Chapter 745: Chapter 766: Missed It?
(First update, then revise)
“It seems that was a Divine Envoy sent by the Lord of the Storm, Talos, to escort those devout believers, while those not accepted were judged by the Lord of the Dead,” Kalalin thoughtfully observed the followers of Ogma behind him, “Come to think of it, if one day I also reach the end of my life, I wonder if the God of Knowledge would accept my soul?”
“Are you a follower of Ogma?” Lancelot curiously looked at the scholar, “I’ve never seem you pray to any god. Even Bruto mentions Moradin’s name occasionally, although it’s usually in… rather strong terms.”
“Don’t say that.” The Dwarf nervously scanned his surroundings, “In my heart, I truly respect the Father of Dwarves…”
“Not all gods want their followers to praise their name or great amounts of money to the church every day,” the Scholar earnestly said, “The doctrine of Ogma clearly demands, ‘Those who believe in me should spread knowledge and truth so that the broader masses can understand more.’ I just don’t know if knowledge about the Abyss and demons is also encouraged…”
“Does the God of Knowledge have some discord with the Lord of the Storm?” Lancelot recalled the reactions of those believers, “I thought these dead had no feelings.”
“Another title of Talos is the Destroyer, his Divine office includes storms, earthquakes, forest fires, and various other natural disasters. Therefore, He despises all gods associated with civilization, and as Ogma holds the ultimate collection and dissemination of knowledge, He naturally dislikes the deity of destruction and devastation,” Kalalin shrugged, “But here, everything must heed the King of the Dead, and envoys sent by Divine Powers must not act against the followers of hostile deities. Provoking the King of the Dead is definitely not worth it and unnecessary.”
“Did you guys notice that those people don’t blink?” Isa’s voice sounded a bit frightened, “and they also don’t have shadows…”
“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Alamir made a scary face at her, “Don’t forget you’re a vampire.”
“Alright, let’s find a place with fewer people.” Lancelot turned his head to scan the surroundings, then raised his hand pointing somewhere, “There seem to be fewer people over there, let’s go.”
The companions began moving in the direction he pointed, the surrounding scenery almost unchanged, and without any landmarks to serve as references. The only proof that they were indeed moving was the other dead wandering the plains, and indeed the density of the crowd was continuously decreasing.
Besides the carriage that thundered with tri-colored lightning they encountered earlier, they had witnessed another appearance of a Divine Envoy. It was a knight as large as a giant, clad in full plate armor, riding a chestnut war horse, holding a high-flying battle flag that depicted a red shield, emblazoned with an emblem of a burning longsword.
Lancelot felt an inexplicable familiarity with this Divine Envoy and stated the deity the envoy represented without needing an introduction from Kalalin or Alamir:
“Yes,” Kalalin nodded affirmatively, “Lord of Battle, Foe Hammer… this deity has many titles, all battle-related activities are His Divine office. It’s said that the earliest God of War had many, but Tampas defeated them all, or at least all of those known, and absorbed their powers to become the strong Divine Power He is now. Perhaps you felt His call? Theoretically, all great warriors are appreciated by Tampas, whether or not they have ever paid Him homage.”
“Haha, looks like I won’t have to worry about being stuck to that legendary wall after I die…”
“Of course not, I can’t speak for the other gods, but Lady Firehair will certainly welcome you with open arms,” Shuni’s Priest smiled at him, “Besides, I believe your powerful lover definitely won’t let you die just like that… Unless your soul is hidden away, even if you were turned to ashes, she’d find a way to bring you back. With her Spellcasting ability, that wouldn’t be hard.”
“I quite body of mine, if possible, I’d like to keep using it,” Lancelot shrugged lightly, “Alright, there aren’t many people here, let us begin.”
The companions stopped walking as Lancelot mentioned, the density of the ‘dead’ around them was indeed very sparse, with less than a hundred people in sight, and absolutely no one else within a fifty-foot radius.
“Alright, let me find it, the scroll Tijana gave me…” Kalalin reached into his magic backpack, as usual, the item nearest his palm was what he was looking for, “Got it!”
“Do you need me to do anything?” Bruto looked nervously at the suspicious-looking scroll in the scholar’s hands, “Provide a drop of blood? Or a few strands of hair?”
“Umm, no need.” Kalalin unrolled the scroll, “This scroll already has Uncle Barrend’s… nail, maybe.”
Kalalin quickly read through the scroll and recited the trigger words for the spell. A greenish divination magic light shone, quickly flooding into the Spellcaster’s eyes. It was evident from the changing expressions on the scholar’s face that Lancelot guessed the results might disappoint Bruto.
As expected, just a few breaths later, the light in the scholar’s eyes gradually faded. He looked somewhat regretfully at Bruto and said:
“Uncle Barrend’s soul is not here.”
“Damn it!” Bruto cursed fiercely, but then remembered something, somewhat hopelessly asked, “Could it be that Tijana has already successfully resurrected him, so we just missed it?”
“No, that’s not it.” Kalalin shook his head heavily, “Through this spell, I know not only that Uncle Barrend’s soul isn’t on this plane, but also that his soul casket never reached this plane.”
“Tijana mentioned before that dad’s soul isn’t in the Abyss either,” Bruto irritably scratched his head, “Not on this end of the pipeline and not on that end, so where exactly is he?”
“It’s possible that someone tampered with Uncle Barrend’s soul when he was killed,” Alamir said thoughtfully, “Someone intercepted his soul on its way to the Domain of the Vague. The only explanation…”