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Looking at the corpse on the ground with a somewhat complex gaze, the captain of the Purifier squad's lips were a little dry. He nodded, a thought flashing through his mind:
"This Lord Aaron's strength is actually so formidable. That was a Pirate Admiral, yet he was hunted down. It seems the situation on the sea will undergo a drastic change..."
One must know that every Pirate Admiral, who earned their fame across the Five Seas, second only to the Four Kings, did so not merely because they represented a team or a faction with numerous Beyonders under their command.
It was also because they themselves were strong enough, possessing at least the strength to rival a Sequence 5, especially a Pirate Admiral like "Admiral of Blood" who had dominated the Five Seas for many years.
Even if the hunt was accomplished with the aid of a Mystical Item, it was still enough to prove that the person before him possessed the strength of a Pirate Admiral.
If his respect before receiving Bishop Jogori's mission was more due to Aaron's identity, then now it had completely transformed into respect for a strong individual.
Aaron nodded slightly. With outsiders present, he did not use Spirit World Travel. Instead, he lightly tapped the ground with his toes, and with his formidable physical prowess, his figure vanished like a phantom.
After a few leaps, Aaron returned to his villa, calmed down Bayer Baile and other members of his personal guard who were ready for action, and went back to his own bedroom.
Although he knew the Rose School of Thought would definitely not appear in Bayam again, Aaron still didn't want to carry Senor's Beyonder characteristic with him. Sacrificing it to the dark golden mist, completely crushing and sterilizing it, was the correct approach.
If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't sense Astolfo's location at all right now, only knowing he was fine through the messenger's special sense,
even if it was a sneak attack, being able to instantly incapacitate a Sequence 4 demigod, and even take him away before he could use his mythical creature form for a last-ditch effort, such strength meant Aaron didn't need to worry.
Aaron couldn't even divine his exact location through the connection on top of the dark golden mist. This should be the reason why he had never been discovered in the Spirit World all these years.
After sacrificing the Beyonder characteristic and the strange "Scale of Fortune" to the dark golden mist, Aaron's consciousness sank, and he returned to his throne.
He reached out and retrieved the "Sun Scepter" which was wantonly venting in the pile of sundries, endured the pain of soul-burning, cut his wrist, and let blood soak the scepter, calming the remaining negative effects.
....
On the westernmost side of the Rorsted Archipelago, a small town far from Bayam.
Maric's face was grim as he looked towards Bayam in the southeast, feeling the destructive aura emanating from the silvery-white sky.
Suddenly, his expression shifted slightly, and a hint of joy appeared between his brows as he looked at a certain shadow, where the Gothic-styled Sharron stood.
The original plan had gone slightly awry; the Rose School of Thought's attack had come much earlier than expected. Therefore, after completing her decoy mission, Sharron immediately abandoned the idea of advancement and swiftly retreated from the battlefield.
The Sanguine powerhouse cooperatively entangled the members of the Rose School of Thought, giving Sharron enough time to escape.
As a blessing in disguise, she also didn't participate in the subsequent major battle, remaining in good condition without any injuries, and didn't end up on a certain enraged "Sea King's" blacklist.
And no matter how the plan ultimately unfolded, Bayam was bound to undergo a major cleansing. To avoid being caught red-handed by the enraged Church of the Lord of Storms and creating unnecessary trouble,
she had arranged for Maric to leave Bayam with all their belongings before the plan even began, agreeing to meet in this coastal town at the end.
Sharron, who had just escaped danger, still responded with a calm "Mm." Her clear voice then rang out:
"The people of the Rose School of Thought shouldn't come to the Rorsted Archipelago again for a while. This is already far enough from Bayam. Let's go to the seaside to continue my advancement ritual."
She had previously drunk the potion prepared by Count Mistral, which could help accelerate integration into the Spirit World and complete the ritual. The effects of the medicine had not completely worn off, so now was the best time.
Looking at Sharron with her resolute eyes, Maric, who knew how dangerous the advancement ritual was, ultimately swallowed his words of dissuasion and followed Sharron to the seaside.
....
On the desolate beach, Sharron stood alone and drank the prepared potion in one gulp.
As spirituality surged, the runes inscribed with the advancement ritual shattered, transforming into complex patterns that enveloped Sharron, who stood on the beach, layer by layer.
Waves of obscure fluctuations emanated, accompanied by the appearance of a richly colored space, like an oil painting.
