Mystery: The Witch of Desire

After all, the two of them are only Sequence 8 right now. If they join now, they might be taken advantage of by the old fox, the Hanged Man.

It might be better to wait until they advance to Sequence 7, then share more knowledge with them through private transactions, and finally get them to join the Tarot Club.

Klein thought for a moment, then said calmly:

"This requires some investigation."

“Miss Justice, you made them aware of my name and piqued their interest in it in a discreet and undisclosed way.”

That's good, it allows for some buffer time...

Livre was fairly satisfied with Klein's answer.

Seeing that her suggestion was close to being adopted, Audrey responded excitedly:

"Yes, Mr. Fool!"

Seeing that the topic had ended, Livre cleared her throat and said:

"Mr. Fool, gentlemen, regarding the request I made last week for the Secret Prayer Sequence 7 Hermit Potion Recipe, I'm sorry, it has expired. I have already obtained the corresponding potion recipe."

Upon hearing this, Sun was slightly disappointed, as he was hoping to obtain the relevant potion formula in the future and exchange it with Miss Lover for the scarce resources in Silver City.

The Hanged Man unconsciously straightened his back, feeling somewhat wary of his lover's ability to obtain the potion formula so quickly.

Liviel subtly observed everyone's reactions, then smiled and said:

"However, I still need some other sequences of potion recipes."

"Hunter pathway Sequence 7 Arsonist, Diviner pathway Sequence 7 Magician, Apprentice pathway Sequence 7 Astrologer, Arbitrator pathway Sequence 7 Inquisitor. Potion recipes and ingredients for these four pathways, plus Hermit potion ingredients. If you possess them, you may trade with me; I will offer a satisfactory price."

The five potions that Livre proposed included those needed by Emily, Klein, Fors, Hugh, and Little White, and all of them happened to be Sequence 7. Their increased power would be of considerable benefit to Livre.

However, everyone in the Tarot Club was stunned when they heard Liviel's request.

Klein tapped the table lightly. Although he was somewhat surprised that his lover needed so many potions, he was still in a good mood because she had mentioned the magician's potion he needed.

The Hanged Man was stunned: Why did Miss Lover need so many potions? Could it be...?

Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him:

Miss Lover is the leader of a certain team!

Beautiful, powerful, and possessing an extraordinary aura, she has deep ties to the Witch Cult and travels the seas...

Could she be General Tracy, suffering from illness?!

The Hanged Man was startled by his own discovery, and at the same time, he became even more wary of his lover.

Sun didn't think too much about it; he simply analyzed what potion recipes and materials he could provide in exchange for what he needed.

After exchanging words for a while, the gathering ended. The Sun, the Hanged Man, and Justice returned to their respective places, while Klein and Livre remained above the gray fog, preparing to study Russell's diary in detail.

"How are things going in Backlund?"

Livre asked with a smile.

“Miss, you’ve made such a thoughtful arrangement…” Klein said gratefully. “I’ve settled in and am ready to start my work as a detective. I’ve looked at a few newspapers and plan to place an ad first…”

"A detective? Not bad." Lively smiled. "Now, you really are going to become Sherlock Holmes!"

"Becoming a detective is also to quickly uncover Backlund's underground network and investigate the matter of Ince Zangwell and Lanius as soon as possible..."

Klein spoke slowly, his brows furrowing unconsciously again.

"Let's not talk about that. Let's hurry up and read the diary. There's a lot of diary entries this time. I don't know if my spiritual ability can hold out until I finish reading it."

As he spoke, he conjured up an identical diary and handed it to his lover.

Livre lowered her gaze, eagerly reading the contents of the first page:

"On December 16th, we made contact again with that poor fellow who was trapped deep in the storm and lost in the darkness."

Finally, there was a follow-up to one of the notes from earlier... Klein was delighted and became even more focused:

"He called himself Mr. 'The Door' and tried to teach me a complex and difficult ritual to help him return to the real world, promising to fulfill three requests of me."

"Does he think I'm stupid? I've lived for over sixty years across two lifetimes, can't I see that this is the usual tactic of evil gods and demons?"

"But his descriptions of some of the history of the Quaternary period are really interesting."

Mr. "Door"... This naming style is quite like mine... I wonder what the real name of this poor fellow trapped in the depths of the storm, lost in the darkness, is, what sequence it corresponds to, or rather, is he indeed, as Emperor Roselle predicted, one of the evil gods and demons... Klein chuckled inwardly, half-muttering and half-self-deprecatingly, also quite interested in certain histories of the Fourth Epoch:

"I know about the most famous 'War of the Four Emperors' in the Fourth Age, but my knowledge of the specific details and key figures is limited to what is circulated by various churches, such as the 'Black Emperor' of the Solomon Empire."

