Chapter 2404: Ritual Requirements

Chapter 2404: Chapter 2404: Ritual Requirements

Compared to manors, witches prefer cabins with Fifth Era interior styles... In fact, witches love any culture and fashion from the Fifth Era; they always reminisce about the era dominated by witches.

Since the portal on the ship is located in the massive banquet hall within the cabin, the banquet hall with five long tables has become the main venue for activity for witches and their followers.

Actually, this banquet hall is double-layered, with stairs leading to the upper level on both sides of the door. However, the upper level is merely a corridor surrounding the walls, where people can hold their glasses and look down at the banquet hall or enter the rooms on the corridor’s other side to rest during gatherings.

When Shard appeared in the cabin, the busy young ladies gathered at the table, either leafing through the Seven Great Families documents of Miss Belindel or attending to the tedious paperwork for their respective mistresses.

Miss Matilda and Tifa were waiting for Shard, with the task of reading and summarizing the three sets of materials led by them.

Thus, five people sat at the end of the long table, with Tifa informing Shard of the MI6 investigation results first:

"The original investigation report mentioned too many suspect accounts. We filtered them again based on transaction frequency and the dates you provided, and now there are only two suspect accounts left."

Two clipped documents were handed to Shard, and on the top of the first page of each document, a black-and-white photo of the suspect account holder was pinned:

"Both account holders are not ordinary civilians. The first is a local merchant, Thomas Pekin, who repeatedly followed fleets to the Archipelago Kingdom - Karagly to sell smuggled goods when he was young. Later, he had his own ship and developed it into a fleet.

Although his fleet isn’t very large, it is quite renowned in Moon Bay. His ships mainly transport rare minerals discovered in Karagly, which means they undergo the strictest inspections by the Carsonrick customs authorities every time they enter the harbor. MI6 identified this account as the one used for bulk cargo transactions by Pekin’s fleet."

Tifa spoke while Shard flipped through the document:

"Is there anything fishy about this person?"

Miss Matilda answered the question:

"The Harbor Authority has always suspected that Pekin’s fleet has some sort of deal with the pirates in Karagly. Otherwise, it can’t be explained why his ships are rarely raided by pirates. But because he generously bribed important figures of the Edington Family, several investigations ended inconclusively. The relationships among the Seven Great Families in Moon Bay City are intricate, which grants these parasites their breeding ground."

Tifa continued to introduce the second person:

"The second person is also connected to the Edington Family. Carmen Eddington, the third son of Earl Edington, is a famous musician in Moon Bay."

"Musician?"

Shard asked skeptically, only responding after receiving confirmation:

"This Mr. Edington is definitely not a Vampire Kind. My Vampire Kind friends have informed me that they are not allowed to develop members of the Seven Great Families into their clan. This is not because the bloodline of the Seven Great Families is special, but because local Vampire Kind don’t want to invite trouble for themselves. In the present era of human civilization, they are very cautious."

Of course, Shard still needs to verify this.

"But this kind of musician, how could he have a regular account for large transactions?"

Luviya asked:

"It can’t be that he’s smuggling pianos, right?"

Tifa continued to respond:

"The MI6 report didn’t clearly explain this matter, but it is suspected to be related to the corruption issues of the Moon Bay Bridge construction. The conjecture from MI6 is that either this musician’s account serves as a ’bridge’ for corruption funds, or he is one of the direct beneficiaries of the Moon Bay Bridge corruption issues.

Even though he is a musician, it doesn’t mean he can’t rely on the Edington Family’s massive influence to help others resolve some troublesome matters."

"It actually involves that bridge?"

Luviya shook her head, while Shard said:

"I commissioned ’Grey Glove’ to investigate the corruption issues of the Moon Bay Bridge construction, and it’s confirmed that members from all Seven Great Families have benefited from it. Yes, Belindel too, but the impact is minor, and hence Miss Belindel couldn’t be bothered."

Of course, Shard phrased it nicely, and Matilda beside him did not correct him. The actual situation is that the Countess knows that such matters are impossible not to involve her family. If the other six families are all reaching out, and only her family doesn’t, it would be the classic example of ’disunion.’

He frowned:

"But could the corruption of the Moon Bay Bridge really be connected to the Dragon Soar Cult?"

Since this musician is most likely not a Vampire Kind, coupled with the actual purpose of the account, his possibility of being a key link between Vampire Kind and cultists greatly diminishes.

However, to the Outlander, the less likely a suspect seems, the more likely they are embroiled in big trouble, so he will handle this matter very cautiously afterward.

Tifa finished speaking, and then it was Miss Matilda’s turn.

