During the tarot reading, the group was discussing the fact that the "Goddess of the Night" was preparing to become "above the gods".
After hearing the information provided by the Hermit, Leonard, the "Star," was stunned for a full three seconds before taking a deep breath: "The Goddess" couldn't descend!
He felt as if all his strength had been drained away, and he kept thinking, what should I do?
Finally, Leonard suddenly realized why "The Hermit" had said his questioning was problematic. It turned out that the tense atmosphere in Backlund was just a facade, and his question hadn't addressed the core issue at all.
Alger, the "Hanged Man," was also stunned for a moment, then sighed: "At such a crucial moment..."
Then he thought: So the Church of the Goddess of Night will probably be very cautious for some time to come.
The priestess, Cattleya, then recalled the question everyone had been discussing at the beginning: No wonder so many extraordinary figures appeared in Backlund; it was all to create chaos.
She used this trick often before. When she was weak and encountered a powerful enemy, she could try to create chaos in the surrounding situation and take the opportunity to leave.
However, Cattleya did not expect that even the gods would use this trick.
Of course, the "Goddess of the Night" was not trying to create chaos to escape from there, but simply to reduce her own stress.
"The Fool" Klein thought even further; he was the only one who had made the corresponding guesses before "The Hermit" released the relevant information.
Moreover, Klein has always felt that Backlund's current situation is related to his request for help.
Upon learning that Zarathustra was in Backlund, Klein immediately sought help from the "Goddess," and soon he received accurate information that Amon's advanced clone had reappeared in Backlund.
At the time, he speculated that the "goddess" might have used the old man inside Leonard's body to attract some of Amon's clones in order to restrict Zarathustra.
Considering the uniqueness of the "Goddess" obtaining the "Death God's" path and the information about being "above the gods," Klein speculated that the Goddess might not be able to provide much help at the moment, which was why they were hindering each other.
This realization wasn't due to Klein's narcissism, but rather because he thought that the "goddess" disrupting the situation in Backlund wouldn't be of much help to him personally.
However, it provided substantial help to Klein, and it is very likely that this was part of the "goddess's" plan for him, her chosen one.
"The Hermit" Odis smiled and continued, "Of course, this is just speculation."
Then he changed the subject and asked, "Why do you all think this war suddenly broke out?"
As everyone was stunned, Odis continued, "As far as the Fussac Empire is concerned, they cannot accept the fact that George III has become a god, so they will definitely make a final stand before all of this happens."
"And the 'God of War' cannot allow the 'Goddess of Night' to calmly accommodate the 'uniqueness' of adjacent paths," even if war shakes the anchor of the 'Goddess of Night'.
"So they all wanted to start a war, which was their last gamble."
"Other gods and nations will remain in a wait-and-see state until the situation becomes clear."
The other members fell into deep thought again. "Justice" Audrey had never imagined that the war was actually caused by a struggle between the extraordinary realms.
Odis concluded, "Everyone should understand how valuable this information is, and this time we will indeed need to pay some compensation."
The students from Peking University quickly came to their senses and looked at the "hermit".
They were happy to pay for such high-level intelligence, but they didn't know what kind of reward the "Hermit" would ask for, assuming the Hermit didn't really need gold pounds.
Odis smiled and said, "Don't be so nervous, everyone. The reward I ask for is not difficult for you to pay."
"I may be undertaking a major and extraordinary operation soon, and to ensure its success, I need everyone's participation."
"In addition to the reward for some information from the previous Tarot meeting, you need to help me eliminate one enemy of the same rank, or eliminate two enemies of a lower rank than yourself."
The "world" and the "priestess" should work together to deal with a demigod. It would be best if they could kill him, but even if they couldn't, they should prevent him from escaping.
"Any gains beyond what I've been paid will be your spoils."
Odis had already considered this. Since he currently lacked extraordinary power, in order to have sufficient manpower during operations, he should try his best to utilize all his resources.
No one expected that the "hermit" would make such a request.
