"Betrayal? You mean Viscount Field was abandoned as a pawn by the real mastermind?" After thinking for a moment, Grego turned to ask, listening to James's words.
"That's obvious. Field didn't anticipate this situation either."
James said. Clearly, based on Field's performance just now, he didn't want to die, and he hadn't anticipated his mutation. In his understanding, he shouldn't be mutating now.
Why? Regarding this, James thought of a butler-like figure who gave Field a cup of tea before he left with them.
If... that cup of tea was a drug to suppress his mutation, then his mutation definitely wouldn't have come so quickly. Field felt at ease following them to the An Yin Bureau precisely because he drank that tea.
But what if that cup of tea wasn't a drug to suppress mutation, but rather one to stimulate it?
Field, as an abandoned pawn, mutates within the An Yin Bureau, releasing toxic gas that destroys the entire An Yin Bureau, thereby reducing one threat to the real mastermind.
Thinking this, James, suppressing his discomfort, looked at the Hunters lying on the ground and wailing around him, and couldn't help but frown.
Now, although the toxic gas didn't destroy the An Yin Bureau, it temporarily paralyzed it. In this situation, neither the Hunters nor James himself could take action. They could only hope that the Church people would arrive quickly to see how much could be restored in a short time, so they could recover as soon as possible and then pursue the mastermind.
Intuition told James that since even a pawn like Field had been abandoned, the mastermind might be planning a major move.
...
In the afternoon, in the northern mountains of Igwinte, deep within a dense forest, stood a large mansion villa.
This mansion has four floors, not tall but very wide. Nearly ten windows are arranged on either side of the main entrance. It has red walls, a sloped roof, pointed corners, and a long iron fence enclosing a spacious courtyard. Within the courtyard are trimmed bushes and a small fountain, with some gardeners and security guards moving around.
This is one of Viscount Field's villas in the northern mountains, and also the most deeply hidden. It was built and passed down by the previous generation of Viscount Field. In fact, since six years ago, the de facto owner here has quietly changed in secret.
Inside a spacious room by the window, an old man named Luer, dressed in a butler's uniform, was sitting on the main seat of the sofa with his legs crossed, flipping through a book with a green cover. Beside him was a servant attentively making tea for him.
Although wearing a butler's uniform, Luer was now in the posture of a master, and this was the normal state of this villa. In the inside story unknown to the citizens of Igwinte, when he was in this villa, he had long been the true master.
Six years ago, Luer, who was being pursued, encountered Field who was traveling. Luer then used the "Cup" method to corrupt him, making him his puppet, disguised himself as Field's butler, and returned to Igwinte with Field. He then used Field to develop his own power in Igwinte, created the Red Communion Society, and prepared for his own advancement.
And now, the time was almost right.
At this moment, a knock echoed in the room. Luer, who was reading, spoke directly.
"Come in."
As soon as Luer finished speaking, the door opened, and Bill, dressed in a sharp suit, walked in. He came before Luer, bowed, and said.
"Mentor, the ritual site has been arranged. We are just waiting for the Holy Hour."
"Mm, you've worked hard. Years of preparation were for today. It's time to settle affairs in Igwinte." Luer nodded in response, a hint of ruthlessness showing in his eyes.
"When I advance to Chalk, I will make those guys in Tivian pay the price."
Bill straightened up, looking at Luer with a hint of worry, and slowly said.
"Mentor, I'm still a little worried about that mysterious organization. Will they take advantage of this opportunity to make a move?"
"Don't worry, that so-called organization is nothing in my eyes. The reason they were able to severely injure Buck and the others was largely by leveraging the power of the An Yin Bureau. Now that Field has mutated inside the An Yin Bureau, even if it doesn't destroy it, it can at least cripple them. Without momentum to borrow, I don't believe those guys can pull off any tricks."
While speaking, Luer closed the book in his hand and placed it on the table. The title written on the cover of this book was - "Exploration Log of Voodoo Forest".
