I, the wizard, the foolish Buddha

It seemed that Old Stick had not only cleared out the monsters, but also taken care of a few of the Church's teammates.

Seeing Roland's projection, Old Stick chuckled and said, "I knew you kid would be alright. I've found some interesting things here. Do you want to come and meet up with me?

This level of the ruins is a bit dangerous. You might run into some trouble exploring it on your own."

Roland glanced at the two people beside Old Stick without saying a word.

Old Stick suddenly realized and said, "These two are our own people."

"Our own people..." That was a strange phrase.

It was impossible for any mages from the Eastern Territory to be involved in the ruins, so these two couldn't be mages from the Eastern Territory. That only left cultists.

Old Stick had indeed infiltrated the cult and might have made some friends within it. However, there would definitely be many things he couldn't say in front of these old church people.

But for Old Stick to say that these two were his own people at this time was very strange.

Old Stick continued, "They used to believe in the wrong god, mistaking their god for some 'Roland.' Now I have corrected their cognitive errors, and they are following 'Violet Saintess, Catherine' with me."

Roland looked at Old Stick with a strange gaze.

He thought to himself, 'This lunatic, he always mistakes Senior for a Mad God Saintess. I hope he doesn't cause any trouble one day and make Senior ascend!'

Suppressing his thoughts, Roland said with some doubt, "Teacher Harland, didn't Catherine tell you about my situation? Our people are gathering to find me. We'll leave together later."

Old Stick was stunned for a moment and said, "Why haven't I heard about this?"

Roland's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly had a bad feeling.

After the two compared notes, Roland immediately understood everything.

Old Stick said, "Young Miss and Anna didn't come with us. They were just writing you a letter on the Hydra's side, so it's probably not Catherine. You're usually so shrewd, kid, how did you get fooled?"

Roland said, "Impossible!"

He took out the parchment, confirmed the handwriting, and then said, "These words are definitely written by Senior!"

Old Stick stroked his beard and said, "If you want to imitate someone's handwriting, it's too easy. Of course, it's also possible that it was Miss Catherine herself who wrote it to you.

Logically speaking, with the Hydra's crude magic, it shouldn't have any effect on them. Miss must have deliberately let herself be captured."

Roland was stunned.

Thinking about it that way, it was true.

Let's not even talk about Catherine. Just take Anna. With her resistance, even those terrifying Mad God spells from Kohler wouldn't affect her. How could she be easily captured by the Hydra's people?

Roland said, "So, Senior deliberately cooperated with the Hydra to capture me? What on earth are these two up to?!"

Old Stick also stroked his beard and thought for a long time, seemingly unable to understand the matter.

After thinking for a moment, Old Stick said, "Although I don't know what Miss is planning, I don't think it's a good thing for you to be with the Hydra's people. You should come and find me.

The people from the Holy See are about to gather, and the team is very safe.

It is said that there is also a Saintess escorting them... That Saintess is very likely related to this ruin. With her there, the team will be very smooth."

As soon as Roland heard this, he exploded. He said, "No way! Teacher Harland, I've met that Saintess, and my identity has already been exposed! I absolutely cannot go with the Holy See's team now!"

Old Stick's expression changed drastically, and he asked, "Which of your identities has been exposed?"

Roland didn't pay close attention to this sentence. He said, "I used black magic!

My identity as a black wizard has been exposed!

Currently, she doesn't know that I'm from the Aleyah royal family.

However, as long as the two of us are together, my identity will definitely be exposed!

The Aleyah family can open the gate, and they will never allow a living Aleyah to be in the ruins."

Roland really didn't want to mention his sibling relationship with Orlaya, nor did he want to mention the matter of the Four Saints.

However, he had to explain to Old Stick.

So, he used this ambiguous language to shift the blame to the 'Gate Opener.'

Old Stick didn't ask any further questions. He clasped his hands together and prayed, as if listening to a divine revelation.

After a moment, this old thing came up with two terrible ideas for Roland.

"Child, I'm afraid it's too late for you to leave through the teleportation array you came from.

However, yes, in 'Orlaya's Garden,' there is a ruin. Hidden within it is a teleportation array left behind by the old church. As long as you repair it, you can leave the garden.

After you come out, I will send a priest to find you.

As long as you follow my method, eat his soul and flesh, and then put on his skin, you will be exactly the same as him. Including realm, divine arts, and even memories. The Holy See will definitely not be able to see through this trick.

However, if you follow me, it will ultimately affect Miss's plan.

Moreover, although my method has never had any problems, and it is very suitable for you to learn... it is hard to say how much of it you can use with your current learning, and whether you will have trouble distinguishing who you are.

So I have another suggestion—join the Hydra's team."

