Part 5. the red priests chapter vii. the prophecy

　　Klein naturally withdrew his gaze, took the gold-encrusted cane, followed closely behind Haggis, and entered the general’s residence.

　　The architectural style of this place has not a bit of the southern continent’s characteristics, neither controlling the lighting to make the interior look gloomy, nor boldly using a small amount of human bones for decoration to give people a strong sense of impact, but more like the transplantation of the northern continent’s mansion, and has the color of the Indies that can not be wiped out:

　　Each pillar is segmented wrapped with gold leaf, wall murals with warm colors, surrounded by inlaid gold sculptures, circling and ornate staircase descending from the heights, through all four floors, landing in the center of the hall, facing the doorway, extremely grand.

　　I have to say, the country dominated by the Church of the Eternal Sunshine, in the art of gold is really in the forefront of the world, completely without the feeling of a thug …… Klein’s sight swept over the staircase handrails and pillars in the middle of the slanting fly out of the palm sized golden angel statue, resisted the urge to probe the palm of the hand and caress it.

　　Glancing at the guards standing in attendance on either side of him, he found a random topic of conversation and addressed Haggis:

　　”Colonel Alfred Hall also seems to have established feats in West Byron?”

　　Haggis nodded heartily, and said in that Lune noble accent:

　　”He is a resolute and brave man who once led a special combat squad of more than thirty men in a surprise attack on the thousand-man army of Intis and completely routed them, and I heard that, he has also repeatedly made war achievements in East Byron, and became a colonel when he was only in his twenties.”

　　Sounds impressive ah …… “Justice” Miss this brother may have already become an extraordinary person, and the sequence is not low …… Well, in the big noble families, every generation should have some of the members to take the path of the extraordinary …… Oh, when this Mr. Alfred through the hardships and tribulations, finally reached the goal, became a higher sequence of the extraordinary, obtained the rank of brigadier general or major general, returned to Beckland, may be sad to find that he can not even beat his own sister’s dog … … …Klein, who had drunk the potion before leaving the house, regulated his mental state with bellyaching.

　　He didn’t ask much about Alfred and turned to a puzzled tone:

　　”I have noticed that there is also a certain difference between the customs of West Byron and East Byron, where many of the houses are adorned with a certain amount of human bone, while East Byron is not.

　　”I’ve been here quite a few times, and I had this question a long time ago, but never had the heart to bring it up.”

　　Haggis paused and pointed across the pompous stairway and said:

　　”Mr. Dantes, wait a few minutes, the General will be down shortly.”

　　After explaining his business, he then chuckled:

　　”The human bone custom is actually not very common, only the territories that were directly under the royal family during the time of the Byron Empire retain this custom, for us, the death of a loved one doesn’t mean that our time with them is completely over, before burial, we will take out a piece of bone from within their body and place it in our home as a decoration to signify that the deceased is with the living.

　　”The exact bone to be picked is decided by the priest who conducts the funeral through a ceremony, and the best and most symbolic is the skull.

　　”In some families, the skull is also made into a wine glass, to be used only when entertaining the most honored guests.

　　”Mr. Dantes, if we can close the deal this time, I would like to invite you to my home as a guest, and pay my respects by serving ‘Finis Wine’ from my grandfather’s skull.”

　　…… Klein’s expression nearly froze, thinking that he really couldn’t get into the country in that regard.

　　He laughed twice and was about to make a perfunctory comment to Haggis when he saw a figure slowly walking down the stairs with the golden handrail.

　　This figure was not wearing a hat, and was wearing a straight black military uniform, with buttons glittering in gold, and his belt as bright red as blood.

　　He had a light brown complexion and soft contours, his features gave the impression of not being open, squeezed tightly in the center of his face, accentuating it to be larger than normal.

　　Klein, who had information from multiple sources, instantly recognized that this was the de facto ruler of West Byron Uttar Pradesh, the self-proclaimed Admiral Mesangyes.

　　He was ostensibly swinging between Rune, Intis, Forsak, Feneport, and several resistance forces, maintaining a balance, while secretly he had already received support from the royal line of the Spirit Order.

　　At the same time, Klein suspected that the native general had also established solid ties with the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom.

　　As for the strength of Mesangyes himself, both “Iceberg Lieutenant General” Edwina and “Star General” Gadelia labeled him as Sequence 5 in their information, but they did not mention which pathway he was in, because the abilities that this indigenous general displayed were mostly related to Spirit. Most of them were related to spirits, but he was carrying a magical item from the “Reaper” pathway.

　　”Good afternoon, His Excellency the General.” Crane removed his hat and pressed his hand to his chest in a salute.

　　In this moment, he again felt a gaze from nowhere watching him; they were the rays of light flickering off the statue of the golden angel, the sunlight reflecting off the stained glass, the light reflecting off the smooth marble.

　　”Hello, Mr. Dantes.” Mesangyes responded in Tuttanese.

　　Klein, who had already mastered the Duttan language with the help of a secret puppet, was of course able to understand it, but the longer he spent in the Southern Continent, in both East and West Byron, the more he realized that there existed a divine resemblance between the Duttan language and the ancient Forsak language.

