Chapter 472: Return of Light

Chapter 472: The Return of the Light

"But seriously, this Church of the Light truly deserves to end up in such a miserable state. Don't they ever think of changing their secret signals?"

"It is the same type of cipher used on Dark Moon Island, also designed by Philias. Neo taught it to me."

"But something went wrong on Dark Moon Island," Purr countered. "If it were me, I definitely wouldn't use it again."

"That I do not know, but I still want to go and attend. Anyway, since we are idle now, what if we find an opportunity to return directly? Isn't that right?"

"I just feel pity for these remnants of the Light. It seems like they are either being used, or are on the way to being used, meow."

"In fact, as the weaker party, they have very little room for choice. I am not speaking up for them, because for them, the consequence of doing nothing is to be slowly forgotten. However, with their current strength and status, wanting to accomplish a decent deed is inherently very difficult."

"Karen, you are speaking up for them. The old you would definitely not have uttered these words."

"Perhaps the old me was more afraid of getting tangled up in these troubles. Now, I have somewhat gained a bit of confidence to handle such sensitive matters, which should have been trained out of me by following Neo."

"Maybe. Anyway, I know you can handle things well."

Philomena brought over three portions of dessert at this moment, and Karen found a long stone bench to sit down.

The dessert consisted of coconut milk and milk, mixed with raisins and other dried fruits, finally topped with some ice cubes and a scoop of ice cream.

Philomena handed a portion to Karen and said, "No sugar added."

Karen nodded, took it, picked up a wooden spoon, and sent a mouthful into his mouth. It was cool upon entry, and the taste was quite good.

After Purr took several continuous bites, she raised her head and gently patted Karen, who was sitting by her side, with her tail.

Karen gripped his cuff with his right hand, lowered his head, and helped her wipe away the crumbs stuck around her mouth, and then Purr continued to lower her head to eat.

After finishing half of it, Purr stopped to rest and patted Philomena with her tail.

Philomena mimicked Karen's previous action, using her own cuff to wipe Purr's mouth.

"A very good imitation. I find myself quite liking you now. Teasing a beautiful woman with an iceberg attribute easily gives one a sense of achievement. Trust me, your captain must feel exactly the same way about you; when he suppresses you, his heart must be very delighted, hehe meow."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"You had the radio fairy stop my romance novels, so I could only get some psychology books to read. I learn things quite fast, Karen."

"Heh."

"Oh, for some reason, I quite like this place. In the air here, there seems to be a scent lingering that makes me feel pleased."

"Not full yet?"

"I am full," Purr patted her belly. "Fire Island, could it be somewhat close to my power attribute?"

"Are there specific clues?"

"None."

"Then time won't be wasted to investigate this for you."

"Oh, you are so realistic."

Muri and the old captain came out carrying a large pile of things, and Karen said to Muri, "You take the things and Philomena back to the ship first, take Purr along too."

"Yes, Captain."

Purr immediately wanted to protest.

But as Karen's gaze fell, she lowered her neck again. Mocking the remnants of the Light was one thing, but the risk factor of attending a secret gathering of the remnants of the Light was bound to be very high, and she could easily become a burden.

However, Purr still suggested, "Take Philomena with you. Although this girl's mind doesn't turn fast enough, you need to keep an errand runner by your side."

Hearing these words, the drink in Philomena's hand rippled slightly.

If one did not want to be isolated on the periphery, squeezing into the inner circle was bound to be best, so she directly ignored Purr's evaluation of her mind "not turning fast enough."

"Very well, Philomena, you follow me."

"Yes, Captain."

"Muri, after going back, tell everyone to continue waiting peacefully. If anything happens, I will send a signal."

"I know what to do, Captain."

Karen looked at the old captain again, "After we leave, I will pay you your reward. The Church of the Abyss will not fail anyone who has helped it."

"You are far too polite, sir. To be able to serve you is my honor."

After parting with everyone, Karen and Philomena sat on the bench for a while longer, then rose and began to look for the gathering place according to the instructions on the secret signal.

The reason for choosing to wait a while earlier was because the gathering time was late at night, and there was no need to be in such a hurry.

Philomena followed quietly behind Karen all along. To be honest, with her present, Karen could feel a lot more grounded, because at crucial moments this girl could truly fight.

Furthermore, with a common goal of helping her deal with her grandmother beforehand, her loyalty could actually be guaranteed.

Relationships tied by interests often do not last long, but before the common interest disappeared, it would be incomparably solid.

