Chapter 159: Chapter 159: The Black Goat Priest_1
At night, outside a bungalow in the suburbs of Silvertown, in the autonomous region of Cadria.
"Hurry, hurry! We’re already late!" the man whispered urgently to his companion to keep up.
"Oh, what does it matter, we only need to catch the last part anyway. You’re not seriously interested in hearing that priest go on and on about spreading the faith?" his companion was still taking his time.
"Idiot, if we’re late, we’ll only get to pick what others have left over!"
"Heh, as if there’s anything good to pick, those Grey Robed Nuns all look pretty much the same..."
The two approached the door of the bungalow, looked around sneakily, and the man in the lead knocked on the door with a specific rhythm.
The door opened, and behind it appeared a young woman in a religious habit.
The nun looked at the two men with vacant eyes before stepping aside to let them through.
Upon entering the house, they were greeted by a dimly lit corridor with candles, and the nun who had opened the door promptly locked it behind them and silently raised her hand, pointing to the donation box placed by the door.
The two of them took out several silver coins they had prepared in advance and dropped them into the box, the nun nodded her head, turned around, and led the way for them.
She took the two devotees to a storeroom and opened the entrance to the basement.
A passage that extended straight into the ground, with an iron ladder fixed to the wall, the nun held up a lantern to illuminate the entrance for the two men who entered the basement in sequence.
No sooner had they reached the bottom than they heard a deep voice reverberating through the underground space:
"... She sowed the seeds on Earth, granting the miracle of life and reproduction, enabling myriad species to break the confines of life and death and persist in this world. Praise her, the Great Mother Goddess! She is the origin of all things, the land that receives cultivation, the Black Goat that bears ten thousand offspring!!"
The basement had been simply furnished into a chapel, with countless candles brightening the space.
On the podium, a priest with a black goat mask was preaching, his voice muffled and hollow due to the mask covering his head.
A Grey Robed Nun at his side played the organ, while male followers sat restlessly in the seats below, waiting.
The two men who had entered the chapel were pleased, for it seemed they had arrived just in time—the priest’s sermon was drawing to a close and the main event was about to begin.
They had just found their seats when the priest on the stage suddenly raised his arm and shouted, "Pay tribute to the Great Mother Goddess, sow the seeds, propagate, may her will flow through the land!"
"May her will flow through the land!!" the followers below repeated excitedly.
Meanwhile, the curtain behind the podium, painted with an inverted pentagram, was lifted, and several Grey Robed Nuns entered the chapel, beginning to disrobe amid the thrilling cheers and whistles of the congregation.
"Then, offer everything to the Mother Goddess," the priest said blandly before turning and walking behind the curtain.
The Grey Robed Nun playing the organ finished the music, stood up, and followed him behind the curtain.
Behind the curtain was a long corridor leading to an underground room in another building, which also served as an escape route.
The priest removed the black goat mask from his head, revealing greying hair and a face showing signs of aging.
He ignored the noise behind him and left the scene directly.
"The third team to go to Banquet Forest was wiped out too," the Grey Robed Nun said to the priest in an unruffled voice.
"As expected, it’s not easy to find the path there," the priest replied calmly. "Continue as we are. We have as many pawns as needed. Once we find the path, we can spread the word. There are many forces that want the head of the pinnacle witch."
"The efficiency of ’propagation’ probably won’t keep up," said the nun in black, "Our time is running short."
"If we don’t have enough time, then just hire some suicidal mercenaries and bounty hunters. It won’t cost much."
While they were discussing this, a Grey Robed Nun holding a lantern approached them.
"Father." The nun bowed respectfully to the priest.
"Ah, my daughter." The priest opened his hands, revealing a smile, "What is it? You look quite pale."
"There’s a new... message." The nun came closer and whispered something in the priest’s ear.
"Oh?" The priest’s expression shifted slightly, "Where did this message come from?"
"It’s from a believer who sells medicine in Silvertown; he said he heard it from a witch who had been imprisoned in Rose Iron Prison." The Grey Robed Nun answered reverently.
"A women’s prison, why would..." The priest mused aloud, "Has it been investigated?"
"Not yet."
"Then arrange for some people to ’go in’ and check it out. We can’t linger here too long, we must find the ’Diviner’ as soon as possible," the priest instructed.
"Understood." The Grey Robed Nun nodded and turned to leave.
But she had only taken two steps when her movement suddenly halted, and the lantern slipped from her hands and crashed to the ground.
"What’s wrong with you?" the priest asked, though his expression did not show the slightest panic.
The Grey Robed Nun’s body began to convulse violently before collapsing to the ground and curling up.
"Father... I... it hurts so much, save me..." She breathed her plea to the priest, her voice faint.
"The lifespan has reached its end," the priest frowned slightly and sighed, "By this generation of clones, they can only live for less than half a month. Going any further..."
"Use her to the fullest before she dies," said the nun in black behind him with an indifferent voice, "Even expendables are in dire need right now."
"Father..." The Grey Robed Nun stretched out her hand toward the priest’s feet with difficulty.
"Don’t worry, you will be reborn very soon," the priest said to her, his voice soothing.
Then he uttered words beyond ordinary understanding, his deep voice reverberating through the tunnels like the peal of a bell.
No sooner had he spoken than the Grey Robed Nun’s body began to swell, and the previously feeble nun let out cries of pain akin to childbirth.
Her habit was soon torn asunder, and her expanding flesh became as viscous and slippery as sludge, splitting as if pulled by an external force, ultimately forming two separate and complete bodies.
"Cough cough cough... cough cough!" The newly formed nuns, draped in tattered garments, lay coughing on the ground.
They had faces almost identical to that of the Grey Robed Nun before splitting, though they appeared much younger and their bodies were smaller.
"Praise your new life, my daughters," the priest extended his hands and showed them a loving smile.
Both lifted their faces, and in their eyes, as vacant as the original Grey Robed Nun’s, the figure of the priest was reflected.
"’Father...’" their identical voices overlapped.
