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

"Adam?"

Roselle frowned slightly. Any being capable of hunting down the Hidden Sages for the Lord of Steam must also be a Sequence 0 True God. In the current world, there are quite a few beings capable of doing this, but few with the motive.

The only things Roselle could think of were the Twilight Hermits and Adam.

Before his resurrection, Adam was already a true god of the Dreamer pathway, and even the Eternal Sun died at His hands. Now, Adam is most likely a dual-path true god, so it's not surprising that the Lord of Steam could obtain the extraordinary characteristics of the Hidden Sage if He intervened.

But this may not be good news for him.

Admittedly, to avoid being disturbed, the God of Steam and Machinery compelled the Steam Church to compromise and cooperate in rebuilding the Intis Empire. However, once the God of Steam and Machinery has completed his assimilation, as a dual-path true god, he will likely find it difficult to tolerate Roselle sharing power with him, and conflict between them is almost inevitable.

In other words, Roselle must advance to Sequence 0 before he can be qualified to contend with the God of Steam and Machines!

To achieve this, drastic measures are necessary.

With the full support of the Steam Church, this isn't difficult; the only problem lies in...

Rosell looked at Bernadette, his eyes showing some struggle.

Bernadette asked softly:

"Are you going to become the Black Emperor again?"

"Yes."

Rosell remained silent for a long time, then nodded solemnly and said in a deep voice:

"I had no other choice!"

Bernadette's deep blue eyes flickered slightly, as if lost in a long memory; her voice was soft but devoid of any emotion:

"I used to hate you."

In order to become the "Black Emperor," you did too many things that went against the tide of the times and harmed innocent people. I cannot accept that my father, who was like a hero in my heart, has become a crazy tyrant...

Rosell remained silent, seemingly unsure how to explain.

But Bernadette's expression softened, and she said softly:

"But this time, Dad, I will support you, no matter what you do!"

Russell's madness in his later years was visible to the naked eye; he had almost completely lost his mind. This was not because someone had splashed dirty water on him, but because Bernadette witnessed it herself, which is why she abandoned him and hated him.

But now she understands his situation back then, understands the despair, pain and loneliness he endured, understands that he was like a drowning man, just instinctively and desperately struggling.

So for all this time, Bernadette has been regretting it.

She regretted that if she had noticed the corruption in Rosell sooner, if she had realized sooner that his madness was not his true intention, if she had stayed by Rosell's side instead of leaving... if she had been more rational, perhaps everything would be different now.

She couldn't solve Russell's pollution problem, but at least she could make her father's later years less lonely and hopeless.

Rosell's eyes were somewhat moved, his expression complex as he looked at Bernadette. After a long while, he whispered:

Bernadette.

"Hmm?" The woman tilted her head in confusion, just like when she was a child.

"You've grown up," Roselle said with a touch of emotion, her voice filled with wistfulness.

In his memory, Bernadette was still that obedient and considerate little girl.

She was beautiful, well-behaved, and intelligent from a young age. She was filial to her father, caring for her younger brother, and tender towards her mother. At times, she was exceptionally upright, which sometimes made her seem a little naive. Several times, he secretly cheated on Bernadette while playing chess or games, teasing her without her even noticing.

This temperament made it difficult for her to accept the things he did in his later years, and now all of this can be attributed to the "Fallen Mother Goddess," all because of Her corruption. In this respect, Roselle should even thank Her.

However, while Bernadette could forgive his past actions, it was because everything was blamed on the "Fallen Mother"—everything he did was caused by the "Fallen Mother's" corruption, it was all the "Fallen Mother's" fault!

However, this does not mean that Bernadette would support him to become the Black Emperor again, because in Bernadette's eyes, this would be equivalent to repeating the same mistakes.

So from the beginning, Russell never expected Bernadette to support him.

Russell believed that Bernadette's return was mostly to dissuade him.

It wasn't until Bernadette said "I will support you" that Russell suddenly realized his daughter had truly grown up!

Faced with her father's pleased praise, Bernadette made no comment, but simply said softly:

"However, I still don't like war."

Rosell immediately raised his hands and solemnly promised:

"There will be no war, I promise."

