Bathed in the smoke of artillery fire, several two-headed giants stopped at the edge of the mist, letting out a muffled roar that was loud enough to echo throughout the Amantha Mountains:
"Arianna!"
The Feysac War Bishop, concealed within the mist, finally restrained his anger. While manipulating the giant army, he chanted in a low voice:
"Incarnation of Iron and Blood, Symbol of War's Calamity, Priest who wields the Weather, Great Snarnar Einhorn!"
Almost at the same time the prayer sounded, a violent hurricane tore through the layered dark clouds, and countless lightning bolts and hail poured down from the collapsing clouds, with terrifying thunder echoing.
Specks of blood appeared in the storm and smoke, quickly dissipating as if turning into a lake of blood, instantly condensing into a figure clad in blood-stained iron-black armor.
This figure was over 1.8 meters tall, with long crimson hair and a pair of exaggerated golden earrings, their features somewhat neutral.
This royal Weather Warlock snorted coldly, his sharp gaze directly falling upon Arianna, the Servant of Concealment, who was stepping through the void.
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Fog Sea, Eastern Waters.
Klein, maintaining his persona as a ruthless adventurer, surveyed the room, which had a strong Lenberg style. His marionette, Ludwig, walked to the window and looked at the Black Tulip, which was following the Golden Dream.
Through Vice Admiral Iceberg, Edwina, he had already reached an understanding with the God of Knowledge and Wisdom behind this Pirate Admiral. Given a choice, Klein still wanted to stay away from Frank and those mushrooms.
"Esteemed Mr. Fool, the Feysac Giant Legion is launching a large-scale attack on the Amantha Mountains...."
After skillfully setting up a Wall of Spirituality to prevent some of his secrets from leaking, a thin grey fog suddenly appeared before Klein's eyes, and Fors's slightly flustered voice echoed in his ears.
Miss Magician? Klein's expression subtly changed after a moment of Stunned, and he immediately thought of Melissa, who was still in the Amantha Mountains.
Cursing under his breath, Klein didn't hesitate at all. He immediately took four reverse steps to Sefirah Castle. After sitting at the head of the bronze long table, his spirituality surged, directly illuminating the crimson star symbolizing Melissa.
After confirming that Melissa was not in danger, Klein breathed a sigh of relief. After pondering for a moment, he cautiously raised his perspective and looked at the sky, where dark clouds layered.
Under the enhancement of True Sight, through the aftershocks of clashing authorities, Klein could vaguely see a blurry and enormous figure formed by the intertwining and twisting of scorching white flames, which had gathered the iron-blooded aura of the entire battlefield.
Opposite him, countless black threads, seemingly alive, surged, blocking a fiery giant that represented disaster and was composed of various symbols, including flames.
At the deepest part of the Darkness tide was a terrifying creature covered in gloomy black fur, with eight terrifyingly spread limbs, somewhat similar but not identical to the Demonic Wolf described in the Nighthawks' internal records.
Klein grunted, blood flowing from his eyes, and his True Sight dissipated.
The grey fog surged, and after a long while, the pollution from directly viewing the complete mythical creature form was finally soothed.
Leaning back in the bronze high-backed chair, Klein exhaled deeply, pinching his still throbbing forehead, and let out a bitter laugh.
Even though he didn't recognize either of the combatants, it was clear that they were both at the angel level.
He wondered how much energy the Church could still invest in hunting Ince Zangwill... Collecting his thoughts, Klein slowly rose, his gaze profound, increasingly eager to advance to demigod as soon as possible.
After recalling and organizing the potion formula obtained from peeking at the mythical creature form, Klein no longer lingered and directly returned to reality.
Almost as soon as he left this grey fog world, a bone-chilling coldness came from Klein's chest.
His solemn expression relaxed slightly, and Klein, somewhat surprised, took out the pure white feather and Azik's Copper Whistle that he kept in his clothes' lining.
The mysterious patterns on the ancient copper whistle, full of mystical charm, had now lit up on their own, and Klein's spiritual perception clearly felt the whistle resonating with the Spirit World in some way.
"It's a good thing I set up a Wall of Spirituality earlier, otherwise Vice Admiral Iceberg would probably have noticed by now...."
Praising his own caution, and out of absolute trust in Mr. Azik, Klein did not stop the copper whistle's anomaly; instead, he was somewhat expectant.
Specks of gloomy green detached from the copper whistle, forming an unreal, illusory vortex in the void.
In the cold, invisible wind, a hand, mostly concealed by a black robe, reached out, its index finger bearing a dark, cold, square ring.
Death's Ring... Klein's eyebrows twitched slightly, and at the same time, he felt the oppressive sensation originating from divinity, as well as an unusual throbbing in his spiritual intuition.
The next second, Klein's expression suddenly froze, his pupils dilated violently, and his raised arm became rigid in mid-air.
A figure walked out of the constantly expanding vortex, with a gentle expression, a high hairline, and grey eyes that revealed an indescribable sense of vicissitude.
The man in the black trench coat-like attire tilted his head slightly, winked his left eye at Klein, and spoke in a mellow voice with a complex tone:
"Klein, long time no see!"
The familiar voice entered his mind, and Klein suddenly shivered, as if he had thought of something, instantly swapping positions with his marionette, Ludwig, and at the same time, pouring his spirituality into the pure white feather given by Mr. Azik.
A misty pale flame appeared, and after not sensing any danger, it returned to being an ordinary feather.
After several attempts, Klein confirmed that he had not been pulled into a dream by Ince Zangwill or a demigod with corresponding authority.
If it wasn't a dream, then.... Klein fell silent, standing still like a statue, and called out hoarsely:
"Captain....."
Sensing Klein's suppressed emotions, a relaxed smile, originating from within, appeared on Dunn's face. His grey eyes seemed to flicker with light, and the heaviness in his heart dissolved considerably at that moment.
His voice grew softer and softer as he watched Klein's face contort, returning to his original appearance, and he said softly:
"I've always been here...."
-----------------
Pritz Harbor, Oak Island, Royal Navy Base.
The piercing alarm was drowned out by a continuous series of explosions. The warships anchored in the harbor were instantly engulfed in a sea of fire, including an ironclad ship whose general outline had already been built.
Under the cover of thick fog, airships and organized Feysac Sonia Sea fleets unleashed artillery fire on Pritz Harbor.
On the leading airship, the "Supreme Commander" of the Sonia Sea Theater, Awatoma Einhorn, the royal Weather Warlock, had silver light dancing deep in his eyes. He gazed at Pritz Harbor, engulfed in flames, and after a moment, said in a deep voice:
"Those two Loen ironclads are not here. Your intelligence disappoints me!"
His low voice carried a terrifying sense of oppression. He tilted his head slightly, looking indifferently at the void behind him.