A top-tier collaborator

Only after making his choice did Lumian have the opportunity to ask:

Who is the suspect?

"Lato Giaro," the "Knight of Swords" announced.

Lumian knew this person; he was also a member of the Fishing Guild, and not only owned three large fishing boats and shares in the Santa Port Fisheries Company, but was also involved in shipbuilding and ice making. His family had a member who married the "Sea Maiden" over a hundred years ago.

Lumian asked another question thoughtfully:

What is the relationship between Lato Giaro and the Balansat Ship Rental Company?

"He's a creditor of that company and has arranged for many family members to go in," the "Knight of Swords" replied simply.

"No wonder." Lumian nodded slightly, pondering for a moment. "Let's meet at the intersection of Saint Lana Street and Golden Wheat Street, how about in three minutes?"

He had never been to the place where Lato Giaro's large family lived, nor did he have the corresponding Spirit World coordinates. He could only "Teleportation" to Saint Lana Street, which was closer to his target. He left directly using "Spirit World Traversal" because he did not want to alert the hidden monitors.

"Alright." The figure of the "Knight of Swords" instantly faded into transparency and disappeared without a trace.

Lumian took two minutes to drink water, put on his vest, and wear his straw hat before letting the Black Mark on his right shoulder glow.

His figure then disappeared into the room where the curtains were drawn.

At the intersection of Saint Lana Street and Golden Wheat Street, Lumian emerged from the shadows and saw the "Knight of Swords," with his disheveled brown hair, now wearing a Linen-Colored shirt and dark brown vest, standing on the edge bathed in Crimson Moonlight. His face Paleness, his eyes were repressed, and he seemed ready to tear off his Human Skin at any moment, transforming into Monster and unleashing all the desires that had accumulated within him.

Others might not have such a clear perception, but Lumian was an "Ascetic," whose special trait was to endure and suppress emotions and desires, giving him a natural sensitivity to similar situations.

Indeed, he's a "Temperance Faction... Upon seeing the " Knight of Swords," a ridiculous and absurd thought suddenly flashed through Lumian's mind:

Brother, why don't you also believe in Fate? If you became a "Mendicant Friar" or an "Ascetic," you wouldn't have to endure such hardship!

Of course, Lumian only thought of this suggestion casually and would never actually bring it up—without sufficient opportunities, the Gift of Evil God gods would only cause the Beyonder in the Potion system to gradually become alienated, irreversibly turning into humanoid Monster, and step by step changing into the corresponding Evil God. However, his thought just now also showed that certain Sequence in the Gift System and certain Sequence in the Potion system could complement each other, producing an effect greater than the sum of its parts.

"Let's go." Seeing that the "Knight of Swords" was just looking at him without saying a word, Lumian had no choice but to speak first.

The "Knight of Swords" nodded, and slowly turned into Golden Wheat Street, heading north, following the shadows along the street.

Before long, the two arrived at the five-story building of the Giaro Family, which resembled a small Castle.

Looking at the windows reflecting the lights and the gray-blue exterior walls, "Knight of Swords" pointed to one of the windows and said, "That's Lato's bedroom. He and his wife sleep in separate rooms."

"The intelligence gathering is very detailed and accurate..." Lumian nodded slightly and asked, "What's your action plan?"

"Sneak in directly and take control of the target." The Knight of Swords offered his answer in a very concise manner.

Isn't this too simplistic and crude? The Giaro Family probably doesn't just employ Beyonder; a few members themselves must have received the power from the Sea-Praying Ritual... Lumian thought of the special abilities of the "Wraith," assessed his own capabilities, put one hand in his pocket, and leisurely replied, "Okay."

As soon as he finished speaking, his body had already degenerated into a shadow and merged into the darkness.

The "Knight of Swords" beside him had long since disappeared.

Using the shadows cast by the building's exterior walls, Lumian quickly slipped into Lato Giaro's room.

The next second, he saw his target:

He was a middle-aged man with slightly curly black hair and dark brown Eyes. He wore a dark blue cotton Nightgown, had a long face, and a thick but neatly trimmed beard.

At this moment, Lato Giaro, his face filled with fear and his body stiff, staggered toward the shadowy spot where Lumian was hiding.

Lumian saw a figure reflected in each of the Fishing Guild member's eyes—both were "Knight of Swords"—pale-faced and with disheveled brown hair, wearing Paleness brown vests and Linen-Colored shirts!

Seeing that Lato Giaro was in a state where his body was out of control and he couldn't even open his mouth to shout, Lumian stepped out of the shadows and returned to his original form.

He suddenly felt the air around him become very heavy, as if it were seawater.

Apart from that, there were no other abnormalities.

Lumian suddenly exerted force with his feet, moving as if through a swamp to arrive in front of Lato Giaro.

He didn't use the "Heng-Ha Art" directly for two reasons. First, the other party seemed to lack the power to resist, and could be controlled in other ways without wasting his spiritual energy. Second, he was unsure whether the "Heng-Ha Art" would knock both of them unconscious if the "Knight of Swords" forcibly possessed Lato Giaro.

Lumian took out the bottle of sleeping potion from the "Bliss Society," unscrewed the cap, and brought it to Lato Giaro's nose.

