Cthulhu Gonfalon

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

There was a saying in the world: "The sloth needs to be stabbed three times." It was a saying that basically meant that the sloth was an animal that was so slow in reacting, you would have to stab it with needles three times before it would groan in pain.

Quite the opposite of this hypothetical sloth, the higher ups in the church of Orc Gods system of course wouldn't be so slow in reacting. Instead, they had already responded after a few days.

"The fourth one." The main priest in the church of Sky Devourer Canine didn't get angry, but spoke calmly. He was the most honorable figure among the churches of the entire Orc God System. He was also an elder that was addressed as the "Crown of Brilliance." His spooky eyes sent coolness down the spine of the legendary experts.

"Florame, you tell the story," he said lightly. "You are in charge of the information regarding the continuous deaths of the four high priests of the higher order, among whom there was one that was in the legendary realm. I think you should have some insights on this, right?"

There was another legendary expert that he called upon named Florame Roger, who was a rabbitman. He didn't possess a very strong fighting power, but he did have the unusual attainments of concealment. In fact, he had been hosting an information task of the church union for over a hundred years.

Honestly speaking, he had done a good job. And, up until this point, he had not made many mistakes. However, what happened was very surprising, as he had spent a lot of effort to arrange manpower and to search, but had yet to find reliable information.

"As of now, we only have some uncertified information." Florame was covered in a nervous sweat, as he gave his report with a sad face.

"Tell us first, then." The elder that was so honorable that no one dared to call his name stole a glance at him. Then, the cold sweat on Florame's face flowed out again, almost soaking his entire face and head full of fine hair.

"The first piece of news is that the high priest of centaur, Oveila, left the Tyrannical Tribe alone. She did this because the chief, Aolike, was drunk and wanted to stay at the temple. Then, she was injured. In the end, they realized that her weapon might be contaminated by a corpse bacteria poison, so she went out to look for a corpse with corpse bacteria, which could provide an antidote, in order to detox Aolike."

Florame continued anxiously, "She was moving towards the east, and the people that I sent used magic to trace her whereabouts, realizing that she must have suddenly lost contact. After investigating further, we found that there were people that had intentionally erased the traces of the battle. As the magic had by then been severely damaged, it was unable to confirm the exact situation of battle."

"Unable to confirm?" The elder spoke in a calm tone, but still sent his cold glare. "Do you need me to transfer more elders to assist you?"

Florame suddenly shivered, even his inner shirt was soaked through. "After the meeting, I will go personally! I will definitely find out about the situation!"

Who were the people in the church? What were the identities of those retired higher ups in the church and those senior experts that were hidden? They had already reached the extreme level of legendary realm. As such, the power and position in mortal life were meaningless to them, which was the reason why they lived as recluses and tried so hard to figure out how to understand and master the "source" of power, to be able to step foot into the real immortal realm.

Even a small matter needed the elders in the church to be involved, so God knows how the elders would take care of him after they found out the reason! He might as well commit suicide, at least he would die quickly!

"Don't be in a rush to reveal your stand. Continue with the other news." The elder refused to comment further, but said this lightly.

"The second piece of news was that, on the night that the main priest of the west wilderness, Belem Syrah, died, there was a woman named Lilim that tried to take to him to the street." Florame took out a crystal as he spoke, projecting the image in the air. "This is the memory that was retrieved from the guard."

The image showed a busy west wilderness street. The brawny bearman could be seen, wearing a baggy robe and walking haughtily on the street. Everyone avoided him wherever he walked, displaying faces filled with fear.

He was known as Raging Iron Arm, and he wasn't a kind person. In fact, if he were to be held on trial in hell after he died, in order to explain his crimes, one by one, it would take an entire day!

Suddenly, the bearman priest stopped and told the guard that had provided the image, "Look, the woman's not bad."

As the image showed, there was a woman that was selling fruits at the corner of the street. The weather in west wilderness was dry, so the fruits, which were delicious and good for hydration, were very popular. Hence, there were many vendors selling fruits. They would wholesale fruits from bigger retailers, then sell at retail prices that were slightly higher than the wholesalers'. They relied heavily on this price difference in order to make a decent living.

The woman was beautiful and her skin was extremely fair and bright, just like the lovely fruits. West wilderness was windy and dusty, and the weather was dry. Whoever stayed for any length of time there, regardless of whether they be men or women, their skin would become rough. Only the pampered concubines of the rich men could soak themselves in the water from day till night, in order to maintain the hydration of their skin. But those women were normally lacking in vigor, and possessed a kind of weak mentality that was not aligned with the orcs' aesthetic.

