Shadow of the Evil God

"Are the torture instruments of this world not enough for you to torture your colleagues?"

Firth's eyes flickered in the dim candlelight of the basement. "Soul-penetrating torture spells are more effective and harder to defend against, I suppose," she said.

"No wonder the secular world doesn't see mages from the Origin Society walking around."

"It's not that dangerous, actually...at least it's been that way for the past few hundred years. But I've heard from others that the Origin Society has been in turmoil lately. Perhaps the various schools of magic just can't work together."

"So you're still going to Itris?"

"How could the wars and conflicts in the secular world be any better than those in Itris?" Firth glared at him. "If it weren't for the frequent wars, would I have been dragged to Gonzales by you to fight?"

“It’s always war and conflict.”

She looked down at the corpses at their feet and said, "Most people will be worse off and suffer more in war, but some people can quickly make a fortune through war and live better than in peacetime. Why are you looking at me? I'm talking about you."

When Fils turned her gaze from the corpses filling the basement back to him, Cesar simply shrugged. "Want to help me interrogate the prisoners?"

"You'd better wait until you really can't get anything out of me before coming to me," she said.

"why?"

"I don't know how to get people to reveal everything about themselves without destroying their minds. Don't ask me to do this unless you've figured out how to deal with a bunch of things that are just appearances and personalities."

Cesar reached out and poked her little face. "Your school is a bit too extreme. Are there any less extreme spells? For example, protective spells?"

"If I hadn't been fighting you in this shabby place, I would have already prepared mental shields for you," Firth muttered. "We have to spend a lot of time and materials to protect our guards, so that they won't die inexplicably or go crazy one day. You may not be afraid of worldly blades, but curses are not an option."

"At least Gonzales is a remote place. It's not a time to worry about such things." Cesar said thoughtfully, "Maybe not?"

Cesar's reasoning stemmed from his encounters with numerous battlefield mages serving secular armies. They were often mere intelligence operatives, their entire lives devoted to mastering the art of gathering intelligence and transmitting messages from distant locations. The destructive spells they possessed were no more effective than a well-loaded musket, and their ability to warp minds and thoughts was far from guaranteed; at best, they could only influence trivial emotions.

The more he interacted with these battlefield mages, the more mysterious and unpredictable Phils became to him.

, definitely not the country witch he had initially imagined. During this period of time, she was hardly learning new spells, but rather remembering things she had mastered and forgotten. Almost every time he asked her about something, she would reveal what she had mastered.

From the little movements that appease the ignorant

It only takes a few months to strip away everything in a person's heart.

This matter was actually very scary. Cesar felt that the matter she would involve was definitely not an obscure school forgotten by history. Therefore, he thought that what he had now might not be enough to bear all this.

Maybe he needs more.

......

"You mean to say that someone important from the Duke will come to Gonzales?" Cesar stood up from in front of the prisoner. "And someone who can discuss command with me?"

When he heard his question in a bad mood, the other party just spread his hands and said, "Why bother so much about who gets the power? You were just assigned to take on temporary responsibilities."

Somehow, the man's face was blurred and always stood at the edge of his vision, in his peripheral vision - Cesar always looked and observed the other person during a conversation, but now he didn't.

"Looks like I have to do something," Cesar said.

The man yawned. "I always hope you understand that just because something falls on your shoulders doesn't mean you're a hero shouldering a great mission, nor does it mean you're the only one who can shoulder that mission. Most of the time, it's just an accident. Because they have no other choice, they're forced to throw in inferior products to delay things."

Cesar thought for a moment, trying to make sense of the situation.

"You're actually quite pathetic," the other person said to him in a bewitching voice. "You're no different than anyone else who thinks they're extraordinary. Why don't you just accept reality? Your mission is to be replaced by someone better. After all, there are people more suitable for the job."

"I've already staged a perfect ambush. I have hundreds of bodies to investigate and over a dozen prisoners to interrogate. Why would I let someone else take my place? And you say better? I won't accept a spurious adjective unless I see actual proof. Why don't you just bring out a dog and say it's better at speaking human language than I am?"

The man laughed and even clapped. "In the years that we've painstakingly paved the way for our successors, I've met many arrogant people. They don't accept verbal insults or mental suggestions. You're the most arrogant I've ever met," the man said. "Unfortunately, none of them can withstand scrutiny. Can you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Cesar felt his thoughts suddenly interrupted. His mind went blank, as if something had been suddenly pulled away. The man opened his hand, and a shimmering fragment trembled in his palm. Somehow, Cesar knew that the fragment was a part of his brain, containing his memories and impressions of the "Military Guidelines."

"Let me see..."

