Embers of Embers

Chapter 242 Counterattack
"It's so good to meet you! Mr. Holmes!"
Seeing Lorenzo walking into the tavern, Hercule behind the bar cheered happily.
Due to the location of the tavern, generally speaking, there are not many customers here during the day. Lorenzo scanned around, and there were only a few customers around, and they looked drunk.
"It's rare that someone is actually happy to see me."
Lorenzo simply sighed and cheered Hercule. He was a moving trouble. The walking god of death would always bring disaster to the people around him. He never thought that he would be popular one day. Although he was in front of him. This guy is not a normal person either.
"To be precise, I'm happy for the secret in your head."
Hercule said directly without leaving Lorenzo any illusions.
Although they had known each other for a short time, Lorenzo felt that he was used to Hercule's behavior. He sat aside and said to him.
"Just start here?"
What they wanted to communicate were those unknown secrets. Lorenzo always felt that talking about things like this should be done in a dark corner, rather than sitting here openly.
"Of course, this is a nice place, would you like something to drink?"
Hercule obviously didn't care that much and said directly.
Lorenzo glanced at the bottles and jars behind him. The liquids inside were floating in strange colors.
"Have you seriously studied wine pairing?"
"Probably...just mix it with whatever you like, and drink it to the point where it won't kill anyone." Hercule said seriously.
"Actually, I quite like this process."
Hercule skillfully opened the cap of the bottle, and mixed liquids of various colors together, and at the same time said with some regret.
"You should know that I am searching for these secrets, but I have made a lot of efforts to prevent myself from being suddenly exposed to those people."
"But in this aimless pursuit, I also discovered a lot of interesting things."
Lorenzo passed the time by stirring things in the cup with his spoon.
"for example?"
"For example, alchemy," Hercule said, "is actually very popular, and even...close to reality."
Lorenzo stopped the meaningless stirring and raised his eyes slightly.
"Some magicians always like to use it to deceive people, just like a gimmick, so there are very few real alchemy techniques. In my long search, I have found many such ones. Some are fake, but there are always a few real ones. ” said Hercule.
"I'm not an alchemist, and I don't know much about those secrets, but by analogy with these existing cases, I found a lot of interesting places."
Hercule said as he pushed the wine glass over. It was light blue and looked drinkable. But as he dripped the unknown liquid, the light blue ocean boiled and rolled rapidly. It turned blood red within seconds.
"A lot of basic alchemy is related to chemical physics and so on," Hercule said.
"Sounds interesting."
Lorenzo is not an alchemist and does not understand alchemy. He is a demon hunter and is responsible for killing enemies with weapons created by alchemy. Everything is as simple as that.
Hercule shook his head helplessly, "This thing should be able to bring about innovation, but I don't know why it gradually became lost and eventually became a street trick."
"Because this is the bad nature of human beings," Lorenzo took a sip of this strange wine. It tasted just like ordinary beer. There was no big difference. He didn't know what all the bells and whistles Hercule was doing before.
"The ultimate goal of alchemists is to pursue the truth, but for them the truth is limited, one person gets it, another person loses it. This is the curse of knowledge, it curses these greedy scholars, get The more they do, the more they magnify their inner inferiority.”
Hercule stopped what he was doing and listened carefully to Lorenzo's speech. These secrets were difficult to collect.
"So there is a competitive relationship between alchemists, even hostility. They will not share their knowledge easily, lest others get the truth before them. This is a sick system, and the final outcome is also with those Knowledge goes to the grave.”
"Is this the reason for the severance?"
"Yes, to a certain extent," Lorenzo said.
"You know a lot, Mr. Holmes." Hercule looked even happier when he heard this.
To a certain extent, Hercule is very similar to those alchemists, crazy in pursuit of knowledge, but compared with those extinct seekers of knowledge, Hercule is much more normal.
He looked at Lorenzo with fiery eyes, which obviously could not escape Lorenzo's notice. Lorenzo always felt that if given the chance, Hercule would be willing to pry open his head to see what was inside. What an unsolved mystery.
"Let's put these aside for now. I need some information. Of course, there is a price." Lorenzo put down his wine glass and was thinking about his next move after leaving the Stuart mansion.
All forces have mixed into the old Dunling. Their purpose is not yet clear, but Lorenzo knows very well that they are just waiting for an opportunity to detonate everything.
But before the detonation, the calmness of this stagnant water made Lorenzo unable to do anything. He wanted to do something, but couldn't find a clue until Oscar appeared.
Lorenzo never imagined that he was still related to that Nordero. In his previous impression, Oscar had always been an interesting but unpopular writer, but compared to these, he was more concerned about the exiles at the moment.
That Cardinal Shermans.
Lorenzo will end this case perfectly, because he also needs Shermans. As the cardinal, he used to be a high-ranking man. He must know a lot about the secrets of the Evangelical Church. Maybe he can learn from him. Find information related to extermination of demons.
"So what do you want to know?"
When it came to trading, Hercule also became serious.
"The exile, the exile from Florence, his name is Shermans, he is the cardinal of the Evangelical Church, and he is now wanted by the new pope."
Hercule's eyes narrowed, as if he was recalling everything related to this piece of information.
He was silent for a few seconds, then smiled and asked Lorenzo.
"Then what can you give me."
"Just ask." Lorenzo replied directly.
"Me first?"
Lorenzo nodded.
Hercule was not polite after hearing this. He thought briefly and thought about many complicated issues, but he couldn't summarize them as concisely as one sentence.
