In Odis's view, the "Mother Tree of Desire" using the two "Blood Dukes" against him and Bernadette was a mission doomed to failure.
Bernadette possesses "Pale Death," making her far more powerful than a normal Sequence 2 angel. Odis can also unleash power approaching that of a Sequence 1 angel with the help of the power of the "Wilderness of Knowledge" and the "Staff of Gus."
The two "Blood Dukes" were certainly no match for them, but the "Mother Tree of Desire" still used the "Devil's Island" in the Misty Sea to lure Odis and Bernadette there, which was obviously somewhat illogical.
After all, it's not easy for Outer Gods to accumulate even a little power in the real world. This sudden loss of a Sequence 1 trait and a Sequence 2 level henchman means they've lost that too.
After hearing Odis's question, the Celestial Master smiled and said, "With the barrier blocking them, the Outer Gods are actually quite slow to perceive the real world. When I attacked the 'Fallen Mother Goddess' before, the Outer Gods should have already noticed that the 'Sage's Remnant Soul' had appeared and started to interfere in some affairs of the real world."
"Don't think they are 'omniscient and omnipotent'; they do not have such authority or ability."
"When they encounter opponents, they also need to test each other, and they also make mistakes in judgment."
"For example, after you landed on the island you call 'Devil's Island,' the 'Mother Tree of Desire' has been trying to corrupt you."
"This is because she misjudged your situation, or rather, the Outer Gods now believe that you are most likely a follower of the 'Sage's Remnant Soul.' Although they know that you have a close connection with the 'Sage's Remnant Soul,' they are not sure about our status."
"So her main objective in this operation is to contaminate you, not to eliminate you."
"Furthermore, when she realized that she had made a mistake, she had prepared to transfer that 'filthy king' characteristic to the abyss. Fabuti should have noticed the actions of the 'Mother Tree of Desire'."
"Although Fabti is unaware of the 'Mother Tree of Desire's' plans, and does not know that she hopes to corrupt your actions, Fabti is very clear that whatever the 'Mother Tree of Desire' wants to do, we must do our best to stop it!"
"Thanks to Fabti's efforts, that characteristic did not go to the abyss."
"Fabuti must have sensed through the 'dark side of the universe' that the 'Mother Tree of Desire' had lost control over the characteristics of that 'filthy king'."
Odis nodded; that made sense.
Otherwise, he would have suspected that the "Mother Tree of Desire" had some ulterior motive, deliberately sending him a "Defiled King."
What are its characteristics?
Then Odis asked with some curiosity, "How do you know all this?"
D
The Celestial Master smiled and said, "You may not have noticed, but a few of the 'intelligent puppets' you used as workers are missing. I've reassigned them to gather intelligence on the North and South continents."
He paused for a moment and then said, "I said before that once you become an angel, I will have a basis for existence and be able to do more things on the North and South continents."
Odis exclaimed "Oh!" to himself, thinking: I never imagined that "intelligent puppets" could be used like this! This is a completely enhanced version of "invisible servants"!
After finishing their business, Odis left the "wise man's time" and returned to the real world.
It was already past 10 p.m., and Odis had not yet had dinner. Although at his level, whether or not he ate dinner didn't really matter; eating was mainly for psychological comfort.
So, as planned, he changed his appearance, went to the still bustling Cruz Island food court, ordered barbecue and beer, and took them back to his cabin to enjoy.
After a good night's rest, Odis returned to Azshara and, as arranged by the Remnburg government, delivered a speech in the capital square, wishing everyone a happy new year.
In fact, Odis really wanted to give a live-streamed speech using "extraordinary technology," but the extraordinary industrial system was not yet fully built, and it was currently impossible to manufacture items like "extraordinary film and television," so a live-streamed speech was not possible.
It would be worth considering importing a complete broadcasting system from Rune, but in Odis's opinion, the principle is so simple yet the system is so expensive, it's really unnecessary.
So Odis used the "traditional" method, having reporters report on his speech in the form of a newspaper.
