Chapter 1 The Lake of Blood

The Lake of Beinz was the sacred ground of the Radiant Church. Church knight outposts guarded the shores at regular intervals. Foreign adventurers or mercenaries, after obtaining permission from the church, had to report here before commencing activities within the designated areas. Despite the recent events around the lake causing some administrative chaos, these basic rules remained inviolable.

Fortunately, though sacred, the Lake of Beinz had not yet reached “forbidden ground” status. The scrutiny of foreign mercenary groups at the outposts was somewhat lenient. Hilda, as a member of a mercenary team, successfully blended in and arrived at the lakeside rest area with Hao Ren and the others.

The small outpost lacked many facilities, consisting of two towers and several long, simple barracks, covering an area of just over two hundred meters. The entire outpost was built on an artificial stone foundation shaped by magic, surrounded by warning arrays, seemingly ensuring safety. The defenses were mainly for dealing with monsters occasionally emerging from the woodlands. The sacred island in the lake's center had additional powerful guards.

One of the barracks in the outpost was reserved for outsiders. Since most of the mercenaries here had already retreated to Leyton Town, there were plenty of rooms. Becky led Hao Ren to the church knight commander stationed here. After a simple registration, they obtained permission to stay temporarily. However, aside from providing rooms, all food and medicine supplies had to be purchased by the mercenaries themselves. The church knight order sold some of its own military supplies to the outsiders staying here, which was also one of the church's sources of income in the Beinz area: the number of mercenaries exploring the Twisted Woodlands for various reasons each year was not small.

By the time everyone settled down in the plain, simply furnished barracks, it was already evening.

After completing the registration procedures, Becky ran off to inquire about the situation from a low-ranking cleric who liaised with the mercenaries. She reappeared before Hao Ren and the others, her expression not very good.

Hao Ren and the others were gathered discussing their next step. Seeing Becky return with a stern face, they were surprised. Vivian asked with concern, "What's wrong? Bad news?"

"Looks like striking it rich isn't so easy," Becky plopped down on a chair. "I talked to the person in charge here and just found out that a well-known mercenary group finished searching the last area of the Beinz region seven days ago. So far, everything around the Lake of Beinz, except for the holy mountain of the western tribal kingdom, has been turned upside down. Even the bottom of the Great Canyon to the north has been searched by six teams for twelve days. Do you remember Marshal Aufra? She came here to personally oversee the search for the Sacred Pearl, and many areas are the responsibility of her elite troops. There are no unsearched areas left now."

Becky had tirelessly followed Hao Ren and the others to the Beinz region for two reasons. One was that she felt indebted after accepting the "music box," a "valuable gift." This honest girl genuinely didn't want to owe anyone a favor. The other reason was that she had some expectation (or even extravagance) for her luck. She hoped to make a name for herself if she happened to find the Sacred Pearl by chance.

But she never expected the search to have progressed to this extent. The number and quality of the personnel involved made her feel powerless. Marshal Aufra, with her elite troops and a large group of well-known mercenary groups, had already conducted a carpet search of the area. Even with all that, they hadn't found it. And her teammates were a tank who couldn't hold aggro, a melee mage leading three clueless individuals, and a healer who never healed in battle but instead covered her head and crouched for protection...

Hao Ren and the others were not very interested in the Sacred Pearl. It could be said that Becky was the only one present who came for the pearl, so the others didn't feel much empathy. Vivian analyzed from an outsider's perspective, "Actually, to be honest, according to the report on the day the pearl disappeared, it really seemed to have been teleported away by space magic. In that case, the probability of the pearl still being in the Lake of Beinz region should be very low. Searching here was just psychological comfort from the start."

"You're really blunt," Becky raised her eyes to look at Vivian. "The chapel where the pearl was stored is guarded by the remains of each generation of popes. Using spatial teleportation within the chapel's range cannot move it beyond the Lake of Beinz area, and after that, it will be imprisoned by sacred power within a fixed distance. No one in the world can break this imprisonment."

