Upon seeing the messenger disappear, Klein thought of the demigods he could contact on short notice, but he realized that there weren't any. All he could do was turn his attention onto what he should do next.
The city-wide broadcast must've made Sea King Jahn Kottman not only find Helmosuin, but he would also do his best to search for Sea God and the traces of his believers. It's easy to be detected if I leave in the middle of the night, so I can only choose to stay here until daybreak...
I can't take that ship tomorrow. If I encounter an attack midway, I might affect everyone on the ship. Furthermore, it's not discreet enough.
Hmm... I can summon an undersea creature and leave by riding it. I can rest and switch rides on the deserted islands and reefs we encounter along the way until I arrive at the next port... Since Orange Light said that the unique trait can only be detected at close distances, it still won't exceed the size of a city, even if the Mother Tree of Desire tries to expand her perception range to find me via a ritual or her believers. It might even be limited to the size of a particular street. This is also why I encountered a trap when I arrived in Oravi.
As long as I leave Bayam, I should be able to escape from their gaze...
While Klein's thoughts gradually turned clear, he suddenly heard a signal from the radio transceiver!
He hurriedly went over and quickly jotted it down. Then, with the codebook, he transcribed the corresponding words into a single sentence.
Before long, the telegram's content appeared on paper in jet black.
"I see you."
I see you... When Klein read those words, he felt a chill run through his heart.
...
Bayam, in an ordinary residence not far from the governor-general's office.
In a spacious basement, there were candles silently burning, scattering their dim glow around the surroundings.
Silver Coin Viper Oder had already taken off his hooded robe. He looked at the middle-aged man opposite him as he trembled. He said with a quivering voice, "Lord Senor, I don't know know how Helmosuin's real hiding place was known by others as well."
Senor wore an old triangular hat. His eye sockets were recessed, and his face was shockingly pale. He looked more like an evil spirit than a human. He raised his hand to stroke the two black mustaches above his lips as his light brown eyes coldly swept across Oder's face. In response, the well-known adventurer couldn't help but lower his head.
After observing him for a few seconds, Admiral of Blood, in his white trousers and red coat, said with a deep voice, "Less than three minutes after that telegram was sent, it was spread across the entire city. And the message spread was part of the telegram.
"I suspect that another faction has begun paying notice to radio transmissions, and they had obtained our codebook from Old Quinn."
"Yes, yes. It has to be the case!" Oder hurriedly echoed, hoping that Admiral of Blood wouldn't pin the loss of Helmosuin as him being inept.
He knew very well that this pirate admiral was cruel to subordinates who made mistakes!
Senor swept his gaze at Oder and sneered.
"Regardless, you failed.
"If not for you and your mistress giving me plenty of joy, I would've gotten you to dig out your intestines!
"Send a telegram. Tell that listener who might or might not exist that I can see him. Let him spend the night in horror and unease. This is the only thing you need to do now."
Upon hearing that, Oder immediately heaved a sigh of relief. He glanced at Admiral of Blood in trepidation and the bloody altar behind him before reverently replying, "Yes, Lord Senor!"
He felt that he would've become part of the sacrificial items just moments ago.
After Oder retreated out of the basement, Senor turned his head to look at the altar covered with human heads, organs, limbs, and blood. He said in a manner even more reverent than how Oder treated him, "Lord Shanks, has the ritual succeeded?"
"Yes. All that's left is to wait for God to respond." A cold, unfeeling voice sounded from the drooping curtains around the altar.
Then, the curtains seemed to possess life as they rolled up on both sides, smoothly forming a knot before landing in the middle of the altar.
A somewhat translucent figure appeared by the side of the altar at some point in time. His skin was slightly brown, and his wrinkles formed deep crevices. His white, thinned hair was like leaves in autumn, as though they had lived for many, many years.
He humbly fixated his gaze at the candlelight with his brown eyes.
Senor didn't dare say a word as he stood beside Lord Shanks, awaiting for any changes to happen to the altar.
Suddenly, the candle's flame was dyed with all kinds of colors. Each color seemed to correspond to the different desires of an observer.
The heads, organs, limbs, and blood on the altar moved by themselves as they stacked up together, forming the state of a melted candle.
Before long, they formed a Tree of Flesh and Blood that wasn't too tall. Its surface was uneven, resembling the shell of a walnut.
Plop! Plop! Plop!
The interior of the Tree of Flesh and Blood seemed to have a heart beating forcefully with strength.
When Senor was about to succumb to the din, the Tree of Flesh and Blood instantly withered, rotting into slosh and collapsing.
There was a tiny, flesh-colored, moist, sticky ball left behind.
Soon, the tiny ball grew four limbs and a head, turning into a palm-sized humanoid creature.
Its face didn't have any eyes, nose, or ears, other than a pinhole-like mouth.
In its mouth, grayish-white fog spewed out before converging back in. It repeated several times without stopping.
The elder named Shanks devoutly and passionately chanted the name "Mother Tree of Desire," and reached out to grab the strange tiny figure.
Silently, all the candlelights were extinguished, but to a Wraith who had night vision, this didn't affect them from seeing things.
Senor observed Shanks and heard this important person say in a deep voice, "We've prepared for a long time for this ritual, and god's grace can help us sense the existence of the target through a wider range.
"Next, we can use the glasses made by the Life School of Thought to accurately locate him!"
As he spoke, Shanks took out a monocle from his inner pocket. It didn't look any different from a normal monocle, but it coruscated with a pearly white luster in the darkness.
"Lord Shanks, what should we do next?" Senor asked respectfully.
The wrinkled Shanks thought for a few seconds and said, "Seek out the target after daybreak.
"If he has powerful helpers, we will monitor him and prevent him from leaving our detection range. Then, patiently await Lord Suah's arrival.
"If he doesn't have any guardians and is weak himself, then we shall take action directly."
After hearing the word "Suah", the corners of Senor's forehead twitched as though just the mere mention of this important figure's left him apprehensive.
He slowly took a deep breath and said, "Yes, Lord Shanks!"
After answering, Senor instinctively touched the necklace by his chest.
The necklace seemed to be made of pure silver, and the pendant looked like an ancient coin.
...
Klein, who didn't get much sleep for the rest of the night due to the fright from receiving the telegram, immediately sacrificed his suitcase, wallet, and most of his cash to the mysterious space above the gray fog at daybreak.
After clearing up his tracks, he went to the front desk to check out. He rode a carriage to the borders of Bayam, left the city, and climbed the mountain as though he was heading for a cemetery prepared for locals.
Midway through his journey, he suddenly took a detour into the woods and planned on walking straight to the cliffs where a massive undersea creature was waiting underneath for him!
The birds chirped and the insects buzzed in the woods as critters would occasionally scuttle by. Klein walked through the humic material-covered grounds at high-speed.
Along the way, he saw mushrooms growing after the rain, torn cloth, and rubbish which the Bayam residences had left behind after a picnic. Everything seemed so serene alongside the fresh morning air.
A leaf fluttered down as Klein didn't stop and easily dodged it.
At that moment, the leaf's speed sped up and did a surprising bend, clinging to him in between his lips and nose.
It was like an adult's palm that clasped his mouth and nose tightly, making it impossible for him to breathe.
Sou! Sou! Sou!
The surrounding trees had their branches fall off as they shot at Klein like sharp arrows.
And the rubbish left from the picnic received a life of their own. They formed an airtight net as they came looming over!
