Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 188 Within the spider web, only the spider remains unharmed.

On January 9, the White Agate arrived at Bansi Island at 1 p.m.

According to the original plan, the White Agate departed from Damir Port and its next stop was Tiana Port, which would take approximately three days to reach at a speed of 13 knots. After leaving Tiana Port, it would proceed directly to its final destination, Bayam, the capital of the Rothschild Islands and a city known for its generosity.

There is a faster way to travel from Puerto Prids to Bayam, which involves only one stop along the way, at Bansi Port, 120 nautical miles from Damir Port.

However, they encountered pirates shortly after leaving Damir Harbor during the day. Although the pirates eventually left in a hurry for some unknown reason, and no real conflict occurred, it should be noted that their current shipping route is still considered safe "coastal waters," frequently patrolled by the kingdom's naval fleet and church ships.

Even when the four kings and seven generals passed through the nearby waters, they would try to keep a low profile and avoid attracting attention. However, the appearance of the pirate ship made Captain Airland of the White Agate feel something was amiss, which is why he made a last-minute decision to dock at Bansi Port in the evening and report the encounter with the pirates to the navy and the church.

"Bansi Port? Airland is quite cautious..."

Danitz stood by the window, gazing at the already dimly lit harbor and the tall lighthouse.

The pirate crew that the White Agate encountered originally intended to plunder them, but because "Flame" Danitz, with a bounty of 3000 pounds, was quite famous, more than three times higher than the pirate captain's bounty of 900 pounds, the pirates backed down.

But Erlan was unaware of these things, which is why he decided to report the situation of this "unusual" pirate crew to the Navy and the Church. Even without knowing the truth, Erlan's decision wasn't wrong.

After all, this is at sea, and you can't be too careful.

Klein didn't respond, and Danitz wasn't surprised; he chuckled to himself.

"There seem to be some bad rumors circulating about this place."

Klein had a basic understanding of Danitz's personality, so he didn't ask about the legends. He remained seated, calmly observing Danitz.

Danitz, who hadn't been interrupted, shook his head:

"Legend has it that more than three hundred years ago, when the army of Rune first occupied this island, more than five hundred soldiers mysteriously disappeared after a thick fog. Not long after, their bodies appeared on the beach and on the mountain... but without exception, they had all been skinned alive."

"Some suspect that the local indigenous people did it, because based on the tombs and murals excavated on the island, the indigenous people here seem to have a tradition of cannibalism. But when those bodies were found, although the flesh had begun to decompose, they were quite well preserved; they had simply been skinned."

"Similar things have happened several times, and even the Storm Church deacons who came to investigate were not spared, until the Storm Church built a church here and sent a bishop."

Danitz paused, seemingly waiting for someone to ask a question, but Klein simply stared at him calmly.

This left Danitz somewhat helpless, but he didn't want to end things there, so he could only continue to speak slowly and mysteriously:

"In the end, the bishop was also skinned alive, and his body was hung at the church entrance."

Danitz chuckled and said:

"Of course, the Church of Storms could not tolerate this happening, so they sent another archbishop."

"An archbishop? A demigod?"

Klein's eyes flickered slightly. In his understanding, only a saint could hold the position of archbishop!

For example, the archbishop of the three major churches in the Backlund diocese is at least a Sequence 4 Saint. And a bishop's strength is likely above that of a deacon, at least a Sequence 5 Extraordinary. Even a Sequence 5 Extraordinary was skinned and hung at the entrance of his own church. The hot-tempered members of the Storm Church certainly wouldn't swallow this insult, so it's understandable that they would send a Saint to save face.

Klein didn't want to push Danitz too hard, after all, he was indeed very interested in this 'legend,' so he spoke calmly:

"And then?"

Danitz had been waiting there for a long time, a slight smile playing on his lips:

"The archbishop had just arrived in Bansi Port when he was skinned alive that very night, and his body was hung at the church entrance, swaying in the wind."

Klein gave him a deep look:

"The archbishop is at least at the saint level."

