To avoid leaving too many clues, Odis and Bernadette had already changed their appearances beforehand, even altering their height and hair color.
Although using her abilities would still reveal her methods, Bernadette has always maintained an air of mystery. The demigods of the Kingdom of Rune don't know much about her background and can't immediately connect her to anyone.
Few people knew that Odis had been promoted to demigod, so no one suspected him for the time being.
It doesn't matter if we really doubt them; we can just play dumb. After all, with the protection of the "Knowledge Wilderness" and the help of some secret arts, it's impossible to find them through divination.
This time, Odis and Bernadette's target was also very clear: the "silent disciple" McHamms.
The rag doll in his hand was clearly a Level 1 sealed artifact from the "Prisoner" pathway. If he could kill the other party, it would be easier to divide the loot.
Odis remembered that the sealed artifact in the hands of another "Rose School" demigod was a Level 1 sealed artifact of the "Thief" pathway, and it was easy to run into Amon.
To be on the safe side, I'd better not provoke him.
Odis made the first move. The head of the "Gus Staff" in his hand suddenly became bright, and a large bamboo forest immediately grew out of the dock in front of him!
Not far away, the chassis of a crane was lifted by bamboo and finally pushed over amidst ear-piercing creaks and crashes.
The train in the distance was nearly overturned several times, but fortunately, there were some extraordinary individuals inside who possessed sealed artifacts, and they managed to keep the train under control.
However, the carriage was pierced by bamboo, and the inside of the carriage was full of bamboo leaves.
The soldiers' gun barrels were blocked by bamboo, making it difficult for them to even raise their guns, let alone fire them or cannons.
Odis's target, the "silent disciple" Mehamms, was pierced by many bamboo stalks, especially his chest cavity, which was pierced by the bamboo stalks as if bamboo shoots were sprouting from the ground after rain.
Idiom story: Full of confidence and composure!
Odis wasn't afraid of Klein seeing this ability, because, judging from its appearance, it had absolutely no connection to the idiom or story.
His attack was so sudden and rare in the Extraordinary World that it caught both McHamms and Grove Augustus off guard.
However, they quickly realized what was happening. The former's body instantly turned into a phantom, and his injuries vanished. The latter immediately retreated to observe the demigod who had just joined the battle.
Just as Maihamus was about to use his "Mirror Jump" ability to leave the bamboo forest, he suddenly found himself unable to move. Even in his "vengeful spirit" state, it was difficult for him to move freely through the bamboo forest.
Suddenly, his spirit was moved, and he looked up at the sky.
Suddenly, a woman dressed in knight's attire appeared there. She wore a metallic mask and seemed devoid of any living presence.
Immediately afterwards, a slight change appeared in her eyes, her gaze suddenly becoming cold and terrifying. Maihamus quickly turned his head away, not daring to meet her gaze, but he still felt the life force of his body and spirit rapidly disappearing, as if he would reach the end of his life in the next second.
That was Bernadette's "death stare," which she used after she made her move.
All the bamboo in her sight quickly withered and turned yellow, and even the life of the "silent disciple" was rapidly slipping away.
Maihams tried to respond, but his whole body was stiff and he couldn't even move his fingers.
However, this did not stop him from saving himself. The face of the rag doll in his hand quickly changed, becoming a gaunt figure with sunken eyes. That was Maihamus himself. He was exchanging himself with the rag doll. In this way, it would be the rag doll's life that was lost, not his own.
Since rag dolls themselves have no life, there is nothing to lose.
The next instant, the "Confident" ability ended, the bamboo forest disappeared layer by layer, the crane collapsed, the railway was destroyed, and the train carriages were no longer usable, leaving only a somewhat dilapidated dock.
Odis's staff glowed again.
Fairy Tale Magic: The Snowman!
The rag doll in Maihamus's hand suddenly turned into a small snowman. Because it was summer, the snowman began to melt quickly, and the process of Maihamus exchanging rag dolls was forced to stop.
