"Are you ready?" Colin asked, his back to the window, his tone completely normal.
Derrick, with the " Hurricane Axe " clipped to his shoulder, lowered his head slightly.
"Ready."
Over the past two months, through patrol missions and diligent practice, he has fully mastered the various extraordinary abilities of the " The Sun High Priest " and is not far from assimilating them.
His greatest hope now is to obtain the Potion recipe for Sequence 6 of the " The Sun " pathway during the next two or three Tarot Gathering, laying the foundation for his continued improvement.
The release of " Shepherd " Lovia instilled a strong sense of crisis in him. He believed that only by reaching the same Sequence 5 could he effectively restrain the other party and eliminate the potential crisis in City of Silver. However, in this place where he was familiar with " Acting Method " and had no shortage of extraordinary materials, as long as he could survive in each patrol and exploration mission and accumulate enough merit, Sequence 6 was definitely a target he could aim for. But Sequence 5, which required a specific ritual, was quite difficult.
Colin, with his disheveled gray hair, nodded.
"In two days, I will lead an exploration team to the vicinity of the Giant King's Court to conduct a second round of clearing of Afternoon Town, which we discovered earlier, and your abilities are well-suited for this task."
" Afternoon Town..." Derrick had been frantically "cramming" on mythology in recent months, was no stranger to this term. It was the only way from the Nation of Silver to the Giant King's Court. There, humans and Giant lived together in the town, surrounding the ancient god's abode, which was forever frozen in Twilight, like the final gateway from the real world to mythology.
"Yes, Your Excellency." Derrick couldn't find a reason to refuse.
Inside a hotel in Nass, the " City of White ".
Klein sat behind the table, gazing at the ever-changing shapes of the clouds outside the window, quietly waiting for evening to arrive.
At 8 o'clock, he would board the Star Pirates ' flagship " Future " at Pier 6 and head to the easternmost part of the Sonia Sea. Whatever happened in the Gargas Archipelago and this sea known as a pirate paradise would no longer concern him.
That's why he was lenient towards the few bounty pirates who roamed the streets and alleys and frequented bars and casinos, and didn't try to hunt them, so as not to disrupt his own plan to find the mermaid.
My Spirituality intuition tells me that the " Slaughterer " Gillschies seems to have his eye on me at noon... If he really wants to deliver himself to my door, I won't mind too much. Well, I'll be strategically dismissive but tactically cautious. Without using the " Sea God Scepter " and the " Kindling " glove, I'm at most a little stronger than him, but I win because of my comprehensiveness and unpredictability... Klein half-closed his eyes, imagining the countless orbs of light gathered together, using this to quickly enter a Cogitation state and maintain his Spirituality sharpness.
After an unknown amount of time, he was suddenly struck by Spirit Intuition and opened his eyes abruptly.
By this time, the Sun had already set in the west, its fiery red color scorching the sea, and the shadow of the curtains stretched long in the room.
The shadow seemed to come alive, first swaying and flickering, then Distortion and standing up, projecting itself onto the wall.
It is pitch black and deep, like the thick malice that lies at the very bottom of the human heart.
Klein watched this scene expressionlessly, raising his left palm and slowly spreading his five fingers in front of him.
The dark figure, with a rough voice as if it were filled with grit, looked at Klein and said:
" Gehrman Sparrow!"
"Don't interfere with what happened at noon."
"This is the will of the ' King of Immortality '."
After speaking, the shadow slid down like flowing water, dissipating into the shadows and returning to its original state.
Klein didn't notice the change in the shadow; instead, he turned his gaze outside.
He could sense that the person Manipulation the shadows was somewhere across the street, so he had no intention of attacking the illusion.
"Sure enough, ' The Slaughterer ' Gillschies recognized me as Gehrman Sparrow. He wasn't necessarily afraid of me, but there were other, more powerful adventurers present at the time..."
"The ability he just displayed is somewhat similar to that ' Apostle of Desire ' from Backlund; he's increasingly resembling Beyonder of the ' Devil ' pathway..."
"Ha, trying to scare me with the ' King of Immortality,' thinking that'll make me submit? I never even considered getting involved! Now that I've done this, I'm actually a little curious... Oh well, finding the mermaid is the most important thing right now, I can't create an accident for myself..." Klein looked away and muttered to himself.
He had initially considered whether to inform Nass's Church of the God of Combat about the matter, but after careful consideration, he realized that it would hardly make any difference.
The Church of the God of Combat is the only legitimate religion in the Feynapotter Empire. While it does have slightly more High-Sequence powerful individuals than the Church of the Evernight Goddess, the number is still relatively small. Even with the addition of the Demigod from the Feysac royal family and military, the country is vast with numerous colonies. Given the need to protect many key locations and the resulting manpower shortage, the Gargas Archipelago, located far from the empire and in a relatively ordinary geographical position, currently only have a thriving whaling industry, undoubtedly Sequence only second. They also lack Saint to guard them.
