Chapter 148 : Chapter 148
Chapter : 148
Countless people wearing black robes with patterned masks formed a circle, standing silently like vivid but mute statues.
In the center of their encirclement was a high platform. On it stood a person wearing a black robe and a patterned mask, coincidentally facing my direction.
That person held a scepter. Although concealed by the large black robe, judging from the figure, it was most likely a female.
And behind her, there were about twenty people, all tied up.
Rowena and William were among them.
I took a closer look and could confirm that among those who were tied up, several were extremely familiar to me. They were all students of Sigret Academy!
It was indeed the people from this Eternal God Cult who had taken them!
I narrowed my eyes and scanned the levels of these black-robed people, slightly taken aback.
Don't be fooled by their intimidating presence; most of the black-robed people gathered here were NPCs in their teens and twenties.
The highest level among them was only a level thirty-two.
However, the one on the stage who looked like a small leader was not low in level, at level forty-seven.
But even so, I didn't think they had the ability to abduct so many students from Sigret without anyone noticing.
After all, the fact that Sigret Academy only accepted geniuses was something known to everyone on the Ailman Continent.
Even if these students' individual levels hadn't reached forty-seven, if they moved together in groups, they absolutely couldn't be taken away so silently by this mob of teens and twenties.
Therefore, this Eternal God Cult definitely didn't just have these people. There were more powerful people hidden deeper.
I narrowed my eyes, hiding in the dark to observe the condition of the students tied up on the high platform.
I saw their expressions of shock and anger, panic, and fear. However, not many of them looked seriously injured.
I was temporarily relieved and directly opened the chat system to send a message to Penelope.
It was obvious that a big boss was hidden here, and it was impossible for me to fight many at once.
There was only one outcome for a reckless charge: being worn down and killed by the enemy's numbers.
Although I still had many escape items on hand, especially after Regus gave me [Selinval's Longing], a bug-level life-saving item that allowed me to teleport back to the elf territory no matter where I was, there was basically nothing that could wear me down to death.
But my purpose in coming here this time was not to fight with this group of little black rats from the Eternal God Cult.
It was to find my companions and launch a rescue. If I was trapped and killed here and used [Selinval's Longing] to run back to the elf territory, what about Rowena and William? What about these students from Sigret?
Call for backup! I must call for backup!
I had no psychological resistance at all. I should call for backup with a clear conscience. I have a background, connections, and channels to call for backup, so why not?
If the big boss behind this Eternal God Cult was too powerful, I could even summon Divik, Isabelle, and Merlin over!
Let's see whose fist is harder. Is their fake Demon King more powerful, or am I, the real Demon King, more powerful?
I used a few concise sentences to describe the location where I found the whereabouts of the missing students and sent it all to Penelope. A few seconds later, I received a reply from Penelope.
The teachers of Sigret Academy would be arriving soon.
Seeing that Penelope had received the message, I also rummaged through my backpack but couldn't find a robe similar to those of the black-robed people.
I tried using the Roleplay skill again... unfortunately, I don't know if it was because all these people covered their faces and figures, making them all look identical, but my Roleplay skill couldn't select a target unit.
I had no way to directly transform into a black-robed person.
I thought for a moment, quietly slipped to the side of a black-robed person on the outermost edge, and pulled a magic staff from my backpack to cast a Deep Sleep Spell on him.
The black-robed person swayed and was about to fall backward. I quickly reached out to catch him and pulled him behind a stone pillar.
This series of actions was completed silently and swiftly. By the time the person next to him turned his head, I had already successfully dragged the unlucky little black rat away.
The black-robed person next to the unlucky little black rat looked back a few times and glanced around hesitantly: Strange, there seemed to be someone next to him just now? How come he's gone?
After just a glance around, that person denied his original thought: There was no one behind him. It seemed it was just his illusion.
And I had already successfully stripped the other party of his black robe, successfully putting it on myself.
I then took the intricately patterned mask from his face. Before I could put it on my own face, I first smelled a stench.
I disgustedly held it a little further away, wrinkled my nose, and used my magic staff to cast a few Cleaning Spells on the mask.
After feeling that there was no more smell, I endured the resistance in my heart and put the mask on my face.
I looked down. The original black-robed person who was under the Deep Sleep Spell had now been stripped of his robe, leaving only his inner clothes.
He had a rugged appearance, with thick stubble that was matted together, looking somewhat disgusting.
My scalp tingled. I raised my arm and sniffed. Sure enough, I smelled a sour and foul odor on this black robe.
