Salted Fish Chapter 75: Grand Finale (2)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

He smiled triumphantly. “That’s my third choice, isn’t it?”

For a while, no one said anything on the crossroads.

Duan FeiZhou looked at Hecate, and Hecate looked at him. The stars flowed above their heads, like a giant ancient melody.

The corners of Hecate’s lips raised, like the blade of a scimitar. The Goddess of the Crossroads said, “Right.” 

“Then why didn’t you tell me from the beginning?”

“I didn’t know what was going to happen that way,” she said, “If you choose that path, it will create a whole new branch in the multiple histories. No one knows whether it is good or bad, no one knows what awaits you ahead…” She paused, her smile gradually turning cold. “Not to mention that I also hope to get your power, so I can continue to climb up. If you choose the third path, I will probably get nothing.”

“In fact, I could have chosen nothing and just turned back.” Duan FeiZhou wrapped his arms around himself, and tapped his fingers impatiently on his elbows. “And then wait for the Great Lord of Light to resurrect and destroy the world – so you would get even more nothing.”

“You’re threatening me?” Hecate cocked her head in utter amazement.

“Shouldn’t it be called ‘stating the obvious benefits’?”

The Goddess of the Crossroads narrowed her eyes to examine him. She felt as if she was recognizing the young man’s true nature for the first time.

“That’s interesting,” she said. “I have met many mortals, but you are the first one who dares to talk to me like that.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Duan FeiZhou said. “So, there are indeed other ways to deal with the Great Lord of Light, aren’t there? What should I do? A mere Leviathan is not something humans can defeat, let alone a recovering Forerunner.”

Hecate waved her hand, and framed the image floating in the starry sky on the strange sun in the other sky. “Your mortal power is incomparably small, and to fight against the Forerunner is like baring a hatch to shake a tree.” The goddess’s tone was cold, but not contemptuous, as if she was simply stating a fact known to the world. “You alone will never be able to defeat the Great Lord of Light. But when mortals unite, even the gods will tremble.”

Duan FeiZhou was slightly moved. “You mean that all must unite?”

“That is the only way out for you mortals.”

“But, the Great Lord of Light is so powerful, even if all of them unite, they may not be his opponent, right?”

“The power of the Forerunner will not disappear, but it can be sealed,” Hecate said. “You can seal it in a place where it will not be disturbed, and no one will be able to reach it.”

“What place?” Duan FeiZhou asked eagerly.

“You know it, so why ask me?” The goddess was profoundly inscrutable.

Duan FeiZhou bit his lips tightly. He had thought of a suitable place, just…How could the Great Lord of Light be sealed there? The Great Lord of Light was now hanging high in the sky like the sun!

Hecate read his mind once again, “The will of the Great Lord of Light is scattered everywhere, but they will attract each other and eventually merge into one. However, it is equally possible to use this process, so if one possesses an Ether crystal, one can draw that sun in the sky through it instead.”

“But I don’t have an Ether crystal in my hand,” Duan FeiZhou said. “Do I have to go to the mine and dig one up?” 

Hecate raised the corners of her lips. “You don’t have one?”

Of course I don’t…Duan FeiZhou was just about to say that when it occurred to him that he himself did not have one, but one of his companions had had an Ether crystal embedded in him from the beginning.

Did Hecate mean to…use that crystal? Not that it wouldn’t work. On the contrary, it was the best way to go.

“If you’ve thought about it, then move forward.” Hecate stepped aside to make way for Duan FeiZhou. “But I must warn you, even I, the Goddess of the Crossroads, the guardian of the fork in the road, do not know if that path will work. If you insist on choosing it, then everything will be up to you next.”

Duan FeiZhou passed by the Goddess of the Underworld, and an icy aura that symbolized death wafted from her. He suddenly had a wonderful premonition. It was also the last time he would meet with the Goddess of the Crossroads.

Hecate also gazed unblinkingly at his back.

A mortal. So small. So fragile. So weak-minded, so weak. However, sometimes the glow that came out of them was something that even the Forerunner would be awed by. A Goddess never expects much from mortals. They have so many flaws in them that they themselves question whether humanity is inherently evil. However, the goddess also never despairs of mortals. However deep the darkness of the world, then it corresponds to how brilliant the light.

