Chapter 883 Promotion Ceremony
The "Black Emperor" is the pinnacle of the "Lawyer" path, Sequence 0, and the only true God.
To become a true "Black Emperor," a "Prince of Order-killing" must collect the Beyonder characteristics of two other Sequence 1s, gaining the "uniqueness" of this path. They then possess their own kingdom, becoming a true "Emperor," establishing a unique order and rules. On this basis, they construct nine mausoleums and consume a potion during a nationwide sacrificial ceremony.
This was the knowledge that Mr. Fool had revealed. Angel also heard the same information from Bernadette, the eldest daughter of Roselle Gustav, who had once attempted to ascend to the position of Black Emperor. It could be basically determined to be true.
Among them, the "nine mausoleums" is undoubtedly the most eye-catching point compared to other somewhat vague conditions.
Therefore, the nine locations of the "ruins" scattered throughout the northern continent and the surrounding seas in Angel's mind quickly reminded her of the "Black Emperor's" apotheosis ritual. Once her thoughts turned to this, all kinds of evidence emerged from the depths of her memory:
In recent years, King George III has been issuing various reformist laws, such as the repeal of the Corn Laws, which weakened the power of the traditional landed aristocracy and allowed the emerging aristocracy, factory owners, and bankers to gradually control the House of Commons. After the Great Smog, the permission for donated aristocrats to enter the House of Lords further achieved this goal.
Through the unified government employee examination, the intellectuals among the people are tied to the government and the country...
Let the three major churches intervene in the military and weaken the military power indirectly controlled by the nobles...
With Backlund as its source, the Kingdom of Loen had, over the past decade or so, followed Intis's lead in creating a modern sewer system. They had also taken the opportunity to demolish a considerable number of ancient buildings and build new ones in a completely different style...
As the King of Loen, he automatically possessed an entire kingdom of his own. He also became the Emperor of the Balam Empire through colonization, perfectly fitting the ritual...
Most importantly, Angel had just learned from Bernadette that the "Arbitrator" owned by the Loen royal family could be exchanged with the path where the "Black Emperor" was!
By the way, Bernadette also frequently visited Backlund. She hadn't guessed something, had she? If George III attempted to become the "Black Emperor," she would probably be the most anxious. That would mean the complete downfall of Russell Gustav...
Angel's mind raced with thoughts, and she quickly came up with an answer she could hardly believe:
On the surface, George III is not even a demigod. He is controlled by the three major churches and is likely preparing for the ceremony to become the "Black Emperor"!
This meant he had already reached Sequence 1, or perhaps he was confident of reaching Sequence 1 in the near future. That was why he had so ostentatiously excavated the ruins and used them as his own mausoleum, not even caring about the suspicions of the three major churches...
"Who can enter those ruins?"
While thinking, Angel continued to ask Catalina.
She thought she would be affected by the "secret" but unexpectedly the other party answered very straightforwardly:
"I've only been to the ruins near Backlund. There are many workers excavating the shallow areas, as well as soldiers monitoring them. But the deeper levels are only accessible to King George III, several demigods of the royal family, and angels."
Several angels... As expected, a family that has been able to rule Loen for thousands of years under the constraints of the three major churches cannot be without a single angel. The three major contracts only restrict the king himself from becoming a demigod, and other family members can fully utilize the vast national power to improve their own sequence... Angel frowned and asked in return:
"Who specifically?"
She had noticed that except for the core secrets about the "Black Emperor", other information was not within the scope of "keeping secrets", so she began to knock on the key issues.
"William Augustus, the 'Protector' William I who has survived the Fourth Epoch to the present day, is the Sequence 1 'Hand of Order' of the Arbitrator; Drinker Augustus, the Sequence 2 'Balancer'. Other Saints include Grove and Georgina..."
Catalina told Angel calmly about all the royal family members she had met. Her cooperative attitude made Angel suspect that she had been blessed with extraordinary abilities such as "charm".
Seeing this, she simply tried again to ask some more important questions:
"How far has the most important relic been built? Can it be put into use immediately?"
"I'm not sure. There are still workers coming in and out of the deepest part, so some work might not be completed yet... MI9's Deputy Director, Qonas Kilger, is responsible for sending the collected workers and materials into the depths. He also oversees my entry and exit. Perhaps, besides the royal family, he's the only one who knows the progress of the project."
Katerina answered cooperatively.
Qiunas...it seems that we can't avoid this military demigod...
Angel nodded and asked:
"Besides anti-divination and anti-prophecy, what other defenses does the ruins have? Can it be entered through other methods? For example, 'mirror passage' or 'teleportation'?"
Katarina chuckled and replied with a bit of girlish innocence:
"If it were that simple, the three major churches would have discovered the problem long ago. The royal family possesses the power of 'Order' and 'Distortion'. Coupled with the original arrangements of 'Blood Emperor' Tudor, these ruins are inaccessible by conventional means. Moreover, as the renovations were completed, the ruins were closed one by one. Even if you knew their location, you would not be able to find them."
No wonder the "Goddess Sword" led his men to search the outskirts of Backlund for two months without finding anything... Angel sighed, and suddenly a question occurred to him:
"Even if the church can't discover it, what about their true God?"
Especially the Steam Church. After Emperor Roselle's death, they demolished his eight tombs. How could they not know about the Black Emperor's deification ceremony?
