Eyeless

Soren made thorough preparations before leaving this time.

Before leaving, he drew up a blueprint for the further development of the Overseas Islands. According to his initial plan, the population of Port Nyanzaru was capped at around 50,000, which was already a considerable city in the current era. The port would still be managed by the Church of Fortune and the Church of the Sea. Soren valued the land more, and his future focus would also be on the land. Once he had accumulated enough strength, he might directly move on to Treasure Island, where the wealth would easily replace overseas Trade.

After all, no matter how profitable Trade is, it can't compare to mining Gold Mine yourself. If you want to rise from pirate to a higher social class in the future, it will be quite difficult without the support of Gold Mine.

[Note: Treasure Island was mentioned earlier; this Overseas Islands possesses abundant mineral resources.]

Traveling alone is much more convenient.

Soren set sail directly in the Ghost Ship, the Speaker of the Dead, and arrived at Shipwreck Bay along the overseas route. He did not need to resupply along the way. After briefly inspecting the Slave Black Market Sunken Ship Overseas, he headed to the North.

The North is located in the northwest of the continent.

The Land of Ice and Snow is located in the far north, so Soren's journey this time is quite long. To collect the other three Elemental Crystal, he will need to travel about half of the entire continent. From south to North, from North to east, and finally across the Death Desert into the Underdark, because the last Elemental Crystal is located somewhere in the Underdark.

A place where you might encounter Beholder.

Returning to the North, Soren's mood was quite different. He landed at the Deepwater Harbor, leaving the Ghost Ship, the Speaker of the Dead, in the nearby waters.

The port remains as bustling and vibrant as ever.

However, amidst the bustling crowd, many more people appeared carrying weapons, and even some teenagers had Dagger concealed at their waists.

Soren frowned slightly.

He walked along the road and, as he approached the gates of Deepwater Harbor, he saw many arrest warrants.

There are humans, Dwarf, and Lizardfolk.

The security here seems to have deteriorated significantly since my last visit. Dozens of wanted posters of various sizes are plastered on a single notice board. The patrolling Guard are also much more tense than before, showing none of their former laxity. The Adventurers Guild's offices are busier than ever, with notice boards outside displaying numerous job postings in large, bright red letters.

For example, these few pieces right in front of us.

"One hundred miles south of Deepwater Harbor, Ancient Tree Town has been attacked by Darkscale Lizardfolk. The enemy force is small, danger level C, mission reward 1200 Gold Daler. Urgent mission. Additional reward upon completion."

" --Ogre have appeared near Fakena Town, and people have been going missing recently. The mayor wants to hire someone to investigate and determine the number and whereabouts of the Ogre. The reward is 300 Gold Daler. There will be an additional reward for assisting the town Guard in killing the Ogre."

"A strange fog was discovered in the nearby waters of Deepwater Harbor yesterday. Some merchant sailors reported seeing traces of Ghost Ship. This is a special mission; anyone with clues will be rewarded. Mission difficulty is B."

Perhaps because the timeline is getting closer to Time of Troubles, the Adventurers Guild is issuing significantly more quests than before.

What made Soren somewhat amused and exasperated was that the dozen or so notice boards outside listed missions ranging in difficulty from F to C. The only B-level mission was to investigate the strange fog that had appeared in Deepwater Harbor the previous day. Needless to say, it was because of Soren's arrival; he had activated the Speaker of the Dead's ability to Summon Mist before approaching the area, yet nearby sailors had still spotted a trace of it. Hence, this special B-level investigation mission.

It's quite surprising to think about.

Soren had also accepted quests from the Adventurers Guild back in the day. But he never imagined that after experiencing so much, he would one day become a high-difficulty investigation quest himself.

There was a procession gathered outside the city gate.

Before leaving town, Soren saw the militia undergoing training. Most of them were adult men, but there were also many children around fifteen or sixteen years old. In previous years, militia training was not conducted in March, the busy farming season; it was usually done after the Wheat harvest, during the off-season. Therefore, anyone who paid attention could guess that there was a problem with the security in the area just by looking at this situation. The urgent training of the militia meant that something major must have happened nearby; otherwise, why would they have time for it during the Wheat planting season?

Soren did not linger here.

In fact, he had long been mentally prepared for the chaos to come. The catastrophe was far more than what was currently visible; when the real chaos descended, that would be the true disaster.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Soren was supposed to arrive in the Land of Ice and Snow tomorrow, but a small accident happened right after he left the Deepwater Harbor.

