Cattleya, the "Admiral of Stars," froze for several seconds before adopting a captain's posture and nodding slightly, "It's good to have a goal, but that place is very dangerous. You are only a Sequence 5 'Druid,' and the 'Future' has no plans to explore the Sea of Ruins for a while."
Her original intention was merely to advise Frank to be well-behaved for a while, but it was clear that Frank, with his peculiar way of thinking, did not understand his captain's implied meaning. His eyes lit up, and he blurted out, "I understand!"
Watching Frank suddenly become excited, Cattleya's face subtly creased.
"What do you understand?"
Frank's earlier dejection vanished.
"Perhaps my previous failures were just because the creations I wanted had exceeded the limits of a 'Druid''s ability, and it's not necessarily essential to go to the Sea of Ruins."
"So, Captain, I won't be a 'Druid' anymore. I want to become a 'Classical Alchemist'!"
Silence fell upon the deck for a moment. Cattleya quietly clenched her fists, regretting that she shouldn't have said those words to Frank.
"Frank, it's almost dawn. Where's the gift you gave me?"
A loud, hearty voice broke the strange atmosphere on the deck. Quartermaster Nina darted out of the cabin. Seeing the captain there, she paused, greeted her, and subconsciously explained, "Frank told me to find him before dawn, to prevent him from forgetting the time due to being engrossed in experiments..."
With slightly narrowed eyes, Cattleya nodded silently. She knew that Frank had been noticed by a certain secret organization and was somewhat accustomed to it.
Frank responded cheerfully, immediately taking out a can of dark red liquid from the bottles and jars in front of him. As he pulled out the cork, a faint aroma of wine wafted out.
Looking at Nina, whose eyes were wide with surprise, Frank chuckled, "This is the gift I prepared for you. It's alcohol-free Sonia blood wine made from my little guys. I guarantee you won't get drunk even after a thousand cups!"
Stopping Nina, who was about to lose control, Cattleya watched Frank disappear into the cabin entrance with his bottles and jars, and softly said, "Notify everyone to speed up the voyage and get away from Sonia Sea as soon as possible!"
---
Hillston Borough, Church of the Stars.
Aaron looked at the "Gluttony" mask that Madam Arianna had handed back to him, pondered for a moment, and then carefully asked, "Madam Arianna, the Goddess..."
It wasn't that he didn't trust Madam Arianna's abilities. As a Sequence 2, even if Hermes had left a hidden hand, it couldn't escape Arianna, who held partial authority over secrets.
He was just curious about the Goddess's attitude and what this extraordinary action implied.
The encirclement deep within the Spirit World recently had indeed angered the "Mother Tree of Desire" to some extent. To Aaron's surprise, other Outer Deities also seemed to have manifested their presence at the same time.
This put considerable pressure on the Seven Deities in the Astral World. Fully engaged in repairing and maintaining the Astral World barrier, they would likely find it difficult to focus their attention on the material world for a short period.
If that were the case, he would have to be extremely careful in his actions recently. If Amon's true body also detected the anomaly in the Astral World and truly came to Backlund, then the danger of his and Pallez's previous plan would almost double.
Not to mention the possibility of the operation failing and yielding nothing, if the descent of the deity wasn't timely enough, Pallez might even be sacrificed.
Thinking this, Aaron looked at Madam Arianna, who remained calm, hoping that this future Pope could give him some insight.
To his disappointment, Madam Arianna merely shook her head slightly, "I am only guided by the Goddess's will and have received no other divine revelation."
Watching Madam Arianna's body gradually being erased, Aaron took a deep breath, opened the Spirit World, and left the private prayer room.
Surging layers of dark gold mist swirled around him. Aaron sat on the throne in the magnificent palace, looking at the "Gluttony" mask in his hand, and activated the power of the "Nation of Disorder."
The dark gold mist poured back, materializing the semi-ethereal mask. After confirming it was sealed, Aaron threw it into the junk pile. Aaron would not use it again until the "Twilight Hermit Order" arrived.
