With the signing of the Joint Declaration by various countries in Azshara, the world has largely returned to order.
The original "Central and Southern Kingdoms" of the Northern Continent were unified by Lunburg, and the original "Four Great Kingdoms" of the Northern Continent became the current Five Kingdoms of the Northern Continent.
However, no country knows what standard to use to rank their military strength, overall strength, and so on.
If ranked by the number of troops, Remburg's regular forces number only a few hundred thousand, and this number is gradually decreasing, while the "extraordinary puppet troops" of various branches number only tens of thousands, which does not seem to be a large number.
However, previous wars have proven that these tens of thousands of extraordinary troops, combined with Remnantburg's extraordinary warriors, are sufficient to handle three simultaneous wars.
The Remnburg arsenal has been working non-stop, constantly producing new weapons and new "extraordinary puppets".
Especially after receiving funds from other countries to purchase technology and machinery, Odis allocated most of them to national defense.
According to Odis's assessment, the recently concluded world war was somewhat similar to the First World War in his memory. Although the war was over, the conflicts between the countries remained very sharp.
Moreover, Odis seemed to foresee the beginnings of a new round of divine war. In this mysterious world, conflicts between nations generally don't escalate into war, but if conflicts between gods escalate, then war might break out.
Therefore, Odis has been actively preparing for battle, at least ensuring that his regular forces can take on two opponents at once.
News that Remnantburg was still expanding his army quickly spread to other countries, and those countries also began to expand their armies. Thus, although the war was over, the armies of various countries did not disband, but instead frequently conducted exercises.
Because Remenberg does not sell the technology for military equipment, countries around the world have increased their investment in military equipment research.
Then, a very ironic scene unfolded: the peace talks had just ended, but the world's countries had already begun an arms race.
The New Year is approaching, at the Presidential Office in Rembrandt.
The three demigods of Trensus, carrying their family's iron book, asked Odis to help resurrect the "Night King".
Odis took the tin book and examined it carefully.
Rather than calling it a tin book, it's more like a black tin box, seemingly containing some locked documents.
The sheet metal has many extraordinary symbols, all of which are "Giants".
The reason the Trensost family has been unable to open the box is mainly because they do not understand the "Ancient Giants script." Of course, even if they did understand the "Ancient Giants script," they would not be able to break the magic circle on it.
Odis examined it for a moment and said, "This is an 'extraordinary password' lock. The characters used to unlock it are random each time, and it has a very complex decryption system."
Maxi and the other two demigods tensed up immediately, their expressions sounding complicated!
Such decryption would be difficult for anyone else, but it was not difficult for Odis, because this extraordinary cipher system was designed by the "Sage".
The "God of Craftsmen" at that time made almost no changes; to be precise, it was difficult to make any further improvements.
He used it on this metal box without making any changes.
Odis essentially possessed the original code; with enough calculations, he could deduce the unlocking password.
So he asked, "In what year and season was this box made? In which city was it made?"
"
Maxi, the patriarch of the Trensault family, paused for a moment, not quite understanding what he meant.
Why ask this when you open the box?
Odis then explained: "The first of the three characters to open this box is fixed and must be deduced from the time and place of its manufacture."
"The second method is to use the position of Venus when the box is opened to make the calculation."
"The third step is to perform an astrological reading and use the obtained celestial charts for calculations."
You can also obtain corresponding insights by occupying the territory, but the calculation method is different.
Maxi never imagined that a simple password could have so many intricacies.
But a new problem arose: Maxi did not know the year the book was produced.
Fortunately, Marco, another demigod who manages the family documents, said, "I remember there is a corresponding record in another notebook. It was made in the summer of 865 in the Fourth Age, and the place of manufacture was Backlund."
Odis laughed, "It seems the 'Night Emperor' has left you plenty of clues."
Once you have the specific year, things become much easier; the rest is just astrology and deduction.
Odis could do this mentally and quickly obtained the three characters.
Then Odis used her spirituality to draw three characters, which floated to one side of the iron box.
Click~
The box was opened, and inside were several pages of parchment bound together.
These parchments are thick and, although they have yellowed, the writing is still clear.
However, the contents were still written in "Ancient Giants Script". Odis flipped through it and then asked Maxi and the others, "It says that the resurrection of the 'Night Emperor' requires a black crown with your clan's emblem."
"That's a Level 0 sealed artifact, specifically Sequence 2 of the 'Arbitrator' pathway."
