Audrey was interested in the pirate admiral and asked, “What’s his name? What was his current title? There hasn’t been any related news in Backlund.”
Alger nodded slowly.
“She’s a lady and was a famous pirate in the past. You should’ve heard of Ailment Girl Tracy, right?”
“No, I don’t know much about such things.” Audrey shook her head in honesty.
Me too… Sitting at the end of the table, Klein added inwardly.
Alger fell silent for two seconds, and without wasting any time explaining, he said, “In short, she subdued the crew of Qilangos’s crew last month. She proved herself with actual action that she had the strength of a pirate admiral. She changed the name of Qilangos’s ship to Black Death and calls herself Rear Admiral Ailment.
“In the past, she acted independently and was someone who specialized in curses, black flames, and ice. Her enemies would always suffer from sudden ailments of various kinds. At present, no one knows which pathway she belongs to, but they’re certain that she’s at Sequence 5.”
Audrey listened with relish. She blinked her eyes and requested curiously, “Mr. Hanged Man, can you introduce the four pirate kings and the other six pirate admirals in detail? I’ve only heard of their names and titles, but I don’t know what Beyonder powers they are equipped with.”
Alger looked around and saw that both The Sun and The World were showing signs of attentiveness. He nodded slightly and said, “That wouldn’t be an issue.”
“The strongest pirate king is the King of the Five Seas, Nast. He claims to be a descendant of the Fourth Epoch’s Solomon Empire. Not only is he a High-Sequence Beyonder, but he possesses the terrifying ghost ship ‘Dark Emperor,’ a relic of the empire. He’s adept at using ‘order.’ He can pull his enemy into combat, in a domain that he’s best at, and create fascinating effects…
“He’s also the oldest pirate in the world. Rumor has it that he’s over a hundred years old, and he has been active in the Five Seas since the Roselle era. No one knows exactly how old he is.
“Of course, compared to the other pirate kings, there’s a lot of information about him. As for the owner of Dawn, all we know is that she’s a beautiful woman. She was once a Warlock and is now a demigod. She calls herself ‘Queen Mystery.'”
…
After introducing the “four kings,” Alger changed the topic to the six remaining pirate admirals.
“The owner of the Black Tulip, Ludwell, was once a subordinate of the King of the Five Seas. Later, he became independent and calls himself ‘Admiral Hell.’ Rumor has it that he’s established certain connections with the Numinous Episcopate. He’s a powerful medium and can control all sorts of creatures in the spirit world. He’s terrifying and odd. Rumor has it that he possesses a ring left behind from the ancient era’s ‘Death.’
“Admiral of Stars Cattleya was once a follower of Queen Mystery, but they’ve long become estranged. The reason for that, according to rumors, is because she joined a particular secret organization, angering Queen Mystery. And according to the information I know, this secret organization is the Moses Ascetic Order.”
The Moses Ascetic Order… The Mystery Pryer pathway… The Hidden Sage… Klein suddenly thought of old Neil’s loss of control and the evil god who would whisper temptations into the ears of Low-Sequence Beyonders of the same Sequence.
This was the first time he learned news regarding the Moses Ascetic Order through reality instead of books!
Then, Alger introduced Admiral of Blood Senor, who was suspected to be nonhuman; Rear Admiral Deep Sea Howl Constantine, who possessed a bloodline that was partially from sea monsters; Rear Admiral Iceberg Edwina Edwards, and Rear Admiral Dusk Bulatov Ioan.
“Thank you so much for sharing. I’m beginning to yearn for the sea,” Audrey said, filled with longing. “I don’t know when I’ll be able to truly travel.”
“No, Miss Justice, it’s absolutely not as nice as you imagine. From my point of view, it’s an amalgamation of blood, chaos, murder, desire, and horror,” Alger calmly doused her enthusiasm.
Audrey nodded and switched topics.
“There have been 11 serial murders in Backlund recently, but one of them has been proven to be a copycat crime. The serial killings are against women who were street girls but are now working normal professions. The murderer cuts open their stomachs and removes all of their internal organs.”
“This sounds like something to do with devil worship. Was it done by someone from the Blood Sanctify Sect?” Alger instantly made a guess.
“I don’t know. The murderer hasn’t been found yet.” Audrey yearned to become a detective, bringing Susie along and capturing that cursed murderer.
At this moment, Derrick blurted out in a daze, “I know about such rituals.”
He knows? That’s right. Before the cataclysm, especially during the Second Epoch, devils were active in the real world where they lived on the ground. They were the object of hatred for both giants and dragons. It’s normal for the City of Silver to have relevant records… Their history hasn’t been tampered with, nor has there been any blanks over the generations… Klein looked thoughtfully at The Sun, waiting for him to say more.
“You know about this?” Audrey asked in joy.
