Leonard tilted his head to look at Leyton beside him, opened his mouth, but what came out was Pallez's aged voice:
"What do you mean?"
Leyton looked at Leonard, whose expression instantly turned serious, opened his mouth, and slowly uttered the words:
"It means... Amon is here."
Leonard was stunned for a moment, and his voice seemed a little flustered as he muttered to himself:
"Old Man, what should we do? Go to the Southern Continent, or stay in the Church for the time being?"
Pallez did not answer Leonard's question, took control of his body, and continued to ask:
"How did you know?"
Leyton turned to look at the towering Saint Samuel Cathedral behind him and said calmly:
"I went to the Harvest Church earlier and received some hints there. Then I searched all over Backlund, but I didn't even see a single monocle."
"The Night's actions are quite fast. Before I even got here, she had already made arrangements for you."
"Arrangement? Are you saying that the operation in the Southern Continent was specially arranged by the Goddess to help me avoid Amon?" Leonard looked at Leyton, his tone somewhat hesitant.
As soon as he finished speaking, Pallez scoffed unceremoniously:
"Heh, you think too highly of yourself. You're just a convenience, and besides, once you go to the Southern Continent, there will definitely be certain matters that require your participation. The Night wouldn't be so kind as to just help."
After a two-second pause, he began to speak to himself again:
"In a large city like Backlund, Amon will inevitably leave behind several avatars to collect information for contingencies. If all his avatars disappear, then he must be hiding himself and setting up some scheme."
"Before you go to the Southern Continent, you'd best not leave Saint Samuel Cathedral. Under the Night's gaze, Amon's avatars won't easily approach here, at least not openly."
Leonard took a deep breath and nodded heavily, "I understand."
Leyton raised an eyebrow slightly, as if he had thought of something, and sighed in a low voice:
"Heh, I probably know what you'll encounter in the Southern Continent."
"See you in the Southern Continent, gentlemen."
As he spoke, his body rapidly blurred, disintegrating into complex and pure knowledge, surging into the Spirit World.
"What does he mean?" Leonard asked the Old Man within him, somewhat confused.
Pallez snorted coldly, his tone calm:
"Hmph, it means to make more preparations. Your trip to the Southern Continent will not be peaceful."
"Alright, to prevent Amon from noticing me these past few days, I will enter a deeper sleep. And you, don't keep calling me Old Man all day. If there happens to be an Amon avatar nearby, you'll be waiting to wear a monocle."
After he finished speaking, Pallez fell silent again. Leonard called out "Old Man" twice in his mind, and seeing no response, he quickly composed himself and turned to walk towards the Church.
Above the Gray Fog, Klein sat on the high-backed chair belonging to The Fool, extending his spirituality to touch the deep red star belonging to Leyton.
The deep Red Light surged like a tide, and soon images and sounds emerged:
"Amon has come to Backlund. You'd best find a suitable reason to leave this place. If you can't find a suitable reason, you can try praying to the Night. She will arrange it."
"You can come to the Southern Continent. There will be unexpected gains here for you."
Amon? How did he come to Backlund? Just as the doubt arose in Klein's mind, he heard Leyton's subsequent words:
"Amon should be looking for Pallez. This is the last Worm of Time characteristic he needs. His true body isn't convenient to come to Backlund, but if he discovers traces of you here, I think he wouldn't mind taking a risk."
Klein was silent for two seconds, then asked hesitantly, "Why would he think he can find traces of me in Backlund?"
In the deep Red Light, Leyton's voice drifted out:
"Have you forgotten where The Fool's honorific name first originated?"
Aurora Order... What's his connection to the Aurora Order? It can't be... the True Creator and Amon have reached some kind of tacit understanding?
Thinking of this, Klein's expression gradually became solemn. The True Creator was originally born from the Ancient Sun God's corpse, He is His successor. As a child of the Ancient Sun God, it's normal for Amon to receive His help... What the hell, why are all the people who have a grudge against me from the same family!
Taking a deep breath, he quickly composed himself and said calmly:
"I understand. I will find a suitable opportunity to go to the Southern Continent."
On the outskirts of Backlund, Leyton looked at the rapidly dissipating Gray Fog in his vision, curled his lips, and muttered to himself:
"Amon's early arrival disrupted Their plans. To make everything logical, there will definitely be changes in the Southern Continent as well."
"Heh, it's going to get lively."
As he finished speaking, his body instantly blurred, disintegrating into streams of complex knowledge, transforming into a pure information flow creature, surging forward like a torrent.
On the Southern Continent, at the mouth of the Paz River Valley, near the Northern State, countless complex and pure knowledge surged out of the Spirit World and gathered on a golden-glowing sailboat in the harbor, reconstructing Leyton's body.
