The members of the Tarot Club have just heard a shocking piece of news from the "Hermit": the Blood Emperor Tudor killed Medici in order to become the true god of the non-adjacent path!
After about three or four seconds, Klein, the "Fool," who was the first to react, manipulated the "World" to ask, "He... I mean, Thudor, didn't He lose control because of this?"
Theoretically speaking, jumping to an adjacent path may only carry some risk.
Even wild extraordinary beings should know that jumping onto a non-adjacent path will cause them to lose control on the spot and die instantly.
Other members also had the same question: Why would Tudor take such a risk?
Remember the original website domain 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞
Even if He cannot become a Sequence 1, becoming a Sequence 2 angel is not too unacceptable compared to the risks of jumping to a non-adjacent path.
"I can't give you a definite answer," Odis said. "However, based on some information I've gathered, once you reach the level of a god, you can break many common-sense notions."
"Or rather, at this level, one has a stronger capacity to withstand the consequences of jumping to non-adjacent paths."
"But Tudor paid a heavy price for this; it is said that He was in a state of madness and bloodlust most of the time!"
Klein, behind the gray fog, suddenly recalled Mr. Azik's description: that the Blood Emperor was as tall as a mountain, and that he was severely injured by just one glance from him.
Connecting this to the intelligence he'd acquired in today's trade, Klein suddenly understood why Mr. Azik's description of the "Blood Emperor" seemed somewhat strange.
The other members were simply listening to the two's exchange; the shock of the information they had just received was too great, and they were still somewhat taken aback.
This also includes the "priestess" Cattleya, who, although possessing extensive knowledge of mysticism, lacks this kind of advanced knowledge, and is therefore still processing this information.
A second or two later, "Justice" Audrey suddenly realized: This was actually a choice that Tudor had to make under duress, and upon closer reflection, it felt somewhat tragic.
Alger the Hanged Man also came to his senses: No wonder Thudor was called the "Blood Emperor"—it was because of his madness and bloodlust.
"The Sun" Derrick quickly realized that the "Blood Emperor's" state was somewhat similar to that of the ancient gods described in historical records. Just as "The Hermit" had said, at such a high level, one might possess the power to counteract madness and bloodlust.
Emlyn, recovering from his shock, asked, "Mr. Hermit, why would Thudor do that? I mean, didn't He consider jumping to an adjacent path?"
Klein and the other members all looked up at the "moon," even Odis was somewhat surprised.
Emlyn asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's wrong? Is there... something wrong with my question?"
"No," Odis smiled.
Everyone was just a little surprised that Mr. "Moon" would ask such a question.
Looking back at previous transactions, "Moon" usually fails to notice the most crucial parts of a transaction immediately.
His sudden question was rather unusual.
"Because the adjacent route to the 'Black Emperor' has been occupied by someone else," Odis replied.
Emlyn was about to ask who had taken the spot, but then he remembered that he had already used up his chance to ask a question, so he didn't ask.
Klein, Alger, and Cattleya, who possessed relevant knowledge of occultism, had already deduced that the "Night Emperor" had possessed them.
Seeing that no one had any questions, Odis continued, "Before Solomon was resurrected, Tudor and Trensost had already established their empires. After Solomon's resurrection, the 'Age of the Four Emperors' officially began."
"Relatively speaking, the Tudor Empire is the weakest. It's not that this empire's extraordinary power is the weakest, but rather that it is isolated and helpless!"
"Solomon has the support of the 'true creator,' while Trensost has the support of the six gods."
"'The Underworld Emperor' Salinger should be an ally of Solomon, and at that time there were also some extraordinary forces in the Southern Continent that supported the 'Underworld Emperor's' rule."
"Moreover, the Byron Empire in the Southern Continent has the opportunity to observe two tigers fighting and make the right choice."