After finishing his speech, Odis had nothing else to do, so he boarded the Suzaku and went aboard the Dawn.
Bernadette was fishing on the deck when Odis found a seat next to her and glanced at the bucket beside her: "Just started fishing, haven't caught anything yet?"
Bernadette took a deep breath, put away her fishing rod, and said, "Didn't you tell me that fishing can put you in a state of mental relaxation?"
Will it make you feel better?
"Why isn't it working?"
Odis smiled and said, "This method depends on the situation. On a ship that is constantly moving forward, with sailors walking back and forth behind you, it is definitely difficult for you to calm down."
As he spoke, he took the fishing rod, checked the bait, and then cast the line: "Besides, this is just a way to practice calming the mind and focusing the spirit; it's not something that will work right away."
Bernadette smiled and said, "You have a point no matter what."
In fact, as long as Odis was by her side, she felt much better, and any pressure she felt would disappear instantly.
Odis looked at the sea and said, "Today is New Year's Day."
"Time flies," Bernadette exclaimed. "This year has been so exciting. Last year, we left Backlund for disrupting the actions of the Loen royal family and the witch cult during the New Year."
After Bernadette said that, Odis also felt that this year had indeed been a bit long, but when he thought about his own growth, he was also a little frightened.
In one year, it went from sequence 7 to sequence 2, undergoing two qualitative changes.
However, Odis also knew very well that the reason why he could advance so quickly was mainly because after advancing to Sequence 4, he hardly needed to digest the magic potion and could continue to advance by simply playing a role.
Odis didn't dwell on the question, but instead smiled at Bernadette and said, "Tell me your New Year's wish."
Bernadette paused for a moment before saying, "I haven't thought about wishes for a long time."
She paused for a moment and then said, "When I was investigating the cause of my father's death, I did have a wish that I could find out what really happened as soon as possible."
"Later it became a goal and a source of hope—"
When Bernadette finally found her father's last tomb by following the clues, she felt a sense of relief.
But after the feelings of reluctance and sadness subsided, Bernadette suddenly felt very empty, as if she had lost her goals and something to rely on, which is why she felt somewhat lost.
Odis also noticed the reason for Bernadette's disappointment. After thinking for a moment, he said, "The renovation work at MAXS has officially begun. I've laid out a huge project, and it will require continuous and massive investments to achieve my goals."
"However, once everything is in place, the current investment will unleash tremendous potential."
Odis smiled and said, "You can go around and see for yourself, and experience the new system I'm implementing."
He took a deep breath and said, "There are currently many obstacles to this project, and I need your help."
Bernadette glanced at Odis, then suddenly smiled and said, "I will definitely help you—no, I should say it's about running our shared business, after all, you are as important to me as my father."
She rarely made such declarations of affection, which immediately made Odis smile and say, "Then come back to Azshara with me tomorrow. We still have a lot to do."
At that moment, the fishing rod suddenly moved.
Odis pulled on her fishing rod: "We'll have fresh fish tonight."
The fish was quite large. Odis threw it into a bucket and carried it directly to the kitchen.
Afterwards, Odis and Bernadette chatted for a while in the captain's cabin about Fabti.
Odis did not mention the Celestial Master and his plans, but focused on Fabti's current state and his desire to obtain the "Defiled King" attribute.
Bernadette clearly hadn't expected that the Sequence 1 characteristic would actually bring forth such an ancient god.
As they chatted, it was time for dinner. The two of them ate grilled fish and toasted each other.
We plan to welcome the New Year together in this pleasant atmosphere.
Odis then talked about his childhood, because his grandfather's family used to grow watermelons, so what he missed most was the taste of watermelons.
At the time, I didn't think watermelons were anything special; I just thought they tasted familiar.
After arriving in this mysterious world, Odis realized just how unique the watermelons from her hometown were!
The watermelons in this world look similar to those in Odis's memory, but the rinds are incredibly thick.