Maxi quickly added, "We've always kept that sealed artifact. Sometimes when we use it, we can occasionally feel the 'Night Emperor's' call, and we know very well that it must be related to the 'Night Emperor's' resurrection."
However, they couldn't make out what the "Night Emperor" was saying at all; they could only guess that it must be the key item that could awaken the "Night Emperor."
Therefore, Maxi and the others were extremely careful, fearing that any mishap might affect the resurrection of the "Night Emperor".
That sealed artifact should be used as little as possible, at most to shatter extraordinary properties.
They cautiously lived for over a thousand years, and finally, today has arrived.
Odis slowly nodded, thinking to himself: The Trensost family really knew about the Night Emperor's current state.
Previously, when Odis and Bernadette encountered the ghost ship closely connected to the "Trensost Empire" in the Misty Sea, the members of the Trensost family who were in ghost form said that they had received orders from the Night King to find a narrow-necked glass bottle.
Upon hearing this, the demigods of the Ternsost family immediately concluded that it was not an order from the Night King.
Based on this, Odis and Bernadette guessed that the Trensust family knew about the Night King's condition.
Thinking of this, he put down the iron box and said, "'Night Emperor's' resurrection plan was designed by the former queen, the 'Blood Moon Queen,' so the whole process requires a lot of blood, and it has to be the blood of the extraordinary members of your Ternsost family."
"Have the extraordinary members of your family prepare for tomorrow—no, the day after tomorrow. I will perform the appropriate ritual the night after tomorrow."
"In addition, you should prepare a small box of fresh rice, two goats, and 18 fresh moonflowers."
Since there is a full moon the day after tomorrow, as for the other offerings, they are all mentioned in the "Resurrection Instructions," and these three items are relatively easy to prepare.
Odis also remarked that it was fortunate that no lives had to be sacrificed, only enough blood was needed.
He feared that the rituals designed during the Quaternary period would be more bloody and brutal.
That would be a bit troublesome. For example, if it requires sacrificing the lives of living people, Odis would have to capture a few members of the "Rose School" from the Southern Continent.
Inside a warehouse under reconstruction in the Kingdom of Rune, Prydz Harbor.
When Fors arrived here using her ability to "travel," her teacher, Dorian Abraham, had already arrived.
Dorian asked in a deep voice, "Are you ready?"
When they met before, he had already told Fors about the ritual requirements for the "Apprentice" pathway Sequence 4 "Arcanist" so that she could prepare in advance.
"That's about right, it should meet the requirements," Fors replied, not entirely confidently.
The ascension ritual of a "mystic" requires the ascensionist to seal a demigod-level creature with clear hostility. The less external force is required, the better the ritual effect.
Upon hearing the student's answer, Dorian nodded slightly and said, "That's good enough. That ritual is really too difficult for Sequence 5. Seeking help appropriately is essential."
As he spoke, Dorian took out the "Demon Painting," a Level 1 sealed artifact containing many evil creatures at the demigod level.
This is essentially a sealing artifact specifically designed for those who wish to advance to the rank of "Arcanist," because once a monster is released, a Sequence 5 advancer can use this artifact to more easily reseal it.
While this may seem a bit like cheating, as Dorian said, it is essential for ascendants to seek help, and this seal was designed with that in mind.
Therefore, the help provided by the "Devil's Painting" will not be much, but it will not be little either; it will be just enough for general improvement.
The problem is that the Abraham family lost a lot of data when they were attacked by the Aurora Society. Dorian is not sure how many terrifying creatures are sealed in the "Demon Painting", but there are definitely more, and more than one.
Fors took out "Lemanor's Magic Book," glanced at the several demigod-level abilities recorded on it, and immediately felt more confident.
Then she prayed to the Fool, asking for his protection, before giving Teacher Dorian a look to indicate that she was ready.
Dorian nodded, summoned his contracted creature, and took out the auxiliary materials for "Arcanist," while Fors took out the main materials he had obtained from hunting the "Mystic Saint" of the Aurora Society.
Klein originally intended to commission Odis to hunt down the "mystic," but Lenburg was too busy to leave, so Odis sent Cattleya to kill the "mystic."
Dorian immediately concocted a "Mystic" potion for the student and handed the "Demon Painting" to Fors: "If you can successfully advance, I have only one request."
He solemnly said, "That is, on a night of full moon, to listen to what Mr. Door is saying, and to ask him his reasons for doing so."
