prynovel Chapter 4299 Against the Decaying One
Chapter 4299 Against the Decaying One
Chapter 4299 Dialogue with the Decaying One
The decaying man quickly finished recounting the entire process.
After hearing this, Angell felt a little relieved.
The situation was much better than he had imagined.
He was particularly concerned about two points. First, could the Cruel Scholar identify Sebastian and then pinpoint the Dream Crystal Origin?
It seems that it's not possible at the moment.
He had previously assumed that after Weeks and the others logged off, they would definitely reveal the story of "The Chapter of the Otherworldly Dream," which would naturally include the situation where "the Demon God's Thoughts" had spoken.
When the cruel scholar notices this, he will surely realize something is wrong. If he further investigates his divine consciousness clone, he will very likely find that Sebastian's consciousness is missing.
After that, it may be possible to lock onto the Dream Crystal Plains.
This is a very crucial point, and it's something that Angell is very worried about.
However, according to the Decayer, after Weeks and the others went offline, they had no memory of "dreaming". Therefore, the Cruel Scholar had no way of knowing about the "Chapter of the Heart of Another Dream" and naturally did not think of investigating Sebastian.
Clearly, this is the power of the fairy realm exerting its influence.
Although the Decaying One was granted an extra favor by the Fairy Realm's authority and its memories were not sealed, the Decaying One and the Dream Crystal Plains have a vested interest in each other. Since the Prusia group is all in the Dream Crystal Plains, this fact will naturally not be exposed.
As for the second point that Angell was concerned about, it was whether the authority of the Cruel Scholar also had a certain power in the Dream World.
Based on the results, there were no results.
The Cruel Scholar was unable to influence the Dream Realm, and even the "residual dreams" on the Withered Ones and others could not be analyzed in detail. In the end, he could only seek help from Liriel.
Therefore, the two points that Angell was most worried about have now been ruled out.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, I haven't been completely at ease yet, since the problem with Liriel hasn't been resolved.
Angor was confident he could restrict Liriel's movements, keeping her confined to the labyrinth of interrogation. This way, she would be completely unable to discover any information related to the "Dream Crystal Plains."
But Liriel is easy to deal with, what about after that?
If the cruel scholar learns that Liriel did not complete the commission she gave him, will he find someone else to investigate the "residual dream"?
What if the new investigator possessed the authority over dreams and could pinpoint the source of the dream crystal?
So, here's the problem.
How should we resolve this?
After a moment's thought, Angell had two ideas: either block or guide.
Blocking her is simple; just like before, confine Liriel to the interrogation maze, don't give her an "identity," and let her go back when the time is right.
Of course, Ingres had considered not letting her leave, but keeping her might have aroused even more suspicion from the cruel scholars. So, it was better to let her go.
In that case, Liriel will gain nothing, and the cruel scholar's side will naturally be blocked as well.
But now that this path is blocked, it's hard to say whether the Cruel Scholar will use his connections to find others to continue exploring the source of the strange dreams.
Therefore, the method of "blocking" has both advantages and disadvantages.
As for "distraction," it naturally means using various methods to obscure the view of cruel scholars or reduce their attention to this matter.
As for how to do it? Angel doesn't have a clear plan yet, but what is certain is that no matter what the final choice is, it must start with "Liriel".
After a moment of contemplation, Angell looked up at the withered one.
The withered creature's eyes still held a trace of guilt. After all, Angor had helped it and its civilization, but now it couldn't disobey the cruel scholar and had even been forced to become a "guide," so it naturally felt ashamed.
“I can see that you are not in control of your own destiny,” Angell said softly, trying to comfort you.
From the perspective of the decaying, it has actually done enough.
It restrained its thoughts in the face of the cruel scholar, even though it could have touched the truth with a little more thought, it stubbornly held back through its subconscious.
Facing the harsh realities of scholars with a state of "ignorance".
In this situation, even if a cruel scholar possessed the ability to read minds, he would be unable to obtain any information.
Without the Decayer's concealment, Angell would have faced an even more difficult situation.
As for the withered becoming "traitors"? That's not entirely wrong.
Even Angell saw it as a good thing.
If the Decayer had not re-entered, he would have remained ignorant of the outside world and likely become even more passive and blind.
