During the Fourth Age, the "Sages" planned to make the "Night King" become the Old Ones to jointly resist the invasion of the Outer Gods.
After Odispu ascended to become an angel, he possessed related memories. At that time, the "Sage" used the source matter on the "Uncertain Mist" and the part of the "Disordered Kingdom" that "permeated" from the Western Continent to give the "Night Emperor" the source matter that could be used to ascend to the past in an abstract sense.
Since these two source substances are originally one, theoretically, it is possible to establish a close connection between their respective parts.
Therefore, the "Disorderly Kingdom" of the "Night Emperor" is more like a patchwork, with considerable hidden dangers, and can only barely become a relic of the past.
The Sages' original plan was that as long as the Night Emperor became the Old One in this way, they would devise a plan to eliminate the Uncertain Mist, strip away the source essence from the Uncertain Mist, and replenish it all to the Night Emperor, thus eliminating that hidden danger.
Afterwards, while waiting for the seal on the Western Continent to be lifted, the "Night Emperor" will be able to replenish his source essence, possess a complete version of the "Disordered Kingdom" that even the "Uncertain Mist" has never had, and attempt to incorporate the extraordinary pathways within the "Uncertain Mist".
The plan was excellent, but after just the first step, the "Sage" had to fall into a deep sleep. When he awoke, the Six Gods had already killed the "Night Emperor".
In Odis's memory, there were also reasons why the six gods did what they did. In the Third Age, the "Ancient Sun God" was not a benevolent priest. The "God of War" was a giant, and the "God of the Dead" was a feathered serpent. All of these were within the scope of the Church of the Sun God's attacks.
The so-called "confirmation of humanity's dominant position in the extraordinary realm" is not as simple as just talking about it. It is through the organized cleansing and hunting of other extraordinary races by human extraordinary beings, especially those in the Church of the "Ancient Sun God," that they have achieved their dominant position.
Even the "Goddess of Night," who had cooperated with the ancient sun god, was a demon wolf and for a time was not spared from being attacked by the "Kings of Angels."
The "Angel Kings" need no introduction; they have always been by the side of the "Ancient Sun God," working diligently and daring not to make any mistakes.
This has instilled a collective sense of resistance towards the past, fearing that the "Night Emperor" might become the next "Ancient Sun God".
So, taking advantage of the "Sage's" weakness and the need for them to jointly resist the invasion of the outer gods, they sought an opportunity to kill the "Night Emperor".
However, these memories could not be explained too clearly to Bernadette. Odis could only give a general account of the relationship between the "Night Emperor" and the "Uncertain Mist," as well as the fact that he had taken the initiative to contact the "Uncertain Mist."
Bernadette nodded. "I see."
She paused for a moment and guessed, "So, the 'Night Emperor' must have been corrupted by the 'Uncertain Mist'? Is that why it issued such a mission?"
Odis thought for a moment but shook his head: "I can't say for sure right now, but I can contact members of the Trensost family and ask them if they have any clues."
Bernadette hummed in agreement, indicating that she was also curious to see if she could get any clues, and that if she could, she should let her know.
Then Odis added, "I'm curious, Collier acted like a demigod before, but why doesn't he have any extraordinary abilities after being purified?"
Bernadette thought for a moment before saying, "Perhaps the trait was revoked."
She paused for a moment and then said, "What I saw with the 'Eye of the Secret' was that the inverted pyramid behind Collier should represent the 'Trentost Empire'."
"Collier doesn't seem to be an isolated undead, but rather has a close connection with the 'Empire'."
"Furthermore, considering that the 'Empire' was built by the 'Night Emperor' and the 'Underworld Emperor' with the aim of using the Underworld to transfer the spirits and characteristics of the two families onto the 'Empire'."
"So after Collier was purified, this mechanism may have been activated, and the characteristics were transferred to the 'Empire'."
