Mystery: The Ultimate Tarot

Chapter 428 Closing the Net

After changing his appearance, Raphael arrived at a small island in the eastern part of the Misty Sea.

The Misty Sea is very different from the Raging Sea. The islands of the Raging Sea are more concentrated, and there are several large islands.

However, only the islands of the Oradec Islands are relatively concentrated in the Misty Sea; in other areas, there may be only one or a few islands scattered hundreds of nautical miles apart. Therefore, the Republic of Intis, which actually controls the Misty Sea, has not developed it as much as the Roside Islands, because such development is not cost-effective.

Therefore, many of the islands in the Misty Sea were actually controlled by pirates. In order to save on management costs, Intis gave these pirate captains some positions such as town mayor and let them fend for themselves.

The island Raphael arrived on was controlled by pirates. It was relatively large for the surrounding waters, had a fairly prosperous port, and was inhabited by many natives.

Here, the captain of a pirate crew might have more power than the king.

However, in order to maintain rule, basic order still exists.

Raphael observed the island's port streets for a while, then went into a bar and ordered a local specialty beer by pointing to it.

As he drank his beer, he looked at a table near the bar counter where three patrons were resting. One of them was lying on a chair with his face covered by a hat, seemingly asleep.

The other two were staring blankly at their wine glasses and examining their revolvers.

On such islands, there are naturally no corresponding laws governing firearms control.

Raphael took a sip of beer and looked towards the window, where a bearded, intimidating-looking middle-aged man sat at a table.

He often looked out at the street, casually smoking a cigar.

Although the two groups did not make eye contact, Raphael knew from previous surveillance that they were both there for the "Abyss Entrance".

The island where the "Abyss Entrance" appears is not far from here.

Raphael observed them for a while, then "helped them out." Over at the bar, one of the three patrons was wiping a revolver, a Level 2 sealed item.

His blatant wiping was a form of intimidation—the three of them were a Sequence 6 and two Sequence 7s. The lone, middle-aged man with a large beard was a Sequence 5.

It's really hard to say who's stronger or weaker.

Raphael looked at the revolver.

bang~

Without anyone pulling the trigger, the revolver suddenly fired a bullet!

At the level of "Silent Disciple," one can not only control objects without spirit, but also easily manipulate sealed objects.

If the enemy is at the Saint level, Raphael's control will definitely be detected, and the opponent will have some countermeasures.

But those who are extraordinary and below the level of saints are completely unaware of this.

As soon as the gunshot rang out, everyone in the bar reacted quickly.

The bartender immediately hid behind the bar counter, and the other patrons quickly lay down or hid behind their seats, clearly used to this kind of situation.

Meanwhile, the two groups that Raphael had noticed had already started fighting, taking the fight from the bar onto the street.

Raphael watched for a while, then, finding it uninteresting, went to the warehouse in the port.

Soon after, gunshots rang out from the warehouse.

Raphael then flew into the sea, and more than an hour later, two pirate crews searching for the "Entrance to the Abyss" suddenly encountered each other and engaged in a fierce firefight.

Raphael only made a slight move, and the six forces involved in the struggle for the "Abyss Entrance" engaged in an unprecedentedly fierce battle.

They were all holding back, after all, now was not the time to fight to the death, but just when they were about to stop, Raphael always intervened at the right time, allowing their fight to continue.

At this moment, the saint hidden behind them realized that other saints must have joined this expedition to the "Abyss Entrance".

The struggle.

Only under their strict control did the leaders of either side survive.

Just as they retreated to a corner to rest, almost everyone looked out at the sea.

In the distance, a black light seemed to suddenly shoot into the sky.

The "Abyss Entrance" has reappeared.

Without even taking a break, everyone hurriedly boarded a boat and headed to the island.

Soon, seven ships approached the island with the black light—seven ships in total, because in addition to the six forces, the Eternal Sun Order was nearby, so they also sent people.

The saints, hidden behind the scenes, were carefully observing the situation over there.

