Chapter 69: Switching to Another Target

Chapter 69: Switching to Another Target

Upon the Fog Sea, untouched for the moment by the dark clouds of war, the Future slowly sailed in the direction of the Berserk Sea, escorted by one ship after another.

With nothing pressing to handle recently, and while waiting for the Moses Ascetic Order to respond to her request, Admiral of Stars Cattleya strolled along the deck, enjoying the sunlight that pierced through the thin mist.

As her gaze swept past, she saw Frank Lee.

The first mate of the Future and second-in-command of the Star Pirates wore pale-blue trousers made of thick sailcloth and a white shirt whose top two buttons were undone, revealing dense brown chest hair. He looked like a giant bear transformed into human form.

He stood at the bow, staring into the distance, seemingly pondering something. His entire person gave off an unusually dejected air.

Cattleya’s steps slowed of their own accord. Then she turned, intending to enter the cabin.

“Captain!” Frank noticed her and looked over, face full of expectation, as though waiting for Admiral of Stars to resolve his confusion.

Cattleya’s figure abruptly stopped. She pushed the heavy glasses on the bridge of her nose and asked in a tone that sounded like casual conversation, “What are you troubled by?”

Frank thought about how best to phrase his problem, then answered seriously, “I am re-examining the inventions and creations I have made over all these years.”

“…And what have you concluded?” Cattleya asked cooperatively.

Frank nodded and said with distress, “There are too many things that require reflection.

“Among them, the most crucial point is that the things I created still lack the most important thing.”

Cattleya felt puzzled and did not wish to continue asking. But in the end, out of responsibility toward every crew member aboard the Future, she carefully considered her words and asked, “What is it?”

Frank’s expression instantly turned solemn.

“They all lack souls!”

“It is a good thing that wheat, grapes, and mushrooms do not have souls…” Cattleya subconsciously persuaded him with that sentence before adding, “This is not a domain you can touch right now. You are only a Sequence 5 Druid.”

Frank’s eyes lit up as he listened. He blurted out, “I understand!”

Cattleya’s face wrinkled almost imperceptibly.

“What do you understand?”

Frank swept away the gloom from earlier.

“I understand where the problem lies. The creation I want has already exceeded the limits of a Druid’s abilities.

“So, Captain, I won’t remain a Druid. I want to become a Classical Alchemist!”

That was Sequence 4 of the Planter pathway, the starting point of demigods.

Admiral of Stars Cattleya’s expression froze for several seconds. Then she put on the bearing of a captain and a demigod and nodded lightly.

“It is good to have a goal, but you must understand how difficult it is.”

What she implied was: do not hold out too much hope, and do not treat this goal too seriously.

Having received “encouragement,” Frank Lee immediately nodded heavily.

“I will work hard!”

In order to prevent Frank Lee from acting recklessly, Cattleya decided to keep the progress of this matter under her own control.

“I will help you as well.”

When the time came, even if there was some result, she could still tell Frank Lee, “Unfortunately…”

Frank was extremely happy and thanked the captain from the bottom of his heart. Then he said, “I will also write to Gehrman Sparrow and ask him to provide some help.

“He is my good friend!”

What Frank did not know was that the few letters he had written over the past half year had followed an extremely complicated process:

They were given to the messenger; the messenger handed them to Forsi; and Forsi either passed them on at Tarot Gatherings or requested Mr. Fool’s help.

Cattleya pushed her thick glasses again and said nothing more. She turned and entered the cabin.

Back inside the captain’s cabin, before she had time to think about what had just happened, she saw an extra letter on the desk where the brass sextant was placed.

Joy surged in Cattleya’s heart. Without bothering to use Beyonder powers, she strode over, picked up the letter, and opened it.

It came from Bernadette. After a few simple greetings, she directly wrote:

“If you have free time recently, come secretly to Lasha.”

Lasha was a very secluded island in the Fog Sea. Hidden there was the Queen of Mysteries’ palace—the Emerald City.

Cattleya reread that line several times. The corners of her lips lifted unconsciously.

…

Backlund, West Borough, inside the Odora family villa.

Emlyn White once again met the Sanguine baron Casimi Odora, who had the appearance of a middle-aged gentleman.

“What did Lord Nibbs say?” Emlyn controlled his emotions, doing his best not to seem too eager.

Casimi looked at Emlyn’s crimson eyes and said, “He only asked me to tell you that the entire Sanguine race has no extra Earl Beyonder characteristic. We can only wait for an existing earl to pass away from old age or accident and leave an inheritance.”

Compared to humans, the Sanguine possessed long lives. Even ordinary members without noble titles could live roughly three hundred years. Under such circumstances, they could accumulate bit by bit, filling every level and leaving few Beyonder characteristics unclaimed.

