Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 394 The Ancient Forest of Dongbailang
"Yes, I also believe that such a thing exists."

Roger took a deep breath, and then said:

"As for what it is, I guess it might be some kind of power source that can govern all adjacent pathways... For example, the 'Secret Seeker' pathway you are in. If you can become a Sequence 0 and obtain the top power of the 'Generalist' pathway, then you might be able to perceive the existence of such a thing."

“Once you successfully contain this thing, you will have the top position of two pathways, thus transcending the sequence... Before that, even if you become a dual-path true god, you cannot be said to have ‘transcended the sequence’.”

Roger didn't directly discuss the "source matter," but instead gave Bernadette a direction to consider. After all, Bernadette's original motivation for agreeing to come to the "Forsaken Land" with Roger was to find out some things behind this world, including the matter of Emperor Roselle.

If we directly mention "source matter", it will bring many problems, because certain knowledge related to source matter is very dangerous.

Thinking of this, Roger spoke again to Bernadette, reminding her:
"In addition, I need to remind you that if you want to continue reading this book, you must be wary of the possibility of contamination."

Because so much time had passed and the author of this book possessed the status of an angel, Roger was unable to use "premonition" to know exactly how He fell, nor could he be certain whether He had been corrupted in any way.

If His mental state was not normal in the later stages of writing this book, then Bernadette would have encountered certain risks while reading it.

After saying that, Roger looked at Bernadette, who seemed hesitant, and added in a low voice:

"Of course, you can pray to the names of Mr. 'Fool' or 'He Xing' to minimize the risk of being contaminated."

“'Fool' Mr… 'He Xing'…”

Bernadette murmured the two names to herself for a moment, then asked:
"Roger, I've always wanted to ask if there's any connection between these two names?"

"That's understandable."

Roger nodded, giving an ambiguous answer.

Then he spoke again:
"One thing I can tell you for sure is that both of them are true gods... at least for now."

Admiral Cattleya, standing nearby, was also listening intently to Roger and Bernadette's conversation. She tried her best to restrain herself from asking for information, after all, the lesson that Mr. Fool had taught her earlier had left a deep impression on her.

"Ok."

The "mysterious queen" Bernadette nodded. She knew the names of both "Fool" and "He Star," but she hadn't yet decided whether to pray to them.

"Keep it up! You can contact me anytime if you have any questions."

Roger began:

"I'm going to East Bailang next. If you think you've figured things out, you can contact me anytime and I'll help you leave the 'Forsaken Land'."

"No hurry yet."

Bernadette looked up at the library:

"You go ahead and get busy. It seems I don't need to leave for the time being."

Roger nodded slightly, then turned and left the Midnight City library.

Once back on the ridge of the "Underground Midnight City," Lindsay and his tactical squad were ready to set off again.

Roger tossed them into a relatively safe corner of the "Old Box" and then used the "Traveler's" abilities to take them to East Byron Verdtek.

This is East Bairang, an inland city nestled between ancient forests and fertile plains, belonging to the state of North Aolit.

Although this place is also under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Rune, it is more localized than the port cities of Gilain and Alerser.

Fortunately, due to colonial education, most people here can speak Rune, which saves Roger a lot of trouble.

The group appeared on the edge of a forest on the outskirts of the city. After walking south for several kilometers, they finally arrived at Vertebratec.

"Captain, this place is really different from Rune."

Lindsay looked around at the strange buildings with curiosity. They all had a certain Byron style, especially the special paintings and decorations on the top and facade, as well as the drainage eaves with special structures.

Many of the people walking on the road were dressed in the local style of East Bayron. Although people wearing the style of the North Continent were also common, they were far fewer than those in Gilain and the Rosd Islands.

"First, we need to find a place to stay. We'll be going deep into the ancient forest for the next period of time, so preparations and the procurement of supplies must be done in advance."

After hearing Roger's words, Lindsay asked curiously:
"Captain, so who is the enemy we're facing this time?"

This is also something that all of Lindsay's men are concerned about. For small, organized combat units like theirs, it is crucial to obtain intelligence about the enemy in advance.

"They are members of the 'Rose School'."

Roger paused, then explained:

"Or to be more precise, we are dealing with members of the 'hedonistic' faction."

Lindsay nodded. As a former member of the "Witch Cult," he had heard of the "Rose School" and the divisions within it.

