In Alger's concept of "the Hanged Man", there are usually two or three "adjacent paths". He never expected that there would be a case with five "adjacent paths"!
However, this also made him understand why the Storm Church was going all out to hunt down the Aurora Society members who had come to the sea to "make a pilgrimage".
The reason is that "Sailors" and "Mystics" are adjacent paths, but because this path is too dangerous and easily gets out of control or is influenced by the "True Creator," the church has not cultivated any extraordinary individuals in this area.
Within the Church of Storms, a small number of extraordinary individuals exist who follow the pathways of 'Singer' and 'Reader' in order to better understand the enemy and to address their weaknesses.
Klein, the "Fool" behind the gray fog, had already guessed this. Now, upon hearing the accurate information, he thought to himself: I seem to see a "broad road," with five paths! This also means that there are more options available, and the chances of becoming a demigod are greater.
"Justice" Audrey and "Magician" Fors recalled that when they asked Mr. A to assassinate Ambassador Intis, he had proposed two payment options: one was 10,000 pounds, and the other was a partial potion recipe from the 4th level of Sequence 4, available through four pathways: "Singer," "Sailor," "Reader," and "Audience."
At the time, they didn't pay much attention to this requirement, but now they realize that Mr. A lacked the opportunity to become a demigod in this path, which is why he wanted to jump to an adjacent path.
It was only then that Audrey realized that she and the "Hanged Man" were extraordinary beings on adjacent pathways.
Odis smiled and said, "So now everyone knows where the contradiction lies between the 'True Creator,' the 'Lord of Storms,' the 'Eternal Sun,' and the 'God of Knowledge and Wisdom,' right?"
Everyone nodded slowly, except for Emlyn, "the Moon," who asked, "Why?"
Among vampires, the way they improve their strength is basically through gifts from their elders. Most of them believe that vampires are unique beings with special channels for advancement, which are significantly different from ordinary human extraordinary beings. Therefore, they almost never exchange information about advancement channels at their gatherings.
Ordinary adult vampires don't even have a clear concept of drinking potions, let alone the concept of jumping to adjacent pathways.
To be precise, it would be difficult for them to "jump" even if they wanted to, since their adjacent path is the "farmer" path, which belongs to the Church of Mother Earth.
Odis thought for a moment and said, "This information is quite crucial and is worth far more than 200 pounds. In addition to using up your questioning opportunity, you will need to pay another 200 pounds."
Emlyn glanced at the other members and found that none of them had any objections, meaning that in their eyes, the intelligence was worth even more than 400 pounds.
So he nodded hard and said, "Okay, deal!"
Odis then explained: "Once you become an extraordinary one through a certain path, you cannot switch to another path; this is a matter of common sense."
"But there is one exception, and that is adjacent paths."
"Among the 22 pathways, some are called 'adjacent pathways.' Generally, when a person ascends to demigod status at Sequence 5, an extraordinary person on an adjacent pathway can switch to another pathway."
"Or, after becoming a demigod, there may be an opportunity to switch to another path."
For many extraordinary individuals, such an opportunity is extremely important. For example, a Sequence 4 individual obtained a potion recipe at the Sequence 2 level through the same pathway, but the Sequence 3 recipe has yet to be found.
So when looking for recipes, you can also try looking for recipes with adjacent path sequence 3, which instantly turns a "single-plank bridge" into a "chain bridge" that can be crossed by two people.
Emlyn, surprised, asked, "My adjacent pathways... um, what are the adjacent pathways of 'the Moon'?"
"The farmer," Odis smiled. "This answer is a gift."
Alger, the "Hanged Man," nodded slightly: No wonder the Church of Mother Earth didn't kill vampires after capturing them, but instead developed them into believers of the Mother Goddess. It turns out it's because they are from adjacent paths.
"The Magician" Fors thought to himself: I've learned about two more adjacent paths.
