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Thinking of this, Aaron's thoughts paused slightly. He suddenly thought of a possibility:
"That Iron-Blooded Knight from the Einhorn Family wouldn't also be harboring this thought, would he?"
"If that's really the case, then he should have a Sequence 3 Beyonder characteristic in his hands, or a corresponding Grade 1 Sealed Artifact."
"Then the scale of this war will grow larger and larger until it satisfies his advancement ritual, and there's also the Rose School of Thought's involvement in this…"
Aaron raised his head and saw the solemn expression on Gusman Weil's face. As an Iron-Blooded Knight, he obviously also thought of these things.
After a moment of contemplation, Gusman said to Soro Bint, who was standing quietly by the side, silently:
"Solo, you, Darren Sheroto, and Harland Rooney, who are already in the Southern Continent, the three of you will still follow Aaron and obey his command."
Soro Bint, who had been silent, raised his head as if to say something, but was interrupted by Gusman's wave.
Aaron frowned slightly, immediately recalling the information he had obtained from the Red Priest card.
Compared to the advancement of demigods from other Pathways, Hunter can be said to be the easiest tier. It only requires a battle team to be cultivated personally, sharing life and death.
Correspondingly, as part of the ritual, the members of this team are the Iron-Blooded Knight's anchors, helping to digest the potion and maintaining the self-cognition of the advanced Beyonder who first obtains divinity, preventing loss of control.
Conversely, the Iron-Blooded Knight can also enhance the team's combat power, and even create a mystical connection between each member of the team.
Angel-level Hunters can even summon each other through team members. In other words, even if alone and separated by vast distances, each person is actually equivalent to being with the team.
As the price of a relatively simple advancement ritual, or rather the inevitable risk, the death of every member serving as the Iron-Blooded Knight's anchor will shake the Iron-Blooded Knight's self-cognition.
Others might not be clear, but Aaron knew that his father's advancement ritual team back then was the current Duke's Guard.
And as the Deputy Captain of the Duke's Guard, a Sequence 5 Mentor of Disorder, Soro Bint, from every aspect, could provide his father with a lot of help.
With this in mind, Aaron spoke:
"Father, the situation in the Southern Continent is unclear. Feysac and the Rose School of Thought have already made their moves. Once the situation becomes deadlocked, Intis will probably also try to fish in troubled waters."
"I can leave Darren Sheroto and Harland Rooney, but you must take Soro Bint with you. You must maintain your best state and fully unleash your strength."
Aaron gestured, and a burly giant, estimated to be over two meters tall, slowly walked over from the hunting ground, knelt on one knee, and said in a booming voice:
"Respected Duke and Lord Aaron, please feel free to give any commands."
Aaron smiled and shook his head, helping up the burly giant with distinct Southern Continent features:
"Boyer Baillet, I've said it many times, we are not master and servant, we are friends, and you don't need to kneel to me."
Boyer Baillet raised his thick, broad hand and scratched his slightly simple face, grinning:
"My life was saved by the family. I don't understand big principles, but I have two wishes."
"One is to avenge my deceased family and friends, and one day personally kill Undead King Agalito."
"The other is to forever be loyal to the East Tucker Family, to repay the kindness of saving my life and the family's cultivation over the years."
Seeing him say this, Aaron sighed and stopped persuading, turning to introduce him to his father, Gusman Weil:
"Boyer Baillet, the captain of my newly formed personal guard, a Sequence 5 Guardian."
"Before, I mentioned to the family that I wanted someone strong enough, loyal enough, and knowledgeable enough about the Southern Continent to be the captain of my personal guard."
"And he has extremely rich combat experience in the Southern Continent and understands the situation there very well. After comprehensive consideration, I finally chose him."
Gusman Weil scrutinized Boyer Baillet, who had a faint glow like the morning light on his body, for a moment, then slowly nodded.
Then he looked at Aaron and asked:
"Are you all ready? When do you plan to depart?"
Aaron waved his hand, signaling Boyer Baillet to leave, then replied:
"Next week, I will depart in early February. However, before that, I still need to go to Constant City in Midseashire County. There's a spoils of war that I haven't recovered yet."
