Chapter 446: The Thirteenth Series Episode (Part 3)
Above the woman, a name appeared: Josie West (Karl Robbins).
Lines of text scrolled across the open book:
"To ensure the original plan proceeds smoothly, we must secure new allies. The Resistance is the perfect choice. The hidden factions embedded within them—the Order of the Wolf, the Walrusmen Salvation League, the Northern Pirates, the Ascetic Order—appear scattered and independent, yet in reality, they are bound by countless unseen threads."
"The Northern Pirates are a complicated faction. They once suffered fierce suppression by the Kingdom of Falric, driven from their homeland in the northern Tilereno Sea into the depths of the Sea of Mist. Countless Northern Pirates died along the way. Blood feuds run deep—but only a portion of them has vowed revenge and joined the Resistance."
"Among them, General of the Wind Gallagher and Storm Queen Savanna are both followers of the Dark Spider Matriarch, Matalita. Though they appear to pillage and slaughter aimlessly, their true purpose is to funnel population and wealth to the Ascetic Order and Matalita, cultivating more fervent believers."
"The Walrusmen Salvation League and the Order of the Wolf similarly forged blood feuds with the Kingdom of Falric over the past century. Thus, their interests are aligned. Behind both stand ancient gods—the World-Ender Wolf Gleipnir behind the Order of the Wolf, and the Ice Goddess Deloris behind the Walrusmen Salvation League. At their peak, both far surpassed Nyastora in power."
"If we can use them to unleash a catastrophe that starts in the overseas colonies and sweeps across the entire Kingdom of Sepharic, then the ultimate goal can be achieved."
"The plan begins at the Motley Archipelago. The vast majority of its inhabitants are non-human, and the law there is lax. If Angus Motley can be assassinated, we can seize control of the islands and execute the next stage—Plan Two, which I prepared long ago."
"I engineered a series of coincidences to send a noble named Opa Bessemer to Darkland as a diplomat. He was then identified and hypnotized by the Ascetic Order. His ancestors once co-founded the Motley Archipelago with the Motley family, but after a minor dispute they were banished back to Nathaniell, beginning their decline."
"Under hypnosis, he will see Angus Motley as a blood enemy and stop at nothing to kill him."
"As a half-baked transcendent, he will naively decide to use a level-seven summoning scroll to assassinate Angus Motley. What he doesn't know is that hidden within his stack of scrolls is a fragment of Gleipnir's page."
"Additionally, he will successfully locate a Northern Pirate contact in Temple Harbor, securing enough manpower to assist in the assassination."
"At the moment of attack, the fragment will consume every last drop of Opa Bessemer's flesh and blood, summoning an angel-class entity—Seras, the Lunar Direwolf. Unless something goes very wrong, Angus Motley will die in the attempt."
Josie West finished reading, smiled, and closed the book.
The screen faded to black.
Watching this, Zhou Ning frowned. His suspicions had been correct—this assassination really was tied to Karl Robbins and that damned book.
At Darkland, and again after the Darkland Tragedy, he had tried countless times to use the compass to locate the book so he could destroy or seize it—but every attempt was blocked by some unknown force, spinning him in circles.
The only time he ever found it was the night he happened to glimpse it by accident.
He later tried searching for it on his own, but every time he got close, some improbable coincidence intervened, derailing him again and again.
As for the inn from the episode, there was no trace of it. He didn't even know whether she was still on Teldron Island. Total passivity. No leads.
Maybe only the unpredictable chaos of players could create an opening—something to think about after reaching Nathaniell.
The perspective shifted again to Opa Bessemer.
He located the Northern Pirate contact in Temple Harbor, exactly as written in the book. He had intended to recruit a few low-level helpers—but instead, through telegram, he managed to gather over ten high-level combatants, including General of the Wind, Gallagher.
The scene split in two.
On one side, Wings of Freedom departed Temple Harbor along a safe route toward Teldron Island.
On the other, Wind General Gallagher's flagship, set sail from the pirate harbor of Glent Island, speeding across the Sea of Mist on a direct course toward Teldron Island.
With wind augmentation, Wind General traveled at nearly double the speed of Wings of Freedom, reaching the mouth of the Sea of Mist first—but a sudden catastrophic storm forced it to furl sails and halt.
Meanwhile, Wings of Freedom enjoyed steady tailwinds the entire journey.
After a sequence of montage cuts, players realized with shock that—through a chain of ridiculous coincidences—the two ships, originally guaranteed to miss each other, had collided on the same path.
Gale winds roared. Waves towered. Alarms blared aboard Wings of Freedom. War was inevitable.
The split screen merged back into one—refocusing on Zhou Ning.
He stood at the bow, coat whipping behind him like wings, one hand pressed calmly atop his hat as he stared ahead.
A heavy drumbeat surged.
The frame locked.
Bullet chat erupted:
"General of the Wind: DOOMED!"
"I already see the ending. Poor Gallagher!"
Zhou Ning raised a brow, mildly surprised. What had felt like a messy series of disconnected events in real life had, under the light brain's editing, become a perfectly stitched narrative.
If he remembered correctly, Gallagher came chasing him because of the Lucky Clover backlash effect. Without that backlash pulling Gallagher toward Teldron Island, the assassination might actually have succeeded.
In a way, the bad luck side-effect had accidentally sabotaged the book's entire plan.
Fate really worked in strange ways.
With thunderous, rising BGM, the naval battle erupted.
Wind General turned into a T-formation. Thirty-two alchemical cannons along the port side locked onto Wings of Freedom—and fired.
The camera pulled far back first, showing an overwhelming storm of shells streaking toward Wings of Freedom—then snapped to a close-up of Zhou Ning.
Unfazed, he raised a revolver the audience had never seen before and began firing in rapid succession.
The camera zoomed further, locking onto the bullet itself:
Hammer back.
Firing pin strikes.
Gunpowder ignites in the chamber.
CRACK—CRACK—CRACK!
Several spiraling rounds engulfed in flame ripped forward at impossible speed. They appeared un-aimed. Only the first bullet hit a cannon shell, triggering an explosion.
Bullet chat wavered:
"Uh… did he miss???"
Zhou Ning's lip twitched.
If he could type, he'd leave exactly one message:
No.
Just wait for the bullets.
Moments later, the silver rounds wreathed in fire bent into arcs—rotating mid-flight at impossible 120-degree angles—intercepting every single incoming shell with pinpoint precision.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Shell after shell detonated mid-air.
"What kind of skill is this?! If every gunslinger could do this, why would anyone play other classes!?"
With the intense music still surging, the bullet chat exploded into frenzy.
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