"The situation here is very complicated. If Mr. A is willing, would you come back to the City of Silver with us?" Colin glanced at the empty-handed Mr. A and continued, "Besides, an adventurous journey requires a certain foundation of supplies. In this dark, lightless world, obtaining food in the wilderness is extremely difficult."
Mr. A was somewhat tempted, but he had no intention of going to the City of Silver. He only wanted to follow the traces left behind by the Lord and head toward the Lord's divine kingdom.
If he hadn't happened to encounter the people of the City of Silver here, he would have already embarked on his pilgrimage. As for the monsters in the darkness, he carried the Lord's aura on him, so the monsters here did not dare approach him casually.
Colin continued, "Our City of Silver has devoutly worshiped the Lord for generations. You have come here bearing the Lord's divine will. To us, this is a form of salvation. Presumably, the Lord arranged for you to come here precisely so that you could help us escape these dark and hopeless days. We truly need the light from the outside world to shine upon us."
His earnest words and reddened eyes made Colin's words extremely convincing and stirring.
Quite a few people from the City of Silver had already begun sobbing softly. They stared directly at Mr. A with eyes filled with hope.
Light and salvation, this was the miracle the City of Silver had always been waiting for.
Watching this scene, Derrick couldn't help but feel his eyes grow moist as well. The City of Silver had endured and hoped for far too long through the endless years. They were simply too tired.
"Lord, is it Your will that I bring them light?" Mr. A murmured softly before finally agreeing to go to the City of Silver.
Colin immediately gave the order to leave Afternoon Town and return to the City of Silver. Mr. A was protected in the very center, surrounded by everyone like stars around the moon.
Strangely enough, they did not encounter any attacks from monsters of the darkness on their return journey.
This caused many of the City of Silver residents who witnessed the journey to believe that Mr. A truly was a divine envoy sent by God.
Derrick silently watched everything unfold while organizing his thoughts, preparing to seek Mr. Fool's help after they returned.
The True Creator and the Aurora Order had terrible reputations. Mr. A's arrival might very well push the City of Silver into the abyss.
...
Sea of Ruins.
The golden sea shone brilliantly. Even from far away, one could feel a sense of awe that seemed to originate from the depths of the soul.
On the Future, Cattleya stood at the bow, gazing toward the ruins covered by the golden sea with a complicated expression.
Throughout the journey, she had kept the Future following Mr. A's small boat. But yesterday, the boat Mr. A was piloting had suddenly vanished before their eyes, as if it had passed through some imperceptible gateway and arrived in a new world.
They, meanwhile, had been left behind, unable to enter that new world.
Thinking about everything Mr. A had said along the way, perhaps he truly had reached the True Creator's divine kingdom under the Lord's guidance.
The person who regretted it the most was Heath Doyle, the Future's second mate. He had already been kneeling at the bow, facing the Sea of Ruins, prostrating himself for an entire day.
Mr. A had previously invited him to embark on the journey of seeking the Lord together, but he had refused.
Yet yesterday, he had personally witnessed how Mr. A, under the Lord's guidance, passed through an impassable gateway and entered an unknown world.
He firmly believed that Mr. A had already reached the Lord's divine kingdom.
"Sigh." Cattleya glanced again at Frank, who was completely engrossed in researching some kind of pea shooter, and let out a heavy sigh.
One had gone stupid, and the other had gone mad. It made her, the captain, feel immense pressure.
She took another look at the Sea of Ruins, which the Future had already left behind, then returned to her captain's cabin to rest for a while.
The moment she stepped through the cabin door, her body suddenly stiffened.
Her eyes lit up with joy, but she quickly suppressed the happiness rising from within her, put on a stern expression, entered the cabin, and closed the door behind her to prevent anyone from disturbing them.
Her gaze fell upon the familiar figure sitting at the desk where she usually read.
The person she had once longed to see had appeared before her without the slightest warning.
Just as suddenly as when she had driven her away back then.
Cattleya said nothing. She merely stood some distance away and stared at her. Her eyes unconsciously began to redden, while the happiness in her heart gradually turned into bitterness and confusion.
"You don't welcome my arrival?" Bernadette, who was sitting at the desk, closed the book and placed it on the table before turning around to look at Cattleya's complicated expression.
"I... just didn't expect you to suddenly come see me."
Cattleya took two steps forward, wanting to throw herself into her embrace, but forcibly stopped the impulse.
She knew the person before her didn't like it when she acted too childish.
Bernadette smiled and said, "In a while, I'm planning to return to Intis. You haven't been back for a long time either, have you?"
