fantasy novels Chapter 220 The Footsteps of the War Between Adam and Grisha
Chapter 220 The Footsteps of the War Between Adam and Grisha
Chapter 220 The Footsteps of the War Between Adam and Grisha
Evan held the seemingly ordinary blasphemous card in his hand, examining it from all angles, feeling the sense of aggregation that the card possessed, and then began to infuse it with spirituality.
Infused with spiritual energy, the card emitted crimson light, constructing a palm-sized illusory book.
As the pages of the book are turned, vivid and richly colored portraits of Russell Gustave are revealed.
He might be dressed as a hunter, wandering through dense jungles, or raising his middle finger to make Evan feel provoked, or walking among burning buildings, or hiding in the shadows, eerily watching something like Sequence 9: The Hunter.
An excellent tracker, a superb trap expert, and an outstanding hunter.
Main ingredients: Salamander's tongue, one piece of Red Essence Stone.
Additional ingredients: 80 ml red wine, one red chestnut flower, 5 g poplar leaf powder, and 10 g basil.
Sequence 8: The Provocateur.
Sequence 7: Arsonist.
Sequence 6: The Schemer.
Sequence 5: The Reaper.
Main ingredients: the forepaws of the Dark Wolf, and the tongue of the Jungle Hunter.
Additional materials: 80 ml of Dark Wolf's blood, two Jungle Hunter's fangs, 10 drops of Rainbow-bearded Lizard's venom.
10 drops of horn ear essential oil.
Promotion Ritual: Plan a conspiracy, capture a target of higher rank, reveal the entire plot before them, and consume a potion while their eyes are filled with fear and frustration. The more targets captured, and the higher their rank, the better the ritual's effect.
The greater the fear and regret of the target, the better the ritual's effect. After taking the potion, the ascendant will be trapped in an illusion of fighting a large number of enemies. The ritual's purpose is to weaken the final powerful enemy to be faced in the illusion, helping the ascendant muster the courage to defeat the opponent.
Sequence 4: Iron-Blooded Cavalry.
Sequence 3: War Bishop.
Sequence 2: Weather Wizard.
Sequence 1: The Conqueror.
Sequence 0: Red Priest Main Materials: Three Sequence 1 "Conqueror" Extraordinary Trait + "Red Priest" Uniqueness.
Supporting materials: —.
Promotion Ceremony: Unleash a war that sweeps across the continent and achieve sufficient victories.
Looking at all the advancement ceremonies of the Hunter Path, Evan felt no surprise whatsoever; the higher the rank, the greater the demands on the war.
The Schemer's potion has now been fully digested. They are just waiting for the 'Pleasure' Witch's potion to be digested and for the 'Pain' Witch's potion ingredients to be collected before they can prepare for the ritual ascension.
The potion of the "Joyful Witch" is easy to digest; just keep visiting Helen and Natasha, and it will be digested quickly. The difficult part is the recipe and materials for advancing to Sequence 5, the "Painful Witch".
Evan's focus now shifts to the Witch Cult and the Gnostic Society. If Evan were to develop the formulas and materials himself, it might arouse suspicion from these two organizations, but having Helen and Triss handle it would perfectly avoid these problems.
This is where the importance of Evan winning over Helen and Natasha beforehand becomes apparent.
In addition, Evan also needs to prepare for the ritual to ascend to Sequence 5 "The Reaper".
In the Fifth Age, when gods are absent and extraordinary beings have faded from people's daily lives, those at Sequence 5 are already big figures in the extraordinary world. Even in the Church of the True God, which has the most extraordinary beings, those at Sequence 5 can become part of the highest decision-making body.
Unless a major war breaks out, these orthodox churches will not lift restrictions on general ascension on a large scale, so it is important to choose a suitable target in order to prepare for the ritual of ascension to "Reaper".
Master Rosago, a Sequence 5 puppet master from the "Wrathful People" who appeared in the original work, successfully assassinated Duke Negan; Jason Patrick, a Sequence 5 "Apostle of Desire" who is now Evan's neighbor; and Tracy, a Sequence 5 "Witch of Pain" who may now be a lieutenant general of disease—these are all good targets. If Evan is only pursuing a successful advancement, it would be a piece of cake for him with his current strength.
Don't forget, Evan can leverage the power of "Bonaparte's Fortress" in Backlund city. Capturing these people alive with his demigod power, killing them, and then advancing to the next level by taking a potion as a Sequence 6 is no big deal.
Hunter Path Sequence 4: The Iron Knight inherently possesses steely courage.
The problem is that Evan hopes to digest the potion through the ritual; the better the ritual is prepared, the faster the potion will be digested after the ascension.
