They all call me Great Master

"Lightning Strike!"

"The emblem of the South Los Family—Thunder!"

"With just such a Thunder Strike, Arthur's safety could be greatly enhanced, not to mention everyone would understand that he is from the South Los Family."

Madam Susan said with a smile.

The Power of Thunder is unique to the South Los Family, and it is the foundation of the South Los House.

Based on the Power of Thunder, many secret techniques had been developed by generations of the South Los Family.

The most famous of which was 'Lightning Strike.'

A secret technique completely developed by imitating natural thunder.

It was also the secret technique that granted the South Los Family their illustrious reputation.

A Lightning Strike from the sky was enough to make someone tremble with fear.

However, executing 'Lightning Strike' was not easy.

One could only touch the threshold upon 'Entry.'

Only after 'Ascend Step' could one truly perform it.

But it was not absolute!

Because—

Scrolls!

Scrolls capable of storing secret techniques of 'Ascend Step' level were very rare.

But the South Los Family had them.

However, the Countess shook her head.

"A single 'Lightning Strike' is not enough."

The countess said softly, then raised her hand.

Zzzt, zzzt.

Among the sparks, the Countess pulled out a blue pearl the size of a little finger.

The blue pearl, glowing luminously on its own.

When placed in front of her, one could clearly hear the sound of thunder.

"Lord Count, you mustn't…"

Upon seeing the blue pearl, Madam Susan immediately spoke out to stop her, but was interrupted by the Countess.

"The Old Lion is not a fool.

His strength makes us cautious.

But his magnanimity is what truly terrifies us.

If we do not give a 'Mark of Thunder' to Arthur Kredos, once Arthur meets with the Old Lion, he will certainly open the secret vault and allow Arthur to choose at will."

The Countess said solemnly.

Her youthful face showed a rare seriousness.

Whenever facing the Old Lion, the Countess was always serious.

In turn, facing the Countess at this moment, Madam Susan could only smile inwardly.

Her original purpose was indeed to secure a 'Mark of Thunder' for Arthur.

Not just to make the journey to Inner Bay safer.

But also for—

uniting Ash and Arthur.

She was creating momentum for Arthur.

Letting rumors spread.

Then, any age-suitable suitor for Ash would hear that 'the beloved of the Countess of South Los is the Spirit Medium Arthur Kredos.'

Thus, this one 'Mark of Thunder' was extremely crucial.

Only the appearance of the 'Mark of Thunder' could turn this rumor into reality.

Of course, with how shameless nobles could be, even when facing such rumors, they would certainly rush headlong into marriage.

And when that time came…

For her grandson's happiness, she wouldn't be blamed for being ruthless.

To curb greed, let it meet its end.

Ms. Susan understood this.

And that was exactly what she intended to do.

"Not enough! Not enough!

Still not secure enough!"

The Countess said, raising her hand again.

Without hesitation, the Countess bit her finger, allowing her fresh blood to imbue the 'Mark of Thunder.' The red but slightly golden blood shimmered with flashes of thunder.

It was merely a drop of blood, but the moment it appeared, the thunder roared—

Boom!

Loud thunder resounded throughout South Los.

The Tower Keeper lit more torches on the lighthouse.

"I hope everyone makes it safely to shore!"

The Tower Keeper muttered to himself.

And just as the Tower Keeper lit the torch, he completely failed to notice a strange-looking "Barrel Boat" mooring at one side, from which Xavier emerged—

Ugh!

This dark-skinned native of Coconut Island, at this moment, his skin rejuvenated with his vomiting.

Meanwhile, the "Bloody John" transformed from water into a human paid no attention to him.

"Do as Horton instructed," he said.

Saying so, Old John was eager to proceed downstream.

According to the original plan, Old John would travel along the Inland River.

Three days later, he would be able to reach Inner Bay.

Then, the plan was to contact that Old Lion.

However, just as the old captain took a few steps, he stopped.

A man of ordinary appearance, with hair showing signs of pallor, blocked the old captain's path.

Of course, that wasn't important.

What was important was that two more people appeared on either side.

These two, hidden in the shadows, moved silently, and Old John could detect them because they wanted him to.

'Great Arcana Level?

Just this level of concealment?' he thought.

Old John scanned the two, and then his expression grew more wary.

His "Spirituality" told him that there were more people nearby.

More people?! Where?!

Old John never doubted his "Spirituality."

Immediately, the old captain started searching while asking the pale-haired man in front of him—

"Hello, may I ask who you are?" he asked politely.

He was polite, and had it not been for his attire and the three large golden teeth visible when he spoke, it would have been impossible to tell he was a pirate.

"Black Cat Faction, Grindelwald,"

the Exquisite Human Puppet Number Two introduced himself.

Then, without waiting for Bloody John's response, he continued.

"My master divined some not-so-favorable visions.

So, we would like to kindly ask you to make some inquiries.

We do not wish to create too much disturbance, and we hope you could cooperate."

Exquisite Human Puppet Number Two, controlled by Arthur, thus spoke.

Old John's heart sank.

The name "Black Cat Faction" was not unfamiliar to Old John.

He had heard it before, and now it was buzzing in his ears.

As Arthur Kredos, the contemporary "Black Cat," emerged, the Black Cat Faction once again appeared before people.

But...

Was the Black Cat Faction really this powerful?

Randomly they were all of Great Arcana Level?

And then, this concealed individual...

A supreme assassin!

Old John had no doubts about Arthur's 'Divination.'

Being a 'Spirit Medium,' having the ability to 'Divine' was quite normal.

Divining some visions was even more so totally normal.

So—

"Alright! I'll go with you!" he said,

but in the same moment, his entire form transformed into a puddle of water and he began to flee towards the open sea.

The old pirate always adhered to a principle.

If the situation went south, escape first.

But his usually infallible ability was not so useful at this moment.

Cold!

A temperature cold enough to instantly freeze a normal person pervaded the surroundings.

Transformed into a puddle of water, Old John felt himself starting to freeze.

Without any hesitation, the old pirate reverted to his original form, facing the smiling Grindelwald, and internally he cried out in alarm.

How could he have overlooked the man before him?

Someone who could be the leader of the Black Cat Faction.

This man named Grindelwald couldn't possibly be simple.

Moreover, with that faint murderous aura emerging, the old pirate knew that because of his escape attempt, the supreme assassin was going to make a move.

Without hesitation, the old pirate immediately knelt down, raising both hands, and said—

"I know where the 'Pirate King's' treasure is!"