Deity Investigation Report

Chapter 378 Three Conditions
"emperor?"

Inside the magnificent temple, a depressing silence reigned.

No matter what the news was, it wouldn't surprise these believers in Eternal Night who didn't even care about their own lives. But the name that the person knocking on the door announced was something no one could ignore.

Then, the elder standing at the head of the temple waved his hand gently, and outside Lin Yuan City, the workers who had been sleeping in the workshop slowly got up and groped their way out of the factory area.

At this moment, they seemed to be sleepwalking under the control of a mysterious force. Their eyes were half-open and half-closed, their gazes were empty, they walked unsteadily, and they were completely dazed. They couldn't even be sure if they were awake, but they still slowly stood in two rows, facing forward blankly.

"Cultists of Eternal Night?"

"No, they're just a group of ordinary people being controlled by a mystery..."

"..."

Han Su was sitting astride the Nightmare Horse, watching the two rows of people walking out of the workshop.

He tensed up, sensing an extremely dangerous spiritual force surrounding him.

Through the half-open eyes of these sleepwalkers, the people in the Church of Eternal Night also saw the figure riding a nightmare horse in the dark night.

For a moment, everyone felt a slight chill run down their spines; the mere sight of that shadow in the night was enough to make them nervous.

Nightmare Horse, Black Cloak, White Mask.

"So, those who came under the emperor's name are actually members of the itinerant knights?"

"..."

All members of mysterious organizations, as long as their power reaches a certain level, will be familiar with the Traveling Knights, and the most recognizable feature of the Traveling Knights is, of course, their mount, the Nightmare Horse.

However, the cloak and mask worn by the person riding the Nightmare Horse were rather strange; it was impossible to tell what rank they belonged to. More importantly, it was certain that this person meant no harm...

...because he didn't carry the standard dangerous weapon of the patrolling knights: the flintlock pistol!

...Does this mean the other party is at least not prepared for conflict?
The members of the Eternal Night Church quickly pieced together Han Su's background, identity, and intentions, but in their confusion, a slight doubt also arose:
Now that he has sent out the sleepwalker, it is as if he has opened the temple gates for the other party. But why is that guy riding the nightmare horse still standing mysteriously and aloof in the night, and hasn't come in yet?

"Ok?"

"Oh!"

"..."

At this moment, Han Su knew that countless members of the Eternal Night Church were watching him, but he dared not move.

The main problem is that I don't know how to move...

He had never encountered anyone from the Church of Eternal Night before; he only knew that they had come and then left the city.

I sensed a mysterious force gathering here, which meant I was close to the Eternal Night Church's camp. So I released three polite mental shocks, and when confronted by the voice in the shadows, I gave the Emperor's name and waited for the Eternal Night Church to come and pick me up.

Now, someone has indeed come out to pick them up, but they are just a group of sleepwalkers.

So what should I do?
Could you tell me where the main gate is?

Just when both sides were mysterious to each other and a little nervous, the nightmare horse that Han Su was riding suddenly seemed to realize something after staying still for a while.

The horse tilted its head slightly, bent its long neck, glanced at Han Su, and then lifted its hooves, slowly walking towards the group of sleepwalkers who had come out of the workshop.

After taking a few steps, it appeared alongside Han Su in the intertwined vision of the group of sleepwalkers.

At that instant, Han Su felt gazes like ripples of water slowly engulfing him.

These powers come from the sleepwalker's half-open, half-closed eyes.

They were all ordinary people, and their spiritual power might not have been activated yet, but a highly active spiritual power emerged from their eyes. He did not resist, allowing this spiritual power to intertwine, reconstruct, and link with his own consciousness around him.

Then, the scene before my eyes changed slightly, and I saw the tall and majestic palace in front of me, as well as the people on both sides with gloomy and solemn expressions.

"Is this the [Dark State], one of the twelve anomalies?"

Han Su couldn't help but be startled, finding it hard not to be moved by the bizarre and wondrous nature of this power.

[Dark State] - Twelve Anomalies, Number 11
In essence, it is regarded by those who believe in it as a byproduct that exists outside of reality.

