Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 283 A Message to All Fellow Citizens
What kind of side effects?

"The world?" Klein asked with some curiosity.

He knew Roger had a lot of good stuff. Having wandered the seas for so long and been a pirate captain, he certainly wouldn't lack powerful sealed artifacts.

“It is a Sequence 4 sealed artifact called ‘Demon Slayer’. It is a trophy that I seized from ‘Twilight General’ Bratov. Its level corresponds to ‘Demon Hunter’ of the Warrior pathway Sequence 4.”

Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," smiled slightly:

"It can greatly enhance the user's fighting ability and weapon use ability, possessing strong defense and super attack capabilities. As long as one has certain weapon use experience, one can receive divine blessing, unleash a range of defensive shields and light sword beams like fine snowflakes. It has a strong restraining effect on undead, especially on demonic creatures. It can almost instantly annihilate demigod-level 'demons'. It belongs to the strongest type of fighting-type sealing artifact of the same level."

"For extraordinary individuals from other pathways, 'Demon Slayer' is also extremely lethal, especially against opponents below the high sequence level, where it completely crushes them... Unless the opponent is prepared for this extraordinary item, it is almost impossible to turn the tide."

So powerful... a Sequence 4 weapon.

Klein was captivated, but remembering Roger's earlier mention of strong side effects, he asked with some concern:

"So, what's the price?"

After all, Roger's resistance to the side effects of extraordinary items was already abnormal; if he felt that the side effects were very strong, then they must be extraordinary.

"It's very simple. To unleash the power of this thing, its lifespan must be drained by it. The greater the rate at which it is drained, the higher the degree of its liberation."

Roger thought for a moment and then described to Klein the details of when Bratov used "Demon Slayer".

In fact, it was only after Roger personally used "Demon Slayer" that he realized that the rate at which Bratov's lifespan was being drained was not fast at the time—it could have been faster, but it was probably because this "Twilight Admiral" possessed the blood of a giant that this draining was offset to some extent.

This made Roger somewhat regretful that he hadn't directly enslaved Bratov's soul back then; otherwise, he might have been able to unleash some amazing special effects. Unfortunately, he already had enough enslaved souls, so he could only temporarily put away Bratov's "Guardian" extraordinary ability.

Klein was astonished, but when he heard Roger talk about how he later had his "Shadow of Fallenness" use "Demon Slayer" to avoid the effects of lifespan extraction, he realized a possibility.

He was almost finished digesting his "Faceless Man" potion. If he could control a puppet skilled in using weapons and then have it use "Demon Slayer," he might be able to achieve the same effect.

After all, in essence, the Mystic Doll has its own lifespan, it just doesn't have its own consciousness, so Klein's guess might very well come true.

However, his current need for the "Demon Slayer" is more urgent, because he needs to deal with a battle that is about to begin before he can become the "Puppet Master".

"and many more……"

Suddenly, "The World" Klein realized something.

"Roger seemed to have rented a 'veil finger glove' for Little 'Sun' before. Judging from its effect, it should correspond to the extraordinary characteristics of 'Master of Puppets'."

"If I could have rented it in advance, I might have achieved the same goal."

"After all, the side effects of the 'Veil Finger Gloves' are nothing compared to the 'Demon Slayer'..."

Klein pondered for a moment, then spoke somewhat reluctantly:

"I see... Your idea is indeed good, but I don't seem to have a similar method, which is a bit of a pity."

"After all, I can't sacrifice my lifespan for combat power."

Klein hasn't advanced to "Master of Mystic Puppet" yet... he's still a little short of digesting the potion.

Roger immediately deduced that Klein intended to rent his "Veil Finger Gloves," which was why he said that on purpose. Based on this, he also deduced Klein's progress in digesting the potion.

"Then there's no way."

Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," deliberately ignored Klein's words and shook his head with some regret.

A moment of silence fell over the atmosphere. Klein seemed completely surprised that Roger hadn't picked up on his words or mentioned renting the "Curtain Finger Gloves."

Just as he was wondering if Roger had already sold the "Curtain Finger," Roger finally decided to stop teasing him and, feigning a sudden realization, slapped his forehead:
"Oh right, look at my memory."

Klein, the "world," was overjoyed. He lowered his voice and asked:
"How to say?"

“I have a sealed artifact here that can control others and turn other extraordinary beings into its puppets. It should be able to perform a similar effect. Are you interested?”