"On the Tudor Empire's side, only the 'Primordial Witch' is suspected of supporting Tudor, while the 'Black Emperor' is Tudor's enemy. Although the 'Night Emperor' and Tudor do not have the same level of hatred as Tudor and Solomon, the 'Blood Emperor' and the 'Night Emperor' are also in a state of mutual hostility."
"The 'Emperor of the Underworld' is an ally of the 'Black Emperor,' and it is unlikely that he will join forces with Tudor."
"So even though the great nobles of Tudor are very powerful, and even with the support of the 'Primal Witch', He has no ally He can trust."
Audrey felt a sense of loneliness once again, feeling that the "Blood Emperor" was the loneliest of the Four Emperors.
Alger, the "Hanged Man," also thought: This seems to be a story about people who will use any means necessary to survive.
Then he sighed and suddenly recalled some of his life experiences.
Cattleya then asked the Hermit, "Could you explain in detail why you believe that the 'Primordial Witch' once supported the 'Blood Emperor'?"
She knew that the "Primal Witch" had once joined forces with the "Emperor of the Underworld," but she had never heard that the "Primal Witch" had supported the "Blood Emperor."
"This comes from another piece of information I received," Odis replied: "The Blood Emperor and the Primordial Witch once had two daughters."
Or perhaps a son and a daughter?
Everyone was taken aback. Emlyn asked, "Gods have children?"
Everyone looked at the "moon" again, and the "magician" Fors thought to himself: Can't gods have offspring?
Emlyn paused for a moment before saying, "I...I mean, I've heard that gods have descendants, but...I've never heard of them having children..."
At this point, he smiled helplessly: "I only heard that the 'Blood Emperor' and the 'Primordial Witch' had two daughters, and I didn't immediately realize it."
Everyone else looked away, because they had also been momentarily stunned into realizing that the two of them actually had offspring!
Odis said, "I also obtained this advanced information by chance. The 'Primordial Witch' had already become a god at that time. As a god, if it wasn't her own will, it's unlikely that the 'Blood Emperor' would use force to compel her to bear offspring for him."
"Of course, the process of the 'Blood Emperor' and the 'Primordial Witch' having a child must have been for their own purposes, and it is unlikely that it was because of love."
"But no matter what, the fact that the 'Primordial Witch' did this shows that she supported the 'Blood Emperor,' even if it wasn't overt support, it was covert support."
Cattleya nodded; she hadn't expected this kind of "evidence."
Audrey asked curiously, "'The Hermit,' what happened to their daughter? Why have I never heard of her?"
"Because the 'Primordial Witch's' condition seemed to become somewhat strange later on," Odis replied. "It seems that one of their two daughters died, and the other is still alive and should be a relatively important figure in the 'Witch Cult'."
This was an important piece of intelligence he had obtained in Backlund. He wasn't entirely clear on the specifics, but based on his deductions, the survivor must now be an angel. Regardless of the extraordinary organization, angels are always important figures.
Moreover, Odis did not intend to explain that the one who survived was a son, who later became a daughter.
Audrey thought to herself: I have learned about another ancient angel, and His parents were two gods.
Seeing that no one had any further questions, Odis continued, "In the initial standoff, the Tudor Empire did not immediately fall into a disadvantageous position, but it is said that this empire's attack was the most ferocious."
"Later I thought about it and realized that I had to be crazy. It's actually the same as ordinary people. Without a background, you can only rely on your own hard work and struggle..."
When Alger heard this, he felt as if the words had hit home.
His experience has been quite bumpy, and things have only recently become a little smoother.
"...After Tudor and Trensost joined forces to eliminate Solomon, the Tudor Empire's disadvantages became even more apparent," Odis continued.
"I once guessed that Tudor was so easy to talk to, and gave the uniqueness of the 'Black Emperor' and a Sequence 1 attribute to Terensost in order to deepen the conflict between Terensost and the Six Gods."
"Because for Thudor, who has become the 'Red Priest,' the uniqueness of the 'Black Emperor' and the Sequence 1 attribute are no longer of any use."
