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Watching the massive fleet enlarge in his pupils, and feeling the oppressive aura emanating from the leading flagship, Anderson reined in his smile, his brow furrowing slightly.
Not far away, Tracy was even more decisive. No longer caring if she would be noticed, a phantom black flame flickered, and her body vanished quickly from her original spot.
Amidst the sudden exclamations, Anderson withdrew his gaze from the Sea, glanced to the side with a slight curl of his lips, as if disdainful, then returned to his stall.
He saw William Blake hastily packing his luggage, looking as if he was rushing to escape, his expression quite similar to some of the pirates around him.
Anderson stood with his arms crossed, a smug expression on his face, watching him pack. Only when all the luggage was packed did he let out a sneer:
"What are you preparing to do? Are you so eager to go on an adventure with me?"
Already accustomed to this guy's foul mouth, William Blake glanced around and said in a low voice:
"I just found out that this fleet was dispatched by Loen to the Southern Continent, preparing to participate in the war in West Balam. They should be here for supplies, and there must be a Demigod among them."
"We're already being hunted by the Iron and Blood Cross Order, so it's best to lie low for now and avoid any unnecessary trouble."
Anderson looked him up and down with an idiotic gaze and retorted:
"Are you a pirate?"
William Blake paused for a second, then shook his head.
"Then are you on the Loen Navy's wanted list?"
Looking at his teammate who was still shaking his head, Anderson naturally retorted:
"Then why are you running?"
"With this Loen Demigod here, even if that not-so-smart Demigod from the Iron and Blood Cross Order knows we're here, he won't come."
Recalling the Demoness who had given him a sense of danger just now, Anderson looked back towards the interior of the island and muttered:
"But we do need to be more low-key. It's not just the Navy that's dangerous here..."
-----------------
In the waters near Bansy Harbor, a cluster of sparkling, crystal-clear bubbles appeared out of thin air, converging to form a human figure.
Bernadette, dressed in a white Intis-style shirt and a dark black jacket, stopped her forward movement because she sensed danger.
As a Sequence 3 "Clairvoyant," she could peer into the secrets of fate, gain revelations, and make prophecies.
It was for this reason that she could, to some extent, also sense the fluctuations of fate, which brought her here. Looking at the vaguely visible Bansy Harbor in the mist, she pondered for a moment, her spirituality stirring.
A pair of cold, emotionless eyes, almost transparent and without eyelashes, emerged, then attached themselves to the Invisible Servant Bernadette had summoned.
Manipulating the Invisible Servant to move slowly, as if breaking through some boundary, Bernadette, through the "Eyes of Mystery Prying," seemed to see a lightning storm encircled by a phantom long river.
As soon as she stepped onto Bansy Harbor, before she could manipulate the Invisible Servant to make any other reactions, a silver-white electric snake directly shattered it. With the blessing of "Clairvoyant," the "Eyes of Mystery Prying" did not immediately disappear.
As if momentarily disoriented, the vision transmitted by the Invisible Servant recovered, and the Invisible Servant returned to its original place, the injuries it had just sustained seemingly an illusion.
Bernadette's eyes darkened. As someone who also controlled a portion of the authority of fate, she was not greatly affected and voluntarily dispersed the Invisible Servant and the Eyes of Mystery Prying.
Looking at the phantom river that subtly enveloped the entire area around Bansy Harbor, Bernadette muttered to herself with some confusion:
"Cycle of Fate... Which one could it be...?"
-----------------
Southern Continent, Paz River Valley, Lloyd City.
This ancient and magnificent city was situated on the vast plains of the Paz River Valley. Unlike other cities, it was divided into an inner city and an outer city, with clear stylistic differences between the two.
The inner city was smaller, with distinct ancient Balam Empire and Highland Kingdom characteristics, while the outer city was much larger, its style leaning entirely towards Loen, with a strong Northern Continent city-state flavor.
As the largest city in the northern part of the Loen Kingdom's East Balam colonial area, the reason for such disparate styles was primarily because Lloyd City itself was built on Hameln City, which was under the rule of the Highland Kingdom.
The original city-state became the inner city, and the newly added outer city was both to strengthen governance and to cope with the covetous Intis Colony to the west.
Aaron sat on the steam special train, looking at the magnificent city outside the window while listening to the introduction of the city.
Ever since the battle at Bansy Harbor ended, Aaron returned to St. Annes, brought Bayer Baile, Harland Rooney, and Evelina with him, found the main force they had separated from earlier, and together they took the steam special train to Lloyd City.