"Mentor spent a full three years using Spirit Sight to slowly turn Field into a gas monster, precisely for this moment. Field mutating inside the An Yin Bureau, heh... I suppose even with James present, it would be enough for them to suffer..."
Looking at the secret transmission on the table, Bill said with emotion. Due to the different types of Spirit Sight, the final mutated monster would also be different. Like Field, who was thanks to this secret transmission, Field, like the author of this exploration log, was ultimately cursed to become a poisonous plant.
"Field was the most useful pawn I've ever used. Even if I achieve great success and eternal life in the future, I won't forget him." With a slight smile, Luer gave his evaluation of Field, then looked at Bill and continued.
"Alright, it's almost night. The Holy Hour is approaching. Let's go make the final preparations."
"Yes, Mentor."
Then, Luer and the others slowly walked out of the room, and on the wall by the window of the room they had just been talking in, a gecko was clinging there, flicking its tongue.
...
In a forest about two kilometers away from Field's villa, a carriage was parked. Dorothy was sitting inside the carriage with a tight frown.
Through tracking with the Beacon Sigil, after confirming that the target had reached the destination villa, Dorothy parked the carriage at the edge of the Corpse Puppet control radius. She then used a crow Corpse Puppet to carry other small Corpse Puppets and fly to the distant villa. After landing on the villa's roof, she began a full-scale reconnaissance.
Through the passive ability brought by Appraisal, Dorothy could directly see items with high Spirituality in her field of vision. Therefore, she bypassed the few Extraordinary detection devices like Hui Jian Lamps in the house and carefully gathered information from every corner of the house, preparing for the subsequent raid. However, the information she had just gathered greatly surprised her.
'Holy crap, that butler is actually the Mentor? Viscount Field, who the An Yin Bureau captured, was just a puppet?! And a puppet that can mutate into a gas bomb? Now the An Yin Bureau might be paralyzed...'
Dorothy thought with a surge of emotion. At this moment, she started to worry about Grego, hoping he wouldn't have any problems in this wave of gas attack.
In any case, the current situation was greatly beyond Dorothy's expectations. Her original plan was for the An Yin Bureau to tie down the Mentor, while she would deal with the henchmen at the stronghold and rescue the children, and then loot the place before the An Yin Bureau arrived. But now, her plan was completely messed up.
The Mentor performed a successful golden cicada shedding its shell and escaped back, and the shell he shed temporarily crippled the An Yin Bureau. Now, the stronghold Dorothy had to face was not just full of henchmen. The Red Communion Society's Mentor, a Black Earth Stage Extraordinary, was personally present, possibly with one or two Apprentices plus a bunch of mortal small fries. How is she supposed to fight that?!
Thinking this, Dorothy's face became very grim, and Vanya, who was beside her, couldn't help but feel worried.
'Ah... what happened to her? Did the intelligence gathering fail? As expected, gathering intelligence from such a long distance is very difficult. Even I, a Bright Guide, can't do it. Although I don't know what kind of Extraordinary she is, isn't she pushing herself too hard...'
Looking at the grim and gloomy face of the girl beside her, who was about two years younger than herself, Vanya thought this. She had been startled when she heard Dorothy wanted to gather intelligence from such a distance.
"Um... Miss Dorothea, did you see anything in that villa? Did you find those children? If we really can't get the intelligence, how about we go back? We can tell the An Yin Bureau about this place and let them work with the Church to destroy this blood-eating cult's stronghold."
Vanya said to Dorothy. Facing the vicious blood-eating "Cup" cult, she was still a little scared. She thought that since they had confirmed the location, they should quickly go back and report it, letting the professionals handle it. She was just an administrative Sister, and it was best to stay as far away from such dangerous places as possible.
Listening to Vanya's words, Dorothy gave a bitter smile, then spoke.
"Go back? Heh... I'm afraid it's too late. The ritual is about to be held, and those children are probably in grave danger. Moreover, even if we go back and tell the An Yin Bureau now, they probably won't be able to handle this matter at the moment.
"Now... perhaps only you and I can save the situation."
"Huh..."
Listening to Dorothy's words, Vanya's stunned expression froze on her face.