As soon as he vaulted down the manhole, Elias felt like he’d been elbowed in the face by a wave of pure stench.
"Urgh—"
Even though he had prepared himself mentally, Elias almost couldn't help but vomit on the spot.
The environment here was a hundred times worse than he had imagined.
It was a massive, sprawling underground labyrinth.
Dim gas lamps were placed every few dozen meters, and most of their glass covers were layered with black soot, emitting a sickly yellow light.
On either side were wide sewage channels where black wastewater flowed sluggishly.
In his memory, this sewer system had been constructed ten years ago.
At that time, the Kingdom of Velen was in a period of frantic expansion during the Industrial Revolution, and several major industrial hubs, including Hope County, had been recklessly discharging waste into the rivers.
This eventually triggered the famous "Great Stink" incident during one particularly scorching summer.
That summer, the entire city was shrouded in a brownish-yellow toxic mist, and even the curtains of the Parliament House had to be soaked in bleach to barely keep the stench at bay.
After that, the kingdom learned its lesson and spent a fortune to build this vast network of facilities known as the "Underground Veins."
Looking at it now, what flowed through these veins was no longer blood, but pus.
Elias suppressed his physiological discomfort and led Aaron along the narrow platforms flanking the sewage channels.
"Here, put this on."
Elias pulled two thick cotton masks he had just bought from a roadside grocery store out of his coat, handed one to Aaron, and quickly donned the other himself.
While these things couldn't block all the stench, they could at least filter out the large dust particles and that nauseating, greasy feeling in the air.
More importantly, if they actually ran into those cultists from the Mist Veil Society, these masks would help conceal their identities.
After all, Elias’s plan was to immediately activate 【Moonlight Veil】 to lower their presence and then restrain his spirituality as much as possible to flee if things went south.
Since this operation wasn't taking place at night, 【Moonlight Veil】 could only serve to reduce their presence.
Making money was fine, but risking his life was not.
"Stay close,"
Elias whispered his instructions.
In this claustrophobic underground space, traces of spirituality became exceptionally clear.
The air lacked the complex interference found on the surface, making the residual spiritual light stand out like fluorescent powder in the dark.
In Elias's Spirit Vision, the spiritual traces left by Mr. Ford were like an intermittent thread stretching deep into the darkness.
But besides that, Elias also keenly perceived another aura.
Though faint, it was identical to the one on Firth, and even matched the pursuers he had sensed outside the tavern earlier.
It really was the Mist Veil Society.
Elias's heart grew heavier.
He had no idea how many monsters and freaks were hiding down here!
The two of them followed the traces forward for about ten minutes.
Aside from the sound of footsteps and flowing water, the silence around them was unnervingly absolute.
This oppressive atmosphere made Elias feel very uncomfortable, so he decided to find a topic to distract himself and perhaps gather some intelligence.
'Since we're walking anyway, tell me about your family.'
To prevent his voice from echoing through the empty pipes and attracting unnecessary trouble, Elias connected his Rational Circuit and activated 【Mental Message】.
The Mist Veil Society was going to great lengths, even risking exposure, to capture members of the Sorenstein family.
From the letter in Firth's room, he knew they were looking for the bloodline of the Fortville family.
But what did that have to do with the Sorenstein family?
Was there some connection between these two families?
Intermarriage?
Or some ancient pact?
Elias's mind raced.
The Fortville family were the ancient rulers of Moon Bay.
Perhaps hundreds of years ago, these two families shared some unknown, special relationship?
Aaron was clearly experiencing this "mental chat room" sensation for the first time, and his eyes widened in surprise.
'Are you an ascetic?'
Following Elias's guidance, he also tried to respond in his mind:
'Our family history is very long, dating back over three hundred years to the Percy Dynasty.'
'Our ancestor was named William of Moon Bay.'
Hearing the words "Moon Bay," Elias's footsteps faltered slightly.
Moon Bay again.
All clues eventually converged like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, pointing toward that massive bay on the map.
Aaron continued his narration in his mind.
'Back then, Ancestor William followed Ralph III and performed great service during the war for the throne.'
'Later, when Ralph III ascended, he granted William a fief in what is now central-southern Velen to reward his loyalty.'
'It was originally a barren thicket of thorns.'
