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Aaron patted the shoulder of Harland Rooney, who had heavy dark circles under his eyes, and praised him, "Well done. The family sees your contributions. I will help you find the potion formula for Sequence 5 Astronomer."
"I never treat those who work for me unfairly."
Aaron was not the type of Boss who drew a big picture for his employees; he only made promises when he was somewhat confident.
Before Roselle became the Black Emperor by crossing Pathways, he was Sequence 1 Knowledge Emperor of the Mystery Pryer Pathway.
As the Son of Steam, he definitely knew a lot about the adjacent Pathway of Savant, not to mention that he later created 22 Blasphemy Cards.
As Roselle's favorite child, Bernadette, a Sequence 3 of the Mystery Pryer Pathway, most likely also possessed some potion formulas for the Savant Pathway.
Bernadette might also hold clues to several Blasphemy Slate, or even an unknown number of Blasphemy Slate; it is confirmed that she currently holds at least one Wheel of Fortune card.
Even if she didn't have any of these, there was still her younger brother, a Sequence 2 Knowledge Magister, and a high-ranking member of the God of Church of the God of Steam and Machinery. As long as there were clues, there would always be a way.
Harland Rooney nodded excitedly, showing his loyalty.
Aaron withdrew his gaze from him with satisfaction. Not feeling any reaction from the token Joseph Wall had given him in Backlund earlier, Aaron looked suspiciously into the depths of the City Lord's Mansion and casually asked,
"Do you know where Joseph Wall is? I'd like to see him."
Upon hearing this, Harland Rooney's expression immediately became serious. He raised his hand and pointed to the vast ancient forest east of Saint Annes City:
"Lord Baron, the City Lord is not in Saint Annes right now."
Meeting Aaron's puzzled gaze, he explained,
"You might not know, but the war in West Balam has entered a fierce stage, subtly escalating from localized conflicts."
"Across East Balam, the colonial areas bordering Loen and the Feysac Empire have almost entered a state of war preparedness."
"A few days ago, the Loen Southern Sonia Navy's disastrous defeat made the Feysac Empire even more rampant. The situation in the area where the family's colonial zone borders the Feysac Empire in the ancient forest is now extremely tense."
"A High Priest of the God of Combat Church even came personally. He is a Sequence 4 Demon Hunter. To prevent any accidents, the City Lord personally went to the front lines and took many Beyonder of the city's families and Sealed Artifact with him."
Aaron frowned slightly. He knew the truth behind the war in West Balam and didn't expect Feysac's appetite to be so large, wanting to take the opportunity to swallow all the East Tucker family's colonies at once.
"Demon Hunter, huh…"
Aaron's lips curled into a mocking arc. He glanced at Bayer Baile, who stood beside him with a furious expression, and comforted him leisurely,
"Don't worry, maybe you'll even thank him later."
Without explaining to the bewildered Bayer Baile, Aaron returned to the bedroom prepared for him, planning to stay in Saint Annes for a while.
Anyway, with the "Traveler's Badge," he could directly teleport for the rest of his journey without worrying about time, as he had plenty of it.
Skillfully dismissing Evelina, Aaron was about to summon a messenger to put the object with the positioning coordinates deep into the Spirit World.
Before he could even begin the ritual, Aaron's spirituality stirred slightly, and he turned to look to the side.
A letter floated down onto the table, and Astolfo, covered in complex patterns, stood quietly in the corner of the room.
Aaron glanced at the candle in his hand, silently put it back, picked up the letter on the table, and unfolded it. Familiar handwriting came into view.
With a slight curve of his lips, he folded the letter back into his pocket. Aaron took out the four conical objects emanating strong spiritual fluctuations and pushed them towards Astolfo.
After explaining the purpose of these items, Aaron looked at his influential messenger, pondered for a moment, and carefully began,
"My idea is to place them in a relatively safe place deep within the Spirit World. Hmm, a place that is relatively safe for me."
Astolfo made no demands, simply nodded, and his figure instantly vanished into the Spirit World. The four boxes on the table also disappeared instantly.
Sitting back at his desk, Aaron unfolded Audrey's letter and read it carefully. Then, he took out a piece of letter paper and began to write:
"Dear Audrey, I am very happy to receive your letter."
