Mystic Overlord: Reading Gives Strength
Chapter 440 - 437: Banquet, Another Banquet

Chapter 440: Chapter 437: Banquet, Another Banquet

"Banquets, banquets, always banquets."

"These idle bourgeoisie, no matter the era, they always enjoy banquets..."

In the first week of July in Springs.

Ronald was invited to attend Sir Philips’s banquet.

The event developed just as he had anticipated; it started with normal social interactions at the banquet and ended up revolving around him in a ’friend-making’ congress.

Frankly speaking, Ronald really did not enjoy such social events.

And reality often greeted him with surprises amidst these undesirable situations.

Amid the ordeal of social interactions that Ronald was enduring,

the long-silent "Divine Comedy - Hell" began to stir again.

The original imprint on his right hand suddenly flashed, and a foreign yet familiar magic power began to gather in Ronald’s hands.

In the process of collecting the sins of Hell, which had been silent for so long,

"The Hell Chapter" unexpectedly detected the last type of sin that Ronald had yet to record!

— Heretical Belief

"Mr. Ronald, I am Alby, who operates a shipping business in the port area. I usually have dealings with the Ginkgo Leaf Business Association. It’s truly an honor to meet you at today’s banquet."

"I’m also pleased to meet you..."

With a fake smile plastered on his face, Ronald perfunctorily dealt with the man introducing himself.

In truth, his thoughts had already flown far away.

After leaving Greenwich, Ronald had rarely interacted with heretical magicians, yet today, attending a banquet merely as a formality had activated this ultimate power of Hell!

Though he was still standing in place, even engaging in lively conversation with others at the banquet,

At that moment, the spells Ronald possessed underwent an instantaneous transformation.

Heretical Belief introduced a spell known as ’Fire City.’

Inherited from the characteristics of "The Hell Chapter", it was a spell specifically designed to target heretical beliefs. Interestingly, the so-called ’heretical beliefs’ did not adhere to the church’s rules but were instead based on the subjective will of the caster, Ronald.

What he believed in...

Ronald understood it in a flash.

Pull anyone from this world over, he reckoned he could instantly declare them heretics. This spell called Fire City might just jump to the top three most applicable spells in Ronald’s arsenal!

The full activation of "The Hell Chapter" abilities also brought new enhancements.

At this moment, Ronald was no longer confined to the past restriction of using only one power of Hell at a time, but could activate any number of "The Hell Chapter" spells at will.

To put it more simply,

He could now scout for enemies using the power of ’Fury’ while attacking with the power of ’Rage’, and still have his lips free to recite the incantations of the newly acquired ’Fire City’ spell.

This fundamental change in abilities led to yet another leap in strength.

To the point where Ronald himself could not help but reflect on it.

Since the spells from "The Heavenly Chapter" had been activated consecutively, along with various newly collected abilities, multiple spells layered together. Even without encountering any formidable enemies, his strength continued to evolve qualitatively.

In such a situation, it really left one at a loss for words.

"Ah..."

Ronald sighed softly and waved his hand to indicate he had something to attend to.

He walked through the path that the crowd had cleared for him and went straight to the organizer of this banquet, Sir Philips.

Ronald had not forgotten the necessary conditions for the activation of "The Hell Chapter".

—— Heretical Beliefs

This spell, which would have no chance of being hosted in Berenwich, is only applicable if the caster is in the vicinity of a heretical ritual.

In other words, during Sir Philips’s banquet.

Right now, a cultist ritual is being conducted!

Ronald didn’t believe that the organizer of the banquet, a newly prominent noble, would engage in such activities at this moment.

After all, apart from the direct participants—the casters, the investigators in charge of security around the banquet weren’t pushovers either.

Thus, the answer was simple.

There was an unexpected "guest" causing trouble!

As an invited guest, Ronald felt obliged, out of basic courtesy, to alert the host of the banquet.

Sir Philips was a middle-aged man who appeared quite young.

His hair, a mix of black and white, was neatly combed, and his simple yet elegant suit enhanced his dignified demeanor, complemented by a handsome and resolute face; most people who met him for the first time felt a certain fondness for him.

At that moment, seeing Ronald approaching,

Sir Philips naturally displayed a friendly smile.

Ronald reciprocated the greeting as social etiquette demanded, showing his respect, before leaning in and whispering,

"Mr. Philips, something seems off."

"Mr. Ronald, you mean..."

Sir Philips originally thought Ronald was just coming over to greet him.

From the reactions at the banquet, he could somewhat understand what Ronald was implying, and the possibility of him wanting to leave was also within his considerations. However, as soon as he heard Ronald’s serious and stern tone, the leading figure among the new nobility instantly realized the situation was unusual.

Philips knew Ronald quite well.

For someone as powerful as Ronald, who was a holder of the original text, to behave in such a manner, the matter must be serious!

Realizing something was wrong, the new noble acted decisively.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I need to discuss some matters with Mr. Ronald."

"Please continue to enjoy the banquet."

His brief and polite speech prompted the surrounding people to disperse, and Sir Philips immediately led Ronald towards the back of the banquet.

Straightening his expression and posture, this robust man asked very seriously,

"Mr. Ronald, what exactly happened? Ordinary matters shouldn’t warrant such a demeanor from you."

"It’s the cultist magicians."

Facing the organizer of the banquet, Ronald straightforwardly replied, "You might have heard that my spells are particularly good at detection. Just now, I detected signs of cultist activity nearby, approximately in the northwest corner of the estate."

...

Philips was silent.

For a banquet host, having a guest point out such an issue was extremely serious. If Ronald’s words were spoken in the banquet hall, it would definitely lead to very troublesome consequences.

It would affect not only Philips personally but also the class power he represented.

He couldn’t forgive what happened tonight!

With a decision made in his mind, Sir Philips quickly spoke up to extend an invitation,

"Mr. Ronald, please come and see with me. If possible, I would also like you to act as a witness in this matter."

Ronald naturally didn’t mind confronting the cultist magicians, but out of caution, he chose a more tactful response:

"I will do what needs to be done."