Chapter 574: The True Target

Under the crimson moonlight, the crewmembers shuffled like wandering corpses toward the dock, heading toward the dark, hunched buildings.

Within seven or eight minutes, their figures vanished into different directions.

Immediately afterward, Noelfe and Bartner saw clusters of blackness emerging along the cabin's edge, while flames—pale or sickly green—ignited across the deck.

From within those shadows, from within those flames, figures crawled out.

Some wore tattered clothing, their skin visibly rotting; others were nothing but skeletons, clinging to scraps of flesh, their eye sockets glowing with pale fire.

These were all corpses!

Soon, half-rotted corpses clad in filthy jackets hoisted the sails, skeletal remains missing portions of their sternums retracted the heavy anchor, and the rest of the dead took their positions, steering the sailing vessel slowly away from the harbor.

Gazing at the decaying flesh, pale bones, and eerie multicolored flames, Bartner and Noelfe felt as if they had stepped into a novel.

Horror novel! Ghost story!

"Navigator, it's time to work," Chaynem's voice jolted Noelfe awake.

…………

Inside the residence of the "Viceroy of the Sea."

Lumian leaned against the lower-middle section of a wall devoid of statues, his gaze sweeping over the other assistant priests in the hall, including Hu An.

He could no longer be certain any one of them was unproblematic—they might all be "Faceless Ones" in disguise.

In the actions to come, the only person he could fully trust was himself.

Amid an indescribable stillness and silence, an hour finally passed; this time, Lumian voluntarily entered the basement with Hu An to retrieve the "Ring of the Sea Queen," completed during the "Homage to Ancestors" ritual.

The ring was indeed placed on the broken stone altar, undisturbed—but Lumian could not confirm it was genuine, not swapped out; he could only say its patterns, symbols, and structure were intact, and the basement had been checked for hidden intruders.

Under a facade of calm while internally tensed, Lumian patiently waited until six in the morning, when the fatigue in his mind and body vanished instantly.

Two hours later, Simon, the current "Viceroy of the Sea," departed the night-watch room with four "Sea Maidens," heading toward the main entrance of the building.

Lumian and the other assistant priests, including Hu An, immediately rose and followed behind.

The two-decked, colorfully adorned ceremonial sailboat lay moored at the dock of Milo Village, where villagers had spontaneously taken up guard duty, blocking anyone who dared approach.

As Lumian ascended the gangway onto the deck, he felt invisible eyes watching him from every window, every colorful banner, every mast—surveying, scrutinizing—just as the statues in the "Viceroy of the Sea" residence had when they came to life.

He calmly walked through those gazes and, per Hu An's cue, took his position at the left-front edge of the deck.

This was where the assistant priest named Brian was meant to stand.

Boom, boom, boom!

At the dock of Milo Village, a row of ceremonial cannons fired torrents of colorful confetti.

Amid a cheerful, festive atmosphere, the ceremonial boat slowly drifted away, first circling Sangtagang to receive the crowd's cheers and blessings, then heading out toward the distant sea.

Hu An, posing as Jorge, served as navigator, guiding the vessel through the boundless, featureless blue ocean—turning left, then right, then reversing course.

Nearly another hour passed; under a clear, bright sky, thick fog suddenly enveloped the ceremonial boat.

Splash!

From deep within the fog, waves surged high as mountains; any vessel struck by them would capsize or shatter.

The newly appointed "Viceroy of the Sea," the "Sea Maidens," some sailors, and two assistant priests—all first-timers at the Sea Rite—were terrified, their faces turning deathly pale.

Hu An, with years of Sea Rite experience, watched the spectacle as if observing children's toys, directing the sailors without a flicker of emotion, guiding the ship along the only safe path through the dense fog and towering waves.

After an indeterminate time, the fog abruptly lifted, the monstrous waves calmed miraculously, and a sea of sapphire blue appeared before Lumian's eyes.

This stretch of sea seemed boundless, yet far ahead, both sea and sky were grayish, with only faint rays of sunlight piercing through.

…………

In Sangtagang, Sollo Inn.

Lu Lu Jianuo stood by the window, watching citizens form another celebratory procession, winding through alleys and streets, spreading joy.

He had already taken Ludvig to witness the ceremony of the "Viceroy of the Sea"'s colorful ceremonial boat departing the harbor, attended two spontaneous public celebrations, and only returned to their suite near tea time to feed Ludvig the snacks he'd bought on the way and those he'd prepared in advance.

"We can still wander a bit later—when the 'Viceroy of the Sea' returns, there'll be another round of celebrations. Too bad, with this child in tow, I can't respond to the enthusiastic Feneport girls…" Lu Lu Jianuo thought with regret.

At that moment, he heard a knock—knock, knock.