Sharron's body, which was as hard as steel and could even withstand bullets and cannonballs, disintegrated inch by inch under the wrapping of complex patterns.
Even Sharron let out a low growl from her throat. The extreme pain stimulated her previously suppressed desires for slaughter and bloodlust.
Under such inhuman torment, Sharron's body completely shattered, turning into illusory specks of light that surged into the Spirit World space, which resembled an oil painting.
Coming into contact with the chaotic and jumbled information of the Spirit World, she was gradually cleansed and transformed, but Sharron did not become immersed in it. Her consciousness quickly cleared, and she looked around while also sensing her current state.
Before Sharron could even sort out the knowledge that had suddenly appeared in her mind, in her Wraith state, she suddenly tilted her head slightly and looked behind her, her pupils contracting slightly.
A colossal sailing ship drifted in the Spirit World, predominantly dark and gloomy in color, with a faint greenish hue. On its stark white main sail, a blooming, pitch-black tulip was depicted.
This was "Admiral of Hell" Ludwig's flagship, the "Black Tulip"!
And on it, white skeletons, some unclothed, others wearing leather armor, busily manipulated the sails. Pale Zombies, armed with longswords, patrolled back and forth, their eyes, burning with a faint green flame, scanning their surroundings.
Shadows, Wraiths, and various strange Spirit World creatures occasionally flew and circled, or drilled into the hull, causing indistinct transparent faces to protrude from the ship's side.
Sharron could clearly see that there was only one living person on the "Black Tulip": the man dressed as a captain, standing on the foredeck and silently gazing in her direction.
He wore an exaggerated tricorn hat embroidered with white skulls and adorned with feathers, a frilly white shirt, and an intricately ornate brown short jacket. A thin rapier hung from a russet leather belt that secured his white tight trousers.
The man's face was covered by a silvery-white mask, his features and contours hidden within. Around the holes that symbolized the eyes, nose, and mouth, cold lines made one feel awestruck.
This perfectly matched the rumored image of "Admiral of Hell" Ludwig!
"Admiral of Hell" Ludwig then looked up at Sharron, who was in a strange state, like a Hunter who had caught his prey. Two pale flames in the eye sockets of the silvery-white mask clearly flickered twice.
Watching the "Black Tulip" sail towards her at a rapid speed, Sharron's heart sank to the bottom. The joy of her impending advancement vanished without a trace.
"I must lead Ludwig away from this area of the Spirit World and not involve Maric, who is outside the Spirit World."
Thinking this, just as Sharron was preparing to fight to the death, the "Black Tulip," which had been sailing towards her, suddenly retreated at an even faster speed than it had arrived.
Under Sharron's astonished gaze, Ludwig, standing on the foredeck, suddenly raised his hand and pressed it against his face, removing the silvery-white mask.
Deep, pale light suddenly burst forth from behind the mask, causing the dark, square ring on Ludwig's left index finger to instantly spread out with endless dead silence.
A bronze Door immediately appeared in the direction the "Black Tulip" was retreating, accompanied by an influx of endless dead silence.
This Door, covered with mysterious patterns, rapidly expanded to over thirty meters high, as if connecting to another world, different from the current one.
Clang!
The bronze Door suddenly opened, and an indescribable Darkness surged out, enveloping the entire "Black Tulip."
Pulled by the Darkness, this colossal sailing ship quickly sailed into the bronze Door, heading towards another world.
"Admiral of Hell" Ludwig stood at the bow of the ship, tilting his head slightly, his face covered by pale light, making his specific appearance unclear.
His gaze first fell on Sharron, seemingly wanting to remember this prey, but he did not attempt to attack again, as if restricted by the surrounding Darkness.
Then he looked behind Sharron, the pale flames flickering in his eyes trembling, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.
Accompanied by a terrifying pressure emanating from a life-level, before Sharron could turn her head, her figure was enveloped by a ball of white light. Strange patterns flowed, concealing all fluctuations.
A gigantic foot descended, stepping into the red and blue intertwined color blocks. Above the foot was a rotting long leg, dripping with yellowish-green liquid, exceeding three meters in overall length. Further up was a massive body wrapped in corpse-oil bandages.
"He" stomped towards the position where the "Black Tulip" had been. The original bronze Door had already disappeared, only melting the residual black mist into pus that adhered to his foot.
Seemingly having lost the target that had originally attracted "Him," this terrifying Spirit World creature stepped out of this area of the Spirit World.
