Shortly, the three of them reseated themselves.

Byron carelessly tossed the unconscious Jacqueline onto a chair, while Rigel clung to Bruh's arm like a smitten woman, head over heels in love and unwilling to let go.

It wasn't just the mystical bond from the "Marital Oath Chain" that satisfied her; she was also exceedingly pleased with her own perception of her lover.

Perhaps fate's inadvertent gift was already the best choice.

After years of misfortune, it seemed the gods were beginning to favor her again.

Snuggling beside Bruh, she looked up at the Sea Hunter opposite them—who, she mused, might also be wearing a "mask"—and asked,

"Mr. Sea Hunter, how do we cooperate?"

Byron gestured for her to relax, spreading his hands.

"It's simple," he said. "Just continue with your original mission. Except, in the past, you served The Skinners' Church; now, you will be working for our common interest. You can also think of yourself as a double agent."

Given the series of unexpected developments that had brought them to this point, they might as well go with the flow.

The identity of "Bill," which Bruh was impersonating, would not have to involve a faked death to escape, at least for the time being. Instead, he needed to hurry and officially marry "Tilly."

Once the Newman Family was left with only "Tilly" as its sole member, wouldn't their fief, the Blue Mountain range, and even administrative authority over Royal Port, fall to House Lancaster the very next day?

Once the Pioneer Guiding Colonial Trading Company had fully assimilated the colonies, it wouldn't be too late to have "Bill" and "Tilly" disappear together.

Hearing Byron's not unreasonable proposal, Fairy Rigel bit her rosy lip, hesitating as she said,

"Going undercover is naturally not a problem. I am also willing to marry Bruh. But... short-term disguises are fine; if it's for a long time, the Skinning Cult might react. If I choose to defy the higher-ups' orders when commands conflict, I might have to flee from the Cult very soon, or even face pursuit from other Skin Wearers."

Fairy Rigel had another concern.

Once she broke away from the Cult, her Black Sorcery could no longer advance. Without the higher knowledge, she wouldn't be able to achieve a fundamental transformation in her Life Essence.

If she ended up as a shriveled old crone, what difference would that be from a beastly form? To her, that was a tragedy more unacceptable than death itself.

She naturally recoiled from the idea.

"Haha, you need the means to resist the Cult?" Byron chuckled. "That's easy. Take a look at this."

Understanding her thoughts, Byron waved his hand. A pen and parchment lifted from the desk and began to write swiftly in mid-air.

Soon, the parchment, now filled with script, flew to Rigel.

"What is this...?"

She took it with confusion. After a mere glance, her pupils dilated, and she began to breathe rapidly.

"The Thousand Faces Rites: Second bloodline ascension ceremony for Skin Wearers—[A Family of One].

"After satisfying the spiritual and anchoring prerequisites.

"It is primarily divided into two paths:

"One is focused on beast skins: wearing the skin of a certain beast to become a member of a certain tribe. Within a year, you must challenge the leader and become the Beast King. Specific requirements are listed below...

"The other emphasizes human skins: infiltrating a noble family of more than five members, holding a noble title of at least Lord or higher. Before outsiders, you must gradually replace them one by one, eventually playing all five roles yourself without alerting their social circles to any anomaly. At least maintain this for a month. Specific requirements...

"Female members who succeed in this ascension become a lower-order Transcendent Species of the Mythical Creature [Snake-haired Gorgon]—a Serpent Woman like Beatrice. They gain mastery over a series of powerful Black Sorcery, including 'Skin Shedding Death Evasion,' 'Superspeed Regeneration,' 'Bone-Rotting Serpent's Kiss,' and so on."

After a long pause, she slowly lifted her head, looking at Byron in shock.

"You... What exactly are you? Could you also be one of the Cult's higher-ups? A deacon? A Grand Priest? Otherwise, how could you possess the precious advancement knowledge of the Thousand Faces Rites?"

Byron's face remained serene, yet his words were as enticing as a devil's.

"No, I am not a man of the Cult. But you, my friend, do you wish to become... the Grand Priest of the Skinning Cult? I can help you with that."

Rigel's eyes suddenly blazed with passion.

Byron was not exaggerating.

Let's not forget that among his Mad Hunt Legion, there was also a Third Order Grand Wizard—[Versatile Enchantress] Beatrice.

Previously, she conspired with Cortes to sacrifice an entire empire-level civilization's pantheon, which earned a correspondingly excessive reward from the overbearing entity [The Serpent of a Thousand Faces·Hydra].

The Forbidden Book of the Skinning Cult, the "Thousand Faces Rites," had been fully restored, even including the "Bloodline Codex" that touched upon the Divine Domain.