The priestess, Cattleya, was the first to speak: "I have no problem."
In fact, she had already received a notification from the "mysterious queen": be ready to enter Reimsburg to participate in the war at any time.
The second person from the "world" said, "I have no problem either."
Although he had already guessed what the "Hermit" had revealed today and it wasn't of much help to him, he was still willing to help his "fellow villager".
Other members also expressed their willingness to provide such compensation.
Only "Little Sun" asked anxiously, "What about me? How will I be paid?"
He also really wanted to help the "hermit".
"You can owe me for now," Odis said. "You can pay me back after you're freed from the 'Land Forsaken by the Gods.'"
Derrick had no choice but to say, "Okay."
Alger then asked, "What kind of battle will it be, and what preparations should we make?"
He was actually reluctant to participate in such a battle, because it would be tantamount to exposing his identity, which would make the Tarot Society seem less like a secret organization.
But this was payment for the "hermit," and since everyone else agreed, he wouldn't object.
"A battle against an extraordinary organization." Odis smiled. "Rest assured, you are not alone. Extraordinary forces serving the 'Lord of Mysteries' will also join the fight."
"I won't ask you to take on impossible tasks; instead, I'll have you work together to eliminate the target."
"For example, if 'The Hanged Man' and 'The Moon' are both Sequence 5, then you can go hunt a Sequence 5 together."
Odis smiled and said, "Given the number of enemies, you might not be able to repay the full amount at once."
"But it's okay, there will be many extraordinary battles in the future, so everyone will have plenty of opportunities."
Hearing this, Klein was slightly taken aback: Is Odis preparing to officially join the war?
Others speculated whether the Hermit was planning to join either Rune or Fussac.
He paused for a moment and then said, "'World' and 'Priestess' will go to the designated battlefield on their own, while the other members will be sent to the designated battlefield by 'Magician'."
"I will make a special mask for everyone in advance, so you don't have to worry about revealing your appearance."
Fors, who had just received the "travel ring," immediately replied, "No problem."
Alger, the "Hanged Man," thought it was quite good that the other party had thought of protecting his privacy, so he had no further objections.
Seeing that the topic was about to end, Klein reminded him, "Let's not reveal what we just discussed to others for now."
Just as everyone was about to agree, they thought to themselves that such a thing would certainly not be said carelessly.
Odis replied, "Actually, there's nothing wrong with talking about it."
After saying that, he smiled and said, "If it's 'secret,' then it's impossible for anyone to tell others about it."
The other members stared at Odis for a few seconds before suddenly realizing that although the information released by the other side today was already shocking, things seemed to be far from simple!
Klein was also taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Why do you say that?"
In fact, he had thought before that the "goddess" held the power of "secrets," and as long as he did not want others to know, the matter of the "artificial death god" could be kept secret for a while longer.
The situation in Backlund is similar, and it is estimated that many important figures in the extraordinary world have guessed that the "Goddess" is at a crucial stage of accommodating the uniqueness of the "Grim Reaper".
This puzzled Klein somewhat.
Odis smiled and said, "I've only thought of one possibility, but there's no evidence to prove it yet, so I won't discuss it with everyone for now."
Of course, we can't reveal the true purpose of "Goddess of the Night" yet. In fact, we want people to think that he can't descend to the heavens, and we will continue to do similar things for a long time to come, so that everyone will realize that there is something wrong with his current state.
This was to further lull the God of War into a false sense of security, so that when the time was right, the opponent would "seize the opportunity" to strike.
Klein was somewhat disappointed, and the others were even more disappointed.
First they learned of such high-level intelligence, and then they learned of even more advanced intelligence, which was hard for them to accept.
But they also knew that if the "hermit" said that, he wouldn't provide any further explanation, leaving them to speculate.
After a dozen seconds, the exchange resumed: "From what I've observed, the Storm Church isn't very enthusiastic about this war."
Leonard smiled and joked, "Not too enthusiastic? That doesn't fit the image of the Church of Storms."
