Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 328 Let Me Steal from Amon Too (Thanks to "It Was All Amon's Feat" for the Bandit reward)

Jack Burton cried for a while before he came to his senses.

He looked at Alexis with excitement. Jack couldn't remember the last time he had seen Alexis look so normal.

"Gentlemen, it seems your method is truly effective."

Alexis was both surprised and delighted. The demigod spoke:

"Thank you very much. If there is anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask."

“Elder Alexis, there’s no need to be so polite. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. This is nothing.”

Roger shook his head and said very shrewdly.

After she finished speaking, she asked again:

"Lord Roger, the name you just gave me... does it refer to the 'Angel of Time'?"
“I know that the ‘Angel of Time’ is the second son of my Lord, which seems to match the title ‘fellowship’.”

Roger gave a cryptic smile:

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't."

"Some things must be obscured; to say them out loud is blasphemous."

In fact, Roger had his own reasons for saying those ambiguous words.

He was indeed intentionally blurring the lines between the "son of the true creator" and the second son of the "ancient sun god." He found it difficult to explain the matter of "Hell Star" to Alexis in Leomaster's presence, and it was precisely for this reason that he had perfected his title in advance.

However, he could not directly confirm that his title referred to the "Angel of Time," but left Alexis with room for imagination. In this way, when Alexis prayed, she would not rashly think about the title of the "Angel of Time."

In other words, he cleverly "borrowed" Amon's reputation, but set up a name that pointed to himself.

He was not afraid that Amon would later "steal" these anchors through "erroneous" authority, because he had just confirmed that this set of honorary titles could establish a mystical connection with the "Primal Heavenly Core". Unless Amon could become the "Lord of Mysteries", his act of directly stealing the external divine source material pointing to the "Primal Heavenly Core" would only put him at risk of being corrupted.

"Speaking of which, being able to steal something from the 'God of Deception,' Amon, makes me the first person in history to do so?"

Roger felt a mix of trepidation and excitement.

He was excited because he felt he had done something challenging, but he was also nervous because he was afraid that Amon would turn around and give him a piece of his mind.

Alexis looked thoughtful upon hearing this, at which point Leomaster spoke up:

"Next, we need to locate the 'Soul Reaper' that attacked you in the past."

"According to Her Excellency Bernadette, it should be a demigod-level creature, and it is extremely long-lived and difficult to kill. If no other demigod-level creatures attacked it, it should still be alive now."

"But in any case, we need to be sure of this."

Roger nodded slightly:

"If needed, I can help with divination."

But Leomaster shook his head:

"No need, I have a way to pinpoint its location."

"any solution?"

Roger asked with some curiosity. He knew that Leomaster possessed the souls of a "Witch King" and an "Ancient Alchemist." To pinpoint the location and state of a demigod-level "Dementor," it would be necessary to rely on the power of one of these two.

Leomaster gestured for Roger to hold on, then looked at Alexis:

"Lord Alexis, may I have a drop of your blood?"

"it is good."

Alexis was very decisive; the shadow of her lower body writhed, and a fleshy tentacle stretched out, dripping a drop of blood into a small glass bottle that Leomaster had taken out.

The latter nodded slightly, and then took out a metal doll that glowed green and was engraved with some strange symbols.

Roger looked at Leomaster with interest, and saw him take a dark red, somewhat ethereal piece of cloth from the stone box that Alexis had given him earlier, and then drip a drop of her blood onto it.

After doing this, Leomaster opened a lid on the doll's abdomen and put the blood-stained Dementor's cloak inside.

The next second, a beautiful middle-aged woman, almost tangible and dressed in an elegant green dress, appeared beside Leomaster.

The woman had long, light blonde hair and emerald green eyes. She was stunningly beautiful, yet exuded an air of elegance and maternal grace.

Roger knew that this must be the demigod soul of the "Ancient Alchemist" from the Church of the "Earth Mother Goddess" that Leomaster had enslaved.

The woman squatted down and lovingly touched the forehead of the green metal doll, while muttering something to herself.

Soon, the green doll actually started moving.

First, it stretched its arms and kicked its legs, and then, like a child, it circled around the "ancient alchemist" with human-like behavior, while hopping and skipping as if it wanted a hug.

The "ancient alchemist" hugged it, and then Leomaster asked:
"Is the owner of the piece of cloth inside your stomach still alive?"

At this moment, the green doll seemed to come to its senses. It touched its belly, making a metallic scraping sound, and then nodded emphatically.

