Chapter 136 - 136: Supernatural Power of Money

Audrey hurriedly left. After using [Madman to the Right] once more, Edward attempted another divination. However, this time, the attempt failed—indicating that the matter involved a high-level being. Tsk! He had no choice but to prepare for the worst. He packed away his crystal ball, star chart, and other tools and was just about to leave when Dunn and Daly jogged over. "Excuse me, did you just see a lady wearing a veil?" "Captain," Edward replied bluntly, "It's me, Edward." "???" Dunn was visibly stunned. "You…what are you doing here?" Turning to Daly, who looked confused, he explained, "This is the Edward I told you about." Daly immediately understood and said with genuine warmth, "Thank you for everything you've done for Dunn and Tingen." She smiled. "If I were a little younger, I'd probably have made a move on you myself." …Sis, could you please quit teasing young men like that? Edward pretended not to hear and quickly said, "This ship may soon be in danger." He swiftly explained what had just happened and summarised his divination. "A high-sequence member of the Demoness Sect?" Daly was visibly shocked. They had only set out to capture a wanted criminal—how did things suddenly escalate to something this serious? Considering he might have altered the divination's result, Edward added, "Of course, it's also possible that my reading was interfered with and ended up being inaccurate. But I think we should prepare for the worst." Dunn thought for a moment. "Your ability…it can't evacuate that many people at once, right?" Captain, are you trying to have me Apparate hundreds of passengers off the ship in batches? "That's right. But I do have other methods that can achieve a similar effect. I'll just need your help gathering everyone in the main hall." The two of them looked stunned. "Everyone on this ship is either rich or noble, and quite a few are Beyonders too. They might not be easy to command." Edward fell silent for a few seconds. If it comes to it, I'll just hijack the Emerald outright. If they won't leave, I'll force you two to leave. "Let's first get the message to the captain. I've already sent a friend back to Backlund to seek help. If Saint Anthony can come, that demigod witch probably won't dare to act recklessly." "Understood!" The two immediately moved to act, while Edward made his way to Hibbert Hall's luxury suite. Just as he reached the corridor outside, two bodyguards stepped forward to block him, both wearing pleasant expressions. "Apologies, this is a private area." "I'm here to see Mr. Hibbert Hall." They exchanged glances. One of them said, "Please wait a moment." Edward added quickly, "Tell him Edward is looking for him. It's urgent." As soon as the words left his mouth, a voice came from the suite. "Let him in." "Please." The two bodyguards escorted Edward into the suite. The sheer luxury of it surprised him. Compared to this, his own room barely qualified as a standard room. This suite hadn't shown up during ticket purchases—it was probably reserved for nobles and other dignitaries. Hibbert was seated on a sofa, holding a stack of documents. He looked up. "What is it?" "Mr. Hall, have you heard of the Demoness Sect? There's a fugitive on board being hunted by them. A demigod-level witch is in pursuit, and every passenger on the Emerald may be at risk." Hibbert's eyes widened, and he sat up straight. "How do you know that?" "Divination, plus a warning from the fugitive herself. She's trying to provoke conflict between the ship's Beyonders and the demigod to buy time for her escape." He paused, then suggested, "What if we preemptively capture her and offer her up to the demigod?" "Well, with an ordinary demigod, that might work. But the Demoness Sect...it's probably not that simple." "What about Audrey? Did you send her back? What's your plan?" Edward nodded. "Audrey has gone to ask the church for help. As for me, I have a way to quickly teleport everyone back to Backlund, but I'll need help gathering people." Hibbert nodded. "Understood. That's easy." Edward was slightly taken aback. Where did that confidence come from? "Alright, I'll head out then." Just as he turned to leave, Hibbert spoke again. "Make sure Audrey isn't harmed." He paused, then added, "In any way." "Understood!" Edward gave a small bow and quickly left the suite. ——— As soon as he returned to his room, the ship's loudspeaker crackled to life. "Dear friends! Today marks the third anniversary of the Emerald's maiden voyage. To thank you for your continued support, we're offering everyone a luxurious gift! Please gather in the main hall within thirty minutes to receive it." "Once everyone has assembled, we will distribute the gifts together." "Our chefs will also be preparing a sumptuous feast with fine wines—all expenses today will be covered by Mr. Hibbert Hall! Enjoy to your heart's content!" "Wooohooo!!" Excited cheers and applause broke out across the ship. Edward was dumbfounded. Hibbert really was something else! What's the true power of the supernatural? This is the supernatural power of money! Just then, Lilith came