"But these things can inflate Trensust's ambition, making him want to become stronger."
Odis paused deliberately, giving the other members a chance to ask questions.
As expected, Alger immediately asked, "After obtaining the uniqueness and Sequence 1 characteristic of the Black Emperor, will the Night Emperor become even stronger?"
"This is a complex and advanced issue," Odis said. "It's not included in this deal."
Klein couldn't help but wonder: Could it be that after acquiring the sequence 1 characteristics and uniqueness of adjacent paths, the gods could forcibly accommodate them? And thus become even more powerful?
But then he realized: such a conclusion is not complicated, it should not be that simple.
Cattleya also keenly noticed this: the levels of the gods hold many secrets!
Odis continued, "But Trensus maintained great composure and did not immediately reveal his ambition. After eliminating Solomon, he turned his attention to the Tudor Empire."
"The support of the Six Gods has put enormous pressure on the Tudor Empire."
"Fortunately, the six gods are not in harmony, so the Tudor Empire still has some room to survive."
"At that time, the Byron Empire was also under great pressure, but later changes in the situation showed that the Byron Empire did not join forces with the Tudor Empire to deal with the Terensost Empire."
"There is some evidence that the Byron Empire and the Trensust Empire seem to be trending toward forming an alliance."
Isolation again! Audrey lamented: The Tudor Empire seems to be filled with uncompromising principles from the very beginning, making it easy to become isolated.
The other members also sensed a heaviness in this description. In fact, at this point, the fate of the Tudor Empire was already sealed, but they still couldn't help but want to hear how the Tudor Empire resisted this fate in its final days, and whether there was ever a chance for a turnaround.
Odis continued, "I am not clear about the specific wars during which the country was destroyed, nor have I received any relevant intelligence."
"However, I believe that the 'Blood Emperor' must have fought with all his might, and the great nobles of this empire must have fought with all their might as well."
"Because these noble families, apart from the Tamara family, all seem very powerful, but none of them are extraordinary powers recognized by the mainstream gods."
"Or rather, the entire process of establishing the Tudor Empire was implicitly marked by a struggle against the six gods."
"Later I guessed that Tudor was probably tired of the Six Gods issuing orders at will, so he never intended to remain one of the rulers of the 'United Empire'."
"So He secretly conspired with Abraham and others to build nine tombs under the watchful eyes of the six gods, until Solomon, in preparation for the resurrection, had no choice but to jump to a non-adjacent path."
Odis took a deep breath and said, "I rarely take the initiative to evaluate historical figures, after all, I can't put myself in their shoes to understand their choices and their feelings."
"But I must say a few words about the 'Blood Emperor'. Although he failed, and although many people have commented that he was an irrational opportunist."
"But I think he was a rebel, a person who rebelled against the world."
"He may not be so noble, nor have grand ideals; he may simply rebel to realize some of his own ideas."
"But in an extraordinary world, in a world where sequence trumps everything, such a spirit of rebellion is very rare."
Upon hearing the "Hermit's" words, Audrey also felt that the "Blood Emperor's" life was a magnificent and eventful one.
Even seasoned veterans like Alger and Cattleya were somewhat agitated by the "Hermit's" words.
They seem to have not felt this kind of excitement for life and ideals for a long time.
"The Magician" Fors had the idea of writing a biography of "The Blood Emperor," but when he thought that it couldn't be published and that someone would have to collect the copper pennies from the gas meter, he decisively abandoned the idea.
"Sun" Derrick and "Moon" Emlyn were completely empathetic, feeling that the "Blood Emperor's" failure was a pity.
Klein smiled helplessly: Why do I feel like I'm "smuggling in my own agenda"?
"That concludes the details of this transaction." Odis looked around and, seeing that no one had any questions, ended the transaction.
At this moment, everyone suddenly realized the cruelty of the "Battle of the Four Emperors".
