In a dwelling constructed at the earliest opportunity for a Third Order Transcendent by the Castilia colonizers.
"Falcon" Alvin, his eyes still somewhat swollen after treatment for an injury caused by lime powder, entered carrying a basin of hot water and knocked on the door.
Beatrice, still draped in the skin of Princess Catherine and now dressed in a purple silk robe, leaned back on the bed reading.
Under the warm light, a beauty full of exotic charm exuded a subtle fragrance, her curves undulating, involuntarily arousing desires in the onlooker.
Falcon Alvin secretly swallowed, not daring to gaze too long at the expansive smooth skin exposed to his eyes.
He bowed deeply, ingratiatingly inquiring, "Your Highness, the conditions on the island are limited, so I've just heated some water for you to wash your feet."
The Versatile Enchantress, without sparing him a second glance, merely raised her foot casually.
He immediately hunched forward to place the basin down, carefully picking up a pair of Princess Catherine's delicate feet and placing them in the water. He gently and carefully washed them.
Though it was a task of servitude, "Falcon" Alvin was all smiles, seemingly quite content with the work.
"Be careful of the heat, Your Highness. I've added eucalyptus leaves to the water. It's disinfecting and can whiten, making this skin even more delicate."
Perhaps because he was washing with such concentration, Alvin unconsciously drew closer and closer.
Suddenly—SLAP! A crisp sound. The woman leaning against the bed had suddenly slapped him, sending him staggering.
Then, an icy voice spoke from above, falling into his ears, "You're blocking my light."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional."
Although Alvin noticed that the woman didn't even lift her eyelids, he immediately squeezed out a smile. "Your Highness, your hand feels a bit cold from the slap. May I fetch a blanket for you?"
"Yes, I'm getting out right away."
Even as he left, he did not forget to first dry her feet and, incidentally, took the basin of foot-washing water out with him.
He didn't directly dump the water but silently carried the newly carved wooden basin—more accurately his own... face-washing basin—back to his tent.
Theoretically, as a very important messenger and front-line combatant of the team, Second Order Transcendent "Falcon" Alvin should have been a highly trusted confidant of the Versatile Enchantress Beatrice. But reality is never the same as theory.
The transcendent abilities the Versatile Enchantress gained after her Title reached 20 points of Legend were known to no one but herself. However, the traceable fact was her preference for hunting widely-known beauties. The side effects of Black Sorcery were irresistible. Beatrice's own character, naturally, had become infused with too many common traits of the "beauty" archetype from the many beautiful skins she collected. Thinking oneself as the only one worthy, princess syndrome, unpredictable mood swings... Being her confidant was not at all a pleasant experience.
The others within the Order would avoid her if they could, but "Falcon" Alvin never complained, even seemed to cherish the fact. The reason he so readily knelt and begged for forgiveness after accidentally addressing her by the wrong title was not for any other reason than his all-too-familiarity. No, not familiarity, but because of...Love! At least that's how he saw it. So what if the lady is so beautiful and has a temper? Every mistake can be forgiven. You lot aren't even qualified to make her angry!
Even though there were rumors in the Order that Beatrice was, in fact, the mistress of the Castilia Navy Commodore, the great Adventurer "Conqueror" Cortes. And "Falcon," as Beatrice's confidant, knew all too well that this was true! He personally delivered their love letters every time, without fail.
What if the lady is the General's mistress? They're not married, nor is it possible for them to be. The General's wife is the sister of the wife of the Governor of Castilia, and he has three or four other lovers by his side. He simply cannot give the lady all his Love. I have an advantage no one can match; my dedication to the lady—no, to Her Royal Highness the Princess—is unwavering. I believe that as long as I continue to serve her loyally, to kill and set fires for her, she will eventually come around!
After this pep talk, he realized he still had a lot of room to improve in Lady Beatrice's eyes. Thus, he once more became excited and opened the flap of his tent in another corner of the encampment.
But no sooner had he crawled in than a puff of familiar white powder hit him in the face. This time it did not burn his eyes but was carried by the wind straight into his mouth and nose.
Someone who had been hiding there in ambush swiftly moved to support his collapsing body and skillfully caught the wooden basin before it fell. Even without activating the "Whalebone Talisman: Silence" in advance, no one was alerted.
However, after the Sailing Logbook automatically registered the information about the wooden basin, Byron couldn't stop himself from wiping his hands vigorously on Alvin's clothes multiple times. Looking at the young man on the ground, who was beyond words, Byron wondered whether to feel pity or regret.
"If it were in the past, taking on your peculiar role would have been a very challenging job for me," Byron said. "Thankfully, times have changed."
As he spoke, the pale blue flames that had burned when he first summoned the Wild Hunt Knight rose in his hand, instantly extending to Falcon Alvin. While Alvin was still alive, Byron forcefully extracted his soul.
After becoming a Spiritual Body, Alvin's appearance remained unchanged except for his eyes, which had turned the same pale blue as Byron's. However, unlike before, Byron did not make him an Undead Servant in his own shadow. Instead, he pushed Alvin's back, allowing him to repossess his original body.
