North Shore of Conquest Sea, Adria.
Time flew by, and quickly a night had passed. As the moon set and the sun rose, when the new day's sun ascended from the east, Iweig's famous tourist destination, Adria, was finally bathed in sunlight once again.
Adria, welcoming the new day, quickly became lively again as usual. Tourists starting their day's tour boarded the small boats of the boatmen who were already on duty, and began traversing the City via the waterways. When they opened the day's newspapers prepared on the boats, the front-page news they could see was that the welcoming banquet personally hosted and attended by Archbishop Antonio had successfully concluded last night, and Archbishop Antonio had left Adria early this morning, embarking on the journey back to the capital, Peizi.
At noon, in a room of a building next to the Holy Light Church of the Adria Church, several figures were gathered. A glance at their attire confirmed that almost everyone in the room was related to the Church.
On a chair in the center of the room, Antonio, dressed in a simple white robe and wearing a simple white hat, was sitting there. He, who should have returned to Peizi this morning, was still in Adria, and all he was waiting for was just a telegram.
Antonio sat on the comfortable chair, quietly reading a newspaper in his hand. The clock in the room had passed twelve o'clock half an hour ago, and not long before, Antonio had just instructed his subordinate to send a telegram to a specified address.
At this moment, Antonio was waiting patiently, waiting to see if the so-called Natsuki secret telegram would reply on time like the secret letter he had received before. From his demeanor, he was not in a hurry.
Suddenly, there was a burst of hurried footsteps in the quiet room. Not long after, the room door was opened, and a man dressed in a light clerical robe stood at the doorway holding a piece of white paper, speaking slightly breathlessly to the people in the room.
"Your Excellency Antonio, there is a reply telegram from there…"
"Has the reply telegram arrived already? That's quite fast…" Listening to the young priest's words, Antonio put down the newspaper in his hand, and then gave a look to his subordinates around him. These subordinates immediately understood after seeing Antonio's look, and all retreated together. Not long after, only Antonio, sitting on the chair, and the young priest remained. Then Antonio slowly spoke to the young priest again.
"Tell me, what did they reply from there? What intelligence did they give us?"
"Your Excellency, according to the reply telegram from Natsuki, they are still in the process of clearing out Sea Abyss Church spies. So far, they have cleared out several Ebergrass infiltrators, and from these infiltrators, Natsuki has obtained a lot of intelligence.
"Among them, the most valuable intelligence is related to the shining white pearl that was shipwrecked and sank a while ago…"
The young priest respectfully replied to Antonio, and after listening to the priest's words, Antonio's eyebrows raised slightly, and then he spoke again.
"The shining white pearl? Is that the ship where even the Captain was a Sea Abyss believer?"
"Yes, that's the one. According to the previous news from the Holy Rite Knights, the crew of the shining white pearl was highly infiltrated by Ebergrass, so its mysterious sinking should be related to Ebergrass… And according to the information provided by Natsuki, they followed a clue from a sea merchant infiltrator and caught the Sea Abyss believers among his subordinates. One of them was a former crew member of the shining white pearl, and from him, Natsuki unexpectedly learned the inside story of the shining white pearl.
"Natsuki said in the telegram that the true purpose of the Sea Abyss believers on the shining white pearl was to sacrifice the more than two thousand passengers on the entire ship to the sea monster Haimo Hois, but because of Thief K, the key ritual item, the deep blue heart, was stolen, so the sacrifice ritual had to be interrupted. Later, the sudden sinking of the shining white pearl also seems to have been caused by the conflict and even Extraordinary battle between that Thief K and the Sea Abyss Church inside the ship…"
Holding the paper full of writing in his hand, the young priest respectfully reported to Antonio. Listening to the young priest's words, Antonio paused slightly, and then murmured.
"Haimo Hois? I didn't expect… the truth behind the shining white pearl incident is actually a sacrifice targeting the Abyssal Serpent God's descendant… The Sea Abyss Church hasn't performed a thousand-person level sacrifice in nearly three hundred years. What do they want to do by suddenly sacrificing Haimo Hois this time? Do they want to lure it up from the Black Abyss?"
Antonio said with a frown, showing that he still attached great importance to this piece of intelligence. After all, it concerned a thousand-person level sacrifice and a great sea monster with divine blood; it was impossible not to pay attention.
Such intelligence needs to be reported to Holy Mountain.
"This is indeed very important intelligence. It seems Anman's letter didn't deceive me… Besides the matter of the shining white pearl, did Natsuki say anything else?" Antonio continued to speak to the young priest, and the other party shook his head and continued.
