Chapter 428: Magnanimity
"It should be the rebels. They've received funding from some mysterious power and are targeting us. There have been signs of this for a few days now—people in the city preaching the doctrines of the Wolf-Worship Cult, claiming that the Doomsday Direwolf, Gleipnir, will soon return to bring about the end of the world and restart it anew."
"As for this man… he's just a poor fool who was controlled and used."
Angus glanced at the bloated noble who had long since died and spoke in a low tone.
Zhou Ning narrowed his eyes slightly and noticed that the fat noble still clutched a charred page in his hand—it wasn't a level-seven summoning scroll at all.
The page was covered in dense words written in ancient Falric, and because of the man's stiff fingers, Zhou Ning could only make out the first line:
"Book of Gleipnir."
Judging by the name alone, this was clearly a transcendent relic tied to the Doomsday Direwolf, Gleipnir. No wonder he'd been able to summon the Moonlight Direwolf, Seras, with less than a one percent success rate—and no wonder the page had drained him dry, turning him into a mummified husk.
"May the Sea God forgive him," murmured Bishop Ronald as he bent down, picked up the page, studied it closely, then drew the sign of the cross upon himself four times with a heavy sigh.
He then cast a soundproof barrier around himself and Angus Motley, and the two exchanged a quiet conversation.
Meanwhile, Zhou Ning didn't hurry to leave. Rubbing his chin, he began to piece things together.
"Why did the level-seven summoning scroll that noble bought from the transcendents' market turn into a page from the Book of Gleipnir? Could that market have ties to the rebels?"
"According to Angus, the fat noble was being controlled and manipulated. That kind of technique reminds me of the Meditation Society's methods… If I recall correctly, a faction of the Cursed God Cult also joined the rebels in my previous life. Their tendency to destroy entire islands fits perfectly with this."
In his previous life, during the first two versions of the game, the Motley Archipelago wasn't under Angus Motley's sole control. Two of its key islands had already been reclaimed by the Kingdom of Sepharic and turned from colonies into directly governed territories. In that timeline, the archipelago was actually the main base of the Sepharic rebels.
The rebels consisted mainly of nonhuman races who'd been subjugated by the Kingdom of Sepharic and demoted to second- and third-class citizens—werewolves, elves, walrus folk, and Northlanders among them. Several secret organizations were also involved, including the Wolf-Worship Cult and the Walrus Liberation Society. Their powers were tangled and conflicting, barely held together by a shared cause.
Because most of their members were nonhumans, and the Motley Archipelago had looser laws than the mainland, it naturally became their headquarters.
Roughly eighty years ago, due to disputes over succession and faith, the Kingdom of Falric split into eastern and western halves after Geoffrey Fort's reforms. The Eastern Kingdom of Falric was soon annexed by the neighboring Bryston Kingdom and ceased to exist, while the Western Kingdom of Sepharic not only survived but continued to expand its territory. As far as Zhou Ning knew, the descendants of the Four Heroes now resided in that kingdom.
Many of them were powerful beast tamers and druids—at their peak, they could win wars with only two hundred musketeers, twenty warhorses, and twenty Falric hounds. They expanded their lands through bribery, buyouts, annexation, and military intimidation, establishing governorates and building railroads through the jungles.
To this day, the Sepharic Kingdom still carried a massive national debt from those expansions.
And it was precisely under that oppression that the rebels gradually united and grew stronger. Later, even some Northland pirates and factions of the Cursed God Cult joined their ranks.
Before long, Bishop Ronald and Angus Motley finished their discussion and chose to depart. Angus walked up to Zhou Ning with a grin.
"Thank you for your help, Wayne Sturwell. The Motley family won't forget your assistance. Those three shots of yours even startled me."
"No need to thank me," Zhou Ning replied with a faint smile. "Even without my help, you wouldn't have lost. Bishop Ronald hadn't even entered the battle yet."
Angus shook his head. "No false modesty, please. Even though the Sea God Church and the Wolf-Worship Cult are mortal enemies, Ronald wouldn't have interfered so easily in this kind of situation. If you hadn't acted, Seras would have escaped. From today onward, you're a friend of the Motley family."
"Also, the bounties for those pirates you killed—I'll handle the payment. You'll receive them along with a token of gratitude at your residence shortly."
It was an unmistakable gesture of goodwill. Clearly, Angus was trying to win him over. Zhou Ning wasn't one to refuse polite overtures; he nodded and accepted graciously.
After leaving his address with Angus Motley, Zhou Ning departed from the Governor's Mansion and hurried toward the underground market two blocks away. Before leaving the Wings of Freedom, he'd promised to look for Richie Burke and Ignatius Woods once things were settled.
By now, with the death of the Moonlight Direwolf Seras, the werewolf outbreak was finally subsiding. No new ones were appearing, though stragglers still roamed the streets.
A few players who had followed him throughout the battle, still flushed with excitement, trailed behind. Zhou Ning casually posted a werewolf-clearing quest, tossing them a bit of a bonus.
When he reached the entrance to the underground market, a dozen werewolves blocked the way. Zhou Ning didn't slow his pace—he charged straight ahead. His "Heavenly King," disguised as a cane, gleamed faintly as he swept it up and forward. In an instant, he passed through, his black coat billowing—and all ten or so werewolves erupted in flames, screaming before crumbling into ash within a shimmering wave of heat.
"So cool!" the players gasped, eyes wide with admiration.
Inside the underground market, Zhou Ning found Richie Burke—rapier in one hand, flintlock in the other—and Ignatius Woods. The place had clearly seen its share of werewolf fighting earlier. Fortunately, Richie had exercised restraint, waiting until most of the monsters had moved on before striking.
"What happened outside?" Richie asked sharply, piecing things together from what he'd seen here.
"Someone summoned the Moonlight Direwolf, Seras, to assassinate Angus Motley. That's what caused all this," Zhou Ning replied succinctly.
He adjusted his hat and continued forward. "Come on, let's head back to the Wings of Freedom. Best not to leave the ship again tonight."
"Got it," Richie said quickly. He wasn't eager to stay here either—at least the Wings of Freedom had cannons and sailors, offering a sense of safety.
After a brief rest, the group left the underground market. On the way back, they encountered several passengers who had gone ashore earlier for dinner. When they saw Zhou Ning, they nearly wept with relief.
With most of the werewolves already wiped out by the military, they only ran into a few more small groups along the way—easily dispatched by Zhou Ning and Richie.
After what felt like an eternity, they finally reached the harbor—and the Wings of Freedom anchored safely there.
They were finally safe.
Once aboard, Zhou Ning immediately sought out Red-Haired Robinson and gave him a quick report of what had happened.
"Tell everyone on the ship: unless absolutely necessary, no one is to go ashore again."
Robinson broke into a cold sweat as he listened and hurried off to deliver the orders.
Across Teldron Island, the sporadic sounds of gunfire and cannon blasts continued for three more hours before finally fading away.
Around eleven o'clock, two men claiming to be subordinates of Angus Motley came aboard the Wings of Freedom bearing gifts from their master.
Aside from a check worth 48,500 Vecktas, they also brought the luggage of the late noble Pluton—about 15,000 Vecktas' worth of mithril. Truly generous! Zhou Ning did the math; his total funds now exceeded 250,000.
A friend like that? Definitely worth keeping.
Back in his cabin, Zhou Ning finally let out a long breath of relief. Now came the time to claim his quest rewards—and for an A-rank mission like this, he knew the payoff would be substantial.
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