Embers of Embers

Chapter 398 Orthodoxy
In the back kitchen of the tavern, three people and one mouse sat in a circle, like a mysterious gathering. These people were preparing for a vicious ritual.
Lorenzo looked at the slightly dirty setting here and couldn't help but think of the first time he met Hercule. He was also a tavern and a chef. He began to wonder if this tavern could be Hercule's. A certain industry, and this industry seems to be doing pretty well, there are chain stores in Rendona.
Hercule covered his face and looked in pain. Just now Lorenzo hugged him excitedly, and then directly tore off Hercule's beard. Although it was a disguise, this thing was tightly attached to On the skin, he felt as if a layer of skin had been torn off.
Eve observed the stranger Hercule with some curiosity, holding the furry Poirot in his hand. This big rat was very good at dealing with people. Sometimes Hercule even suspected that if an enemy came to the door one day, This stinky rat might also pounce into the other person's arms.
"Although I know you are still alive, it still feels a little weird to see you alive and kicking."
Hercule raised his head slightly, and he let go of his hand, only to see that half of his face turned red.
"This is called great fortune, but I'm quite surprised that you weren't caught by Arthur."
Lorenzo and he exchanged blows, acting like good brothers.
In that storm, the Reichenbach crashed on the ridge. This incident caused a lot of fluctuations. In order to find out how Lorenzo did this, Lorenzo's good friends were invited by Arthur. Went to tea, but Hercule, the cunning fox, escaped.
"I'm different from those two guys. Oscar is from Nordero, Seleu is a Duke, and me! Me!" Hercule talked about his escape journey, "Well, actually I I have made a lot of money with my excellent brain, but it’s just money. People like me are rich but not powerful. If Arthur catches me, there’s no telling what will happen!”
Hercule's clever brain had imagined many endings for himself. These bad endings included all his assets being confiscated and himself being imprisoned in a lunatic asylum, waiting to be dissected.
"I saw that you were very interested in demons before. You know, if you are invited to tea by Arthur, you might be lucky enough to visit the most advanced institution in the Western world that fights demons."
Lorenzo despised Hercule's behavior of Ye Gong loving dragons.
"I had the chance to visit, but not the chance to come out. I know to some extent what kind of place Black Mountain Hospital is. They might just slice my precious brain."
Hercule stood up and mixed whatever he wanted from the bottles on the table.
"What would you like to drink, ma'am?"
"Just call me Eve," Eve seemed a little reserved when facing this stranger, "It's okay, just like Lorenzo."
"Is that so? Then Lorenzo is really lucky. I have no intention of inviting him to drink."
Hercule gritted his teeth.
Lorenzo's last act involved all these good friends. It felt like these people planned to rob a bank, but Lorenzo drove his car into the Platinum Palace.
It is clear that holding on to death is a life sentence, but it suddenly becomes a death sentence. Who can withstand this?
"This guy doesn't know how to mix drinks. Do you dare to drink?" Lorenzo said to Eve.
"To be precise, I only make one kind of wine, and I call it 'Let It Go'."
After Hercule finished speaking, he placed two wine glasses in front of the two of them. They were mixed with strange liquids, viscous or clear. In Lorenzo's eyes, Hercule should have used the wine glasses to catch the crude liquid. Had a glass.
"Don't worry, bartending is essentially just mixing it randomly, as long as it doesn't kill anyone."
Hercule also prepared a glass for himself and took a sip without fear. After drinking, his expression became serious, as if he was savoring it carefully.
"You guys should try it too and tell me what you think."
Eve hesitated for a moment, but still stretched out her hand and handed the wine glass to her mouth. Before she could drink it, the strong smell of alcohol almost went to her head, but in the end she still took a sip.
Surprisingly, the taste is a bit strange, but not unacceptable.
"It... feels like drinking a glass of laundry water with motor oil in it."
Lorenzo drank it all and burped loudly.
Ignoring Eve's shocked eyes, Lorenzo looked at Hercule with a smile.
"So what do you want to do this time? Mr. Holmes."
The meeting got down to business, and Hercule became serious. As an intelligence dealer, he also had to have his own professionalism.
"I need you to do me a favor, but this favor is somewhat dangerous and very important. But you passed my test. If you are willing, we can start directly."
Lorenzo had no attitude of inviting others, just like an uncle.
"Testing? You mean the news that was spread?"
