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Checker Ward stepped into the General's mansion, curiously observing the architectural style, but unexpectedly, he didn't see any Southern Continent characteristics.
The interior of the mansion neither controlled the lighting, making the rooms gloomy, nor boldly used a small amount of human bones as decoration to create a strong impact. Instead, it resembled a transplanted Northern Continent mansion, with an indelible Intis color.
Each column was segmented with gold leaf, the murals on the walls were vibrantly colored, surrounded by golden sculptures, and a spiraling, luxurious staircase descended from above, connecting all four floors and landing in the center of the hall, directly facing the entrance, making it extremely grand.
Checker Ward's gaze swept over the stair railings and the palm-sized golden angel statues protruding diagonally from the middle of the columns, with a somewhat complex expression. As a former intis noble, he was extremely familiar with these, which brought back memories and made him feel a bit down.
Bishop Montella walked ahead, entering the hall first, followed closely by Checker Ward and the butler, Haggis.
In the magnificent and luxurious council hall, two men stood on either side of a sofa, seemingly bidding farewell.
The man on the left was hatless, dressed in a sharp black military uniform with gleaming gold buttons and a blood-red sash.
His skin was light brown, his facial features were soft, and his facial features seemed undeveloped, tightly squeezed in the center of his face, making his face appear larger than average.
Having done his homework in advance and obtained information from various sources, Checker Ward immediately recognized him as Mesanyes, the de facto ruler of the Northern State of West Balam, who called himself a General.
He outwardly wavered between Loen, Intis, Feysac, Feynapotter, and several rebel forces, maintaining a balance, but secretly, he had already gained the support of the Numinous Episcopate's royal faction.
At the same time, he suspected that this indigenous General had also established a secret connection with the God of Knowledge and Wisdom Church, otherwise Bishop Montella wouldn't have come tonight.
What surprised Checker Ward was the young man with blonde hair and blue eyes on the right, who had a slightly familiar feeling and a distinctly Loen appearance.
More importantly, Checker could clearly sense that the other party was also a Beyonder, and his Sequence was higher than his own.
Mesanyes also noticed Bishop Montella entering and shook hands with the young man, smiling, "I'm sorry, Lieutenant Colonel Alfred, I have another guest. We can discuss the cooperation in detail later when we have the chance."
Alfred smiled and nodded, his peripheral vision scanning the incoming guests. He then calmly followed a servant out of the hall, every movement subtly revealing a convincing charm and authority.
After he left the General's mansion, Mesanyes dismissed everyone around him. When it was Checker Ward's turn, Bishop Montella suddenly waved his hand, signaling him to stay, and said to Mesanyes, whose eyes held a strange look, "This is one of us. He will also participate in the upcoming operation, and he can know some things."
Checker felt a string of question marks flash through his mind. Who is one of us? I don't want to know your affairs, don't talk nonsense!
He opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't say what was on his mind.
Mesanyes, however, nodded, no longer holding back, and quickly walked to Bishop Montella's side, saying, "Bishop, did Mr. Luca not come?"
Bishop Montella nodded and explained, "His Grace the Archbishop received a secret mission from the Church and will not be returning for some time, but this will not affect our cooperation."
"And I'm sure you know, the Rose School of Thought has been making moves recently, and they suffered a big loss a while ago. For safety reasons, let's change our transaction method."
-----------------
West of the Duke of East Tucker's Manor, on the open ground in front of a tall circular tower, its exterior covered in red copper rust and adorned with blades, spears, swords, and halberds.
The void distorted, colors vivid. Aaron stepped out, holding a box covered in complex patterns, and looked at the tall tower before him, remaining silent for a long time.
It wasn't until the ancient black iron token, gifted by his ancestor Varna, in his arms grew slightly warm and emitted a rich aura of iron and blood, that Aaron collected his scattered thoughts and stepped forward.
Entering the spacious hall, he walked past the high platform to the depths of the first floor. The passage behind the altar had already opened, and a winding stone staircase descended, bringing with it familiar pressures.
Aaron followed the winding stone steps downwards. Strange symbols on the walls emitted points of red light, illuminating the path ahead like fireflies in the dark night.