The members of Abraham's family were eager to find out the truth of the whole matter.
However, during the Fourth Age, due to a family curse, no family member was able to ascend to demigod status.
Fors agreed without hesitation: "Okay."
Then she took the "devil's painting" and "teleported" to an uninhabited desert to avoid affecting ordinary people if the ritual went wrong.
After checking the surrounding scenery and his own equipment, Fors placed the "painting" on the ground and recited the unsealing spell in Giant's tongue.
Soon a vortex appeared in the center of the painting, from which emerged a dark blue-green monster with many rotting parts on its body.
With the help of "Lemanor's Spellbook", Fors went through some twists and turns, but finally succeeded in sealing the monster again.
She rested for a while, hesitated for a moment, and then drank the potion.
Fors' thoughts immediately became chaotic, and he could hardly control his mind.
In a daze, she found herself in a dazzling array of stars, as if she were in the starry sky!
Just then, Fors sensed something illusory.
That was a seal she created using the "Demon Painting," which she projected into this mysterious world created by the magic potion, forming an abstract, vague mark.
Fors, driven by instinct, drew his consciousness and spirituality toward the mark.
Finally, her thoughts focused and gradually became clear.
Just as Fors was relieved to have passed the most dangerous stage, a series of "doors" covered with mysterious symbols appeared in front of her.
Fors vaguely saw that the door in front of him led to a deep darkness, and in the depths of that darkness was an endless storm and the occasional flash of lightning.
The next second, Fors heard that familiar voice in her ears, and her head immediately started to throb, as if steel nails were churning her brain.
Fortunately, she was now a demigod, and after some effort in "meditation," she finally managed to regain her composure and clearly hear what the voice was shouting.
He's calling for help!
He pleaded for help in a language Fors had never heard before, but although she had never been exposed to that language, she understood it immediately.
The voice shouted for two or three seconds, and then "Mr. Door" seemed to notice Fors. A faint voice entered Fors's mind: "You are using an extraordinary property from Abraham."
Fors composed himself and deliberately asked, "Who are you?"
The ethereal voice said, "You can call me 'Mr. Door,' I think you're familiar with that title."
Fors then asked, "Honorable Mr. 'Men,' are you His Highness Bethel, an ancestor of the Abraham family?"
"Yes."
"Do you know that your 'cry for help' has plunged the entire Abraham family into a curse that has lasted for over a thousand years, making it virtually impossible for anyone to become a 'traveler' or even a 'recorder'? They always lose control and turn into monsters during promotions or on the night of a full moon."
Mr. Door paused for two seconds before saying, "I know."
This surprised Fors: "You know?"
This surprised Fors somewhat, and for a moment she didn't know how to continue the conversation.
She originally thought that Mr. "Men" was unaware of this matter, which was why he kept asking for help, causing his descendants to turn into monsters one after another.
But Fors never expected that he actually knew!
Then why torture your descendants during the full moon?
At this point, Mr. "Door" asked again: "Are you a writer? I mean, is your profession a writer?"
Fors opened his mouth wide, his first thought being: Could it be that the "spirit above" that polluted "door" is now preparing to pollute me?
She had previously traded information about the Abraham family with "The Hermit" and was quite clear about Mr. "The Door's" current situation.
Fors knew that Mr. "Door" had been corrupted by someone "above the divine," but she didn't know the specifics of that "above the divine."
She thought about it and felt it was unlikely that she had been targeted by that "above the gods," because she knew very well that even if she became a demigod, in the eyes of those "above the gods," she was as fragile as an ant.
There were many opportunities to corrupt her before; there was no need to wait until now.
But she really couldn't understand how Mr. "Door" knew about her.
After a few seconds of pause, Fors said, "Yes."
Then she asked, "How did you know?"
"This comes from a prophecy of the 'Sage,'" Mr. "Door" said. "It says that when a female writer who has risen through the ranks using the characteristics of the Abraham family appears after I am sealed away, that will be the dawn of my breaking of the seal."
Fors's mouth gaped open even wider: "'The Sage'—Prophecy—"
She certainly remembered that the "Hermit" had briefly mentioned the "Sage's" information at the Tarot meeting.
But this being perished during the Quaternary Period! How could such an accurate prophecy be made more than a thousand years ago?
Fors pondered for a moment and asked, "The 'sage' you speak of, is it the one who, in the Third Age, was on par with the 'Ancient Sun God'?"
