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He skillfully picked up a pen and paper from the side and wrote a new story on the desk:
Flaming Devil: It is a humanoid creature composed of flames, with a core that is an ever-burning flame, pulsating like a heart. It can grow and evolve by igniting objects or assimilating other flames.
It possesses powerful learning abilities and becomes more cunning and powerful as it continuously grows.
Arson and slaughter are its most primitive instincts.
A short story was quickly completed, and he skillfully molded a heart-shaped object wrapped in flames from clay mixed with various materials.
He concocted a potion, like boiling magma, by blending the characteristics of a Devil, a Pyromaniac, and a Conspirer, and poured it onto the molded clay figure.
He quickly took out the materials, set up the ritual to supplicate the Hidden Sage, then Leyton stepped back and began to chant the prayer:
"The Sage who perceives the world, the eye that gazes upon truth, the embodiment of endless knowledge and numerology!"
"I implore You;"
"I implore You, I implore You for the power of knowledge."
"I implore You to bestow tangible power upon abstract knowledge."
As the prayer incantation was completed, a whooshing sound of wind exploded in the room. The candlelight was tinged with a hazy purple glow, flickering unsteadily. The entire room became dim.
Leyton picked up the ritual dagger, cut a wound on his palm, and dripped blood onto the parchment and clay figurine placed on the ground.
A pair of cold, indifferent, lashless eyes, containing countless brilliant stars, appeared in the flickering candlelight.
The parchment and clay figurine on the ground rapidly disintegrated, transforming into streams of information. They then condensed into a phantom sphere of light.
This phantom sphere of light continuously expanded and contracted for about two minutes, then re-coalesced into a crimson, blood-red heart, enveloped in layers of flames.
The anomaly in the room dissipated, and Leyton bent down to pick up the figurine from the ground. The moment he held it, there was a scorching sensation. As the newly completed Flaming Devil figurine was held in his hand, Leyton even had a faint sensation that this heart was beating.
"Its activity is much stronger than the previous Plague Doctor and Unicorn figurines. Is it because I added relevant descriptions when writing the story?"
Leyton murmured.
He then closed his eyes and performed a quick divination, obtaining general information about the Flaming Devil figurine:
Using it requires not only sufficient Spirituality but also combustible materials or raging fires nearby.
The Flaming Devil has powerful control over flames and can grow by devouring them. The more intensely the flames burn, the stronger and more cunning it becomes.
It can use high-temperature, high-pressure air and the crackling sound of flames to speak words in the Devil Language, originating from the Abyss, full of foul and Fallen meaning.
Although the Flaming Devil will possess decent intelligence after growing to a certain extent, the desire for arson and slaughter remains its most primitive instinct. It will ignite all combustible materials within its line of sight.
"After growing to a certain extent, its destructive power can even reach the level of a Sequence 5 Beyonder skilled in attack, but its own flaws are equally obvious and it can be easily targeted."
"It's another problematic Mystical Item. The negative effects of the Flaming Devil are no less than those of the Plague Doctor and Unicorn. Using it basically guarantees a fire."
"Forget it, since I added the characteristics of a Devil to it, it couldn't possibly be good anyway, and this characteristic is quite useful for causing destruction."
Leyton held the figurine in his hand, which resembled a heart wrapped in layers of flames, and muttered to himself for a while, preparing to find a lucky gang to test the strength of the Flaming Devil.
Leyton casually tossed a gold coin onto the Backlund City map spread out on his desk. Only after the coin had completely settled did Leyton walk over and pick it up:
"Cherwood Borough?"
"It's not the East Borough or the Dock District, those places?"
Leyton exclaimed with surprise.
After tidying up the remaining ritual materials in the room, Leyton put on his coat and set off for Cherwood Borough.
To better observe the environment, Leyton didn't even use Spirit World Travel to rush there, but instead took a hired carriage to Cherwood Borough, then transferred to different carriages and wandered around the area for a few circles.
He didn't find any clues about the gang he was looking for, but Leyton saw Klein, whose makeup was mediocre—no, it should be Detective Sherlock Moriarty.
He and a man of about thirty, wearing a heavy overcoat and a semi-tall top hat with a handsome mustache, walked into a building that had no signboard but had a golden rose embedded at the entrance.