Accompanied by the hum of the train, Aaron was the first to step off and saw the crowd who had already received the news and were waiting there.
Leading them were two men in Loen Lieutenant Colonel military uniforms. One was Glenn Weil, who had arrived earlier, and the other was a young man with golden hair and blue eyes, clearly of Loen descent.
Feeling the unique Law fluctuations of a Judge emanating from the other party, Aaron raised an eyebrow, already guessing his identity: Audrey's second brother, Alfred-Hall.
Aaron smiled and nodded, handing Alfred the letter Audrey had sent with him last time:
"This is what Audrey asked me to give to you."
Alfred calmly took the letter. He didn't think much of it, assuming it was a letter his sister had given him when they were in Backlund. He clearly knew that the two had a good private relationship.
After exchanging pleasantries with the welcoming guests, Glenn Weil led Aaron to a carriage, where a stranger was already seated inside.
Upon Aaron's arrival, the man stood up to bow, and his face underwent a series of changes.
Then a familiar face emerged: it was Darren Sheroto, the Faceless who had arrived in the Southern Continent long ago to handle intelligence work.
As the carriage moved, Darren cautiously inserted a charm into a hidden slot within the carriage compartment. With a burst of spiritual fluctuation, the compartment was isolated from the outside world.
He then lowered his voice and said:
"Earl, my informant in Bayam received a message.
"It seems something big happened in Bansy Harbor."
Unconsciously recalling the battle in Bansy Harbor and somewhat curious about how it ended, Aaron clenched his fist to his mouth, coughed twice, and asked very frankly, without any guilt:
"What happened?"
Darren thought for a moment and said cautiously:
"I'm not sure exactly what happened, only that it might involve high-level power from the Church of the Lord of Storms. It's said that Sea King Jahn Kottman was even injured."
"As a result, the encirclement originally targeting the 'King of the Blood Moon' had to be temporarily suspended."
"And a few days ago, all shipping routes to Bansy Harbor were canceled, and all ships entering the waters near Bansy Harbor disappeared."
Aaron frowned slightly. He indeed didn't know what happened in the end, only that Astolfo, who had acted as bait, had not encountered any problems.
Did some unexpected change happen that I don't know about? Recalling Will Auceptin's last words, Aaron's expression shifted slightly, and he silently prayed for Jahn Kottman in his heart.
Then, suppressing the emotions in his heart, he calmly said:
"What was the outcome? What is the Church of the Lord of Storms' attitude?"
Even if the Punishers are known for being irritable and reckless, in matters of such importance, the necessary procedures will still be followed, such as making preliminary confirmations, and sealing off the surrounding Sea area. Of course, all of this takes time.
Ferran recalled the information from the intelligence report and sighed with a smile:
"There won't be a Bansy Harbor for a long time."
"The Church of the Lord of Storms has officially sealed off that Sea area, and the public announcement states that it's due to an Ancient Bane spirit worshipped in Bansy Harbor."
Aaron hummed in agreement, not offering his own opinion. After thinking for a moment, he changed the subject and asked:
"How is the task I assigned you earlier coming along? Have you investigated it thoroughly?"
This concerned the ritual for advancing to Sequence 5 "Disciplinary Knight," and Aaron, whose Judge potion was almost fully digested, was very serious about it.
Ferran nodded gravely, took out a small booklet from his Inventory and handed it to Aaron, explaining at the same time:
"These are the Intis and Feysac Beyonders who have been confirmed to be lurking in Lloyd City during this period."
"The Intis intelligence department in the Southern Continent is controlled by a 'Marionettist.' This individual also possesses the 'Faceless' ability and has evaded many searches."
"During this time, even with the help of MI9 and the Church, and the use of a certain Sealed Artifact, we haven't been able to pinpoint their location."
Aaron flipped through the roster in his hand and said indifferently:
"The situation is not clear now. Even if Intis is stirring, they haven't entered the war. There's no need for us to provoke them at this point."
Ferran nodded in agreement and said with a smile:
"I think the same as you, Earl, so our main investigative direction is the hidden personnel from Feysac."
"When Feysac suddenly started the war in West Balam, they left many traces in Lloyd City. After such a long time and various methods, we finally determined her identity and address."
"She is now going by the name Valerie Susan and is the owner of a red theater in the outer city, and also a Sequence 5 'Reaper.'"
Aaron's expression was a bit strange. He had never heard of a female "Reaper" before. He wondered what it would be like to become a male...
Quickly stopping his stray thoughts, he glanced at the sunset outside the carriage window and said to Glenn Weil and Darren Sheroto:
"No time to lose, let's act tonight..."
