129: Demon Flame Crystal Core

Inside the room. Lister, lying on his bed before midnight had fully arrived, performed today's divination.

【Divination 1: The Black Witch Church's Grand Deacon, Mackintosh Eli, will lead men late tonight to scatter Flame Oil along the main road of Aetheria, masking it with concealment Wizardry. He has hidden the Magic Flame Crystal Core, specially borrowed by the Bishop, inside the wall of the innermost room on the third floor of a hotel in the corner of the West City.】

【Divination 2: Tina Saint-Bridget, the Saintess of the Church of the Goddess of Revenge lurking in Aetheria, has shown great interest in you after you were welcomed into the Earls Manor. She has had Deacon Modima Archibald arrange for people to track and monitor your movements.】

【Divination 3: Tomorrow at noon, Brutus's close friend and fellow Church Academy graduate, Aldington Dick, will be brought to the East City of Aetheria by Slave traders to be sold, after being deceived and framed by his beloved in collusion with a noble's son.】

Upon seeing the first divination message, Lister's eyes lit up.

The Magic Flame Crystal Core!

Magic Flame Crystal is a very rare resource; its crystal contains a special elemental energy within the fire element: Magic Flame.

Transcendentals who cultivate magic power, if they can successfully absorb the Magic Flame within, will possess powerful Magic Flame energy bestowed upon them.

The Magic Flame Crystal Core is the heart of a Magic Flame Crystal, and condensing one is incredibly difficult.

If the Magic Flame energy contained within were released without any restraint, it could burn Ironthorn Town to ashes in a very short time.

If driven by magic power, it would generate even greater destructive force. It can also be combined with established magic or other special powers of Transcendentals, resulting in different effects and varying levels of power.

Flame Oil is a highly flammable substance; combined with the energy of the Magic Flame Crystal Core, the damage inflicted among a crowded festival gathering would undoubtedly cause significant casualties.

The people of the Black Witch Church are truly ruthless!

Sighing to himself, Lister carefully examined the location where the Magic Flame Crystal Core was hidden.

He guessed that Mackintosh did not carry it on his person, likely fearing that if he were discovered while executing his mission, he wouldn't be able to guarantee its safety.

This worked out perfectly for him. He wasn't sure of the strength of this Grand Deacon Mackintosh, but he assumed it was certainly not weak.

Therefore, avoiding a direct confrontation was naturally the best outcome for him.

His gaze shifted to the second divination message...

Targeted by a woman again?

Shaking his head, Lister didn't know what to say.

But let them target him if they wanted; at least the current divination didn't show the Church of the Goddess of Revenge planning any 'earth-shattering' events.

Although he didn't know their specific purpose, for now, he could label them as 'behaved and compliant.'

If possible, he wouldn't mind having a brief interaction with them; perhaps he could probe into their objectives.

Even if he couldn't, keeping them occupied and making them behave was a good thing.

After all, he had gone to the trouble of coming to Aetheria and naturally didn't want to stir up unnecessary trouble.

Looking at the third divination message, Lister immediately sat up straight.

Brutus's close friend, also a graduate of the Church Academy.

A genuine talent!

The development of Ironthorn Territory was now on the right track, but talent was still in very short supply.

Because he was usually busy cultivating or doing unpredictable things based on his divinations, the handling of official business in Ironthorn Territory was almost entirely done by Brutus alone.

As for those in charge of other departments, honestly, they could only manage their own small patches of land.

There were simply not many educated people in Ironthorn Territory who could handle serious official business.

Sometimes he even feared that if Brutus kept working this hard, he might one day drop dead at his post.

Now, it was great; having his friend Aldington Dick come to help would definitely relieve most of the pressure on him.

However, after reading about this guy's experience, Lister couldn't help but click his tongue.

How could this cliché trope of being framed by a lover in collusion with another man still exist in this world?

After silently feeling sorry for his tragic encounter, Lister moved his mind and put away the ancient book before him.