The royal demigod Grove noticed the woman in mid-air using a level 0 sealed artifact, and he immediately attacked another demigod from the "Rose School".
Regardless of the purpose of the man and woman who finally appeared, it is certain that their target was the demigod of the "Rose School".
Grove and Georgina's mission this time was merely to prevent the mummy from being stolen by the "Rose School," and Odis and Bernadette were essentially helping them complete their mission.
Under such circumstances, if they could kill another demigod from the "Rose School," it would be equivalent to exceeding their mission expectations.
Odis saw through the other party's intentions, took out the "Scepter of Disaster" and blew up a hurricane, overturning the carriage carrying the mummy's coffin.
With a "thud," the coffin hit the ground, the lid was knocked open, and the mummy fell out.
The two royal demigods didn't take it too seriously. After all, although mummies could be made into high-level zombies, that process couldn't be completed in a short time, and it was lying there and couldn't run away.
So they continued their siege of another demigod from the "Rose School".
Just then, a deep voice suddenly came from the warehouse in the distance: "Run!"
The mummy, which had been lifeless and was lying upside down on the coffin, suddenly stood up as if it had suddenly come to life and ran wildly toward one of the warehouses.
The two royal demigods were stunned, but soon, as if their spiritual senses had detected something, they looked together toward the warehouse, where something seemed to be attracting the mummy.
On the other side, Odis thought to himself, "The Azik Bronze Whistle is really useful."
As he thought this, he sent bolts of lightning striking Maihamus.
The lightning summoned by the "Scepter of Disaster" could also cause considerable damage to Maihamus, and he was still unable to make any move to dodge it.
When the lightning stopped and Maihamus finally felt he could catch his breath, he suddenly felt something tug at him.
Immediately afterwards, he saw a middle-aged man holding a rag doll appear in front of him.
Isn't that me?
Maihames belatedly realized that his spirit had been dragged out by forces from the underworld.
In fact, once they reach the level of "vengeful spirits," the boundary between the physical and spiritual bodies of extraordinary individuals who have reached the "prisoner" pathway becomes very blurred. After reaching the level of demigods, the physical body becomes even less present.
But now, before Maihamus could even utter a curse, his spirit was dragged out!
Then, things became illusory before Maihamus, and the edge of the underworld invaded the real world. An irresistible force dragged him rapidly toward the illusory underworld.
Bernadette, suspended in mid-air, stared silently at the demigod. The "pale death" on her face was two sequences higher than that of Mahamuss, completely overwhelming the "silent disciple."
The mummy was still running away when Georgina raised her hand: "May the dead here rest in peace!"
The mummy collapsed to the ground, but the next second, it jumped up and ran towards the warehouse.
Georgina used the reconstructed "order" to lighten herself and quickly float into the air.
She saw that in the direction the mummy was running, a "vengeful spirit" was using "mirror jump" to escape quickly, and at this point the spirit was already out of her range.
However, the magical item on his body continued to attract the mummy.
On the other side, Odis raised his staff, and a large cluster of starlight gathered in mid-air, then fell and struck Maihamus's body.
The seemingly unreal body instantly shattered, and the rag doll in his hand fell to the ground and rolled far away.
Odis "teleported" over and first placed the sealed artifact into the "Wilderness of Knowledge".
At this point, Maihamus simply stopped resisting and instead made his way to the underworld. Because of his extraordinary nature, he was inside a spirit body, so even if he entered the spirit world, his strength would not be greatly affected. At the same time, he could use the spirit world to escape.
Bernadette stared at him coldly, then suddenly drew the "Gus Staff" from her waist.
The next second, Maihams felt his mind rapidly becoming sluggish.
Oops!
Having a good understanding of the abilities of the "Death" pathway, Maihamus immediately realized that the other party was actually "transforming" his soul.
This is the power of the "Death God" pathway at the angelic level, which allows any life form to become His slave as it slowly dies.