These believers in the Church of Eternal Night, or rather, those influenced by the spiritual activity left behind by Jormungandr, believe that the world exists in multiple forms.

Besides the people, buildings, and cities that exist in reality, there are also nightmares, thoughts, books, games, and so on. Within these mediums, there are countless spaces of consciousness that are forever parallel to the real world.

They call it the dark state and believe that such a life form is the only one that can truly achieve immortality.

Therefore, they began to explore the realm of spirituality, attempting to evolve time and again, searching for traces and cryptic incantations left by the gods, and ultimately mastering mysterious powers that are difficult for outsiders to understand, such as dream invasion, creation through fantasy, and logical consciousness.

For them, everyone living in reality is an ordinary person.

They can even live forever in someone else's dream, in a sealed old movie, in a video game on an old hard drive, or even in a book.

This is the Dark State, one of the most mysterious anomalies in the world, and the Church of Eternal Night, also one of the most powerful mysterious organizations.

In addition, Miss Ai also mentioned a characteristic to Han Su.

Each of the twelve deities retains some spiritual activity in this world, and thus each has its own followers and mysterious organizations.

However, the more high-profile and mysterious an organization is, the easier it is to be targeted and then eliminated.

Therefore, as things have evolved, those who hide the deepest are the ones who can accumulate strength and possess power that ancient nobles fear.

There are many rumors related to the Church of Eternal Night, and Han Su cannot know them all. Now that he has arrived at this temple woven from dreams, he dares not be careless at all.

Slowly and leisurely, he allowed the nightmare horse beneath him to venture deeper into the temple.

Han Su didn't even dismount because he didn't have a deep understanding of the power of the [Dark State] and couldn't establish a stable link. If he dismounted, he would lose the anchor provided by the Nightmare Horse and might be expelled from the temple.

Of course, in the eyes of the believers of the Eternal Night Church, this guy who knocked on the door in the name of the emperor and entered the temple with an arrogant attitude was just leisurely riding his horse forward in the temple.

They walked straight to the end of the temple, at a distance where they were face to face with the Grand Elder of the Church of Eternal Night, before their Nightmare Horse came to a stop.

One sat on the back of a tall, thin horse, while the other stood on the steps. They were about the same height and close together, so they just looked at each other without either of them rushing to speak.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense again.

Finally, it was the temple's Grand Elder who spoke first, tentatively saying, "Your Excellency..."

"...A follower of the Emperor?"

"..."

His attitude was very gentle.

Although the person in front of me looks more like a traveling knight, he is visiting in the name of the emperor, so I should be more polite.

Clearly, with his extensive knowledge, he was aware of the existence of this special group of emperor believers.

All twelve deities have followers, and the emperor is no exception. However, unlike the twelve anomalies, the emperor is the first taboo. He has no history, no records, no descriptions, and no physical fragments or residual spiritual power left in the world.

Therefore, the emperor's followers do not receive mystical powers like other followers, nor are they corrupted by the emperor's power or hear the emperor's whispers.

The emperor's followers were truly just followers.

In its purest form, they could even be said to worship a void symbol.

A meaningless symbol that neither forces them to worship nor brings them any benefit.

Therefore, there is a saying in the mystery circle that those who believe in mystery are all crazy, and those who believe in the twelve gods are even crazier.

Those who have faith in the emperor are either geniuses or fools.

"You can interpret it however you like."

Han Su smiled as he looked at the elderly man, whose identity was clearly extraordinary, but in reality, he felt quite solemn.

The main purpose of this trip is to build an army in the name of the "Emperor".

The key is how to make these people believe that they are the emperor, or represent the emperor's name.

What makes the emperor special is that there is no history, no records, and no anti-counterfeiting features.

It is difficult to disprove, but also difficult to prove, that someone is acting in his name.

Therefore, I could only proceed according to my own plan on the way.

He rode on his nightmare horse, slowly raised his head, and looked directly at the old man.

