Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2315: Chapter 2316: Witch’s Confession

Before Nami Midori awakened, everyone temporarily stayed in Parry Mountains.

Firstly, Parry Mountains itself is also very powerful and has been a long-time companion of Nami Midori, considered a confidant of Nami Midori; secondly, Leaf Groot is also here now, interacting with the monarchs of various Elemental Territories, which is one of Reine’s purposes in coming to the Tidal World.

After a brief self-introduction, Parry Mountains said in a buzzing voice, ”You arrived much faster than I imagined.”

Reine: ”Because interests move the heart.”

Parry Mountains was taken aback. It had only casually mentioned something to start the formal conversation, but what it didn’t expect was that Reine immediately touched upon the core of everything—interests.

The resources of the Tidal World are abundant, both the source of its prosperity and the reason for coveting.

Everything revolves around interests.

However, because this topic is relatively sensitive and involves more than just the Green Forest Domain, Parry Mountains was reluctant to touch upon it lightly.

Previously, chatting with Angel was inconsequential because Angel could not represent the Barbarian Cave behind him. But now that the real master of the Barbarian Cave has arrived, talking to him is a formal negotiation. Parry Mountains didn’t feel qualified to represent the entire Tidal World in discussing issues of interest.

But now, with Reine directly opening the topic, Parry Mountains could not just skip it. It could only look towards Leaf Groot. Although Leaf Groot’s strength was not the strongest in the Green Forest Domain, it is, after all, a monarch of a domain, and from the perspective of status, it apparently has more qualification to discuss this topic with Reine.

Leaf Groot pondered for a moment: ”So, you also came for interests?”

”That’s for certain.” Reine, though his expression remained courteous and polite, spoke very directly.

”I thought you would first talk about cooperation during this visit.” Leaf Groot said.

”The purpose of cooperation is ultimately interest. It concerns the wizard’s acquisition of interests in the Tidal World and also concerns the binary of pros and cons concerning your elemental creatures.” Reine: ”Instead of talking about meaningless contents now, only to fall out later over unresolved issues of interest, it’s better to peel away the veneer at the start and engage in a somewhat unpleasant core gamble... At least the connections generated by interests are indeed existent.”

What Reine said was somewhat harsh, but the inner logic could be understood by Leaf Groot and Parry Mountains.

Perhaps connections made through emotions might be a more pleasant sound, and novels and operas love to eulogize such emotions. But in the real world, connections of interest are often more stable than those through emotion.

Leaf Groot hesitated: ”I can understand your meaning, but this needs to be discussed with Master Nami Midori, right?”

”Of course, in the end, I will talk with Nami Midori.” Reine: ”Before that, I also want to discuss with you. As Element Lords, I want to know what your views are.”

Leaf Groot: ”I had previously expressed my views to Mr. Pat, and I am in agreement with his proposal. But since Master Nami Midori has now awakened, significant decisions concerning survival still need to await Master Nami Midori’s final decision.”

Reine smiled: ”It seems you haven’t understood my meaning. What I wanted was merely to glimpse the trends of the entire Tidal World from the perspective of Lord Leaf.”

As the Element Lord of the Green Forest Domain, Leaf Groot’s opinion, while it could not represent the other Elemental Territory monarchs, could at least probe some true and false boundaries. This would allow Reine, in future dialogues with other Element Lords, to better grasp the scope and limits of interest exchanges.

Leaf Groot now comprehended Reine’s intention, thought it over, and said: ”Alright, then let’s have a talk.”

The ensuing period saw a dialogue between Reine and Leaf Groot.

The others quietly listened on the side, thinking deeply.

The conversation initially focused mainly on Reine asking questions, inquiring about the entire Tidal World’s configuration in order to deduce the grand design. Ultimately, when discussing cooperation, it turned to Reine speaking while Leaf Groot listened.

Angel initially produced a trilogy, the last part briefly described as ”The Tidal World’s Future Possibilities.” But at that time, Angel’s musings were a kind of idealistic conjecture, to which Reine added more possibilities, encompassing the best to the worst.

Using interests as a formula to discuss how different possibilities might bring changes to elemental creatures.

