Mystery: The Stars Returner

Regarding the problem of insufficient manpower, Hastur could only ask Caius to recruit a group of people to help.

As for whether Caius would let members of the Yellow Monks come over to do the work, Hastur left it up to him, he just needed to get things done.

Three days later, Hastur received a reply from Sharon, which mentioned that she was safe now and was gathering members of the Temperance sect in a city not far from Beslin, and what she had experienced during this time. , and finally mentioned that she also misses Azshara.

The people recruited by Caius have already arrived, a total of twenty people, six of whom are members of the Yellow Monks. Caius did not hide this at all.

With manpower available, Hastur contacted Mayor Ron and stated that starting from the next quarter, his territory would be completely autonomous and would send the recruited people to learn how to manage the internal affairs of the territory.

After temporarily solving these trivial matters, Hastur had some free time to think about how to digest the Corruption Baron's potion.

During his time in Backlund, he tried to speed up the digestion of potions through a corrupt and luxurious life, but the effect was average and not very good.

But at that time, others in Backlund needed to pay attention to their reputation. Now that they were in their own territory and after solving some troublesome things, they should also speed up the absorption of magic potions.

Corruption, in most cases, refers to corruption in thought and life, which is the opposite of being proactive.

For example, they are greedy for pleasure and become depraved and ignore serious business.

But in essence, it is more like a class privilege. Only powerful people can use the word corruption. If they are ordinary people and poor people, they can only use the word "lazy" and do not want to make progress.

Only those who control certain social resources and status will be labeled as corrupt.

Corrosion and decay of existing things can also be extended to aspects such as order.

Eroding the existing stable order should also be the way to play the corrupt baron.

The process of corruption does not necessarily have to happen to oneself. It can also lead others to degenerate and become completely corrupt.

For example, a cat that was originally lively and active can be guided step by step into a depraved creature that is lazy and eats well.

Hastur carefully summarized the key points of the role, and glanced consciously at Azshara, who was lying on the ground and resting with her arms around the small fish.

Even though it has closed its eyes to rest, every once in a while, it will happily lick a small dried fish.

Azshara no longer needs his guidance, it has gradually fallen into decay.

Hastur sighed at this. He felt that his master was too kind to it and needed to find something to do for it.

"Meow?!"

Feeling the chill of the inexplicable gaze, Azshara woke up with a shudder, looked around, and met Hastur's gaze. It glanced aggrievedly again, then came to Hastur's feet, quietly Lying down.

"Tsk, I haven't learned anything else, but I'm pretty good at pretending to be pitiful."

Hastur chuckled and shook his head, then came up with a good idea.

The next day, Caius sent a group of people to post bounty notices in various villages and towns in the territory.

The content of the announcement is roughly as follows: The new lord, Earl Campbell, has a kitten from Backlund at home, which is deeply loved by the earl. Recently, due to acclimatization, he has become depressed and has a loss of appetite. The earl feels sad for this. Worried, he posted a notice and offered a reward of 1000 gold pounds for the solution.

At this time, Azshara had just finished eating three small dried fish and was lying on the window sill where the sun was shining. She closed her eyes comfortably and let out a happy meow.

This reward announcement quickly spread throughout Hastur's territory. 1000 gold pounds was an astronomical figure that many people could not even imagine. As long as they could get the reward, they would have enough food and clothing for the rest of their lives.

Many people enthusiastically signed up to participate, and some people lamented in their hearts that a human life is not worth as much as a cat. If there is a next life, it is better to choose to be a cat, so as not to suffer in the human world again.

Others sneered at this, making disdainful taunts, spurning the new lord's arrogance and waste. How many people can be fed with 1000 gold pounds, but it is used on a cat!

People in nearby territories also heard the news and rushed over to join in the fun. Within a few days, the news spread throughout most of South Wales.

The Archduke of Southwell was in his luxurious villa, listening to his men report to him the latest situation of Earl Hastur Campbell.

"A reward of 1000 gold pounds was offered for a cat. It's really rich."

The Grand Duke of Southwell smiled contemptuously. His wealth was far better than Hastur's, but his money was easy to come in and difficult to get out. This 1000 was enough to buy a dozen high-quality little girls.

"Send a few people to join in the fun, and at the same time keep an eye on his every move."

"Yes, I'll make arrangements right away."

After the others left, Archduke Southwell put away the contempt on his face and turned it into seriousness.

