Chapter 100: Chapter 96 Prelude to Chaos

“I can exchange information related to the Spirit Realm as payment.”

Byrne finally decided to use knowledge of the Spirit Realm as payment for the exchange, having already thought of an explanation for afterwards.

“It is possible, but it might not be enough.”

The Chairman faced the newcomer “Mithril” and, without hesitation, simply gave a calm response.

Byrne nodded slightly and continued, “If the price is not enough, I can add more. If the other people also want to know this information, it will be one hundred Gold Coins per person.”

Clearly, for everyone present, a mere one hundred Gold Coins was not a problem at all; soon Byrne collected banknotes worth six hundred Gold Coins.

He noticed that the banknotes everyone took out were from Lorne Bank, basically exchangeable in any country, without revealing one’s true identity.

Unsure of their origins, the curious Byrne suddenly thought of something. Why would Viscount Bast be willing to share important matters about the Sea God Cult for free?

Could it be that Viscount Bast wanted to attract the participants of the Alchemy Council to the Sea God Cult?

It was like a fisherman who had deliberately scattered bait with forethought.

He pondered silently, put away the banknotes, and continued, “I have obtained knowledge related to the Spirit Realm from a heretic.”

When everyone heard he had contact with a heretic, they showed no reaction, and Byrne immediately understood that these people’s standards in this regard were not high.

The Chairman suddenly interrupted him, saying, “In the future, there is no need to inform us of the source of the information.”

Byrne nodded again, indicating his understanding.

He actually also knew that there was no need to explain to others; his previous explanation was actually for Viscount Bast to hear.

“There are four layers to the Spirit Realm, and the closer one gets to the inward islands of Spirituality, the more accurate and immense are the historical rifts they project.”

“It is said that the level of realism in the innermost layer is almost indistinguishable from the real world.”

“Moon River Stone” was the first to express doubt with a youthful voice, “There are four layers to the Spirit Realm? Are you sure what you’re saying is correct?”

Everyone felt surprised, as they had all entered the Spirit Realm, but until now, they had been unaware of the existence of a second layer.

“It’s true, he’s not lying.”

The Chairman nodded, and the rest of them stopped doubting.

Byrne had already guessed that the Chairman possessed a mysterious power to detect lies, and now it seemed he was right.

And what he had just said about obtaining knowledge of the Spirit Realm “from a heretic” meant Irene, so there was no lie at all.

“Your payment is enough.”

After hearing this, Byrne put away the purple-red stone, feeling the instability of the Spiritual Power within it.

The Chairman nodded slightly, then very calmly extended a hand and waved gently in the air.

“Dismissed.”

The next moment, everything before the eyes of those present changed; all things seemed to be reconstructing.

By the time everyone had disappeared, the Chairman gazed at a purple-red stone floating in mid-air, behind the Fog, his Black Eyes flickered with intense desire and reluctance.

He muttered to himself:

“Is it the content of knowledge provided by the Spirit Realm that’s flawed, or is it my crafting methods that are incorrect? Could the souls of three thousand six hundred people still be insufficient?”

——

When Byrne came to his senses, he realized that he and Viscount Bast were already standing in front of a floor-length mirror, as if what had just transpired were nothing but a dream.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Lord Viscount, could you tell me why you value me so highly?”

Viscount Bast removed his mask and said very calmly:

“You are very clever, Byrne. Indeed, there are reasons for my heavy reliance on you, but I cannot reveal the real reasons now. You will find out in the future.”

Despite the intense unease in his heart, Byrne had no choice but to accept Viscount Bast’s answer.

It was impossible for him to force the other party to reveal the true reasons, and after what had just happened, he could not refuse to become deeply tied with the Lion clan.

In short, he had some sort of special value that made him highly regarded by Viscount Bast.

Actually, upon reflection, Byrne considered it to be very good news for the Fischer family, at least!

Subsequently, Viscount Bast took out a red box from the ring on his hand, inside of which were several black Crystal Stones emanating Magic Power.

“Nasir Town still doesn’t have a barrier and would be hard pressed to defend against outsiders’ attacks. By placing them at the four corners of the town, you can form a basic defensive barrier to help you improve your ability to resist enemies.”

“Great, thank you for your care, Lord Viscount.”

Since Viscount Bast had made it clear he was valued for some utility, Byrne was even more at ease accepting the gift.

Nevertheless, Byrne couldn’t help but ask a question that had been weighing on his mind for a long time, almost the most important question of recent times.

“Is it true that the Sea God Cult is about to start a war on the East Coast?”

Upon hearing this question, a cold smirk appeared on Viscount Bast’s face, and there was a certain madness in his tone that made Byrne shudder:

“Heh heh, with several of the churches under the gods split and in turmoil, those heretics naturally jump out, and this is just a beginning.”