 

Duan FeiZhou was awakened by the warm rain. He opened his eyes with difficulty. Half of the light that met his eyes was a sky full of dark clouds, thunder and lightning. The other half was the best-looking face he had ever seen in his life. He was lying on the muddy, wet grass, with Z kneeling beside him, his arms wrapped tightly around his body. The Nightman, the white-haired policeman, was soaked through, as if he had just been fished out of the water. He wasn’t much better.

When he saw that he was awake, Z’s scarlet eyes glowed with joy and sorrow. He whispered incredulously, “You’re alive…” 

Duan FeiZhou sat up and touched his head. His clothes were stained with blood, but there were no injuries on his body, which indicated that the self-healing ability had once again taken effect. The rain was still falling, and was even getting heavier. Even though it was currently summer, Duan FeiZhou shivered with cold.

So why did he feel the rain was warm when he first woke up? He turned to Z. The other’s eyes were slightly red, set off by his bloodles pale skin, it was particularly eye-catching, and something that could not be ignored.

Did Z just hug him and cry…?

Z hurriedly turned his head to hide his condition.

“Xenophon said you were dead.” He pretended to be indifferent and brushed his mouth. “That guy’s eyes are really bad.”

Duan FeiZhou wanted to laugh. The always cold and hard Z actually also had such a day. When he was put into the dungeon, wasn’t he just as emotional? But at the same time his heart also surged with hot feelings, like the warm water beads had gone all the way into the bottom of his heart.

He really wanted to kiss the corner of Z’s blade-like lips, to kiss away the twisted curve, but now wasn’t a good time to make out. He looked up, only to see Leviathan was hovering in the air, as it cast black shadows on the ground.

“Let’s get out of here.” Duan FeiZhou climbed to his feet. “Where are the others?”

“Retreating into the oak forest,” Z replied grimly. “Let’s hope the undead can help hold off for a while.”

“Let’s go, too. I need to think of a way that we can use everyone’s strength.”

The two men darted toward the oak forest. A dark shadow approached Duan FeiZhou so fast that at first he thought it was Leviathan, and was so frightened that he almost threw a shockwave. However, when he fixed his eyes on it he saw that it was Xenophon, who had turned into a raven.

The raven rode the wind to move in tandem with them. The bird asked in shock, “How did you come to life?” 

“I wasn’t dead in the first place!” Duan FeiZhou said in a bad mood.

“Wow, you must have an iron head if you didn’t die when your skull was split open like that…” Xenophon said in admiration.

They went into the oak forest. Once in the forest, immediately the rain was much less, as the thick branches and leaves over their heads wove a natural shelter. Several heads peeked out from behind the thick oak tree trunks – the Nightmen who were already hiding in the area.

“Great, boss, you’re okay!” Mr. R shouted in surprise.

“What’s next?” Miss Acheson asked. “Do we really have to retreat back to London?”

Z pondered for a moment and was about to say something, when Duan FeiZhou jumped in. “I have an idea, but I need to consult Mr. N first.”

The restaurant owner, police officer, and Nightman pointed at himself, “Me?”

Mr. N. looked hesitantly at his companion and reluctantly approached him.

Duan FeiZhou pulled Mr. N aside to make sure no one else could hear their conversation (except perhaps Z, whose hearing hadn’t been diminished by his return to sight) and asked quietly, “You are a master of the occult arts and have extensive knowledge, I would like to ask you a question. What kind of space is the place where the Secret Trading House is located?”

Mr. N was stunned. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, looked at Duan FeiZhou with questioning eyes, and waited for him to explain further. Unfortunately, Duan FeiZhou also looked at him with the same expression, waiting for him to answer his question. In this silent confrontation, it was Mr. N who finally could not carry the weight.

“It’s a piece of space created by the Master of the Trading House…I guess,” he said helplessly. “It is possible for powerful occult practitioners to do this. There are many such other spaces in the universe, wandering outside the world.”

Duan FeiZhou had a deep understanding that the mysterious starry sky where Hecate’s crossroads were located should be the same other dimension.

Joseph Chester was able to create such a place and connect it to the real world with a magic formation. His attainments in the occult arts were really terrifying. If he put his mind on studying occult philosophy instead of any other miscellaneous things, wouldn’t he be able to reach the realm of the forerunner sooner or later?

“If I bring a person into the Trading House and then destroy all the passages leading to the Trading House, including the dollhouse, then won’t that person be unable to leave forever?” Duan FeiZhou asked.

