The moment Odis saw Daly Simone, with her alluring beauty, wearing blue eyeshadow and blush.
Immediately, the image of the "Goddess of Night" presenting two scenes instead of asking for spoils after the initial setup of the "Hidden Sage" was resolved flashed through her mind.
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One of the images features Daly Simone.
At that time, Odis realized that the "Goddess of Night" probably meant that she did not want spoils, but if Daly came to her in the future, Odis would have to provide some help.
Now is the time to repay the favor done to the "Goddess of the Night".
"By the goddess above, I have finally waited for you," Bishop Dean said with a smile.
Odis smiled and said, "I wasn't in the office today and didn't receive your letter."
"However, the goddess's guidance led me to Bayam, where I met Allen."
He did not explain why he did not receive the mail when he was not in the office.
The group immediately drew the moon and stars on their chests and shouted, "Praise the goddess!"
Audrey habitually echoed the praise, then saw Odis's devout expression and perfectly executed gestures.
She belatedly realized: This guy seems to be a follower of the "Lord of Mysteries," right? Is it really okay for him to praise the "goddess" so devoutly?
Bishop Dean then introduced, "You've worked with Leonard before; these are his colleagues."
He emphasized, "This is Captain Simone."
Daly generously extended her hand to shake hands with Odis and smiled, saying, "A very young and handsome lad."
"Thank you for your compliment," Odis said with a smile.
Dai Li then said, "We need your help with something."
She glanced at Audrey and Allen, perhaps thinking that there was no need to keep the upcoming conversation a secret, and also out of trust in Odis, so she didn't chase them away, but continued to ask, "Have you heard of 'Eye of the Dead' Bolton?"
"I've heard of it," Odis said. "The captain of the 'Ryan' appears to be a Sequence 8 'Gravedigger'."
Daly continued, "A few days ago, he conducted a large-scale ceremony on Garka Island, which claimed the lives of thousands!"
Audrey was somewhat surprised, never expecting that a Sequence 8 could cause such a tragedy.
Odis pondered for a moment and asked, "Has Bolton's strength suddenly increased a lot recently?"
"That seems to be the case."
Odis then asked, "Is your mission to kill Bolton?"
"We need to get some information from him," Daly said. "Our mission is to investigate the 'Seven Priests of Death' incident."
"At this point, it seems that this investigation also needs your help."
Odis was taken aback: "'The Seven Priests of Death'?"
Dai Li continued to explain: "There is a legend on the east coast of East Bailang that at the end of the Fourth Age, after the 'Death God,' also known as the 'Emperor of the Underworld,' fell, the seven priests who remained on the east coast chose to be buried with the 'Death God.'"
"They claimed to have received an oracle from 'Death,' which said that when the seven of them began to resurrect, 'Death' would once again become the master of the 'underworld.'"
"According to records, most of the extraordinary forces of the Church of Death were fighting on the Northern Continent at that time, and most of the seven priests who stayed behind were Sequence 5."
"But their bodies have never been found since they died in the line of duty."
"Until recently, someone saw the bodies of those priests on the coast of East Bailang. They appeared on the gallows on the east coast and were already somewhat alive."
"The bodies of four priests have already been found."
Odis asked, "What is the exact condition of their bodies? Can they be destroyed?"
"Those corpses have already acquired some characteristics of the living dead," Daly said. "Although they are not very intelligent, they are impossible to kill."
Audrey listened intently, thinking to herself: This is indeed a tricky matter.
Odis nodded slowly: "You've already fought those priests?"
"Yes," Daly replied, "we tried to burn the bodies with the help of the local 'night watchmen,' but we were unsuccessful."
"Just then, we received crucial intelligence: the current state of those corpses seems to be related to Bolton's previous sacrifice."
Odis recalled the sea chart of the western part of the Raging Sea in his mind, and then asked, "Do you have any detailed information about Bolton?"
"Yes," Daly said. "I also learned some information through 'psychic communication'."