"Until today, the so-called 'Door' finally cleared up my doubts and let me know who the remaining three of the Four Emperors are: the half-mad 'Blood Emperor' of the Tudor Dynasty, the 'Night Emperor' of the Terensost Empire, and the 'Underworld Emperor' of the Southern Continent, also known as the Grim Reaper."

"According to Mr. 'Men's' description, in this war that changed the entire world situation, the Black Emperor, the Blood Emperor, and the Night Emperor fell one after another, while the Underworld Emperor seized the greatest benefits."

"At this point, Mr. 'Door' added meaningfully, 'After more than a hundred years of digestion, Death has gone mad, but he has also become stronger. So he joined forces with the Primordial Witch to bring a 'Pale Disaster' to the Northern Continent. Of course, this is not something he saw or experienced with his own eyes, but rather what he heard every month when he approached the real world.'"

"Death has gone mad, but he's also become stronger!"

"Can gods go mad?"

"That's a truly chilling statement!"

"However, this also confirms one of my guesses: before the Fifth Era, those gods would often descend into the real world to directly interfere in the situation of the North and South continents, and might even personally intervene like the Grim Reaper."

"I asked Mr. 'Door' if he participated in the 'War of the Four Emperors'? If so, what role did he play? And what stance did the Seven Gods maintain in this war, and what role did they play?"

"Mr. 'Men' didn't answer my question, but simply said with a hint of amusement, 'There are far more top-tier powerhouses in the Fourth Era than I expected.'"

This is the longest entry in Russell's diary that Livre has ever read. It takes up two full pages. One can imagine that it originally existed in a double-sided format, but after being copied repeatedly, it became two separate pages.

"Wow, that's a lot of information..."

Having finished reading, Klein sighed and continued:

"According to the history textbooks in the university, the Solomon Empire, the Tudor Dynasty, and the Trensolite Empire were in a successor-substitute relationship, with some restorations in between. Who knew that Mr. 'Men's' description of the 'War of the Four Emperors' clearly revealed that three major dynasties once existed simultaneously!"

"If this is true, it will really overturn most of the current research on the Quaternary period in the historical community."

Klein suddenly remembered the original owner of the body, who was very interested in archaeology and exploring the history of the Quaternary period.

Livre continued thoughtfully:

"It's hard to say whether the Grim Reaper had become a true god during the 'Battle of the Four Emperors.' Based on Mr. 'Gate's' description, it's difficult to determine this. We can only assume that the 'Emperor of the Underworld' at that time, through the benefits he gained from the Battle of the Four Emperors, broke through the limitations and became a god, but he also went mad because of it..."

It's terrifying that even a god could go mad! Just thinking about the details sends shivers down my spine! No wonder even the well-informed Emperor Roselle described this event as horrifying…

Are these so-called evil gods just insane orthodox deities?

What if one day, only evil gods remain in the entire world...?

Hiss, does this mean the end of the world is coming?

Livre masked her growing somber mood with a smile, feeling that the future she imagined was shrouded in gloom.

At the same time, she raised her evaluation of the "Black Emperor," "Blood Emperor," and "Night Emperor," believing that they were already top-tier powerhouses close to gods.

Klein couldn't help but sigh:

"No wonder some of the unearthed documents refer to the Fourth Age as the 'Age of the Gods,' because there are many records of the gods descending during this age."

"Then what caused them to stop descending, and even the divine pronouncements have almost ceased?"

"If ritual magic didn't elicit a response, many extraordinary beings would probably doubt the existence of gods..."

Liviel and Klein suddenly expressed a lot of 'blasphemous' thoughts. If these words were uttered to the outside world, they would probably be enough to get the authorities to grant them several free rituals to advance to the status of Pain Witch.

Gathering her scattered thoughts, Livre began reading the third page of her diary:

"On September 10th, I had been holding back for a long time, but I still couldn't help but complain a few times."

"Was I out of my mind to choose the 'General Knowledge' pathway?"

"Of course, this can indeed bring out my greatest strengths and make me more valued by the church, but the problem is that several of the sequences before it lack practical extraordinary abilities and can only rely on magical items to make do. It is too dependent on external things."

"In comparison, the Sequence 7 'Wizard' and Sequence 6 'Scroll Professor' of the 'Secret Seeker' pathway are both tempting enough. If the Church had a complete set of sequences and if there were no Hidden Sages, that would be ideal."

"However, I did receive some good news. After my next promotion, I will gain a unique, combat-oriented ability: Sequence 5, 'Star Mage'!"

"Its modern name scares me a little; it's called 'Astronomer'..."

"Am I going to end up as an all-powerful, mad scientist?"

"Thank God, I only made it to the second-tier university entrance exam!"

It has to be said that Emperor Roselle has a strange talent for comedy; even Klein, who has been in low spirits lately, couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Study hard and make progress every day—that's truly a wise saying...

