Chapter 862 Hope of promotion?
Anne's statement did not surprise Angel.
As early as during the Pirate Conference, when the five kings gathered together, Nast, the "King of the Five Seas", expressed his dream of creating a new order at sea, establishing a new kingdom, and becoming a true "Black Emperor", but was treated coldly by Anne.
Because according to the characteristics of this path, if no new Sequence 0 is born, the original "Black Emperor" will always have the chance to be resurrected. Even if Nestor does not want to oppose Russell Gustav, his act of ascending the "Black Emperor" is naturally adding the last handful of soil to Russell's grave.
Thinking of this, Angel frowned and asked cautiously:
"Speaking of which, can you confirm that Emperor Roselle is still alive? It's been 152 years since he was assassinated in the White Maple Palace. Assuming... he truly became the 'Black Emperor' before his death, and the mausoleum wasn't completely destroyed, then he should have used the remaining mausoleum to resurrect. It wouldn't have taken so long, right?"
She wanted to be more tactful in order not to irritate the two women in front of her who looked young but actually had a close relationship with Russell. However, if she didn't clarify this key issue, the subsequent exploration of the "Mirror World" and the "Ghost Empire" would be out of the question, so she could only ask more pointedly.
"No, I can't be sure," Bernadette answered first. A rare wavering expression, unsuitable for a High-Sequence Beyonder, appeared on her face. "My Sequence is 'Master of Prophecy,' which grants me the ability to gain 'revelation' and glimpse the outcome of things, but this doesn't include his fate... Whether the outcome is good or bad, I don't have an answer. But I can sense that he hasn't completely fallen yet."
In other words, even you can't be sure whether Emperor Roselle is dead or alive, but deep down you hope he's alive... Angel pondered, not quite satisfied with this answer, so he turned to the silent Anne and continued to ask:
"Did Emperor Roselle use the power of the Queen Anne's Revenge when he built those mausoleums?"
"He became somewhat mad and radical at the time, constantly dismissing those who had been with him for years, giving the impression that he had no regard for their old friendships... But in reality, these men had accepted orders and secretly traveled around the world to recruit workers to build mausoleums disguised as ruins, hidden in mountains and valleys. His madness and paranoia, including his sudden declaration of emperorship despite the church's opposition, were simply an attempt to paralyze the church, which had gradually become estranged from him, and to deceive the nobles of the previous dynasty who were trying to take action against him."
Anne sat up straight, her expression half reminiscent and half thoughtful as she answered.
"But unlike his knights, I was excluded from the 'plan' from the very beginning. Before the construction of the mausoleum began, he gave me that order to leave the army and return to the sea. I haven't seen him since."
Order... Angel immediately thought of the dejected expression on the other party's face when he first met Annie and her ghost ship hidden in the spirit world and asked her to "kill me".
Roselle was unwilling to tell Anne, who was so close to him, the location of the two mausoleums, and even wanted to kick her out of the army in advance, away from the mainland, and return to the sea?
It seems that this secret only remains in Russell's mind, or perhaps even in his diary written in Chinese... Perhaps only after Bernadette obtains the last diary and gives it to Mr. Fool to decrypt it will others have a chance of knowing...
Thoughts flashed through Angel's mind, including what Anne had said about the workers being secretly summoned, the mausoleum disguised as other buildings, and Russell's sudden change in behavior. Gradually, an idea was formed that was about to come out, but he couldn't grasp the key points.
"So, what's your decision?"
Anne's gentle question interrupted Angel's thoughts, causing her to raise her head again and carefully answer:
"I've agreed to participate in the exploration of the 'Ghost Empire,' but just like going to Trier to investigate the 'Mirror World,' I'll have to wait until Backlund's affairs are over... And I'm curious, how are you going to deal with the Beyonder characteristics on that ghost ship?"
At this point, she remembered something and continued with a frown:
"Can the 'Queen Anne's Revenge' accommodate a Sequence 1 'Hand of Order' Beyonder characteristic, allowing you to advance to the next Sequence, just like Beyonders advance through potions?"
"When it was first designed, the Angel-class Ghost Ship didn't have this feature. This is because all Sequence 1 Beyonder traits belonged to the Night Emperor, so there was no possibility of me being promoted... But I believe that with the ability of the Craftsman, I might be able to incorporate Beyonder traits and display some of the abilities of the Hand of Order. This is similar to holding a Sealed Artifact, rather than taking a potion."
Craftsman... Angel had just made a guess when Bernadette said:
"That person will provide corresponding assistance. This is something that Steam has tacitly agreed to."
That… Thinking of the “craftsman” and the person Bernadette knew, Angel immediately came up with a name: Benoît Gustave.
It seems that during her and Annie's trip to Intis, they might have contacted Emperor Roselle's second son, Bonova, who had become an angel of the Steam Church. They might even have improved their relationship with the Steam Church and gained some help from them?
