As the day of George III's nationwide speech gradually drew closer, the situation in Backlund became increasingly turbulent beneath the surface, chaotic and dangerous.
Pedestrians who got up early in the morning would often discover that a strange corpse had suddenly appeared deep inside an alley or in a trash bin.
Even the stray dogs and cats living in dark corners had visibly grown larger during that period. They could not even be bothered to glance at bread that had fallen beside the trash bins.
The local police departments had to expend a tremendous amount of effort just to deal with the newly appearing unidentified corpses each day. This gave hooligans and gangsters an opportunity to fish in troubled waters, causing quite a bit of disorder.
Klein, who had been hiding in the shadows all this time, would also occasionally keep an eye on Melissa's movements.
With the situation so chaotic and all kinds of public security incidents occurring frequently, Melissa basically walked to school every time in order to save some money.
This made it very easy for criminals to target her. Those people especially liked abducting and trafficking innocent young girls.
Over the past few days, Klein had already secretly helped Melissa drive away two groups of ill-intentioned criminals.
Originally, the local police had given Benson and Melissa special attention under instructions from the Church of Evernight. However, with the recent chaos and severe shortage of police manpower, some malicious criminals had managed to exploit the gaps.
Although Klein had some complaints about this, he could generally understand the situation.
He thought that if Backlund continued to remain this chaotic, then to ensure Benson and Melissa's safety, he would borrow Will's abilities to send Leonard a dream and ask him to properly look after Benson and Melissa.
At night, after confirming that Benson and Melissa had gone to sleep, Klein left the room, assumed a new identity, and headed out to attend a Beyonder gathering.
This was a newly established Beyonder gathering that primarily focused on exchanging intelligence. If someone needed to conduct a transaction, they could also do so on the spot.
The convener of the Beyonder gathering wasn't some Mr. So-and-so, nor was she a member of the Aurora Order. She was a mysterious woman who concealed herself extremely thoroughly and was said to be a believer of the Stars.
Klein had come precisely because of this. He had always been very interested in the organization of the Stars, feeling that their organization was somewhat similar to his own Tarot Club.
Both were newly emerged Beyonder organizations that had recently attracted considerable attention in Backlund.
Tonight's Beyonder gathering was being held inside an abandoned warehouse near Riverbend Avenue, between the South Borough and the Dockyard.
By the time Klein arrived at the gathering location after disguising his identity and appearance, there were already more than a dozen figures present.
A dim yellow hanging lamp illuminated the center of the warehouse, while the other areas were shrouded in darkness. At the focal point illuminated by the light stood the convener of tonight's Beyonder gathering.
She wore a tightly wrapped black robe and a hood resembling that of a magician. A black veil covered her face, while a faint mist concealed her true appearance.
Only from her voice and the curves of her figure could one determine that she was probably a woman.
Of course, Klein didn't rule out the possibility that she was actually a man. After all, the Beyonder world was always filled with all kinds of unexpected things.
However, this woman's figure and the feeling she gave him seemed inexplicably familiar. Could he have met her before?
Klein suppressed his speculation and found a quiet place where he could clearly hear the mysterious woman before sitting down.
He had already attended this gathering once before. There seemed to be a powerful Beyonder watching over this place, so regardless of where the Beyonders came from, as long as they didn't cause trouble, they could attend the gathering. There was no threshold whatsoever.
"In three days, it will be the day of Loen's King George III's nationwide speech. At that time, all of Backlund will enter its most chaotic period. Even if none of you participate in what happens, as long as you are in Backlund, you will inevitably be affected."
Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, the mysterious woman at the center, watched by everyone present, finally spoke. Her very first sentence immediately aroused everyone's curiosity.
Klein's heart stirred slightly. She had deliberately emphasized George III's nationwide speech. Could it be that she also knew George III intended to become a god on that day?
Then what was her objective?
Soon, someone asked in a hoarse voice, "George III is only an ordinary person. Even if he is the king, how could he affect the Beyonder world?"
The mysterious woman calmly replied, "What if George III is also a Beyonder?"
From within the dark shadows, another person spoke. "Under the strict surveillance of the Church of Evernight, the Church of Storms, and the Church of Steam and Machinery, would George III dare to so openly violate the prohibition?"
"Aren't prohibitions meant to be broken?" The mysterious woman seemed to chuckle softly.
"But what does that have to do with us?" someone hiding in the darkness asked.
"That is something you need to think about. I'm merely sharing some intelligence. However, some information isn't included among what I share for free. I can only say that George III's hidden true face is far beyond your imagination."
