Chapter 557: 35. The Key Phone Call
“Whew.”
It was already morning, and the timid voices of Earth Spirits began to chirp in the deserted wilderness of the Southern Continent. Sparse white clouds floated in the azure sky, where two illusory shadows passed by, those of Fisher and Renee.
The city in front of the Pretender Dragon Court wasn’t large, and Fisher had no need to expose his existence in a big city. He just needed to make a phone call, so it was better to be cautious until he was fully prepared.
“We’re here.”
Renee effortlessly led Fisher silently into the city. At this time, the residents had not yet fully awakened, but many diligent people were already moving about outside.
Fisher and she hid in an alley. Renee glanced at the situation outside and said to Fisher, “This city isn’t far from the Dragon Court to the south; it should be easy for you to return. You’re already at Mythical Rank; this should be manageable, right?”
“Mm.”
Fisher patted Emhart, who was hidden in his arms, and fully covered his appearance with a robe.
Since the robe obscured his face, the contours of his features hidden in the shadows began to shift constantly, as if they were changing into something else.
Fisher didn’t fully grasp the knowledge from the Completion Manual, so its use was extremely clumsy. Who could know what he would turn into? While it could be used as insurance, it was better not to reveal it directly, lest he become overly noticeable in an unsightly way.
Renee seemed unconcerned about his appearance changes; it was unclear how she perceived Fisher from the perspective of a True God.
She swiftly restrained her smile and then said to Fisher, “Regarding those demons escaping from the abyss, I’ll pay attention to it when I have time. Although my previous self did many wrong things, at least imprisoning the demons in the abyss was definitely the right thing to do. Their escape is definitely related to what you mentioned, that [Baemon]. The specifics are still unclear, but I’ll come back to inform you once I have precise news.”
Fisher nodded, and just as he wanted to say something, Renee reached out and seriously pressed her finger against his lips.
“.”
His words were halted, and he could only lower his head to look at Renee.
“And, you promise me, absolutely do not read any Completion Manuals anymore. The Apocalypse Prophecy is something for me and the gods to resolve; it has nothing to do with you. You should prioritize resolving those disputes among the ladies first.”
It seemed Renee was genuinely worried that he would encounter danger because of the Completion Manuals, even going so far as to say he should handle other ladies’ issues first.
“Promise me.”
Seeing that Fisher remained silent for a long time, Renee pouted and added firmly, “You must promise.”
“. I promise I won’t read the previous Completion Manuals anymore.”
“You swear.”
“. I swear.”
Renee looked at Fisher with a pout, and after receiving his affirmative answer, she finally let him go.
She stepped back a few paces and looked at the gradually brightening sky, finally releasing a breath, and said, “That’s good; now I can rest assured. I’m leaving now; I have to return to the Spirit Realm.”
“Wait a moment, don’t go.”
“?”
Renee looked at Fisher in confusion, only to see him extend his hand, saying to her, “Please leave me a Hart Bird; otherwise, how will I contact you later?”
“Hart Bird.”
Renee paused for a moment, then smiled and tapped Fisher’s outstretched palm. She complained, “I told you I came in a hurry and didn’t bring a Hart Bird. Even if I wanted to get one, I must return to the Spirit Realm first. That process is quite troublesome; after all, you know I’m not free to move around. I almost caused trouble this time because I was worried about you. Next time, I’ll bring some when I come.”
“. Alright.”
“It’s okay; I already know you’re back and where you are. When I have free time in the Spirit Realm, I’ll definitely sneak a peek at you. If anything happens, I’ll notice it promptly. Hmph, if I catch you fooling around again…”
Fisher smiled helplessly, indicating his resolution, while Renee also reached out to grip his palm. After a light “I’m off now,” she turned and walked toward the deeper side of the alley. As she walked, her body seemed to become increasingly ethereal, filled with air, until she completely disappeared.
The fragrance in the alley gradually dissipated, blending under the morning light.
Fisher glanced at where she had left, then turned and walked out of the alley, heading toward the public phone booth according to the signs along the road.
This city was small. Because it was close to the front line of the Red Dragon Court, there was a constant risk of war, so not many people were willing to live, invest, and build here, resulting in a lack of basic infrastructure. Fisher had to walk two blocks to find one of the few phone booths available.
As he walked, the smile on his face faded, and his gaze flickered, not knowing what he was contemplating.