However, the "Prisoner" pathway is also highly spiritual, and the key spirit is extremely powerful. Theoretically, Mahamuss can withstand Bernadette's "transformation" for a period of time.
After all, Bernadette used a sealed artifact, not the real "Pale Emperor".
Of course, Maihamus was still powerless to fight back during this process; he could only buy time.
Even if it only delays them for a dozen seconds, the royal family of Rune might send another demigod to their aid.
The leaders and angels of the "Rose School" also have a certain probability of noticing that Mahamuss is in danger and extending a helping hand.
To Maihams' surprise, the "conversion" process was about to end before he even began to resist!
He really couldn't understand how her abilities had changed so drastically just because she had a staff in her hand.
At this moment, Maihamus had entered the edge of the underworld. He felt that his mind was completely blank, and he didn't even have the thought of looking for an opportunity to escape to the underworld.
Bernadette pushed forward with the hand holding the "Gus Staff," and the extraordinary properties within the spirit body of Mahamus began to rapidly emanate.
In fact, this "silent disciple" is not dead yet, but he is currently in the underworld as a vengeful spirit, and the boundary between his life and death is very blurred.
Bernadette dragged him into the underworld to achieve this effect, since her goal was the extraordinary trait of the "Silent Disciple," not to kill Mehamms.
With the help of "Pale Death", the extraordinary characteristics were extracted at an extremely fast speed, and in the blink of an eye, the extraordinary characteristics had been formed.
Having anticipated this, Odis immediately stepped forward and used an iron box with a sealing array to seal the extraordinary properties, placing it into the "Wilderness of Knowledge".
The other three demigods on the dock were all surprised that the battle on Odis's side would end so quickly.
They were still fighting while trying to stop the mummy from "escaping".
Odis and Bernadette exchanged a glance, and the two immediately went into stealth mode and left the dock.
This was a plan the two had prepared in advance. With Bernadette's strength and Odis's assistance, it wouldn't be difficult for them to take down the other demigods of the "Rose School".
But the two demigods in the military certainly wouldn't want that outcome.
After Odis and Bernadette eliminated another demigod of the "Rose School," their next target might be them.
Therefore, these two demigods will most likely attack Odis and Bernadette in order to maintain a tactical balance.
Odis was not greedy; he withdrew immediately after achieving his goal, which made his plan the safest.
With the disappearance of "Pale Death," the connection between the underworld and the real world was severed, and Maihamus, having regained his senses, desperately ran towards the real world.
In his current state, he can at least transform into an evil spirit in the real world, and there is still a chance for him to recover to some extent in the future.
However, if he enters the underworld, the special environment there will quickly assimilate him, eventually turning him into a spirit without any extraneous thoughts.
"No!" The underworld disappeared too quickly. Despite Maihamus's unwilling shouts, he was ultimately left behind in the underworld and vanished completely.
In that brief moment, a figure suddenly appeared beside the carriage with the golden coffin. He grabbed a handful of spiritual liquid made up of the mummy's brain and bodily fluids and smeared it on a book with a leather cover.
The timing was perfect. Odis and Bernadette had just left, Mahamuss was dead, and the other three demigods were all chasing the mummy. No one was paying attention to the golden coffin containing the mummy.
Although the three demigods did not know the figure's purpose, their spirituality told them that they had to stop it.
But the figure didn't linger; it immediately used its "travel" ability to leave.
A second or two later, the running mummy vanished before the eyes of the three demigods.
They were stunned for a moment before the demigod of the "Rose School" quickly fled the battlefield through the spirit realm, while the two royal demigods tried their best to stop them, but in the end, they still managed to let the other side escape.
The two remaining royal demigods on the dock exchanged a glance. The good news was that the mummy had not been taken by the "Rose School," but the bad news was that the mummy had been taken by someone else.
The good news is that a famous demigod from the "Rose School" has been killed. The bad news is that, possibly by the Rune military, a Level 1 sealed artifact in the shape of a rag doll has fallen into the hands of two mysterious people.
...
The outskirts of Backlund, a secret stronghold of Bernadette.