Odis nodded slowly, feeling that the guess made a lot of sense. Then he smiled and praised, "This guess is logically clear and reasonable. Most people don't have this level of understanding."
Bernadette smiled and said, "Your praise is a bit much. It's illogical and unreasonable."
Odis chuckled twice: "I don't mean anything by it, I'm just simply expressing my thoughts."
That topic was left at that point, and the two started talking about fun things from their childhood and interesting experiences, and the atmosphere gradually became warm again.
After dinner, the two of them reclined together in armchairs, embracing each other, watching the thick fog on the sea, and continuing to chat idly.
They would occasionally kiss and talk about things that only the two of them would discuss. They both enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere between them.
Ding~ Ding~ Ding—
As the midnight bells rang, Odis raised his hand and "simulated" fireballs that flew into the sky and exploded.
Its shape looks a lot like fireworks.
In an instant, the fireball dispersed the surrounding fog, illuminating the foggy sea surface and creating a magical beauty. Although the crew and sailors were mostly men, they all came out to watch the beautiful "fireworks" on New Year's Eve.
Bernadette watched the fireworks and sighed, "I thought I was way past the age of enjoying fireworks, but it turns out I just didn't have the right person to watch them with."
Odis also remarked, "I always thought that setting off fireworks for women was a very uncreative approach."
"But now I think fireworks are pretty good, and we can set off more so we can watch more of them."
The last time he set off fireworks during Chinese New Year was when he was in junior high school.
The two hugged each other again, watching the fireworks explode one by one, releasing their most dazzling light, but quickly fading away.
The sky darkened again.
The crew and sailors talked for a while before returning to their cabins, as the sea breeze was quite chilly.
After that, the ship gradually quieted down, the New Year's Eve celebrations ended, and everyone went back to rest.
At this moment, Odis noticed that Bernadette had not asked him to leave today.
Normally, they would hug and chat for a long time like this, but when it got late at night, Bernadette would always let Odis go back to his room to rest.
Odis seemed to understand something, and kissed Bernadette's lips again, trying to take off her coat.
Bernadette did not stop him, and Odis knew that he could stay in the captain's cabin to rest that night.
They kissed passionately for a while, their breathing becoming somewhat heavy.
They are now angels and can completely control their emotions in most situations, but if they choose not to control their emotions, they are just like normal people when they get emotional.
The armchair was too cramped, so Odis carried Bernadette to the bed and slowly undressed her. As her perfect, fair figure appeared before him, Odis felt his hands tremble with excitement.
Bernadette didn't seem too shy; she hooked her arms around Odis's neck and wrapped her legs around his waist.
Odis quickly took off his clothes and kissed and embraced Bernadette.
—(I know many people will curse, but if I write anything more detailed, it will definitely get censored.)
The next morning, Odis woke up in Bernadette's captain's cabin. He stared at the ceiling for a while before suddenly smiling, embracing Bernadette beside him, feeling the warmth and softness of her body.
Bernadette woke up and turned around to hug Odis: "Last night I was thinking, our ages are really complicated."
"I used to think I was over a hundred years older than you, but I never imagined that you were actually several thousand years older than me."
Odis replied, "It's not complicated; our mental ages are about the same."
Bernadette had previously discussed the concept of "psychological age" with Odis, especially since saints who follow the "Secret Seeker" path have lifespans of two or three hundred years. Therefore, it is essential to choose a "psychological age" for oneself and continuously build one's mental foundation to believe that one is in that age group.
Because they have a "prime period" of one or two hundred years, their physical functions do not decline significantly during this stage.
If the issue of "psychological age" is not handled properly in this state, it is easy to feel like you are still in your prime.
However, he speaks and acts like an old man.
After all, once a person has lived for fifty or sixty years and witnessed the hardships and coldness of human relationships, their mentality cannot be the same as that of a young person.
If this state continues for a long time, it will definitely cause a serious psychological misalignment, which will in turn affect one's own state of mind.