The Blonde Head Maid from the Southern Nation has been avoiding Shard for some time now, refusing even to meet his gaze. Shard isn’t sure what trouble she might have encountered, but at least she seems normal for now:

"The notebook ’left behind’ by that Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer showed no element reactions, and the information recorded inside isn’t a curse or any other trap. It detailed four relics and their traits, while the other pages were blank."

"Relics? Explain further."

"Alright, two of them are the ’Higgs Dragonhead Stone’ and ’Hafana Dragon Body Stone’ that Miss mentioned to you. They are Keeper of Secrets Level Relics, but if you combine the two stones, they’ll automatically transform into the [Ancient Dragon Transformation Stone]. According to the notebook, the [Ancient Dragon Transformation Stone] is an Angel-Level Relic."

As the Blonde Maid spoke, Luviya turned to Shard:

"Judging by how the [Higgs Dragonhead Stone] performs in your hands, it wouldn’t be exaggerated to rate this relic as Sage-Level. Shard, if the two stones combine and the [Ancient Dragon Transformation Stone] really transforms an individual into a dragon, could you defeat it?"

"The dragon transformed by this relic is likely not an ordinary dragon, but why would I need to fight it?"

Shard asked curiously:

"Obviously, this relic is probably used for the Chosen One Ceremony, but I don’t need to perform a Chosen One Ceremony."

Luviya gave a smile without further comment:

"It seems this notebook was purposefully left to us by the Light Chaser, but what does he intend to do? What are the other two relics?"

"One is a Sage-Level Relic, [Nameless Swordsmith’s Apron], which when tossed into the fire can summon the ’Nameless Swordsmith’, considered a Humanoid Relic, that originally lived in the Second Era.

After defeating the Swordsmith holding an iron hammer, one can provide raw materials for the Swordsmith to forge a sword custom-made for them. Swords forged through this method are all considered relic derivatives."

Tifa answered again, and Shard asked:

"How powerful a sword can this relic forge?"

"It depends on the material. According to the records in this notebook, with sufficiently precious materials, it can forge a treasure sword rated as Angel-Level."

"A Sage-Level Relic that forges relic derivatives capable of being rated as Angel-Level?"

Luviya raised an eyebrow, as normally, relic derivatives don’t exceed the rating of the original relic.

"But where is this relic?"

Shard asked again, and the Black-haired Head Maid shook her head:

"After obtaining this information, an investigation request has been submitted to the Council. But unlike the [Star Swordstone], the Council currently has no leads."

"What about the fourth relic?"

"The rating for this one is lower, Poet-Level (Level 5) Relic, Ointment Slug. This is also a living relic and exists in populations that can trace their history back to the First Era. These are very ancient creatures, but this type of slug doesn’t like to live in groups. The slug is about 3 meters high on average, and moves extremely fast when in normal motion, transforming into a glimmering form when encountering danger.

This creature is considered an unusual type of ’Light Elemental Creature’, with some research suggesting they have diluted dragon lineage."

This isn’t surprising, as dragons can often leave descendants with any species.

"Upon killing an Ointment Slug, its body will turn into foam and disappear but leaves behind a slime-like substance. This unique ointment is considered a relic derivative, ’Slug Ointment’, which has extensive uses, including in many ancient potion recipes. Additionally, using this ointment to maintain metal objects induces transformation-level reinforcement. It’s suitable for both cold weapons and mechanical devices."

Shard is aware of this relic; it’s mentioned several times in the "Book of Pink", but not for potion crafting. Rather, it’s used to formulate... lubricating ointments.

The [Ointment Slug] also poses significant hazards; when it moves at normal speed across land, it turns everything into an ointment form, and due to Whisper Element influence, purification afterward won’t enable planting on those lands for a long time. The glimmering form of the slug can transform any entity it touches into ointment.

Due to this contamination hazard, despite its lowest danger rating, [Ointment Slug] must be immediately eradicated if discovered. Fortunately, the slug is generally docile and does not actively attack humans. However, its combat strength varies according to age and size.

The average combat strength of the [Ointment Slug] is similar to typical exotic creatures, but the book also records ancient slugs able to battle dragons or unicorns. Overall, it’s not an excessively dangerous relic.

"Is anyone currently raising this relic?"

Shard asked again, but received another head shake as an answer.

[Ointment Slug] is extremely rare and seems to appear out of thin air each time, making its habitat untraceable. However, plenty of ’Slug Ointment’, the derivative upon the living relic’s death, exists in the Material World. Yet, Shard feels that if this ointment is essential for the Chosen One Ceremony, living materials might be required.