Without hesitation, he called over Red and the other two, and together they quickly left the manor.

Fortunately, the guarding Soldiers had been notified by Bruel during the day, so they did not block their departure.

Of course, this was also because there was no curfew in Aetheria at night; otherwise, their actions would certainly have aroused suspicion and questioning.

After leaving the manor, the four of them hurried along the streets toward the corner of the West City.

Along the way, although most vendors had closed for the night, the taverns and entertainment venues were bustling.

However, curfew or not, there were still many patrol squads consisting of knights and Soldiers patrolling back and forth on the streets at night.

Fortunately, the four of them looked like decent people, so they were not stopped for inspection along the way.

Soon, the four of them arrived at the hotel from Lister's divination.

Judging by its appearance, it was a very ordinary, even somewhat dilapidated hotel; no wonder it was opened in such a remote place as the corner of the West City.

After fully observing the streets and exits around the hotel, the four of them strode inside.

Seeing them dressed in fine attire, the middle-aged hotel owner with a goatee came over with a smile and asked: "Four distinguished guests, do you need a room?"

"That's right, do you still have any rooms on the third floor?"

Hearing Lister's inquiry, the owner nodded with a smile: "Yes, yes, yes, of course, there is one right across from the stairwell, and there is also..."

After listening, Lister slapped his hand on the table and placed the money down: "We'll take the one you mentioned, the one right across from the stairs."

The owner was stunned. He looked at Red and the other two behind him and asked in surprise: "Distinguished guests, there are four of you; you only want one room?"

"Yes, one room will do."

Lister knew what he was thinking but didn't say much; after all, he was out to get things done, and it was convenient for the four of them to stay in one room.

Moreover, after obtaining the Magic Flame Crystal Core, he planned to go and neutralize the Flame Oil set by the Black Witch Church members, and then rush back to the Earls Manor; naturally, there was no need to book extra rooms.

"Well, alright then." The owner said with a drooping face.

Seeing Lister and his group, he had hoped to make a bit more money today, but he hadn't expected them to be four gays.

Taking the keys, the four of them walked toward the stairs under the owner's strange gaze.

Just as the owner said, the room was positioned right across from the stairs, and anyone coming down from either side would be within their range of perception.

Moreover, because the hotel was so small, with their perception, they could already sense the presence of everyone in the surrounding rooms.

However, when this perception reached the innermost room, it was completely blocked by a faint magical energy.

Thus, Lister understood that those from the Black Witch Church, just like the four of them, were also staying in the same room.

With this, the four of them would have much better surveillance over them.

Accompanied by the chirping of winter insects at night, time quickly reached late night.

Creak~

The sound of a door opening at the far end of the hallway suddenly reached the ears of Lister and his group, who were sitting and waiting in their room.

Immediately after, a series of soft 'pat, pat, pat' footsteps slowly sounded in the hallway, then passed by their door and headed down the stairs.

Soon, the footsteps vanished completely, and the figures in their perception had also left entirely.

Lister told Red and the other two to wait in the room first, while he opened the door lightly and walked toward the Black Witch Church's room.

Looking at the door, Lister did not touch it directly with his hands but released his mental power to perceive it.

The next second, a strange black magic power appeared before his eyes.

After observing it carefully, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it was only a common magic protection technique; its durability was far inferior to that of a defensive magic array.

Lister had previously studied many types of Wizardry, and the Wizard's Magic Shield was similar in principle, so he was already very familiar with it.

As a flash of blue magic power passed from his hand, the black protective magic attached to the door immediately dissipated.

In an instant, his perception, which had previously been unable to penetrate the room, passed through the door without any obstruction.

Under his perception, there was no sign of anyone in the room, which showed that the Black Witch Church members had gone out in full force.

A minute later, Lister, having called over Red and the other two, entered the room together.

Looking at the clean environment around them, Spartacus looked surprised and whispered: "Lord Lister, I didn't expect these rats from the gutter to be so clean."