Hao Ren didn't expect the Radiant Church to have such a method. No wonder they still firmly believed that the Sacred Pearl was still in the Beinz region. It seemed they had something to rely on. Speaking of being guarded by the remains of past popes...

Hao Ren shuddered. In that case, the small chapel in the center of the lake was actually a large tomb?

"So, what are your plans next?" Lily blurted out. "Let's make it clear, we didn't come for the pearl... We said from the beginning that we were only interested in the Lake of Blood itself."

"You guys are serious?" Becky looked at Hao Ren and the others in surprise, then scratched her head. "Well, it doesn't really matter. Anyway, we agreed that I would be your guide, and after arriving at the Lake of Blood, we would all act as we pleased. We were just a temporary group anyway. Tomorrow, I'll go to the small island in the center of the lake to take a look. I have some magical knowledge and want to see if there are any clues there. If you're interested, you can come along. If you're not... then let's all do our own thing. Just remember to say goodbye no matter who leaves first. We can consider it a pleasant collaboration."

Hao Ren and the others were just a temporary team with Becky. This had been confirmed by both parties when they set off from Lornberg Town. Becky accompanied the group as a guide, but after arriving in the Beinz region, the collaboration had essentially come to an end.

Lily's ears drooped. "Ugh, I'm not happy. I don't like saying goodbye to people."

Becky was very open-minded, after all, she was an experienced mercenary. "Ha, it's just that we'll be busy with our own things starting tomorrow. It's not like any of us are going far away. Anyway, you guys won't be leaving Holletta anytime soon, right? We'll have plenty of opportunities to cooperate in the future."

Becky dropped this sentence, looked at the few people present, and, experienced as she was, had already realized that the common goal of this small team had ended. These people were genuinely not interested in the pearl, so she waved goodbye to everyone with a free spirit. "I'm going back to pack my things. My room is in the easternmost part of the house behind. If anything comes up, let's talk about it tomorrow. I'll be there until noon."

After Becky left, the room was quiet for a moment. Hao Ren and the others actually liked this mercenary girl quite a bit: honest, cheerful, and straightforward. Although a bit greedy, she was sincere to people. She was a reliable partner when traveling outside, but ultimately, they were only temporary collaborators, and she was an "outsider" who would eventually leave.

Now that Becky had left, it was easier for Hao Ren to continue with some things.

"Tonight, I plan to go to the center of the lake to take a look," Hao Ren looked at the few people in the room. "Secret operation, bypassing the church's guards."

"Why do we have to be so secretive?" Lily couldn't understand. "Didn't you say you weren't interested in the pearl? If you also want to find the pearl, we can go with Becky tomorrow~"

"I'm not interested in the pearl, but I'm interested in what happened to the lakeside church. But I have to use some methods that are beyond this world's comprehension, so it's best not to attract attention."

As Hao Ren spoke, he placed his precious daughter-pot on the table, opened the lid, and summoned his data terminal. "Come out, get ready to work."

"Shh, your daughter's sleeping," the data terminal's voice sounded in his mind. "Now, think of a way to get me out..."

Hao Ren peered into the pot and found that Dou Dou was indeed curled up in a ball at the bottom of the pot, holding the data terminal like an octopus. You really had to say, this pose resembled a New Year's painting of a 'continuous abundance' fish...

"Oh, then you can continue to soak. Anyway, the action is only at night."

Hao Ren irresponsibly left the data terminal aside and looked up at Hilda, who was sitting quietly in the corner of the room.

"Alright, there's still some time before tonight. Talk about your business—you've been looking over here several times, you should have a head full of question marks, right?"

"It seems that what you told me this afternoon was half true," Hilda had been carefully observing this group of strangers since the afternoon. At this time, she had already seen some clues from Hao Ren's words and actions. "The one who just left... isn't part of your group?"