Chapter 178: Chapter 178 Are You Also a Transmigrator?_1
"Intelligence?" Aiden inquired, "What kind?"
"Various, about our common enemy, and... yours and ours," Abigail said calmly and deliberately.
"I can understand exchanging information about enemies..." Aiden paused, "but you want information about each other as well?"
"Since weâre going to join forces, itâs inevitable that we should learn a bit about each other." Qiqimora added with a smile, "To be honest, weâve always been curious about where Your Excellencyâs divinity comes from?"
"I once asked a lady about her age at a social ball and was schooled that as a gentleman, one must know which questions to ask and which not to." Aiden said with a smile, playing it off, "I had always thought that only men could make such a mistake."
Revealing the inside information to the witchesâ gathering was, of course, out of the question. First of all, the intelligence about Melifilia was top secret, not a word of which could be disclosed. Furthermore, the reason Abigail had chosen to stop Vilaâs assassination attempt and collaborate with him was not only because they shared a common enemy but also because they were unclear about what Aiden Galahadâs trump card was.
This uncertainty made them hesitant to act rashly against him. If the witchesâ gathering knew he only possessed the divine word given to him by Abigail and that the true mastermind behind him was nothing more than a prisoner locked in a cage, they might decide to take him out first.
Lamia and Qiqimora exchanged glances subconsciously, as if considering how to pry some words out of his mouth. Sensing that they were prepared to probe further, Aiden spread his hands and said, "Besides, youâre holding back from me as well. Asking me to reveal my own details now seems a bit much, donât you think?"
"Whatever do you mean by that?" Qiqimora asked with an air of innocence.
"You told me before that the Harvest Mother Cult was after the divinity you three possessed..." he said, raising a hand toward Abigail, "but actually, the Cult is interested in the âsole authorityâ Abigail holds, the Hatching Egg, right?"
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This was the intelligence fortune-teller Melissa had shared with Aiden, which he found to be quite credible. Compared to Qiqimoraâs explanation, what Melissa had shared seemed much more plausible.
Even if it was a bluff, he had to maintain a cautious stance from the witchesâ gathering. Collaborating with these Great Witches was like dancing with wolvesâcarelessness could easily lead to being devoured by them.
The witches fell into silence for a moment. The intelligence that Abigail held the sole authority of "proliferation" was known by the other Great Witches, but they hadnât disclosed it to this manâeven Daili and Presia, who were imprisoned, could not have spoken of it. When they had joined Abigailâs gathering, they had all "signed" a covenant with her; the "credential of a Great Witch" given by Abigail included information about the divine word and authority she possessed, which they could not reveal without Abigailâs permission.
"...It seems we have been rude." Abigail broke the silence, "Indeed, as Your Excellency has said, I hold the sole authority of âproliferationâ."
As she spoke, she removed a necklace from her neck and raised it. Although it was obscured by the swirling mist, Aiden still made out that hanging from the necklace was not a polished crystal like "the credential of a Great Witch," but an oval object.
"The Hatching Egg has been calling to those close to authority, so the Harvest Mother Cult has been able to sense my location. This past month, the Cultâs battle nuns have continuously harassed the Banquet Forest, and have already scouted the outskirts of the forestâs structure. Truthfully, it poses quite a threat to me," Abigail stated calmly, "fortunately, for the time being, weâve reinforced the defenses using Vilaâs golems. The battle nuns of âBlack Goatâ essentially all come from the same mother, sharing a collective hive mind."
"Sister Neve Barres?" Aiden mentioned the name Melissa had discussed with him.
"It seems that Your Excellency has done more homework than we had imagined," Abigail said flatly. "From the results of our investigation, those battle nuns possess quite impressive combat skills and are able to use elementary necromancy, most likely inherited from their mother."
"Taking it by force... They are indeed quite forceful in their methods. Didnât they try to negotiate with you first?" Aiden asked.
Even the dim-witted leader of the Harvest Mother Cult should have realized that making a move against âthe supreme witchâ Abigail was courting disaster. At the very least, they should have opted to negotiate with Abigail first.
After all, one could foresee that wresting the âsole authorityâ from Abigailâs hands would incur a considerable cost, and even if Abigailâs price was steep, they might have been willing to accept it.
"No, they would not be willing to negotiate. In their eyes, what is ours is rightfully theirs," Abigail replied. "Do you truly not know? The Hatching Egg was once the secret treasure of the Old Lese Kingdomâs royal family."
Aiden was startled for a momentâwas the Hatching Egg once also in the hands of the Old Lese Kingdomâs royal family?
This means... the Queen of the Old Lese Kingdom was, in fact, only one step away from becoming the Sovereign, right?
Melifilia had said that to become a Sovereign, besides obtaining the âsole authorityâ and mastering the corresponding three great powers, one must also complete the rituals necessary for each power to successfully merge with the authority and rise to Sovereignty. The saint who founded the Blood Moon Cult had also been halted at the ritual step.
When the Queen was assassinated, perhaps she could have passed on her divinity and powers to her progeny by using the âpropagationâ power. However, since the âsole authorityâ had not been merged, it should have fallen into the hands of the person who killed her.
If it is as Melissa had said, and the Queen of the Old Lese Kingdom was assassinated by that nameless witch who had established the Flying Spaghetti Cult in this world...
Is Abigail indeed that nameless witch suspected to be a time traveler?
This point had also been doubted by Aiden, but there was a considerable time gap between Abigail and the active years of the nameless witch, so he only harbored suspicions.
Aiden stared intently at Abigail, seated at the other end of the long table. If Abigail were a time traveler, then everything he had learned in the prison through Qiqimora should also indicate to her that he was a time traveler.
So just now...Was Abigail reminding him of this fact?
Abigail looked straight into his eyes, and because she was shrouded in mist, Aiden couldnât see her expression clearly.
Suddenly, Abigail shifted her gaze slightly as if she had heard something. Then she spoke, "It seems Habanis has already completed her mission."
No sooner had she finished speaking than a wisp of mist began to swirl around the chair beside Qiqimora, and the figure of Habanis appeared within it.