Chapter 296: The Sea God Church

“Teacher! Look, is that white bat powder?”
Donald nodded.
“Exactly. This substance only exists in the caves along the southern coast and is rare elsewhere on the continent. Eli, go and buy everything from that merchant’s stall!”
Eli, who had already assumed the powerful hero class of Sword Saint and appeared tall and strong like an adult, replied calmly. He then took the space bags given to them by Donald and went to negotiate with the stall owner.
“Is that glow moss? Merlin, go and buy all of it. This is a very rare alchemical material in the north—our teacher will surely be pleased!”
When Donald came out, his storage space contained nearly 100,000 gold sols in cash, along with over 2,000 magic cores of varying values that were hard to estimate, as well as magic crystals and elemental stones. Most of these magic cores were acquired through the Adventurer’s Guild and territorial shops. Since Donald set higher purchase prices than merchants elsewhere, adventurers with goods preferred to sell them to the Adventurer’s Guild or the Alchemy Fire Shop.
Although the price was higher, Dalarn was supported by several major industries, making its commerce highly developed. With the newly opened air and water routes from Port Leyton to Dalarn, this trade route brought substantial wealth to both the Leyton family and Donald.
So, what Donald lacked the most now was money. The lord’s treasury could maintain a reserve of over a million gold sols, slightly less than the kingdom’s treasury but exceeding the income of most noble families.
Even from the treasures found in the Macbeth family’s secret chamber and the four major dark elf families’ vaults in Scorpion Tail City, there were many valuable gold and silver utensils, antiques, and artworks. Most of these still lay in the lord’s treasury, and with ample funds, Donald had no intention of selling them.
After disembarking from the magic ship, Donald and his group spent about two hours browsing the commercial district and free trade zone in Peace Port, purchasing some novel items, as well as large quantities of food, supplies, and specialty materials from other countries and regions.
Anyway, the storage space powered by the Book of Truth was vast, and he wasn’t worried about others coveting it. With a legendary powerhouse at their head and two Golden Mages, any troublemakers who dared to harass them would be seeking their own destruction.
“Good day, Master Mage!”
After exploring Peace Port, Donald and his group encountered those two Bachelors again.

Donald, along with his disciples and attendants, politely offered the two a greeting commonly used among scholars.
“Good day. It is an honor for us to meet you, servants of the recorders of history and guides of wisdom!”
The God of Knowledge once said that books are guides that help people attain wisdom, while history is a classic written by the world itself. Thus, this true god is often referred to with the respectful titles of “Recorder of History” and “Guide of Wisdom.”
There are not many priests of the God of Knowledge in the main world, nor is there a formal church—only organizations formed by individual believers. Yet due to their uniqueness, no faction dares to look down on them.
Scholars of knowledge generally do not possess great combat strength, but they can still wield many divine spells and have the ability to protect themselves. Therefore, it is not surprising that they can hear conversations from dozens of meters away. Perhaps because mages are usually also learned scholars, they have always maintained good relations with these scholars, which is why the two felt a sense of closeness toward Donald and the others.
“The accent of the mage-sir does not seem to be from Gardrel itself, nor does it sound like it’s from the countries in the central-southern part of the continent. Could it be that you come from the northern kingdom of Celt?” asked the older of the two scholars.
Scholars of knowledge usually travel in pairs, with an elder guiding newcomers akin to apprentices across the continent to help them acquire sufficient knowledge. Afterward, they seek the next generation of candidates qualified to become scholars, continuing this cycle. In this way, the history of the world is continuously recorded, and many knowledge skills are not lost over time.
The two before them clearly followed this pattern as well.
“As expected of learned scholars of knowledge, we indeed come from Celt. We plan to go to Siren to assist in resisting the invasion of demons!”
Upon hearing this, the two scholars showed expressions of respect.
“You all serve as role models for humanity. You have traveled thousands of miles across the sea to help Siren fend off the demonic plague. Even if your achievements are not great, such spirit should be recorded in history!”
With that, the older scholar signaled the younger one to open the thick notebook in his hands. He introduced himself and his companion and asked about Donald and the others’ backgrounds, while the younger scholar recorded what he heard.

