Lord of the Mysteries: The New Black Emperor

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After reaching the conclusion that "Chained God" Tolzna had been reborn, Hobert turned his attention to the matter of "Devil Monarch" Farbauti obtaining the uniqueness of the "Chained" pathway.

This god had a supreme special skill: super survivability!

Having lived from the Second Epoch to the Fifth Epoch, if nothing unexpected happened, perhaps He could continue to live on.

Throughout the long years, He should have had the opportunity to come into contact with ways to become a Great Old One and strived for it.

This should be His core plan to fight against the "Mother Tree of Desire": to become a Great Old One Himself.

Only by becoming a Great Old One could He possess the authority and ability to deal with a Great Old One.

Farbauti already possessed the uniqueness and Sequence 1 characteristics of the "Abyss" pathway and had now obtained the uniqueness of the "Chained" pathway.

Moreover, during the War of the Gods between "Sanguine Ancestor" Lilith and "Annihilation Demonic Wolf" and "Mutant King" in the Second Epoch, Farbauti had already obtained a portion of the Beyonder characteristics of a "Abomination," and He probably didn't truly offer it as a sacrifice to the "Mother Goddess of Depravity."

Then, the preparatory work in terms of uniqueness and Beyonder characteristics had been completed. The only unknown was whether He had found clues corresponding to the origin substance "Tenebrous World" in the long years.

As long as it wasn't someone from his own pathway or an adjacent pathway wanting to become a Great Old One, Hobert would support the emergence of more Outer Deities from the Earth gods, even if this Old One symbolized evil and demons, it was acceptable.

Taking another look at the spoils of this battle, Hobert took a deep breath and left the "Nation of Disorder."

It wasn't until the next day that the Beyonders completely finished exploring and cleaning up Yason City. Indeed, some underground buildings still harbored some monsters.

In fact, they weren't originally monsters; they were just residents hiding from the flames of war in their own basements.

During yesterday's battle, it wasn't that Hobert didn't want to save people, but that He simply didn't have the ability or the time to save them.

Whether it was the "Mother Tree of Desire," the "Chained God," or the "Abomination" Suah, they didn't care about the lives of these ordinary people. Under their efforts, the people of the entire city had been turned into monsters.

After Hobert's subordinates gathered the spoils of war, the Beyonder responsible for counting the spoils noticed that three demigod-level Beyonder characteristics were missing from the expected amount, meaning that three demigods had escaped from the city yesterday.

In the hands of the official Beyonders of South Balam, there was a detailed intelligence report on the demigods of the "Rose School of Thought," which Xio had provided.

The period from the civil war in the Duchy of South Balam to the start of this war of national annihilation was Xio's main battlefield.

Xio, who had obtained the opportunity to digest her potion in advance by judging George III, was now a "Imperative Mage."

Before the war of national annihilation, she repeatedly led teams to infiltrate the Highland Kingdom, conducting on-site surveys to create a map of the Highland Kingdom, which was even more detailed than the maps used by the Highland Kingdom itself.

Upon receiving this map, Hobert suddenly lamented: "Only invaders are so enthusiastic about other countries' territories."

Archibald, who was beside him, was about to remind Hobert that they were going to liberate the people of the Highland Kingdom and shouldn't call themselves invaders.

However, he discovered that Grand Duke Hobert's emotions seemed off. He only heard Hobert say: "Fortunately, we are that invader. Fortunately, we don't adhere to the concept of 'racial evolution.' Fortunately, we are not trying to establish some bullshit co-prosperity sphere."

Archibald didn't know why the Grand Duke would express such sentiments, but he swallowed back the reminder he had prepared.

Xio had also obtained a large amount of extraordinary intelligence by bribing nobles of the Highland Kingdom, which included an information table summarizing the number and names of the existing demigods of the "Rose School of Thought."

By comparing the spoils of war with the information in this table, it was easy to find that one "Disciple of Silence" and two "Puppet" Beyonder characteristics were missing.