Finally, the gathering place arrived, right at the end of the street ahead.

"You wait for me here."

"Understood, Captain."

Philomena remained there, while Karen continued to walk forward. At a corner, he touched the ring on his hand, transformed into the appearance of Mr. Pavaro, and conveniently bought a mask to put on his head.

Promptly, Karen arrived at the entrance of a coffee shop—well, a legitimate coffee shop.

Stepping inside, Karen sat down in front of a tea table, and a waitress came over, presenting the menu.

There were secret signal markings on the menu pictures, and Karen used a pen to circle them in sequence.

After handing it back to the waitress, she spoke with a smile, "Sir, we have high-level VIP private rooms here. Do you require one?"

"Yes."

"Entering the high-level VIP private room requires removing the mask. Is the gentleman willing?"

"No problem."

Karen took off his mask and stood up, following the waitress into the private room. Though called a private room, its area was actually not large, containing a small table and a chair, with a fruit platter, a pot of coffee, and a pot of tea placed on top.

The space appeared somewhat cramped, similar to the small private rooms for "making pastries" in the pastry shop Richard frequently visited.

Karen sat down, poured himself a cup of coffee and a cup of tea, placed them before his nose to sniff, but did not drink.

Picking up a metal skewer, he poked at the fruit a few times, but did not select a piece to send into his mouth.

Slowing his breathing, Karen began to wait slowly, closing his eyes.

Taking a small nap for probably just twenty minutes, a crisp friction sound came. Karen opened his eyes and saw the panel of the private room in front of him beginning to slide down, revealing a pane of transparent glass.

Through the glass, Karen discovered that this should be a circular shape. He could see people sitting behind other panes of glass as well, but their faces could not be seen clearly, and behind some glass, it was empty with no silhouettes.

This should be a gathering where participants could not be counted. Such a gathering had the advantage of ensuring the identity security of the participants as much as possible, but the disadvantage was that if someone slipped in, it would be very difficult to detect.

A silhouette appeared in the central area, wearing a gray long robe with a mask on his face.

"Thank you all for taking the trouble to attend this temporarily held gathering. The purpose of holding this gathering is that Fire Island is now facing a choice of standing in line between the two orthodox churches of Samsara and the Moon God.

I believe we should ensure the independence of Fire Island. A Fire Island possessing relatively independent attributes fits our goal for the continued development of the Light here, because in my view, no matter the outcome of this war, the two orthodox churches of Samsara and the Moon God will both have their control deepened by Order.

They have already gradually degenerated into two dogs raised by Order. If the warfare of the Moon God Church could progress a bit more smoothly, this situation might not be too serious yet, but the problem is that the Moon God Church's progress has suffered severe setbacks."

Thus, no matter which side Fire Island stands on now, it will ultimately face the intrusion of the forces of Order.

And the Church of Order is the very clergy most hostile to my Light.

Therefore, I hope you can exert your influence in reality to guarantee the independence of Fire Island as much as possible, for this is the very soil that protects our survival and growth.

This is our course of action for the immediate phase. Very well, the meeting is concluded. Adjourned."

Hm? It was over just like that?

Karen was somewhat taken aback; he did not understand why a mere one-way transmission required such a manner of delivery.

This could only signify that the identities of the attendees were out of the ordinary, and it was highly probable that high-ranking figures from those seven houses within the Lomaford League were among them—individuals possessing the capability to alter the situation on Fire Island.

Karen stepped out of the private room. A waiter stood at the door, gesturing for him to wait a moment, presumably to escort the participants out in separate batches.

After a brief wait, it was Karen's turn, and the waiter led him to the back door to make his departure.

Karen felt as though his infiltration had achieved nothing of substance; he had indeed overheard the next phase of priority work for the remnants of the Light on Fire Island, but what did that have to do with his present self?

Forget it, better return to the ship first.

Yet, before Karen had walked very far, he perceived a carriage following him from behind; he first walked in an arc, and the other party actually trailed along in the exact same manner.

A short while later, Karen continued forward and turned into an alley at the next street corner, where the carriage came to a halt right at the entrance.

The attitude was clear and distinct enough: he had been discovered.

Moreover, by using a carriage to tail him, the other party meant to demonstrate a somewhat amicable posture.

Karen simply walked up to the carriage, where the driver cast a glance at him and spoke: "My master wishes to see you, sir."

"The one in the carriage is your master?"

"Yes, sir."

Karen opened the carriage door and stepped inside, where a man dressed in a grey robe sat, his face concealed beneath a mask.