For this mission, Donald felt there was nothing to hide. Almost no human forces would obstruct a team like theirs that was aiding in the fight against the demonic plague. Doing so would surely earn them the charges of being anti-human and traitors to the abyss, and the more extreme forces of justice would not hesitate to attack them in such a situation.

After listening to Donald’s explanation of the circumstances, the young bachelor scholar Landort stopped writing and exclaimed, “King Celt XV is truly a human monarch who understands justice deeply. Just this alone is enough to ensure his name is remembered in history!”

The older bachelor scholar Albarno also praised, “That King XV is not only an excellent human monarch but also a wise man. Using this method of selecting an heir by fighting against the abyssal invasion has many advantages. Once a successor is successfully chosen, they will become a hero in the fight against demons and will surely gain the support of most of the country’s people and factions. With this title, the future King XVI will hardly face provocations from other nations while on the throne. It’s truly a win-win situation!”

Donald hadn’t thought this far ahead. Now, after hearing these two scholars’ analysis, he realized even more how clever and astute the old king’s move was. Deeply impressed, he thought about bringing more potions back to help that admirable old king sustain his efforts for a few more years.

“I wonder if you would allow us two to join them as well. This is also a great opportunity to document history. We already have scholars heading to Gadré, but Siren is in a remote location with a severe demonic plague, so no scholars have been able to go there yet.”

Learning that Donald and his group were going to the Principality of Siren to assist in fighting the demonic plague, the two scholars became interested in joining them. Having been traveling and hearing about the outbreak of the plague, they had already planned to go there in person.

For these followers of the gods of knowledge, aside from discovering new knowledge and reading new books, documenting the history of the continent was also an important path to advancement. Witnessing a major event like a demonic plague firsthand could win them the favor and attention of the gods, granting them even greater rewards.

And given the nature of these Archmages, even if they didn’t seek divine rewards, they would find joy and satisfaction in doing such things. Moreover, the rewards from the God of Knowledge often came in the form of extremely rare books or skills and secrets lost on the continent. Their enthusiasm for these rewards was as high as that of a warrior who had found his ideal weapon.

Donald was of course more than willing to accept the requests from two Archmages who possessed broader knowledge and skills. Although Durian had made it clear before they arrived that he would be in charge of all appointments and battles, since the team was nominally led by him as the prince, Donald still decided to inform Durian.

Both Archmages, Albanor and Landort, showed understanding, and so the group set off toward the port where the magic ship was located.

However, upon arriving at the VIP port area reserved for large ships, they found a crowd gathered around the magic ship, with sounds of argument coming from within. Donald quickly led his men over and saw three priests in unfamiliar robes arguing with Kelsas and the others who were guarding the ship.

“The Great Sea God Church wants to purchase your ship—it’s an honor for you. Since the contract has already been signed, please step aside and hand over the ship!”

“We’ve said it already—the ship’s owner isn’t here, and even if they were, they wouldn’t sell it to you. A mere thousand gold sols for a magic ship? I think your Sea God Church has gone mad with greed…”

Freg, a passionate young man with a strong sense of justice, couldn’t stand by and started shouting at the three priests, informing everyone around of what was happening.

Kelsas, calm by nature, stood silently in front of the group, but flames already danced in his hands. If the others tried to get any closer, his attack would be immediate. Meanwhile, the group of musketeers on the magic ship had also taken positions on the deck—should they dare take another step, they would be met with blazing bullets.

As for the members of the second prince’s faction who remained on the ship, they didn’t intervene without orders. A few newly recruited experts stood nearby, arms crossed, watching the scene with mocking and amused expressions—clearly with ulterior motives, let alone any intention to help.

“The Sea God Church? Heh, has that church even been established yet?”

Seeing this, Donald sneered inwardly. It seemed someone was dissatisfied with him and looking for trouble. Those three priests were probably just taking advantage of the situation.

At this moment, he was angry because someone was scheming against him and trying to seize his magic ship. So, Donald stepped out of the crowd, approached Kelthas, turned around, and said, “What, are the people of the Sea God Church still trying to force things their way?”