Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Since someone could help take care of the cat, Shard didn’t need to rush home, so there was less sense of urgency in the evening’s action.

As usual, he passed through the Dragon Nest and then entered the city from the Saint George Stone Bridge. By the time he reached the South City Dock Area, the brilliant sunset had already brightened the moored ships and pier on the sea’s surface. The shimmering waves made the dock’s night view even more stunning, whereas the city, perpetually shrouded in clouds, looked much gloomier than the area near the dock.

The ship from the New World, carrying the forbidden herbs, had already reached the Moon Bay Waters, but hadn’t docked yet. As for Freeman Hawthorne and his group, they were currently waiting in a tavern in the dock area for the ship to arrive.

Wanting to be a bit more cautious, Shard didn’t make any moves to "inquire" about information in the tavern. Instead, he transformed into a butterfly swarm that flew close to the sea surface and then entered the cargo ship.

Lecia could camouflage those special alloys with grain, so Freeman Hawthorne could certainly do the same with the herbs. After boarding, Shard easily avoided the busy sailors, who were occupied with docking the ship. Upon a brief inspection in the lower cargo hold, he realized he hadn’t found the wrong ship.

Besides the grain meant to mislead and the illegal herbal medicine, Shard unexpectedly found a well-hidden safe among the grain stacks in the lowest cargo hold. Inside the safe, he discovered some peculiar stones, recognizing them as some kind of egg fossils. Touching them confirmed they had completely turned into stone, with no elemental reaction:

"What is this... Echo of the Past."

After two or three attempts, he still couldn’t hear any voices. Frowning and pondering, this ship had set out from the New World more than forty-eight hours ago, and obviously, the person who had placed these fossils there hadn’t returned to check or talk to themselves about their purpose:

"There are more questions I need to ask later."

The next step was to wait. During this period, customs and the Harbor Authority sent people aboard to confirm the cargo of the docking ship, but they couldn’t find anything amiss with it.

As expected by Shard, the ship safely docked. He then waited for quite a while before Freeman Hawthorne finally boarded with his group.

Shard could hear the sounds from above while in the lowest cargo hold. Patiently, he knew they would eventually come down. During the wait, he even considered whether he should contact Ciris to learn some simple Incantation Magic to influence memories.

As time approached 7 PM, footsteps finally came to the deepest part of the cargo hold. Shard removed his gaze from the Roder Card in his hand, put away the card deck, and held his breath as he waited. The voices outside cooperated with Shard:

"You don’t need to follow me; I’ll check myself."

This was Freeman Hawthorne’s voice.

The cabin door opened, and the man Shard questioned at the Parsifal Club entered alone. Unlike last time, he was clothed this time.

However, Shard didn’t feel elated at having finally waited for someone; instead, he frowned. He didn’t come out from behind the piled-up grain bags because he distinctly saw an invisible figure entering along with Freeman Hawthorne.

It was undoubtedly the technique of a Circle Sorcerer, and the blurred figure looked somewhat familiar.

Having waited so long, Shard wasn’t concerned about waiting a bit longer. The invisible Six Rings Warlock followed Freeman Hawthorne, watching him check the herbal medicine hidden under the grain and find the safe, inspecting the three eggshell fossils with a serious expression.

After the appearance of the three eggshell fossils, the invisible figure placed a hand on Hawthorne’s shoulder. As Hawthorne was taken by surprise, an invisible rope made of wind bound him. The wind concealed Hawthorne’s cries, and only after kicking Hawthorne to the ground did the invisible man reveal his form.

He looked very young, about twenty-five or twenty-six. His right hand held the invisible wind rope twisting the air, and his left hand reached behind as if to grasp a sword hilt, though nothing was actually there. The Six Rings man, whose appearance could even be described as rather handsome, didn’t hurry to deal with Hawthorne after revealing himself but frowned and looked around:

"Come out, I found you."

"Bluffing."

Shard thought to himself, standing still, but the young man’s eyes looked directly toward his direction:

"The air flow is not right. In this enclosed space, even if all sounds disappear, as long as you don’t completely stop breathing, I can sense you by perceiving the wind. Come out, I know you’re there."

It seemed this was no bluff. Although Shard hadn’t anticipated being discovered, he still stepped out:

"Sir, this is also my target."

He pointed to Hawthorne, lying voicelessly on the ground:

"And quite unfortunately, I got here first."

The man reaching behind shook his head:

"I admit that you might have reached the cargo hold first, but I’ve been following him since 2 PM, starting from the Parsifal Club. I got here first."

"More patient than I am."

Shard complimented, having grown a bit impatient after waiting for an hour:

"In that case, let’s proceed according to the rules."

"Alright, according to the rules."

The pale yellow Moonlight Longsword emerged from the void, thrusting forward. The Six Rings Warlock’s left hand, held above his shoulder, also drew out the Invisible Sword, using its body to perfectly block Shard’s sword.