Lloyd Outer City, East Borough. The "Red Rose" theater was still noisy and lively deep into the night.
In the reception room in the backyard, Valerie Susan, with her sturdy build and distinct Northern Continent features, sat sprawled on the sofa. She used dried, yellowish tobacco leaves to wrap nearly ten kinds of Southern Continent herbs and spices layer by layer, cutting them into long strips.
Then, lighting it and biting the end, Valerie Susan took a deep puff and slowly exhaled white smoke tinged with light blue, contentedly saying to the guest on the single sofa beside her:
"Now this is a cigarette, a real cigarette."
Enzo, sitting on the opposite sofa, expressionlessly looked at the somewhat wild lady and went straight to the point:
"Shaman King Klarman is currently occupied and has left Paz River Valley, so he arranged for me to meet with you."
"I can relay anything you need."
Nodding and taking another deep drag from her cigarette, Valerie finally smiled and said:
"No need to be so nervous. Haven't our collaborations with your Rose School of Thought in West Balam been very successful?"
"If all goes well, the war in West Balam might end soon. That Demigod from the East Tucker Family in East Balam is currently confronting the Archbishop of the God of Combat Church."
"Earl Aaron arrived in Lloyd City today. The Archbishop's intention is to invite His Excellency the Shaman King to find an opportunity to ambush and kill him, making the situation even more chaotic."
As soon as Valerie finished speaking, she saw Enzo's face on the opposite side change drastically. The Hunter's instinct gave her a slight premonition of danger.
It came so suddenly, so urgently, that Valerie immediately judged the problem to be significant.
But before she could even lunge from her original position, her vision went dark, as if she had directly seen the deep night outside, and a strong urge to sleep came over her.
Enzo, on the other hand, suddenly had an indescribable, unnameable, strange premonition. He immediately closed his eyes, shutting them tightly.
He didn't know why he was doing this, but as a mid-Sequence Beyonder of the "Fate" Pathway, trusting his intuition was an instinctive reaction!
Immediately after, Enzo frantically turned, trying to rely on his spiritual intuition to rush out of the room, but suddenly his body stiffened, and he stood rooted to the spot, completely sluggish.
"Imprisonment," "Death"...
As the Law was cast, invisible ripples spread, and Aaron's figure suddenly appeared. Without any hesitation, the "Sword of Judgment" in his hand, imbued with the "Death" Law, directly slashed towards Enzo.
Enzo, still with his eyes closed, felt a sudden surge of alarm in his heart. His foot suddenly stepped on a pebble, and his body immediately lost balance, falling heavily to the ground.
Thump!
The pain and shock made Enzo instantly break free from that sluggish state, regaining a smooth feeling.
Enzo was no stranger to such accidents. As a "Winner," he always managed to gain an advantage and seize victory through various low-probability events.
Without any hesitation, having regained his mobility, he instantly directed all the bad luck he had accumulated towards the direction from which the sense of crisis originated.
Enzo, who was still contemplating which direction to escape after the opponent's attack missed, had not even managed to curl his lips when a sharp pain struck, and his consciousness rapidly slipped into a bottomless Abyss.
Looking at the horror and confusion remaining on the tightly shut head, and feeling the Red Moon mark on his wrist, Aaron moved his arm slightly, shaking off the blood from the sword blade.
As a Blessed of Evernight, blessed by the authority of misfortune, even the misfortune of Ricciardo, who was already a Demigod, could not affect me, let alone someone who wasn't even a Demigod.
He withdrew his gaze from the careless unlucky fellow and looked at Valerie, who had already broken free from the Nightmare's influence. Even under the effect of "Imprisonment," she had still reached Aaron's vicinity due to her powerful physical constitution.
Witnessing Enzo's tragic death, and realizing she had fallen into an ambush, she had given up hope of escape and intended to fight with all her might. The silver ring on her index finger disintegrated, condensing into a terrifying "Sword of Dawn."
Bloody light surged, and the greatsword swung out, accompanied by the Reaper's weak point attack. He looked at the suddenly appearing "Sword of Dawn" with some surprise.
Feeling the violent aura, Aaron's expression became a few shades more serious. His figure continuously vanished and reappeared, as if he was running at high speed around Valerie.
Relying on the short-distance teleportation provided by the "Traveler's Badge" and the danger premonition of the "Devil's Button," Aaron could always dodge the opponent's attacks in advance.
For a moment, Valerie, who was driven mad by using this Sealed Artifact, even thought her enemy was not one, but a group.
The Traveler can always create the effect of an encirclement by himself!
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