"Once you see my signal, start the operation."
Silas said this as he handed the manual containing Bayam's naval passwords, flag signals, and other intelligence to Walter.
"Get ready and have the sailors change into military uniforms. Don't let anything slip when we enter port."
The captured soldiers on the warship had already been secured.
To ensure no leaks, they would only be released after the operation concluded.
"Yes!"
Walter took the booklet and spoke respectfully.
Of course, despite all our preparations, I still hope this operation won't need to be executed.
It would be best if they could infiltrate successfully, locate the target without trouble, and withdraw safely.
Silas thought as he pulled a pocket watch from his robe and checked the time.
"All right, fifteen minutes to go. Everyone, get ready."
He led the group out of the captain's cabin.
Just then, the portly pharmacist Darkwill hesitated, lingering behind, eyes fixed on Silas.
"What is it?" Silas asked, frowning.
"Your weapon."
Darkwill handed over a silver-white revolver.
The "Revolver of Luck"?
No, looking closely, it wasn't exactly the same.
Upon closer inspection, this revolver was quite different from before.
Beneath its silver-white luster, countless strange and mysterious symbols were engraved in intaglio, just like what Silas had once seen on the surface of the snake of mercury.
Not only that, the ouroboros mark had been preserved, though it had moved from the grip to the barrel, allowing him to touch it with his thumb while holding the revolver.
"The Councilor said he's already added a Sequence 5 Beyonder characteristic to this weapon.
Also, because of the special nature of the 'Fate' pathway, it can to some extent display a certain degree of Sequence 4 power.
But as for what the specific effects are, he didn't say."
Darkwill shrugged, either skeptical or confused.
Silas thought to himself.
"I understand."
He waved Darkwill away and studied the revolver for a few more minutes.
After figuring out its new effects, time was almost up.
So he transformed into a shadow, left the ship, and headed for Bayam once more.
Five minutes later, he appeared on Bayam's main street.
The Governor's Mansion lay not far ahead.
High walls separated inside from out, with two soldiers in red military uniforms standing guard on either side of the iron gate.
Through the gate's iron bars, one could see the luxurious courtyard and main building inside.
The person he was looking for was in a certain room on the second floor.
The soldiers looked ahead majestically, yet remained blind to Silas, the trespasser right before them.
He gazed inside for a moment, then turned his gaze to the other end of the main street.
There stood a magnificent Gothic building, its edges decorated with wave-like patterns that showed a deep blue hue in the sunlight.
That's right, it was the Storm Church's headquarters in Bayam, the Wave Church, where the "Sea King" Jahn Kottman resided.
Silas waited quietly.
The pocket watch's hands moved second by second. The moment the second hand stopped at 12, a sudden change occurred.
Outside the island, where water met sky, a large mass of lead-gray clouds seemed to rapidly gather in the heavens.
Then a silver lightning bolt flashed, appearing so clear against the dark background.
This lightning was like a prelude, quickly triggering more brilliance.
Bright branches constantly formed and disappeared, densely filling that patch of sky.
"Boom!"
Only then did the muffled thunder slowly rumble.
But due to the great distance between them, if Silas's hearing hadn't far exceeded ordinary people's, it would have been hard to distinguish.
He could vaguely sense that within that mass of clouds was some powerful and violent presence!
"Thump!"
"Thump!"
On the bustling street, many poor locals suddenly fell to their knees on the spot, their faces showing devotion toward the direction of the thunderclouds.
And in the mines and plantations Silas couldn't see, countless slaves made the same gesture.
They threw down the heavy loads on their backs, stopped their hard labor, and at the same moment, sent prayers to the deity they believed in.
"Get up! Get up!"
Their behavior enraged the overseers, who cursed aloud while their whips worked hard, lashing the slaves' frail bodies.
Yet they seemed oblivious, only kneeling with agonized fervor on their faces, excitedly facing the distance.
With pale, chapped lips, they said:
"Save us, great Sea God Kavitúa!"
"End our suffering, take us from this world of hardship to your divine kingdom..."
Silas watched this scene deeply, until...
"Boom!"
A tremendous roar exploded in the sky above the island, like the howl of some violent beast.
The impact through the air.
Just the aftershock alone caused everything on Blue Mountain Island to shake violently, and many people even lost their footing and fell to the ground.
With his dynamic vision, Silas clearly saw a high-speed object break through the sound barrier in an instant from the Storm Church, leaving a series of explosive sounds while rushing at an astonishing speed toward the thundercloud-filled sky.
The "Sea King" Jahn Kottman!
He truly was attracted by the Sea God!
From this moment, Bayam's highest combat power became Sequence 4.
Be careful, Klein.
Silas watched Kottman's departing figure, thinking silently.
Although his former colleague hadn't said so, the act of drawing away the "Sea King" must have involved tremendous risk.
He wondered how Klein would evade the other's high-speed pursuit.
To not let his teammate's efforts go to waste, he quickly turned, transformed into a shadow, bypassed the two panicked soldiers, and entered the Governor's Mansion.
A dozen seconds earlier, above the gray fog.
Klein gripped the sacred short staff made of white bone, extending his spirituality out to touch the light points spreading from its tip.
"Boom!"
In an instant, countless layered, illusory voices of supplication drilled into his ears.
Countless faces of believers appeared before his eyes, devout, fanatical, numb, twisted... The stimulation of both senses simultaneously acted upon his spirit, bringing him tremendous shock.
Fortunately, this was his domain.
He quickly suppressed the scepter with the gray fog and, through these prayers, established a connection with the ocean below.
"Whoosh!"
A curtain-like image unfolded before him.
Klein saw the surging sea, and in the far distance, Blue Mountain Island where Bayam was located was faintly visible.
"Right here."
He thought to himself and raised the "Sea God Scepter."
"Boom!"
Lead-gray storm clouds rapidly accumulated, and a bolt of lightning flashed across.
Fierce winds howled, and wrathful majesty raged over the sea.
All marine life felt the tyrant-like cruel aura, hiding in fear, trembling, not daring to defy it.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
One thunderclap after another, Klein adjusted his spirituality output, trying to make the storm's momentum look grand and more capable of attracting the "Sea King's" attention.
Soon, Klein's efforts paid off.
Through the "Sea God Scepter," he noticed a small black dot on the horizon rapidly approaching.
Though the figure was small, the sound it made was incredibly loud, a series of sonic booms mixed with howling wind.
He's coming!
Klein's spirits lifted, then he manipulated the thunderclouds, making them move quickly in a direction away from Bayam.
He wanted to pull the "Sea King" as far away as possible!