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North… Cavendish followed High Priest Nim's gaze and turned his head to look in the other direction of the gray-white barrier. The silver-white electric arcs, which occasionally flashed in the night, seemed to deliberately avoid that area.
The environment of the Forsaken Land of the Gods and the existence of the gray-white barrier greatly interfered with his spiritual intuition, but knowing the general direction was enough.
He did not continue to inquire Moon City about the records concerning the Sanguine Holy City, "Camilla." After the Cataclysm, Moon City had never explored that area again, and no one would know the situation before the Cataclysm better than the Sanguine themselves.
Withdrawing his gaze and looking back at the gray-white barrier in front of him, Cavendish took a step back. Under High Priest Nim's slightly nervous gaze, he reached forward and retrieved several items for the Sacrifice and Bestowal Ceremony from the mists of history.
With his current identity, there was actually no need to do any of this. The great "Lord of Order" did not care whether this general, who was most likely to advance to Angel under his command, performed the complete ritual process. However, the residents of Moon City were right before his eyes.
Whether it was to propagate the Lord's faith or to facilitate subsequent actions, the majesty of the God had to be fully displayed.
Watching Cavendish's completed ritual, High Priest Nim's body suddenly stiffened, and his pupils contracted sharply, having recognized the ritual being performed.
It was precisely the ritual that Moon City had continuously used to pray for a response from the Omnipotent and Omniscient Creator for three thousand seven hundred and twenty years.
A trembling conjecture immediately emerged in his heart, and respectful, even pious, prayers immediately resounded:
"You are the Source and Shadow of Order."
"You are the great Emperor of the Realm of Chaos."
"You are the Lord of Order who governs rules."
"Your loyal believers implore Your gaze;"
"Implore You to accept their Worships;"
"Implore You to open the Door of the Kingdom;"
In the Nation of Disorder, seeing the suddenly expanding dark-gold vortex from which the prayers emanated, Aaron raised the true "Sun Chaser Scepter" and effortlessly incorporated the Black Emperor card into his body. In front of him floated a bat token jointly condensed by three Sanguine Dukes.
If he were to obtain the Beyonder characteristic of a Miracle Invoker later, in order to maintain Cavendish's humanity after advancing to Angel and to resist the divine erosion brought by advancing to a complete mythical creature through the potion, he would have to prepare a certain number of believers as anchors in advance.
After leaving the "Moon Kingdom," Aaron had some discussions with Pallez Zoroast and Alvin Gallows.
Although the Zoroast family had perished in history, unlike Amon, who continuously created avatars to serve as anchors, the hunted Pallez did not have the conditions for this, nor did he dare to do so, to avoid being tracked.
He relied on the Trojan Horse of Destiny to exploit a loophole in destiny, stealing his past anchors. Since the object of the theft was himself, there was no possibility of failure.
However, the stolen anchors were unsatisfactory in both effect and duration, which was the fundamental reason why Pallez remained in a very poor state even after hiding for nearly a thousand years; he did not have a true anchor.
This level of destiny theft would also be restrained by Amon, who was already at the King of Angels level, making it easy for him to interfere and disrupt the hard-won balance Pallez Zoroast had established, leading to a certain degree of cognitive disorder.
This was also one of the reasons why Pallez, despite being a Sequence 1, always feared Amon, and would try to avoid him even in his avatar form.
Alvin Gallows was even simpler and cruder. The three hundred and sixty-five evil spirits of the Royal Guards of the City of the Dead, from the Fourth Epoch's Royal Guard, now suppressed within the "Gate of Rebirth" that he incorporated into his body, served as his anchors.
After communicating with these two Angels in special states, Aaron also learned that if an Angel was only at the Sequence 2 level, they did not necessarily need a large number of believers as anchors, as long as they could maintain the Angel's state of balance.
Although a few were special, for example, Will Auceptin could wash away madness through reset, which was the uniqueness of the Destiny Pathway. Even Azik only brought about the humanity accumulated deep within his soul through repeated rebirths.
Cavendish's identity dictated that he could not spread his faith externally for the time being, as it could lead to many complications. Although High-Sequence Seers could create puppet cities to replace a certain degree of anchors, the current Forsaken Land of the Gods was not peaceful, lacking the foundation to create puppet cities. Therefore, Moon City was currently the best choice.