"That's why I say it's just a legend."

Danitz shrugged, not arguing with him, and simply said slowly:

"The death of an archbishop thoroughly enraged the Church of Storms, and their pope eventually took action to completely eliminate the threat on Bansi Island, and this history was subsequently hidden."

Before Klein could answer, Danitz continued, "I know you're going to ask me how I knew about this history since it's been hidden, right? It's simple: because I'm an archaeologist!"

Danitz puffed out his chest with pride, but Klein only glanced at him indifferently.

He neither intended to ask that question nor believed Danitz was a so-called archaeologist. He likely learned these things from his captain. Before setting sail, he had specifically inquired about the situation at sea, the most important information being about the Four Kings and Seven Generals.

According to the information provided by the Hanged Man, although Vice Admiral Edwina is one of the pirate generals, she does not plunder passing merchant ships. She is more interested in the lost treasures and legends at sea.

This legend about Bansi Harbor was most likely unearthed by Edwina. If that's the case, the legend's credibility is quite high. And given that the Storm Church lost face in Bansi Harbor, it's highly probable they'd want to hide this dark history.

If someone can kill a high bishop of the Church of Storms, then there must be at least one saint of equal rank on that island.

Those at this level mostly belong to an organization. But Klein had never heard of an organization that enjoyed skinning people alive. The only one similar to it was the Blood Cult—

This secretive organization, which worships demons, enjoys performing bloody and horrific rituals using corpses.

And skinning may also be part of its 'ritual'.

Klein's expression shifted slightly. He tapped the table with his finger and asked calmly:

"What else do you know?"

"I don't know much either."

Danitz hesitated for two seconds, but the upturned corners of his mouth could not hide his strong desire to perform. He said slowly, "I only know that the natives of Bansi Island used to believe in and worship their own weather god, and held four ceremonies every year."

Klein asked calmly:

"So, it was this weather god who killed that archbishop? And skinning was part of the ritual?"

"No."

Danitz gazed out the window at the approaching port of Bansi, his eyes growing increasingly profound. "The ritual of the Weather God involves killing a chosen chosen one, sharing his blood and flesh, burying his head on the altar, but not skinning him. And..."

He paused for two seconds, then said in a low, somber tone:

"There is evidence that the weather god has nothing to do with the skinning ritual. The one who actually does all this is an organization that calls itself the 'Skin Messengers,' and they worship the Queen with Night-Colored Eyes, who is said to be the goddess of night who represents death."

"Goddess of the Night?"

Klein's emotions became quite complex. A group of "god-skin messengers" who skinned people, claiming to be followers of the goddess? Isn't that the same as "sacrificing blood to the god-emperor and offering skulls to the golden throne"? You've worshipped the wrong god, brother!

Danitz shrugged and said:

"Clearly, this was the greatest blasphemy against the Church of the Night. So the organization 'Godskin Messenger' was barely out of existence when it was quickly wiped out by the joint attack of the Church of Storm and the Church of the Night, and both churches chose to hide this history."

"This has led to very few people having heard of the secret organization 'Godskin Messengers,' and even those who have heard of it don't really understand their organizational structure. For example, what exactly is the identity of the queen with the night-colored eyes whom they worship? And why did she suddenly appear in Binsi?"

Klein suddenly grasped a word, and asked in a serious tone:

"Pinsey?"

"Yes, that's the old name of Bansi Port. Three or four hundred years ago, it was called Binsi Town. Later, due to pronunciation and other factors, it gradually evolved into Bansi," Danitz casually explained.

Upon hearing this answer, Klein's eyes narrowed. He remembered very clearly that the evil spirits within the underground ruins of Backlund had said that if one wanted to find one of the founders of the "Redemption Rose," the former "Angel King" Medici, and his bloodline descendants, one could try their luck in Bingsey Town!

Bingsey! Klein's heart felt as if it were being frozen inch by inch, and a chill emanated from the depths of his bones.

