Chapter 2359

Compared to the manor, the witches also preferred the ship's cabin, which had the interior style of the Fifth Era... In fact, the witches liked any culture and popular style of the Fifth Era; they had always been longing for that era when witches dominated the world.

Because the portal on the ship was located in the huge banquet hall in the cabin, the banquet hall, which had been set up with five long tables, became the main activity area for the witches and their followers.

And this banquet hall was actually two stories high, with stairs leading to the upper level on both the left and right sides of the door. However, the upper level was just a corridor surrounding the walls; when holding a banquet, people holding wine glasses could look down at the banquet hall from here or enter the rooms on the other side of the corridor to rest.

When Xia De appeared in the cabin, the busy girls were gathered around the tables, either flipping through Miss Belinder's documents on the Seven Great Families or handling tedious paperwork for their respective mistresses.

Miss Matilda and Tifa were waiting for Xia De, and the work of reviewing and summarizing the three sets of materials was completed under their leadership.

So the five of them sat down at the end of the long table, and first, Tifa informed Xia De of the investigation results from MI6:

"There were simply too many suspicious accounts mentioned in the original investigation report. We conducted another round of screening based on transaction frequency and the degree of conformity with the dates you provided, and now there are two suspicious accounts remaining."

Two clipped documents were handed to Xia De, and on the top of the first page of each document, a black-and-white photo was additionally pinned, showing the appearance of the account holder:

"The holders of these two accounts are not ordinary civilians. The first is a local merchant, Thomas Pijin. In his youth, he followed fleets many times to the Archipelago Kingdom of Kelageli to resell smuggled goods, and later he had his own ships, which then developed into a fleet."

"Although the scale of the fleet is not very large, it has a certain reputation in Moon Bay. His ships mainly carry rare minerals discovered in Kelageli, so every time they enter the port, they have to pass through the strictest inspections by the Karsenrik Customs Department. MI6 found this account, which is the account used for bulk cargo transactions by the Pijin fleet."

Tifa said, and Xia De picked up the document and flipped through it briefly:

"Is there anything wrong with this person?"

It was Miss Matilda who answered this question:

"The Port Authority has always suspected that Pijin's fleet reached some kind of deal with the pirates of Kelageli; otherwise, it cannot be explained why his ships are rarely plundered by pirates. But because he was generous in bribing important figures in the Eddington family, several investigations ended up with nothing. The relationships among the Seven Great Families in Moon Bay are intricate, which is why these parasites have room to survive."

Tifa then continued to introduce the second person:

"The second person is also related to the Eddington family. Carmen Eddington, the third son of Count Eddington, a famous musician in Moon Bay."

"A musician?"

Xia De asked suspiciously, and only after receiving a definite answer did he say:

"This Mr. Eddington is definitely not a vampire. My vampire friend told me that they are not allowed to turn members of the Seven Great Families into their own kind. This is not because the bloodline of the Seven Great Families is special, but because the vampires settled locally do not want to bring trouble upon themselves. This is the era of human civilization, and they are also very cautious."

Of course, Xia De still needed to verify whether he was one or not.

"But how could a musician like this have a regular account for large transactions?"

Luvia asked:

"It can't be that he's still reselling pianos, right?"

Tifa continued to answer:

"The investigation report provided by MI6 didn't say it very clearly, but this matter may involve the corruption issue of the Moon Bay Bridge construction. MI6's guess is that either this musician's account is a 'bridge' account for corrupt funds, or he himself is one of the direct beneficiaries of the Moon Bay Bridge corruption issue."

"Although he is a musician, it's not impossible for him to help others handle some trouble by relying on the huge influence of the Eddington family."

"It actually involves that bridge too?"

Luvia shook her head, and Xia De said:

"I entrusted the 'Grey Gloves' to help me investigate the corruption of the Moon Bay Bridge construction. It can be said that all Seven Great Families have people who have benefited from it—yes, the Belinders too, but the problem is not big, so Miss Belinder is too lazy to pay attention to it."

This was, of course, Xia De putting it nicely, and Miss Matilda on the side did not correct him. The actual situation was that the Countess knew it was impossible for her own people not to participate in such things. If the other six families were all reaching out, and only her own family did not, this would be typical "lack of unity."

He frowned:

"But could the corruption of the Moon Bay Bridge also be related to the 【Dragon Feast Cult】?"

Because this musician himself was likely not a vampire, coupled with the actual purpose of the account, the possibility of him being the key suspect connecting vampires and cultists was greatly reduced.

But in the eyes of the Outsider, the more unlikely the candidate, the more likely they were to have a big problem, so he would handle this matter very cautiously later.

Tifa finished speaking, and it was Miss Matilda's turn.