As for the Solomon Empire, because the "True Creator" has always supported the empire, people generally do not have a good impression of it.
However, people didn't have a good or bad opinion about the Tudor Empire beforehand; they felt some sympathy for its plight.
For several seconds, no one spoke in the hall. It was "Little Sun" who broke the silence and said to "The Hermit," "Mr. Hermit, this time I wish to trade six extraordinary weapons: three 'Ice Bombs' and three 'Thunderstorm Bombs.'"
Odis nodded: "I still owe you 40 pounds from the last party, and I paid 200 pounds for this party, so you owe me 160 pounds."
"Add the six weapons you need, and the total value is 300 pounds."
"In that case, you will have to pay me a total of 460 pounds, which is 7 extraordinary materials of Sequence 9. In that case, I will owe you 30 pounds."
Derrick nodded without any hesitation and said, "Okay, I will offer the corresponding materials after the party."
After their transactions were completed, the Tarot Club seemed to return to the transaction process.
Klein manipulated the "world" and said, "Who has, or who can obtain, a magical item with very strong offensive power?"
His target was the "priestess," because only the "Star Admiral," who had traversed the seas for many years, could meet his needs; even the "craftsman" whom the "Hanged Man" knew was no match.
After a two-second silence, Gadriya said, "If similar items appear at any of the extraordinary gatherings I attend, I will keep an eye out for them for you."
The recent pirate conference ended badly, and another one is about to be held. In addition to discussing some of the problems facing pirates, the senior pirates will also have some trading and partying activities.
"The World" nodded, and Klein thought to himself: It seems that even "Admiral of the Stars" is not well-off.
Seeing that the two had finished their conversation, Odis then said to "The Magician" Fors, "I have a commission for you, or rather, an invitation."
Fors was taken aback: "What request?"
She had previously speculated that the "hermit" was likely the "leader".
Fors was really looking forward to the "Hermit's" request, as it would give him more clues to determine whether the "Hermit" was indeed the "Leader".
"I have discovered a ruin," Odis said. "I need the help of an extraordinary person who has reached the 'Apprentice' pathway, so I thought of you first and would like to invite you to explore the ruin together."
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
Audrey thought to herself: I really want to participate in such an exploration!
Fors was about to agree immediately. She had heard from extraordinary people more than once that they could often find valuable things in ruins. She could almost see gold coins beckoning to her.
But she quickly calmed down and said with a wry smile, "'Hermit' sir, I'm only at Sequence 8."
She wasn't worried about being in danger after meeting the "Hermit," for reasons similar to Cattleya's previous thoughts.
This collaboration is witnessed by Mr. Fool, and if the Hermit harms other members, the Hermit will certainly be punished as well.
Moreover, Fors knew that he could ask "The Fool" for help in critical moments, and the reward would be more of Russell's diaries.
"Your main role is to open the entrance," Odis said. "If you feel it's dangerous, you don't have to explore with me."
"But in that case, you will not be entitled to a share of the discoveries inside the ruins; I will only give you a reward of 600 pounds."
Caldelia and Alger and the others did not react. They knew very well that unless the "Hermit" invited them, they had no need to take the initiative to learn about this exploration that they obviously could not participate in.
Emlyn was quite interested and looked forward to the Hermit's invitation: Did the Hermit not want an experienced vampire of the Baron rank in his team?
But then he felt a little guilty, because he had only heard other vampires talk about their experiences exploring ruins, but he had never explored them himself.
Fors took a deep breath, surprised by the high reward, which meant that the "Hermit" was confident of finding something valuable in the ruins.
But she tried to calm herself down: "Can I open the entrance?"
Odis smiled and continued, "It's the remains of an Abrahamic family, so it needs your abilities."
Fors sat up straight immediately: "I'm willing to explore with you."
She asked, "When do we depart? And roughly where?"
Since it's about the relics of Abraham's family, we have to explore it.
