On the deck of the Dawn, at a hidden port carved into the side of a cliff on Sonia Island.
Anderson, once the strongest Hunter in the Fog Sea, was currently fawning over Vice-Captain Siatas, who stood opposite him with her arms crossed, her glossy, luminous black hair tied casually into a simple ponytail.
Trying to make his smile appear more sincere, Anderson rubbed his hands together and gave a dry laugh:
"Beautiful Captain, it's been almost half a year since I left my hometown. I'd like to return to the Fog Sea to visit my relatives. Such a journey of tempering the heart will strengthen my spirit."
Siatas snorted lightly, ruthlessly exposing his lie:
"You wimp, you're not trying to run away, are you?"
"You want to visit relatives? And how come I heard you have quite a few enemies in the Fog Sea?"
Upon hearing that nickname, Anderson's face twitched slightly, but he was no longer the arrogant and untamed strongest Hunter of the Fog Sea. The principle of knowing when to yield and when to stand firm had been thoroughly demonstrated on him during this period. He immediately composed himself and responded:
"Rumors, those are all rumors!"
"I promise, I'll be back in two months at most!"
Siatas waved her hand impatiently, pointed towards the captain's cabin, and said casually:
"Then go find Bayer Baile. Do you have anything else? If not, get out of the way!"
Looking at the somewhat moody Siatas, Anderson hurriedly avoided her, only daring to grumble softly in his heart:
"Crazy woman, no one will want her in the end…"
Walking along the deck towards the deeper parts of the Dawn, Anderson took a deep breath and knocked on the captain's cabin door.
The door opened in response, and a rich voice came through:
"Anderson, what do you need?"
Even within the specially widened and enlarged room, Bayer Baile still appeared exceptionally burly. Even sitting there, he was still a head taller than Anderson.
Anderson glanced at the Captain, who he wasn't sure if he had Giant blood, then immediately lowered his head and repeated what he had said to Siatas earlier, then bowed with an awkward smile:
"Captain, His Grace the Duke said that after obtaining that statue and eliminating the Iron and Blood Cross Order, he would tell me the Iron-Blooded Knight Beyonder potion formula. What do you think…"
Bayer Baile shifted his gaze from the large sea chart to Anderson at the door. The map on the table mostly marked the areas frequently patrolled by the Feysac Empire's Sonia Sea Fleet.
Whether it was due to considerations for the future world-sweeping war mentioned by the Duke, or for the safety of the Dawn, these were matters he had always paid attention to.
Before he could even speak, the spiritual perception of this peak Demon Hunter was triggered. Ink-green symbols instantly appeared in Bayer Baile's eyes. He tilted his head warily until he heard a familiar voice:
"The Iron and Blood Cross Order has lost a demigod, and they will definitely not let it go. Returning to the Fog Sea now is equivalent to seeking death."
"However, you can operate in the Berserk Sea and the coastal cities of Loen. Originally, I was going to observe you before deciding whether to give you the Beyonder potion formula, but since you're in such a hurry, I have a faster method."
Listening to that whisper, like that of a Devil, Anderson's mouth twitched. He immediately responded:
"After your guidance, I realized how childish and ridiculous my thoughts were. I think the Dawn is more suitable for me. Your subordinate will take his leave first…"
While saying this, Anderson hurriedly turned to make his escape, but found his body suddenly stiff and unable to move until he met Aaron's gaze, who had walked out of the colorful oil painting world.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. What you said is indeed true; a qualified Hunter should not be confined to one ship."
"How about this, sign this, and I'll let you go. I can also tell you the Beyonder potion formula and the corresponding advancement ritual."
The Judgement Domain enveloped Aaron like a golden membrane. Aaron threw out a contract and, with a slight curve of his lips, added:
"You have 5 minutes. Hmm, hesitation counts towards the time too…"
His body regained control, and hearing that half-smiling tone, Anderson felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He knew without thinking what it meant not to sign now, so he dejectedly took the contract and signed his name.
Aaron beckoned for the golden paper, nodded in satisfaction, and waved his hand. A flash of spiritual light immediately surged into Anderson's glabella:
"Very good, you may leave!"
Digesting the information that appeared in his mind, Anderson's originally somewhat excited expression suddenly turned strange:
"Form a team of at least thirty people… The higher the team's strength and tacit agreement, the better the ritual's effect…"
"This is tough. If the team's tacit agreement is based on wanting to kill me, the captain, then this ritual is quite simple."