The Emhart hidden in his arms sensed his silence. This wasn’t due to Renee’s departure leaving him lonely; he understood Fisher well. Generally, after parting with a lady, he wouldn’t be this, um, silent. Most of the time, he appeared somewhat more relaxed, but it was rare for him to be so quiet.
Thus, Emhart couldn’t help but ask, “Are you really going to listen to Renee and not read the Completion Manuals anymore?”
“Who said I won’t read it?”
“. Didn’t you just swear? A man’s mouth is a liar?”
“I meant that ‘previous Completion Manual,’ referring to the one I read last night, Erwind’s manual. Reading this manual requires first finding the ‘treasure’; I’m unwilling to follow Erwind’s lead and desecrate life without any other clues. So, isn’t it best to just not read it for now?”
“. Quite clever.”
Emhart widened his eyes, realizing he shouldn’t have had reasonable expectations of Fisher.
He continued asking, “What are you thinking? Suddenly so quiet.”
“. Just a little doubt.”
“Doubt?”
“Yeah, remember the first time you met Renee in the Northern Region?”
“To be honest, not really. She was so focused on you that I was nothing but a talking relic in her eyes, without any rights. Besides, she was quite intimidating; I didn’t really dare to pay attention to her. What about it?”
“Every time Renee appeared before, there would be a large group of Hart Birds surrounding her. Although I know this is part of her sorceress facade, just like when she deceived me about not being able to exchange consciousness with Hart Birds, this time there weren’t any at all, so I feel something is a bit off.”
“Just a guess?”
“Just a guess.”
“Uh, that’s hard to say. After all, Renee’s true self is a True God; because of the sins committed by the Mother God, she is restricted by the gods. This situation was quite sudden due to your loss of control, so her sudden appearance makes some sense.”
“I’m very curious about her mention of ‘resolving the Apocalypse Prophecy’; I’m worried she might pay a price for it. Perhaps the disappearance of Hart Birds is a sign.”
“I get it; we’re back to that again.”
While talking, Fisher and Emhart had walked up to the public phone booth. Due to the scarcity of phone booths, there was already a queue early on, and several gentlemen were in line ahead of Fisher to use the phone—subhumans wouldn’t use such things, and few people needed to use a phone to get in touch.
Fisher patiently stood not far from one gentleman, hearing Emhart’s faint sound from within, “Regarding the Hart Bird situation, if you want to verify, just wait until you meet Renee normally and see if any Hart Birds appear. But I don’t think this will eliminate your doubts; you might think she brought a few Hart Birds to placate you to conceal some cost. The key point, you know? The key point is that you cannot turn a blind eye to the potential suffering those women might encounter. So, all this talk is actually setting the stage for you to continue reading the Completion Manuals.”
“You’re right, so I’m going to call the Death Lord I met in the Northern Region.”
Emhart blinked, then sighed, saying, “You’re all right, and you’re all worried about each other; you should keep it in mind. If you are truly the key to resolving the Apocalypse Prophecy, even if Renee helps you escape now, it might catch up with you anyway.”
“.”
Fisher didn’t reply but waited quietly until all the gentlemen in front finished their calls and it was his turn.
He stepped forward, picked up the receiver, paused for a moment, and his fingers suddenly transformed into countless finely-dense tendrils, embedding themselves into the pay slot of the phone booth.
“Click!”
With a gentle wobble, the receiver emitted a “ta-ta-ta” sound, signaling Fisher to input the phone number.
He recalled the phone number that the Death Lord had given him, which seemed to be Cardu’s area code.
This guy was indeed Cardu, but Fisher found it hard to imagine that such a reckless man would remain in one place, especially since he was a member of the Creation Society.
Fisher suddenly felt it absurd to contact this person through the phone. Could it be that the drunkard acted irrationally while inebriated?
Holding a skeptical mindset, Fisher’s fingers slowly returned to their former appearance, and he began to dial the area code and extension one by one on the rotary dial.
“Click.”
“Ring, ring, ring.”
No one was waiting behind him, and the early morning city had few carriages passing by. Thus, the surroundings felt exceptionally quiet, as if the entire city contained only him and the receiver in his hand.
In the silence of the call, his doubts about the Death Lord leaving a useless number grew stronger.
Fisher tilted his head; no one was answering for a long time, and he was about to hang up when suddenly, he heard a connection.
“Click.”