As soon as his figure appeared on the deck of the Golden Dream, a deep blue Door instantly appeared out of thin air in front of him. Edwina, wearing a beige jacket with a cinched waist and a dark knee-length skirt, walked out of the Door.
Leyton's gaze swept over Edwina, lingering for two seconds on a dark brown parchment book she held in her hand, then he chuckled:
"Good morning, Madam."
Edwina nodded lightly, her voice calm:
"Good morning, Mr. Tines. I have already had the crew move the food you need to the warehouse at the port. You can go directly to the warehouse manager to pick it up."
"Thank you for your help." Leyton nodded slightly and bowed to her.
As the two spoke, Danitz, wearing a black cloak, also appeared on the deck. Before he even got close, his voice had already carried over:
"Captain, isn't that Jodeson guy a teacher at a school? Why is he suddenly back on the ship again?"
"That..."
Danitz opened his mouth, then suddenly froze. He scratched his head in confusion, "Huh, what was I going to say?"
After two seconds of stunned, he looked at Edwina, wanting to say something more, but the words died on his lips, and he forgot what he wanted to say again.
Leyton glanced towards the cabin near the deck and saw Jodeson smiling smugly there.
"Already a Dream Stealer?" He muttered to himself, then turned back to the still bewildered Danitz and chuckled:
"Shouldn't you be in the Rorsted Archipelago, making contact with the local resistance?"
"How did you know?" Danitz retorted in surprise, then seemed to understand and nodded:
"I'm just providing them with some necessary supplies, I haven't joined them. I'm still the Fourth Mate of the Golden Dream."
Behind him, Jodeson walked out of the cabin, saying as he walked:
"You're right, I'm just helping out in the Paz River Valley. I'm still your Third Mate. Isn't it normal for me to be on the ship?"
Looking at the increasing number of crew members on the deck, Leyton raised an eyebrow slightly. He felt that everyone on this ship, except Edwina, was wary and guarded against him.
Why did they suddenly become hostile to me? Is it because I asked Edwina to add a few more classes for them each week?... As his thoughts turned, he tilted his head to look at Edwina, pointing to the parchment book in her hand:
"If you find a way to complete the ritual, you can come to me. I can help you crush it and recover the characteristics within it."
"I will, thank you for your help." Edwina nodded lightly.
After a few more brief exchanges, Leyton looked at the crew members who were quickly surrounding him, sighed slightly, and after bowing to Edwina to bid farewell, his body instantly blurred, disintegrating into streams of information, passing through the bodies of the surrounding crew members and surging towards the port warehouse.
He quickly found the warehouse manager there, and after proving his identity, opened the warehouse where Edwina had stored the food.
He found an excuse to send away the warehouse manager, who was enthusiastically introducing him to transportation teams. Leyton clapped his hands, summoning an invisible servant carrying a material box.
Taking the briefcase from the invisible servant's hand, he skillfully set up a sacrificial ritual, transferring all the food in the warehouse to the Gray Fog through the illusory sacrificial Door, and then having the Little Sun arrange a ritual of receiving bestowal to retrieve it.
After doing all this, Leyton looked at the already closed warehouse door in front of him and let out a long breath:
"This should be the last batch of food for the City of Silver. Frank's new mushroom varieties are close to success, so it won't be this troublesome anymore."
As he sighed, his body slowly blurred, disintegrating into streams of information, and surging into the Spirit World.
On the south bank of the Paz River Valley, the city of Innsmouth, where the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery originally preached, had become the headquarters of the New Church after the Intis official forces were expelled.
Leyton's figure quietly appeared on the street. He looked around with some curiosity. It hadn't been too long since he last came here, but the city had changed considerably.
The streets had become clean and tidy, old houses had been repaired, the tinkling sound of bicycles was incessant, and the expressions of pedestrians on the streets had become richer. Leyton could clearly feel the bewildered and excited emotions emanating from them.
As he moved, fragments like light spots fell from him. Each fragment was a stream of information, flowing freely through the city, recording the surrounding information.
In this state, he seemed to be able to peer through the river of time, glimpsing the past and future of this city, able to see the unbrilliant, unclear, colorless light flowing quietly in every corner of the city, emanating from every tiny thing that composed it.
In this light, countless images floated, looking very light, yet giving a sense of immense weight, as if carrying a scroll of years and civilization.
Leyton's gaze followed the direction of the flowing light upwards. Suddenly, he heard the sound of Steam engines, gears turning, and whistles. Intense light and shadow flowed, outlining symbols like Steam, gears, and levers, and an incredibly heavy, highly attractive figure gradually emerged.