Chapter 766: Chapter 353: You Don’t Happen to Have Demon Crystals, Do You?_3

Luo De looked at Sao.

"Yes, Saint Master."

Sao answered seriously, "We searched them thoroughly from head to toe."

Luo De knew there were many places to hide things, so once someone was caught, the wizards would search them carefully.

"It seems she got this item only after returning here."

Luo De smiled, "After clearing out these believers, we need to search thoroughly."

Luo De withdrew his gaze and turned to Man Xiu beside him.

Man Xiu’s lips were pale, his head tilted, leaning against the wall, and a knight was bandaging his wound.

"How did you end up like this?"

Luo De frowned slightly, "Were you exposed?"

In Luo De’s mind, since Man Xiu was brought in, it was likely he hadn’t been exposed.

Even if Luo De’s people attacked here, it could not be concluded that Man Xiu was the traitor, it could only suggest Sao the guard had deceived everyone.

"Lord Luo De, you were right, they are nothing but hypocrites..."

Man Xiu weakly recounted everything that had happened to Luo De.

Luo De listened expressionlessly and said plainly, "Typical."

"They all follow the orders of the Lord of Dawn, and everything they do is to achieve a specific goal."

"The kindness you saw in Laura before might just have been a means to an end." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Luo De considered himself not a noble person and had used many tactics to achieve his goals.

In this world of low-level magical civilization, blood and souls were indeed a fast way to gain powerful magic.

"However, I cannot accept sacrificing one’s own people."

Luo De patted Man Xiu on the shoulder, stood up and looked down at him,

"Rest well; your task is done."

"What about my family..." Man Xiu raised his eyes to Luo De with effort, his voice weak.

"Rest assured, I will fulfill what I promised."

Luo De said, "As long as your family has no more ties with the Church, I won’t trouble anyone further."

Man Xiu bowed his head in gratitude, "Thank you for your kindness."

Luo De said no more, merely waved his hand to have him helped out.

At that moment, a Frost Winter Knight ran out from the stairway, reporting,

"My lord, there’s a cylindrical hall below with many stone tablets carved with patterns inside; it might be an array."

The Frost Winter Knights, carefully trained by Luo De, were not just to enhance strength but also to study various knowledge and develop extraordinary thinking in their spare time.

They had some concept of various rune arrays, mysterious ruins, and glowing magic plants.

They might not know what something was but would realize its significance.

So upon hearing the knight’s report, Luo De, without hesitation, waved to Selena,

"Let’s go, my wise one, let’s take a look."

Luo De quickly descended the steps, while Selena, supported by Auden, followed him, leaning on her cane.

Moments later, Luo De reached the bottom.

His gaze passed through the pointed archway; under the torchlight, Luo De saw the so-called array the knight mentioned.

He had no idea what it was.

Luo De turned back, asking Selena calmly, "Sage, do you know what this is?"

"Hmm, I should know."

Leaning on her cane, Selena approached and glanced at the runes on the stone tablets,

"It’s a transport array, and it can transport up to ten people at a time."

Selena’s tone was very calm.

But Luo De’s eyes lit up hearing this, he immediately asked, "Is it complete?"

"This...there’s some deliberate damage, it seems to have been altered to something else."

Selena touched the stone tablet and said, "But it can be repaired, much easier than constructing anew."

Luo De’s frown instantly eased, and he smiled, "That’s good."

It’s only a few days’ journey from here to Riyue City, quicker by riding a dragon.

If there’s a transport array here, and another is established in Frost Leaf Town, then both sides could travel quickly.

Selena seemed to understand Luo De’s thoughts and smiled helplessly, "Even if we repair it, it’s useless, we don’t have demon crystals..."

Selena’s voice abruptly stopped.

She suddenly realized, Luo De is not someone who fantasizes without basis.

Unless he has some assurance.

"You wouldn’t have found a demon crystal vein, would you?" Selena asked from where she stood.

Luo De looked at Selena, not speaking.

Selena’s eyes shone,

"You really have?!"

Selena was now certain, the Duke Luo De in front of her had indeed discovered a demon crystal vein.

"I don’t want to deceive you, my wise one."

Luo De smiled and said, "Let’s fix the transport array here first, I’ll gradually tell you everything else later."

"Alright!"

Selena’s voice was energetic, filled with unusual excitement.

...

...

The ancient temple ruin indeed had other exits.

But Luo De’s Church Hunters had the Hawk to guide them, and Luo De’s dragon was outside, so the dozen or so people fleeing the ruins didn’t get far before being caught.

In the end, they had to thank the cautious Laura for leading Man Xiu and others through those winding paths.

Otherwise, Luo De wouldn’t have had extra time to inform nearby Church Hunters to gather.

After catching these people, aside from stripping their equipment, more importantly, they had to interrogate them for more information about the Church.

Especially if there were other such strongholds, and how many.

And these dirty and exhausting tasks no longer needed Luo De to handle, whether the knights or Church Hunters, there were people specifically responsible.

The priests had very stubborn mouths, but the deacons confessed quickly.

They didn’t manage to extract information about other strongholds, but the plan to gather against Luo De’s subordinates was revealed by the deacon.

"These guys have quite the imagination; we really need to be vigilant."

Luo De had to admit, if they assassinated those craftsmen, his losses would indeed be significant.

This enhanced the strength of the guards and patrols and increased the means to detect these Church traitors.

The military workshop also needed to be set up quickly to gather all craftsmen involved in military engineering for better protection.

As Luo De was pondering, Linda walked over.

Behind Linda was a knight carrying a small box.

"Does that contain all the equipment found in here?"

Luo De looked at the small box and asked.

"Yes, my lord."

Linda turned around and took out a wooden box from the box,

"And I also found something both familiar and unfamiliar to you."

With that, Linda opened the wooden box.

Inside was a black slate.

Luo De’s eyes shone with intrigue, "Why is it this thing again?"