119

Mark turned around and followed Captain Edmund to quickly evacuate the trap area. His footsteps were light and silent, like a civet cat in the mountains, moving freely in the dense bushes. The night wind blew, and the leaves rustled, covering up the sound of their movements. Mark looked back from time to time to confirm that no other traps were triggered, and his eyes were alert. The moonlight sprinkled through the gaps between the branches and leaves, casting mottled light and shadows on the ground, like a maze, increasing the difficulty of evacuation. Captain Edmund carefully observed the surrounding environment while retreating to ensure that no clues were missed. He had sharp eyes, like a hawk, scanning the surrounding trees, bushes and ground, not missing any clues. He stopped from time to time to carefully identify the traces on the ground, and sometimes bent down to pick up a few fallen leaves, put them on the tip of his nose and sniffed them, trying to get more information from them. His rough face was full of seriousness and seriousness, and his thick eyebrows twisted together to form a deep "Chuan" character. After returning to the camp, Captain Edmund immediately found the high priest. In the center of the camp, a bonfire was burning, illuminating the surroundings. Several guards sat around the bonfire and talked in low voices. They wore silver armor, held spears, and watched the movements around them vigilantly. In the distance, several tents were looming in the night. The patrolling guards outside the tents walked back and forth, and the footsteps were particularly clear in the silent night.

"High priest, I have important things to report." Captain Edmund said in a hurried tone and low voice.

The high priest put down the book in his hand, raised his head, and looked at Captain Edmund calmly. "Edmund, what happened?" She was wearing a white robe with golden runes embroidered on it, which looked particularly holy under the light of the fire. Her face was calm, but there was a hint of majesty in her eyes.

Captain Edmund reported Mark's discovery and the traps he encountered in detail, and focused on describing the layout of the traps. As he was telling the story, he gestured with his hands, trying to restore the scene at that time. His tone was sometimes low and sometimes high, and with rich body language, he described the incident vividly. "I have never seen those symbols before. They seem to be some kind of ancient text, or some kind of mysterious totem." He frowned, with a hint of doubt in his tone, "Moreover, the arrangement of those traps is very similar to Toby's style." Mark stood aside and supplemented his experience of tracking Toby and meeting the mysterious man, and described the mysterious man's appearance in detail. "The man was tall, wearing a black cloak, with a scar on his face, and his strength was unfathomable." As he spoke, he recalled the scene at that time, and a trace of fear flashed in his eyes, "His back looks very much like the person who took my fragments before." After listening, the high priest looked solemn, and his fingers tapped the table lightly, making a rhythmic "tap" sound. In the tent, the air seemed to solidify, and the atmosphere became oppressive. The flickering firelight cast the figure of the high priest on the wall of the tent, and the light and shadow changed constantly, just like her complicated mood at the moment.

"It seems that Lily's identity has been discovered by the other party, and Toby's soul has also been infected. Call a few elders immediately, we need to discuss countermeasures." The high priest said in a steady tone, with unquestionable majesty.

"Yes, high priest." Captain Edmund bowed and accepted the order, turned around and left the tent.

A moment later, several elders arrived at the high priest's tent one after another. They were wearing gray robes, their beards and hair were all white, and they walked unsteadily, but their eyes were shining with wisdom. They sat around the high priest, with serious expressions, waiting for the high priest's instructions. The atmosphere in the tent became more solemn, like the calm before the storm.

The high priest relayed Captain Edmund and Mark's report in detail to several elders, and raised his own questions and concerns. "Toby's behavior is very abnormal. I suspect his soul no longer belongs to him." She said in a low voice with a hint of pain, "That mysterious man is undoubtedly the Soul Taker."

After listening to this, the elders expressed their opinions one after another. Some thought that Toby should be arrested immediately and interrogated strictly; some thought that the investigation should start with Lily; and some thought that the defense of the Holy City should be strengthened just in case. For a while, there was a lot of discussion in the tent, and the atmosphere became a little tense.

After a heated discussion, the elders finally reached a consensus and decided to send an elite team to find Lily first. After all, Lily is the descendant of the first generation of Tibik, and her importance to the Soul Taker is self-evident.