Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 401 It's just the master's order.

Within the astral plane, the Hidden Sage undoubtedly completed His ascension to godhood.

In that vast and complex torrent of information, the radiant light completely enveloped its figure, obscuring its true form.

He has ascended to the true God.

The God of Steam and Machinery kept a close eye on the ball of light. The Great Wall, which had been formed by a massive torrent of information between Him and the Hidden Sage, had collapsed. There were no longer any obstacles between them, but He did not act rashly.

Because regardless of whether the Hidden Sage successfully advances to Sequence 0, the God of Steam and Machines has no reason to continue attacking Him.

If the Hidden Sage fails to advance, any further action he takes will only harm friendly forces.

If the Hidden Sage has already advanced to Sequence 0, then the God of Steam and Machines, who are also Sequence 0, will find it difficult to win this divine war. Continuing would be detrimental to both sides; a mutually destructive outcome would be the best result.

Fortunately, when the light subsided, what appeared before the god of steam and machinery was Amon, wearing a pointed soft hat and a classic black robe.

And in the palm of this 'blasphemer' was a shimmering ball of light.

That is the hidden sage.

Or rather, it is the 'essence' that remained of Him.

This former King of Angels died at the hands of Ammon on the first day of 1351, during his own incarnation ceremony!

"What a pity."

Looking at the 'essence' in his hand, Amon said with considerable regret.

This is a complete and extraordinary characteristic of a path. As long as it can be successfully integrated, one can become a dual-path True God and greatly enhance one's strength!

Unfortunately, the 'Hermit' path is not on His adjacent path, and forcibly merging with it will only lead to loss of control.

Amon clicked his tongue and casually tossed the illusory ball of light toward the God of Steam and Machinery.

Without any hesitation, the latter instantly transformed into a faint glow and vanished into the astral plane the moment it received the orb of light. It was returning to its divine realm to quickly integrate and assimilate the 'Hermit' pathway.

The giant serpent, roaming in the void, stared greedily at the illusory ball of light.

Only after the God of Steam and Machinery left with that illusory ball of light did the serpent suddenly turn its angry gaze toward Adam!

I always ask Him for help when I'm working, but He never gets any of the spoils.

If this continues, who will work for you, Adam?!

Adam ignored Him, and His figure vanished silently from the astral plane.

They reappeared inside the Church of Bones, where a huge cross stood and countless skulls stared at them with their hollow "eyes".

Adam, dressed in a simple white robe, seemed to sense something and looked up, seeing a huge, scarlet eye through the stained glass. The immortal serpent was clearly not going to give up so easily; its massive body coiled around the church, as if trying to force Adam to submit.

Adam's expression remained calm.

This is why He is unwilling to give Raccard even the slightest benefit. This immortal serpent is too unpredictable; it can turn into a battle with Him over trivial matters, and not just once.

Even though Adam had already rewarded Him, this greedy serpent was never satisfied.

Such a creature, no matter how powerful, cannot be considered an ally.

Otherwise, this "ally" would certainly not mind flicking its tongue from behind and swallowing the other allies whole.

Throughout his life, Adam had only ever seen Him as a useful tool.

Adam naturally didn't care about the tools, because Lakkad had no choice.

Having already betrayed Him once, He could no longer return to His former allies, and the only one who could offer Him refuge was Adam.

-

Intis, Trier, Saint-Rossel Cathedral.

The city had undoubtedly fallen under Roselle's control, and even the Steam Church was powerless to stop it. Even when faced with complaints and accusations from high-ranking members, the Steam Church could only offer appeasement.

Until their gods issue an oracle, they can only try to restrain their conflict with Roselle.

But this attitude made the followers of Steam increasingly uneasy. They began to suspect that Roselle might have reached some kind of consensus with the Steam Church, and that they, the followers, might become the victims.

Amid such skepticism, even the name "St. Rothschild's Cathedral," which had been used for over a hundred years, became proof of the consensus reached between the two parties.

Inside the Basilica of St. Rosell, Archbishop Horamik Hayden waited outside the basilica until he received the summons.

