"A Beyonder creature that only knows how to read…" Automatically ignoring the somewhat heaven-defying statement, Ademisaul tilted his head to look at the chubby owl on his shoulder, and asked curiously, "Mr. Harry, can you tell me what books you've been reading recently?"
Taking his gaze off the plump Apothecary Darkwill, the owl Harry replied seriously, "My reading preferences depend on Darkwill's knowledge level."
"Unfortunately, the words he knows and can teach me are limited, so I have to read popular stories with a lower vocabulary requirement."
"Moreover, these are all serialized in newspapers."
Watching Ademisaul walk into the shop and close the door directly, the plump Apothecary Darkwill's mouth twitched slightly, and he muttered, "I'll go buy a cookbook later, called 'East Balam Bird Cooking Guide'…"
Ignoring Darkwill's mumbling, Ademisaul leaned back in his recliner and said in a low voice, "Some people from the Life School of Thought have run into trouble. Roy King was secretly arrested by the Loen military because of this and is now imprisoned in the Bayam Governor's Mansion."
"What?!" Darkwill lost control again, his eyes wide, blurting out a question. His violent movement scared the owl Harry into flying up to the rafters.
He still remembered that when he was studying with his teacher, Roy King, he was always warned to be careful of official organizations, as he could either be permanently imprisoned underground, seeing neither sunlight nor women, or become a research subject, testing the dangers of certain Sealed Artifacts with his body, enduring various experiments, and mutating into a Monster with only instincts left.
But Darkwill wasn't stupid; he quickly reacted, taking two steps back warily, and mumbled guiltily, "I can't confirm it. You can't expect me to believe whatever you say, right?"
"Besides, why did you suddenly come looking for me? I haven't received any news. How do you know so much?"
"You wouldn't happen to be the one who betrayed the Life School of Thought, would you…?" The latter half of the sentence, Darkwill only dared to mutter in his heart.
Seeing through what the guy was thinking at a glance, Ademisaul sighed and patiently explained, "I am the disciple my teacher took in Tingen this year. Even your teacher only knew of my existence last month, which is why I wasn't ambushed by the Loen military."
"As for why I came to you, to be honest, it's because you're weak enough, inconspicuous enough, and therefore safe enough."
"Also, the School's important Sealed Artifact is with me now!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw Darkwill, with a speed unbefitting his figure, rush into the back room of the herb shop, drag out a brown suitcase, and quickly stuff various clothes and neatly folded cash into it.
Frozen for a moment, Ademisaul's mouth twitched slightly as he reminded him, "Help me get an identity document too. For the next few months, we'll leave Desi County. Don't take the waterway; go directly through Southville County to East Tucker County…"
-----------------
In the underground chamber of the Governor's Mansion on Oravi Island.
"Law Weaver" Amyrius Rieveldt looked indifferently at Aaron, who was examining numerous sea charts, and said coldly, "These are the items I wanted to show you when I invited you to the dinner. I had been secretly tracking 'Mad Captain' Connors Viktor's fleet for some time."
"Heh, until that Deputy Director of MI9, 'Qonas Kilgor,' appeared."
Aaron withdrew his gaze from the sea charts that covered the entire underground chamber, his brow slightly raised. He looked at the indifferent Amyrius Rieveldt. Now he finally understood why a mere Mad Captain required a Demigod to personally guard and escort him.
The only one who truly knew about the human trafficking being connected to the Loen Royal Family was that Mad Captain. With that pirate's strength, let alone a Demigod, even a Sequence 5 could easily silence him.
It seemed that they had indeed done so at first, but only after discovering traces of Amyrius Rieveldt did they change to a Demigod guard.
Aaron looked at the sea charts on the wall again. This time, he no longer paid attention to the marked routes. Both the Mad Captain and Qonas Kilgor had died, so as long as the Loen Royal Family wasn't insane, they wouldn't use these routes again.
However, the slave capture locations in the Southern Continent were somewhat valuable. He could have Joseph Weil, who was guarding the West Balam colony, send people to investigate secretly. At least they might discover traces of the Demoness Sect.