"Captain, if possible, please explain the capabilities of the 'Rose School' to the brothers in detail on the way. This will also help my first mate to formulate a battle plan."

Lindsay's adjutant is a "conspirator" who has recently been promoted to Sequence 6, named Diego Larry.

This person wasn't among the fastest-promoted members of his tactical squad, but because he came from a military family and his father was once a colonel in the General Staff of the Kingdom of Feneport, he was very good at formulating battle plans.

"Okay, no rush. We can talk about it on the way after we set off."

As they were talking, the group arrived at a hot spring hotel.

Because it's currently the off-season for tourism, there aren't many tourists in Vertebrate, so the spa hotels are very quiet.

Roger booked the entire bathhouse for Lindsay and her team to soak in the hot springs. In addition, he ordered a lot of food for these tactical squad members.

Only by eating well and eating enough to wash away fatigue can they adjust themselves to their best condition before the next battle.

While Lindsay and the others were at the hot spring inn, Roger went to the western market of Vertek to buy a large amount of fresh water, dry food, various meat products, medicines, and other necessities for the journey.

Not only that, he even bought ingredients that are difficult to carry, such as Fennebot noodles, spices, salt, and seafood—carrying these things is naturally not a problem for him, who possesses the "Original Dynamic Core".

After nearly sweeping everything out of the West City Market, Roger returned to the lobby of the hot spring inn, ate a croissant, and once again went to the rose garden on the central stone platform of the "Original Core".

"Little sister."

Roger glanced at Rosanne, who was engrossed in flipping through the Intis history books he had bought when he left Trier, and called out to her.

"elder brother."

When Rosanne saw Roger return, she immediately put the bookmark back in, closed the book, and gave him a bright smile.

"Hmm, how's your reading going?"

Roger glanced at the "History of Trier's Urban Development" that Roxanne had just put down and asked curiously.

"It's quite interesting. I feel that the development process and local customs of Intis are somewhat similar to those of France in our time."

Luo Shan answered with a smile.

"It does look a bit like it."

Roger nodded, and then said:

"When it's almost dusk, help me process and cook these seafood ingredients, and also boil some Fennebot pasta, then put them in this bucket."

Roger placed a metal rice bucket on the ground and then said:

“My men and I have to trek through the dense forest, and eating only dry rations will easily make us look unwell... But if we start a fire to cook, the smoke will easily attract the attention of the enemy deep in the forest.”

Roger had thought it through clearly: he and Lindsay's group should avoid lighting fires during the day to minimize the chances of the "Rose School" discovering them from a distance.

As for those possible probes designed with extraordinary means, Roger can use the "Black Prophet's" abilities to counter them in advance—compared to the physical problem of being too big to be easily targeted, this is not a difficult thing at all.

"it is good."

Rosanne nodded and took the ingredients Roger handed over.

Then, Luo Shan snapped her fingers, and a stove and two pots in the style of traditional Chinese architecture appeared out of thin air on the ground.

"This……"

Roger was slightly taken aback by this move:
"Can you control the materialization of the objects here?"

"Yes, it wasn't possible before, it only suddenly became possible last night."

Rosanne nodded:

"However, this only applies to this rose garden. I cannot be sure if it will work in other areas of the 'Original Core'."

"..."

This scene caused Roger to ponder deeply. Even with his "Black Prophet" abilities, he couldn't understand what it meant at this moment.

In the end, he didn't say anything, only instructing Luo Shan to prepare the ingredients in advance, and then left the stone platform inside the "Original Core" once again.

He had just returned to reality when he saw Lindsay and the others, who were all ready to go and had eaten and drunk their fill, walking from the end of the bathhouse.

"Captain, we can set sail now."

Roger nodded slightly:

"Set off."

At Roger's command, dozens of people marched in a large group towards the ancient forest in the north.

Of course, Roger also made sure to distract the staff at the hot spring inn and the passersby along the way—this was to prevent any of them from being associated with the "Rose School" and then sending the information to the "Rose School" members through special means so that they could formulate countermeasures in advance.

Throughout the journey, Roger explained all the abilities of the "Bound One" pathway from Sequence 9 to Sequence 3 to Lindsay and his lieutenant. When he talked about the "Puppet" ability, Roger didn't forget to use the "Little Duck" to give a live demonstration to help them deepen their understanding.

After the explanation was finished, the group finally crossed the two mountain ranges and saw the lush ancient forest not far away.