"Not for now. Natsuki said their counter-infiltration is still ongoing, and if they get any other intelligence later, they will contact us proactively."
"I see, it seems Natsuki's efforts against Ebergrass are also quite significant. It seems the taste of being exploited isn't pleasant…" Antonio continued to say with emotion, while the young priest beside him continued.
"Their active stance against Ebergrass might also be their way of offering a pledge of allegiance to us. Natsuki is probably still worried about whether we will go back on our word about accepting their conversion."
"Such worry is understandable… But given the current situation where all the propaganda has been spread, it's impossible to go back on our word."
"This intelligence regarding the shining white pearl is still somewhat important. Go down and send the specific content by telegram to Holy Mountain. Once everything is done, we will set off to return."
"Yes…"
Antonio continued to speak slowly, and after the young priest heard these words, he immediately responded respectfully and then retreated, leaving only Antonio in the room for a while.
Looking at the empty room, Antonio, sitting on the chair, made no other movements, but quietly began to think about the intelligence he had just obtained regarding the shining white pearl. However, at this moment, the focus of his thoughts was no longer the Sea Abyss believers on the shining white pearl, nor the sea monster Haimo Hois, but Thief K, who stole the deep blue heart and interrupted the Sea Abyss Church ritual.
'Thief K… Based on the current intelligence, she is definitely an Extraordinary. She infiltrated the shining white pearl and stole the deep blue heart, but I don't know what her purpose was. Did she have a grudge against the Sea Abyss Church and specifically went to disrupt the ritual? Or did she simply want to steal something? What was the intention behind that announcement letter that brought trouble upon herself?
'I don't know about the Tu Bu Zhi Society, she really is a mysterious woman… Perhaps she knows more about the Sea Abyss Church, and maybe even why they went to sacrifice Haimo Hois.'
Gazing out the window, Antonio pondered thus. Just then, another series of hurried footsteps came from outside his room. Hearing these footsteps, Antonio looked towards the door. From behind the door came a slight knocking sound, followed by a man's voice.
"Your Excellency Antonio, are you there?"
Antonio recognized this voice; it was the voice of Paul, the head of the Adria Secret Police. He had met him many times during his stay in Adria.
"I am, come in."
Antonio responded to the voice outside the door, and after he finished speaking, the door was immediately opened. As expected, Paul, dressed in a suit, walked out from behind it. Following Paul was a man wearing a bishop's robe; he was Oliver, the Bishop of the local Adria Church. Antonio had seen him quite a bit in the past few days.
"Your Excellency Archbishop, it's truly great that you are still here…"
As soon as Bishop Oliver saw Antonio in the room, he immediately spoke with a tone of relief. Looking at the appearance of these two people before him, Antonio's eyes narrowed slightly, and then he immediately spoke.
I'm leaving in about ten minutes. Did you come to see me about something?
Yes, Your Grace the Archbishop. Not long ago, the Net Flow Church, the Holy Light Church, and the headquarters of the Deep Concealment Guard all received this item simultaneously. Please take a look.
Saying that, Oliver took out a white card from his pocket and handed it to Antonio. Antonio took the card, flipped it over, and saw a few brief lines of text on it. After reading the words, his expression slightly hardened.
When night falls again, I will visit the Net Flow Church to admire the greatest legacy King Emmanuel left for this city.
"Thief K."
"This is... Thief K's Notice box?" Looking at the words on the card in front of him, Antonio muttered with a frown. He hadn't expected that just as he was thinking about Thief K, her Notice box would arrive!
"That's right, it's Thief K! The Thief K who was reported in the newspapers before. She is indeed an Extraordinary thief, and she has now set her sights on the crown of emmanuel, Your Grace."
Looking at Antonio on the seat, Paul spoke directly. He had already seen the newspaper about the shining white pearl and Thief K, so upon receiving this card, he immediately understood what this Thief K wanted to do.
Clearly, this Extraordinary grand thief was about to target a new objective, and that objective was obviously the Adria treasure, the crown of emmanuel, which was currently on display at the Net Flow Church!
"This kind of Notice box... it is indeed the style of the rumored Thief K... She has set her sights on the crown of emmanuel this time, which means... her targets are always just various treasures?"
Continuing to examine the text on the card, Antonio slowly said. Before, he was confused about why this Thief K stole the deep blue heart. Was she trying to oppose the Ebergrass Church? Or was she simply stealing this treasure? Now it seems the answer is clearly the second one. This Thief K is a pure Extraordinary thief who specializes in stealing Extraordinary treasures! Her gaze is not limited to the Ebergrass Church; now she's audacious enough to target the Church itself.
