Odis's plan was to first purchase the extraordinary materials needed for advancement to Sequence 5 at the Tarot Club.
However, considering that materials of this level rarely appear in ordinary gatherings and their prices must be very high, he simply traded for clues about extraordinary creatures that possessed those two main materials.
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If you hunt on your own, you can also obtain expensive auxiliary materials from the Shining Star Tree and the Trickster Pegasus.
If you can't get the relevant clues at the Tarot meeting, then you can only accumulate merits with Bernadette in exchange for the extraordinary characteristics of "astrologer".
But if that's the case, who knows how long it will take to accumulate?
The new member, "Priestess" Cattleya, wasn't particularly surprised to see "The Hermit's" calm smile. After all, she was "Pirate General," a well-known figure on the high seas, so it wasn't surprising that someone would recognize her immediately.
However, she had absolutely no clue about the background of the "hermit".
Logically speaking, since the "Hermit" obtained the "Astrologer's" potion recipe at such a young age, he should belong to some extraordinary organization.
Cattleya almost instinctively thought of two possibilities: an important figure in the "Mors Penitentiary" on the Intis side? Or an important member of the "Elemental Dawn" on the Intis side?
Based on experience, it is generally believed that a Sequence 6 member in a secret organization is the leader of an important city, and in the capital of a major country, there is also a Sequence 5 member.
The path of the "peeping to the secret" immediately brings to mind the "Morse Ascetic" and the "Elemental Dawn".
She guessed that the "Elemental Dawn" was more likely to be an important member, because only in the Republic of Intis was the "Elemental Dawn" stronger than the "Mors Penitentiary".
Furthermore, a large part of the "Elemental Dawn" force consists of pirates who roam the high seas. Their members are very knowledgeable about the seas, which explains why the other side would know some of their intelligence.
Then, Gadriya recalled that tall, beautiful figure again, but she quickly calmed down: there was a certain probability that it was a wild extraordinary being, otherwise she wouldn't have inquired about extraordinary materials at this level.
If you belong to an extraordinary organization, you can usually obtain the corresponding master materials or extraordinary characteristics through internal channels.
Unaware of the "Hermit's" background, Cattleya had no intention of making a deal, and instead looked down at the Silver City History she had just acquired.
As she listened to the other members agree to keep an eye out for the "Hermit," the information in her hand gradually surprised Gadria, and she eventually guessed that Silver City was probably located in the "Forsaken Land."
Then she realized: Every member of the Tarot Club has a complicated background.
Initially, Gadriya thought that most of the members of the Tarot Club didn't seem to be of very high rank, but now she realized that their identities were not simple, and she began to take the gathering more seriously.
Then, "The Fool" Klein manipulated "The World" and said in a hoarse voice, "I need the eyeballs of the six-winged gargoyles."
He only needs this one additional material to complete all the materials required for his promotion.
After reviewing the historical information about Silver City provided by "The Sun," Cattleya quickly calmed down and said in a measured tone, "300 pounds."
Klein thought to himself: No wonder he commands a pirate crew and is the "Star Admiral" backed by an ancient power. He must have abundant resources!
He operated the "World" and said, "Okay."
After the transaction was completed, the Great Hall of Giants fell silent for a few seconds.
"Justice" Audrey then said, "Mr. 'Hermit', shall we continue the history of the Solomon Empire? I can't wait to find out who exactly founded the Second Solomon Empire."
Cattleya was slightly taken aback. She had also studied the history of the Fourth Epoch extensively and immediately understood: had information about the differences between the Solomon Empire and the Second Solomon Empire been traded here?
This is considered high-level intelligence in the Extraordinary Realm, and many scholars there are unaware of what the Second Solomon Empire was all about.
At the same time, Cattleya was also very interested in the information they were about to trade. Although she knew a lot about the history of the Solomon Empire, she was not very clear about who founded the Second Empire.
To be precise, we received a lot of conflicting information, making it impossible to make an accurate judgment.