According to Sharon, after the Northern Continent invaded the Southern Continent in the Fifth Era, the "Rose School," which was originally the orthodox organization of the Southern Continent, gradually retreated from the Pass River Valley and Star Plateau and dispersed to various corners of the Southern Continent. As for the "Hedonistic School," due to its cult-like nature, a large number of its members hid in secret bases in the Ancient Forest.

The authorities did consider entering the Ancient Forest to suppress the "Rose School," but due to the extremely complex terrain of the Ancient Forest and the interference of extraordinary forces, they have not yet achieved any substantial results in their exploration.

On the other hand, because the "Rose School" has been deeply rooted in the Southern Continent for thousands of years, they have many means of detecting outsiders in the ancient forests. This means that once an official team of extraordinary individuals enters this area, they will be detected immediately.

At this very moment, through Roger's "Secret Insight" vision, he could see undercurrents surging above and around the ancient forest, with traces of many extraordinary powers enveloping the forest.

From a normal perspective, or even from the perspective of "spiritual vision," these methods are not easily detected. Fortunately, Roger's abilities are relatively effective against them, which is why he was able to perceive these clues. "Lindsay, what happens next may be beyond your imagination. You need to be mentally prepared."

Roger glanced back at Lindsay, who nodded with a serious expression.

After confirming that Lindsay was mentally prepared, Roger's voice suddenly rang in the hearts of Lindsay and every member of his tactical squad.

"Hello everyone."

Fortunately, Roger had already used his "Dreamweaver" ability to calm them down beforehand; otherwise, these people would have been terrified on the spot.

Lindsay looked at Roger in shock, because he could clearly sense that Roger was speaking in his own "team channel".

"Don't be too nervous, I'm just conducting an experiment."

Hearing Roger's words, Lindsay finally relaxed.

The ability Roger is currently using is the "mind communication" ability of Vladimir Kassienov, a lieutenant general of the Fusak Empire, the leader of the "Saint Milon Brigade," and a "War Bishop" of the "Red Priest" pathway sequence 3, whom he previously enslaved.

After the war in the North Continent, Roger never used the demigod's abilities again, not because he didn't want to, but because he simply couldn't.

Because he discovered that Vladimir Kassienov had a strong mystical connection with his troops, and that this mystical connection was personal, bound to Vladimir's soul, and could not be directly used by Roger.

On the other hand, Roger, who had not deliberately perfected the "Iron Knight" promotion ceremony, did not have a combat team that could meet the requirements. Although Roger's subordinates were all highly skilled, they were far from reaching the level of mystical connection that Lindsay and his subordinates had.

The most disgusting point is that even if Roger could temporarily possess Lindsay Louis's identity through "identity manipulation," he would not be able to break the mystical connection between Kassienov and his legion and "transfer" it to himself and Lindsay's tactical squad. In addition, the direct offensive methods possessed by the "War Bishop" largely overlap with, and are even slightly inferior to, the methods of the "Judgment Star" approach. This is why Roger kept Vladimir hidden away all this time.

However, things changed fundamentally after Roger became the "Black Prophet".

Now possessing "Dark Annihilation," he has completely deciphered Vladimir's team-based abilities and then reproduced them using the "Mystic Manifestation" ability, which gives him the possibility of fully utilizing the "War Bishop" ability.

The only thing that hasn't changed is that Roger still needs to simulate Lindsay's identity. With the combined power of the three abilities, Roger is now finally able to truly unleash the full power of the "War Bishop".

Through this spiritual communication, Roger directly shared the information he had seen with them.

Suddenly, all the members of these tactical squads saw the ancient forest teeming with hidden currents. With the help of Roger's abilities "Dark Annihilation" and "Hidden Line Prediction," they naturally realized how to crack the detection methods in the ancient forest before them.

At this moment, Lindsay's tactical squad had completely transformed into a professional engineering squad. Under Lindsay's command, they moved quickly and began to disable these detection methods one by one without alerting the enemy, using their extraordinary abilities.

When faced with particularly difficult situations, Roger would personally intervene, and in this way, the team began to advance at a steady pace.

About two hours later, the group began to notice some members of the "Rose School" lurking deep in the forest.

As a result, their movements gradually slowed down.

Fortunately, Lindsay's adjutant, Diego Larry, was constantly developing the next course of action—with Roger's "Black Prophet" vision assisting him, he felt that his knowledge and insight had improved unprecedentedly.