"Your Grace, these Notice box cards were discovered simultaneously at the Net Flow Church, the Holy Light Church, and the Deep Concealment Guard headquarters around noon today. It's absolutely impossible for this to be a prank. This Thief K chose this time to send this Notice box, clearly to avoid Captain."
At this time, Paul said this to Antonio, and Oliver, who was beside him, also nodded in agreement.
"Mr. Paul is right. This Thief K is clearly afraid of Captain Antonio, so she didn't dare to make a sound while Captain was in Adria. As soon as the newspaper reported that Captain had left, she immediately jumped out and sent this so-called Notice box. But she certainly never expected that Captain Antonio would be temporarily delayed for the entire morning. When she sent the Notice box, Captain was actually still here. This is her huge miscalculation."
"Although I don't know why this Thief K has to send a Notice box to notify others before stealing, since she is so arrogant as to target the crown of emmanuel, it is our greatest provocation. Captain Antonio, could you possibly postpone your trip by half a day and help us capture this arrogant thief tonight?"
With a serious expression, Oliver said this to Antonio. Listening to his words, Antonio was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"I didn't expect that waiting for just half a day would lead to something like this. It just so happens... I also have some things I want to ask this Thief K face to face. If I can see her in person tonight, that would be perfect..."
Looking at the card in his hand, Antonio said this. Hearing his words, Paul and Oliver on the side couldn't help but exchange glances. At this moment, they both knew that this Extraordinary grand thief, who had only recently become famous, was likely unable to escape tonight.
She specifically waited until the Archbishop had left to send the Notice box, but the Archbishop was temporarily delayed due to business and didn't leave. The Notice box was sent directly into the Archbishop's hands... In the eyes of Paul and Oliver, this Thief K has been abandoned by fate.
...
Time flew by, and soon the afternoon was over. As the sun sank into the western horizon, Adria gradually fell into silence once more.
Night covered the entire sky above Adria, and under the night sky, scattered lights lit up. The lights on the shore and their reflections in the water intertwined, showcasing Adria's unique nighttime beauty.
On the outskirts of the City of Adria, by a cliff edge far from the city's beautiful scenery, a group of figures were gathered at this time. They were dressed in various ways, and their genders and ages were also different. There were about ten figures standing on the cliff, looking at the turbulent sea below the cliff face by the faint moonlight in the sky. All of them had a hint of seriousness in their expressions.
In the center of these figures were two men around thirty years old. One man wore a trench coat, had brownish-yellow skin, and a thick beard. The other had a turban wrapped around his head, wore a robe, and had a curved knife tucked at his waist.
"What time is it, Mufeide? Has Mr. arrived yet?" In the sea breeze, the man with the thick beard asked the man with the waist knife beside him, and the other immediately responded.
"Don't worry, Selimu, our message has successfully reached Mr.. He will be here soon. We just need to wait here..."
"Wait here... but this is a sheer cliff, the boat can't land... did you get the wrong place?" Hearing this response, the man named Selimu asked Mufeide in return, and the other smiled slightly before continuing.
"Heh... a boat? You don't think Mr. needs something like a boat to cross the sea now, Selimu..."
As soon as Mufeide finished speaking, a violent splash suddenly erupted from below the cliff face. The people on the shore looked towards the direction of the sound and then saw a dark figure darting out from the huge waves in the sea, leaping directly into the air over ten meters high, then falling from the air and landing behind them, hitting the ground with a boom.
Hearing the sound, everyone turned their heads to look behind them. What they saw was the gradually dispersing dust, and the ferocious figure behind the dust.
It was a deformed figure that was roughly humanoid, two to three meters tall, with grayish-white fine scales covering its entire body. It had a huge dorsal fin protruding from its back, and where a human head should have been, there was now a triangular, massive shark head with a gaping maw full of sharp teeth. Several gill slits, like knife scars, were opening and closing in the air.
What appeared before everyone was precisely such a half-human, half-shark, shark-man-like strange monster, which directly startled everyone present. Many couldn't help but retreat several steps.
Ignoring the crowd in front of him, the "shark-man" who had just come ashore stretched his limbs, patted his chest, and then a large, translucent spirits drilled out from the "shark-man's" chest, hovering in mid-air, swimming around the "shark-man". It was clearly a large Ghost shark.
And when the shark spirits left the "shark-man's" body, the "shark-man" suddenly began to undergo drastic changes all over its body. Visible to the naked eye, its figure began to shrink, its scales began to shed, its fins gradually disappeared, and the ferocious and terrifying giant shark head also gradually shrank and became a normal human head. In a short period of time, the strange "shark-man" turned into a human.