With a clang, sparks flew and yellow light particles scattered. At the moment of contact with the opponent’s sword, the wind layer wrapping around the invisible sword’s body twisted slightly, allowing Shard to judge the length and width of that weapon. This opponent was not the Sorcerer of Nine Rings from the Light Worshipper Training Association that had exchanged shots with Shard a few days ago in Whisper Hills, but Shard already knew who he was.

Then both men withdrew their swords and almost simultaneously slashed diagonally forward. The Moonlight Longsword and the Invisible Sword clashed again, and cracks instantly appeared on the orange-yellow sword body inscribed with ancient runes, but it did not shatter.

Both leaned forward, lowering their center of gravity, trying to press down the power of the opponent’s long sword with their own.

"Moonlight Greatsword. A few months ago in Tobesk of the Northern Country, I met someone skilled in this arcane technique. His sword was the moonlight of the Red Moon, more painful than yours."

The Six Rings Warlock said.

"Sage-Level Relic ’Sword of the Wind King’, a long sword blessed by the Ancient Wind Elemental Giant and the Old God who wields the Power of Four Elements. It has both visible and invisible forms, each with different traits. I didn’t expect to see such a weapon in Moon Bay City."

Shard also said. The man in front of him was one of the attackers encountered halfway during the group task involving the transportation of the Angel-Level Relic ’Remains of the Nameless’. (Chapter 1653) At that time, he exchanged a piece of Mithril Ore for a chance to leave from Shard’s hand, which Megan later borrowed, and it was in the present-day ’Paradise Island’ on Green Lake Central Island that information was exchanged from the mineralogist’s painting.

As for why Shard remembers this matter clearly, it’s because the ’Sword of the Wind King’ can only be wielded by a person of justice with knight spirit. At that time, Shard was very curious about how the Six Rings Warlock who engaged in road robbery could be considered ’justice’, hence the impression was deep.

After a brief dialogue, Shard pushed forward, forcing the Six Rings Warlock away, then kicked forward, pushing the man holding the ’Sword of the Wind King’ into a heap of piled grain bags nearby.

The collision stirred up dust, but Shard did not use full strength, and thanks to the cushioning of the grain bags, the opponent was not seriously injured.

"Such strong power."

The young man climbed up with the help of the ground, re-inserting the invisible long sword into the sword scabbard on his back. Shard also dissolved the yellow Moonlight Longsword in his hand, glancing at Freeman Hawthorne still struggling on the ground:

"Do you want to continue fighting?"

"No, I can’t beat you, and we don’t want to sink this ship and attract the church."

The Six Rings Warlock said with his head down:

"Moreover, I think we have no conflict. Freeman Hawthorne is not a good person; whatever you want to do to him, I believe it’s at least not entirely a bad thing."

It seems his moral bottom line and methods are very flexible.

"Then what did you come here looking for Freeman Hawthorne to do?"

Shard asked and then added:

"I won; I think I’m entitled to know this."

The latter hesitated for a moment:

"Hawthorne’s fleet smuggled three contrabands from the New World here. I got the news and wanted to send them back to the New World. These items will undoubtedly cause trouble if left in the hands of ordinary people, and if there are Circle Sorcerers behind him, the trouble would be even greater."

Shard glanced at the three egg-shaped fossils:

"What kind of fossil is this? Dragon egg?"

"Yes, the specific era and dragon type are uncertain, but at least the shape is well-preserved. I assume you are not here for these eggs; I didn’t know the ship’s information, only followed him for an afternoon. You arrived earlier on the ship, and if you were here for the eggs, you would have taken them away long ago."

Shard frowned slightly:

"Even though you are correct, your own introduction is problematic. What organization do you belong to?"

The latter naturally didn’t want to say, but seeing Shard looking at him, and that he was clearly no match for Shard, he had to speak:

"It’s not much of a secret, I’m not a bad person, I belong to the Pioneer Legion... the more familiar name to the Circle Sorcerers of the Old Continent is: ’New World Mutual Aid Society’."

"Oh?"

Shard was a bit surprised but soon felt this was also natural.

The ’New World Mutual Aid Society’ is an organization formed by Circle Sorcerers venturing to the New World, initially aiming to unite those Circle Sorcerers heading to the New World, but its philosophy later shifted to ’leave dangerous items belonging to the New World in the New World’.

In other words, it aims to prevent those high-danger level relics and materials from flowing into the densely populated Old Continent through various channels. Although many believe it’s the Circle Sorcerers from the New World trying to prevent the old continent sorcerers from sharing the New World findings, at least the church has not deemed the ’New World Mutual Aid Society’ an illegal organization.

This is partly due to the ’New World Mutual Aid Society’ not being very radical, and partly because its structure is very loose. Anyone can join with a recommendation and can exit anytime. Whether it truly qualifies as a ’Circle Sorcerer Organization’ is uncertain, but since it can undertake missions, the young Six Rings Warlock before Shard is undoubtedly a core member of the ’New World Mutual Aid Society’.