Horamik strode into the temple. On the high platform stood a mechanical doll composed of countless gears, screws, chains, bearings, and other mechanical parts. He wore a triple crown inlaid with sapphires, emeralds, and other gemstones, dressed in a bright red sage's robe, and held a strangely shaped scepter made of mechanical parts in his hand, looking every bit the part of a great sage.

Khoramik couldn't help but ask:

"Great Sage, does my lord have any instructions?"

The mechanical doll looked down at Horamik from its elevated position, its mechanical eyes glowing crimson, its mechanical tone devoid of any emotion:

"Our Lord has sent down a divine decree, instructing us to cooperate with Roselle in rebuilding the Intis Empire."

"Rebuild the Intis Empire?" Horamik's breath hitched.

He was not an Intis, but a native of Rune. However, due to the Steam Church's wrong stance in the war, all members of the Steam Church, including him, had been expelled from Rune.

Even though Khoramik wasn't from Intis, he knew very well that the people of this country would never accept the restoration of the Intis Empire!

But why would a god issue such a divine decree?

"in addition."

The great sage Kaul stretched out his right hand and pulled a mechanical-looking book from the void, handing it to Horamik with his tone remaining completely unchanged:

"This is the new edition of the 'Steam and Machinery Bible.' You must replace the old edition as soon as possible so that all believers can feel the blessings of our Lord."

"Go and carry it out."

Khoramik paused for a moment, then said in a low voice:

"I'll take care of it right away."

He turned and walked out of the temple without questioning or even asking why.

He knew that the Great Sage Caul had a past relationship with Emperor Roselle, and that His orders were almost entirely biased towards Emperor Roselle, but Horamik did not feel that He was showing favoritism. Even if Caul did have feelings for the past, becoming the Great Sage of the Steam Church already proved His piety towards the "God of Steam and Machinery."

With His devout faith, He would never use false divine pronouncements to show favoritism.

In other words, the Great Sage's command was the oracle of the god of steam and machinery.

Although Khoramik was still unclear about the reason, since it was a divine decree, he only needed to carry it out—gods don't make mistakes, and even if they do, it must be a problem with the execution.

With this thought in mind, Khoramik left the temple. But in the corridor outside the temple, Khoramik hesitated for a moment before opening the new edition of the Holy Codex of Steam and Machinery. The words on it immediately caught his eye:

In ancient times, before the world was divided, it was shrouded in a great fog. There were gray rocks, towering trees, and immortal ancient dragons everywhere.

Then, one day, the First Flame was lit. As the fire rose, the world began to change.

... "

-

Trier, White Maple Palace.

Inside the restaurant, Russell sat at the head of the table, Bernadette sat to his left, and Bonova sat to his right.

It was a family dinner, but it clearly lacked the atmosphere of one.

Bernadette cut a medium-rare black pepper steak, elegantly bringing the small piece of beef to her mouth, letting the aroma and juices linger in her mouth.

But she never looked at her father or brother, as if they were two familiar strangers.

Russell was deeply hurt by his daughter's growing distance.

Just two days ago you risked your life to save him, how come you've changed your attitude so quickly? Aren't I your beloved father?

Russell sadly poured himself a glass of red wine, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

The bitter wine hurts my throat and my heart aches!

pain!It hurts so much!

Russell downed his drink in one gulp, then picked up another bottle of red wine, suddenly looked at Bonois and asked:

"Would you like a drink?"

Bonova remained silent, as he always had, proving through his actions that silence was golden.

But faced with his 'father's' question, he had no reason to refuse, so he pushed the cup closer to Russell.

Rosell glanced at him and asked indifferently:

"Pour the wine."

Bonova looked up at her elderly father, then at her sister across from her, and seemed to understand something.

He stood up, picked up the wine bottle and poured a glass for his elderly father, then poured one for himself and took a sip.

Suddenly, Bonova and Bernadette stopped moving at the same time.

The former put down the wine glass he was about to drink, while the latter put the sliced ​​steak back on his plate and looked up at the sky.

