Ince Zangwill went to Backlund... I don't know how long he will stay there... Hmm... I can confirm it every once in a while... Klein leaned forward thoughtfully, wiped the contents of the parchment, and wrote a new divination statement:
"Lanevers' current location."
In his opinion, the culprit who caused the death of the captain and others and nearly put him into eternal sleep was undoubtedly Ince Zangwill, but the madman Lanevus was also an accomplice who could not be shirked of responsibility and must pay the price in blood!
After reciting it silently seven times, Klein entered the dream again, but the scene that appeared after the gray world cracked was exactly the same as what he had just seen!
The wide, slightly turbid river, the docks one after another, the houses lined up one after another, the various buildings with Loen style as the main style and Gothic style as the interspersed style, the crowded streets, the prosperous scene, the chimneys that constantly spew out "mist", the extremely gorgeous palaces, the towering, iconic Gothic clock tower...
Lanevus is also in Backlund, the "Land of Hope" and "City of All Cities"!
Klein opened his eyes, slightly confused, because he wanted to divine Lanevus's exact location, but the result was only a very large, vague range.
“This means that Lanevus’s sequence is much higher than I expected… No, it could be that he gained a huge benefit in the process of helping the ‘True Creator’ give birth to an offspring, such as a bit of divinity, or something similar to the umbilical cord left by the baby in Megose’s belly. Uh… the latter was probably taken away by Ince Zangwill…” Klein’s thoughts raced as he muttered to himself, making a preliminary guess.
After confirming the vague locations of the two enemies, he began to consider a realistic problem, which was that he currently did not have the strength to take revenge!
Even if Lanevus was only Sequence 7 or even Sequence 8, he would not be easy to deal with after receiving such a huge benefit. He was obviously known for his cunning, so it was normal for him to kill those who were stronger than him... Ince Zangwill was even more terrifying. He was a Sequence 4 demigod and possessed a terrifying "0" level seal... Although my time travel still had some secrets, they obviously could not be transformed into combat power. Perhaps it would not be possible for a long time... The only two ways were to continue to improve my own Sequence and collect powerful magical items... I had to do both, and both hands had to be strong...
As his thoughts raced, Klein decided to add another divination.
After considering the words, he wrote solemnly:
"My hope to become stronger."
Klein gently put down the materialized round-bellied fountain pen, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.
While chanting silently, he fell into a deep sleep with the help of meditation.
In the gray world, he saw again the scene he had just witnessed, the river, the dock, the chimney, the crowds of people, the palace complex, the various machines and the Gothic clock tower, and he saw Backlund, the capital of the Kingdom of Loen!
Then, the picture changed, and he saw a towering mountain piercing through the white clouds, a magnificent, ancient palace, a huge chair at the top carved out of stone and inlaid with dull gems and gold, and strange vertical pupils made up of countless mysterious symbols.
The scene shattered silently. Klein slowly sat up and reached out to tap the edge of the long bronze table.
"Backlund has the hope that I will become stronger..."
"The second scene refers to the main peak of the Hornachis Mountains, and the treasure left by the Antigonus family? The 'weird vertical pupil' composed of countless mysterious symbols, which was passed to me after the Antigonus family notes contaminated the 'doomed puppet', is the key to unlocking everything..."
As thoughts flashed through his mind, Klein decided not to rush to the Honachis Mountains. The danger hidden there was so great that even a Sequence 4 Demigod might not be able to withstand it.
So, let's go to Backlund... Klein sighed and made a decision. He wrapped himself in spirituality, simulated the feeling of falling, and left the mysterious space above the gray fog.
Back in the real world, he slowly walked out of his hiding place and returned to Dunn Smith's grave.
After taking a deep look at the photo and inscription on the tombstone, Klein slowly drew a crimson moon on his chest, then turned and walked out of the cemetery.