bouncing over. "Edward, what happened? Audrey just rushed off in a hurry." "There might be danger on the ship. She went to get help." "Danger?" Her tiny face was filled with curiosity. "Is the ship going to sink?" "…" Do you have to be that accurate? Seeing Edward's silence, Lilith huffed, "Miss Lilith told you ships are no good! Even though this one doesn't make me seasick, it's still dangerous being surrounded by water. Don't take ships anymore!" Susie added softly, "But if we don't take ships, there are a lot of places we can't reach…" "Just fly there! If Miss Lilith were Tom Cat, I'd invent all kinds of flying gadgets!" "Tom Cat? What's that?" Lilith puffed up proudly. "You don't even know? Let me tell you all about it…" Half an hour later, Audrey returned—but unfortunately, she didn't bring back Anthony. "The bishop at Saint Samuel's Cathedral said Saint Anthony has been out evangelising and hasn't returned." Edward frowned. "He's been gone for two weeks. What kind of 'evangelising' requires a saint to go out personally for that long?" Audrey raised her hand. "Can we ask the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery for help?" "Huh?" "Didn't you say they seem to want something from you and are trying to build rapport?" "Well…" Edward's first instinct was to reject the idea. If previous assumptions were right, the God of Steam, Yuggs Stiano, wanted to replicate Emperor Roselle's path through him. Though this meant the god would place special value on Edward, that wasn't necessarily a good thing. First, the God of Steam's way of treating people 'well' was quite hard to accept. Second, anyone trying to start a technological revolution in this world would inevitably face a major problem—oil. If the god pinned all hopes on Edward and later found them dashed, who knows what kind of rage he might unleash? Don't think the Goddess's protection is foolproof—this is the same god who backstabbed "Her" in the original story. But Edward quickly changed his mind. This time, he wouldn't be asking for himself—it was to save people. As an orthodox deity's church, wasn't that exactly what they should be doing? "Alright! Let's go together." He picked up Lilith, and the group—two humans, one cat, one dog—disappeared through the vanishing cabinet back to Backlund. They Apparated straight to Saint Hierländ Cathedral in St. George Borough. As they entered, the same Machinery Hivemind member from last time quickly came forward. "Mr. Edward, is there something you need?" "Yes, I urgently need to see Archbishop Horamick. Is he available?" Without hesitation, the man nodded. "Of course, please follow me." Edward and Audrey exchanged a glance and followed him. Soon, they arrived at a large room behind the cathedral. The four walls were divided into compartments of all shapes and sizes, neatly filled with tools sorted by size, type, and function. Anyone with OCD would have been delighted. An elderly man in a white priest's robe and soft clerical cap was fiddling with something—wait, was that…a broken Walkman?! Did he pick it up at the scene in Tingen? "Your Grace, Mr. Edward is here to see you." The old man looked up, surprise flickering across his face. "Oh, welcome, Mr. Edward. What brings you here today?" "It's something that may involve hundreds of lives." Horamick's expression instantly became serious. "What?" Edward immediately laid out everything that had happened with the Emerald. "So far, everything is based on what I divined and the fugitive's warning. I don't know whether it will really come to pass, but since it concerns hundreds of lives, I could only ask the Church for help." "I see." Horamick nodded. "Alright, I'll go with you." "Thank you so much!" Because both Edward and Audrey had items in their bags and suitcases that couldn't be shown to others, they had moved the vanishing cabinet into their newly acquired Undetectable-Extension Charmed luggage ahead of time. So, they didn't hesitate to take Horamick directly to the Emerald. "Two suitcases with interior dimensions expanded. Two cabinets capable of instant teleportation…" Horamick looked amazed. "Were these crafted by Artisan? Or are they magical items from the Apprentice pathway?" Edward looked blank. "I'm not sure myself. I stumbled across them by chance." After a moment, he took out another suitcase. "I've got a few of these. Would you like one, Your Grace?" Horamick was stunned, staring at Edward. He couldn't tell if this was pure generosity or something more strategic. He had originally intended to let Edward owe him a favour by helping—but if he accepted a gift, he'd owe Edward one instead. But…if they could figure out how this suitcase worked and replicate it, it would be of huge benefit to the Church. Hmm, the Lord will surely understand. ——— [Note]: Here's the Extra Chapter. Enjoy~ If you guys want one more tomorrow, we'd need to hit 740 Powestones. Go, VOTE! Oh, and if you are like me and want to read 40 Chapters in advance of the current story right now, you can support me on my Patreon. Trust me, it's awesome~ Link - (P)atre(o)n.c(o)m/ Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]