Sorcerer’s Handbook

“Four Pillars Cult…”

Cleos murmured softly. Qenna, Annan, and several others raised their eyebrows, but most of the sorcerers looked puzzled.

High-ranking sorcerers who had worked with the Red Hat Firm generally knew about the Four Pillars Cult. Firms that focused on intelligence gathering were also somewhat aware, but other sorcerers couldn’t possibly know about this mysterious organization—mainly because the Four Pillars Cult had always struggled in the Kingdom of the Gospel.

It wasn’t just struggling now; it had always been this way. The only time the Four Pillars Cult could shine briefly was during the civil wars and regime changes in the Kingdom, but it would quickly be suppressed again.

The omnipresent Gospel system was too restrictive for such a mysterious organization. Even if the Gospel didn’t intentionally leak information about the Four Pillars Cult, as long as the Red Hats used the Gospel for reconnaissance, they could eventually root out the cult.

To the Kingdom of the Gospel, the Four Pillars Cult, the Abyss, the virtual realm passage, and the Firm were collectively known as the “Four Plagues”—problems that could never be completely solved but posed little threat, thus no one paid much attention to the Four Pillars Cult.

However, they would soon understand that the Four Pillars Cult’s struggles in the Kingdom of the Gospel were not only due to historical progress but also closely related to the leader’s personal abilities.

“In the Underground Hall, the leader of the Four Pillars Cult, known as the ‘Rust Crow,’ sat on a throne seemingly woven from iron crow feathers, overlooking countless kneeling black robe cultists.”

“His voice was ethereal, as if it came from men, women, the old, and the young, filled with a charm that pierced through eardrums: ‘From today onwards, you are all Rust Crows. You are my eyes, my tongue, my ears… you are my tactile sense.’”

“‘You will delve into every dark corner of this Kingdom.’ In the Mermaid Palace of the sewer, sirens were worshipping the heretical four pillars.”

“‘You will step into every hall of this Kingdom.’ In a lavish banquet hall, several elegantly dressed people revealed their white gloves on their right hands and exchanged knowing smiles.”

“‘You will become the pillars of the benevolent.’ In a war-torn city, sorcerers were rescuing civilians from danger. Every child who was saved received a black crow feather as a gift, which became their source of courage.”

“You Will Become the Savior of the Villains”

“As the vault door was blown open, the mob surged in, looting gold, silver, and spirits. They looked ahead with admiration at the sorcerer wearing white gloves, drawn by the more elegant and brutal violence.”

“‘Then, you will fulfill their desires and needs.’”

“‘To those obsessed with family names, teach her how to crown herself.’ In the Firm, Annan looked down at the invitation in her hand.”

“‘To those who yearn for power, teach him how to inherit wisdom.’ In the training ground, a sweat-drenched Zuvendas repeatedly tried to tear up the paper in his hand, but the paper, thin as a cicada’s wing, was as resilient as a mountain at that moment.”

“‘To those who are lonely and isolated, teach him how to gain understanding.’”

“‘To those who chase grandeur, teach him how to forge glory.’”

“‘To those who are indifferent and thoughtless, teach her how to dominate the fundamentals.’”

At this point, whether it was the supporting characters making cameo appearances in the projection or the onlookers comfortably watching from outside the projection, a deep chill crept into their hearts.

What stood before them was not a remote rebellious organization that the Red Hats could eliminate at any moment, but a deeply rooted and nationwide eerie cult.

They controlled the largest intelligence organization in the inner world, the Mermaid Palace, and had infiltrated the top ten conglomerates of the Gospel. They had supporters among the people, and criminals idolized them!

The most terrifying aspect was their ability to see through human weaknesses and exploit the darkest corners of human nature. Even Sanctuary sorcerers were merely pawns at their disposal!

The top-ranked individuals on the Ranking of Schemes were all like Zuvendas—they understood that if they truly obtained the ritual knowledge given by the Rust Crow, they would most likely commit the crimes prophesied by the Future Ranking.

It was precisely because they couldn’t refuse that these were called weaknesses.

Moreover, they realized that the top nine schemes in the Ranking of Schemes were all just preludes to the first scheme!

They were indeed the masterminds behind their respective schemes, but after each scheme, there was always another scheme!

