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In Backlund, Winter County, inside the Cathedral of Serenity.
Leonard Mitchell sat on the sofa, his eyes slightly narrowed, his feet resting on the coffee table, as if making up for a night of wakefulness with a brief nap. Yet, he muttered softly:
"Old man, what does His Grace the Archbishop want from me?"
A soft snort sounded, and Pallez Zoroast's aged voice echoed in Leonard's mind:
"There's no need to use your little schemes to test me. An Archbishop can't discover me, let alone..."
Before the old man could finish his sentence, just as Leonard was about to press for more, a knock came at the door.
Taking a deep breath, Leonard put on his black trench coat and red gloves, then followed the clergyman who had knocked on the door to the depths of the Black Monastery.
The pure black double doors, inscribed with the symbol of Darkness, silently opened, and a chilling wind that seemed to permeate the soul blew out, swirling in the hallway.
Leonard couldn't help but shiver, instinctively lowering his head and saying respectfully:
"Archbishop Randolph, Nighthawk Leonard awaits your instructions."
A gentle, mellow voice came from inside the door, rather out of place with the chilling wind flowing around:
"Please enter!"
Leonard walked into the double doors with some apprehension, seeing a room that was impeccably clean to an unusual degree, and seeing Archbishop Randolph Carter behind the desk, who had darker skin and profound features, leaning more towards the appearance of a Balam native.
He had sparse hair, a rather long and thin face, and a somewhat cold demeanor, but not the gloomy, uncomfortable type; rather, it was the kind that directly embodied the essence of a graveyard at night.
At this moment, Leonard seemed to see countless spirits surrounding the Archbishop, making his surroundings dim and layered, as if a whole world was hidden within.
Hastily lowering his head, rumors that had circulated since he arrived at the cathedral flashed through Leonard's mind.
This newly promoted Archbishop was personally ordered by the Pope to be transferred back from the Southern Continent after Ince Zangwill's defection from the Church. Originally, he was merely a Sequence 5 Gatekeeper.
According to the old man, the Beyonder characteristic from Ince Zangwill's failed advancement should have been inherited by Randolph Carter, who then successfully advanced to a demigod, thus taking over the Archbishop position left vacant by Ince Zangwill's defection.
Randolph Carter's light gray eyes scrutinized Leonard for a moment. He nodded slightly, drew a crimson moon on his chest, and slowly said:
"Congratulations, you have officially become a Red Glove. May the Goddess bless you."
"Praise the Goddess, it is my honor." Leonard raised his right hand and tapped four times clockwise.
Randolph Carter did not say more, getting straight to the point:
"According to your own request, I have placed you in Backlund's Soest team. He is a Soul Assurer and possesses his own Mystical Item. I have also instructed someone to prepare the Beyonder weapon you need."
"One of the main culprits of the Tingen tragedy, Lanevus, has died in Backlund, but MI9, as the executing party, is unwilling to disclose the specific details to the Church."
"You were also involved in the Tingen incident. After you arrive in Backlund, your main task is to assist Soest in investigating Lanevus's cause of death, while also collecting some clues."
"Be careful not to conflict with MI9."
Backlund, Lanevus...
Leonard's fists had unknowingly clenched. He had no objections to this and immediately agreed:
"Yes, Archbishop Randolph."
This will be the beginning of my revenge... he silently added in his heart.
-----------------
In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, City of Silver, lightning flashed rapidly in the sky.
In the room belonging to the "Council of Six" on the upper part of the Round Tower, Lovia stood by the window, looking down at the scattered candlelight in the Darkness, her expression gentle and somewhat lost in thought.
Derrick sat in the furthest corner from this Shepherd elder, looking quite wary. He had only been allowed to enter after receiving the chief's summons, but he hadn't expected to see only Elder Lovia instead of the chief.
After an unknown period of such silence, a faint knocking sound finally drifted in.
"Your Excellency, the chief?" Lovia turned gracefully and asked with a smile.
The door opened silently without a breeze.
Standing outside was Colin Iliad, the Demon Hunter. He wore a brown coat, a leather belt studded with hidden compartments around his waist, and held the hand of a somewhat timid little boy.