According to the intelligence Klein had gathered beforehand, Archbishop Gargas of the Church of the God of Combat was only a " Guardian " of Sequence 5. Together with an executioner from the Inquisition, a Baron from the royal family, and a brigadier general from the military, they constituted the top-level extraordinary combat force here.
Of course, the existence of the Sealed Artifact is the key to ensuring rule here. Klein suspects that Nass's Church of the God of Combat has at least one "1" level Sealed Artifact. Only in this way can they cooperate with the fleet and the Beyonder to ensure that the whale oil refining industry and the "Grey Amber" foreign trade industry are not controlled by pirates, to ensure that this place does not become a vassal of one of the " Four Kings ", and to ensure that they can hold out until reinforcements arrive in the event of a sudden attack.
For this reason, the official forces in the Gargas Archipelago have always maintained a state of defensive posture, allowing pirates to come and go freely as long as they do not cause major trouble.
The report was useless... No wonder this place is called Pirate Paradise, no wonder Bilt organized Adventurers' Mutual Aid Society... Klein sighed and abandoned his previous plans.
After having dinner and resting for a while, Klein took out his gold-cased pocket watch, turned it on, and glanced at the time.
Seeing that it was already 7 o'clock, he began to perform the ritual, summoning himself and responding to himself, in order to carry different items in and out of the Gray Fog and adjust his equipment.
Because he would be embarking on a sea adventure aboard the " Future," the " Merfolk Cufflink " and various talismans from the Sea God's domain were essential. Therefore, Klein left the " Kindling " glove and the " The Sun Brooch " on the Gray Fog, relying primarily on " Creeping Hunger," supplemented by " Biotoxin Bottle " and a revolver loaded with different extraordinary bullets. He still had 7 " Purification Bullets," 13 " Demon Hunting Bullets," and 2 " Exorcism Bullets " remaining.
After putting on his coat, Klein stuffed the brass-colored Azik's Copper Whistle and the wallet containing only 50 pounds in cash into the inside pocket of his coat, which was placed on the table. Then he put the silver-white Adventurer Harmonica and the charms together.
After doing all this, he touched the pistol under his arm, lightly wiped the azure cufflink on his left wrist, buttoned up his double-breasted long dress, put on his half-high silk hat, picked up the black leather suitcase containing only a change of clothes and a few daily necessities, opened the door, walked out of the hotel, and took a carriage straight to the port area.
After waiting for a while at Pier 6, he saw a huge sailboat slowly emerge in the distance.
Based on his limited knowledge of ships, Klein knew that a sailboat of this length was unscientific, but that did not prevent the other party from moving smoothly across the dark sea toward the lighthouse that was emitting light.
The sailboat drew closer, its flag becoming clearer. The crimson but faint Moonlight revealed ten identical white the Star encircling a cold the Star, eyeless eye.
" Admiral of Stars!"
" Future!"
The pirates and Sailor guarding the ships gasped in astonishment, and the entire port area was suddenly filled with a restless atmosphere.
A dozen seconds later, the coastal artillery on both sides of the mountain "tensely" adjusted itself and aimed at the huge sailboat that made no attempt to conceal itself.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The distant church bells rang out melodious and ethereal; it was exactly 8 o'clock.
As the tension in the port area grew increasingly palpable, the " Future " came to a stop.
A woman dressed in a black, classical robe appeared at the bow of the ship at some unknown time. Her clothes were covered with different symbols and magical markings, making her look like a powerful Wizard from ancient legends.
Under the crimson Moonlight, a sudden brightness appeared before her, and tiny, glittering starlight showered down, condensing into a long, transparent bridge.
The long bridge continued to extend forward, ending at Pier 6.
"Quite impressive... No wonder he's one of the seven great pirate generals, and even a 'General' who's a bit higher up than 'Iceberg Disease' and the others..." Klein exclaimed, while wanting to cover his face with his hands.
He didn't want anyone to know that the mad adventurer Gehrman Sparrow had ever collaborated with " Admiral of Stars " Cattleya.
At this point, I can only maintain this persona for now. Once I've processed this and returned to the Northern Continent, there will be no more Gehrman Sparrow... Klein stepped out of the shadows, adjusted his half-high silk hat, and walked steadily onto the long bridge where starlight gathered.
With his feet firmly planted and as solid as iron, Klein stood tall and straight, aiming at the coastal defense guns and watching with unreadable gazes, as he slowly walked toward the Future, which was moored outside the harbor.
The long, transparent bridge beneath his feet allowed the deep blue, almost black, seawater to sway gently, making those with a fear of heights feel weak all over.
Luckily, I was already a " Clown " and had even jumped over the clock tower... Klein walked the last ten meters or so with a cold expression and stepped onto the deck of the Future.
Facing the " Admiral of Stars " Cattleya, whose eyes were a deep, dark purple, he showed no nervousness. He removed his hat and bowed.
Good evening, ma'am.