Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 739 The Portrait of the Shadow

Although her injuries in human form have mostly healed, Freya says it will take some time before she can freely transform into her dragon form. She doesn't know exactly how long it will take, so she tries to transform every day. However, she has failed in the last few days, and Freya can only reluctantly put her clothes back on.

In addition, there were always pursuers behind us, but they stopped chasing us at some point. It was as if the Hooked Finger Apostles and the Purification Legion had simply given up. Without these white-robed and silver-armored men galloping by on horseback every day, the journey felt rather bland and tasteless.

The temple apostles who die at the hands of Milo will inevitably be crushed and blessed.

But the corpses that were left behind were still useful.

The wandering, scavenging spirit-seekers quickly set their sights on Milo, the executioner with a steady output.

Of course, these cunning fellows weren't after Milo or Freya; they were just following at a distance, responsible for "cleaning up the mess."

Just like they were following behind the hunter Monquia.

Bury the temple seers who were killed and plunder their spirits.

The only regrettable thing is that this newcomer is much more brutal than the hunter, often burning people to ashes, which defeats the purpose of burial.

...

However, after the Hooked Finger Apostle and the Purification Legion gave up the pursuit, the scavengers wandering in the surrounding mountains and forests showed no signs of leaving.

Based on their extensive experience in scavenging, they could tell that the current situation did not mean the temple had completely given up on hunting Milo, but rather that they felt their current strength was insufficient to stop him and there was no need to continue sending these minions to their deaths.

In short, something big is coming.

For scavengers, finding a large one is even better.

On a deeper level, they strongly support Milo because Milo would kill the people sent by the temple and then leave without a care.

But if the temple killed Milo, then Milo's body would most likely be taken back to the temple, and based on that alone, they would have no choice but to support Milo.

Of course, this support comes from the heart but only goes as far as words; there will be no other substantial action.

Unless someone like Milo actively grabs someone, arrests them, and interrogates them.

...

"Where are you from?"

"Huh? I'm from Naras!"

...

Milo chose the younger-looking one from among the many scavenging spirit-seeers who were following him, because the other older, cunning old foxes stayed far away and didn't give Milo any chance.

It turns out that scavengers do indeed have the air of someone who collects trash; even if they are dressed like normal travelers, they will still carry a shovel on their waist.

This made Milo suddenly miss his crowbar...

...

The boy caught by Milo was a young man in his early teens or fourteens.

The reason was that this guy deliberately approached the forest where Milo was, using some kind of telescope to spy on him. So he was caught by following the trajectory of the light.

“Naras? Never heard of him.” Milo muttered to himself as he rummaged through the boy’s bag.

Books, strange rocks, the skulls of unknown races, women's underwear...

The only books that looked relatively normal were just imaginary creations with covers that read "ancient classics," their contents entirely fabricated.

It turns out that the learning materials for the Dream Visionists are indeed severely lacking.

Unlike the University of Michigan, where stacks of these are piled up in the library...

...

"Let's talk about this."

Milo took a rough draft from the boy's bag.

The image above depicts a slightly somber face drawn with simple sketching techniques, featuring sharply defined facial features and murky, indistinct pupils—it is undoubtedly Milo's face.

"Did you draw it?"

"No, I picked it up from the temple apostle." The boy stood there somewhat at a loss, wanting to run away but not daring to. He scratched his ears and cheeks and then put his hands in his pockets, as if he didn't know where to put them.

This is clearly a lie.

So Milo didn't bother arguing with him and went straight to the Dream Induction.

"The portrait was something that the hunter deliberately spread."

"Yes, the hunter who specializes in hunting down temple apostles."

“He made countless copies of this. Now every ship in the entire northern sea area has such a portrait, and every small island also has one.”

"I don't understand his intention either."

"I just thought it looked a bit like you, so I risked getting closer to you to confirm..."

...

"Is that kid Monquia out of his mind?"

"Wait a minute, what exactly is that old bastard Raven up to?"

After telling the scavenger kid to get lost, Milo stared at the gloomy portrait in his hand and found that he couldn't figure out what their intentions were for a moment.

This can be simply understood as further exposing Milo's identity.

But Milo himself didn't really care. On the contrary, he felt that this move might have unexpected effects. If, as Joan Byrne said, people in the waking world also entered the dream world, then they would have a chance to obtain the portrait.

The bad news is that the temple will know who burned down most of the Cold Plains before either Jon Byrne or Hughes Iger is brought back to life.

...

It's important to understand that the battle in the Tombstone Dream didn't drag all of the Temple's elite forces into the abyss; far from it.