Odis placed the rag doll and the tin box that sealed its extraordinary properties on the table.
Bernadette glanced at the rag doll and said, "Before it became a sealed artifact, it was probably a 'mystical puppet' made by a demigod of the 'Prisoner' pathway."
"Its ability is decent, but its negative effects are quite strong. It would be best if a high-level being could seal it again."
As she spoke, she picked up the iron box that sealed the "Silent Disciple," clearly choosing this trophy.
It would be better if the "Lord of Mysteries" resealed that sealed artifact.
Odis put the rag doll back into the "wilderness of knowledge": "I've always wondered why so many extraordinary individuals from secret organizations carry sealed artifacts formed through the same means?"
"Although the abilities of sealed artifacts are more bizarre, they also have many similarities to the abilities of their holders."
The key question is: the "Rose School" has angels, so why not choose to shatter the seal and allow other members to ascend to new demigods?
"Because secret organizations have too few channels for accumulating sealed artifacts," Bernadette said. "Churches, for example, have accumulated them over thousands of years. So when they encounter extraordinary individuals from the same path who die and become sealed artifacts, they usually shatter them to cultivate new extraordinary individuals. In addition, they use sealed artifacts from other paths to enrich their methods."
"However, secret organizations do not have the authority to handle extraordinary cases, and the probability of obtaining sealed artifacts in extraordinary battles is not high. Therefore, even sealed artifacts formed by extraordinary individuals from the same path are valuable."
"Furthermore, demigods already possess considerable authority within secret organizations and have their own power base."
"They would carry the same type of sealed artifacts with them and use them until their trusted confidants could be promoted."
She paused for a moment and said, "To put it bluntly, it's still a matter of scarcity. Since the Fifth Age, let alone battles between angels, battles between demigods have become quite rare."
"You're quite lucky, because in the recent operations I've been on with you, we've obtained several demigod-level spoils."
"And you should know that in the past, it might have taken me several years or even more than a decade to have a chance to obtain demigod-level spoils, and I might not even be able to get them in the end."
Odis slowly nodded, which could be interpreted as, "There are no other sealing artifacts available, so we'll use whatever we have!"
He did not react to Bernadette's "praise".
The operation was a great success. Bernadette took a bottle of fine wine from the base's wine cellar, and the two of them raised their glasses in celebration.
Bernadette still had matters to attend to in Vaudé, so she returned directly to Vaudé.
Odis returned to the embassy, washed up, and rested in bed.
He pretended to be asleep, but actually entered the "wilderness of knowledge" to examine the sealed artifact.
As Bernadette said, the negative effects of this sealed artifact are quite significant: it possesses a certain degree of activity and can randomly curse those around it at any time; if left alone for a long time, it will transform into the appearance of the nearest person, who will immediately die a gruesome death from the most vicious curse.
Odis took a deep breath. Even demigods couldn't avoid this negative effect, and angels had to be careful to avoid it as well.
As for its abilities, they are quite good: it can transform into the appearance of the target according to the holder's wishes. When it is four or five parts similar to the target, it can use the ability to curse the target, and the target cannot avoid it; if it is seven or eight parts similar to the target, it can use vicious curses such as "death"; if the holder makes the puppet look like itself, it can take the damage from the enemy in place of the holder.
Odis's spirituality led him to understand that the threshold for withstanding damage was probably no less than three Sequence 3 level attacks.
Whether it's a physical attack or an extraordinary attack!
This ability was quite good, so he used the layers of the "Knowledge Wilderness" to reseal it, giving him 15 minutes of safety time.
Within these fifteen minutes, there's no need to worry about negative effects; after use, you can directly put it into the "Knowledge Wilderness."
Wait a while before using it, and you'll have another 15 minutes of safe time.
Odis named it the "Cursed Rag Doll" and placed it in the "Wilderness of Knowledge," taking it out to use only when needed.
