Chapter 861 The tenth mausoleum?
ah?
Angel's thoughts paused briefly, and then turned into two different voices, explaining Bernadette's words in his mind.
Was she referring to the fact that the memorial hall in Intistril, where Russell Gustav's remains were buried, was a fake? Or was it that one of the nine mausoleums used for the Black Emperor's ascension ceremony didn't meet these "conditions" and was therefore a fake?
According to Bernadette, "one of the mausoleums is fake." She should have meant the latter, but this means that Roselle did not have all the mausoleums required to complete the ceremony at that time, and one of the fake mausoleums interfered with his ascension ceremony, causing him to fail in the end, and then he was assassinated by the restored nobles and the Orthodox Church?
Seeing that she was a little confused, Bernadette slightly restrained her aggressive attitude and asked:
"Combining your previous experiences with the Blasphemous Card you possess, I believe you should be familiar with the Black Emperor's ascension ritual."
"Nine mausoleums."
Angel answered briefly, indicating that she was indeed aware of the matter. At the same time, she also confirmed that the "fake mausoleum" Bernadette mentioned was related to them.
"Then I'll skip the parts that everyone already knows," Bernadette nodded with satisfaction and continued, "After reuniting with Sister Anne, we used the information I'd gathered over the past hundred years to locate all eight tombs destroyed by the Church of the Eternal Sun and the Church of Steam. Some were located in secluded, inaccessible locations like mountaintops and canyons within Intis, while others were built on uninhabited islands overseas... But without exception, their power had been wiped out, rendering them useless."
Its function is to serve as an anchor for the Black Emperor's resurrection. According to Mr. Fool, as long as one mausoleum survives, Emperor Roselle may return from it and restore the strength and status of Sequence 0... Angel added in his heart, waiting for Bernadette to continue.
"However, in an isolated mausoleum, Sister Anne discovered some problems... Like the other seven, it was secretly built by a large number of workers. It is secretive and magnificent, engraved with his creations and represents the order he established, but..."
Having said this, Bernadette glanced at Anne, who took over the conversation and said in a somewhat childish but majestic tone:
"However, as a 'Balancer' who has touched the power of order, I can subtly sense that the chaotic and distorted order within that mausoleum is somewhat different from that of other mausoleums. It's not an aura of dominance, but rather a kind of... disguise.
"The Beyonders of Lieyang and Steam didn't notice this. They meticulously erased any traces that could locate the mausoleum, leaving it completely abandoned and unusable by the Black Emperor. But for a fake mausoleum, all of this is meaningless. The Black Emperor's rituals have nothing to do with it. The distorted order is just a false illusion to enhance the atmosphere, and the creations engraved on the surface of the huge stone are simply praises..."
"You're saying that Emperor Roselle didn't build nine mausoleums for the ascension ceremony, but instead constructed one, or even several fake ones, to trick others into thinking he was preparing to ascend to the 'Black Emperor,' when in reality he had other plans?"
Angel asked back in confusion. She could understand Bernadette and Anne's shock when they discovered this fact, but she couldn't imagine what it meant.
"On the contrary, I think this proves he's fully planned his ascension to the 'Black Emperor,'" Bernadette replied immediately, speaking rapidly as if being pursued by something. "Building eight mausoleums publicly while hiding a key one in secret is a normal strategy, but he must have taken it a step further..."
"Openly build seven real mausoleums and one fake mausoleum, then secretly build the eighth real mausoleum to attract everyone's attention. Finally, build a real secret mausoleum that no one knows about as the final trump card."
This... Given Russell Gustav's personality, he might indeed do this. It is said that his personality changed in his later years, becoming suspicious and extreme, which might have fostered his inner distrust of everyone. Perhaps he only wanted to build nine mausoleums before, and hide one of them secretly as a trump card, but when looking back on the past, he found that this secret was not safe and there was still a possibility of being discovered, so he gave up one of the public mausoleums and temporarily added a mausoleum whose location only he knew, and even built it alone... Various thoughts kept flashing through Angel's mind. He always felt that this senior time traveler had left too many unsolved mysteries.
"So, have you found the two hidden tombs?"
After a moment, she let out a long sigh and continued to ask.
"Unfortunately, no, not even the less hidden one that was used to attract other people's attention."
Bernadette answered slowly, her expression showing a rare wavering look.
Anne beside her sighed softly and reached out to hold down her arm that was on the table. Angel pressed the back of Anne's hand with his other hand, as if gaining some strength from it. He turned to look at Angel and said,
"We're looking for you because of this. Clues to the mausoleum may be found in Russell's diary. One of my purposes for returning to Intis this time is to obtain his final diary and hand it over to Mr. Fool in exchange for the contents related to the mausoleum... I plan to leave this matter to Cattleya, but I hope you can provide her with some help 'there'."
