Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon

...

Due to Dane’s withdrawal, Chaoyang found out three days late about the news that the army from the mountain region had appeared in the Royal City.

He immediately summoned Xue Quan and informed him of this news. Xue Quan was equally surprised. Based on the intelligence at hand and the assessment of Zhaixing City, their adopting a defensive stance was the logical strategy. Launching an attack was greatly disadvantageous, especially in the absence of notifying the Paradise Sect and acting alone against the Royal City.

Recalling how Duke Longjiu, despite being protected by many masters, still fell to the attack of the Blooming Excalibur Meckfah, Xue Quan proposed a bold hypothesis, "Could they have defected to the Evil God?"

"The Primordial Gods wouldn’t give them any power!" Shi Yin indifferently remarked while lying on the office desk, "Even if they pray as much as they like, they won’t get a response from the Primordial Gods. In the end, it’s just some fools mistaking the anomalies caused by being too close to the Primordial Gods as some kind of revelation, wishfully thinking on their own."

"However, previously the Divine Envoy of the Evil God and Earl Li Qiang seemed quite capable."

"Aren’t you also quite capable? It’s the same principle." Shi Yin patted its plump belly. "By a stroke of luck, you stole a great branch of knowledge from the God of Causality... which is me, and you also received a part of the power of the Unfathomed. What does all this have to do with whether you’re a follower of the Primordial Gods? Yet some people see themselves as chosen by destiny, hoping to further curry favor with the divinities."

"What if Zhaixing City also encountered such an opportunity?"

"That would be another matter entirely. Anyway, what I want to say is, the Primordial Gods can’t be easily summoned, and once they appear, the price humanity has to pay is beyond measure. Since Zhaixing City still has the strength to attack the Longjiu Family, this speculation is unlikely to be true."

That’s true...

If the entire region really fell for the Evil God, the influence would undoubtedly bring about the descent of the Evil God, and it would be questionable how many in the north could survive then.

"The Evil God is unlikely, but the First-Rank Miracle Construction and the Latter Divine are worth considering," Chaoyang said; both had the power to change the balance of forces, "It would be great if we could get real-time information from the Royal Capital and the mountain region."

"If you want a scouting squadron, that’s not a problem," Xue Quan offered proactively without waiting for him to ask, "I’ll go ask my superiors to apply for it, and we should be able to deploy a scouting squadron by tomorrow. However, airplanes can only survey from the air and can’t gather detailed information on the ground. When it comes to intelligence gathering, there might be more convenient options than airplanes."

"Oh? What are they?"

"The followers of the divinities," he said straightforwardly. "Of course, I don’t mean the followers of the Paradise Sect... What I mean is, Kokomoqi and the Mist God probably both have their own followers hidden in the Royal Capital and the mountain region, right?"

...

The summoned Kokomoqi seemed a bit rounder—though divinities only eat to satisfy their cravings, this happiness also reflects in their imagined bodies. Lately, the Magic Goddess had been almost constantly at the transfer station, either playing games or watching movies, so happy that her gaze toward Chaoyang even contained a hint more of admiration and affection.

"What do you want Yu to do, just say it. As long as it’s within Yu’s capabilities, I can satisfy you."

Chaoyang briefly explained the situation with the Royal Capital.

"Duke Longjiu is dead?" Kokomoqi was greatly shocked after listening, "Wait a minute... something’s not right. I didn’t feel the downfall of the God of All Machines. Logically, if a divinity is still alive, they would surely protect their blessed ones. How could Meckfah succeed so easily?"

"I’ll leave the Royal City to the Hidden Mist God to contact. Can you reach out to the followers in the mountain region and ask about Zhaixing City’s situation?" Chaoyang asked, "I’ll replenish the wishing power you use."

"That’s not really a big issue—Water Divination doesn’t consume much energy."

Kokomoqi brought over a basin of water, closed her eyes, and began to use her magic.

After a moment, she opened her eyes with an expression of surprise and a touch of loss, "Lallote Guinness is dead."

Who?

Chaoyang paused before he remembered who that person was.

An ancient family devoted to the Magic Goddess, the current head of which was also the Administrative Assistant Officer of Zhaixing City, was last contacted by Kokomoqi through water divination, and it seemed to be him.

"Dead?"

"Yes, I left a magic mark on him, so even if he didn’t have any water at hand, he could still respond to my call," she nodded, "If there is no message at all, then he must be no longer in this world."

As she said this, Kokomoqi laughed softly, "But given his status, he probably died quite peacefully. The longer divinities live, the harder it is to avoid such situations... It’s alright, I can still contact his children, or other believers. Just give me a moment."

She didn’t seem as indifferent as she appeared, Chaoyang thought.

Indeed, many well-known believers would die, but over three to four hundred years, she wasn’t short of believers. The situation now was different, with only a handful of recognizable names left... The believers at this point might have become akin to little friends.

"How did he die?"

"Don’t know... Water divination can’t reveal that. Do you think all divinities contact their followers as simply as you do?" Kokomoqi pouted, "Maybe he died of old age, or maybe he slipped while walking due to his advanced years. It’s not unusual to die of a fall in the cold high mountains. Anyway... I’ll try contacting little Guinness first."

This time, the water divination took quite a while.

Finally, ripples started to spread across the water in the basin.

"He’s responded," the Magic Goddess opened her eyes, "I did not give him a mark, so he had to find water to reply."

The ripples grew more intense and then coalesced into a line of bright red letters.

’Is that you? Please, save me, Goddess!’

The letters then disappeared, leaving only a faint trace of blood in the water.

Chaoyang frowned, "What’s going on?" He had seen water divination used before, and the letters were always normal... This was the first time he’d seen red text.

"He couldn’t find water... so he replied with blood," Kokomoqi murmured.

Chaoyang immediately realized that the Guinness family was in trouble, and Lallote’s death was probably not an accident.

"It seems this won’t work, I’ll try someone else," Kokomoqi shook her head, intending to pour out the water and start anew, but Chaoyang stopped her.

"Aren’t you going to rescue him?"

"What?" It took a moment for the Magic Goddess to respond, "No, that would surely cost wishing power, and besides, divinities should not get too close to mortals, nor should they easily interfere with their fates. You should know, we protect humanity as a whole, not individuals within it. I’ve seen much of such matters over nine hundred years..."

"Nine hundred years is nine hundred years, now is now," Chaoyang interrupted her, "You must have known the Guinness family a long time ago... One by one, other families that worshipped magic have vanished, leaving this single one, and the significance of the last is nearly the same as the first. If you choose to let go now, will you really not regret it later?"

Kokomoqi opened her mouth, but did not immediately reply.

"Of course... I’m not insisting you go, I’m just making a suggestion, what you do is up to you," he added, "But if you decide to save him, the Paradise Sect will be your strongest support, and I, as a friend, will assist you to the end."

After a moment of silence, Kokomoqi looked at Chaoyang, the wistfulness in her eyes receding somewhat, and then she extended her hand, "Maybe I can’t save every prayerful believer, but I want to find out how Lallote died. Can you help me?"

Chaoyang grasped her extended hand, "Of course, let’s set off today."