After dealing with the matters at hand, Aaron's figure gradually blurred, forming a majestic, faceless giant figure above the throne. The hooded vest of the attendant on the high-backed chair below also appeared.
After doing all this, Aaron's consciousness surged into the brilliant cosmos of the palace's dome. With the surging of the dark gold mist, figures emerged one by one.
The dark gold light that filled his entire vision receded. Frank eagerly opened his eyes. As if recalling the scene from the last council meeting, he first looked around, and after confirming that the number of members had not changed, he excitedly spoke, "Everyone, I want to know the potion formula and advancement ritual for Sequence 4 'Classical Alchemist.'"
Nim, the High Priest of "Moon City," sitting on one of the nine high-backed chairs below the "Lord of Order," raised his eyebrows, scrutinized Frank, but did not speak. He only looked respectfully towards the depths of the palace, at the great being on the throne.
Thanks to the Ancient Sun God's attempt to collect all 22 Pathways to open the barrier to the Western Continent, although "Moon City" does not currently possess any "Classical Alchemist" Beyonder characteristics or corresponding Sealed Artifacts, the potion formulas and advancement rituals recorded in their ancient texts are complete.
However, all the potion formulas treasured by "Moon City" had already been sacrificed to the "Lord of Order," who brought light and hope, through the divine messenger Cavendish. As the most devout believer, Nim would not trade potion formulas with anyone outside "Moon City" without permission.
Feeling Nim's gaze, Aaron's lips, hidden behind the dense dark gold mist, couldn't help but twitch slightly. He knew how dangerous Frank, that abnormal Lunatic, was.
If it were in the Fourth Epoch, an era where divine power superseded all, this guy would definitely have been burned as a heretic.
Most importantly, ever since he learned from Adam that the "Mother Goddess of Depravity," who stood at the pinnacle of the Outer Deities, had set her sights on him, Aaron no longer dared to let Frank continue advancing, especially at this critical juncture of acquiring divinity.
Frank + Mother Goddess of Depravity... once this thought appeared in his mind, Aaron felt a faint fear. A lunatic is not scary; a capable Lunatic is scary.
Even though he had acquired a "Classical Alchemist" Beyonder characteristic in the Solomon ruins, Aaron didn't plan to let Frank advance so quickly, at least not until he truly became a complete mythical creature and was capable of handling emergencies.
Thinking this, Aaron was about to manipulate his attendant's vest to appease Frank when he heard Mobet's slightly wary voice, "Why do you suddenly want to advance to 'Classical Alchemist'?"
Also familiar with Frank, Mobet knew that this guy had just advanced to "Druid" last month. How could he suddenly think of advancing to a demigod in such a short time?
It wasn't out of jealousy of Frank's advancement speed. If he hadn't been sealed in "Groselle's Travels," Mobet wouldn't have advanced to "Parasite" until the Fifth Epoch.
He was just a little worried that if Frank really gained divinity, who knew what kind of insane experiments he would conduct.
Frank scratched his head and gruffly recounted his conversation with Cattleya. At the end, he added with anticipation, "If you have any relevant clues, you can also tell me. Besides the agreed-upon remuneration, I can also give you some small gifts that I've developed myself."
Klein sat at the outermost edge of the grand hall. His lips twitched slightly upon hearing Frank's rather avant-garde ideals. When he caught the keywords "Future" and "God Wars ruins" in his words, his eyes brightened slightly, and he spoke directly while the palace fell silent, "I'm sorry, I don't have the formula or clues you want, but I'm also very interested in the God Wars ruins. If you plan to go out to sea to explore, I'd like to go with you."
Before attending tonight's meeting, Klein had specifically consulted Arrodes about the approximate location where mermaids appeared. Excluding those kept by the Church, the only option was to venture to the Sea of Ruins to search.
Venturing alone was certainly not as good as exploring with a powerful individual who was about to advance to a demigod, not to mention the possibility of gaining assistance from the "Future."
This was also Klein's carefully considered choice. He had temporarily abandoned his original plan to seek a safe way to leave Backlund at the Council of Entropy, the most direct reason being that he currently lacked the capital to pay sufficient remuneration for it.
