Upon entering the Gray Fog, Klein reached into the pile of debris and summoned the " Sea God Scepter," surveying the countless points of light swirling around this Sealed Artifact.
Each of these points of light corresponds to a believer's prayer; the radiance flows, sacred and ethereal!
Soon, Klein used his mind to conduct an initial screening, focusing on those originating from the sea rather than the island. After isolating the " Sea God Scepter " above the Gray Fog, he could no longer directly use this "artifact" to sense the surrounding ocean and make effective operations. He had to rely on the prayer images of believers to use them as a base to expand outwards by 5 nautical miles and affect the corresponding sea creatures.
Klein's Spirituality spread, touching one of the points of light, and he saw the daily prayers of the natives on a fishing boat before it returned to port at dusk.
As Klein's thoughts shifted, the perspective of the scene rapidly rose, bringing in more and more of the surrounding dark scene of accumulating clouds and undulating waves.
"There were signs of a storm brewing a few hours ago? Well, when I went out earlier, the atmosphere felt quite oppressive... That's why Elland said that ' Mad Captain ' Qonas ' ship should be anchored in the shadow of some nearby island, to avoid the Storm..." Klein tapped the edge of the mottled long table with his fingers, muttering to himself.
With this deduction, his subsequent "search for people" work will be much easier, because he will not need to search the vast ocean, but only need to pay attention to the vicinity of different islands in this sea area.
With a thought, a blue-green gem suddenly lit up at the top of the " Sea God Scepter " in Klein's hand.
On the ocean where fishing boats had vanished, the deep blue, almost black waves, illuminated by the crimson Moonlight, undulated with considerable force. Suddenly, a silent surge of water rose, and a pair of exaggerated eyes, gazing at the sky, appeared vaguely on the surface of the sea, beneath which lay the outline of a massive shadow.
At the same time, various kinds of sea fish floated to the surface.
They received the hazy light that seemed to fall from the sky, circled around, and then each sank down, heading in different directions.
About ten seconds later, the waters within a 5-nautical-mile radius returned to their previous state, with deep blue to almost black waves rising higher and higher, awaiting the final outburst.
Whew... This is quite taxing... Klein raised his left hand and rubbed his temple.
He didn't simply command the marine life; he endowed them with a certain supernatural Spirituality, enabling them to transmit back what they saw after discovering the ships anchored near the island, in the form of prayer.
This was not a particularly difficult or complicated matter for the " Sea God Scepter," but for Klein, Manipulator it, it was a huge burden and a considerable drain on his energy.
Then, Klein selected the worshippers around different islands in the archipelago and issued "commands" to the marine life in the corresponding areas in the same manner.
Having done all this, he didn't bother to throw the " Sea God Scepter " back into the pile of junk. He returned directly to the real world, took off his coat, and collapsed onto the bed.
He thought he would fall into a deep sleep because his Spirituality energy was completely depleted, but his head felt empty and painful, making it impossible for him to open his eyes or enter a dream.
Klein could clearly feel that his skin was breaking out in bumps, as if he had an allergic reaction, and there were countless granulation tissues hidden beneath them.
Sure enough, just as Mr. " The Hanged Man " said, if one's Spirituality is left in a state of desiccation for two consecutive days, auditory hallucinations and signs of losing control will definitely occur. I only pushed myself to the limit once, and it didn't last long before my body started to act abnormally. Of course, this was also because I had only recently advanced and hadn't fully digested the effects, and I had also consumed excess Potion from earlier Sequence... Klein gradually regained his senses and tried Cogitation on the layered orbs of light to calm the fatigue in his body and spirit.
After his condition improved slightly, he finally fell into a deep sleep and slept until midnight.
At this moment, the wind howled fiercely outside, and the rain poured down; the long-brewing Storm had finally arrived.
This is not uncommon in Bayam; apart from these, the nights are quite peaceful.
Klein went to the restroom to take care of his personal hygiene, washed his hands, took four steps backward, and re-entered the Gray Fog.
He picked up the " Sea God Scepter " that was placed at the head of the long bronze table and began to browse the "images" sent back by the marine creatures.