"Oh, the gods and the church are not necessarily the same at times. What they know may not be communicated to their believers through oracles, and those believers may not serve their gods wholeheartedly..."
Katerina replied with a smile on her face.
This sentence also made Angel frown tightly.
If her words were correct, did this mean that the gods, especially the three righteous gods of the Kingdom of Loen, were likely anticipating George III to become the new "Black Emperor"? Was their goal to completely bury Roselle, whose mausoleum still existed, or were they attempting to win over a new god out of "investment"?
The three major churches below could only rely on their own strength to find clues. Even if they knew George III's plan, they might not be able to stop it with all their strength...
In addition, Catalina seemed to have something else in her words. When she talked about the inequality between "gods and believers", did it also include herself and the "original witch"?
Angel's frown slowly relaxed and he suddenly laughed.
"It seems that you are cooperating with my inquiries today."
She said in a teasing tone.
"There's nothing I can do. Tracy is in your hands. Among my few descendants still alive, she is the only one with the greatest hope of becoming a demigod."
This is at least a plausible reason... Angel nodded and continued to ask:
"So, when will Quonas and Viscount Stratford be out of your protection during the next week?"
If Katarina is really as she said, she should...
"Anytime."
As Angel expected, the "ageless" witch answered in a light tone.
As expected... she was essentially selling out King George III... Not only did she provide all the information not covered by the "Secrets," she also gave up on protecting key figures. From the royal family's perspective, the "Witch Cult" had turned their backs on them after obtaining the Beyonder characteristic... Angel thought with amusement, pointed south, and said:
"Tracy will live, but you can't approach the South Continent until daybreak, otherwise I can't guarantee her safety."
Catalina suppressed the smile on her face and nodded.
Then, without waiting for the other party to say more, Angel let go of his control over the "mirror world", entered the winding passage extending into the distance on his own, and left this uninhabited deserted island.
Catalina, wearing a white robe with the hem fluttering in the wind, stood there with her eyes flickering, wondering what she was thinking.
But the next moment, a mirror made of ice appeared under her feet. The "immortal" witch who had lived for thousands of years lowered her head and bent over like a child, secretly entered the ice mirror, and looked into the deep world in the mirror.
Below her, deep in the misty fog, something seemed to be attracting her, making her want to completely dive into the mirror, shuttle downwards, and reach the place where no witch dared to go deep.
After a while, Katarina got up again, stood up straight, and looked at the ground with her blue eyes, looking at the slowly melting ice mirror.
"Sure enough, she has already mastered that power, mastered the 'mirror world'..."
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"Now, if your mother tried to come here, she would be intercepted on the way by Miss Angelica, the 'Golden Queen.' You wouldn't have been secretly watching the sea, waiting for her, right?"
As Elaine spoke, Tracy's face grew paler. She subconsciously looked towards the north, but all she could see was the crimson moon and the calm sea, without any movement as she had expected.
"You even took two demigods into account, just to capture me alive?"
She finally closed her eyes, trying her best to keep a calm expression.
But Elaine could clearly feel the anger and regret hidden beneath the calmness of this bound "pain" witch, as well as a hint of... pain and despair.
Is it because of me?
Elaine's heart tightened a little. She didn't want to look at Tracy anymore, but told Sherman to keep an eye on her. She took out the potion materials she had prepared long ago, put the "reaper" property that looked like a sharp piece of obsidian, and the auxiliary materials into a small metal cup, and directly summoned flames in her hands to heat these materials. She watched them boil rapidly, rolling and emitting bubbles, and soon became a cup of blood-like liquid with black spots floating on it, like sharp iron fragments.
Finally, Elaine took a last look at Tracy, who had opened her eyes at some point and looked at her in surprise after being restrained by Sherman with a dagger. She took a deep breath, raised the cup, and drank the hot liquid in one gulp.
The smell of rust and blood immediately filled Elaine's nostrils. The hot liquid like magma rolled into her abdomen, causing her to feel severe pain all over her body and her brain to become confused. It was as if she was on a battlefield. The sounds of painful roars, the clashing of swords, and the roar of gunfire were endless. It seemed like an illusion, but also very real.
The illusory battlefield soon became real. She found herself in it, surrounded by a small number of friendly forces whose figures were unclear, and fought against endless enemies.
Fire crows, flaming spears, and fireballs condensed into incandescent state exploded one after another. As the enemies continued to fall, Elaine felt her spiritual power gradually drying up. Sweat covered her whole body, and it seemed as if flames were about to burst out of her chest.
At this moment, a tall figure stood in front of Elaine, as strong as a fire giant, which was frightening.
Is this the end? Was my preparation insufficient, and I couldn't make it through the ceremony and successfully ascend...
Elaine looked around and found that the "enemies" and "comrades" had disappeared without a trace. Just as she was feeling a little depressed, she heard a familiar voice:
"Elaine, so you were just completing the ascension ritual? You fucking used me to digest the potion and complete the ritual? Let me go, I'm going to kill her!"
That was Tracy's cry, clearly coming from the giant in front of her, but it was distant and hollow, containing faint resentment, regret and despair.
Turns out it's Tracy's incarnation... I've defeated her in real life, and here too!
Elaine suddenly realized something and gathered her last bit of spiritual energy, letting the blazing white flame surge up from her body again. It transformed into a flaming spear that rose from the ground and pierced directly through the "Tracy" in front of her.
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