"who are you?"
"Lorenzo Holmes, a detective and part-time witcher... Originally I was considered retired," Lorenzo said.
"from where?"
"The Holy Gospel Papal State, the Demon Hunting Order managed by the Evangelical Church, that Shermans can also be counted as my former boss."
"what are you going to do?"
"Kill as many demons as there are."
Lorenzo answered expressionlessly.
A few short sentences, but the information revealed in these words was enough for Hercule to think too much, and they would become bricks to fill in the illogical places in the deduction he conceived.
After another period of silence, Hercule said slowly.
"Let me think about your problem."
"Aren't you going to continue asking?" Lorenzo thought he would ask more questions, but Hercule suddenly stopped.
"You need me, so you will always tell me all your secrets. There is no need to be so anxious." Hercule replied confidently.
Hercule could guess that Lorenzo had an equally mysterious organization behind him, but judging from the fact that Lorenzo did not connect himself with them, Lorenzo was not absolutely united with that organization. Yes, he needs himself, indispensable.
"As for that Shermans..."
The majestic palace unfolded in front of Hercule's eyes. It rose from the ground and was built layer by layer until it pierced into the sky. As a light chant played, the heavy door opened with a bang.
Countless pictures flashed before his eyes as the door opened, and hundreds of people whispered in his ears. Different languages, different accents, and different contents pieced together an unknown story.
Lorenzo waited patiently. Hercule was an interesting person. As he said himself, after the shipwreck, he gained power that ordinary people could not imagine. Such a huge amount of information was rushing through his mind. If If he were a machine, this machine was already running at high speed at this moment, and hot air waves overflowed from the gaps in the steel, carrying a thunderous sound.
"I think... I have an idea."
Hercule ended his thinking and built a magnificent palace in his mind. If thinking could be visualized, Lorenzo could see Hercule carrying a ladder and searching back and forth on the towering bookshelf. with relevant information.
His expression was a little strange, but before saying all this, he reminded Lorenzo again.
"My information is not accurate. After all, all this is just my interpretation. If you want to confirm its authenticity, you need to see it with your own eyes."
Hearing his emphasis, Lorenzo didn't care.
"I know, I just need a starting point to know where to start."
Of course Lorenzo understood the limitations of all Hercule's actions, but within these limitations, there was still a lot that could be done.
Here I want to reprimand Oscar again, the information he gave is pathetic, and Old Dunling is so big, if there is no Hercule, Lorenzo will obviously have to work hard to find someone from here, and it is even impossible.
"Any questions?"
Lorenzo asked, noticing Hercule's strange expression.
Hercule thought about it carefully, and after making sure that his guess was not wrong, he asked.
"Do you remember the first time we met?"
"Rat's Nest?"
Lorenzo remembered that in order to chase the man, Lorenzo was hit by the carriage and flew several meters away.
"They are strangers. Although they hide it very well, I can hear the difference in their accents," Hercule said. "They are a group of shady people, and what they want to do is also shady. Otherwise they wouldn’t come to me.”
Lorenzo listened carefully and couldn't help but said.
"You even analyze your customers?"
"It was me, my dear customer, who almost killed me."
The premise for Hercule to be friendly to Lorenzo at the beginning was that he saved her there. Although he has a brain that is beyond ordinary people, Hercule's physical fitness is very poor, which may be the sequelae of the shipwreck. With his fragile physique, he would definitely die if he fell from that height.
"Those guys have problems, and even the questions they ask are very problematic." Hercule's words sounded confusing.
"Actually, many people's identities and purposes can be inferred from the questions they ask. Businessmen seek profit, politicians seek power... Of course, my business scope is not that advanced yet."
Although he was well-known in the Lower City, under Hercule's deliberate control, the Bad Rat was just a nobody to the old Dun Ling.
"What is their question and what is the answer?" Lorenzo asked.
"What happened in the north of Old Dunling, and I deduced that a secret military operation took place in the north not long ago."
Hercule said frankly, but then he saw Lorenzo's slightly changed expression, and he couldn't believe it.
"This... won't involve you."
Lorenzo did not answer these, but stood up directly and continued.
"I think I know. Let's talk about this later. If necessary, this is my address."
Lorenzo said as he took out his business card and placed it on the bar.
"No... I haven't said my guess yet!" Hercule didn't know what Lorenzo was getting up to.
"I've already figured it out, Hercule. I'm actually quite smart, but many times I prefer to use violence to solve problems."
Lorenzo said and was about to leave. He did have a smart brain, but rather than exhausting his brains to calculate something, Lorenzo still liked to speak with a sword, and this thing was much faster than the former.
Everyone is driven by purpose, even fleeing. If Shermans really wants to avoid the pursuit of the new Pope, he should go to a farther and more remote place, not the powerful city of Old Dunling.He must have some intention.
In just a few words, Lorenzo has already deduced the unknown secret, but this time he can't do it alone.
Although Lorenzo became vigilant against the purging agency due to the arrival of the mission, but in this case, Lorenzo could not bear to be separated from it.
"I should have thought of that earlier."
Lorenzo whispered as he walked.
It is impossible for the powerful Shermans to be unaware of its existence. As long as they obtain the precious thing called "Revelation", even the new pope will no longer be a threat. As long as they want, they can do whatever they want. New churches can be reestablished.
This is the purpose of those exiles. They came to Old Dunling not to escape, but to counterattack.
(End of this chapter)