prynovel Chapter 4305 Transgression
Chapter 4305 Transgression
Chapter 4305 Transgression
After the withered one finished speaking, the air fell into a brief silence.
When Liriel asked this question, she could already guess what the Decayer would say, but when she heard him finish recounting that past filled with heart-wrenching regret in such a calm and even tone, she couldn't help but be moved.
Almost everyone in this world carries a regretful past in their heart.
But for the decaying, it is an exceptionally painful experience.
Especially when considering the subsequent collapse of the Prusia civilization, leaving only it as the sole survivor, even as an outsider, Liriel felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness.
However, Liriel did not offer any comfort to the withered one.
Just as she had never wanted the Decayers to pity her.
They exchanged a glance before simultaneously turning their gaze to Normeffens. It was as if their earlier confessions of regret were merely a means to complete the task of "finding the type of problem Normeffens approves of," devoid of emotion, solely for the purpose of passing the level.
Normefens let out a short, hoarse laugh.
"Heh, although I don't like sentimentality, I do like sincere answers."
"So, you've passed this round."
Liriel and the Decayer should have shown joy, but whether it was due to the atmosphere or lingering effects, their expressions did not change much.
Normeffens: "However, I like emotional responses, but only for this round."
Lillie nodded almost without hesitation in acceptance.
She thought she could calmly recount those past events, but now she realizes that it was all just wishful thinking.
Therefore, even if Normeffens didn't say anything, she herself didn't want to touch on these topics anymore.
……
In the void.
Angell looked at the withered one with some surprise.
Whether its question was intentional or a lucky coincidence, it conveniently filled in the key element of Lillie's debt of gratitude to the cruel scholar—degree.
Angel had previously thought that perhaps some methods could be used to change Iriel's stance.
But after listening to Lillie's story, I realized that the debt she owed Astrid was an unbearable burden in her life.
Therefore, the cruel scholar held her in extremely high regard.
To fundamentally change her stance, the only way is to truly resolve Astrid's lifespan issue...
Angell sighed and continued reading.
……
The withered one asked Liriel with his eyes: "Would you like to go first this time?"
After a moment of silence, Lillie nodded.
They had previously tried sensational topics, which Nomefens disliked; while Nomefens approved of heartfelt topics, it expressed a dislike for sentimentality, so they could not use them again.
What other types of questions could pique its interest?
Liriel continued to put herself in the perspective of the tea party, wondering what topics could possibly capture the attention of the witches at such a gathering.
Let's skip the topic of dressing up and decorating; Normefens probably wouldn't like it.
Topics that are of interest to witches, such as the reopening of a certain ruin or the discovery of new magical materials in "The Dimensional Conquest Record," are of great interest to them, but Normefens probably doesn't need them, so they are excluded.
Topics related to knowledge and technology, such as those published in internal organization journals, involve their latest research on magical techniques, including directions for improvement, new nodes, and even newly created spells. These topics, difficult for outsiders to access, are shared by the witches at tea parties… Perhaps Normefens would like this topic? Let's keep it in mind for now.
Secrets and gossip are timeless topics at tea parties, appearing at every single one. From the private affairs of the witches and the hidden conflicts of famous wizards, to the anecdotes of faction leaders and even the long-forgotten stories of some legendary tale, everything can become a hot topic of discussion among the witches.
Moreover, the more these topics are discussed, the more heated they become. As far as Liriel knows, many male wizards will dress up as women and sneak into the tea party just to hear about these things.
Of course, what they care about isn't gossip, but all sorts of secrets.
Many hidden relics in the Southern Region were initially discovered through gossip at tea parties.
The witch is very good at piecing together seemingly unrelated clues, and there have even been cases where "a rare bird flew across the sky, and through subtle clues, from human culture to ecology, she pieced together the discovery of relics on an island hundreds of miles away."
This is something that a single witch cannot accomplish; it requires a group of witches to sit together, pool their wisdom and strengths, and each to utilize their individual strengths to achieve such accurate deduction and positioning.
This rarely happens at small tea parties, since the witches involved are mostly from the same region and have limited access to information.