Hercule pulled out a poster from the corner. It was the poster for the opening of the Winchester Office.
The rats lingered around Lorenzo and never left.
Although Hercule is no longer in Old Dunling, he still controls the rats, and a steady stream of information is passed on until Lorenzo takes the initiative to contact them.
A written letter went through layers of transfers, and finally arrived before Hercule's eyes, at the time and place, but without the content of the matter.
"Are you interested in guessing what I'm going to do this time?"
Lorenzo asked. He looked at Hercule, hoping that he could give him a perfect answer, but he also hoped that these damn mice didn't peek too much. After all, Lorenzo also needed private space.
"Stay away from the old Dun Ling. Although you told me that you are reluctant to give up the comfortable bed, I know very well that you just like the advanced features of the old Dun Ling. You can quickly reach another place by riding the iron snake instead of riding The horse is bumpy all the way, so you hate going out into the field.
It must be an important job to be able to move you. "
Hercule's eyes fell on Eve, and combined with Eve's identity, he continued.
"A mission from those powerful people."
"You have a rare addition of a Viking in your team, and not long ago the Viking countries sent an envoy...Wait a minute, is this a commission from the Viking countries?"
Hercule looked like he was suddenly enlightened.
"Yes, Hercule, it's a very troublesome job. I'm going to reach Nalo in Gaul next. If you have really investigated me, you should know how valuable my head is there."
Lorenzo continued to explain.
"But this time, I won't have any backup. After all, if the Purification Agency and Beidro are found out, maybe the two sides will start a war."
"So you came to me? Lorenzo!"
Hercule's voice became louder. He had just been tricked by Lorenzo and could only wander around. He couldn't even return to the old Dun Ling, but now he was here again.
"Don't be so excited, I think you are also looking forward to the next adventure, right!"
Lorenzo also stood up, crossed the table easily, and then grabbed Hercule, placing his hand on his shoulder with an air of intimacy.
"You also know that I am too lazy to come to you if there is no trouble, but you still come to see me even though you know this, doesn't it mean that you also expect these things, doesn't it?"
While Lorenzo was speaking, his hand was still drawing randomly in the air, as if he was describing the beautiful scene in the future.
"Have you never thought that I am here to take revenge on you?"
Hercule turned his head stiffly and lifted up his clothes as he spoke. Only then did Lorenzo realize that he had a revolver on his waist. Judging from the caliber, one shot might be able to kill a bull directly. .
"Ah this..."
Lorenzo didn't know what to say for a moment, even if he thought about it carefully.
"Calm down first, Hercule. There are many benefits to this matter. Maybe you can clear your name? By the way, are you interested in joining the purge agency? I can give you an internal recommendation!"
Although Hercule posed no threat to him, Lorenzo decided that it would be better to let him calm down first.
"Lorenzo, you are so sinful."
It's not clear what happened between them, but Eve felt that it would be such a rage to make an ordinary person so angry that he would bring a gun to kill a demon hunter.
Hercule stared at Lorenzo, and there seemed to be real anger swirling in his pupils. The wandering life these days?Terrified...
Countless emotions were mixed together, just like that cup of "happening" that was mixed blindly.
"Okay, tell me what happened this time."
The anger on his face suddenly disappeared, as if he had changed his face. Hercule sat back, his expression a bit twisted and weird, and his body seemed to be shaking slightly.
"What does it have to do with a job that you take so seriously?"
Hercule asked.
Lorenzo impressed Hercule, not because of the benefits of his bad words, but because of the secret behind them.
This is his essence, a patient with an almost pathological pursuit of information, intelligence, secrets, etc., and a deformed desire for control.
"Ivar Lodbrok."
Lorenzo named the target.
"Son of Ragnar Lodbrok, what happened?"
Hercule asked, while the thoughts in his mind continued to surge. This performance was a bit difficult for Hercule. His intelligence network only covered the old Dunling and surrounding areas. He knew the information about this foreign country. Not many.
Seeing Hercule enter the state, Lorenzo also became serious and stopped doing those messy things.
The light atmosphere suddenly became heavy. Eve looked at the two people a little uneasily. The two people who were wrestling with each other just now suddenly became serious. It felt like a group of fighting tigers suddenly stopped biting and started jumping. Fire ring.
But yes, Hercule is Lorenzo's friend, and how many of Lorenzo's good friends are normal people?