There were very few melons, so eating them wasn't very interesting.
The key point is that it's very expensive, something only the nobility can afford, and even then, it's not something they can eat often.
Odis said to Bernadette, "Once we've entered Fenneport, we must get the bishops of the Church of the Earth Mother to study the matter of improving watermelon varieties."
Bernadette laughed and said, "Now that you mention it, I'm curious too. What do watermelons with thin rinds look like?"
Just then, the two of them looked towards the front of the ship.
Odis put down his wine glass: "Even on New Year's Day, the ghost ship doesn't get a holiday?"
The two men sensed that a ghost ship was rapidly approaching the "Dawn".
Just then, the whistle of the night watchman sounded outside, and the sailors and crew who were drinking and celebrating the New Year hurried to the deck.
Odis and Bernadette also put down their wine glasses and went to the window of the captain's cabin to look at the scene ahead.
Dense fog once again blanketed the sea. By this time, the Dawn had already sailed away from the area with the densest fog, but there was still thick fog in the middle of the night.
However, there are almost no foggy days during the day.
Bernadette gently blew forward, and the air around the Dawn immediately stirred, creating a strong gust of wind.
The fog ahead suddenly churned up, and soon visibility improved, allowing a clear view of the ghost ship.
Compared to the "Dawn", that ship was not very large and looked somewhat dilapidated. The key point was that the ship's main mast had been broken, but it was still sailing on the sea.
Odis suddenly let out a "".
Bernadette was taken aback: "You've seen this ghost ship before?"
"I blew it up," Odis laughed. "I'm the one who blew up its mast."
He then explained, "I encountered this ghost ship on my first night at sea."
"There is a high-ranking ghost at the bottom of this ship, who seems to be a member of the Trensault family."
Odis summoned a lord of the underworld, who severely damaged the ghost ship, allowing him and Bazel to escape.
Sometimes, when the night was quiet, Odis would recall the "dry-headed captain" on the ship, and the mummies that crawled like geckos in the corridors and cabins.
Odis was puzzled: "Why did it suddenly come to me on its own?"
Didn't they realize the danger on the Dawn?
At this moment, the gunners of the Dawn had already pushed the cannons out, ready to fire at any time.
Odis smiled and said, "How about we go take a look at that ship as a special New Year's program?"
Bernadette nodded without objection and said, "Okay."
So she ordered her crew not to attack for the time being.
Then the two people transformed into a stream of information and quickly appeared on the deck of the ghost ship.
In Odis's memory, the large hole in the deck that led directly to the bottom of the ship had disappeared. He glanced at the captain's cabin again and saw that the "mummified captain" was still there, but he seemed to have completely lost his will and was just a walking corpse.
At this moment, the "Dried Corpse Captain" saw Odis and Bernadette and immediately froze, like a puppet with its strings cut.
The other mummies were the same, as if they had instantly lost all "life".
Odis laughed and said, "It seems the owner of this ship sensed that we have boarded."
"I know this place well, follow me!"
As he spoke, he led the way to the second deck of the ship.
The place was still as oppressive as ever. The men who had hanged themselves or committed suicide in the original cabins were no longer in their original positions, but were all gathered together in one cabin, as if they were having a meeting.
On the next level down, there were many more mummified corpses, like geckos, lying on the deck.
But as soon as Odis came down, they trembled and scrambled to hide in the cabin.
Odis exclaimed, "It feels so good to be promoted to a higher sequence!"
The last time he came here, he had to be very careful, for fear of attracting the monsters' siege.
Upon reaching the lowest level, many translucent ghosts were present, moving about in the corridors and cabins.
They chatted amongst themselves, like a silent little neighborhood.
Bernadette looked at the ghosts: "Their condition is strange, as if they've been bound here by some force."
And their remaining spirituality is providing energy to the ship.
While directing several "invisible servants" to sweep away the "dust of vengeful spirits" here, Odis said, "The way this ghost ship exists seems to be somewhat unique. The person who designed it must be someone who understands ghosts very well and can utilize ghosts and certain rules of the underworld."
