Chapter 419: Section 207: Fooling the Priest
The survivors had snatched all the Devil’s Coins, but most of them were used up at the auction.
Only a few Devil’s Coins remained, which were then evenly split between Zi Di and Cang Xu.
Among them, the amount Zi Di had was even lesser.
Therefore, Zi Di was the first to recover to normal.
She also figured out the details of how the contractual power worked: originally, during the period the contract was in effect, its power was diminishing constantly, but the rate of decay remained at an average level. Until the final moment, it would collapse suddenly, plummeting to zero.
This also caused Zi Di’s misjudgment.
Had she known it worked this way, the strategy she would have taken would have been different.
Zi Di returned to normal.
At this instant, she was stunned in place.
Her will being restored to its original state, a powerful and complex torrent of emotions swept over her like a vast tide.
Fear.
“I can’t believe I did this, unimaginable methods, how did I fall for it?”
Relief.
“Thank goodness, the power of the contract dissipated, and I did not transfer the Deep Sea Monster Fish.”
Self-blame.
“My actions put everyone in danger. We were just one step away from having our secret exposed.”
Alertness and tension.
“The Naga Priest is right before my eyes, what to do?”
She was a Golden Level Spellcaster.
While the Deep Sea Monster Fish was merely a ship powered by demon energy at the Golden Level.
If there had been some distance between them, there would have been room to maneuver. But now, they were almost face to face, the proximity too close.
The Naga Priest could definitely break through the defenses, and with a pin-point attack, breach into the cabins of the Deep Sea Monster Fish.
And on the ship, there was not a single Golden Level guardian, not even a Silver Level one.
No, to be accurate, there was one at the Silver Level.
That was the ghost Lan Lu.
In life, he was a Silver Level Two-headed Ogre Mage.
After death, he became a Silver Level Undead Mage.
But Lan Lu had been injured in the ambush attack on the skinny one. His condition had been poor ever since, and without a Soul Crystal, recovery was difficult.
Even if Lan Lu were whole, he was no match for the Naga Priest.
Zi Di had no confidence in having him confront a Golden Level.
“We can’t let her see any flaws! Otherwise, the Deep Sea Monster Fish may well change hands.”
“Fortunately, she mistook my identity.”
“No, she shouldn’t have!”
“Deception and Disguise Skill, she didn’t see through it, always mistaking the Deep Sea Monster Fish for a living being, for a giant Fishman. But giant Fishmen are rare.”
“At the same time, with such distinct characteristics, it’s almost impossible for the Naga Priest to mistake it.”
“Does that mean there actually exists such an image of a Fishman Divine Envoy?”
Zi Di’s mind raced, guessing part of the truth.
Her eyes sparkled with insight, “It’s likely that the War Merchant who constructed the Deep Sea Monster Fish intentionally designed it with this image in mind.”
“The War Merchant is a goblin, not of the Human Race, and even in opposition to the Empire. He’s a big arms manufacturer and smuggler, so why design it with this image?”
“Could it be that he’s been dealing arms to the Fishmen, or does he have some deceitful scheme to impersonate a Fishman Divine Envoy, to achieve some unspeakable purpose?”
Zi Di’s thoughts branched out, thinking more and more.
Seeing the Fishman Divine Envoy fall silent, the Naga Priest asked, “Divine Envoy, have you already acquired the Holy Corpse?”
Zi Di was startled, her train of thought interrupted.
However, this question brought her some hints.
She had already speculated about the sudden appearance of the Zi Lin Fishman and the situation with the sea-level corpse.
Now with the Naga Priest asking like this, Zi Di felt even more convinced: this must be one of the main objectives from the Fishmen’s side.
Zi Di was just about to admit that the sea-level corpse was in her hands.
But after a thought, she felt it was not appropriate.
In case the other party asked for it, she was unwilling to hand over the Holy Corpse.
It was incredibly valuable.
Not something one could easily purchase in the market.
For example, Twin Eyes Island’s most recent auction was the largest scale ever, but there wasn’t a hint of Holy Domain Level material.
The Holy Domain Level was above the Golden Level, and even if fallen, it wasn’t something the survivors could get their hands on.
“And just blurting it out could also become a weakness.”
Zi Di took a deep breath, deliberately using a calm tone, “You need not worry, Priest, everything is under the arrangement of my lord.”
She didn’t say outright that the sea-level corpse was in her hands, nor did she deny it, her tone ambiguously maintained.
The Priest quickly filled in the blanks, joy appearing on her face, “Praise be to our lord!”
She knew she had an important mission, but after going all out, the death of the Zi Lin Fishman hit her hard!
She couldn’t understand why the Zi Lin Fishman was discovered and struck by the main cannon, deeply worried that the mission would end in failure.
Hoping against hope, she rushed to the scene of the incident, where she discovered the giant Fishman.
From her perspective, she immediately conjectured: The deity foresaw this outcome. Thus, not only did he send me, but he also sent a Fishman Divine Envoy. The Divine Envoy lay in wait at the sea bottom, and when the beam cannon destroyed the Holy Corpse, he took action in time and saved the plan!
“If not for the Divine Envoy, the mission would have completely failed based on my actions alone,” the Naga Priest felt extremely fortunate.