"Also, based on his paranoid and eccentric behavior in his later years, I have several possible conclusions...
"First, there's the pollution beneath Trier. He often went to Trier underground alone and stayed there for long periods of time... I suspect he tried to contact the 'Man in the Mirror' and gain their help in building a mausoleum underground, perhaps even within the 'Mirror World'. Second, there's the 'Ghost Empire.' After opening a safe passage south and colonizing the southern continent, he sent Savini Solomon to search for the massive ghost ship left behind by the Trunsost Empire. I suspect he intended to build his mausoleum on the ship..."
The mausoleum in the mirror world and the mausoleum built on the mysterious ghost ship, the imagination of this princess of Intis is not inferior to her old father... Angel muttered, and understood why the other party thought these things were related to her.
In the concept of mysticism, the "mirror world" is a collection of "doors", with countless passages connecting different mirror surfaces inside, rather than a real "world". However, due to the pollution of some force under Trier, a special mirror world with an area almost the same as the real Trier appeared, which is divided into different levels. There are even many "mirror people" who cannot leave freely, which fully meets all the requirements for building a mausoleum.
More importantly, it is difficult for them to leave and difficult for outsiders to enter, so they naturally have the conditions to "keep secrets".
To explore there, a witch who does not belong to the "Witch Sect" but understands the "Mirror World" is needed. Angel, who has worked with Anne and Bernadette many times and has a certain degree of mutual trust with them, is the best candidate.
As for the second possibility, the legendary "Ghost Empire" that disappeared into the vast ocean during the Fourth Epoch, carrying the last rays of light and treasures of the Trunsost Empire, Angel could actually be connected to it...
Nast, the "King of the Five Seas", once invited her and the "Queen Anne's Revenge" to search for the lost ghost ship, and repeatedly hinted that he had certain clues.
This is indeed possible. Nast Solomon is the son of Savini Solomon, the former "Earl of White Maple" of Intis, who was sent by Roselle to look for traces of the "Ghost Empire". If there is anyone who may have a clue, it can only be Nast, who inherited Savini's legacy and title.
After thinking for a moment, Angel said:
"If it's the first possibility, I'll try to return to Trier and search for the connection between the 'Mirror World' and the mausoleum. This will involve certain risks, as the relationship between the witches and the 'Mirror Man' isn't very harmonious. So, I'll wait until the investigation into the Backlund Great Smog is concluded and everything is ready before completing this matter."
"No matter what the result is, I will give you corresponding rewards."
Bernadette promised solemnly.
Then, Anne also spoke:
"As for the other possibility, the 'Ghost Empire'... I intend to accept the invitation of 'King of the Five Seas' Nast to search for this ghost ship that drifts in the ocean and is difficult to find. I hope you can join me on this journey."
"Could this be a trap set by Nast? He mentioned this frequently at the previous Pirate Conference, appearing very active. I have a feeling he has some ulterior motive..."
Angel frowned hesitantly and did not agree to it immediately.
"It's normal for him to have some ulterior motive. If he were willing to hand over all the benefits of the Ghost Empire to someone else, I'd actually suspect he's plotting something..." Bernadette interjected. "That last ghost ship of Trunsoest likely contains one of the Beyonder characteristics left behind after the Night Emperor's fall: the Sequence 1 Hand of Order. Along with it, there should also be an indefinite number of Judges and Black Emperors, all of which are Sequence 2 characteristics. That's Nast's goal, his only hope of ascending to an Angel, or even reaching Sequence 1."
If it was for Beyonder traits, then that was understandable... According to Arrodes, finding Beyonder materials needed for potion recipes after Sequence 3 was extremely difficult, and directly using traits to advance was the more common approach. Bernadette's words also contained an important piece of information:
The "Judge", which is the arbitrator path, can jump back and forth with the lawyer path represented by the "Black Emperor"!
This means that regardless of whether the Sequence 2 Beyonder characteristic of the Judge or the Black Emperor is found in the ghost ship, Nast is prepared to use it to advance.
This "King of the Five Seas," who had lived for nearly two hundred years, might have been unable to contain himself any longer and wanted to ascend to the heavens through the wealth of the "Ghost Empire," becoming an Angel. Or perhaps he could even go one step further and avoid the "Lawyer" path, whose characteristics had disappeared due to the unknown life and death of the "Black Emperor" Russell, and jump directly to the "Arbitrator" path, using the "Hand of Order" characteristic to advance to Sequence 1!
"Heh, Nast's idea is beautiful, but I won't allow him to do so. His upper limit will be the Sequence 2 level at Russell's feet."
As if she had seen Angel's suspicion, Anne sneered and "sentenced" in a majestic tone that Nast's intention would fail, with infinite confidence revealed in her golden eyes.
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