Therefore, whether an ordinary member wished to advance to baron, or a baron wished to become a viscount, it was never easy. They either had to wait for an existing member to die, obtain it from outside, or render enough merit to receive a precious bestowment.

Compared to the first two ranks, for a viscount to become an earl was even more difficult. Sanguine earls were already demigods and could easily live for more than a thousand years. Those viscounts might have to wait generation after generation before they had any hope of an earl passing away.

Because of this, as soon as an Earl characteristic became vacant, it would be immediately assigned rather than placed in a “warehouse.”

Baron and Viscount characteristics still existed, more or less, in the Sanguine treasury in the form of Beyonder ingredients or sealed artifacts, though the number was not high and each bestowment had to be strictly reviewed. But when it came to Earl characteristics, there was truly not a single spare portion.

This answer was within Emlyn’s expectations. He looked at Baron Casimi and nodded gently.

“In other words, as long as an earl passes away, it will be my turn?”

“No.” Casimi shook his head. “Although you have already accumulated considerable merits, your order of priority has not yet reached first place.”

“What rank am I?” Emlyn first furrowed his brows faintly, then immediately relaxed them, not allowing himself to appear too obvious.

Casimi coughed once and cleared his throat.

“Twelfth.”

…Even when the apocalypse arrives, it might not be my turn… Since the Ancestor has given me the heavy responsibility of saving the race, why didn’t She arrange these matters properly? My Crimson Scholar potion has been digested for several months already… Could this be another test? Emlyn silently grumbled. After several seconds of silence, he asked thoughtfully, “If I obtain an Earl characteristic from elsewhere, will the race help me prepare the ritual?”

Casimi breathed out and said, “Of course!”

Emlyn did not stay any longer. He left the Odora family villa and took a carriage back to his residence.

Ever since Feynapotter declared war on Loen, he had never again gone to Harvest Church. He had only heard from The Star that its door had been smashed open and many things inside had been stolen, turning it into a place where vagrants lived.

As for Father Utravsky, he spent half a month inside a cell behind Chanis Gate and half a month in a room on the upper floor of Saint Samuel Cathedral, right beside the Archbishop of Backlund. This repeated continuously in cycles.

This was because they worried that a long stay behind Chanis Gate would cause Father Utravsky to suffer irreversible, untreatable erosion. And with the situation so tense, the Church of Evernight hoped to preserve a buffer point so that they could use it in the future to express goodwill and open negotiations.

Although Emlyn was not a believer of Evernight, and even disliked churches somewhat, he still went to Saint Samuel Cathedral twice every month to visit Father Utravsky.

“Where can I obtain an Earl characteristic…” Feeling that he had fallen behind and might not be able to bear the responsibility of saving his race, Emlyn looked at the desolate streets while seriously considering every possibility.

He soon had a few ideas.

“Madam Hermit mentioned that the Aurora Order’s Dark Saint grazes a Witch King, which corresponds to an Earl characteristic. If we can hunt that demigod of the Shepherd pathway the same way we lured and killed the Saint of Secrets, then the problem will be solved…

“But after the previous lesson, the Dark Saint probably won’t step into a trap so easily again…

“There is also the possibility of directly attracting a King of Angels…”

This was something everyone had discussed at Tarot Gatherings. The conclusion was that, for the coming year, they should walk around the Aurora Order and avoid provoking them as much as possible.

Aside from the Sequence 4 Witch King characteristic possessed by the Dark Saint, Emlyn White could think of only one remaining place:

“The Rose School of Thought!”

Whether it was the artificial vampires of the Life School of Thought or the original “Primordial Moon” worshippers of the Southern Continent, they now all belonged to the Rose School of Thought.

Of course, there were certainly some fellows who pursued freedom and had not joined any organization. But either their Sequence was not high, or not enough intelligence about them had circulated.

The moment he thought of the Rose School of Thought, Emlyn immediately remembered one person:

Maric!

Maric represented the temperance faction of the Rose School of Thought, the force resisting the Mother Tree of Desire.

“They also seem to want to obtain certain things from the Rose School of Thought. Perhaps I can seek cooperation with them…” Emlyn nodded almost imperceptibly.

…

Moon City.

A portion of the residents gathered at the entrance, looking slightly anxious. From time to time, they cast their gazes eastward.

They were the relatives of those people led by High Priest Nim, and also representatives of most of Moon City’s residents.

Finally, specks of firelight appeared. High Priest Nim brought Rus and the others back to Moon City, drawing closer from the distance.

A man went forward. His gaze fell upon his older sister, and he discovered that traces of tears still lingered upon her face.

This Moon City resident, who was not deformed, felt his younger brother’s gaze. Unable to suppress the throbbing in her heart, she opened her mouth, and tears flowed before words emerged.

“God… God has come to save us…” she cried.

She cried with grief. She cried without restraint.