"The first piece of intelligence is that Bolton's crew seems to be all living corpses."
"Furthermore, Bolton said he would go out to sea for further sacrifices."
"The third piece of useful information is that Bolton's condition is not right. He seems to have suffered a fatal wound to his chest, but he is not dead."
The "spirit communication" she referred to was inquiring about the natural spirits around them, because the spirits of the corpses used as sacrifices had also vanished without a trace.
She took a deep breath and said, "But he seems to have received high-level protection. We can't divine his exact location, and we don't know where to find him."
Odis hummed in agreement and asked, "When was the last time Bolton made a sacrifice?"
Three days ago.
Odis pondered for a moment, then said to Bishop Dean, "Please get me a chart of the Raging Sea."
Bishop Dean agreed and quickly went out, soon returning with a detailed map of the raging sea, which he spread out on his desk.
Odis first located the island of Galca, then began to measure around the island, and after a few minutes he drew a small circle: "It should be in this area."
Audrey and several members of the "Red Gloves" were stunned, not understanding why Odice spoke with such certainty.
Seeing their expressions and the questions in their eyes, Odis smiled slightly and explained, "Regardless of Bolton's condition, his intelligence is still normal, otherwise he wouldn't have chosen a remote island like Galka Island."
"Because the colonial government would not station official extraordinary persons on such islands, and even if there were churches, there would only be one priest at most."
"He must know that unless he kills everyone on the island, his evil deeds will be known to the official extraordinary beings via telegram within hours."
"Since we are going to offer sacrifices again, we first need to find an island similar to Galka, then we need to avoid being intercepted or pursued by the official extraordinary beings, and if his crew are all undead, there is no need to resupply them."
"Then he will definitely head northwest. You see, this direction is farther from Bayam, and there are fewer official extraordinary beings there."
"And it's definitely not heading directly north, because there's a naval base there, and it's the sea area where the Rune Navy and the Fusak Navy are facing off. No matter which country's navy it is, they will attack if they encounter pirates."
"Of course, heading southwest is actually the most ideal direction, as it lies between the Roside Islands and East Bayron, essentially a vacuum zone for official extraordinary individuals."
"But the problem is that the 'punishers' who are familiar with the ocean will definitely be on guard against this. Their fleet is favored by the sea and can always be in a favorable wind. They may very well arrive in that area in advance to ambush us."
When this point was reached, everyone listened quietly, their faces showing admiration.
But Odis's deductions did not end there: "Although the last tragedy occurred three days ago, we can only calculate based on a two-day journey. They would definitely find a place to stay for a day along the way, which would effectively avoid the official extraordinary individuals who had guessed his whereabouts."
After Odis finished speaking, the conference room fell silent. Everyone stared at the chart, momentarily feeling as if their brains were not quite there to process it.
A few seconds later, Audrey exclaimed, "Being a pirate really is a job that requires intelligence."
Odis smiled and said, "What I said above is the thinking of a normal pirate. If it is a pirate crew with a Sequence 6 or Sequence 5 captain, finding their traces depends entirely on luck."
He clapped his hands and said, "Alright, let's get started."
"But before that, there are some things I need to explain."
Thinking that Odis wanted to talk about the spoils of war, Daly nodded: "Go ahead."
"First, we need to understand each other's strength," Odis said. "I have already advanced and am currently a Sequence 4."
Everyone except Audrey was stunned for a moment. Bishop Dean was somewhat surprised because when he first met Odis, he seemed to be only a Sequence 7.
I never expected that I would advance to demigod in just half a year!
Daly realized that the initiative in this operation might be handed over to Odis.
Odis announced this matter right away for this reason. He continued, "Captain Simone is Sequence 5, while Leonard and the others are Sequence 6 and Sequence 7."
"As is customary, you will follow my instructions for the following actions."
Before Daly could even begin to haggle, Odis continued, "I won't take any spoils from this operation, because the 'Goddess' has already bestowed her grace upon us."
