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Ferran followed Danitz's steps and arrived at an inconspicuous room near the port.
Danitz knocked heavily on the door. A moment later, a hunched old man, reeking of alcohol and a bit tipsy, opened the door, holding a local "Bayam Blackland" in his hand.
Seeing this, Danitz cleared his throat, took a step forward, and whispered to the old man:
"What are you doing? I sent you a telegram yesterday saying I was bringing a new crew member to check out the contact point today. Your drunken state has completely disgraced Blazing Danitz, you know?"
Then, somewhat awkwardly, he turned to Ferran behind him and explained:
"This is Old Lynn, one of our 'Golden Dream' contacts in the Rorsted Archipelago."
"Uh, he likes to drink, but he's very capable and has never affected the transmission of messages, so you can rest assured."
Ferran's mouth twitched, but he said nothing, following Danitz's steps inside.
After listening to Old Lynn's somewhat slurred introduction, Danitz cleared his throat and looked at Ferran Eddas, who was dressed in native attire, and said:
"What I just introduced to you is our usual method of information contact. You can learn about it, and I'll take you to practice it when I have the chance in the future."
"Hmm, to complete the captain's mission faster and better, I thought of a way."
Before Ferran could ask, Danitz chuckled conspiratorially and lowered his voice:
"I plan to take you to visit a local force. Spreading news through them is much faster and safer than doing it ourselves."
"Maybe we can find some good things there, hehe, they have a considerable demand for Beyonder materials, food, and weapons."
"What local force?" Ferran Eddas asked somewhat confusedly, muttering to himself, "They actually acquire Beyonder materials, food, and weapons?"
Ferran, who mainly studied Beyonder knowledge on the Golden Dream, did not understand the forces or history of Bayam and was momentarily surprised that a force dared to acquire contraband here.
Danitz scrutinized Ferran Eddas, and seeing the confusion on the new crew member's face, he, for once, found a psychological advantage and laughed:
"It's those rebels who shout about independence and locals managing local affairs."
"Their main base is deep in the jungle, and on the Sea, they cooperate with many pirates and adventurers."
"Of course, they are mainly supported by Feysac and Intis. Missionaries of the God of Combat and Eternal Blazing Sun often sneak over here."
Ferran Eddas suddenly understood. Having been at Sea for so long, he had some understanding of the secret struggles and various schemes between the major Churches.
He then nodded slightly, not opposing the visit to that local force.
After reaching a consensus, the two left the contact point. Ferran, led by Danitz, who had blackened his face, walked through streets and alleys, heading southeast.
After leaving the earliest area of the City of Generosity, they entered an area with distinct architectural styles. There were houses supported by wooden piles with empty ground floors, and three or four-story buildings in a row, evolved from Loen-style small buildings.
The roads they separated were narrow and dirty, with many stalls on both sides selling various stone ornaments: headwear, earrings, and hand ornaments, with vibrant red and colorful ones being the most numerous.
"They're a bunch of guys with strange aesthetics, liking particularly bright colors, just like venomous snakes in the jungle," Danitz muttered softly.
Passing by dark-skinned, thin, and shriveled natives, and through alleys with clothes drying overhead, their vision suddenly opened up to a not-too-large square.
In the square, a group of locals surrounded a central pool, either kneeling, prostrating, muttering to themselves, or singing softly, their expressions devout yet numb.
As soon as they sensed someone approaching, they suddenly rose and rushed into the surrounding alleys in a panic.
All the windows on the second, third, and fourth floors of the surrounding houses slammed shut, and the square became quite quiet. But Ferran's spiritual intuition told him that many people were behind the windows, at alley corners, and in dark corners, watching the strangers who had suddenly intruded into this space.
Danitz lowered his head and said in a suppressed voice:
"Don't mind them, this is their self-protection."
"Hmm?" Ferran expressed his confusion.
Danitz chuckled:
"Before being completely colonized, the natives of the Rorsted Archipelago always believed in the 'Sea God' Kalvetua, believing that this deity, often appearing as a giant Sea snake, protected all the islands here from being swallowed by earthquakes and tsunamis."
"Now, this belief has been openly abolished, and the Church of the Lord of Storms has been cracking down on heretics. Even the Church of the Evernight Goddess and the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery cannot expand their influence here, with only a few churches."