Therefore, Bernadette positioned her mental age as around 27 or 28 years old, and she has maintained this position quite well.
Odis is now behaving at about the same age.
Before he was promoted to angel, he always believed that he had transmigrated when he was around twenty years old and had spent four years in this world, so his mental age was probably around twenty-three or twenty-four.
After being promoted to angel, he inherited a large number of memories from the "sage," which made him seem to have become very old. However, he quickly adjusted his state of mind, and in the end, his mental age was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.
Therefore, when the two of them talked, they no longer had the naivety of teenagers; instead, they were relatively mature and composed, and I didn't feel uncomfortable at all.
Bernadette smiled and scratched Odis's chest with her finger: "But you still look quite young."
Odis pinched her incredibly supple waist: "You're quite nice too."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Although the two of them used to talk about almost everything, they rarely made jokes like this. But now it's different. After taking that final step, it's fun to tease each other occasionally.
Then the two started talking about their plans for the new year. Bernadette asked, "Should we transfer more of the Extraordinary Ones from 'Elemental Dawn' to Remburg?"
"No need," Odis said. "This year, there's a high probability of a large-scale naval battle with Fenneport. In another month or two, we'll need to borrow the shipyard on Lasha Island to begin mass production of warships. The extraordinary individuals of 'Elemental Dawn' can continue to remain at sea; they will play an even greater role in the future."
The main reason is that the shortage of Extraordinary individuals in Remburg has been basically filled, and with the large-scale promotion of Extraordinary individuals trained by Odis to Sequence 7, the number of Extraordinary individuals at the grassroots level is already sufficient.
Extraordinary individuals recruited from other factions, as well as wild extraordinary individuals recruited from elsewhere, can be used to wage extraordinary wars.
The war in the North has now lasted for several months, prices have skyrocketed, and crime is rampant.
Even the living conditions of wild extraordinary beings have become harsher. Some wild extraordinary beings who would not normally provoke each other may now fight tooth and nail for gold pounds.
So now Bazel and Rupert's recruitment efforts are going very well, and they are sending Odis several wild extraordinary individuals every week.
Odis was also very generous. After recruiting people, even if he couldn't arrange work immediately, he would pay them according to the official standards for extraordinary individuals. Moreover, he would provide room and board during the training period, and there would be single dormitories after they started working.
Rather than risking their lives for the military, the wild extraordinary individuals preferred to join Remburg, a relatively stable state that had already won two consecutive battles.
At this point, the two discussed the integration of their respective forces. Odis expressed her hope that the members of "Elemental Dawn" could leverage their strengths and take the lead in matters on the high seas.
Bernadette understood Odis's implication, so she hummed in agreement and added, "You can use the resources of the Lacha Islands at will."
Odis kissed Bernadette on the forehead, then took a deep breath and said, "This year is crucial. If we can defeat Fenneport, we will never again face a war that requires the entire nation's strength."
If they win this war, Lenburg's strength will quickly surpass that of Feneport, making it the third largest country in the North.
If handled properly, it's not impossible to destroy this country in the future.
Bernadette patted Odis on the chest: "Have some confidence in yourself, you can do it!"
Odis chuckled and said, "Your encouragement is enough to help me overcome all difficulties!"
Then he sat up and said, "But when it's time to work, we still have to go to work, and we have to make as many preparations as possible."
As he put on his clothes, he said, "You rest a little longer. I'll go back first, and we'll have lunch together."
Bernadette lay on the bed watching Odis get dressed as if she were watching a performance: "Okay."
Odis dressed, went back and kissed Bernadette again, then summoned Suzaku and returned to Azshara's presidential palace.
The presidential palace was extremely busy even during the New Year period this year, as a large amount of wealth poured in from the Kingdom of Rune and the Empire of Fusak, allowing Odis to prepare for war at maximum intensity while renovating the former territory of Massi.
Both tasks are very expensive, but the Remnburg government's finances are currently quite optimistic.
