Chapter 502: Conversation

The sound of prayer and confession repeated twice, and then Leiketon raised his hand, creating a pure, bright starlight that dissolved and erased the crawling silhouette on the ground.

Having done all that, he calmly turned and addressed the people of Baiyin City behind him:

"I still thought you would leave directly after the 'Exile' ends."

"It seems your luck is decent; I'm not certain of the exact location of the 'Exile', I can only roughly toss you to a less dangerous spot, and I cannot guarantee whether A Meng will interfere with the 'Exile'."

Baiyin City's chief "Demon Hunter" Kelin gave a slight nod, bowed his back slightly, and said:

"Thank you for your help."

"Our luck has been fairly good; we haven't encountered any unsolvable danger."

Leiketon gave a gentle nod, asking nothing further.

Dairik, still gripping the Hurricane Axe, also stepped forward, his face showing a hint of shyness and worry as he spoke:

"Mr. Baita, have you already shaken off A Meng?"

Leiketon gave a slight nod and said:

"More or less. I used the lingering 'Storm' and 'Night' divine powers here to deal with some of his avatars, but I can't be sure I've handled all of them; he tries to hide, and I find it hard to detect."

"If you're worried, you can request the gaze of Mr. Yuzhe; A Meng cannot evade Yuzhe's sight."

"I understand, thank you, Mr. Baita," Dairik said, his expression solemn, and nodded seriously.

As he spoke, his gaze flicked to the nearby chief Kelin of Baiyin City; Dairik felt he read something in the chief's eyes, his eyelids briefly lifted in realization, then he turned to Leiketon and asked:

"Mr. Baita, do you know which kings were in the phantom that just prayed here? What is the great disaster? And who tempted Sasilier?"

Dairik blurted out all the questions in his mind in one breath, then looked anxiously at Leiketon, awaiting a reply.

Leiketon spoke without hesitation:

"The 'kings' refer to the eight Angelic Kings who serve the Ancient Sun God. As for the great disaster, you already know it. The one who tempted Sasilier does not exist; the cleric from the past may not have spoken the truth. The unnamed one he mentioned is the one among the Seven Gods of the outside world who holds secret authority."

He paused, his gaze landing on chief Kelin of Baiyin City, and chuckled lightly:

"Now it's my turn to ask."

"Does Baiyin City have any records concerning the 'Master' or the 'Mystic Demon'?"

Kelin lowered his eyes slightly, thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head:

"No, at least none that I know of. If you need, I can help you look up the information after returning to Baiyin City."

Leiketon gave a gentle nod, not too surprised; after all, Baiyin City was once a city-state that worshipped the Harvest Goddess, later belonging to the Ancient Sun God, and its further contacts were still giant‑related.

After a moment of contemplation, he continued:

"Do you know the 'Wish God'? It has lingered on this land forever."

"The Wish God? The subordinate deity of the destructive demon wolf?"

Kelin only thought briefly, then searched his mind for memories of the 'Wish God'.

Leiketon nodded lightly and said, "It's that one, Kotal, the Dark Demon Wolf."

"Sorry, Baiyin City's knowledge of it is limited to a few records left before the Great Cataclysm; our explorations of the surrounding areas have not encountered anything related to the 'Wish God'."

Kelin slowly shook his head; regarding the 'Wish God', Baiyin City's scant records only mention it among the subordinate deities of the destructive demon wolf, without even recording its name.

Leiketon gave a gentle nod, sighed silently in his heart, then turned his head toward the slightly taller 'little sun' Dairik beside him:

"You'd better pray to Mr. Yuzhe at intervals, asking for his gaze; A Meng won't leave so easily, whether in Baiyin City or elsewhere."

"I'll be staying in the God‑Abandoned Land for a long stretch ahead; if anything arises, you can contact me through prayer. With certain special means, I can respond to prayers over a wide area."

"Then, I shall depart now."

As his words faded, his figure instantly became transparent, turning into a statue formed of countless gathered starlights; the statue shattered at once, scattering brilliant star‑flames in all directions.

In a moment, the star‑flames in the prayer hall vanished entirely, leaving only a pale yellow slip of paper drifting down where Leiketon had just stood.

Dairik instinctively reached out and caught the slip; by the dim yellow light of the hall's candle stands, he read the words on it. They were written in Giant language, slightly different from the Giant tongue commonly used in Baiyin City, yet he could still understand them.