The fighting in Pulitzer Port had no impact on Backlund. People in the East End were busy making a living, workers went to get off work on time without slacking off, and the upper class reached preliminary cooperation agreements and made deals at parties and balls.
After learning that Amon's clone was in Backlund, Odis tried to decline as many balls and social engagements as possible, but he still planned to attend the charity fundraising gala organized by Klein.
Because Ambassador Odis of Rembrandt and the wealthy Dawn Dantes had almost no overlap in their social circles, Odis had been in Backlund for some time but had not encountered Dawn Dantes at the parties.
This party is basically a chance to get acquainted with the organization; we might need this communication channel in the future.
The Rembrandt Embassy was very supportive of the ambassador's participation in the party, because it was a "high-level gathering of the Church of the Goddess of Night." Most of the people at the Rembrandt Embassy are believers in the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom" and are not well-connected to such circles.
The embassy granted Odis a limit of 5,000 pounds, which he could use to build connections when needed.
Oedipus, of course, wouldn't miss such a good opportunity to "spend public funds." He dressed formally, took his checkbook, got into his carriage, and left.
The event was held near the Church of St. Samuel. The venue was decorated in dark colors and featured many stars and moons, reflecting the tranquil style of the Church of the Night Goddess.
The food and drinks were not as extravagant as those at a noble party, though of course they were of a higher standard than communion.
Most importantly, there was a strange sense of quiet. Everyone was sitting in their assigned spots chatting, unlike a noble party where people were standing in small groups chatting in different parts of the living room.
When Odis arrived, he found a corner to sit down. When he saw Audrey arrive, he simply greeted her and did not talk much, because the seats where Audrey and her father were sitting were the seats where the nobles were gathered, and they were some distance away from Odis.
After the party began, music did not start immediately. Instead, Dawn Dantes, also known as Klein, the original initiator of the party, gave a speech.
In his speech, he vividly described the current situation in the East End and gave examples of the importance of education for the children in the East End, which was the theme of this fundraising event.
Odis was not interested in this topic. After the speech, the fundraising began, and Odis wrote a check for 3,000 and handed it to the waiter.
This was already a large donation, and Dawn Dantes and Bishop Elektra came over with wine glasses to express their gratitude.
Odis exchanged a few polite words with the two men, and then said, "In fact, implementing compulsory education is the best solution to the current education problem."
Apart from the Republic of Intis, other countries do not have universal compulsory education. Church schools are more like literacy classes, and the tuition fees for public schools are difficult for ordinary people to afford, since most families have more than one child.
Private schools are out of the question for ordinary people.
Currently, even in the Republic of Intis, the system of compulsory education has become a mere formality.
"Not every era produces a genius like Roselle," Bishop Elektra smiled. "Remburg is famous for its academic atmosphere, but it seems it hasn't been able to implement compulsory education, has it?"
"Indeed, that's something Remnantburg needs to improve." Odis smiled and began talking about the weather in Backlund, indicating that he would stop there.
But to his surprise, Klein, who was wearing the face of Dawn Dantes, returned after thanking another wealthy man to Bishop Elektra and brought up the topic again.
He asked Odis, "Do you think the Kingdom of Rune has the conditions to implement compulsory education?"
"No," Odis replied without hesitation.
"No?" Klein paused for a moment. "Rune is currently the most enlightened and reform-minded country among all nations."
"That's right." Odis looked around and saw that there was no one there, then said in a low voice, "But the so-called 'spirit of reform' is the kind of reform that nobles and the wealthy want, not the kind of reform that ordinary people need."
"Compulsory education benefits ordinary people; nobles and the wealthy don't care too much about this issue."
"Or rather, if you ask them to donate money, they are very willing, but they lack the motivation to thoroughly solve the problem."
This answer stunned Klein again. He wanted to continue the discussion, but then he remembered that Dawn Dantes was not familiar with the ambassador from Remburg.
Just as he was about to politely end the question, Odis suddenly smiled and said, "Tomorrow I will send you something, along with an instruction manual."
"You might have some new ideas."