Leaving aside the question of whether Intis, having just experienced a defeat in a war, could afford to launch another, let's consider the hypothetical scenario: even if Intis had the resources to wage war, from whom could he wage it?

The Fussac Empire has been completely taken over by the Church of the Night, and the Kingdom of Feneport has also turned against them. Looking around, the entire northern continent is filled with their own people. How can they fight like this? Can they launch a war against the natives of the southern continent? It's not impossible, but there's no need for it.

After all, "war" is the main theme of the "Red Priest" path, not the "Black Emperor" path.

Of course, the absence of war does not mean the absence of bloodshed.

Ultimately, what Russell is doing now is a coup d'état aimed at restoring the republic, and what coup d'état is without bloodshed?

Bernadette was clearly prepared for this, which is why she didn't intend to stop Roselle.

Just as Russell said, she had grown up and was no longer as innocent as she once was.

They have become more rational, and also more pragmatic.

Russell was somewhat relieved; his daughter's understanding made him happy, but for some reason, he was also a little sad. He still missed his sweet little girl.

Snapped!

The knife sliced ​​through the steak and landed softly on the porcelain plate with a crisp sound.

The sound wasn't loud, but it seemed particularly noisy in a quiet atmosphere, even giving the impression of being deliberately loud.

Russell and Bernadette both looked toward the source of the sound, while the culprit himself was completely unaware, leisurely bringing a slice of steak to his mouth.

Rosell glared at him angrily, looking at him with displeasure. "Can't you see your father is getting along with your sister? Why are you causing trouble here?"

Bonova swallowed the juicy steak in his mouth, still looking bewildered by Russell's angry expression.

You guys talk your thing, what does it have to do with him?

Seeing his son like this, Rosell's anger subsided considerably, and he let out a long sigh.

"never mind."

Why should he bother arguing with someone who doesn't understand human nature?

Ultimately, isn't Bonova's transformation partly due to his own actions?

Russell pushed the plate of roasted lamb leg toward Bonois and said in a gentle tone:

Eat more.

Bonova did not refuse, picked up the roasted lamb leg, brought it to his mouth, and took a bite.

Rich, scalding meat juices seeped out, their slightly hot texture washing over his mouth.

Russell's feelings toward Bonova have always been complicated.

On one hand, he was indifferent, disappointed, and resentful, but on the other hand, he would occasionally care about him secretly. He still remembered Bonova when he was a child, in the first few years after his birth, he was really cute... If it weren't for the interference of the Lord of Steam, he would probably be his good son, instead of an emotionless angel.

Russell's expression turned somewhat gloomy at the thought.

The God of Steam and Machinery seeks to ascend to the dual-pathway to Godhood, but He does not need all the extraordinary traits of the 'Hermit' path; He only needs uniqueness and one of the Sequence 1 extraordinary traits. In other words, there will be two redundant Sequence 1 'Knowledge Emperor' extraordinary traits.

These two Sequence 1 extraordinary properties will, without any surprise, be given to the two angels of the Steam Church, Bonova and Caul.

Russell turned his gaze to Bonova and asked:

"You just said the Steam Church would fully support me, right?"

"That's right."

Bonova put down the roasted lamb leg and nodded slightly.

Rosell immediately spoke up:

"I want two copies of the 'Knowledge Emperor's' extraordinary attributes, right now!"

While the Lord of Steam can still issue divine decrees, he must make his demands as soon as possible, lest the other party feign death!

Bonova paused for two seconds, then spoke:

"I will consult my Lord."

Russell said without hesitation:

"Ask your permission now. I only have one minute."

He was determined to have this extraordinary property; the Lord of Steam would give it to him whether he wanted it or not!

Bonova quickly received the oracle, looked at his father, and asked:

"What price are you willing to pay?"

"What price do I need to pay?"

Roselle scoffed, then sneered, "Tell the Lord of Steam that you don't want to see the Church of Steam wiped out by me, do you?"

Bernadette's gaze was somewhat subtle, while Bonova showed no reaction, simply relaying the information truthfully.

And this threat was clearly quite successful.

Since the Lord of Steam is going to digest the uniqueness of the 'Hermit' path, he will inevitably be affected by the 'Original' revival, which means that he will have to spend more energy to suppress the original will.