The more I learned, the more I longed for the PT-100 sequence, feeling that time was of the essence.
Given such convenient conditions, Evan didn't want to play small-scale games; he wanted to do something big, and he had already chosen his target.
Looking out the window at the myriad lights of Backlund, Evan's eyes were glazed. He finished his water in one gulp, then turned and left the apartment.
When Evan returned to the villa in the West End, the butler brought him the telegram he had just received.
It was an urgent telegram from Butler Barker of the Earl of Tingen's mansion. He reported to Evan the unfortunate news that his classmate, Inspector Klein Moretti, the investment advisor to the Horn family, had been killed in a fierce battle while protecting innocent civilians from vicious thugs.
Butler Buck has sent two flower baskets on behalf of the Earl of Akhova’s House and Evan personally, and inquired about the next steps.
Evan hesitated for a moment, then instructed the waiting butler:
"Send a telegram to Butler Buck, asking him to represent me at Klein Moretti's funeral. The rest can be dealt with when I return to Tingen."
According to the customs of this world, the dead who have been dealt with by the church are usually buried soon, and in some cases, they may even be buried on the same day.
Evan has a lot going on in Backlund, so he definitely won't have time to go back for the funeral!
"When are you planning to return to Tingen? Do you need me to make any preparations in advance?"
Upon hearing Evan's order, the butler took the initiative to inquire.
"I went to the Earl's mansion today to visit the old Earl. The old Earl is in very poor health and may only have one or two days left, but it is uncertain."
After the old count passes away, Robert will inherit the title and will definitely have to return to Tingen. I'll go with him then, since my fiefdom is also in Tingen!
Evan was still very interested in going back to Tingen to dig up Klein's grave and really hoped that Klein wouldn't pop up before he got there.
"I will coordinate with the Earl's Mansion and make some preparations in advance."
The butler, who also came from the Earl of Ahova's household, felt sorry for the old Earl's health, and his voice was somewhat low.
"By the way, I have decided to officially designate 8 Williams Street as my baron's residence."
"I hadn't visited this house since we bought it, but I just went. It truly lives up to its reputation as a meticulously maintained old aristocratic residence. It's much better than the villa we live in now. You should get ready; we'll be using it as our residence from now on!"
After the Hotpot Angel was dealt with, 8 Williams Street became a prime property, and Evan no longer needed to shy away from it. He just wanted to move there as soon as possible.
"I understand. I will have someone make some purchases first. After this period has passed and there are fewer things to do, I will personally rearrange the place."
The housekeeper wholeheartedly agreed to Evan's suggestion to move. Although the villa they were currently living in was not bad, most of their neighbors were wealthy businessmen or nouveau riche.
The butler, who came from the Earl of Ahova's mansion, naturally felt uncomfortable about this, believing that Evan, as the hereditary baron of Newpu, was lowering his status by living here.
So he suggested we move a long time ago, but Evan had been avoiding the topic. He was overjoyed when Evan suddenly agreed today.
Seeing that the butler was somewhat excited, Evan simply smiled and went upstairs to take a shower.
In fact, after Evan became the "arsonist," he no longer needed to take showers.
It wasn't because his body functions changed after his promotion and he stopped sweating, but because he could make flames circulate throughout his body, using terrifyingly high temperatures to cleanse himself. However, Evan still liked the feeling of water flowing over his body and getting soaked while taking a bath, so he maintained the habit of taking baths.
After wiping the water droplets off his body with a thick layer of Mao coins, he tossed the coins aside, lay down on the large bed, and began to browse the contents of "Lord of Mysteries" in his mind.
The contents of the first volume were almost entirely blank, but some content was still left, such as Klein crawling out of the grave on the fourth night after his death.
For example, after Klein severely injured Megalos and her child with the "Sunfire" spell and the mutated Sun Badge, he witnessed the birth of Grisha.
Upon seeing the description of Grisha's birth, Evan slapped his forehead in regret. If he had paid closer attention to the changes in "Lord of Mysteries," he might have been able to guess the fact that the true creator and Adam had joined forces.
There's no reason for such a strong reaction to Grisha's sudden appearance in the underground hall of Viscount Pound's mansion.
Evan is now very puzzled by the relationship between the true Creator and Adam.
Whether we look at the obscured but still fragmented history of the Quaternary period, or at the brief description of Adam's Twilight Hermits in Russell's diary in Lord of Mysteries, the true Creator and Adam should be considered true mortal enemies no matter how you look at it.
Their hostility was so open that it was almost undisguised, yet these two mortal enemies actually cooperated.
This made Evan re-examine the relationship between the true Creator and Adam.