The City of Silver was too close to the True Creator and the Giant King's Court, and Amon's avatar was lurking there. Aaron would not risk Cavendish going there without ample preparation.
Moreover, with the entire Forsaken Land of the Gods having been ravaged by Amon and "God of Wishes" Kotar, leaving only a few city-states, the City of Silver also needed to be reserved for Mr. Fool as a advancement ritual.
As his thoughts raced, spiritual power surged, mobilizing some of the power of the Nation of Disorder. Surging dark-gold mist gathered into waves, carrying the "Sun Chaser Scepter" and the bat token.
Below Aaron's throne, an exceptionally tall golden figure appeared, with pair after pair of blazing white giant wings growing from his back, a full twelve pairs! Each pair of wings had feathers inscribed with numerous mysterious symbols.
In stark contrast to the golden figure, a blood-colored Angel phantom appeared at the other end of the throne. Twelve pairs of bat wings also spread open, together covering the vast dome of the majestic palace.
Looking at his masterpiece, Aaron nodded with great satisfaction. Angels serving at all times—this was the grandeur a God should possess!
Having made preparations, Aaron no longer hesitated and opened the Door of Sacrifice and Bestowal.
At the edge of the gray-white barrier, the Moon City survivors, whether horrified, wary, or bewildered, suddenly saw a vision: within a magnificent palace enveloped by dark-gold mist, a figure hidden in the mist looked down upon everything.
At his feet, two kneeling Giants slowly rose, their twelve wings spreading like a canopy. Even though it was just a vision, the oppressive aura that assailed them accelerated High Priest Nim's heartbeat by several beats, let alone the other residents of Moon City.
Immediately after, the Angel enveloped in golden light gently vibrated the wings on his back, stirring the surging mist, and a golden feather floated down, drifting towards everyone who saw this scene.
An unprecedented purity and warmth filled everyone's hearts. Centered around the Door of Sacrifice and Bestowal, a thousand-meter radius was instantly enveloped by a golden ocean, yet the light did not spill outwards.
This was the "Ocean of Light." With Aaron's current status within the Nation of Disorder, he could fully exploit the power of this Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, deliberately controlling its range to prevent too much commotion from attracting unnecessary trouble.
Subconsciously raising his hand to block the warm but somewhat dazzling light, Bruce's wrinkled face was lost in a daze, watching everything around him illuminated by the light, seeing sights he had never witnessed before.
The Darkness that had enveloped Moon City for three thousand seven hundred and twenty years seemed to have quietly shattered in his heart, and something called hope began to take root and sprout.
High Priest Nim, who was closest to the Door of Sacrifice and Bestowal, vaguely recalled the God described in ancient texts and passed down by word of mouth by successive High Priests of Moon City: a God who emitted infinite light and brought infinite warmth!
Under the illumination of the clear light, wisps of distorted, struggling, seemingly self-aware illusory black gas evaporated from the bodies of these Moon City survivors, quickly dissipating.
After purifying the accumulated pollution and diseases within these potential believers, Aaron interrupted the vision, slightly raised his hand, and the blood-colored Angel suddenly disintegrated, transforming into a bat token that merged into the Door of Sacrifice and Bestowal.
The dark-gold double doors slowly opened, and the bat token flew out, instantly emitting an incredibly rich life force—this was one of the abilities of a Life-Giver.
The Moon City survivors, who had been immersed in the pure light, suddenly found their bodies undergoing changes.
A'dal, who had gone back to report and was now standing behind High Priest Nim, under the influence of that dense life force, after the pollution was expelled, the tumor on his face began to crack, ooze pus, lighten, shrink, and disappear. In the end, not even a scar remained.
Many of the deformed individuals in the group gained new life in an ineffable sensation. Their emotions, already prone to excitement, immediately knelt towards the altar, praying devoutly.
Unlike the Church of the Earth Mother's life alchemy, the Sanguine's Life-Giver was more skilled at transforming life itself, with many directions for transformation.
However, with Aaron's current abilities, relying on the bat token, he could only turn these mutated humanoids into true humans. Innate defects could only be partially repaired, not completely cured, but this was already enough.
High Priest Nim, who witnessed all of this, slowly lowered his head and, with a respectful and sincere attitude, asked Cavendish, who was holding the bat token and standing before the altar:
"Respected Divine Emissary, which existence does the Lord you worship belong to?"