The floor of this cabin is covered with a thin layer of "vengeful dust," an extraordinary material of the "middle sequence" level.
When Odis came last time, his strength was limited, so he couldn't stay here for too long and only took a little bit with him.
Later, whenever I thought about this, I felt it was a great pity, and it was a waste to leave those gold pounds on such a ghost ship.
Now that we're back on this ship, of course we have to take everything with us!
Bernadette thought about it carefully, but couldn't immediately recall a character like the one described by Odis.
The arrival of the two angels caused the ghosts to quickly enter the cabin.
Their avoidance is based on instinct. Although Odis and Bernadette haven't shown any malice yet, to these spirits, angels are "powerful" beings, like enormous beasts, even if they are herbivores.
It also makes people afraid to get close.
Guided by their spirit, Oedipus and Bernadette stopped in front of a wooden door.
Oh dear~
The wooden door opened, and in one corner of the room was a clump of feathers covered in yellow grime, resembling a large bird huddled in the corner.
Amidst the feathers, a pair of indifferent eyes gazed toward the doorway.
Those eyes were somewhat blank, only regaining focus after seeing Odis and Bernadette arrive.
Odysseus immediately realized that the attack on the ship last time, or the lord he summoned from the underworld, had caused a problem with the ship's spirit-like state.
The rules on this ship don't seem to have been set by the "ship spirit," so even after the "ship spirit" malfunctioned, the ship continued to operate normally.
It was also because the "ship spirit" was not in good condition that this ghost ship did not avoid the "Dawn" like other ghost ships.
At this moment, Odis and Bernadette both sensed a change in the surrounding rules, as if the power of the spirit world had increased.
The eyes hidden in the feathers seemed to have regained some reason, and were carefully trying to distinguish Odis and Bernadette.
Odis raised his hand, and several strings of data-like symbols surrounded the clump of feathers, making the target appear somewhat illusory and isolating it from the rules.
The two angels then entered the room, and Odis asked, "What is your name?"
The other party did not respond in any way.
Bernadette summoned an "invisible servant" and gave it a "peeping eye," then opened the "peeping eye" to look at the clump of feathers.
For a second or two, her eyes suddenly went blank, but she quickly regained her clarity: "It's connected to a huge mausoleum."
As she spoke, she raised her hand, and a scene appeared in front of the two of them. Just as Bernadette had said, it was a huge inverted pyramid, which looked quite spectacular.
Odis glanced at the dirt on the feathers, frowned, and said, "I initially thought this would be a demigod of the 'Arbitrator' pathway, but I didn't expect it to be a demigod of the 'Death' pathway?"
Bernadette shook her head: "It doesn't seem like it."
She took out "Pale Death" and put it on her face. The eyes in the feathers immediately became filled with awe and fear, a complete surrender and terror to the mask.
This is an absolute suppression of the lower level by the higher level from the "Death" pathway.
Bernadette asked, "What's your name?"
The feathers beneath its eyes suddenly stood up, revealing a crooked mouth, and it replied, "Collier Trenshorst."
He is indeed a member of the Terensust family.
Bernadette then asked, "Who designed this pattern of using spirits to power ghost ships?"
In a terrible state, practically transformed into a monster, Collier spoke in a voice that was neither fully real nor fully authentic: "It is the great 'Night Emperor' and 'Underworld Emperor'."
"What?" Odis was taken aback and couldn't help but glance outside.
When he first boarded the ship, he felt that the ghost ship had a very special pattern. It seemed to have a relatively unique order, and it was not just ghosts or ship spirits that were controlling the ship.
However, he never expected that the design of this ship was actually established by two "emperors" during the Quaternary period.
The key point is that "Pluto" also has the support of the "True Creator" and has always been an ally of "Black Emperor" Solomon. "Night Emperor", who betrayed Solomon, is in opposition to "Pluto" most of the time. Unexpectedly, they actually cooperated to build a ghost ship.