Even Roselle seemed to sense something and looked towards the darkness outside White Maple Palace.

Bernadette said softly:

"The Hidden Sage has fallen."

The Hidden Sage is not an ordinary angel; His essence is "uniqueness" brought to life under the principles of the Ascetic Order of Morth. It is precisely based on the principles of the Ascetic Order of Morth that the Hidden Sage is more "generous" than any other deity—He never hesitates to impart knowledge to His followers and to any extraordinary being on the Hermit's Path, whether they need it or not.

Any extraordinary individual who has followed the "Hermit" path will feel a pair of eyes constantly watching them, trying to impart to them the most secret knowledge of the world.

As a Sequence 2 angel, Bernadette was not immune to this either; in fact, she received even more attention because of her angelic power.

But just now, along with the strange movements in the astral realm, the pair of eyes that had been watching her suddenly vanished without a trace!

There is only one explanation: the Hidden Sage has fallen!

The only question is, who can kill this being who is only one step away from becoming a true god?

Bonova paused for a moment, then turned to Rosell and slowly began to speak:

"Our Lord has issued a divine decree: the Steam Church will fully support your restoration of the Intis Empire."

What is meant by restoration?

Rosell scoffed, "I'm just taking back what's rightfully mine!"

"Whether it's the Republic of Intis or the Empire of Intis, they are both the creations of your old man, me."

"But now, the Republic of Intis has deviated from the direction I initially envisioned, and this country needs to be corrected!"

Bonova did not answer, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Rosell looked at him, at his youngest son's indifferent eyes, and suddenly let out a cold laugh:

"The Steam Church, ah."

The Steam Church has two angels, at least publicly.

One was Bonova, and the other was the great sage Kaul.

The former was his youngest son, who was preordained at birth by the God of Steam and Machinery as a tool to counterbalance him. Of course, on the other hand, it was also because Bonova truly possessed extremely high talent, enabling him to go very far on the path of the extraordinary.

If it weren't for Bonova's exceptional talent, the Steam Church would have abandoned him long before his death.

The latter, Belisarius Caul.

He was an orphan who was adopted by the Steam Church.

Russell had a profound influence on Caul's life as he grew up. At that time, Russell was still naive and held the idea that "he can be replaced," and Caul was a thorn in his side.

Unfortunately, he underestimated the power of faith and overestimated his own importance in Kaul's heart.

Even so, Russell still had an indelible influence on Caul.

For example, the reason why Kaul was able to rise to the rank of Sequence 2 angel and become a great sage of the Steam Church in just over a decade was also thanks to Roselle—he had been corrupted by the 'Fallen Mother Goddess' at that time, but thanks to the help of the 'Dark Moon', he was still able to regain occasional clarity.

Before ascending to the Black Emperor, he risked infiltrating the Church of St. Rosell and killed the Triple Crowned One, the first Great Sage of the Steam Church. The Sequence 2 Extraordinary trait left behind by the fallen opponent ultimately made him the Great Sage Kaul he is today.

He made Caul successful, but Caul could not make him successful in return.

Just as he made the Church of Steam and Machinery successful and created the God of Steam and Machinery, the Church of Steam betrayed him. Therefore, Roselle had long been prepared to confront the Church of Steam.

He could already foresee the enormous resistance he would face from the Steam Church in the process of rebuilding the empire.

However, the god of steam and machinery has now personally sent down a divine decree, ordering the steam church to cooperate with him.

This couldn't possibly be a sign of the god of steam and machinery having a change of heart; it could only mean that the other party had more important things to do and couldn't be disturbed.

With the fall of the Hidden Sage, the purpose of the God of Steam and Machines becomes clear—He is seeking to become a dual-path true god and does not want to be disturbed in any way during this period, so He is willing to make the Steam Church make huge concessions to Roselle!

Rosell's azure eyes suddenly deepened, and he said in a low voice:

"Although the Hidden Sage is not a true god, he is not far off. If he were so easy to deal with, he would not have been active since the Fourth Epoch. Therefore, someone must be secretly helping the Lord of Steam."

"Adam?"

(End of this chapter)