The Decayer brought in the intelligence without alerting the Cruel Scholar, which was not a wrong thing to do, and Angor naturally wouldn't blame it.
“You did a good job. If you had just revealed the information, the Dream World might not have faced any consequences, but it would be a different story for me.” Angor shrugged lightly. “I don’t want to face the Great Demon God of the Abyss.”
Hearing Angel's reassurance, the withered one's tense shoulders relaxed slightly.
At the same time, it also felt very fortunate.
It does not yet know Angell's identity in the "Deep Dream World," but the fact that he can make the Great Will accept the echoes of countless Prussian souls suggests that his identity is definitely not simple.
If, due to his own negligence, Ingres were to be targeted by cruel scholars, the Prussians' last chance for "rebirth" would likely be completely cut off.
It was fortunate that it had chosen to keep it a secret.
"Actually, my memories only became clearer after I entered the Labyrinth of Interrogation, and I was able to recall what happened in the Chapter of the Heart." The Decayer: "If I return to reality, my memories will still be as blurry as before. I will continue to control myself and will not pursue the buried truth."
This is the promise of the decaying.
This restraint was not only to protect Angell, but also to preserve the last glimmer of hope for the Prussian civilization, and at the same time, it was its own redemption.
Of course, all of this is predicated on... its ability to return to reality.
……
"What do you know about Liriel?" Angell asked. "What is her relationship with the Cruel Scholar? Is Liriel also one of His followers?"
The withered man pondered for a moment, then gently shook his head.
"I've told you everything I know about Liriel," the Decayer said. "As for why the God chose her, I'm not entirely sure."
"But according to the deity, Liriel seems to owe Him a favor."
"As for whether Liriel is a follower of the Demon God, I don't know; but she is definitely not a follower of the Scholar."
Angell: "Oh, why?"
The withered one pondered for a moment and said, "When I, Kagu, and Weeks went to Elsa's dungeon to see her, she used the Illusionary Dream Technique to tease and test Weeks before revealing herself. According to her, she is very wary of demons who wield the power of knowledge, and she did this for self-protection."
“These words could never have come from the mouth of a believer in the Confucian tradition.”
Angell nodded thoughtfully.
Liriel is not a follower of cruel scholars, which is good news for him. This means that Liriel's stance is actually open to change.
Could they even collaborate with Liriel?
After thinking about it, Angell temporarily ruled out the idea of "cooperation".
Liriel owes the cruel scholar a favor, and Angell is not confident that he can overcome this debt to get her to cooperate with his side.
Even if it's called Savage Cave or Sanders' name, Liriel probably won't be swayed.
After all, Sanders is Sanders, and he is himself.
Moreover, Angel had never heard of any connection between Sanders and Liriel, but he was good friends with Liriel's disciple, "Hydra" Astrid.
But if she can truly overcome the debts of gratitude she owes to others, then there will be many solutions to her practical predicament...
"What kind of favor could make Liriel help the cruel scholar even if it means crossing her own position?" Angel murmured to himself, but he couldn't think of anything and could only shake his head in resignation.
At this moment, the withered man suddenly spoke up: "If you need, sir, I can help you inquire."
Angell paused for a moment, "You're going to ask the cruel scholar?"
The withered one quickly waved his hand: "No, she and I are currently trapped in the interrogation labyrinth, and we have already reached a basic cooperation. I can try to find out what kind of favor she owes the Scholar."
The fact that she had a personal connection means that Lillie had been helped by the scholar in the past.
As for things that have already passed, as long as they are not too private, the withered one is confident that he can find out about them through conversation.
Angell pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Then I'll trouble you. It would be best if you could find out, but there's no need to force it if you can't."
Actually, there are many ways to explore this.
Angor could easily use the pretext of the Wall of Inquiry to have Normefens ask the questions.
But this could alert the enemy.
Even if he had laid the groundwork beforehand, not just any topic could be asked.
The Decayer, however, actually had the right to ask, since it went to Elsa's dungeon to find her because "Liriel owed the Cruel Scholar a favor."
With just a little tact, or even without deliberate planning, asking directly won't seem too abrupt.
More than half an hour had passed after we finished talking about Liriel.
In the void.