Although most of the content of the first volume of Lord of Mysteries had become a blank in his mind, Evan knew the original plot by heart.
After much deliberation and a change of perspective, Evan re-examined the Tingen storyline and discovered that the true creator's attitude towards 008 was strange.
He realized that 008 was using him to set up a scheme, and then took advantage of the situation, which actually allowed Lanluus to complete the divine offspring descent ceremony that other Aurora Society members could not accomplish.
On the surface, it seems that the true Creator is being used, but in reality, isn't He helping Adam complete his script?
Moreover, judging from the original plot development, the true creator had far too little agency over the affairs of Tingen. It should be noted that the extraordinary characteristics of the "writer" represented by 008 can also be used.
Even knowing that she couldn't defeat Adam while sealed by the Seven Gods, and that she couldn't obtain 008 under the watchful eye of the Goddess of Night, she should at least cause Adam some trouble.
For example, they could directly issue divine pronouncements to members of the Aurora Society such as the Dark Saint and Mr. A, telling them that a divine child has appeared in Tingen. If more demigods or Sequence 5s appear in Tingen, Ince Zangwill and 008's script is in danger of collapsing.
After all, 008 doesn't have direct offensive capabilities; its ability to weave scenarios and deal with unexpected events depends on the weight of the pieces within its sphere of influence.
But whether it's the original storyline or the storyline that Evan has changed, the true creator did not do this.
This shows that from beginning to end, the true Creator was very happy to see Adam receive 008.
It wasn't that Adam offered to help the true Creator bypass the Seven Gods' blockade and descend to earth in exchange for Kay giving up his relationship with 008.
This is important. If the cooperation is reached through an exchange of benefits between the two parties, then there's nothing wrong with it; they come together because of mutual interest.
It's common for people to part ways because of mutual benefit, but if someone consistently helps another person at the most crucial moment, then the underlying reasons are quite intriguing.
If someone unaware of the true situation discovered that the real Creator and Adam were cooperating, they would assume that Grisha's birth was due to a transaction between the two, and would not suspect anything else.
But Evan happens to be someone familiar with the original story. Two completely different plots, yet the true Creator helped Adam in the same way, and it was ultimately Evan who realized the difference in their relationship.
Evan doesn't understand what secrets they have yet, but he feels it will be very useful when facing the Adams in the future.
Grisha, or rather the true creator, was very tolerant of Evan's behavior, but Evan would not take it for granted and would still have to be on guard.
After reading the contents of "Lord of Mysteries", Evan also knew the final outcome of the Tingen incident. Apart from Klein's unsurprising death, no one else died because of it. The ending could be described as perfect.
Even Klein, the only one who died, was resurrected because of the gray fog. It can be said that Evan's original purpose of intervening in this matter was fully achieved.
Moreover, tonight I obtained the Desecration Card from the Hunter's Path, completing my control over the City of Calamity, eliminating Medici, a powerful adversary I will face in the future, learning the secrets behind the Horn family, and also reaching a strategic cooperation with Bernadette.
In short, aside from the fact that Grisha's unexpected birth is neither good nor bad, today was a very fruitful day for Evan.
Having tallied up his day's achievements, Evan closed his eyes contentedly and drifted into a dream.
While Evan was sleeping soundly, content, the outside world was in an uproar because of the commotion in Backlund that night.
Saint Milon, a magnificent palace complex, is nominally the political center of the country and the living quarters of the royal family, but its imposing presence is more like that of a military fortress, inspiring awe and fear.
Tonight, beneath the largest palace in the center, a group of red-haired royal elites clad in armor are holding a meeting around a massive stone table.
Their nonchalant and sarcastic manner, along with their mutual insults and provocations, made onlookers wonder if this was a meeting of gangsters, not the core of the strongest military power in the Northern Continent.
"The aura that appeared tonight is very unusual; it has affected all of us. Moreover, the source of the aura is in Backlund, Rune. We must find out the truth behind it."
An elderly man in armor with deep red hair spoke first.
"Don't forget that there's still a branch of the Einhorn bloodline in Backlund. If this matter involves them, it could shake the Empire's rule. What's the situation with those people now!"
"That little guy has already conceded defeat and chosen an arbitrator as his successor. Although he's quite talented and has already become a demigod, he poses no threat to us!"
A young man with bright red hair spoke lightly, clearly not taking the Horn family of the Kingdom of Rune seriously, his face full of indifference.
"I am in charge of intelligence work and have been keeping an eye on the Horn family. The new generation heir of the Horn family is indeed a demigod of the Arbitrator pathway, but his younger brother is an extraordinary being of the Hunter pathway, who has joined MI9 and is now in charge of intelligence work against us."