"But in reality, such a belief of hundreds or thousands of years is not so easy to eradicate. Bayam, Blue Mountain Island, and the Rorsted Sea area still have many believers of the 'Sea God'."
"Even if a group of people is arrested and subjected to various extreme punishments every one or two months, this situation cannot be reversed in a short time. The main pillars of those rebels are the believers of the 'Sea God'."
The "Sea God" Kalvetua... its image is a giant Sea snake...
Ferran listened thoughtfully, secretly guessing that the Sea God should be a high-Sequence strong person of the Sailor pathway. He continued to follow Danitz into a four-story house on the front right, walking up the narrow stairs to the top floor.
Danitz turned back and warned, "The people here are a bit abnormal. Don't talk later; I'll deal with them."
Ferran looked suspiciously at a certain Hunter, then reluctantly nodded under Danitz's glare.
Thump thump thump! Danitz knocked on the door to his left.
"Who is it?" a low voice asked from inside.
Danitz chuckled and replied:
"A friend bringing fine wine and roasted meat."
"Where is it?" the person inside asked a strange question.
Danitz stepped back and said:
"On the Sea."
Creak, the door slowly opened, and Ferran saw a shirtless man standing behind the door, with a blue-green ferocious Sea snake tattooed on his arm.
Ferran was about to avert his gaze but was almost made to frown by the man's coarse eyebrows and Unwinged Angel animal-like eyes. A faint sense of danger surfaced in his heart.
At least a Beyonder, and he has killed many people...
Ferran made a rough judgment based on his spiritual intuition but did not speak, following behind Danitz into the room.
"Edmonton, who's here?" a mellow voice came from the window.
The tattooed man closed the door as he said, "They've disguised themselves."
Upon entering, there was a living room, not large, and already cramped with just a cabinet, a table, and a few chairs.
The person who had just spoken was a man in his forties, sitting in an iron wheelchair, with a blanket over his knees and wearing a jacket.
He had a shaved head, bluish stubble on both sides of his cheeks, and deep brown eyes with restrained, seemingly waveless emotions.
He glanced at the visitors and slowly smiled: "Blazing, long time no see."
Danitz was stunned for a moment, then forced a smile: "Karat, your eyesight is really good."
At the same time, he secretly decided that after completing this mission and returning, he must learn more about makeup and disguise techniques from the captain.
"What are you doing here? I remember the rumors said you were looking for treasure?"
Karat did not dwell on the previous topic, and Edmonton also walked back behind Karat.
Danitz and Ferran exchanged glances, then Danitz cleared his throat and spoke:
"The captain led us to search the western part of the Berserk Sea for a long time, but there were no clues."
"So we came to Bayam to see if there were any other clues, and by the way, to see what good things you have here."
Karat listened quietly, his eyes narrowed slightly, then pointed to the table and said:
"The usual rules, all the things you want are on it, and I can also buy the materials and items you sell."
On the table were many strangely shaped items, including bone whistles, simple and crude bagpipes, iron-black leaves, and blood-stained stones.
To the right of that pile of items was a slender bone dagger, slightly longer than a forearm, milky white all over, with several dark red, deep patterns.
Ferran's gaze remained on this dagger. He always had a strange feeling, as if this dagger was attracting him.
But his studies on the "Golden Dream" and the captain's teachings made him resist the urge to use his "Spirit Vision," fearing he would see things he shouldn't.
Noticing Ferran's gaze, Karat and Edmonton exchanged glances, then spoke with a smile:
"This bone sword can drain the enemy's blood, it's pretty good. Do you want it?"
Ferran's eyebrows twitched, but he did not speak, shaking his head in silence, and averted his gaze to other items.
A hint of disappointment flashed in Karat's eyes. He did not press further and bought a Beyonder ingredient from Danitz for 60 pounds.
Danitz didn't notice these things. Happily taking the 60 pounds, he was eager to go to the Red Theater and pulled Ferran away.
Seeing the two leave, Karat raised his hand to stop Edmonton, who was about to say something, and spoke in a low voice:
"He has not been chosen by the God. Prepare another sacrifice. Recently, the God's response has become increasingly vague...."