The man murmured to himself, dropping it into his mouth as if swallowing a piece of bread. "Very good, now I see that you hadn't even studied the Military Manual when we began this conversation. Should I commend you, Cesar? It's so short a time since you found the military manual on the corpse and now consider yourself a brilliant commander?"

"What are you doing..." He was confused.

"I'm not doing anything, just reading," the man said, taking another glittering fragment from his brain and putting it into his mouth. "In a broad sense, human thought is also a kind of book. The only difference is whether you can read it. Of course, I have to make a statement first. Not everyone's head is worth opening and reading, and not everyone's head has what can be called wisdom, do you understand? Most of the time, I just flip through those rotten books that hurt my eyes. They are stupid and boring."

"You are from the Origin Society..."

Cesar had just thought of a word when the man erased it casually, as if erasing a tiny bit of handwriting with an eraser.

"Don't overthink it," the man said. "You won't remember it anyway. If you remember it later, I'll be sorry for my mistake. But at least you know about the Origin Society, which is great. It even makes me feel a little guilty, because you're not that ignorant." The man then pulled another glittering fragment from his brain and tossed it into his mouth. "Oh! You even know about our Yesterlen School. That's even better. Could you think more carefully about the Yesterlen School? I'd like to read a few more pages. Human books like this don't have a table of contents, so it's too slow for others to consult them."

A gray wolf suddenly emerged from the side and observed the two of them silently. "Is this your old pet? How pathetic," the man said, glancing at the crouching wolf. "People in this kind of predicament tend to think of their loved ones and teachers, but you're thinking of a strange beast. Did you have sex with it?"

"You're always like this... paving the way for your successor?" Cesar finally managed to form a sentence. "For what?"

Chapter 113: I Just Have Itchy Paws

"You ask me this?" The man was very surprised. "You have been imprisoned in the castle of Noien by your old father for so many years, and you still ask me this? We just found the right balance between giving freedom and keeping strict supervision. Only those who are not expected to be

Only hopeless losers can live a free life, understand? I really don't know what you are making a fuss about, you are obviously a descendant of aristocracy."

After saying this, another piece of debris jumped out of Cesar's brain and threw into the man's mouth.

He had no power to argue, because what this person took away was not just his memory, but his thinking, which included his ability to understand, his logical ability, his ability to speak, and even wisdom itself.

The integrity of the human being was lost in the other's hands. This person stripped away his memories and thoughts, just as an anatomist peeled off the skin from a person, then pulled out the muscles and bones to appreciate their structure and texture.

"That's a good metaphor," the man agreed, chewing on the crumbs in his hand. "You're like a poet. For the sake of this metaphor, don't worry, Cesar. Once I've thought you through and removed those inappropriate ideas, I'll let you go. Then you can go to the court and become a great poet. Isn't that what court nobles need? I think you're quite suitable for the position."

Seeing the man eating with gusto, Cesar was completely speechless. Every sentence he tried his best to turn from his thoughts into words would suddenly disappear before he could say it and appear in the other person's palm.

"Don't look at me like that." The man nonchalantly rubbed the shimmering fragments between his fingers. "This is just reading, not skinning and bone-ripping, understand? I'm just temporarily taking your pages to look at. Although there are some I won't return, it won't be too many. Although there are some I will make some corrections, it won't be too many. In the end, they are all insignificant."

“How many people are there…?”

Of course, the other party already knew the entire sentence. "Don't make it sound like I've harmed someone," the man sighed pretentiously. "Let those like you who can't see themselves clearly follow their own paths, and let those with qualifications remain with our successors. This is a screening process. People won't be worse off for it; perhaps they will even embark on a path that suits their qualifications. Perhaps you have the talent, too? But I'll have to read you several times, turn over a few more pages, and only after reading you over and over again can I see clearly..."

The man suddenly fell silent. After a while, he laughed again.

"I didn't expect you were on the Lost Path. Good, very good. Many ages ago, I might have improvised something in your head and made you a loyal guard. But now, no one wants to take that risk, not even me."

The man seemed to have made a decision.

"Yes," the other party said, "It's a shame, but you weren't selected. It's not that you're useless, you're just too dangerous. And you can't stay in King Olidan's capital. What if you cause a big mess and affect our school? Where do you think you should go? How about leading a team to a rebel stronghold and claiming your sacrifice for Olidan? What do you think?"

Cesar didn't want to charge into battle.

"No, you should," the man denied. "Otherwise, it would be too difficult for someone like you, hiding on the top of the mountain overlooking the fighting below, to be killed. Now, please be quiet, dear Cesar - I have to concentrate on creating a braver and more honor-hungry Cesar. This is much more difficult than reading."

The wolf raised its head and opened its fang-filled mouth. In the split second the man reached out, its head vanished, then its entire upper body. Its two legs, standing abruptly in place, vanished as well. Everything was gone, nothing at all. The wolf slowly ground its teeth, its body suddenly twisting.