"Who is it?" Lu Lu Jianuo, with years of bounty hunter experience, grew alert.

"It's me." A soft, melodious voice came from outside.

Lu Lu Jianuo recognized it as Madame Giorgia's—the wife of Ruvio Paco.

She's looking for the landlord? Has the Paco family run into trouble again? Lu Lu Jianuo glanced at Ludvig, who was earnestly gnawing on a skewer of roasted octopus, then hurried to the door and opened it.

Today, Giorgia wasn't wearing her usual bright, flamboyant dress; instead, she wore a long black gown resembling those of an elderly grandmother or widow.

Her brown hair, pinned up, was slightly disheveled; her deep blue eyes, thick-lashed, betrayed unmistakable fear and panic.

"Where is Mr. Louis Berry?" the lady asked.

"He's attending the various celebrations for the Sea Prayer Rite," Lu Lu Jianuo replied, using the excuse Lumian had fabricated.

Gazing at the helpless Madame Giorgia, he instinctively asked:

"What's happened?"

"I—I found out… the true identity of that humanoid lizard!" Giorgia stammered, her expression terrified.

That humanoid lizard? The one the boss killed? As Lu Lu Jianuo hesitated, Giorgia suddenly threw herself into his arms.

A scent pierced his nostrils, making him hesitate to push her away.

Giorgia whispered, her voice strained but trembling with fear:

"That humanoid lizard… was my husband, Ruvio Paco!"

"What?" Lu Lu Jianuo was stunned and bewildered.

Giorgia spoke through clenched teeth:

"The one you saw… was fake!"

Fake? Someone had impersonated Ruvio Paco, while the real Ruvio Paco had transformed into the humanoid lizard and been killed by the boss? As Lu Lu Jianuo's mind barely formed this theory, his thoughts slowed, and everything before him seemed veiled in frosted glass.

He instinctively struggled, but Giorgia held him tightly with surprising strength, interrupting his movements with subtle gestures.

At the table, Ludvig, head bent, chewed on his skewer of roasted octopus, seemingly unaware of the silent transformation at the door.

In a suite diagonally across the hallway, Ruvio Paco sat quietly in an armchair, a faint smile on his face.

He had deliberately engineered the humanoid lizard incident to lure Louis Berry, first to confirm his identity, second to leave a vulnerability—the Paco family's inability to handle a weak monster—so others wouldn't suspect a "Faceless One" was behind it, thus misleading his target.

But afterward, he abandoned his plan to confront Louis Berry and did not trigger the corresponding trap.

This wasn't because he failed to confirm the target—Lumian Li's strange aura was undetectable to others, but not to him—it was because he had a new idea.

The overall "April Fools'" operation and his personal goal as "Loki" need not align!

His current target is the little boy named Ludvig.

A half-god sealed within a child was nothing short of a divine gift!

There was no more perfect ritual object for him.

So he hinted at the sea's anomalies, continuing to confuse Lumian Li while prompting him to associate the events with "sealing" and "theft," helping him understand last year's prank, and luring him onto the ceremonial boat, heading for the Sea Rite site—removing this clearly powerful opponent, leaving him distracted by other forces.

Next, he would perform a grand spectacle before the eyes of countless Sangtagang citizens!

…………

On the calm, sapphire-blue sea, the four "Sea Maidens" performed a brief ritual dance, while sailors carried offerings—lambs, roosters, ox heads—from the cabin and piled them at the bow.

Hu An, keeper of the "Ring of the Sea Queen," approached the "Viceroy of the Sea," awaiting the moment to present the betrothal gift to the sea's bridegroom.

Lumian scanned the surroundings, wary of every person present.

Any one of them could suddenly erupt—as "Bard," "Madwoman," "Salted Egg Man," "Loki," "Sissi," or a Puppet.

The graceful, rhythmic dance ended quickly; Hu An withdrew the uniquely shaped golden ring and handed it to the incoming "Viceroy of the Sea," Simon Giarro.

At that moment, a person emerged from the cabin—openly, without concealment.

She was a woman, dressed in a black nun's habit, wearing the corresponding hood, her expression calm yet tinged with sorrow.

The sailors around her made no move to stop her, as if she did not exist.

Seeing this, Lumian's pupils dilated sharply, his gaze contracting violently.

That was—the source of madness!

That was the humanoid sealed artifact lost by the Church of the Eternal Sun!

In an instant, Lumian understood two things:

The "Death Navigator," supposedly transformed from the "Viceroy of the Sea," had coincidentally appeared near the "Flying Bird," stirring up massive waves;

The humanoid sealed artifact had unconsciously boarded a ship—and chosen the same destination as himself: Sangtagang.

All of this had a reason!

(End of Chapter)