Only God

Mona spoke at length, and the more she spoke, the more her voice trembled. It was apparent that she held deep loathing and extreme fear for Ghost King Rigongde, and she grieved for her tribespeople.

"My people...they are born with devils in their hearts, and they live...lives of corruption. Murder, promiscuity, and hallucination are their daily fare. My sisters say that finding someone like me among the Zor Elves is harder than finding gold in a desert."

Mona said sorrowfully; she hated the corruption of her kin, and yet she was pained by their plight.

"Sometimes, I wonder, why did God make me a Zor Elf? If He made me a Zor Elf, why did He let me see the corruption of my people?"

Eden listened, carefully entering into a state of Spiritual Cultivation as he glanced at Mona.

She was a soul of utmost purity.

"I too have wondered about many whys.

But I have never truly found an answer."

Mona glanced curiously at Eden.

"You look like a priest, or a devout True Believer. Haven't you ever asked God about it?"

Eden bowed his head, pondering for a moment.

"I have asked, but He has never responded.

Everyone has too many whys in their hearts, and God will not answer each one, although He has the power to do so."

The conversation ended abruptly there, as the witches had already captured the spiritual traces of the devils.

Eden was still mulling over something, as if lost in thought.

However, he soon had to push all these considerations to the back of his mind.

One witch after another showed excitement on their faces, with a touch of solemnity in their eyes. Their complex expressions suggested they had stumbled upon something dire.

"The wizard controlling the devils must be Lodzmer."

A witch spoke up as Mona approached.

"Lodzmer?"

Mona shuddered.

Eden, sensing something, inquired.

"Who is that? What happened?"

"A troublesome devil wizard. Though he lacks the power of God's Path of Creation, he controls many devils, and it's said that he holds a registry of the true names of devils."

Mona briefly explained,

"We suspect he has fused with his devils, becoming a half-human, half-devil entity.

We've been tracking him for a long time, and two sisters even met with misfortune along the way..."

Eden could clearly hear the itch of hatred the Witch Gathering had for Lodzmer.

"Previously, every time he acted, he would meticulously erase all spiritual traces. But this time, it seems he was too hasty and didn't have time to do so.

Of course, this could also be a trap. In any case, we need your further cooperation."

Eden was immediately on high alert.

Just right, he wanted to test the power of the Third Rank Holy Chorus and the new Ancient Language and abilities of the Third Rank.

"The plan is simple. We track down Lodzmer's location, then lure him into a trap, and finally strike to capture him and his devils all at once."

............

............

A simple plan is never the problem, the problem is often how to execute it.

If the execution is poor, even a flawless plan can be rendered futile.

At this point, whether it's a complex plan or a simple one, it's all the same.

The witches had successfully locked onto the trail of Lodzmer, that devil wizard. Perhaps he would never have guessed that Eden and the Witch Gathering would cooperate.

After all, wizards have long been ostracized and feared by the Church.

And to lure Lodzmer into the trap, the best way is to pay a price, to draw his arrival.

It's like the cheese on a mousetrap.

The cheese is always quietly set on the trap, and the trap itself remains silent and still, seemingly harmless to man or beast.

But when a mouse truly touches the cheese, often it has barely gotten the cheese in its grasp before its spine is snapped.

Without a doubt, Eden could perfectly play the role of the cheese.

The plan was that Arsia would go hunting, with Eden as her guard in attendance, and at a crucial moment, he would separate from the main force, and get "lost" in the woods alone.

At that time, Eden would appear to be in a state of isolated helplessness.

However, in reality, he would be leading Lodzmer into a well-prepared trap.

Of course, the plan is beautiful, but the key is whether Lodzmer would take the bait or not.

To ensure the accuracy of the plan, the witches made a prophecy.

To avoid being counter-prophesied by Lodzmer, the witches made the prophecy very obscure. To put it simply, it involved a lot of twists and turns before it finally pointed to the devil under Lodzmer's command.

"Speaking of which, wouldn't Lodzmer be capable of prophecy?" Arsia asked in a low voice while riding on horseback.

The witch Rita beside her smiled,

"We've made preparations to avoid Lodzmer foreseeing this plan."

"Oh? What sort of preparations?"

"Beautiful Your Highness, you should know that Prophets are not to be prophesied without permission. By the way, today you smell as fragrant as a freesia."

Saying so, Witch Rita leaned closer to Arsia, and her delicate nose twitched as she sniffed the scent emanating from her.

"Oh, what does that have to do with Eden?"

Arsia pulled on the reins, subtly distancing herself from Rita.

"We've utilized this rule and employed some tricks to give Eden a touch of holy aura, so any prophecy concerning him will become distorted."

Witch Rita explained this,

"Of course, the specific details are not for you to know."

A touch of holy aura.

Where on Earth did this holy aura come from?

Arsia felt a strong curiosity; she suspected that the Witch Gathering must be hiding some earth-shattering secret.

The princess's hunting party galloped across the wilderness.

Normally, the Emperor's Paladin, "Broken Blade" Bright was against this hunt, fearing for the princess's safety.

However, Bright finally agreed after Arsia's repeated requests and the persuasion of Nun Cassandra.

But this leader of the convoy didn't know that the purpose of the hunt was not to pass the time for the princess but to deal with the devil wizard Lodzmer.

Had he known, he would never have agreed to hold the hunt, risking an ambush.

Across the vast wilderness, the Royal Guard began setting up a temporary camp, while the experienced soldiers who had participated in many hunts early surrounded a forest, leading hounds and eagles to drive out the game.

The finest light hunting bow and arrows were handed over to Arsia, who nocked an arrow to the bow and shot it symbolically into the sky; the horn for the hunt was then sounded.

The hunt, had begun.