After a pause, Old Stick said meaningfully, "There are our own people there. When you follow them to the last door, I will have arrangements for you."

Roland was stunned and asked, "Our own people? People from our Black Abyss have infiltrated the Hydra?"

Old Stick smiled kindly, left a coordinate on the crystal ball, and then closed the communication.

Roland's face became even stranger.

He checked the coordinates left by Old Stick on the crystal ball and found that it was a certain underground area in this ruin.

Roland's expression couldn't help but become even more peculiar.

This teleportation array might not even be known to Orlaya.

Otherwise, she would have waited here for the people sent by the Holy See.

Therefore, this teleportation array should have been created by the old church believers who managed the garden back then.

Currently, the only ones who still know this secret are the old church cultists. Moreover, it is likely that even the general high-level members would have difficulty knowing this secret.

After thinking for a moment, Roland burst into a loud curse.

"Shit! I shouldn't have come to this damn ruin in the first place!

Senior and I are playing riddles, and Old Stick, who was entrusted with important tasks by Senior, is actually a cultist!

You guys really dug a big pit for me!"

Roland's complaint was a bit guilty.

Because the person who entrusted Old Stick with important tasks was not Senior, but Roland himself!

Back then, when Senior found out that the cultist 'Hans' knew her preferences very well, she said that Old Stick had been in contact with the Aleyah old church when he was in the Twilight Council, and he might really be a cultist!

So Senior didn't recommend letting Old Stick 'infiltrate' the cult.

It was Roland who overruled everyone's objections and insisted on entrusting Old Stick with important tasks.

Roland had his own logical judgment—Old Stick even mistook the Mad God Saintess for a man, he's a cultist my ass.

But the problem is that mistaking the Saintess and whether he is a cultist are completely two different things.

Moreover, he may not have really mistaken the Saintess.

Therefore, although everyone dug a big pit in Malraud, Roland dug part of the dirt in this pit himself!

As for Senior and him playing riddles... Roland thought that Senior and Anna had deliberately infiltrated the Hydra, preparing to do something big, and then playing riddles with him.

However, those two sisters are not Senior and Anna at all!

So it's not Senior and Roland playing riddles, it's that Roland has mistaken the person from the beginning to the end!

Roland didn't know that he had mistaken the person, but he didn't plan to play with 'Senior' anymore.

His current favorability towards 'Senior' has dropped to a negative number, and he plans to find the teleportation point in the ruins and leave the ruins. He will never come back again.

Thinking of this, Roland angrily took out the parchment and wrote a sentence to Senior: ["You play riddles with me all day long, I'm fed up with you! Goodbye... no, never see you again! Let's break up!"]

After venting his anger, Roland hurriedly rubbed off the words on it again.

It's not that he doesn't plan to break up, it's that he's afraid that Senior will know that he's leaving and stop him from running away!

After erasing the words, Roland teleported out of the snake ring.

As a result, Roland was dumbfounded when he came out.

The main hall was much brighter than before. There were many more torches on both sides of the hall, illuminating the entire hall very brightly.

There were many, many people in the hall.

Amidst the light and shadow, there was a faint giant snake tail wrapped around several pillars near Roland.

A little girl wearing a doll costume was playing hopscotch on that thick snake tail.

Roland's gaze followed the snake tail upwards, slowly turning around and looking behind him.

Behind Roland, there was an extremely tall snake-bodied giantess.

In one of her hands, a snake ring floated, in another she held a harp, in another she held a pen, and in the last hand, she was clutching a piece of parchment fiercely.

Roland's gaze gradually moved upwards, seeing a gloomy and hideous face—this femme fatale was looking down at Roland with a smile that was not a smile with those vertical pupils.

"Sir Lawrence, I told you, we will meet again soon."

Roland's expression was very ugly.

At this moment, Roland suddenly heard Senior's voice transmission.

["I'm playing riddles with you... If I didn't play riddles with you, would I hug each other in public as soon as I entered the door, and then be recognized by the Holy See and the Hydras, and die here!"

"Break up, then break up! I've long since had enough of your madness!"

Roland hurriedly turned his head to look, spotting the two sisters in the crowd.

At this moment, the two sisters were also looking at Roland.

The older sister was trembling all over, her face pale. She seemed to be 'angry (terrified)' to the extreme.

Roland gave the older sister a look, the gist of which was—stop talking nonsense, what's your plan?

The older sister was stunned, then rolled her eyes fiercely, returning Roland a look that meant—I want to ask you! Can't you recognize who Catherine is? Why did you send the coordinates to that banshee!

Now we've all been caught, it's all over!

Roland's vision went dark.

