Mohan could only sit down reluctantly upon hearing this, and Guang Lei smiled and began, "Since everyone is here, let's start. First, let's go over the intelligence each of you has gathered and the data you've compiled."

Hearing Guang Huo's words, an official from the Duchy of Cardick in the center of the hall spoke up, "In that case, I shall begin by detailing the losses we have calculated and some preliminary reports. According to initial statistics, this disaster has resulted in approximately one hundred thousand civilians contracting this strange illness, bringing the total, including previous fatalities, to around one hundred and twenty thousand. The military has also suffered heavily, with nearly five thousand soldiers infected and subsequently dying. Currently, there are about one hundred thousand residents left in Imar City, totaling around one hundred and fifty thousand people including the garrisoned soldiers. Fortunately, no new outbreaks have been discovered within the city so far, so we can consider the epidemic largely contained within the magical barrier."

Mohan was startled by these figures. One hundred thousand people—what a concept that was. Even lining them up to be slain would leave one's hands numb from the effort; yet, they had died so meaninglessly.

It seemed this contagion was far more potent than he had imagined.

After the Cardick official concluded his report, the figure who appeared to be the leader from the Mercenary Guild stood up.

He began, "The Mercenary Guild has also conducted a preliminary count: approximately five A-rank mercenary groups, over a dozen B-rank groups, and several dozen lower-ranked groups entered the mission area. However, none have managed to return to report the situation. Therefore, the specific casualty count remains undetermined, but we estimate at least a thousand mercenaries have perished during this mission. Furthermore, following the suggestion from the Church of Light, we have restricted lower-tier mercenary groups from entering Imar City to prevent more innocents from walking into their doom. This measure is already showing initial positive results."

Guang Lei nodded with a smile upon hearing this, "Thank you for your efforts, Vice Guild Master Cody. Please, have a seat."

Mohan then realized this young man was the Vice Guild Master of the Mercenary Guild. He appeared to be in his early thirties at most. There were no discernible fluctuations of magic or Dou Qi emanating from him. Yet, it was impossible for the Vice Guild Master of a Mercenary Guild to possess no martial skills or magic whatsoever.

This left only two possibilities: either his cultivation level surpassed Mohan's, rendering it impossible for Mohan to discern his depth, or he possessed some treasure that concealed his magical or Dou Qi emissions. In Mohan's mind, the latter possibility seemed far more probable.

Following Vice Guild Master Cody of the Mercenary Guild, a Bishop from the Church of Light stood up. He respectfully bowed first to Guang Lei and Shui Ling'er before speaking, "Holy Maiden. Esteemed Elder, as you requested, we have thoroughly examined records spanning the last five centuries concerning the characteristics of Dark Magic and Curse Magic. However, we still cannot pinpoint the cause of this plague. Therefore, we remain unsure which specific form of Dark Magic or Curse Magic is responsible for this effect. We have now begun consulting even older archives, but completing this review will take at least another month, even taking the fastest estimate. We wished to report this to you first and request a little more time."

Upon hearing the Bishop's reply, Guang Lei spoke with clear displeasure, "The problem is, we don't have any more time. If we had time to spare, would I have traveled all this way just to listen to your nonsense? Truly useless."

Hearing Guang Huo's reprimand, the unfortunate Bishop stood rooted to the spot, unsure whether to speak or remain silent, his face etched with awkwardness. Although his title of Bishop might place him in a high position in the eyes of ordinary people, it was utterly insignificant compared to Guang Lei, a Protector Elder of the Church.

Just then, Shui Ling'er intervened to ease the tension, "That is enough, Bishop. You may sit down now. The rest of us can discuss here to see if there are any other rapid methods to uncover the origin of this plague."

Hearing Shui Ling'er’s words, the Bishop felt as if a great burden had been lifted, and he nodded quickly before taking his seat. At this point, Mohan, seated nearby, couldn't help but lean over and ask Lyle, who was not far from him, "Why is it said that time is running out? Aren't those afflicted people still trapped within the magical barrier?"

Lyle quickly nodded and explained, "That is true, but maintaining such a massive magical barrier consumes an enormous amount of energy. Thus, even with mages sustaining it, it can hold for a maximum of another half a month. That is why time is critical..."

