Part 1. The Joker Chapter 159: “Giving” and “Sacrifice”
The slightly twisted and flailing Chinese on the tawny parchment reads:
”August 2nd, this pool is deeper than I thought, history is such a little girl to be dressed up.”
”August 5, today I saw the strength of the high sequence powerhouses, it’s simply terrifying, they’ve undergone a qualitative change in one aspect, becoming like gods, no wonder they’ve been described as ‘demigods and half-humans’, well, I think calling them ‘mythological beings ‘ might be more appropriate.”
”August 6, something that makes people feel strange, why do the seven churches treat magic potions with such a bizarre attitude, in the middle and low sequence stages, not only do they give the main materials to those who gained promotion, they also generously share their recipes, demonstrating the process of preparing the potion, and if there is a corresponding ceremony, it will inevitably be explained in detail as well, whereas in the high sequence stage, they only provide finished magic potions. ”
”This is completely illogical, in the middle and low sequence stages where the main materials are relatively easy to collect and the production process is simpler, shouldn’t the recipe be kept secret and the magic potion be directly concocted for the target? At the high sequence, due to the difficulty in obtaining the main materials, shouldn’t the formula be shared, allowing members with hopes of advancement to take the initiative to search for it?”
”There must be secrets hidden here that I don’t know about yet.”
”August 9th, the events of the past two days make me feel not too good, the Industrial Revolution that I started with my own hands, the Age of Steam and Mechanics that I forged with my own hands, will become a breeding ground for the descent of evil gods?”
What do you mean? A hotbed for the descent of evil gods? Klein frowned slightly and tapped his index finger on the edge of the ancient table.
Mr. “Fool” had a problem? The things that can make him difficult must involve a very high level …… Audrey looked at the chief, who was shrouded in a thick gray fog, and interpreted some of his current state from the other party’s body language.
Klein, who was indeed wondering about high level issues, thought for a while without getting an answer and began to consider the possibility of using divination to seek revelation:
Well, just rely on such a pure and simple two sentences, to divine the substance is impossible, I am not a prophet …… direct divination “hotbeds of the birth of evil gods”? I feel like I’m making a big mistake. …… The evil gods may not be as terrifying as the Eternal Sun, but their abilities may be even more bizarre, and they may be able to find me by following the trail. …… And there’s no way to divine how dangerous it would be to try this, because once a deity is involved, divining whether there’s danger or not will bring danger itself. It will bring danger itself ……
Remember this question first, observe and think more ……
On the matter of magic potion, the arrangement of the church is really quite strange, I don’t know what secret is hidden behind it, maybe when “psychic”, no, should be “necromancer” Daley become archbishop or senior deacon, into the core level of the church, I can get some hints. I can get a hint ……
Russell’s words really make you long for the style of a high ranking powerhouse. ……
As each thought flashed by, Klein stopped tapping on the edge of the ancient table and looked at Justice, the Hanged Man, and the Sun:
”You are free to communicate.”
”The Inverted Hanged Man” Alger spoke up immediately:
”Mr. ‘Fool’, Miss ‘Justice’, I have newly obtained a piece of information that ‘Hurricane Lieutenant General’ Zylingus has infiltrated into Beckland in order to complete a difficult mission. A difficult task, he might stay there for a long time and create horrifying tragedies, in addition, I also know that this matter involves a very important item, an item that can help Zillingerus become a High Sequence Powerhouse very quickly.”
”Become a high sequence powerhouse very quickly? Isn’t he afraid of losing control?” Audrey grasped the focus of the other party’s description, assumed the posture of an “audience”, and asked in a puzzled manner.
Zylingus was only a Sequence 6 “Wind Favored One”, and there was still a Sequence 5 between Sequence 4 and Sequence 5.
Algernon had anticipated such a question and answered frankly:
”That’s why that item is very important.”
”Of course, this is all speculation on my part, and the information I received is this: the Zylingus believes that once he completes his commission and gets that item, he will soon be able to claim the title alongside the likes of ‘The King of the Five Seas’ Nast, making the ‘Four Kings’ of the pirates ‘ into ‘Five Kings’, and have the seven pirate generals reduced to six.”
”Ordinary people may not be aware of it, but as Extraordinary People, we should all know that the ‘Four Kings’ in Pirates are either directly High Sequence powerhouses or have High Sequence battle power with the cooperation of Transcendent Ships and Magical Items, and for Zylingus to be recognized as equal to them, he must necessarily also have a close to the same level, that’s why I speculated that way.”
I only know that “King of the Five Seas” Nast is a Sequence 4 powerhouse, but I don’t know the name of his magic potion……. Klein listened quietly and didn’t take a position easily.
”Sun” Derek Burger although completely confused by the events described by the “inverted man”, do not know who is who, but he still listened very attentively, only to feel that the world in front of their eyes to show a new door.
Pirates? They lived in a place where the books claimed there was an ocean? That’s a far cry from the surroundings of Silver City. …… They never seem to worry about curses, or things of darkness. …… It’s very intriguing. …… Hmmm… Mr. “Fool” told me not to ask about other people’s secrets, it’s not polite …… Derek thought in silence, looking back and forth between the “Hanged Man” and the “Justice”. “Justice”.