Liviel remarked, remembering the characteristics of the mainstream Beyonders of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery:

They lack practical combat skills, but are adept at crafting and using items.

Turning to the third page, which contained only one entry in the diary, Livre continued reading:

"On June 2nd, the kingdom repeatedly created chaos and provoked battles, but was unable to completely defeat its rivals such as the Fusak Empire. It was forced to shoulder a high debt, and its economy was on the verge of collapse."

"From what I've observed, the public, businessmen, and soldiers are all extremely dissatisfied; a riot is just a spark away! This is my chance."

“But I must be cautious enough. The Soren family has witnessed the history of the Fourth Epoch. It is an ancient family and may very well have powerful individuals with high-sequence abilities. I need to gain the support of the Church and reach a certain understanding with the Church of the Eternal Sun.”

“I cannot step forward directly. I must first let the rebels disrupt the order, and then end it all as a protector. Consul Rosell Gustav, I like this title.”

"On June 3, after discussing with Edwards and the others, we abandoned the idea of ​​reaching a tacit understanding with the Church of the Eternal Sun. This could expose my true intentions and allow the Soren family and the old nobles who support them to find out in advance and make targeted arrangements. That would make things very difficult and dangerous."

"It's a pity that Green died in the Sea of ​​Mist. He was the smartest one among us."

"Let it be chaotic, let it be chaotic! Only when things are in complete chaos can I have a chance to fish in troubled waters! Only when the Soren family can no longer control the situation will the Church of the Eternal Sun reluctantly acknowledge me!"

"Perhaps I should offer some help to those traitors, but how can I do it discreetly, how can I prevent others from noticing?"

"On June 4th, Zarathustra of the secret order secretly visited me, which was very sudden."

……

“I need to send people to investigate the secret society and get more information. We can’t be as passive as before, and we can’t let Zarathustra lead us by the nose anymore.”

……

What happened next? Livre was curious about Zarathustra's purpose in seeking out Roselle on the eve of the rebellion and coup, only to find that the following two pages of notes were unrelated to this.

This overwhelmed her with an uncontrollable sense of frustration. However, she also understood something from it, and looked at Klein:

"So, you're going to commission the Hanged Man and his group to find information about the Secret Order?"

Klein nodded:

"Yes, I've always felt that the secret society's notebook, and the organization itself, are closely connected to the divination path. I've received hints about it in several divinations and dreams..."

Livre nodded slightly and continued reading the rest of the diary.

Although the remaining diary entries did not contain many detailed descriptions, but were simply the straightforward accounts of the people involved, they still allowed Livre to feel the turbulent events of the famous Intis incident in 1173, more than a hundred years ago.

History textbooks clearly record the outcome: Rosell, as colonel, quelled the rebellion, seized power, and transformed the Kingdom of Intis into a republic, appointing himself consul.

Over the next 19 years, he reformed the legal code, encouraged invention, and safeguarded the Industrial Revolution, greatly enhancing the nation's strength. He also waged wars in the south and north, bringing countries such as Remnburg, Masic, and Segal under his protection, and causing the three powerful northern continental nations of the Fussac Empire, the Kingdom of Loen, and the Kingdom of Feneport to submit one after another.

As he approached the end of 1192, nearing the end of his 20th year as consul, Rosell transformed the republic into an empire and proclaimed himself Caesar.

Less than six years later, he perished in White Maple Palace, ending the most legendary chapter of the Fifth Age to date.

“It looks just like the history of the Roman Republic’s transformation into an empire…” Livre remarked, “And Huang Tao’s self-designation as Caesar clearly shows that he was aware of this.”

There is nothing new under the sun; human history is a cycle.

Klein shrugged, his two simple sentences revealing his keyboard warrior nature.

“However, Russell’s death may not be as simple as it seems on the surface…” He paused, then continued, “There must have been a power struggle among extraordinary individuals and a rebalancing of supernatural forces behind this famous event, and it is not the same as the description in the textbook.”

The subsequent entries in the diary didn't contain much useful information. After exchanging words with Klein, Livre told him about her thoughts on accepting money:

"In the future, when you receive payment, you can ask them to transfer the money to my anonymous account in the name of the benefactor."

Chapter 201 Reunion with the Mistress

Klein was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head somewhat awkwardly and said:

"Why should the money be transferred to your anonymous account? I actually have an anonymous account too..."

Livre straightened her back and said righteously:

"Because you need my help to accomplish many things, why not just transfer the money to my account and I'll allocate it? Don't worry, I won't let you suffer any losses... Besides, how could you dare refuse the request of your savior?"

Her eyes crinkled into a charming smile, yet she exuded an air of self-righteousness, making Klein swallow hard. He truly didn't know how to refuse, and could only sigh helplessly.