Mohan interjected, "I see. For a barrier of this magnitude, redeploying it would take at least half a day, wouldn't it? Is that where the problem lies?"

Lyle let out a wry smile. "Precisely. Establishing such a huge barrier requires a significant amount of time—at least half a day. During that time, no one can guarantee that no accidents will occur while setting up the new barrier, because we have absolutely no idea what the situation inside is right now. That is why the Elders are so anxious, hoping to devise a countermeasure before the current barrier collapses. Otherwise, things will become very troublesome."

Meanwhile, the others in the hall had begun to deliberate. The consensus, however, was that they were all speculating about what kind of evil sorcery could cause such results, unanimously urging the Church of Light to find the root cause quickly so countermeasures could be devised. Some suggested it was ancient magic, others dark magic, and still others claimed it was the result of Necromancy. Nevertheless, those insisting it was Dark Magic formed the majority.

As the heated discussion continued, Mohan spoke quietly, "There's no need to search further. Even if you found descriptions of ancient magic, you wouldn't find the answer. If my guess is correct, this was not caused by magic at all."

Mohan’s statement shocked everyone in the hall. His words were tantamount to slapping the faces of everyone currently debating. An official from the Duchy of Cardick immediately stood up and asked, "On what grounds do you claim this is not Dark Magic? Aside from those dark arts, what else could produce such an effect? Even if it isn't Dark Magic, it must be some form of malevolent magic left over from antiquity."

Hearing the Cardick official, the others in the hall nodded in agreement with his assessment. Only Shui Ling'er and a few Ascetic Elders remained silent. Shui Ling'er had become immune to Mohan's startling pronouncements and showed no surprise. However, the few Ascetic Elders who had only recently encountered Mohan were filled with doubt regarding his words. Still, being men of vast experience, they believed anything was possible. Since Guang Huo held Mohan in such high regard, Mohan must possess some extraordinary capability. Therefore, while they didn't necessarily agree with Mohan, they were not prepared to oppose him either.

At this point, Guang Lei couldn't help but interject, "Young friend, by saying this, do you imply you have some understanding of the plague that caused this disaster?"

Mohan nodded. "One could say that. If my speculation is accurate, the cause is likely not any form of Dark Magic or Necromancy, but rather something caused by a virus. Those infected by this virus are collectively termed 'Zombies.' They will continue to attack other uninfected people until those individuals are also infected. Consequently, the scale will only continue to grow."

Hearing Mohan's explanation, everyone quieted down. Guang Lei frowned and asked, "Virus? What is that? Is that what caused this disaster?"

Mohan elaborated, "A virus is the culprit that causes people to become ill. Different causes of sickness stem from different viruses. Treatment requires administering the correct medicine tailored to the specific symptoms for a complete cure."

After Mohan’s explanation, another Ascetic Elder, Guang Dian, spoke up, "I have never heard of such things. Where did you obtain this information, young friend? Please don't misunderstand; we do not doubt you, but given the gravity of the situation, we must consider things carefully."

Mohan nodded in understanding. "Naturally. I came across this knowledge by chance in an ancient book, which is how I know these things. As for which ancient book, I have forgotten the exact title, but what I say is absolutely the truth."

Mohan thought to himself, if I fabricate a reason based on an ancient book, even if they wanted to investigate, they couldn't possibly trace it.

Even if Mohan were speaking the truth, those present would likely not believe him, so Mohan had no intention of revealing the true source of his knowledge.

The people in the hall began to murmur after hearing Mohan’s words, as what he claimed was truly astonishing—claiming to have read it in some ancient book without even remembering its name made it very hard for them to accept. The Elders were also frowning in contemplation, clearly hesitating.

Just then, Shui Ling'er spoke softly, "I believe Mohan. At the very least, Mohan has no reason to deceive us; it would benefit him in no way. Since we now know the cause, why waste time investigating how he learned it? Isn't that right? The most urgent matter now is to devise a countermeasure; everything else is secondary."

Hearing Shui Ling'er defend him, Mohan quickly shot her a look of gratitude, and Shui Ling'er returned a small smile.