Odis was actually quite grateful for the war.
To date, on the front lines of the war between the Kingdom of Rune and the Empire of Fusak, roughly one in nine guns is a semi-automatic rifle manufactured in Remburg.
Moreover, both sides are making large-scale purchases, almost matching the amount produced by Remburg.
The "Extraordinary Machine Gun," "Extraordinary Gatling Gun," and "Spirit Wave Cannon" are making even more money, and a batch has already been exported to Rune.
When the contract was signed with Rune, Rune repeatedly stipulated that such weapons could not be sold to the Fusak Empire and the Republic of Intis in any form.
Currently, only Odis can manufacture these weapons, a fact that cannot be kept from Rune. Therefore, these extraordinary weapons are currently only exported to Rune, but they are more profitable than semi-automatic rifles.
There wasn't much official business today. After having lunch with Bernadette, Odis attended a few more events. The president was busier than usual during the New Year period.
After a few busy days, Odis finally called his assistant Parada on the morning of the 7th: "Contact Mr. Marco and tell him that I have something to discuss with him about the Trensust family, and ask him to come and meet with me as soon as possible."
Marco was a demigod of the Trensust family. When Odis met him, he was being hunted down by the Loen royal family.
It was around that time that Odis took Palada, a clever-looking young man in his early twenties, under his wing, with him, hoping to develop a group of members of the Trensault family to work for Remburg when the opportunity arose.
Parada paused for a moment, then immediately said, "I'll go write to Mr. Marco right away."
Odis grunted in agreement and waved his hand, signaling him to hurry up. A little over an hour later, Parada returned and said, "Mr. Marco said he'll be coming to Azshara tomorrow morning."
Odis nodded: "Book me a private room at a high-end restaurant and have lunch with Mr. Palada at noon."
Parada nodded and said, "Yes."
Odis then went to the Remnburg Research Institute, where a difficult technical problem had arisen in the research of the extraordinary rocket, and Odis intended to take a look.
That afternoon, Odis stayed at the research institute, offering several suggestions to the rocket research team before returning to Azshara to have dinner with Bernadette and rest together.
The two are now living together in Bernadette's villa with a small yard.
Bernadette's current task is to help Odis examine some renovation projects and keep an eye on the shipyard renovation work on Cruz Island and Lasha Island.
Occasionally there are some urgent matters to handle, but overall, the work is not very busy, so I return here early every day to wait for Odis to come back for dinner.
This is a time for the two of them to completely relax and enjoy life. They are just like two ordinary people, sharing what happened at work that day, and sometimes going out to listen to a concert or watch a play.
However, they have to change their appearance every time they go out to avoid causing inconvenience.
Just last year, Bernadette had no idea that this peaceful life would be so appealing.
Sometimes she even felt that she was about to succumb to this peaceful life and no longer want to face the bloodshed and turmoil of the extraordinary world.
However, Odis said: "Many people live such peaceful and comfortable lives, but as advanced extraordinary beings, we should try our best to protect such lives for more people. Only then will our power have meaning. Otherwise, the world of extraordinary beings will only be filled with killing and fighting, and resisting madness and chaos, which is very meaningless."
Bernadette thought Odis made a lot of sense, so she is now trying to draw strength from this ordinary life to improve her condition and make her life more meaningful.
As for staying together at night, that's a natural thing to do, since once something like that happens, it'll happen many times.
The next morning, the two went to work separately, looking forward to seeing each other again that evening.
Around ten o'clock, Palada came in and told Odis that Mr. Marco had arrived.
Odis personally greeted him at the entrance of the presidential palace. Marco was accompanied by Palada's uncle, Mio.
After exchanging a few polite words, Odis invited them to a reception room in the presidential palace.
Marco, who looked very thin, first talked about the news he had seen in the newspaper last year: Remnburg had achieved another great victory in the war against Fenneport.
He congratulated Odis and then praised Odis's political acumen and military skills.