And what elemental creatures themselves need to consider is which possibility might aid their development under the premise of minimally disrupting the overall situation.

This includes possibilities such as ”conquest and management,” ”war antagonism,” ”guild system,” ”lord system,” ”corporate and regulatory systems”... encompassing a wide array.

Also, under the ”subsidiary system,” where Elemental Territories become subsidiary institutions of the Witcher Organization, the interests gained are substantial, with elemental creatures gaining more knowledge to enhance themselves. However, becoming a subsidiary involves considerable sacrifices.

Where there is sacrifice, there must naturally be gain, but the extent of sacrifice corresponds to the extent of gains received.

The Tidal World possesses geographical advantages, and the Wizards’ Realm seeks a harmony of people on this geographic foundation.

During the expression, Reine exhibited exceptionally strong rational thinking, utilizing an almost indifferent attitude to list various statistics, showcasing gains and losses of interests.

Many words were unpleasant, but this is reality.

In the end, Leaf Groot did not provide a clear ”possibility” choice but instead, from its understanding, analyzed possible choices that the major Elemental Territory monarchs might adopt one by one.

And what Reine sought was not an immediate choice from Leaf Groot but rather its final analysis.

Therefore, the conversation between the two parties had a relatively harmonious and perfect conclusion.

At the end of the conversation, Parry Mountains suddenly let out a familiar eerie laughter: ”Ha ha ha ha~”

The laughter drew everyone’s attention.

Seeing everyone, including the elemental creatures, looking toward it, Parry Mountains spoke up: ”I very much agree with your point of view,

Behind these seemingly cold data might be hidden real interests, but it might also be lies you fabricated. After all, this is the first time we’ve encountered such content, and you have also mentioned that these are possibilities, implying uncertainty.”

”So, how can you make us believe whether what you are saying is true or false?”

Parry Mountains’ words slightly stiffened the atmosphere on site, but Reine, evidently adept at handling such situations, calmly said: ”What you’ve raised is indeed a very important question.”

Even if through connections of interest, two different camps are tied onto the same boat, without a premise, the two camps cannot develop together.

And that premise is—mutual trust.

This is precisely the key raised by Parry Mountains.

No one knows whether what the other party says is true or false, especially between two sides with an evident information disparity. Reine mastered knowledge inherited over countless generations by humans, while the elemental creatures of the Tidal World experienced an apocalyptic blow three thousand years ago, losing much information. Even without the loss, confined to the ecological development of the Tidal World, their understanding of the outside world remains akin to a frog sitting at the bottom of a well, perceiving merely a well’s worth of sky.

The reason Parry Mountains immediately raised this doubt is that it had previously met Mr. Feng and learned from him the vast difference between Elemental Creatures and human civilization. Humans are a group filled with rhetoric, prejudice, and greed.

The inequality of information will inevitably make the relatively ignorant side full of suspicion.

Because they cannot trust.

And this question is not only asked by Parry Mountains; wherever Lord Rhein goes in any Elemental Territory, as long as there is a Sage present, this doubt will surely be raised.

Everyone’s eyes were on Rhein at this moment, wanting to see how he would respond. Even Angel, who firmly believed Rhein could handle everything, wanted to know how he would solve this fundamental issue of mutual trust.

Rhein did not disappoint everyone. He remained composed and said, ”I had anticipated this before coming to the Tidal World. So, before I arrived, I visited a friend of mine and borrowed something from him.”

As Rhein finished speaking, without any obvious action, a ripple slowly appeared in front of him.

A holy light suddenly descended from the sky.

It was like a miracle from heaven after a devout believer’s silent prayer.

The brilliant light eventually transformed into two extremely sacred descensions, landing before everyone.

When the blaze of light disappeared, everyone finally saw what was in front of Rhein.

It was a statue.

The statue depicted two figures; one was a priest, approximately three meters tall, wearing a holy divine robe, listening with closed eyes and a bowed head; the other was a girl with curly hair in a luxurious Lolita dress, each accessory on her attire signifying her nobility. Yet, strangely, this girl was kneeling on the ground, nearly closing her eyes, hands clasped in prayer towards the priest.

One standing, one kneeling; one listening, one confessing.

