Bayam Governor's Mansion.
"Help me..."
"What's happening?"
"This is divine punishment!"
The shock from the Sea King's departure still lingered. The servants in the courtyard were badly shaken.
Some had been knocked down by the sonic impact, others were praying to the "Sea God."
Everything was in chaos. No one noticed a shadow swiftly passing by them.
The magnificent main building of the Governor's Mansion was divided into two sections.
The front hall handled administrative affairs, while the rear served as the Governor's living quarters.
Can't sense anything...
Silas glanced at the main building and frowned slightly.
The Shepherd's ability seemed to have lost its effect on that place.
He couldn't perceive the souls of the people inside, much less determine whether there were Beyonders among them.
But this was the island's Governor's Mansion after all, so it naturally would have some protections.
I'll confirm it when I go in later.
He bypassed the main building and continued deeper inside.
There were two targets to find: "Elaine" and Roy King, located in the main building and the dungeon respectively.
Silas mapped out his route of action and decided to search the dungeon for Roy King first, then return to the main building.
"Here it is..."
Following the internal map of the Governor's Mansion that Klein had provided, Silas found a semi-underground prison entrance behind the stables and guard barracks.
Two guards stood outside.
Though they were also puzzled by the disturbance on the island, they hadn't loosened their grip on their steam rifles.
Ma'am M's figure quietly materialized.
At her soft call, golden light bloomed in the soldiers' eyes.
They obediently set down their rifles and stepped aside, revealing the pitch-black entrance to the dungeon.
Some invisible barrier quietly took effect, as if some extraordinary power here was proclaiming rules, forbidding others from trespassing.
A prohibition?
Silas's expression remained unchanged.
The shadow beneath him suddenly writhed and lunged at this invisible barrier.
"Hiss, hiss..."
The shadow exuded corrupting decay, breaking down the isolation between the inside and outside of the prison.
Soon, a cold wind carrying the smell of mold blew out from within. Silas stepped forward, descending the stone stairs into the dungeon.
His azure eyes swept through the dank, dim dungeon, clearly seeing cell after cell and the imprisoned, tortured people inside.
Most had the appearance of local natives and were covered in wounds.
At the same time, countless resentments of the dead accumulated in the air.
Silas couldn't help but feel dazed for a moment. Before his eyes, he seemed to see countless illusions, the life stories of these prisoners.
They were all native islanders.
Some had been captured for joining resistance organizations, some had been suppressed for trying to organize miners and serfs in revolt, some had been arrested after seeking revenge for family members killed by Loen atrocities.
They suffered torture in the dungeon until they bled their last drop and died.
Pain, despair, hunger, hatred... Intense and extreme emotions emanated from each prisoner, accompanied by the resentments of the dead, resonating with the shadow beneath Silas's feet.
This suffering then spread to Silas himself, causing his spirit to endure wave after wave of torment.
"Look, how pitiful these people are..."
"Lead them into corruption..."
"End their suffering, bring them salvation..."
As if red-hot branding irons were scraping the folds of his brain, Silas could feel a part of himself speaking to him, urging him to use his abilities freely and transform these innocent people into the corrupted.
This was the corrupting will within him, born from his spiritual world after advancing to "Black Knight" and falling into shadow.
This will was the very source of the Black Knight's "Corruption" authority.
While granting him a powerful ability, it constantly magnified the darkness in his heart, tempting him to fall completely into the abyss.
I can't listen to it!
Silas thought. He endured this intense pain, forcing more of his attention toward the depths of the prison.
Hurry, Klein is still buying me time.
His spirituality extended forward.
Soon, he sensed several souls wrapped in Beyonder characteristics at the end of the corridor.
[Be careful, lurk, wait for me to launch a sneak attack]
Hiding behind a pillar, Ernie, an agent of MI9, made three tactical hand signals to show his companion across the way.
His subordinate immediately showed an understanding expression, while the dungeon guards looked completely bewildered.
"Idiots."
He couldn't help but curse inwardly, feeling these guards were truly incompetent, only good at bullying the locals and completely useless when it mattered.
But at this point, complaining was meaningless.
All he could do was press close to the pillar to conceal himself, until he heard the intruder's footsteps growing closer and closer, as if completely unaware of the ambush nearby.
Wait a little longer... just a little longer...
Ernie gripped the revolver and a pocket watch in his hands. The pocket watch was an extraordinary item.
Though quite powerful, its effective area was rather small. Within this area, his words would become edicts difficult to disobey.
With the item's assistance and his teammates' support, he was confident he could restrain this intruder!
"Tap, tap..."
The owner of the footsteps gradually approached four or five meters in front of the pillar.
Now!
Ernie thought, making a downward cutting gesture to his subordinate across the way.
He pressed the button atop the pocket watch and leaped out from his hiding spot.
"This place forbids..."
At the same moment, he shouted while holding up the pocket watch.
His other companions also burst out from the cells to surround the intruder.
Powerful rules were about to take form. His advantage would be greatly enhanced, even if the opponent was...
"Bang!"
The next instant, Ernie saw silver-white light flash, accompanied by a gunshot.
All thoughts in his mind completely ceased.
In Silas's hand, the silver-white "Revolver of Luck" still had smoke rising from its barrel.
On the floor of the opposite corridor, the bodies of several Beyonders in military uniforms and guards lay piled together, massive bullet holes appearing precisely in the center of their foreheads.
Mm, not bad.
Silas examined the revolver, thinking to himself.
The "Revolver of Luck," upgraded based on the Sequence 5 "Winner" Beyonder characteristic, had received comprehensive enhancements.
First was the most basic power.
Even ordinary bullets, after being fired by him, could achieve lethality comparable to large-caliber steam rifles.
Second was the enhancement of accuracy and luck.
Just now he had merely pulled the trigger casually, yet still hit his targets exactly as intended.
Beyond that, its core "Revolver of Luck" ability had also mutated.
He needed to press his finger on the "Mercury Serpent" emblem while firing 5 bullets at himself.
The remaining bullet would consequently carry extremely powerful "misfortune," capable of causing the one hit to suffer tremendous calamity.
This misfortune could sometimes even reach demigod level!