The "Abyss Entrance" had just begun to take shape, as if several streams of black, viscous liquid were gushing out from the ground of the deserted island. Evil and corrupting forces filled the ocean surrounding the island, and even the sunlight in the sky seemed to dim considerably.

This was, of course, another bait thrown out by Raphael. Otherwise, those who sought the "entrance to the abyss," though seemingly vicious, were quite calm due to the nature of the "demon" path.

Therefore, before the bait appears, not only will the saints who are concerned about this matter not come to the forefront, but even these "middle-order" extraordinary individuals will not risk their lives.

So Raphael simply made the "Abyss Entrance" appear, completely exacerbating the conflict between them.

After confirming that it was indeed the "Entrance to the Abyss," a fierce naval battle broke out on the sea. The members of the Eternal Sun Order were preparing to retreat and report the matter to their superiors.

This is the thinking of the official extraordinary individuals. They have no intention of occupying the "Abyss Entrance" or using it to become stronger. They only want to destroy the "Abyss Entrance".

Therefore, the extraordinary beings of the church were thinking about how to destroy this "gateway to the abyss".

They were about to report to their superiors through prayer when suddenly a large amount of lava surged from beneath their ship. At the same time, they discovered that their prayers were constantly interrupted by an evil voice, making it impossible for them to report the situation.

Just as they were about to use the sealed artifact to contact the saints of the church, lava burned the ship in two. After hearing an extremely evil "hysterical murmur," the people on board lost their minds and began to kill each other.

To prevent the situation from spiraling out of control, the six saints hiding behind the scenes joined forces to eliminate the church members.

Hidden in the seawater, silently watching all this, Raphael couldn't help but slowly nod: That's more like it!

As the six forces clashed fiercely, alliances were quickly formed among them, including between two "Bai" factions.

The saints of the "Blood Cult" first came together.

Although their relationship wasn't very harmonious, they would temporarily unite against external enemies.

Then the two saints of the North family quickly formed an alliance—

Currently, the Blood Worship Cult's power is mainly composed of three demon families: North, Andrerad, and Belial. However, the organization is very loosely organized, and many of the Blood Worship Cult's saints are even enemies with each other.

Although this extraordinary organization has always been led by the North family, don't expect them to work together or have a clear command structure. It's already quite good that they can cooperate for the time being.

Among the six factions, the Blood Worship Cult quickly formed two camps, each attacking the two factions that had not yet formed an alliance. The battle suddenly became fierce, and members at the "middle sequence" level were soon injured or killed.

Meanwhile, the saints who had been hiding behind the scenes finally made their move. One of the two saints who had not formed an alliance was actually a member of the "Rose School".

Previously, the "Rose School" suffered heavy casualties at the hands of Raphael and his friends, but it was a large organization with angels, and it would not be completely destroyed by a single heavy blow. They still had some potential and resources, so not long after that battle, they had several more saints.

However, the "Rose School" was extremely vulnerable at this time because they had used up all their potential, and the number of saints and "middle sequence" extraordinary individuals was decreasing as they died.

This crisis will not be truly resolved until new Saint-level characteristics are reclaimed or collected.

In this respect, Raphael's response might have left the "Rose School" in despair.

Because he had considered this when distributing the spoils, the Dark Lodge disciples and the extraordinary members of the Fool's Church who contributed the most to the operation received the vast majority of the spoils.

Since the Church of Fools basically doesn't use the "Prisoner" pathway's characteristics, Raphael used the characteristics of two "Warrior" pathway Sequence 3 "Silver Knight" items he had captured during the "Giant's Court" operation to exchange for the spoils from the battle against the Church of Fools.

Therefore, most of the spoils were taken to the Western Continent, while the rest were piled up in the "Dark Hut".

No matter where it is, the "Rose School" has no chance of regaining it at present.

The remaining small portion is in the hands of the Church of the Night, the Vampires, and the Temperance Faction. The first two are very difficult for the "Rose School" to reclaim, while the latter has a chance to be reclaimed. However, because the Temperance Faction did not contribute much in that battle, they only received one "Puppet" trait, and the other spoils were traits below Saint level.

