Chapter 461: Chapter 461: The Out-of-Control Secret Puppet
Chapter 461: The Out-of-Control Secret Puppet
"He still has some matters to handle in Southwell County. He should return to Backlund in a while," Audrey answered calmly, her eyes curving into a smile. "Dear Countess, the necklace you're wearing today is so beautiful. I haven't seen you wear it before. Did our thoughtful Earl Hall just give it to you?"
To avoid further discussion on these topics, Audrey naturally diverted the conversation.
By the time Earl Hall returned, they were still discussing which dress would best match the exquisite necklace.
In the evening, after dinner, Earl Hall casually mentioned the recent defeat of the Ruen Kingdom in the Feysac Empire.
The situation was far more complex and terrifying than what the newspapers described. The true defeat of the Ruen Kingdom's army wasn't due to the bravery of the Feysac Empire but rather a suspected contagious disease.
When the winter snow melted in spring, this infectious disease suddenly awoke in the Ruen Kingdom's military camp and spread.
The specific symptoms included initial weakness, lying in bed, followed by the face gradually turning black and purple, and the muscles of the limbs gradually wasting away, as if something was draining them.
After about five to ten days, the infected would lose their sanity and start to go mad.
Earl Hall's words stopped there. The specific situation would need to wait for the next wave of information.
The only fortunate aspect was that, led by the everNight Goddess, the Church of Steam and Machinery and the Church of the Earth Mother cooperated fully, sending many personnel to assist.
Just hearing the description made Audrey feel terrified. That night, she wrote a letter, intending to send it to Southwell County through Hastur's spirit world messenger.
Blowing the copper whistle engraved with flame patterns, the spirit world door opened, and a fist-sized firebird flew out. It glanced at Audrey and Susie, then, under Audrey's curious gaze, took the letter and left.
"So this is Mr. Hastur's messenger. It's so cute."
"Woof!"
Susie reminded Audrey with a serious face that what she felt just now was not cute but terrifying.
When the little firebird's gaze swept over, it felt like a predator at the top of the food chain looking down at its prey.
...
Finally finding a temporary place to stay, Klein received a letter from Mr. Azik.
In the letter, Mr. Azik detailed the anomalies happening in the Feysac Empire, urging him not to come to the Feysac Empire in the short term.
"Is the situation that scary?"
After reading the letter, Klein frowned slightly. He also bought a newspaper today, which mentioned the war between the Feysac Empire and the Ruen Kingdom.
The God of War had fallen. The Feysac Empire, without divine protection, could still hold on and even counterattack, implying a new deity was backing them.
However, Mr. Azik overestimated him. Was he the type to seek excitement?
Klein laughed at himself, thought for a while, then sat at his desk and wrote a reply.
He invited Mr. Azik to return to Backlund, to avoid getting entangled in the war between the Feysac Empire and the Ruen Kingdom, to avoid inadvertently angering the gods behind them.
In a world where gods could significantly influence the outcome of wars, it was safer to stay away from them.
Late at night, Klein suddenly woke up from his sleep, vaguely hearing a neat yet ethereal chanting from the street outside, as if reciting some spell or scripture.
He lived in the southwestern part of the North District, about 1500 meters in a straight line from Saint Samuel Cathedral.
In such a place, apart from members of the everNight Goddess, other mysterious organizations shouldn't dare to approach casually.
Klein didn't get up from the bed, only controlling one of his secret puppets to walk to the window, slightly opening a corner to observe what was happening on the street below.
The puppet's eyes were his eyes.
On the dim street, a long line of about twenty people had formed at some point. There were men and women, old and young.
The only common point was that they were all wrapped in tattered yellow robes, but this time they didn't wear yellow hoods, making their facial expressions clearly visible.
Their arms hung naturally, lightly crossed at the waist, bare feet, heads slightly lowered, chanting mysterious verses as if from a distant starry sky, following the leader, passing through the dim street.
The leader held an oil lamp in one hand and a book with the back of the King in Yellow on the cover in the other.
This time, Klein clearly saw the name of the book, *The Star's Child*.
"Along the shore, cutting through the clouds
The twin suns sink into the lake
Long shadows fall
There, on the wondrous night when the black star rises
The wondrous moon runs through the night
Yellow rags flutter in the wind
The song silently fades away
When the soul no longer sings
When tears no longer flow
The master of the starry sea in the distant sky
The formless, nameless one
He will descend amidst the expectations of thousands of followers!"
