Backlund, Cherwood Borough.
Fors, who was taking a nap, suddenly woke up from her dream and saw an endless gray-white mist and Mr. " The Moon " bowing his head in prayer. She heard clear words coming from him:
"... In the southeastern suburbs of Backlund, in the center of the Delaire Forest, lies an abandoned ancient castle. At least two Ancient Evil Spirit haunt it, and other wandering souls may also reside there. The possibility that Beyonder might be hiding there cannot be ruled out. The coordinates are..."
Finally, there was news of the " Scribe's " main material, news worth 300 pounds... Fors was overjoyed and immediately thanked Mr. " The Fool " and asked him to tell " The Moon " that he would pay the reward later.
Having finished this matter, she got out of bed, went downstairs, and planned to pour herself a drink and think about when to explore the abandoned castle and what preparations she needed to make.
"' Lemano's Travel Notes ' can't be rented out recently... Hugh needs to take it too... That abandoned castle has a lot of undead, it's quite dangerous, we need to consider the combination of 'magic', if there are any flaws, or if it's not targeted enough, we'll spend money to ask Mr. 'World', Mr. ' The Hanged Man ', and ' The Sun ' to Record the corresponding extraordinary abilities..." Although Fors didn't have much practical experience, he had been in several Beyonder circles for many years, and later even joined the Tarot Club. Having heard and seen a lot, he naturally knew how to prepare before an adventure.
As for the option of directly asking Mr. "World" to do it for her, she had long since given up on that idea, believing that giving him all her earnings plus her savings wouldn't be enough to match the reward.
Of course, if her tentative exploration proves that the abandoned castle is indeed extremely dangerous, a place beyond the reach of Beyonder of her level, then she will be willing to shoulder the debt, for only by living can there be hope, only by living can there be a future.
Theoretically, it shouldn't have come to this. " Lemano's Travel Notes " still contains two extraordinary abilities at the Demigod level left by Mr. "World". At most, we can use them first and then find a way to complete them... The only problem is that those two extraordinary abilities at the Demigod level may not be suitable for dealing with Evil Spirit and dead souls... Fors took a sip of Winter Rand and various ideas gradually took shape.
Just then, she heard the sound of a key being inserted into the lock and instinctively turned her gaze toward the door.
The door swung open, and Hugh walked in carrying two paper bags that emitted a strong fragrance.
" Desi Pie?" Fors blurted out, then frowned in confusion. "Didn't you have a lot of commissions lately? Why are you back so early?"
Hugh tossed one of the bags of Desi pies over, unable to hide his amusement, and said:
"I just happened to be passing by, and since I hadn't had lunch yet, I was planning to take a break."
Before Fors could ask again, she spoke up:
"I've accumulated enough merit points! Soon I can exchange them for the ' Interrogator ' Potion recipe!"
Although her mission to monitor Viscount Stratford, the head of the royal guard, has not yet made substantial progress, it is the type of mission that can accumulate merits daily. As long as she submits a qualified report each week, she can receive a corresponding "bounty." Therefore, with the completion of other missions to varying degrees, Hugh is already able to obtain the " Interrogator " Potion recipe.
"Finally..." Fors was genuinely happy for his friend, then swirled the wine in his glass, "Want to have a drink to celebrate?"
At the same time, she thought of her own situation:
This is fantastic! After becoming Sequence 7, Hugh should experience a significant transformation, making his exploration of that castle much more promising!
Xiu glanced at the clear liquid in the wine glass and shook his head repeatedly, saying:
Drinking is bad!
As she spoke, she frowned slightly:
"And I hate the taste."
Before Fors could speak, she suddenly remembered something, stood up, and walked towards the door:
"I just saw the mailbox was stuffed full of things. Haven't you opened it all day?"
"I haven't had time yet." Fors adopted a busy, deadline-bound demeanor.
Hugh is a very proactive person. He didn't listen to her explanation at all, opened the Door Opening and went out to fiddle with the mailbox.
About ten seconds later, she returned to the house with a stack of newspapers and several letters, saying as she read the recipients' names:
"They're all yours! Two letters from the publisher, one an invitation to a surgical exchange, and the other from Pritz Harbor."
Pritz Harbor... Fors's heart skipped a beat. He put down his wine glass and caught the letter that Hugh threw to him.
In front of her friend, she seemingly calmly opened all the letters and found that one of them was indeed from her teacher Dorian Gray Abraham:
"... Calderón City is a rather special place deep within the Spirit World. I cannot confirm its origins, only that it is extremely dangerous; Demigod once entered and never returned... When you sell the specific Spirit World coordinates to that gathering member, you should remind him of this..."
"Mr. World's" target is such a dangerous Spirit World city? Fors stared at the letter in his hand, his eyes widening slightly.
The " Red Gloves " team, having arrived in the East Balam, met up with the local Nighthawks and took over one of their offices.
"Everyone, rest for half a day, and we'll begin our operation at dawn." Soest took out his pocket watch, turned it on, and glanced at it.
Their mission is to strike a Concealment stronghold of the Spirituality Religion, find more information on the Artificial Death Project, and uncover another group of enemies hidden in Backlund.
As for the intelligence obtained from Ulrika, it has already been transmitted back to Backlund via telegram, so they don't need to worry about the follow-up processing. After all, they are not the only " Red Gloves " team. Backlund has a large number of local Nighthawks, and they are very powerful.
Leonard, Daly, and the others were about to find places to rest when a Nighthawks with some East Balam blood came in with a piece of paper and said:
"A new telegram has arrived, from Backlund."