Although their doctrine neither glorifies fighting nor promotes war, it absolutely emphasizes treating enemies with storm-like ferocity, and venting any anger on the spot.
"Justice" Audrey was somewhat worried that, without the help of the Storm Church, the Rune Navy would find it difficult to maintain a significant advantage in the naval battle.
Odis laughed and said, "It's really putting them in a difficult position."
He paused for a moment and then said, "I do have some guesses about this issue."
Regardless of any speculation, people are once again looking at the "hermit," and it is estimated that there are some deeper reasons behind this unusual behavior.
Odis leaned back in his chair and continued, "Didn't we speculate before that this war might be part of Adam's ascension to godhood—?"
He didn't continue speaking, but instead spread his hands towards everyone.
Because once this is mentioned, everyone will understand that if the battle becomes more intense, it will be tantamount to helping Adam become a god.
Therefore, at this time, the Church of Storms was actually unwilling to escalate the war.
Alger remarked, "I never imagined that the concept of adjacent pathways would have such a profound impact on the extraordinary realm."
At this point, Hugh, the "judge," asked the question that had been lingering in his mind: "Which route is adjacent to the 'arbitrator'?"
She had this question after learning about the concept of "adjacent pathways" from Fors, but she had never had a suitable opportunity to ask it.
Odis replied, "The 'lawyer' route."
Hugh suddenly felt a glimmer of hope, because she remembered Fors saying that Mr. Fool had a blasphemous card containing all the secrets of the Black Emperor's path.
If you reach Sequence 5 and cannot advance to Sequence 4 via the "Arbitrator" pathway, you can jump to an adjacent pathway.
Thinking of this, Hugh remembered to thank Odis sincerely.
At this moment, Emlyn, the "Moon," said, "Gentlemen, I suddenly thought of a problem. Among the 22 paths we are familiar with, 'Pharmacist' and 'Farmer' are adjacent paths, and 'Diviner', 'Thief', and 'Apprentice' are adjacent paths."
"'Sailor', 'Singer', 'Reader', 'Audience', and 'Mystic' are adjacent paths; 'Hunter' and 'Witch' are adjacent paths; and 'Sleepless', 'Corpse Collector', and 'Warrior' are adjacent paths."
"And 'peeping Tom' and 'generalist' are adjacent pathways, 'criminal' and 'prisoner' are adjacent pathways, and we just learned that 'arbitrator' and 'lawyer' are adjacent pathways."
"Finally, only the 'monster' path remains. Does it have adjacent paths?"
He had only just realized that since joining the Tarot Club, his knowledge of occultism had increased dramatically. He could now recite all 22 pathways by heart and knew their corresponding adjacent pathways.
This certainly made Emlyn proud, but the question he finally asked was indeed a question that had been on his mind.
"The priestess," Cattleya said, "as far as I know, this path indeed has no adjacent paths. Perhaps there's something special about this path?"
After saying that, she couldn't help but look at Odis, asking with her eyes whether her answer was correct.
Upon receiving the signal, Odis confirmed, "Indeed, there are no adjacent paths."
Klein also manipulated "the world" to join the discussion: "Generally speaking, there should be a reason for something special."
After obtaining the "winner's" secret puppet, he was also puzzled as to why this path was so "unconventional," because this path had some connection with "Above the Gray Fog." Klein even speculated that the "Monster" path might be a potential adjacent path to the "Diviner" path.
As Odis said before, the three adjacent paths, such as "The Sleepless" and "The Hunter" and "The Witch," can be interchanged in a certain sequence.
Odis pondered for a moment before saying, "I've thought about this question too, and I've made some conjectures. Do you all think that the 22 paths represent all the extraordinary characteristics of the extraordinary world?"
This question surprised everyone. From the moment they came into contact with Extraordinary, the knowledge they had acquired was that there were 22 paths to godhood in the world.