Even if we take it back, it won't really affect the overall situation.

The "Rose School's" participation in the struggle for the "Abyss Entrance" is somewhat of a desperate measure. If they can truly occupy this "Abyss Entrance," their strength will certainly increase in a short period of time.

The idea was good, but they were the first to be targeted, and due to the heavy casualties, they were the first to withdraw from the "Abyss Entrance".

The struggle.

The second group to withdraw was an unknown force. Neither Raphael, who was hiding in the shadows, nor the several saints of the "Blood Cult" could be observed to belong to any organization.

All that is known is that their leader is an "Ocean Singer," and the saint hidden behind them is a "Black Knight."

Raphael was certain that they were neither sent by the Church of the True Creator, nor by the "Redeeming Rose."

Actually, there's no need to worry about so much. After they all left, Raphael quietly followed. He first secretly killed the saint of the "Rose School," and then turned the remaining members of the "Rose School" into his puppets. From a distance, no one would realize that this force had actually been "completely wiped out."

Then Raphael began to secretly deal with the "Black Knight." Up until now, only the Saints of the "Demon" path have noticed Raphael, but they cannot locate his position or know his true purpose.

The extraordinary beings of the "Demon" pathway were able to detect the anomaly because of their "Demon Perception" ability, but this "Black Knight" lacked such keen insight and was ambushed by Raphael, dying in a daze.

With Raphael's current strength, if it were a sneak attack, a typical Sequence 4 wouldn't last two seconds.

Raphael did not immediately attack the extraordinary individuals on the ship, but instead turned them into his puppets and sent them far away.

Having dealt with the two saints who had given up on the "Abyss Entrance" the earliest, Raphael then turned his attention to the four saints on the "Demon" path.

The struggle over there was quite exciting. Raphael had initially thought that since they had formed an alliance, they could fight against each other.

In the blink of an eye, they had betrayed each other and formed new alliances several times, turning former allies into enemies.

However, although they betrayed each other, neither of them was hurt, for a simple reason—they were used to it.

Although they were temporarily allied, they were all wary of their ally and were quick to detect any potential betrayal.

The chaotic battle lasted for seven or eight minutes until a huge ship, more than two hundred meters long, appeared on the sea. The fighting gradually stopped, as if everyone was observing this uninvited guest.

It was a super ship shaped like a giant crescent moon, entirely black, giving it an eerie feel.

Raphael knew, of course, that this was the "Death Announcement," the flagship of the "Undying King" Agarito. He vaguely remembered that the "Undying King" should represent the Blood Cult's power at sea.

However, it seems this guy came uninvited.

Raphael then recalled that one of the six clues he had previously followed regarding the "Abyss Entrance" seemed to have established a connection with one of the "Undead King's" subordinates.

However, the Undying King's subordinates planned to keep this information for themselves, meaning the Undying King probably didn't receive the news beforehand.

So the "Undying King's" sudden appearance here must have come from intelligence obtained from elsewhere, and the four who were just fighting...

None of the saints seemed to have invited the "Undying King," which is why they chose to wait and see.

But this period of observation didn't last long; the "Death Scream" suddenly launched an indiscriminate attack on the pirate ships of the other four factions.

Raphael, watching the battle, couldn't help but sigh that the gap between pirate ships was still huge. Putting aside the relationship between the "Undying King" and the "Death Scream," the "Death Scream" seemed to be able to easily unleash attacks at the Saint level, and the other pirate ships were no match for it.

Just as Raphael was beginning to understand the "Undying King's" actions, the situation suddenly changed when a Saint from the North family launched a surprise attack on a Saint from the Belial family.

The "Death Scream" followed closely in the footsteps of the North family saint and began attacking the Belial family saint as well.

This immediately triggered a chain reaction, with other saints taking advantage of the situation and launching an attack on the saints of the Belial family.

Raphael could see clearly that the "Undying King" and the saint from the North family must have planned this all along.

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