The devil became active. Did the last action of the Dark Side of the Universe cause him to be further corroded by the Mother Tree of Desire, or was it a chain reaction brought about by Ankewelt helping this Devil Monarch?
While thinking, Leyton inquired about Ankewelt's condition on the letter.
Soon, there was a reply from his avatar on the letter:
"I don't know. I just finished my advancement to Cognizer, and I still have to deal with the matters you left behind. I don't have time to pay attention to that old dragon who stays in the spiritual world all the time."
Leyton rubbed his nose awkwardly, then asked about the situation in the Southern Continent before ending the conversation and throwing the Book Messenger back into the spirit world.
Knock knock knock!
A knock on the door sounded at the right time. Leyton turned his head to look, his gaze easily penetrating the wall and wooden door, seeing the hotel waiter standing in the hallway. The waiter was holding a thick, gilded book that looked very substantial from its cover.
Leyton got up from the chair, stretched his body, walked to the door, reached out and pressed the doorknob, gently turning it to pull it open.
Seeing the door open, the waiter waiting outside revealed a professional smile. His gaze swept over Leyton and glanced into the room, then quickly retracted his gaze and smiled lightly at Leyton:
"Mr. Tines, I apologize for disturbing you. You seem to rarely go out, so the boss asked me to remind you that tonight the Eternal Blazing Sun Church will hold a grand ceremony at Triumphal Arch, followed by a ball. As a tourist, this is an experience not to be missed. Even if you are not a follower of the Sun, it is worth attending."
Is he sending the waiter to observe the situation because I haven't left my room for too long? In the future, I still need to pass through the front desk when I go out so that the hotel staff can see me. While these thoughts floated, Leyton chuckled and asked in return:
"What if I am a follower of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom?"
The expression on the waiter's face stiffened, but he quickly composed himself, maintaining a smile as he said:
"As long as you don't directly reveal your faith in front of the Eternal Blazing Sun's followers, they will not exclude or deliberately make things difficult for you."
"If someone asks you about your faith, you can slightly change the topic and brush it off. This is an unspoken agreement everyone has."
"It seems you are not a follower of the Sun either." Leyton chuckled, paused for a moment, then continued to ask, "But I'm curious, why is the ceremony held at night instead of noon, when the sun is brightest?"
The waiter maintained a polite smile on his face and patiently explained:
"Although the followers of the Eternal Blazing Sun worship the sun, this does not mean they are not afraid of the scorching sun. The weather in Intis is already approaching summer, and everyone can't stand the scorching sun. Moreover, there is a ball after the ceremony, so it is scheduled to start at dusk. When the sun sets, the ball can begin."
"Thank you for the information. I will go to Triumphal Arch to see it later."
Leyton nodded politely, and after watching the waiter leave, he closed the door and returned to his desk to sit down.
In the bay window behind him, Leonard leaned against the window frame, admiring the night view outside, and said:
"That waiter just now shouldn't have just come to tell you about the ceremony."
Leyton nodded noncommittally and said in a flat tone:
"He was also responsible for promoting the unique services of this hotel, or rather, the unique services of Trier. The prices are clearly marked. As long as you pay, you can choose a young man or woman from that gilded book to spend the night with you. Well, perhaps it also includes himself."
Leonard was stunned for a moment. He could tell that the waiter was hiding something, but he didn't expect it to be this kind of thing. After a two-second pause, he asked in confusion:
"How do you know?"
"Even with the book closed, I can see all the information inside."
Leyton shrugged and responded flatly. After a slight pause, he added:
"You suddenly appeared in my room just now, and that waiter obviously overthought it, so he didn't open the gilded book in his hand and instead started talking about the ceremony and the ball."
"Uh..." Leonard was stunned for a moment, the awkwardness made him want to change hotels overnight. After a moment of silence, he let out a long breath and said:
"The old man asked me what you went out to do. He observed that the fate of Trier seemed to have some deviations, some unpredictable deviations."
"Is Trojan Horse of Destiny so sensitive to changes in fate?"
Leyton looked at Leonard with some doubt in his eyes, waiting for his answer.
The next second, Pallez's old voice sounded from Leonard's body:
"I am already a Worm of Time, and after coming to Trier, I have been observing this city. Some fluctuations in fate naturally cannot be hidden from me."
