World Occult Usage Guide

"Go to Lacoón? You mean now?"

The countess poked the avocado with her fork and asked in confusion.

"It was just a friendly suggestion. You can leave whenever you want," the other party said ambiguously. "Whether you accept it is up to you. I have no right to interfere because I have already done my duty."

“Thank you for reminding me.” The Countess nodded. “Your Excellency Jacob, when I first heard your voice, I was hoping to hear news about the Ranger.”

"Hehe, there will be bread, and there will be cake." The male voice humorously quoted a proverb. "After my investigation with six colleagues, we found that the [Utopia] in Erlan did not send anyone to Bantu, and they have never even set foot in the Southern Continent."

“That’s strange. My child told me that the most obvious mysterious characteristic of the Ranger is their ability to communicate with fairies, and most likely, their use of 'natural rituals' as a medium,” the Countess pondered. “Your Excellency, could he possibly come from New Eden or the Holy See?”

"If your guess is correct, a war between [Black City] and [New Eden] is likely imminent."

The man chuckled lightly, seemingly unconcerned.

"As for the Holy See, His Majesty has only recently become Pope from Cardinal, so he probably doesn't have the leisure for such things. Besides, he's focused on pursuing 'Commes' and is too lazy to explore the ruins of the Southern Continent."

"Then, the identity of the [Forest Ranger] is truly intriguing..." the Countess murmured to herself.

“You must get to know the guardian spirits of every land. No matter how decadent, deformed, morbid, or little-known the culture, there are fanatics.” The male voice laughed. “You can’t kill them all. The important thing is to rule them, then pollute them, and finally distort and erase them.”

"Are you telling me to ignore the evil of the 'Forest Ranger,' lure him with benefits, win him over, incite him, and use him as a fulcrum to disrupt the rainforest?"

“Since he is the ancestral spirit of the Lion Clan, you should classify the Lion Clan as a separate ethnic group, claiming that they are dark-skinned Westerners with noble blood, and that other ethnic groups are destined to be mere vassals.”

“Just like the president,” the countess agreed. “No one dislikes being king, and the Rangers are no exception.”

"When two cultures clash, the loser is eliminated, while the victor writes history—glorifying his own cause and belittling the conquered enemy. As Napoleon once said: History is nothing but a parable agreed upon by all."

"Besides, there are no written records in the South Continent, so who cares about a bunch of nonsensical ramblings?" The countess slowly applied the bagel.

“Mariette, try not to get your hands dirty.”

“I understand, Your Excellency Jacob, that I hope my achievements will meet your expectations when we meet again,” the Countess said respectfully. “To your 'virtue'.”

"And 'sin'."

The communication ended there, and Count Van Hofwegen let out a sigh of relief.

"Cooperation again, and pretense again!" Her expression suddenly changed. "This is why the Kingdom of Flanders is being occupied by more and more people from the Southern Continent!"

She spread her fingers, squeezed the bagel covered in avocado, and made a "pop" sound. The oily fruit pulp seeped out from between her fingers and dripped onto the plate.

"Some people are preventing the Red Poppy Merchant Guild from entering the rainforest, but Lord Jacob doesn't want me to give up two assassination missions, so he told me to carry them out quietly and discreetly. He has plenty of time and patience."

She muttered to herself, casually unwrapped a neatly folded napkin, and wiped the juice off her hands.

"Since the [Forest Ranger] has no connection with those ancient families of the Western Continent, he has no way to contact the outside world now. As long as I keep it a secret, what will happen next is a silent play buried in the wilderness."

As she pondered, she dialed another communication device, her tone unusually gentle, filled with unimaginable love and tenderness.

"Good morning, dear Kevin. There's been a slight change in the plans."

"Good morning, Mother. What's wrong?"

"Let's put aside all the troubles for now, Kevin. How are you doing?" The countess couldn't help but smile. "Since your father passed away, your well-being has been my only solace."

At that moment, she had no idea that her "angel" had become a prisoner of death.

…………

Firstly, the members of the Red Poppy Merchant Guild usually reside in Brosel, Kingdom of Flanders, except for Countess Mariette van Hofwegen, who is the main manager of the guild in Bantu.

Secondly, besides Kevin, there are three other legendary mystics stationed in Kinsasha who would take two or three days to reach Mbanbuka; the Countess came to resolve a local rebellion.

Thirdly, the Countess has established links with a double number of demons, including the Great Red Dragon, but she cannot summon them all at once, otherwise she will face the risk of soaring corruption levels, loss of mind, and physical deformities.

Generally, she will choose to command three to five demons at the same time, depending on the situation, each of whom possesses different magic.

Fourthly, the Red Poppy Merchant Guild's ordinary citizen forces in Mbanbuka are mainly composed of naturalized locals, with only a very small portion coming from the Kingdom of Flanders.

Fifth, the Countess can contact the Red Poppy Merchant Guild Master at any time, who appears to be a highly rated "prophet".

Staring at the data laid out in front of him, Lin An rested his chin on one hand and picked up the honey-producing ant-flavored drink with the other, sipping it as he pondered.

This is the confirmed intelligence to date.