Sharron watched this scene through a layer of pure white light membrane, but her body did not relax in the slightest, because an equally terrifying aura was emanating from the figure in front of her.
Rather than a "person," it was more like a human-shaped light cocoon made of light, seemingly gestating something within. The light membrane that had just blocked the terrifying creature's perception was released by it.
Sharron didn't know the other party's identity, nor did she know the reason why the other party saved her. Just as she was about to tentatively speak, her gaze froze.
A ferocious and terrifying face appeared on the surface of the light cocoon, like an afterimage, fleeting, but Sharron had already recognized that face.
It was Jax, the high-ranking member of the "Rose School of Thought" who had acted earlier, a Sequence 4 "Puppet" of the Prisoner Pathway.
Thoughts exploded in her mind. Sharron didn't know what to say for a moment. After a few seconds of stunned, she noticed that the gaze from the mysterious light cocoon in front of her seemed to be fixed on her wrist.
There, a pattern composed of scales representing order and a scepter symbolizing dominion was glowing faintly.
And this symbol had only appeared on her wrist after she had attended the Chaos Council held by the great existence who called himself the Lord of Order.
A guess surfaced in Sharron's mind. Before she had time to think, a strange fluctuation emanated from the light cocoon, sweeping towards Sharron.
The process of cleansing and transformation, which had been interrupted after being enveloped by the light membrane, advanced at an incredible speed. After only a moment, accompanied by a crisp sound that only Sharron could hear, she officially advanced to Sequence 5 "Wraith."
-----------------
The next morning, Aaron, whose face was pale due to the "Sun Scepter" having absorbed too much blood, sat on the spacious and luxurious sofa in the living room.
Bishop Jogori, who looked travel-worn and very tired on the opposite sofa, forced a smile and said:
"Last night, a very serious Beyonder incident occurred in Bayam. All church clergy were mobilized, including His Grace the Archbishop and the Purifier squads."
"Due to the suddenness of the matter and its wide-ranging implications, the meeting with His Grace the Archbishop, originally scheduled for today, had to be temporarily canceled."
He offered an apologetic smile and pushed the box placed before him towards Aaron:
"However, I truly didn't expect that Your Lordship's strength had already reached such a level. This is Senor's bounty, a total of 42,000 pounds, which I brought with me."
"As for the repair of the streets, we will bear the cost. After all, it was our oversight to allow a Pirate Admiral to openly appear within Bayam City."
Aaron nodded, not bothering to count the pounds in the box. He deliberately put on a curious expression and asked:
"Bishop Jogori, would it be convenient to reveal what happened last night? Who dared to cause trouble in Bayam?"
Bishop Jogori hesitated for a moment, but thinking that this matter would surely appear in the newspapers later, there was no need to conceal it.
So, after removing what he believed might involve the Church of the Lord of Storms' secrets, he roughly recounted the version he knew, which was also the announcement the Church of the Lord of Storms was about to release.
The core content of the announcement can be summarized as:
"The Rose School of Thought's conspiracy, plotted last night at Oak Manor outside Bayam City, was crushed by the Archbishop of the Church of the Lord of Storms, and several important members were killed..."
"It seems the Sanguine must have paid something as an exchange to make Arnault Courtman pin all the blame on the Rose School of Thought." Aaron listened carefully, pondering inwardly.
And due to last night's events, Bayam would undergo a day-long city-wide search, and no ships in any port of the Rorsted Archipelago were allowed to set sail.
After some casual conversation, Aaron, having not extracted any other useful information, bid farewell to the bishop, who had been busy all night.
Sitting on the sofa, Aaron had just poured himself a glass of Suniya blood wine when he heard a rhythmic knock on the door.
Aaron thought it was Bishop Jogori returning specifically to inform him of something he had forgotten, so he put down his glass and personally opened the door.
As the door creaked open, Aaron saw an old man in a black short jacket, leaning on a sturdy walking stick.
The old man's hair was as white as snow, his face had no obvious wrinkles, but he wore a black eye patch that covered his entire vision.
"Good morning, Lord Aaron. I am Councilor Ricciardo of the Life Council. I believe the President must have mentioned me to you. It's an honor to meet you."
Then, with great understanding, he pointed to his eye patch and explained with a chuckle.
"I apologize, but I can only meet you like this."
"I woke up this morning and suddenly had a premonition that I shouldn't open my eyes to see anything today. To prevent any accidents, I had no choice but to wear an eye patch."
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