Leyton nodded, accepting the explanation, and then recounted what he had done after leaving the restaurant earlier.
After a brief silence, Pallez chuckled and said:
"You actually tricked Medici, and even lured him to the underground of Trier. If I gave you a bottle of 'Fraudster' potion now, it would surely melt in your mouth. Even a 'Mentor of Deceit' could digest most of it."
"However, the ruins beneath Trier are very special. The Churches of the Eternal Blazing Sun and the God of Steam and Machinery dare not go deep. How do you plan to make Medici attract firepower there for you?"
"When the time is right, I will connect that area with the city above ground." Leyton leaned back in his chair and stated his plan.
Pallez's tone became hesitant:
"This movement is too big, and it will threaten the lives of the entire city. The Sun and Steam will inevitably discover the problem here. If they act at the same time, with just the two of us Angels, we won't be able to escape Trier safely."
"Moreover, betting with the lives of a city, as long as the Six Gods maintain superficial peace, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom will have no reason to interfere with reality to help you."
Leyton chuckled, then shook his head and explained:
"There won't be any problem. You don't think I have the ability to overlap the entire Fourth Epoch ruins with Trier, do you?"
"At most, it will only partially overlap some key areas, delaying the high-end combat power of the Church. As for ordinary people, as long as there is no direct contact, the corruption from the underground will not have any impact on them. However, the wild Beyonders in this area will inevitably suffer. If they cannot escape and hide themselves in time, they will certainly be discovered by the people of the two major Churches."
Pallez was silent for a moment, then sighed and asked, "Since Medici has already been tricked into the underground ruins by you, when do you plan to act?"
"That depends on his progress, and when I can get the detailed information about the Patriarchal Cathedral."
As he spoke, Leyton got up from his seat, put on a light coat, and then turned to Leonard and said:
"Want to go see the ball here?"
"Of course."
Leonard casually agreed, but soon remembered the misunderstanding with the hotel waiter just now. He sighed, then changed his mind and said:
"Never mind, I'll just go out by myself later."
Leyton nodded gently, said no more, opened the door and walked out. This time, he did not move by means of "Sights in the Spirit World", but passed through the hotel's front desk, exiting through the main door under the gaze of two hotel waiters.
At Triumphal Arch, unlike the lively atmosphere during the day, the square at night was brightly lit. Melodious music with a rich melody emanated from the gramophones around the square. On the tall poles standing around the square, colorful lights projected onto the ground, swaying everywhere. Men and women dressed in either luxurious, exquisite, or exaggerated attire held hands and danced in the center of the square, resembling an open-air dance hall.
"This was definitely spread by Roselle." Leyton sighed inwardly as he walked among the stalls selling snacks and drinks around the square, following the surrounding crowd. The sounds of conversation and laughter were endless, completely different from the styles of Loen, Feynapotter, and the Southern Continent, with some shadows of Earth in his memory.
"Heh, have I gotten too used to this identity, causing unnecessary associations?"
He muttered to himself in a low voice, Leyton composed himself, immersing himself in the lively atmosphere around him, gradually sensing the emotions emanating from the people around him. This allowed him to better understand human nature and resist his own madness and divine aspects.
After two days of touring Trier, Leyton finally felt movement from the underground ruins. His figure quickly blurred and disappeared on the bustling street.
Not long after, he arrived at the Machinery Square in the Great Cathedral District. Gazing at the Patriarchal Cathedral, which stood opposite the square like a giant machine, he sighed softly:
"Magnificent mechanical art. I hope this Church can remain intact after today."
Beside him, golden water slowly floated, converging in mid-air into a distorted and chaotic pale golden figure.
In Machinery Square, ordinary people and Beyonders coming and going tacitly ignored the Genie, as if they couldn't see him at all.
Floating in mid-air, the Genie surveyed the magnificent Church ahead and asked in a flat voice:
"Why don't you directly rush into the Divine Kingdom of the God of Steam and Machinery in the Astral World? With your essence, you are not afraid of his influence at all, and you might even be able to directly pollute him. What are you worried about?"
"Steam just doesn't dare to devour me, which doesn't mean he can't seal me. And besides him, there are the other Six Gods in the Astral World. If that happens, I will become the key for him to control the Knowledge Moor."
"Moreover, everyone has their own secrets..."
The Genie looked down at Leyton and said with a hint of mockery:
"Do you want to betray yourself?"