Late at night.
The bright moonlight faintly shimmered with a purple halo, casting an eerie and uncanny hue over the land.
The moon in this world was clearly different from any Wu Ming had seen in his past lives, or in any of the worlds he had traversed.
In many corrupt religions and evil rituals, this eerie purple moon was an indispensable part of the ceremony.
Only under the purple moonlight could demons and evil gods feel the utmost pleasure, and with the lamentations of living sacrifices, they might grant high-level blessings.
In the western continent, the study of how to perform sacrifices under the purple moon had always been an important discipline, and naturally an extremely advanced one. It was strictly forbidden to beginners, for one slight misstep could lead to temptation by an evil god.
However, when such claims reached the ears of people from the East, they would certainly scoff.
Among their eight supreme deities, the Moon Goddess was clearly listed!
Although in the western world, several goddesses also had domains related to the moon, none were explicitly associated with evil forces.
Yet regardless, under the full moon’s glow, all kinds of sacrifices and summoning arrays became significantly easier to perform—this was a universal law across the world.
At this moment, within a grand noble mansion in the port city of Ivans.
In the study, bright magical flames illuminated the room, casting shadows of bookshelves and decorations onto the walls, forming many strange shapes.
“Milord, these are the income records for this month!”
The elderly butler respectfully placed the ledgers on the table: “Also, all recent events in the port that meet your criteria—those that are either interesting or involve more than 500 gold shields—are compiled here…”
“Hmm.”
The noble who owned this mansion was a baron, holding the estate of Golden Oak Territory, thus known as the Golden Oak Barony.
As a minor noble, income from his territory was insufficient to maintain a decent lifestyle, so it was quite normal for him to serve a greater noble.
The Golden Oak Barony was no exception. He currently served the master of the entire port—the Earl Ivans—and, due to their shared noble status, had obtained the position of deputy commander of the guard, a post with considerable profit.
However, the old butler didn’t know that the baron’s rise to wealth was not solely due to the benefits of his deputy position.
The baron was not yet fifty years old. In this world, Westerners, especially nobles, tended to look older if they didn’t wear makeup.
At this moment, he was flipping through the ledgers expressionlessly, the study completely silent except for the occasional rustling sound.
The butler listened anxiously.
For some reason, the old butler, who had served several generations of the Golden Oak family and had been in service since birth, felt that his master had changed after arriving in Ivans Port.
His temper had become increasingly unpredictable, and he had grown secretive.
If it weren’t for the fact that the old servant, who had been with the baron for so long, knew that certain hidden marks on the baron’s body hadn’t changed, he might have suspected that this baron was an impostor.
Even so, the baron had become increasingly harsh and irritable, making him very difficult to serve.
“Hmm… apart from that sea fish purchase three days ago being slightly overpriced, everything else seems fine…”
After a long silence, the baron finally stopped flipping through the ledgers.
The old butler exhaled in relief but silently mourned for the person responsible for that fish purchase.
“Ah?”
After finishing the ledgers, the baron picked up the intelligence reports. The first page contained updates from the Mercenary Guild and the Thieves’ Guild, as well as messages from several churches.
For some reason, upon reading a certain line, his expression suddenly changed. In that instant, the butler clearly saw the baron’s lips tighten, his face lowering, revealing even less emotion than before.
Knowing the baron’s temperament well, the old butler recognized this as a sign of extreme emotional disturbance and immediately dared not breathe loudly, fearing being caught in the crossfire.
“Very well, you may leave!”
To his surprise, no storm erupted. The butler hurriedly exited, carefully closing the door behind him.
“If he didn’t even punish the person responsible for that fish purchase, what kind of news could have caused such a reaction from my lord…”
The old butler, filled with concern, walked into the garden with his hands clasped behind his back, his brows deeply furrowed.
It seemed to be his imagination, but the purple moon hanging in the sky at this moment appeared even more mysterious and eerie.
…
“A bounty has appeared in the Mercenary Guild—seeking information about a strangely shaped Ouroboros ring!”
If the old butler were still in the study, he would have seen the Golden Oak Baron’s expression darken as he scratched a deep mark with his fingernail on a particular line.
“Ouroboros ring?!”
The baron muttered the name, a sinister smile creeping onto his face: “It seems our members heading east have been exposed… and even traced all the way here. Damn them, a bunch of pig-like fools not only delaying our organization’s plans but dragging others into this mess…”
He picked up the intelligence report and walked to a bookshelf made of rosewood at the side of the study, pressing a hidden mechanism.