Seeing this, everyone understood that it meant "confirmation," and they all breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Interesting. Is this the 'life transmutation' of the 'ancient alchemists'? This is the first time I've ever seen it."

Roger said with great interest.

"Yes, it should be."

Bernadette nodded:

"This doll should have the ability to detect its owner through the mystical information contained within the living matter. Lord Leomaster provided both the blood and the cloak, which should be an exclusive means to both lock onto that specific Dementor and confirm that Lord Alexis's soul is still stitched together and has not been lost."

Then, Leomaster asked again:
"where is it?"

The green doll thought for a moment, then stretched out one hand and began to spin rapidly in place, like a compass or a magnifying glass, using the mechanisms on its lower body.

This rotation seemed to have a calibration process, and after about a minute, it finally locked onto a direction.

"well done."

Leomaster spoke softly, and the elegant woman beside him gently hugged the green doll as if encouraging her own child.

"If there are no problems, I'm ready to leave now."

"Wait a moment, I'll go with you."

Roger shook his head. He made a contract with the fourth side of the "Traveler's Dice" and "New Fog City". This was originally supposed to correspond to the island where Amra buried himself, but since that island had been thrown into the second layer of the "Old Box", the coordinates were no longer needed.

Only after he finished doing this did he nod to indicate that it was okay.

"The distance may be quite far, so please catch up as soon as possible."

Leomaster spoke, then excused himself and temporarily left Alexis's room with the soul of the "Ancient Alchemist" and the green metal doll.

Roger also said hello and followed him away.

"Wait a moment, Mr. Roger."

Jack Burton suddenly spoke up:

"Could you take me with you? If it's not too much trouble."

"can."

Roger thought for a moment and realized that Jack Burton probably wanted to help Alexis get revenge, so he nodded.

"Thanks you."

Jack breathed a sigh of relief and walked outside with Roger.

Upon arriving at the gates of "New Fog City," Jack ordered his men to open the gates and let them through. After giving them some instructions, he left with Roger.

He didn't mention for the time being that Elder Alyxes had temporarily returned to normal—after twenty years of misfortune, Jack Burton was already somewhat afraid.

Before anything is accomplished, there should be no unwarranted comments or expectations. This is a superstitious rule that everyone in the "New Fog City" guard team, including Jack, has come up with.

Therefore, unless he can truly retrieve the fragments of Alexis's spirit and completely resolve her concerns, he will not discuss anything related to Alexis's current state.

Once the three of them reached the outer perimeter, Jack finally saw the "servants of the gods" guarding the outside.

He stumbled and almost fell to the ground, but Roger caught him quickly, otherwise the guy would probably have swallowed a mouthful of water.

It's no wonder that after the destruction of Fog City twenty years ago, the people of New Fog City have changed their attitude towards the "servants of the gods" from awe to heartfelt fear. As one of the people who experienced it firsthand, Jack is even more terrified of this creature.

"Don't worry, these guys are under my command now."

Roger realized Jack's feelings and offered words of comfort:

"They are temporarily protecting 'New Fog City'... Don't worry, they are no threat."

After Roger briefly explained the whole story, Jack Burton's expression improved somewhat.

He nodded, took a closer look at the minotaur a few more times, and then followed Roger away.

"I'm going to speed up, you guys keep up."

Seeing that the two had no objections, Leomaster concealed the flame from the "Explorer's Lantern" with shadows, and his entire being merged with the surrounding darkness, transforming into a shadow as he dashed toward the cave exit at incredible speed.

Roger also used "gravity" to create an anti-gravity field that enveloped himself and Jack Burton, allowing him to fly up at an extremely high speed and follow behind Leomaster.

This amazing feat left Jack quite shocked. He had never experienced the feeling of flying before, and he was full of wonder.

"...Once you become a demigod or a Sequence 3, you should also be able to have similar abilities."

The White Tower approach is inherently a knowledge-oriented approach. Although the library in New Fog City is very limited, Jack Burton should be able to develop flight spells if he works hard enough.

Roger wasn't worried about this at all, because before leaving Fog City, Jack was a candidate for bishop, and his learning ability and character were both excellent.

Not to mention, Roger later planned to provide books to "New Fog City" and even take them away from "The Forsaken Land," so Jack would not have to worry about not having books to read, and it would only be a matter of time before he grew up.

Along the way, thanks to Roger's use of "Fate's Gift," the three of them were very fortunate to perfectly avoid the "Protectors'" movement path and did not collide with those terrifying bats.

