It was suddenly silent in the secret chamber. Michael and Rolan pondered what Mag said.

  Mag was silent as well. He might know a little more than the other two, but he was currently unable to ascertain whether his judgment was right.

  “If it’s the former, then the Great Old Ones had caused the previous world to be completely destroyed, and there was a very long gap in the world’s civilization before we developed to where we are once again,” Michael said with a frown. “But can those things really live for so long?”


  “If they are powerful enough to be able to destroy the world, I don’t think it’s very difficult for them to find some sort of method to go through this long period,” Mag continued calmly. “Moreover, the different races are just like weeds to them. They are just weeding all of us out.”


  Michael opened his mouth, but was stumped for words. “Er…… that’s true.”


  “If there’s a complete gap in terms of passing on the story, who could have done this? Shouldn’t the ancestors of each race warn their descendants knowing that such a scary devil exists?” Rolan raised his doubts.

  “The giant dragons believe in Dragone, the demons believe in Demone, the orcs believe in the Flerken, and the elves believe in the God of Life. Almost all the races have gods that they believe in, and this forms a strong belief system.

  “If the strength of these gods is dependent on belief, the Great Old Ones could become stronger by controlling the different races’ faith. The Evil God is very adept at controlling minds and hearts, so it could easily corrode and control those who are flawed in their souls.

  “The best way to rid the Norland Continent of the Great Old Ones is not to let everyone be cautious of them, but to make them become forgotten, thereby breaking the link with them. Therefore, the various gods also wiped out all the related records and memories of the Great Old Ones after sealing them.” Mag frowned slightly, and said, “All these are just my conjectures.”


  “The gods of the different races mostly exist only as legends. Although some supernatural events do occur, no one could be sure whether they happened because of the gods.” Michael shook his head. He thought for a while, and said, “As for the power of belief, if gods do exist, that probably exists too. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a case where each race has a god that they believe in.”


  “For the latter possibility, at least the different races have the protection of their gods. However, if it’s the former, how we should deal with the Great Old Ones, who are already getting restless, becomes one of the most difficult issues,” Rolan said with a frown.

  “No matter which it is, the most important thing to do right now is to end any possibility of races trying to overpower the others, make the entire continent wary of the appearance of the black fog, and find and kill the Great Old Ones, or find an even sturdier seal to put on them,” Mag said seriously.

  Michael and Rolan nodded in agreement. Just like what Mag said, those were the only things they could do now.

  “This is the stone statue that Rex passed me. He got this stone statue from the Urba Tribe. It should be the evil god that the tribe was praying to.” Mag took out the stone statue from the stone box, and placed it gently on the table.

  “Why would this ugly and disgusting thing become the totem of belief for the Urba Tribe?” Michael glanced at the stone statue, and felt a hint of frustration rise. He quickly looked away.

  “That’s the eerie part of it. If the tragedy of the Urba Tribe spread across the entire Norland Continent, that would be the world’s tragedy.” Mag kept the stone statue as its appearance caused the secret chamber to become eerily cold.

  “The Gray Temple will place the investigation of the black fog and the Great Old Ones on top priority. We will do our best in the investigation and surveillance,” Rolan said solemnly

  Michael added, “The city lord’s castle will try to build connections with the various races, and communicate with them to try to curb the spread of the black fog. Before we have any concrete evidence, I’m afraid it would be very difficult to extinguish the spark of war between the races.”


  “Alright. I will continue to take note of this matter. If there’s anything that I think of, I will approach you two immediately as well.” Mag nodded.

  The three continued with another round of short discussion about the black fog and the Great Old Ones. However, as they did not have enough information, it was really difficult to come out with anything concrete.

  Nonetheless, they had come to a consensus to come out with convincing evidence before the peace talks so that the different races could stand together united as one to fight against their common enemy that might appear.

  “Boss Mag, I heard that you’ve kidnapped and brought the best brewer from the Falk Tribe?” Michael asked with a smile after they exited the secret chamber.

  “I didn’t kidnap her. She followed me back willingly.” Mag looked at Rolan with a smile. “Now that you mention her, she was also a spy for the Gray Temple. However, it was really a waste of her talents to keep her at the Falk Tribe forever. Therefore, I asked Sir Rolan for her.”


  “Old Sim was the best spy the Gray Temple had at the Falk Tribe. Boss Mag has caused the Gray Temple to incur quite a huge loss.” Rolan also had a smile on his face.

  Mag bade his farewell, and Dicus sent him back to the restaurant.

  “The investigation at the Department of Property Rights?” Michael lowered his voice as he looked at Rolan.

  “It’s been basically completed. Based on our findings, I suppose you have to hire a lot more new people.” Rolan pulled out a parchment from his pocket and passed it to Michael.

  Michael rolled open the parchment and took a look. His face got blacker as he read, and after a very long while, he put the paper down as he furiously said, “These fellows are really greedy. They think they’re some big shots just because they have a little authority in their hands. How dare they bring the Department of Property Rights to this state right under my nose!”


  “These are the ones that we could find out. As for those hidden transactions, if you need them, the Gray Temple can also dig them all out.” Rolan was rather calm.

  “It’s not just the Department of Property Rights. The Marquis Family has put in quite a lot of money and effort all these years. They’ve already made the city lord’s castle into their own house. They can produce any evidence they want!” Michael said with a frown.

  “Because of Bennett, the Marquis Family has contained a lot of assets legally and illegally all these years. If we need to do a total cleanup, we can cripple them anytime.”


  “Then do a proper investigation. If we don’t teach Bowen a proper lesson, he might forget who he is and where he stands,” Michael continued coldly. “The treasury happens to be quite empty recently. Inventing the steam train took up a lot of money.”


  “Alright. I’ll get my men to start all investigations on the Marquis Family once I get back.” Rolan nodded.

  ***

  “Sir, are you satisfied with those beauties I sent to your house last night?” Bowen asked. He looked at the middle-aged man who was immersed in the beauty of the two ladies sitting on his left and right in an opulent private room.

  “Mm-hm. They teach foreign languages[1] well.” That middle-aged man nodded with satisfaction. At the same time, his hands moved up and down the two beautiful ladies in his embrace.

  Bowen’s lips curled up. He looked at the man, and continued, “Then the verdict for those few assets and properties Bennett had……”


  “I’ll write you a letter tomorrow.” The middle-aged man waved his hand and looked at Bowen. He squinted, and smilingly said, “As usual, seven for you, three for me.”


  [1] This is a euphemism for either sex in general or prostitution.