Suddenly, Aaron felt an irresistible force assailing him. Suppressing his instinctive reaction, Aaron closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, he was in a spacious hall. The walls were covered with blades, spears, swords, and halberds, all covered in red copper rust, exuding a strong aura of iron and blood.
A figure in classical full armor, with red hair and brown eyes, sat on a bronze chair deep within the hall, his brown eyes quietly watching the young man descending the stone steps.
Just as Aaron was about to bow, the box in his hand broke free, floated into the air, and opened on its own, revealing a Tarot card.
The card depicted a male priest in a crimson robe, seated in a chariot. The priest's appearance was clearly Roselle-Gustav!
The starlight in the upper left corner condensed into a line of text:
"Sequence 0: Red Priest"
Varna's brown eyes narrowed slightly. The Red Priest card instantly appeared in his hand, and the aura of iron and blood throughout the underground hall immediately intensified, a more powerful majesty emerging than before.
For a moment, Aaron seemed to see a phantom, peculiar crown covered in rust and bloodstains appear, only to vanish instantly.
The oppressive and stifling atmosphere lasted for a few seconds, then, as the Card of Blasphemy left his hand and floated in the air again, everything returned to normal.
Varna's deep sigh echoed in the underground hall, lingering for a long time:
"Is this the Card of Blasphemy Roselle made?"
"Can a Sequence 1 'Knowledge Emperor' of the Mystery Pryer Pathway truly achieve such a degree?"
Aaron was stunned, the words he had prepared to explain how he obtained the Card of Blasphemy caught in his throat. Then, he understood a little.
Roselle achieved Black Emperor at the last moment and fell shortly after becoming Sequence 0. Even Bernadette wasn't sure if Roselle had taken that final step.
Moreover, this was over 100 years ago, and Varna had been in slumber since the early Fifth Epoch, only shaking off the slumber state in recent decades.
It was reasonable for him to understand Roselle and the Card of Blasphemy, but with limited information, he could indeed only infer the strength of a Sequence 1 at most.
Thinking of this, Aaron pondered for a moment before looking up at Varna on the bronze chair and saying, "Roselle was not a Sequence 1, but a Sequence 0 Black Emperor."
As soon as he finished speaking, Aaron felt an extremely oppressive gaze fall upon him. He didn't feel uncomfortable, so he continued, "The path of the Mystery Pryer Pathway is almost broken. Roselle, with the help of certain individuals, obtained all the materials to become a Black Emperor. In the end, he became a god, but also fell."
"Black Emperor...." Varna listened in silence, as if recalling something. After a moment, a long sigh came.
Varna looked at Aaron below the platform and said with a touch of emotion, "Roselle was indeed a rare talent. If he had been born in the early Fourth Epoch, perhaps there would be eight Orthodox Churches now."
Then, with a hint of meaning, he continued, "Then do you know why he jumped Pathways to become a Black Emperor?"
Aaron pretended to think for a moment before responding, "Because the Black Emperor Pathway has the characteristic of resurrection. Even if one loses control or dies due to jumping Pathways, as long as they successfully advance, there is a possibility of resurrection. And once resurrected, they will not be bound by the original Pathway."
Varna nodded and then said, "I once told you that there are two Blasphemy Slates, both containing the mysteries of the Sequences."
"But most high-level existences have only seen the second Blasphemy Slate. That Blasphemy Slate contains more about the advancement methods of the 22 paths of gods, but it lacks some more important knowledge."
At this point, Varna sighed and continued, "When the first Black Emperor, Solomon, established his empire and ruled the Northern Continent, an existence who had seen both the first and second Blasphemy Slates first proposed a conjecture about the Black Emperor's resurrection conditions and characteristics."
"Simply put, the 'Black Emperor's' resurrection process has three stages: first, the 'Uniqueness' detaches from the owner, becoming conceptual and abstract; second, the 'Black Emperor's' subjects hear the majestic voice of this god again."
"Third, the 'Black Emperor,' fused with the 'Uniqueness,' reappears in the Astral World. Three Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics automatically return to their Emperor's hands, and this is an order that other True Gods cannot reverse or stop."
"Heh heh, True Gods cannot reverse or stop it. At the time, it sounded like a lie to deceive the Six Gods and a boast about the Black Emperor."