I quickly cast a few Cleaning Spells on myself to get rid of the indescribable smell.
The corner of my mouth twitched. Although I called these black-robed people little black rats, I didn't expect this black-robed person to be truly unhygienic!
In order to successfully blend in with the little black rats, I also went all out. Wearing that set of clothes, I hid Joker's signature chestnut-colored long hair completely inside the black robe and put on the pointed black hood.
My entire face was concealed behind the patterned mask, revealing only a pair of dark red eyes.
I silently landed behind one of the black-robed people, looked at the person holding the scepter on the high platform, and shouted, "The outside world is full of lies and deceit!"
The black-robed people below echoed in unison: "Only in the eternal kingdom can one find their true self."
"Give up your individual will."
"Let the great will lead you to eternity."
"The Eternal Lord is the only salvation."
"Everything else is a path to destruction."
"Your pain and sacrifice are necessary."
"It will bring greater glory."
"Only by believing in the Eternal Lord,"
"Will your soul be purified and sublimated."
"Doubt is the greatest enemy."
"It will make you lose your way."
"The outside world does not understand us."
"They fear our power, our Lord."
"Our pain is inflicted upon us by those people."
"Only the Eternal Lord can save everything."
"The Eternal Lord is the incarnation of a god."
"His words are the will of the gods."
"..."
This set of brainwashing phrases, one after another, left me stunned. As I listened, I couldn't help but curl my toes in cringe.
If this were any other evil cult, even if they shouted "Long live my Lord Jehovah," I wouldn't be so ashamed. The problem was, the Eternal Lord they were talking about was me!
Hold on, you guys made up such a set of brainwashing phrases for the Demon King behind his back, does the Demon King know?
Oh, now I know.
My mouth twitched. The problem was that the black-robed people below were actually reciting it with genuine feelings.
I even heard an old brother next to me who was about to cry while shouting this brainwashing slogan.
It was as if they completely took this brainwashing phrase as the truth. I was sweating profusely.
I listened to it once with a wooden face. I finally waited for the person on the high platform to stop.
I thought this part was finally over, but I didn't expect the person on the stage to start all over again.
Me: ?
However, the person on the stage couldn't hear my ashamed inner voice. He led this group of rabble to repeat the brainwashing phrase three times before finally ending this chanting session.
The person on the high platform stopped speaking, but the black-robed people below who had finished chanting began to wipe their tears one by one, and some even sobbed quietly.
The big brother next to me who was about to cry just now was one of them.
The atmosphere was indeed a bit sad. Everyone around was sobbing quietly. I couldn't help but be reminded of some past memories.
When the faces of my parents in my memory appeared before my eyes, I suddenly jolted.
Something's wrong!
Although the death of both my parents in the line of duty was a sad thing for me, I had long since walked out of the shadow of their death.
I also recognized the choices my parents made at that time from the bottom of my heart, and I rarely got lost in memories, let alone felt sad enough to cry.
But what was my situation now?
I touched the corner of my eye. Although I didn't actually shed tears, the corners of my eyes were indeed a little moist!
I quickly opened my character panel and found that a debuff had silently appeared in my status bar.
[Sorrow Resonance]
Description: During the duration of Sorrow Resonance, the emotions of surrounding units are affected. You are more likely to recall sad memories and immerse yourself in them. Duration: 15 minutes.
Me: ???
I was numb. When did this debuff appear in my status bar? How come I have no impression of it at all? I'm sure that when I put on this black robe and patterned mask, my status bar was still normal.
Was I affected after putting on this black robe and mask, or was I imperceptibly influenced while listening to these people's brainwashing phrases?
I wasn't sure, but the fact that I could struggle out of the memories so quickly was not only because of my strong will, but also partly because I hadn't participated in the chanting just now.
At least all the chanting black-robed people had been hit with the [Sorrow Resonance] debuff.
My gaze fell upon the person on the high platform, the one holding the scepter and looking down on all the black-robed people.
The patterned mask covered her face, making it impossible for me to see the expression on her face, and I had no way to guess her current emotions.
But I had a faint feeling that she was now looking down at all the black-robed people affected by her chanting with a mocking expression.
With a teasing, playful, and annoyingly superior attitude.
For a moment, my gaze seemed to meet hers. That pair of deep, malicious black eyes made my heart sink involuntarily.
I realized.
This person could control the emotions of others.
All the chanting just now was just her means of manipulating people's hearts.