Above the gray fog, Klein extended his hand and summoned the Sea God Scepter from the junk pile. He began browsing through the countless points of light swirling about the Sealed Artifact.
Every point of light corresponded to a believer's prayer. The glows swirled with ethereal holiness!
Soon, Klein did a preliminary screening as he focused on the waters instead of the archipelago. After he had isolated the Sea God Scepter above the gray fog, he was unable to directly use the "divine artifact" to sense the surrounding waters and do anything effective. He had to rely on the scenes of his believers' prayers as a foundation before reaching out five nautical miles to influence the corresponding undersea creatures.
Klein emanated his spirituality and touched one of the specks of light. He saw a native performing his daily prayers in the evening on a fishing boat before docking.
As Klein's thoughts changed, the angle of the scene quickly drew higher as more dark clouds and undulating waves appeared in the scene.
There are signs of a storm brewing hours ahead? That's right. I did find the atmosphere repressing when I was out... That's why Elland said that Crazy Captain Connors's ship is likely to be hiding in the shadows of some island. It was to avoid the storm... Klein tapped the edge of the mottled table as he muttered silently.
Having deduced this, it made his "search" much easier. This was because he didn't need to search the extensive waters; all he needed to do was focus on the different islands around those waters.
With a change in thought, a blue gem at the tip of the Sea God Scepter in Klein's hand lit up.
On the waters which no longer had the fishing boat, the crimson moonlight shone down on the deep blue waves that were slowly rising. Suddenly, splashes silently surged upwards as an exaggerated eye looking up into the sky surfaced. Beneath the eye was a massive silhouette.
At the same time, all kinds of fish began surfacing nearby.
They took in the indistinct halo that came scattering down, and they circled around before swimming down and headed in different directions.
Ten seconds later, the waters in a five-nautical-mile radius returned to its previous state. The deep blue waves rose up to a high height again, awaiting the final eruption.
Phew... This is a little draining... Klein raised his left hand to rub his temple.
He wasn't only simply commandeering the sea creatures, he had also bestowed them with remnant Beyonder spirituality to a certain degree. It allowed them to transmit the scenes they saw by praying after they discovered any docked ships around the island.
This wasn't too difficult or complicated for the Sea God Scepter, but it was burdensome and draining for the controller, Klein.
Then, Klein selected a few praying believers situated on different islands around the archipelago. He then used the same method to command the sea creatures of the region.
After doing all of this, he didn't bother throwing the Sea God Scepter into the junk pile before returning to the real world. He took off his coat and collapsed into bed.
Having expended his spirituality to the limit, he believed that he would fall asleep immediately. Yet, his head began aching, preventing him from opening his eyes or falling asleep.
Klein could clearly feel that his skin seemed overly sensitive. Lumps grew over his skin, and hidden beneath them were countless meat tendrils.
Indeed, as Mr. Hanged Man said, if you drain your spirituality to zero for two consecutive days, you'll definitely start hearing things and show signs of losing control. My body became a little abnormal just from reaching my limits once despite not even maintaining it for too long. Of course, it's because I've only recently advanced, and I haven't digested much. Furthermore, there's the excess from the potions from the prior Sequences...
Klein regained his train of thought as he attempted to Cogitate the stacked spherical lights so as to calm the fatigue of his body and mind.
Having gradually recovered, he finally fell asleep. By the time he woke up, it was in the middle of the night.
At that moment, the winds were howling outside. The rain was pouring as the storm had finally unleashed its might after a prolonged period of brewing.
And this wasn't a rare situation in Bayam. Apart from that, the night was relatively serene.
Klein went to the washroom to clear his bowels. Washing his hands and taking four steps counterclockwise, he once again appeared above the gray fog.
He picked up the Sea God Scepter on the end of the long bronze table and began browsing through the "scenes" from the sea creatures.
The scenes were that of ships, all located at different ports, harbors, or the shadows of different islands.
