Chapter 99: Displaying Might

Chapter 99: Displaying Might

Boom! Boom!

Inside an underground shelter somewhere in Backlund, Audrey, dressed in hunting attire, tilted her head and listened to the explosions that still seemed to be coming from far away.

When she turned back, she happened to see Melissa looking at her with a faintly dazed expression.

The young woman, who had only just come of age, asked in a voice as distant as sleep-talking, “Miss Audrey, if we suffer a complete defeat, will the war end? Will we no longer have to worry about shelling, bombings, and food shortages?”

Audrey looked at her deeply and said, “But if that happens, you will have to change your faith.”

Melissa hesitated, not knowing how to answer. At that moment, a commoner curled up beside the wall blurted out,

“I believe in the God of Steam and Machinery! Even if Feysac and Intis win, I won’t need to convert!”

When that time came, life could return to its former warmth and peace.

Those words stirred many of the civilians hiding in the shelter. They began whispering among themselves, frequently exchanging opinions about possible developments, and there was no lack of believers of Evernight among them.

For most people, faith was not so important when weighed against life itself. In the end, the one protecting them would still be a true god.

The police officers maintaining order in the shelter did nothing to stop the unrest from spreading. They looked on coldly, even with a faint trace of anticipation.

But what the defeated will suffer will be far crueler than you can imagine. It can’t be summed up by a simple change of faith… Whether from the lessons history had left behind or the conclusions she could draw from the present state of people’s hearts, Audrey was more pessimistic than everyone else here.

She swept her gaze around and couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

The Goddess’s anchors have already been shaken on a large scale… If not for the food distributed earlier still supporting them, they might already have collapsed completely…

Audrey knew very well what this situation meant. She closed her eyes, lifted her face slightly, and silently murmured,

“The war of gods is about to begin…”

And the final result would soon be revealed.

After nodding to Melissa, Audrey turned and left that area, arriving near the shelter’s exit.

Susie, the golden retriever, was crouching there like a qualified guard.

“You do not seem to intend to return?” Susie’s nose twitched as she asked in a lowered voice.

Audrey had only hidden in this shelter when the siege began that day and had not had time to return to her family’s residence in Queen Borough. As the battle eased slightly, Earl Hall had twice sent people to urge her home, to enter the shelter reserved for the nobles.

Audrey shook her head and said with a faint smile, “I need to do something I should do.”

Before Susie could respond, Audrey continued, still smiling, “Stay here in my place. Secretly soothe their emotions and don’t let disorder break out here. If they want to pet you, you may let them do so appropriately.”

Susie hesitated for two seconds before saying, “All right.”

Audrey said nothing more. She left the shelter through the exit, and the soldiers responsible for guarding it completely ignored her.

Outside, the sky was dim and heavy. Many buildings had already collapsed, burning with flames that were close to dying out. The streets were empty, without carriages or pedestrians.

This was completely different from the Backlund in Audrey’s memory.

The old Backlund had been blue, yellow, and creamy white. It had been bustling, prosperous, and full of vitality. Now it was gray, black, and crimson; withered, disorderly, and faintly deathly still.

Audrey glanced left and right. Dressed in her hunting outfit, she determined her direction and headed toward the edge of the city.

What she intended to do was simple:

Join this war and, within her capabilities, help Loen’s forces avoid collapsing before the war of gods ended.

If the victorious side in the war of gods turned out to be the enemy, then she would use Suggestion, Hypnosis, Psychic Plague, and every method available to her to dispel the venting emotions of soldiers, officers, and Beyonders, reducing the harm brought about by war.

Between patches of wavering flame, Audrey swiftly passed through the streets and rushed into the distance.

…

In the Rorsted Archipelago, in the City of Generosity, Bayam, inside a room high in the Cathedral of Waves.

Danitz, wearing a black cloak, met the cardinal of the Church of Storms famed across the Five Seas—the Senior Deacon of the Mandated Punishers, the Sea King, Jahn Kottman.

After glancing at the bulging muscles that completely filled out the other man’s clerical robes, Danitz swallowed the words that had been on the tip of his tongue. After a moment of consideration, he said,

“I bring goodwill.”

For some reason, he felt his skin tingling, as though invisible lightning were leaping over it.

“Goodwill?” Jahn Kottman, tall and burly, with hard and deeply carved features, snorted.

Heh. If not for the fact that fellows from the Sailor pathway tend to be hot-tempered and often can’t tell the difference between a joke and mockery, exploding with anger without even considering the bigger picture, why would I need to speak like this… Damn it! Danitz muttered a few words inwardly, maintained his smile, and repeated the resistance army’s intentions in full.

Jahn Kottman stared at this great pirate, whom no one knew for certain had left the Golden Dream or not, then suddenly gave a derisive laugh.

“If we withdraw most of our forces, can you hold Bayam? Can you hold the archipelago?