Although her voice wasn't as gentle as Cattleya had hoped, Cattleya's eyes still reddened involuntarily. She choked up slightly, but still raised her chin a little and said, "I can go back with you."
"Mm."
Bernadette merely nodded faintly, but the corners of Cattleya's lips were already threatening to rise. To keep herself from laughing aloud with joy, she could only desperately suppress the happiness and excitement in her heart, maintain a stern expression, and silently stand to the side.
...
City of Silver.
Derrick finally found an opportunity to return home alone and rest. After tightly shutting the doors and windows, he began reciting Mr. Fool's honorific name.
As a layer of mist spread overhead, a lofty and majestic figure sat at the familiar long bronze table.
"What is it?"
"Mr. Fool, Mr. A has come to the City of Silver!"
Derrick hurriedly gave Mr. Fool a detailed report of everything that had happened since encountering Mr. A.
Above the gray fog, Klein was somewhat dumbfounded.
How did Mr. A end up in the Forsaken Land of the Gods? Could it be that the True Creator had guided him there?
But hadn't the Aurora Order previously spread word that Mr. A had been declared a traitor to the Aurora Order and that another Divine Envoy had been sent to take over affairs in Backlund?
Back then, Mr. A's defection had caused quite a stir in the Beyonder world.
After all, members of the Aurora Order were famously insane, worshiping the True Creator like rabid dogs. It was difficult to imagine any of them betraying their faith in the True Creator.
"Mr. Fool, I'm worried that the True Creator might make a move against the City of Silver. What should I do to help the City of Silver?"
Derrick's still somewhat youthful face was filled with worry.
There was already Elder Lovia, a Shepherd in the City of Silver who was suspected of having been corrupted by the True Creator. Now, another Divine Envoy, Mr. A, had arrived.
If all of this was truly arranged by the True Creator, then the City of Silver would undoubtedly be destroyed because of it!
Behind the gray fog, Klein fell silent.
If this truly was the True Creator's doing, he had absolutely no ability to stop Him. That was a mad evil god!
He was definitely an existence even more terrifying than the Seven, oh, the six currently existing orthodox gods.
Under such circumstances, the City of Silver could only rely on itself to survive.
But there was no way he could tell Little Sun that directly. Besides, doing so would damage Mr. Fool's lofty image.
"Observe the situation for now."
In the end, Klein could only give Derrick this piece of advice, because he truly couldn't think of any way to stop the True Creator.
If the City of Silver wanted to survive, it could only depend on whether its Chief possessed enough wisdom to deal with the crisis.
"Mr. Fool, do you mean that there will be another turn of events in this matter, so I should observe the situation for now and wait for an opportunity?" Derrick's eyes shone brightly, as though he had already grasped a lifeline.
"..." Klein said nothing more.
Very good. Little Sun, you've also learned Mr. Hanged Man's favorite technique of interpreting things yourself, hypnotizing yourself, and imagining all sorts of deeper meanings.
When Derrick walked out of his room again, he felt much more relaxed than before. With those words from Mr. Fool, he now felt reassured. After all, Mr. Fool had never been wrong before.
As Derrick headed toward the central square of the City of Silver, he heard someone shouting that Elder Lovia had arrived.
His expression instantly changed. Elder Lovia had definitely come because of Mr. A.
Once the two of them met, they would surely form a united front immediately.
However, to Derrick's surprise, Elder Lovia was extremely unwelcoming toward Mr. A's appearance. She even believed that he would destroy the City of Silver!
If the Chief and the others hadn't been present, Elder Lovia might have been unable to restrain herself from attacking Mr. A.
Faced with this sudden hostility, Mr. A was first stunned, then sneered.
"You have betrayed your faith in the Lord!"
"I have never betrayed my faith," Elder Lovia replied with an equally cold sneer.
"No wonder the Lord has never bestowed His grace upon you. Those who betray their faith are destined to live in eternal darkness, suffering torment until they finally die in agony!"
"Heh. Betrayed my faith? If the Lord's gaze truly rested upon this place, the City of Silver would never have become what it is today." Elder Lovia's voice was filled with mockery.
The two of them had become like needle against awn the instant they met, leaving everyone around them stunned.
Even Colin couldn't immediately tell whether Mr. A and Elder Lovia genuinely despised each other or were tacitly putting on an act in front of him.
Derrick was even more bewildered by what he was seeing. He couldn't help recalling what Mr. Fool had just told him.
Could it be that Mr. Fool had already foreseen this scene, and that was why He told me to observe the situation for now?