"The Wheel of Fortune" asked with a smile.

"Very interested."

Klein nodded repeatedly, then pretended to inquire about the various effects and taboos of the "Veil Finger Gloves" before cautiously asking:
"So, Mr. 'Wheel of Fortune,' how much would it cost to rent both the 'Demon Slayer' and the 'Veil Finger Gloves' together?"

Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," made a "1" gesture:

"'Tarot Club' special price: £100 per day, £100 for two items. If you want to use it, please contact me an hour in advance."

One hundred pounds...

Klein sighed inwardly. Although he had a considerable amount of assets on the surface, neither his shares in the companies he invested in nor his stock in Coym Company were due for dividends. In addition, the market was in a bad state, so it was still quite difficult for him to come up with a hundred pounds every day.

Although Klein made a lot of money at sea during this period, he also spent it like water. He spent a huge sum of money to purchase a sealing artifact that seemed to have come from the Church of the Goddess of Night and corresponded to the extraordinary characteristics of the "Spirit Witch" to aid him in battle. So he was now in dire straits and had less than 800 gold pounds left in his hands.

In fact, Roger had anticipated Klein's poor persona, so he had deliberately lowered the price a bit. Normally, a hundred pounds a day wouldn't be enough to rent a single Sequence 4 extraordinary item—such level of sealed items are priceless, let alone a combination like Sequence 4 + Sequence 5.

In addition, before leaving Backlund, Klein had already sold some of his Coyme Company shares and still owed him money, so he had a surplus at the time. Therefore, Roger believed that he should be able to afford one hundred pounds a day.

However, he underestimated Klein's spending speed and was completely unaware that Mr. Poor God had once again fallen into financial distress.

Roger stared blankly at the silent Mr. "World," and was about to find an excuse to lower the price again when the latter nodded heavily:

"Okay, I will contact you in advance."

Roger breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement, then asked Mr. Fool to remove the soundproof barrier.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. I received news that the problem in Ban Si Port should have been completely resolved."

Because of Roger's reminder from "The Wheel of Fortune," Alger the Hanged Man deliberately used his connections to investigate the follow-up progress of the Banshee incident—information that was not originally within his authority to access, but he still managed to win over a "substitute punishment" deacon involved in the matter with money and fine wine, and obtained some inside information from him.

"How to say?"

Mr. World was somewhat curious, having previously visited Bansi Port and witnessed its eerie aspects, he was quite interested in this matter.

Furthermore, since Mr. Wheel of Fortune had previously mentioned that this matter was closely related to Medici, the members of the Tarot Club, except for Cattleya, the Hermit, were very concerned about the progress of this matter.

"Bansi will probably not exist for quite some time."

Mr. Hanged Man spoke in a deep voice.

Are you clear about the specific process?

Miss Magician spoke with great interest. During this time, she had heard Sam talk a lot about other angel families in the Fourth Age, including the Abraham family, so she had also learned more about the "Red Angel".

"No, the specific details are beyond my level of knowledge... Only the higher-ups of the Church of Storms can know them."

Alger, the "Hanged Man," shook his head, feeling a pang of regret.

In fact, during this period of time, he had an unprecedented desire to become a high-ranking member of the church—Alger had fantasized about this before, but unfortunately his abilities were limited.

However, in just half a year after joining the "Tarot Club", his strength had already reached a level close to Sequence 5, and he also obtained a powerful dual-path Sequence 5 sealed artifact. It was hard not for Alger to once again yearn to become a demigod.

After all, compared to before, that lofty ideal, which was basically a pipe dream, now seems to have a slight possibility of being realized.

Seeing this, "Hermit" Cattleya began to speculate about what these people were talking about. Over this period of time, she realized that apart from Mr. "Fool" and Mr. "Wheel of Fortune", it seemed that none of the members of the Tarot Club had a strength level higher than Sequence 5. However, the questions they often discussed were very profound, and they frequently touched on matters of demigods or even angels.

Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," ignored Cattleya's inner thoughts and turned to look at "The Sun."

“Mr. Sun, the sheet music for ‘Spring in the Four Seasons’ that I promised you is ready. I will give it to you after this gathering.”

In fact, Roger had finished this task four days ago, but he had been busy with matters related to "Blackwing Reef" and hadn't thought to hand it over to Derrick.

"Thank you so much, Mr. 'Wheel of Fortune'."