Mr. N pondered for a moment, and nodded heavily.

“But you, the Master of the Trading House – can still enter the trading house at any time through your silver key. Unless the one trapped in the trading house sucks the spell off the gold clock when you leave. However, if your intention is to trap him forever, then you probably won’t want to go back yourself, will you?”

Duan FeiZhou smiled. “You’re right.”

Nervousness and uneasiness crept onto Mr. N’s face. “Why are you asking such a thing? Are you…”

“Well, to tell you the truth,” Duan FeiZhou patted Mr. N’s shoulder as if they were old friends who had known each other for years. “I plan to seal the Great Lord of Light in the Secret Trading House.”

 

“Your Majesty, we’ll be safe for now once we get there,” Lady Edith gasped. She had one hand propped up against the trunk of an oak tree, one hand pressed against her chest. She was also considered older, so to run such a long way in a short time, it was a bit overwhelming.

The Queen also looked no better than her. She was older than Lady Edith, and finally couldn’t run. She was in the center of her royal guards as she went into the oak forest. Lady Edith was a little afraid that the rain and drama would cause Her Majesty to lose her life.

The Queen looked around. “This is…?”

“It is our family’s private woodland, Your Majesty,” Lady Edith said. “There are…I’m afraid you’ll laugh. There are undead guards.”

“Before yesterday, if you had said that, I would have thought you were crazy,” the Queen said gloomily. “However, after today, no matter what the fantasy, I am willing to believe it.”

The royal guards, when they heard the word “undead,” gathered around the Queen uneasily. Lady Edith felt that they were gathered involuntarily out of fear, rather than to faithfully guard the Queen.

“We can’t hide here forever.” Lord Perlilla was depressed. “There’s a monster out there, Mother. How are we going to survive its claws?”

No sooner had he said that than the long roar of the beast came from above. Everyone coincidentally covered their ears, and  painful expressions appeared on their faces. The roar was simply going to pierce their eardrums.

It was a while before the roar stopped. The sound in everyone’s ears didn’t disappear, but turned into a long-lasting ringing in the ears. Then, the ground shook violently. Leviathan landed at the edge of the woods, then its spiked tail swept across. An oak tree was cut off flush and it was thick to the point that it needed two people to hug it!

Lord Perlilla grabbed his mother and put her behind him. Although he himself was shivering, he still tried to cover his mother with his body.

“We’re finished, Mother!” Lord Perlilla was in tears. “Ohhhh, we shouldn’t have contracted out the mine! If we knew…No, we shouldn’t have developed any mine from the beginning…”

The Queen propped herself up on an oak tree with one hand, while the other clutched the hem of her skirt. She was breathing heavily. “It’s not over yet, Lord Perlilla,” she whispered. “It’s far from over!” 

With another sweep of Leviathan’s tail, another row of oaks fell in unison.

He thought the woods could serve as a barrier, but in front of the power of that beast…It is so unbeatable… 

Leviathan opened its mouth, and revealed its sharp teeth. Just when it was about to attack again, a fiery light fell from the sky and impartially hit its spine.

The beast screamed in agony. The heat and pain reminded it of that time in the Arctic. At that time, it had just recovered, when it suffered an unprovoked attack. It raised its long neck, as its bloodshot eyes looked to the sky.

A golden shadow suddenly appeared in the middle of the dense cloudy sky between the gaps of thunder and lightning. A streamlined steam airship descended slowly from among the clouds. There were a row of brass-colored cannon muzzles on the side, and they faced the giant beast on the ground.

The guns lit up with fire in turn, and the grenades shot through the air with the unstoppable force of meteors. The sound of shelling was deafening! The name of the airship, the Wellington, was painted on the sides of the brass cannons’ muzzles in fresh paint.

The guns of the Wellington fired another round in unison. The powerful grenades hit the Leviathan’s body. The beast’s scales shattered under the searing heat, filling the air with smoke and the stench of burnt flesh.

Lord Perlilla stared blankly at the airship that had fallen from the sky. “Why, why is it here…?”

His Queen took a few steps forward, supported by her royal guards, to a position where she could take in the battlefield. “Ah.” The queen raised her eyebrows, her pale face rippling with pleasure. “Looks like he caught up.”

 

On the bridge of the airship, Colonel Freeman sat in the command chair, and stared down at the earth, his eyes focused on the dark beast. You saved the lives of all of us, but unfortunately, you and I are now enemies, the Colonel thought to himself.