However, she did not intend to join the deal immediately, but planned to wait and see.
Odis nodded: "Okay, still 2000 pounds."
Cattleya frowned slightly: 2,000 pounds just for trading who established the Second Empire? And no one seemed surprised.
Audrey immediately replied, "I'll offer 1000 pounds!"
The other members, as usual, wanted to join the party, but since they didn't know if the new members would be involved in the deal, they didn't know how to split the remaining £1,000.
If new members do not join the deal, they will each have to pay £200; if they do join, they will pay less.
Gadriya was a little confused, wondering why the members were all suddenly looking at her.
Audrey understood everyone's doubts and asked, "'Priestess' lady, would you like to join the deal? If you do, you can share the 1,000 pounds with the other members."
"However, you can only ask one question during the transaction. If you have more questions, you will need to pay an additional £300."
After a quick mental calculation, Gadriya realized she wouldn't need to spend much money, so she said, "Okay, I'll join the deal."
Odis said, "In that case, each of you will pay 170 pounds."
That would amount to £1020, which is £20 more than the previously agreed-upon transaction amount, but no one raised any objections.
Because they all knew that the historical deal with the "hermit" was well worth the price.
Then Odis turned to "Little Sun" and said, "I will still pay for you. You still owe me 60 pounds from the last party, and now you owe me 110 pounds."
"Little Sun" immediately said, "Thank you, Mr. 'Hermit'."
After agreeing on how the payment would be made, Odis began, "In our last deal, we discussed how the first Six Gods Alliance would crush the Solomon Empire..."
What? The Six Gods Alliance?
Gadriya thought to herself: They're not the second-best in the Solomon Empire... It seems they traded intelligence about the Solomon Empire last week.
Then she recalled the historical materials she had found: Was the Solomon Empire really overthrown by the Six Gods? Why would the Six Gods do that?
Cattleya suddenly realized that the "hermit's" "review" contained a wealth of information, and that it also seemed to include some hidden histories that she herself was not very clear about.
Odis glanced at the increasingly solemn "priestess" Cattleya and continued, "...It was Solomon himself who established the Second Solomon Empire."
The other members were stunned for a moment, then realized how astonishing the news was.
Just as everyone was about to start making connections, Audrey asked first, "'The Hermit', didn't you say at the last gathering that the 'Black Emperor' had fallen?"
"He did indeed perish then," Odis explained. "But according to some high-level intelligence I've gathered, at the level of a god, perishing does not equate to annihilation."
Klein, standing behind the gray fog, exclaimed: "These are the gods! They are the ones who are 'dead but not stiff'!"
Cattleya exclaimed: "The information we've heard so far already far exceeds the value of 170 pounds. The 'Hermit' knows so much high-level intelligence! Is he really a Sequence 6?"
As an "astrologer," she had never even come across this level of information, yet the "hermit" had revealed it to her.
Surprised, she began to reconsider her identity as a "hermit".
Emlyn, nicknamed "The Moon," was already rubbing his hands excitedly: This news could fetch at least 300... no, 500 pounds!
Now he would not hesitate to join the intelligence trade with the "Hermits" because it was a sure-fire way to make money!
"I see," said Audrey, "So that's how it is. Then how did the 'Black Emperor' come back to life?"
"This is exactly what I know, a very high-level intelligence," Odis said. "The 'Black Emperor' or 'Lawyer' route is a very special route."
"I learned by chance that this path to becoming a true god requires building nine mausoleums and establishing a set of rules that defy common sense."
Having the 'Black Emperor' card in his hand, Klein, the only one who wasn't surprised, thought to himself: I never expected that the 'Hermit' would know part of the specific promotion ritual for the 'Black Emperor'.
After a brief moment of surprise, the "Hanged Man" quickly turned to excitement: This is... this is a ritual for ascending to godhood! I actually heard about a ritual for ascending to godhood!
The information exchange at the Tarot Club once again broadened his understanding.