Then she smiled helplessly: I don't even know which path is adjacent to mine now, but I already know that "Hunter" and "Witch" are adjacent paths, and today I also learned that "Pharmacist" and "Farmer" are adjacent paths, as well as five other paths including "Sailor".
Odis continued, "Adjacent pathways mean more opportunities, but also competition from those who are extraordinary in adjacent pathways."
"Such contradictions are irreconcilable, so extraordinary beings from adjacent paths are usually mortal enemies. This is one of the root causes of the conflict between the three gods, including the 'True Creator' and the 'Lord of Storms'."
He paused and then said, "And between the 'Black Emperor' Solomon and the Six Gods, there is a conflict over the right to rule."
"During the Fourth Age, the six gods each had their own divine kingdoms, which were not under the rule of the Solomon Empire."
"Moreover, when wars broke out between the six gods, the conflict of armed forces would often spread to the territory of the Solomon Empire."
"Sometimes, the territories of the six gods' kingdoms are not even adjacent. If war breaks out, they will recklessly pass through the territory of the Solomon Empire and attack each other."
"This greatly displeased Solomon, so there was a deep conflict between Him and the six gods."
Audrey and the other members nodded slowly, or made expressions of "understanding." After the "Hermit" said that, they immediately understood the stakes involved.
"This is a war between two divine alliances," Odis said. "It is not a war between the gods and the royal family."
"As for the six gods, the conflicts were also very deep at the beginning of the Fourth Age. For example, the 'Lord of Storms', the 'Eternal Sun', and the 'God of Knowledge and Wisdom' are still mortal enemies to this day..."
Fors suddenly seemed to understand: no wonder the Storm Church hated the believers and members of the Eternal Sun Church, it was because their gods were mortal enemies.
Emlyn thought: I never thought that the relationship between churches could be explained by the concept of adjacent pathways.
This made him realize once again that he had traded for a very important piece of intelligence.
Audrey shared the same sentiment: Why didn't I think of that before? The relationship between churches, whether good or bad, can be explained entirely by the "neighborly approach".
Odis continued, "...Besides the three gods, including the Lord of Storms, there was also a deep conflict between the Goddess of Night and the God of War. So in the early Fourth Age, the six gods were basically in a state of chaos."
"It was precisely because of the conflict between them that Solomon was able to successfully unify the Northern Continent in a very short time."
"But as the Solomon Empire grew stronger, things changed. First, the 'Lord of Storms,' the 'Eternal Sun,' and the 'God of Knowledge and Wisdom' felt threatened by the 'True Creator.'"
"Secondly, in order to create balance, the 'True Creator' supported Salinger in unifying the southern continent and establishing the 'Bailang Empire'."
"This angered the 'Goddess of Night' and the 'God of War,' thus setting the tone for the first 'Six Gods Alliance,' and the 'Earth Mother Goddess' was also invited to join this alliance by the 'God of War.'"
"In an instant, the first conflict between the divine alliances arose in the Northern Continent."
Klein sighed: "The large-scale wars of the Fifth Age sound grand and epic, but they're on a completely different level compared to the wars of the Fourth Age. In the Fourth Age, the gods were constantly getting involved in wars—who could stand that?"
Alger also sighed: Why do I suddenly feel that the wars of the Fourth Age, the "War of the Four Emperors" is not the most exciting war? For example, the alliance of gods and the confrontation between factions sound very sophisticated, even more sophisticated than the "War of the Four Emperors".
"Little Sun" Derrick exclaimed: "What an alliance between the gods!"
This reminded him of some legends from the Second Age that he had read.
At this moment, Klein recalled some descriptions he had seen in Emperor Roselle's diary, and asked, "I have read some records that the gods consider the 'True Creator' to be evil and blasphemous. Is that because the 'True Creator' stands in opposition to the gods in this alliance?"
There is absolutely no problem with saying that the "true creator" is evil.
But Klein didn't understand why He was considered blasphemous.
It should be understood that insults between deities never come out of nowhere; there must be some reason behind them.