Knowing that Duke Aaron's visit today must be for an important matter, Anderson dared not think further. He hurriedly retreated and left, avoiding the Duke from suddenly remembering something else that might fall on him.
-----------------
Aaron watched Anderson leave with a calm expression. Besides the Iron-Blooded Knight Beyonder potion formula, Aaron also provided the contact information, supplied by Will Auceptin, for Ademisaul, who carried the Die of Probability.
Even if the Die of Probability was strong, Ademisaul, who was only at the Mid-sequence level, could not use it. The involvement of MI9 made Aaron unwilling to let any Beyonder related to East Tucker rashly interfere.
Anderson, already a seasoned Reaper with rich experience in escaping from demigods, was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate. As long as his luck wasn't too bad and Reygord could restrain the Aurora Order's Gloom Saint, there wouldn't be too much of a problem.
The Judgement Domain, which had been retracted to his side, suddenly expanded outwards, instantly enveloping the entire captain's cabin. Only then did Bayer Baile see the pulsating, contracting silver-white light cluster clutched in the Duke's hand, and an indescribable sense of hunger suddenly surged from the depths of his heart.
The ink-green symbols in his eyes distorted and changed for a moment. Bayer Baile, who had already completely digested the Demon Hunter Beyonder potion, suppressed this craving in an instant, having already roughly guessed the essence of that light cluster in his heart.
"This is the Silver Knight Beyonder characteristic. Today, I will assist your advancement. Only Sequence 3 can prevent the one within Siatas from having other ideas, and it will also be sufficient to deal with the threat of the Feysac fleet."
As he spoke, Aaron took out other supplementary ingredients and directly threw them into the silver-white light, where they instantly dissolved.
A difficult-to-suppress excitement flashed in Bayer Baile's eyes. He immediately cleared a large space, set up the ritual as quickly as possible, and placed the remains of the six powerful creatures he had hunted in their correct positions.
Once all these things were done, Bayer Baile looked at the Beyonder potion floating before his eyes, closed his eyes, lowered his head, and softly chanted in ancient Hermes:
"The origin of order and shadow;"
"The great Emperor of the chaotic nation;"
"The Lord of Order who wields rules…"
Listening to that majestic voice, Aaron sat cross-legged on the ground, his gaze passing through the Judgement Domain to look outside the captain's cabin at a pair of eyes flickering with electric arcs.
At the stern of the ship, Siatas, who was supervising the Elf crew members in establishing a temporary stronghold and erecting a statue of the Calamity Queen, suddenly stiffened slightly. She turned her head to look at the captain's cabin and whispered with a light laugh:
"Where did this Beyonder characteristic come from? Could it be a transaction with the Church of Evernight?"
The complete Beyonder Pathways controlled by the Seven Orthodox Deities Churches, corresponding to High-Sequence Beyonder characteristics, and even the corresponding supplementary ingredients, were mostly tightly controlled.
The silver light in her eyes faded, and Siatas walked to one side, lowering her voice:
"Your Majesty the Queen, what did you mean just now?"
Only she could hear the elegant voice, as if it resonated directly in her soul, chuckling:
"Nothing, just that your Captain might be a genuine Sequence 3 after today."
"That Duke lacks neither resources nor background. It's merely an exception under his full cultivation. There's no need to be anxious; just calmly digest the Beyonder potion."
"Your most important task now is to help me re-establish the faith of the Elf race. Once my 'Anchor' is further stabilized, I can separate a portion of the characteristics for your advancement."
He gave a half-warning glance at Queen Cohinem, who was residing within Siatas, while his sub-consciousness sat on the throne within the Nation of Disorder, observing the ripples of light spreading outwards and the somewhat ethereal prayers emanating from them.
He immediately summoned the Black Emperor card and the Justiciar card, mobilizing the power of the Nation of Disorder to condense a projection of power at the Angel level, which he then directly cast into the circle of prayer.
Within the sacred and clear light, a pure Angel with twelve pairs of ethereal wings on its back suddenly descended. Amidst the falling golden-black feathers, it enveloped the Demon Hunter with layers of light wings.
Facing the Angel's embrace, Bayer Baile showed no surprise. He calmly accepted everything. He had experienced similar things as early as when he first entered that strange Groseille's Travels.