Thinking of this, Eve laughed a little self-deprecatingly.
Indeed, even I am not a normal person, I am a ranger, a born ranger.
"Is that so...it's quite interesting."
After listening to Lorenzo's narration, Hercule fell silent, thinking seriously.
"Haibald must be hiding something. I'm not at ease, so I hope you can help me secretly." Lorenzo requested.
"And what's the price? Mr. Holmes."
Hercule smiled like a profiteer.
"I owe you."
"You haven't paid back what you owed last time." Lorenzo was at a loss for words.
This situation didn't last long, and probably Hercule didn't expect any good reward from Lorenzo, he continued.
"That is to say, this time you not only have to track down Ivar's whereabouts and find a way to bring him back, but you also have to confront the Iron Law Bureau, and maybe even break into a military base directly."
Hercule shook his head as he spoke. For a moment, he didn't know how to describe this crazy plan.
"The location is still Gaulnaro..."
He seemed to remember something, and Hercule then looked at Lorenzo.
"Lorenzo, I have heard some other news recently. I think you may be very interested in it. It may be related to this work."
"what happened?"
"There is news that Gaulnaro is preparing to establish his own religion." Hercule sat upright.
"what?"
Lorenzo, who was born in the Evangelical Church, was particularly sensitive to things like religion, and he thought of many things in an instant.
"Actually, it started a few months ago. A new religion emerged in Nallone, Gaul. They called themselves Orthodox. Of course, such religious groups are not unheard of, but they were basically wiped out by the Evangelical Church. , coupled with the fact that the Gaulonalots are loyal believers in the evangelical church, this kind of protestant religion does not have a large group of believers."
Hercule continued.
In history, the teachings of the Gospel Church spread all over the world, and Gaulnaro was the most influenced by it. Because of the isolation of the White Tide Strait, Inlvig was not penetrated as thoroughly as Gaulnaro. In the distant Viking countries, they who believe in the god Odin simply disdain these things.
"So what's special about this time?"
Lorenzo asked if there must be something special about this so-called orthodoxy that Hercule could remember.
"Do you know Miguel?"
"Cardinal Miguel, a high-ranking member of the Evangelical Church and a member of the exiles."
Shermans' notes not only recorded the knowledge of demons, but also recorded some of Shermans' experiences, such as the weird new pope and the exiles who were forced to leave.
In his notes, he mentioned more than once that he wanted to counterattack back to the Seven Hills and kill the heretic who blasphemed the Holy God, but in the end he died in the foreign country of Yin Erweg.
"After Orthodoxy accumulated a certain foundation, Michael appeared. As a cardinal, he declared that the evangelical church had deviated from the will of God and that the sacred authority was now being controlled by heretics. He wanted to re-establish trust in God. piety, and thus Orthodoxy was born.”
Hercule thought about the intelligence. In fact, this was not a secret message. Many people in Gaul Nalo witnessed this moment. However, probably due to the transmission of the information, it is still only in Gaul Nalu. Lowe spreads.
"Then Miguel asked more cardinals who were in exile with him to testify, which made people more convinced of the authenticity of his words... After all, you also know about believers."
In his words, Hercule revealed his disdain for faith.
"But this is not the most important thing. The official attitude of Gaul Naluo is the most strange. Historically, their people were deeply inspired by the "Gospels". It stands to reason that this orthodox religion is a complete heresy in front of them, even if Having a cardinal testify will also cause strong controversy.
But judging from the official attitude of Gaul Naluo, they are supporting this orthodox religion. "
Hercule's eyes became heavy.
"This is a very terrible sign. Gaulonaluo no longer wants to be controlled by the Evangelical Church. They want to create their own religion."
No one responded, and suddenly all the sounds disappeared. After a long silence, Lorenzo finally spoke to break the tranquility.
"No, it's not like that."
Recalling what Arthur had said to himself before, Lorenzo suddenly understood the situation that had begun to change drastically.
"What Gallo Narro wanted was not a new religion."
Advent Night, War Faction, Secret Blood, Cardinal, Miguel...
For some reason, at this moment Lorenzo completely lost his previous relaxed and casual look. Like a beast that sensed a crisis, he clenched his fists involuntarily, his pupils were bloodshot, he was like a deadly sword blade, On the verge of unsheathing.
"What they want is another... demon-hunting order."
(End of this chapter)