Perhaps these three demigods didn't flee in a panic during the chaos but knew Suah's plan, so they left immediately when that "Conch Monster" was summoned.

Hobert didn't take it too seriously because there would be opportunities to kill these demigods in the ensuing second phase of the war.

When Hobert first met Medici, Medici frankly said: "The current Beyonders are no longer clear about what national annihilation represents."

"National annihilation is not just driving away the rulers. The most difficult thing to deal with is the Beyonders of that country."

Medici's remarks afterward made Hobert realize what professionalism meant.

According to Medici's plan, after eliminating the enemy's main force in the first phase of the war, the most urgent task was to uproot the Beyonders everywhere.

To put it bluntly, the local Beyonder forces were the local nobles. They, together with the "Rose School of Thought," monopolized the resources of the Highland Kingdom. If they were not eliminated during the war, they would have to be won over after the war by making political compromises to them.

To prevent such a situation from occurring, Medici proposed the "give them time" plan, which was also the core purpose of besieging Yason City without attacking.

First, give the reinforcements composed of nobles from various places time to come to support, trying to annihilate them under Yason City.

When the local nobles no longer had Beyonders as their power support, once South Balam's current national policy was implemented after the war, it would be easier to make them lose their ruling foundation.

Medici gave the nobles of the Highland Kingdom a total of one week. The Beyonders of the nobles from various places basically gathered in the capital of the Highland Kingdom and were all wiped out in yesterday's angel war.

Secondly, during the same week, the subsequent conventional army of the Duchy of South Balam occupied the Highland Kingdom, causing the nobles from various places to flee north, and the remaining few nobles could be immediately controlled.

This completely cut off the nobles' extraordinary potential in various places.

When these small Beyonder families suddenly lost their territory and source of income, they basically had no future prospects.

This idea was like Hobert forcing the Loen proxies to rebel. The foundation of establishing a country was to eliminate all Beyonder forces within that country except for oneself.

The above was the combat mission of the first phase. Medici also prepared a "second package" for the Highland Kingdom and the "Rose School of Thought."

That was the combat plan for the second phase. Medici planned to repeatedly capture Colon City in the northern part of the Highland Kingdom in the next three to four months.

Colon City was an important hub in the north. Capturing it would divide the remaining one-third of the Highland Kingdom's territory into two.

This extraordinary war didn't need to be fought with full force. It was enough to send out two Beyonder teams.

Firstly, the main force was not needed at all. Secondly, it was to create the illusion that most of the strength was being restrained, creating a reason for the subsequent active retreat.

Moreover, the speed of the attack should be slow, and the enemy must be given enough reaction time!

After the war was launched, the next step should be taken by observing the enemy's reaction.

If the enemy concentrated the remaining forces in Colon City, it meant that they wanted to protect the last piece of territory. After all, a Beyonder organization without a base would be greatly reduced in terms of financial resources and potential.

At this time, Colon City should be attacked slowly, bit by bit. The city walls couldn't stop the Beyonders. In Medici's view, they could constantly sneak into the city, exhausting the enemy's gathered forces as much as possible.

Although the "Rose School of Thought" had been badly damaged, according to Medici's experience, such an organization with a base had enough financial resources to set up its strongholds in various countries of the Northern Continent.

Constant fighting was to force them to recall the forces in their strongholds in various countries.

In addition, the nobles of the Highland Kingdom would definitely work harder than the "Rose School of Thought" in this battle. After the "Rose School of Thought" left the Highland Kingdom, there was still Suah.

With this "Abomination" present, no matter where they went, they were an organization that other forces would not dare to underestimate.

But the nobles were very clear that they would be nothing after leaving the Highland Kingdom.

Therefore, in this war, they would contribute as much strength as they had.

Medici planned that the first attack time would be ten days. After these ten days of continuous attacks, if they could not capture Colon City, they would temporarily retreat. After resting for a few days, they would continue to attack the city with another two Beyonder teams.