He thought to himself: 'These two idiots! I thought they were deliberately acting, but they were really caught?!'

Just as Roland was about to give the older sister another look, Roland heard Faqi behind him say, "Sir Lawrence, if you continue to communicate with them with your eyes, I will dig out their eyes!"

Roland's expression froze slightly.

At Faqi's signal, the naga next to the two sisters covered their eyes with a thick layer of cloth. It was just ordinary cloth, but it was effective.

Roland could actually establish a mental connection with Senior Sister and communicate with mental power. However, this method is easily eavesdropped on by those with high levels or those with special mysterious means.

If the other party's methods were even more clever, they could even disguise themselves as a third conversationalist, talking to Roland while talking to 'Senior Sister'.

Therefore, since Bitter Blood Fortress, Roland and Senior Sister have not used mental communication when there are many people, but instead use 'eye contact'.

This is a very niche communication method, because it relies on the wizard's insight and intuition. In essence, the two sides do not have any mental contact, using eye contact and micro-expressions.

Few wizards can communicate in this way, and even if they barely communicate, they cannot fully understand each other's meaning.

Roland and Senior Sister both have terrifying insight and a tacit understanding, so they can communicate with each other very easily with eye contact.

As for Roland and those two sisters, the two sisters have no insight at all, and they are not so tacitly connected with Roland.

But Roland is their god, and they are Roland's fanatical believers!

Therefore, even if the two sides do not know that the other is a god or their own fanatical believer, one look from each side can understand each other's meaning.

However, although the method of communicating with eye contact cannot be detected, once the line of sight is blocked, there is no way to communicate.

As a god and believers, they obviously have other more convenient and confidential ways of communication, but neither side knows the other's identity.

So Roland thought that there was only this one method of eye contact. And the two sisters didn't even know why they could understand Roland's eyes, let alone treat him as a god.

Roland didn't dare to look at the two sisters anymore, he obediently stayed by Faqi's side.

Faqi seemed very interested in the big stone tablet, and after seeing Roland stay obediently by her side, she curiously observed the stone tablet.

Roland was lost in thought.

He thought to himself: 'They have the numbers, and this snake woman is very vicious, so I can't anger her. Otherwise, the three of us will suffer a lot.

However, the three of us, as prisoners, are very valuable.

For now, let's be honest prisoners and look for opportunities. First, we have to get the snake ring back.'

One thing Roland was very puzzled about was how the snake ring ended up in Faqi's hands.

Because Roland was worried that there would be other strange things in the ruins, he didn't use a puppet substitute like usual when entering the snake ring. Instead, he specifically handed the snake ring to Leona.

With Leona's means, she couldn't possibly not be able to escape.

If she was facing a group of Black Abyss elders who knew Leona very, very well, then in a situation where they had prepared in advance and had a layout in advance, they might be able to get the ring from Leona's hand.

But if it was the Southerners... facing a mechanism freak like Leona, then even if Faqi's various stats were higher, it would be useless.

Because she doesn't even know what Leona is, so how can she deal with her?

What's even stranger is that Faqi even knows that I and Senior Sister often communicate with eye contact. This is too strange.

Just then, Roland noticed that on the other side of Faqi, an old priest had been standing there. He had been smiling and telling Faqi about the scriptures on the stone tablet.

The surrounding knights and priests, and even some naga, seemed to admire him very much, calling him 'Great Prophet'.

This Great Prophet's strength is very terrifying, his level is higher than Faqi's and Haland's, these new Black Abyss elders.

Faqi seemed a little unhappy with this Great Prophet. Because there are many followers of the Old Religion among the Nine-Headed Serpent, in their hearts, the Great Prophet, like Faqi's father, is a spokesperson for God.

Seeming to feel Roland's gaze, the Great Prophet looked at Roland and winked at Roland quietly.

Roland's face suddenly became extremely ugly.

He suddenly 'understood' how the snake ring ended up in Faqi's hands, and also 'understood' how Faqi knew that he and Senior Sister often communicated with eye contact.

Naturally, it was this Great Prophet who told her.

Roland thought to himself: 'All Great Prophets are not one person, but they are one person.

What the old swindler truly understands is not Black Abyss magic and Twilight magic, but the idiotic Holy Mother's demented old scriptures.'

In the entire ruins, there were three groups of people he was most unwilling to contact. One group was the old swindler, this group of big liars, big traitors, and big cultists.

One group was Faqi and her gang of dead robbers and dead enemies.

The other group was O'Reilly and her gang.

Now two groups of people have gathered around Roland.

Most likely, they will have to meet up with the Holy See later.

'Senior Sister, ah, Senior Sister, you have screwed me over!

If I ever go to a dungeon with you again, I'm a dog!'