He fanned himself with his hand, speeding up the airflow. About ten seconds later, That One Fishing Guild member closed his eyes and Past consciousness.

He remained standing, not falling to the ground.

Now, the Tarot Club's Minor Arcana, "The Knight of Swords," completely controls his body.

This was even easier than using "Teleportation" and "Heng-Ha Art"... Of all the Beyonder I've dealt with before, this is the only one I didn't even have to lift a finger to do. I just leisurely walked up to him, gave him the drug, and easily defeated him... "Wraith" is truly a top-tier collaborator, capable of pairing with any Pathway and any Sequence... Hmm, "Wraith" is immune to anesthetic gas, and the drug from the "Bliss Society" had no effect on him... Seeing this result that brought no obvious commotion, Lumian had a vague feeling that he hadn't participated in the battle at all.

He put the "Bliss Society" drug back into his Hidden Pocket, took out the bottle of Truth Serum, and quickly fed it to Lato Giaro nearly a third of it. He felt that the effects of the drug wouldn't last long on Beyonder like Lato Giaro whose traits were still unclear, so he quickly fed him the drug to finish the preparations before his target woke up.

In about twenty or thirty seconds, Lato Giaro opened his eyes.

He first saw the Great Adventurer Louis Berri wearing Golden-yellow Straw Hat and a faint smile on his face, then found himself sitting in a chair facing the Long Sofa in the bedroom.

Lato opened his mouth, about to shout, but felt that his vocal cords were out of his control and no sound came out.

"Have you come to terms with your situation?" Lumian leaned back against the sofa and rested his right foot on his left knee.

He was speaking Intis language.

Lato showed signs of fear and couldn't even respond with a nod.

He could use certain abilities, but he was certain that they wouldn't be enough to deal with the Great Adventurer Louis Berri; they would only result in a new coma or a devastating blow.

"What do you want to do?" Lato suddenly asked.

He also speaks Intis language.

After saying that, he looked surprised and tried to raise his hand to touch his neck, but he couldn't manage it.

Lato Giaro finally fell silent.

Lumian smiled and said, "I'll ask you some questions. If you answer them well, I won't mind letting you live to see tomorrow and help me spread the word."

Lato paused for a few seconds before asking, "What do you want to know?"

Lumian gently shook his right ankle:

Are Norfie and Batna with you?

"Yes," Lato said, his voice trembling with a strong urge to speak, "They're locked up in the Basement, they're alive, I just wanted to use them."

"What will we use them for?" Lumian asked with great interest.

Lato's lips moved slightly as he said, "Use them to guide you to the Sea Area where the Sea Sacrifice Ritual is held, and then guide you to rent a boat there."

"So that note was written by you..." Lumian feigned sudden realization, "How do you plan to guide me?"

Lato tried to find a good excuse to cover up his behavior, but his mouth moved faster than his brain:

"I want you to find out that Norfie and his group want to rent a boat and go out to sea, and then arrange for them to find a chance to escape from here. I'll tell you some things to let you know about the special nature of that Sea Area."

"And then?" Lumian asked curiously.

Lato kept his mouth tightly shut, but eventually opened it:

What they said is true, but they don't know one thing:

Never fight the ' Child of the Sea ' at sea!

"Juan Oro will be waiting for you in that Sea Area, to bury you completely!"

It turns out that the clue from Norfie was provided by the Fishing Guild, who were pretending to be disloyal, with the aim of setting a trap for me and getting rid of me... If I hadn't quickly shown an inclination to investigate the Sea-Praying Ritual, making Norfie and Batna useful, they might already be sunk to the Seabed... Their petty squabbles against Lugano were Paralysis me into a false sense of security... As Lumian raced, he heard Lato say in disbelief, "You haven't even started investigating, how did you find your way here?"

"You only sent your translator to ask about Norfie and the others' whereabouts, and that was it...?"

Lumian smiled meaningfully, "You think I'm here alone to investigate the Sea-Praying Ritual?"

"I represent the will of many; many of my comrades still lurk in the shadows of Santa Port."

Lato felt the stiffness and coldness in his body and believed what he had said.

Lumian raised his right hand, rubbed his chin, and asked, "Where does your power come from?"

After a gurgling sound came out of Lato's throat, he said, "From the Sea, every Sea-Praying Ritual brings us strength."

"Unfortunately, Last Year's Sea-Praying Ritual failed. We haven't received any replenishment for two whole years, and everyone has become weak, with varying degrees of power decline. Otherwise, Juan Oro would have already dealt with you directly, throwing your Corpse into the Sea Waves Square so that everyone who wants to harm us could see your fate!"

Similar to Gift? Theoretically speaking, the power of Gift will gradually weaken if it is not replenished... Lumian thought for a moment and said, "The Sea-Praying Ritual is a large-scale Ritual to request a blessing, and the ' Governor of the Sea ' is the main Sacrifice?"

Lato considered for a moment and said, "He is both the Sacrifice and the chief priest, while Juan Oro and we are the Deacon."

"The Sea-Praying Ritual is actually a Ritual to the Wedding the Sea and satisfy it; the bestowal of power is secondary."

"Wedding the Sea?" Lumian suddenly felt that his imagination was not rich enough.