“Fire in unison!” he ordered loudly.

The rumble of the cannons made the man beside him scowl. The man was small and shabby looking. Always reminiscent of some kind of rodent. However it was this unassuming man who had found Colonel Freeman a week earlier with a secret edict from Her Majesty.

The Colonel was having dinner with his family when the man suddenly emerged from the garden plot, scaring the fox (yes, they were Simon’s animal friends, and the Colonel kept them as pets at home.) The Colonel’s daughter thought the man was a gnome and had a good laugh. The Colonel almost shot the man’s head off.

The man called himself Palmer, and claimed he was an occult practitioner and an emissary of Her Majesty the Queen. He showed the colonel Her Majesty’s bull, which ordered Wellington to fly to Shropshire, Perlilla Manor, the next day and then to stand by.

The Wellington’s Colonel didn’t know what to expect. He read the news every day and knew that Her Majesty would be at the Perlilla mine the next day for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. He didn’t understand why a ceremony required the army to be on standby. However, he was a soldier, and a soldier’s duty was to obey orders.

The next day he commanded the Wellington to the location stated in Her Majesty’s edict, and he ended up meeting their “old friend” Leviathan.

 

In the oak forest, the Queen looked at the golden airship in the sky and raised the corners of her lips.

“Good. I ordered the Wellington to come as support,” she said to Lord Perlilla, and looked a little proud. “From the beginning, I have never trusted the Committee for Scientific Progress entirely.”

All along, the Committee for Scientific Progress had promoted the Ether crystal technology. That it would allow Britain’s national power to soar and boast that it was the best in the world. However in their bright speeches, the Queen also keenly found some discordant notes. For example, the “spy.” When Secretary Carter suggested that the “Wellington may have been infiltrated with foreign spies” to her, he then suggested sending secret agents into the Wellington to search for spies, but also intentionally or unintentionally mentioned the Nightmen.

So the Queen went along with it and summoned Zeno Xenia, the leader of the Nightmen, and ordered him to pretend to be a scholar aboard the Wellington to find the spy. As a result, he really found the spy. The spy had also pretended to be the captain, and almost stole the entire airship to Vienna.

Carter was saddened and said that foreign technology was also advancing, and if they couldn’t push forward quickly enough, they would sooner or later be overtaken by other countries. “The plan of the undying soldiers, would you take another look?” He probably thought that the Queen was so frightened by the spy that she would immediately agree to the undying soldier plan.

The Queen, however, just thought that everything was too coincidental. It was almost as if someone had secretly planned everything in order to get her to agree to the plan.

The Committee for Scientific Progress was both her friend and her enemy. They still had value, but she wouldn’t easily trust them, and she would never deliver her trust to them wholesale.

She, as a Queen for so many years that she had something perhaps the other side hadn’t learned. There was one thing she was very good at, and that was “emperor science.”

It seemed that even God was on her side. While she was thinking about how to watch out for the Committee on the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Palmer broke into Frogmore Palace. It was as if God had sent a messenger for her. She ordered the occult practitioner to go to Colonel Freeman. The good soldier was in a quagmire of self-doubt because of the failure of the Arctic project, and even grounded himself at home. Then, the Queen gave him a chance to make up for his mistake.

 

On the Wellington, Colonel Freeman frowned, staring at Leviathan tangling with them in the air. The cannon fire tore through the scales of the behemoth, its blood spilled like a tempest on the earth, and those on the ground were afraid they thought it was raining blood. However, with such a heavy wound, the beast still attacked; as if it didn’t feel the pain, as if it didn’t fear death, and vowed to pull the whole airship to bury it!

Leviathan rammed headlong into the airship. Colonel Freeman held his body steady, while Palmer slumped to the ground with his hands on his head, and shivered.

“Don’t panic!” the Colonel shouted. “The monster is at the end of its strength. Let’s take it out in one go!”

“Yes!” The crew answered in unison.

Colonel Freeman’s frown grew tighter and tighter, “What’s going on? Is it malfunctioning?”

The liaison officer on the bridge was sweating profusely, and kept grabbing the speaker tube to give orders and then held it to his ear to listen for replies.

“Report! Report, Captain! It’s the Great Crystalline Steam Engine that’s malfunctioning!”

Colonel Freeman’s fingers tapped the armrest. “Did the monster’s blow just now destroy the engine?”