To be honest, it was a bit nauseating. Cesar watched as its bones stretched like ropes, stretching the skin to shreds, and the bloodstained muscles broke apart, reorganizing themselves around the clusters of blood vessels that had emerged from the wound like tree branches.

Through some extremely difficult and slow transformation, it changed from a wolf to a partially humanoid creature. I think so because half of its face was still a beast, or half of its body was also, looking like the left half of a human and the right half of a gray wolf sewn together.

It bears a resemblance to that Ajiehe, but not quite... It's certainly hard to tell whether they're male or female, with handsome and slender features, but its aura is more like that of a eunuch, lacking a bit of heroic spirit...

"The Kuna people's appearance is characterized by their androgynous nature. They call themselves perfect people, but in the past, the Franks called them incomplete abandoned people. Also, if you still think of someone you see for the first time as a eunuch, you should think about how many similar awful things you've done and how many people have inexplicable grudges against you."

Cesar didn't quite understand why this guy acted like he was very familiar with him.

It folded its arms and stared at him for a moment, its full, plump breasts resting on them, seemingly unconcerned about its nakedness. Its long, gray hair grew unchecked like weeds, falling all over its slender body. Its limbs were long, powerful, and beautiful, and a mat of wet fur between its legs clearly indicated its sexual characteristics.

After he finally changed the name in his mind. She opened her claws, looking sharp and sharp. Then, under his horrified gaze, she pressed the claws to her ears and inserted them into her brain. After a period of uncomfortable stirring and searching, she took out a bunch of glittering fragments from her brain, then took two steps forward and forced

She sliced ​​his head open in one swift motion. She thrust her claws into the same spot and shoved them all in.

"Now tell me how you feel," said Ajiehe.

Because she still had her claws stuck in his head, Cesar nodded uncomfortably, feeling dizzy and nauseous. His previously ripped-away thoughts returned, and he was indeed gradually regaining his shattered understanding and judgment, all thanks to the evildoer who had tried to take over his body not long ago...

Although he stopped his subconscious thinking in time, she still clenched her claws a little tighter.

"I'm very hugg—"

"Answer the question," she said with a wink. "Don't talk to me about meaningless formalities."

"It's pretty good," Cesar said, spreading his hands. "Except for the fact that you were holding onto my brain or something, overall everything is fine. Everything is back. I know you saved my life, but I subconsciously insulted you, but can you loosen your grip a little? Even a little bit."

"My paws are just itching, and I'm looking for something to pinch. You don't mind, do you, Cesar?" Ajeh asked. "Actually, I've been wondering why I was born into the Sasule tribe with this strange identity, how long I've been lost, and how much of my past I've lost. I should have a path prepared for myself long ago, but I can't remember it anymore, like a newborn baby. This is really... tragic."

"You are quite right," Cesar could only reply, "so what are we to do?"

"You're really good at building relationships without making anything seem like it's all for nothing." She tilted her face and said, "I think I still owe you a certain degree of gratitude, so there's no need for you to discuss who saved whose life, what do you think?"

"You are right."

"I don't mind a certain level of verbal offense." Ajeh stared at him, "But I can't stand waste."

Cesar felt the urge to offer a friendly smile. "Of course," he said, trying his best to decipher her thoughts with his still-confused mind. "It took you quite a while to find a place that met your requirements. Although you couldn't drive the original owner out, you couldn't just stand by and watch a bandit suddenly burst in, not only taking your place away but also leaving it on the battlefield as a corpse. It would be a waste indeed."

She nodded, looking surprisingly graceful. "So, do you remember what you and that guy discussed?" she said with a grin. "About how I wouldn't show up until she found a way, and wouldn't cause any trouble until she found a solution?"

Cesar offered her another smile. "We also owe this Master a debt of gratitude."

Chapter 114: Who is teasing whom?

"Thank you for your arrogance," Ajeh added. "But what about you, Cesar?"

"I know, I know," Cesar replied helplessly. "Gonzales, a desolate, rural, shabby mining town; Governor Formey, a clueless bureaucrat whose only skill is in scheming and amassing wealth; the local rebels, a bunch of bandits armed with looted weapons and equipment. Neither he nor I can fathom how such a place could harbor such extraordinary terror. But honestly, the fact that this happened in Gonzales is as absurd as choking to death on a sip of water. You can't make me suspicious everywhere I go."

"That's a good reason. You could go back half an hour and repeat it, and try to persuade him to let you go."

"I can't help it," Cesar continued. "Even if I'm always suspicious, what can I do? Who could have thought that a wizard would suddenly appear and treat me like a book? I don't even know him or his so-called successor. Before he died, I couldn't understand what he wanted to do."