Nomefens looked at Angel, who had his eyes closed, and hesitated for a moment before asking, "Liriel's progress is very fast. Should I hide the Easter egg?"
While maintaining his illusionary clone, Angor also checked on Liriel's progress.
As Normiffens said, Lillie has found the answers to the first two questions, and is only missing the "Easter egg" for the last question.
The "Easter egg" that Normefens initially placed was on the rooftop of the tallest building in the city illusion, and it was quite eye-catching with neon lights flashing.
Liriel had already set off towards the Easter egg.
If all goes well, we should arrive in a few more minutes.
But seeing that Angor's side wasn't finished yet, Normefens wondered if it should change the location of the Easter egg. After all, the interpretation of the Easter egg was in its hands; it could say that the neon lights on the top of the building weren't signs, but just advertisements, which would be perfectly acceptable.
"Never mind, I'm almost done here too." Angell thought for a moment and decided it wasn't necessary.
Anyway, the problem here has been mostly resolved.
For now, we only need to answer a few questions that the Dead Ones are interested in to finish, so there's no need to deliberately hide any Easter eggs.
Normefens nodded. It didn't really want to change the location of the Easter egg, because the city was too big and Lillie only had one hour. It was a rare opportunity to find a prominent location where she could control the time. If it were in another place, she might not be able to find it within an hour.
Angor closed his eyes, his thoughts returning to the illusionary clone.
"It's almost over on Liriel's side." Angor had already told the Decayer about Liriel's situation.
The withered creature immediately realized that its time in this illusion might be running out.
Angell: "I've estimated the time, and I should be able to answer two or three more of your questions. If there's anything you're really eager to know, you can ask me now."
"We'll have another chance to meet later. For those with lower priority, you can ask about them later."
The withered one asked the first question almost without hesitation: "How are the Elan and the Prushas doing now?"
Angell: "Don't worry, they are being settled."
—Actually, they haven't landed yet; most of them are still standing in front of the dream gate. But saying "being settled in" isn't wrong.
It's worth noting that he had already contacted Laplace, and basic caregivers had begun to be mobilized.
Furthermore, Angor plans to find a suitable place for them to settle down as soon as they leave the Labyrinth of Interrogation.
The withered creature also breathed a sigh of relief. Angel had repeatedly stated that the placement was underway, but it still couldn't rest easy, as it couldn't help but worry without seeing it with its own eyes.
"When will I be able to see them?" the withered one asked his second question.
Angell: "You'll see them when you truly step into the world of deep dreams."
"Isn't the Labyrinth of Questions in the Deep Dream World?" the withered one asked in confusion.
Angel nodded, then shook his head: "It can be there, but it can also not be. You can think of it as the Interrogation Labyrinth being an independent space. Although it belongs to the Deep Dream World, it doesn't necessarily exist within the Deep Dream World."
The withered one hurriedly asked, "Then how can I step into the Deep Dream World?"
Angell was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I can't give a definite answer to this question."
Seeing the somewhat disappointed look on the withered one's face, Angor thought for a moment and added, "Actually, when I learned that your memories had not been blocked, I knew that the world's will had already granted you the qualification to enter."
The withered man's eyes lit up.
"However, the World Will is also well aware that the influence of a demon god on the world is enormous. Just like the Southern Region, which has been nearly destroyed many times due to the descent of demon gods, this is also a kind of wear and tear on the World Will."
"Therefore, it doesn't care about the demon god, but it won't allow the demon god to destroy Deep Dream."
"Therefore, it grants you the qualification, but does not immediately give you the ability to walk in the deepest dreams."
Angell looked at the withered one: "You should be able to guess the reason."
The withered one was not stupid. It nodded: "...It's because I am located in the Chapter of the Heart in reality. Once I fall asleep, my consciousness enters the deep dream world, and the gods may discover something."
Angell gave him an approving look: "That's right, that's the reason."
"Based on my initial speculation, you might need to distance yourself from the cruel scholars—physically—before the Great Will can pull you back into the deep dream... But I don't know when you'll be able to distance yourself, so when you asked me in the Chapter of the Heart, I couldn't give you an answer."
"Now, I'm even less able to give you an answer."
"Because this time you were not pulled into the deep dream by the great will, but rather you broke in in an unconventional way."