"The Sun" Derrick thanked him again, his tone solemn. Thanks to the music provided by Roger, the spirit of the residents of Silver City had improved like never before, something that hadn't happened in the past thousand years. Therefore, Derrick had been looking forward to the manuscript of "The Four Seasons: Spring," but the young man had been very restrained and hadn't asked about it, waiting for Roger to bring it up himself.

Seeing that the others had finished their business, Emlyn the Moon inquired about the methods of playing the "Potions Professor." Miss Justice also took the opportunity to inquire about matters related to the "Moon's" pathway and reported the latest policy developments regarding the civil service examination to Mr. Fool.

Afterwards, "The Hermit" Cattleya and "The Hanged Man" Alger made promises to Roger, saying they would help keep an eye on the sales channels for other "Nightmare Jellyfish" products, and the "Tarot Club" finally came to an end.

"That concludes today's gathering. You should pay close attention to the coronation ceremony in two days; it will be a major event."

When Mr. Fool announced the end of the gathering today, he unusually gave a few more words of advice, which made Ms. Justice and the others feel solemn and nod in agreement:
"As you wish."

As the voice faded, "Fool" Klein waved his hand, and the crowd dispersed once more, becoming a sky full of stars.

But this time, Klein didn't rush to leave "Above the Gray Mist." Instead, he silently gazed at the star representing "The Magician" Fors and murmured to himself:

"I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the rust color in Miss 'Magician's' star cluster seems to have increased again."

Just as he was in a daze, Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," sent a request for sacrifice. Klein reacted by holding the silver-white broken sword engraved with strange runes and the "Veil Finger Gloves" in his hands, taking a deep breath, and then falling from the gray mist, preparing to return to reality to give Mr. "Wheel of Fortune" a reply that the item had been received.

……

Two days passed quickly.

In Queens, the giant plaza in front of the Royal Palace was teeming with people, forming waves of a vast and bustling crowd.

These people gathered here from all directions, eventually forming a sea of ​​people.

The expressions on the people's faces varied; some were full of expectation, some were disappointed and bewildered, and others were filled with anxiety and irritability.

Roger, wearing a beige trench coat and a matching wide-brimmed hat, was also in the crowd. He held his silver-inlaid cane in his left hand and placed his right hand on his hat to prevent it from being blown away by a sudden gust of wind.

When the wind subsided again, the surging crowd suddenly quieted down, for they all saw a young man wearing a crown and a magnificent cloak, holding a scepter inlaid with various jewels, walking out of the palace and onto a huge terrace on the second floor, accompanied by many people.

This is Prince Govington, who has already completed his coronation ceremony and is now King Govington II. He is about to deliver a speech that will go down in history.

"Prince Edsac is not here..."

Roger quickly scanned the crowd behind King Govington II and, unsurprisingly, made his judgment in his mind.

Soon, Govington II's still-young but very steady voice, amplified by some special equipment, resounded throughout the square.

At the same time, this speech was also disseminated throughout the Kingdom of Rune and all its overseas territories through various channels and media.

This is a special "Letter to All Citizens".

"At this critical juncture of life and death, a time of great upheaval for all time, I hereby proclaim to every subject, both within and outside the seas, that this heartfelt message may reach every single person, as if I were speaking to them personally..." (Note 1)

"..."

This is not the usual Rune grammar used in conversation, but a speech delivered by Govington II as King of the Kingdom of Rune in extremely formal and official language.

Although the language was very difficult to understand, because Ruen had popularized formal written grammar during the basic education stage, although many people could not fully understand every word, especially the rather difficult ones, they were still able to grasp the king's general meaning.

Roger had heard this grammar before, the last time being in the press release announcing the "Corn Act," but hearing it read aloud by the King himself now was quite a different experience.

The core message of Govington II's speech was to recount the repeated harassment of the border between the two countries and the provocation of conflicts by the Fussac Empire over the past decade, as well as the attacks launched at sea. He also listed the previous acts of Fussac's intelligence agencies secretly stealing precious metal reserves from within the Loen to fund various anti-Loen organizations and even pirates.

Because this incident had been brewing for several days, panic and a great distrust of Rune's financial sovereignty emerged in the market. This had a significant negative impact on Rune's stock market, futures market, banks, and various commodity trading companies. Prices of various goods rose, a large number of people received layoff notices, and even household energy sources such as gas, staple foods, and some spices and seasonings used to improve living standards, which were not considered too luxurious in the past, were subject to regulation.