"And when that Black Emperor Solomon fell, and my father and that one established the Tudor-Trunsoest United Kingdom, this theory gradually disappeared."
"It wasn't until later, when Solomon resurrected in the Astral World and my father also fell to Sequence 2, that the Six Gods couldn't successfully prevent any of it from happening."
"At this point, everyone knew that the existence's conjecture was actually true, and the Uniqueness of the Black Emperor Pathway was thus remembered by all high-level existences at the time."
Aaron listened with great interest, never expecting that the Black Emperor's resurrection ritual, which he thought was already common knowledge, had such a story behind it.
Aaron also had a vague guess about the existence Varna mentioned and was secretly guessing the intention behind his words.
As Aaron pondered, Varna's gaze returned to the Red Priest card floating in the air, his tone unusually ethereal:
"Sequence 1 'Conqueror', Sequence 0 'Red Priest'."
"Inciting a continent-wide war and achieving sufficient victories, the essence of this god-ascension ritual is an examination of the 'Conqueror' potion's acting. Only a true 'Conqueror' can pass the test and advance to Sequence 0."
Varna chuckled twice, his voice complex as he continued, "That existence also mentioned another conjecture at the time, which is the origin of many subsequent events."
Aaron's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't help but look at Varna on the high platform, who silently opened his mouth, "The Red Priest can also be resurrected, but the conditions are more stringent."
"As long as the conquered still fear and revere him, and his subordinates still wage war, then he can resurrect from the chaos of war, and from the fear and reverence of the conquered."
"Alista Tudor, that lunatic, also believed this conjecture and did everything, just to achieve Red Priest."
"And after his fall, to prevent Alista Tudor from truly resurrecting, what were then the Seven Orthodox Churches jointly annihilated the Tudor family."
"At the same time, they covered up the history of the Fourth Epoch and eliminated the public's fear and reverence for him. What Alista Tudor did at the time could only be eliminated by this method, otherwise he wouldn't have been called the 'Blood' Emperor."
Aaron's mind raced, quickly flashing through the influences and attitudes of various factions towards the Red Priest Pathway, and many conjectures immediately arose in his mind.
-----------------
Southwest of the Berserk Sea, on the sea north of West Balam in the Southern Continent.
Ferran Eddas stood leisurely on the deck, enjoying the sea breeze and the leisurely time without classes.
It had been a long time since he and Danitz returned from Bayam. The captain's plan had worked well; now, almost all well-known pirates knew about the Vice Admiral Iceberg's failed treasure hunt.
And the captain, for some time recently, didn't seem to have researched anything. Instead, she purchased a lot of military supplies at Hakata Port and informed them that their next stop would be the Southern Continent.
In the Golden Dream's captain's cabin, Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina Edwards sat behind her desk, holding a deep red ink pen, writing something unknown.
Suddenly, she raised an eyebrow, put down her pen, pulled at the lace-flower-tied collar of her shirt cuff, and walked behind the rows of bookshelves.
On the side of the last row of bookshelves, a figure slowly emerged.
This was an elder in a plain white robe with brass-colored silk threads, his hair completely white but meticulously combed, and a pair of deep grey-green eyes that seemed bottomless. It was none other than Archbishop Lucca Brewster of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom Church.
He placed the large black iron key he was holding on the shelf and said at a steady pace, "I have returned from Azshara's Cathedral. This key is still in your keeping, and you can dispose of it as you wish."
As he spoke, a book bound with parchment appeared in Lucca Brewster's hand. On its dark brown cover was a line of ancient Feysac Language:
"Groselle's Travels"
"This came from a sunken ship at the bottom of the sea, submerged for 165 years, and still undamaged."
Lucca Brewster briefly introduced it, then added, "This item, like that key, you can dispose of as you wish. You can also sell it to people who are interested in it."
Edwina Edwards's eyes deepened. After a moment of contemplation, she slowly spoke, "Is this also the Cathedral's intention?"
Lucca Brewster nodded, and then his figure strangely distorted and dissipated as if he had never appeared, leaving only a box behind, his lingering voice still echoing, "I've given you the Beyonder characteristic and the coordinates. Go there as soon as possible to complete the transaction; I have other tasks."
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