Bernadette was also aware of this history, so she asked again, "When did you begin this collaboration?"
"The final stages of the 'War of the Four Emperors.'" Collier answered honestly, "After the fall of the 'Blood Emperor.'"
Odis smiled and said, "It was just a guess before. After the Northern Continent is reunified, the main conflict will change from the conflict between the Four Emperors to the conflict between the Night Emperor and the Six Gods."
"Now it seems that this guess is quite reasonable. After all the enemies were eliminated, 'Night Emperor' was no longer willing to be the puppet of the Six Gods."
Therefore, the secret established contact with the "Emperor of the Underworld".
Later, the "Sage" consulted with the "Night Emperor" about plugging the hole in the barrier. For the "Night Emperor," it was like someone offering him a pillow when he was sleepy!
Bernadette then asked, "Why did the 'Night Emperor' and the 'Pluto Emperor' build this ghost ship?"
Collier replied, "This ghost ship wasn't built by the two great emperors who jointly constructed the 'Trensurster Empire.' This ship was transformed into a ghost ship through a ritual that invoked the 'Trensurster Empire's' power."
Odis and Bernadette exchanged another glance. This was the second time they had been surprised. They hadn't expected that exploring a seemingly ordinary ghost ship would yield information about the "Trensurster Empire".
This ship is one of the seven great treasures of the sea. It is said that when the Tronsust Empire was destroyed, the nobles and people of the empire left the northern continent with a large amount of treasure on this ship and then disappeared on the vast sea.
More than a thousand years have passed, and people still occasionally see the ship. Although the eyewitnesses' descriptions of many details of the ship differ, the only thing they have in common is that it is a huge ship, comparable to a small city!
Because of the use of "Pale Death," Bernadette's life force was gradually fading, but she still asked methodically, "What is the current status of the 'Trensurest Empire'? Are there any passengers on board?"
Collier said, "Yes."
The mouth beneath the feathers paused for a moment before continuing, "Both great emperors foresaw that their careers might suffer setbacks, so they made some preparations in advance and secretly established the 'Empire' together."
The "Great Night Emperor" exploited certain rules of the underworld, causing the spirits of the deceased members of the Trensost and Eggers families to travel to the "Empire" with their extraordinary characteristics, thus accumulating strength for their future restoration.
"The 'Empire Emperor' established a deep connection between the 'Empire' and the underworld, turning the 'Empire' into an underworld that could exist in the real world and move around continuously."
"Unfortunately, before the ship was fully completed, His Majesty the Night Emperor perished, and the Empire was hastily set sail. Only a portion of the members of the Trensost and Eggers families would go to the Empire after their deaths, and there was only a very small chance that they would carry their extraordinary characteristics with them."
"The current ruler of the 'Empire' is Prince Daniel."
Odis exclaimed, "Just as the witnesses said, this truly is a moving city."
He then added, "The 'Night Emperor' and the 'Underworld Emperor' should be glad that the 'Empire' was hastily set sail before it was even finished. Otherwise, it would have been easily discovered by the Seven Gods that a large number of the extraordinary characteristics of the 'Arbitrator' and 'Account Holder' channels flowed to the 'Trensost Empire'."
In that case, all seven gods will mobilize their forces to search, and the "Empire" should be found very soon.
Bernadette had also considered this, and she continued, "Why is the 'Empire' being converted into a ghost ship?"
Is it because the "Empire" is full, and they have to use this method to arrange "living places" for the spirits of the two families?
Collier didn't hide anything: "Some time ago, the great 'Night Emperor' issued a decree that he saw an opportunity for resurrection and asked us to find something."
"It is said that as long as that thing is brought back to the 'Trensost Empire' and the corresponding ceremony is performed, the great..."
"The Night Emperor will then be able to once again rule the Northern Continent."
This answer once again surprised Odis and Bernadette, so Bernadette immediately asked, "What kind of thing is it?"