Looking at the almost brand-new Loen map outside the shipping lanes, Aaron's mouth unconsciously curved slightly. No matter what happened, the Blood Emperor's secret mausoleum would always remain the same.
Generously displaying the routes to him like this, it seemed that Admiral Amyrius must have discovered the approximate locations of several Blood Emperor ruins within Loen.
As soon as he thought of this, Aaron's brows furrowed slightly. Given the level of security at the Blood Emperor ruins, even if it wasn't the exact location, it wasn't something a Sequence 4 could do without a sound. Could this guy have received the Goddess's blessing?
Pretending to still be looking at the surrounding maps, Aaron inadvertently scanned the Admiral again, confirming that he did not sense any residual aura of the Goddess.
His steps paused slightly, and Aaron realized that he seemed to have entered a habitual blind spot. This matter had almost the same internal logic as Qonas Kilgor appearing on the Mad Captain's ship.
Even if Loen's Beyonder power was strong, the number of strong individuals the Royal Family could truly trust and control would not be so abundant as to allow a Demigod to personally guard the transportation of slave ships.
This would only be done if the plan had issues or reached a critical juncture.
And it's impossible for all nine Blood Emperor mausoleums to be under angelic surveillance. It was only when George III was about to advance to Black Emperor that several angels were invited from the Twilight Secret Order, bringing the defensive strength of the other mausoleums to such a terrifying level.
Under normal circumstances, except for the few mausoleums near Backlund, which might be directly observed by angels due to proximity, the other mausoleums far from Backlund should only be guarded by Demigod-level powerhouses.
Only when attacked would they rely on the arrangements within the mausoleum, using the angels' worldwide responsive status to summon observation and power projection.
Putting himself in Amyrius's shoes, he certainly wouldn't start by exploring near Backlund. He would definitely explore the farthest locations first, and he wouldn't delve deep without confirmed intelligence.
Thinking of this, his thoughts gradually settled, and Aaron also put away his previous indifferent attitude. If it was just about the Mad Captain, he wasn't interested at all, but if he could know the approximate locations of several Blood Emperor ruins in advance, it would be a profitable deal for him.
Because his identity was rather special, if the East Tucker family sent people to explore like Amyrius, the changes caused might exceed Aaron's expectations, which was why he hadn't done so before.
However, a Demigod like Amyrius, who was worth winning over and held a high position, was even more difficult to deal with. If this commander of the Central Sonia Sea Navy died suddenly, not only would the Royal Family have to explain, but the Church of the Lord of Storms and the Church of Evernight Goddess would also investigate.
Aaron then turned to look at Amyrius, pointing to the large blank area within Loen on the map, and said with a smile, "Admiral, compared to these routes, what interests me more is, where within Loen were those people finally sent?"
Amyrius's azure eyes narrowed slightly. Although he didn't speak, the atmosphere in the entire underground chamber instantly became oppressive, like the calm before a storm.
After a long while, he said in a deep voice, "What do you know?"
Ignoring the pressure that would make even ordinary Demigods frown slightly, Aaron smiled and waved his hand, "Does what I know matter? What matters is what you yourself have done, and what will His Majesty the King's reaction be to your actions?"
Amyrius's eyes narrowed slightly, his azure eyes staring intently at Aaron's expression, as if trying to discern whether he was lying:
"Where did you get that information from? Aren't you afraid of the Royal Family's pursuit?"
Having roughly understood that Amyrius was not aware of the true nature of the slave transport, merely lucky enough to know a few slave delivery locations, Aaron's expression remained unchanged. He skillfully raised his arm, revealing the faintly glowing Dark Sacred Emblem on his wrist, and said leisurely, "Don't beat around the bush with me, and don't try to probe my intentions."
"Heh, you and I both know that after the Fourth Epoch ended, the true masters of this world were never kings or emperors, but those lofty deities."
"I am very interested in the intelligence you possess. How about a trade?"
Amyrius's expression suddenly became calm. Regarding Aaron's proposal, he neither responded nor refused. After a moment of contemplation, he said coldly, "I need some time to consider. Do you need me to see you out?"
