Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

"But it's clear his subsequent talent isn't that great—don't flatter him."

"It was precisely this excessive desire that led him to choose to cooperate with the Empire through the Iris. Now that he's aligned with Santis, it's likely that Santis offered him a price he couldn't refuse."

As Tia murmured to herself, the ghosts around her excitedly whispered along.

She walked around and basically confirmed that she was on the lower gun deck.

— Unlike later cargo ships, sailing warships had three gun decks, one storage deck, and a lower deck.

Simply put, a sailing warship can be viewed as a four-story fortress with a basement.

The cannons are being arranged in an orderly fashion in front of the gun ports, and not far away are ammunition racks. A little further on is the crew quarters.

It was called a dormitory, but it was actually just countless small rooms and countless hammocks. The hammocks were spread out, and underneath them were piles of white bones.

Hammocks are usually folded up during the day under normal circumstances.

It is clear that he died at night.

This has little to do with Tia.

But the captain's cabin in the distance has a lot to do with her.

Control of the captain's quarters is related to the inheritance of the Sanctuary, and Santis's direct arrival in the captain's quarters is probably for this reason.

But the question is, where are Brigitte and Lundell's gang?

Before Tia could figure it out, she could already hear Santis and Abdullah's voices from in front of the crew quarters.

She immediately withdrew her spirituality to avoid being influenced by the prophetic nature.

"Sir, are these alchemical ritual texts on the door?"

"No, not really... more like an unsheathed blade. If you open it rashly, you'll be instantly corroded into bones by what's inside. And it's of a very high level. At least my current body can't handle it."

Santis paused, "The ceremony only lasts three hours, there's no time for other methods. I need to prepare a batch of refined star antimony, otherwise it will be difficult for me to open it from this side."

"Rondel is probably on the middle deck. Abdullah, you go and keep watch outside for me."

"I will be extracting star antimony using my own body, and I will be very weak during this time. If you want to achieve great success, don't let anyone in!"

Abdullah took a deep breath, left through the hidden door of the captain's cabin, and wandered around the corridor.

The corridor wasn't long; just a few meters away were the crew quarters. But there was always a cold, damp airflow that made him uncomfortable.

Tia had just finished setting up a silencing ceremony in her dormitory cubicle.

The ghosts' excitement was overwhelming, and their voices echoed in Tia's ears.

"I see him, he's coming soon."

"Little alchemist, you know him, all he can think about right now is how to get rid of you. The better part of valor, the more you strike!"

"See? You want to go to the captain's cabin too, right? You all want to. We absolutely can't let that antimony sorcerer get into the captain's cabin. Kill him quickly for the sake of the captain's cabin."

"There are some good things in the captain's cabin! Let me tell you, it contains Jeremiah's legacy! And if you want to go in, you need to get the key from the wheelhouse on the upper deck!"

"The key! Damn it, how could you tell our little warlock something so important?"

"I just want to see rivers of blood!"

Tia covered her ears and performed a heroic act in the crew quarters, stealing all the gold rings and necklaces.

They even took the wooden buckets containing salt from the crew's temporary dining area, taking the salt with them.

These are all ritual materials.

First, the Holy Light was extracted and used to create "Light in Blood," and then a "Binary Substitution" was created by cutting open the palm with a knife.

The main function of binary substitution is that when one ritual is initiated, the other two rituals require no materials or time, and their effects and costs are doubled.

Tia could have arranged an even more advanced "Trinity".

But the Trinity requires three materials: sulfur, mercury, and salt. Salt is relatively plentiful, sulfur can be extracted from gunpowder, but mercury is much more difficult to obtain.

Tia settled for second best.

Wait until the ceremony is complete.

Suddenly, the golden fire was lit.

The footsteps in the corridor paused.

The cabin was already relatively dark. Tia had managed to rummage through the boxes and cabinets after using the ritual to silence it, but now that she was burning golden fire, it was no different from raising a torch in the dead of night.

Tia's voice seemed to come from near and far, ringing in Abdullah's ear.

“Come in and let’s talk, Abdullah bin Ibrahim al-Assaya bin Hussein. I think we can work together.”

In an instant, even the noisiest ghosts stopped arguing.

Abdullah walked calmly into the crew quarters, his deep blue eyes filled with the prophet's unique profundity and restraint.

But as soon as he stepped into the dormitory, that name instantly disrupted his composure, and his pupils contracted sharply.

“I am Frinina Bonaparte, the Lady of Laurel Grove, the Sleeping Witch. You once sent me the Sword of Victory.”

The silence ritual had already enveloped the dormitory, so Tia simply went straight to the point.

Abdullah turned to leave, but the door was silently closed by a gentle breeze, and he froze.

Yes!

There's no need for me to leave.

Being targeted by this witch is already the worst possible outcome!

Tia said, "You didn't expect to see me here, did you? I didn't expect to run into you again either. But don't worry, I'm not here to start a war."

Abdullah bowed his head earnestly and said, "Honorable witch! What have I done to deserve that you have chased me all the way here!"

"Of course you can't. What I want isn't your head. It's what Santis is looking for."

"Whether we want to get that thing or not, I think we should both think about surviving first, right?"

"This ceremony is not some kind of advancement ceremony; the price of death is extremely serious. Whether your soul is damaged or you become a spirit, it could very well affect your entire life."

Tia looked at Abdullah, and seeing his silence, she knew what he meant. She looked directly at him and said:

"So, Abdullah, in this ritual where only three people can survive, who should we exclude: me, Miss Saint, or Mr. Knight, who have a conflict of interest with Santis?"