For a staff officer, the information he possesses is directly related to the meticulousness and feasibility of the operational plans he formulates. From this perspective, the "conspirator" and the "black prophet" are undoubtedly a perfect match.

Diego Larry made a tactical hand signal, and the ten-man squad quickly dispersed, broke into smaller groups, and disappeared into the forest.

Moments later, the sounds of people falling to the ground came one after another.

Most of the "Rose School" members didn't even have time to react before the tactical squad took their lives, while those who did react and tried to call for help from headquarters were trapped in "Secret Guard" by Roger.

This prevented the distress signal from being transmitted, and Lindsay's tactical squad was able to finish off the remaining members, thus perfectly eliminating this group of "Rose School" extraordinary individuals.

After looting the enemy's corpses, Roger, seeing that it was almost time for dinner, announced that they should set up camp early.

After Roger distributed a batch of bread, Lindsay frowned and said:

"Captain, this food may not be enough."

"I know."

Roger laughed, said "Wait a moment," and then closed his eyes.

A few minutes later, Roger began to retrieve a large bucket of Fennebot pasta with braised seafood from an unknown location. The pasta was still steaming hot and looked incredibly tempting, with lobster and crab meat added to it.

This scene stunned everyone, and they all looked astonished.

Judging from the state of the noodles, they were clearly cooked not long ago, yet they had never seen Roger cook noodles or handle seafood.

"What are you standing there for? Get your food!"

Upon hearing Roger's words, Lindsay swallowed hard. He finally snapped out of his daze and began directing his tactical squad members to line up and get their food from Roger.

While everyone was eating, Roger splashed the insect-repelling essential oil he had bought beforehand everywhere, so that the members of the tactical squad could eat in peace without having to endure mosquito bites.

Soon, they began to praise the taste of the noodles.

Rosanne's culinary skills were already quite good, and with the addition of some Chinese techniques in her cooking, the seafood flavors became incredibly layered. When combined with the smooth and chewy Fennebot pasta, they complemented each other perfectly and were absolutely delicious.

Roger also made himself a bowl of seafood noodles. As he ate, he looked up at the sky above the dense forest and couldn't help but feel a little sentimental.

It's rare to see soldiers marching under such harsh conditions and still eating so well, not just in this day and age, but even in the old days.

Apart from naval or logistical soldiers, most countries' army soldiers fighting on the front lines can only eat canned food or packaged rations in most cases—and the so-called cooking is also limited to the design concept of these supplies.

Cooking on the front lines, and doing it on a grand scale, is something that can only happen in the armies of certain modern countries with extremely strong supply chains and military support capabilities. The most classic example is the series of bizarre actions taken by a certain eccentric country on the battlefield in the 40s.

In their attempt to eat better, they used precious fresh water to cook pasta while trekking through the North African desert, which ultimately led to the capture of an entire corps and forced allied forces to come to their rescue.

In contrast, Roger's current unit not only enjoyed delicious, freshly cooked meals, but also avoided lighting fires in the jungle, thus preventing the "Rose School" from noticing their presence.

All of this is thanks to the convenience of the "Original Motion Core" and the presence of Rosanne inside. In a sense, the "Original Motion Core" is truly the most suitable source material for system-based warfare. Its ability to carry a large amount of supplies and modify its internal structure is something that most other sources cannot match.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, cleaned up the scene, and rested, Roger announced that the team should set off again.

At this moment, the sun is about to set, and the light of the sunset and evening glow shines through the lush shadows of the primeval forest, reflecting on the ground and scattering a vast expanse of crimson flowers.

"Captain, we'll soon be facing the issue of setting up camp."

In fact, this is also a problem that Lindsay is quite worried about, because tonight is not a moonless night, but a waning gibbous moon, and the moon occupies most of the night.

This means that if they were to start a fire, there would be a certain probability that they would be discovered by the "Rose School," which would undoubtedly be very disadvantageous for a tactical squad that is inclined to stealth and ambush.

However, at this moment, Roger laughed.

He opened his mouth and said:

"Don't worry too much. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll have a place to stay soon."

"Could it be that?"

Lindsay's heart skipped a beat, and then he received the visual image shared by Roger again.

In this revealed view, Lindsay could see many traces of human activity around him, but they had been deliberately concealed and covered by various vegetation, which is why he did not notice them at first glance.