Klein smiled and said, "Okay."
Then, the two politely ended the conversation.
After the party officially started, the atmosphere in the venue remained quiet, with everyone chatting in small groups.
Odis had recently met some acquaintances in the upper echelons of Backlund. After greeting them, he returned to his corner and sat down.
Until Audrey came over and asked with a smile, "Why do you always like to sit in the corner when you attend parties?"
"I don't really like this way of communicating," Odis said with a smile.
Then Audrey asked in a low voice, "What did you talk about with Dantès just now?"
She noticed that after their brief conversation, Dawn's mood became noticeably more serious, and he also seemed a little confused.
Odis had no choice but to stand up and smile, saying, "Tonight's party is naturally about discussing education, but my ideas differ from his."
Audrey asked curiously, "Don't you approve of this kind of donation?"
"No, that's not it," Odis laughed. "It can indeed alleviate the problem and help many people."
"But the problem remains: this approach can only help a limited number of people, and every year many new people in need of help emerge."
Audrey, who had been carefully observing Odise, then asked, "You seem to know how to solve this problem?"
"This problem may never be solved," Odis said, shrugging. "Or rather, it's almost impossible to achieve a complete balance in educational resources."
Achieving relative fairness would already be quite good.
Then Odis added, "One of my inventions might solve this problem… Well, I'll send you a sample and an instruction manual tomorrow."
"Consider it a thank you gift for sending me the invitation."
Just as Audrey was about to refuse, Odis said, "After seeing that thing, you might have many new ideas about education."
He took a sip of his drink and said, "The extraordinary have never intended to help ordinary people. I personally believe that we should make better use of the power we possess."
This piqued Audrey's curiosity, and she became somewhat eager to see what it was.
Soon, the party came to an end. After everyone prayed to the goddess of the night for three minutes, the party officially ended.
...
160 Berklund Street.
Early in the morning, Klein began another day of life as a wealthy man. He had just finished breakfast when his butler told him that Ambassador Lenburg had sent a package.
Klein was also curious: what would the "Hermit" give him?
He had his personal male servant bring the package into the study. When the package was opened, it contained a helmet inlaid with crystals.
Klein paused for a moment, then took out the instruction manual and started reading.
He then learned that this was called a "smart helmet," which could actually impart knowledge to a target!
It can cover everything from how to spell words to geography, history, philosophy of life, work methods, and so on.
However, after acquiring knowledge, the target needs certain guidance to help them adapt to that knowledge and guide them on how to use it.
Of course, this equipment is not a panacea. It requires knowledge of logical deduction, such as calculation, as well as design knowledge that requires innovative ability. It can only impart knowledge points; how to use it still depends on individual talent.
Klein was overwhelmed with emotion. This was exactly the "brain implantation" technology he remembered!
This will greatly save time and cost in learning, and if this helmet becomes widespread, illiteracy will no longer exist.
But an even more serious problem arose in Klein's mind: this technology could very well be used by criminals!
This equipment can not only instill knowledge, but also things like memories. If used properly, it could cause the target to completely lose their sense of self!
As Klein pondered this question, his personal servant found another letter in the package.
Upon opening the envelope, there was only one phrase on the letter: Use with caution.
Klein breathed a slight sigh of relief: Fortunately, the inventor of this device understood the potential negative consequences it might cause.
He then fell into deep thought, just as the "hermit" had said, this was something that could change the education model and solve the root causes of all problems in education.
future...
He seemed unable to understand what the future would be like with such equipment.
...
Odis changed her appearance and came to the chapel of St. Samuel's Church, where she informed the "Goddess of the Night" of the new developments in the "Witch Cult" plan through prayer.
He also stated that he was willing to act as an inside agent to take the opportunity to strike at the "Witch Cult" and the "Spirit Cult".
Soon, an unprecedented sense of tranquility descended through the medium of the "Symbolic Symbol of Night".
The "Goddess of the Night" gave instructions: "Pray to me before you begin your plan."