After leaving the cave system where "New Fog City" is located, the fingers of "Life Transformed into a Doll" began to deflect, which meant that the "Soul Stealer" in the far distance had begun to move.

Leomaster also adjusted his direction in time and moved forward strictly according to the direction the doll's finger was pointing.

As the scenery on the ground flashed by, Roger discovered that Leomaster's speed was no less than his own, and perhaps even faster.

This appears to be a new use of shadows developed by the "Black Knight" after acquiring the soul of the "Witch King".

Using the medium of shadow, Leomaster can travel at incredible speeds, comparable to demigods via the "Red Priest" pathway.

On the other hand, in places like the "Forsaken Land," extraordinary beings using the "Mystic" pathway are like on their home turf—there are too many shadows to use, and for the "Black Knight," even without light, their survival rate is far higher than that of demigods using other pathways.

Roger could imagine that if Alexis hadn't been looking after the other people in "Fog City," she wouldn't have been attacked by that damned Soul Reaper. It would have been a miracle if she hadn't turned the tables and utterly crushed it.

A patch of darkness on the ground and a ball of fire in the sky moved side by side at great speed, a strange sight that immediately attracted the attention of many monsters roaming the ground.

Some flying monsters tried to attack the ball of fire in the sky, but they were all driven back by the terrifying aura emanating from Roger.

Even those monsters who were much larger and stronger than Roger felt the same way—they had a strong feeling that this blue-eyed youth could kill them instantly with just the flick of his finger. This was a difference in power level, and only those extremely rare divine beings could match it. However, compared to these lower-level monsters, they were clearly more willing to risk their lives and would never provoke another divine being unless their lives were threatened.

Although Roger and his team were moving very fast, they still traveled for nearly 3 hours and covered several hundred kilometers.

The journey was incredibly long, almost crossing half of the "Land Forsaken by God."

The three of them saw many different landscapes and even crossed two not-so-high mountain ranges.

Fortunately, wherever Roger flew, the corresponding spiritual projection location would appear in the spiritual sky of the "Primal Core," giving Roger a sense of dispelling the fog of war and making him feel quite amused.

Even though this interesting experience dispelled a lot of boredom, the drain on energy and spirit was still very real.

Just as Roger and Jack were getting tired, Leomaster below finally began to slow down.

Roger realized this was a signal from Leomaster, meaning the three of them were getting close to the location of the "Dementor." So Roger began to descend with Jack Burton, and when Roger landed on a hilly area, Leomaster finally stopped.

The "Black Knight" was panting, as if the long journey had exhausted his physical and spiritual strength.

Roger, on the other hand, fared much better. With the "Original Force Core" and the support of many believers, he clearly benefited more from this long journey.

Seeing this, Roger took out a bottle of potion prepared by Baron Bohr that helped restore spirituality and physical strength and handed it to Leomaster.

Leomaster glanced at him and laughed:

"No need, I already have one. Have you forgotten that I have a 'Witch King'?"

"Oh."

Roger slapped his forehead, realizing what was happening, and then watched with great interest as Leomaster pulled out a nearly transparent bottle of potion that shimmered with tiny lights and drank it down.

He quickly recovered, and the green doll's arms were now down and began to rotate in all directions.

This means that the "Death Snatcher" is nearby.

"Jack, what does that 'Death Reaper' look like?"

At this moment, Roger asked, "As a long-time resident of Fog City, Jack should have seen what the monster that attacked Alexis looked like."

"It has no fixed shape; it is a distorted white mist from which different creatures and human faces and limbs emerge from time to time."

Behind it was a tattered black cloak, which seemed to be part of its body, through which its blood flowed.

"I know this because when Elder Alexis cut open its cloak, red blood clearly spurted out, and it was this blood that stained the cloak dark red, making it look like it now."

Roger nodded after hearing Jack's words:
"I see. Then we can just look for the white fog nearby."

"Leave this to me."

Leomaster spoke softly, then put away the green doll and took out a handful of brass-colored steel balls from his body.

He whispered a few words, then tossed the brass-colored steel balls into the air.

Once the brass-colored steel balls landed, they rolled out in all directions as if they had their own will, looking somewhat like spherical robots.

"Interesting, is this also an ability of the 'Ancient Alchemists'?"

Roger asked, somewhat curiously.

