Mystery: Mr. Witch and Ms. Hunter

Chapter 287: Recruitment?

Under the protection of Mr. Hanged Man's deep sea water film, the Honeysuckle Queen finally emerged safely from the seabed. When the steel hull finally reappeared above the water, the sailors on the ship couldn't help but cheer excitedly.

For these sailors, this trip was too exciting. Whether it was what they saw along the way or the experience of being carried by the strong wind into the seabed and then out of the sea, it was something they had never seen in their lives. It was no exaggeration to say that they had escaped death.

However, although the sailors were relaxed, the atmosphere in the captain's room was not as lively as outside. On the contrary, Adele, Wendy and four bar witches stood on one side of the room, facing Tracy on the other side, and the atmosphere was quite tense.

"The one who just attacked doesn't look like a demigod from the Church of Storms."

Although there was not much nervousness in Tracy's words, her subtle body movements showed that she was already in a tense state and could go into battle at any time.

"I can't reveal the information about that organization, but you guessed it."

There were burning black flames floating around Adele and the others, and the flame next to Wendy was maintained by Adele.

After all, Tracy was a famous pirate admiral in the five seas, and a powerful Beyonder known for spreading diseases. Even if Adele had been promoted to Sequence 6, plus the three Sequence s and Natalie who was also Sequence , their strength on paper was only about the same as hers. As for the ordinary sailors on the ship, they could not last more than half a minute in the face of the indiscriminate attack of the plague.

However, by chance, although the profession composition of Adele's group of extraordinary people on the ship was not rich enough, resulting in the combined combat effectiveness not being maximized, the witch's black flame also had a great inhibitory effect on the disease that Tracy was most proficient in.

The plague released by Tracy might not be resisted by other Sequence 5 Beyonders for more than three minutes, but no matter how strong it was, it was still a spiritual plague. As long as there was spirituality, the black fire could burn it. Even the horrible plague created by the demigod-level Witch of Despair could be burned by the black fire of the Sequence Witch.

——Even Frank’s mushrooms could be burned by black fire, let alone a virulent infectious disease simulated by Tracy?
In fact, if Tracy really wanted to run, the witches had no confidence in catching her, but the problem was that they were now on the sea, hundreds of miles away from the nearest shore, a five-hour voyage for the Honeysuckle Queen.

As a pirate general, it is impossible for Tracy not to prepare magical items for underwater breathing. However, if she can outrun the fastest ironclad ship in the kingdom by swimming, what else can the navy guys use to defraud funds?

Tracy was sure that if she jumped into the sea to escape, she would be chased by the ironclad ship and bombarded to death, becoming the first pirate general to be directly killed by the ironclad ship's cannon.

Ironically, this feeling of being unable to escape from the sea is what I, as a pirate admiral, have always given to others...

Tracy sighed, and for a moment she was a little uncomfortable with the reversal of the situation.

But looking at Adele's worried look, at least she doesn't want to deal with me directly... After all, they have an absolute advantage now, so she should have no reason to be timid?

Just as Tracy was hesitating, she saw Adele's expression was a little dazed, and then his expression relaxed. He said to Tracy: "The demigod of the organization is only a few dozen miles away from here and will be here soon. From what he said, the authorities have other arrangements for you now."

official?!
Tracy's eyelids twitched slightly. "Didn't you just say that you are not from the Church of Storms?"

"Indeed not."

Adele nodded. "So the official one is not the church, but the Southern Theater Command of the Kingdom of Loen."

Tracy found that she was increasingly unable to see through the identity of this so-called sister. Could she be a secret sentry placed by the military in the Witch Cult? But how long had she joined the Witch Cult?
Wait...Tracy suddenly realized that she had overlooked something. How could a witch with no one to rely on have the strength and qualifications to buy a prototype warship that was only half-built and then retired?
In fact, she was more or less aware of this when they first met, but at that time she was completely shocked by the angel "Hermes" who appeared out of nowhere, and this doubt was quickly ignored by her.

Now that I think about it, I was able to reach a cooperation with the Church of the God of War, and have close ties with the old nobles. The demigods of the Church of Storms provided escort, and the demigods of the military provided special support. With the most advanced warships in the kingdom, I was responsible for the restoration of trade and material contact with Feysac and Intis after the war...

This is just short of having "I am a military man" written on his face!

Tracy looked at Adele in doubt and wonder, while quickly thinking about the possible results in her mind. If the military wanted to infiltrate the Witch Cult to get some intelligence, they would definitely not do it in such a high-profile manner. Those old foxes in the military would not make such a low-level mistake.

Could it be that……

Tracy thought of the witches that the sect had sent out to infiltrate high-level officials in various countries. When the Witch Sect was cooperating with George III, they took the opportunity to infiltrate the circle of noble ladies in Loen and seek benefits for the Witch Sect.

However, after George III was killed, most of them were not killed or imprisoned underground by the official Beyonders, and even their social status was not deprived. They just gradually faded out of the public eye under the deliberate care of the official Beyonders.

Could it be that, just like what the sect did to the kingdom’s top leaders, the kingdom’s military is also planning to plant a spy within the sect to serve as a check and balance?

Tracy's mind was shaken, and she felt that she had grasped the key to the problem. The sect let the witch infiltrate the upper echelons of the kingdom, even if it was just for face, the military had to make up for it. The purpose of placing such an obvious spy was not to actually obtain much intelligence, but to show others that they were actually working hard.

It is estimated that the top leaders of the sect have reached some consensus with the military. It’s a pity that the mother didn’t know this and thought that Adele was Gagran’s subordinate. She acted in front of her for a long time and finally got herself involved... ?
The corners of Tracy's mouth twitched slightly.