“Uh, Captain, the chief engineer reported that…It was a fuel problem!” The liaison officer looked like he was on the verge of tears.

“We clearly replenished enough Ether crystals before we took off!”

“Yes, but the captain said…the Ether crystals are dissolving rapidly for unknown reasons, but they aren’t releasing heat into the engines!”

“What?!” Colonel Freeman didn’t understand what he meant. What do you mean there is no heat release? Could the heat disappear out of thin air? That was against the principles of physics! Or…Or was the heat drawn away by something else?

“Captain, we’re running low on engine power! We must make a forced landing!”

Colonel Freeman rose to his feet with a huff. In the midst of an air battle, the airborne ship was the soldiers’ life boat, and the mechanical failure of the engines had to be resolved before they could fight.

“Land on that lake!” the colonel ordered, “meanwhile the gunners don’t stay idle, keep firing!”

Beside him, Palmer looked up despairingly, “Are we going to land?”

“Yes, sir. There’s been an engine failure,” Colonel Freeman replied coldly.

“Ah, great! Can you get me down? I’m afraid of heights! I want to go back to the ground! I want to go underground if I can!” Palmer let out a rat-like scream.

 

In the oak forest, Miss Acheson looked out at the rapidly descending golden shadow, and asked in confusion, “What’s going on? How did that airship land?” 

Duan FeiZhou naturally also took in the situation. The presence of the Wellington really surprised him. That was the flagship of the air force, the only one who had the power to move it was…

The Queen, who ruled the capital of the old world. However, if she was seen as an old woman, she would suffer a great loss. However, just as the Wellington was about to shoot down Leviathan, it landed itself inexplicably. Duan FeiZhou could only surmise that there was something wrong with the Wellington itself.

— Needless to say, it must be the Ether crystals.

“All of the airships are powered by Ether crystals,” Duan FeiZhou whispered. “Now the Lord of Light is recovering. The Ether crystals are originally his energy condensed into a pool power. I’m afraid that all the crystals on the airship have been absorbed by that strange sun in the air.”

The crowd drew back with a cold breath.

Human flesh and blood couldn’t compete with Leviathan, but human steel creations could. Without the Wellington, they would never be able to defeat Leviathan. But without the Ether crystals, the Wellington was a ship moored on a lake, so how could it fight against the super-powered Leviathan?

Duan FeiZhou was so anxious that he couldn’t help but start biting his nails. The appearance of the Wellington had given him a ray of hope. He realized that he wasn’t alone in the battle. He had many others around him, and if they were willing to fight for the same goal…As Hecate had said, when mortals unite, even the gods tremble!

A plan that could be called a heavenly dream appeared in Duan FeiZhou’s mind.

“The reason why the airship can fly is, after all, because the Ether crystals provide sufficient power. If there was another source of power, wouldn’t it be able to fly just as well?” He looked around the crowd with an excited look, expecting their approval.

“But what energy source could be used?” Z asked. “Coal? There’s nowhere to find that much coal.”

“Of course not coal, the heat is too low,” Duan FeiZhou grumbled.

As for nuclear power, it hadn’t been invented yet, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a suitable source of energy. In fact, Duan FeiZhou was surrounded by several such energy sources.

“…Occult practitioners.” He too was dense and open in his response.

Xenophon was shocked. “You’re going to throw a living person into a furnace, and burn them as charcoal?”

Duan FeiZhou slanted him a glare. It was worthy of Xenophon, that comment at this point in time. His brain circuit was still so strange. 

“Occult practitioners can draw energy from nature, either to store it for later use or to transform it into the form they need. If all the occult practitioners feed the Wellington at the same time, will it be possible to make the airship fly?”

All the occult practitioners present pondered this question at the same time. As long as the energy provided was enough, even the Earth could be made to fly out, not to mention the airship. But the only occult practitioners present besides Duan FeiZhou were Mr. N, Mrs. Q, Xenophon, Yeats and Evangeline. Can they provide enough energy for the airship?

No matter how they thought about it, it was not enough. More occult practitioners must be enlisted.

Duan FeiZhou turned back to look deeper into the woods.

“Doesn’t there happen to be a group of occult practitioners somewhere?” He licked his lips eagerly. “If they’re willing to help, we might be able to make it.”

Xenophon rolled his eyes to the sky. “Those people will never obey your orders. If you let them go free, they will probably pull your head off first.”

