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Aaron walked down the winding stone steps, the strange symbols on the walls emitting faint red light, illuminating the path ahead like fireflies in the dark night.
The passage was incredibly quiet, with only the echo of Aaron's footsteps.
The further down he went, the more Aaron felt a sense of pressure, a suppression from a higher life form, the pressure of an Angel.
Reaching the end of the stone steps, Aaron arrived at a spacious hall. Swords, spears, and halberds covered in bronze rust filled the walls, exuding a strong aura of iron and blood.
A figure in classical full-body armor, with red hair and brown eyes, sat on a bronze chair at the back of the hall. The brown eyes quietly watched the young man descending the stone steps.
Aaron immediately felt an intense sense of oppression. Following his spiritual intuition, Aaron looked up at the source of that pressure, those brown eyes that seemed to flicker with fire and lightning.
Aaron was slightly startled. His spirituality instinctively connected with the dark gold mist, and the Crimson Moon imprint on his left wrist glowed faintly. The spear condensed from pale white flames and the sword light turned into lightning seemed to vanish like phantoms.
Aaron immediately lowered his head, no longer looking back at those brown eyes. The figure on the high-backed bronze chair also nodded slightly, seemingly pleased.
"This majesty, and the fact that merely looking at me could trigger the Crimson Moon imprint and even make me instinctively connect with the Sefirah, fire, and lightning, it must be right."
Aaron took a few steps forward, bowed, and saluted:
"Aaron of East Chester pays his respects to the First Duke of East Chester."
To Aaron's surprise, the figure on the high-backed bronze chair showed no angelic aloofness, responding casually, even with a hint of teasing:
"A very good young man, you've done very well. Our East Chester family has a bright future."
Seemingly sensing Aaron's surprise, He responded flatly:
"Do you think I don't seem like an Angel, not like those high and mighty ones in the churches who wear triple crowns?"
He sighed, speaking with a touch of helplessness:
"Since you have already become that existence's Blessed and asked Gusman about the Trunsoest family, you must have learned quite a bit about our family from that existence."
"I am indeed the Night Emperor's only son. To avoid suspicion and to cover my tracks, I did not follow the family's inherited Arbiter and Black Emperor pathways. Instead, I forged a new path, the Red Priest pathway."
"When my father, Alista Tudor, set a trap to kill Sauron, Einhorn, and Medici and achieve the Red Priest pathway, he did not intervene to stop it. He even provided some subtle assistance."
"As corresponding compensation, that leader of the Amon family gave my father a Grade 2 Beyonder Characteristic of the Weather Warlock, which was the key for me to break through and achieve Angelhood at the end of the Fourth Epoch."
"But everything has its pros and cons. Achieving Angelhood gave me the ability to protect the East Chester family, but the struggle between Divinity and Humanity was endless. Unlike the Angels of the major churches who had many believers when they achieved Angelhood and could stabilize their anchors against Divinity, I did not."
"At that time, I didn't want to become a Lunatic influenced by Divinity and solely focused on revenge. Relying on the hidden assistance provided by that existence, I exchanged long periods of slumber for short periods of clarity and rationality."
"This went on for many years, until our East Chester family truly prospered and I gained stable anchors. The long-term struggle between Humanity and Divinity also reached a point of reconciliation."
"This made me understand the preciousness of Humanity even more. So, after waking up, I have always maintained my Humanity. And my intuition tells me that you will definitely become an Angel in the future. I also hope you can learn from my experience."
As he spoke, the corner of the First Duke East Chester's mouth curved slightly, forming a mocking arc.
"Back then, I deliberately displayed some tendencies towards madness, and by showing weakness proactively, I signed a contract with that usurper, the first king of Loen, William Augustus I."
"I allowed East Chester County and the affiliated eastern sea area to join the Loen Kingdom, retaining only autonomy and partial military power, in exchange for the ducal title."
"Hmph, so many years have passed, that usurper must want to confirm my state. And as an Angel who has not openly defected or converted to any of the Orthodox Churches..."
"Once He confirms that I am in a state of mad loss of control and sealed, He can contact the various churches to dispatch Angels and Sealed Artifacts Grade 0, hmph hmph... to eliminate me, this unstable factor."
Aaron responded thoughtfully, "In that case, the churches can obtain Angel-level Beyonder materials and the East Chester family's accumulation of nearly a thousand years."
"And the Loen royal family can advance by retreating, exchanging the abandonment of those Beyonder materials for greater support from the churches, and can truly control East Chester County and the eastern coastal fleet."
Warner's brown eyes looked at Aaron again, a look of appreciation flashing through them:
"Given your current age and experience, the fact that you can think this far makes me very pleased. At least you won't be a reckless brute with courage but no strategy."
Aaron's mouth twitched. As expected of an Angel of the Hunter pathway, the provocation talent is maxed out. Even words of praise sound so awkward.
Warner sat on the high-backed bronze chair and thought for a moment. He raised his arm and waved slightly. A red flame appeared out of thin air, disappearing into the various strange patterns on the walls and the swords, spears, and halberds covered in bronze rust.
Aaron felt a vast and heavy barrier slowly rise and close. Aaron guessed this might be a higher-level Wall of Spirituality based on the Angel's Sequence.
"Why raise the Wall of Spirituality now? Is He going to say something more secretive?" Aaron's thoughts raced in his mind.
Warner sat on the high-backed bronze chair, looking at the young man not far away with pride and a smile.
"Since you already know that our East Chester family is a continuation of the Trunsoest family, you should understand the significance of the Arbiter pathway to our family."
"I can tell you in advance that I do have the complete formulas for the Arbiter pathway from Sequence 9 to Sequence 2. I only lack the Sequence 1 formula and the most important Sequence 0 advancement ritual."
"Unlike what is recorded in the family, which only has formulas from Sequence 9 to Sequence 4. The two Imperative Mages in the family have long since completely digested their potions, but why have they not advanced to Sequence 3 Chaos Hunter? Do you know why?"
Aaron looked at the ancestor on the platform, his mind racing with a touch of helplessness:
Malicious fun, this is definitely malicious fun. Why doesn't He just say it directly? He still wants to see if I'm a reckless brute with courage but no strategy.
Hmm... why? Not enough Beyonder materials? Unlikely. An Angel family with nearly a thousand years of history couldn't possibly fail to gather one set of Sequence 3 materials. It's not as rare as a Sequence 2 characteristic, of which there are only 9."
Aaron looked up at the figure on the high-backed bronze chair, as if he could see the slightly upturned corner of the mouth hidden beneath the helmet, and he couldn't help but feel speechless.
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