Richard looked at the dwarf statue in the hall; if nothing unexpected had occurred, this should be the Demon Dwarf King Bruno that the High Priest mentioned.
But Richard was curious as to why the High Priest chose to conceal the truth.
"Why do you hide the truth?"
The High Priest slowly turned around: "Because Bruno's soul has not completely decayed.
In the final battle, the demon Bruno nearly crossed the threshold, becoming a being of World Master level.
If he were to become a World Master, the entire Demon Dwarf clan would be devoured by him, becoming part of that demon.
But at the last moment before his ascension, the Dwarf King Bruno separated from the demon Bruno.
A fragmented soul is insufficient to ascend to World Master, and thus he failed.
We took this opportunity to banish him to the depths of the mountains."
Richard nodded and then asked, "According to you, the demon you speak of should possess the ability of mental erosion and flesh distortion.
Moreover, this ability has a high ceiling; under the right conditions, it could even create a World Master.
And I noticed you said 'banished' rather than 'killed,' which indicates that this demon Bruno still exists.
Considering the aberrants I saw on the way, as well as those that have spread into the deep mountain caves, you must have banished Bruno into the interior of this peak.
And it seems he has been living quite well over the years, even turning your warriors into aberrants.
To be honest, this situation has exceeded my capabilities.
I can no longer think of what I can do for you."
The High Priest closed his eyes, and after a moment of silence, he slowly spoke:
"I saw in the divination that the Master will fight alongside the Demon Dwarfs to completely slay the demon Bruno at the depths of the mountains.
The Master will purify the demon Bruno with flames."
Richard frowned slightly.
"With us? My Fire Lizard is powerful, but the demon Bruno you speak of is already half a foot into the threshold of World Master.
Can we really kill such a being?"
The High Priest opened his eyes, a hint of helplessness on his face.
"I don't know, but that is the result of the divination. I nearly risked my life for this outcome.
Moreover, the demon Bruno is not as strong as you think; he has been slain by us several times over the past five thousand years.
However, each time he was slain, he could resurrect in the depths of the mountains, repeating the cycle until his soul completely collapsed.
But our clan cannot wait for that time any longer."
Richard sighed; divination was such a bastard, only providing results without the process.
He shifted the topic to himself.
"Let's change the subject. When do you plan to lift my curse? That scarecrow of yours will become ineffective after today."
"If the Master wishes, it can be done right now."
Richard was taken aback: "The Mist Cage is no small curse; don't you need to prepare any rituals?"
The High Priest smiled confidently, pointing to the statue of the Demon Dwarf King in the hall, saying, "The Demon Dwarf King will drive away all demons."
Richard looked closely at the statue and suddenly sensed a familiar feeling from it.
Richard exclaimed, "The power of faith! You can use the power of faith!"
The High Priest nodded and then shook his head.
"It is not I who can, but the Demon Dwarf King Bruno can."
With that, the High Priest invited Richard to the center of the hall, where he had just knelt.
Richard looked at the statue of the Demon Dwarf King directly in front of him, and his eyes involuntarily met the eyes of the statue.
In an instant, Richard saw war, death, and one prayer after another from the Demon Dwarfs through those golden eyes.
These prayers were the source of the existence of the Demon Dwarf King.
Suddenly, a robust Demon Dwarf stepped out from the statue.
He had a heroic face, a beard that reached his toes, and a head of jet-black hair.
His muscles were strong and solid as if they contained enough power to shake the heavens.
He held a long-handled war hammer, still stained with fresh blood.
This image was identical to the statue.
Without a doubt, this dwarf was the Demon Dwarf King Bruno.
Bruno looked at Richard with a gentle gaze. But soon, a hint of confusion flashed across his face.
A voice echoed in Richard's ear.
"Wizard, like you, I cannot lift your curse. But I can give you a method to remove it."
With that, he swung the war hammer and struck Richard's head fiercely.
Bang! Caught off guard, Richard stumbled back three steps and fell to the ground.
He clutched his head, feeling dizzy, and blood trickled from the corner of his eye.
The Wizard Hunting team saw this scene, and the Chainsaw Sword in their hands roared to life.
They surrounded Richard, watching the High Priest warily.
The High Priest frowned; the Demon Dwarf King Bruno was not aggressive; on the contrary, he was very kind.
There was no reason for him to harm Richard.
Not to mention that Richard was a Wizard.
Although the Demon Dwarfs had been in this world for thousands of years, their respect for Wizards was still ingrained in their bones.
Soon, Richard stood up, wiping the blood from the corner of his eye.
"Stand down, I'm fine."
Richard took out a vial of alchemical potion from his pocket and dripped two drops into his eyes to alleviate the damage.
Once his eye injury improved, Richard lowered his head, returning to his previous state.
"My apologies, High Priest. Bruno is a good Demon Dwarf, though his methods are a bit rough."