"Hmm, I also don't know what Beyonder materials and Sealed Artifacts are left from Flora Jacob's lineage? I hope they can bring me some surprises." Aaron muttered to himself at the same time.
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Loen Midseashire County, Constant City, Constant Industrial University.
Lawrence Nord, with his silver hair and wrinkled face, slowly walked out of the campus, turned his head to look at the place where he had worked for so long, and sighed softly.
He came today to complete the official resignation procedures. The surface reason was his frail health, making him unable to hold the position of public school teacher. The actual reason was that the frequent blood moons this year had almost completely destroyed his body.
Lawrence walked with faltering steps through this purely industrial city, passing towering blast furnaces, chimneys, and tall buildings, and arrived at a two-story building by the Marris River.
Lawrence opened the mailbox with hopeful anticipation, found a letter inside, and his smile immediately froze.
He had recognized this letter; it was the one he had written to Laboro and Annelise last week, appearing untouched in the mailbox. There was only one possibility.
That was, the postman could not find Laboro and Annelise, and had to return the letter.
Lawrence stood for a long time before opening the door and going up to the second floor. He took out a palm-sized notebook from the compartment. Its cover looked very hard, copper-green, and appeared quite ancient.
On the cover, there was a line of words written in ancient Feysac:
"I came, I saw, I recorded."
Looking at this Mystical Item, which was also the symbol of his lineage's identity, Lawrence slowly sat down, muttering in pain:
"Where did Laboro and Annelise go… Richard died at the hands of the Aurora Order… Sam doesn't want to contact us at all, doesn't want to bear the responsibility of the surname…"
"Is the Abraham Family really going to slowly die out like this?"
Then he uncontrollably recalled the Abraham Family's suffering over the years.
After the disaster brought by the Aurora Order, the reconstructed Abraham Family Elder Council reflected on their past actions over many years, but could not find a solution to the problem.
Negative, despondent, and despairing emotions enveloped the few remaining family members.
Lawrence was unwilling to stay in such an environment, nor was he willing to face sighs and a depressing atmosphere every day, plus he didn't know how much longer his body could hold out.
He had just decided to leave Constant City and planned to come to Backlund to seek out another half-brother, Laboro, and a step-brother, Sam.
Now, he suddenly found that he couldn't contact Laboro.
And he himself was nearly eighty years old, and all his children had died in the disaster brought by Botis.
Just recalling these things filled him with overwhelming sorrow.
What pained him most was seeing no hope for revenge, no dawn for the family's glory to reappear.
"I am already very old, and my physical condition is extremely poor now. Unless absolutely necessary, I dare not use Beyonder abilities anymore, as that would lead to loss of control, or bring down a curse…"
"Where exactly does the future of the Abraham Family lie?" Lawrence fell into a long silence.
On the other side of Constant City, west of the industrial district.
In a luxuriously decorated room, at a dining table laden with various delicacies, a strange figure sat at the head of the table.
This figure wore a formal three-piece suit, a semi-tall silk top hat, and a bizarre mask on his face.
The mask's mouth was stretched wide, almost to the ears, and it remained open, as if to swallow everything its two eyes saw.
This figure had an extremely elegant demeanor, with a scholarly air, but his hand movements were as fast as afterimages. In just a moment, a table full of food was reduced to empty plates.
A hint of satisfaction finally appeared on the strange mask. A young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses slowly walked in, personally collected all the empty plates, and as he turned, revealed a room full of empty plates behind him.
The figure with the strange mask nodded in satisfaction:
"Well done. Hmm, I might be going out for a while recently, so the Psychology Alchemists in Constant City will be temporarily under your charge."
The young man paused slightly, then joy and gratitude appeared on his face, and he replied excitedly:
"I will certainly live up to your expectations, Councilor Howard-Philip."
Ignoring the young man, Mr. Gluttony, Howard-Philip, a member of the Psychology Alchemists' Council responsible for Constant City in the Loen Kingdom, turned his head to look out the window.
A smile, whether mocking or wary, appeared on the strange mask.
His illusory figure had already arrived on the street outside. People came and went on the street, but no one noticed his strangely dressed appearance, and they also avoided the central area.
