Only when Germán Spáro fastened his coat, put on his hat, and took up his cane did Daniz realize he had been forgotten. He cleared his throat and, under the two sets of eyes, said, "Me—do I need to go with you?" Better not... who knew what might happen! Previously, he had only stopped briefly at Port Sibyl, yet had encountered quite strange events. Last night, when he had gone with Germán Spáro to visit the rebel liaison, he had inadvertently triggered the "Sea God's" curse. Today, with this madman accompanying him to investigate the archaeologists in Laticia—what if another unforeseen incident arose? Daniz glanced down at his left arm, still bound with a splint, and felt that in just a few days, the events he had experienced surpassed even the past few months, or even six months. "You can stay here," said Elran, chuckling. "But someone will come to check on you later." Someone to check on him? Then the great sea-dweller, "Flame," would be captured and turned into pounds of gold? Danzel furrowed his brow and offered a dry smile. "Beyond the bounty, opportunities to earn money from the military are rather scarce. I'd be delighted to give it a try. The only issue is that you'll have to wait a few minutes while I make a few adjustments—Captain, I don't want to create unnecessary complications that might trouble you. If I appear as a sea-dwelling pirate joining forces with the military and the Church, I'll be immediately subdued and taken into custody right on the spot. That's exactly what I imagine—being pinned down, knees pressing against my back, struggling like a catfish. Danzel pictured himself being flattened and writhing helplessly. After a moment's reflection, Ailran reached into the inner pocket of his clothing and tossed a dark iron mask toward him. "Just put it on. I'll explain the rest." Hmm, no need to waste time on something so unessential... thought Kline to himself. He said nothing, turned the handle, and stepped out of the room. Ailran followed closely, while Danzel, hastily donning the iron mask and pulling on his coat, hurried after him. On the street flooded with water and with few pedestrians, Caine pressed his hat and asked, "How do we find them?" Arlan smiled and replied, "We'll conduct a sector-by-sector search. My extraordinary profession has certain traits—once I've seen a person, their photograph, or a sketch, I can remember their appearance vividly and gain an extraordinary, heightened sense of awareness. In fact, I can detect unusual factors and pick up subtle traces that might otherwise go unnoticed. Combined, these abilities allow for quite effective searches." The Sequence 8 "Magistrate" of the "Arbitrator" path—Caine nodded thoughtfully, walking on and asking, "Do they have any of their belongings with them?" —Last night's notice posted by Daniz included a portrait of Latricia, which Caine had created through a ritual spell, praying to himself. "No." "Erlan shook his head." "We haven't yet secured their previous movements. What we can confirm is that they returned to the island around 3 p.m. yesterday, and after 2 p.m., no passenger ships departed. This morning, due to weather conditions, only arrivals occurred—no departures." That is, Latisia and the others haven't yet been able to board a ship to leave. Now克莱恩 understood Erlan's meaning. Danyz suddenly chuckled. "This says nothing at all. Perhaps they left Bayam yesterday afternoon and headed to other cities on the island." The Blue Mountain Island is the largest island in the Rosted Archipelago, with a vast area and abundant forests and mineral resources. As a result, there are many cities on the island, established around fertile land and rich mineral deposits. To secure these riches, the Kingdom of Roon first bribed native chieftains, then resorted to force, and ultimately established a governorate, efficiently developing broad roads connecting the cities and completing several key railways—funded through the creation of railway companies and the sale of shares on the Beckett Land Exchange. Of course, these major projects came at a heavy local cost: the harsh construction conditions, excessive workloads, near-slavery treatment, and meager wages led to the burial of countless lives beneath the roadbeds and railroad ties. To this day, many locals harbor deep resentment toward railways, viewing them as symbols of a malevolent deity that has claimed countless lives and brought endless suffering. Elan glanced at Daniz and said, "If they leave the land, there will be no concern." "Why so?" Daniz asked, puzzled. It's simple. These roads cut through the jungle and are directly under threat from the rebel forces, most of whom are devoted to the "Sea God." So how could Latisia and the others, whose very existence is already on the brink of collapse in the Karivtua region, dare to travel through these areas at night? If they dared, it would only mean one thing: they hadn't yet realized that their actions within the "Sea God" sanctuary on the western isle of Simim would lead to such dire consequences—thus undermining the speculation that the "Moss Monastery" or the "Rising Elements" had other, hidden intentions. Kline suppressed his urge to shake his head and followed Elran into another street. Elran offered no explanation, simply produced a notice and handed it to Germain Sparo. "Our primary target is the woman listed