Hugh glanced at the " Judgement " card in his hand, paused, and said:
"This is exactly what I expected."
The " The Fool," shrouded in Gray Fog, nodded slightly and calmly explained:
" Backlund time, every Monday at 3 pm, we meet here. Please prepare in advance."
"At gatherings, people can exchange intelligence, materials, formulas, and knowledge, and can also delegate tasks to other members for a certain price."
After thinking for a moment, Xiu seemed to realize something and said:
"Yes, Mr. ' The Fool '."
She thought that was the end of the day, but then she heard a voice coming from the head of the long bronze table again:
What did you do before you were corrupted by that power?
It had indeed been corrupted... Xiu calmed himself down and gave a full account of his and Fors's exploration of the castle, emphasizing the bronze gate known as the " Pitch-Black Door " and the castle guards that had been corrupted and turned into Evil Spirit.
Then, she noticed that Mr. The Fool nodded slightly and spoke in a calm voice:
"Do not enter that castle before Sequence 4."
"Let's go back."
Hugh immediately rose and, following the descriptions in various religious ceremonies, respectfully bowed, saying:
Your will is my will.
As soon as she finished speaking, a deep red light rose before her eyes. When it all dissipated, she was back in the real world, leaning against a large tree.
Hugh glanced at the back of his hand and noticed the dark spots fading rapidly. He then looked up at Fors, who was staring at him with concern.
As their eyes met, Fors was initially delighted, but then broke into an awkward smile, opened his mouth, and hesitated, unsure of what to say.
Hugh slowly exhaled and pointed ahead, saying:
"Let's go back to town first."
"Okay!" Fors answered without hesitation.
Meanwhile, above the Gray Fog, " The Fool " Klein was lightly tapping the edge of the mottled long table, pondering the experiences of " Magician " and " Judgement " that day.
Even if the things or powers sealed by the Pitch-Black Door " do not escape, they can still corrupt the guards and explorers outside. The sheer terror of it is enough to make one fearful!
Moreover, this pollution is rooted in the spirit, and Klein only has two ways to solve it. One is to have the corrupted person perform a complete Mysticism Ritual and mobilize the power of the mysterious space above the Gray Fog to complete the Purification with the help of the " The Sun Brooch ". The other is to directly bring the spirit here and use the Gray Fog to "kill the virus". Given that there was no time at the time, he chose the latter.
What could it be?
"The most corrosive power belongs to the ' Devil ' pathway... which connects to the Abyss? This isn't impossible. According to Little ' The Sun's' description, during the early to middle period of the Second Era, Devil frequently left the Abyss and roamed the land until the Ancient The Sun God appeared and caused the fall of several ancient gods. Only then did they retreat to the Abyss and seal it off. According to this account, it's quite normal for the Northern Continent to have an ancient underground entrance to the Abyss... It's also conceivable that a castle would need to be built and guarded..."
"But the problem is, thousands of years have passed, so why are there still clapping sounds coming from there? Do the Devil want to return to the earth?" Klein made a preliminary guess.
He had no immediate plans to explore the abandoned castle to verify his ideas, as it seemed unlikely that much would change there in the short term. Since the information about the castle came from within the Sanguine, he could have " The Moon " Emlyn conduct further research to understand the castle's history.
Suppressing his thoughts, Klein removed the citrine pendant and Divination about the urgency of the abandoned castle matter, receiving a negative answer.
He immediately returned to the real world and waited for the local ruler, General Mesangyes, and his men to arrive with the deposit.
At 2 p. m. Feynapotter time, Haggis, dressed as a gentleman from the Northern Continent with his hair slicked back, and escorted by a squad of guards, carrying a black leather suitcase, knocked on Dawn Dantès ' door.
"Please come in, please come in." A gentle and refined voice came from inside, first in Backlund- accented Loenese, then switching to the local Dutanese.
Haggis turned the handle and pushed the door open, where he saw Dawn Dantes, with his graying temples and deep Blue Eyes Dawn Dantès, standing up from his armchair, pressing the bottom of his black vest.
"Good afternoon, my friend." The very handsome and refined gentleman from Loen stepped forward and extended his right palm.
This time, he switched back to Loenese.
Haggis responded in aristocratic Loenese:
It's an honor to be your friend.
He shook hands lightly with Dawn Dantès, looked around, and chuckled:
"Is this your servant?"
He was referring to the mixed-race young man standing behind the arms dealer across the street, implying, "Is he trustworthy?" After Dawn Dantès hadn't brought any servants with him when he visited the general's mansion yesterday.
"Yes, his greatest strength is his ability to keep secrets," Dawn Dantès replied with a smile, gesturing to the leather sofa opposite the armchair.
Surrounded by two guards, Haggis casually closed the door, sat down, and said with a smile:
"I have heard an Intis proverb, which is said to have been spoken by the Emperor Roselle."
He said, "Only the dead can keep secrets."
Dawn Dantès chuckled and said:
" Emperor Roselle also said another thing:"
"The corpse can speak."
"Really? This is the first time I've heard of this." Haggis enjoyed his conversation with the gentleman from the Northern Continent. After chatting for a while, he picked up the leather suitcase beside him and opened it.
At that moment, it seemed as if golden light was flowing out of the suitcase, and under the sunlight shining through the window, it seemed to brighten the whole room slightly.
Haggis then looked at Dawn Dantès and said:
"5,000 Loen pounds, and gold coins and bars worth 5,000 pounds."
This is the deposit.
"I will keep the remaining 30,000 pounds in banknotes and gold with me until the arms deal is completed, then I will give them to you."
