Chapter 546 - 544: Hilia: Ah, This Isn’t the Headquarters?

Dawn City, Dawn Divine Hall.

City Lord Bois walked into the secret prayer room with the Divine Hall Bishop.

"Your Excellency, Bishop, we can’t delay any longer."

Bois said.

This time he came because of the sudden mutation in Dusk Town.

Although Dusk Town has been shrouded in pollution and deathly aura for years, they have long been accustomed to it, with the Dusk Sect stationed deep inside.

But at the same time, the presence of the Dusk Sect is still a thorn in their side.

Now, the once dormant pollution is suddenly surging, causing many beasts to turn into demons.

This situation made City Lord Bois the first to become restless.

The bishop of the Dawn Divine Hall felt similarly.

The difference is, he could still remain calm.

The bishop slowly said, "The situation in Dusk Town has already been reported to Huijin City, and they said they would send someone over. I am waiting for them."

"It’s been so long, haven’t they arrived yet?"

"They should be here soon. We received news from the Huijin Divine Hall that Lady Flora will be coming to support us. Judging by the time, she should be arriving shortly. Let’s go welcome her."

"Flora? Hmm... She seems to be a Tier Five Mage?"

"Yes, with another Tier Five Mage joining us, our actions will be much more assured." The bishop nodded.

Bois breathed a sigh of relief, "Alright, I’ll go with you to welcome her."

The two went outside, and soon a figure with flight permission descended from the sky, landing in front of them.

Flora disembarked from the aircraft, sizing up the two middle-aged men in front of her, "Hello, I am Flora."

The bishop and Bois were also sizing up what appeared to be an ordinary middle-aged woman. The bishop introduced, "This is Mr. Bois, the City Lord of Dawn City, Lady Flora. We welcome your arrival."

Bois said, "Lady Flora, you have come from afar, you must be tired. We have many specialties here, such as..."

Flora shook her head, interrupting Bois, "Sorry, Lord Bois, please give the order directly. I cannot stay here for long. We need to solve the problem in Dusk Town swiftly, as I must return immediately after fulfilling my mission."

Just as Bois was about to say something, the bishop interjected, "Then let’s listen to Lady Flora. Lord Bois, haven’t you already made preparations? Time is of the essence; let’s depart."

"Yes, it is best to depart immediately. We’ve delayed long enough; we can’t wait any longer," Flora said.

Bois pondered for a moment, then nodded, "Alright, the two of you, please follow me."

...

The area beyond the ’Nether River’ was mostly shrouded in dense deathly aura and pollution. The further they went, the heavier the deathly aura became, to the extent where even the demonic qi was thinned out.

In this environment, Hilia didn’t feel much, but when she used her Spiritual Power to scan, she realized the external pollution disturbance was actually caused by the internal fluctuation of deathly aura affecting it.

"Why has the deathly aura here turned like this?"

Hilia frowned, "It’s as if someone is chaotically stirring it, with no pattern to the disturbance."

Rose pondered for a moment and said, "From what we can see, the deathly aura here was extensively used, disrupting the balance between it and the pollution. Following that, new deathly aura emerged from unknown sources, forcibly forming a new balance with the pollution."

"However, achieving this new balance isn’t easy, thus resulting in a conflict between these two very different energies, like boiling oil suddenly having cold water poured into it, causing a tumultuous boil."

Hilia nodded with partial understanding and asked, "What consequences could this lead to?"

Rose chuckled, "Haven’t you already seen? As a result, the active demonic qi pollution will transform beasts and magical beasts, those originally resilient to pollution, into demons. But that’s just one apparent consequence. As for the hidden cult here, it’s uncertain what impact it will have on them. In any case, prepare for battle."

Hilia gripped her magic staff tightly.

They continued forward along a narrow path, everything ahead shrouded in a gray haze, making it impossible to see.

"Stop, turn left, into the dense forest." Rose suddenly instructed.

Hilia paused, then followed without hesitation, turning and entering the dense forest.

In the dense forest, some demons lurked, but they were generally weak, and Hilia easily evaded them.

Soon, she suddenly sensed a stable deathly aura gathering point ahead. Amidst the surging deathly aura and pollution, it was abrupt yet hidden, making it hard to detect from the outside.

Soon, she realized what it was.

A massive cult stronghold.

Like a town, it completely blended with the forest, hidden under the vast pollution and deathly aura, barely detectable from the outside.

Unlike the minor strongholds they encountered outside, this one was entirely different.

Hilia focused her mind, cautiously lurking and observing secretly.

"Lord Rose, the defensive forces of this stronghold seem very strong. Although no Tier Four cultists are currently visible guarding it, who knows if there are any in the shadows..."

"There are," Rose said confidently.

Saying this, he marked several targets for Hilia.

"A total of five Tier Four cultists, huh?"

Hilia sensed them, blinked, and found these cultists were very cunning, hiding in hard-to-detect places, observing the patrolling teams outside.

The patrolling teams were not high-ranking either, with five teams composed of one Tier Three leading four Tier Ones.

"Hmm... If that’s it, it doesn’t seem comparable to the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association’s main base..."

Hilia muttered.

Originally, she thought this was a main base, but seeing the defensive forces, perhaps it wasn’t.

But it was evidently still a relatively important stronghold.

Just...

Too arrogant.

"In such an obvious place, why is there no movement from Dawn City?" Hilia wondered, "Even if Dawn City does nothing, shouldn’t the Law Enforcement Knight Order take action and eliminate this obvious cult stronghold?"

Rose smiled slightly, "Obvious?"

"Not obvious?"

"Without my tip, would you have found it?"

Hilia was silent for a moment, "I probably would have kept following the small path... What would I encounter if I continued on that small path?"

"A barren land, and a gigantic skeleton."

"Giant skeleton... a dragon?"

"Yes."

Hilia realized.

It turns out that small path outside wasn’t formed by frequent movement between cult strongholds but was used to lure out patrol teams from outside.

The real stronghold was indeed hidden, and of considerable strength.

Hilia carefully observed the situation of the patrol teams and those marked Tier Four Mages, preparing to see if there was an opportunity to infiltrate inside.

"Just not sure if there are any Tier Five Mages..."