Chapter 854: Arrodes Returns to Normal

As Angel's conversation with the Archbishop deepened, he discovered to his dismay that it would be difficult for him to reasonably, legally, and safely take over the factories and land belonging to Severia. Even the villas in Backlund had become quite a hot commodity.

Although they became the assets of "Eileen Watson" through formal procedures and were just waiting for her to reveal her identity and complete the handover, this identity itself was implicated in the smog incident. As long as they showed up, they would inevitably be under the attention of the Storm Church, the Steam Church and the military, and even the "Witch Sect" and the "Aurora Society" would come knocking.

If Angel still maintains the identity of "Christine Theresa", she will have nothing to do with these properties and lands, let alone get them into her own hands in a formal way.

In the end, she had no choice but to accept the compromise plan proposed by Anthony, which was to sell all these properties to the Church of the Goddess of Evernight in the name of Irene. In order to acquire these properties, the church would pay the corresponding gold pounds to Irene Watson, also known as Angel.

"After deducting relevant taxes and fees, I was left with less than 110,000 pounds..."

Angel muttered, feeling sad about missing out on 10% of the profits.

Moreover, the church has been of great help in this matter, and I must also make a corresponding gesture... She looked into Anthony's deep eyes, and said with a thought in her heart:

"I will donate any proceeds above £100,000 to the church to, uh, renovate those old churches in the East End."

She had originally wanted to renovate Saint Samuel's Church, but this church, Backlund's and even the entire Loen's largest, already had countless believers vying for donations, and it was undergoing renovations and improvements every year, so it didn't need her money at all.

It would be better to donate it to the impoverished East District so that the church can preach more conveniently there... She pondered and suddenly said:

"Also, I have something to report... About an informant I developed in the East District, a witch who doesn't belong to the 'Witch Cult'..."

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Late at night, Angel returned to 8 Burningham Road in Hillston District exhausted. Looking at the villa rented for 300 pounds a year, her mind came back to Baron Langdon's luxurious villa in the West End, which was said to be worth 15,000 pounds and was appreciating every year.

Unfortunately, it no longer belongs to me... She took a deep breath, mourning in her heart the assets she had "lost and gained", washed up casually, and returned to the bedroom.

According to the method proposed by the Archbishop, the converted amount of the assets originally belonging to "Erin Watson" can be handed over to her next month at the latest. That is a full 100,000 pounds in cash, which exceeds the current value of all Angel's assets except magical items and extraordinary characteristics. It is enough to buy two Iris wineries and renovate them according to the standards of "Justice" Audrey.

Once we get this money, we can consider investing more in Sherman's canning factory, allowing her to expand her product line and produce consumer goods that should have appeared in this era but haven't, such as carbonated drinks... Elaine can also buy a few more ships and expand the "Redhead" into a full fleet. Once she reaches Sequence 5, perhaps we'll have another pirate admiral on the seas...

She happily spent the gold pounds she had not yet received in her mind, and then sat down at the dressing table in the bedroom. Using her fingers as a pen, she drew symbols on the dressing mirror that mixed the meanings of "secret" and "voyeurism".

A moment later, ripples appeared on the mirror's surface. Silver light emerged from the depths, outlining a line of Rune text:

"Wise mistress, your humble servant Arrodes is at your service!"

It seemed to have recovered from its "Amon phobia"... Angel's lips curled up, and he hesitated for a moment between the questions he was about to ask. Just as he was about to speak, he found that silver words continued to flow out of the mirror:

"Mistress, as you instructed, I randomly punished some of them during the several occasions when the Mechanical Heart unsealed me for questioning, and I also showed hostility towards other Sealed Artifacts. Sure enough, it didn't take long for them to decide to upgrade my danger level and send me to the underground area for Class 1 Sealed Artifacts... Although I haven't received a new number yet, I've been deemed a highly dangerous Sealed Artifact requiring isolation and storage. I've been assigned a dedicated cell. Amons, don't even think about getting close to me anymore!"

At the same time, still images appeared below the words, showing members of the Mechanical Heart being struck by lightning or driven mad by some problem. Unfortunately, most of them were of the butler with the stubbornly raised hair, Ikanser Bernard.

Saying it was my order makes me feel a little guilty, but it was obviously you who did it... Angel muttered, quickly interrupting Arrodes's display of Ikanser being struck by lightning from various angles, and asked:

"Arrodes, I'd like to know the details of the political faction to which Duchess Georgina belongs. Who are their members? What are their demands?"