In theory, this old man should be one of the most mysterious and unpredictable people Han Su has ever met. He is probably comparable to the high priest in red robes that Han Su met on the 04th life timeline, second only to the old man who guards the world and the eccentric doctor.

Such people, even if they do nothing, will create enormous pressure on those around them. This is determined by their level of life experience. On the contrary, they will deliberately restrain themselves so as not to put pressure on others.

However, Han Su developed a special quality while in the castle.

That means he can speak calmly and without fear, even when facing any terrifying figure. At this moment, he looked relaxed, even with a hint of a smile: "I have many identities. I've been an investigator, a mercenary, fought for the church, and am currently an intern with the Traveling Knights. So, it's really hard for me to tell you my identity."

"Why don't I just tell you what I want to do?"

"..."

He paused, then raised his voice slightly: "First of all, I don't want you to attack Lin Yuan City, because I am currently still an intern of the Traveling Knights."

"My assessment task is to guard this area, block all the mysterious organizations and mercenaries from all sides who attempt to invade Lin Yuan City, and ensure that the blood sacrifice ritual of the Golden Knight family proceeds smoothly until someone successfully picks up the sacred relic."

"Shh!"

The instant Han Su finished speaking, someone drew a gun from the indistinct shadows on both sides of the temple.

His gaze was cold and murderous, as if he was about to attack Han Su at any moment.

Han Su remained motionless on his horse, while his Nightmare Steed turned sharply toward the figure with a sinister gaze.

"again……"

Han Su, just like everyone else, ignored the person who had revealed murderous intent and continued:
"I wish to form an alliance with you; your troops will be my troops, and your followers will be my followers."

"..."

"Ha ha……"

The surroundings were deathly silent. After a long while, someone suddenly sneered. Intricate mental energy intertwined, and some people had already exchanged opinions. Then, someone immediately rushed out of the temple to investigate the surroundings.

Now they are completely convinced that this guy was sent by the Traveling Knights. Although they don't know the Traveling Knights' plans, the fact that they sent a madman to provoke them means that they may make a big move at any time.

After all, if it's really about negotiations, who would send someone over first to mock the other side?

What kind of military unit? What kind of believers?
Let alone a traveling knight, even if it were a true follower of the emperor, saying such a thing would be a capital offense!

After all, how could the followers of the twelve gods not know that their faith was killed by the emperor and his knights?

The reason they treated the emperor better was simply because he had also been killed by the Twelve Knights.

But in essence, they are enemies!

But even in this oppressive and tense atmosphere, Han Su ignored everything and said his third point: "Finally, I hope you can bring out all your research results on dark states and your survey data on tides to fill the gaps in our knowledge."

"Splash!"

When Han Su uttered these last words, a commotion broke out in the temple.

Even the most patient of the temple elders, who had been waiting for Han Su to finish speaking, couldn't help but lower his head slightly.

He knew that people who worshipped the emperor were fools, so he was more patient. But he didn't expect that what this person said was even more foolish than what a fool would say.

In this world, the two groups with the most advanced research on "dark states" are the secret school formed by the descendants of the Golden Knight family and the believers of Jormungandr. Both sides have their own advantages, and the knowledge they possess is the greatest treasure.

As for the tides, due to their different attitudes, they grasped them even more accurately than the ancient nobles.

Just how insane must someone be to dare to ask for these things?
Considering that he might be mentally challenged and unable to express himself clearly, we can only apprehend him first, then try to extract his memories to see what's really going on.

"Of course, in return, I will also grant you some requests."

Han Su noticed their intentions, but remained aloof and indifferent, only his voice quickened slightly: "First, I will tell you the coordinates of the Dark Altar that imprisoned your heirs!"

"what?"

He didn't say it with much force, but the temple's elder suddenly turned his head and looked at Han Su in disbelief.

His voice trembled slightly as he abruptly raised his hand, stopping everyone who was about to act.

“Even the identity of the successor within the altar.”

Han Su slowly looked at the Grand Elder of the Temple and said gently, "I think this should be helpful to you."

It's more than just helpful.
Even the temple's chief elder was somewhat flustered, his voice trembling with doubt: "Really?"

