"Ah, sorry, my mind wandered."
Silas snapped out of his contemplation and apologized to Sharron.
"Mm."
Sharron replied flatly.
She should have noticed that Silas had discovered something, but seeing he had no intention of sharing, she didn't actively press him.
"How much of those materials have been sold?"
Silas suddenly remembered another matter.
"Basically none."
Sharron answered.
"That demigod has been infiltrating various Beyonder gatherings to corner us."
Talk about persistent.
Silas felt a chill, but quickly laughed. "No matter. Can't we sell them tonight?"
At the Queen's gathering, they wouldn't need to worry about that demigod daring to cause trouble.
Besides, he also planned to search for his potion's main ingredients at this high-end gathering.
Even just getting relevant leads would be good.
"By the way, Miss Sharron, do you know about these two types of extraordinary creatures: Shadow Knights and Grigori?"
Silas asked.
After Sharron's earlier explanation about the "School of Life," he had somewhat higher expectations for Miss "Wraith."
After all, she came from an organization with deep foundations, even if that organization had now been corrupted by an evil god.
Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed this time.
"I haven't heard of Shadow Knights. As for Grigori..."
She thought for a moment.
"I once saw it in books within the organization. It's a type of extraordinary creature, also called Blood Giants.
They used to be distributed across the Northern Continent, but they're basically extinct now."
Well, as expected. Demigod-level extraordinary materials definitely wouldn't be obtained so easily.
Though somewhat disappointed, Silas consoled himself.
He started to say, "Then do you..."
"Creak!"
The carriage suddenly jolted, interrupting his words.
"What happened?"
Silas raised his voice with alertness and called out to the coachman outside. Although he didn't sense any Beyonder auras outside, he remained cautious.
"Nothing's wrong, sir."
The coachman's voice came through muffled from outside the carriage. "The intersection ahead is blocked off. We'll need to take a slight detour."
"The road's blocked? Why?"
Silas asked with a frown.
"Because a warship is entering port. The streets around the harbor district are all closed off."
The coachman's voice carried pride, as if he'd straightened his back in his seat. "Sir, you know, it's the 'Pritz'!"
Oh right, the newspapers mentioned this.
Silas recalled that the ironclad warship Pritz had dominated the seas this year, crushing numerous pirate fleets.
Now, to celebrate the new year and undergo repairs, it was returning gloriously to Backlund to participate in the celebrations.
Through the carriage window, he saw that the intersection ahead was indeed guarded by soldiers, not allowing carriages or pedestrians through.
Fortunately, there was more than one route to the North District. The coachman adjusted the route slightly, and the carriage soon resumed its journey.
After that, the two chatted casually about various topics, including the "Rose School of Thought" and the Southern Continent situation, their experience exploring Amon's mausoleum that day, and so on.
Meanwhile, the carriage gradually approached the abandoned botanical garden in the North District.
"Although it was really dangerous at the time, the result was good in the end."
Silas said with a smile.
"Look, we harvested so many extraordinary characteristics and items. As long as we sell them at the Queen's gathering, we'll make a fortune..."
As he spoke, the carriage arrived in front of the botanical garden. He naturally shifted his gaze past the window to look outside.
His eyes instantly widened.
Now, this botanical garden in the northern part of the city collected rare plants from all over Loen and the Southern Continent.
Originally it was used for exhibitions to earn ticket money.
Unfortunately, Backlund's citizens weren't interested, and with its remote location, they couldn't even sell the land.
In a fit of anger, the owner abandoned it and stopped maintaining it.
Thanks to Backlund's abundant rainfall, the plants here grew wildly and quickly became overgrown and dense.
Considering that the Queen could manipulate plants to construct castles, choosing this place as a gathering location was quite appropriate.
When Silas now looked through the carriage window, he did indeed see a castle constructed of plants.
However, this castle had already collapsed.
Its magnificent and splendid exterior looked as if it had been ravaged by giants, becoming dilapidated and broken.
The plants composing it had all withered and died, as if all their life force had been completely drained.
Someone had destroyed the Queen's gathering!
"Don't stop. Keep going forward."
Silas only froze for a moment before reacting.
He immediately called to the coachman, having the carriage leave at a steady pace.
Only after the carriage had passed several blocks did he turn back, meeting Sharron's gaze with a dark expression.
"...Who do you think it was?"
"...I don't know."
Sharron answered after a moment of silence.
As for Silas, he had some guesses.
He felt it was very likely the force behind the human trafficking operation trying to manufacture a disaster.
They had already tangled with the Queen once before, ending with the Queen's maritime forces being blockaded and her temporarily leaving Backlund.
Now, as soon as the Queen returned, they couldn't wait to make their move again.
Another possibility was the organization that manipulated Duke Negan's death, the Twilight Hermit Order.
They too were working in the shadows, changing Backlund's landscape.
Or perhaps the two forces were actually one...
Thinking this, Silas felt increasingly uneasy, as if in some mysterious dimension, a heavy dark cloud was slowly approaching this great metropolis, pressing down so heavily that people couldn't lift their heads or catch their breath.
It was time to leave.
After passing a few more streets, Silas called for the carriage to stop.
He stepped out of the carriage and stood by a streetlamp, watching the carriage depart.
Sharron's figure quietly materialized. The orange-yellow light of the streetlamp passed through her slender body, leaving no shadow on the ground.
"Unfortunately, we won't be able to attend today's gathering."
He said to Sharron.
Near the end of December, Backlund's nights were very cold. The white vapor from his breath was illuminated by the lamplight, like a monster coiling around him.
"...I hope the Queen is alright."
Sharron said.
"She's high sequence. It's not our place to worry about her."
Silas had great confidence in the Queen.
He noticed that the castle only showed traces of battle, but not the slightest hint of a bloody scent.
"Something major might happen in Backlund soon. I suggest you and your companion exercise extra caution."
"Mm."
Sharron calmly accepted his suggestion.
The two had chatted the whole journey, and by this point there wasn't much left to say.
Silas thought for a moment, then spoke again.
"Actually, I'm planning to leave Backlund before the new year. Before I go, let me wish you in advance: Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year."
Sharron nodded.
Then, without saying anything more, her body quickly faded and disappeared beneath the streetlamp.
As for Silas, he hired a new carriage and returned to the East District.
He decided to start preparations for his departure tomorrow.