Clockwork Bride

Page 259

Blood sacrifice to the blood god!

They don't need elaborate rituals to pray to the goddess of death; instead, they sacrifice the defeated in bloody, brutal battles. As long as it happens on their own land, Miktikahiva doesn't care why the blood is shed. The more swords cleave flesh and bone, the more the dying scream, and the more blood gushes forth, the greater Miktikahiva's power becomes.

...At least that's what Hayden heard.

Because he didn't know the specifics of the situation, or what the goddess Mikt was doing, he personally traveled to South America to investigate. This is just a cursory look today; there's likely much more to be seen.

“I can understand what this is about, even though I don’t like it.”

Angela turned to Hayden and asked,

"But master, how can we maintain the population this way?"

Everyone says that the competition for survival is extremely fierce on Smoke Mirror Company's territory. This means more opportunities, greater wealth and social mobility... but can people really afford to die like that?

Theoretically speaking, killing people and offering blood sacrifices to the gods is a good way to increase power in the short term, but it is not cost-effective in the long run.

It's important to understand that this is truly the most primitive method used by the ancient gods. Long before the fallen angels arrived in this world from beyond the heavens, the ancient natural gods of this world used primitive blood sacrifices to increase their power and nourish their weakened souls. However, the most primitive method of exploitation means the lowest efficiency. Therefore, the fallen angels later developed "rites" and created feudal dynasties, because the exploitation methods of feudal dynasties were, in the long run, more efficient than primitive blood sacrifices.

Later, four hundred years ago, as everyone knows in history, new gods overthrew old gods and created a new magic of capitalism, which was more efficient than feudal etiquette as a means of exploitation.

...However, only the Smoke Mirror Company has never forgotten to continue using blood sacrifice magic, from the feudal era to the capitalist era.

They certainly used rituals. They still use capitalist magic. But they also use blood sacrifice magic. Could this be considered... well, a local tradition?

As Angela said, it's difficult to maintain the population this way. And everyone knows that keeping someone alive, constantly exploited by the company until there's nothing left to exploit, extracts more resources than a blood sacrifice. So this makes things very strange…

So Hayden wanted to figure out what was going on. There's usually a special reason behind anything unusual. Did the Smoke Mirror Company possess some kind of ancient magic? Was it related to the Outer Gods? Or were they actually doing something strange behind the scenes? Was there something more to it?

“I’ve done some research and heard that Smoke Mirror Company has some specific population increase measures, but the details are hard to find. That’s one of the things I wanted to see for myself this time.”

In any case, the words "population increase measures" only gave Hayden a very bad feeling.

Hayden needs to actively investigate and observe these things in order to make a judgment, and he also needs to see if these secrets can enhance his strength and solve other problems... There are so many things to do.

This time, even Angela frowned, a rare occurrence: "Master, what methods do you intend to use to investigate this matter?"

"I have a solution."

As Hayden spoke, he led Angela away from the busier street corner, where the buildings and crowds began to thin out. They then turned and entered a smaller alley. At the end of the alley stood a dark shop, its windows magically blacked out.

Hayden led the way into the store. The store was also dark; only the light streaming in when the door opened revealed it to be a large, empty room. According to Hayden's prior investigation, and based on Alastor's account, this used to be a pharmacy, but it had gone bankrupt several months prior. The store had been reclaimed by the company but hadn't been resold yet. The walls were simply painted white, the floor was scratched and dull, and there was nothing inside now.

Hayden silently closed the door behind him, then quietly chanted a few incantations. An invisible wave rippled through the surrounding space, illuminating the entire room with white light.

"Alright." After finishing the incantation, he said calmly, "If there are still people or gods who can spy on us, we are doomed no matter what, so let's get straight to the point. Hongye, come out here too."

The next instant, the ninja Momiji emerged from Hayden's shadow and stood respectfully to his side.

"The current situation is that I need to investigate and understand the situation here at the South American Smoke Mirror Company more thoroughly. I need to know what kind of lives the people here lead, and what kind of people these capitalists are. But how do I make that judgment? We witnessed a gladiatorial contest today, a blood sacrifice, yes, it's terrifying. But do you think I should try to find a way to kill Micket because of that?"

Hayden asked, rubbing his temples.

Angela and Hongye both shook their heads.