"This may be related to some of the abilities of this path." Odis pondered for a moment before answering, "Firstly, because this deity represents madness and bloodshed, which matches the description of the evil god."
"Secondly... well, everyone should have heard about the 'Shepherd' pathway' ability from the 'Sun,' but have you ever wondered what the 'Shepherd' ability would be like at the level of a god?"
After a moment of thought, Alger was the first to think: "Could it be possible to 'herd' the gods...?"
Then he had an urge to cover his mouth, because such a thought was so blasphemous!
Even the supreme deities of this world can be "herded"?
Other members had similar thoughts and felt it was blasphemous, but they quickly realized that if the "shepherds" of Sequence 5 could "herd" demigods, why couldn't the "true creator" "herd" gods?
Most members thought of this but didn't think any further.
"It involves the level of gods." Odis also said vaguely, "I don't know the specifics either."
"But...but at this level, anything is possible."
Odis once wondered if the "true creator" could "graze" the extraordinary characteristics of Sequence 1? Or perhaps even "graze" uniqueness?
Regardless, with such abnormal abilities and the ability to mobilize a portion of the "Chaotic Sea," the "True Creator" should be somewhat more powerful than a normal god.
For the first time, Emlyn felt he couldn't hold his head too high, because he had heard some very blasphemous remarks that day, and he didn't even seem to know how to deal with them.
One can only sigh inwardly: "The Hermit" and "The World" are really daring to speak their minds. Just thinking about these kinds of questions makes one feel like they'll be punished by the gods.
Klein had similar conjectures before, but he was never sure, because if it were really the case, the "true creator" would be too powerful.
He then received a reply from the "hermit" and discovered that he was not the only one who thought this way.
Klein then speculated: Was the reason the six gods formed an alliance during the Fourth Age also out of fear of the "True Creator's" ability? After all, at the level of gods, they would not want to see any being more powerful than themselves, even if only by a little bit.
Furthermore, was the Solomon Empire so powerful because the "true creator" was very powerful, which allowed it to attract the loyalty of so many angels?
Alger, however, felt that the "true creator" should not be able to "herd" the gods. Otherwise, since the Fourth Age, several gods have fallen, and two or three thousand years have passed. Why haven't we heard of any gods being "herded"?
The key point is that such an ability would obviously disrupt the balance of power among the gods. After all, even a "true god" is on a different level and cannot be much stronger than any other god.
Although they had different ideas, they did not discuss the issue.
To discuss these issues before the deity "Fool" would be blasphemous.
After a few seconds of silence in the hall, Odis continued, "This war must have been extremely fierce! Because after the war, the former capital of the Solomon Empire disappeared."
"And the course of the war is probably unimaginable to most people. Liu Shen first turned the powerful nobles of the Solomon Empire, Tudor and Trensost, against their side..."
What?
Klein could hardly believe his ears: Six Gods had turned Tudor and Trensost against each other!
He was about to ask a question when he realized he had already used up his chance.
Fors thought: Could it be that Tudor and Trensust used this opportunity to complete the process of establishing a nation? But... but why would the Six Gods do this?
The other members also realized this and wanted to ask questions, but they all found that they had already used up their chance to ask questions.
So everyone looked at "Miss Justice," hoping this "audience member" could understand their gaze.
"Justice" Audrey easily understood the question on everyone's mind, because she had the same question. So, just as "The Hermit" was about to continue speaking, but before he could finish, she quickly asked, "Why?"
She paused, then continued, "I mean, why did the Six Gods try to turn Tudor and Trensost against each other?"
Yes, why?
This is a very strange thing. The alliance of the Six Gods is so powerful, why would they need to use such despicable means as defection to win the war?
When Audrey asked this question, Odis probably understood what she was thinking: "Do you think that the alliance of the Six Gods is so powerful, so why would they need to resort to such a means as turning someone against their own side?"
Not only did "Justice" Audrey nod, but the other members also nodded, as they had the same question.