A large carriage was parked there, and the coachman was an ordinary middle-aged man wearing an old top hat and a dark jacket.
However, in Howard's eyes, the coachman simply did not exist, because he had no corresponding spiritual island or conscious activity.
In other words, the coachman was just an illusion, a dummy. The master of the carriage was the horse itself.
Howard curled his lips slightly and walked over. The carriage door creaked open.
"Mr. Gluttony, you're late." A low male voice came from inside.
The mouth on Howard's mask stretched even wider. He boarded the carriage and saw a gentleman sitting in a black wheelchair.
His pale yellow eyebrows were long, his hair was neatly combed back, and there were a few wrinkles on his forehead. His face had an abnormal paleness.
"Oh, President, I just ate a bit more. You shouldn't have to come and pick me up yourself, should you?"
The President of the Psychology Alchemists, Barros Hopkins, rubbed the wheels on both sides of his seat and said:
"This meeting is still very important, and it will only officially begin once everyone is present."
Mr. Gluttony Howard remained silent, neither responding nor sitting down. The carriage had unknowingly arrived at a city shrouded in night, "Eden."
In the city, magnificent buildings with a mysterious and dark aura stood tall, and "pedestrians" symbolizing bestial desires walked about.
They either wore top hats and trench coats, or exquisite and complex dark long dresses, trying their best to imitate humans in every detail, but they could not truly be like humans.
The carriage drove under the dim night, passing among these "pedestrians" and various Gothic buildings, and soon arrived at the central church of the city.
This church was over eighty meters high, supported by black giant pillars. Each giant pillar was inlaid with a certain number of skulls, some from humans, some from different creatures, but all their hollow eyes were directed downwards, as if watching every living being entering the church.
Stepping out of the carriage and through the main entrance, one entered a grand but empty hall.
In the depths of the hall, a huge cross stood, and a grey-white dragon statue was coiled around the cross.
In front of the dragon statue, a small long table was placed, with five chairs on each side. Only the top and side positions were still empty.
Barros Hopkins maneuvered his wheelchair to the top of the long table, and Mr. Gluttony Howard sat indifferently in the seat beside him.
Hvin Rambis, wearing a grey-white Pride mask, spoke faintly:
"Mr. Gluttony seems to have no sense of time. We have been waiting for you for a long time."
Howard glanced at him, chuckled strangely, and said mockingly:
"Oh, oh, oh, who do I think it is?"
"It turns out to be Mr. Pride, who almost got killed last time. My apologies, my apologies."
Then he changed to a serious tone and added:
"Although you narrowly escaped last time, I have a premonition that you will definitely be the first among us to die. My premonitions are quite accurate, so you should be careful!"
Hvin Rambis looked at the mask with its mocking expression, his fingers clenched, and the Pride mask emitted a faint glow.
The other Psychology Alchemists' Council members wearing other personality masks remained silent, neither helping nor stopping, as if they were already used to it.
Barros Hopkins raised his hands, clasped them, and rested them on the surface of the long table:
"Enough. First, let's share our respective intelligence, then discuss matters."
Mr. Greed, who was responsible for Saint Milon, the Capital of Feysac, and whose mouth was stretched to his ears but not open, and whose eyes were closed, spoke first:
"According to the President's arrangement, the war between Loen's East Tucker Family and Feysac's royal Einhorn Family in West Balam has officially begun. Both sides are increasing their stakes, and everything is going smoothly."
Barros Hopkins nodded, then looked at Mr. Lust, who was responsible for Trier, the Capital of Intis.
Mr. Lust, whose eyes were sunken to the middle of his nose, as if looking up at people, nodded and then spoke:
"My manipulation failed. Someone intervened to stop my actions. Intis will not participate for now, only observe. If we want them to act, we can only offer greater benefits."
Barros Hopkins frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and said:
"No need. The Einhorn Family can already make the East Tucker Family reveal their true strength. They have long wanted to swallow the East Tucker Family."
"George III is very eager to know the true state of Varna Weil, that Fourth Epoch Angel. Since He is willing to pay the price, then we will help our partners."
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