Inside the ancient palace towering above the Gray Fog, " The Hanged Man " Alger didn't rush to mention " Mad Captain " Connors Victor. Instead, he turned his head to look at " The Sun " beside him and said:
Are you still in Afternoon Town?
Derrick nodded honestly and said:
"Yes, it took us a long time to establish the camp, and then we worked in small groups, clearing out the remaining Monster street by street, searching for any possible ancient traces. It was slow, but safe enough."
He answered in great detail and showed that Mr. The Hanged Man was not in a hurry to know more.
" Justice," Audrey listened with great interest, raising her hand slightly as she spoke:
"What have you been relying on for food while you've been in the Afternoon Town for so long? Is there any black-faced grass nearby?"
She had heard Little " The Sun " mention long ago that City of Silver survived by relying on black grass grown in the surrounding areas as its staple food.
"We carry some powder made from black-faced grass, but our main food source is the Monster we hunt. A large portion of them, once their Beyonder Characteristic are extracted, their fur removed, and they are burned with flames, can be eaten. However, they are all contaminated to some extent, which can cause mental problems. They cannot be consumed continuously and require sufficient intervals. The Sun," Derrick answered Miss Justice's question seriously.
" Justice " Audrey recalled the several Monster from the depths of darkness that Little " The Sun " had mentioned, and considering the eerie and terrifying atmosphere of the City of Silver area, she couldn't help but ask:
"Isn't that disgusting?"
Inspired by this question, Fors, the " Magician," who was intently listening to the other members' conversation, deliberately ignored Emlyn, the " The Moon," and asked Derrick, the " The Sun," with considerable curiosity:
"I remember you said that the Monster in the depths of darkness include Vampire, which are covered in pus and are incredibly ugly. So, after killing such Vampire, would you eat it?"
Upon hearing this question, Emlyn completely forgot to correct the other person that they were Sanguine, not Vampire. His face turned green, and he inexplicably felt a sense of dread.
Derrick paused for two seconds and then said:
"Some Monster are indeed disgusting, extremely disgusting, like the Vampire that Miss ' Magician ' mentioned, but we have no choice; we'll eat anything that's edible."
His voice gradually lowered, as if he were once again deeply feeling the cursed tragedy that enveloped the entire City of Silver.
Silence fell once again in the palace that resembled the dwelling of Giant. Even Emlyn the Moon, who wanted to refute some of Derrick the Sun's claims, remained silent, merely pursing his lips and shrinking his arms.
A few seconds later, "The World" broke the silence, chuckling softly:
"Let's return to the sea. Recently, something noteworthy has happened. ' Mad Captain ' Connors Victor's ' Cyclops ' drifted to the vicinity of the dock after a storm. Its mast was broken, and there were charred marks everywhere. All the crew members, including Connors Victor himself, are dead, without exception."
" Justice " Audrey and the others didn't know who the " Mad Captain " was, and weren't too interested in the news; they were just a little curious as to why such a tragic shipwreck had occurred.
Alger, the " The Hanged Man," had a completely different experience from them.
The world has actually taken notice of the " Mad Captain " incident; there's quite a secret behind it! No wonder Kottman solemnly ordered the " Mandated Punishers " and the "Captains and Sailor " to investigate the matter! Alger's eyes flickered slightly as he pondered for a moment:
"In Bayam, the Church of Storms is actively investigating people and events related to ' Mad Captain ' Connors Victor."
Heh, I don't even need to make any further requests... Klein chuckled inwardly, then had "The World" ask directly:
What clues has the Church of Storms obtained?
"I don't know, I'll try to find out. The Hanged Man," Alger said frankly, shaking his head.
He believed the "world" understood his unspoken message: he genuinely didn't know right now, but he would inquire internally.
Curious, Audrey, the " Justice " eavesdropper, increasingly felt that the " Mad Captain's" affairs were not simple, and tentatively asked:
"Mr. World, isn't this just a common case of pirates fighting amongst themselves?"
Klein was about to casually brush off Miss " Justice " without revealing any more information when a question suddenly came to mind.
"Behind the Great Smog of Backlund Incident and the missing persons cases may lie a faction within the royal family and some military personnel. Miss ' Justice ' naturally leans towards the nobility and the royal family in terms of emotions and stance. If one day I were to entrust her with a task targeting those who deserve to be cursed and hanged, she might not be willing to accept it, and might even fall into an inner conflict as a result..."
"So, we need to gradually instill in her the impression that there are many bad people in the royal family and the military, subtly changing her stance and emotional inclinations. For this, we can bear the risk of exposing some of 'World's' information..." Klein for a moment, then let "World" say in a relaxed but slightly sarcastic tone:
"' The Mad Captain ' is connected to the colonial missing persons cases previously investigated by ' The Hanged Man '."
" The Demoness Sect would hand over the people they lured or abducted to external forces such as ' Vice Admiral Ailment ' Tracy, who would then transport them to the vicinity of the eastern coast of the Northern Continent. The final leg of the journey would be completed with the help of ' Mad Captain ' Connors Victor, a pirate who had close ties with many human traffickers and slave traders in Loen."
"Back in January, I told Mr. ' The Hanged Man ' that someone had witnessed Botis, who is connected to the disappearance case, meeting with Military Intelligence Section 9 agents who are loyal to the royal family."
"Furthermore, Capim, Backlund's biggest human trafficker, has Protector through the ' Arbiter ' pathway."
"With all these things combined, do you still think the death of ' Mad Captain ' was just a simple case of pirate infighting?"