Derrick had seen him before; it was Jack, the little boy from outside the Forsaken Land of the Gods, who had been rescued during the previous exploration of the True Creator's temple.
Colin nodded to the two without any apparent change in demeanor:
"He has been in the dungeon at the bottom of the Round Tower for 7 days, undergoing the baptism of the 'Crown of Glory'. The corruption he suffered has been completely purified."
Saying this, he took out a map that had been painstakingly explored by countless people over thousands of years of dark history in the City of Silver, spread it on the round table, and said to the little boy:
"You can now tell us what you know about the areas beyond the Cursed Land, and the approximate Pathway you took after entering this Cursed Land."
Due to the strange face that had previously been parasitic on his chest, although he had not received systematic training, Jack had managed to grasp the Jotun. As he stammered his story, A world full of vitality, completely different from this desolate continent, unfolded before their eyes. Even the experienced Colin Iliad was slightly moved.
A moment later, looking at the marks made on the map, he waved his hand and said to the Round Tower guard who had entered:
"Take him to Effie for another check-up and to soothe his emotions."
After the room returned to silence, Colin Iliad looked at Derrick and Lovia, whose expressions varied, and lightly tapped the table with his finger:
"Derrick, you should focus on advancing to Sequence 7 during this period."
"In about two months, I will lead the team again, following the clues Jack provided, to find that Pathway, identify the ruined city along the Pathway, and conduct a cleanup. I hope we can have more gains this time."
Lovia, who had already risen to leave, glanced at the stiffly seated Derrick, her eyes flickering for a moment before she departed.
After Lovia left, Derrick's tense body relaxed. Looking at the chief, he spoke the words he had deliberated for a long time:
"Chief, I know a way to obtain the Sequence 3 Silver Knight potion formula. This way, our City of Silver's highest combat power will reach Sequence 3, and we will be more confident in exploring the Giant King's Court."
Silver Knight? A hint of surprise flashed in Colin Iliad's eyes. He asked in a steady voice:
"Hmm, what do you need?"
Derrick was stunned, not expecting the chief to ask for no details. The carefully prepared speech was stuck in his throat, so he instinctively raised his right hand, scratched the back of his head, and weakly added:
"I, I want a private compartment..."
-----------------
Backlund West Borough, King's Avenue No. 2, Royal Museum.
Although it was clearly a weekday, when Klein arrived, there was already a long queue at the entrance.
After waiting for a long time, Klein, wearing a semi-high silk top hat and a double-breasted woolen long coat, finally got his ticket and followed the people in front, entering the museum step by step.
His current public identity was a private detective who believed in the God of Steam and Machinery, so visiting the Roselle Memorial Hall would not arouse suspicion. Therefore, he did not deliberately conceal his whereabouts.
Although he had a sense of unease ever since he heard that a note had been stolen from the Royal Museum, Klein still felt somewhat unwilling to not see it for himself. And even if there was nothing, at least he could see the treasured Roselle's diary, which would be a gain in itself.
Listening to the guide's explanation, Klein looked at what was either gold-plated or entirely made of gold—the first modern flush toilet. Based on his understanding of the Emperor's flamboyant personality, he leaned towards the latter possibility.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but touch his empty wallet in his pocket. He had just paid off his 3,000 pounds debt to Maric yesterday, and now he was back to square one overnight.
Sighing in his heart, Klein looked around, intending to search for clues and observe the security situation here, when the corner of his eye caught sight of a woman over 1.7 meters tall.
This lady had waist-length chestnut hair and an excellent figure, neither fat nor thin.
She was wearing a girlish yellow tiered dress but sported an old-fashioned black soft hat with fine mesh veiling her face.
"What a strange outfit..." This thought flashed through his mind, and Klein muttered to himself, his gaze moving on to other display cases. Unfortunately, even if Roselle's diary was on display, he could at most only see the first page.
He clicked his tongue in regret, when suddenly a familiar plea sounded in Klein's ear. Was it the Sun?
He was stunned for a moment, glanced at the dense crowd around him, and spoke to a guard in a top hat who was maintaining order:
"Excuse me, where is the restroom? Upstairs?"