Dawn Dantès glanced at the stacks of banknotes, gold coins, and gold bars in the suitcase, then looked away and smiled, saying:
When do we depart?
Haggis closed the suitcase, handed it to Dawn Dantès ' servant, and simply said:
Tomorrow morning.
He paused for two seconds, then spoke:
"Mr. Dantès, the general has a distinguished guest who wishes to visit you."
Dawn Dantès' expression remained unchanged, and after a few seconds of silence, he said:
"When?"
"Now," Haggis said, with an air of nonchalance, "He's downstairs."
Dawn Dantès nodded slightly:
"Please invite him up."
Haggis immediately breathed a sigh of relief, left the room with his guards, and went down the stairs.
Not long after, Luca, wearing a plain white robe with brass thread trim, came up. His full head of silver hair was neatly combed.
As he approached Dawn Dantès ' door, just as he was about to raise his hand, he heard a voice coming from inside:
"Please come in."
This time, they used Ancient Feysac.
Luca showed no change in expression and naturally pushed open the door.
He then saw the middle-aged gentleman from yesterday, who had a rather good appearance and demeanor, standing beside the armchair, facing away from him.
Sitting in that armchair was a young man with black hair, brown eyes, a thin face, sharp features, and a cold demeanor.
Luca paused for a moment, then stepped forward, entered the room, and closed the wooden door.
He calmly found a sofa and sat down, his gray-green eyes clearly reflecting the figure of the young man opposite him.
" Gehrman Sparrow?" Luca asked, sounding both inquiring and addressing him.
Gehrman Sparrow curled the corners of his mouth and said:
"It is not polite to address someone by their full name."
Luca nodded and said:
"I apologize for my rudeness. I remember you advanced to Sequence 5 in less than half a year, maybe even only three months. Hmm, it must have been done at the Ruins of the Gods' Battle. I didn't expect... you've already become Demigod. This has made me a little flustered."
Gehrman Sparrow smiled slightly, offering no explanation.
After a brief silence, he asked in a measured tone:
Why did you come to visit me?
Capim replied:
"Have no idea."
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became somewhat strange Gehrman Sparrow seemed to have forgotten that there was an old gentleman sitting opposite him, and that he needed to speak again.
Luca subtly moved his chin and said to himself:
"Here's the thing, I made a prediction by chance before, in which I would find myself in a rather troublesome situation in the future, and someone I met here these past few days can help me deal with it."
"I'm not sure if it's you, but with the thought that it's better to admit I'm wrong than to miss you, I finally decided to come and meet you so we can get to know each other."
"My name is Luca Brewster, and I am a clergyman serving the ' God of Knowledge and Wisdom,' currently in charge of various church affairs in West Balam."
Gehrman Sparrow nodded and said:
"Yes, I already know you. I don't think I need to introduce myself again, do I?"
"Of course," Luca thought for a moment and said, "You must be a ' Bizarro Sorcerer.' I recently received intelligence that the Intis Secret Order unusual moves."
He didn't see the look of astonishment on Gehrman Sparrow. The Five Seas and powerful adventurer paused for a moment before saying:
Zaratul has returned.
Luca's pupils changed slightly before returning to normal.
Then, he stood up, nodded in greeting, and said:
"Now that we've met, I should take my leave."
After saying that, he walked to the door, turned the handle, and left the room.
Sitting in his armchair Gehrman Sparrow watched his figure gradually disappear behind the wooden door until it was completely gone, then suddenly chuckled softly.
"What a charlatan!"
"Yes." Dawn Dantès, who was standing next to the armchair, found a seat, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a sip.
With his graying temples and deep blue eyes Gehrman Sparrow exchanged a glance and smiled at each other.
On Monday afternoon, Dawn Dantès took out his gold-cased pocket watch, turned it on, glanced at it, and said to Haggis, who was sitting opposite him:
"We're almost at our destination. I think you need to take a break beforehand."
"Excellent suggestion," Haggis agreed wholeheartedly.
Dawn Dantès pointed to the street ahead:
"There's a hotel there; let's rest for half a day and set off again tomorrow morning."
Haggis did not object, turned to the front, and gave the driver a few instructions.
After checking in, Dawn Dantès declined Haggis's invitation to afternoon tea, citing a need for a nap.
More than half an hour later, above the boundless Gray Fog, Klein sat down in the seat reserved for " The Fool ".
PS1: Actually, I was quite satisfied with the previous chapter. I basically eliminated psychological descriptions and relied on the foreshadowing, the characters' actions, and the choices they made to reveal their personalities and styles. This avoided formulaic writing, left a lingering impression, and allowed readers to ponder it carefully, thus understanding what kind of person Hugh is. However, it seems many readers didn't like it, feeling it was too sudden and too fast. Well, I'll explain more in the future. I won't analyze Hugh's inner thoughts here either; anyway, every action, every choice, and every word conveys them.
Why does it feel abrupt? I think the problem isn't with the plot, but with the structure. As a long novel, many of the foreshadowing and descriptions are too far apart. When it comes to bringing things together at the end, psychological descriptions might be more suitable than plain descriptions. It avoids the beginning being heavy and the end being light, and it allows the final scene to be more substantial.
Also, for Volume 5, I plan to use some new narrative techniques, incorporating some POV elements. Starting from the first chapter, the camera will be fixed on a single character, describing things from their perspective, and then transitioning when there is an intersection or connection. This will downplay many of Little Klein's psychological states and behaviors. Afterward, this writing style will alternate with the normal writing style.
PS2: Requesting recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Monday!