Chapter 483 The Unchanging Tarot Time
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The sudden busyness after the wedding made Hobert somewhat unaccustomed, but the weekly Tarot Gathering immediately gave Hobert the feeling of returning to his original life track.
While "Justice" Audrey greeted everyone, Hobert looked at Fors across from him, feeling that it was better not to reveal to her for the time being that he was "The Emperor."
That would lead to many inconveniences, such as making it difficult to explain to Fors why "The Emperor" was so knowledgeable, and the issue of being a Blessed of "The Creator."
Moreover, some things would be difficult to say at the Tarot Gathering because, before speaking, he would have to consider how to explain things to Fors after the meeting.
However, to prevent Fors from recognizing his identity as "The Emperor" later, Hobert decided to give Fors some psychological preparation in life first.
For example, he could slowly reveal his identity as a Blessed of "The Creator" to her, and then find an opportunity to reveal that he was a descendant of the Tudor family, instead of revealing that he was a descendant of the Trunsoest family right away.
With these psychological preparations, if necessary, or if Fors noticed something, Hobert could say with a surprised face: You're also a member of the Tarot Gathering? You're Miss Magician, right? I thought such a gentle and lovely lady looked so much like my beautiful and charming wife!
Fors across from him thought: "The Emperor's" gaze is a bit strange. What is he smiling at? Is there something dirty on my clothes?
Hobert quickly withdrew his gaze and glanced at Emlyn beside him: This guy should have successfully advanced, looking full of... no, completely smug! He can't wait to show off right now.
Looking at "Little Sun" again: He also advanced. Maybe he can't control his overflowing spirituality yet. Just looking at him gives people a very sunny feeling.
Then Hobert suddenly realized that almost all the members present had just attended his wedding!
First of all, "The Fool" Klein, sitting at the head of the table, not only attended but also helped greet the guests.
"Justice" Audrey and "The Moon" Emlyn also appeared at the wedding.
During the blessing session, Hobert could tell that although Emlyn looked like he was saying, "I didn't want to come, someone forced me to come," it was easy to see from his eyes and some details that he actually wanted to make friends.
Miss "Magician" across from him is the bride, and "The Emperor" is the groom.
Out of eight members, five appeared at the wedding.
Speaking of which, this wedding was a bit like a Tarot Gathering "offline event."
While he was lost in thought, Audrey had already greeted everyone.
At this gathering, none of the members had collected any Roselle's Diary entries, so they skipped directly to the free trade session.
Hobert opened his mouth and said, "Help me look out for the bone marrow of a Six-Legged Imp and the powder of an Atlanta flower."
This time, "The Hermit" Cattleya chose to intervene in a transaction: "I know where to find Atlanta flowers. You can buy them, dry them, and grind them into powder yourself.
"Based on my experience, one Atlanta flower can be ground into about 20 grams of powder. I don't know if that's enough for you?"
"Enough." Hobert only needed 15 grams.
"800 pounds for one! But I can only give it to you next week."
Hobert smiled and said, "Okay, deal!"
Cattleya added, "As for the 'bone marrow of a Six-Legged Imp,' I heard about it at an Beyonder gathering once, but that was a long time ago. I can help you contact the seller, but don't have too high hopes."
Hobert nodded, "Thank you."
No one else had heard of this material in their respective circles, not even "The Hanged Man" Alger, who had a wide circle of contacts, which made him feel a sense of crisis again, as if his position was insecure.
After cleanly finishing a transaction, "Little Sun" said again, "Seeking the 'Notary' potion formula, but I can only pay the related reward with Beyonder ingredients."
At last week's gathering, Cattleya had noticed this: Is the place where "The Sun" is located using Beyonder ingredients as currency? Is there such a place? Everyone was not surprised by this, indicating that everyone knew "The Sun's" special nature and could accept the method of paying with Beyonder ingredients.
At this time, "The World" said in a hoarse voice, "I can provide you with the 'Notary' potion formula, but you have to wait a little while."
When he releases the soul of the "Priest of Light" inside the "Creeping Hunger," he will get the corresponding formula.
"Little Sun" nodded, "I can wait, but it's best not to wait too long."
He was confident that he could digest the "Solar High Priest" potion in three or four months. Before completely digesting the potion, it would be best to know the potion formula and start collecting materials in advance.
"The World" nodded, "Within a month."
After reaching this transaction intention, "The World" added, "I need the 'residual spirituality of an ancient wraith'."
"I can help you buy it." Cattleya did not choose to watch this time, "600 pounds."
