Chapter 687: Blatherer
Picking up the blood crystal and smelling the faint smell of sulfur,
Klein could vaguely sense the corrosive powers hidden deep within.
*Legend has it that the Abyss is an area with the greatest powers of
corruption. Even an angel will fall and lose control there. The people
guarding the Abyss will eventually be assimilated by the Abyss... The
characteristic shown by the Desire Apostle does match this point. Hmm,
deepening the assimilation of a Desire Apostle?* Klein allowed
his thoughts to wander.
Soon, he noticed a detail. Kircheis had declared loyalty to the Death
Announcer, and not to King of Immortality Agalito!
*Does this mean that the real King of Immortality is the Death
Announcer? Agalito is only its spokesperson or the administrator to
infect targets? Heh, rumor has it that Agalito isn't a demigod and isn't
at Sequence 4. He relies solely on the Death Announcer to become one of
the Four Kings. If that's the case, his actual situation is worse than I
expected. He doesn't even have any autonomy...*
*Of course, I can't eliminate the possibility that he's a Sequence 4,
and his relationship with the Death Announcer is just one of cooperating
partners. He's a Demon after all. He's crafty and enjoys misleading
people...*
Klein contemplated for a few seconds before attempting another
divination to see if he could obtain any revelation for the blood
crystal's usage.
He wasn't afraid that it would incur huge trouble for him, or it could
be said that he was already prepared to receive any. Even if it was
connected to the Devil King in the Abyss, it would at most be equivalent
to the backlash from the True Creator or Eternal Blazing Sun. Klein
believed that the gray fog had the means to defend against and suppress
it.
*This is the first time. I won't have my location locked on, so it's not
a big problem... Besides, I already divined its origins, and there
wasn't any danger. Therefore, the Death Announcer definitely isn't a
Sequence 0 Devil... Eh, isn't that obvious? If it's really a Sequence 0
Devil, or a Sealed Artifact at the level of King of Angels, Amon, then
there's no need to avoid the joint forces of me, Queen Mystic, Admiral
of Stars, and Anderson...* Klein realized that he had been
frightening himself. He began to seriously begin the dream divination.
In the blurry world, he saw a world covered with sticky black fog.
A monster formed from dark-colored lumps of flesh squirmed over as its
body cavity produced a raging roar, "Blatherer!"
The scene changed, producing an ancient-looking altar which was splashed
with fresh blood. Engraved on of it were words and symbols filled with a
corruptive feeling; it was as though they were shouting something.
The hazy world shattered as Klein slowly opened his eyes and sat
straight.
He tapped his finger on the edge of the long bronze table and muttered
to himself, *Blatherer refers to the state before the Death Announcer
became a Sealed Artifact---a Blatherer from the Abyss. Or was it a
gigantic monster formed from dark-colored lumps of flesh that became a
Sealed Artifact after being killed by a Blatherer?*
*Heh heh, regardless, the final confirmation is that there's one ship
involved. Otherwise, it wouldn't have solidified into its present
state.*
*Hmm... From the laughter of the person on the brink of losing control,
it's very likely that the Death Announcer corresponds to Blatherer. A
preliminary prediction is that it isn't a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact;
otherwise, King of Immortality would be the best of the Four Kings...
It's probably a Sequence 3? Furthermore, Agalito clearly doesn't match
well with it. The level of power shown isn't that high. It's at most
Sequence 4...*
*That corruptive altar that gave off a feeling as though it was shouting
suggests that the blood crystal is able to summon a high-level Devil?
For example, the Blatherer?*
Having no idea how to summon a high-level Devil, nor having any plans on
doing so, Klein casually threw the thin blood crystal along with the
Beyonder characteristic---the glowing crystal left behind by the Priest
of Light---into the junk pile. Then, he perfunctorily named the former:
Aura of Blatherer!
After doing this, Klein cautiously attempted another divination. It was
to confirm if he would encounter any danger that night, danger that came
from King of Immortality Agalito.
In fact, he already had a prediction for the divination's outcome. King
of Immortality Agalito wouldn't touch ground on the island!
Firstly, it was because Toscarter had a hidden demigod. Ordinary
Beyonders might not know, but the Four Kings would have some level of
understanding. And it was unlikely Agalito would wish to have any
head-on conflict with other demigods. Forcefully entering the
"territory" of another person wasn't his style.
Secondly, Klein's previous theory had produced a conclusion: Agalito
didn't dare to leave the Death Announcer, and the Death Announcer had no
way of going ashore!
Indeed, Klein received the revelation that it would be very safe that
night.
This meant that he didn't need to change his appearance and move to
another hotel.
Around nine in the morning of the next day, Klein saw Anderson Hood
appear the moment he walked into the restaurant on the first floor and
found a seat. Anderson immediately sat opposite him.
This Strongest Hunter used his fingers to comb his short blond hair,
making it part seventy-thirty. As he looked at Gehrman Sparrow, he tsked
with a laugh.
"Impressive, you managed to hunt Kircheis even when fighting
one-on-three!
"The way you dragged the Devil's corpse downstairs has already spread
throughout Toscarter Pier.
"Heh, it's said that every pirate with a bounty on their head has
decided to distance themselves from your sights. They will not appear
anywhere within a five-kilometer radius from you!"