Thinking of this, Angel took out the "Angelica's Blade" that he had commissioned from the "Hermit" Cattleya from the mirror space, placed the straight sword on the table, and asked:
"Is this magical item also made by that 'craftsman'?"
"Yes, he appreciates everything you did in Trier."
Sure enough, it was that angel with a rather indifferent expression, as lifeless as a puppet. Come to think of it, I was actually defending him from a conspiracy against him at that time... Angel nodded in understanding and put away his straight sword.
The three then had a detailed discussion about their future collaboration. Angel was responsible for contacting Nast, the "King of the Five Seas," and agreed to explore the Ghost Empire in the name of the "Golden Queen." Bernadette was responsible for the preliminary preparations for Trier, but she also had to travel to Backlund soon to complete an important task. Both parties had reasons to postpone the collaboration, so the contract was not signed on the spot with Anne as a witness.
"Complete something important in Backlund?"
Angel asked suspiciously.
She always felt that the city had recently taken on too many forces that should not be touched by it. Various angels and even higher-level forces appeared one after another, like a riot before something big was about to happen.
"This involves the key to my advancement to Sequence 2. You don't need to know too much... But if this can be accomplished, our chances of success in finding the true ruins will increase."
Bernadette's answer was a bit vague, but it wasn't hard to guess it was related to the "Sequence 2" ritual, so Angel didn't ask any further questions, but simply said with emotion:
"Sounds a little easier than the witches' promotion ceremony."
At least Angel believed that if Bernadette's promotion involved some danger or would cause damage to the surrounding environment, she would not choose a large city with a large population.
"Compared to the precise goal, the Sage's promotion ceremony is even more illusory, ethereal, and elusive. I made arrangements in Backlund many years in advance, just for this one opportunity."
Bernadette answered slowly, looked at Angel deeply, and continued:
"Since you've already learned the rule of 'replacing quantity with high status' when you were promoted to 'Despair', and used tricks to complete the ritual, then you can adopt a similar method in the promotion ritual of the 'Disaster' witch."
The "Mysterious Queen" is very familiar with the witch's promotion ritual... and the method she described sounds like another way of saying "quality over quantity." I've considered this, but the ritual's requirement for a disaster affecting an "entire region" is impossible to resolve. One demigod is equivalent to tens of thousands of ordinary people, but the concept of "region"...
Suddenly, a flash of lightning exploded in Angel's mind, and he instantly understood why Bernadette mentioned this matter at this time.
She was hinting that the tomb of the "Black Emperor" could be used as a "complete area" in the concept of occultism!
As the pinnacle of the "lawyer" path, the Black Emperor must have the authority to "twist the rules", which means that the mausoleum he built is very likely to have a completely different "order" from the outside world, and is a "complete area" isolated from the outside world!
Moreover, targeting the mausoleum of the gods is like replacing ordinary people of lower status with extraordinary people of higher status. It has an incomparable advantage in "quality". Perhaps only one mausoleum and one angel are needed to endure the "disaster" caused by Angel to meet the requirements of the ritual.
An angel...
Angel felt a bitter taste in her mouth. She simply didn't know where to find such an obedient angel, letting her stay in the small mausoleum and wait quietly for the disaster she caused to come.
It sounds easier than unleashing a horrific plague on a kingdom...
————
Backlund East District, Broken Axe Alley.
Sherman declined the somewhat shabby cloak offered by the masked servant, tightened the hood on his head, and walked into the noisy reception room.
This is a recently created gathering place for extraordinary people, which is held irregularly every week. Sherman recently obtained qualifications from a subordinate who participated in the gathering and was allowed to join them.
There were already seven or eight partygoers in the dim room, each sitting on a chair. Some wore hooded cloaks like Sherman, some covered their faces with metal masks, and two showed their true faces openly, attracting the attention of others.
This kind of person might be the strongest and not afraid of being recognized... She thought secretly, using dark vision to memorize everyone's characteristics in her mind, then found a sofa in the corner and sat down, quietly listening to the whispers of others.
About ten minutes later, after several more partygoers entered the reception room, the door to the outside was closed, and the side door at the other end opened. A man wearing a black wizard robe and a huge hood covering his entire head walked in accompanied by two waiters. The waiter brought over a blackboard and began to write the transaction requirements for this party on it. The hooded man sat on the single sofa in the center of the venue, facing Sherman, with his head lowered and his expression invisible.
"Is this the person who organized the party?"
Sherman heard a masked man next to her, who was obviously attending the party for the first time like her, asking his companion excitedly.
"That's right, keep your voice down so Mr. K doesn't hear you."
His companion replied in a low voice.
(This volume is halfway through, and I need to sort out the outline. I'm going to take a day off tomorrow. Sorry (づ￣ 3￣)づ~☆)
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