"Perhaps I'm not quite right," Odis continued. "Should I say that the real world isn't the entirety of the extraordinary world?"
Of course not!
There's also the spirit realm and the astral realm!
Everyone understood Odis's meaning and instantly felt that their previous understanding had been overturned.
They hadn't expected the answer to this question to be so simple; it's just that no one had thought of it that way.
Emlyn, the one who asked the question, understood immediately: "Mr. Hermit, you mean the adjacent pathway of the 'Monster' pathway is not in the real world? Then where is it?"
"I don't know," Odis replied with a smile. "I only have a very vague guess, and I can't give you a definite answer right now."
The other members realized that there might be a bigger secret behind the monster path, a secret that even the "Hermit" didn't have a clear answer to.
"Justice" Audrey had noticed this in previous Tarot gatherings: as the level of information traded in the Tarot gatherings increased, even the "Hermit" was unsure about much of the information, or did not have complete knowledge of it.
This did not disappoint Audrey; instead, it made her realize that the Tarot Club was becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Moreover, she was well aware that the information revealed by the "Hermit" at these tarot gatherings was of a very high level, and even understanding just a part of it was already quite impressive.
With that topic concluded, Derrick the Sun, seeing no one else speak, said, "We have completed our first exploration of the 'Giant's Court'—."
He couldn't help but sigh, because three of his companions had died during this expedition.
Derrick quickly composed himself and continued, "We first arrived at the main gate of the royal court and saw two 'Silver Knights' in an unknown state guarding the place. Those are the Sequence 3 names of the 'Giants' pathway."
The other members exclaimed: "Two Sequence 3 demigods guarding the main gate, truly befitting the 'Giant's Court,' the divine kingdom of the ancient gods."
"The Sun" Derrick continued, "Based on the intelligence shared by Mr. 'The World,' we took a more concealed route to the rear of the 'Giant's Court.'"
Upon arriving at the "Decaying Forest," we attempted to explore and discovered that the remaining will of the "Giant King" was combined with the power of the divine realm.
It has become an evil spirit, guarding its parents' tomb.
"The Magician" Fors lamented: After all this time, Little Sun's storytelling skills haven't improved much. Fortunately, although his method is straightforward, his thinking is still relatively clear, and he can tell the story quite well.
Derrick continued, "After purifying that evil spirit, we arrived at the tomb of the 'Giant King's' parents. There was a stone tablet there indicating the identity of the tomb's occupant. The tomb and coffin had long been pushed open by someone, revealing the remains inside."
"Those are the remains of two humans!"
Apart from "The Hermit" and "The World", all the other members could clearly hear themselves gasping for breath!
The parents of the "King of Giants" were actually human!
Then they immediately looked at the "hermit".
Odis noticed everyone's gaze and smiled, "It seems my guess has new evidence."
When he was trading information about the Second Age, he mentioned that elves, vampires, and giants were all humans who had mutated due to their extraordinary abilities.
However, the information about the "decaying forest" could not be released at that time, so Odis could only use "no reproductive isolation" as "isolated evidence".
The other members all looked rather serious. Although they had already received the relevant information, it was still surprising.
There was a two or three-second silence in the hall before "The Sun" Derrick continued.
When the phantom image left behind by the members of "Redemption Rose" was mentioned, everyone couldn't help but look at "The Hermit" again, which matched the information he had previously released.
The most shocked was Leonard, the "Star". He was surprised to hear the name of the "Goddess of the Night". He couldn't imagine why there would be such a powerful organization in the Third Age.
After announcing the members of "Redemption Rose", "Sun" Derrick talked about how they were once again affected by "Angel of Fate" Ullolius, but fortunately "Fool" provided help and helped them get out of trouble.
They then stopped at the entrance of the "Giant King's" palace, where they learned from "Light Slayer" Milgongen that "Dark Angel" Sasriel was sleeping inside.
At this point, "Sun" Derrick asked "The Hermit": "Mr. Hermit, when we were trading information about the 'Cataclysm' before, didn't you say that the 'Dark Angels' were actually an incarnation of the 'Creator'?"