If they captured the city, they would plunder it and then find a seemingly reasonable reason to withdraw, waiting for ten days or half a month before attacking again.

Medici believed that the second phase of the war would take at least three months, and Colon City would have to be captured at least five times!

After five months, it would definitely be very easy to occupy the remaining one-third of the Highland Kingdom's territory. By then, the "Rose School of Thought" would probably only have Suah Atote and some low-sequence Beyonders left, and all the nobles would have no extraordinary power to speak of.

In Medici's words: "This is a perfect war of national annihilation."

Of course, the "Rose School of Thought" must still have Beyonder forces left in the Highland Kingdom, but these forces were already very weak. When they secretly cultivated a batch of "Mid Sequence" Beyonders again, they would find that the Duchy of South Balam had already established a solid extraordinary order.

Although their strength had been somewhat restored, they still had to continue to survive secretly.

This was the most perfect plan, but if Colon City was captured once, the enemy would be unwilling to defend it when attacking Colon City for the second time.

Or if the enemy didn't plan to defend this city when the first attack occurred, then all forces should be immediately dispatched to occupy the remaining territory.

This meant that whether it was the "Rose School of Thought" or the nobles of the Highland Kingdom, they had already prepared to abandon the Highland Kingdom.

At this time, they had to race against time, occupy the remaining territory as soon as possible, and build an extraordinary order as soon as possible.

Because the members of the "Rose School of Thought" and the nobles of the Highland Kingdom will definitely establish a government-in-exile. No matter how bad the reputation of the "Rose School of Thought" was before, people will support them.

When they are settled, the first thing they will do is secretly send Beyonder forces to the Highland Kingdom to carry out sabotage and restoration operations.

At this time, if the official Beyonders have already established a foundation of rule, they will not be threatened in their rule over the Duchy of Southern Balam.

When Hobert heard Medici's entire plan, he sighed inwardly: This is what is called "He who does not plan for the whole, is not fit to plan for a part."

It was also because he heard Medici's plan that Hobert intended to try to absorb this "Red Angel". Now Hobert's team lacks this kind of war thinking.

For the second stage of the war of annihilation, Hobert intends to let Medici fight freely, but as soon as the war is over, military power must be taken back.

Outside of the war, Hobert asked Conrad and Donna to do a good job in logistics. In addition to providing sufficient materials, they also had to provide enough grassroots officials to quickly control the Highland Kingdom.

Theoretically speaking, the Duchy of Southern Balam has just completed land reform and occupied so much territory, and there are not enough people at all.

However, the universities that have been moving in since the beginning of the year have brought enough senior intellectuals to the government.

Donna then proposed a talent transition plan for college students to enter grassroots work, sending people to universities to promote national policies, and organizing them to study in various parts of the Duchy of Southern Balam, and finally recruiting graduating college students.

After seeing the national policies of the Duchy of Southern Balam, many young people will definitely be willing to devote themselves to this vigorous transformation.

Hobert was quite satisfied with this plan. At the same time, He suggested that such publicity should be normalized, and that all universities should offer relevant courses in political science, so as to continuously provide fresh blood to the government.

With the problem of officials solved, as long as one or two months are spent completing the land reform, the crippled Highland Kingdom will no longer want to take back its rule.

In addition, Hobert ordered Xio to investigate the transfer of property by the nobles of the Highland Kingdom.

In the spoils seized in Yason City, there are also massive amounts of gold and a large number of gold pounds.

Hobert didn't expect that the nobles of such a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country would be so rich!

Previously, in the first stage of the war, a large number of nobles fled north. When Medici carries out the second stage of the operation, they will definitely transfer their assets abroad as soon as possible.

The ways to transfer assets abroad are nothing more than buying land, buying mines, or exchanging gold for gold pounds.

As long as a transaction occurs, it is easy to find the process of asset transfer.

