Chapter 1747: Chapter 1747

The Church's plan was to have someone ride a carriage carrying the statue of the "Maiden of Suffocating Prayer" near the mist giant. By continuously circling the 'egg,' the statue's air-absorbing properties would strip away the layer of mist enveloping the giant, effectively cracking its shell.

At the same time, both the Church of Creation and Machinery and the Church of All Things and Nature believed that the enormous shadow people could see was likely not a creature of flesh and blood, but rather an elemental-like being, similar to the "Crawlers in the Fog."

Experiments had shown that when the "Crawlers in the Fog" approached an active "Maiden of Suffocating Prayer," they would gradually lose most of their physical structure, eventually dissolving into black ash. Therefore, it was certain that the mist giant would also be affected by the statue.

But the statue alone wasn't enough. As a precaution, a weapon to deal with the mist giant after its shell was broken had also been chosen. The selection was B-09-1-4051, the "Blade of Mist," provided by the Church of Creation and Machinery. It was a weapon that consisted only of a hilt, but when placed within any kind of mist, the hilt could naturally extend a blade composed purely of fog.

The strength of the Blade of Mist and whether it possessed any supernatural properties depended entirely on the nature of the surrounding fog. Thus, in Nolan City tonight, this weapon would be the perfect tool—one that grew stronger in the face of greater power.

There were many other items that could have had a lesser effect, but in the end, the decision was made to use only these two targeted objects and keep the others in reserve. Although Series B Extraordinary items weren't as terrifying as Series A Cursed Items, just as Hathaway had once said, Series B items also had side effects. Moreover, when multiple Series B items were brought close together, there was a chance they could produce an effect similar to a Cursed Item.

This was why the Church insisted on containing all Series B items. Even for a numbered item with the lowest danger level, no one could predict if some unforeseen use might reveal to humanity the true malice of fate.

A few days ago, during the critical operation to take down the Perfume Appreciation Committee, the Church had only deployed about ten numbered items. This time, with only two, they were being even more cautious, taking the city's peculiar current environment into account.

Overall, during the existence of the Children of the Mist, the fog in Nolan could itself be classified as a Cursed Item. And Cursed Items had a tendency to assimilate Extraordinary items. To prevent any accidents, the Church decided it was best to be conservative.

The Church of the Unlit Moon, which provided the item, dispatched a demigod-level Nightwatchman to execute the plan. Correspondingly, the one waiting for the right moment with the "Blade of Mist" in hand was another Saint Son from the Church of Creation and Machinery.

Jenkins wasn't even sent to the front lines. While the plan was being executed, he remained at the Sage's Church, continuing to search through documents with the Keepers of Secrets and the apprentices. Miss Bevanna's reason for keeping him there was quite sound: the night was long, and no one knew what accidents might occur. As the core of this operation, the Sage's Church needed the protection of the Church of the Sage's own power.

"Don't worry. How could such a meticulous plan possibly go wrong?"

Mountains of texts and documents were piled in Preaching Hall No. 3, to the right of the main nave. The pews had been removed and replaced with long tables typically used for banquets. People sat gathered around them, and the sounds of rustling pages and low-voiced discussions filled the room with a sense of busy urgency.

Jenkins was sitting with Professor Burns. As he set down a yellowed ancient tome and sighed, the professor beside him offered a word of comfort.

"Yes, how could it possibly go wrong?"

Jenkins nodded, then looked up to see his cat perched on a stack of books, at a height even greater than his own head.

"Be careful not to fall! Don't be so mischievous. Besides, these are all rare copies. If you get them dirty, I'll have to transcribe the whole thing!"

He quickly scooped Chocolate down. The cat let out a lazy meow, unconcerned, then settled onto Jenkins's lap, closing its eyes in what might have been a nap or just a feigned slumber.

The night was already growing late. Jenkins wondered what he would be doing right now if not for tonight's events. The thought caused a wave of resentment toward the mist giant to surge within the righteous author's heart. He was deeply disappointed that he hadn't received his most important birthday gift of the evening.

Jenkins didn't deny it.

"Speaking of which, it's a bit late now, I suppose, but I still want to wish you a happy birthday."

The professor turned, picked up his teacup from a small table behind him, and raised it slightly as he spoke softly to Jenkins. The professor's gift had been sent to his home on St. George Street that morning, where it sat with a mountain of other presents in a corner of the living room. Jenkins had originally planned to spend the entire day unwrapping them.