Soest reached out and took the paper, unfolded it, looked at it for a few seconds, and said with a serious expression:
" Gehrman Sparrow has reappeared, and through Divination, it has been confirmed that it is indeed him."
Gehrman Sparrow... Leonard wasn't surprised by the result, because he already knew from Dawn Dantès that his former colleague Klein Moretti was still alive.
He asked curiously:
What has Gehrman Sparrow done now?
Soest looked around and said seriously:
He boarded the Black Tulip and transformed Ludwell of Admiral of Hell into his own Marionette.
" Admiral of Hell?"
" Ludwell?"
" Marionette?"
The " Red Gloves " couldn't hide their astonishment and exclaimed in surprise, even Leonard Mitchell was extremely surprised.
It's important to know that Ludwell, the " Admiral of Hell " who wears the ring left by the Death, has the highest bounty and the strongest strength among the seven pirate generals. He is recognized as the number one person below the " Four Kings " and is far beyond the reach of ordinary Sequence 5. Yet, Gehrman Sparrow was able to turn him into Marionette on his ship, surrounded by his undead army and many subordinates!
Although they didn't know much about the " Faceless " or the " Marionettist," the term " Marionette " alone was enough to give them a clear idea that the fate of " Admiral of Hell " Ludwell might be even more tragic than death.
Was he that powerful? Was his infiltration behind the Chanis Gate of Saint Samuel Cathedral necessary for Demigod ritual? Leonard gradually fell silent and didn't ask any more questions.
At this moment, Soest spoke up:
According to the crew members who escaped from the ' Black Tulip,' there was no battle Gehrman Sparrow boarded the ship with another man, and ' Admiral of Hell ' Ludwell, upon seeing him, surrendered, prostrated himself on the deck, and proclaimed himself ' Death Consul,' then allowed Gehrman Sparrow to turn him into Marionette.
" Death Consul..." Leonard subconsciously turned his head to look at Daly Simone.
In his mind, this " Corpse Collector " pathway Sequence 5 should know what " Death Consul " represents.
Daly chuckled and shook her head, saying:
"All I know is that in the past, the Balam Empire was ruled by the bloodline of the ' Death,' who were known as the ' Death Consul.'"
"The leader of the Royal Family Faction Spirituality Religion of the Dead has never called himself the ' Death Consul '," another " Red Gloves " Cindy said with a puzzled look.
This is relatively open information within the Nighthawks. Anyone who reaches Sequence 7 or higher, or joins the " Red Gloves," is entitled to access it.
As for the Artificial Death Faction, no one would call themselves the " Death Consul."
"Who knows? Maybe the Spirituality Religion has split and multiplied again, adding a new faction called the ' Death Consul '," Daly replied casually at first, then said thoughtfully, " Gehrman Sparrow's background is mysterious, and his purpose in infiltrating Chanis Gate is unknown. Perhaps it really is related to the Spirituality Religion."
The Spirituality Religion has always been a primary target of the Church of Evernight, and the two sides have a deep-seated conflict.
This statement immediately reminded Leonard Mitchell, because he knew that Gehrman Sparrow was Klein Moretti, and that he had joined a Concealment organization that used tarot cards as a symbol and worshipped the " The Fool," and that the organization at most had a cooperative relationship with the Spirituality Religion.
"None of the current factions within the Spirituality Religion have a ' Death Consul '... ' Admiral of Hell Ludwell ' is almost certainly an 'armed man' of the Spirituality Religion; dealing with him is tantamount to dealing with the Spirituality Religion..."
" Dawn Dantès once said that the members of that Concealment organization came from different places and had different purposes... Klein's purpose was revenge, so could it be that one of them aimed to destroy the Spirituality Religion, gradually recruit them, and then resurrect or recreate Death under his own control?"
"Since there is an immortal Monster Dawn Dantès survived the Fourth Age, it's not surprising that the Concealment organization also has an ancient ' Death Consul,' and perhaps his corresponding Tarot card is ' Death '!" In a flash, Leonard felt that he had grasped the truth.
Then, he recalled some details:
Dawn Dantès is an undead Monster who survived the Fourth Age;
He knows the Southern Continent very well;
He recently left Backlund and his current whereabouts are unknown!
Leonard was startled. Taking advantage of his teammates' discussion, he picked up his teacup, covered his mouth, and muttered to himself:
" Old Man, could Dawn Dantès be the ' Death Consul '?"
Pallez Zoroast's slightly aged voice carried a hint of a smile as he said:
"No.
"The ' Death Consul ' of the Balam Empire was both a title of rank and the name of the ' Death ' pathway Sequence 2 at that time."
Sequence 2... that Concealment organization has Sequence 2 Angel... Leonard's eyes narrowed, and he whispered again:
"Why are you so sure Dawn Dantès isn't the ' Death Consul '? Because he's not Angel?"
Pallez chuckled immediately:
"No, the reason is simple. You've seen a portrait of the real ' Death Consul,' and you Nighthawks may have even had contact with him when you investigated the ' Welch suicide case.'"
"He is Azik Eggers, a faculty member in the History Department at Hoy University."
Azik Eggers... Leonard was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized.
He finally understood why Klein Moretti could be resurrected after death, and why he could join that Concealment organization symbolized by tarot cards, even though he didn't seem to have anything particularly special about him in ordinary times!
The reason is that there is a member of a Concealment organization behind Klein, and the corresponding tarot card is:
" Death "!