“Hello.”
After a moment of silence, a particularly young, flat female voice suddenly rang out from the other side, making Fisher slightly stunned and momentarily speechless.
“Hello?”
The female voice on the other side sounded again, seemingly confused as to why the caller wasn’t speaking.
Fisher came to his senses and asked in Cardu language, “I’m looking for Mr. Holland Dionysio; is he there? I’m his friend and have something to discuss with him.”
“.”
It was like a turn-based game; this time it was the other side that fell silent.
After a second, the female voice finally said, “Holland isn’t here, but if you have a message, I can convey it to him.”
“. May I ask who you are?”
“Landlady.”
Oh, it was the landlady. Was that guy renting a house in Cardu?
“May I ask how to address you?”
“Ashley. Just call me Miss Ashley.”
An unusual name; it was hard to imagine such a name emerging from Cardu, a place where naming habits favored brevity and references.
“Okay, Miss Ashley, please inform Mr. Holland Dionysio that a Mr. ‘Fisher’ wants to tell him that there are already clues regarding what he seeks. Please have him come to the Southern Continent; I will be waiting for him at the southernmost Dragon Court.”
To be honest, would telling such a shocking matter to an ordinary landlady lead her to think it was some kind of mental illness communication invitation?
Well, the Death Lord seemed quite unhinged as well.
“Alright, I will inform him and ensure he knows. Is there any other important message I should convey, Mr. Fisher?”
But surprisingly, this female landlady didn’t appear panicked, perhaps she was already accustomed to the Death Lord’s mental state.
“. Nothing else.”
The female voice on the other side remained silent for a longer time, and when she spoke again, her tone carried a hint of barely perceptible disappointment.
“. Okay, then I will hang up.”
“Mm, thank you, Miss Ashley.”
“.”
“Click!”
A crisp sound came from the phone, and the young girl’s voice abruptly stopped. Fisher also pulled the receiver away slightly, looking at the nearby morning street.
“Finished. How was it?”
Emhart in his arms asked, but Fisher noticed the Green Dragon Court flag and the Golden flag of Nali hanging on the landlady’s house, causing a slight stir in his heart.
He tapped the receiver with his fingers and then said, “Not yet.”
“Ah? Oh, who else are you going to call?”
Fisher didn’t answer but inserted his fingers back into the coin slot, starting to rotate the number he was about to dial again. He was well familiar with this number and wasn’t sure if there were any changes after four and a half years.
He was going to call Elizabeth.
Perhaps it seemed somewhat ill-timed because if Elizabeth knew he was back but couldn’t go find her immediately, she would surely erupt with rage, putting Fisher in even greater danger. The danger from the lady would surely increase several fold.
From the standpoint of a scoundrel, calling Elizabeth to inform her of his return was definitely not appropriate.
But Fisher was indeed worried about Elizabeth.
Now that Nali’s army had been infiltrated by two eighteen-rank demons, it was hard to say whether Elizabeth was aware of or sanctioned this.
According to Hela, these two demons had been summoned by her but wouldn’t follow her commands. Having been locked away for so long, they were now seeking freedom for their race, a freedom bound to Raphael that would trigger them to act as soon as the opportunity for apocalypse arose.
What about Elizabeth among them? Did she also have thoughts of using demonic power to conquer? Or was she deceived by the demons, completely unaware?
Fisher wanted to confirm this at all costs, so he dialed the Golden Palace’s number again.
“Click, click.”
“Hello, this is the Outer Court Affairs Office of the Golden Palace; we are pleased to serve you.”
“I am Fisher Benavides; I need to call Empress Elizabeth.”
“Alright, your request will be processed by the Outer Court Affairs Office and reported. The process will be completed within six to ten working days; your processing number is 90722. You may check the processing result using this number.”
“.”
Fisher felt a bit speechless. From the monotonous, formulaic response of the operator, it seemed they had really taken him for a madman.
He tightened his grip on the receiver, expressionless, and said into it, “Immediately report my name as a special event; after it’s reported to the Inner Court, someone will promptly come to handle this matter. This process will only take five minutes. Just tell Karissa at the Golden Palace and your superior, then walk to the office of the Outer Court located outside the Inner Court to finish it.
“No need for rewards; at least you won’t bear any responsibility. But if you fail to report this, and I contact the Inner Court or even the Empress of the Golden Palace through other means, you will face unimaginable consequences.”