She guessed that Chi Lai had been affected by the Devil’s Coin, but she didn’t suspect the Fishman Divine Envoy standing before her.
Zi Di continued in a calm voice, “Next, Priest, you will direct the Fishmen to withdraw. If they do not heed your command, then you must leave immediately, and do not worry about their life and death.”
“What is this?” the Naga Priestess wondered.
She guessed that Hun Tong had “betrayed,” and now the situation was greatly favorable.
But the Divine Envoy was asking her to retreat?
Hesitation was only for a moment, and the Naga Priestess immediately knelt in worship, “I understand, Divine Envoy!”
Despite her confusion, she chose to obey.
She was a priest.
Though she didn’t understand the command from the Divine Envoy, the incident with the sea corpse had already proven the Divine Envoy was correct.
“My lord had predicted this place.”
“The current favorable situation is merely an illusion.”
“Indeed.”
“The power of the Devil’s Coin may influence momentarily, but there are many forces that can counteract its power.”
“Which deity’s power is the strongest? Without a doubt, it is the Holy Bright Empire!”
“I must not rely too much on the Devil’s Coin, after all, it is an artifact of the Outer God.”
The Naga Priestess spoke, “I will take action immediately, what about you, Divine Envoy?”
Zi Di then answered, “You need not concern yourself with my actions. Your task is already complete, priestess. Go, all is arranged by our lord.”
Zi Di placed everything on the deities.
The Naga Priestess was not a fighter, nor a Mage, but a Divine Officer.
Indeed, very effective!
Once it involved the deity of her faith, the Naga Priestess instinctively stopped thinking and just wanted to obey.
Even with doubts, she would persuade herself deep in her heart.
The Naga Priestess left her original location and began to contact other Fishmen.
Zi Di controlled the Deep Sea Monster Fish to stealthily move in another direction.
As the distance between them widened, Zi Di finally confirmed that she had successfully tricked away a Golden Level adversary.
She truly breathed a sigh of relief, a sense of exhaustion spreading through her heart.
But the next moment, she immediately used the alchemy device to communicate, telling the Dragon-man youth and the others everything that happened to her.
Zi Di also suggested, “I hope you can meet with me soon, to guard the Deep Sea Monster Fish.”
“I do not know how exactly I fell for it.”
“But in case this happens again, the affected members among us can be stopped by their companions.”
“The Deep Sea Monster Fish must not be lost!”
“The secrets of Mysterious Monster Island must not be exposed now!!”
Zi Di did not know about the existence of the Devil’s Coin.
In fact, the power of the contract only worked this one time.
But she was truly frightened, and the suggestion was very wise.
“Such a thing happened!” The Dragon-man youth and Zong Ge were greatly shaken.
Their communication with Zi Di also confirmed their previous guess—Cang Xu was indeed not himself!
“But what exactly did we fall for?”
“No matter what, we must meet with Zi Di as soon as possible.”
“How to deal with Cang Xu?”
“He knows too much, what if he panics and outright exposes our secrets?”
The Dragon-man youth and Zong Ge both felt it was a dilemma.
And just then, clarity suddenly returned to Cang Xu’s eyes.
He was back to normal.
“What just happened… Damn!”
Intense emotions shook his soul, leaving him stunned in place.
Chi Lai’s eyes suddenly brightened, spotting an enemy’s flaw, and he threw the stone column he used as a weapon into the air toward Cang Xu.
But the next moment, the Dragon-man youth leaped at Cang Xu, and, being a moment too late, was “coincidentally” hit by the stone column.
Chi Lai was shocked and immediately apologized with guilt, “I’m sorry, squad leader, that was not intentional.”
The Dragon-man youth fell to the ground, covered in dust, and nodded to Chi Lai, “No worries, but after this, we really should train on our teamwork in combat.”
Chi Lai was touched to see the Dragon-man youth not blaming him.
He found that Long Fu possessed a leader’s forgiving qualities.
This had happened several times, but he had never blamed him.
On the other hand, Cang Xu, given “cover,” came back to his senses and immediately backed away.
Countless ghosts wailed, raising a bone-chilling storm around him, protectively, with a terrifying and astounding presence.
“Having revealed my identity as an Undead Mage, the trouble is great this time,” Cang Xu sighed within.
Knowing he could not stay for long, he decided to leave the island and withdraw from the battlefield.
“But what about Qing Xin?”
Cang Xu’s flight slowed as he looked towards Qing Xin not far away, not sure what to say to gain her trust.
However, Qing Xin’s reaction was unexpected; she took the initiative to fly to Cang Xu’s side, “Let’s go, what are you waiting for?!”
Cang Xu was astonished.
Qing Xin’s reaction was quite peculiar!
After all, he was an Undead Mage.
But then Qing Xin added, “I’ll explain later, we should leave first while it’s still chaotic, let’s leave Twin Eyes Island straight away.”
“Ok!” Cang Xu and Qing Xin flew together towards the Iron Lump.
Ya Ma stared hard at their retreating figures but did not pursue.
Her summons had suffered greatly after Cang Xu used the Undead Magic.
Facing an Undead Mage of the same level, Ya Ma did not have much confidence.