Roselle waved his hand indifferently and said, "You can't expect an old man like me to run around on the sea by myself, can you? How dangerous would that be?"
"Besides, the fact that there are so many documents piled up on that desk means you never intended to deal with them."
As he spoke, he walked to the high-backed chair on the deck near the cabin, seemingly hesitating whether to sit down.
Hopefully, Bishop Luca won't be too surprised to see the untouched documents in the lounge after he completes his advancement. Hmm, after becoming a Dream Weaver, he can also separate an identity to help him share the pressure of work. As thoughts floated, Leyton gradually convinced himself.
The next second, the surrounding scenery quickly shifted. Although no one moved, the environment quickly changed from the deck to inside the cabin.
A deep and majestic voice echoed within the cabin:
"Are you really Emperor Roselle?"
Leyton looked at the figure sitting on the high-backed chair on the high platform directly in front of him, a deep pale purple flashing in his eyes.
A highly authoritative figure leaned back in a dark high-backed chair, wearing a scaled-down spire crown on his head and a black robe with silver trim. His facial features were sharp, his forehead slightly wrinkled, and a short black beard adorned his chin. He stood about 1.9 meters tall, exuding an aura of immense majesty.
His aura was highly recognizable; anyone who had seen him would never doubt his identity. He was one of the Four Pirate Kings, the acknowledged Pirate King, and the most renowned powerhouse on the Five Seas!
King of the Five Seas Nast's dark eyes flowed with a dark red glow, his gaze filled with disbelief as he calmly looked down at Roselle. A deep sense of majesty emanated from him, making the air in the cabin feel viscous and difficult to breathe.
The crew members of the Black Emperor inside the cabin, as well as First Mate Bird Mastan, who had been moved in with Leyton and Roselle, unconsciously lowered their heads, their chests heaving violently as they gulped down the air in the cabin, alleviating the sense of suffocation.
As a mechanical puppet, Roselle completely ignored King of the Five Seas Nast's pressure and the sluggishness in the air. He took two steps forward and met Nast's gaze.
After a second, he suddenly burst out laughing and then said, "As your guest, aren't you going to invite us to sit down, Nast?"
"Please sit." Nast raised a hand, his words carrying an indescribable majesty that made one instinctively want to obey him.
However, this sense of majesty was completely ineffective on Leyton and Roselle. Unaffected, they each found a chair and sat down.
The cabin was silent for two seconds. Nast looked at Roselle and said in a deep voice, "A mechanical puppet containing the Earl of the Fallen characteristic, you shouldn't be able to ignore my influence so easily, by rights."
He closed his eyes, as if sensing something, and after a moment, he continued, "There's something about you that makes me instinctively tremble."
Roselle did not respond to Nast's question. He leaned back against the chair, his tone sounding almost boastful as he said, "Bernadette has already advanced to Sage. When do you plan to become a Duke?"
"Actually, without external pressure, I think staying at Sequence 3 is the best choice. Beyonders at this stage already possess various unique abilities and have a lifespan far exceeding ordinary people, but they haven't reached the point of qualitative change. They won't be overly affected by the potion and the top of the Sequence, nor will they actively or passively choose a faction..."
Roselle rambled on, like an old father trying to show off his daughter, or like an elder giving advice to a junior.
Except for the crew members on the Black Emperor, their expressions were not very good. Roselle's words just now always made people feel that he was mocking Nast, mocking him for not being able to advance to Sequence 2 and become an Angel active on the Five Seas for so long.
This guy is a bit irritating. He didn't call me here to be his bodyguard, did he? Leyton's thoughts floated, then he calmly scanned King of the Five Seas Nast's expression.
Nast, seated high above, sighed with no fluctuation in his tone:
"After the Solomon Empire era, there are no living mythical creatures left on the Black Emperor Pathway. The remaining characteristics either became Sealed Artifacts or belong to the Angels of the Tudor and St. Terenzo families."
"So you need some help, some allies with the strength to hunt Angels for you."
Roselle chuckled as he looked at Nast, whose eyes flowed with dark red, seemingly certain that the other party would not refuse him.
Nast slowly shook his head and said, "That's not enough. You need a reason to convince me."
"Just as you said, I'm not in a hurry to advance to Sequence 2. I still have enough lifespan to patiently wait for the right moment."
Roselle tilted his head back, exhaled a long breath, and said in an exceptionally calm tone, "No, you have enough lifespan to wait, but this world may not have enough time. Only by becoming an Angel can you protect yourself and those you want to protect when the end of the Fifth Epoch arrives."
"...Because of the apocalypse?" Nast's tone seemed a little hesitant. He didn't know much about the so-called apocalypse, only that when he had communicated with many Saints from various Churches, he had heard their very certain descriptions of the apocalypse.
He paused, then continued, "All the major Churches have theories about the apocalypse, but not many descriptions. They only state that when the apocalypse arrives, the deities they believe in will become the saviors of this world. Excluding those unreasonable contents, I am very curious about the cause of the apocalypse, which none of the Churches and Concealment organizations have mentioned."
Roselle shook his head and said in a calm tone, "Before you become a Duke, merely knowing this information will bring about corruption."
"No wonder..." Nast murmured softly, quickly adjusted his emotions, and chuckled, "How do you plan to cooperate?"
Leyton looked at Roselle curiously; he was also somewhat curious about what the other party wanted to cooperate on with this King of the Five Seas.
Roselle glanced around the cabin, his gaze falling on Leyton. He nodded at him and said, "Give me a Concealment, and make sure the people on the ship forget we were here."
"Okay." Leyton nodded faintly, snapped his fingers, and a dark gold pattern like dense scales emerged on the mechanical glove on his right hand. His eyes turned pale gold and vertical, then quickly returned to normal.
The candlelight in the cabin suddenly dimmed, and stars appeared one by one in the air, moving rapidly, outlining symbols and indications of the Concealment.
The cabin, shrouded in dim starlight, was cut off from its surroundings both in reality and in a mystical sense, isolating it from all external attacks and interactions.
"It's indeed much more convenient with you here," Roselle murmured softly, then turned to Nast, who was now looking serious in the high-backed chair at the head of the table, and explained with a light laugh, "Before my true resurrection, my identity cannot be exposed."
He paused, then continued, "I wonder if you've been following the news from Loen. I suspect someone in the Loen royal family is preparing to advance to Black Emperor."
"You need my help to stop him?"
"As the King of the Five Seas, my movements are constantly watched by various Churches and royal families. I cannot stay on land for long, and the Black Emperor's Sights in the Spirit World always leaves traces, making it unsuitable for places like Backlund."
As he spoke, Nast leaned back slightly, searching his mind for information he knew, and recalling the rituals related to the Black Emperor.
A moment later, he nodded in understanding and said, "The Church of the Lord of Storms has been investigating the disappearances of people in some maritime colonies. This wasn't something worth noting before, but now, I have some new insights."
When Nast stopped speaking, Roselle finally rose from his seat, his gaze level with Nast's, and said leisurely, "There are more suitable people than you to stop the god-ascension ritual, such as Bernadette, such as Bornova..."
"I need you to help me with another matter, which helps both me and yourself."
"I will lend you the Black Emperor card then. You only need to wait in the corresponding Spirit World in advance and use the Convergence effect between Beyonder characteristics to make the characteristics separated from that guy who failed to advance to Black Emperor gather around you. You don't need all of them, just one or two will do."
"As compensation, I will give you the characteristic belonging to the Duke of Entropy."