Looking at the Moon City High Priest whose face was marked with distinct furrows, Cavendish replied with a majestic tone:
"That great existence is the Lord of Order who governs the Realm of Chaos, and I am merely a witness who acts on the will of the God. You may call me Cavendish."
Nim was silent for a moment. After the baptism just now, he had unconsciously developed a certain degree of faith in the "Lord of Order" mentioned by Cavendish.
Compared to the Creator who never responded to prayers and ignored Moon City's suffering, this existence was more like a God!
Taking a deep breath, he raised his head again, staring intently at this witness who claimed to act on the will of the God, and said with some urgency:
"Is the great 'Lord of Order' a God from this world—no, from beyond this cursed land?"
Cavendish nodded solemnly and slowly:
"Yes."
"Then… what about the great Sun God, the Lord who created everything?" Nim hesitated for a moment but still asked the question he most yearned to know.
Cavendish pondered for a moment, recalling the history of the Second Epoch he had learned from the great existence in order to digest the Scholar of Yore potion, and then spoke in the tone of a charlatan:
"The Kings betrayed that existence. Blood, anger, filth, and shadows began to flow across this land, and a great catastrophe thus began."
Nim's pupils slightly dilated, as if to absorb more light to clearly see the world before him, yet the dazzling light around him forced him to squint.
He asked with difficulty, struggling to suppress something:
"You mean, the Lord, therefore, therefore perished?"
"Not just perished, but His flesh and blood were also devoured by the traitors, and this land was thus cursed."
After receiving the Lord of Order's tacit approval, Cavendish directly spoke this sentence. Nim's body swayed slightly, and his furrowed face instantly turned ashen.
The faces of the Moon City Beyonders behind him, who had been excited, also changed, as if they had suffered a severe blow. Fortunately, the "Ocean of Light" had not yet dissipated, and no one lost control because of it.
Listening to the faint sobs from behind him, High Priest Nim had closed his eyes at some point. Two or three seconds later, he reopened them, looked at Cavendish, bowed slightly, and spoke sincerely:
"Moon City wishes to obtain the protection of that God. I am willing to give everything for this, only hoping that Moon City can continue to exist."
Watching the prayer vision, Aaron tossed the "Sun Chaser Scepter" back into the pile of miscellaneous items, a slight smile on his lips. It was finally worth his effort. Then, he spoke majestically:
"Go and see that abandoned city-state!"
He then condensed this sentence into a light point and threw it into the prayer vision. The Amon avatar lurking in the City of Silver made Aaron dare not relax in the slightest.
During the Sacrifice and Bestowal Ceremony, Aaron had already used the True Vision provided by the Sefirah to observe every resident of Moon City present. Although no signs of parasitism were found, it was still necessary to confirm this in Moon City.
In any case, as a future place of residence for a period of time, at least some unstable factors needed to be eliminated.
-----------------
In the central northern sea area of the Berserk Sea, the airship had been away from Damir Port for almost two days. Audrey, however, did not feel bored. Having never seen the ocean before, she was very curious about everything in the sea.
Approaching noon, Audrey was standing by the French window, holding a nautical chart in her hand, pointing at the sea outside the window while earnestly teaching Susie.
Susie looked at the place names marked on the map and wagged her tail happily. After a few days of adaptation, as a Spectator dog, she had overcome her fear of heights and said cheerfully, vibrating the air:
"Audrey, the next stop should be Harman Port in Desi Bay. How much longer until we get there? I heard there's a very famous delicacy there, called Desi Pie, I think. Let's try it when we get there."
Hearing Susie's question, Audrey felt a little embarrassed. Although she was teaching Susie, identifying nautical charts was something she had only recently learned. She couldn't answer such specific questions, so she vaguely replied:
"Probably, maybe two or three days. Also, Susie, let's try not to leave the airship, it will cause trouble for everyone. If you want to eat it, I can have someone buy some back for you then…"
Before she could finish speaking, Audrey's voice stopped. She looked up at the upper level of the airship, where a serene, deathly cold sensation spread, accompanied by a faint, illusory chanting.
Audrey, who had been somewhat surprised, immediately felt her nervous mood soothe. She instantly understood that it was the Senior Deacon, "Sword of the Goddess," who had acted, and she couldn't help but wonder what had happened.
One had to know that although this was far from land, it was still within Loen's territorial waters. Even Pirate Kings should not act rashly.
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