"That's because people don't realize how powerful the alliance between the 'Black Emperor' and the 'True Creator' is," Odis said. "Besides these two true gods, Abraham is also a very formidable opponent."
"Even in the early Quaternary period, He was universally acknowledged as the being closest to God..."
Hearing this, Fors was naturally the most surprised. When the "Hermit" mentioned Abraham among the supporters of the Solomon Empire, she was very curious about what role this ancestor of the Abraham family played in the Fourth Age, what happened afterward, and why this family was cursed.
But because she hadn't had a chance to ask, she kept the question to herself. Now that Abraham had been mentioned again, she took a deep breath and asked, "'The Hermit,' sir, could you tell me more about this Abraham? I can pay an extra 300 pounds."
According to the new rules of the last gathering, if you contribute less than one-third of the funds and want to ask a second question, you will need to pay an additional £300.
Odis smiled and said, "This is a very key figure in the Fourth Age. He is not included in this transaction. We can make the transaction separately when we have time."
Klein thought to himself: It seems that this "Door" had quite a story even before it was sealed!
Alger also realized Abraham's unusual nature: Abraham's family is not a very active family now, but they did not expect their ancestors to be so powerful in the Fourth Age!
Fors then asked, "How many gold pounds would be needed to trade for information about Abraham?"
"1500 pounds," Odis said after a moment's thought.
Fors nodded and didn't say anything more. The main reason was that she didn't have enough money herself, and if she made a deal with the "Hermits," she didn't know if the other members would join in.
If no one joins the trade, Fors will be in an awkward position.
Odis continued, "And then there was the later 'Emperor of the Underworld,' Salinger, who, with the support of the 'True Creator,' also possessed the strength of an Angel King."
"In addition, the 'True Creator' should be able to win the support of the 'Demon King,' the only remaining ancient god who occasionally appears during the Fourth Age."
"In addition, the 'Primordial Witch' at that time would most likely have supported Solomon, and the 'God of Spirits,' which is now the ' Bound God ,' also once joined the 'Redemption Rose'..."
The other members were taken aback, as they were unfamiliar with this deity. Only Klein had heard Miss Sharon mention it before. " Bound God " seemed to have disappeared.
"...and 'Red Angel' Medici and 'Angel of Fate' Urolius, these two 'Angel Kings'," Odis said. "If you count them all, the 'True Creator's' camp is actually quite powerful!"
"They are so strong that even if the six gods join forces, they have to be careful. If they really have an overwhelming advantage, they won't use tactics like turning people against them; they'll just start a war directly."
Audrey suddenly realized: the reason I thought the Six Gods Alliance had a huge advantage was entirely because the former six gods were now six orthodox deities, while the "True Creator" was an evil god hiding in the "Forsaken Land." But in the Fourth Age, it didn't seem to be like that; the "True Creator" had many helpers around him.
Klein chuckled: "I forgot that in the Fourth Age, gods and angels walked on the earth, and there were more angels and extraordinary figures than now, so there were more factors that influenced the outcome of the war of gods."
Other members had similar thoughts, feeling their thinking suddenly shift and understanding why Liu Shen did what he did.
They understood, but the education they had received made it difficult for them to accept that orthodox deities had won through such despicable means.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
Odis continued, "The reason for turning Tudor and Trensus against us is because they are both angels of the 'lawyer' pathway."
"If Solomon is always the 'Black Emperor,' they can only always be Sequence 2."
At this point, Odis sighed and said, "This is the most cruel place in the world. Not only are neighboring roads mortal enemies, but roads on the same road can also be mortal enemies."
Klein silently echoed the words of the "Hermit": This is the extraordinary! Or rather, the essence of the extraordinary is cruelty and distortion. For the sake of promotion, there is no such thing as loyalty.
"I'm not entirely clear on the specifics of the battle," Odis concluded, "but the outcome is clear: the 'Black Emperor' Solomon fell, the Solomon Empire perished, and the 'True Creator' was banished to the 'Forsaken Land.'"