"Is this a brothel?"
"A scene worth capturing."
Leyton murmured softly in the carriage.
"Stop here!"
After greeting the coachman, Leyton paid the fare and, under the coachman's slightly envious gaze, walked towards the Golden Rose ahead.
However, Leyton did not go inside but turned into a nearby shop and bought a few sheets of drawing paper.
Leyton walked back towards the Golden Rose. He planned to see what Klein was doing inside and if there were any scenes suitable for recording. These would all be precious sources of humanity in the Future!
As Leyton was about to approach the Golden Rose, he noticed a hired carriage not far away. Although that carriage was not conspicuous on the street, Leyton saw an old gentleman sitting inside the carriage through the view of his Eyes of Mystery Prying.
The other party seemed to sense Leyton's gaze and looked over with a serious expression through the carriage window.
"Interesting, Reader Pathway? Is that Detective Isengard Stanton?"
Leyton quickly associated the identity of the other party, mainly because Beyonders of the Reader Pathway were quite rare throughout Loen. Every Reader was quite disliked by the Church of the Lord of Storms.
Leyton's mouth curved into a slight smile as he walked towards the other party's carriage. As soon as he approached the carriage, Detective Isengard Stanton had already stepped out of the compartment.
"Hello, are you Detective Isengard Stanton?"
Leyton greeted the other party naturally.
Isengard Stanton was silent for a moment, cautiously sizing up Leyton before speaking:
"I am. May I ask who you are?"
"Al Tines, a scholar currently traveling around, who recently arrived in Backlund."
Leyton skillfully gave a false identity.
"The Pyromaniac on the Future with a 5000-pound bounty? You've actually come to Backlund?"
Isengard Stanton said with surprise, revealing Leyton's identity at sea.
"I've been in Backlund for so long, and you're the first one to recognize my identity from the sea! As expected of a great detective, you even keep up with news from the sea."
Leyton was somewhat surprised, not expecting this great detective to have some understanding of maritime news.
"Paying attention to various news is a detective's professional quality, but aren't you afraid of attracting the attention of the Church of the Lord of Storms by coming to Backlund without any disguise?"
Isengard Stanton politely replied, then shifted the topic to the Church of the Lord of Storms, trying to use the Church of the Lord of Storms to make this pirate, who was wanted at sea, apprehensive.
"I saw you just now, so I came over to take a look. There aren't many people from the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom in Backlund, so it's hard to find someone to ask for information normally."
"Do you know which gangs are relatively active nearby?"
Leyton did not continue to stand outside the carriage and engage in a question-and-answer with Isengard Stanton. He quickly took a few steps forward, entered the carriage compartment, and found a seat.
As for Isengard Stanton's assistant and the coachman, they had silently Fallen into a deep sleep.
"Aren't you a pirate under the Admiral of Stars? What's your connection with the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom?"
Isengard Stanton did not stop Leyton from entering the carriage. The other party's gaze just now had given him a strong sense of danger. He was certain that this young man, who was not old, was a Beyonder of a higher Sequence than himself.
Leyton naturally performed a standard Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom etiquette, drawing the symbol of the Omniscient Eye on his chest:
"May wisdom be with you!"
"May wisdom be with you!"
Isengard Stanton also saluted and greeted with a serious expression.
"Do you know which gangs are relatively active nearby?"
Leyton asked again.
"In Backlund, all well-established gangs have their own backing forces. Some are official, some are foreign powers, and some are cult organizations."
"If you go too far, it's easy to attract the attention of the Loen authorities and the forces behind the gangs. In Backlund, many powerful Beyonders are hidden among the populace."
Isengard Stanton did not directly give Leyton the answer, but first explained the composition of Backlund's gangs.
Leyton fully understood Isengard Stanton's concerns and nodded slightly while explaining:
"I won't do anything too conspicuous. It's just that I happen to have a Mystical Item that needs testing, and I want to find a lucky gang to test it out and earn some extra income along the way."
Isengard Stanton's eyebrows twitched slightly. Are the young people of the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom all this unreliable now?
Although he was somewhat helpless that the other party did not heed his advice, Isengard Stanton still told Leyton all the information he knew about Backlund's gangs, and even explained which gangs were easier to deal with and less likely to attract official attention
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