Listening carefully for a while, the verse that should have been ethereal and hard to hear clearly suddenly sounded completely in the ear.
Word for word, like a trickling stream, it flowed through the ears, through the blood vessels, into the depths of the heart.
The puppet, which should have felt nothing, shivered involuntarily.
As Klein hesitated whether to follow and take a look, he saw through the narrow window gap that a Night Watcher from the everNight Goddess was secretly following the followers of the King in Yellow.
Their movements weren't too secretive, but the followers of the King in Yellow seemed unaware, letting them follow silently.
So fearless?
Klein found it strange. Whether it was the followers of the King in Yellow or the attitude of the Night Watchers towards them, it was intriguing.
According to normal procedures, shouldn't the activities of these followers be stopped?
Even if their actions didn't violate anything, they shouldn't be allowed to wander the streets at night.
Or would disturbing these followers cause something bad to happen?
Until the followers of the King in Yellow left his sight, Klein took no action.
Better to avoid trouble.
His current identity was a wealthy man from the Disi Bay.
Klein prepared to withdraw the puppet and continue resting, but found that the puppet's body suddenly stiffened, turned towards the direction the followers left, and began to chant unconsciously: "Along the shore, cutting through the clouds
The twin suns sink into the lake
Long shadows fall
There, on the wondrous night when the black star rises..."
Hearing the puppet's voice, Klein immediately sensed something was wrong. His face darkened, and he quickly got up, manipulating the spiritual thread to control the puppet to close its mouth.
But the puppet's mouth only closed for a moment before continuing to chant: "The wondrous moon runs through the night
Yellow rags flutter in the wind
The song silently fades away
When the soul no longer sings
When tears no longer flow..."
Seeing the puppet out of his control, Klein promptly severed the spiritual thread between him and the puppet to avoid being affected by the puppet's abnormality.
The puppet paused for a moment, then continued to finish the last part: "The master of the starry sea in the distant sky
The formless, nameless one
He will descend amidst the expectations of thousands of followers!"
A flame rose in Klein's palm, and he waved it at the puppet, letting the fierce fire completely engulf its body.
Although he wasn't sure what had just happened, he dared not keep this puppet by his side anymore.
Fortunately, this puppet was only a Sequence 8 Light Worshiper, not too precious.
If it had been his Blood Admiral Senor puppet, he wouldn't have been so willing.
"What exactly happened?"
Klein had no intention of continuing to sleep, carefully recalling every second and every scene from earlier.
The only unusual thing was the mysterious verse chanted by the followers of the King in Yellow.
Could this verse contain some form of contamination?
Why didn't he feel anything?
If not contamination, then it should be some extraordinary power affecting those who heard the verse.
Klein couldn't decide, thinking that when he returned to Backlund, he should greet Will.
As for it being late at night... Will should have gotten used to it by now.
Klein lay in bed, placing the paper crane beside his pillow. Soon, he saw Will in his dream, wearing a nightcap and blue pajamas, rubbing his eyes and trying to wake up.
"Do you know what time it is?"
"Almost dawn."
"There are still more than two hours until dawn!" Will said angrily. "This is the best time to rest at night."
Klein didn't argue, waiting quietly for Will to finish complaining before asking about the followers of the King in Yellow.
"You mean those followers? If you don't provoke them, they won't affect you." Will's expression was a bit strange.
"But just now..."
Klein explained the situation with his puppet.
Will paced back and forth, saying, "You were probably detected while spying on them, so they gave you a warning."
"Such keen perception." Klein was confident in his ability to hide his presence.
"The followers of the King in Yellow walk under the stars. It's not easy to hide from them. Just be careful in the future."
Will clearly didn't want to discuss this topic too much, sounding a bit perfunctory at the end.
"What kind of organization are the followers of the King in Yellow? Or are they just a group of believers?"
"They call themselves the Yellow-robed Monks. Their ultimate goal is to follow the King in Yellow to the end of their faith." Will added, "They believe there's a door to eternal life in the vast starry sky."
Klein thought for a moment and asked another curious question: "Why doesn't the everNight Goddess take action against the followers of the King in Yellow?"
"What action? Kill them or imprison them? They haven't shown any harm."
"Is that all?"
"So sleepy, I don't want to talk to you anymore. Next time, don't disturb my rest."
Will left, leaving Klein tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep.
He felt that Will had hidden something in their conversation.
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