Chapter 82: Gone

Chapter 82: Gone

Amid the long sigh that came from the depths of the church, the muscles in Klein’s and Alger’s backs tightened at the same time, and adrenaline surged wildly.

Without hesitation, the glove on Klein’s left palm turned transparent. His entire person abruptly vanished and reappeared beside the Hanged Man.

As he reached out toward the other man’s shoulder, the Wraith Senor also picked up the jellyfish-like Beyonder characteristic and, through Mirror Jump, returned to the gold coin inside the iron cigarette case.

Immediately afterward, Klein’s and Alger’s bodies faded at the same time, turning incorporeal. The entire burial hall instantly returned to silence.

The two directly teleported into midair far away, appearing amid crimson moonlight and the shadows of the clouds.

Subconsciously, Klein and Alger turned back at the same time, looking toward the primitive island, wanting to know what exactly would happen.

After all, just now they had only heard that sigh. Before they had sensed any substantial danger, they had already made the decision to flee immediately based on instinct and experience. At this moment, they inevitably felt somewhat curious and confused.

In their vision, the heavy fog enveloping the primitive island was swiftly dispersing, allowing the moonlight high in the sky to fall straight through, no longer obstructed.

Amid the howling gale, Klein and Alger floated in midair. Through the already thinning fog, they clearly saw the primitive island’s current state:

It was gone.

This primitive island, where a demigod-level Feathered Serpent and all kinds of extraordinary creatures lived, was gone!

In the area where it had originally been, dark-blue, almost black seawater gently swayed. There was not the slightest abnormality.

Alger could not help reaching into his pocket to touch the items inside. His fingers brushed against the six-winged gargoyle’s core crystal, which made his thoughts slow slightly.

If not for the spoils of battle still existing, he would definitely suspect that what had just happened was a dream. He would suspect that he and Gehrman Sparrow had somehow gotten lost, failed to find the true primitive island, and completed an exploration only in a dream.

Klein had similar thoughts, and he even wondered whether he was hallucinating in that moment. After all, a large island home to many powerful creatures and hiding secrets of the mythical age could not simply vanish the moment it was gone, without even leaving a corresponding trace in the seawater.

Good thing we did not hesitate at all and directly chose to retreat. Otherwise, Mr. Hanged Man and I might have vanished the same way, never to be found again…

An immense feeling of relief suddenly rose in Klein’s heart. He did not dare remain any longer. Once again, he activated Travel and disappeared from midair with Alger, passing through the spirit world.

The final image of that sea region frozen in their eyes was of fog spreading again, growing thicker and thicker.

After another teleportation, Klein and Alger returned to the previous uninhabited island, standing on a reef as the waves swallowed the beach with splashing sounds.

Alger looked left and right, breathed out soundlessly, and took out the six-winged gargoyle’s core crystal and eyes.

“These are shared spoils. You choose first.”

After weighing the matter, he counted only the six-winged gargoyle as a creature the two of them had jointly killed. The three deceased belonged solely to Gehrman Sparrow.

Klein did not respond directly. He had the Wraith Senor appear beside him, taking out the Tyrant card, the brown earth-like Beyonder characteristic, and the jellyfish-like Beyonder characteristic, the latter suspected to correspond to Ocean Songster.

Only after doing all this did he speak.

“One battle. I choose first, three times.”

What he meant was that this belonged to the two of them’s encounter battle against three dead men and one six-winged gargoyle. The other party had also made considerable contributions to the overall battle situation, so all the spoils gained in the burial hall would be considered communal.

Of course, based on their contributions, Gehrman Sparrow had the right to choose first—and to choose three times in a row.

Alger froze for a moment, gained a new understanding of the mad adventurer, then nodded.

“Alright.”

Klein immediately reached toward his marionette and calmly took the card with Roselle’s face on it.

“This counts as two choices.”

With this Card of Blasphemy, when paired with the Sea God Scepter, he could, while acting in spirit body form, barely count as a pseudo-demigod.

It would also be extremely useful when playing the role of “Sea God.”

Of course, the Tyrant card’s greatest value lay in its full set of potion formulas for the Storm pathway, and in its ability to let the holder subtly sense the materials needed after reaching Sequence 4.

It was precisely because of this that Klein had stopped midway to divide the spoils before returning to the City of Generosity, Bayam. He feared that the Tyrant card might directly attract Sea King, Yan Kottman.

You can count it however many times you say it counts…

Alger did not refute Gehrman Sparrow’s words, nor did he wish to. He watched as the other man reached toward the jellyfish-like Beyonder characteristic that very likely corresponded to Ocean Songster.

To Klein, this could be used to create a mystical item in the Storm domain, replacing the merman cufflinks that had been abducted by Hell Admiral. It could also one day be bestowed upon the Resistance in the Rorsted Archipelago, improving their survivability at sea—provided, of course, that they greatly pleased the Sea God.

Putting away the Tyrant card and the jellyfish-like Beyonder characteristic, Klein glanced at the Hanged Man, signaling that it was his turn to choose.