There are actually quite a few people who know of Milo's existence. For example, when he chopped off Jon Byrne's head live in the Unseen Lands, there were many "people" watching in the temple on the other side of the World Barrier.

However, most of the temple factions in the Dream Realm probably don't know what exactly happened in the Tombstone Dream.

From their perspective, the Blood Moon Cataclysm could at most only show Milo and others being easily crushed and killed in the conscious world—Milo's first death.

As for the part where the scheme was created within a scheme, using Azadi's power to construct the Tombstone Dream, luring the gods and a host of elite warriors into its destruction, from the outside, it appears to be just a quiet tombstone, nothing more. The people in the dream world cannot touch that part of the truth.

So when Milo's true form was revealed, the actual reaction of the various temples was—how could a sinner who had long been killed suddenly come back to life?!

It's not that the half-step CCD who had the ability to challenge the Four Horsemen came back to life!

There is a difference between the two.

...

The difference is that.

If it is the latter, the temple that knows what happened in the dream of the tombstone may immediately summon its top combat forces to besiege and hunt down Milo. It may be the only remaining ancient forces, and there may be a spectacular scene where all the temples come together.

But the reality is the former.

The subtext of those who point to the temple or other high-ranking officials who have obtained the portraits is basically still the same old story—

"So it was him. The ignorant sinner actually survived."

"Truly, a scourge lives on for a thousand years. Didn't Shadow die under the Blood Moon?"

"It must be that the gods spared his life. Merciful Lord, why give such a wicked person a second chance?"

"In just a few days, this sinner has already slaughtered hundreds of your believers and descendants."

“Please bring down punishment and retribution, my God.”

...

Although it was also cursing, he couldn't help but maintain that superior attitude.

After all, Milo was someone who had died once at their hands but had managed to escape.

It is the mercy of the gods that has allowed him to survive until now.

...

It's not hard to see that Hughes Iger, the son of the Serpent People, and Joan Byrne of the Golden Law Temple have not yet come back to life, because no one has yet connected Milo with the Cold Plains incident.

This shows that even the temple could not bring back the "killed" Blessed Ones in a short time, even important members like the Ig's Offspring and the Blade of Law who possessed a great deal of blessing.

Therefore, perhaps Milo won't need to go to great lengths to create a fog wall when killing ordinary temple apostles in the future.

For the apostles of the temple, the so-called resurrection was merely a beautiful vision.

Milo's repeated use of the Fog Wall to kill people was almost like giving the temple a way out.

"Hmm—that's not a good idea."

...

What are you talking about?

Freya, who had been watching Milo mutter to himself for a long time, finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Oh, I was thinking, should we have them draw one for you too? But if we really have to draw one, should we draw a human face or a dragon's face?" Milo blurted out, without really thinking.

"..."

A few days later.

The big one has indeed arrived.

When Milo and Freya left the Hidok Mountains and approached the southern border of the Rus' Dynasty, the border defenses had been replaced by knights from the Hook Temple, replacing the ordinary soldiers of the Rus' Dynasty. The city walls were covered with hook totems and sapphires.

On the city wall, the Hook Knight in charge of this operation held the Shadow Portrait, which was made by the hunter.

This one is indeed large.

First and foremost, it is obviously very large.

That was a being on the level of a giant.

So much so that the image of the shadowy figure, held in his hand, looked less than half a fingernail wide.

...

giant?

No, they should be the Hawkeye Clan.

Even from several mountain peaks away, Milo could see the enormous, gleaming head on the border wall of the Rus' dynasty, and at the same time, he felt an extremely powerful sense of oppression.

"No wonder Eagle Eye City was so easily defeated a few days ago; it turns out all the capable fighters went to work for the temple..."

Milo frowned and muttered to himself.

...

……

Meanwhile, in the surrounding areas of the northern sea of ​​the Dreamland, there are many, many people like Eagle Eye Knight who hold that Shadow Portrait.

Seated atop the island of the Submerged Crown in the center of the Silver Twilight Ocean, almost blending into the ice and snow, was an unidentified creature resembling a plush toy.

A black cat sleeping soundly in the forest.

A white-haired girl reading a book on the windowsill of Seran Magic Academy.

A perverted coroner who digs up corpses in a corner of a gravelly desert.

A gray-haired boy sitting in the harbor of Derasrien, enjoying the sea breeze.

as well as.

A red-haired woman standing on a frosty, cold plain.

...

It may have been blown in by the wind, or it may have drifted in from the sea.

In short, they now all have the portrait of the Shadow.

...

(End of this chapter)