Return to Backlund

"By the way, there seem to be a lot fewer people here lately... Did something happen?" In the underground trading hall of the Dragon Bar, the disguised Triss chatted idly with the "owner" of the place.

Svein looked at the beautiful woman, yet maintained the usual style of those iron-hard straight men from the Church of the Lord of Storms. He rudely tossed out, "Don't ask what you shouldn't," while roughly recalling what she had bought from him.

As the former captain of Tingen City's Redemption Punisher team, Svein was just as tense at the moment. The reason he was still patrolling the bar was ostensibly to make money, but in reality, he was monitoring these "customers."

Although he felt that a Sequence V like Mr. A would not think much of such a low-end trading platform, there was no guarantee that the man would not suddenly decide to recruit a few subordinates to help him.

After all, the Aurora Society had been at odds with the Storm Church ever since its founding. Even if that Sequence had too many hidden dangers to be used internally, the Redemption Punishers still knew what materials it required.

"Half a month ago, she bought a stalk of Queen Bee Grass, along with some Pure Dew and Essential Oil... No materials related to the Secret Speaker, and her appearance was earlier than Mr. A's departure from Backlund. She probably only obtained a formula or incomplete information. If she has appeared again recently, then either she intends to stagger her purchases to prevent the formula from being exposed, or she has just obtained the complete formula..."

Based on his years of experience, Svein quickly came to a judgment. Under normal circumstances, he would have informed the Redemption Punisher team and followed this lead to see whether they could dig up some Extraordinary organization or develop one or two informants.

But now, every Beyonder in Tingen was on edge. There was no need to add to their burden over some minor character.

The fact that she had still bought nothing showed that the other Extraordinary material she needed had likely not been found yet. Once this period of heightened attention had passed, it would not be too late to investigate her.

"Fine, I won't ask. Oh, right, that old man greeted you just now. Are you close with him?" Triss waved her hand indifferently, as though she really was merely bored and chatting with someone at random.

Though his heart was full of impatience, Svein still looked in the direction she indicated. The person who entered his sight was indeed an acquaintance.

Although he had retired long ago, Svein's instincts as a former Redemption Punisher captain remained sharp. Seeing her inquire about information on an active Night Watcher, he forcibly suppressed the irritation in his heart and prepared to probe her.

"That's Old Neil. A poor bastard. At his age, he's still always obsessing over mysticism, but after all these years, he hasn't accomplished anything. Instead, he's racked up a mountain of debt..."

Svein casually disparaged Old Neil, but Triss revealed a seductive smile.

"Hasn't accomplished anything? You underestimate him... If I were you, I'd stay away from him. He's about to lose control."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Loss of control was undoubtedly the greatest curse for a Beyonder. Hearing such words from this woman, Svein immediately overturned his original assessment. This woman was probably no novice who had only just gathered the ingredients for a potion. Those Extraordinary materials might have been for an apprentice of hers!

"Nonsense? Since you kept me company, I'll give you a warning. He has been corrupted by The Hidden Sage. Within a month, he'll be finished..."

"The Hidden Sage? What exactly are you—" Svein's face turned purple, but just as he activated his Supernatural Ability and prepared to seize the woman, he discovered that she—who had been standing not far from him—had already vanished.

"This..." The anger Svein had been building instantly disappeared, replaced by intense fear. His loose clothes were soaked through with cold sweat. From that move alone, he dared say with certainty that she was absolutely a Mid Sequence Beyonder!

"Damn it, how did Tingen City suddenly get so many experts?!"

Svein slammed the wine flask in his hand onto the table, but he did not immediately stop Old Neil to demand an explanation. Or rather, if Old Neil truly had been corrupted by The Hidden Sage or some other force, then the shock of stopping him could instead cause him to lose control.

"Morik, go find a patrolling Night Watcher on the street. Tell them that a wild Mid Sequence Beyonder appeared earlier and said Old Neil has been corrupted by The Hidden Sage and is about to lose control! Have him bring Dunn Smith here, quickly!"

Just as Triss relied on her higher Sequence to inform the authorities about Old Neil in an exceedingly crude manner, Sno had just left the editorial office of the Tassock Newspaper.

The negotiations over publishing his work had gone smoothly. Not only did the story of Phantom Blood suit the aesthetics of this era, but the editor could not resist Sno's handsome face in the first place.

Not to mention that Sno had business dealings with one of the Tassock Newspaper's directors—

Meaning he made house calls to treat that director's wife's dog.

Ahem.

In any case, the publication of the novel version of Phantom Blood had gone extremely smoothly. Before long, Tassock Newspaper readers in Backlund would be able to enjoy the pleasure of following updates one little column at a time.

After paying the fare for his hired carriage, Sno looked over the streets steeped in Victorian charm. Fortunately, the ground here was very clean... Hmm, perhaps he had Mr. Huang Taste of Witchcraft is Quite Good to thank for that.

Although his nominal home was here, in truth, since transmigrating, Sno had only spent one night in this "mansion." The day after drinking the Secret Speaker Potion, he had taken the train to Tingen.

It was called a mansion, but it was really just an ordinary detached house. Excluding the small yard, its total living area across two floors was only around a hundred square meters. Yet in this location, it was undoubtedly a mansion among mansions.

It was like how a fifty-square-meter apartment beyond the Seventh Ring of a third-tier city and one within the Third Ring of the imperial capital were entirely different concepts.

Sno's property sat at the border between West Backlund and the Queen District. He could responsibly say that this was the best location in all of Backlund that money could buy—though, in a sense, it had not been bought. It was Madam Della's gift of thanks for curing her family's dog. By the way, some might not know Madam Della by that name, but they would probably recognize another description—she was the wife of the pillar who had stood against the tide of the era in the original story.

Yet in a sense, Sno would rather his predecessor had been some down-and-out resident of the East District. The reason was simple: directly across from his home was Mr. A's house—more precisely, the venue where Mr. A held his secret gatherings.

That unlucky kid of a predecessor had caught Mr. A's eye precisely because of this.

After all, he looked far too suited to the Aurora Society's corporate culture.

The pillar who stood against the tide of the era referred to Duke Negan, because killing him was to "follow the choice of the times."