That blow from Bruno had given Richard some insights into the use of the power of faith.
Moreover, it made Richard aware of the power of faith within him.
Although Richard had never taken the sect that Ulysses established seriously, it was undeniable that as one of the deities of the divine civilization, the sect he founded was undoubtedly qualified.
Richard's rank was now equal to that of the Demon Dwarf King.
Deities can lift curses from mortals but cannot lift curses from another deity.
Thus, Bruno chose to teach Richard how to use the power of faith.
The High Priest bowed slightly: "Thank you for your understanding, Master. I believe the curse on you has been lifted."
Richard shook his head: "Not yet, but it will be lifted soon."
As he spoke, the High Priest suddenly felt that Richard before him was incredibly imposing, as if an invisible holy light emanated from him, making one unable to help but kneel at a glance.
Richard was using the power of faith within him to remove the curse on himself.
A few seconds later, Richard returned to normal; nearly half of the power of faith he possessed was consumed, and the curse on him was lifted.
Moreover, he had intuitively gained an additional ability.
...
In the Secret Realm, Ulysses, who was leisurely basking in the sun in the Holy City, suddenly stood up.
He looked at Richard's statue in disbelief, murmuring, "Divine gaze?! Has this kid's rank already reached that level?"
With that, a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes.
In his view, the power of faith entwined around Richard's statue had now transformed into a pentagram mark.
Ulysses was very familiar with this; it was the holy emblem of the deities.
This indicated that Richard had attained rank.
However, as an old deity, Ulysses quickly realized what state Richard was currently in.
He suddenly understood: "Heroic Spirit rank. You scared me; I thought you had intuitively ascended to godhood."
"What is the Heroic Spirit rank?"
Suddenly, Richard's voice echoed in Ulysses' ear, but Ulysses was not flustered.
In the scriptures, he was Richard's subordinate deity; conversing between the main deity and a subordinate was merely a divine instinct.
"There are many types of divine ranks, each representing a level. The Heroic Spirit rank is the lowest rank, often corresponding to mortals.
If you can become a World Master, then your rank will transform into that of a deity.
Of course, the opposite is also true.
Did you encounter a being that understands the power of faith during your outing? I didn't even notice that your power of faith was sufficient to give birth to a rank."
"Yes, I met a Heroic Spirit who taught me some applications of the power of faith."
"Don't use it recklessly; if you want to learn the applications of the power of faith, wait until you return, and I'll teach you. Your power of faith is limited; using it carelessly will quickly deplete it."
"Okay. I'll handle my issues here first."
...
Richard shifted his gaze from the statue back to his own body. After attaining rank, he intuitively learned to use the statue as his eyes.
He looked at the High Priest: "High Priest, you can now gather your army."
The High Priest bowed slightly: "Master need not rush. According to our observations over the years, in seven days, the demon Bruno will enter a period of weakness.
Seven days later, the seal of the great Truth Wizard will sever the connection between the demon and the external body. That will be our best opportunity to slay the demon Bruno."
Hearing the High Priest's words, Richard suddenly realized he had overlooked a key point.
He pointed at the damaged Magic Array on the mural and asked uncertainly:
"Are you saying that the demon broke through the seal laid by the great Truth Wizard?"
The High Priest did not deny it: "Indeed, according to our observations, this demon has likely opened a trivial breach in the seal of the great Truth Wizard.
His power seeps out from this breach, thus eroding Bruno."
Richard furrowed his brow, "But if we don't seal the breach, killing the demon Bruno would only be a temporary measure. You should report this to..."
Halfway through, Richard suddenly stopped.
It seemed that these Demon Dwarfs had no place to report.
If it weren't for the Academy War, these Demon Dwarfs might have to wait many more years.
There were far too many places in the mirrored world that could be chosen as battlegrounds.
Moreover, a group of Demon Dwarfs who lacked even World Master strength could hold off a demon that had been slain multiple times over thousands of years.
Even if they reported it, it was unlikely any Wizard would care.
"No, Master. As long as we completely slay the demon Bruno, everything will change," the High Priest countered.
"The reason our clan's numbers have been declining is due to this demon Bruno. To prevent this demon from escaping the depths of the mountains, we have had to send a large number of warriors into the depths.
If we can kill him, we can reduce the number of warriors we need to send.
At that time, our population will shift from negative growth to positive growth."
"But what if a second Bruno appears?" Richard retorted.
The High Priest pointed to the statue of the Demon Dwarf King behind him, speak
ing with conviction: "The Demon Dwarf King will use his keen eyes to see through all Demon Dwarfs; any Demon Dwarf that has been eroded by the demon will have nowhere to hide.
Moreover, our clan will eternally guard the depths of the mountains until that demon is completely annihilated within the seal of the great Truth Wizard!"
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