Mr. Laine's hand first traveled east from the Nord Kingdom's Royal Capital Frost City, along a great road, through numerous towns and forests, until his finger reached a place covered in white desert on the map: "The first path is to go east along Kis Avenue, which ends at the vast snow desert left by the former Wizard Empire—Tazier Desert. Then, through the World's Roof Mountain Range governed by the Dwarves, you can reach the Dark Realm, a large wasteland dominated by Chaos Ogres who worship Chaos. Belte could find his destination there... However, he did not take that route because it's too far away, over two thousand kilometers, and Tazier is a barren land, with three cities in a place almost two-thirds the size of Nord, without towns or villages—the majority of the land is heavily polluted by alchemy and cannot be farmed, making supplies extremely difficult to obtain. Even if Belte could pass through Tazier, the complex mountain paths and underground tunnels guarded by Dwarves in the World's Roof Mountain Range would drive Belte crazy, so we can basically rule out him taking this route, and sure enough, Belte chose to go west."
Everyone nodded, no one would choose to go through Tazier.
"The second option is to head west, north, through the port of Lapland towards the Chaos Wasteland to join the Northern Barbarians stationed there." Laine rubbed his chin, also shaking his head: "It's a choice, but every northern port is heavily occupied by the Nord Kingdom Army, and every ship heading to the Chaos Wasteland undergoes strict inspection. With Belte's rich experience, he's unlikely to take such a big risk, the Evil God's will may make him violent but not foolish."
"So the remaining option is..." Laine's hand continued to move west along the Mien Forest, and everyone's gaze followed. Laine's finger landed on the Adar River, which runs through the Mien Forest, following it downstream, passing several villages until his finger arrived at a port city.
"Kaltenhaven?" Teresa's beautiful silver eyes slightly widened, her lips parted as she softly spoke.
"Yes, this is Belte's third route, to set sail from Nord's western port and somehow head south. Believing in Lake Fairy's Brittania and the powerful Empire isn't in Belte's considerations. Instead, the Southern Realm, which openly worships the Chaos Evil God as a deity or the bustling, mixed world's largest port and trade center, Marinburg, are the places Belte wants to go."
"Mr. Laine's words are correct, yet that doesn't necessarily mean Belte will definitely set sail from Kaltenhaven?" Viert raised his question.
"Indeed, not without this." Laine pulled out a blood-stained paper from his pocket.
It was the death message written in blood by the deceased Old Demon Hunter: "Belte X Aesthetic Society."
"Aesthetic Society?! Isn't that... Isn't that an organization established in Marinburg by a group of scholars and socialites known for their devotion to spreading beauty?" Teresa's mouth dropped open in surprise, hardly believing it.
The Aesthetic Society is a well-known organization on the continent, composed of numerous upper-class individuals who are meticulous in manner and follow fashion trends with appealing charm, advocating the pursuit of "beauty," leading people towards "love and harmony."
"Yes, it seems Belte's betrayal has revealed deeper secrets that no one anticipated, tying the Aesthetic Society, which regularly holds salons and has sponsored art groups in a dozen cities over the past ten years, granting countless young artists training opportunities, to Chaos." Laine's brow furrowed even tighter: "We cannot be certain that Belte will head to Kaltenhaven, but I can confirm he will head to a western port and set sail for Marinburg!"
"And our opponent is already a day's journey ahead of us. If he rushes overnight to the western port to set sail and then hides in Marinburg with the Aesthetic Society, it will be difficult for us to track him."
Everyone was downcast.
Marinburg was originally part of the Empire, or rather, it still is part of the Empire. This port is located at the mouth of the large river formed by the confluence of three major rivers of the Empire and is the world's number one port. Marinburg has extraordinary geographical conditions; it's on a plain with a pleasant climate suitable for living yet strategically positioned—a deep-water port capable of handling tens of thousands of tons of throughput is nestled between two peninsulas, with a range of mountains on one side forming a natural barrier.
Every year, tens of thousands of caravans constantly travel to and from Marinburg, and incredible gold continuously flows into this opulently wealthy giant port city but rarely flows out. Marinburg is governed by the Iris Family, and the Duke of Marinburg is likely the wealthiest person in this world because very few forces can issue orders to him. After the Second Chaos Invasion ended one hundred and fifty years ago, the reformed New Empire was in a state of disrepair. It was then that the former Duke of Marinburg suddenly found Ludwig. He put forth an astonishing amount of wealth, reportedly equivalent to the Empire's ten-year fiscal revenue. The Duke of Marinburg used this wealth to purchase autonomy from Ludwig, which was inscribed in the founding ceremony. Since then, the Empire could only collect an annual defense fee from Marinburg and could not interfere with any internal affairs of Marinburg.