He had no good feelings for those who were still obsessed with the idea of being a thief.

Duan FeiZhou’s brain was running fast.

“Lady Perilla!” He shouted.

A woman dressed in fancy clothes, who emitted a faint ghostly light around her body came out of an oak tree, and she looked at him with indifferent eyes.

The Nightmen shrank back in unison when they saw the woman. Only Z and Xenophon were unfazed. The two of them knew that these undead had no malicious intent, but would instead do their best to protect the land and the people on it. “Can I ask you a favor? Is Her Majesty the Queen around here?”

“She is.” The woman said coldly.

“Could you call her…I mean invite her over?” Duan FeiZhou said as he walked deeper into the woods, “Those occult practitioners may not want to listen to me, but what about Her Majesty’s orders?” 

The woman disappeared and Duan FeiZhou came to a clearing deep in the woods. The black clothed occult practitioners were still firmly bound to the oak tree by the power of the undead.

Seeing Duan FeiZhou, the nearest occult practitioners spat at him.

“You won’t be able to get away with it for long!” he said viciously, “When the Committee awakens the undying legion, it will be the end of you!”

Duan FeiZhou recognized him as a member of the Scotland Yard detectives. In fact, he was the current Superintendent of the Abnormal Case Investigation Unit.

“It’s a pity that the undying legion is killing your dear Committee,” Duan FeiZhou sneered.

The superintendent’s eyes widened, and then he calmed down, “You think you can fool me?”

“Why should I lie to you? You’ll know if you go and see for yourself. But I suggest it’s best not to walk around, or you won’t even know how to die.” Duan FeiZhou shook his head. These guys still couldn’t figure out the situation.

Duan FeiZhou recognized Lord Perlilla’s mother and son among the people approaching them. Behind them were several guards dressed in red, and they surrounded planets around a star, in the center was…

“Your Majesty…!” Still tied to the tree, the police superintendent’s lips trembled. What an honor it was to meet the Queen, although the timing wasn’t quite right.

The Queen looked at the occult practitioners, and then at Duan FeiZhou, and although her pale face was expressionless, her eyes glowed with joy. “I am so glad to see you safe and sound, Sir Leopold.” 

“I am also relieved to see you safe, Your Majesty.” This was true, for if the Queen had been in trouble, Duan FeiZhou did not know how he would persuade the occult practitioners.

“Why did you tie these young people to the trees?” The Queen raised her chin to indicate those occult practitioners. Duan FeiZhou felt that she knew the answer to the question.

“They are occult practitioners under the Committee, Your Majesty.” Duan FeiZhou said.

The occult practitioners squirmed uneasily. Although many of them had joined Scotland Yard under the arrangement of the Committee, they knew that the Committee’s act of keeping occult practitioners was actually illegal. The queen calmly examined the occult practitioners. Their expressions became even grayer.

“I didn’t even know that the Committee had cultivated so many occult practitioners without my knowledge.” The Queen lowered her voice. “It’s ridiculous that the Nightmen under my command have been ordered to catch occult practitioners for years, only to have them sent to the dungeon even less than the ones lurking around me.”

The Superintendent tensed up, “Your Majesty, the Committee uses extraordinary means only to serve you and the country…”

“Heh, their entire families were killed by the Committee but they still talk like that, I really wonder what kind of magic they put in your heads.” Xenophon walked over while he wrung the water from his clothes. His yellow eyes glowed like amber in the gloom. The superintendent glared viciously at Xenophon. “Don’t you dare insult the Committee!”

“Oh? Is there such a thing?” The Queen raised her eyebrows. “Where is Carter? I would like to hear his explanation.”

“Carter is dead.” Xenophon said with a broad grin. He didn’t bother to hide the fact that he was the murderer. “I must say though, I was defending myself. My family was also murdered, Your Majesty. But the only difference between me and these people,” he scanned the crowd of occult practitioners tied to the trees. “Is that it was the Nightmen who saved me, otherwise I might be on their side now.”

The Queen raised a hand to signal them to be quiet, and Xenophon gave an exaggerated salute to her.

“As for what the Committee did, I will send someone to investigate thoroughly afterwards.” The Queen’s voice was a little hoarse. “But this is not the time to talk about these past events, is it?”

She looked questioningly at Duan FeiZhou.

