Who hid My Corpse!

The magic wand of Hewinia was already pressed against Edwin's throat, her tone exceptionally cold: "You told me explicitly that if we unseal that taboo, we would gain power, and once you have that power you would share it with me. But now you're telling me to go to some Abyss Prison, do you think I don't know what kind of place that is? If you want to die, just say it directly, don't drag me along."

Edwin had anticipated Hewinia's reaction, after all, the Contract Land is an existence that surpasses the Eight Great Churches, and it's indeed a fool's dream for the two of them to try to steal that which has been guarded for a thousand years.

If Hewinia had agreed outright, Edwin would have only thought this person was either calculating against him or simply brainless.

So Hewinia's current reaction was not surprising to Edwin, and he had already figured out how to persuade her.

"If it were before, we indeed had no chance." Edwin whispered, "But now it's different."

"How is it different?"

"The Contract Land and the Eight Great Churches are holding a gathering!" Edwin said, "Do you know what this means?!"

Hewinia remained silent, simply focused on channeling magic power, ready to blast Edwin into bits.

"Okay, okay, no beating around the bush, no beating around the bush!" Edwin raised both hands high, shouting, "This means that the guarding power at the Abyss Prison is at its lowest in a thousand years!"

Hewinia stopped channeling magic power but did not lower the magic wand.

"Someone is helping us divert attention!" Edwin lowered his voice, "So this is an opportunity, a truly once-in-a-millennium opportunity, don't you want to seize it? You should understand what I'm saying, I know you carry Corpse Blocks, no one understands the power of Visas better than you, and within the Abyss Prison lies the strongest portion, don't you truly want to obtain it?!"

Hewinia said nothing, simply gazing quietly at Edwin, those pitch-black eyes exerted immense pressure on Edwin, as if Hewinia would channel magic power to kill him in the next second.

But Edwin had no escape route left, he had already invested so much, it was impossible to turn back now, and the Abyss Prison was his last promised land. And without Hewinia's help, he couldn't accomplish anything alone.

"Trust me, this is the last time." Edwin spoke slowly and deliberately, "We're really just one step away from achieving great things."

Hewinia continued to gaze at Edwin, yet after a while, she finally lowered the magic wand.

"Then let's take a look." Hewinia said, "But if we succeed, that power belongs to me."

Edwin smiled: "No problem!"

Hewinia nodded and then turned to leave.

Watching Hewinia's back, Edwin's smile widened further.

Fool, took the bait.

He thought to himself.

But what he didn't see was, Hewinia, with her back turned, also slightly curled her lips.

Fool, took the bait.

...

Contract Land, Abyss Prison.

Diana was sitting in the Prison Director's seat, listening to the reports from her subordinates.

"So, the inspection of seals in various parts of the prison will happen in fifty years?"

"To be precise, it's fifty-two years." The subordinate replied neither arrogantly nor humbly, "Routine inspections of the seals have always been once every century, and the last inspection was just forty-eight years ago."

Diana nodded slightly.

The subordinate in front of her was not her servant, but a subordinate of the Prison Director.

The Guardians of the Contract Land are roughly divided into two groups, one group is the Prison Director's Guardians, most of whom are drafted from the major churches and descended from the interbreeding of Guardians, directly loyal to the Prison Director. The other group is the attendants of successive "Contractors," who are now Diana's servants; although technically, they and Diana are also subordinates of the Prison Director.

The work responsibilities of the two groups differ, with the Guardians tasked solely with maintaining and inspecting the seals throughout the Abyss Prison. Like the Prison Director himself, apart from matters related to the seals, he does not meddle in other affairs.

Diana and her attendants, on the other hand, manage matters outside the seals, such as trading with the Black Merchant or overseeing other provisions for thousands within the Contract Land. Simply put, they act more like stewards for the Contract Land.

The two groups do not interfere in each other's affairs, and the Prison Director does not care about what successive Contractors are doing, nor do Contractors manage the seals in the prison.

But now is an exception, the Prison Director has taken a large number of Guardians to the Heavenly Voice Obedience, thus the various affairs of the Abyss Prison naturally fell to Diana.

So Diana was in the Prison Director's seat, asking the earlier question, and successfully obtained the answer she had already known.

The periodic inspections of the seals in the Abyss Prison occur once a century, and during the last inspection, Diana hadn't even been born. This is not because the people of Contract Land are too negligent, but rather because the consumption of inspections is indeed too great, with over a thousand types of seals. Even with the combined support of the Eight Great Churches, the frequency of inspections cannot be too high.

Moreover, now the Eight Great Churches are missing two, and future support will decrease further, so maintaining the current frequency of inspecting once a century might not be sustainable.

Which is why the Prison Director wants to bring the entire Contract Land into the world, wanting the Contract Land to replace one of the churches and personally maintain the Abyss Prison.

Indeed, everything is for the Abyss Prison. If the Eight Great Churches had no issues, the Prison Director would not have the thought of entering the world, everything he's done is to ensure the proper operation of the Abyss Prison. The Contract Land has been able to fulfill its duties faithfully for millennia precisely because it has such a pure and powerful leader like the Prison Director.

But not everyone is like him.

Diana rested her face on her hand and asked seemingly casually: "The Prison Director took away so many Guardians, is the manpower sufficient to maintain the seals now?"

Manpower seals, as the name implies, are seals executed by humans.

This not only includes daily patrols and inspections but also seals sustained by magic power and spiritual power within human bodies. Normally, such seals consume greatly, thus necessitating Guardians to work in rotating shifts continuously, which is why the Contract Land must constantly draft personnel from various churches.

Just like Chai Xin, merely repeatable burning Chai Xin, but if the burning frequency is too high, it will be truly consumed.

So this time the Prison Director took away a large number of Guardians, shortening the rotation of manpower seals and increasing the consumption of existing "Chai Xin."

"Barely sufficient." The subordinate replied, "As long as the Prison Director returns on time, there won't be any issues."

"It won't be that quickly." Diana said calmly, "This is not a small matter. Here's an idea, have my people help execute the seals."

The subordinate hesitated a bit: "Isn't this somewhat..."

Overstepping.

The Contractor interfered with the duties of the Guardians.

"Times have changed from the past." Diana responded, "The Eight Great Churches suffered significant losses; in the future, we no longer will have as many Guardians. Indulging the Guardians now will result in consequences we ourselves will have to bear later. Do as I say, when the Prison Director returns, I'll explain to him... this is an order."

The subordinate immediately placed a hand on their chest: "Understood."

Thus, Diana successfully achieved her goal.

Although she does not plan to act as the Hand Eye suggested, by destabilizing the Abyss Prison seals to frame Isaiah.

However, "not planning" does not mean "unable," she needs at least to ensure she holds the capital to do so, so she can respond quickly should circumstances change.

And now, the goal is achieved.

So, Diana was preparing to shift her focus to the Heavenly Voice Obedience to see what the situation was like there, right when she received Carter's report.

"Master, the Right Eye has approached the Thumb."