"You don't have to be so formal, Professor. Besides, every birthday just means getting a year older, doesn't it? That's hardly worth celebrating."

"You say that like a man in his forties."

The professor chuckled, setting down his cup and returning to the book in his hands.

"The Church knew about the Children of the Mist plan last year, but we still haven't figured out the principles behind the two rituals. Take a look at this..."

The professor showed Jenkins the book. On the page was a blurry, beast-like shape drawn in pencil.

"In past Epochs, the material world's level of civilization has, on more than one occasion, developed to a point that even surpassed our own. Consequently, similar monsters born from dense fog have appeared before."

He pointed to the sentence below the illustration and translated it.

"What slowly emerged from that gray mist was not just the world's retribution against us, but also human resentment and other unspeakable, terrible things, all catalyzing the fog's continued evolution."

"Human resentment... that must be referring to the factories, right? After all, most of the fog is emitted by them, and the factory workers are certainly not satisfied with their current lives."

At this, Jenkins was inexplicably reminded of the night of the dragon game, and the Human Flesh Weaving Machine that had been tracked by Hooded Man and Mr. White Cat.

"Yes. The solution in the past was to shut down the factories directly. Of course, their primary energy source wasn't coal, nor was it an era dominated by the steam industry."

The professor sighed.

"So that's of no help to us."

He turned the page, and Jenkins nodded thoughtfully.

"So we can only stall for time and wait for change to happen bit by bit. But it seems this fog has no intention of giving us that time."

As they were speaking, a tremendous roar suddenly echoed from outside. It was a sound that seemed to travel from the depths of antiquity, sending shivers down everyone's spine.

Everyone in the room turned toward the windows. In the end, it was Jenkins who stood up, parting the curtains with a finger to peer outside.

"The plan has started," he announced. "The shadow in the mist has now deviated from its original path."

Everyone looked worried, but they knew they had to focus on the task at hand. Jenkins returned to his seat. After a few seconds, when the outside fell silent again, he turned to the professor and said:

"I really wish I could go over there and see what's happening."

"You're always rushing to the front lines, unafraid of danger. While that's an admirable quality, you must also consider your own safety."

The professor said, then added in a low voice:

"I've heard a few things from Oliver. The Church might send anyone into danger right now, but they would never send you."

Professor Burns had probably heard about the World Tree from Papa Oliver.

"Perhaps if the World Tree Seedling's power truly awakens, I'll be able to fight that giant outside. I've heard that the abilities possessed by each generation's Savior are incredibly powerful, a world apart from those of ordinary Enchanters."

"Only the innately awakened Savior abilities are that powerful."

The professor corrected him.

Because the Church had also been researching Savior abilities recently, hoping to help Jenkins become a true World Tree Seedling as soon as possible, the professor was able to offer some insight on the matter.

"Those Savior abilities learned later in life can't compare to an innate awakening. There are many documents to prove this. However, your World Tree is certainly innate. As for what effect it will have after it evolves... I'm afraid unless you can find a true elf, our existing literature won't be able to answer that question."

Unfortunately, the elf Jenkins knew couldn't answer either. The old elf was no one important in the Evergreen Forest; by his own account, he was at best a retired veteran with no official position. He only knew many secrets because he had lived for so long, but when it came to the unique abilities of the elven royal family, the old elf was completely stumped.

"I think I might have to swallow the complete World Tree seed to achieve the final step of its evolution."

Jenkins said absently, wondering how the final, unknown purple Savior's emblem would appear.

"It couldn't be The Unknown Path, could it?"

He thought with a chuckle, but he knew in his heart it was impossible. No one had ever awakened two different Savior identities at the same time.

The professor paused, stunned for a moment. He was the one who had told Jenkins the truth about the "family heirloom," so he knew exactly what Jenkins was talking about.

"You've found the final third?" Thɪs chapter is updated by NovєlFіre.net

"Yes, but I haven't obtained it yet. And I haven't told anyone."

Jenkins replied in a very low voice, but then continued:

"But in a few days, I'm going to go and get that last third. I can't wait any longer."

His plan was to invite Sigrid along when he brought the other girls home in a few days. That way, it wouldn't be awkward. Then, after the visit, he would bring up the matter.