What did I just hear?
Cattleya first asked herself: Was it a ritual about the gods? Did you "accidentally" learn about it? How "accidentally" could you learn information at this level?
Emlyn "The Moon" and Derrick "The Sun" didn't react immediately. It was only after seeing everyone's surprised expressions that they gradually realized what they had heard.
Emlyn thought to himself: This information cannot be traded within the vampire clan; I must never reveal it, not even under duress! This is astonishing!
Odis gave everyone two or three seconds to process this astonishing news before continuing, "It is said that as long as any one of the nine tombs still exists, He can be resurrected."
"It is said that as long as the rules He set still exist, He still has a chance to be resurrected."
Even Klein was surprised this time: This... the probability of resurrection is just too high!
At this point, Cattleya was at a loss for words: the intelligence on establishing the Second Solomon Empire was actually worth 2,000 pounds!
Then she thought of some of the investigations done by the "Mysterious Queen": I remember that the Great Emperor also built a mausoleum, could it be... no, the "Queen" once said that the Great Emperor seemed to be an extraordinary being of the "General Knowledge" path, and should have jumped to the "Secret Seeker" path.
Cattleya fell into a brief moment of contemplation.
"The Magician" Fors exclaimed in surprise: "This is the power of the gods!"
Then she smiled helplessly: This feeling is back again. I know that this kind of high-level information is not very useful at the moment, but I just really want to know!
"The Sun" Derrick was one of the more composed members: But... but if the "Black Emperor" could be so easily resurrected, why did he still become history instead of living to this day?
Once again, Odis thoughtfully gave everyone time to digest the information and continued, "Everyone should have heard something about the architecture and clothing styles of the Quaternary period."
"At that time, both architecture and clothing were dominated by asymmetrical styles. Another characteristic was that candlesticks of that era were hung upside down on the roof."
"However, by the end of the Quaternary period, these styles had basically all disappeared."
"The Moon" Emlyn confirmed: "These are all rules that defied the norm, promulgated by the 'Black Emperor'? Later, He fell again, His tomb was demolished, and the rules He established were overturned, so He completely fell?"
Odis nodded: "That's one way to understand it. By the fifth century, He really had no chance of being resurrected."
"Of course, there is another way to deprive Him of the chance of resurrection even faster."
Emlyn asked, "In what way?"
He then gave an embarrassed smile, only to realize that he had already used his chance to ask a question.
However, "Justice" Audrey immediately said, "'The Hermit', I'd also like to know what that method is."
Odis replied, "A new 'Black Emperor' has appeared."
Audrey nodded slowly. Everyone felt that this answer was both expected and yet unexpected.
At this point, Fors asked curiously, "'The Hermit,' did the 'Black Emperor' appear later?"
Now that Fors has been promoted to Sequence 8, she is no longer under pressure to advance further. Therefore, she has become more open-minded about her deal with Mr. "Hermit". She can ask questions whenever she feels curious to satisfy her curiosity. There is no need to be so tense and always try to ask some key questions.
"It has appeared," Odis replied. "It appeared during the Fifth Age."
He glanced at Cattleya, but quickly looked away: "But who it is specifically is not included in this transaction."
Cattleya was slightly taken aback: Why did the "Hermit" glance at me just now? I didn't know such information.
Alger turned to look at the "Hermit": What? A "Black Emperor" appeared in the Fifth Epoch? Who?
Klein wondered: Had someone become a god in the Fifth Age?
Audrey bluntly asked, "'The Hermit,' what kind of deal is the 'Black Emperor' of the Fifth Age involved in?"
Odis smiled and said, "I can't say. If I do, half the value of this information will be gone."
When you mention Emperor Russell, people will immediately think of his Civil Code and other measures, and they will instantly understand many things.
Audrey then asked, "So, what was the value of that deal?"
"It's also 2000 pounds."
Audrey nodded and said nothing more.
