Chapter 454: Announcement
North of Conquer Sea, Adria.
Time flew by, and before long, a night had passed. With the moon setting and the sun rising, when the new day’s sun rose in the east, the famous tourist destination of Iwig, Adria, was once again bathed in sunlight.
Adria welcomed the new day with its usual bustling activity. Tourists eager to start their day boarded the boats manned by the ever-ready boatman Meng, continuing their journey through the city via the waterways. Upon opening the newspapers prepared on board, they discovered that the headline news was about the welcome banquet hosted and attended by Archbishop Antonio, which had concluded successfully last night. Archbishop Antonio had already left Adria early in the morning, embarking on his return journey to the royal capital, Pezi.
At noon, in a room within a building next to the Enlightened Light Church in Adria, several figures gathered. A glance at their attire confirmed that most of them were associated with the church.
In the center of the room, sitting on a chair, was Antonio, dressed simply in a white robe with a plain white hat. He was supposed to have returned to Pezi this morning but remained in Adria for a single telegram.
Antonio sat comfortably in his chair, holding a newspaper as he calmly read it. The clock on the wall had just passed twelve o’clock, and not long ago, Antonio had instructed his subordinates to send a telegram to a designated address.
Antonio was patiently waiting, hoping that the so-called Xiaotree cipher would reply as expected, just like the previous confidential letters he had received. From his demeanor, he did not seem anxious.
Suddenly, the quiet room echoed with the sound of hurried footsteps. Shortly after, the door opened, and a man in light clerical attire entered, holding a white paper. He was slightly out of breath as he addressed those inside the room.
“Sir Antonio, there’s a reply from the other side…”
“It’s already replied? Quite fast…”
Listening to the young cleric’s words, Antonio put down the newspaper he was holding and then gave a signal to his surroundings. His subordinates immediately understood and all withdrew. Soon, only Antonio and the young cleric remained in the room. Antonio then slowly spoke to the young cleric.
“Tell me, what did they say in the reply? What information did they provide us?”
“Sir, according to Xiaotree’s reply, they are still in the process of clearing out Abyss Cult spies. So far, they have apprehended several Abyss Cult traitors, from whom Xiaotree has obtained considerable intelligence.
“The most valuable piece of intelligence pertains to the recent shipwreck of the Shining White Pearl…”
The young cleric respectfully responded to Antonio, and upon hearing the cleric’s words, Antonio’s eyebrows slightly raised, followed by him speaking again.
“Shining White Pearl? Is that the ship where even the captain was an Abyss Cult believer?”
“Yes, that very ship. According to information from the Order of the Holy Ceremony Knights, the crew of the Shining White Pearl was heavily infiltrated by the Abyss Cult, thus its mysterious sinking should be closely linked to the Abyss Cult… And according to Xiaotree’s report, they followed a lead from a sea merchant spy and arrested one of the Abyss Cult members in his crew. Among them was someone who used to be a crew member of the Shining White Pearl, from whom Xiaotree unexpectedly learned about the inner workings of the Shining White Pearl.
“Xiaotree mentioned in the telegram that the true purpose of the Abyss Cult members on the Shining White Pearl was to use over two thousand passengers as sacrifices to the sea monster, Haemohois. However, due to the theft of the key ritual item, Deep Blue Heart, by Thief K, the sacrifice ceremony could not proceed. Later, the sudden sinking of the Shining White Pearl seemed to be caused by a conflict between Thief K and the Abyss Cult on the ship, possibly involving extraordinary combat…”
Holding a paper filled with writing, the young cleric respectfully reported to Antonio. Listening to the young cleric’s words, Antonio paused momentarily before muttering.
“Haemohois? Unexpectedly… The truth behind the incident with the Shining White Pearl is actually a sacrifice aimed at the heir of the Abyss Snake Deity… The Abyss Cult hasn’t performed a thousand-person-scale sacrifice in nearly three hundred years. What could they be planning by suddenly sacrificing Haemohois? To bring it up from the Black Abyss?”
Antonio said with furrowed brows, clearly taking this intelligence seriously, given the scale of the sacrifice and the involvement of a giant sea creature with divine bl**d.
Such intelligence needed to be reported to the Sacred Summit.
“This is indeed important intelligence. It seems Amman’s letter wasn’t misleading… Besides the matter of the Shining White Pearl, did Xiaotree mention anything else?”
Antonio continued to ask the young cleric, who then shook his head and spoke further.
“Not yet. Xiaotree said their counter-spy efforts are ongoing. If they obtain any more intelligence, they will contact us proactively.”
“I see, it appears Xiaotree is making significant efforts against the Abyss Cult. It seems the taste of being manipulated isn’t pleasant…”
Antonio continued to ponder, and the young cleric then added.
“Their active stance against the Abyss Cult might also be a way to prove their loyalty to us. Xiaotree may still be worried if we will reconsider accepting their conversion.”
“That’s understandable… But given the current situation where all the groundwork has been laid out, it’s impossible to go back now.
“The intelligence about the Shining White Pearl is still quite important. Go down and send the full details via telegram to the Sacred Summit. Once everything is in order, we can head back.”
“Yes…”
Antonio continued to speak slowly, and the young cleric responded respectfully and immediately withdrew. The room then returned to silence, leaving Antonio alone.
Looking at the empty room, Antonio remained seated, quietly contemplating the intelligence he had just acquired about the Shining White Pearl. While his focus was no longer solely on the Abyss Cult members aboard the ship or the sea monster Haemohois, he was particularly intrigued by Thief K, who stole the Deep Blue Heart and disrupted the Abyss Cult ritual.
‘Thief K… Judging by the current intelligence, she must be an Extraordinary Being. Her infiltration of the Shining White Pearl and theft of the Deep Blue Heart are shrouded in mystery. Was she deliberately sabotaging the ritual because of enmity with the Abyss Cult? Or was it simply a theft? What was the intent behind her warning letter?
‘Unknown and unaffiliated with any society, she is truly a woman shrouded in mystery… Perhaps she knows more about the Abyss Cult and why they intended to sacrifice Haemohois.’
Gazing out the window, Antonio pondered deeply. At that moment, urgent footsteps echoed outside his room. Hearing the footsteps, Antonio looked toward the door, where a faint knock sounded, followed by a man’s voice.
“Archbishop Antonio, are you in?”
Antonio recognized this voice; it belonged to Paul, the head of Adria’s secret police. During his stay in Adria, he had met Paul many times.
“I’m here, come in,” Antonio responded.
After he finished speaking, the door opened, revealing Paul in a suit, followed by another man wearing a bishop’s robe. This was Oliver, the local bishop of Adria, whom Antonio had seen frequently over the past few days.
“Archbishop, it’s good to find you still here…”
Bishop Oliver spoke with relief upon seeing Antonio. Observing the two men, Antonio’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he immediately spoke.
