It was still that sa Zero-Level Sacred Relic, the Pharos Lighthouse, silently standing in the sea of the collective subconscious of humanity.
And it was still Miss Delia, clad in a grey cloak with a head of platinum blonde hair, who was responsible for guiding the way.
But Byron’s mood upon his second visit here had completely changed.
His lips curled into a smile, his steps light; he was totally unconcerned about the upcoming "final battle."
He was preoccupied with checking the information about the Dream Pet Snail in the Sailing Logbook of his right eye.
To the grand goal in his heart, everything else was illusory; only the power firmly grasped in hand was real.
He had thought that having many tentacles was already the Snail’s greatest feature, but after reading about its transcendent abilities, he discovered there were additional pleasant surprises.
One, "Vortex Transmission":
"It possesses a large ink sac in its body, capable of spraying ink to obscure the enemy’s vision in tis of crisis. At the sa ti, it stirs a vortex with its tentacles, mixing in ink to muddy the water. After obscuring the enemy’s sight, it slips into the vortex to initiate short-distance teleportation. Unlike Deep Sea Leap, the distance of Vortex Transmission is relatively short, a maximum of only a few hundred kiloters at a ti. The advantage is, as an escape ability, it can teleport multiple tis quickly and without interruption, changing the destination at will. Even if faced with an enemy who also possesses the ability to teleport, under normal circumstances, they would not be able to catch it. Had it not been for Byron himself attacking with a Sure-Hit Spear, pulling the battlefield into a ntal world where nobody could escape, the Snail would probably have already fled. Moreover, the ink within its ink sac has a magical property: if written on paper, it completely vanishes within three days. It’s quite simply a natural-born master of Contract Fraud."
This ability to stir murky waters and perform Deceit, no matter how one looked at it, seed a perfect match for Byron, its owner.
Logically, if it were nad, either "Little Yowling" or "Big Yowling" seed more fitting than "Little Snail." But considering that no one else besides himself could appreciate the aning behind the na, Byron had no intention of changing it.
Two, "Torrent Battle Armor":
"This ability is sowhat similar to the ’Battle Armor of Rampage’ once used by the blue-haired Barbarossa Halding. It can form a layer of armor on the body’s surface consisting of high-speed ocean currents. And as long as one exercises imagination, the water can be freely shaped into any desired form, providing the master with all-around protection without any dead angles. Once wearing the battle armor, one can headbutt opponents at will with the montum of a rocket. The Snail initially used this ability when it charged towards the Golden Deer like a battering ram; the stronger its Spirituality, the greater the power."
Byron was already prepared to use the Snail’s blood to inscribe on Violet the third Curse Seal, simultaneously inheriting this "Torrent Battle Armor."
The Calamity Witch bloodline evolving into a non-human Sea Monster was bound to engage in close combat sooner or later. Hence, it was essential to prepare in advance and take precautions. Teleportation, escape, close combat... it was best to have all such abilities well-equipped.
Byron had thought everything through very comprehensively, yet he seed to subconsciously ignore one point.
Now, with Violet having just gathered three Curse Seals, two of them ca from the blood of tentacled Demon Monsters.
After gathering all six Curse Seals to complete the "Deepsea Traceback" ritual, the three randomly obtained demoness forms would be... tsk tsk tsk.
"Once I get the immunity, I’ll let the faith enterprise of my domain follow my will onto the right track. I’ll advance the plans of the Financial District, the Bloodthirsty Cult, and The Skinners’ Church. Then I’ll complete my own ’Blood Banquet Holy Grail’ bloodline evolution ritual, as well as Violet’s ’Deepsea Traceback,’ reaching the most potent state at this stage. Then I can chase after the exploration progress of the first and second tiers in the Circulation Zone."
"I checked the Snail’s mory; it seems that it isn’t an ordinary ammonite mutation but cos from an entire sea monster ammonite clan living within the Doldrums. Next ti I go there, I’ll see if I can find an opportunity to coax them all to join. Having them would ensure passage for the whaling ships through the Doldrums. To establish a whale oil industry system, having just one whaling ground is obviously not enough. Whaling ships, raw material transport, related technical reserves, skilled workers, Artisans, and Transcendent professionals from the Tower Sequence... all are more than welco. Even my own Golden Deer still needs a Navigator and a Naturalist. Manpower, material resources, financial resources—slowly fostering them by myself is far from sufficient. This work of shearing wool must not stop."
Just as he was about to step onto the highest stair, Byron suddenly found that Delia, who was leading the way, had stopped abruptly. If his control over his body hadn’t been honed to perfection, he would have almost bumped right into her.
He asked curiously, "What’s the matter, Miss Delia?"
The sweet-faced female Navigator turned around, opened her mouth as if to speak, then hesitated, and ultimately lowered her voice to caution Byron, "Councilman, although the Federation only urgently summoned the Governors early this morning, an hour ago, Cardinal Archbishop Babatila and Governor Fox of Havana had already arrived ahead of ti and borrowed a small conference room for a secret eting. I faintly heard your na in their conversation. I’m afraid that what these two are planning is not sothing good."
Hearing this, Byron’s eyes darkened slightly but quickly returned to normal. He nodded and thanked the liaison before him, "Thank you for the warning, Miss Delia. Could you tell which conference room they are in?"
Seeing her reluctant face, he smiled warmly and added, "Don’t worry, there won’t be a conflict. I’ve actually more or less guessed the content of their conversation. Approaching them is rely to make a... modest trade with Governor Fox of Havana."