Everyone knows that relying solely on these facts is completely insufficient for making judgments. Blood sacrifice gladiatorial combat is terrifying, but it's definitely not just about that. Such things are far too superficial.

"The gods who are high above cannot know the hardships of ordinary people. If you want to truly understand the feelings of ordinary people and how bad capitalists are, you need to get involved yourself."

Therefore Hayden said,

"Next, I will try to survive as a mortal on the territory of the Smoke Mirror Company in South America. Let's try it for a month first."

These words immediately stunned Hongye. Even Angela was somewhat surprised, her eyes widening slightly.

“When the dark elf Joanna came to Newbeam City to infiltrate, Pania joked with me, saying that no god would be so idle as to infiltrate someone else’s company, because they are all busy making money and don’t have the time for that.”

Hayden shrugged.

"But that's perfect, I'm just a super immortal... a free spirit. So I'll do something that other gods wouldn't do."

Hongye was dumbfounded.

Angela, on the contrary, seemed rather pleased. She couldn't help but smile: "That sounds very good. But Master, what exactly do you plan to do to survive? Hide your magic and continue being a mercenary?"

“Of course, there are other options.” Hayden nodded and continued, “I could even pretend to work for the Smoke Mirror Company and find a legitimate job. I could also participate in their blood sacrifice gladiatorial combat. There are many options.”

"Besides, I'm just hiding my magic and playing dumb. If things really escalate to the point of killing people, I can just run away immediately. So this isn't a 'secret' adventure where I'm fearless. Anyone can do what I'm doing—find a job, work, and try to survive. In fact, thousands of people do this every day. I'm not doing this for fun."

It's obvious that Hayden, in the end, can only be a casual observer, not a truly ordinary person. He now possesses the physical body and magical powers of an immortal, has a host of gods behind him, and an entire company footing his bills. Given this background, Hayden obviously can't truly experience the lives of ordinary South American people, nor can he truly understand their feelings… But that's unavoidable, especially since his goal is inherently more objective and direct. He simply wants to truly understand the situation of the people under the rule of the Smoke Mirror Corporation, and what those capitalist gods are really like.

Angela clearly thought the idea was quite good. For some reason, she seemed amused by Hayden's idea and appeared very happy.

Hongye, on the other hand, didn't seem to like the plan very much. So she tried to ask a question: "Sir, you can't really see much in a month, and besides, you want to do three different things at the same time. It's not very meaningful to just dabble in each place for ten days."

"Yes, that is indeed a problem. Spending a month in one place might allow you to get a feel for the situation, but ten days is definitely not enough."

Hayden nodded.

"So this time I'm going to do these three things at the same time."

……ah?

Seeing Hongye staring in disbelief, Hayden explained, "While I'm not like the God of Capital, capable of splitting my thinking into hundreds or thousands of threads, I can still manage to think in two or three parallel ways. Otherwise, wouldn't I be a useless immortal grandmaster?"

Hongye became even more anxious: "But, but, sir, you don't have the divine power to create divine clones like a true god! You can only think in three parallel ways. Without clones, you can't do three things at the same time!"

“That’s not a problem. I can’t be in two places at once like God, but I have workarounds.”

Before he finished speaking, Hayden had already tapped the floor lightly with his staff.

"Come forth, my beast of the heart—[Fenrir]!"

Then a wolf the size of a brown bear appeared in front of him.

A giant wolf whose mere sight of a red leaf makes one tremble!

307: Self-directed and self-acted

“Hey hey hey hey hey hey!?”

The moment she saw Fenrir, Momiji trembled like a startled rabbit. Considering she was half fox, this was truly embarrassing.

But it's impossible to make her unafraid. The first time she met Hayden, she was almost raped by him in his wolf-like frenzy. Although nothing actually happened, it still left some psychological scars.

Moreover, Hongye also knows that Hayden has been given a weird buff by Ange, and if he is really raped, he will become a mother!

"What are you afraid of? It's not like I'm really going to eat you."

Fenrir spoke, using Hayden's own voice, which sounded somewhat helpless.

"This thing won't get out of control again. I'm not using a split personality, I'm just thinking in parallel."

Hayden has been studying the magic of transforming into and summoning wolves for a long time. His earliest classical magic was Slavic, but he recently acquired a lot of related Norse magic.