"That concludes all the details of this transaction. Do you have any further questions?"
As Audrey was digesting the intelligence she had acquired that day, a question suddenly occurred to her: "'The Hermit,' you said that intelligence about the Solomon Empire could be traded in two parts, and today we only traded a portion of it."
"So our transaction just now only involved trading half of the Solomon Empire's intelligence?"
Odis nodded: "That's one way to understand it."
He smiled mysteriously: "Although the Solomon Empire perished, a second Solomon Empire later emerged."
"The Second Empire!" Audrey's eyes lit up instantly. "Is it an empire founded by the descendants of Solomon?"
Odis leaned back in his chair: "Let's talk about it next time we make a deal. The answer will definitely surprise you."
Audrey was about to continue the deal, but then she realized that other members might not join.
She didn't care much about the gold pounds involved in the transaction; she just felt that it wasn't very interesting to hear this kind of hidden history by herself alone, and that it would be more interesting to hear it together with others.
Therefore, she did not initiate the transaction immediately.
Fors sighed again: "If Mr. Hermit only relied on selling information, he could live a life of comfort and ease."
After the transaction was over, "Little Sun" said, "Mr. Hermit, I'd like two more 'Thunderstorm Bombs' and two 'Ice Bombs'."
These two weapons are so effective against monsters that many people are now asking Derrick to buy them.
Derrick also guessed that "Chief" Colin should know about the existence of this weapon, but he did not send anyone to inquire or monitor him because these weapons were used on monsters, and the number of them was not very large.
He knew very well that in order not to attract too much attention from the "chief", he could not sell in large quantities at this time, but only one or two at a time.
Once more and more people know about it and use it, and if we supply this weapon in large quantities, the "Chief" will understand that he is doing it all for Silver City, and he will no longer refuse the weapon.
Odis nodded: "Alright, I still owe you 50 pounds, now we're even. In addition, you need to pay for two extraordinary materials of Sequence 9."
"As we said before, if I need Tier 9 materials, it will be calculated at 140 pounds; if you need weapons, it will only be calculated at 120 pounds."
"Because I can't guarantee that I can immediately sell those extraordinary materials, and the weapons you need require some expensive spiritual materials, which will put some pressure on my finances."
Derrick said somewhat embarrassedly, "'The Hermit', actually... actually, 120 pounds is still too much. It can replace only 60 pounds, or even 50 pounds."
Previously, the "Hermits" had specific requirements for materials, some of which required hunting or exchanging a lot of merit points. The transactions between the two parties were basically of equal value.
However, if the "Hermit" does not have specific requirements, they can trade with those extraordinary materials that can be obtained with a small amount of merit.
The merits Derrick earned from selling a weapon were enough to buy five or six pieces of materials that Silver City didn't need. It wasn't that he sold them for too high a price, but rather that those extraordinary materials were worth very little in Silver City.
The warehouse managers were even hoping that Derrick could exchange his merits for more of these materials, since they were just taking up space.
This made Derrick feel really embarrassed to make such a big profit margin.
He actually said that 50 to 60 pounds would still be quite profitable, but he wanted to leave himself some leeway, fearing that if he exchanged too much in the future, the materials that Silver City didn't need would also increase in price, so he gave such a price.
If we were to use the gold pound conversion, then those unwanted Sequence 9 extraordinary materials in Silver City would currently only be worth around 10 pounds.
When Odis heard "Little Sun" say this, he thought for a moment before saying, "Then the extraordinary materials of the 9th rank will replace 70 pounds, and the extraordinary materials of the 8th rank will replace 150 pounds."
The other members envied the price, but none of them initiated a similar transaction.
First, they lack access to extraordinary weapons; second, they lack stable channels for selling extraordinary materials.
Even if you manage to acquire these extraordinary materials, they will be difficult to sell. However, to meet the needs of "Little Sun," you will need to pay some gold pounds.