In stark contrast, not only did the fruit seller woman have bright skin, but she looked energetic, too. She seemed to have no flaws.

The image suddenly became extremely clear, and she could even hear heavy breathing! Obviously, either the bodyguard or Belem had developed a strong interest in the woman.

What happened later on was sadly nothing that one should ever write about. It was merely the all-too-common kidnapping of a village girl.

After they arrested the woman, Belem exhorted the bodyguard that, unless there was an emergency summons form the superior temple, he shouldn't bother him!

However, the very next morning, the bodyguard heard that it had been quiet for a very long while in the room. So, he finally couldn't help but move closer to take a peek. He saw that Belem was lying on the bed, without moving an inch, but the woman was nowhere to be seen.

"That was the story." The image ended then, followed by Florame's explaining, "I went to inspect the scene, and I can certify that there was no trace of charm magic. However, there were some remains of transformation magic, but very faint amounts. So, it shouldn't be capable of causing any strong magical effect. Besides, I also found that there was a trace of divine power, but I couldn't confirm which Majesty it was from."

It wasn't rare that high priest would use divine power to liven things up, when they were doing that sort of thing. So, everyone wasn't surprised. They were, however, whispering into each other's ears to discuss what the situation it might be exactly.

Although there was the continuous deaths of the four high priests, in actual fact, only the death of Belem Syrah was considered as a great affair. The rest of the high priests weren't really even worth bringing up. If it wasn't due to the fact that their deaths were linked to the death of the legendary expert, no matter how many high priests of higher levels died, it wouldn't worth the attention of these higher ups.

"The background of the woman, what was the result of that investigation?" the elder asked.

"It could be certified that she was an assassin." Florame had already investigated this, so he immediately answered. "No one in the city had ever seen her before. The two main fruit wholesalers in the city also said that they have never sold their fruits to such a beautiful woman, either. Even the guards at the city gate didn't see her entering or exiting the city."

"And?"

"I have checked the dead body thoroughly. Although I don't really believe it, Belem appears to not have been injured, poisoned, or cursed. He merely died of exhaustion, which was caused by excessive indulgence." Florame looked like he was at loss. "I checked multiple times, and confirmed that it was really so."

"This is ridiculous!" the other bearman expert shouted. "They only did it for a night! With Belem's stamina, fighting for ten days to half a month wouldn't even exhaust him!"

"Yeah, no matter how great the woman was, I can't believe that she could have exhausted Belem to death!" the other pastor of legendary realm said.

Florame sighed and looked at the elder. The elder creased his eyebrows. He wasn't doubtful of Florame's capability, especially when it involved the cause of death of a legendary expert.

However, to think that such a way of dying, doing it for a night and then succumbing to excessive indulgence, could have happened to a legendary expert, it was simply ridiculous! He closed his eyes, and there was a strange ripple on his body.

As one of the very few semi-god experts in the main dimension, he could contact various Orc Gods at anytime. He could even visit their respective holy kingdoms by using his soul directly.

Although it would be rude if he did so, in order to find out the truth, he had to be impolite just once, in order to talk to the person who was directly involved. In the world, the concept of "the dead cannot bear witness" did not exist. Even if a person died, his soul would remain. If one really wanted to investigate, he could question the soul directly. It's the same concept, but just a little bit more troublesome.

After a while, the ripples on the elder's body settled down. He then slowly opened his eyes. Every legendary experts fixed their curious gazes at him, waiting for his updates.

"Hehe… It's magical…" The elder squinted his eyes and smiled. "Florame, your examination results are correct!"

"What?!" A few people exclaimed at the same time.

Did this legendary pastor with the title Raging Iron Arm really have too much fun in the bed and die of exhaustion, due to excessive indulgence?!

"Oh my God…" A pigman mage was so surprised, he forgot about the standard common language that he had been practicing for years. He instead spoke with his tribal accent, which utterly disdained!

"Then… That woman…" Florame responded first, asking politely.

The elder snorted. "Florame, leave the rest of the things aside and trace this woman. It is rare to find such a woman that could solely rely on flirtatious measures that could make someone like Belem lose his rationality and indulge in sensual pleasures, even unto death! It might likely be even a high level assassin that some Cthulhu churches nurtured in secret!"

Every legendary expert was suddenly solemn, and their faces grew grave. The way the matter had developed, its severity had shot up increasingly fast. In comparison, the deaths of merely a few high priests that had yet to enter the legendary realm, they had already practically forgotten about them.

Hence, a few days later, there were more high priests that passed away, yet the woman never appeared again. In the underground maze, the pink piglet was dancing with joy. She was boasting about her accomplishments with the huge green jellyfish that was lying on the ground.

She was feeling utterly proud…