"I have already arrived in the Southern Continent and will reach Lloyd City in Pritz River Valley in a few days."
"Your second brother, Alfred Hall, should have already arrived there. If you have anything you want to tell him, you can send it in the next letter, and I will forward it to him."
"As for hunting the Admiral of Blood…"
Aaron's pen paused as he was writing, hearing layers of illusory pleas.
"What a strange voice, it should be a male."
After making a brief judgment, Aaron frowned. His honorific name had not yet been leaked, and very few people knew it.
He tapped his finger on the table, blew the ink dry, carefully put away the unfinished letter, and sank his consciousness above the dark golden mist.
Aaron leaned against the throne and looked along the source of the pleas to the palace wall. There was a point of light formed by a shielded prayer, from which spirituality extended, probing into it.
Through the hazy mist, Aaron saw an acquaintance, Yuri, the cultist who believed in the "God of Weather" and had been hypnotized in Bansy Harbor.
At this moment, he had stopped praying, completely forgetting what he had just done, and was looking ahead with a fanatical expression.
There were protruding stone pillars, on which dozens of people with closed eyes and bruised bodies were tied.
Their blood slowly flowed, merging into the thick mist deep in the valley.
Aaron felt the sense of repulsion from the depths of the valley against his gaze and secretly guessed that it was the instinctive repulsion between different Sefirah. He did not rashly continue to explore.
Based on the connection established by the prayer just now, Aaron already knew that a large-scale ritual would be held at midnight tonight. The people on the stone pillars were all sacrifices, and the "God of Weather" who received the sacrifices would bestow power upon his believers.
Since the hypnosis had expired and the other party was no longer praying, the scene formed by the prayer light spot could be interrupted at any time.
Without any hesitation, Aaron quickly raised his vision. With the true vision provided by the Sefirah, he finally discovered the hidden ritual site concealed within the dense mist.
Just as Aaron noted down the specific location of this valley, before he could explore any more information, the prayer light spot was directly interrupted.
Recalling the scene he had just seen, Aaron waved his hand, drew in the Black Emperor card, and after accommodating it, unfastened the divination pendant from his wrist and began to divine.
A moment later, looking at the randomly spinning divination pendant that offered no revelations, Aaron sighed.
Even though he knew that the divination might be interfered with by the influence of high-level existences, making it impossible to obtain effective results, he was still somewhat disappointed.
Aaron peeled off the Black Emperor card and put it back into the pile of miscellaneous items. Then, he took out a paper crane that had been rewritten multiple times and was almost crumpled beyond recognition, and returned to the real world.
Unfolding the paper crane, Aaron found the thinnest pen and carefully wrote a message in the last intact blank space:
"I need help and would like to meet you."
After folding it back up and placing it by his pillow, Aaron lay down on the bed.
A familiar drowsiness swept over him, and Aaron suddenly opened his eyes, finding himself in a desolate plain. Under his feet were black stones, without even a single blade of grass.
In the center of the plain stood a black spire. In front of the black spire, Will Auceptin played with the slightly tattered paper crane and mumbled to Aaron,
"Didn't I give you several paper cranes? Why do you always use this one? You're too frugal."
Looking at Aaron, who was smiling awkwardly, he didn't continue the topic and instead asked,
"Tell me, it's so late, what do you need me for?"
Aaron coughed lightly and got to the point:
"Esteemed Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask you to look at my fortune tonight, well, for the next few days."
Will Auceptin looked at Aaron strangely for a moment, then seemed to realize something, his face darkened, and he muttered in a low voice,
"I knew it. Every time I see you, it's never good news."
Feeling a strange fluctuation spread throughout his body, Aaron was a little embarrassed and didn't know how to respond.
"Hmm? Did you encounter those old men in the Spirit World recently?"
Aaron froze for a few seconds before realizing that "old men" referred to the "Seven Lights of the Spirit World." He then nodded:
"Yes, I met the incarnation of 'Orange Light' Hilarion and had a conversation with him."
"That's right, so it was that fat old man," Will Auceptin clicked his tongue and continued,
"This old man helped you erase your traces in the Spirit World and even gave you some disguise."
Aaron was immediately surprised, then frowned and asked,
"Hmm, will this affect your observation?"