Kevin, the young master, had been acting like a 007 for five whole days, his emotions and mental state practically collapsing. Even so, he still hadn't revealed a single piece of information about the "Agnia" technology. It seems this kid really doesn't know.

Finding out what "Agnia" really is is a long-term goal; the most pressing issue right now is dealing with the Countess's increasingly aggressive tactics.

Not long ago, she suddenly contacted Lin An and told him about the investigation results of the family's "Forest Rangers".

In summary, the Red Poppy Merchant Guild discovered that Lin An was not a member of a powerful family, but most likely a deity from local mythology.

Considering that killing the "Forester" would be a fierce battle, and that this man, apart from sheltering the reporter Edward, had not had many conflicts with the Chamber of Commerce, the Countess instructed Kevin to try to negotiate with Lin An, observe his character and habits, and preferably find his weakness.

Lin An readily agreed, and each time he contacted the Countess, he would reveal a few incorrect pieces of information.

For example, the "Forest Ranger" is thirty-four or thirty-five years old, eight feet tall, upright and honest, never stabbing people in the back, straightforward, loves his family, is very satisfied with the rainforest life where he is often hungry and cold, but doesn't mind having a coffee machine.

The countess had complete faith in her beloved son.

Today, there is less than one day left in the six-day countdown.

In her last communication, Mariette mentioned that Mbanbuka's "arrangements" were complete, and she would soon meet up with Lin An via [Star Time].

【Starlight Moment】is the mysterious item with the "teleportation" function that Kevin possesses. It is a disaster-level item that binds the coordinates of two people. When activated, it allows Kevin to return to the Countess in one direction, but it cannot have the reverse effect on the Countess.

However, the other party being bound can vaguely know the holder's location, making it a GPS that is difficult to shake off.

Based on the existing intelligence, a plan gradually took shape under Lin An's guidance.

He wasn't going to sit idly by and wait to die.

Stretching, Lin An left the thatched hut.

The village was beginning to take shape, a stark contrast to the destitute, hungry, and disheveled village of just a few weeks earlier. The various departments, now in their early stages, were operating in an orderly manner.

Under the threat of the mysterious figure, the five officers resigned themselves to their fate and methodically trained the reserve army, which had already formed a greenhorn; the aroma of stir-fried dishes rose slowly, mixed with a hint of burnt smell, indicating that the chef still needed time to hone his skills.

The Grand Elder holds classes on time every day, teaching the tribesmen to read and write, while the mystics gather at the place where Zai unfolds the illusion, and through special training, their radiation levels have significantly increased.

Unfortunately, their basic knowledge and reserves of mysticism are insufficient. When the radiation value reaches about 20 to 30%, it must be temporarily capped, otherwise they are prone to losing control and suffering mental damage.

In the past few days, Lin An only added two more mysterious figures to the spotted lion using the [Edit] function.

The reason for the decreased efficiency is that several people were on the verge of awakening before, but now almost all of the remaining people are not interested in the mysticism and have not met the conditions to attract "Comers".

Even if Lin An gives them the entries, they will probably just be "occupied" and wasted.

The two newly awakened Mystery-level monsters, along with Zai's special training, increased Lin An's measurement value by a total of 3 points. However, due to the deviation value rising again, the fusion level only increased by 0.1%, just barely hitting the 0.9% mark.

Fortunately, the collection of the medium went relatively smoothly. Apart from what was obtained through editing, Lin An began to use certain behaviors to attract the divine medium, even though this caused his contamination level to reach nearly 30%.

Let's gradually reduce the pressure later; our priority is dealing with the Countess.

Lin An had a premonition that he had to join the battle of the aristocratic families as soon as possible and quickly make a name for himself with the "letter name". As for Lin Hainan's arrangements... he could only negotiate with Atticus.

In addition to these four major regions, the Lion Tribe also has a small but close-knit group, whose core members are Maye and Mezo, Fu Bin, Edward and Misuru.

After revisions, Lin An developed World Tree System version 1.2 and handed it over to Misuru, who was about to become a "Forest Ranger," so that he could familiarize himself with the world of "Comers" in advance.

Fu Bin and Edward have no immediate plans to join the Lion Tribe or follow Lin An; they decide to wait and see before making a decision.

The group gathered mainly to discuss the future development of Bantu, and the discussion was lively. In particular, the recent addition of Su Sumi, who always chimed in, made the group's desire to chat even stronger.

After the Kevin incident, the Karu Mermaid settled down in the Lion Tribe and often went to play with Maye on the banks of the nearby Kuba River.

She was young and innocent, and quickly became friends with everyone.

But when it comes to the "Tigerfish Tribe," her mood instantly drops. The tribespeople are strictly forbidden by Maye from mentioning Susumi's identity unless she takes the initiative to confront the past.

Strangely, the Tigerfish tribe never sent anyone to look for them.

Lin An sent Mvias to check over there a few times. Chief Tigerfish seemed to think that Kevin and Susumi had gone on their honeymoon together, which saved him the trouble of silencing them.

"Everyone, I need to leave for a little while." Lin An waved to the discussion group.

"Where are you going again, Lin?" Misuru immediately turned around. "Can I help you?"

"Delivering a package." Lin An smiled slightly. "Six days to go, SF Express direct delivery." (End of Chapter)