“Your Majesty, you also saw the Wellington land,” he said. “I’m afraid the Ether crystals in the airship have failed. Unless there is a new source of power, it is impossible for it to fly again. And the only thing that can defeat that behemoth now is the Wellington.”

“A new source of power?”

“Occult practitioners can convert other energies from nature into the energy needed to keep an airship afloat. Converting energy is a compulsory part of an occultist’s initial study of occult philosophy. However the energy required to make a warship that large fly is not a small amount. It will take the cooperation of a large number of occult practitioners to do so.”

Duan FeiZhou’s eyes darted over the faces in the crowd of occult practitioners.

The superintendent understood what he meant, and couldn’t help but laugh. “Using human power to make an airship fly? You’re kidding!”

“Do you have a better way?” Duan FeiZhou asked nonchalantly.

The superintendent couldn’t say anything.

The Queen said calmly, “I understand. It may be impossible for everyone to do it jointly, but if we don’t attempt it, everyone will die.”

The superintendent of police knew how to assess the situation, and understood that now they should temporarily put aside differences and cooperate. He also thought, if the Nightmen were really as weak as Lord Carter said, why was even Her Majesty backing them up? He didn’t want to follow the Nightmen’s orders, but they were also Her Majesty’s orders. How could he disobey the orders of the monarch of his country?

He had never doubted the Committee or Lord Carter, but what the young man had said about the murder of his family gnawed at his heart like ants. Maybe it wasn’t that he didn’t want to know the truth. He was just afraid that everything he had believed in so far was falling apart.

“I understand,” the superintendent said reluctantly. “We’ll do what you say to power the airship. But it’s not up to me to say whether it will work or not.”

The implication was that even if it failed, it was none of his business.

Xenophon tapped Duan FeiZhou’s shoulder, “Let’s go too.” His yellow eyes glittered. “A few of us are also occult practitioners, and we can keep an eye on them at the same time.”

The superintendent’s body fell to the ground as the white hands let go of him. He looked in amazement at the pale woman undead that emerged from the trees. The woman, who was obviously about his age, looked at him as if she were looking at a lost child.

The other occult practitioners were also freed. They rubbed their sore limbs and stared at the Nightmen with a wary look.

The superintendent gritted his teeth, turned to his men and said, “Let’s go to the airship.”

Xenophon followed them, but kept a certain distance from them. Soon, Mrs. Q, Mr. N and Yeats joined the group. Evangeline wanted to follow, but Duan FeiZhou called out to her, “Councilor, I still need your help.”

“I can’t help you.” Evangeline said with pathos. “I can’t stop the Great Lord of Light, his power is already too strong. When the Forerunner is revived, the first people to be punished will be us, the descendants of the betrayers…”

“I need you to suppress the power of the Rite.” Duan FeiZhou said. “So that I can channel the Lord of Light into the Secret Trading House through another Ether crystal, and then destroy all the entrances and exits. I’ll seal the forerunner there forever.”

“I’m not sure how long I can suppress him. I’ll just have to try.” Evangeline looked at him. “But where will you get the Ether crystals? Dig in the mine?”

The Queen interrupted them, “There are no more Ether crystals in the pit. They all dissolved when the sun appeared in the sky.”

“I know where there is another one.” Duan FeiZhou walked towards the remaining Nightmen.

Miss Acheson, still clutching her Gatling, sat wearily under a tree. Mr. R was holding his knife as he stood alertly beside her. Z leaned against a tree, his arms wrapped around himself, his wet silver hair twisted into locks that fell over his shoulders like a white waterfall.

Seeing him approach, Z lifted his red eyes.

Duan FeiZhou looked at him. It was amazing. Why can’t he get enough of this man no matter how he looks at him? He said, “The Ether crystal in your heart. Right now its power hasn’t yet been drawn away by the Great Lord of Light, but it’s only a matter of time. The Lord of Light is attracting the power of the Ether crystals, but I can also attract the power of the Lord of Light through that Ether crystal to draw the Lord into the Trading House.”

Just like two magnets of different sizes attracting each other, all Duan FeiZhou had to do was to firmly grasp the small magnet and enhance its magnetic force. If the magnetism was strong enough and he stood firm enough, he would be able to attract the big magnet to him.

Duan FeiZhou held out his hand to him. “Would you like to lend me your body?”

“Strange question.” Z took his hand without thinking. “Hasn’t it been yours for a long time?”