In doing so, He was unable to issue divine pronouncements or oversee the steam church.

The Steam Church, consisting only of Sequence 2, is clearly no match for Rosell, who is only Sequence 1. If Rosell is truly willing to risk mutual destruction to annihilate the Steam Church, then the Lord of Steam will have to face a difficult choice—

Either abandon 'digestion' and use divine power to suppress Roselle.

But if that happens, all our previous efforts will be in vain.

Not only will the 'original' will be further revived, but the assimilation of the 'hermit' path will also have to start from scratch.

Alternatively, the Lord of Steam could choose to focus on digesting the "Hermit" pathway first, but the consequence would be the destruction of the Steam Church by Rosell.

As a result, the Lord of Steam might lack sufficient "anchors" to oppose divinity due to the destruction of the Steam Church, and His humanity would be crushed, becoming the "original" resurrected shell.

Of course, the Lord of Steam could also choose to preemptively strike Roselle before he begins to digest the 'Hermit' pathway, nipping the threat in the bud—but the current optimal solution is to deal with the person who raised the problem, and there will be no problem at all.

The problem is that a Sequence 1 angel is not so easy to kill, even if He is a Sequence 0 true god.

Moreover, Roselle was not alone; he had the support of other true gods.

If the Lord of Steam were to rashly attack him, the likely outcome would be a divine war. However, before digesting the 'Hermit' pathway and becoming a dual-path True God, a divine war is undoubtedly something the Lord of Steam desperately wants to avoid.

Otherwise, He would not have issued the oracle, ordering the Steam Church to compromise with Roselle.

This divine decree appeared to be a gesture of goodwill, but also a sign of submission; the Lord of Steam clearly did not want to cause any further trouble.

Now that we've found the Lord of Steam's weakness, it's time to strike while the iron is hot!

Bonova closed his eyes for a long time, then slowly opened them and calmly said:

"My Lord promised you one of the extraordinary qualities of the 'Emperor of Knowledge,' and another has already been bestowed upon me. If you wish, I can give you this one as well."

"Tsk."

Rosell was immediately annoyed. The God of Steam and Machinery was still using the same old tricks, only threatening him with his son.

One serving, please.

Russell extended his hand to Bonova and said calmly, "Give it to me now."

Bonova didn't shy away from the fact that he prayed to the god of steam and machinery on the spot.

Soon, a phantom ball of light appeared in his palm.

Bernadette subconsciously looked at the ball of light, which seemed to be composed of one illusory symbol after another. Each symbol contained a vast amount of knowledge, which inevitably aroused longing and a greedy thirst for this knowledge, even if this knowledge was enough to burst their heads!

Russell took the ball of light from Bonova and casually tossed it to Bernadette.

Rosell said in a deep voice:

"Prepare for the ceremony as soon as possible."

"it is good."

Bernadette nodded silently, vaguely understanding what her father wanted to do.

Rosell watched Bonova silently as he, through prayer, once again received an extraordinary attribute of the "Knowledge Emperor." Bonova handed the extraordinary attribute to Rosell, his expression utterly calm, seemingly unmoved by this Sequence 1 extraordinary attribute.

Russell stared intently at his son, not reaching out to take him.

The extraordinary properties of two Sequence 1 copies are sufficient to support the birth of an Angel King.

Even the King of Angels could not contend against a dual-path True God.

Therefore, it makes no sense to have Bernadette refine two Sequence 1 extraordinary properties.

In comparison, if he could defeat the God of Steam and Machines, the extraordinary characteristics of the 'Perfect One' and 'Hermit' paths would fall into his hands, and then Bernadette could completely take the 'Perfect One' path to become a god!

Of course, Rosell knew that defeating the Lord of Steam wouldn't be easy. He needed to first return to Sequence 0, and then, through the 'Judgment' pathway, become a dual-path True God. Only then could he contend with the Lord of Steam and have any hope of killing him!

Don't ask why it's necessary to kill the Lord of Steam, because Roselle holds grudges!

The grudge from over a hundred years ago is still vivid in his mind!

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river."

"You, Lord of Steam, may sit on the throne of this god of machines, but I, Roselle's daughter, cannot?"