The Warden of The Witches

Bountiful Mother Goddess Sect

Although the Flying Noodle Sect's uprising failed, the old Kingdom of Reiss was completely annihilated under the combined impact of internal and external troubles.

After listening to Rebecca's explanation, Aiden pondered, "The old Kingdom of Reiss was sandwiched between the Kingdom of Gistas and the Dragonspine Empire, right?"

"Yes, now it has been divided into three separate provinces, two on the side of the Empire and the remaining one in Gistas."

"Isn't that very close to the Sabbath Forest?" Aiden realized something.

He remembered the location of the Sabbath Forest, which coincided with the northeast direction of Gistas and the southeast side of the Dragonspine Empire.

"It seems so. The old Kingdom of Reiss at that time was situated on the west side of the Sabbath Forest," Rebecca nodded in agreement.

"Then the witches who founded this sect in Reiss Kingdom, the Flying Noodle Sect, might have some connection with the Witches' Gathering, right?" Aiden hypothesized.

However, Rebecca refuted, "Although it is said that the Witches' Gathering had its rudimentary form a long time ago... but if we were to speak truthfully, the Witches' Gathering only started becoming active in recent decades, after the emergence of the 'Apex Witch' Abigail."

Abigail, the 'Apex Witch,' is the host of the Witches' Gathering, an annual gathering held in the Sabbath Forest, which she single-handedly organizes. Because she has made the Sabbath Forest her residence and the venue for the Witches' Gathering, the forest was renamed as the Sabbath Forest — before that, it was apparently just metaphorically referred to as the Misty Forest.

Abigail's title emerged over fifty years ago, even much later than Lamia, and it was only after that time that the Witches' Gathering began to flourish as it is today.

it is not enough to establish any connection between this sect and the Witches' Gathering Based solely on geographical location and the fact that the founder of the Flying Noodle Sect was a witch.

Therefore, delving deeper into the Flying Noodle Sect brought by the ancestor of the transmigrator seems to hold little significance.

This sect was merely a flash in the pan in history and perished quickly. Even among all the uprisings that occurred before the downfall of the old Kingdom of Reiss, it was not the most prominent. The witch who seemed to be the ancestor of the transmigrator did not even leave behind her name.

However, in Aiden's view, although the uprising failed, this ancestor still did something remarkable. At least she displayed more ambition than Aiden, who was just trying to live a stable life by rehashing his old business in this otherworldly place. That, to him, was worthy of respect.

But then, Aiden suddenly noticed something else, "This page is labeled as an appendix. What kind of file is it attached to?"

Based on his inherited memories, the contents of these appendices in the files of the Inquisition Bureau often have a certain connection to the main file but not a very tight one; they are included as supplementary information and references.

"Oh, this is actually an appendix related to the Bountiful Mother Goddess Sect," Rebecca answered.

"The Bountiful Mother Goddess Sect? I feel like I've heard of it before..." Aiden mused.

"It's an ancient cult that operated in the Dragonspine Empire and Gistas territories, they initially using the banner of Earth Mother Goddess sect to revive the old Kingdom of Reiss. They mainly operated in the three provinces that split from the old Kingdom of Reiss and were deemed heretical by both countries," Rebecca explained. "Because there have been recent signs of activity in the autonomous regions, the Inquisition Bureau has compiled records, including historical data from the late period of the old Kingdom of Reiss as an appendix."

"Is this Bountiful Mother Goddess Sect aiming for ethnic independence to revive the old kingdom?" Aiden inquired.

The old Kingdom of Reiss was a unified nation where the royal family held both political and religious power, closely tied to the Earth Mother Goddess sect. Attempting to revive the national religion on the ruins of the fallen kingdom was seen as tantamount to restoration, hence being labeled as heretical by the Empire and the Kingdom of Gistas who had partitioned the old kingdom.

"Yes, there are rumors that the current leader of the Bountiful Mother Goddess Sect is actually a descendant of the old Reiss royal family," Rebecca replied.

"A hundred years have passed, and they're still not giving up?" Aiden chuckled. "Quite persistent, but it seems rather futile."

Rebecca nodded in agreement, "Indeed, even before the division of the old Reiss Kingdom, the Earth Mother Goddess sect had lost its standing among the common people. Over the years, the sect's followers have dwindled, making the revival of this religion practically meaningless."

"But you mentioned earlier that this sect is active in the autonomous regions. Is it still alive and kicking?" Aiden inquired further.

"Yeah, to be honest..." Rebecca hesitated slightly at this point. "It has been developing quite well. The Empire and Gistas have been trying to eradicate this cult, but with little success. Instead, there has been a trend of growth and expansion in recent years."

“Why?” Aiden was somewhat surprised. "Wasn't it said that there was no longer fertile ground for belief?"

"Well..." Rebecca suddenly faltered, hesitated for a while, and then redirected the question, "I... can't quite recall. How about you look into it at the bureau yourself? You should still have access over there in the archives, right?"

Aiden furrowed his brow slightly, while Rebecca subtly shifted her gaze away.

Indeed, Aiden still retained some level of authority within the Inquisition Bureau, and it was relatively high. After all, at this point, he was still tasked with the important duty of guarding Mephilia within the bureau.

Rebecca's reaction indicated that she was not ignorant or forgetful about the matter but rather unwilling to disclose it.

Deliberately pulling information that interested Aiden from the records of the Bountiful Mother Goddess Sect, Rebecca had no reason to suddenly suggest that Aiden investigate on his own.

Could it be that this cult is involved in something embarrassing or difficult to discuss?

Aiden felt his curiosity piqued - based on his inherited memories, peculiar activities within cults were quite normal.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in!" Aiden called out.

The door opened, and a guard stepped into the office, saluting Aiden. "Warden, a prisoner in Cell Block 2 has reported some issues to us..."

"What kind of issues? Be clear about it," Aiden urged.

The second monitoring sector was a standard area where prisoners, unlike those in the core sector, did not dabble in dark magic or possess supernatural abilities. Managing them was akin to handling the inmates in Aiden's previous life, requiring relatively low management costs. As a result, there were seldom issues that required Aiden's direct involvement.

"Well..." the guard hesitated for a moment and then spoke up, "They say... it seems like there's a haunting in the cell."