“You should know that a most dark and chaotic era is about to come, before the rise of the great churches, the Ouden Continent was nothing but a dark age filled with slaughter and madness. Most people perished in the killings among those with extraordinary powers.”

“Since the churches and Their constraints would no longer exist, many of the former orders would soon become meaningless, the suppressed contradictions for years would erupt thoroughly. In the next few decades, death and chaos would continue to spread across this land until despair makes everyone crave for order again.”

Viscount Bast spoke lightly of a terribly frightening future, yet Byrne shuddered from head to toe.

His heart almost surged with shock and horror—if what Bast had said was true, then the coming world would be filled with strife and chaos!

The future was even more desperate than the most terrifying scenario he could imagine!

If the Salvation Church had not mediated and restrained them in the past, perhaps the Rhea People and Cyart people might have fought until one was completely wiped out!

What exactly had caused the chaos and splitting of the churches?

He could hardly fathom that possibility, yet everything seemed to point to those high above—the gods.

They might have a problem.

The middle-aged man suddenly looked sternly at Byrne, his words carrying a terrible implication:

“The church and the Royal Family are too preoccupied to care much for other matters. If you’re clever enough, perhaps you can overdo the retaliation against the Kesse family a bit.”

“I understand.”

Just as Byrne took a deep breath and was about to leave, Viscount Bast mentioned another important matter.

“Right, whether it’s news about the Lost followers or clues about that diamond-shaped fragment, for the sake of your safety, you’d better inform me if you discover anything.”

“Yes, I understand, Lord Viscount.”

Byrne pretended to answer sincerely, but his heart was perfunctory.

Finding clues about the Lost followers and reporting them to Bast of course was utterly out of the question.

As for that diamond-shaped fragment, if the Fischer family had the power to monopolize it, they would certainly act on their own interest.

He was actually quite curious, what exactly was that diamond-shaped fragment that even the chairman wanted to obtain?

Could it be something the Lord of the Lost also needed?

Byrne mused silently. Perhaps, if he offered it to the great Lord of the Lost, the Fischer family might receive even more divine favor.

When Byrne, with complex emotions, departed, Viscount Bast sat alone and silently on the sofa. The sky was gradually darkening, and the man was lost in deep thought in the shadows.

One of his hands was gently placed on the side table, continuously tapping his fingers.

The tapping was forceful and grew faster, revealing impatience and excitement!

“Finally, you’ve come!”

——

To the west of Nasir Town, in the estate of the Kesse family.

In the study, Baron Kesse, who was tall with slightly dark skin and extremely distinct features, was talking with his uncle.

Baron Kesse’s uncle also had a pair of orange serpent-like pupils, was similarly tall and dark-skinned. The difference lay in his age, being older, with white at his temples and a gentler face.

They were both Level 2 Bloodline Knights, carrying the bloodline of the “Blackstone Iron Dragon,” and they were in fact pure humans, not dragon descendants among the sub-humans.

Baron Kesse’s uncle, Arsh, spoke with an irritated tone, “You really went too far with that matter.”

Baron Kesse appeared calm and indifferent, “Which matter? Are you referring to my men killing a commoner? Or is it something else?”

Arsh shook his head gravely, “What I mean, of course, isn’t the former. That’s an insignificant trifle. I know the Fischer family made you lose face, so you leaked information to the heretical cult.”

Baron Kesse nodded, his voice cold, “Indeed, the Fischer family must pay the price.”

Arsh sighed before continuing, “But if he is caught, it might serve as evidence for the Fischer family to report us, and things could become quite troublesome once the Church gets involved.”

Baron Kesse, however, smiled, his eyes snake-like as they radiated a cold light.

“He won’t get caught. The information I leaked was that Fischer patriarch Byrne has already left, and those remaining in Nasir Town won’t be able to stop him.”

“Besides, I relayed the information through the secret organization ‘Black Eyes’ and not personally. That heretic doesn’t know anything about me.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Being told that it was through “Black Eyes” that the information was leaked without exposing his identity, Arsh finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In that case, it didn’t matter what happened to the heretic; it could not be traced back to the Kesse family.

After a moment of thought, he added, “You said the head of the Fischer family has already left Nasir Town. With the Sea God Cult’s people going there, no one in town would be able to overpower him, and the casualties might be severe.”

Arsh fell silent for a while, then hesitantly said, “Are we being too cruel?”

However, Baron Kesse just shook his head, utterly indifferent to his uncle’s words.

“Don’t worry, Viscount Garcia has already informed me that both the Royal Family and the Church are engulfed in chaos, their control over the localities has greatly weakened.”

Baron Kesse continued with a smile, “In this affair, we can afford to go a bit overboard!”