He was reiterating the fact that he was the "favored one of the night," which was the legal basis for his ability to command Daly and others.
Bishop Dean and Leonard knew about this, and when Daly heard Odis say this, she understood what Odis meant.
At the same time, she didn't quite understand why Odis would become "the favored one of the goddesses".
Seeing that no one objected, Odis pointed to Audrey and said, "This is Miss Anastasia. She and her dog will also be involved in this operation."
"I can do without the spoils, but if her abilities are used, or if she participates in the battle, she should be given a share of the spoils."
Audrey felt the name "Anas" was awful, but now was not the time to dwell on it. She smiled and greeted the others, "Hello everyone."
Everyone smiled or nodded in response, but they were a little confused as to why Miss Anas would bring a dog with her when she was on her mission.
Odis then asked, "Will Bishop Dean participate in the operation?"
Bishop Dean replied, "I will stay in Bayam."
Odis grunted in agreement: "Those participating in this operation, gather over here."
As he pulled out the "Gus Staff," he said, "Let's go to Galka Island first. I need to see where they hold their ceremonies."
As they spoke, a large fish that looked somewhat like a whale appeared beneath their feet. Its body was covered in green, blue, and white patterns that formed a design with an oriental charm.
Its fins are very large, spreading out like wings, and on its back are two huge wings almost as big as its body.
These wings, brightly colored and shrouded in mist, constantly emitted a sacred and radiant light.
Mysterious Reappearance: Kunpeng!
Everyone was somewhat surprised by the scene before them and was about to show their astonishment when Kunpeng slightly flapped its wings. They had already appeared in the dark, cloud-covered sky, and beneath their feet was Garka Island.
At this moment, Leonard and the others had not yet finished expressing their surprise.
Audrey, who was not very familiar with the abilities of the "mystic scholar," wondered: Could the "hermit's" ability after ascending to demigod be the ability to summon all sorts of extraordinary creatures?
Including the previous Vermilion Bird, this is the second one.
Although the Kunpeng is faster and can carry more people, Odis cannot sustain it for too long.
Upon reaching its destination, Kunpeng immediately disappeared.
Just as they felt themselves falling, Odis raised his scepter again, and a pair of colorful wings sprouted from the backs of each person, and they found that they could fly freely in the sky.
Fairy Tale Magic: The Rose Fairy!
At that moment, everyone suddenly felt the qualitative change after becoming demigods; these abilities were simply amazing.
Led by Odis, they quickly flew to the front of the altar.
The bodies on and around the altar had just been cleared away. The altar was very simple; first, a square area was leveled out, and then a wooden frame was erected in the middle.
When the ceremony began, the chief priest was on the wooden frame. Originally, there were two carved pieces of wood on the frame, but to prevent the altar from being activated again, those two pieces of wood were taken away.
Fortunately, Daly had seen it before and, through the ritual, drew all the symbols on the wood.
After examining the symbols on the wood, Odis walked around the altar, then returned to look at the symbols carefully again, and then walked around the altar once more.
Finally, he asked Daly, "Didn't you find anything else?"
"No," Daly said, then she asked, "Did you find anything?"
"The symbols carved on the wood are 'the language of the dead'!" Odis said, "but there is no subject."
"The Language of the Dead" is a very special language that cannot be mastered by anyone other than those who have attained the "Death" pathway.
Odis doesn't speak this language either, but he can mimic the "language of the dead" to inflict damage on the target spirit.
As the "gatekeeper," Daly was stunned for a moment after hearing Odis's words: "'The language of the dead' has corresponding symbols?"
Odis laughed and said, "You extraordinary people of this path are paying less and less attention to learning these days."
"There are many rituals and magics related to the dead, and the more knowledge you acquire, the more you will gain."
"The text corresponding to the 'Words of the Dead' is recorded in a book called the 'Book of the Phoenix,' which was once an internal publication of the Church of Death."