"Of the remaining members of the Twin Serpent Order and yourself, who do you think Santis will sacrifice?"

Chapter 279 Bewitchment and Betrayal

The doll in the mirror and her ghostly companions, seeing Tia actually discussing cooperation, complained in Tia's ear:

"Damn it! Look at his eyes, so fierce, vicious, and greedy, he practically wants to rip your head off and soak it in a rotten barrel of rum!"

"Yes, little warlock, you should have listened to us and stabbed him to death sooner. You could have made your move when he came in!"

"We're your best friends! Anyone who goes against you, you'll kill them! We'll applaud you!"

"Applause, friends!"

"Clap clap clap!"

"We enjoy killing, not cooperating! Little alchemist, you need to respect our hobby; it's what humanity has relied on for survival for tens of thousands of years!"

Tia looked at Abdullah with interest and said in a voice no one could hear, "Of course we have to kill him."

"Since I've promised you, I won't refuse."

"But there are methods to murder, my friends. Blindly killing will only lead to your own death."

The ghosts protested, "How can you be as cowardly as an Anzu!"

Why is this turning into a personal attack?!

Tia ignored the ghosts and focused on dealing with the silent Abdullah.

Santis entered the Nightmare with the aim of gaining control of the Sanctuary, or more specifically, using the Sanctuary to prepare for his Sequence 3 ascension.

In this respect, the secrets from his nightmares were actually more useful to him.

The problem is that the normal ceremony only lasts three hours. Compared to wasting time searching for some unknown tome, the captain's cabin right in front of us is much more appealing.

Jeremiah's Sanctuary is this entire ship, and with the hints about controlling the captain's cabin in the Nightmare mission, it's obvious how to inherit the Sanctuary.

The sanctuary is the domain of the gods, who are all-knowing and all-powerful within it. If one can control the sanctuary, finding the secret texts on the ship will be a piece of cake.

“Santis is the one closest to the captain’s cabin. Once he takes control of the Sanctuary, he can quickly deal with the competitors on the ship.”

Tia extinguished the golden fire in her hand and said with interest, "Then I, the saint, or the knight will soon be kicked out of the game."

"However, there is one thing: this sanctuary is still under the control of the ritual. If Santis wants to break the ritual and complete the transfer of the sanctuary, he must follow the rules and leave only three people on the ship."

"So, Abdullah, do you think you'll be the survivor?"

No, of course not.

Abdullah's voice was surprisingly calm.

He bowed his head and said sincerely, "You are a great being in the deep sea, perhaps you have long since abandoned the desires and pursuits of mortals."

“But I’m different, sir. Santis has given me so much. So much that even if my soul is damaged, I have to choose to stand on his side.”

"Furthermore, you've misjudged something; you believe that having more people automatically means you can defeat having fewer. But that's not the case:"

"Knights and saints may be outmatched against archbishops, but they are not necessarily at a disadvantage against Miss Coral."

Tia shook her head, saying with a playful tone, "Abdullah, your primary concern isn't whether Coral can die in your place. Rather, it's that if you hinder my inheritance of the Sanctuary, you'll have to bear the consequences of my retribution."

Abdullah's voice suddenly stopped, and he looked at the witch in prison clothes and tattered robes with a gloomy expression: "Frinina Bonaparte".

This is no longer cooperation; it's a blatant threat!

As the prophet with the deepest connection to the sea among the seven paths, he had no doubt about the seriousness and rigor with which Tia spoke these words.

Tia slowly circled Abdullah, who was drenched in cold sweat, and coaxed, "And what I can give you is far more than what Santis can give you."

“Extraordinary power, knowledge, money, influence, and even the secrets of Solomon—if Santis can’t help you with these, I can.”

"The Montellima family is my ally; they possess boundless wealth. My tentacles are omnipresent within the Iris, capable of transporting you to any location you know."

"Even if you desire extraordinary knowledge, with my protection in the deep sea, you can roam freely."

"And what can Santis offer you?"

"A golden shield to let you live a lifetime?"

Abdullah remained silent.

Tia laughed and said, "Is that an imperial title?"

Abdullah took a deep breath.

Tia continued, "Is it profound supernatural knowledge? Precious supernatural characteristics, or perhaps even Solomon's secret texts?"

how can that be!

He was brought in to be a scapegoat. The drugs that Santis prepared for him, besides amplifying his soul strength, were primarily used to simulate Santis's spiritual characteristics!

To avoid being implicated if the master of the sanctuary discovered it, Santis didn't even go on the same ship as him!

Abdullah shook his head with difficulty.

Betrayal has a tendency to happen, just like wearing women's clothing.

Once you do it the first time, you'll do it again.

"If that's the case, why not choose to come and join me? I can give you all of these."

Tia's voice hissed in your ear like a venomous snake crawling up from hell, tempting you like a devil: "Besides, I can leave you a place to live."

“Abdullah, you don’t realize how simple it is for you to survive. Santis is so vulnerable right now. All you have to do is go over there and stab Santis in the heart, and you will truly live.”

“And I can offer you protection that Santis can’t. Santis has a thousand extraordinary abilities, and there’s absolutely no way he could go to Laurel Forest and capture you, right?”

Tia said calmly, "Abdullah, if Santis can help you, why can't I?"

"It won't just help you become a big shot, it will also allow you to steadily advance in your career and help you escape the Palace of Wisdom. You won't even have to die in this ceremony."

—Bang!

Tia kicked aside the pale bones on the ground, picked up a military knife from under the pile of ribs, and threw it to Abdullah.