The other mid- and low-Sequence pirates were nothing to worry about. With just them alone, given that the main combat power of "Howling Town" had not left, they were no match for the elves at all.
But that overall commander, "Soul-Howling Sound" Bright Isidore, had some issues…
There was a virtual personality inside his mind!
"The King of the Black Seat," huh? The reason he attracted the former president of the "Psychology Alchemists" here is because of Howling Town's dragon reverence, right?
He wants to take advantage of the ancient dragon's poor condition and, as a Sequence 3, challenge an angel and hunt it?
Who gave him the courage—Adam?
While complaining inwardly, Ebner also "insighted" most of the matter, especially since the "King of the Black Seat," Barros Hopkins, himself was a "gift" sent by Adam, so his "fate" was quite clear.
After thinking for a few seconds, Ebner had Alvin, who was currently in Backlund, directly "Teleport" to the mansion at 160 Böklund Street and find Klein in the third-floor bedroom, where he was helping Sharon comb her long hair.
According to Klein's own explanation, this was also part of acting as a "Marionettist."
And by relying on the terrifying image of combing a marionette's hair at night, he had already frightened several maids on night duty, helping to digest the "Miracle Invoker" potion.
This bizarre incident had even reached the ears of the Church's official team, but they hadn't taken it seriously. After all, Ms. Daly, as a mid-Sequence powerhouse of the "Corpse Collector" pathway, had quite a few spirits around her. It was likely just a maid with relatively high spirituality seeing something she couldn't understand and spreading exaggerated rumors.
However, at this moment, the one startled by Alvin's sudden appearance was Klein. He used his "Clown" abilities to control his movements, barely preventing the comb in his hand from dropping to the floor.
"Next time, please use the door, thank you!" Klein emphasized before pretending to be calm and asking, "What is it?"
"For a 'Apprentice,' everywhere is a 'door,'" Alvin replied with a smile. Then, without waiting for further response, he asked directly, "Want to earn some extra money?"
"What kind of extra money?" Klein asked cautiously.
"A joint fleet composed of three pirate crews. Excluding other valuables, just the bounties on the three fleet leaders alone are close to 30,000 pounds," Alvin said in a rather tempting tone.
The reason he had come all this way to find Klein was, firstly, to take care of a fellow countryman and allow him to gather the 500,000 pounds for materials as soon as possible;
secondly, as a demigod, personally dealing with some mid- and low-Sequence pirates would be too degrading for a "divine envoy";
and lastly, since Gehrman was a pirate hunter, his involvement wouldn't arouse too much suspicion from the "King of the Black Seat," preventing Barros Hopkins from fleeing before Ebner had finished setting up the trap.
After all, a "Dreamweaver" of the "Spectator" pathway was not so easy to capture. He was both a "gift" sent by Adam and very likely a test from Him.
This fit Adam's current state of possessing only "divinity." If Ebner failed this test, Adam's attitude toward him might undergo a significant shift.
On the other side, upon hearing 30,000 pounds, Klein—who had originally intended to refuse—hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "Give me half a minute. I need to visit the washroom."
Understood—you're going to divine in the "Kingdom of God"… Alvin, or rather Ebner, nodded knowingly, indicating he could take his time.
Moments later, Klein returned to the room transformed into Gehrman's appearance, holding two revolvers and a human-skin glove.
"Let's go," Klein said in Gehrman's tone, glancing at Miss Sharon, who resembled a doll.
He did not take out the "Endless Teleportation Book." After all, with a "Traveler" present, better to save what he could… In his hands, that book was far from truly "endless."
After receiving Klein's glance, Sharon immediately understood and directly "attached" herself to Gehrman.
Seeing this, Alvin wasted no more time. Grabbing Klein's shoulder, he appeared the next moment on the Adela Sea north of Port Belen in the Southern Continent.
...
Inside the temple of Howling Town, after further in-depth understanding of matters related to dragon reverence, Ebner had roughly grasped the situation. The ancient dragon residing in the collective subconscious sea of the elves was likely in poor condition. Its responses to "believers'" prayers were more akin to an "automatic reply" mechanism, and the "soothing" effect was quite limited. Otherwise, the entire town would probably already be filled with Its followers.
"That little elf girl's so-called Grandpa 'Taro' was a firm dragon worshiper and had even entered that ancient dragon's dream. That's why he witnessed so many scenes from the Second Epoch and painted them after waking.
"And the name 'Taro' itself was obtained in the dream… Supposedly from a horned red giant?
"Heh, if that ancient dragon has nothing to do with the 'God of Luck,' I'll write my surname 'Liu' backward!
"Moreover, as a Mind Dragon, yet able to lurk within the Elven King's Court in the Second Epoch and see so many scenes accessible only to the elven upper echelons… most likely it was also because the 'God of Luck' provided cover.
"It can't possibly be an elven dragon, right? That species doesn't even exist in Lord of the Mysteries!"
With more intelligence to support him, once Ebner used his "Insight" ability, he "saw through" the secrets of the little elf girl and her Grandpa "Taro" at a glance, without any need for questioning.
"Hm, the reason that ancient dragon is in such poor condition is because it was 'polluted' by some terrifying thing. Taking advantage of its final moments of clarity, it entered the collective subconscious sea of this town that worships the 'God of Luck,' perhaps to seek shelter from the 'Unknown'?
"And something that can make a Sequence 2 angel feel 'terrified' would be nothing more than 'Sefirah,' 'Old Ones,' or 'Outer Gods'…
"What exactly did it come into contact with?
"And lastly, what is its relationship with the 'God of Luck'?"
Because many of these questions couldn't be answered, Ebner did not rashly enter the ancient dragon's subconscious. He decided to find some "cannon fodder" to scout the way first…
And the "King of the Black Seat," Barros Hopkins, was a good candidate!
Of course, under normal circumstances, someone as cautious as him would never choose to take the risk personally… so he would need to be forced!
With that thought, Ebner looked toward Klein and Sharon, who had already entered combat with the pirate fleet. He directed the "Yellow Saintess" marionette, the "Gray Saintess" and "Black Saintess" projections controlled by Torznina, as well as the Succubus progenitor Mollica occupying the body of the "Blue Saintess," each holding a longsword he had crafted, to conceal themselves around the fleet.
As for Ebner himself, he drew forth a projection of Bernadette as the "Knowledge Emperor" from that one day and displayed the signature ability of a "Mystery Pryer":
"Mystical Reenactment—Zhu Xian Sword Formation."
(End of Chapter)