However, in large or super-large tea parties, witches from all over gather together, verifying and dissecting the gossip and secrets they have heard, and often they can follow the clues and finally lock down the hidden interests behind them.
This is why, even though Lillier has been living in the abyss for many years, she still chose to cross over and attend the world-class tea party that the Savage Cave would be hosting soon.
"Perhaps this kind of topic can pique Nomefens's interest?" Liriel thought to herself.
She decided to give it a try.
But the question is, which is more appropriate: secrets or gossip?
As for secrets, ordinary factional gossip and clues from obscure ruins are probably of no interest to Normefens, who has seen it all.
As for the core secrets of top powers, or the long-forgotten past of ancient beings, would these decaying beings know them?
Looking at gossip, Normefens probably wouldn't be interested in ordinary grudges, entanglements, or rumors.
The gossip that might pique Normefens's interest is most likely related to secrets concerning powerful demons, gods, or even the ancients.
Putting everything else aside, the Decayer should know some gossip about the Demon God.
After all, it is a follower of the cruel scholar.
But if you directly ask it about the gossip of the Scholar, will it answer?
After much hesitation, Liriel finally spoke up: "Could you share some... interesting rumors about the Demon God?"
The withered man's expression froze: "?"
Liriel's eyes darted away as she added, "It doesn't necessarily have to be a rumor from the Cruel Scholar. Any interesting rumor about a demon god is fine, just treat it as gossip."
The withered one paused for a second, his breath coming in shallow gasps, and immediately guessed what Liriel meant.
Did they use the gossip of the gods to attract Nomephons' interest?
This is one possible solution.
Moreover, since she was the one who brought up the Demon God first, perhaps it could mention the Demon God to her later? For example, it could further mention the deal between the Cruel Scholar and her, or even their stance?
However, to be on par, it cannot talk about other demon gods; it is best to talk about the rumors of the cruel scholar.
The withered one pondered silently.
Although it was somewhat disrespectful, it had actually concealed something from the Scholar about the "Strange Dream," so the Decayer thought for a moment and then told a rumor about the Cruel Scholar.
"I've heard a rumor about the esteemed scholar, but I can't confirm whether it's true or not."
"It is said that each wisp of the Scholar's divine thought has a different personality. Some are arrogant, some are low-key, some prefer orthodox deduction, some like to plunder the achievements of others, and some divine thoughts even rebel against the body..."
"???" This was the first time Liriel had ever heard of the concept of a divine thought clone, and surprise flashed in her eyes.
The Decayer noticed that Normefens didn't seem surprised by this; perhaps it already knew about the rumor?
But thinking about it carefully, it makes sense; Normefenes and the Cruel Scholar are indeed related.
It's normal that it knows about these rumors.
But the rumors that the Decayer wanted to tell were not these. It paused for a moment and continued, "According to rumors, the Scholar released a large number of divine thought clones to plunder knowledge for himself, and there was also a reason for this: he was preparing a way out for himself."
"A backup plan?" Liriel asked curiously.
The withered one nodded: "Gods are no different from ordinary people; they die when they are killed."
"Many demon gods have fallen in the abyss, so almost every demon god prepares a way out for himself, and the Scholar is no exception."
"Because the Venerable Scholar has many divine thought clones, and he is away from home most of the year and rarely returns to the divine realm, it is natural for some people to speculate that these divine thought clones are actually the Venerable Scholar's clones."
"If the essence of the Knowledge Lord is severely damaged or even annihilated, He can return from these scattered divine manifestations..."
The Decayer: "However, it is easy to return, but not easy to regain authority. Therefore, there is a rumor that the Scholar has divided his core authority in two. His main body has one core authority, and another core authority is also buried in one of his divine consciousness avatars."
"Of course, this is just a rumor. Even though I have a deep connection with the Scholar, I cannot confirm whether it is true or false."
After finishing speaking, the withered one spread his hands, issuing a disclaimer.
It wasn't actually lying; it genuinely didn't know whether the rumor was true or false.
However, it knew that the cruel scholar, upon hearing this rumor, had sneered: 'This is the work of an ominous prank.'
In other words, He proved that the rumor itself was the work of other demons.