Then, after the domestic battle is over, it will be Xio's intelligence department's turn to start working.

Hobert's plan is to find these nobles and discuss with them to donate all their assets to the country. If they are willing to "donate", they can be spared their lives.

If they are unwilling to donate, then they may drown while taking a bath, or they may fall to their death while riding a horse, or they may be inexplicably beaten to death while walking on the street.

After resting for a few days, as Medici led more than one hundred Beyonders and dozens of logistics personnel to march north openly, the second stage of the war officially began.

Hobert, together with Conrad and Donna, who arrived later, discussed the matter of repairing Yason City.

This city has convenient transportation in all directions, and it will definitely be able to prosper again in the future.

However, Conrad suggested that some office spaces should be repaired first, and large-scale repairs should be carried out after there are enough people. After all, the construction of Anjal City will not be completed for more than a month, and building materials from all over the country are being transported there.

In the newly occupied areas, the priority is to solve the problems of measuring land, registering assets, and completing the land revolution as soon as possible.

Fortunately, for the Duchy government, this kind of thing is already familiar, and Hobert simply discussed a few words with them, and did not continue to ask.

In the next ten days or so, Hobert stayed in Yason City, and if he encountered tricky problems, he could quickly organize relevant personnel to solve them.

Medici's first round of attacks ended as scheduled. In the past ten days of fighting, they successfully killed two more demigods and dozens of other sequence Beyonders from the other side.

Medici did not capture Colon City, leaving it for next time.

According to his estimation, it may not take five times. As long as Colon City is attacked three times in the current mode, the extraordinary potential of the "Rose School of Thought" and the nobles of the Highland Kingdom can be squeezed dry.

Since the second round of the war went smoothly, Hobert left Yason City with peace of mind and returned to Backlund for a few days of rest.

… …

The countries of the Northern Continent have different evaluations of the Duchy of Southern Balam's capture of the capital of the Highland Kingdom in a short period of time.

First of all, the first reaction of various countries was surprise. After all, Loen, Feysac, and Intis all tried to invade the Highland Kingdom from different directions, so as to destroy this kingdom whose territory has shrunk severely compared to more than a hundred years ago.

But without exception, they all failed, because this country has the support of the "Rose School of Thought", or the support of angels, and can always hold on to a piece of territory.

Therefore, the Duchy of Southern Balam has achieved such a great victory in a short period of time. Everyone was surprised first, and then showed different reactions.

The Kingdom of Feynapotter was very fortunate that it did not respond to the call of the Feysac Empire to join the Allied Forces during the civil war in the Duchy of Southern Balam.

If they really joined the Allied Forces, they would have to face the increasingly strong Duchy of Southern Balam at this time, and before the end of the full-scale war in the Northern Continent, no country has the strength to open up a new battlefield in the Southern Continent.

The Feysac Empire breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it had completed the peace talks with the Duchy of Southern Balam. Otherwise, if the Duchy of Southern Balam wanted to take revenge, I am afraid that the colonies in the central part of the Southern Continent would not be safe.

Now that the Duchy of Southern Balam has chosen to avenge the Highland Kingdom first, then they have enough strategic space.

According to the speculation of the Empire's Strategic Department, in the next year or two, the main force of the Duchy of Southern Balam will not be able to withdraw from the Highland Kingdom.

When the Intis Republic heard that the Duchy of Southern Balam had begun to attack the Highland Kingdom, it wanted to join forces with the Feysac Empire again to organize a counterattack from the southern colonies.

However, the news that the Duchy of Southern Balam had defeated the main force of the "Rose School of Thought" soon came out, which caused Intis's plan to be cancelled as soon as it started.

Now they also plan to negotiate peace with the Duchy of Southern Balam through the "Earl's Light".

Only the Kingdom of Loen is not optimistic about this victory, and some newspapers even commented: The Duchy of Southern Balam has used its power in the wrong direction!

