Semi-transparent human skin covered the blood-colored sword-body formed by the spine, concealing the bizarre patterns that could drive Beyonders below the demigod level wonderful, but the iron-blooded aura showed no signs of weakening.
Anderson swallowed, his eyes burning with excitement, having recognized that what hung before him was precisely the product of the Iron and Blood Cross Order's "Iron-Blooded Knight" after his demise.
Although it did not contain Beyonder characteristics, the strength of its material perfectly inherited the Iron-Blooded Knight's steel-like physique, and it also contained madness at the demigod level, making it practically tailor-made for the "Strongest Hunter of the Fog Sea."
Just as Anderson was still lost in thought, Aaron's voice once again entered his mind:
"War is always the best place to temper a team, and such an opportunity will arrive very soon."
"This bone sword is an advance reward for you. I haven't erased the residual aura of that Iron and Blood Cross Order demigod on it."
"How to make good use of it is up to you. My only requirement is to provoke conflict between the Iron and Blood Cross Order and Feysac."
Happily accepting the bone sword, which could be rated as a Sealed Artifact Grade 1, Anderson patted his chest and vowed:
"Your Excellency, Duke, I will not fail your trust!"
"Those who believe in the True Creator do not like to use their brains; they are fanatical to the point of stupidity, truly a disgrace to Hunters."
"One month, no, two weeks at most, and I will show you results, though this might require Governor-General Odeson to make a small sacrifice…"
Before Anderson could finish his sentence, Mobet, who was deeply parasitic in "Governor-General of Seran" Odeson Castiya, silently emerged from the void, first glancing at a certain Hunter, then bowing to Aaron:
"My Lord, good evening!"
"The intelligence regarding the Secret Order that you previously requested, I have already collected a portion. I even captured a member of the Secret Order hidden in Seran, but even translating his memories did not yield any information about Zaratul."
Not at all disappointed by this, Aaron nodded slightly to indicate he understood, then observed Mobet in his parasitic state. At such close range, he also discovered something interesting:
"The potion is digesting very quickly, hmm? Pallez left that 'Trojan Horse of Destiny' characteristic on you?"
Odeson Castiya's expression quickly became vacant, and Mobet's figure appeared beside him. A lingering sigh was followed by Pallez's resonant, aged voice:
"No choice, this is the only remaining bloodline of the Zoroast family. I, an old man, must pay more attention!"
"Separating the characteristic allows me to recover to my peak at crucial moments and avoids strong Convergence effects from being perceived by Amon. Most importantly, it reduces my need for anchors."
Aaron nodded, understanding Pallez's difficulties, and did not continue to tease him. He casually threw out Anderson, who had been eavesdropping with pricked ears, and then continued:
"You should have sensed what happened in the Astral World recently. The Evernight Goddess has already obtained the Death Uniqueness, but the God of Combat will not give the Evernight Goddess time to digest the Uniqueness and advance further."
"If I'm not mistaken, Zaratul should be released by the Evernight Goddess very soon, so we need to prepare early."
"Zaratul…" Pallez sighed, then responded after a few seconds of silence:
"His true body is well hidden, and all related information has been destroyed. Even I cannot accurately find him."
"Not destroyed, but concealed." Correcting Pallez's statement, Aaron continued to explain:
"Zaratul is already a Sequence 1 Attendant of Mysteries. His true body should currently be hidden in the Realm of Mysteries he created. It's only because his crucial humanity was imprisoned during his advancement that his external true body fell into madness."
"Therefore, while Zaratul's Realm of Mysteries is hidden, it has a fatal flaw. Through some special mediums, it might be possible to discover traces."
"And for that, we need to go to Backlund!"
-----------------
In the Berserk Sea, near Bansy Island, within the thin mist, a shimmering, illusory long river of rippling light faintly appeared.
Accompanying the gentle tremor of the sea surface, the mist was stirred, and Bansy Island, surrounded by the aura of destiny, flickered in and out of view amidst silver-white lightning and crimson flames.
The next second, a blood-colored light flew out from Bansy Island, which looked as if the apocalypse had arrived, and it escaped the shackles of destiny without any hindrance.
Finally, it transformed into the figure of Ince Zangwill, though at this moment, this Nighthawk appeared extremely miserable, with a clear wound at his neck, and festering, oozing skin beneath his double-breasted pure black clerical robe.
Ignoring the miserable state of his body, Ince Zangwill's face revealed his characteristic mocking smile. He raised his hands to press on both sides of his face, where bloody mouths each split open, then quickly closed again.
"After all this time, you actually didn't die there, which is somewhat beyond my imagination…"
An undisguised mocking voice came. Ince Zangwill, or more accurately, Sauron Einhorn Medici, lost the smile on his face. His deep blue, almost black, single eye narrowed slightly, and even his blind eye now faintly revealed a bloody hue.
At some unknown point, a young man wearing a pointed soft hat and a classical black robe appeared beside him.
The man toyed with a crystal monocle, then put it on his right eye, looking at Sauron Einhorn Medici and continuing:
"No need to be nervous. I just helped you break the seal left by that Ouroboros fellow. I think that should be enough to show my sincerity, right?"
Gradually suppressing, or more accurately, assimilating with the corruption so it no longer manifested, Sauron Einhorn Medici glanced at Amon opposite him and snorted lightly:
"Is this your true body?"
Amon adjusted the monocle on his right eye, the curve of his lips becoming even more pronounced:
"Guess."
A dense ominous aura mixed with an iron-blooded aura dispersed, but then quickly subsided, and Sauron Einhorn Medici, whose state was gradually returning to normal, responded impolitely:
"Little Raven, after all these years, your personality is still so annoying."
"Tell me, why did you find me? What do you want?"
"Or, do you want to wait here with me for the Lord's grace?"
Shaking his head calmly, Amon turned his head to look at the other side of the sea, at Bansy Island, which was gradually returning to tranquility:
"The situation on the Western Continent seems more interesting than I expected. Also, a reminder for you, heh, Cheek is already targeting you!"
"I hope you don't die as miserably as you did in the Fourth Epoch…"