Chapter 440 - 188: This Rope... Is Art

"There’s no great solution. Faith is the hardest thing to change," Yuan said, shaking his head. "But as long as they aren’t fighting against the Dawn Church, they shouldn’t cause any problems."

"Alternatively, you could try to tempt them into corruption." Menor offered a suggestion. "The projection just now didn’t truly descend. They’re far from being fanatics. As long as their faith collapses, what does it matter if they believe in Dawn or Storm?"

"Corruption?"

Black Jack stroked his chin, pondering for a few seconds. His eyes grew brighter, and he chuckled. "For the next few days, we’ll give them all the fine wine they can drink. Then, we’ll have them kill a few clueless fools. And finally, we’ll find some buxom ladies for them to enjoy themselves with. I guarantee they’ll be so comfortable they’ll forget all about Dawn."

"A collapse of faith might be difficult for others, but on this ship, it’s all too easy."

Wei’en: "..."

’Damn, every other sentence is about his holy trinity of "fine wine, women, and plunder." He’s a pirate through and through...’

’Although, speaking of changing faith, my Deception talent is the most suitable tool. As long as someone’s Spirit level is slightly lower than mine, there’s a chance I can control their mind and forcefully change their beliefs.’

’Of course, this talent is currently my biggest secret. There’s no need to expose it for the sake of a few random pirates.’

"Jack, you truly are an out-and-out scoundrel," Menor remarked with sincere admiration.

Yuan deeply agreed. "Scoundrel. That word fits him perfectly."

"Hey, hey, that’s enough from you two," Black Jack said, shaking his fist. "Which one of you bastards was it that took me to find girls at the tavern in Brise back then?"

"Hm?" Yuan glanced at him. "Didn’t you go by yourself?"

Menor’s eyes narrowed, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "Exactly. I remember you downed two huge barrels of wine and insisted on finding that Lady Polym. You said she was like a pearl on the Cordo Sea, that her bosom wasn’t a set of bells, but two lighthouses guiding your voyage..."

"Shut up!"

Black Jack’s dark face flushed red. He had already noticed the surrounding pirates perking up their ears, some even covering their mouths to stifle their laughter. "And what about you two? Plague Doctor, don’t think I don’t know you used the name of the White Rose to hook up with Kimberly, that beautiful Count..."

"What?" Menor was taken aback, his tone filled with surprise. "Kimberly? The one from the Stephens Clan on the Southern Continent?"

"That’s right!" Seeing the attention shift, Black Jack breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Yuan smugly. "You probably don’t know what her status is now, do you?"

"What status?" Yuan’s expression was calm, as if he didn’t care about the matter at all. He asked placidly.

"Her? She goes out to sea often now. She’s the captain of the Tulip. Maybe you’ll even see her on Avad Island after a while."

"She went to sea?"

"For you, she’s stayed single all this time. How about I write her a letter right now... Hey?!"

BANG!

"Ole, Gel!"

While Black Jack was lost in his gloating, Yuan lifted a finger. A bolt of magic shot out, freezing the pirate’s feet. He then flashed forward and slammed a fist right into his face.

"Write a letter, will you? I’ll give you something to write about!"

"Plague Doctor, not the face! You bastard..."

Menor watched the two of them roughhousing, a hint of reminiscence in his eyes. He remembered they were just like this back on the White Rose, always joking and messing around...

Wei’en, standing to the side, watched the three of them with great interest. ’Their relationship must have been quite good in the past.’

But while he could understand Yuan and Black Jack’s dynamic, Menor was something of a surprise.

’It seems this Elder of the Eternal Life Association made a lot of connections back in the day, not just with pirates, but also with people like Ales Kilibali, the former Director of the Secret Investigation Department in the Caster City State.’

’I just don’t know if he befriended these people intentionally or not...’

As this thought crossed his mind, a title popped into Wei’en’s head: ’The Social Butterfly of the Eternal Life Association.’

’Seems to fit him pretty well...’

Just then, Menor seemed to sense his thoughts. "Are you thinking something unpleasant?"

"No, I’m just a little envious of your friendship," Wei’en replied calmly.

"Is that so?" Menor looked skeptical. He stared at him for a few seconds before deciding not to dwell on it. "Speaking of which, you’ve been with the Eternal Life Association for a while now. Has Clelia told you certain things?"

"What sort of things are you referring to?"

"For example, the origins of the Eternal Life Association, its organizational structure, members, missions, and objectives."

Wei’en thought about what Clelia had told him before—that the various churches, sects, and even Wizard Schools were all using their own methods to shelter people in an attempt to resist some unknown danger.

And the Eternal Life Association...

"She only gave me the gist. As for the objective... ’It is not the individual who is eternal, but the world’?"

"Oh? She already told you?" Menor asked, feigning ignorance. "What are your thoughts on that?"

"I don’t really have any. Whether the world is eternal or not isn’t something I can decide."

"I see..."

Menor gave a noncommittal nod, the same faint smile on his face. He changed the subject, "Have you read those files?"

’Files?’

"The Secret Cultivators?" Wei’en thought of the files on the Dusk Sect. "I only had time to read part of them before I was pursued by the Judgment Knight."

"Your intelligence this time was very timely for us. After the meeting in a few days, someone will likely be assigned to come to the Cordo Sea and resolve this matter."

"Oh? Is there anything you need me to do?"

Menor shook his head. "Not for now. They’ll probably conduct reconnaissance first to identify all the core nodes before making a decision."