Merely by completing the third ritual recorded within, one could transform into the true Mythical Creature, the [Snake-haired Gorgon]!

Beatrice hadn't had time to take the knowledge back before being backstabbed by her "trusted aide."

It could be said that the "Thousand Faces Rites" in Byron's hands was even more complete than the version within the Skinning Cult.

Then, an interesting question arose in Byron's mind.

"I hold in my hands the highest-level rituals and forbidden knowledge of the Skinning Cult. I am well aware of its internal operating rules, and I even have several members of the Cult (Falcon, Fairy) in my grasp.

"What's more delightful is that the Skinning Cult has never shown their true faces but rather distinguishes identity with specific tokens.

"So if I say that I... am in fact the true heir of the Skinning Cult, who could refute me?

"As the 'Father of Immunology,' I hold this book—the 'Thousand Faces Rites'—coveted by countless oathbreaking doctors of the Hospital Sequence. What if I erase a couple of its doctrines and add a couple more?

"Just write: 'Bloodletting therapy harms both oneself and others.'

"Then write: 'Chapter One, Human Anatomy; Chapter Two, Histology; Chapter Three, Embryology; Chapter Four, Physiology; Chapter Five, Biochemistry; Chapter Six, Microorganisms and Microbiology...'

"Who would dare say my version is incorrect? This is the true scripture—no, the true canon! Why bother racking my brain to establish my own Father of Healing Church in Uxmal City? One day, I will no longer be just the Father of Immunology, but the Father of Modern Medicine, and the benevolent father of all healers of this era!"

The path forward was clear.

By sacrificing his good brother's romantic appeal and locking in a Transcendent path with the "Thousand Faces Rites," followed by a deep binding of interests... With a series of moves, Byron completely locked the "Fairy" onto his own war chariot.

It didn't matter if she'd already guessed his true identity.

"Captain, thank you!"

This exotic beauty looked at her lover beside her, the man who had brought her all this. The tender affection in her eyes could have melted the bones of an iron golem.

She was fully aware that without leveraging her connection with Bruh, such fortune would never have fallen into her lap.

To not seize such an opportunity would be the act of an utter fool.

After calming her emotions slightly, she seemed to suddenly remember something and quickly reminded Byron,

"Right. I almost forgot to tell you, I and many Skin Wearers infiltrated the cores of major powers on a mission. Because Havana's Governor Velazquez, a collaborator of the Cult, wants to use the emergence of Silvergold Island to spark a great war and sweep away other powers. Many of the treasure maps on the market even originate from Havana. Your Pioneer Guiding Colonial Trading Company is a prime target specifically marked by the Governor. The mission I received was to collect your intelligence, then provide it to the People of Castilia for a thunderous strike..."

Listening to her revelation, Byron's expression slowly turned grave.

Within the Sailing Logbook in his right eye, the Decryption Rate of [Hidden: The Mystery of Silvergold Island's Treasure Growth, Historical Influence 29] gradually rose to 18%.

"Besides the adventure team sent out by Lancaster that perished, does the Governor of Havana also know the truth about Silvergold Island?"

The overseas knowledge that gave Byron a ten-year lead over ordinary adventurers mostly came from official and private expeditions funded by the Lancaster Family.

It was a treasure accumulated at the cost of many lives.

He knew that Silvergold Island was dangerous, a fact gleaned from the fragmented messages transmitted before the Lancaster Family-supported expedition team was wiped out.

But he was at least certain of one thing: the more people who landed on the island, the more dispersed its dangers would become.

Therefore, he was not only pleased with the Governor of Havana's plan to send more scapegoats to the island, but he was also prepared to add fuel to the flame.

However, the fact that the Governor had targeted him was infuriating.

He and his colonial company had unwittingly become a prominent target in the sight of various major powers.

For a moment, it seemed that they were enjoying unprecedented success, but in the shadows, they were already surrounded by crises.

Not only were there the People of Castilia, who had suffered a great loss, but countless hungry wolves were eyeing their two port cities.

Byron looked up at the sky; a storm appeared to be brewing.

A sense of urgency rose in his heart.

"My Promotion Ceremony, 'Pirate's Treasure Chest,' requires me to obtain a treasure that best represents the glory of Great Pirate Flint's life in order to complete the promotion. I believe that treasure is likely to be the 882 Aztec Cursed Gold Coins that Great Pirate Flint plundered from the Castilian Treasure Fleet. I must have this item! Only by advancing to the Third Order and awakening my [Storm Admiral] can I truly secure my footing in the Bantaan Archipelago!"

However, an old politician's cunning schemes clearly didn't end there.

Even as he successfully recruited another capable subordinate in Royal Port, a riot was quietly erupting in his home base, the International Port.