This greatly aroused public anger—under the deliberate guidance of the Rune intelligence agency and official news media, the domestic conflicts that had arisen recently had been attributed, along with the previous defeat in the war against the Fusak Empire, to the humiliation caused by the Fusak Empire.

Now, Rune has made preparations and is about to launch a powerful attack to retaliate against the Fusak Empire, completely dispelling the gloom that Rune has encountered in this series of events, and leading his people to victory after overcoming hardships.

"...At this critical moment, I urge you all to remain calm and united in your hatred of the enemy."

"Though they may suffer hardship or be ravaged by chaos, and the calamities of war may extend beyond the battlefield, we should only act in accordance with righteousness and pray for divine protection."

"If we are all truly loyal to the gods, we can rely on Heaven's blessings and our path will surely be achieved."

"God bless us!"

After speaking, King Govington II solemnly drew a dark holy symbol on his chest, which brought the atmosphere among the crowd to a climax.

Almost everyone present drew the emblem of their god on their chest. Cheers, curses against the Fusak Empire, and praises to the gods and the king echoed in the sky above the Kingdom of Rune.

The hatred is so intense at this moment, and the faith is so unwavering.

Whether it's pure or not is unimportant; the atmosphere at the scene has already been built up to this point, and the official goal of Rune has been initially achieved.

Roger remained remarkably calm, standing like an observer amidst the surging crowd, quietly listening to the cheers that echoed around him, as countless bow ties and top hats were tossed high into the air.

After a long while, the crowd finally dispersed, and many of the initially enthusiastic people returned to a state of bewilderment, calm, or panic.

Because at this moment they suddenly realized that they were about to face a real war—not the war of propaganda, but a real battle.

"Ugh……"

Roger sighed, then turned and left the square outside the palace, heading towards a dark alley. He planned to use the "Traveler's Dice" to return to 15 Minsk Street and then go to Sam to discuss the next steps.

But as the "traveler's die" was tossed high into the air and then fell back down, the familiar teleportation sensation did not come, and Roger remained calmly standing in the same spot.

He paused slightly, looked up into the darkness, and said in a low voice:

"Since you're already here, just say what you have to say."

A moment later, Luna Francesca Augustus, with her long hair flowing down her shoulders, wearing a white vest, slim-fitting trousers, and white ankle boots, appeared before Roger.

"You're quite perceptive."

Luna smiled and praised Roger.

Roger shrugged and gestured for Luna to state her purpose.

"I have a task for you."

Roger laughed out loud upon hearing Luna's words:
“What mission? You should know that I am not a member of the ‘Twilight Hermits’ Society, and you have no right to order me around.”

"Let me finish speaking before you make a decision."

Luna remained calm and composed, and continued speaking:
"Rune's main naval forces are currently concentrated in Pulitz Harbor and the Intersea, preparing for war. However, we have received intelligence that the Fussac Empire has prepared a fleet near the White Whale Sea in advance, preparing to sail north around Sonia Island and launch a surprise attack on East Chester County. Then, it will join forces with the Fussac fleet near the Intersea to carry out a landing operation near Enmat Harbor."

"You expect me to fight them? To let my civilian pirate force of eight sailing ships fight against a fully armed regular army?"

Roger looked at Luna as if she were a madwoman, but the demigoddess only shook her head:
"No. When this fleet passes near Aurawi Island, it will detach a force to attack the Rune sea supply line south of the Rothsde Islands. The kingdom's warships cannot provide constant escort, so once the sea supply line is cut off by Fusak, East Byron will be completely isolated."

"With your strength, stopping this small team shouldn't be too difficult."

"Most importantly, because you are a pirate, pirate attacks on warships are not uncommon at sea... This will prevent Fussak from accurately judging whether his intelligence has been leaked, causing a period of tactical stagnation, which will give us the opportunity to gather forces and launch a counterattack."

Roger frowned: "What benefit would I get?"

To be honest, from Roger's own perspective, he would definitely help with this. However, since the "Twilight Hermits" had assigned him a task, they must have come prepared with the benefits.

“You will gain their friendship.”

Luna smiled and answered.

Friendship? Them?
Roger's brow suddenly relaxed, and he nodded in agreement:

"I agree to this."

Note 1: This excerpt is adapted from King George VI's Declaration of War against Germany.

(End of this chapter)