"The day after tomorrow." Odis had already made arrangements: "Thursday or Friday morning at eight o'clock, I'll pick you up in Backlund. You can write down an address for me on a piece of paper."
"As for the exact location of that ruin, I cannot tell you right now."
His schedule is quite full lately, so we can only talk about it in a couple of days.
Fors nodded: "Okay."
She asked Mr. Fool for help, and gave him an address to send to the Hermit.
Odis picked up the note and looked at it: Verdi Park, by the artificial lake.
He glanced at Fors; that park was where he, Fors, and Hugh had fought against the spies of the Forsac Empire.
Odis thought to himself: This probing is far too obvious.
Feeling uncomfortable under the "Hermit's" gaze, Fors reached out and smoothed her hair, turning her head away as if she had done something wrong and dared not meet the "Hermit's" eyes.
Audrey, who was standing nearby, noticed the reactions of the two people and quickly came to a fairly certain guess: "The Hermit" also knew Fors! Obviously, Fors had just been testing "The Hermit", but "The Hermit" immediately saw through it and guessed Fors' identity in the real world.
Odis didn't seem to care much about this, since even if Fors knew that the "Hermit" was the "Leader," it wouldn't pose any threat to him.
After finalizing the matter, Klein manipulated "The World" to look at "The Hanged Man": "I have received news that the Church of Storms has taken action, and the situation in Bansiport has been initially resolved."
Recently at sea, Alger, who had no connection with the church, asked rhetorically, "What was the final outcome?"
After the last gathering, Alger gave the church a brief report on the information he had learned about Bansi Port at the Tarot meeting.
He didn't expect the church to give feedback so quickly.
The World replied: "Bansi Port will not exist for some time."
It was only then that Audrey and the others realized what they were discussing.
Bansi Port is where the descendants of the Medici live. Two weeks ago, the "Hermit" warned that the Medici family members there were likely severely contaminated.
Audrey thought to herself, "Mr. World means that the Church of Storms has wiped out Bansi Harbor? That's just like them."
Then she asked, "Mr. World, are you familiar with the specific process?"
"The World" glanced at "The Hanged Man" slightly: "No one can understand, except the higher-ups of the Church of Storms."
Alger fell silent: I want to become a high-ranking member of the church!
He emphasized it to himself.
Cattleya, who was attending the tarot meeting for the second time, didn't understand what the others were talking about at all.
As a pirate general, she was no stranger to Bansi Harbor, but she had no idea what had happened there or why the Church of Storms had destroyed it and spent so long rebuilding it.
However, this "pirate general" possessed sufficient composure; she remained silent and did not utter a question. Instead, she continued to listen, hoping that the subsequent conversation would resolve her doubts.
Just then, Emlyn "The Moon," who had been waiting for quite some time, cleared his throat and said, "Thanks to Mr. 'The Hanged Man' for his help, I am now a baron."
"I have a question: as a vampire, after being promoted to baron, do I need to undergo a so-called 'digestion' process using 'acting' like you humans do, in order to better master my extraordinary characteristics?"
Audrey pursed her lips: "Mr. Moon" really wants to tell everyone that he is already Sequence 6! Why does he seem less mature than "Sun"?
Odis replied, "Theoretically speaking, it is necessary, since you are using someone else's 'legacy'."
Cattleya then gave a more detailed answer: "You need to play the role because only Sequence 7 of your pathway is called 'vampire,' and you are born vampires, so you don't need to play the role. Other sequences do."
"Ahem." Emlyn coughed. "'Priestess', I must emphasize one point: vampires, not vampires."
Caldelia smiled naturally and said, "Okay."
At this point, Emlyn was a little puzzled: Why wasn't everyone surprised? Didn't they know that being promoted to "Baron" meant being promoted to Sequence 6?
After Emlin's questions were answered, the discussion session of the gathering began.