The ominous evil play is most adept at manipulating desires and bewitching people, so it is in line with its persona to spread such rumors about it.
But would a god really dare to use lies against another god?
The decaying one does not know.
Whether one dares or not, the moment one begins to ponder this question, the ominous rumor has already succeeded.
The Decayer didn't involve the "Ominous Play," after all, the other party's power lay in sowing discord and bewitching. If it had spoken out and made Liriel start to ponder the discord involved, the Ominous Play might have also turned its attention to this place.
Therefore, the withered one would certainly not mention the name of a god indiscriminately, but if he is just talking about this rumor, there is no need to worry about attracting any ominous evil.
After listening, Liriel was shocked. She never expected that the Decayer would actually tell gossip about a demon god, and that the logic of it sounded self-consistent.
Most importantly, it tells gossip about ruthless scholars!
As a follower, isn't it presumptuous to talk about gossip about the gods you believe in?
Although Liriel's mind was in turmoil, she had to admit that the gossip told by the Decayer was quite intriguing. Even at a tea party, it would be a topic that the witches could talk about for three days and three nights.
This problem should satisfy Normeffens, right?
Liriel glanced at Nomefens, but the latter showed no expression.
At that moment, the voice of the withered one came: "It's my turn to ask."
Liriel nodded, indicating that the withered one could ask whatever he wanted.
The Decaying One pondered for a moment, then asked, "You mentioned before that you want to save your students, and your target is the Old City. I'm curious, do you really believe that a way to redeem the Old City exists?"
The withered one originally wanted to ask: how could she change her stance towards the cruel scholar?
This was a problem he had envisioned from the beginning.
However, after hearing Lillie's account of her "most regrettable thing," the Decayer knew very well how much Astrid meant to her.
Therefore, the Decayer could already guess that the only way to change Iriel's stance was to truly help Astrid prolong his life.
But the Decayers could not solve Astrid's lifespan problem.
Therefore, asking about changing one's stance is pointless.
After a moment's thought, the Decaying One decided to take an even bolder approach—it would deconstruct the weight of the Cruel Scholar's answer!
Although this was very unfair to the gods, the only way it could think of was to reduce Liriel's trust in the cruel scholars and shake her resolve, so that it could have a chance to change her stance.
Therefore, the withered ones questioned whether the "Old City" truly possessed a method for prolonging life.
This question can also be broken down into: Do you really believe the answers given by the cruel scholars? What if the Old City has no way to prolong life?
Liriel hadn't expected the Decayer to ask such a question.
Isn't this questioning whether the cruel scholar's claims are false?
Liriel was somewhat puzzled. Wasn't the Decayer a follower of the Scholar? Why would he ask such an obviously presumptuous question?
Although Liriel felt strange, she had to admit that the Decayer's question was still within the scope of "gossip," only the object of the gossip had become herself.
Liriel hesitated for a moment, then slowly spoke:
"I cannot be certain whether there is a way to prolong life in the City of the Past, but I have dealt with many powerful beings in the Abyss, and when they mention the City of the Past, they all believe that there is a possibility of creating miracles there."
"Furthermore, I don't think a cruel scholar would lie to me..."
As Liriel spoke, she looked at the Decayer: "You should know the Cruel Scholar better than I do. Do you think He would lie to me?"
The withered one did not answer immediately, but looked at Normefens first.
Normfins: "Keep asking, I don't want to be interrupted halfway through a good show."
When Normefens said "Let's watch the show," Liriel and the Decayer immediately realized that their answer had been "right"!
Liriel had initially found it strange that the Decayer was overstepping its bounds; but now she "finally understood" that the Decayer's questions might be a carefully orchestrated strategy.
It's a strategy to attract Nomefens!
Dry, individual gossips are indeed uninteresting; but a situation with questions and answers, and even counter-questions and challenges, is much more interesting than a rigid, formulaic inquiry.
This actually happens at tea parties!
The witches disagreed on their beliefs, broke off relations, questioned each other, and eventually became irreconcilable enemies.
This seems to be a private conflict, and nobody likes it.
But in reality... the witches at the tea party all loved watching this kind of scheming and intrigue.
Perhaps the Decaying One discovered this and set up such a dialogue scene?