The factional struggle within the Witch Cult was no less than that within the Kingdom. Everyone was once an instigator, and it was obviously a fantasy to expect such a group of people to work together honestly. Moreover, in the Fourth Epoch, the Witch Cult was inherited in the form of a family. Until now, small groups formed within the cult based on blood ties or guidance relationships are not uncommon.

Among them, since saints have longer lives, they naturally have many direct descendants. Apart from the possible source faction, Catalina and her biological or non-biological daughters are a faction in themselves. There is also the faction of Panatia, the desperate nightingale who is confirmed dead. Almost every saint has his own small force.

These small forces are fighting against each other, and there is no information transparency between them, which is why Katarina is confident that she can deceive Gagran with the secret of the seal. Only when it comes to the oracle of the original witch, these factions will reluctantly cooperate together.

It seems that Adele was most likely sent by the military's doves to silence those forces that did not agree to cooperate. Now, neither the Church of the Night nor the Kingdom's military can spare any effort to deal with the Witch Cult, but it is not a good idea to let them just watch. Under such circumstances, it is not impossible for the military and the Witch Cult's top leaders to reach some compromise...

Tracy's eyes narrowed slightly, the aura of vigilance on her body slowly subsided, and she raised her hand to indicate that she would not resist.

The factional struggle within the Witch Cult was also cruel. Although Tracy was inevitably sad after losing Katarina, she did not show it at all. Because finding a new backer and ensuring the survival of the faction took priority over revenge or remembrance - this was one of the reasons why the Witch Family was able to survive in the chaos of the Pale Disaster.

No, I haven't said anything yet, why do you act like you know everything?

Adele was a little confused when she saw Tracy suddenly let down her guard. She had already prepared herself for a long conversation, but the other party suddenly adjusted her mindset, which made Adele feel a little uncomfortable.

I wouldn't let the Tarot Club's information slip out by mistake, I hope... Adele muttered to herself.

But she herself knew that it was impossible. If the psychological suggestion of the audience saint was so simple, then Miss "Justice" would not be the one who took the lead in the Tarot Club now.

However, Tracy's understanding saved her a lot of trouble. Now she just had to wait for Mr. Moon to come here.

So, in a slightly awkward atmosphere, the witches and Tracy spent a short period of awkward time. Then, amid the sailors' exclamations, a large group of dense bats flew from all directions and landed on the deck of the ironclad ship. Accompanied by illusory black mist, the bats quickly merged into a human figure in a black evening dress.

"I am the bishop of the Church of Mother Earth in Port Berens, the vampire Count Emlyn White."

Emlyn White, who was wearing a black suit and looked a little pale, bowed slightly and asked the sailors on the deck, "Is this Captain Adele Searcy's ship?"

Seeing the other party's scarlet eyes, the crew members on the deck also showed a strange red light in their eyes. They bowed respectfully and made way for each other.

Emlyn did not deliberately hide his presence, so Adele noticed his arrival even in the captain's room, and quickly led a group of witches down the gangway to greet him.

Tracy walked at the back. Although her guess about Adele's identity was not completely correct, at least she thought she had guessed it almost right. However, when she heard Emlyn's self-introduction, she found that her guess was still too conservative.

I originally thought it was a demigod from the Church of Night, but it turned out to be a demigod from the Church of Earth...

Tracy originally thought that since they were both members of the Witch Cult, she could still mediate a little. However, the people of the Witch Cult had almost no relationship with the Church of the Earth, whose original sphere of influence was in Feynaport. She could only hope for the other party's decision.

Just when Tracy was feeling uneasy, Adele had already walked forward and bowed to Emlyn.

"Good evening, Count. To be honest, I did not expect to see you here."

Adele wanted to do the traditional standing aristocratic salute, but she realized she was not wearing a long skirt, so she folded her hands in front of her and simply bowed.

"I would rather you hadn't shown up." Emlyn said sarcastically, "But this is a good thing for the pirate lady. If that star cluster hadn't shown up and caused such great damage to the navy, she would have become a Beyonder now."

What does this mean? Adele was a little confused, but seeing Emlyn's expression, she wisely didn't ask.

"Report what you saw and heard at the next regular meeting. You have other things to do next."

Emlyn walked past Adele and stood in front of the witches. He glanced at them and said in a shrill voice, "Which one of you is Tracy?"

"I am."

Tracy took a step forward. It was night time, and the sea breeze blew up her black dress slightly, making her look a little thin. Even though Emlyn already knew that this was a witch, he was still a little surprised when he saw her.

It has a different kind of beauty from the demigod of the Temperance Faction... But if it didn't look so much like a doll, it would still feel a little off, right?
Emlyn shook his head and cleared the useless thoughts from his mind.

He cleared his throat and said to Tracy and Adele, "Because of the star cluster that just rose from the bottom of the sea, the kingdom's fleet suffered severe losses. In order to maintain the kingdom's pressure on the Rose School, I am now requisitioning this ironclad ship in the name of the commander of the Southern Legion's logistics force."

At this point, Emlyn paused for a moment and turned to Tracy. "As for you, as an official Beyonder, I should have executed you, a pirate. However, this is an extraordinary period, and I have been granted the right to act at my own discretion. If I were to deal with the natives of the colonies in the southern continent and the members of the Rose School hidden among them, your name should be a good deterrent."

"What does it mean?"

Tracy was a little confused and didn't know what this demigod wanted her to do.

Emlyn fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a golden scroll.

"This is a contract made by the demigod of the Arbitrator Path. Sign your name here." Emlyn's bright red eyes showed a hint of teasing. "On behalf of the kingdom, I hire you as the officially authorized captain of the privateering ship."

(End of this chapter)