After the prayer received a response, the ritual began. Bayer Baile bowed to Aaron, who was seated to the side, then stepped forward without hesitation and swallowed the Silver Knight Beyonder potion.
Silently, the Demon Hunter's body expanded, transforming into a several-meter-tall giant with a gray-blue base, greenish-black muscles, and a dark, eerie crack on its forehead.
Every inch of this giant contained indescribable mystery and immense, terrifying power. Except for its head, which still retained a human appearance, the rest was close to a mythical creature, emitting strange mental influence.
The next second, Bayer Baile's head seemed to suffer from chondromalacia, collapsing inwards. With the dark, eerie crack as its core, it slowly wriggled, as if forming a nebula vortex.
Such pain made even this Demon Hunter, who had undergone the baptism of the Devil's Mural and killed many powerful creatures, unable to restrain himself, emitting howls that would make ordinary beings' heads almost crack and their minds fall into extreme chaos.
If Aaron had not already isolated the captain's cabin with the Judgement Domain beforehand, many Elves on the Dawn would surely have lost control by now.
The remains of the six powerful creatures at different positions in the ritual floated up, drawn by an invisible force, and revolved around Bayer Baile, who was undergoing mutation, using some mysterious connection to awaken parts of this top Demon Hunter's memories.
Aaron silently watched as layers of ethereal, luminous wings grew from Bayer Baile's back, constantly contracting inwards, collapsing into a sturdy, magnificent, yet weightless silver armor on his body.
Only then did the sub-consciousness within the Nation of Disorder put away the Sun Chaser Scepter. If Bayer Baile had problems with his advancement, he would use this Grade 0 Sealed Artifact to forcibly strip away that Silver Knight Beyonder characteristic. Fortunately, the worst did not happen.
As the silver armor finally took shape, Bayer Baile finally completed his advancement. Except for his head, which had not yet grown a vertical single eye, he was already equivalent to a mythical creature.
At Sequence 3, one was already a deity in some sense, capable of responding to prayers within a certain range. Of course, this also required a certain Anchor.
However, because it wasn't yet at the Angel level, the Anchor didn't necessarily have to be believers; other things could substitute, such as distinct, mystically significant imprints in one's life.
-----------------
Backlund, 15 Minsk Street.
Klein looked at the faintly lit sky outside the window, calmly put on his top hat, and took a public carriage to the emergency contact point he had agreed upon with the golden-masked man from MI9.
Leaving his exclusive mark in the dim, quiet alley, Klein did not linger and left directly, planning to first head to the Bravehearts Bar on Iron Gate Street. Along the way, he felt faint gazes sweeping over him.
He roughly guessed that it might be a continuation of yesterday's events, but unlike his previous thoughts.
After knowing above the gray fog that he might now be caught in a certain vortex, Klein felt a strange sense of familiarity with the Nighthawks of the Church of Evernight or other official organizations' surveillance, a peculiar sense of security, as if he had paid protection money, filled his heart.
By the time he arrived at Iron Gate Street after several transfers, it was already nearing noon, which was the peak business hour for bars.
Before he even entered, he felt a wave of heat wash over him, smelled the strong aroma of malt beer, and heard the noisy clamor.
As expected, he saw a boxing ring set up in the center of the bar, where two boxers were fighting, their brutal attacks drawing cheers from the surrounding Spectators.
The scent of beer mixed with sweat, Klein adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, pinched his nose, and was about to look away when he suddenly felt something unusual and frowned slightly:
"These two are actually Beyonders? Doing this in broad daylight, they're really fearless…"
This thought unconsciously flashed through his mind. Klein retracted his gaze, protected his wallet, and squeezed his way towards the bar counter, saying to Kaspars Kalinin, who was smiling as he watched the ring:
"The usual, a pint of Southville beer first."
Smiling, Kaspars Kalinin took a large wooden mug filled with golden liquid from under the counter and handed it to the detective, quipping:
"Long time no see, Mr. Great Detective. I thought you wouldn't come back after paying off Mr. Maric's debt. Tell me, what's up?"
Smelling the rich and enticing aroma of the beer, Klein took a sip, alleviating the dryness in his mouth before speaking in a low voice:
"I think it's better if we talk somewhere else."
Kaspars Kalinin shifted his gaze from the ring, looked Klein up and down, whistled, and clicked his tongue:
"It seems your commission is just as complicated as last time. Come with me."