An indescribable panic burned in the hearts of all the spectators in the silence—what exactly did the Rust Crow want? He had created such a large organization, controlled so many sorcerers, and induced so many schemes. What was his unspeakable purpose?

“The Rust Crow rotated his throne to reveal a massive map on the wall behind him—the Gospel map. The terrain of the Kingdom of the Gospel was generally a long rectangle, stretching from north to south and narrow from east to west. After more than a thousand years of development, almost every place was inhabited by intelligent creatures.”

“The Rust Crow took out a notebook with sorcerers’ profiles attached to it.”

“‘Crown.’ Annan’s photo was placed on the city at the top.”

“‘Wisdom.’ Zuvendas’s photo was affixed to the city in the upper right.”

“‘Foundation.’ Yvaren’s photo was attached to the city in the middle and lower part of the Gospel.”

“When the Rust Crow connected these photos with lines, an inverted tree pattern appeared on the Gospel map.”

At this point, everyone completely understood the truth of the first Scheme.

“Madman,” Rein murmured.

He was indeed a madman—the Rust Crow not only schemed against multiple Sanctuary sorcerers, but all of their schemes were merely parts of a larger Ritual. This ultimate Ritual would envelop the entire Kingdom of the Gospel!

No wonder all the schemes were scheduled on the same day. They even suspected that the time difference between the first nine schemes wouldn’t exceed an hour, ensuring the final Ritual’s activation.

Rein and the others couldn’t muster much anger; they were more filled with disbelief.

As long as they used the Gospel to detect something amiss,

As long as any link in this chain of schemes failed,

As long as…

To put it bluntly, the failure of this Scheme would be normal; its success would be a Miracle!

They couldn’t fathom how much preparation the Rust Crow had done to precisely guide the first nine schemes. The sheer thought of it was overwhelming.

The first Scheme truly deserved its name!

However, the inverted tree pattern had ten nodes in total, with each of the first nine schemes responsible for one. It was evident that the Rust Crow would personally handle the final one.

And the last node was in…

The southern city, Azura.

The Rust Crow stood at the bottom floor of the Inverted Skyscraper, looking down at the bustling steel forest below. As a firework shot up, a series of fireworks suddenly rose in the city on the first level, and then sparks flew along a ring, cutting out a massive circle in the center of the city!

The sorcerers saw the space within the ring of sparks being torn into gray chaos, their expressions were remarkable because they all recognized this phenomenon.

Not only did they recognize it, but they visited it every night!

“How can there be such a large Gate of Truth?!” one sorcerer couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Wait, if something from reality touches the Gate of Truth…”

“In theory, no material can travel through the Gate of Truth, but in this situation…”

When the giant Gate of Truth was fully formed, the Rust Crow seemed to receive some information. He shattered the floor-to-ceiling glass and leaped directly toward the Gate of Truth.

“‘Crown.’ Danzel, just descended into reality, suddenly found herself detached from Annan’s body, and her soul rapidly burned, turning into smoke and flying south.”

“‘Wisdom.’ The diamond-shaped blood mark Zuvendas had condensed from slaughtering his kin suddenly flew south on its own.”

“‘Comprehension.’ ‘Mercy.’ ‘Severity.’ ‘Beauty.’ ‘Victory.’ ‘Glory.’ ‘Fundamental.’”

Raising the perspective to overlook the entire Kingdom of the Gospel, one could see a clear inverted tree pattern. Ritual energy from various parts of the Kingdom of the Gospel converged and flowed into Azura!

“‘And finally…’” The Rust Crow bit his index finger, letting his blood drip into the Gate of Truth: “‘Kingdom.’”

“Boom!”

A clearly visible Aurora Veil rose over the entire Kingdom of the Gospel. The Mermaid Palace, conglomerates, Red Hats, and criminal gangs… Unbeknownst to all, the Four Pillars Cult had already devoured the entire Kingdom of the Gospel. Following the leader’s command, their life energy also flowed along the inverted tree into the final node-Kingdom!

Deceiving countless sorcerers, manipulating billions of lives!

The Gate of Truth suddenly contracted to a point, and the first level of Azura was flattened, creating a massive circular crater in the process.