The members shared their experiences from the past week one by one. When it came to Odis, he said, "Yesterday I encountered a ghost ship that was affected by the 'Trentost Empire'."
"According to my investigation, the 'Empire' seems to be in a strange state. If you encounter this ship, please be careful."
He was reminding Cattleya and Alger, who were also at sea.
Although the probability of encountering them is very small, Odis will definitely tell them if she does.
Cattleya understood the meaning of "the hermit" and slowly nodded, wondering to herself: Was the "hermit" also on the high seas? Or had his passenger ship encountered a ghost ship?
This left her increasingly confused, unable to understand what the "Hermit" really was, or what organization he belonged to.
Alger then asked, "Where did you encounter the ghost ship?"
"Southwest of the Raging Sea," Odis said simply. "However, the 'Empire' seems to be in the eastern part of the Raging Sea."
At this point, Fors and the other members realized that the information the "Hermit" had been providing recently had all come from the sea, and they each guessed that the "Hermit" might have gone to the sea.
Audrey felt a surge of joy: "The Hermit" had already set sail! How she longed for such a carefree life!
Klein, who also deduced that the "Hermit" had already set sail, thought to himself: The pirates are doomed.
Because wherever this "hermit" goes, someone will suffer.
Then "Justice" Audrey asked, "'The Hermit', what kind of ship is the 'Trensurest Empire'?"
Odis explained, "You can think of it as the legacy of the Terensus Empire."
"It is said to be very large, like a city on the sea, but I am not sure exactly when it was built."
"Everyone says that it was the ship that carried the members of the Ternsost family to escape the Empire, and that all the Empire's treasures were put on that ship."
"But I think that statement is not quite right, because even in the mysterious world, it would take time to build such a large ship."
"If the Terensus Empire faces an unprecedented crisis, the best option is to flee on the existing ships."
"However, it seems that the ship did not serve any purpose before the Terensost Empire was destroyed, and strangely, the ship also disappeared."
Audrey nodded slowly, and the other members who hadn't gone to sea and didn't know about the "treasure at sea" also nodded, understanding the origin of the ship.
Then Cattleya asked, "What signs indicated the appearance of that ghost ship? What specific abilities did it possess?"
Because Odis's previous descriptions were rather bland, the other members were still unaware of the danger of encountering the ghost ship.
Even Cattleya and Alger thought that the ship "The Hermit" was on had just brushed past the ghost ship, and then "The Hermit" checked the information about the ghost ship through other channels.
Odis made no attempt to hide this: "A fog will appear on the sea before the ghost ship appears."
"Every time it appears and brushes past, it uses some kind of mystical method to capture several crew members and bring them to the ghost ship. Specifically, those crew members suddenly disappear."
"This process seems to follow certain rules, such as taking away female crew members the first time and taking away older members the second time."
"You can't speak on a ghost ship. Once you open your mouth..."
It was only then that Gadriya realized, "Wait a minute, you boarded that ship?"
"Yes." Odis was taken aback: "It captured my crew, so of course I had to go and rescue them."
"If we ignore it, we might all get arrested."
It was only then that everyone realized that this was a rather dangerous encounter.
Odis continued, "There were many mummies on that ship, some of whom possessed extraordinary abilities."
"I learned about their encounter with the Empire from the captain's cabin of that ship."
"However, don't speak casually after boarding that ship, because there is a 'no talking' rule there."
"Furthermore, the core of this ship's operation is at the bottom. To get rid of this ship, we would have to severely damage its core."
Alger, the captain of a ghost ship, said with some surprise, "That's a ghost ship that attacks other ships."
Cattleya shared this view, generally believing that ghost ships like these are very dangerous.
Both of them gave the "hermit" a deep look. They had both experienced or heard of such things and knew how small the chances of escaping from such an event were.
They were now very curious whether the "hermit" had solved the problem himself or had asked for help.
As usual, Audrey and Fors began to daydream, feeling that it must be a very thrilling and exciting adventure.