Who hid My Corpse!

I'm Visas's lackey!

Lair pumped himself up mentally, and it worked quite well; his legs stopped trembling instantly, allowing his father's gaze to sweep over him.

After an uncertain silence, unable to discern anything from Lair, his father slowly spoke: "What kind of deal?"

"A deal involving high-level officials at the Rhein North Church," Lair said. "As per the rules, I can't disclose the details, but once it's done, we'll split the profit fifty-fifty."

This is indeed the old rule of black merchants: never reveal the details of a deal before it's executed, to prevent other black merchants from snatching the business.

But... a major deal about the Rhein North Church?

His father frowned slightly.

In the past, he wouldn't have believed Lair could secure any significant deal at the North Church. After all, the dealings there had already been locked down by black merchants from another region; every opportunity was sealed tight, making it hard to find a chance.

But things have changed recently. The North Bishop Fig and his elite knight were killed in Wildfire, throwing the North Church into considerable chaos.

After all, when someone dies, someone else needs to take over. But Fig's death was so sudden that no successor had been chosen, making it a big issue as to who would step in, thus disrupting the black merchants' arrangements there.

So, when Lair proposed a major deal at this time, it seemed credible from a timing perspective, but considering Lair's personal track record...

His father narrowed his eyes slightly and didn't ask how Lair intended to manage it, instead saying just one thing, "Prove it to me."

Lair was prepared for this and immediately pulled out a well-crafted dagger from his bag, still stained with crimson blood, as if freshly splattered.

His father's pupils contracted instantly as he took the dagger from Lair.

He immediately recognized whose dagger this belonged to—a Rhein Knight.

And the blood on this dagger...

His father touched it, noting the blood was still warm, as if the dagger had just pierced someone a moment ago, although it clearly wasn't fresh.

To achieve such an effect, there is only one possibility: the slain Rhein Knight was in the "Divine Blessing" state before this dagger pierced his heart.

This is simply... unbelievable.

The reason why black merchants can only conduct business in the shadows, unable to challenge the churches' positions, is because their combat power isn't on the same level. Take a Rhein Knight, for example; in the state of Divine Blessing, only Divine Arts can harm them, so even the strongest black merchants have to flee when encountering a Rhein Knight, because they don't have a deity watching over them.

Yet Lair brought such a dagger, which killed a Rhein Knight, to him, meaning there are only two possibilities: Lair has the ability to kill a Rhein Knight in the state of Divine Blessing, or there is internal help from Rhein, using divine arts to kill divine arts.

Clearly, it's the latter.

Internal conflict among the Rhein doesn't surprise his father, as it's a common occurrence. Ultimately, the Rhein Knights are only loyal to the Rhein God; as for the Archbishop and Pope, they are merely God's spokespersons. If you can be the spokesperson, why can't I?

Especially when the total number of Rhein Knights has always been limited to a certain number, unable to grow, those seeking to rise naturally require some direct means.

But what his father didn't expect was that such an opportunity would be seized by a fool like Lair.

So, who is Lair connected with? Could it be someone who might become the new bishop of the Rhein North Church?

His father wanted to ask directly or even drive Lair away and take over himself, because if he connected with the next bishop of Rhein, the rewards would be enormous, and he wouldn't need to split it fifty-fifty with Lair.

However, after pondering for a moment, he gave up on the idea, acknowledging the potential high risk. Instead of putting himself in danger, it would be wiser to let the fool Lair test the waters, then make the next move once he succeeded.

Thinking this, his father handed the dagger back and said plainly, "What do you need?"

Lair answered without hesitation, "A Contract Seed."

Yes, a Contract Seed, which was Bai Wei's true aim.

He had encountered a Contract Seed during the Holy Sound, a tool Vinea's surrogate father Ivan presented to control his surrogate daughter Hewinia, compelling the linked person to adhere to the "Divine Contract."

Its origin is naturally the Contract Land, arguably the most valuable commodity Contract Land exports to the outside world, the most crucial tool used by top black merchants to ensure their safety and interests. With it, even church figures at the bishop level can't breach signed contracts.

After all, they wouldn't turn to their respective gods for such a contract.

And the only black merchant in this region possessing a Contract Seed was his father, but he only had one.

"I can help you." Under everyone's gaze, his father pulled out a golden apple from his arms, extending it to Lair, "But not this one. This one is for our contract; sign it, and I'll recommend you to headquarters, letting you temporarily become a Gold Merchant. Then you can retrieve your Contract Seed from headquarters yourself, how about it?"

Gold Merchant...

Upon hearing this term, Lair's heart skipped a beat.

After all, this could be considered his lifelong pursuit; only by becoming a Gold Merchant could he truly make a name for himself.

But that was in the past.

Now he was different from before.

Lair accepted the golden apple from his father's hand, showing a calm smile, "Of course, no problem."

As he felt the heavy weight of the Contract Seed, he contemplated in his heart.

What about being a Gold Merchant or not? He is now Visas's loyal... servant.

One day, with Visas's help, he would gain everything!

Thinking this, his smile grew broader.

"As you wish."

...

Bai Wei withdrew his gaze, deep in thought.

The black merchant's nail was in place; barring any surprises, they should be able to rely on this lead to find the entrance to the Contract Land.

Actually, a more secure method would be to directly follow representatives from major churches, as they also need to attend the gathering at the Contract Land. However, Bai Wei's current state wasn't good; he hadn't yet recovered from the negative status of the [Visas Phantom], making tracking representatives from major churches too risky.

Simultaneously distributing the Corpse Blocks was also a protective measure; with events having reached this stage, even Contract Land was involved, making prior experiences less relevant.

In the game, he could progress stage by stage, every church operating as separate, unrelated maps; but now it was different. All the churches were intertwined, leaving him unable to rely on the game's narrative as easily, with the slightest misstep leading to total defeat.

Moreover, what was happening now was merely collaboration among the churches, not escalating to the final stage, which would be the cooperation among the gods.

Deities remain indifferent to worldly affairs; a person with five pieces of Corpse Blocks is still insufficient to make them act personally.

But Bai Wei knew well if his true body breaks free, the deities would never continue to sit idly by.

Besides Lyra and Wildfire, there were six other deities, and they were still in full power.

And Bai Wei still didn't know how much power that remnant body would wield upon regaining the Corpse Blocks.

Even though Bai Wei had planned, there remained too many unknown variables.

Moreover, he hadn't yet found the most crucial step in this plan.

Which was to find a willing being, one ready to burn everything for him, diving straight into the Abyss—a Firebearer.