"Okay!" Klein immediately manipulated "The World" to agree. He had already traded for the other two auxiliary Ingredients, "water from the Golden Spring of Sonia Island," at the Beyam Beyonder gathering.
The last item, "bark of the Dragon-Marked Tree," was not urgent for the time being, so he planned to buy it at the next Tarot Gathering, or the one after that.
Anyway, there was still some time before he completely digested the potion.
The other members did not have any potion needs for the time being. After a brief silence, Audrey initiated a transaction again, "I hope to obtain a magical item that can change appearance. Please help me keep an eye out."
At the previous Tarot Gathering, when she heard "The World" and "The Emperor" trading for the "Faceless" Beyonder characteristic, she felt it was a pity that it was not a magical item.
If there was a magical item that could change appearance, she could boldly participate in some events with another face.
Everyone did not have this type of magical item on hand or in their respective circles, so they all said they would help her keep an eye out.
Audrey was about to initiate a new transaction with "The Emperor," but before she could speak, she noticed that "The Hermit" seemed to have something to say.
So Audrey chose to wait and see, letting "The Hermit" speak first.
Cattleya said to "The Emperor," "I hope to trade with you for detailed information about the Tudor Empire!"
Hobert nodded, "As said last time, 5,000 pounds... um, wait, there's a problem here. Do you know the United Empire?"
Everyone shook their heads blankly, except for Cattleya, who said, "I've seen related descriptions, but I don't know the nature of this empire or the specific time it appeared."
"In that case, this transaction will be 6,000 pounds." Hobert said, "I have to start with the United Empire. This is a very important stage that is easily overlooked."
"No problem." Then Cattleya learned from Audrey's crowdfunding method at the last gathering, "As the initiator, I'll contribute 2,000 pounds. Who else wants to join the transaction?"
Audrey immediately said, "Me! 1,500 pounds!"
Originally, she wanted to trade with Hobert for information about the Trunsoest Empire, but information about the Tudor Empire was also fine, as this was exactly what she wanted to know.
The initiators, "The Hermit" and "Justice," had already raised 3,500 pounds, and others joined the transaction one after another. Alger had just eliminated a small pirate group last week and was in good financial condition.
As for Fors, needless to say, her savings had reached more than 2,000 pounds, and she shouldn't have to spend money on Beyonder ingredients, potion formulas, or magical items in the future.
The potion formula and some Beyonder ingredients were provided by her teacher, Dorian, and the magical items and Beyonder ingredients that Dorian couldn't provide were provided by Hobert.
A model of "lying down and winning."
Emlyn still had the money he saved last week, so he would not hesitate to join in such transactions.
This time, even "The World" did not hesitate. Also through the last gathering, Klein discovered that "5,000-pound level" transactions had very high integrity, and the money was well spent.
Soon, everyone completed the crowdfunding, totaling 5,500 pounds plus two Beyonder ingredients.
"Speaking of the Tudor Empire, we have to start with the Solomon Empire." Hobert began to narrate, "As we said during the last transaction, Emperor Alista Tudor of the Tudor Empire was also a noble of the Solomon Empire.
"But he was bewitched by the Six Gods... cough cough, moved by the Six Gods, and became an internal agent of the Six Gods, directly leading to the fall of 'Black Emperor' Solomon.
"After destroying the Solomon Empire and severely hitting the True Creator, the Six Gods supported Tudor and Trunsoest, who had each become Sequence 1, to establish the United Empire and rule the entire Northern Continent..."
Everyone then understood that this was the so-called "United Empire" era.
Audrey carefully recalled: I have never heard of any records of this era in the history classes I took. This period of history should be buried in the mists of history.
Klein, however, thought of a term mentioned by Roselle in his diary, "Dual Consul Era." Roselle expressed his doubts in the diary, and Klein did not quite understand what it meant when he read it at the time. Now he finally knew what it represented.
Then he thought of another thing: "The Emperor's" description reminded me of the ruins found in Backlund. I remember that there were two thrones on the high platform at the same time. At that time, Miss Sharron and I didn't understand why there was such a structure. Could those be the thrones of these two rulers?
Alger, however, realized: Two Sequence 1s of the same pathway were actually "twisted" together by the Six Gods to establish a common empire. Such cooperation always felt coercive, and such an empire should be full of contradictions, right?
Emlyn was surprised: As a Sanguine, I have never heard of the "United Empire" era! Perhaps I should consult the elders in the Sanguine clan who study history and make up for my lessons so that they don't see that I am unaware and lower the status of the learned Sanguine in their hearts.