...
Within a small, independent eting room inside the lighthouse, the atmosphere grew tense as the playback of a video recording transmitted from the Pharos Lighthouse ca to an end.
Cardinal Archbishop Babatila’s face was particularly somber as he addressed the Governor of Havana, Fox Ulysses, who had stood by his side and watched the entire Hunt of the May Wind, with a cold snort, "Mr. Fox, the terms of the Right to Protect were established by you, the monarchs and ministers of Castilia, and you personally selected the precondition of ’solving the Blood Craze calamity’ to obtain it. You were the ones who swore an oath to the Lord, swearing there would be absolutely no problems.
"And now, this is what you show ?!
"Killing the May Wind and the Infinite Evolver Balboa; rooting out the mastermind behind the scenes to find his purpose; eradicating the widespread Coral Disease in the Bantaan Archipelago—which of these three key bonus points have you resolved at all? Huh? Tell !
"Do you think we, the Holy Infant Society, can truly cover the sky with one hand and twist the truth in front of the 98 Cardinals of the Papal Basilica, the 12 Saints of the Council of the Divine Presence, and His Holiness the Pope? If the Traditional Faction could really have their way completely, would there still be a need to be wary of those Protestant heretics?"
Indeed, the Church and the Kingdom of Castilia had long reached a tacit agreent. As long as there was even the slightest room for human evaluation, the first place "Right to Protect" would unquestionably belong to Castilia. But what was utterly frustrating was the sheer ineptitude of these people.
The new Governor of Havana, Fox Ulysses, bowed his head ekly, without a trace of the arrogance he had displayed at the first eting. He wished he could just find a hole to crawl into.
Seeing him like that, the Archbishop beca even more infuriated. "I have now reviewed the surveillance footage from the Pharos Lighthouse. Although I couldn’t see the details clearly, the outco was crystal clear.
"You People of Castilia are far too arrogant!
"If you had just assigned a few additional Third Order Transcendents as deputies for the Double-faced Person, the Smith Robert Brothers, you wouldn’t have let Hightins snatch the opportunity from you.
"Not only did the Sea Hunter kill the Infinite Evolver Balboa, but they also uncovered the mastermind and prevented an advent ritual of the Old Gods.
"With such achievents, why should the first place ’Right to Protect’ go to you? Now, tell , what should we do?"
"Your Excellency, I... we..." Fox’s face flushed, struggling to express his tornt.
’You yourself ntioned the Smith Brothers; we deployed two Fourth Order individuals, isn’t that cautious enough? We People of Castilia have been overly cautious, haven’t we? It’s not that our brothers didn’t try hard, it’s just that Sea Hunter cheated! Who could have imagined that he could actually call down lightning from the sky and, under the cover of the War Chains, take out three Fourth Order individuals in one breath?’
There were indeed Third Order assistants present, for example, Grand Wizard Mr. Crow Naerm from The Skinners’ Church. However, he was only responsible for signaling, not fighting, and had already retired successfully before the Ghost Ship set sail for the Edge of the World.
The Kingdom of Castilia had already suffered a trendous loss when the Infinite Evolver Balboa beca corrupted, and now they had also lost one of the Smith Brothers, the Double-faced Person. Fox, as the direct leader, had to bear this burden whether he liked it or not. And with heavy losses among his Tier 4 Heroes, yet failing to obtain what the Kingdom wanted, his future fate was easy to imagine. He was likely to set a new record for the shortest tenure of governors worldwide, and moreover, to die miserably in office.
Whether out of anger or fear, Fox’s body began to tremble slightly. After stamring hesitantly, his face, alternating between pale and flushed, gradually revealed a cruel and ruthless expression. "Your Excellency, while the Church and the Lighthouse Union have not yet jointly announced the news, I will imdiately lead a raid on their royal port. We’ll launch an assassination on that Sea Hunter and seize back a few trophies from the May Wind. As long as that third party is also dead, we can completely spin the battle with the May Wind as a mutual destruction of all three parties. Our Double-faced Person was the strongest and contributed the most. It is only natural that we receive first place. At the sa ti, I also ask you to pressure the Hastings Royal Family. Those spineless mbers of the York Family only ascended to their positions with the Church’s support; they would not dare to offend both the Church and us, Castilia, at the sa ti. Even if they have to hold their noses, they will ultimately have to swallow this bitter pill..."
Cardinal Archbishop Babatila looked at the Governor of Havana with barely concealed dissatisfaction.
Although the Saints of his faction had entrusted this task to him, and it absolutely had to be completed successfully, the part that was supposed to be carried out by Castilia had ended up as a complete ss. Now he had to clean up after these incompetents. As a mber of the clergy, with no army or territory, his reputation was all he had to rely on wherever he went; who wouldn’t cherish their own standing? Expending his personal connections, ti, and energy on official matters was utterly distasteful; how could he possibly be pleased? But the Kingdom of Castilia was a favored son the Church had nurtured for many years. The Hightins York Royal Family, whom their Traditional Faction had strategically maneuvered into power, was rely a step-grandson by comparison—at best, a hound to be used against Lancaster and other Bayfolk rebels. Although all were supposedly on the sa side, he was well aware of their differing values.
After listening to Fox’s desperate, impractical proposal, he could only grimly respond, "Let’s do it that way then. Just make sure you do it cleanly..."
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK...
Before he could finish speaking, a series of unhurried knocks suddenly ca from outside the room.
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