He saw a pile of corpses.

Strictly speaking, it was a pile of corpses that had been dead for some time, and the bodies had basically begun to decompose. Soren was alerted by the stench emanating from the place.

Corpses were not uncommon in this era.

If it were just a corpse, Soren wouldn't care at all.

However, one striking feature of these corpses caused Soren to stop in his tracks: their eyeballs had all been gouged out.

Strictly speaking, it should be said that it was removed!

Bloodied eye sockets—the eyeballs of all the corpses had been removed. There were signs of fighting on their bodies; judging from the struggle marks in some places, some people had their eyeballs gouged out while they were still alive before their throats were slit by the enemy.

A very familiar murder method!

Soren glanced at the corpses and muttered, "The Eyeless!? Have they already appeared?"

The Eyeless.

A Church of Evil God that is neither very powerful nor weak.

They worship an eyeless Evil God, and these people like to gouge out the eyes of their enemies after defeating them, or to perform a Slaughter to sacrifice to their Evil God, ultimately gouging out the eyes of the murdered as offerings. Soren knew them for a simple reason: he had been tasked with investigating another Evil God's Church.

That Evil God Church is called [The Blind Eye].

The two corrupt Evil organizations have certain similarities; Soren encountered the cultists of the Eyeless while investigating the Blind Eye.

"Die, you Evil wretch!"

Just as Soren finished examining the corpses and was about to leave after a moment of contemplation, Spell Aura that made him extremely uncomfortable suddenly appeared, followed by the Paladin's signature Spell ' Detect Evil ' landing on him.

It's like triggering a landmine!

In an instant, an extremely intense crimson light erupted from Soren's body. As the most powerful Pirate King ruling the South Coast, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Soren's hands were stained with blood. Although he had brought Order to the South Coast, making the lives of ordinary merchants much more stable, it was undeniable that he controlled the Black Market Trade and the Slave Trade, and extorted protection money from other merchants. Therefore, from any perspective, the Unholy Aura emanating from Soren was extremely strong!

There's only one type of person in this world who will label someone as ' Detect Evil ' without even asking any questions.

Those are Paladin!

A hint of murderous intent emanated from Soren. If there was any behavior in this world that he found most repulsive, then the Paladin randomly threw ' Detect Evil ' spells would undoubtedly be in the top three.

So at that moment, he had a murderous urge!

But to his surprise, the first to shout "Die!" was the Paladin in front of him.

He was a young, handsome man.

He looked like a nobleman's son, as he was dressed in magnificent Full Plate Armor. After throwing an "Detect Evil" spell at Soren, he put on a Justice expression and swung his sword at him. This Paladin clearly didn't have much combat experience; before the two had even closed the distance, he had already begun to accelerate, and Soren could even track the trajectory of his attack with his eyes closed.

This is an inexperienced newbie!

The job level is estimated to be around tier 3, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will be around job level 12.

Judging from the color of the Spell Aura, Soren was undoubtedly a heinous criminal! Therefore, upon seeing such a dense crimson light, the Paladin launched an attack without hesitation, believing Soren to be a wicked villain deserving of immediate judgment!

"Don't act impulsively!"

"Return!"

"Are you crazy! Don't throw Detect Evil around!"

A woman's voice came from behind the young Paladin, along with two or three other mixed voices, suggesting it was an Adventurer team.

Paladin seem to have taken over the duties of Warrior.

They looked like a team of Adventurer had accepted some kind of mission, and the Paladin at the front, upon seeing the pile of corpses and Soren standing beside them, did not react by asking questions, but instead threw out a Detect Evil.

Holy crap!

With a clang, Soren instantly drew his Scimitar, Icetail, and then charged forward at high speed with a Chain Step mimicking a Monk. After parrying the Paladin's attack, he slashed at his head!

"Don't want!"

A chorus of exclamations erupted.

Three figures rushed out from the woods to the side. One of the female voices sounded somewhat familiar to Soren. There were very few people he recognized, so after a moment's hesitation, he reversed his grip and switched the blade to the back of the sword.

Clang!

thump.

The young Paladin was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground headfirst.

Soren turned to look at the four approaching Adventurer, and after a quick glance at them, he immediately spotted a familiar figure.

Anyali.

That Young Female Cleric who once helped them in Amber City!

(P. S.: That's all for today.) (To be continued~^~)