"Yes, 'Ancient Alchemists' can create all sorts of puppets, covering aspects such as pathfinding, divination, attacking, and combat assistance. In a sense, this can be considered one of the most versatile demigod sequences."

Leomaster nodded and said.

"Now all we need to do is wait. These spherical life forms have strong detection capabilities and mobility, making them difficult to detect. Once they find the 'Soul Reaper,' they will come back and tell us."

Roger understood and said nothing more, but simply took out some food for Jack Burton.

Ever since the joint exploration team arrived in "New Fog City," this guy has been busy entertaining guests and hasn't eaten a single thing. Roger could tell that he was really hungry for food, but he didn't show it because of his status as the second-in-command of "New Fog City."

He was holding a piece of chocolate, eating it in small bites with a look of astonishment on his face, afraid of missing out on this exquisite delicacy if he ate it too fast.

Aside from being a little thirsty, Jack couldn't find any other problems. He could feel that the dark thing in front of him invigorated him as soon as it went down his throat, and the heat it provided was more than enough to meet his needs in a place like the "Forsaken Land" where survival at the extreme was a constant challenge.

Most importantly, this stuff is sweet, extremely sweet. In the “forsaken land,” sweetness is an extreme luxury.

For the residents of "New Fog City," the few times they can taste "sweetness" is when they are hit by a monster and their throats feel sweet for a moment, but that's all.

"Eat slowly, and drink some of this if you're thirsty."

As Roger spoke, he pulled out another bottle of beer and handed it to Jack Burton.

This was a limited-quantity, high-quality beer that he purchased for the management of the "Star Fleet" and the crew members who had made contributions. In terms of raw materials, quality, and taste, it far surpassed the pale beer that was served as naval rations.

This is a presentable and appropriate gift to entertain Jack Burton, a high-ranking official in "New Fog City".

Jack Burton took a sip of beer and immediately choked and started coughing.

"Is this wine?"

His eyes widened. Back when Fog City was still able to grow crops, Jack had drunk some distilled spirits made in workshops, but this was the first time he had ever tasted beer.

"Yes, this is called beer. Is it good?"

Roger smiled, winked, and asked.

"awesome."

Tears welled up in Jack's eyes:

"This thing must be very valuable outside, right?"

"Uh……"

Roger pondered for a moment:
"Although it's a bit pricey, ordinary people can afford to drink it a few times a year if they work hard."

These words silenced Jack. His hand, holding the bottle, froze. After a long while, he sighed.
"Lord Roger, do you think there is still hope for 'New Fog City' to leave the 'Forsaken Land'?"

As someone who walks in darkness, one will initially feel pain and hardship. If this continues and everyone around you is in the same situation, one will eventually just get by.

But if one day, these people walking in the boundless darkness suddenly discover that someone can have their own wings, escape the darkness, fly to the extremely distant sun, or even be born with vast light, even if they are just a fleeting moment and turn into a falling meteor three thousand feet in the sky, it would be enough to put a heavier shackle on their feet, making every step more difficult.

Jack Burton and the people of New Fog City are a case in point. Having crawled in the darkness, struggling to survive until they became numb, they began to think about the outside world after encountering outsiders like Roger, seeing their normal bodies, and eating the food they brought. As a result, the darkness that had become so familiar to them over the millennia began to become unbearable.

This has its pros and cons. On the one hand, they will start to crave more; on the other hand, they will have the motivation to leave and their mental outlook will be greatly improved, which is exactly what Roger hoped to see.

Roger intended to take "New Fog City" away from "The Forsaken Land," but only if he could find a way to cleanse them of their corruption on a large scale. At the very least, the negative influence from the "True Creator" had to be mitigated. Otherwise, there was a high probability that these people would be immediately annihilated by the Church of the True God once they left.

From this perspective, perhaps a good opportunity will arise when Adam truly grasps the power of the "Hanged Man" method.

"of course."

Roger nodded firmly:
"Now that we have come here, we will surely lead you away from the 'land of God's forsaken' and to the land of light promised by our Lord. What we have, you will also have."

"Before that, you need to advance to Sequence 4 as soon as possible and gain the ability to help Elder Alexis govern 'New Fog City' and protect your people."

"Lord Leomaster has already provided the 'Prophet' potion recipe free of charge. Next, I will also do my part to help you find the complete potion ingredients, and ultimately help you complete your promotion."

"it is good."

Jack Burton nodded solemnly, thanked him, and then gulped down his beer, looking completely absorbed.

After Jack finished the bottle of wine, Leomaster's eyes finally lit up and he spoke:

"It looks like we've found it."