She remembered this piece of information very clearly.
After all, the ancient sun god was indeed "above the gods," so if the "sage" was on par with him, he must also be "above the gods"!
Mr. Door replied, "Yes."
He paused for a moment and then said, "Please help me pass on a message to the 'Sage'."
"Just say that I have completed the task assigned to me."
According to the "sage's" prophecy, this female writer can be completely trusted, which is why Mr. "Door" asked her to relay his message.
Fors paused for a moment before saying, "Well... the 'Sage' has fallen."
The ethereal voice paused for a few seconds, then laughed: "Impossible, you haven't seen the 'Sage'."
"I don't know the wisdom of the 'sage'."
Then he asked, "Does the 'peeping eye' and 'generalist' pathways still exist today, with true God or deities?"
"Yes," Fors, possessing the relevant knowledge, said, "'The deity of the 'General Knowledge' pathway is the 'God of Steam and Machinery'—"
Mr. Door interjected, "What's his name?"
Fors thought to herself: Shouldn't we just call him "him"?
Thinking this to herself, she said aloud, "All I know is that he was once a member of the Ten Pillars of the Morse Order, and his surname was Stiano."
Mr. Door simply grunted in response, offering no further comment: "Go on."
Fors added, "As far as I know, there seem to be two deities in the 'Secret Seeker' pathway, but neither of them seems to be at the level of a true god."
"One is the 'Hidden Sage,' a malevolent god. The other is the 'Lord of Mysteries,' who, though not a righteous god, frequently battles malevolent gods."
The ethereal voice seemed to ponder for a moment before asking, "Which deity's chosen one is imparting knowledge?"
Fors was taken aback: "Impart knowledge?"
Mr. Door continued, "To teach others knowledge regardless of their social status? Or to use their knowledge to bring some convenience to this extraordinary world?"
Forl realized that this was exactly what the "hermit" was doing.
Remnburg's extraordinary goods have been sold in Backlund, and Fors and Hugh installed a heating system, which made them feel warm for the first time in the Backlund winter.
So she said, "The followers of the 'Lord of Mysteries' created a cryptic script belonging to humankind, and used that script to invent many things that benefit ordinary people."
Mr. "Men" said, "Then contact the 'Lord of Mysteries' and ask him to convey the message to the 'Lord of Mysteries'."
Fors nodded and said, "Okay."
Then she asked, "Since you know that your cries for help will affect your descendants, why did you still ask for help?"
Mr. Door was silent for a while before saying, "During the Blood Moon, I can't control some crazy thoughts in my mind."
"In the end, I don't know how it happened, but I had already completed the process of calling for help."
Fors then asked, "How can this problem be solved completely?"
"Release my seal," the ethereal voice said. "Once I return to the real world, this problem will be completely solved."
Fors then asked, "How can I break your seal?"
"An altar needs to be prepared, and then one demigod each from the 'Seer' pathway, the 'Thief' pathway, and the 'Apprentice' pathway should be offered as sacrifices."
Mr. Door paused for a moment, then described the prayer and the process of the ceremony in detail.
Fors carefully memorized it, intending to tell his teacher about it when he got back.
Mr. Door added, "Tell the members of Abraham's family that when I return, I may not be the same Mr. Door, but just an ordinary archangel. Prepare them mentally."
In his view, the fall from the King of Angels, who was only one step away from God, to an ordinary archangel, could trigger many chain reactions.
However, for the current members of the Abraham family, they are already quite content to have even one Sequence 2 angel in the family.
Fors paused for a moment, then asked, "Why?"
"I don't know," Mr. "Door" said. "This is also a prophecy of the 'Sage'."
Fors seemed to understand something: "So, in the Fourth Age, the 'Sage' not only foresaw our conversation, but also foresaw your breaking free from the seal?"
"And you knew you would be sealed away, yet you didn't make enough preparations to avoid that fate?"
"This is a necessary sacrifice," the ethereal voice said. "Like the descendants of Abraham's family, it is a necessary sacrifice."
Fors paused for a moment before asking, "Why were you sacrificed?"
Mr. Door replied, "I cannot tell you that."
Fors continued, "So, for your purposes, you can endure over a thousand years of pollution, your people can endure over a thousand years of curses, and you can accept the fact that your own level has fallen?"
Mr. Door said, "Yes."
Fors asked, "Is it worth it?"
"Worth it!" Mr. "Door" said confidently.