In ancient Norse magic, the fylgja is considered a totem animal spirit that reflects the inner character and traits of its owner. Ancient Norse warriors might have the spirit of a wolf or bear, wise men and magicians might have the spirit of a snake or eagle, and some might even have the spirit of a cow or a goat.

However, regardless of the circumstances, this so-called animal soul is merely a manifestation of the owner's personality traits; it is not multiple personality disorder or schizophrenia. Simply put, Hayden is currently just logging into two accounts on two machines simultaneously. This skill tests multi-threaded processing capabilities; the principle is very simple, and it certainly won't result in a sudden mental breakdown and loss of control like in many artistic creations.

After all, Hayden only had one sense of self.

But that's getting off-topic. In short, ancient Norse sorcerers could use magic to summon the spirits of these animals to protect themselves, or to transform themselves into the corresponding animals. Hayden had done both before, and this time he was going to do it in a more complex and exaggerated way.

Fenrir transformed in an instant into a gray-haired youth with wolf ears and a wolf tail, looking no more than twenty years old. Hayden carefully adjusted his facial features, making sure that it was impossible to tell that he was a clone, before nodding in satisfaction.

Then Hayden instructed, "Redleaf, you and my clone [Fenrir] go to Miktikashiva's territory and find some mercenary jobs. Unless it's an emergency, don't use abilities beyond what an enhanced human can do."

As he spoke, he handed Hongye an identity document that Alastor had forged long ago. 【大自在天】was originally a god under the Mitra Group, and Alastor was a truly super-skilled hacker. His forged identity document was practically more convincing than the real thing.

Hongye was actually a hundred times unwilling, but she cared most about the concept of loyalty, and Hayden's words were not without reason, so she could only obediently listen with tears in her eyes.

"The reason I want to try being a mercenary is because mercenary work is the only job I've done for a long time. So it should be worthwhile to see how mercenaries are different here compared to those in North America."

Hayden continued,

"As for Angela and me, we'll disguise ourselves and participate in one of those folk blood sacrifice gladiatorial matches. I don't think it will take us too much time."

Angela tilted her head upon hearing this: "Master, although the vampire lady hasn't discovered you hiding here yet, if you go to participate in the gladiatorial match right under her nose, no matter how well you disguise yourself, you will eventually be exposed."

"What does it matter if 'finally' is exposed? By then, I'll probably have figured out the magical principles behind this gladiatorial blood sacrifice, since I'm going to get up close and personal with it." Hayden shrugged. "Even if it's exposed, is there some rule that says I can't disguise myself to participate in gladiatorial matches on Micket's territory? I'm not going to steal the blood and life offered to her."

Miktikashiva didn't care why the blood was shed, as long as it happened on her own land—at least that's what her public pronouncements suggested. Given that, there was certainly no reason to stop Hayden from joining the gladiatorial combat!

Hayden's power was already considerable, not to mention the many gods standing behind him. But he wasn't arrogant enough to think he could recklessly confront the entire Smoke Mirror Corporation head-on. Besides, Hayden was a wizard!

A wizard is someone who knows how to use clever and skillful methods to deal with ghosts and spirits.

"Sir, didn't you say you wanted to disguise yourself and find a legitimate job at the Smoke Mirror Company?"

By now, Hongye had somewhat resigned herself to her fate, but she still tried to ask.

“I can’t very well do that kind of thing in person, or I’d get caught by Mickett,” Hayden said, pulling a palm-sized doll from his robe pocket. “So I use this to look for a job.”

On this palm-sized doll, six lines of extremely fine, tiny characters, resembling a spell, were pre-engraved. These six lines of text couldn't be typed directly, but if converted to Roman letters, they would look like this:

【vhv.yly.sit.oolm.mhsh.llh.aka.khth.hzi.ald.lav.hho】

【izl.mbh.hri.hqm.lav.kli.lvv.phl.nlk.yyy.mlh.chhv.nthh】

【haa.ylth.shah.ryy.aum.lkb.vshr.ychv.lhch.kvq.mnd】

【ani.chom.rho.yyz.hhh.mik.vvl.ylh.sal.ori.oshl.mih.vhv】

【dny.hchsh.omm.nna.nith.mbh.pvi.nmm.yyl.hrch.mtzr.vmk】

【ihh.onv.mchi.dmb.mnq.aio.chbv.rah.ibm.hyy.mvm】

Can't pronounce it? Don't know how to pronounce it? Indeed, but that's how it is. These are part of the Kabbalah esoteric knowledge bequeathed to Hayden by Professor Albion before his death. These six lines of seventy-two groups of characters are called "divine names (shem-ha)," which cannot be recited but only written, and even then, they possess immense power. Through different combinations and mathematical transformations, they have various uses.

