"It’s simple. I tried to contact Him before I came, but He didn’t respond."

"???"

Everyone stared at Isaac, completely dumbfounded. After a long moment, they snapped back to their senses, their expressions twisting into terror as they slowly rose to their feet, assuming combat stances!

Fortunately, Caesar was the first to react. He quickly asked, "Third Brother, which time are you talking about?"

The moment he spoke, everyone turned their shocked gazes to Caesar. ’What the hell? What does he mean, "which time"?’ ’Is the pressure from the Wilderness really getting to him?’

"Uh... it was in the last day or two. But don’t worry, I didn’t have a deep conversation. It was just a probe," Isaac said, holding up his right hand to signal for Caesar to calm down.

Although he had only performed the ritual recently, Isaac had only meant it as a routine probe. He had no intention of making a deal with the Master of Billions of Flesh here at the fortress, even though he was fully prepared and could practically guarantee it would be foolproof.

But what if?

Isaac had no desire to take risks, especially when it involved his family.

Although there are only three Magic Books for each Wizard Level, that doesn’t mean you can only trade with the Outer Gods three times.

Theoretically, as long as you’re bold enough and your methods are sufficiently extraordinary, you can make as many deals as you want. It’s just that a maximum of three deals can be recorded in the Magic Books.

However, the more deals you make with the same Outer God, the greater the risk of things going south. In the process of repeated transactions, just as you become familiar with their power, they also become familiar with your methods.

And when your methods are completely exposed, that is when the Outer God begins to reap their harvest!

Isaac, however, didn’t have this concern. He could see the success rate before even starting the ritual.

’A probe...’ everyone thought, looking at Isaac as if he were a madman. ’So this is... the Mad Witch?’

Among the crowd, Gaia’s gaze toward Isaac was filled with worry. Just as he had feared, Isaac was still plunging headfirst into the Abyss, with no signs of turning back...

’And his body only just recently recovered...’

But Gaia didn’t let this emotion affect him for long. He quickly composed himself and asked with a frown, "In that case, could it be that He only ignored you?"

"Impossible," Cheryl said, shaking her head before Isaac could answer. "If He knew Third Brother’s identity, Third Brother would already be dead. That is the ultimate bottom line in the game between Legendary Mages and Outer Gods."

"So... the Black Orcs really do have the aid of another Outer God?" Gaia’s expression darkened.

For a border Count like him who had to deal with the Black Orcs every year, he knew all too well how much the situation would change if the Black Orcs gained the backing of an Outer God.

Cheryl shook her head, her expression grim. "One more is the best-case scenario. It’s likely there’s more than one! Too many High Priests have appeared! A single Outer God couldn’t possibly exert that much influence on the inner world."

Hearing this, the group fell silent again. This matter was already beyond their capabilities. Of those present, perhaps only Gaia was qualified to get involved, and even then, only barely—he would hardly be a key player.

"Young Master Isaac can communicate with the Outer Gods, can’t he? Could he ask Them to help us too?" Mad Sword Alitos asked Isaac during the silence.

"..." Isaac stared at him like he was an idiot. "First of all, I can only communicate with them, not command them. If I actually made contact, Their first thought would be to claim my soul. Secondly, not a single Outer God is a ’good guy.’ They don’t do charity. The Black Orcs can do this because they don’t even consider other Black Orcs to be people and sacrifice them at will. And finally, Outer Gods are not that easy to contact."

At his words, Alitos lowered his head, his expression ugly. ’In that case, aren’t we screwed?’ he thought.

CLANG!

Just as the mood grew more and more somber, Gaia slammed his sword down again, drawing everyone’s attention to himself before he spoke.

"Things have come to this; our only choice is to fight with everything we have! The Black Orcs and the Outer Gods are both bad news. The two of them together is even worse. So, I urge you, abandon all unrealistic fantasies. We have no path of retreat!" Gaia’s voice was grave and earnest. "So, everyone, we fight!"

He paused, and seeing that he had managed to stir their spirits a little, Gaia delivered another shot of encouragement. "Besides, it’s not like we have no chance of winning. We just need to hold out until reinforcements from the Truth Association and the Bright Church arrive. Since this involves Outer Gods, they will definitely come!"

After Gaia finished speaking, everyone’s morale was clearly bolstered. They had evidently found a glimmer of hope in his words.

After that, the group tacitly avoided the topic and began discussing battle plans based on the intelligence they had on hand.

They discussed from morning until afternoon before finally reaching a preliminary conclusion.

Throughout the entire discussion, Isaac was able to participate at first, but he gradually became a mere listener. Eventually, he just sat to the side in a daze, occasionally glancing at the Witch, Barbara.

There were so many Legends about Witches in this world. It was said that the very origin of Legendary Mages came from Witches. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Of course, that origin...

...wasn’t exactly a friendly one.

That was why Isaac had always been quite interested in Witches. He was very curious about what kind of physiological structure allowed them to be born with Magic, some of them possessing incredibly powerful forms of it.

However, with Isaac’s current level of morality, he couldn’t bring himself to do something like dissecting a human. So, this curiosity usually remained buried deep inside him, only surfacing when he actually saw a Witch.

After the meeting ended, Isaac had intended to leave with the others, but when he saw that his older brother and sister hadn’t moved, he silently sat back down. It seemed there was going to be a smaller meeting.

Sure enough, once the four Barons had left the council hall, the gazes of everyone remaining focused on Isaac.

"You want to ask me about the Outer Gods?" Isaac spoke before they could ask. The others nodded.

"Tsk. How should I put this? It’s just like I said before. Getting the Outer Gods to help us fight the Black Orcs is impossible. We can’t afford the price. However, finding out which Outer Gods are on the other side... that shouldn’t be too much of a problem," Isaac said, shrugging helplessly.

This was the absolute limit of what he could do.

Gaia nodded. He had a good grasp of the situation. After a moment of thought, he asked, "The one you mentioned... the one who commands the Flesh Dimension..."

"The Master of Billions of Flesh?" Isaac raised an eyebrow.

Gaia nodded. He wasn’t a Legendary Mage; if he spoke the name, it would be sensed.

"Could His slumber have something to do with you seizing a part of the Flesh Dimension?"

"I’m not sure, but I doubt it. I only seized a very small part; it’s insignificant compared to the entire Flesh Dimension." The moment Gaia spoke, Isaac understood what he was thinking. "So, if you’re asking me to make deals with those Outer Gods to force Them into slumber, that’s not very realistic."