As the former night watchman who had to patrol the Raphael Cemetery from time to time, he was very familiar with the gravekeepers' movements and the surrounding environment. Without causing any disturbance, he easily left the quiet and deserted area, and walked along the rammed earth road, with the help of the shadows of the trees, all the way to the city of Tingen.
The night was so peaceful, and the red moon was so dreamy. Klein walked forward alone, his thoughts scattering endlessly like a horse that had broken free from its reins. Sometimes he thought about his revenge plan, sometimes he recalled the captain's unreliable memory, and sometimes he recalled the sadness hidden under Old Neil's humor...
Unconsciously, Klein walked into the nearest street like a wandering soul, turning one fork after another.
It was two hours later when he finally got rid of that state and regained full control of his own attention.
He found himself standing on Daffodil Street, across from the home he shared with his brother and sister.
Instinctively, Klein returned here.
He took a step forward with a hint of joy, then suddenly paused, revealing a bitter smile, and whispered self-deprecatingly:
"If I go over and knock on the door, Melissa will probably faint on the spot... Benson will probably get so nervous that his hair will start to fall out, and then he will try his best to calmly convince me, in the name of the curly-haired baboon..."
Shaking his head, Klein took a deep look at the familiar door and walked towards Iron Cross Street.
This is fine, this is fine... What I will do in the future will not involve them... The pensions given by the Nighthawks and the police department will definitely be enough for them to live a stable middle-class life, even if Melissa doesn't find a job and Benson is unemployed...
After walking silently for a while, Klein began to feel tired. However, as a "dead man," he had no other belongings except the clothes he was wearing, the yellow crystal pendant, and the Azik copper whistle, including gold pounds, soles, and pennies.
“Should I blow the whistle and send a letter to Mr. Azik, asking him to come and rescue me as soon as possible?” Klein laughed bitterly. “Forget it, don’t contact him for now. Maybe Ince Zangwill is still secretly observing him. I’ll find him when the time is right… As an ‘old monster’ who has lived for thousands of years, he should be able to understand things like ‘resurrection from the dead’… Well, it’s not too cold tonight, so I’ll just find a place to sleep. Tomorrow morning, I’ll go to the Tingen branch of Backlund Bank and withdraw the money from my anonymous account.”
——Because he had been busy recently, he had not had time to do the follow-up experiment of "sacrifice", and the 300 gold pounds in the anonymous account were still intact.
“This is enough to support my expenses for a long time... I’ll buy a newspaper tomorrow and check what day of the week it is... There are no new requests from Miss Justice and the others, which means I haven’t missed the party yet…” Klein thought as he found a sheltered corner, sat down, took off his coat, covered himself with it, and fell asleep with his back against the wall.
Not long after he fell asleep, he was suddenly woken up and saw a policeman holding a baton.
There was only a "V" on the shoulder strap, a police officer at the lowest level... Klein took a glance and confirmed the other party's identity.
The police officer said viciously:
"You can't sleep here!"
"Streets and parks are not places for you lazy, work-free bums to sleep!"
"That's the Poor Law!"
Really? Klein was stunned for a moment, but because of his sensitive identity, he did not argue with the other party.
He took his coat and walked down the street again until dawn.
Soon, he lowered his head and entered the Backlundtingen branch where he opened an account. He used the preset "password" to withdraw 200 pounds in cash, and left the remaining one-third of the "deposit" in the account to prevent any unexpected events.
——When writing the ancient Hermetic spell that served as a code, Klein undoubtedly heard the "praying voice".
Next, he spent a total of 38 pounds on two suits, two shirts, two pairs of trousers, two pairs of leather boots, two bow ties, four pairs of socks, as well as two double-breasted woolen coats for winter, two solid-color sweaters, two pairs of thick trousers, a cane, a wallet, and a leather suitcase.
After doing all this, Klein found a hotel to take a shower and change clothes. Then, in order to avoid meeting any acquaintances he might have, he took a rented carriage directly to the steam train station in Tingen City. He bought a newspaper on the way and confirmed that today was Sunday.