"Heh, I've always wondered, what does the person behind this need so many slaves for?"
The clear connections between the clues became apparent to Audrey, the " Justice," and Alger, the " The Hanged Man," making them suddenly understand many things.
Mr. World left Backlund for the sea to follow clues; he had been investigating the truth behind the Great Smog Incident and Prince Edessak's death! Based on the information he provided, it was clear that the real culprit had not yet been punished, was still hiding within the royal family, and had some military personnel working for him—how despicable! Such a person should be thrown into Hell! Hmm... how did Mr. World know that Capim's Protector was Beyonder of the " Arbiter " pathway? Had they interacted before? Audrey's thoughts raced, and suddenly a connection formed:
Capim was killed by the outlaw " Black Emperor," who clearly knew which path Capim's Protector belonged to;
The chivalrous thief " Black Emperor " is Blessed of Mr. " The Fool ";
Mr. "World" is suspected to have some connection with Mr. " The Fool," as he never collected Emperor Roselle's diary;
So, is Mr. "World" the Robin Hood-like " Black Emperor," and Blessed of Mr. " The Fool "?
Was he not submitting Emperor Roselle's diary because he had already submitted it privately? Were his previous actions to conceal his identity Blessed? Was this a test from Mr. The Fool? It's really hard to connect Mr. World with the rogue " Black Emperor," the latter seems more like a hero... Audrey felt she had found the truth and began to wonder what kind of person Mr. World, the rogue " Black Emperor," really was in reality.
Alger the Hanged Man and the Hermit the Cattleya immediately understood why Gehrman Sparrow had attacked Lieutenant General Tracy the Vice Admiral Ailment.
This Blessed is searching for the truth behind the Great Smog of Backlund Incident!
What lies hidden behind this is what interests Mr. The Fool!
Living in Backlund, " Magician " Fors and " The Moon " Emlyn also vaguely sensed something from "The World" mentioning Capim. After all, the legend of the chivalrous thief " Black Emperor " has been quite popular in the last six months, becoming an important character in many popular novels. Even Fors himself wanted to write a love story between a chivalrous thief and a noble lady with him as the protagonist.
They finally understood why "The World" had been able to sense in time that a major event was brewing in Backlund, potentially leading to tragedy: this man had been investigating relevant clues.
It seems that things in Backlund are far from over, and there may be more surprises in the future... I really want to leave immediately, but Hugh definitely won't allow it, and I can't explain it to her... Fors suddenly had the idea of escaping from Backlund.
Emlyn the Moon wasn't overly afraid. In his view, even if a disaster were to occur, the Sanguine had powerful figures in Backlund who could certainly provide protection.
After a two-second silence, Alger, the " The Hanged Man," solemnly said:
I will do my best to investigate this matter.
He had a premonition that a terrifying Storm was brewing behind the death of the " Mad Captain," so he felt some fear and apprehension, but he was also excited and thrilled to be involved in the most important event in the Northern Continent.
After listening quietly, the " The Hermit " Cattleya nodded and said:
I will also gather relevant information.
"If you have more clues, perhaps I can be of help."
Klein thought for a moment, then let "the world" speak frankly:
"On the night of ' The Mad Captain's' death, there was High-Sequence powerhouse on his ship who appeared to be a ' Black Emperor ' pathway expert, but this Demigod managed to escape before Jahn Kottman arrived."
The " Black Emperor " pathway, Demigod... Alger and Cattleya simultaneously pondered these words, considering which approach they could take.
" Justice " Audrey and the others were amazed that the Tarot Club evolved from discussing Demigod to directly participating in events related to Demigod, which was really getting more and more sophisticated. As for " The Sun " Derrick, he didn't understand much of what was being said.
After the matter of the " Mad Captain " was temporarily put on hold, " The Hermit " Cattleya glanced at "The World" and deliberately mentioned:
"There's something else at sea Gehrman Sparrow hunted down the second mate of the ' King of Immortality,' ' The Slaughterer ' Gillschies, a Sequence 5 Beyonder."
"Wow, amazing..." Fors, Magician currently only has Sequence 8, exclaimed sincerely. She knew very well what Sequence 5 represented.
"Yes, what a legendary adventurer. Justice," Audrey added.
Emlyn, the " The Moon," opened his mouth, then closed it again, feeling that he was still far from reaching that level.
Alger, the " The Hanged Man," said without any apparent change in expression:
"Because of this incident, investigating Gehrman Sparrow's background has become an important task for all major organizations."
"You mean the Church of Storms also sent you to investigate me?" Klein immediately understood the implication of " The Hanged Man's" words, prompting "The World" to chuckle in a low voice:
"Where can I pick up this commission? I'm looking to use some unimportant information to get money. I do know a bit about Gehrman Sparrow."
"Hmm, does 'Mr. World' mean he wouldn't mind if I submitted some seemingly important but actually meaningless intelligence about Gehrman Sparrow in exchange for a reward and his trust?" The Hanged Man nodded knowingly.
The free exchange continued for quite some time until " The Sun " Derrick finished learning this week's Ancient Hermes, at which point it all came to a complete end.
After watching Miss Justice and the others leave with their bows, Klein turned his gaze to " The Groselle's Travels " on the table.
ps: I thought about it again last night and felt that changing idioms without historical allusions would be a bit inconsistent for Chinese readers, so I decided to use another way to deal with it. Instead of expanding or translating the content, it would be better to use the meaning instead of the form. For example, "hungry" is like a person who has been hungry for several days and saw food instead. This may be better.