"Okay," Derrick readily agreed. "Then I will need to provide three sets of materials at Sequence Level 9."
Emlyn was about to think "fool" to himself, but a sigh replaced it, because it was clear that this guy could get his hands on extraordinary materials at very low prices, something he himself did not have.
In addition, he consulted some historians and polymaths among the vampires last week, and none of them had ever heard of Silver City, but there was a "Silver Country" in history.
However, the "Land of Silver" is located in the Eastern Continent, which is very likely the present-day "Land Forsaken by Gods".
Recalling their previous conversation, Emlyn had a bold conjecture: the Silver City, where the "Sun" resides, is located in the "Forsaken Land."
This also fits the characteristics of the "Gathering of Salvation." Emlyn thought to himself: I am the savior of the vampires, and "Sun" is the savior of the "Forsaken Land."
However, because the two had some unpleasantness at the last gathering, he doesn't plan to verify it now.
After completing this transaction, no one had any further trading needs, so they moved on to the free trading phase.
"Justice" Audrey habitually wanted to say something, but at this moment she was still at her family estate in East Chestershire, and apart from banquets and hunting, there was really nothing interesting to do.
"The Magician" Fors then said after a moment's thought, "'MI9' has suddenly undergone some personnel changes for unknown reasons."
This was what Hugh told her; it wasn't a secret, but she thought it must be quite novel for the other members.
Sure enough, Alger couldn't help but wonder: Did the "Magician" also have a background with MI9?
Odis smiled and said, "I happen to know the reason for these personnel changes."
He paused and then continued, "Because the head of MI9 died."
Fors was taken aback: "The section chief is dead?"
At this point, Hugh's level is not yet able to access information at this level.
Alger smiled and said, "This is a major event for the Rune intelligence community... no, for the world intelligence community."
Then he asked, "When did you die? How did you die?"
"Shortly after the plot of the Aurora Society and the Witch Cult was exposed." Odis only answered the first question from the Hanged Man, completely ignoring the second.
Because that section chief was the one he "buried," and this involves the "Goddess of the Night's" scheme, so I can't go into too much detail.
However, his answer led the other members to link the director's death to a conspiracy by the evil Extraordinary Organization.
Seeing that the "hermit" did not answer his second question, Alger did not ask again, but said: "The sea has been relatively calm recently."
At this moment, Klein manipulated "The World" and said in a hoarse voice, "I just heard about something that happened at sea."
Before the Hanged Man could ask, The World added, "That matter is related to the Church of Storms."
As he spoke, he glanced at the "Hermit." He had no intention of hiding what had happened in Bansi Port, because his perception of the "world" had gradually changed from that of a "minor figure" to that of "the representative of Mr. Fool's followers."
Detective Sherlock Moriarty is a follower of Mr. Fool, as is Gehrman Sparrow, so their encounters and the information they obtain will all be gathered here in "The World".
"The World" continued in a hoarse voice: "The ancient customs of Bansi Port have been revived, some residents have become cultists, and even the bishops of the Storm Church have fallen."
"I heard the matter has been resolved, but many people have died."
Pansi Port!
Everyone recalled that at a previous gathering, when the "Hermit" and the "World" were exchanging information about the "Red Angel" Medici, they mentioned Bansi Port.
Unexpectedly, such a thing happened there just over half a month later.
Alger wasn't particularly surprised. He recalled the situation there and explained to "Justice" and the others, "There's a tradition of human sacrifice there, and the target of the sacrifice is an evil spirit called the 'Weather God'."
Klein recalled the immense pressure he felt upon returning to the port: if he wasn't mistaken, he must have encountered this evil god, but thankfully, we weren't his target at the time.
Odis added, "Last week, I specifically looked into information about Bansi Port..."
Klein listened attentively; he had brought this up to see if the "Hermit" had done any further research on Bansi Port.
"The descendants of 'Red Angel' Medici seem to have been corrupted in some way," Odis said.