It only takes about four hours to get from Tingen to Backlund by steam train. The luxury first-class seat is three-quarters of a pound, or 15 soli, and the second-class seat is 10 soli, or half a pound.
The very crowded and poorly furnished third class seats were quite cheap, costing only 5 soli.
Klein thought about it and bought a second-class seat for the 2 p.m. flight.
Holding his ticket and carrying his suitcase, Klein found a random seat in the waiting hall and sat down. It was just after 9 a.m.
He was very thankful that the Kingdom of Loen did not have a strict household registration system. He could prove his identity with three months of water, gas, and rent bills. Buying a steam train ticket was even easier. He just had to pay the money.
Sitting in the waiting hall, Klein suddenly felt a little empty in his heart as he thought about leaving Tingen City in the afternoon and heading to the capital, Backlund.
He thought of his sister who lived out the feelings of his mother, and his brother who loved to tell sarcastic jokes. He thought of the three of them eating so much that they slumped in their seats, and no one wanted to move...
As he watched scene after scene, Klein suddenly laughed, a laugh that was somewhat painful, because he remembered Melissa's turtle, who was called a "doll," and Benson's pitiful hairline.
He suddenly had a strong urge to take another look at his brother and sister.
It was not until this moment that Klein realized why he did not choose an earlier train and bought the 2pm one.
He picked up his leather suitcase, quickly left the waiting hall, and took a hired carriage back to Daffodil Street.
Then he hid in the shadow of the house opposite, looking at his own front door. He tried to pass through several times, but was unable to cross the wide street.
Klein stared blankly at the opposite side, and suddenly felt like he was homeless. He had a similar feeling when he first crossed over.
All of a sudden, he saw the door open and saw Melissa and Benson coming out.
One of them was wearing a black skirt and a black gauze hat, the other was wearing a black shirt, black vest, black pants, black jacket, and a black top hat. They all had the same wooden expressions and were in very low spirits.
Melissa has lost weight... Why does Benson look so haggard... Klein's heart ached. He opened his mouth, but he could no longer call out those two names.
He unconsciously followed Benson and Melissa to the nearest town square, where he saw tents being set up and a new circus performing.
Benson paid for the tickets and took Melissa inside. He forced a smile and said:
“This circus is very famous.”
Melissa nodded expressionlessly:
"Um."
Suddenly, her foot slipped, her ankle tilted slightly, and she was about to fall.
Klein, who followed the ticket buyer in, opened his mouth and wanted to support his sister, but he could only retract his hand that he subconsciously extended. He stood helplessly not far away, standing in the crowd.
Benson was startled and it was too late to help, but Melissa quickly stood up on her own, pursed her lips, and said nothing.
At this time, clowns came over. Some performed by standing on carriage wheels without falling down, some crawled on huge rubber balls, and some threw tennis balls into the sky and caught them one by one with funny movements.
Melissa watched these performances calmly, as if they didn't exist. Benson tried several times and cheered loudly, but he failed to arouse his sister's emotions, and he gradually became depressed.
Klein pursed his lips and watched the scene from afar. He wanted to get closer but didn't dare.
Suddenly, he touched the wallet in his pocket and had an idea.
Benson and Melissa continued walking, watching the various performances in silence.
After a while, they saw a clown painted with red, yellow, white and other colors of paint running over. He first threw tennis balls into the sky, and then when people's attention was drawn to the air, a bouquet of flowers, a bunch of Seville chrysanthemums, appeared from somewhere.
The bouquet of flowers was brought to Melissa and Benson's eyes. Its golden color symbolized happiness.
Melissa and Benson looked at the clown in a daze, only to see that his face, which was covered in red, yellow, white and other colored paints, had the corners of his mouth raised high, with a happy smile fixed on it, a boastful smile, a funny smile.
(End of Part 1)