"Bearer of Knowledge and Mystery. From the unknown Sage. The eye that probes truth. The calamity of the Rosside Archipelago. The great Al Taens!"

After stammering out the lofty names written on the slip, he handed it to the chief Kelin beside him.

"Keep it," Kelin replied simply, not reaching for the slip. He held a straight sword in each hand and stepped toward the partially collapsed church.

Throughout the afternoon, the town echoed with repeated beast‑like roars, and scattered flames lit up the streets, as if life had returned.

Before Kelin could exit the half‑collapsed church, monsters with a single eye and faces covered in dense black short hair rushed in.

Clank clank clank!

Two more beasts covered in the same beast‑like black short hair burst out from inside the church; one stood at normal human height with two eyes, the other was like a small giant, also bearing a single eye.

"The town's hidden decay and madness have been fully revealed."

Holding two straight swords, Kelin stood upright, let out a sigh, then raised his swords to face the tallest monster.

Dairik quickly formed a battle formation with his companions, trying to block the two monsters that surged out from the church.

On the 'Future' ship, the constantly flickering starlight illuminated the surrounding tranquil night, like a vessel sailing through a sea of stars.

Everyone aboard fell into a deep sleep; some lay in the corners of the cabins, some reclined on the stairways, and others rested on their own beds.

In the dream world, Anderson at some point manifested a lounge chair, lounging leisurely on it while admiring the dome's profoundly sacred mural.

In the next instant, Klein, maintaining Germain Sparro's appearance, pushed the door open from the other side.

Anderson continued lounging on the chair, not turning his head; when Klein approached, he suddenly spoke:

"I'm about to leave this damned sea. Should I pray to that unknown great being? According to Al's prophecy, after I leave this sea, the misfortune on me will erupt even more subtly."

"Are you telling me to throw you into the sea the moment I leave?"

Klein muttered a sarcastic remark inwardly, then, in Germain's usual cold voice, said:

"As you wish."

Anderson twisted his mouth, revealing a false smile, and said:

"Hey, truly the 'Crazy Adventurer', so cold, so ruthless; I even thought after an adventure we'd count as friends, huh?"

Klein walked forward a few steps and casually asked:

"Who do you believe in? 'God of Knowledge and Wisdom', or 'Lord of Storms', or something else?"

Anderson's expression suddenly became somewhat strange.

"I originally believed in the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, and I also studied for a not‑short period at the church's school."

"But those priests of the Church of Knowledge are really hateful; just because I failed some subject exams, they ignored my ordinary yet handsome face and looked at me all day like I was an idiot."

"Pah! I just don't want to study those boring courses; in the courses I like—drawing basics, art appreciation, and art knowledge—I've always been at the top! Only that Edwina, who always wears a long face, can compare with me in those subjects!"

"Of course, after going to sea, one will more or less believe a bit in the Lord of Storms."

This guy really is a classmate of the 'Iceberg General'; if the people on the 'Golden Dream' knew, would they drown him in spit? The Church of Knowledge's style is completely different from other churches; they alone have a chain of contempt for intelligence, so it's no wonder the faith in the 'God of Knowledge and Wisdom' isn't as widespread as the other six gods.

Klein couldn't help but imagine a bit, relying on the facial control ability granted by the 'Faceless' stage, so he didn't let himself laugh out loud.

After a brief silence, Klein weighed his words and said:

"Since your faith isn't firm to begin with, there's no problem praying to beings outside your own faith."

Anderson's mouth twitched; he really wanted to retort, but if it weren't for the Church of Knowledge people despising his intelligence, his faith would actually be quite firm.

After hesitating, he suddenly asked, "Al said you're a follower; which follower are you? Does He hold authority over the domain of fate?"

"." Klein remained silent.

Without waiting for Klein to organize his words and speak, he just continued talking to himself.

"Forget it; once I leave this sea area I'll pray to that 'Fool'. As a treasure hunter, I need some adventurous spirit—anyway, I've never heard of anyone losing control, going mad, or dying from praying to Him."

You certainly won't encounter danger because of this, but you also won't be freed from the misfortune on you. Klein, feeling a bit overwhelmed, raised a hand to his forehead, thinking about how to dispel Anderson's idea of praying to him.

(End of chapter)