Dai Li suddenly felt like a student who had just learned the alphabet and phonics had suddenly met a college graduate from a prestigious university. She had never even heard of the book that Odis was talking about.
Odis added, "There should also be two wooden tablets covered with 'Words of the Dead'... more likely bone tablets, best carved on the bones of extraordinary creatures."
"It will depict the object of the sacrifice, as well as the chief priest's request or the object of the sacrifice."
"Since he's not here, he must have been taken away by Bolton."
Leonard asked, "Then... what should we do?"
Things seem to be getting more and more complicated, and Leonard, who has a lazy temperament, feels like he doesn't want to use his brain anymore.
"Go find Bolton," Odis said. "That way, we'll have a target when we search for Bolton's ship."
Then Odis "reappeared" as the Kunpeng, and before anyone could react, he was already in the sky again.
However, the sky was now bright and sunny, no longer covered in dark clouds as it had been moments before.
The wings on their backs haven't disappeared, and they can still fly freely in the sky.
Odis determined their location, flew for a short while, and soon a ship came into view.
Odis took a closer look and saw that the ship's flag was a skull draped in a cloak; it was indeed Bolton's ship.
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So they flew over quickly, and Bolton spotted Odis and the others, but before Bolton's crew could assemble, Odis and the others had already flown over the ship.
Odis sent the "gatekeeper" Daly to the front, and when Bolton's crew saw Daly, they basically all knelt on the deck and stopped resisting.
Bolton, however, seemed largely unaffected, and even opened his mouth, preparing to use "the language of the dead."
Leonard, who was behind him, suddenly fell asleep during the flight, and almost at the same time, Bolton was also dragged into sleep by him, standing there snoring.
Leonard's colleagues quickly grabbed him and helped him onto the deck.
A phantom door opened in Daly's chest, and a spirit resembling a tall, burly baboon with fangs in its mouth was released.
The baboon jumped onto the deck before Daly could, slapped Bolton, and made the pirate's head spin 360 degrees.
Immediately, Daly began communicating with spirits.
Odis landed on the deck and saw that the members of the "Red Gloves" worked together seamlessly. While Daly was communicating with the spirits, the other members put the surrounding crew members to sleep.
He made sure there was no danger, so he strode toward the captain's cabin. Audrey and Susie glanced at Ms. Daly, but eventually followed Odice's footsteps.
Upon opening the door to the captain's cabin, Odis saw a crew member inside. Judging from his attire, he was probably the first mate. The crew member was kneeling there, seemingly chanting some kind of incantation, or perhaps confessing something.
The messy table was covered with books and notes, as well as a lot of gold and the two bone plates that Odis was looking for.
Odis casually waved his hand, and a gust of wind blew into the captain's cabin, accurately blowing the first mate out of the window.
He strode toward the messy table, only to find a line of bloody words on the spot where the first mate had just knelt.
Audrey and Susie caught up, and the two of them and the dog saw the blood-written words: I'm dead, but I still haven't escaped Bolton's torment. Save me! Save me...
The first mate's despair was revealed in that short line of text.
Odis didn't intend to investigate what happened; he first picked up the two bone plates and examined them.
Then, with a somewhat serious expression, he began to look through the books and notes on the table. He read very quickly, finishing a book with just a casual flip.
After reading a few books, Odis looked up at the deck: "I think I know what's going on."
Audrey quickly asked, "What happened?"
Instead of explaining immediately, Odis went to the door of the captain's cabin and asked Daly, "Is it impossible to perform 'spirit communication'?"
At this moment, Daly summoned another spirit that looked a bit like a marshmallow, because when she was "séanceing," she clearly sensed Bolton's spirit, but she just couldn't establish normal communication.
This is a very strange phenomenon. She intends to use that marshmallow-like spirit to "pull" Bolton's spirit out of his body and forcibly communicate with him.
Upon hearing Odis's question, Daly stopped her psychic activity: "Yes."
"Don't use spirit mediums," Odis said. "It could be dangerous."