The implication is, since the Duchy of Southern Balam has this strength, why not attack the colonies of the Feysac Empire and the Intis Republic? Why not come to support the battle in the Northern Continent?

The Kingdom of Loen is about to be unable to hold on.

At this time, the Church of Steam and Machinery, which has always been neutral, seems to have realized that Loen's only ally has also fallen into the quagmire of war.

So they suddenly declared that they would provide technical support for the Intis Republic's army in terms of weapons.

This is equivalent to announcing that the Steam Church has finally chosen to support the Intis Republic.

The next day, the figures of Steam Church Beyonders appeared on the western battlefield of the Kingdom of Loen.

Before long, the western front of the Kingdom of Loen, which had been holding on for more than three months, was breached, and then the army was defeated like a mountain. The Loen army was quickly driven out of the central plateau and could only concentrate its forces in the Intis Republic and quickly establish a defense line on the Tucker Plain.

But everyone knows that fighting on the plains is about the number of troops, and Loen is currently at a huge disadvantage in this regard, and this plain will soon be lost.

… …

Backlund in March has begun to warm up, and because there is wind, it can temporarily disperse the fog of this international metropolis.

In the Duke's mansion, Hobert sat on the terrace on the second floor, reading the newspaper leisurely.

There are few reports in the newspapers about the situation on the western front, only saying that the defenders will definitely be able to continue to hold their ground.

Hobert smiled slightly. In the blink of an eye, the war has been going on for half a year, and Loen has done a good job to be able to hold on until now.

Dang dang dang ~

At this time, the clock in the study rang. Hobert put down the newspaper and used "Distortion" space to come to the office of the financial director of "Earl's Light".

Audrey had already changed into relatively simple clothes and changed her appearance with sealed artifacts.

Hobert asked with a smile: "Are you ready?"

"Ready." Audrey said in a clear voice.

Today, Hobert will accompany Audrey to participate in an anti-war parade and take the "Manipulator" potion in the midst of everyone's anti-war emotions.

Hobert was about to "Distort" space, but Audrey suddenly asked: "Hobert, I heard that the Backlund night market is closed?"

"Yes." Hobert nodded: "I heard that it was forcibly closed at the beginning of the war."

Audrey said "Oh" and took Hobert's arm.

Hobert raised his hand, and they disappeared from the office in an instant, appearing the next second in the corner of a street in St. George's District, Backlund.

Not far away were crowds of people constantly shouting anti-war slogans. Hobert temporarily "Distorted" their vision so that they did not notice himself and Audrey.

Then the two naturally joined the marching team, which had enough ten thousand people from the beginning to the end of the street.

The ritual required for Audrey's advancement is: in a specific occasion with at least ten thousand people, take the potion in the great resonance of their emotions.

And now everyone's emotions have great resonance.

Hobert said: "Take the potion as soon as possible, the police may come to disperse them in a while."

Audrey nodded, took out the prepared potion, and drank it all in one gulp. In that instant, she was surrounded by intense dissatisfaction and sorrow, which also kept her consciousness very clear, and she quickly regained herself under the influence of the potion.

After only about a minute of confrontation, Audrey had controlled the overflowing spirituality.

Hobert smiled and said, "More smoothly than expected."

As He was about to leave with Audrey, Audrey suddenly looked at the crowd chanting slogans and said, "Hobert, can you help them?"

Hobert looked at the long procession and took a deep breath, saying, "Unless they are willing to immigrate to the Duchy of Southern Balam."

The people participating in the parade were the unemployed in the war and those who had lost their loved ones in the war.

The loss of the industrial zone on the southern coast of Midseashire meant that a large number of factories lacked corresponding raw materials or parts, and factories that did not involve military industry were shut down.

A large number of workers lost their jobs and could not even afford bread, and could only go to relief stations to receive some bread to fill their stomachs.

So even though the price of food in Backlund is not high at present, the number of vagrants sleeping on the streets is increasing, and the number of people suffering from hunger is also increasing.

