Chapter 2366: Troubles and Worries

Chapter 2366: Chapter 2366: Troubles and Worries

Subsequently, the group discussed their individual plans, and after dispersing in the study, Shard spoke alone with Luviya about the matter of the candidates:

"I’ve been busy with Mrs. Jude’s affairs recently and forgot to ask you, is Miss Eles a candidate?"

Luviya decisively shook her head:

"Although she’s a Dragonborn and has a special talent for light, she’s not... Based on her power, she doesn’t fit the ’Dragon of Birth’, right? I’ve recently been brushing up on knowledge about Dragon Species, and Miss Eles should at least be considered a young dragon, right?"

"It’s good that she’s not."

Shard didn’t mind, leaning easily against the corridor wall:

"In a few days, I’ll arrange a meeting for you with the people from the New World Mutual Aid Society to confirm if John Flynn ranks first. This matter can’t be delayed; I feel the final battle could explode at any time, just depending on when those cultists complete the God Summoning Ritual."

"I’ll just follow your lead. Anyway, the entity inside that gigantic dragon egg cannot become The Chosen One, that’s our bottom line. As for the others, you make the judgment since you know each of them best."

Luviya said, then glanced towards the end of the corridor, smiling as she changed the subject:

"Where will you spend the night tonight? Megan and Audrey haven’t seen you for a while; you’ll probably stay in their room, right?"

"Ah, this..."

"I knew you all appeared together in the evening, so you definitely weren’t up to any good during the day."

The purple-eyed girl murmured a complaint softly, then pursed her lips and said:

"Go back to rest tonight. I know those two sisters certainly didn’t spare you during the day. But... if you have time recently, can you come to my place?"

"Of course, I can. Sorry, have I been a bit neglectful of you lately?"

Luviya smiled and shook her head:

"What are you saying? I know you’re doing serious things. Sometimes, I feel that maybe the tasks we’ve put on you are too heavy."

She stood on tiptoe and kissed Shard on the corner of his lips:

"Go back and rest. I’ve seen you frown a lot these past few days; you must be troubled, right? Don’t be troubled, Shard, because if you’re troubled, I’ll worry just as much."

Shard’s worry wasn’t about his own mental exhaustion; the Evil God Dragon Devourer almost certainly appearing in Moon Bay would be the strongest enemy the Outlander faces since arriving in this world.

Although he already has Miss Isabella, the Blood-Sucking Duke, and Gluttony as trump cards, it’s hard to say how many he can summon when the time comes.

If possible, Shard would like to seek aid from the Ocean Gods who oppose the Evil God Dragon Devourer, but unfortunately, the current Ocean Gods are all Evil Gods, and Shard has only had brief encounters with the "Coldwater Port Three Evil Gods", which weren’t deep.

The Protector of Mermen, Lord of the Crimson Spiral, and the wrathful Marine Storm Manipulator, Fury Storm, Shard hasn’t directly encountered them, only obtained their divinity left in the Material World and seriously conflicted with their Orders.

As for the first Drowned One, God of the Deep Sea Drowned, Shard saw him briefly when he fell into Green Lake, but doesn’t have a "contact method," and their relationship isn’t sufficient for any communication.

Thinking of this made him more troubled, so early Saturday morning, after being woken by the Little Mia Alarm Clock by his pillow, Shard sat up and looked out at the rainy morning, planning to take advantage of the weekend to wander around Coldwater Port along the northwestern coast of Draleon.

He wasn’t expecting any particular gains, but felt it had to be tried.

"Meow!"

The cat gently nuzzled Shard’s hand, seemingly understanding his troubles, but then happily jumped off the bed and ran to the living room.

The reason Little Mia wasn’t locked in the wardrobe last night was that Dorothy had been feeling "unwell" recently, and Galina had a meeting to attend this morning, fearing staying overnight in Shard’s bedroom would make her oversleep. Thus, the Red-Haired Witch slept in the side room, exacerbating the Duchess’s extreme dislike for morning meetings.

Until Shard, Dorothy, and the Maid Misses finished breakfast, Galina still hadn’t returned from the Council. The good news was that although the night sky was unusually bright, it dissipated by daybreak, and so far, the sunlight hasn’t posed any problems.

After asking Dorothy about her plan to write at home today, Shard decided to leave Mia at home. But instead of going to another city first, he took a carriage to Old John’s Pawnshop to retrieve the Holy Emblem of the Broken Ancient God Dragon of Radiant Light, which Luviya ordered.

The price of this item must be quite steep, although Shard saw that the material itself barely showed any trace of the Miracle Element, no one would doubt its value.