In the blink of an eye, the dense words and images disappeared into the mirror, and the silvery-white dots of light reorganized into new words:

"Georgina Augustus's political leanings lean conservative. She is not optimistic about the parliament and the nobles' attempts to launch local wars and seize benefits from the Feysac Empire. She also has a negative attitude towards some of the king's recent policies... Those who share her views include: Prince Grove Augustus of Sonia, Duke Nigan, and Earl Levitt..."

One by one, Angel's names, some unfamiliar and some familiar, appeared on the mirror. There was a prince who was born decades ago and should have grown old, a young duke who inherited the title of the assassinated old Duke Negan, Admiral Amyrius's brother, and many Conservative MPs and nobles.

It seems that Duchess Georgina's influence is not small... She is probably not the leader of this force, just a messenger, but it is enough to prove their importance. At least Prince Sonia, who has lived for nearly a hundred years, is also a saint, possibly even an angel... Angel pondered and suddenly found that the silver text ended with a sentence:

"My apologies, dear lady, but there are some people who are 'hidden' and I cannot see them... Are you satisfied with this answer?"

Secret... Angel chewed on the word, nodded after a moment, and replied:

"I am very satisfied."

"Thank you for your affirmation. Is there anything else you would like to ask?"

Another buy one get one free deal. Arrodes had indeed returned to his former self, the dog-licking state he had been before being bullied by Amon... Angel smiled and continued to ask:

"What good suggestions do you have for my advancement from 'Immortal' to 'Disaster' witch?"

This question was very broad, encompassing the role of "immortality", the ingredients for a Sequence 2 potion, and the solution to the corresponding ritual, but she believed Arrodes would give the best answer.

"At the Sequence 2 level, there are very few scattered characteristics. Most of them have become aggregated to a certain extent, becoming important components of some extremely rare extraordinary creatures, or true angels. The latter are often easier to find and deal with."

Words slowly appeared on the mirror, and their solemnity made Angel feel heavy in his heart.

Arrods meant that instead of finding the ingredients for the potion, it would be better to directly kill a "disaster" witch and use her Beyonder characteristics to ascend... This also matched the description of the Sequence 2 potion recipe on the "Witch" card. Unlike the previous seven sequences, the Sequence 2 potion recipe directly mentioned Beyonder characteristics...

She thought about it while looking at the subsequent text.

"When acting out potions, you might need to focus on the concepts of 'immortality' and 'undeath'. The former means living through a long life and gaining sufficient feedback. Most 'immortal' witches achieve this by interacting with different people in different identities, even marrying and having children. The latter is achieved by 'resurrecting from the dead' and reappearing in front of people you know, completing the conceptual loop.

"As for the rituals required for advancement, there's always been a method of 'replacing quantity with quality.' For example, when you ascended to 'Despair,' you killed a demigod and plunged him into despair, replacing the ritual that required the despair of a large number of ordinary people. This was a very successful example. However, the foundation of the ritual doesn't change with advancement in rank; only the 'quantity' changes."

Therefore, when I ascend to "Disaster," I can use higher-ranking Beyonders or extraordinary creatures to replace ordinary people as targets of "disaster" to reduce casualties. However, the foundation of the ritual cannot be changed; the restriction of "disaster affecting an entire region" must still be met...

But Arrodes's response seemed to suggest that my method of killing demigods according to the potion formula was a "substitution," and that killing a large number of ordinary people was the "original" ritual? Wensa had said something similar... but the formula on the "Witch" card explicitly mentioned killing demigods... Was the formula recorded by Emperor Roselle on the "Blasphemy Card" incorrect?

Thoughts kept flashing through Angel's mind, and his eyes swept over words like "marriage" and "offspring" until these words disappeared in the mirror again.

Keeping in mind the key points about promotion that Arrodes mentioned, she asked again:

"What information do you know about Viscount Stratford?"

This concerns how she should deal with the captain of the palace guards who has an important secret in his heart.

This time, Arrodes responded very quickly:

"After William Sykes was murdered, he became alert and applied for special military protection, attempting to obtain information from the attacker about those seeking the truth about the Great Smog... He has traces of anti-divination techniques, a technique that originated from a high-sequence witch. This is all I can get. Wise mistress, you won't blame Arrodes for his efforts, right?"

These silvery words made Angel look solemn, and he didn't even bother to answer the question from the magic mirror.

This meant that, like Sherman, Stratford was likely playing along, trying to get information from her about the person who had assigned her to seduce him... But who could be the High-Sequence Witch protecting him? In Backlund, she was probably the only one who met the requirements and had cooperation with the military and the royal family...

Slowly, a plan took shape in Angel's mind.