These scenes feature ships, each located in a different port, at a different dock, and in the shadows of a different island.
Although Klein had never met " Mad Captain " Connors Victor, he had previously learned about the man's characteristics and the various symbols of his pirate crew.
Images Blink eyes, and Klein patiently began to discern the details of the ships.
A dozen minutes later, his eyes revealed undisguised joy, causing one of the images to zoom in and his perspective to be closer!
He located the vessel that resembled the target!
The ship was anchored on the leeward side of Rorsted Archipelago, the farthest island in the Simim Island, with towering cliffs behind it and undulating waves below.
Its sails and flags were down, but there was a white skull with a one-eyed patch on each side of the ship.
This is the emblem of the Mad Captain Pirates!
Klein casually unhooked the pendulum from his left sleeve and used Divination to confirm its movement.
The answer delighted him; it truly was Connors Victor's ship!
And this " Mad Captain " only has this one boat!
"No wonder most adventurers at sea know that ' Mad Captain ' is connected to the kingdom's human traffickers and slave traders, but the Church of Storms's investigation into the missing persons in the colonies has not pointed to him. A guy with a bounty of only 3,300 pounds and a pirate crew of only one ship seems capable of only doing 'small business' and cannot afford such a large-scale human trade... What should we do next?" Klein sighed silently for a moment, then began to consider how to investigate.
His first thought was to summon a massive sea creature, board something like a "whale ship," and head straight for Simim Island during the storm. He would then disguise himself and infiltrate the island, using the " Marionettist " ability to subdue " Mad Captain " Connors Victor. However, after careful consideration, he felt that this method was too reckless.
Dealing with other pirates who aren't generals is no problem, but since " Mad Captain " Connors Victor is involved in such a terrible event as the Great Smog of Backlund, we must consider that his usual behavior is just a disguise, that he actually has another identity, and that his ship may be hiding significant secrets. Therefore, there is a high probability that there are traps there that are powerful enough to deal with pirate generals. If we rashly infiltrate, even if Klein is armed to the teeth, he may not be able to come out alive.
"Summoning myself in spirit form, carrying the Sea God Scepter? That avoids accidents; if anything goes wrong, I can immediately end the summoning and return. However, the Sea God Scepter is essentially High-Sequence Beyonder Characteristic of the ' Storm ' pathway. If it appears in the real world, it's very likely to attract the Sea King Jahn Kottman... This would make things impossible..." Klein looked at the storm in the image and had a preliminary idea in mind.
Before this, he once again conjured paper and pen and wrote down Divination statements:
"Dealing with Connors Victor would be very dangerous."
Picking up the silver chain of the pendulum, Klein gathered his thoughts and began the Divination with focused concentration.
Soon, he opened his eyes and saw the citrine pendant spinning clockwise at a rapid speed and with a very large amplitude.
This means that dealing with Connors Victor would be extremely dangerous!
"Just as I expected, thankfully I didn't rush over recklessly..." Klein picked up the " Sea God Scepter " and decided to carry out the plan he had just devised.
That is to take advantage of the storm's cover and, using the earlier prayer scene, directly use the " Sea God Scepter " to attack Connors Victor's ship from afar, alerting him and forcing him to reveal his secret!
Once the situation is clear, the attack will be completed before " Sea King " Jahn Kottman senses any abnormal fluctuations or before they reach their destination.
If Connors Victor unfortunately falls into the hands of " Sea King," Klein will not be disappointed, because after investigating the truth behind the Great Smog of Backlund Incident, he will also have to find a way to pass the information to the three major churches.
If " Mad Captain " successfully escapes, Klein will use the secrets he uncovered by alerting him to devise a subsequent attack plan!
Huff... Klein slowly exhaled, gazing at the ship swaying in the deep black waves, and raised the " Sea God Scepter " in his hand.
At the top of the scepter, the blue-green gemstones that circled around it burst forth with bright light.
P. S.: I'm experiencing some writer's block, so the word count is relatively low, and I haven't corrected any typos yet...