The name Binsey, mentioned by evil spirits within the underground ruins, coupled with the legends and customs Danitz recounted, sent a chill down his spine. So, he took out a gold coin and performed a divination in front of Danitz.

As a result, there was no hidden danger in Bansi Port for him.

But this did not reassure Klein. He suddenly stood up and went into the bathroom.

Klein pulled out a paper figure, disguised himself, and took four steps backward into the gray fog.

He sat at the head of the long bronze table, took the pendulum from his left wrist, and wrote down the corresponding divination phrases:

"There are hidden dangers in Bansi Port."

Klein lowered his pendulum, assumed the correct posture, and chanted a few times before opening his eyes. He saw the citrine pendant rotating clockwise, but not very much, and not very fast.

"There's danger, but not much..." Klein muttered to himself, his elbows resting on the edge of the bronze table.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. This place has been occupied by the Kingdom of Rune for over three hundred years. If there were any danger, something would have happened here long ago, and it wouldn't have become an important transit point for those heading to the Rosed Islands. Moreover, this place was cleaned up by the Church of the Night and the Church of the Storm together. Even if there were any "unclean things" before, they have long since been wiped clean.

but……

Klein's eyes deepened, and he suddenly remembered another problem he had overlooked—

That underground ruin, and the evil spirits within it!

Half a month ago, he had discussed with Miss Sharon that he would ask Ember to explore the underground ruins. Neither he nor Miss Sharon had the strength to fully explore the underground ruins; the evil spirit alone was enough to completely block their path to exploring them.

In this situation, asking for help from others may be a last resort, but it is also the wisest course of action.

After all, rather than waiting for others to discover and explore the ruins, or for the evil spirits in the underground ruins to escape, it's better to find someone strong enough and trustworthy to explore the underground ruins, so that at least they won't return empty-handed.

Klein had informed Ember of this information through the voice of "The World" at the Tarot meeting.

However, Ember was busy dealing with the Black Emperor's affairs at that time, so the underground ruins were temporarily put on hold and were originally supposed to be explored after the New Year.

But Klein has yet to pass on any specific intelligence to Ember!

It's not that he didn't want to, it's that he forgot!

If it weren't for Danitz's sudden mention of "Binsey" triggering Klein's memories, he would never have remembered that there were underground ruins!

It's normal for an ordinary person to occasionally forget one or two unimportant things. But Klein is a Sequence 6 Extraordinary, and even if he's not an Extraordinary through the Common Knowledge pathway, his memory is far beyond what an ordinary person can match.

Even though a series of events piled up after the New Year, leaving Klein with little time for anything else, how could he possibly forget something so important?

"I've been affected!"

Klein's expression darkened; this was an easy conclusion to draw.

Someone was deliberately making him forget about the ruins, but this ability certainly wasn't directly applied to his own hypnosis or dream entry, otherwise he would have noticed the abnormality the moment he entered the gray fog.

This ability, this feeling of déjà vu, was incredibly familiar to Klein; it was the ability of '0-08'!

That sealed artifact can be used to drive the plot forward through a series of coincidences, steer events in the direction the other party desires. But even if it's just a simple coincidence, Klein will sense it—

Having already suffered twice, he is particularly sensitive to "coincidence".

If one had to describe it, it would be that Ince Zangwell, who had previously influenced him, was a mediocre, third-rate writer, so he had to use a lot of abrupt "coincidences" to make things go in the direction he wanted.

Now, what's influencing Klein is a true writer!

"call!"

Klein took a deep breath. He felt as if he were trapped in an impenetrable spider web, unable to escape no matter how hard he struggled. This feeling sent chills down his spine.

But Klein could also clearly realize that he was not the target of this network, and that he himself was a link in the network.

Klein didn't know who was behind all this, or what their purpose was, but he knew how to create a hole in this impenetrable web—

Since the other party wanted him to forget about the underground ruins, he was determined to spread the word, especially to tell Ember!

You've already destroyed my grave, let's see what you have left to scheme against!

(End of this chapter)