank him, and then he saw Shade bend down and take off the ring on the black-haired man's finger.
Xia De had even swallowed the flesh and blood of Desire, so a ring with only a slight power of Desire would certainly not affect him. Direct contact finally made him completely confirm that this thing was indeed related to the mermaid. But it was not blessed by the thing itself, but was only related to its power.
In the late autumn of last year in the Vista Forest, Shade had already discovered that the mermaid was expanding her influence. In addition to the Moon Bay where her main body was located, some of her followers also appeared in the forests in the heart of the Old World. Although the noble lady at that time gave him some help, Shade still understood that "desire erosion" was definitely not a phenomenon that was beneficial to the world.
With a snap, the ring was bent by two of Shade's fingers, and then the ruby with the power of the mermaid was crushed into pieces by his right hand. He held all the pieces in his hand, and after the silver moonlight flashed, the remaining power disappeared.
But this was not the end. Shade looked at the unconscious black-haired man again, and after hesitating for a moment, he asked the ringmaster of the Harlequin Troupe:
"If I want to use him to warn the church that a terrifying ancient evil is eroding civilization, can I just throw him to the church?"
"The True God Church should have known about the terrible enemy, but we can still leave him to the church. The church will check his body and know what kind of power he encountered. The appearance of such a thing in the core area of Dralion will make the church pay more attention to it."
"So why are you fighting against that thing?"
Xia De expressed his doubts. Although Xia De had released the other party's control, the fourth-ring warlock did not think he could leave at any time, so he answered honestly:
"We call ourselves 'clowns'. Clowns don't need to know their purpose. We just need to act according to the script we are given."
But he paused and added:
"As for the followers of that thing, the operation started in the summer of two years ago. However, our progress is not great. The power of that thing is quite covert in the city. Once discovered, it is basically equivalent to the appearance of a large nest.
We have had several collaborations with the Orthodox Church for this reason, but these things will not be publicized. If you understand that thing, you will understand that the more people know about it, the more powerful it will be. "
Shade fully agrees with this point. It seems that Desire has not been idle in the past two years. And Shade did not notice its movements in various places until last autumn, because its power is indeed quite difficult to detect.
Most of its corrupted targets are ordinary people, and it has no interest in spreading any thoughts or ideas, let alone causing destruction. It just lets ordinary people enjoy "desires" and then brings that ultimate enjoyment to more people. Sometimes even if the police find them, they will only think that the nobles are having a dirty party.
Even Shade felt that maybe the mermaid had never thought of developing any "followers". It did nothing, and humans just followed it spontaneously after it broke free from the seal of Coldwater Harbor. It was originally the deepest imprint of the soul of intelligent life. Even after going through so many things, Shade did not dare to say that he was more resistant to it now than when he first saw it.
Perhaps the resistance of outsiders to "mermaids" has decreased compared to two years ago.
"Then you go away and take this guy with you."
Xia De pointed at the black-haired man. The "clown" nodded and carried him up. Before leaving, he said:
"I will not mention your presence to the True God Church. Please keep this."
He threw a card to Shade. The card was a little smaller than a standard Rhodes card. The back was pure black, and the front had a Joker pattern:
"Since you don't like that either, then you are our friend. If you meet one of our people in the future, just show this Joker card and others will know that you are the Harlequin's friend."
He thought of the scene where Shade touched the ring directly, crushed it and burned it. He thought something serious would happen, but nothing happened. The [Harlequin Troupe] used ancient rituals to purify such items or directly gave them to the church.
"There aren't many of our people scattered around the Old World, but we might run into them again."
He nodded to Shade for the last time, used the invisibility spell to turn invisible, and carried the man away. Shade looked down at the cards in his hand, and then thought of the special card that Vice President Mark had promised to leave for him before the end of the year.
"This is just a minor disturbance. Tobesk shouldn't change because of this. But the ring with the power of that thing appeared in front of me. Is it a coincidence, or is it..."
This trip to the bathroom took a long time, and Shad was originally worried about how he would explain it when he got back, but when he returned to the VIP lounge, the ladies at the same table just looked at him strangely, and when Tifa pulled out a chair for him to sit down, someone was laughing with her hand covering her mouth with a fan.
"what happened?"
Xia De thought curiously, making sure that his illusion state was lifted and there were no signs of anything wrong on his body.
He tried to question Carina with his eyes, but the Duchess, who should have had a tacit understanding with him, deliberately avoided Shad's gaze. After all, she knew Shad's character. Some people might be complacent about this, but Shad was not the kind of person who would not get angry when others talked about his strengths everywhere.