Chapter 486: Small-Scale Gathering

Above the gray mist, inside that grand ancient palace, Ke Lai En sat back in the high‑backed chair belonging to the Fool, listening to the Magician Foersi's narration.

The commission came from Mr. Lawrence of the Abraham family, to assassinate Mr. X of the Aurora Society; moreover, Lawrence has already been promoted to Traveler, and now truly has the ability to begin avenging the Aurora Society.

This can be considered the Tarot Society's first external operation, and it is a collective action involving multiple people.

Ke Lai En quickly gathered his thoughts, his gaze calmly looking down at the image formed by the prayer light points, and, smiling at the slightly uneasy Magician Foersi, said:

"So, which people do you want to involve in this private gathering?"

In a rental house in West Beckland, Foersi heard the answer coming from deep within the gray mist; she looked up in surprise, gazed at the silhouette in the mist for a moment, then quickly lowered her head.

"The Fool's meaning is that he can organize a small gathering for us? I thought it would be like usual, letting us directly see and hear each other's requests, but this does make communication easier."

Letting her thoughts wander a bit, Foersi began to seriously consider which Tarot Society members she could request: someone in Beckland, or someone who has mastered spiritual‑realm traversal and can move quickly to and from Beckland—Miss Justice, Mr. Moon, hmm, and Mr. White Tower.

Foersi quickly confirmed the Tarot Society members she wanted to invite and told the Fool.

After receiving the Magician Foersi's answer, Ke Lai En couldn't help but internally sigh: he hadn't invited the experienced and seasoned "World," and he was still thinking of using the writhing hungry grazing to pasture a Traveler's soul; a Traveler's ability really makes one's eyes water.

Although he sighed, considering that he was currently on the Future, it was indeed inconvenient to rush to Beckland, so Ke Lai En could only sigh inwardly about his bad luck.

Then he trimmed Foersi's words and tossed them into the crimson stars representing Justice, Moon, and White Tower.

The responses came quickly; after waiting three or four minutes above the gray mist, Ke Lai En spread his spirit and pulled the members participating in this small‑scale gathering into the space above the gray mist.

Rays of deep‑red light rose and swiftly condensed, and four somewhat blurry figures appeared on both sides of the mottled long table.

"Good morning, Mr. Fool~"

"Good morning, Mr. White Tower." "Good morning, Mr. Moon." "Good morning, Ms. Magician."

Ao Daili cheerfully greeted everyone present; this was her first time attending a small‑scale members' meeting outside the regular Monday gathering, so she couldn't help but feel excited.

After everyone exchanged greetings, the Magician Foersi cleared her throat twice to draw attention, then said:

"Everyone, I have a rather special commission."

After scanning the crowd with her gaze, she continued:

"Assassinate the Aurora Society's Divine Envoy, Mr. X; he is currently in Beckland, and he should be a Sequence Five Traveler of the Apprentice path; this mission is rather dangerous, and you may refuse outright if you do not wish to participate."

"Relying only on us?"

"Justice" Ao Daili looked at the Magician Foersi with curious eyes. Foersi must have already consulted someone, wanting to quickly eliminate that Aurora Society Divine Envoy; otherwise she would have posted a commission at next week's Tarot Society meeting rather than convening a small‑scale gathering now.

"Moon" Ai Mulin also looked curiously at the Magician Foersi; he didn't think a few of them alone could assassinate an Aurora Society Divine Envoy, as the Traveler's agility makes them hard to catch.

Unless this guy is willing to act, Moon Ai Mulin suddenly turned his head to glance at Lei Kedun sitting to his right.

Lei Kedun turned his head, met Ai Mulin's gaze, then turned toward the Magician Foersi ahead and said:

"I am at the Divine War ruins east of the Sunia Sea; I cannot join your assassination, but I can provide you with some items and extraordinary‑ability assistance."

"Alright." Though a bit disappointed, Foersi calmly nodded and then turned her head to answer Justice Ao Daili's earlier question:

"There is also a Traveler from the Abraham family; this commission also comes from him."

"What we need to do is create a suitable battlefield, block any possible accomplices, and prevent Mr. X from escaping via spiritual‑realm traversal."

After hearing Foersi's explanation, Moon Ai Mulin let out a light laugh, then leisurely leaned back against the chair; if the Fool weren't still here, he would have already crossed his legs.

That vampire looks a bit arrogant. Ke Lai En sized up the proudly‑bearing Ai Mulin and muttered a comment in his mind.

Ai Mulin felt the gaze upon him, which made the corners of his mouth lift slightly; with a boastful air he calmly said:

"I see, then I have no problem. In fact, I have just mastered an extraordinary trait corresponding to a Vampire Viscount, which can let me wield Sequence Five‑level power for a short time."

"Do not use the Full Moon ability," Lei Kedun glanced at the smiling Ai Mulin and reminded him.

"Why?" Moon Ai Mulin turned his head, not understanding, and asked Lei Kedun.

The Magician Foersi suddenly widened her eyes, her expression turning serious as she said, "Full Moon? Is it the Full Moon I was thinking of?"

Lei Kedun lightly nodded, "Yes, the Moon path's Sequence Five is called the Crimson Scholar; it possesses an extraordinary ability to place a certain area into a Full Moon state."