The Holy Emblem of the Dragon of Radiant Light was the glowing dragon head symbol, its meaning quite clear. The Holy Emblem of the Evil God Dragon Devourer was also a dragon symbol, but representing the entire dragon rather than just the head.

"How are things in Moon Bay?"

When Shard was checking the goods, the old man behind the counter suddenly asked. Shard looked up at him:

"Old Man John, how do you know we’re involved in Moon Bay affairs?"

"Could it be that Annette buys these things just for fun?"

While unfolding the morning paper, the old man asked.

"Moon Bay is in quite a chaos now. This time, things are lively, even the True God Church has traitors, and the local diocese’s Dawn Chapel is still under self-cleansing."

Shard simply said:

"The Dragon Feast Order seems to be making efforts for The Chosen One, and the turmoil in Moon Bay in the past few days should have spread throughout the entire Material World. But I’m quite curious, what exactly does the Light Worshipper Training Association want to do this time? Although they also show interest in The Chosen One, there’s almost no news of their actions in Moon Bay."

Old John shrugged:

"That bunch of madmen, haven’t they always been dedicated to turning everyone into light to complete the evolution of life forms? This time, of course, their purpose remains the same."

"Did your Hermit Society take any action in Moon Bay this time?"

Shard asked again, and Old John didn’t hide anything:

"How could there be no action? Our people are investigating the Eternal Light locally, and I suppose you know this organization. Compared with the Dragon Feast Order and Light Worshipper Training Association, we’re more interested in such organizations."

He raised his eyes over Shard’s shoulder to make sure no one was eavesdropping at the door, then lowered his voice to say:

"The Hermit Society plans to observe further. If they truly are a passionate organization helping the common people, we hope to absorb them as part of us. However, there seem to be some problems at the moment; some people in this organization are indeed too radical."

Shard became interested:

"Can you talk to me about your investigation results? How about selling me the information?"

"Selling information, forget it, detective, how about an intelligence exchange? Annette always buys weird things, and you always run to cities where big events are about to happen. Even if I’m foolish, I know there’s something fishy going on."

The old man tapped the counter:

"What’s really going on with the local Vampire Kind? Do they really want to tear up the secret agreement? I want to know this."

"It has nothing to do with most of the local Vampire Kind. You’re in luck; I happen to have a few Vampire Kind friends locally."

And so, Shard briefly recounted the issues currently faced by the Vampires in Moon Bay and their suspicions towards their New World clan. As he had a good relationship with the Guiding Light Hermitage and even better with Old John, he did not hide the fact that the local vampire race is trying to prove their innocence."

Old John was very satisfied with this piece of information, after all, the Vampire Kind is scattered throughout Moon Bay and relatively low key. Without an introduction, no one knows their specific situation, and the information Shard provided was very detailed.

As for the intelligence on the Eternal Light, Old John would organize it and send it directly to Shard’s home. Shard simply had to wait at home to receive it:

"We only know their structure and have sorted out the various things they’ve done in Moon Bay in the past three years. We don’t know how many Circle Sorcerers are behind this organization, but their Circle Sorcerers are definitely very strong."

After returning home, Shard made a long-awaited visit to Coldwater Port. Today, Coldwater Port was also drizzling, and the temperature was even colder than in Tobesk.

Shard first visited Mr. Edmund, and then sat for a while at the Aphrola Mansion, during which nothing happened.

Because there was a meeting Saturday afternoon, Shard thought of staying in Coldwater Port just for the morning, so before lunch, he went to the black market in the Coldwater Port Dock Area to check on his commission for acquiring special coins.

Unexpectedly, there was indeed a result from that commission. Although it was just a Scribe Level Dragon Blood Coin, it was an unexpected delight.

This relic, once obtained by Shard during the "Balance of Life and Death" incident in Milestone (Chapter 649), functions by dyeing the coin with blood and placing it at the center of a sufficiently large piece of at least 20-year-old parchment. Blood-red lines extend from the coin, sketching a simple map to help locate the Dragon Clan’s treasure.

Of course, the condition for triggering this effect is that there actually exists a ’Dragon Clan Treasure’ nearby the user. Ultimately, regardless of what’s marked, even if it’s something relatively worthless like Dragon Spittle Herb, the coin will be consumed.

As for the Scribe Level rating, it comes from the fact that once the relic’s effect is triggered, the triggerer will experience extremely poor luck until the treasure is found. This extreme bad luck will severely impact the treasure hunt journey, thus creating a "Misfortune Spiral" effect, which can often lead to significant troubles.