Collier's feathers suddenly trembled: "One—one, like a glass bottle—"
Sample."
The feathers suddenly grew thicker, layer upon layer, and the other party seemed to have lost control all of a sudden.
Bernadette did not react immediately. Instead, she stared at those increasingly confused eyes for a few more seconds before saying to Odis, "That's enough."
Having anticipated this, Odis immediately simulated the "Light of Purification".
Currently, Odis's ability to simulate some common extraordinary abilities has reached a level of complete mastery. The corresponding "Garr runes" have completely turned into a blurry light, and he can simulate the ability he wants in less than half a second.
Moreover, this "purifying light" was extremely thick, completely enveloping Collier, who only let out a muffled groan.
There were no other sounds.
Two or three seconds later, Odis's "purifying light" gradually dissipated, and where Collier had been standing, only a few charred feather shafts remained.
He was originally a spirit, and even though he was out of control, he was still a spirit, so the "Light of Purification" completely purified him.
However, to Odis's surprise, it did not possess any extraordinary characteristics.
Click~
The bow suddenly broke off from the hull, leaving a large hole in which icy seawater poured in.
Without Collier's ship spirit, the ghost ship immediately lost its balance and is rapidly disintegrating.
The spirits that had been wandering around the lower decks of the ship quickly faded away and returned to the underworld.
Odis and Bernadette immediately used their "teleport" ability to reach the board.
Odis saw those gecko-like, dry monsters fall one by one from the corridors and cabins, as if they had lost all "life".
Meanwhile, the "mummified captain" and other living corpses on the deck also fell to the ground, their extraordinary properties rapidly escaping.
Odis raised his hand and collected all these characteristics into the "wilderness of knowledge".
Odis and Bernadette then set the ghost ship ablaze before returning to the Dawn.
After glancing at the raging fire on the sea, Bernadette was about to return to the captain's cabin when Odis stopped her and briefly recounted their exploration to the crew waiting on deck.
Bernadette paused for a moment, but did not stop her.
After Odis finished speaking, the crew and sailors praised the captain and President Remenberg for their strength, and the atmosphere became lively. Everyone seemed quite happy.
After Odis and Bernadette returned to the captain's cabin, the crew and sailors went back to the ship's cabin and began drinking and bragging about the captain and his companion's exploration.
Back in the captain's cabin, Bernadette picked up her glass again: "Actually, you're more suited to be captain than I am."
She hadn't noticed at all that the crew members were waiting for them to explain what the ghost ship was all about.
Of course, it's okay not to tell them, since the captain's actions don't need to be reported to the crew. However, if we did, everyone's morale would be a bit low.
The key is that it's the New Year, and if everyone is in a low mood, it will be too boring.
Odis laughed and said, "Perhaps it's because I used to be a nobody."
Then he asked, "What is the 'Night Emperor' looking for?"
Bernadette had her "invisible servant" paint a slender-necked glass bottle on a canvas in front of the window, with what appeared to be a swirling cloud of mist inside.
Odis paused, "I vaguely remember—oh, not remember, but I feel like I've seen this bottle somewhere before. It seems to be connected to the 'Uncertain Mist'."
"'The Uncertain Mist'?" Bernadette paused, then said, "You said it was an Outer God, right?"
"Yes." Odis nodded. "This reminds me that the 'Night Emperor' did seem to have established some connection with the 'Uncertain Mist' during the Fourth Epoch."
In the "Sage's" plan, the "Uncertain Fog" is used to find the "Disordered Kingdom," thus becoming the old days.
Odis even has the memory of the specific operation process. The "Disordered Kingdom" is a special source material. The Celestial Venerable left a resurrection arrangement in the source material. During the Third Era, the "Sage" and the "Ancient Sun God" destroyed this arrangement and took the opportunity to pull a part of the "Disordered Kingdom" into the real world.
It eventually transformed into a source substance like the "River of Eternal Darkness," whose traces can be found in the real world.