Therefore, Klein planned to use the "World" alias to privately message Mr. "Emperor" at his Tarot Club, using the identity of a "The Fool"'s attendant, which he had already set up, to make a deal with that Duke.
Seeing that someone was also interested in the Sea of Ruins, Frank immediately nodded vigorously, then explained somewhat awkwardly, "No problem, but you might have to wait for a while."
Sharron, who had been quietly observing, slowly rose and bowed to the hidden existence deep within the palace.
"Great 'Lord of Order,' my teacher has discovered some changes within the Rose School of Thought."
"That 'Abomination' Suah seems to have been seriously injured in the Spirit World. I don't know what revelation it received, or perhaps it's just to compensate for the strong individuals who have fallen from the Rose School of Thought recently."
"It seems to have used that important Sealed Artifact obtained from the Sanguine to forcibly cultivate several Shaman Kings and many artificial Vampires."
What is this? Indulging the faith of the "Primordial Moon"?
Or has the "Mother Tree of Desire" reached a certain understanding with the "Mother Goddess of Depravity"?
Upon hearing Sharron's report, questions flashed through Aaron's mind, and his attention shifted from Klein. He indeed knew little about what had happened to the Rose School of Thought recently.
After Astolfo regained control of its body, it needed a transformation to truly restore its "Ancient Bane" status.
According to "Red Light" Aiur Moria, Astolfo needed to re-find the historical events that had been corrupted and cursed in the fog of history, using the special revival method of an "Ancient Bane" to return to its peak, which also led to its continued slumber until now.
Knowing that Reinette Tinekerr wanted to convey this matter through Sharron to the hidden existence who dared to confront the "Mother Tree of Desire," Aaron nodded almost imperceptibly.
Only when the exchanges between the various members gradually subsided did Aaron manipulate his attendant's vest and softly say, "I want to find the location of 'Vice Admiral Ailment' Tracy."
Ferran Eddas, who had just traded for the Sequence 5 "Ocean Songster" potion formula, withdrew his gaze from the advancement ritual and looked up at Mr. Attendant with some surprise, instinctively saying, "This morning, the 'Golden Dream' encountered that 'Vice Admiral Ailment' in the northern Savage Sea, but we only confronted each other for a while and left without a direct conflict."
Aaron, who had just spoken, paused slightly, not expecting such a quick response. The map of the northern Savage Sea region involuntarily appeared in his mind. Using Ferran Eddas's description, he roughly determined a range and the direction the "Vice Admiral Ailment" had departed.
A large team, with strict pirate guards, only confronted and no conflict occurred... Aaron gradually clarified his thoughts, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a mocking arc.
It seems that after he eliminated Qonas, the task of transporting slaves had been handed over to the Demoness Sect. In that case, the sea routes for transporting slaves provided by Amyrius Rieveldt might still be useful.
"Hmm, I need to be careful with the method. I can't alert them. Capturing Tracy openly will easily make that 'White Demoness' vigilant."
Thinking this, Aaron's gaze drifted to Louise, who was listening intently with interest. An idea immediately popped into his head:
"Perhaps I can use conflicts between pirate admirals to conceal my true purpose. After all, I only need some of Tracy's flesh and blood to pinpoint 'White Demoness' Katarina; I don't actually need to imprison her."
"Otherwise, if the people responsible for transporting slaves keep dying, even an idiot would know there's a problem."
Having made up his mind, Aaron immediately transformed his thoughts into spiritual light points and transmitted them to Louise. Under the Sanguine lady's astonished gaze, he calmly said, "Try to disguise this as a conflict between pirate admirals. I can give you some time to prepare and build momentum, but no more than a month."
"If you complete this task well, I can promise to help you advance to Sanguine Count."
Louise could clearly feel her heart rate accelerating, but she was no longer the naive Sanguine maiden she once was. After so much time at sea, she wouldn't be overwhelmed by surprise and rationally weighed her words, asking, "Just a 'Vice Admiral Ailment' doesn't seem worth such a promise from Mr. Attendant. Can you tell me what risks this task entails?"