　　Although the two languages undoubtedly belonged to different systems, making it doubly difficult for him to actually learn Dutanese, certain details were always strikingly similar, as if there was a common source.

　　The only thing Klein could be sure of was that that source would not be the Giant language.

　　Pretending not to notice anything he chatted naturally with Mesangyes until the other man took the initiative to mention something about the arms deal:

　　”How much cargo do you have in total?”

　　Klein smiled:

　　”Equipping three to four thousand men is not a problem, in addition, there are a few artillery pieces.”

　　Mesangyes said after a moment of silence:

　　”Name your price.”

　　Klein said after a little deliberation:

　　”If you let me deliver the goods to Uttar Pradesh, then the price is 50,000 pounds, if you send out a team and go with me to pick up the goods, taking care of the subsequent transportation and security yourself, then it’s only 40,000 pounds.”

　　Mesangyes thought for a moment:

　　”The latter.

　　”You take the deposit, take my men with you, and when you have seen the goods and moved them onto the wagons, my men will pay the rest.”

　　He paused and added:

　　”I don’t have that many Ruengin pounds, though.”

　　Foreign exchange reserves are insufficient ah …… Klein looked around and laughed without much concern:

　　”You can just pay me in gold coins, or even gold bars or bricks.”

　　Mesangyes was quite decisive, didn’t shiver, nodded his head and said:

　　”Deal, I’ll have Haggis come to you tomorrow with people and money.”

　　Not bad, I like to do business with this kind of person who does not bargain …… Klein was first relieved, and then he wondered if his opening price was too low.

　　When he left the general’s residence, Mesangyes suddenly looked up and said to the top of the stairs:

　　”Lord Luca, is this the person you were waiting for?”

　　On the upper floor of the gorgeous staircase, a figure slowly protruded out.

　　It was an old man wearing a plain white robe with brass-colored silk threads, his hair was already completely white but neatly combed, and his gray-green eyes were so deep that the bottom could not be seen.

　　He responded in a not-so-quick tone:

　　”It is impossible to be certain, and although my prophecy tells me that I will meet here, in the next two days, someone who can unlock my future dilemmas, the one just now is too ordinary to be anything worth describing, except as an Extraordinary One.

　　”Of course, I cannot see his deeper reality, and behind him may lie a being at least no worse than me.”

　　With that said, he slowed his steps down and said after a few seconds apart:

　　”I will attempt to utilize the dream world to see if I can discover more.”

　　”Will special rooms need to be prepared for you?” Mesangyes asked respectfully.

　　Luca shook his head:

　　”Just this sitting room next to it, well …… the best point in time is in four hours, don’t bother me until then.”

　　He then entered that room and sat down, leaning back against the back of the couch, relaxing his body and closing his eyes in silence.

　　It was only when darkness fell that the old gentleman actually fell asleep.

　　In his dream, he found himself standing within the halls of the general’s mansion, on the first step of that ornate staircase, surrounded by Messanies, Haggis, and a multitude of guards.

　　The middle-aged man called Dawn Dantes stood across from him, the corners of his mouth suddenly quirked up in a pompous grin.

　　A flame rose with it, and poker card after poker card crashed down above.

　　Luca’s gray-green eyes darkened at once, and Dawn Dantes’ body was suddenly plunged into an oddly bubbling darkness.

　　The old gentleman in the plain white robes then opened his arms, revealing the ethereal vortex between his chest and stomach.

　　The vortex expanded steeply and swallowed Dawn Dantes.

　　Before Luca had a chance to confirm the situation, he suddenly felt something in his heart and looked sideways to the side, only to see Mesangyes’ face squirm and his body elongate, instantly transforming into another Dawn Dantes.

　　Almost simultaneously, Haggis and all the guards present, one by one, grew the face of Dawn Dantes, and in unison, they turned their attention to Luca!

　　Luca awoke with a start, and, startled for two seconds at the gaze of Messanies, who had entered at some time, spoke in a low voice:

　　”I have to meet that gentleman just now in person, to meet the demigod behind him.”

　　Before his words left his mouth, he subconsciously turned his head and looked out the window.

　　At this time, the streetlights were already lit, the sky was deeply dark, and the scarlet moon was strangely tinted with a bloody color.

　　Another blood moon!

　　……

　　Thank goodness for Mr. Fool …… Blood moons are too frequent this year, aren’t they? It’s only been a little over two months since the last one. …… I wasn’t prepared for it! Forsyth, who rolled over and sat up, wiped away her cold sweat and muttered a few words to herself.

　　She had already arrived at the town on the edge of the Delaire Forest and stayed at the inn, sharing a room with Hugh, preparing to do a preliminary exploration of the abandoned ancient castle first thing in the morning, who knew that just as she was preparing to take a rest, she encountered the Blood Moon.

　　It was at this time that she seemed to remember something, and her body stiffened as she turned her head to the side.

　　Hugh, who claimed to be going to bed early, had woken up at some point, opening his eyes and looking at her.