"After 'Redemption Rose' launched its operation, the 'Dark Angel' returned to the 'Lord's' body. So who is in the 'Giant King's' palace?"
Odis replied, "It is most likely a remnant of the 'Dark Angel's' spirit. Since he is an incarnation of the 'Ancient Sun God,' he cannot be viewed as a normal 'King of Angels.'"
He paused for a moment and then said, "In terms of extraordinary characteristics, the uniqueness of the 'Mystic' pathway and the Sequence 1 characteristic are currently with the 'True Creator,' and the 'Dark Angel' no longer has the power basis for its existence."
"It is certain that the 'Dark Angel' has 'disappeared,' but perhaps, like the 'Red Angel,' it will fall and form a being similar to an 'evil spirit.'"
Derrick nodded: "I see."
He paused for a moment before continuing to recount the entire exploration process in a leisurely manner. The hall fell silent for a few seconds as everyone was immersed in the exploration of Silver City and the feeling of turning intelligence into reality.
When I was trading this information with the "Hermit" before, I was surprised, but after the surprise, I felt that it was all a long time ago, or that it was all information that the "Hermit" had released. It's not that there was a problem, but it seemed to be information that was only "on paper".
But now, with the "Sun's" account, things are different. It's as if those "paper" intelligences have become reality, and have become important evidence of the "Hermit's" intelligence.
At the same time, events from thousands of years ago seemed to unfold before everyone's eyes. Everyone could clearly feel that those events were no longer history, no longer legends, but real occurrences.
A few seconds later, Alger, the "Hanged Man," raised his own question through the "Sun's" narration: "Since the 'True Creator' was born in the 'Great Cataclysm,' he should be familiar with what happened in the 'Giant's Court.' Why was Elder Lovia, the 'Shepherd,' completely unprepared for this?"
He noticed that it was "The World" who provided "The Sun" with information about a secret passage in the "Giant's Court," and that it was Mr. "The Fool" who offered help after they were influenced by the "Angel of Fate."
Neither the "shepherd" elder nor the "true creator" provided any relevant information or assistance.
Odis thought for a moment, but he couldn't remember why. Was it because the "True Creator" was in a bad state? Or did he simply not take the "Shepherd" elder seriously? Or did he not take this exploration of Silver City seriously?
Then he thought: Alger's guess was actually a bit conservative. The "True Creator" and the "Dark Angel" Sasriel had such a close connection. Even if they couldn't be said to be the same "person", the "True Creator", as a part of humanity, should have inherited most of the "Dark Angel's" memories.
So when the "shepherd" elder asked him for relevant knowledge, he didn't reveal anything about the "Giant's Court".
At this point, the "priestess" Cattleya made her own guess: "Perhaps the purpose of the 'True Creator' is to confirm the state of the 'Dark Angel' Sasriel."
She said, "Since it's a previous clone, but wasn't properly dealt with during the 'Great Cataclysm,' we should probably carefully observe the current state of the clone's remaining spirit."
Everyone nodded in agreement, feeling that this guess was quite reasonable.
Odis remembered this; the true creator's main objective was actually the first "blasphemous tablet" in the palace.
However, we cannot share this information with the other members yet.
With that topic concluded, Klein manipulated "The World" to say to "The Sun" Derrick, "I recently harvested a batch of mushrooms that can grow and reproduce in the dark by devouring the flesh and blood of monsters. I wonder if your Silver City would be interested?"
Odis was taken aback: those mushrooms that could provide food in the "Forsaken Land" have finally arrived!
"The Magician" Fors exclaimed: Indeed, there are many things in the world that I do not yet understand.
Cattleya suddenly stopped, sitting there as if she had turned into a statue.
Upon hearing this, "Sun" Derrick was overjoyed: "Can those mushrooms actively attack monsters?"