"What now?" asked Ajiehe.

"Not really. To that wizard, people like me aren't really human. We're just things that look like humans and speak human language. These things are everywhere, ordinary and unremarkable. Some can serve as tools for his so-called successors, but most can't. So they're all inferior goods, totally unworthy of your attention. I think if someone has been treating others like books since childhood, it's really hard for them to treat the people below them as their own kind."

Cesar really wanted to shake his head. He continued, "What was he thinking before he discovered that I had the path of Analik? He thought I was more suited to being a court noble, writing poetry all day. So he tore out my heart and scribbled over it, writing down what he thought I should think and marking the path I should take. And I have to thank him for it."

“If you can’t determine when and where you’re more likely to encounter them,” she said, “you should always be suspicious of everything.”

"I didn't know you cared about me so much."

"It's clear that the word 'care' holds more meaning than just worldly emotion," Ajeh said. "If you died, even if your path was taken away, what would happen to me? I'd be lost, like a painting without paper, just a pile of paint in the mud. I certainly can't let that happen."

"If what you said is true, then it's too sincere. If it's false, it's too disturbing."

She smiled, pulled the bloody claw out of his head, and placed it on his shoulder. This was the first time she touched him like a human being, and to be honest, it surprised him. The feeling was like a bird's wing brushing against his cheek.

"Does the indeterminate statements make you uneasy?" she asked. "But even so, there are many things that are neither true nor false, don't you think?"

"You could have changed your body just now, but you didn't seem to have any intention of moving to another place." Cesar

Side knocked and said, "The wizard is dead, but his body, which has become a hollow shell, is still nearby?"

"His body is nearby," she agreed.

"I don't know why you insist on staying here, but it might be better to take it as a fact than to listen to your half-truthful excuses." Cesar shrugged. "So, what do you suggest?"

Ajiehe looked him over. "Should I praise your realistic attitude? Or should I call you insensitive?"

"Neither of those are nice words. I hope you can call this a helpless act, thank you." Cesar responded, "You know, since I can't use the secret stone, I can only rely on Firth for various protections. But this is Gonzales, and Gonzales has nothing. So, unless you continue-"

"I'm no one's protector," she denied immediately. "And you won't encounter such a good opportunity again. Not everyone is as arrogant as him and would expose their vulnerable parts to me."

"You've lived here for so long, can't you pay some rent?"

"This place is huge, and you'll never use most of it until you die," Ajeh jokingly responded. "Besides, I've been as quiet as a little mouse. How can you collect rent if you don't even know where I am?"

"So what can you do?"

"I'll give you some advice," she said. "The supplies you requested from the Duke were not actually from the Duke himself, nor were they what he requested from the King."

Cesar frowned as he heard this. "Where else could it have come from? From the Yesterlen School?"

"Not really," Ajeh said. "These are supplies the Duke's daughter collected for herself. They have nothing to do with any power. They contain not only military supplies needed for worldly purposes, but also magical materials collected from Itris."

"You're saying," Cesar said thoughtfully, "that Fils and I were just trying to get some things for ourselves in Itris, and someone else got the supplies for an army."

He paused, noticing Ajiehe scrutinizing him with a look of intense interest, even anticipation. Her oval face on the left was smooth and delicate, almost genderless, yet expressionless, like a lifeless doll. The ferocious wolf-like face on the right, on the other hand, was lively, expressive, and naturally smiling. Her eyes suggested they'd known each other for a long time, as if some words were no longer necessary.

"Are you looking at me like that, expecting me to offer some insight?" Cesar asked.

"Indeed," she replied, her wolfish grin widening until her fangs seemed to tremble. "You always find a way around it, don't you? If the world were to have a god of lies and illusions, you would be it."

"No, I was simply forced to find a way to protect myself," Cesar denied. "But there's really no better way to deal with a duke's daughter who's discussing command with me than with lies."

"Oh, what can I do for you, my imaginary noble lord?"

"If the Master Mage who treats me like a book hadn't become a hollow shell, I would actually like to write a letter in his name."

"Even though he's already a zombie, it's not that difficult to manipulate him by his puppet strings to do little things," she said nonchalantly.

Cesar stared at her with wide eyes. "You just told me he was dead."

"Did I say that?" Ajiehe replied nonchalantly. "I didn't say that. I just didn't deny your suggestion. Does that count as a lie? His body is nearby. That's the truth, there's no falsehood. As for whether he's become a shell, that's up to your imagination."

He'd met plenty of difficult people before, but this guy struck him as completely different. Others' responses to his rhetoric were either based on a certain limit or a sudden realization after something went wrong. But she seemed to have figured out his tactics long ago, finding every way to frustrate him.