The blonde head maid from the Southern Kingdom had been avoiding Xia De for some time, and was even unwilling to make eye contact with him. Xia De didn't know what problem she had encountered, but fortunately, at least she was normal now:

"The notebook 'left behind' by that thirteen-ring sorcerer has no elemental reaction, and the information recorded inside is not a curse or other trap. The notebook records four relics and their characteristics; the other pages are blank."

"Relics? Tell me in detail."

"Okay, two of them are the 'Higgs Dragon Head Stone' and the 'Hafana Dragon Body Stone' that the young lady mentioned to you. They are both Keeper-level relics, but as long as the two stones are joined together, they can automatically transform into the 【Ancient Dragon Transformation Stone】. According to the notebook, the 【Ancient Dragon Transformation Stone】 is an Angel-level relic."

The blonde maid said, and Luvia asked Xia De:

"Based on the performance of that 【Higgs Dragon Head Stone】 in your hands, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to rate this relic as Sage-level. Xia De, if the two stones are joined and the 【Ancient Dragon Transformation Stone】 really transforms an individual into a giant dragon, can you beat the opponent?"

"The giant dragon transformed by this relic is probably not an ordinary dragon, I... why would I fight the opponent?"

Xia De asked strangely:

"Obviously, this relic is most likely used for the Chosen One ritual, but I don't need to hold a Chosen One ritual."

Luvia smiled and did not comment:

"It seems this notebook was really left for us by the 'Light Chaser' on purpose, but what is he trying to do? What are the other two relics?"

"One is a Sage-level relic, 【Apron of the Nameless Swordsmith】. Throwing this relic into a fire can summon the 'Nameless Swordsmith,' who is considered a humanoid relic, with the prototype living in the Second Era."

"After defeating the swordsmith holding a hammer, you can provide raw materials for the swordsmith to forge a sword tailored for yourself. And swords forged through this method are all considered relic derivatives."

Tifa answered again, and Xia De asked:

"How strong a sword can this relic forge?"

"It depends on the materials. According to the data recorded in this notebook, sufficiently precious materials are enough to forge an Angel-level treasure sword."

"A Sage-level relic forging an Angel-level relic derivative?"

Luvia raised an eyebrow; after all, generally speaking, the rating of a relic derivative would not exceed that of the relic itself.

"But where is this relic?"

Xia De asked again, and the black-haired head maid shook her head:

"After obtaining this information, an application has been made to the Council for an investigation. But unlike the 【Star Sword Stone】, the Council has no clues for now."

"What about the fourth relic?"

"The rating of this one is lower, a Poet-level (Level 5) relic, the Ointment Slug. This is also a living relic, and it exists as a population. Its population history can be traced back to the initial era; it is a very ancient creature, but this kind of slug does not like to live in groups. The slug itself is on average about 3m tall, and it moves extremely fast when acting normally; when encountering danger, it can turn itself into a light form to move forward."

"This creature is considered a kind of alternative 'Light Elemental Creature,' and there are even studies claiming they have a thin giant dragon bloodline."

This was not surprising; giant dragons could leave offspring with almost any creature.

"And after killing the slug, the slug's corpse will turn into bubbles and disappear, but it will leave behind some ointment-like substances. This special ointment is considered a relic derivative, 'Slug Ointment,' and its uses are extremely extensive; many ancient potion formulas involve it. At the same time, this ointment is used to maintain metal products, which will cause the metal to undergo a qualitative enhancement. It is applicable to both cold weapons and mechanical devices."

Xia De did know about this kind of relic; the "Book of Pink" mentioned it many times. But it wasn't for preparing potions, but for preparing... ointment for lubrication.

And the danger of the 【Ointment Slug】 was also not small. The land that this thing crawled over at normal speed would turn into an ointment-like state. Because of the influence of the whisper element, even if it was purified afterwards, those lands would not be able to grow any plants for a long time. And the light-form slug could turn any solid it touched into ointment.

Because of this pollution hazard, although the 【Ointment Slug】 only had the lowest danger rating, it must be captured and killed immediately upon discovery. Fortunately, the slug's temperament was gentle, and it would not actively attack humans under normal circumstances. And their combat power varied according to the individual's age and size.

The average combat power of the 【Ointment Slug】 was about the same as that of ordinary exotic creatures, but the book also recorded ancient slugs capable of fighting giant dragons and unicorns. But in general, this was not a very dangerous relic.

"Is anyone currently raising this kind of relic?"

Xia De asked again, but the answer he got this time was still a shake of the head.

The 【Ointment Slug】 was extremely rare, and it seemed to appear out of thin air every time, making it impossible to trace its habitat. However, there were quite a few "Slug Ointments" existing in the material world, which were the derivatives left behind after this living relic died, but Xia De felt that if this was also a material needed for the Chosen One ritual, it would probably still be necessary to obtain it from a living specimen.