Derrick nodded.
“It’s mentioned in our Devil Studies. It’s rather ancient. The Devils use it as a ritual to supplement their advancement, typically used when advancing from Sequence 6 to Sequence 5.”
“It’s not a ceremony to please the devil, but a ceremony for the devil to assist them in advancing?” Audrey asked in surprise.
Derrick replied very seriously, “That’s right. The Abyss pathway’s Sequence 6 is called Devil. This is also the origin of that race’s name.”
The Abyss pathway? Before the cataclysm, the Devil pathway was called the Abyss pathway, and Devil is only the name of Sequence 6… Could… Sequence 0 be Abyss? Again, Klein discovered the value of The Sun.
A lot of knowledge and mysteries were lost across the river of history, but the City of Silver still possessed them!
“Is that so…” Audrey nodded indiscernibly. “Mr. Sun, are you aware of the actual details of the ritual?”
Derrick nodded and said, “The minimum requirement is 13 and the highest is 49. The more complete the ritual, the higher the chance of advancement.
“Between two murders, there must be a minimum of three days. Otherwise, it would be easy to lose control, but the interval will also not exceed nine days. That will cause the ritual to be reset.
“Every time a murder occurs and after every partial ritual, the Devil will eat the victim’s organs. From this point on, he’ll be in a violent and bloodthirsty state, wishing to harm others until that desire is satisfied once again.”
“That’s really scary…” Audrey sighed from the bottom of her heart, feeling that she couldn’t even bear to imagine it.
Klein sat in the thick gray fog, quietly listening and remembering.
After discussing the case of the serial killer, Audrey looked at Alger and organized her words.
“Mr. Hanged Man, there’s something that I’ve been wondering about.
“I’ve attended several Beyonder gatherings and find that very few people sell potion formulas. Even if there is one, it would be very difficult for the transaction to close. Why is this?”
Alger chuckled and said, “That’s because a potion formula is easy to fake, and Beyonder gatherings are relatively hidden and not too binding. Therefore, no one dares to risk their lives. Are you going to prepare two sets of Beyonder ingredients and conduct an experiment with animals first? That price is too high.”
“…” Audrey suddenly felt a little guilty.
“Moreover, that’s not the only extra cost. Animals can lose control more easily than humans after taking potions. You have to hire a few Beyonders to protect you to prevent you from dying during your experiments. So, for most Beyonders, even if a formula appears, they wouldn’t dare buy it,” Alger added.
“…” Audrey felt even guiltier.
Alger didn’t notice her reaction and continued, “Because of this, unless the host or a member of the gathering has the ability to appraise the authenticity of the potion formula and has already won the trust of most members, it’s difficult for a formula trade to close.”
Well, the Old Mister Eye of Wisdom can… Mr. A is a Shepherd, so he should be able to… Klein leaned back in his chair and muttered something to himself in silence.
A thought flashed through Audrey’s mind as she asked, “Can’t it be done by making an oath?”
“Honorable Lady, this is an underground gathering. Do you think it’s suitable to make an oath in the name of one of the seven orthodox gods? This isn’t something that can be resolved with an oath. A corresponding ritual is needed.” Alger chuckled. “As for other evil gods or devils and mysterious existences like the Hidden Sage and the True Creator, unless you’re ‘Their’ believers, who would dare to swear an oath in ‘Their’ name? Wouldn’t they be wishing death upon themselves?”
At this point, he sighed.
“In addition, without them knowing the acting method, potions easily lead to a loss of control, easily turning people into monsters. Furthermore, the corresponding ingredients are hard to obtain and rather expensive. Therefore, as long as the seven Churches don’t allow such trades to be officially recognized, there’s no need for them to deliberately control the spread of potion formulas on a wide scale, much less talk about advancement.”
“So that’s how it is…” Audrey murmured to herself, clearing a huge question in her mind.
No wonder… Klein suddenly came to a realization.
Seven orthodox gods? Derrick really wanted to ask which seven they were, but he ultimately held himself back.
He thought for a moment and said, “The City of Silver has recently organized an expedition to explore deep into the darkness and found a semi-destroyed temple. The statue that’s worshipped inside was a naked man nailed upside down on a cross. There were also a lot of bloodstains on its surface.
“Do you know which god that is?”
This is… the True Creator! The Forsaken Land of the Gods actually has a temple of the True Creator! Judging from what The Sun said, the True Creator shouldn’t exist before the cataclysm; otherwise, it would be impossible for the City of Silver to not recognize it! Klein used his Clown ability to control his expression to prevent the shock from showing on his face.
Justice, The Hanged Man, and The World exchanged looks, shook their heads, and said in unison, “We don’t know.”
Just as they finished speaking, they heard Mr. Fool in the gray fog say in a deep voice, “That’s the Fallen Creator.”