"Heh."

The man let out a laugh, somewhat raspy.

At this close distance, Karen noticed upon careful observation that the man's right arm was missing.

"You should have eaten the apples in the fruit bowl; even if you didn't, you should have picked them out and placed them outside the bowl."

"Oh? Is that so? That is something I didn't know."

"Mhm, a very simple habit, but it often works wonders. Most people always think an infiltrator wouldn't be so foolish, yet many a time truly clever infiltrators tend to make blunders in such trivial matters.

Therefore, the threshold for inspection

"It was those three factions that invited him here. Deep within Fire Island lies a dormant volcano, where the secrets of the God of Fire are said to be buried. There is no way the three powers ruling the island wouldn't be interested in such a secret.

As you know, a pirate's ambition always outweighs their strength."

"I think you ought to stop there. If you keep telling me, aren't you afraid I'll report this to the high officials of Order once I leave?"

"Is it not possible, Mr. Karen, that I actually hope you will report this to the high officials of Order?"

"You want the Church of Order to step in and stop this?"

"For the sake of the people living on Fire Island. This is what Mr. Philias taught me. Besides, there is one more thing; you might not be aware of the tragedy that befell the Mipos Archipelago."

"Tragedy?"

"The Church of Luna announced to the world that Samsara slaughtered and sacrificed every last resident on the Mipos Archipelago. Samsara vehemently denies this."

"I do not know if it is true; I have been cut off from external communications for a long time."

"It should be true. When the Mipos Archipelago fell, someone managed to return to Fire Island through a teleportation array at the final hour to seek refuge, recounting the horrors he witnessed. He said the priests of Samsara who came ashore turned into demons that devoured every person they saw."

"A moment of silence for them."

"The tragedy has already occurred and cannot be undone. What we can do is prevent the next tragedy from beginning—for instance, right here.

Legend has it that the God of Fire once sealed a ferocious beast here. If the seal is truly broken, and if that beast is still alive, it will be an absolute catastrophe for the people of this island.

Think about it: the very first thing any powerful entity does upon awakening after a long slumber and confinement... is devour."

"If you wish, I shall report this situation to my superiors."

"Very well, thank you, Mr. Karen. You may step down from the carriage."

Karen stood up, then sat back down, looking at Taffman and asking out of curiosity:

"Why is it that you do not speak to me as though I belong to the Dark Moon clan? I feel that our conversation just now completely placed me on the side of the Church of Order."

Taffman smiled and replied, "Two reasons. First, I have always harbored doubts about your identity as a member of the Dark Moon clan, Mr. Karen. Even when you were severely wounded and unconscious on Snake Island, I did not fully trust your identity.

The second reason is that I have grown accustomed to simplifying the world in my eyes. There are things I do not wish to care about, things I do not need to care about, so I can truly choose not to care anymore. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I can sense your broad-mindedness, Mr. Taffman."

If Alfred were present, Karen would truly love to teach him another proverb: Drop the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot.

The Taffman before his eyes truly gave him that exact impression.

Though Philias had departed, he had burned himself to illuminate others.

Karen could not help but feel a bit worried about his own captain, Neo. After all, while others were merely illuminated, Neo had been directly scorched by the flames.

Fortunately, from the current perspective, the impact on Neo did not seem too severe. While General Taffman was exhausting his mind and soul for the safety of ordinary mortals, Neo was still standing on the rooftop due to playing the stock market with leverage.

"Then I shall take my leave first."

"See you in two days, Mr. Karen."

Karen reached out to grasp the handle of the carriage door and asked, "I am quite curious about one thing. How did our Church of Order respond to the tragedy of the Mipos Archipelago?"

"The response from the Church of Order was that they would dispatch specialized personnel to conduct an investigation, and would offer no commentary before the truth is unearthed.

But how was Samsara able to capture the Mipos Archipelago?

How was Samsara's confiscated fleet returned so quickly and able to sail back into the battlefield?

Does Order truly not know what transpired on the Mipos Archipelago? Do they truly still need to investigate?"

"Then it must have been the God of Samsara manifesting his divine power to protect his believers."

"Perhaps. In truth, as a follower of Light, I quite hoped that when Light is enshrouded in darkness in this world, Order could maintain the world's peace.

Of course, if Order is no longer willing to bear this responsibility and allows this world to descend into chaos once more..."

"What would happen?"

A bitter smile appeared on Taffman's face,

He let out a long sigh,

And replied:

"Then the people will once again summon the return of Light."