Upon hearing this, many indifferent people turned their heads to look at the speaker, clearly indicating that the matter had caught their attention. However, most people remained as before.
"I remember the next generation heir of the Horn family should be in his thirties. How old is his brother? Is he a threat to us?"
"He's reportedly 10 years younger than his brother and just graduated from university. In the past two months, intelligence agencies from various countries have suffered heavy losses and setbacks in Backlund, supposedly the work of this young 'hunter.' His current position within the intelligence community is still unclear."
"A college student in his twenties? Is there even a need for discussion? Every one of you here is exceptionally aligned with the spiritual imprint of our ancestors' extraordinary characteristics. You've spent countless hours climbing the ranks to reach your current positions. Even if a college student in his twenties is incredibly talented, he has no power to threaten us. Is he even worth mentioning here?"
"I didn't think he posed a threat to us; I just mentioned them casually!"
Most of the people attending the meeting had a disdainful attitude towards the Horn family and were not impressed by the fact that the Horn family had produced another young "hunter".
"Regardless of whether he has hunter talent or poses a threat to us, we'll stick to our old rules: eliminate him. We'll do it the same way we did before!"
In the end, it was the old man sitting at the head of the table who issued the order to kill Evan. No one else objected. After all, their contempt for the Horn family was real, but that did not prevent them from acting cautiously and letting the potential threat pass.
Just then, beams of red light emanated from each participant, and the nonchalant expressions on everyone's faces vanished, replaced by solemnity and reverence. Almost simultaneously, they all stood up straight, looked towards the snow-capped mountains outside the city, and gave a military salute.
After a long while, the red light on everyone dissipated, and the old man at the head of the stone table at the conference table spoke directly:
"According to the ancestor, the source of the anomaly we sensed this time is related to the Blood Emperor Tudor of the Fourth Epoch, and is related to a higher level of power. It is not to be underestimated. Backlund is exactly where the Blood Emperor was promoted to the Red Priest back then."
Furthermore, it was quite strange that "Tail Eater" Urolius forced his way into Backlund today, and this incident happened in the evening. Is there any connection between these events? These are all things that need to be investigated.
Next, we will fully utilize our intelligence resources to search for any clues.
Backlund is the territory of the Augustus, making it difficult to send demigods in. Burke, as the "War Bishop," you should go to the outskirts of Backlund, use your abilities to conceal your presence, and cover your soldiers' movements to infiltrate Backlund and search for clues.
And eliminate the Horn family's "hunters".
If there are no further problems, let's proceed as agreed. I need to go to the Twilight Palace to meet the High Patriarch.
Let's discuss the relevant matters.
After news spread that the rebellious archbishop of the Church of the Night had taken 008 away, the Church of the God of War has been in turmoil. This time, I'm going to discuss with them the issue of a joint attack on Rune in the future. After all, we can't rely on a secret investigation to find out the truth behind it all.
And you all must prepare for war once you return!
Upon hearing this, everyone present was overjoyed, but then looked at their fellow tribesmen with wary eyes.
War is always the favorite of hunters who have passed through the extraordinary path; it is the ladder to their ascension and the ultimate shortcut to digesting potions.
Although the collapse of the Kingdom of Intis and the fall of the Soren family resulted in the Einhorn family acquiring some high-sequence extraordinary traits through the Hunter pathway, they became the number one family in the North Continent and established the position of the first military power in the Fusak Empire.
But the higher you go, the more competitive the competition becomes, and sometimes their biggest enemy is not an enemy country but their own people.
However, it is clear that the Einhorn family is open to this kind of brutal competition. They believe that only the most brutal competition can cultivate the best "hunters"!
Seeing the younger generation locked in a tense standoff, ignoring the several clansmen who were spying on him with hostile eyes, the red-haired elder simply gave them a defiant "what can you do about it?" look before turning and leaving the vast underground hall, oblivious to the shouts and sounds of battle coming from behind him.
"The riots at 'Bloody Crown' tonight are very unusual; something must have happened, and it's happening right here in Backlund!"
Augustus I, with his square face, said to his descendants.
Many people came to listen to Augustus I preach, each of whom would be a big shot who could be reported in the newspapers, and many of them were members of the royal family whose deaths had already been announced by the royal family.
"According to information from the three major churches, the sealed artifacts they possess related to the Hunter's Path have all been affected by the 'Bloody Crown' and have rioted!"
"Ouroboros's behavior today is very unusual. Could these two things be related?"
George III, who was of a much lower generation but was able to sit on equal footing with Augustus I, suddenly spoke.