"No, upstairs is the office area. You go straight along this path, then turn left, and you'll see it." The female guide politely pointed the way.
Taking this opportunity, Klein figured out the spatial relationship between the restroom and the main exhibition halls, and he initially sketched a rough layout map in his mind.
As soon as he arrived at the restroom, Klein immediately set up a wall of spirituality and took four steps counter-clockwise to arrive above the gray fog.
Sitting at the head of the bronze long table, Klein spread his spirituality, lighting up the crimson star representing Sun Derrick, and raised an eyebrow as he watched the prayer scene.
"That chief of the City of Silver agreed to the trade. Is Derrick that efficient, or did something happen in between? Was it that exploration of the temple?"
Thoughts drifted through his mind, and Klein shook his head, intending to throw this question to Mr. Emperor. Anyway, he was just an intermediary in this transaction, earning a commission was enough; as for how to trade, he wouldn't bother himself with it.
Having made up his mind, Klein condensed Derrick's prayer scene into a ball of light and threw it into the crimson star representing Mr. Emperor.
-----------------
At the border of West Borough and Empress Borough, Williams Street No. 8, the Pound family ancestral home.
Aaron stood in the basement, his eyes quickly stained golden as he looked at the grayish-white stone door. The mark of Darkness emitted a faint glow, resonating with the sealing power left by Ms. Arianna in the Blood Emperor's ruins.
His gaze passed through the narrow passage, looking directly at a bloody double door standing deep within the ruins!
Fresh blood seemed to still cling to this door, reflecting the firelight and constantly sliding downwards.
As if sensing someone spying, with a creaking sound, the bloody door immediately opened, revealing three black high-backed chairs.
Their entire bodies were not purely deep black, but had dark red colors in their patterns, as if interwoven with iron and blood.
On the high-backed chair directly facing the door sat a man of normal size, with three faces appearing on his head, all showing strange smiles.
After confirming that the Red Angel evil spirit was still obediently staying in the ruins, Aaron did not provoke it further. Just as he was about to teleport away, a prayer scene enveloped in a rich grayish-white mist suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Raising an eyebrow, Aaron stroked his chin and prayed in a low voice:
"Mr. Fool, please tell the Sun that I do not need those few holy Sealed Artifacts of the City of Silver. I only want a Beyonder characteristic of a Silver Knight."
"As for the authenticity of the potion formula, if that chief agrees to the trade, I can pay for the formula and ritual first, and then deliver the Beyonder characteristic after he successfully advances himself."
"Additionally, as compensation, I am willing to pay an additional holy Sealed Artifact at the Sequence 4 level. The specific Pathway it corresponds to can be chosen by the City of Silver itself."
Even if the Silver Knight potion formula was extraordinary for the City of Silver, the value of a Sequence 3 formula could never compare to the corresponding Beyonder characteristic, which is why Aaron proposed the compensation plan.
"It feels like Mr. Fool has become my messenger..." Aaron muttered to himself, patiently waiting for Derrick's reply.
City of Silver, top floor of the Round Tower. Derrick pushed open the door and walked out of a nearby compartment. Meeting the chief's gaze, he carefully repeated Mr. Emperor's conditions, then looked at the chief with some apprehension.
Colin Iliad was silent for a moment, his eyes dark as he looked at Derrick, and said in a low voice:
"I need to convene all the elders currently in the city for this matter. Even I cannot arbitrarily dispose of a Sequence 3 Beyonder characteristic."
"If it is to be used, then it must be explained to the other elders, and the corresponding consequences must be borne."
Looking at the somewhat flustered Derrick, Colin's voice softened as he added:
"Don't worry, I won't mention you at the Elder Council, but you must remember one thing."
"As a chief, one must have the decisiveness to make temporary decisions and the courage to bear the corresponding responsibilities."
"The most taboo thing is that you must never try to escape punishment just because you believe it is good for the City of Silver. Perhaps you are right this time, but you cannot guarantee that you will be right every time."
"This is a lesson learned with blood and tears, summarized and passed down by every chief throughout the City of Silver's thousands of years."
Looking at the bewildered Derrick, Colin waved his hand and finally said:
"Tomorrow, I will tell you the resolution of the Elder Council."
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