“If you can’t, and the combined fleets of Feysac and Feynapotter break through your defenses, how will you guarantee the interests of the Loen immigrants?”

As the demigod directly involved, Jahn Kottman was absolutely certain that the Sea God Kalvetua had already perished. What he did not know was who exactly was now wearing the title of Sea God, or whether that being had sufficient ability to protect the Rorsted Archipelago.

That’s a good question… Having questions means there’s a possibility of successful negotiation… In truth, Danitz had not considered how the resistance army would resist Feysac and Feynapotter once Loen transferred its powerhouses back to reinforce Backlund. He had complete confidence that Gehrman Sparrow and Mr. Fool behind him had enough ability to protect this place.

As his thoughts raced, Danitz looked at the extremely oppressive Sea King opposite him and said,

“I will pray to my Lord and ask Him to protect the Rorsted Archipelago.”

“Mm?” Sea King Jahn Kottman narrowed his eyes and took a step forward.

The aura from the Tyrant pathway immediately forced Danitz to take two steps back. Lowering his head, he began praying on the spot.

“Blessed of the sea and the spirit world, Protector of the Rorsted Archipelago, Ruler of undersea creatures, Master of tsunamis and storms, the great Kalvetua, please descend Your power and protect the archipelago…”

After finishing the prayer, Danitz cautiously cast his gaze out the window, but he found nothing abnormal.

Jahn Kottman sized him up for several seconds and said, “Your god doesn’t seem to have answered you…”

“Ahem.” Danitz cleared his throat, feeling his heartbeat hammer like a drum.

At that moment, the sky outside suddenly darkened, as though a mass of clouds had flown over and blotted out the sun.

Sea King Jahn Kottman instinctively turned his head and looked out the window. He saw that, where the sea met the sky, a layer of shadow had spread.

With his control over the waters around the archipelago, the cardinal of the Church of Storms swiftly obtained a full picture of the situation in his mind.

The Rorsted Archipelago, along with the surrounding seas, had been enveloped in dense fog. Everything had become indistinct and somewhat unreal.

A seabird flew past and tried to land on the cliff by the harbor, but it passed straight through and failed to perch.

The ordinary people within the archipelago continued living normally, only feeling that another storm was about to arrive.

This… Jahn Kottman’s deep blue pupils widened considerably. By instinct, he turned back to look at Danitz, who claimed to be the Sea God’s blessed.

Danitz’s mouth hung slightly open. He had forgotten to close it, and his shock was in no way less than the Sea King’s.

A few seconds later, the fog dispersed, the shadow receded, and everything in the Rorsted Archipelago returned to its previous state.

“…” Danitz blinked. When Sea King Jahn Kottman looked over again, he chuckled and said, “My Lord has answered the prayer.”

At the same time, this great pirate, whose bounty had already exceeded ten thousand pounds, viciously slapped himself twice in his heart.

Damn it! You actually dared doubt Mr. Fool! So this is the might of Mr. Fool?

Jahn Kottman remained silent for a few seconds before saying, “I will carefully consider your proposal. I will immediately summon several important figures in Bayam to discuss this matter. I will give you an answer in one hour.”

Danitz lifted his chin slightly and laughed. “I will wait patiently.”

With that, he followed a Hunter’s instinct, gave a careless bow, turned, and walked out of the room.

Amid the creak of the door, one streak of silver-white lightning after another lit up within Jahn Kottman’s blue eyes.

…

Above the gray fog, inside the ancient palace.

Klein tossed the “curtain” in his hand back into the “iron pot” and sealed it again.

Just now, he had used the ability of the Sequence 1 Servant of Mysteries to mobilize the power of Sefirah Castle and make a response, producing an effect that shocked even Sea King Jahn Kottman.

In another half day, the Servant of Mysteries Beyonder characteristic will separate out. The remainder can be used directly to concoct the Miracle Invoker potion. Mm, once it only has the status of Sequence 2 left, I can try using Sefirah Castle’s power to crush and reorganize it, separating out the Ancient Scholar and Bizarro Sorcerer characteristics within a comparatively short time, reducing the risk brought by the potion… Klein muttered a few words, then quickly returned to the real world.

The place where he currently was was not the dark and sunken wilderness, but the Giant King’s Court frozen in twilight.

He had entered the Giant King’s Court before the City of Silver’s exploration team reached the camp in Afternoon Town.

In the orange-red light, Klein felt the decay and exhaustion of his body as he cast his gaze toward the magnificent and dazzling complex high above.

Those countless palaces and towers still retained the afterglow of the Second Epoch, as if a myth or legend had taken shape before him.

No. This was myth and legend.

Before the City of Silver’s exploration team officially took action, Klein planned to make an attempt by himself to open the palace where the Dark Angel Sasrir slept.

This way, if something unexpected truly happened, the City of Silver’s exploration team would still have time to make targeted preparations. As for Klein himself, because he would be using an image from the fog of history, he would definitely be far, far safer than anyone else.