Cattleya simply exclaimed, "So that's how it is."
Many previously seemingly contradictory clues suddenly came together.
Fors listened carefully, almost taking out her notebook to record these little-known histories!
Only "Little Sun" did not have much feeling, purely listening to it as a story.
Seeing everyone looking thoughtful, Hobert thoughtfully paused for a few seconds before continuing, "According to some documents I have read, Tudor and Trunsoest had a relatively harmonious relationship during the Solomon Empire.
"But after each established their own empire, they quickly broke up. I think they should have had irreconcilable contradictions from the 'United Empire' era.
"There are probably two reasons. The first is the issue of power. Since it is dual rule, and it is not clear which is the head of state? Which is the ruler?
"Then there will inevitably be a situation of power checks and balances, which is also what the Six Gods want to see most. It's just that Tudor and Trunsoest are two ambitious people! How could they be willing to share power with others?
"The second reason is naturally that both of them are 'High Sequence' Beyonders of the same pathway. If they want to become gods, then they are the strongest competitors between them!
"The reason why this reason is placed second is because since they have each accepted the arrangements of the 'United Empire,' it means that in the early days of the 'United Empire,' their rationality made them choose to compromise with the Six Gods.
"At this time, some of the influences of the Beyonder characteristics have not occupied all of their sanity."
Everyone listened carefully, with "The Emperor" telling these secret histories like a legendary story.
Hobert continued, "The honeymoon period of the 'United Empire' should only be a short time. There is evidence that there are some ruins left by Tudor around Backlund..."
Those are the tombs.
Audrey immediately asked, "Backlund?"
"Yes." Hobert replied, "The capital of the 'United Empire' is the current Backlund."
He continued, "Those ruins are enough to prove that Tudor had been preparing to advance to 'Black Emperor' during the 'United Empire' era.
"And if He wants to become the 'Black Emperor,' He must kill Trunsoest and take away that Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic."
This sentence contained a lot of information for Klein, Alger, and Cattleya.
Alger had speculated about the process of becoming a god countless times before. Since knowing the related information about Uniqueness, he once thought that accommodating Uniqueness could become a god. But now, according to The Emperor, becoming a god seems to require multiple Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics?
Cattleya had similar guesses early on: Is becoming a god also a process of accumulating Beyonder characteristics?
The most gain from this was Klein: I had previously seen from Roselle's diary his speculation about the Beyonder characteristics required to become a god. The history of the 'United Empire,' combined with the current Loen royal family and the Castiya royal family, shows that the number of Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics is very small. After a True God appears in a pathway, all the Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics may be with the True God, and the number of Sequence 2s will also become extremely limited.
Because of their lack of knowledge reserves, the other members, although they understood what "The Emperor" meant, failed to think about the rules that might be contained behind it.
"I don't know what impression everyone has of Tudor, but my impression is that he is cunning, treacherous, and very cautious." Hobert said, "As far as I know, even now, the Seven Gods are not very clear about the specific locations of those ruins.
"These ruins were built during the 'United Empire' period. Back then, not only were the Six Gods supporters of Tudor, but Trunsoest was also His partner.
"If he had been given more time, he might have become the second 'Black Emperor'."
"Perhaps Solomon, after his previous fall, sensed a great threat and decided to revive ahead of schedule. Of course, this is just my speculation. The commonly accepted reason is that Solomon's revival put immense pressure on Tudor and Trunsoest, forcing them to take risks and make their respective arrangements."
"The cause and effect between the two are almost reversed, but the commonly accepted reason is difficult to explain the ruins left by Tudor, after all, those couldn't be built in just a year or two. It's also difficult to explain why Solomon had to revive at such a terrible time."
Hobert deliberately expressed himself vaguely at this point, but everyone understood what he meant.
Only Klein found it strange: That's not right, with two Sequence 1s in a pathway, can the True God of that pathway still revive? Is what revived really the True God? Or is there something wrong with my guess?
The others didn't have the relevant concepts and assumed that a True God is a True God, and a Sequence 1 is a Sequence 1, and the two don't affect each other.
This also makes sense. Tudor and Trunsoest had betrayed Solomon before, so of course they were afraid of Solomon's revenge after his revival.
Seeing that everyone didn't ask questions at this point, Hobert quickly continued, "The above is the relevant information about the 'United Empire'. We will mainly talk about the arrangements Tudor made to deal with Solomon's revival.
"Because the True God of the adjacent pathway has been occupied by Trunsoest, He can only take a risk and jump to a non-adjacent pathway to become a god!"