"You think I came here to tell you a joke?"

Han Su merely glanced coldly at the temple's Grand Elder, already certain that his first condition had worked.

If the long-dead gods are the emperors of these mysterious organizations, then the successors are the crown princes. The more these mysterious organizations develop to their peak, the more they crave deeper levels of knowledge.

To gain deeper knowledge within the same sequence, one needs to listen to the words of more gods. However, they have reached their limit, and only the successors can hear the complete will.

Because of the importance of the successor, the Bronze Church immediately attacked Qinggang as soon as they discovered it was the Bronze Altar.

The same applies to the believers of the Church of Eternal Night.

Ironically, the coordinates of the Dark Altar on this life's journey are known only to Han Su, who experienced the destruction of Qinggang.

Ms. Shen from the Abyss Studio once attempted to forcibly activate the Qinggang Altar, which triggered a resonance with other altars, allowing Han Su to memorize the approximate location of the Dark Altar.

This was just a fleeting glimpse in my broken life, yet it was already the kind of intelligence these mysterious organizations desperately sought.

"you……"

The temple's Grand Elder was already getting impatient, but Han Su jumped straight to the second topic: "Secondly, I will guarantee that the person who ultimately takes the relic will be one of ours."

Quiet!

No one believed Han Su's words. After all, that was the Golden Knight family, with countless itinerant knights to help them, and they even possessed a transcendental order. Even the Guardians of the World were subordinate to them.

Even their own Church of Eternal Night, knowing they were about to hold this ceremony, had to be prepared to die to stop it. How could anyone have so much power that they would dare to say they would interfere with their ceremony?

But because of the first condition, no one stopped them.

"third……"

Han Su ignored their thoughts and continued, "I can help you complete your understanding of natural disasters, and even eventually give you complete control over them, turning the natural disasters that the descendants of the Twelve Knights fear so much into your weapons!"

"Believe me, I've done it before..."

Boom!

The group of believers from the Eternal Night Church listened to Han Su present his three conditions with extreme anger.

Once again, he listened to him finish explaining the three benefits with his eyes wide open, and could no longer restrain himself, instantly lunging forward at the same time.

"Who are you? How dare you trespass into our temple and speak so arrogantly?"

"A madman, no, a fool!"

"Take him down and see if he really has the coordinates of the Dark Altar in his head..."

"..."

In that instant, as if unable to control themselves, countless people suddenly attacked Han Su.

A massive wave of spiritual energy instantly engulfed him.

Faced with the attack from so many church members, the temple elder merely watched coldly, without showing the slightest sign of tension in his eyes.

Admittedly, the strange knight's words had already had a tremendous impact on him, but his curiosity about the man's identity had also reached its peak. He wanted to see what kind of monster this man was.

By having his subordinates take action, he can get a feel for the person's true strength.

Of course, he was already prepared to stop his subordinates at any time to prevent them from actually hurting him.

"When dealing with mysterious organizations, this is something that's unavoidable..."

As Han Su faced the sudden surge of spiritual power around him, he frowned slightly. He was certain that the three conditions and three responses he had just given had persuaded these people from the mysterious organization, but they would still attack him as a test.

Mysterious organizations inherently worship the strong, so strength is always a crucial element in negotiations.

However, this is also the final step in the negotiations. As long as you prove that you are qualified to have a direct dialogue with them, everything will be in the state you desire.

Therefore, he was not surprised or angry at the people's attack in their rage. On the surface, however, he suddenly let out a cold laugh, and the eyes on his pale white mask emitted a sinister light.

"Faced with such sincere conditions, they still want to test my capabilities..."

"...No wonder you've been suppressed for two thousand years and haven't been able to turn things around!"

"..."

As he finished speaking, his black cloak billowed in the wind, as if it were covering the entire temple.

Then, with one hand, he pressed down, his consciousness surging, plunging straight into the abyss!

Fifth stage of the Abyss!
Miss Ai came here after making thorough preparations. It's time to have someone test the value of the results of this self-directed, mysterious power training in the third stage!
(End of this chapter)