He paused for a moment and then said, "Bolton was very likely contaminated by the lingering aura of 'Death'."
Dai Li paused for a moment: "Lingering scent?"
Having ended their control over the other crew members, the other "Red Gloves" members, who had awakened from their slumber, were also hearing the phrase for the first time.
Odis further explained: "Even if the things that the 'Emperor of the Underworld' used frequently during his lifetime did not possess extraordinary characteristics, they would undergo corresponding qualitative changes after being around Him for a long time."
"Those things usually have the aura left by Him. If some rituals are performed or some proper methods are used, these auras can be preserved for a long time."
"And Bolton and his men recently found a treasure of the Byron Empire, which included such an item."
In Odis's research, extraordinary distortions and divine influences can sometimes be understood as radiating, wave-like forms that can affect the surrounding things.
Beings like gods are essentially huge sources of radiation. Even if they don't actively build their own divine kingdoms, if they stay in a certain place for a long time, that place will become their divine kingdom.
Odis continued, "Bolton's sacrifice was to a death priest named Bradrick."
"That Death Priest seems to want to leverage more of the power of the underworld, but his own power is not enough. He needs a large number of souls to temporarily boost his power by utilizing the special properties of the underworld."
Bolton, who had been dead, suddenly turned his neck 180 degrees, his face turned to the back, and looked at Odis: "The master of the underworld has returned, and you will all die."
He opened his eyes and looked at Odis with icy eyes: "I made a pact with Death. You can't kill me, you can't kill me, hahahahaha."
Audrey, standing to the side, felt that Bolton's gaze was the gaze of a dead man, sending chills down her spine. She and Susie unconsciously moved to the side.
Odis interrupted Bolton's laughter: "But in my opinion, killing you is not difficult."
"The one who made the contract with you was not the Grim Reaper, but the Underworld... well, to be precise, it was that priest named Bradrick who used the Underworld to make the contract with you."
"All I need to do is sever your connection to the underworld and tear your spirit apart, and you'll die."
Bolton paused for a moment, suddenly unsure whether he could be killed.
Then Odis said to Daly, "Control him and make sure he doesn't move."
"I'm going to test out a special kind of witchcraft."
Dai Li said, "No problem."
After saying that, she used her ability to control the undead to freeze Bolton in place, unable to move at all.
Bolton suddenly had a bad feeling.
Odis smiled and said, "You'd better not die, so I can do more experiments."
Bolton unconsciously swallowed, only to find that his body was completely out of his control, and he couldn't even swallow.
Odis drew the "Staff of Guth," and starlight emanated from its tip, instantly solidifying into shapes and "Gar runes."
These symbols, arranged in a specific order, form a pattern featuring a six-pointed star and a circle, which surrounds Bolton.
This is the "one-thought formation" invented by Odis after he became a demigod.
Under the influence of the "wilderness of knowledge," Odis's spirituality was more abundant than that of a normal demigod, and he could completely use the method of solidifying his own spirituality to replace the spiritual materials used to draw the magic circle.
When the magic circle is no longer needed, there is no need to destroy it; it is sufficient to simply cease maintaining the spirituality that makes up those symbols.
At this moment, the magic circle that Odis set up with her spiritual power was the magic circle that separated Boton from the underworld.
Immediately afterwards, Odis raised his hand, and a pale red flame ignited around Bolton.
Mysterious Reappearance: Samadhi Fire!
Audrey, Daly, and the others noticed that the flames "summoned" by Odis seemed to have a certain texture, making them feel as if some kind of liquid was flowing.
But soon, they were awestruck by its power.
In the blink of an eye, Bolton's flesh was burned and deformed, as if the flames had flowed into Bolton's body and burned from the inside out. Under the scorching of the flames from both inside and outside, he was instantly reduced to ashes.
Amidst the pitiful howls of Bolton's spirit, Bolton's skeleton seemed to be burned into liquid first, but before this "liquid" could even touch the ground, it was burned away.