'The ancestor led our people to clear the thorns and build a family stronghold there—Thorn City—and used that as the occasion to establish the surname "Sorenstein."'
Behind his mask, Elias rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
The ancestor of the Sorenstein family came from Moon Bay, and now they were being targeted by the Mist Veil Society.
This meant the Mist Veil Society's target wasn't just the Fortville family; any family related to that ancient history of Moon Bay might be within their hunting range.
They were hunting for Fortville bloodlines in Hastings Port.
And they had captured this kid's sister...
Was she captured, or did she defect?
'Which deity does your family serve?'
Elias suddenly asked in his mind.
In this world, faith often determined one's fundamental stance.
'Our branch worships the Mother Goddess of Destiny,'
Aaron answered simply, his tone carrying a hint of piety.
'My father is a doctor and also a Life Scholar.'
'The Mother Goddess of Destiny, huh...' Elias muttered to himself.
'What about your sister?' Elias pressed.
'Does she also worship the Mother Goddess of Destiny?'
This was crucial.
'Of course!' Aaron replied as if it were obvious.
'Although our family is large and has branched out over hundreds of years, other branches might have descendants who worship different gods, like the Dragon of Eternity or other churches.'
'But in our specific branch, our faith is very pure.'
Hearing this, Elias's heart sank.
This meant that Isha, the crazy woman who wanted to "restore the Lord's Glory" in his mind, was originally a proper believer of an orthodox god.
What kind of torture and brainwashing must she have endured to turn a noble lady with firm faith into such a fanatical cultist who was neither human nor ghost?
Those scumbags from the Mist Veil Society...
Elias suppressed the rising weight and chill in his heart and continued asking:
'Then how much do you know about the Fortville family?'
This was currently the only blind spot.
'Fortville?'
Aaron frowned as he thought, seemingly struggling to dig through the deep corners of his memory.
'Actually, I don't know much about the family's obscure ancient history. Most of what I know was told to me by my nanny as bedtime stories when I was little.'
'The Fortville family... I think I've heard the name, but I don't know the specifics.'
'Fine.'
Elias sighed in disappointment.
He had finally found someone related, but because the boy was too young and lacked education, he knew nothing about the key information.
Just then, the environment ahead changed.
The originally level sewage channel suddenly developed a downward slope, and the water speed increased, making a splashing sound.
Elias stopped, his gaze locking onto the edge of the platform ahead.
Several stone bricks there were shattered, with jagged breaks and several deep claw marks.
It didn't look like natural weathering; it looked like some large creature with sharp claws had forcibly gripped the bricks to climb down into the deeper channels.
He developed a bad premonition.
'Stay close to me and be careful,' Elias instructed in his mind.
The smell here had changed.
Amidst the original simple stench, a thick scent of blood was now mixed in.
It was like a freshly slaughtered pig had been thrown into a septic tank.
This smell even broke through the mask's defenses, rushing straight into Elias's head and making his scalp tingle.
Elias pressed against the damp wall like a gecko, silently creeping toward the bend in the passage ahead.
He had already cocked the hammer of his elemental revolver, the muzzle pointing slightly downward, ready to fire at any moment.
Reaching the corner, he held his breath and cautiously peered around with half his head.
In the next second, his breathing quickened.
It was a massive underground space, appearing to be a core hub for the entire sewer system.
Sewage pipes from all directions converged here, forming a giant reservoir.
In the center of that reservoir, the water was only knee-deep.
And in that murky, shallow water, several mutilated human bodies lay scattered about.
In the middle of the pile of corpses crouched a massive figure.
Its back was turned to Elias, and it stood at least three meters tall.
The upper body was vaguely humanoid, with a wide, unnaturally deformed back covered in a layer of grayish-green scales.
But its lower body was a massive, thick fish tail!
That tail was swaying leisurely in the water.
Most strikingly, a familiar dagger was stuck in that tail!
The monster seemed unable to reach its tail due to its deformed body structure and short, thick claws, so it could only let the dagger remain there, swaying with the movement of the tail.
'Holy crap?!' Elias cursed in his mind.
'Elias, it's your brother!' Old Ed said mischievously.
'Your brother!'
'It's a freaking sewer ugly mermaid!'
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