"Let's continue our previous topic," Odis said. "Solomon has been resurrected, he has established the Second Solomon Empire, and has regained the support of the 'True Creator'."
"However, the Second Empire is much weaker than the First Empire. As far as I know, only the Zarathustra family and the Zoroaster family support Solomon."
"At the same time, the 'Night Emperor' and the 'Blood Emperor' established their respective empires, and many of the nobles who had supported the Solomon Empire in the past pledged allegiance to them."
"The 'Emperor of the Underworld' in the Southern Continent may still have an alliance with the Second Solomon Empire, but they are now an alliance of equals, unlike before when they were forces supporting the Solomon Empire."
"At this point, four empires coexisted, ushering in the 'Age of the Four Emperors'."
Priestess Cattleya carefully digested the information: The data I obtained is true; the divine kingdom of the "True Creator" once existed on the Northern Continent.
Previously, she had been unsure of the authenticity of these materials, but now that Cattleya heard the "Hermit" speak of it with such certainty, she finally dared to make a judgment.
Then she wondered: Which organization does the "Hermit" belong to?
She didn't believe that a Sequence 6 member could obtain such high-level intelligence from either the "Morse Penitentiary" or the "Elemental Dawn," so she concluded that the "Hermit" was probably not a member of either of those organizations.
The other members were mostly amazed: So this is what the "Era of the Four Emperors" really is!
Audrey said, "I never imagined that these four empires could coexist."
Fors nodded in agreement, indicating that he shared the same sentiment.
Because current authoritative history textbooks believe that these four empires existed in a sequential order.
At this point, Klein manipulates "The World" to ask: "What was the attitude of the Six Gods at that time? Or whom did they support?"
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
It was only then that everyone suddenly realized that the attitude of the six gods at that time was crucial, or rather, they were the key to the "Battle of the Four Emperors".
Odis replied, "After the fall of the Solomon Empire, they lost their common enemy, and the first alliance of the six gods also collapsed, and the six gods began to confront each other again."
"However, they all expressed their support for the 'Night Emperor'."
This answer was beyond everyone's expectations. Originally, everyone thought that the six gods would support different empires, which is why the coexistence of the four empires lasted for a period of time.
But unexpectedly, they were supporting the same empire.
Alger, the "Hanged Man," used his opportunity to ask a question: "So, the strongest empire at that time was the Terensost Empire?"
Odis thought for a moment before saying, "Theoretically, that's true, but everyone needs to understand this concept: unless the six gods' kingdoms are invaded or they feel threatened, they will not actively participate in the war between the four empires."
"It's like when the Kingdom of Rune is fighting the Empire of Fusak right now. At the forefront are the soldiers of both countries and the extraordinary individuals in their military."
"The Church of the True God will only send extraordinary forces to fight if it believes that its interests have been harmed."
Everyone nodded slowly upon hearing this: It seems that's the case.
Klein thought to himself: However, the Trensost Empire still has an advantage. Other countries might face annihilation if they suffer a defeat. But Trensost is not afraid, because within its territory lie six divine kingdoms. Only when other countries dare to invade can the true power of this empire be unleashed.
Odis continued, "Because of the support of the 'True Creator,' the Second Solomon Empire is not the weakest, even though it only has the support of two angelic families."
"The four empires were in a standoff for some time, but I'm not entirely sure how long it lasted."
"But the Solomon Empire could not escape the fate of being the first to be destroyed. First of all, the 'True Creator' is the Six Gods' old rival, and the Six Gods will not allow the 'True Creator' to become too powerful again."
"Secondly, the 'Night Emperor' and the 'Blood Emperor' also harbor hatred towards Solomon and are unwilling to let this empire exist for too long."
While Cattleya paused to pause at the word "hermit," she asked, "What hatred exists between them?"
Odis replied, "'Night Emperor' and 'Blood Emperor' were once subordinates of 'Black Emperor'. They were turned by the Six Gods and betrayed 'Black Emperor' in order to be promoted to Sequence 1."