Finally, as Bolton's spirit struggled and roared, it was engulfed in flames. The next second, the spirit transformed and disappeared, leaving nothing behind.
Not only were Audrey and the others stunned by the power of these flames, but Odis was also somewhat surprised. He could only "reproduce" the Samadhi True Fire at the lowest level, but he did not expect it to be so powerful.
A second or two later, Odis stopped maintaining the "mysterious reappearance" and the magic circle. On the deck where Bolton had just been, only a charred mark remained, not even a trace of ash.
Daly asked Odis, "These flames should also be able to burn those priests we couldn't kill before?"
Odis replied, "It shouldn't be possible. Based on the information I just reviewed, I deduce that they have already established some contact with the underworld."
"If we can't find where their spirits are, we can't burn them to death at all."
Killing an extraordinary being who has passed the "Death" pathway sounds like an extremely difficult task.
Daly smiled and said, "It seems you've found a way to kill them completely?"
"Yes," Odis said, "it was a clue I found in the information just now."
"The place where those corpses appeared must be the altar where they committed suicide. We must destroy the altar and kill the corpses and souls stored in it."
Dai Li frowned slightly and said, "But... but there are only black stones around there."
At least the "Red Gloves" and the night watchmen did not notice the altar.
Odis gestured for them to come closer: "That's the problem we need to solve next."
The moment the "Kunpeng" appeared, Odis used "witchcraft" to set the "Ryan" ablaze, and in the next instant, they had vanished without a trace.
This time, the "Kunpeng" took a little longer to appear, about a second, before it reached its destination.
Because this time it took a little longer, Audrey and the others witnessed an amazing scene: the surroundings seemed to have become colorful, as if they had entered a vibrant tunnel.
Daly was certain that it wasn't the spirit world or the underworld, but rather something like a description of the astral realm.
After delivering Odis and the others to their destination, the "Kunpeng" immediately disappeared.
Odis's current "mysterious reappearance" is probably of two kinds. One is the ability that can be maintained for a period of time, such as the "Samadhi True Fire" that just reappeared, and the "Snow Queen" that was "reappeared" this morning based on "The Snow Queen".
Another type can only appear briefly, such as Odis's reenactments of "playing the lute to a cow" and "heading south while driving north."
These abilities are inherently "instantaneous," but their effects can last for a period of time.
Another issue is that the level of the "representation" object is too high, such as "Kunpeng".
Previously, when Odis was reading some mythological stories, he had no concept of the different levels of those gods.
He then tried to "recreate" some deities using the "mysterious reappearance" technique. The first one he tried was the "Eight Immortals," which he was familiar with, and he was able to "recreate" them very easily.
However, when it came to "reappearing" the "Three Great Traitors of Heaven," they couldn't "reappear" for even a second.
Only after Odis used his unique skill "Divine Tide" that he gained during his ascension could he barely "reproduce" their "primary form".
As for beings of the "Three Pure Ones" level, they cannot even be "reproduced" in the slightest.
Odis even suspected that the three were Source Matter after they had acquired consciousness.
These thoughts flashed through Odis's mind as they arrived at the coast of East Byron.
Odis once again used the fairy tale magic of the "Rose Fairy," and the group quickly landed on the turbulent shore.
Odis and Audrey saw five tall gallows on the bare black rocks, each with a corpse dressed in the robes of a bishop of the Church of Death hanging from it.
This instantly reminded Odis of the first image the "goddess" had given him.
The only difference is that in reality, these corpses wear golden masks, while in the image provided by the "goddess," these corpses are looking at Odis.
The nearby coastline was already under the control of the Night Watchers. When they saw Odis and the others descending from the sky, their faces were full of vigilance. Only when Daly stepped forward and gave them the password did their vigilance lessen slightly.
"On the day we left, another corpse appeared?" Daly asked.
"It's not just an extra corpse," said the captain of the night watchmen in charge of the area. "They've started chatting on the gallows."