With a dull sound, the bookshelf, which had appeared to be part of the wall, slid aside, revealing a descending passage.
On the inner side of the wall, there was even a glowing magic circle, exuding concealment and isolation effects.
The Golden Oak Baron, holding a magical lamp, stepped directly into the darkness.
The passage wasn’t very long, and soon he reached the bottom.
It was a small basement, illuminated by the bright glow of the magical lamp, clearly revealing a black snake relief on the central wall—its mouth holding its own tail!
“Praise be to you, the endless Ouroboros!”
Upon seeing the relief, the Golden Oak Baron knelt down devoutly, praying like a cultist: “You are the beginning and the end, the cycle of rebirth…”
As if responding to a cultist’s chant, the Ouroboros relief on the wall suddenly lit up its eyes, emitting a blood-red glow!
Clearly, this wasn’t just a prayer—it also functioned as an incantation.
Moreover, the Ouroboros relief on the wall was clearly more than just a symbol.
Hiss…
In the crimson glow, a light curtain suddenly appeared, revealing a dark swamp. Within it, a figure in black robes looked up, his endless darkness broken only by a pair of striking vertical pupils.
“What is it? Didn’t I tell you not to use this channel unless it’s an emergency?”
The black-robed figure’s voice was hoarse: “Ivans Port has a dedicated mage tower monitoring the area. Although this communication channel is encrypted by our Lord and unlikely to be compromised, if you leak it from your end, there’s nothing we can do. I don’t need to remind you how troublesome those mages can be, do I?”
“I am well aware of that, honorable Lord Black Snake!”
The Golden Oak Baron bowed respectfully, his attitude extremely devout: “Although we just communicated recently, there’s a new development in Ivans Port… The Mercenary Guild has openly posted a bounty seeking information related to the Ouroboros ring!”
“Damn it!”
The Golden Oak Baron clearly saw Lord Black Snake momentarily lose composure.
“Ouroboros ring? To reach the level of obtaining it, it must be one of our organization’s high-ranking members, right?”
Black Snake hissed: “Even though I don’t know exactly which level of the snake hierarchy it belongs to, the only ones who should have it outside are those members sent to the East… It seems not only did their mission in the East completely fail, but all personnel were completely wiped out. Otherwise, even if just one survived, the ring wouldn’t have become a trophy for the enemy!”
“So, what should I do now?”
The Golden Oak Baron’s forehead showed a slight sheen of cold sweat.
In truth, despite his disdain for those who had died, he was well aware of their strength.
High-level professionals were everywhere, and none of them were inferior to his own baronial status!
Yet after being sent to the East, every single one disappeared without a trace—not even causing a ripple.
“Do not act rashly—just gather intelligence!”
Black Snake immediately made a decision: “If it’s truly someone sent from the Eastern continent, you won’t stand a chance. This matter will be handled personally by the organization’s Undertakers!”
“Undertakers?!”
Upon hearing this, the Golden Oak Baron’s entire body shuddered.
He was well aware of the Undertakers’ power. As their name suggested, they were specially tasked with eliminating anything or anyone that posed a threat to the organization.
Each time they acted, it meant that another powerful individual or formidable organization had been completely erased from this world.
Now, Lord Black Snake was actually dispatching Undertakers, which showed how seriously the organization viewed this matter!
“Milord!”
However, the Golden Oak Baron immediately displayed a troubled expression on his face: “All I know is that it was an Easterner who placed the bounty at the Mercenary Guild. No contact information was left… Furthermore, recently, the number of Easterners in the port has noticeably increased. I suspect the empire has discovered something and is intensifying its investigation…”
“Worthless!”
Black Snake bluntly criticized: “Are you afraid? Or has your devotion to our Lord wavered?”
Though it was just a calm question, the Golden Oak Baron’s forehead immediately broke into a cold sweat.
In this organization, anyone who knew of the Ouroboros’ existence but lacked faith represented danger and instability.
At critical moments, the Undertakers would be dispatched.
The Golden Oak Baron had originally joined this organization to climb to his current position. Now, at a time when he valued his life, he naturally had no desire to be buried himself.
“My devotion to our Lord has never wavered!”
The Golden Oak Baron immediately declared: “Even if it costs me my life, I will gladly give it! Please, milord, rest assured. Within a day, I will definitely find that person’s trail!”
“Good. Don’t forget your promise. Otherwise, I won’t mind letting the Undertakers bury one more person…”
Black Snake laughed maniacally as his figure gradually faded away.
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