-----------------
Fog Sea, a hidden island near the headquarters of the Moses Ascetic Order.
A tall building made of red bricks stood quietly. The building's exterior was very ordinary, without any mysterious elements, resembling a more common museum or library.
In the center of the building stood three men and one woman. The woman in the middle had simply tied black hair and a pair of very distinctive blue-gray eyes. Her appearance was the type that became more appealing the longer one looked at her.
She wore a men's shirt, paired with a tea-colored thick jacket, and a round-brimmed hat with a dent in the middle lay beside her. She was the very famous Archaeologist and adventurer, Leticia Dolera.
This was a common adventurer's attire at Sea, and the three men standing beside her were also dressed similarly, with obvious signs of sun and rain exposure.
Before the four, a phantom figure, entirely condensed from starlight and whose gender was indiscernible, gradually appeared, its ethereal voice echoing.
"The great 'Star and Moon Pillar' has glimpsed a secret of destiny and sent me to give you a mission. There is an ancient elven ruin in the primeval jungle of an Island in the Rorsted Archipelago."
"You need to secretly infiltrate, take this key to open that ancient elven ruin, and retrieve the 'Book of Calamity' from within."
As the voice drifted, specks of starlight condensed, forming a dazzling key inscribed with complex and strange patterns. In just an instant, this key merged into Leticia Dolera's arm, transforming into a key-shaped symbol.
"With this, you can receive help from the Star and Moon Pillar. Upon completing this mission, you will receive all the contribution needed to be promoted to Sequence 6 'Scrolls Professor'."
"Beware of the false god Kalvetua and his believers...."
Originally, upon hearing that she was going to the Rorsted Archipelago, Leticia felt uneasy. As a member of the Moses Ascetic Order, she knew very well that there was a Sea King from the Church of the Lord of Storms there.
That was a demigod, just like the Star and Moon Pillar, one of the foremost among the ten pillars of the Moses Ascetic Order who issued this mission, not to mention a "false god."
Moreover, going there would require crossing half of the Fog Sea and the entire Berserk Sea, conservatively estimated to take several months. But looking at the patterns on her arm and the phantom's promise, Leticia's mouth felt bitter, but she still nodded in silence.
-----------------
Friday night, Backlund, Empress Borough, East Tucker Family villa.
"George III is summoning me at 3 PM on Saturday? Looks like I need to hurry."
Aaron opened the belated official summons, glanced at its content, muttered, and then tossed it aside.
Thinking about the trade with the Sanguine tomorrow, Aaron felt he needed to make some preparations in advance. After telling the butler he wanted to rest early and not be disturbed, Aaron went to the cubicle and skillfully set up the ritual.
Passing through layers of dark golden mist, Aaron sat on the throne. With a slight thought, he incorporated the black emperor card into his body. The boundless dark golden mist seemed to gather into waves and strong winds.
A majestic armor formed on Aaron's body, a pitch-black crown appeared on his head, and a long cape of the same color draped behind him. Lines imbued with divinity also emerged on the armor.
Holding the "Sun Chaser Scepter" from the clutter pile in his hand, Aaron frantically poured his spirituality into it. As the dark golden mist expanded, golden threads, seemingly condensed from pure light, emerged from the top of the scepter.
They wrapped around the incomplete right hand of the Puppet and several Beyonder characteristics. After placing these items into separate boxes, he felt the strength of the newly applied seals. Due to the high status of the sealed items, the seals would only last for two or three days at most.
"But this time is already enough, as long as the seal doesn't expire before Louise completes the transaction." Aaron nodded in satisfaction. With a slight spiritual movement, the dark golden mist surged, transforming into a phantom figure with twelve wings on its back, suddenly enveloping those items.
After using the angel phantom to erase traces and ensure no one could track them, Aaron threw them into the clutter pile, intending to grant them to Louise through the Sacrifice and Grant door after this Chaos Council meeting.
Pressing his finger on the "Sun Chaser Scepter," as blood gushed out, the negative effects of the "Sun Chaser Scepter" gradually receded.
Feeling that the time was about right, Aaron put the restored "Sun Chaser Scepter" back into the clutter pile, his figure disappearing from the throne. Leaning back in the high-backed chair below, he slightly raised a finger, and several figures immediately appeared below.
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