Nodding, Lister was also a bit surprised, but he didn't pay too much attention and immediately gave a few instructions in a low voice.

Red and the other two immediately dispersed and searched the walls of the room.

Fortunately, the room was small, making it easy to search. Before long, Red found a small black box inside the wall on the west side.

Taking the box, Lister opened it and glanced inside, his expression immediately turning joyful, and then he put it directly into his storage ring.

"Let's go."

Without staying a moment longer, the four of them closed the door and walked quickly toward the stairs.

After reaching the first floor, Lister threw the room key to the hotel owner: "We are checking out."

After saying that, the four of them disappeared into the night, leaving the hotel owner confused.

...

In another luxurious hotel in the West City, inside a top-floor suite.

A young woman with a superb figure, dressed in a black lace dress, lay lazily on a fur sofa; she was none other than Tina Saint-Bridget, the Saintess of the Church of the Goddess of Revenge.

Although she was beautiful, the three black-robed figures standing respectfully not far away lowered their heads, not daring to look at her.

Suddenly, Tina asked in a lazy tone: "Modima, have you found out the specific identity of the young man I asked you to monitor?"

"I-I am sorry, Saintess, because that young man's caravan was arranged to stay inside the Earls Manor, our people could not infiltrate it."

"So, up to now, we have not found out his specific identity."

The one speaking was the middle-aged man in black robes who led the three.

Although his magic energy was well-concealed, the aura emanating from within was incredibly intimidating.

Yet, even such a powerful person, when facing Tina, did not dare to breathe loudly.

"You haven't found out?"

The lazy voice sounded again, clearly seductive, yet it made the three of them tremble, and they quickly knelt on one knee.

"This subordinate has failed, I beg the Saintess to give this subordinate one more chance; I will definitely have people find out as soon as possible."

Feeling the Saintess's gaze, Modima Archibald said, his voice trembling slightly.

Withdrawing her gaze, Tina smiled lightly, her tone unreadable: "Modima, I hope you won't let me down."

"This subordinate will definitely not disappoint you, Saintess." Modima said with a firm expression.

As the three figures disappeared from the room, a young woman dressed in black, ghost-like, suddenly appeared before Tina.

The next moment, she asked with a puzzled expression: "Saintess, is that young man really worth your attention?"

"Hehe, Nina, do you think someone welcomed by Count Flander's men and allowed to stay directly in the Earls Manor is not worth paying attention to?"

Tina smiled seductively and continued: "Besides, he is so young; he might just be the son of some great noble."

"If possible, we can even try to make contact with him; perhaps it could be of some help to the development of our Church."

"But, Saintess, he is a guest of Count Flander; how could he possibly agree to contact us, or even help us?" The woman in black said in disbelief.

As she finished speaking, Tina stood up, walked to the table with her shapely, snow-white legs, poured a glass of fruit wine, took a sip, and said: "We have no conflict of interest with Count Flander, so why can't we contact his guests?"

"Nina, you must understand, the royal family has never been the goal of our Church. If we just blindly stick to the old doctrines, we will never achieve the purpose for which our Church was founded."

"As for that young man, I have a strong premonition that he will definitely be a great help to our Church in the future, perhaps even saving the Church from disaster."

As she spoke, she looked at Nina and chuckled: "Nina, don't you believe in my premonition?"

Hearing her say this, Nina was surprised, but there was not a hint of disbelief in her expression; at the same time, she became even more curious about the young man's identity.

...

On the other side, after checking out, Lister and his group arrived at a tavern on the main street to have a drink while waiting for Mackintosh and his group to finish their setup.

It must be said that with Lister's face here, the group's attractiveness instantly rose by several levels.

Many young women came to their table one after another to strike up a conversation.

If not for the fanaticism in their eyes, Lister would have thought they were drink-pushers hired by the tavern.

Just like that, amidst the lively shouting and the flirting of beautiful women, Lister and his group waited until the second half of the night.

However, the appearance of a few people caught them quite by surprise.