These traces of human activity formed a series of "hidden threads," which converged in an area one kilometer away. This made Lindsay suddenly realize that there should be a facility built by the "Rose School" there.

In other words, as long as they can take over the facility quietly, they can use it as cover to set up camp.

However, there is no doubt that this is not an easy task—because the "Dark Foresight" indicates that there is at least one extraordinary being at the demigod level in that facility, in addition to dozens of beings from the middle to the lower ranks.

Moreover, Lindsay was able to smell a faint scent of blood wafting from the direction of the facility. The layered scent of blood indicated that there was a continuous killing going on there, and that it happened every so often.

"Captain, there's a smell of blood over there."

Lindsay spoke in a low voice, and Roger nodded in agreement.

For such a wilderness facility, the frequent slaughter of livestock or wild animals is not hard to understand; however, if that were all, Roger and Lindsay would have no reason to find it strange.

In fact, only a small portion of the bloody smell came from animals—the majority came from humans, and quite a few at that.

This immediately reminded them of the bloody sacrificial tradition of the "Rose School." When the northern continent nations first began colonizing the southern continent, the "Rose School" was besieged and suppressed by various churches and armies because of their barbaric and brutal acts against nature. However, it seems that after they fled into the ancient forest, they still maintained this tradition, only no longer as rampant as before.

Roger judged that the objects of their sacrifice were very likely natives of the Southern Continent or slaves who had been "exported and then re-imported".

The reason for doing this is simple: whether they are natives or slaves, they often do not have a clear identity in the eyes of the authorities. Even if an entire tribe disappears, it may not attract the attention of the authorities immediately.

The psychologically disturbed "hedonists" of the "Rose School" exploited this loophole, continuing to practice human sacrifice in an era where industrial civilization has benefited half the globe. This behavior, while not exactly a step backward, is certainly a blatant act of defying public opinion.

Roger's eyes were cold as he quickly communicated with Lindsay and Diego via telepathy to discuss the upcoming battle plan.

"...In short, it's just as we just said, but there's one more thing you need to pay attention to."

Roger paused, then continued:

"The human sacrifice of the 'Rose School' is not just a one-sided act of pleasing the gods. In fact, their leaders really have the ability to receive blessings from evil gods. So please remember not to touch or stare at those symbols and wood carvings that you don't understand for a long time."

Within the "Rose School," there are two main groups that believe in evil gods. One group consists of followers of the "Primordial Moon," also known as the "Fallen Mother Goddess," and the other group is a "Celestial Cult" associated with the "Mother Tree of Desire." Regardless of which group it is, the power they wield is extremely dangerous.

Judging from the previous attempt by the "Hidden Sage" to corrupt Master Qiu, these evil gods had long been eyeing Roger, who carried the Source Matter and multiple Sequence 1 Extraordinary Properties. Since they were able to try to corrupt Klein Moretti, who possessed the "Source Castle," they could naturally find an opportunity to corrupt themselves as well.

On the surface, it appears that Roger led his men in a surprise attack on the "Rose School," but it cannot be ruled out that the evil gods were also taking advantage of this opportunity to lie in wait.

After all, although they cannot know everything that happens on Earth, Roger's noisy big eyeball is like the moon in the night sky from the perspective of mythical creatures—it is almost impossible for him to avoid being noticed by those evil gods.

Therefore, Roger had to be extremely careful in the face of the situation in order to achieve his goal with minimal losses.

Roger took a deep breath and then opened his arms to the sides.

In an instant, a thick fog began to spread around.

Within the area covered by this thick fog, the vision of all living beings was greatly impaired. The fog could even affect their hearing and sense of smell, and it also shrouded the corresponding spirit world.

By suppressing the interaction between astral entities and the spirit world, this fog also dulls spiritual warnings and intuition. In this way, Roger temporarily cut off mystical communication and information transmission within a radius of several kilometers.

This was the "War Fog" of the "War Bishop." Because it was daytime, Roger had been restraining himself from using this ability to avoid alerting the "Rose School" members in the distance or at higher elevations to the anomaly in the dense forest.

At this moment, it was already dark, and the moon's angle was just right, allowing Roger to cover the area.

Compared to "keeping secrets," the "fog of war" undoubtedly has a wider range of influence, while Lindsay and his squad members, who can share information with Roger, are completely unaffected by the fog.

Once everything around them became completely quiet, Lindsay issued orders to her subordinates through telepathic communication:
"action!"

(End of this chapter)