Ever since he acquainted himself with Frank Lee, Klein had quit drinking
milk. He raised his hand to order a cup of coffee, a piece of white
bread, two toasts, a roasted pork sausage, and a plate of butter. Then,
he replied in an extremely calm manner, "Your ability at gathering intel
is pretty good."
Anderson chuckled.
"This is necessary for a hunter. Heh, the Toscarter adventurers are
discussing a serious question as to who is the strongest hunter!"
When Anderson saw Gehrman Sparrow look up with a cold and ambiguous
gaze, his smile froze.
"They've all chosen you.
"Haha, after all, this is the Sonia Sea, and not the Fog Sea."
*Why did you need to add that second sentence? It's just asking for a
beating...* Klein casually asked, as though being indifferent,
"Anything else?"
"Ah?" Anderson suddenly felt his comprehension skills were impeded.
"Any other intel?" Klein repeated himself with more details.
"There is..." Anderson suddenly signaled with his eyes. "Molsona from
the Loen New Party has mysteriously disappeared last night. He
mysteriously disappeared in his own room while being protected by
countless guards! The official explanation is that Molsona has already
died. The reason was that he possibly consecrated an evil god or
summoned a devil. Heh, no one believes that. It's because the Church of
Storms has received an anonymous letter that has detailed records of
Molsona's crimes, as well as evidence."
He stared intently at Gehrman Sparrow, hoping that the crazy adventurer
would provide him with more information.
He clearly remembered that Gehrman Sparrow had just asked him who
deserved to be killed yesterday afternoon. And his answer was Molsona
from the Loen New Party.
Klein tersely responded without saying anything more.
At this moment, a figure rushed into the hotel. After looking around, he
walked towards Klein in delight.
He was none other than the bar owner from before.
"Mr. Sparrow." The owner took off a bonnet that had a depression in the
middle and bowed. "It has already been confirmed, but the process will
take another two days. After all, it's too large a sum. Heh heh, I know
you'll be leaving today, so in order to not delay your schedule, I've
decided to cover the bounty for now. Well, a portion of it comes from
the bar's liquid cash, and a portion of it I loaned from my friends.
Please make sure the number is right."
He deliberately spoke in detail to express his goodwill to Gehrman
Sparrow while earning a profit. He wanted to befriend this crazy
adventurer.
As for whether King of Immortality would seek revenge on him, he wasn't
too worried. Many a time, Kircheis would similarly claim bounties
through him. After all, it was a reward for battles between pirates.
Everyone liked gaining some additional cash. It was an unspoken rule at
sea.
Klein did a count of the thick stack of notes worth 6,000 pounds. He
split them into a few stacks and placed them into different pockets.
Then, he said with a nod, "Not bad."
The bar owner heaved a sigh of relief. He then warily surveyed his
surroundings before suppressing his voice.
"You have to be careful. King of Immortality is a very vengeful person.
He might intercept your ship at sea."
He didn't dare to say that he had the means to arrange for someone to
board certain ships to depart in secret, afraid that it would be
detected by King of Immortality and that he would suffer retaliation as
a result.
"I know," Klein replied indifferently.
The bar owner didn't speak further. He bowed once more and left the
hotel's restaurant.
"Do you have the means to leave?" Anderson looked at Gehrman Sparrow
with a look of curiosity.
"Guess." Klein revealed a gentlemanly smile.
The corners of Anderson's lips twitched.
"I'm relieved by seeing your confidence.
"By the way. The tickets. It sets sail at half-past one in the
afternoon.
"Impressive. I thought I was rather amazing earning 1,600 pounds in a
night. Who knew..."
Klein didn't respond as he began enjoying his breakfast.
Later, he made a new suit to prevent himself from lacking a change of
clothes.
Time passed, and soon, it was time to board the ship. Anderson held a
newly bought suitcase and looked at Gehrman Sparrow beside him. He
asked, seemingly worried, "Are we just leaving on this ship?
"The Death Announcer should be around the surrounding waters. The Future
left yesterday after it was resupplied."
He felt that leaving while under the wrath of the King of Immortality
wasn't a wise choice.
*It's impossible for Gehrman Sparrow to be crazy enough to just storm
right into death, right... Unless, this is his trap...* A
thought came to Anderson as he had a hunch.
Klein didn't turn his head to look at him. He directly boarded the liner
with his suitcase.
His thoughts were simple. It was likely that the Death Announcer could
sense something wrong with its aura. Based on the King of Immortality's
modus operandi, it was unlikely for him to make a forceful assault. If
his assumption was wrong, then the moment the Death Announcer appeared
along the horizon, Klein would immediately enter his room and pray to
himself. Then, he would go above the gray fog to use the scepter to
respond. He wanted to see who was stronger---the Blatherer at sea or the
Sea God!
This wasn't Klein's original plan. He had planned on using the Sea God
Scepter's ability to command sea creatures to find an underwater
"carriage" for himself. Then, under layers of protection from his
charms, he would pull Anderson out into the waters and escape the range
of the Death Announcer's blockade before secretly boarding a liner he
had tickets to.
However, in consideration that the target of revenge had disappeared all
of a sudden, it was possible that the King of Immortality would vent his
anger on others by slaughtering liners indiscriminately. After all,
pirates didn't abide by the law, nor did they come with any proper
morals. After divining above the gray fog, Klein ultimately decided to
leave brazenly.