The mysterious woman stopped there, yet her words left plenty of room for imagination.
Previous gatherings had already proven that everything this mysterious woman said was correct. This time would be no exception.
Klein was now certain that she definitely knew about George III's plan to become a god, and she was also opposed to George III.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have made George III the focus of everyone's attention at such a critical moment.
Her objective should be the same as his: to prevent George III from becoming a god. It seemed that the person behind this Beyonder gathering was Bernadette.
Klein quickly sorted through these matters in his mind and relaxed slightly.
Bernadette had already begun taking action. This undoubtedly added another bit of hope to preventing George III from becoming a god.
"By making such an outrageous declaration, aren't you showing far too little regard for the Loen royal family?" someone in the shadows spoke, clearly suppressing his anger.
Just from hearing those words, Klein guessed that the speaker was a Beyonder from the Loen royal family.
Before the mysterious woman could respond, someone hidden in the darkness spoke sinisterly, "If George III really did secretly step into the Beyonder world, then did he show any regard for the three Churches?"
After saying that, he added, "Or was George III's violation of the prohibition tacitly permitted by the three Churches?"
Those words instantly silenced the person who had previously questioned them while suppressing his anger. No matter how bold he was, he didn't dare show disrespect toward the three Churches.
"As far as I know, the three Churches are unaware of this matter, much less would they tacitly permit it to happen," someone secretly spoke from the darkness.
Klein guessed that this person was probably a member of one of the three Churches. By saying this, they were trying to clear the three Churches of any suspicion that they were colluding with George III.
Members of the Loen royal family, unaffiliated Beyonders, believers of the three Churches, spies from other countries, members of other Beyonder organizations…
Only now did Klein truly understand why this Beyonder gathering accepted anyone who came. The purpose was to get all the different factions involved and muddy the waters.
But could Bernadette alone really keep this gathering under control?
He had heard many legends about this mysterious queen while at sea. According to his estimates, Bernadette should be around Sequence 3.
With such strength, combined with the bounties placed on her by various countries, why did she dare act so openly in Backlund?
Was it because of the Stars?
Klein's thoughts grew slightly heavy. He stopped thinking about the matter and continued acting as an observer.
In just half an hour, Klein obtained a great deal of the latest intelligence concerning Backlund. Someone even publicly exposed the identity of a spy from Feysac. The person who had previously spoken in defense of the Loen royal family also had his true identity uncovered by someone hiding in the shadows.
The mysterious woman acting as the organizer made no attempt to stop them from exposing one another's secrets. Instead, she watched everything with considerable interest.
When tonight's Beyonder gathering was nearing its end, the mysterious woman finally spoke again.
"Tonight is the final gathering. I hope everyone here can remain in a good mood over the next few days."
After saying that, a doorway opened behind the mysterious woman, and she disappeared just like that under everyone's gaze.
A teleportation door? The Beyonder abilities of the Apprentice pathway really are convenient.
Klein had also witnessed the mysterious woman's departure. He thought that after advancing to Sequence 5 Marionettist in the future, he definitely had to find a Beyonder of the Apprentice pathway and turn them into a marionette.
That way, he could return from the sea to Backlund whenever he wanted, and it would also be quite useful for escaping with his life.
After indulging in a little envy, Klein quietly left the gathering location.
…
After returning home, Fors removed the tightly wrapped black robe, took off her hood, pulled away the veil, and sat down on the sofa. After drinking a cup of warm water, she finally truly relaxed.
During this period, she had been following Lady Sage's instructions and going out to preside over Beyonder gatherings. Every night, she had to endure so many scrutinizing gazes, and occasionally she even had to serve as bait. It was really becoming too much for her.
Fortunately, tonight was the last time.
Next, she could finally stay home and rest in peace without needing to go out to handle any more tasks.
"You're back? Look at you. You seem like you just went through a life-and-death battle."
Xio came out of the room and sat beside Fors. She fiddled with the black robe and hood Fors had removed, then folded them neatly and placed them to the side.
"My mission is finally over. What about you? How is your investigation progressing?" Fors had already begun lying down, and even her voice had become weak and listless.
"It's going fairly smoothly. The next few days will be the most critical and also the most chaotic period. Lady Sage said I can stay home with you so you won't be lonely by yourself."
Fors curled her lips. "You're the lonely one. I'd rather you weren't home."
"Heh, what a dishonest woman."
Xio leaned over and began tickling Fors. After the two laughed and fooled around for a while, Fors suddenly received a scene transmitted to her by Mr. Fool.
It was the image of a devout believer praying to Mr. Fool.