Foersi seemed to recall some unpleasant incident, her body shivered with a slight chill, then she looked seriously at Moon Ai Mulin and said:

"Mr. Moon, please absolutely refrain from using the Full Moon extraordinary ability during the assassination of Mr. X; it will cause very serious negative effects."

Sitting at the head of the mottled long table, Ke Lai En suddenly recalled Miss Sha Lun's Crimson Moon Crown. It corresponded to the Moon path's Sequence Five; fortunately the Apprentice traitors who betrayed the Abraham family did not possess such a wondrous item, or else the Abraham family would have been wiped out.

The Full Moon would cause very serious negative effects? Why? Did that Traveler of the Abraham family carry some wondrous item that erupts terrifying negative effects during a Full Moon? Ao Daili looked at Foersi with some doubt; the other's serious expression made her understand that the negative impact of the Full Moon must be truly dreadful.

"Moon" Ai Mulin was a little puzzled, but still nodded seriously and said:

"Fine, as the Moon's favored child, even without a Full Moon we can still receive some blessing."

"Mr. Moon" really cares about the vampire identity, constantly emphasizing that they are the Moon's favored; Ao Daili smiled, gave Ai Mulin a sideways glance, then turned her gaze to Foersi and said:

"I can also join, but the Observer path is not adept at direct combat; I can only provide some auxiliary interference around the area."

The Magician Foersi lightly nodded and said:

"No problem, what kind of reward do you desire?"

"Justice" Ao Daili lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, then said:

"We can discuss that after we succeed in the assassination, based on each person's contribution; under the Fool's witness, I believe everyone will obtain a satisfactory result."

"Agreed," Ai Mulin nodded, agreeing with Justice Ao Daili's idea.

"No problem; even if the mission fails, I will still give each of you 500 pounds as a reward."

Foersi nodded, then added, "1,000 pounds is all the cash I can spare, sigh~"

After confirming the participants, Foersi, Ao Daili, Ai Mulin and a few others began actively discussing how to create a suitable assassination opportunity.

East of the Sunia Sea, the Future, which had been sailing smoothly on the sea, suddenly jolted violently.

In the dining hall, while enjoying lunch, Lei Kedun reached out and caught the cup tossed into midair; the spilled wine miraculously flowed back into the cup.

The next moment, the scene outside the Future flashed in his mind:

Ahead of the Future, the azure sea was abruptly sliced by a massive fissure, endless water cascading like a waterfall into the bottomless darkness below!

Whoosh!

The Future did not stop, nor could it, and surged forward through the suddenly broken sea surface, then plunged down at high speed.

Inside the dining hall, the pirates enjoying lunch were all flung upward, slamming into the ceiling above; scattered throughout the midair were fallen toast, white bread, beer, grilled fish meat, and other food they had been eating.

Around Leikdun, streaks of starlight suddenly coiled, condensing into a radiant solid form that levitated his body in midair, unaffected by the slightest effect of the extreme-speed fall.

He glanced around leisurely; Jiadelinya maintained her balance with a similar ease, standing still upon the solid, radiant starlight.

Moreover, the faceless Kelaien effortlessly adjusted his posture, landing on the ceiling as if performing acrobatics.

His was the easiest evasion of this sudden change: Xisi merely leaned back slightly, his silhouette instantly darkening, turning black, wriggling as it merged into the shadows.

After scanning the surroundings, Leikdun lightly tapped the tabletop twice with his finger; a fist-sized, semi-transparent crystal ball flew out from the shadow beneath him, its interior flashing with brilliant starlight that cast azure starlight across the surrounding cabin.

The gravity inside the cabin suddenly twisted; the crew members who had been clumsily clinging to the ceiling descended neither too fast nor too slow, pushed by streaks of starlight back to their original spots, and the food floating in midair was likewise restored—though Leikdun could not guarantee it landed back on its original plates.

As the ship Future was about to plunge completely into the bottomless darkness below, a sudden surge of exaggerated seawater shot upward, lifting the Future and pushing it to the other side of the ocean's rift.

The pervasive brilliant starlight around them acted like seat belts, firmly locking every pirate in the dining hall to their spots.

After a moment, the sunlight streaming in through the window suddenly became bright and fierce!

Leikdun's gaze pierced the cabin, taking in the endless sea outside; under the sunlight it seemed as if countless illusory golden flames were burning, exuding a rich aura of the Sun Domain.

The transparent seawater was bottomless, revealing only an endless gloom; the sky held no clouds or sun, yet a noon‑like fierce sunlight still washed over the entire sea area.

Though called a sea, this is not a real ocean; it is more like a region woven from countless ruins and lingering divine power, both real and illusory.

There must be residual divine power of the fantasists here, for only then would appear monsters that possess strength but no distinct traits.

After a sigh in his heart, Leikdun lowered his eyes slightly, withdrawing his gaze; he worried that if he kept looking he could not resist using the Peeking Secret Eye to see more. If he used the Peeking Secret Eye now, he would surely perceive the Eternal Blazing Sun and be ignited from within and without, leaving not even ash.

Even without using the Peeking Secret Eye, he could faintly see the illusory shadow curtain that veiled everything; behind that curtain a terrifying gaze fixed upon him, while his ears were continually assailed by noisy, unpleasant delirious mutterings.

(End of chapter)