The battle in the alley was fierce but short. It only took a few minutes from the time the two cultists were exposed to the end of the battle. But Fanna believed that the noise made in these few minutes was enough to attract the night patrol guards.
Of course, whether from a standpoint or in terms of strength, she was not afraid of the Frost Guardians—but at this time, she had no plans to create any further trouble.
Just as she was thinking about how to signal Duncan to enter the building, the dark door happened to open.
The figures of Duncan and Morris appeared in the lights.
The next second, Duncan walked quickly towards the alley where Vanna and Alice were. Morris turned around and closed the door while sketching patterns on the door that looked like ancient words, as if he was praying to the god of wisdom to exert some extraordinary power.
"I noticed some noise outside," Duncan came up to Vanna and the others, looked up at the situation in the alley, frowned slightly, and asked quickly, "What happened?"
"As expected, there are indeed Annihilation Cultists keeping an eye on this place. Alice noticed their tracks and we had a brief fight," Vanna replied immediately. "Both heretics are dead and no one escaped. However, the noise of the battle may have attracted the attention of the guardians, and they will be here soon."
"Alice noticed?" Duncan first glanced at the puppet lady next to him in surprise, and then noticed the strangeness in Vanna's expression, realizing that the situation just now might be far more complicated than he imagined. However, he did not ask further questions, but nodded slowly, "Don't say too much for now, prepare to move."
"Eliminate the traces they left behind," Alice came over after finishing the cleanup. "Galoni will forget her experiences in the last 24 hours after she wakes up. Even if a skilled psychiatrist searches her memory, they probably won't be able to recover much."
"Ah, very good."
A vision that engulfs the peaceful night - Pland no longer needs her as an inquisitor, but as long as she follows the Lost Homeland, she will always have a stage to show her talents.
"Since more than half a month ago, Tirian has received strange and contradictory intelligence. Sometimes the intelligence mentioned that Duncan had the phenomenon of 'return of the dead', and sometimes it said that these were all rumors and the so-called dead were actually normal residents. Sometimes, this completely contradictory information was even sent from the same informant," Vanna took over Alice's words and continued, "At first, Tirian thought that the Frost authorities were controlling the news and that the church was taking action to reduce the impact of strange events on the residents, but now it seems... This is most likely caused by cognitive confusion."
Duncan nodded solemnly, but a look of joy gradually emerged in his eyes.
Then he raised his hand and waved in the darkness.
"No one can tell for sure how many are replicas and how many are genuine ones, and that's secondary. After all, replicas should not escape his eyes, and he can tell them apart quickly when he meets them. The most troublesome are these normal special people..." Vanna said, paused, and shook her head after a brief thought. "In short, the informants that Tirian left in this city are not so reliable. Some of them may have been replaced, some may have their cognition distorted, and some may even be spies of the Annihilation Cult... Be careful when you come into contact with them."
The tin hut was next to the old factory. There was a hole of moderate size in the window of the hut. Vanna crawled into the hut through the hole. As the spiritual flame suddenly rose, the figures of Alice and her companions appeared in the hut.
Alice opened her mouth, and for a moment she didn't know how to evaluate the young judge, but she soon focused on another thing.
What's more, Morris is a well-rounded scholar. He probably maxed out his skills in free fighting and wilderness survival before studying history...
"Don't worry," Alice obviously noticed Vanna's gaze. She smiled and raised her hand to trace the sacred rune given by the God of Wisdom Lahem on her chest. "Until the past two years, I often explored these ancient ruins and cursed ruins on the edge of dangerous seas. The environment there is much more difficult than here. Academic research has never been a stressful job, especially with
When dealing with history.
"We can actually contact the informants that Captain Tirian has planted in this city," Vana said, "We should know how to help arrange accommodation and provide intelligence..."
In the cold and mysterious northern city-state, the residents are constantly replaced, the spies who were once deployed are no longer reliable, and these seemingly normal and harmless citizens are gradually suffering from memory and cognitive pollution. Unreliable voices fill the entire city, and pollution spreads beneath the surface.
Alice is a cursed doll, Vanna is a beautiful strong girl, and even Mr. Morris, who looks the healthiest, is a transcendent who possesses many magical powers. From a strength perspective, there is no need to worry about them, but the cold winter nights in this northern city-state may not be so friendly to elderly gentlemen.
Vanna gave Duncan a strange look.
"Ah, I just feel happy thinking that I can continue to eradicate heresy."
Eradicate heresy and purify pollution.
Which is good because it all comes back to her area of expertise.
The sound of flapping wings broke the tranquility of the night. A white dove that was perched on the roof of a building in the distance flew over swiftly. The next second, a dark green flame flashed across the alley, leaving only the sound of flapping wings gradually fading away into the night.
She began to understand Pope Helena's other intention in sending her to the Lost Homeland.
She looked at the puppet standing nearby, distracted.
Fanna thought about it and felt that the old man was right.
"This is Brown's student, named Galoni. She has completely deleted the part about her mentor's death in the shipwreck from her memory and cognition," Morris said. "According to the captain and I, this situation... may not be an isolated case in the entire Frostbite."
Historians and folklorists in this world are indeed very hardcore professions. Even the "homebody scholars" who never leave their homes have to have a few unique skills. After all, they often fight with the things they are studying, and those cursed books and possessed relics will not just lie there in the display room.
Duncan's expression suddenly became serious.
The streets returned to peace again - a few minutes later, a series of hurried footsteps and the swaying light of lanterns appeared on the nearby streets.
"Now that I've finished talking about Alice's progress, it's time to talk about your situation."
Ai didn't go too far—in fact, it only flew about a block away and found a landing near an old factory.
"It's not a big problem. Just don't turn on the lights. They can't sense the aura here anyway," Vanna said casually, "We can wait here until daybreak before taking any action - is that ok?"
"It was a deep-sea replica, and it self-disintegrated. We were a step late and only found a few clues he left behind," Duncan said, shaking his head. "But this was basically expected before. In addition, we also saw a female apprentice in this house who was in a state of cognitive and memory confusion.
1. She is a normal person. "
Duncan immediately looked around and saw thick dust in the old house. There was a wooden bed and a simple table and chairs in the corner, and some sundries were piled up on the other side of the house. The cold wind was howling in the house, and the hole in the nearby window made a strange whimpering sound in the wind.
"I will contact them, but not now," Vanna waved her hand, and then her expression became a little serious. "From today on, Frost must carefully identify anyone when they come into contact with them, including those 'informers' mentioned by Tirian.
"It's a temporary rest area for the pump room maintenance personnel. Usually no one comes here outside of the maintenance period. Although I don't know when the maintenance period here is, at least it's a place to rest temporarily today," Duncan said as he walked to the window and looked outside through the dirty glass. The old factory not far away stood silently in the night. He saw the dim lights in the factory area and heard the sound of machines running in the factory. "The factory is still operating. There must be a priest in this kind of factory that operates day and night. If there is an extraordinary battle in the distant block, the alert level of this kind of factory will also be affected.
improve."
"Captain Tirian's informants are all over Duncan... You mean, that's a cognitive and memory pollution covering the entire city-state?!" Frost realized the seriousness of the matter, "Now outside that city-state..."
Duncan was startled, then realized something: "You confirmed that this 'Brown Scott, ..."
"Is it my illusion? Why do I feel like your mood has improved all of a sudden?"
As he spoke, he looked at the two people in his sight.
Duncan nodded slightly and said, “I don’t really care about hiding my whereabouts, but it’s certainly not a bad thing to have fewer people disturbing me in the early stages of the operation.”