The operator’s voice on the other end went silent, and the receiver felt Fisher’s extraordinary awareness of the Golden Palace’s inner workings and processing procedures. She didn’t dare slacken, and after a brief pause, her formulaic voice finally melted into a hint of hesitancy.
“Alright, please don’t hang up; I’ll now report this to the officials of the Inner Court.”
Fisher did not reply but listened as the female voice faded away. He also looked toward the street nearby.
At this moment, the street became eerily quiet, or rather, deathly silent.
The surroundings were silent, but in the distance, with the sun’s first light, several heads peeked out from the window sills of the buildings on either side of the road, looking across the street to the outside of the city; it seemed something was happening out there.
“Woo! Woo! Woo!”
In the far distance, a bizarre, soul-chilling sound of a chaotic horn echoed, resonating in the air.
That sound contained strange power, even the fresh morning breeze seemed to become muddied and heavy from its influence, making people agitated and breathless.
“Look, they’re coming!”
“It’s the coalition of the Dragon Court and Nali; that special horn sound is Barbatos! General Barbatos is going to war!”
“Great! It’s been two and a half years—exactly two and a half years! The invincible General Barbatos is finally heading south again! Quick, let’s go out of the city to watch!”
“Woo! Woo!”
The streets erupted with excitement, with many subhumans and gentlemen rushing down, exuberantly streaming toward the city’s exit.
Fisher’s brow furrowed deeper as the once-clear blue sky began to gradually be covered by an abnormal hue of red, slowly approaching the Southern Branch Mountain like dark clouds.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The sound of war drums echoed, and Fisher couldn’t help but breathe a little faster, as if he could sense the pillars of molten rock erupting from below the ground.
No, not just one.
In that direction, there were two powerful mythical beings.
Barbatos and Ag were coming; both were advancing toward the front line to the south!
“Fisher, over there.”
Emhart’s mouth fell open, stirred by the sound of war drums and horns, feeling restless as if even he was affected by the power of the Demon God.
“I know.”
Fisher nodded gravely, but unexpectedly, a mature, unexpected female voice suddenly rang out by his ear.
“Know? Sir, what are you saying? What do you know?”
“.”
Fisher was taken aback, snapping back to reality from the looming army, nearly forgetting he hadn’t hung up the phone to the Golden Palace.
But this voice…
It wasn’t Elizabeth.
The female voice sounded older and steadier than Elizabeth’s, like a serene ocean.
“. Who are you?”
“Ah, let me introduce myself. I am the Chief Officer of Inner Court Affairs at the Golden Palace. You can call me Diane.”
“Diane?”
“Yes. Sir, the Outer Court operator just reported that a gentleman named ‘Fisher Benavides’ called in; the Empress is currently directing the war on the Southern Continent and isn’t in the Golden Palace. Therefore, I am fully responsible for tracking and verifying this matter. Sir, may I ask if you are Fisher Benavides?”
Fisher squinted his eyes, his expression becoming cold.
The woman’s composed voice severed any words he was about to say. Information inadvertently revealed in her speech…
Commanding?
Elizabeth is in charge of the war?
Then she must know how the demons are fighting.
“. No, I dialed the wrong number. I’m truly sorry.”
He abruptly hung up the receiver, his cloak thoroughly obscuring his figure as he turned and walked away.
The entire city was filled with excitement, with all the people rushing out to watch the army led by General Barbatos advance toward the Southern Branch Mountain about a hundred kilometers away, so no one noticed that someone here had made two phone calls…
Just at that moment, far away, across the continental ocean of Saint Nali.
Inside the gleaming Golden Palace responsible for Outer Court affairs, the room originally used for calls was now extraordinarily quiet.
All the operators were quietly and cautiously watching the neatly dressed middle-aged woman slowly set down the receiver.
The woman named “Diane” smiled at the respectful operators standing behind her, stood up, and said, “Well done.”
“Don’t mention it.”
The operator immediately lowered her head, seemingly too overwhelmed to handle such praise.
But Diane ignored her reaction and elegantly walked to the door of the Outer Court Affairs Office without looking back, her voice gradually drifting away, “Keep an eye on this place, be cautious while eating, and don’t make trouble for us.”
All the operators lowered their heads and replied respectfully, “Don’t mention it.”
“Lord Baemon.”
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(End of Chapter)