above." The woman I've drawn—Kline glanced at it and passed it to Daniz. At that moment, they heard a fierce struggle erupting from the side building. "Found her?" "Daniz asked exactly the question Klein had wanted to ask." "Probably not," Elran shook his head. "According to protocol, once the primary target is identified, the first response is to release a red smoke. As soon as that happens, everyone is expected to converge toward that location. If the target is another fugitive of a type that's particularly difficult to handle, an orange smoke is deployed, and support teams from nearby groups rush to assist. For ordinary pirates or criminals, the situation is usually managed on-site. We'll just have to wait and see—perhaps we didn't have time to deploy the smoke yet..." As he spoke, the third floor of a building facing the street shattered with a sharp crack. A massive, bear-like man leapt down with remarkable speed, moving like a leopard toward the distance. A huge shadow now enveloped him, and a steady patter of footsteps echoed from above. The tall man's body was nearly torn apart by machine gun fire, and he collapsed lifelessly onto the street, blood gushing out and spreading across the ground. If the residents hadn't been ordered to stay indoors, there would have been a continuous wave of screams. The airship that had drifted in at some point without pause simply moved on, turning toward a different location. "…Gortat," Daniz identified the deceased. Seeing Germain Sparo turn his head toward him, he forced a smile. "He was the leader of a pirate crew, a Fasakian, with a reward of 950 pounds." Fasakians... indeed, all barbarians. How could they have simply run through the streets under martial law, completely unaware of the attacks from above? After all, the pirates had just spent a restless night in revelry, and hadn't even realized that the airships had been deployed. If he had planned his escape route carefully, he might not have avoided the sweeping fire from the aerial machine guns. Kline turned his gaze away, watching the deep-blue airship glide past the rooftops. Daniz was especially relieved to have followed the pirate's fate. Erlan, seeing the alarm here lifted, no longer lingered, and with Caine and Daniz, turned toward the area he would be responsible for. After walking briskly for five or six minutes, they saw street fortifications stacked up at the intersection, guns positioned, cannons set in place, and red-robed Ruin soldiers standing silently there. On the other side of the fortifications, twenty or thirty bodies lay scattered on the ground, arranged as though they had just charged forward. They were dressed in tattered garments, their faces thin and gaunt—local inhabitants. A bit farther off, several young native children hid in the corners of the walls, quietly and timidly watching them, their dark eyes fixed on the deep, heavy barrels of the guns, their faces dirty. Caine and the others paused silently for a few seconds before proceeding around the scene. ... Bekland, Joewood District. Forth lifted the ceramic cup from the table, feeling a gentle warmth. She focused her spirit, quietly waiting for the changes to unfold. The temperature of the hot water dropped rapidly, and a thin layer of ice formed on the surface of the liquid, while white frost appeared at the edges of the cup. "I'm a 'Master of Illusions' now," Fols said, happily closing her eyes. Having received the gastronome's essence, she immediately prepared a magical potion, completing her promotion and gaining several lower-power, quasi-spell abilities. Among these, Fols particularly enjoyed "misting," "winds," "glowing flashes," "freezing," "electrical shocks," and the "slip-and-fall" technique that made people lose their balance. Only now did she feel truly complete as a remarkable being, no longer merely able to pass through walls or open doors, nor dependent on ritual magic. ... By midday, with the assistance of Kline and Daniz, Elran had completed most of the investigative work. "Eat some bread, drink a little water, and then continue," he said, removing his ship-shaped hat, his lips dry from thirst. Klein was about to nod when suddenly he saw a streak of orange smoke rise into the air and bloom into a flourish nearby. Aelran hardly hesitated—he immediately put on his hat and ran toward that direction. "I'll go first to lend support," he said. "Orange indicates a fugitive who's beyond our reach... who could it be?" Daniz murmured to himself, showing clear interest. He adopted a high-stride gait, determined to reach the scene only after the battle was over. Then he saw Germán Sparo leave his post and follow Aelran closely. He glanced at the "deep blue monster" soaring overhead and gave a dry chuckle, suddenly quickening his pace. More than two minutes later, they arrived at the scene to find several military personnel lying down outside a house with a front lawn, their faces pale and bodies trembling as though they had been plunged into icy lake water. The farther克莱恩 walked in that direction, the more he felt as though he had entered a blizzard, reached the polar regions. Soon, he noticed thick snow piled up in the gutters outside the houses. At that moment, a woman's laughter suddenly burst forth from within the house—rising and falling, wild and strange: "Ha-ha-ha…" "Kek-kek-kek…" "Ha-ha-ha…" "Kek-kek-kek…"