Backlund specially sent someone to remind him that the young Earl Hastur Campbell was not a simple man, and asked him not to capsize in the gutter, and even allowed him to give up part of his interests at a critical moment.

He didn't pay much attention to it at first. It wasn't until Derby Augustus ran back to Backlund in despair within a few days that he took the young earl seriously.

Grand Duke Southwell thought for a while, then sent someone to deliver the sisters to Hastur, and at the same time placed them there to monitor every move.

……

In the small town of Moira, the arrival of spring brings the revival of all things, and also makes this usually quiet town become lively.

The Grain Sacrifice Festival on February 2th is the most lively festival here every year.

Every year on this day, residents of the town and farmers from nearby villages gather together to hold sacrifices for this year's harvest.

The harvest god they believe in is not the earth goddess, but the long-standing goddess of grain, also known as the goddess of the breath of spring.

It is said that this god was originally just an ordinary girl. Four or five hundred years ago, or even earlier, this girl changed the farming method here, and finally used her own life to bless all the crops nearby with a bumper harvest every year.

As for the cause of the girl's death and the process of being canonized as a god, not many people know.

Only the priests who have been passed down from generation to generation can know the beginning and end of history. Some people say that there have been gaps in the history of the town and the history is incomplete. Even the priests responsible for holding the Grain Sacrifice Festival do not know what the original history was. One thing.

But one thing, they are extremely sure that worshiping the Breath of Spring Goddess can really bring about a good harvest for crops.

This is a real event that can be verified in history. The most recent one happened twenty years ago. At that time, South Wales encountered a rare severe drought. Crops failed in many areas and people starved to death everywhere. Only their little ones In the area near the town, crops have always grown tenaciously and finally produced abundant fruits, allowing them to survive this crisis safely.

As for why coastal areas experience rare severe drought weather, no one knows.

All that is known is that the people who survived respected the goddess of the breath of spring more and held sacrifices every year to pray for a good harvest.

Even though the new lord issued a reward of 1000 gold pounds this time, the people here still regarded holding the Grain Sacrifice Festival as their top priority.

Out of interest and curiosity, Hastur came to the town one night in advance.

He lives in seclusion, and the residents here don't know that he is the new lord who has offered a huge reward.

Hasta spent three times the usual price to successfully book a room in the hotel.

During the day, the streets here have been decorated with various decorations, most of them in the shape of crops.

For example, pumpkin lanterns, ears of rice, corn stalks, various vegetables carved from stone, etc.

Many people wear clothes that are closer to green, with patterns of various crops embroidered on them. Some people just go shopping with baskets of vegetables, and some people perform performances on the street eating various vegetables raw.

The location where the Grain Sacrifice Festival is held is in the central square of the town. The outside of the place has been covered with red cloth, and no one is allowed to enter except relevant personnel.

This is a carving of the goddess, the Breath of Spring.

Hastur is most curious about this point. If the goddess of the breath of spring is so important here, why is there no statue of her on weekdays, but does not start re-carving it until the festival comes?

And after the festival, why are they destroyed immediately?

These are all what Hasta heard from people nearby. Some residents who held the Valley Sacrifice Festival five or six times still don’t know the true face of the Breath of Spring Goddess.

At night, Hastur hid his figure, slipped into the central square, lifted the red cloth, and took a look.

It is a pity that the limbs and body of this one-story-high goddess statue have been carved, but only the face and facial features have not been carved.

A faceless statue of a goddess.

In the mystical world, it is normal not to know the exact appearance of the gods.

But Hastur felt it was a bit strange, but he didn't say anything, and secretly left and returned to his room.

Late at night, around two o'clock, there were more people holding torches on the street. They began to dance sacrificial dances around the statue of the god wrapped in red cloth.

The leading female priest was dressed in a colorful dress, with triple ears of rice on her head, a sun-dried straw skirt around her waist, and a bunch of vegetables and fruits hanging around her neck.

When she led the dance, the various crops on her body also swayed, matching the rhythm, and it was a bit pleasing to the eye.

Like Hasta, there are many people who open the windows to enjoy the excitement. They come here from neighboring villages and towns to join in the fun.

When the two-hour dance ended, the sky gradually became brighter, and it was only more than an hour before dawn.

The leading priest asked five couples wearing floral wedding dresses to enter the red cloth, and all the people outside started dancing again.

Their speed was much slower than at the beginning, and the status of five couples was vaguely revealed in the red cloth.

They are practicing the ancient and primitive art of reproduction that has been passed down from generation to generation in front of the statue of the god.