Following his gaze, Roger saw a small brass-colored metal ball rolling rapidly toward Leomaster.

By the light reflected from the brass-colored surface, Roger saw an image of a black cloth wrapped in white mist on it, and if he turned the ball, he could also see the surrounding terrain and environment.

"That's amazing, it's kind of like a security camera..."

Roger thought to himself, and after confirming that the "Dementor" was not far from the three of them, he spoke:

“Then I will go back to ‘New Fog City’ to pick up Lady Alexis.”

"it is good."

Leomaster and Jack Burton nodded in unison, and Roger rolled the "Traveler's Dice," thus returning to "New Fog City."

As soon as he landed, he greeted Bernadette and the others, indicating that everything was going smoothly, and then knocked on the door and entered Alexis's room.

"Lady Alexis, the Dementor has been found."

Roger said with a smile.

"Really?"

Alexis was somewhat excited. She tried to stand up, but after struggling for a while, she found that she still hadn't fully recovered her strength.

Years of lack of exercise had almost made her forget the correct way to walk. Roger shook his head, gesturing for her to sit back down, and then said:
"It's alright, you can sit here."

Roger took out the "Old Box" and briefly explained the function of this sealed artifact to Alexis.

"...An angel-level sealed artifact?"

Based on Roger's description, Alexis deduced some things and tentatively asked a question.

"You have such keen insight."

Roger gave a thumbs-up, though he didn't know if the people of "New Fog City" could recognize the gesture of praise; it was a completely subconscious action.

"...As expected of my lord's messenger, his methods have truly broadened my horizons."

Alexis was relieved and nodded, indicating to Roger that she was ready.

The next second, the portal of the "Old Days Box" opened, placing Alexis into the space on the first floor.

To prevent Alexis from being too shocked, Roger deliberately kept her away from the location of the doll-like "demon," and then he used "Philimon's Bell" to return to the location of Leomaster and Jack Burton.

"Where is Elder Alexis?"

Jack Burton asked with some curiosity.

"In the box."

Roger took out the "Box of the Past" and pointed at it. After a moment, he realized that his words were somewhat ambiguous and corrected himself:

"Elder Alexis put... oops, whatever, in this box she's got... anyway, she's here."

Jack Burton looked a little confused, but didn't say anything more.

"The location of the 'Death Reaper' has been locked."

Leomaster then spoke up:
“Roger, in a moment, you and I will simultaneously release a demigod-level extraordinary soul to surround that ‘Dementor’ from four different directions. Be careful not to let it escape through the air… This thing seems to be able to fly.”

"it is good."

Roger nodded, and after confirming some details, the two went their separate ways and simultaneously guided Jack Burton to a specific location for observation.

……

In a mountain hollow, a cloud of white mist wrapped in a black rag, from which various creature faces and limbs were constantly emerging, suddenly sensed some kind of disturbance nearby and turned its body around.

The face that was now appearing showed a wary expression. After a while, a huge black rat, which seemed to be some kind of supernatural creature, crawled out of the burrow and made a "squeak" sound.

The "Soul Stealer" seemed to show a relieved expression as it floated towards the rat. However, before it had taken more than a few steps, a cold voice rang out in the darkness.

"gravity."

The Dementor's black cloak immediately felt as heavy as a thousand pounds and plummeted toward the ground.

The figures of "Fallen Earl" Chunas Korg and the previous "Classic Alchemist" quickly emerged in the darkness. They stretched out their hands, one on the left and one on the right, and immediately black vines of unknown plant material spread rapidly from the barren soil, growing thick and strong in a second, quickly binding the "Dementor".

Two red lights flashed, and Roger and Leomaster, the two "Black Knights," charged at the "Dementor" from two directions, each wielding a long, dark, straight sword.

However, at that moment, the white mist began to surge violently.

Leomaster suddenly felt as if his thoughts had been half a beat out of place, as if something had forcibly stolen a part of his ideas.

This loss of thought started as a tiny thing, but it grew faster and faster in an instant, and soon it spread throughout his entire consciousness, leaving Leomaster's mind blank, and even the spirits enslaved within his body began to become restless.

The "Classical Alchemist" glared at Leomaster with hatred, seemingly regaining his senses and harboring thoughts of revenge against him.

And within the white mist of the "Death Slayer," a face belonging to Leomaster suddenly began to appear.

He's been possessed by a "Dementor"!

(End of this chapter)