Now Hayden meticulously carved them onto the palm-sized doll. Then he took a needle from his robe and pricked his index finger. A drop of blood gushed out, which was quickly absorbed by the tiny doll that had been tossed to the ground.

Then Hayden whispered, “Drink my blood, and rise, shrewd as serpents. For my life is in my blood.”

The doll immediately began to grow rapidly. In just three seconds, it had transformed into a tall human body, pale and thin, at least a head taller than an average man, with no visible muscles, and its eyes glowed red with narrow pupils like a cat's.

This humanoid body didn't resemble Hayden at all; instead, it looked like a zombie, or perhaps a snake. Hayden closed his eyes, splitting his thoughts into three, connecting the third part of his consciousness to the blank body. The oversized body immediately sat up, standing ramrod straight on the ground with fluid movements.

"This flesh golem is used to disguise myself as a middle-class undead. I'll see if I can use it to get a job at Mickett's company,"

He added his explanation.

Divide your thoughts into three and run them in parallel. This sounds easy, but it's ten times harder than dividing them in two. Hayden feels like at least 80% of his brain's memory is being used; trying to divide it into three more would definitely give him a fever. The true god has the ability to divide it into more, but Hayden doesn't have that talent. With his mind divided to control two extra bodies, the clones might occasionally show a slight delay… but it shouldn't be a big problem.

"Red Leaf, when you and my [Fenrir] clone go to work as mercenaries, if you find that he is slow to react, help him out."

So Hayden gave Hongye some more instructions, and even gestured with his hand above his head.

"How about you show your fox ears and tail too? That way you'll look more like a relative of Fenrir."

——————————————————————————————

And so, the group split into three and went their separate ways.

However, participating in the Blood Sacrifice Gladiator is easy; all you need to do is register. Working at the Smoke Mirror Company (its northern branch) is a bit more difficult, but at least you can apply normally first.

However, there are obviously no publicly listed registration locations for mercenaries.

"Sir, if I want to become a mercenary in South America by pretending to be a newbie, where should I begin?"

Hongye had no idea about this. She used to be a corporate ninja for the Mitra Group (a subsidiary), not a freelance mercenary.

In truth, it seems that Hongye has never truly been "free" in her entire life. Thinking about it this way, it's quite sad.

"Generally speaking, no matter where you are, this line of work starts with finding a middleman or a broker. Urban mercenaries are a gray industry; there's no way they have any guilds or anything like that."

Hayden—now Fenrir with wolf ears and a wolf tail—shrugged.

“But we can’t use our existing connections now. If we start looking through intermediaries, it will probably take one or two weeks for them to get their connections sorted out.”

Because trust is paramount in the gray market. The less secure a job is, the less willing anyone is to partner with an unreliable person.

...Hayden had been a lone wolf mercenary for nearly ten years, operating in the shadow of Metropolis. The reason he remained a lone wolf, besides his exceptional skill and daring, was because he couldn't find any trustworthy teammates. If you can't guarantee your teammates won't make a fool of themselves and drag you down, or are unsure if they'll shoot you in the back, then you might as well do it alone.

In conclusion, getting into this line of work takes quite a bit of time and requires an introduction. This is the most awkward aspect of Hayden and his group's current pretense of identity.

Hongye became more and more confused as she listened to Hayden's words: "Sir, if that's the case, why do you still insist on using a false identity to get involved in the urban mercenary industry in South America? Obviously, there are many other industries that are suitable as subjects for social investigation."

"Because you can't see the true face of society just by looking at the industries that are on the surface."

Hayden (in Fenrir) rubbed his now-wolf ears.

"Another reason is that I had a good idea beforehand."

Several years ago in New Jersey, a young man named Eric wanted to enter the world of urban mercenaries, but he had no connections. So he simply went to the vicinity of the home of Hayden, a famous mercenary, hoping to make a spectacular appearance and win the favor of this veteran.

As it turned out, Hayden actually gritted his teeth and let Ericla in. He's now a junior supervisor in the security department of Newbeam City... but let's not talk about that now.