Those who were willing to immigrate to the Southern Continent to gamble have already moved away, or are in the process of immigrating.

And there are two types of people participating in the parade today. One type is those who still have hope for this country. They are unwilling to start over in the wild Southern Continent.

The other type is those who have lost loved ones in the war. They want to vent their grief and indignation by shouting in the procession.

Hobert couldn't help them.

Audrey also understood the reason, so she didn't say anything more.

In the next second, the two disappeared from the procession without attracting anyone's attention.

At this time, a whistle came from a distance, and the police rushed over and began to rudely disperse the crowd.

Some people in the crowd also fought back, and the scene was chaotic for a while.

… …

Hobert and Audrey returned to the CFO's office, chatted briefly, and Hobert went to the general manager's office to inquire about the recent operation of "Earl's Light" from Todd.

"Everything is normal," Todd said with a smile. "Our business has not been affected in any way. With the defeat on the Western Front, I have sent people to the west to acquire the power plants and other supporting factories that were previously built, as well as cheap real estate."

When Hobert initially expanded the business of "Earl's Light", he had made corresponding arrangements and did not invest in the north and west.

Todd admired Hobert's "foresight" immensely. The war had been going on for so long, but all the businesses of "Earl's Light" had not been greatly affected.

Then he talked about the overseas business. Currently, the business in Intis and Feynapotter has also begun to make profits. "Earl's Light" has not only not been affected by the war, but has become more and more wealthy.

They talked until about five o'clock in the afternoon, when Hobert and Audrey got off work together and then took Audrey's carriage home.

They had agreed to be guests at Earl Hall's house today.

In the carriage, Hobert saw that Audrey seemed to have something on her mind, so he asked, "Are you having any problems at work?"

Usually, Audrey hides her inner thoughts very well, but this afternoon, because she had just advanced, her spirituality was not very stable, so she sometimes deviated from the "Spectator" state.

"No," Audrey took a deep breath and said, "This morning I met a vagrant. I remember she was a stall owner at the night market."

Only then did Hobert understand why Audrey had asked about the night market before.

Audrey added, "I asked her about it and found out that many of the night market stall owners have gone bankrupt due to the loss of their source of income."

"This is inevitable," Hobert comforted. "The war is affecting everyone on both sides of the conflict."

He hadn't felt this way before, but today, sitting in the carriage, he noticed that there were so many idle people on the streets. Soon, they would also become vagrants because they couldn't afford bread or pay rent.

In the grain war around the New Year, the price of grain in Backlund was almost the same as before the war. Now, more than two months have passed, and the price of grain has increased slightly again.

Before this, Hobert optimistically estimated that most of the citizens of Backlund had grain reserves, and that all the grain shops in Backlund still had a lot of grain. This international metropolis should not experience any tragedies due to lack of food.

Now Hobert realized that he had overestimated the governance ability of the Loen government.

At this time, if they don't quickly start some public welfare construction projects to absorb these unemployed vagrants, sooner or later they will become unstable factors.

Audrey added, "Why is it that the Duchy of Southern Balam has been almost unaffected even though there is also a war?"

The immigration campaign in the Duchy of Southern Balam is still continuing, and a large amount of food is being distributed every day.

The two huge construction sites are also operating normally, consuming a large amount of vegetables and bread every day.

Audrey sometimes couldn't understand how this country could operate normally while supporting hundreds of thousands of people with no source of income?

Hobert smiled and said, "Because our strategic thinking is different. I had the confidence of victory before I launched the war."

"The countries of the Northern Continent are different. The wars they launch are more like a gamble with all the bets on the table. Strategic thinking is always a bit impulsive."

"In addition, the governments of various countries are not adequately prepared for a series of reactions caused by the war. Even if they are adequately prepared, they don't take the lives and deaths of ordinary people too seriously, so they simply pretend not to see the situation on the streets."

Speaking of this, Hobert looked out the car window and said, "It's still the same sentence, unless they themselves are willing to immigrate to the Duchy of Southern Balam, I can't help them."

