Deacon Wallace

Arthur took off his captain's hat and returned the salute with Shadow of the Sun.

"Deacon Wallace, are there any specific requirements for the next operation?"

Deacon Wallace smiled faintly, took a gold coin from his pocket, and placed it on the counter, pushing it toward Arthur.

"This is the funding for the previous mission."

Arthur looked at the gold coin on the table and accepted it without hesitation.

Wallace placed a letter on the counter and spoke quickly but clearly. "This time, the order comes from a bishop of the Shadow Temple."

"Expose the ugly face of the Old Continent's nobility and use it to strike at their influence in the Grand Route."

"Your task is simple: attack the Jasmine and expose the contraband it carries."

Arthur nodded slightly. It sounded easy enough.

But since it was contraband, it was bound to be anything but simple, carrying enormous danger.

The bronze statue he had plundered from somewhere had silently taken one of its former owner's lives.

"Deacon Wallace, Arthur has heard a little about the dangers of contraband. Isn't it somewhat rash to attack a merchant vessel transporting contraband like this?"

Deacon Wallace folded his hands and nodded slightly, then pulled a medal from his pocket.

A Sun Stone was embedded in the medal, giving off a faint glow.

"The Sun Medal. A medal blessed by the temple; it can cleanse most negative conditions."

"Once passively triggered, it lasts for ten minutes. As long as you do not personally touch the contraband, there should not be much of a problem."

"Of course, you do not have to touch the contraband," Deacon Wallace said with a relaxed shrug. "After making the attack, you can withdraw immediately."

He took out a small snuffbox from his pocket, held it to his nostril, and took a light sniff.

"Phew~"

"If the process exists and the result is correct, the Shadow Temple can judge the Stuart Family."

"This is merely a pretext."

Arthur picked up the Sun Medal, and a warm current passed from it into his palm.

Yes, this was just an excuse.

With a notable incident—the Great White Shark Pirate Ship attacking the Jasmine and exposing the Stuart Family's smuggling.

Deacon Wallace suddenly changed the subject and turned it toward Arthur.

"Arthur, do you yearn for light?"

Arthur froze slightly. He raised his head to meet Deacon Wallace's gaze, and his eyes gradually became resolute.

"Of course."

"I yearn for light very much."

Wallace smiled. "How could anyone not yearn for light? After this mission is over, I will recommend you to the temple."

"You will study in a diocese of the Church of Light and become an official... servant of the Theocracy."

Arthur's pupils contracted.

A servant of the Theocracy was no minor status; it represented officially stepping into the ranks of the extraordinary.

The Theocracy's faith system and extraordinary system were two different systems.

Because the Theocracy's faith system was well established, most people used its system as the standard for evaluating different extraordinary systems.

Servant, Deacon, Priest—the first three sequences of the faith system.

Deacon Wallace was a Deacon of the Shadow Temple, a Sequence 8 Deacon in the Shadow faith system.

His jurisdiction centered on Rhine Port and covered seven islands.

If not for the Secret Sect Long Table, he himself would have followed the usual course and developed his own secret sect.

Becoming a servant of Light might have been a good choice.

But now, Arthur had only one thought: distance made the heart grow fonder.

For the head of a secret sect to infiltrate an Orthodox Church from within was simply unimaginable.

On the surface, Arthur still appeared excited, his low voice impassioned.

"A servant of the Light Path, or perhaps a Knight of an extraordinary sequence!"

Wallace's mouth twitched. A servant of the Light Path? He was not one himself, all right?

He coughed twice to conceal his awkwardness, then added simply, "A servant of the Shadow Path, affiliated with the Shadow Temple."

Arthur was somewhat disappointed. The difference between them was rather great.

"Do not make it so obvious in front of me. Shadow is also an embodiment of light. I hope you can face that fact squarely."

Arthur resumed a solemn expression, though he was unconvinced inside.

In his memories, servants of the Light Path could enter any Church of Light openly and without restraint.

But servants of the Shadow Path had to be checked by the Church of Light first to see whether they were heretics before being granted permission.

Fortunately, Wallace's requirements were not particularly demanding.

Arthur merely needed to launch an attack, expose the Stuart Family's shipment of smuggled goods, and give the Church of Light an excuse to make an issue of it.

Even so, Arthur still had a headache. There was no way to explain it to the family.

After lingering briefly in the general store, he grabbed the hat from the table, put it on his head, and strode out.

Deacon Wallace watched Arthur leave, and his gaze suddenly turned exceedingly dark.

"A strange reaction. Instead of the expected delight, he is actually quite resistant to the Theocracy."

"Has he come into contact with the Storm Church, or encountered some other opportunity that makes him look down on our Shadow faith?"

"I hope it is not an evil cult. If it is, I can only purify you."

He suddenly laughed and rubbed his temples. What had been going on lately? Why was he always becoming suspicious for no reason?

Taking another sniff of snuff, Wallace let out a long breath, his figure gradually vanishing into the shadows of the general store.

After leaving the general store, Arthur headed in another direction without stopping, going to pay his respects to an elder of the Stuart Family.

He made a brief stop at a pastry shop to confirm that no one was following him.

Only then did he enter an upscale tavern, neat and clean, with no unusual smells.

He skillfully checked his broadsword and musket at the front desk, then allowed the family's people to search him.

Only after confirming that he carried no dangerous items did they allow Arthur upstairs.

Arthur stepped onto the wooden stairs. They creaked and groaned, the old boards sounding as though they could no longer bear the strain.

When he reached the door at the very end of the corridor, he gently knocked on it.

"Great White Shark, Arthur."

"Come in."

Pushing open the wooden door, the first thing he saw was a suit of armor, followed by a familiar presence.

Arena Stuart sat fully armed in a chair, both hands resting on a side sword.

The room, carpeted in black wool, was filled with a grim, murderous air.

Her long black braid was coiled atop her head and secured with a hairnet, while two curled locks hung on either side of her forehead.

She had fair skin and brown pupils, the typical bloodline of ancient Roman nobility.

It was rumored that the Stuart Family's bloodline had descended from the great empire of the previous epoch—the Roman Empire.

Arthur bowed slightly. "Respected Miss Arena, captain of the Great White Shark, Arthur—"

Before he could finish, Arena raised a hand, stopping him.

Arena's next words gave Arthur a small shock.

"The letter the family issued earlier—treat it as waste paper. What I want from you now is to bombard the Jasmine without restraint!"

"Use every bit of the Great White Shark's strength and send the Jasmine to the bottom of the sea!"

Arthur raised his head slightly and looked at Arena, seeing something rise in her eyes...

A surging ambition.