”Your speculation is reasonable, but of course, that could be a magical item that rivals a high sequence powerhouse.” “Justice” Audrey responded with a light smile.
”The Inverted Hanged Man” glanced at the “Fool” perched high in the dense gray fog, and after a moment of deliberation, looked at “Justice” and emphasized:
”There are two key points in my description, one is that Zylingus will be in Berkland for a long time, and the other is that it involves a very important and possibly magical item.”
So, Mr. Fool, aren’t you impressed? You have plenty of time to get your dependents to Bakerland …… Alger silently added inwardly, but he didn’t dare to say so directly, so he could only nod politely.
”Mr. Inverted Man”, you don’t have to repeat yourself, I understand what you want to say …… But, my strength doesn’t support me to get involved in this matter, and I don’t have the means to leave Tingen without authorization… …Klein thought rather helplessly as he leaned back in his chair.
Not to mention the Favored Ones, I was able to find two more powerful Extraordinary Ones to help out ……
Very confusing and very troublesome …… At the end of the day, if you still haven’t been able to find help, well, try this to avoid a tragedy ……
The other one is Mr. Aztec, but there is no way I can reveal the identity of the Fool to him, and there is no good and legitimate reason to ask him to get involved in Zillinger’s business ……
One thought flashed by, and Klein spoke evenly:
”I see.”
Seeing that the Fool still did not take a stand, still do not pay attention to the matter of Zilingus, “upside down man” Alger sighed darkly, collected the loss, and began to exchange the results of this week’s investigation with Ms. “Justice”.
”…… In short, we have initially locked down the general range of Qi Lingus’s activities, and are about to start searching even further.” Audrey first briefly elaborated on the specifics of the situation, and then said with a I’m-doing-great-things-and-doing-serious-things mentality, “We need more intelligence, with a focus on Zillinger’s hobbies and habits.”
”The inverted hangman,” Alger said as he recalled:
”He was very fond of fish, especially fish from the ocean, filleted and eaten raw ……”
”He loved spirits and despised champagne, red wine, etc. ……”
”Once ashore, he was always on the lookout for a woman to take it out on, and his strong body made it impossible for one woman alone to satisfy him ……”
”He was accustomed to cold weapons and rejected hot ones.”
”It was difficult for him to stay out of the water for long periods of time, I mean, he had to swim or dive every few days.”
……
Audrey memorized each one, sketching and fleshing out the character called Zillingerus in her mind.
”I hope it works out and we have fun working together.” Quietly listening, she spoke with a light smile.
”Happy working together.” Alger could only force himself to trust Ms. Justice, who had a lot of energy in Berkland.
In the midst of their exchange, Klein appeared to be listening attentively, but in reality, his thoughts diverged as he thought of a previous question, that is, if the “Sun” wished to obtain the materials, how to pay the other party.
Mysticism has been able to barely pass the exam, he habitually looked for ideas to solve the problem in the field of ritual magic, which belongs to the path of dependence accumulated from the previous success.
”…… I was looking through the internal materials of the Night Watchers before, and I saw a record of the Goddess bestowing holy objects on her believers, well, quite a few of the rituals involving evil gods and demons also have descriptions of objects descending to them …… Does this mean that I could be able to Responding to prayers, ‘bestow’ items on the other party as a way to complete the giving of materials ……”
”In my previous attempts, I was only able to respond to thoughts containing images and sounds for the time being …… But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be like this forever …… When I’ve advanced to Sequence 8 and stabilized, there may be a new twist to it ……”
”Also, another key point, will I be able to bring real materials or items above the gray mist? Hmm …… er …… Ah yes, those sacrificial rituals involving evil gods and demons often include a ‘sacrifice’ aspect! Could I consider ‘sacrificing’ things to myself myself?”
”That way, it might actually be possible to bring realistic materials and items above the gray mist ……”
”If the attempt could be successful, I could get items and materials directly from ‘Justice’, ‘The Sun’, and ‘The Inverted Hanged Man’, and then personally ‘bestow’ them on myself ……”
”Well, ‘Sacrifice’ belongs to the more advanced rituals, which I can’t touch for the time being ……”
”The most important thing at the moment is still to improve myself as soon as possible!”
Klein retrieved his thoughts and continued to listen to the three members exchanging words with a lofty stance, listening to their discussion from the matter of the Zilingus all the way to the characteristics of certain monsters.
After about the same time, he smiled:
”Let’s call it a day.”
”As you wish.” “Sun” Derek and “Justice” and “Inverted Man” rose at the same time.
After severing the connection with the three members, Klein also flew into the gray mist and left that mysterious space.
Back in his bedroom, he lifted off the wall of spirituality and pulled back the curtains of the convex belly window, letting in the sunlight from outside.
”There are two important things this week, one is to accept the examination and promote to Sequence 8, and the other is to produce the ‘Yang Yan Rune’, which will even exceed the power of Sequence 7, Sequence 6 ……” Klein looked at the street outside and thought with anticipation, “Tomorrow, tomorrow I should be able to receive a report on the paranormal incident that Mr. Aztec got out!”