Odis smiled and said, "I have something else to discuss with you regarding the war with Fenneport."
"But let's wait a moment before discussing that. First, let's talk about why we suddenly contacted you."
Marco nodded, looking at Odis with a serious expression.
Odis said, "I went to the Misty Sea some time ago because of some things—"
He recounted his encounter with the ghost ship to Marco and the others, and showed them a picture of the narrow-necked glass bottle, but he didn't provide much information about the "Uncertain Mist."
The more Marco listened, the more serious his expression became. Although he was in charge of the family's notes and documents, he was not clear about the details of the "Trensost Empire".
The fact that there was an imperial decree from the "Night Emperor" surprised him even more.
Parada and his uncle Mio, who were standing nearby, were increasingly surprised as they listened. They never expected that President Remnburg would provide such valuable intelligence to Mr. Marco.
Finally, Odis said, half-jokingly, "I discussed this matter with another learned demigod, who said that the narrow-necked glass bottle seems to be related to an evil god."
"I don't know the specifics of this matter, which is why I thought of contacting you to discuss it with you."
Marco was silent for a moment before saying, "I don't have many clues to offer you regarding this matter."
"In the family records I'm in charge of, the 'Empire' is indeed mentioned many times, but there's never been a very detailed description."
"I only learned today that the ship was built by two emperors together."
He paused for a moment, then added, "However, I can assure you that it wasn't an order issued by His Majesty the 'Night Emperor'."
Odis was taken aback, looking at the other person and waiting for his explanation.
But Marco smiled helplessly: "This involves a secret of our family, and it's really inconvenient for me to tell you."
"However, we are very grateful for the information you provided regarding the 'Empire,' so I will thank you in another way."
For example, gold pounds, gold, real estate, or even sealed items.
As a family that existed for two centuries, although they began to be hunted down by the Church of the True God at the end of the Fourth Century, their accumulated wealth was still considerable.
Odis did not ask any further questions, but smiled and said, "I don't need gold pounds or seals right now."
He seemed to ponder for a moment before saying, "You can provide compensation in another form, which brings us to the war between Remberg and Fenneport."
In fact, Odis had already thought it through. The reason he pretended to have just thought of this was to ensure that the process of winning over the Trensust family would leave no trace.
Odiston paused for a moment and then said, "Although we won the two wars between Remburg and Fenneport, Fenneport did not use its full strength in those two wars. Their Eastern Army Group did not participate in the war, but waited for the perfect opportunity to invade Rune or the Central and Southern countries."
At this point, Odis said seriously, "What I'm about to say must be kept a secret."
Marco was taken aback, not expecting the other party to tell him some confidential matters. He immediately said, "Sure, we are allies, of course I will keep your secret."
Odis hummed in agreement and said, "In two or three months at most, Lenburg will have another conflict with Fenneport."
"Remburg's advantage is that our individual soldiers are highly capable. Even Feneport's regular forces no longer dare to engage Remburg's army in a direct confrontation."
"However, Lenburg has a fatal weakness: I've only been in charge for a short time, and I haven't had enough time to develop many extraordinary individuals."
Therefore, Remburg was at a disadvantage in extraordinary battles.
He paused for a moment and then said, "Especially in battles between demigods, those below the demigod level can compensate with sealed artifacts or numbers."
"But enemies at the demigod level can only be dealt with by demigods."
"Even a Sequence 5 with a Level 1 sealed artifact is basically no match for a demigod, and using this method..."
Unexpected events can easily occur, thus affecting the course of the battle.
"And Sequence 5 also has its own enemies—"
Odis laughed and said, "This is the most troublesome thing for me. The extraordinary power is obviously insufficient. No matter how you look at it, we are still missing a few demigod-level helpers."
Marco listened quietly, showing no outward expression, but inwardly he was overjoyed. One of his purposes in coming to Remburg was to discuss with Odis the possibility of more members of the Trensault family joining the Remburg official extraordinary organization.