This information once again surprised all the members. Audrey was the first to ask, "Emperor, as a Beyonder, I mean, can the process of advancing to a True God jump to a non-adjacent pathway?"
"Why were those ancient gods of the Second Epoch all crazy?" Hobert asked rhetorically, "Isn't it because they didn't have a very intuitive concept of sequences and pathways!
"Could it be that a lot of madness accumulated because of jumping between non-adjacent pathways?
"Of course, the eight ancient gods were very lucky, or they already had a rough concept of Beyonder pathways. In short, their 'jumps' weren't too outrageous.
"With everyone's knowledge, you should also understand that jumping to a non-adjacent pathway, going mad or dying directly is the best outcome. The greater probability is becoming a monster and completely losing oneself."
"The Hanged Man" then asked, "At the level of a True God, performing this kind of non-adjacent pathway advancement... I mean, what was the Blood Emperor's state at the time?"
"He became very crazy and bloodthirsty, but he still retained some rationality," Hobert replied.
Because of the "Queen Mystic", Cattleya knew a little about the answer to this question, but she didn't expect that the Blood Emperor had also performed such an operation.
She was more concerned: "Is there any possibility of recovering from such madness?"
Hobert glanced at Cattleya: "As far as I know, the True Gods of some pathways can use some characteristics of their own pathways to 'wash away' the madness.
"But most pathways can't do this."
Audrey asked again, "Which pathway did the Blood Emperor jump to? Which pathway's True God did he become?"
"Red Priest! That is, the 'Hunter' pathway that everyone is familiar with," Hobert replied.
Everyone immediately thought of the Feysac Empire's royal family, and the Intis royal family overthrown by Emperor Roselle.
Klein manipulated "The World" and asked in a hoarse voice, "This reminds me of the 'Red Angel'. Is there any connection between them?"
Except for Cattleya, everyone recalled the relevant content of the "Angel of Kings".
"This is exactly what I'm going to talk about next," Hobert said with a smile, "At the end of the 'United Empire', 'Red Angel' Medici designed a trap for Sauron and Einhorn.
"I think you should be familiar with these two names. That's right, Sauron is the ancestor of the Sauron family of the overthrown Intis royal family, and Einhorn is the ancestor of the current Einhorn family of the Feysac Empire's royal family.
"Medici needed their Beyonder characteristics to advance. While Medici succeeded, Tudor, along with Adam and Amon, killed Medici, and then snatched their Uniqueness and Beyonder characteristics, advancing to become a True God!"
Without exception, everyone showed shocked expressions. They never expected that there would be such a shocking murder in the Fourth Epoch!
Klein behind the gray fog: The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind? This is the first time I've heard that even the opportunity to become a god can be snatched!
If Hobert knew what Klein was thinking at this moment, he would definitely say, "You will encounter people who specialize in snatching other people's godhood in the future."
After being surprised, Alger was extremely excited: There can still be such an operation, so can I... Hehe, what am I thinking? Before participating in the Tarot Club, my goal was to become a Sequence 5, and then leave the Church to establish my own power. Later, I imagined becoming a demigod, becoming an angel, and now I'm even planning to become a god? What a blasphemous and presumptuous idea... But it's still nice to just think about it.
Cattleya sighed: If it weren't for the "Emperor's" narration, I probably wouldn't have known this secret in my life. Who would have thought that the Blood Emperor became the "Emperor" in this way?
After a brief surprise, Audrey returned to the state of "Spectator": This is the true face of this world, filled with madness and plunder.
Fors thought: This is very similar to a palace coup! What we see and hear are just the results of the coup, and this process is actually full of killing and moral decay.
"Little Sun": The North and South Continents are really chaotic.
Emlyn: No, I have to catch up on history lessons after the gathering. I didn't even know such important information?
Hobert waited a few seconds before continuing, "Not long after, Solomon did revive. As Tudor became the Blood Emperor, Trunsoest became the Night Emperor.
"In addition to the Underworld Emperor of the Southern Continent, the 'Era of the Four Emperors' arrived.
"After a period of confrontation, and after a certain amount of accumulation and brewing, the 'War of the Four Emperors' finally broke out.
"This battle seemed to last for a while. At the beginning of the battle, Mr. 'Door', the strongest in the Tudor Empire, was exiled, and Zaratul, the nobleman of the Solomon Empire, was killed by Antigonus and others.
"As if it was a premonition, the first to fall was Solomon, the revived Black Emperor, and the second to fall was Tudor, the Blood Emperor!"
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