Behind Amyrius was the Rieveldt family. Although not as deeply rooted as the Augustus family or Duke East Tucker, they still held a place in the extraordinary world with complex interests, so they naturally wouldn't agree to Aaron's proposal so easily.
But not directly refusing also indicated that he was indeed tempted.
Not surprised by this outcome, Aaron nodded calmly, informing the Admiral of the ritual to summon his messenger, Astolfo, and reminded him, "If you've thought it through, you can write a letter directly and send it to me via the messenger."
"Don't worry, my messenger is very strong. Even if you are being monitored, the situation you fear most will not occur."
"Also, I will find a reason to decline the invitation Governor Aston Rieveldt sent me earlier. This might alleviate some of your burden."
Amyrius noted down the ritual and honorific name, nodding without any change in his expression.
A colorful oil painting world appeared in the underground chamber. Just as Aaron was about to step into the Spirit World, he paused, turned back, and reminded, "Once you make the right decision, I will give you a surprise…"
-----------------
Backlund, 15 Minsk Street.
Bright sunlight streamed in, dispelling the chill. Klein, in a good mood, walked into the washroom, sat on the toilet, and began reading the still-warm "Backlund Morning Post."
His fortuitous encounter with Mr. Azik last night truly gave him the confidence to continue his investigation in this "Capital of Capitals," not to mention gaining a Sealed Artifact corresponding to the Spirit Guide.
More than that, what excited Klein the most was that he had consulted Mr. Azik on how to obtain his own exclusive messenger. Although due to the potential danger of 0-08, Mr. Azik did not teach him the relevant knowledge at that time, he promised to explain the complete ritual steps through a letter later.
To get a messenger, one must first design an accurate summoning ritual and prepare a corresponding Spirit World creature contract. This belongs to a specialized field of knowledge, and messing around blindly can easily summon something bad. Therefore, Klein dared not try rashly before he was confident.
But as The Fool, even sending a letter required borrowing someone else's messenger, which was simply too demeaning. It was one thing that he didn't dare to contact Mr. Azik before due to various concerns, but now that he finally met him, he naturally had to consult him properly.
While searching for posted detective tasks in the newspaper as usual, Klein silently thought to himself.
Just then, his spiritual intuition suddenly triggered.
He quickly tapped his teeth, activating Spirit Vision.
Two thick, tall white bones appeared before him, which were the messenger's legs.
The messenger stood there, its head piercing through the ceiling, but the black flames in its eye sockets were still visible.
It lowered its head slightly, looking down at Klein, who was sitting on the toilet.
Klein also looked up at this moment. The air instantly fell silent for two seconds, with only a single expletive echoing in his mind.
Before he could utter those two words, the impolite messenger dropped a letter, then disintegrated into white bones with a whoosh, falling like a rainstorm and disappearing into the floor.
The newspaper in his hand fell. Klein dazedly caught Mr. Azik's letter, and it took him a while to react.
"Next time I write a letter, I'll add a section asking Mr. Azik to properly educate his messenger to be polite…" Klein unfolded the letter and read Azik's reply.
After retrieving several materials from above the gray fog, Klein had just prepared the ritual for summoning a Spirit World creature when the room filled with the intoxicating scent of herbs and essential oils.
He glanced at the room, which had cost him a full 20 Soli to clean, hesitated for a moment, then quickly gathered the materials, put on his trench coat and cap, slipped into an uninhabited alley, and swiftly entered the underground sewers.
Finding a relatively dry passage, Klein looked at the somewhat dim surroundings and nodded with satisfaction.
He could swear he wasn't feeling bad about the 20 Soli; he was simply worried about causing an accident in his home. Even if he wasn't at risk himself, it could harm other residents and attract unnecessary trouble.
"I'm only Sequence 7. Without Mr. Azik's help, I wouldn't be able to summon a messenger at all, so the messenger I summon cannot be too strong, or it's easy for it to backfire on me."
"Hmm, it can't be too weak either, otherwise it might be killed by other malicious Spirit World creatures at some point, leading to the loss of important letters, or it just needs to be fast enough…"
Klein's thoughts raced, and he soon had a definite idea. Combining the ritual process and precautions mentioned in Azik's letter, he formulated the summoning spell he desired.