They listened to Parada's description of the war that had taken place in the past few years and roughly knew how powerful Remburg's new weapons were.
They also heard that Odis had purged the nobles of Remnantburg and Masic and possessed a large number of extraordinary traits from the "Arbitrator" pathway, including no fewer than six Saint-level traits.
Odis is currently lacking extraordinary individuals, and the key is their generosity. Parada only participated in one war and was given the opportunity for promotion.
At this time, the Terensost family was constantly worried about the characteristics that their members could use to promote them. The "Arbitrator" pathway was a pathway controlled by the royal families of Loen and Fenneport, as well as the royal families and nobles of the Central and Southern Kingdoms.
These countries, by virtue of their dominance over the secular world, have virtually monopolized the characteristics and exceptional materials of this pathway, as well as crucial auxiliary materials.
This made it increasingly difficult for members of the Trensust family to advance in their careers, so Marco hoped to negotiate with Odis to send a group of the family's extraordinary individuals to work in Remnburg, thereby acquiring a group of extraordinary traits through the "Arbitrator" pathway.
This will result in a win-win situation.
But what Marco didn't expect was that Odis would bring up this matter first. However, this was not surprising, as Lenburg's rise to power was too short-lived, and there simply wasn't enough time to accumulate enough demigods.
At this point, Odis, having laid the groundwork, finally spoke: "Therefore, I hope the Trensost family will send your demigods."
And some elite extraordinary individuals participated in the subsequent war.
"How about this be considered payment for the intelligence I provided?"
Odis smiled and said, "Of course, I know very well that the intelligence isn't enough to warrant you sending several demigods into battle. I can offer you another extraordinary trait, the 'Law Mage,' as compensation, and all the spoils you obtain in battle are yours."
The offer was quite generous, but Marco didn't agree immediately. Instead, he said, "I can't make this decision on my own. I need to discuss it with the other members of the family. How about I give you an answer in the next two or three days?"
Odis nodded: "Okay."
Then he said to Parada, "I'll give you a few days off to spend with Mr. Marco and your uncle, and take them around Azshara."
Parada smiled and said, "Thank you, President."
He was very keen for the two sides to reach this cooperation. During his time with Odis, he had come to greatly admire the president's political skills and his ability to manage his subordinates.
He also firmly believed that Lenburg could achieve an even greater victory, which would allow him to continue to have the opportunity for promotion, and even the chance to gain more power.
Moreover, he was quite familiar with his family's situation. If he hadn't become Odis's assistant and participated in the previous war against Fenneport, he might have had to wait several more years for the opportunity to advance to Sequence 7.
After finishing their business, the two chatted casually before going to the restaurant they had booked. The atmosphere was very pleasant throughout.
In the afternoon, Odis had Parada receive Marco and Mio, while he continued working in the presidential office.
Around four o'clock, since there was nothing else to do, Odis returned to her little home with Bernadette ahead of time.
Bernadette has returned and is currently on the terrace drinking coffee and reading a book, as it's not yet dinner time.
She glanced at Odis: "Back so early?"
"Nothing much, I came back early." Odis sat down next to Bernadette and said, "I met with the Trensost family today."
Odis had already discussed this matter, but at the time the two of them guessed that Marco and his group of Trensost members did not know the specific details of the "Empire".
In contrast, the members of the Empire were the core members of the Trensault family.
Both of them had checked the records. Collier said that Prince Dennis, the current ruler of the "Empire," was once an angel of the royal family of Trensost during the Fourth Age.
It's highly likely that he's a member who went to the "Empire" with his special characteristics. He's the true leader of this family right now and must know more inside information.
Bernadette still asked, "What did you find?"
"Just as we suspected—" Odis summarized his conversation with Marco, and concluded, "Why was he so sure that it wasn't the 'Night Emperor's' order?"
Bernadette pondered for a moment before guessing, "Perhaps they know the current state of the 'Night Emperor'."