Cattleya nodded slowly, this being another point of uncertainty she had about the history of the Solomon Empire: "Why would the Six Gods do this? I mean, given how powerful the 'Six Gods Alliance' you just mentioned is, why would they need to turn Tudor and Trensost against each other?"
The other members listened quietly to the new member, "Priest," asking a question, and then all gave a faint smile, because they had had similar questions at the last gathering.
Odis smiled and said, "This is your second question."
Caldelia immediately replied, "I'm willing to pay 300 pounds!"
"What I mean is," Odis smiled, "if you want to ask a second question, you might as well just ask me directly about the intelligence of the Roman Empire."
"I'll only charge you 500 pounds, and I can tell you everything I know about the Solomon Empire."
Caldelia immediately replied, "Okay."
It was truly unexpected that the "Hermit" could discuss the transaction of secret historical information in such detail. Even though she thought she knew quite a bit about the Quaternary period, she still wanted to hear what the "Hermit" had to say.
Odis then began to recount to the "priestess" the details of the intelligence exchange that took place at the last gathering.
Cattleya appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly she was quite surprised: What? The Solomon Empire was once so powerful? The Six Gods were constantly in conflict during the Fourth Age? No wonder the Six Gods tried to turn Tudor and Trensost against them; it turned out they simply weren't confident.
The transaction was over, and Cattleya thought to herself: This information is definitely worth far more than 500 pounds.
Then, she became even more curious about the identity of the "Hermit." She couldn't understand what kind of organization would allow a Sequence 6 to possess so many secrets.
Of course, Cattleya also speculated that this might be historical information that the "hermit" had discovered himself.
However, when she thought about her own search and exploration of hidden history, she immediately rejected the idea. Judging from the appearance of the "hermit," he was only in his twenties. Even if he had been exploring since he was three years old, he might not have been able to grasp so much hidden historical information by now.
Moreover, there is some high-level information at the level of gods, which can only be obtained by chance.
This is also what Cattleya can't understand the most. If she obtained this level of intelligence herself, the process must have been extremely dangerous, and probably something a Sequence 6 could not withstand.
However, it's unlikely that the intelligence came from within an organization. Gadriya estimated that even if she were to become a demigod in an organization like the "Morse Ascetic Order," which emphasizes knowledge, she might not be able to access information of this level.
As Cattleya pondered, Odis said, "Let's go back to the original deal."
The other members followed the "priestess" and reviewed the intelligence about the Solomon Empire. They were all impressed by the "hermit's" clear understanding of this history and how she explained it so clearly.
"In the 'War of the Four Emperors,' the Second Solomon Empire was the first to fall," Odis said. "I don't have specific information about the details of the war, but I saw a very interesting mural in a certain Quaternary ruin. Mr. Fool, may I show you the mural?"
Klein nodded slowly, helping the "Hermit" to display the mural.
What Odis showed was a mural they saw in the corridor when they were exploring Quaternary ruins of the Tronsust Empire with Bernadette.
The first thing you see is two armies with different insignia on their armor fighting.
With her extensive knowledge of ancient history, Cattleya had already roughly understood the meaning of the mural.
However, most members did not recognize the symbols. Odis explained, "The soldiers in an offensive posture are the army of the Terensost Empire."
"The emblem on their armor is the coat of arms of the Ternsost."
As you can see, the emblem on those suits of armor is a black crown.
"This symbol, depicted in the mural, can be seen as the unified emblem of the Tronsust Empire's army. After all, in such a decisive war, the major noble families within the empire would certainly participate, and those nobles also had their own family crests," Odis continued to explain.
"On the other side of the battle, the army with the throne symbol on their armor represents the Solomon Empire's army. The 'oppressive throne' is the emblem of the Solomon family."
"Look further down, and you'll see a third-party force; the symbol on their armor is a hand holding a scepter."
After looking around at everyone, Odis said, "That is the emblem of the Tudor family."