Audrey sighed, "Maybe I should change my thinking. Fortunately, there is still the Duchy of Southern Balam, providing survival guarantees for those who are willing to immigrate."

Hobert smiled, "The situation in the Northern Continent has developed to this point, we do need to be more optimistic."

During the conversation, the carriage arrived at Earl Hall's mansion, and Hobert was warmly welcomed by the Hall family.

During dinner, they inevitably talked about the war on the Western Front.

"The Loen military has begun to build positions in the Balchis Mountains west of Backlund," Earl Hall said to Hobert. "Pay attention to the risk of investment."

The Balchis Mountains are at the end of the Tucker Plain and are the last barrier west of Backlund.

In other words, the Loen high command has prepared to abandon the Tucker Plain.

Hobert smiled and said, "Thank you for your reminder, I will pay attention."

Earl Hall was reminding Hobert of the investment in those areas that were about to become occupied territories. In his opinion, the investment risk was too great.

Hobert continued to eat. He thought of another thing: when this international granary falls into the hands of the enemy, the price of grain in Backlund will skyrocket again.

Thinking of this, Hobert smiled and shook his head. The Duchy of Southern Balam still has a lot of things to do, and there is no time to take care of the ordinary people of Backlund.

Previously, He promoted Longtail Island on the one hand and suppressed grain prices on the other. He had done everything he could.

If the people who believed in the advancement of Longtail Island would think of immigrating to the Duchy of Southern Balam when they went bankrupt.

If the people who bought cheap grain were grateful to Hobert for providing them with affordable food, then out of basic trust, they would also think of immigrating to the Duchy of Southern Balam after accidentally going bankrupt.

And now, the people who are still unwilling to immigrate and "stick" to Backlund are those who neither believe in the advancement of Longtail Island nor appreciate Hobert's kindness.

That's why Hobert has been emphasizing to Audrey that he can only help them if they are willing to immigrate.

The following conversation revolved around the war in the Duchy of Southern Balam. Like the previous civil war, the people of the Northern Continent hardly knew the details of this war.

Of course, Hobert couldn't tell them about the battle of extraordinary powers. He lied that he had found a military genius, so the war had been very smooth from the beginning.

Audrey, who was listening, took a deep breath: The "God of Combat" is of course a military genius!

After dinner, the family took a walk in the garden as usual.

This time, Earl Hall suddenly proposed to talk to Hobert alone. Hobert was slightly stunned and had to follow, discussing some business issues of "Earl's Light" with Earl Hall.

After talking for a while, Earl Hall brought up a topic about nobles. Hobert listened for a while before realizing that the Earl was subtly reminding Him through this topic, hoping to let Him and Audrey get married in the near future.

Hobert did not immediately agree, but said that he would seriously consider it.

It's not that He deliberately made things difficult for Earl Hall, but in this kind of matter, He should tell Christian first before agreeing, both emotionally and logically.

Hobert bid farewell to the Hall family at more than nine o'clock in the evening and returned to the Duke's Mansion. Hobert continued to pick up the newspaper on the terrace, sighing as he read, "War is affecting everyone on all sides of the conflict, including me."

At this time, His vision was suddenly covered by a cosmos, and a soothing female voice came from His ear: "Get ready, complete the task owed before tomorrow."

Previously, Hobert prayed for the help of the Evernight Goddess, and the Evernight Goddess said that the reward she needed was to help Him complete a task.

I didn't expect that this task had been waiting for so long before it was issued.

Hobert nodded: "Okay. As long as it is a task that my current sequence can complete, please feel free to order."

Then He wondered in His heart: Shouldn't the Evernight Goddess be putting on a look of fully accommodating the uniqueness of the "Death" pathway at this time? How can she still have time to command me?

In the next moment, Hobert thought again: Perhaps the task the Goddess entrusted to him was very important to Her.