Seemingly displeased with the suspicious tone, Will Auceptin scoffed:
"I am the noble Snake of Fate, not some strange Spirit World creature. That fat old man Hilarion can't affect me. It would be closer if all seven of them came together."
"Your recent fortune has been consistently good. Hmm, as expected of someone favored by me."
Ignoring Will Auceptin's obviously boastful words, Aaron's face broke into a flattering smile after getting the answer he wanted:
"Mr. Speaker, the help I mentioned to you when I was in Bayam last time, I want to use it tonight. Hmm, to hunt an Angel."
"You're so powerful, you definitely won't refuse my request, right?"
Will Auceptin's previously somewhat smug face instantly stiffened. He stared at Aaron and gritted his teeth, saying,
"Hunt?"
"That's an Angel, an existence that could be called a demigod in the ancient era. It's not a common cabbage on the roadside. Have you really thought clearly about taking this risk?"
"And you didn't say that last time. Hunting an Angel and taking action against an Angel are two different concepts."
Looking at Will Auceptin's darkened face, Aaron, who hadn't expected such a strong reaction, hurriedly explained:
"Including you, I can invite three Angels for this operation, plus at least one Grade 0 Sealed Artifact."
"The target is just a heavily injured Sequence 2 Angel. After the battle, I also have a way to erase the traces of our fight, so your archenemy won't track you down."
Hearing Aaron's explanation, Will Auceptin's expression improved significantly, and his gaze towards Aaron became very strange:
"Alright then, working with you really makes me worry myself sick."
Saying that, he threw the tattered paper crane in his hand towards Aaron and added,
"After you find Ricciardo, remember to give him this paper crane too. The means I originally left for him won't be enough to complete your mission."
"Also, if the situation changes in any way, you must first ensure Ricciardo's safety. Don't even think about him; he has his own mission."
Nonsense, am I that kind of person?
Aaron coughed unnaturally. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted:
"He will later take an important Sealed Artifact from our Life School of Thought and leave traces around the world to attract the attention of another stinky snake."
"If you don't want to be tracked by a King of Angels, then protect Ricciardo well and don't let anything unexpected happen."
"Angel of Fate" Ouroboros.
The phrase instantly appeared in Aaron's mind, and he immediately felt that Ricciardo was a hot potato. He had originally wanted to try to win him over, but now he instantly lost the desire to speak.
Looking at the disappointed expression on Aaron's face, Will Auceptin withdrew his gaze with satisfaction and finally said,
"Give this paper crane to Ricciardo. He will know when to make a move. You can leave now."
Before Aaron could express his gratitude, the dream shattered with a crash.
Aaron, politely dismissed from the dream, picked up the paper crane by his pillow. The "Traveler's Badge" in his jacket pocket shimmered, emitting a faint, illusory light blue glow.
A portal suddenly materialized, as if reaching out from the void, and Aaron's figure faded with it, disappearing.
-----------------
West Balam, Intis Colony, Caesar Port, separated from Saint Annes by the entire Pritz River Valley.
A peaceful night enveloped the area. In the spacious and luxurious reception hall of the aristocratic district, far from the civilian area, sat three people, but the atmosphere was somewhat strange.
Anthony, responsible for the Caesar Port diocese of the Numinous Episcopate Slumber Faction, had now achieved Sequence 5 Gatekeeper.
Opposite him sat Shaman King Klarman, and Enzo, also a Sequence 5 Winner, was only allowed to stand behind Klarman.
But he had no complaints, looking at Anthony, who was sitting on the sofa opposite him, with hidden pity in the depths of his eyes.
Anthony put down the newspaper with a somewhat dazed expression. A blood gash appeared on his right cheek, and the outline of a human face faintly emerged.
Though no one spoke, a voice, as if from the underworld, echoed out of thin air:
"Hehehe, this is quite different from the Rose School of Thought I remember. When did they become so unrestrained and flamboyant? But this is also good."
"But now it seems your little tricks have been noticed by them, otherwise this 'King of the Blood Moon' should have been you."
Glancing at "Anthony," Klarman responded with a calm, unreadable expression:
"Your Highness, you perished at the end of the Fourth Epoch. It was very difficult for me to find a Gatekeeper to free you."
"And many things have happened since the Fifth Epoch, not just our Rose School of Thought, but also the former Church of Death, and now the Numinous Episcopate. I presume you must have noticed."
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