With this explanation, everyone understood the meaning of the mural.
They all realized that this must be another hidden history from the Quaternary period.
Odis continued, "Clearly, at the crucial moment of the war, the Tudor Empire and the Trensost Empire joined forces to defeat the Solomon Empire."
"However, this is certainly not an alliance that formed suddenly. Tudor and Trensost should have already reached a consensus to eliminate the Solomon Empire first."
"First of all, they had a motive because they had betrayed Solomon, so Solomon regarded them as enemies, and it was impossible for them to coexist peacefully."
He paused and continued, "People at the level of Tudor and Trensost may no longer have feelings of guilt or feel that their betrayal is an immoral act."
"Their joint attack on Solomon may have been an attempt to cover up their misdeeds."
"In addition, Solomon put immense pressure on them during his resurrection, which also became part of their hatred."
At this moment, Klein, behind the gray fog, suddenly realized a crucial problem: after the fall of the First Solomon Empire, Tudor and Trensost were already Sequence 1, so when Solomon was resurrected, he only had uniqueness and a Sequence 1 characteristic?
But since he had already used his opportunity to ask questions, and according to his observation, "justice" had clearly not noticed this, after all, Solomon's resurrection was already shocking enough.
Klein speculated that there might be some special abilities of the "Black Emperor" involved.
However, this question can only be left for now; we can ask it again when we have the opportunity later.
Odis recounted: "According to my guess, the general course of this war was probably like this: the main force of the Tudor Empire was responsible for blocking the reinforcements from the Byron Empire, while the main force of the Trensost attacked the Solomon Empire."
"This is also why the 'Four Emperors' era was able to remain deadlocked for a period of time. The Solomon Empire and the Byron Empire were allied, while the Tudor Empire and the Trensost did not have a clear alliance, and there were even deep conflicts between the two empires."
"When Tudor and Trensost suddenly joined forces, the situation changed."
"Trentost must have obtained the support of the six gods before launching the war against the Solomon Empire."
"At that time, this empire was the strongest, and the Six Gods helped to block the 'True Creator,' so Solomon would definitely ask the Byron Empire for help."
"The reinforcements from the Byron Empire arrived in the Northern Continent, but were blocked by the Tudor Empire."
"Even at this time, the Tudor Empire can still send people to support the Solomon Empire's battlefield because I received intelligence from another place that the 'Primordial Witch' initially secretly supported the Tudor Empire and could completely stop the 'Emperor of the Underworld'."
"A fierce war of the gods must have broken out at that time, and Solomon fell again, as did Zarathustra, one of His great nobles."
"In the 'Battle of the Four Emperors,' the first fierce battle was basically over."
The description of the "hermit" wasn't particularly surprising, but it was like a bedtime story, captivating the other members.
Everything seemed so logical and natural, but when these logical and natural things were told, they made them feel a profound sense of history.
However, with her extensive knowledge, Gadriya still gleaned an important piece of information: it turns out that the "Primordial Witch" did not initially support the "Emperor of the Underworld"; she had actually supported the "Blood Emperor" as well.
Odis concluded, "Judging from how Tudor and Trensus divided the spoils of victory, they had planned this war long ago."
"Of course, I don't know anything about how they divided the spoils of victory. I can only deduce from some information that came later how they probably divided the spoils."
Cattleya gave Odis a deep look. From the description just now, she noticed that the "Hermit" also had a strong reasoning ability in intelligence and secret history.
The war that led to the downfall of the Solomon Empire was probably deduced by him through some clues.
She listened very carefully to the "hermit's" subsequent description, because she knew that this was the core of a scholar's research.
"There is evidence that Trensus later obtained the uniqueness of the 'Black Emperor' pathway and a Sequence 1 property," Odis continued. "Other evidence suggests that Adam had the 'Black Emperor' Sequence 1 property during the Fifth Age."
In fact, it not only has the characteristics of Sequence 1, but also the "full set".