Although Klein hadn't seen Crazy Captain Connors Viktor, he had previously learned of his traits and the various emblems of his pirate crew. Therefore, he wasn't afraid of failing to identify him.
Scenes flashed past as he patiently scrutinized the details of the ships.
About ten minutes later, a look of unconcealed joy appeared in his eyes. He zoomed in on a scene as he pulled the orientation of the scene closer.
He had found the suspected ship!
The ship was docked at the back of Symeem Island, an island furthest from the Rorsted Archipelago. Behind it was a towering cliff with churning waves below it.
Its sails and flag had been reefed up, but there was a white skull emblem with an eye-patch on the two sides of the ship.
This was none other than the emblem of the Crazy Captain's pirate crew!
Klein removed the spirit pendulum from his left wrist and made a confirmation with divination.
The answer made him rejoice, as it was indeed Connors Viktor's ship!
And Crazy Captain only had one ship!
It's no wonder that despite most adventurers at sea knowing that Crazy Captain is in contact with the kingdom's human traffickers and slave merchants, the Church of Storms's investigations of the colony disappearances didn't point to him. He only has a bounty of 3,300 pounds. The pirate crew only has one ship, so it just looks like it's a small business. It's impossible for him to do large-scale human trafficking... What should I do next? Klein first sighed silently before considering his angle of investigation.
His first reaction was to summon a massive undersea creature, hitch a ride on something akin to a whale, and head straight for Symeem Island while the storm continued. Then, he could infiltrate and use his powers as a Marionettist to control Crazy Captain Connors Viktor without causing too much of a stir. But on careful thought, he felt that it was a rash decision.
It wasn't a problem dealing with other pirates who weren't at the pirate admiral level, but since Crazy Captain Connors Viktor was involved with a terrifying matter like the Great Smog of Backlund, he had to consider that Connors's normal actions were just a disguise. In consideration of how he might have another identity, with the ship concealing some secrets, there was a high chance that there was a trap that could deal with pirate admirals. Klein might not walk out alive despite being armed to the teeth if he made such a rash infiltration attempt.
Should I summon myself and head over with the Sea God Scepter as a Spirit Body? This can avoid some accidents, as I can immediately end the summoning if anything goes wrong. However, the Sea God Scepter is essentially the Beyonder characteristic of a High-Sequence Beyonder from the Storm pathway. As long as it appears in the real world, it might attract Sea King Jahn Kottman... This will prevent the situation from developing as I expect it to... Klein looked at the storm in the scene as he came up with a preliminary plan.
Before that, he conjured a pen and paper and wrote the divination statement: "Dealing with Connors Viktor is very dangerous."
Picking up the silver chain of the spirit pendulum, Klein reined in his thoughts and focused on the divination.
Soon, he opened his eyes to see the topaz pendant turning clockwise at a high frequency and large amplitudes.
This meant that dealing with Connors Viktor was very dangerous!
It's as I expected. Thankfully, I didn't rashly rush over... Klein picked up the Sea God Scepter and decided on executing the plan he had just thought of.
It was to use the prayer scene and strike Connors Viktor's ship with the Sea God Scepter from afar by using the cover of the storm. He would rouse the nest and force out its secret!
After grasping the relevant situation, he would end the attacks before Sea King Jahn Kottman sensed the abnormality or arrived at the scene.
Klein wouldn't feel disappointed if Connors Viktor unfortunately landed in the hands of the Sea King. This was because he would have to think of the means to pass the information to the three Churches after he figured out the truth of the Great Smog of Backlund.
If Crazy Captain successfully escaped, Klein would've pried into his secrets by rousing the nest. He could then subsequently formulate a plan of attack!
Phew... Klein slowly exhaled as he watched the ship bob about with the dark crashing waves before raising the Sea God Scepter high in the air.
At the tip of the scepter, the blue gems that circled around it had begun to emit a bright light.
