Chapter 146: Chapter 146: Igor’s Smooth Sailing

Late at night, after the banquet ended, Beidou and her crew did not stay at Sangonomiya Shrine but instead headed to Watatsumi Village.

As the stronghold of the Sangonomiya resistance, Watatsumi Village had an incredibly long history. It was said that the ancestors of the original inhabitants came from the Abyss.

After the Vision Hunt Decree was enacted, more and more people joined the resistance, making this place a hub for them to rest and recover.

Even after returning from the banquet, traces of a bonfire festival could still be seen—some soldiers and sailors were still sprawled out on the ground, drunkenly snoring with sake bottles in hand.

A few logistical staff members who were cleaning up the area immediately stopped their work upon noticing Beidou’s group. They bowed in greeting.

Though the bow was directed at the entire group, it was mostly meant for Bai Luo.

It had already been mentioned before—Bai Luo held a status within the resistance that was nearly equal to that of the Divine Priestess herself.

While his unremarkable appearance had initially left some disappointed, many sailors had spoken of his exploits at sea during the bonfire gathering.

One man, one sword, one lone boat—yet he dared to take on a towering sea monster the size of a mountain.

Just hearing about it was enough to stir excitement and admiration.

More importantly, he actually severed one of its heads and saved the entire fleet.

Sailors might not be as eloquent as professional storytellers, but they had their own unique way of recounting legendary tales.

Even if every other sentence contained some colorful language, they still managed to convey the sheer desperation of that moment to the members of the resistance.

The young logistics recruits, who hadn’t attended the bonfire event, had still overheard snippets of these thrilling accounts while moving supplies.

As a result, their reverence for Battousai had only grown stronger.

“Honored guests, your rooms have already been prepared. Please follow me.”

Upon their arrival, a staff member in charge of accommodations stepped forward to welcome them.

Unlike the sailors and soldiers who stayed in large communal quarters, the merchants and high-ranking members of the Crux were assigned double or single rooms.

Bai Luo, thanks to his esteemed reputation, even had his own private study—which suited him perfectly.

“See you tomorrow, Himura-san.”

Beidou, still holding her bottle of sake, waved lazily at Bai Luo before heading to her room.

Bai Luo, on the other hand, followed a young attendant to his assigned quarters.

“Lord Battousai, this will be your room.”

The young man bowed slightly before departing.

However, as Bai Luo’s gaze lingered on the attendant’s sleeve, he caught sight of a barely noticeable insignia—the emblem of the Fatui.

This type of mark was only known to special agents, specifically designed to prevent undercover operatives from mistakenly attacking their own.

It seemed Igor had not been lying. Watatsumi Island had indeed been heavily infiltrated.

Upon entering his room, Bai Luo went straight to the study.

If his suspicions were correct, this study wasn’t just a privilege granted due to his status—it likely served another purpose.

And sure enough, he wasn’t wrong.

The study was immaculately cleaned, and the uniquely Sangonomiya Shrine-style furnishings were neatly arranged.

However, beneath this surface-level tidiness, a distinct pattern was hidden.

Following this pattern, Bai Luo discovered a thick stack of documents hidden among the footstones by his bed.

“Tsk tsk… isn’t this a bit much?”

Looking at the hefty pile of papers, Bai Luo couldn’t help but complain.

He had originally just wanted to check on the current state of Watatsumi Island and see how Igor and his people were planning to infiltrate it. But judging by the sheer volume of these documents… it seemed Igor had sent over every single plan and log related to Bai Luo’s arrival on the island.

Since he had given prior notice, no one disturbed him that night. Lighting a lamp, he began flipping through the materials.

From the contents, it was clear that Igor’s initial efforts to establish a foothold on Watatsumi Island had not gone smoothly.

First and foremost, Sangonomiya Shrine only controlled this one island, surviving mainly through the fishing industry. With the Inazuman Shogunate deliberately suppressing them, there was hardly any profit to be made.

As a result, the wealthy elite had completely abandoned the idea of funding operations there.

This forced Igor to abandon his original plan of infiltrating as a benefactor and instead take a more gradual approach to infiltration.

Yes, that “friendly Snezhnayan who introduced caviar to Watatsumi Island”—as Sangonomiya Kokomi had put it—was none other than Igor himself.

However, the previous Divine Priestess had been extremely vigilant, leaving him with almost no opportunities to cultivate informants.

Even when the Sangonomiya Shrine was too preoccupied with conflicts against the Kaijinki (pirate brigands) to immediately crack down on him, they always managed to eliminate part of his network afterward.

This made his infiltration incredibly difficult.

It wasn’t until Sangonomiya Kokomi took over as the new Divine Priestess that things began to change.

Compared to her predecessor, the new Divine Priestess rarely made public appearances and seemed less effective at resisting Fatui infiltration, only uncovering and eliminating minor operatives.

At that time, Sangonomiya Shrine was still highly united, which limited Igor’s ability to turn people against each other.

Then came the Vision Hunt Decree.

More and more outsiders arrived on Watatsumi Island—an autonomous region beyond the Shogunate’s rule.

Thus, the resistance army was formed.

These outsiders, who felt little attachment to Sangonomiya Shrine, naturally became Igor’s prime targets.

He not only used subtle tactics to create discord between Sangonomiya Kokomi and her subordinates but also successfully turned a high-ranking Sangonomiya Shrine official against the resistance.

Now, almost the entire island was under Fatui control.

Reading between the lines, it was clear Igor was extremely confident in his infiltration strategy.

He even mentioned multiple times that he could overthrow the Sangonomiya Shrine within days, forcing Watatsumi Island into Fatui hands.

His confidence came from the strategic placement of key infiltrators, including:

Shrine Maidens within Sangonomiya Shrine

High-ranking commanders in the resistance army

Leadership figures in Watatsumi Village

Each critical position was effectively under Fatui control.

Even the kitchen staff responsible for preparing meals for the Divine Priestess had Fatui agents among them.

With just one order, a cook could bring a bowl of soup laced with a hidden Pyro Slime straight to Sangonomiya Kokomi’s chambers.

Even if poisoning her failed, the Pyro Slime could self-detonate at a critical moment, ensuring that they died together.

After all, no one really expected to make it out alive.

But… was everything truly going as smoothly as Igor believed?

As a seasoned— ahem, an honest and humble assassin, Bai Luo knew very well how difficult it was to infiltrate such a large organization.

The previous Divine Priestess had already proven this point.

Kokomi might not be the all-seeing strategist people believed her to be, but she certainly wasn’t so incompetent that she would allow Igor to freely plant spies among the Sangonomiya forces.

Which meant…

Igor’s supposed “success” might not be as real as he thought.

Because…

Everything was going too smoothly.

It was like reading a perfectly satisfying power fantasy novel—so exhilarating that it was impossible to put down.

But in the end…

A novel is just a novel. Reality doesn’t work that way.

Perhaps revealing himself too soon had been a bit rash.

However…

There was still time to fix things.

. . . . .

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