Clearly a simple statue, yet it exuded a rich religious aura.

When this statue was placed before them, it seemed they were not in the dim and mist-laden Lost Forest but in a confessional in a chapel where miracles descend.

Upon closer inspection, however, there was something odd. The religious atmosphere is often solemn and heavy, but due to the bright attire of the girl and her half-closed eyes full of mischief, the statue carried an air of cheerfulness and wickedness.

”This is...” Parry Mountains looked at Rhein with confusion, feeling a familiar aura emanating from the statue, an aura it had once sensed from Mr. Feng.

”Have you heard of the Mysterious Object?” Rhein asked.

An astonished look flashed in Parry Mountains’ eyes: ”Are you saying this is a Mysterious Object?”

Rhein nodded: ”It seems you know about Mysterious Objects? Yes, this indeed is a Mysterious Object.”

On the other side, Leaf Groot, hearing about the concept of a Mysterious Object for the first time, also showed disbelief after Parry Mountains’ explanation. Could such things truly exist in the world?

Angel had sensed the strong Mysterious Aura when the statue appeared, so he was not surprised it was a Mysterious Object.

He was simply curious about the function of this Mysterious Object.

”Is this... the Witch’s Confession?” Sanders carefully observed the statue and seemed to recall something, softly uttering a name.

Rhein nodded: ”Indeed.”

With those words, Rhein turned to Angel: ”Weren’t you asking me where I went earlier? I went to find Youda and borrowed this Mysterious Object.”

”Resurrection Gospel” Youda, a powerful True Knowledge Wizard of the Magic Flute Taoist Institute, is skilled in various life restoration techniques. His created spell technique - Youda’s Kiss, is said to even restore vitality to decayed flesh.

Youda is also a well-known White Wizard in the Southern Domain Wizards’ Realm, possessing an exceptional sense of morality.

Even among mortals, he is akin to a philanthropist and a moral role model.

So some who hear of his notoriety even among mortals call him the Light God walking among mortals. His holy reputation has spread even into the Abyss.

However, his moral conduct often leads to suspicion. Plus, as he specializes in the Art of Life, which, to put it bluntly, is the study of life, a characteristic of the Carabits.

Thus, there are also people who suspect that Youda might be a Carabit. The Carabits are known for their eccentric and fierce personalities, somewhat unlike Youda’s holy demeanor.

Therefore, Youda frequently finds himself embroiled in debates between White and Black Wizards. After years of arguments, it remains unknown whether Youda is truly a Carabit and whether his conduct is genuinely righteous or conceals unspeakable secrets.

”Is Resurrection Gospel friends with Lord Rhein?” Angel curiously asked because, as far as he knew, Youda seldom interacted with Wizards outside the Magic Flute Taoist Institute, which has fueled endless speculation from the outside world.

Rhein nodded: ”Kind of.”

Upon Rhein’s confirmation, Angel felt an impulse to inquire about the rumors concerning Youda.

Rhein seemed to perceive Angel’s intention, lightly chuckling: ”I don’t dare to speak rashly about Youda. However, rumors that are widespread are not necessarily false.”

Though Rhein did not disclose much, this sentence inspired many imaginations.

As Angel was about to ask more, Rhein immediately changed the subject: ”Returning to this Mysterious Object, its name, which Sanders just mentioned, is Witch’s Confession, owned by Youda.”

”I borrowed it from Youda because it is crucial to my upcoming work in the Tidal World. Its presence can also answer the question Parry Mountains raised earlier.”

Parry Mountains was silent for a moment before speaking: ”What is the function of this Mysterious Object?”

Rhein: ”Truth, it makes people tell the truth, an absolute truth with no implied meanings or loopholes.”

Truth with no loopholes? Parry Mountains looked skeptically at the statue, somewhat disbelieving.

Rhein did not explain further, as experiencing it firsthand is often more direct than a verbal explanation.

Rhein flicked his finger lightly at the statue, triggering some mechanism. The statue emitted a brilliant light as the priest, listening with a bowed head, began chanting a strange prayer. As whispers filled their ears, a light barrier enveloped everyone present.

”The Witch’s Confession has been activated.”