Chapter 629: Chapter 628 You Should Have Some Collective Consciousness_1
Within Abigailâs summoning space, Aiden shared intelligence with three allied Great Witches.
"From Silvertown to Pine City, the regular route takes about two days and a night, even if we travel all night, it still requires a day and a night. To sum it up, if you can get to Pine City as soon as possible, you might try to chase down Mr. Blood Robe, or at least, investigate the Blood Moon Cult," Aiden said, frowning, "are you even listening to me?"
"Of course we are," the three said in unison.
"Then stop your dice rolling! Why were you playing when I came in?!" Aiden banged on the table.
The three Great Witches were still addicted to card and board games today; after playing Ludo that day, they had learned a few simple yet highly enjoyable games from Aiden.
"Because we are quite idle," Lamia replied matter-of-factly.
"And about half of that idle time is your fault, Warden," Abigail said calmly, "If it werenât for the prior agreement, weâd already be planning to hunt the Wilderness King in the south."
"Are you sure you donât want to join us, Warden?" Qiqimora offered an invitation.
"No, you always target me," sighed Aiden, "Since youâre so idle, good, now youâve got some work to do."
"Taking the route through Banquet Forest to the border of Gistas and the autonomous region is indeed convenient, but honestly, Warden, donât you think the situation you mentioned might be a trap?" Abigail said slowly, "Given the enemyâs thorough preparations, how could they not be ready for an attack on their master?"
Aiden thought to himself, so you arenât fools after all...
But he was sure Lamia and Qiqimora would participate; the sole authority of "hatred" was a tempting proposition for these two Great Witches who specialized in lower authorities.
"Iâm not forcing you, Iâm just sharing information. What you do next is up to you," Aiden spread his hands, "Iâd rather you consider your options carefully, which actually puts me more at ease. Especially you, Qiqimora, âThe Hand of Annihilationâ absolutely cannot fall into enemy hands. So you have a day; after a day, forget about targeting Mr. Blood Robe, and if anything comes up, contact me immediately. If it gets too tough, you can take care of some cultists responsible for proselytizing and some of the vampiric Death Sect."
"I love the work that involves killing," Lamia laughed loudly.
"Donât kill the innocent, I donât need teammates who would go berserk on a whim," Aiden reminded sternly.
"Then letâs split up and operate separately," Qiqimora suddenly suggested.
"Itâs safer to act together," Aiden advised, "Your abilities can complement each other."
"I no longer want to team up with her," Lamia and Qiqimora pointed at each other and said simultaneously.
"Whatâs wrong, you... have a conflict?" Aiden looked back and forth between the two.
"Not really, itâs just that..." Qiqimora paused.
"Iâve found that when we act together, nothing good happens," Lamia stuck out her tongue, "Weâve nearly been killed by saints twice, I donât want a third time."
"I donât want any more unexpected problems either," agreed Qiqimora.
"Those were just coincidences..." Aiden tried to persuade, "Three people facing danger together can still look out for each other a bit, if youâre alone, no one will even be there to recover your body."
However, both of their attitudes remained firm.
"Iâm definitely not participating."
"Itâs just a matter of luck, no need to form a team."
Not only that, Abigail also butted in, "Besides, I wonât participate unless there are three people."
"You witches really need to strengthen your collective consciousness," Aiden sighed, then looked towards Abigail, "So youâre not planning to contribute this time either?"
He found that Abigail was obviously more of a "homebody" compared to other witches. Rather than act with the other Great Witches, she preferred to stay in Banquet Forest and study alone. She even created an extraordinary item like the Great Witchâs credentials in order to communicate with the outside world from home.
"Iâm just suspecting that this matter might be a trap, and...," the peak Great Witch said indifferently, "I have little interest in âhatredâsâ relics."
"Alright then," Aiden didnât persist with his persuasion, after all, Abigailâs reasoning was somewhat valid.
Mr. Bloodied might indeed have a backup plan, and since Banquet Forest was located at the intersection of the autonomous region, the Empire, and Gistas Kingdom, there were shortcuts to both Sandtown and Silvertown. With Abigail stationed there, she could respond to many unexpected situations.
Itâs just, whether this "homebody witch" is really willing to provide reinforcements in critical moments is another matter.
"Then it looks like itâs up to you two," Aiden turned to Lamia and Qiqimora, "I do have a plan, but it requires your cooperation..."
"Ehâ" Qiqimora and Lamia both reluctantly dragged out the sound.
It seemed these two really didnât want to travel together.
"You donât need to act together all the time, just need to coordinate with each other," Aiden said with a tinge of helplessness in his voice, "I have information on a Blood Moon Cult low-level stronghold, and I think you can start there."
"You want us to clean up some small fry?" Lamia asked.
"Hear me out, Lamia. You could directly assault that stronghold, take out a group of deluded cultists, but at least leave one alive," Aiden said, "They will surely report up the chain if they are attacked. Qiqimora, you could then take the opportunity to follow the trail and find the higher-ups, or even..."
"Find Mr. Bloodiedâs hiding place? Not a bad idea," Qiqimora nodded.
Mr. Bloodied had only recently established the cult in Sandtown, and it was unlikely that, like the royal secret police, they had a dedicated telegraph network for communication. Internal communication was probably carried out by sending verbal messages through human carriers, or perhaps by using animal messengers, and Qiqimora happened to have a spell that could directly control animals and turn them into familiars.
"However, if you do get a chance to find Mr. Bloodied, I advise against killing him right away," Aiden suddenly said.
"Why?" Qiqimora asked, puzzled.
"Firstly, the Divine Revenge Weapon, Revenge Double-Edge, may not be on him. The effect of Revenge Double-Edge is triggered on the premise of harming oneself, and without the cooperation of the âsacrificeâ power, I think he would not easily use Revenge Double-Edge," Aiden said, "In that case, the chance that he has handed Revenge Double-Edge over to another cultist to use is quite high. Itâs very possible that just as you take down Mr. Bloodied, his follower will retaliate with the singular authority and strike at you. Itâs better not to deal him a killing blow when trying to take Revenge Double-Edge."
"Thatâs true indeed," Lamia agreed.
"Moreover, once Mr. Bloodied dies, the cultists who have been entrusted with divinity by him will lose their dependent master. They could become independent saints, and itâs possible that one of them may continue to lead the Blood Moon Cult and oppose us," Aiden said earnestly, "Since you donât want to encounter any more unfortunate incidents, I hope youâll act with as much caution as possible."