Chapter 1137: 352. Free Fate Writing
Noland Lee sat in a chair made of bones, his body swaying slightly with the bone boat.
He feigned examining the items he carried, rummaging through his robe pocket with his head bowed.
This pocket with storage space could hold about five cubic meters.
Noland Lee pretended he didn’t know the pocket contained the Queen’s handwritten contract.
He searched it thoroughly from top to bottom, going through all things within.
From the personal belongings of the Sea Monster Emissary to the items needed for practicing deep sea magic, all the way to the casting materials.
...
Finally, when the Metal Box that held the contract came into view, Noland Lee let out a silent “huh” in his heart, feigning confusion to draw the attention of the Assassin Angel.
When he opened the Metal Box and saw the Contract inside, a subtle look of surprise appeared on his face, but it didn’t attract any attention of the Undead Guards.
“Your Excellency, this appears to be a personal letter from the Sea Monster Queen.”
Noland Lee opened the Contract inside the pocket, peering into the pocket through the opening, and his gaze swept back and forth over the letter, focusing on the signature.
The Assassin Angel’s ring emitted an invisible fluctuation that burrowed into the robe pocket, moving along the surface of the Letter Paper.
About ten seconds later, the Assassin Angel spoke,
“Indeed, it is the Sea Monster Queen’s handwritten Magic Contract, along with an Order Book personally written by the Queen. The Order Book states this is the Queen’s last attempt to seek an alliance with the Undead Cult, and the Sea Monster Emissary must bring this Contract, making the greatest effort to get the Undead Cult to agree to the terms within.”
“This Contract came at just the right moment, but…”
The Assassin Angel fell silent, his tone devoid of any trace of excitement—as his emotions were always minimal.
Noland Lee felt that the Assassin Angel seemed concerned about some factor, just as “a pillow presented to one who is dozing isn’t necessarily a good thing.”
Upon reflection, Noland Lee couldn’t deduce the reason.
As someone educated in a society with information, he thought the appearance of the needed Contract in his pocket should be just a simple matter of happenstance concealing inevitability.
Look, the Sea Monster Queen had sent emissaries to contact the Undead Cult multiple times, only to be turned away by Friar Luo Fei with various excuses.
After several repeated visits, the Sea Monster Queen naturally would feel her dignity compromised and her patience run out.
Consequently, there arose a visit by an emissary bearing the Magic Contract Book.
All this might make sense.
But what was the Assassin Angel worried about?
Noland Lee pondered deeply.
Gradually, he too sensed something amiss, as if he were overlooking some vital detail.
An emissary sent on a mission to seek an alliance.
Noland Lee’s pupils dilated slightly.
Logically, if a Sea Monster Emissary were commissioned to form an alliance, it should carry the Contract intended for achieving that goal each time it paid a visit, right?
This time, the Sea Monster Emissary had brought one.
But what about the last time?
Did the Sea Monster Emissary carry a Contract on its previous visit?
Noland Lee realized he might be onto something crucial.
He worked through his mind, pulling up the Deconstruction Results obtained a few days prior from dismantling the Sea Monster Emissary’s memories.
After searching through those Memory Fragments, Noland Lee discovered a bone-chilling truth.
The Sea Monster Emissary had not carried the Magic Contract during its previous meetings with Friar Luo Fei!
Not only had it not brought the Contract on its last visit, but during the several earlier visits, it hadn’t brought the Magic Contract either.
Only on this visit had the Sea Monster Emissary brought the Magic Contract.
This defied common sense… Noland Lee furrowed his brow.
Who goes to propose a partnership always empty-handed…
If the Sea Monster Emissary had brought the Contract every time and Noland Lee had then taken it down, everything would make sense.
But now, it was only when Noland Lee was disguised as the Sea Monster Emissary, and the Undead Cult had agreed to cooperate, that the Sea Monster Emissary had brought the Contract.
Although the emergence of the Magic Contract Book resolved the urgent crisis, there was an inexplicable oddity about it.
Noland Lee closed his pocket, maintaining his sitting posture, and said in his mind,
“Your Excellacy, I feel there’s something not quite right here. Judging from the tone and phrasing of the Queen’s personal letter, the Sea Monster Emissary didn’t carry the Magic Contract in its previous visits to Luo Fei, only this time it did. This is too much of a coincidence.”
The Assassin Angel gave no response, maintaining his silence.
About ten minutes later, after the bone boat had turned several big bends and passed through the checkpoints of the Undead Cult, it drew closer to the Undead Base where Luo Fei resided.
Only then did the Assassin Angel finally ask, noveldrama
“What do you think is the reason the Sea Monster Queen wants to make a deal with the Undead Cult?”
“The greatest problem the Sea Monsters face now is the influx of Shadow Creatures from the Ancient Lomis Continent into the Seabed. The Deep Sea Environment is off-limits for most Life Creatures, except for the extraordinary beings of the Death Series and Shadows Faction, who are exempt from many of the negative effects of the Deep Sea Water.”
Noland Lee thought for a moment, then continued,
“Therefore, I believe the purpose of the Sea Monster Queen’s collaboration with the Undead Cult must be to research how to modify Water. If they can transform the Sea Water environment near the Sea Monster Territory into one that suits Sea Monsters but is unsuitable for Shadow Creatures, it would significantly reduce the interest of Shadow Creatures in the Deep Sea and the Sea Monsters.”
Noland Lee glanced outside at the River Water.
Murky green, dense, exuding a stench of decay and death, and dotted with Bone and unidentifiable flesh materials.
Based on the sampling by Mechanos, analysis by Nolin, and Noland Lee’s own Deconstruction Results, such a river, filled with a filth that suppresses most extraordinary energies not of the Death Series, including shadow energy and Deep Sea Magic Power, could be seen.