Odis smiled and said first, "What kind of logic is this?" "Oh, right," Klein replied, "Klein's description is 'a mushroom that grows by devouring the flesh and blood of monsters.'" The "world" said, "No, if mushrooms can actively attack monsters, then they wouldn't be any different for you."
He then went on to explain further: "Some of those mushrooms can be ground into flour, and some produce milk—"
When "Little Sun" finished listening to "The World's" description and asked everyone what milk was, it still made the other members feel a chill in their hearts. They all knew that the living conditions in "God's Forsaken Land" were harsh, and only now did they have a concrete understanding of it!
So "righteous" Audrey patiently explained to him what flour was, what milk was, and so on.
Finally, Klein manipulated the "world" and said, "Except for milk, which can be drunk directly, everything else must be cooked by steaming, boiling, frying, or baking. Otherwise, these mushrooms will absorb blood and flesh from the body, regain their vitality, and turn a person into countless mushrooms from the inside out."
Upon hearing this, Alger the Hanged Man and the other members all instinctively shrank back.
After returning to the real world, Cattleya decided to have a serious talk with Frank.
She was worried that one day when the "Star Pirates" held a vote among its crew, a large number of mushrooms would cast their solemn votes.
Only "The Sun," Derrick, seemed unfazed: "Thank you, Mr. 'The World,' this is exactly what Silver City needs. I'll go back and tell the Chief immediately; he'll be very pleased."
Then he asked, "What would you like to exchange?"
Klein hesitated for a moment before manipulating the "world" and saying, "The potion recipe of the 'Ancient Alchemists'."
The priestess, Cattleya, almost stopped him, but she ultimately suppressed her impulse and reassured herself: with Mr. Fool watching, this deal shouldn't have too many problems.
Odis remarked: What a brilliant move, "using war to sustain war."
Then he became somewhat worried: would Frank bring some disaster to the world after becoming a demigod?
However, thinking that I was already an angel at that time, I could completely solve any problems that arose.
After the topic of mushrooms ended, everyone started discussing the current international situation.
"Justice" Audrey asked Odis, "Is Lenburg prepared for the invasion of the Kingdom of Feneport? Can it withstand Feneport's offensive?"
"Overall, we are prepared." Odis shared the current intelligence on Remnburg with everyone: "First of all, Remnburg's southern defense line has been in a state of preparation for the past year or two, and should be able to hold off Fenerbah's army for one or two weeks."
"One or two weeks?" Leonard thought he misheard. "I heard that the defense is very strong, so it can only hold out for one or two weeks?"
Odis further explained: "Lombard's military strategy was fundamentally flawed."
"The southern defense line is over 100 kilometers long. Even the world's great powers cannot maintain such a long defense line for a long time."
"You should know that the enemy will not launch a full-scale attack, but will choose one or several weak points to attack."
"Especially when there are extraordinary individuals present, it is easier to tear a gap in such a long defensive line if we concentrate our efforts."
"At this point, the defending side is at a disadvantage. If one point of the defense line is breached, should they continue to defend?"
"There's no point in defending it."
"Let's not defend it. It's such a waste to have such a long defensive line."
Audrey was genuinely taken aback before asking, "I heard that this defensive line has been under construction for decades. Has no one discovered this all these years?"
"Someone has discovered it," Odis said. "And as far as I know, more than one person has discovered it."
"But the construction and maintenance of this defense line has never stopped."
Audrey didn't understand: "Why?"
"Because building this defensive line will benefit everyone," Odis said. "Cement and steel mills in Remnburg will have orders, the military and local government can cut construction funds, and the king can boast that he has built a defensive line that will never fall."
Klein thought to himself: I'd like to know about the Maginot Line.
Alger, the "Hanged Man," suddenly laughed and said, "Indeed, when it comes to interests and politics, there is no right or wrong."
Audrey then asked, "What should be done about Narenberg?"
If Rune's allies are defeated or their countries are destroyed, it will be another huge blow to Rune.
Odis said, "It's time to wake those fools up!"