Then Alvin suddenly opened his eyes and climbed up from the ground as if nothing was amiss. He knelt on one knee before Byron, touched his chest in salute, a picture of submission even greater than his loyalty to Beatrice.
"Rise. Nothing has happened to you. All is as usual. Continue your work as my confidant."
Unlike the Title "Sea Hunter," which was new and had barely earned 10 points of Legend for the deed of single-handedly hunting down the Sea Monster "Twin-Gun Squid" in the Hightins' Long-range Fleet.
Thanks to the "Touch of the Kraken" punishing traitors throughout the North Sea, and thus inadvertently creating the supernatural Calamity "Mad Hunt," his Legend continued to rise. When he had first entered the First Circulation Zone, the Legend of the "Mad Hunt" had already reached 23 points (Chapter 106). Even though the rate of increase in Legend points was slowing—taking over 10 days to increase to 24 points, and over 20 days to increase to 25 points—he had finally reached that critical point. It was only that Byron had been busy with farming lately and hadn't had the opportunity to put it into practice.
The effect of "Mad Hunt Legion" was enhanced for the second time.
Legend has it that the Mad Hunt was never just one person, but an entire legion. Led by the Wild Hunt King, they appeared in groups, riding on black warhorses... bringing Storms, War, and Death wherever they went!
"1. Every enemy you personally kill will have a sliver of Spirituality stripped away, becoming an Undead Servant and joining the Mad Hunt Legion you lead. The stronger they were in life, and the more intense the Fear you inflicted upon them, the stronger the boost they will give you after death. The current limit is one hundred people.
2. You can choose whether to retain the self-consciousness of the Undead Servants, transforming them into Bizarre entities known as "Wild Hunt Servants." They will become your eyes, ears, will, and an extension of your transcendent abilities, capable of independent action, possessing living humans, exercising abilities, and blending seamlessly with common folk. When they repossess their original bodies, they can fully exert their past Power and even self-ignite for a burst of extreme power. The current limit is three individuals.
3. By sacrificing ten Undead Servants, you can summon a Phantom Warhorse and the full armament of the Mad Hunt, becoming the mythic Wild Hunt Knight. The strength of the benefits depends on the strength of the sacrifices. Ten of the same rank allow you to battle beyond your tier, but the time limit remains only three minutes.
As Legend and influence grow, the Title's capabilities can be further strengthened. The next enhancement requires a Legend score of 30 points."
As his Legend leapt upward, the "Mad Hunt Legion" gained a significant boost. Increasing the Undead Servant limit to one hundred wasn't too outlandish, as there weren't that many High Order Transcendents for him to kill. The key lay in the second and third points.
Byron was reminded of tales about ghosts enslaved by the tigers that devoured them, forced to lure new victims, when he read the description of the second point in the Sailing Logbook. Undead Servants that could only move by his side could not be compared to Bizarre subordinates capable of full subjective initiative.
For me, "Wild Hunt Servants" would be better called "Loyal Tricksters."
The key point was that Byron finally saw a way to fulfill his ambition to become a "Time Management Master," with no need to personally toil and scurry about everything every day.
The only thing he found a little odd was this: upon becoming a "Time Management Master," the first Wild Hunt Servant he recruited was someone like "Falcon" Alvin, embodying such extreme "loyalty." For a moment, he couldn't tell whether the Title's capability was unworthy of this person or if this person had profaned his Title.
The third point, which had previously required the sacrifice of an entire "Mad Hunt Legion" to become a "Wild Hunt Knight," had now become more flexible. The increase in combat power might be small, but his methods had become more deft.
Ordering his first Wild Hunt Servant, "Falcon," to continue infiltrating, Byron quietly slipped away from Tayman Brak Island. On the way, he relished the novel experience of having two sets of senses and being able to replace them with his own consciousness at any time, nodding in satisfaction.
Now I am confident that in the Kingdom of Castile, Hightins, the Bloodthirsty Cult, the Native Empire... and so on, I will expand my 'confidant business.' Just think, after three more years, and then another three years, what a grand spectacle that would be! Speaking of which, if I went to the Creator's Church and set up a position to compete for that Bishop... Hiss, I don't even dare to think about it. If this continues, one day the "Mad Hunt Legion" might truly become a marine Undead Calamity. With a mere gesture, hundreds of Ghost Ships could be at my command. But the next promotion to 30 points of Legend, requiring the Title to be universally recognized, will probably be very hard to accumulate.
Having ridden the Man-Eater Shark back to Great Tayman Island, Byron first went to report his safety to Catherine, who had not slept and had been waiting for his return. He also unexpectedly received a letter from the Navy Department, addressed to Pirate General Bill, from her.
The content seemed hazy, but the keywords caught Byron's attention:
"Would you like to understand the meaning of Life? Want to grasp the true essence of transcendence?
Come to the pre-war meeting in Jamestown, the Royal Colony, in three days.
This time, another collaborator of the Kingdom, the 'Bloodthirsty Cult,' might open another door for you on the path to transcendence.
As long as you have... enough merit."