After considering, Alger said, “May I choose the Sequence 4 potion formula inside that Card of Blasphemy?”

“No problem,” Klein answered with no visible expression. “I will give it to you later.”

Although the Tyrant card was already unlocked, activating it would inevitably cause a certain commotion. Therefore, to be cautious, Klein decided to wait until he returned to Backlund and study it above the gray fog.

“Alright.” With Alger’s depth of composure, he still could not stop a faint smile from appearing at that moment.

After this adventure, once his Ocean Songster potion was almost digested, he would have to demonstrate his abilities and follow the Church’s internal promotion path. At that time, the problem of drinking too much potion would not be too serious. Even if he did not find someone to have a child with, relying on time’s accumulation, he could ultimately resolve it completely. The key obstacle was that from Sequence 5 to Sequence 4 was a transformation in essence—a rise in the level of life. Inside the Church of Storms, who knew how many Ocean Songsters had struggled for decades without obtaining the opportunity? Alger did not believe that he, a mixed-blood man who had climbed up step by step from a servant, would receive any preferential treatment. If he suffered a little less discrimination, he would already feel fortunate and thank himself for being good at dealing with people.

Furthermore, within the Church, advancement to Sequence 4 was handled by directly giving the potion. There was no such thing as learning the formula in advance and making personal preparations. If Alger wanted to seize an advantage in that terrifying competition, he not only had to render a merit that ranked in the top three, but also find another method.

His current idea was to kill a famous pirate, “take” the Cataclysmic Interrer potion formula from him, and have the clues point toward the mutated deceased on the primitive island—who should have been a great pirate once active at sea, then suddenly vanished without trace.

In that way, the upper ranks of the Church of Storms would inevitably suspect that the vanished great pirate had obtained a Card of Blasphemy, which was undoubtedly true and could be verified through various means.

Alger could then use the advantage of already knowing the Cataclysmic Interrer potion formula to obtain the opportunity to become Sequence 4.

Of course, that assumes the Church does not possess a sealed artifact capable of directly erasing the related memories… If this method does not work, and if there really is no chance to advance, I will secretly collect the corresponding materials myself and prepare the required ritual. Once I become Sequence 4, I will immediately leave the Church and become a pirate king…

Alger withdrew his thoughts and saw Gehrman Sparrow take the brown earth-like Beyonder characteristic.

Glancing at the remaining items, he took the gray-white, semi-transparent crystal cluster and handed the six-winged gargoyle’s eyes to Gehrman Sparrow.

For him, a man not lacking in powerful offensive methods and capable on land, sea, and air, a mystical item made from this Beyonder material should be quite useful.

When they were in the burial hall, if he had not been unsure whether Psychic Piercing could affect the six-winged gargoyle—and if the battle situation had not allowed the slightest mistake—his first choice would definitely have been to use Whip of the Mind.

After the spoils were divided, stored in different boxes, and sealed with walls of spirituality, Klein retrieved the Wraith Senor. Then he reached out again, grabbed the Hanged Man, and had their figures fade, entering the spirit world.

After this Travel, the two appeared on the seaside mountain outside Bayam, still near the cemetery, as if they had never left.

Alger did not ramble. He nodded to Gehrman Sparrow.

“If you need to make mystical items, I will bear the corresponding cost.

“Happy cooperation.”

Wearing the transparent glove, Klein gave an “mm,” and his figure suddenly disappeared.

He left the Hanged Man behind and directly teleported to a secluded corner inside Bayam.

“Next, I need to choose one lucky pirate…”

Klein looked around, muttering soundlessly while stretching his fingers and walking toward the main street.

Of course, he did not forget to change his appearance and smear blood over Leymano’s Travels. After all, Gehrman Sparrow’s wanted posters were plastered everywhere, and Sea King Yan Kottman stood guard over this city. If he were recognized, or if he became lost, that would not be good.

…

Halfway up the mountain outside the city, Alger looked up at the deep-black night sky, the crimson moon, and the sparse stars. He slowly inhaled, then exhaled, letting the refreshing, salty sea breeze cleanse his body.

The exploration just now had been the most dangerous adventure he had ever experienced. If Gehrman Sparrow had not borrowed Travel from Creeping Hunger, Alger suspected that the two of them might not have been able to escape alive.

“Still, as Mr. Fool’s Blessed, the World should have had other trump cards—such as the demigod-level Beyonder abilities in Leymano’s Travels…

“But if that had happened, we might not necessarily have reached the burial hall smoothly. There would have been more trouble along the way…

“Uh. That Storm pathway Card of Blasphemy was the goal that made him restrain his madness… Was this Mr. Fool’s instruction? As expected, He had foreseen this long ago! Perhaps He even knows the existence who sighed from the depths of the church!

“Back then, Qilangos may have seen the Tyrant card but lacked the ability to obtain it, which was why he spoke that way…”

Thoughts surging, Alger slowly walked toward the foot of the mountain.