At this moment, the cosmos in front of Hobert disappeared, and he was stunned for a full three seconds: "What exactly is the task? Tell me!"

Hobert belatedly realized: Could it be that the preconditions I mentioned just now angered the Evernight Goddess and made Her leave?

Just then, opposite Hobert, a figure suddenly appeared, like an image projected by a malfunctioning projector, appearing bit by bit from head to toe.

He was wearing a simple robe, tied with a bark belt, and barefoot, it was Ms. Arianna.

Hobert immediately stood up and said, "Madam."

Arianna smiled and said, "I believe you have already received the Goddess's oracle."

Hobert sighed inwardly: Are all gods like this? They are unwilling to say even one extra word?

He said, "Yes, it said to give me a task."

Arianna raised her hand, and Hobert's spirituality felt the surrounding space enter a state of "Concealment."

Hobert invited Arianna to sit down, but this "Servant of Concealment" shook her head: "The task is very simple."

He said: "You need to go to the Eastern Front battlefield tomorrow and seize a Sealed Artifact from the Church of the God of Combat."

"This Sealed Artifact is in the hands of Larrion... that is, the angel of the Church of the God of Combat that you went to intercept last time."

"He has only started using that Sealed Artifact in the last few days, so be careful not to be targeted by that Sealed Artifact, otherwise you will be corrupted by the stars."

"Okay." Hobert understood that the Sealed Artifact probably had the corruption of an Outer God, but because he had the "Crystal of Order", he was generally not afraid of this kind of corruption, so the Evernight Goddess asked him to seize the Sealed Artifact.

Arianna continued: "You can go to York City tomorrow morning. Bin, who greeted you before, will be waiting for you at the city gate. He will take you to find Larrion."

Hobert nodded and asked, "Does the Church of the God of Combat value this Sealed Artifact very much? If I seize this Sealed Artifact, will it attract other angels?"

"It is considered relatively important, otherwise it would not be given to an angel to use." Arianna replied: "We will hold back the other angels, Larrion will not receive support at the angel level, you can concentrate on seizing the Sealed Artifact."

"But be quick, it is best to grab it within three minutes."

Hobert scratched his head. He would definitely have to use his lackeys. He was not confident that he could grab something from a "Glory" alone within three minutes.

Hobert asked again: "What is the shape of this Sealed Artifact? What specific abilities does it have?"

"I don't know." Arianna said: "Everyone who has seen it is dead, and Larrion has not yet used it to deal with our angels, so we don't know the specific situation."

"Only some relevant descriptions have been seen in some materials: do not be targeted by that Sealed Artifact, otherwise you will be corrupted by the stars."

Hobert opened his mouth: "This sounds very dangerous."

Arianna smiled and said, "I also brought a Curse Amulet. This was given by the Goddess before and should be able to help you."

As she spoke, he took out a dark black amulet from his pocket.

Hobert's spirituality immediately realized that this was a "God-level" amulet!

After taking the amulet, he thought to himself: Then it's stable.

After sending Arianna away, Hobert studied the amulet in his hand again. He could not feel any spiritual overflow from the amulet, nor could he feel any extraordinary power. It felt like a black stone!

But Hobert was very clear that this was definitely not a stone!

Then Hobert actually loved it a little: A "God-level" amulet, the Evernight Goddess has spent a lot of money to seize that Sealed Artifact.

You must know that a God-level amulet can only be made with God-level materials.

For example, the Evernight Goddess's hair, flesh and blood, etc. At this level, there are no corresponding Beyonder creatures, only the gods themselves!

After looking at it for a while, Hobert suddenly yawned: "The amulet actually has a sleep-aiding effect, I can sleep well tonight."

After a good night's sleep, Hobert put on his knight's uniform early the next morning and came to York City as agreed, and met Bin who was already waiting at the city gate.

Bin immediately greeted him and said, "Duke, I just received news that the target's traces have been found at the Amantha Mountain Pass!"

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