Lord: Sequence Master

"There seems to be an Evil God Church here..."

Under the Wolf Totem's concealment enhancement, Rosen, despite being the last to arrive, managed to advance past all the godspawn.

The direction pointed to by the Sea God's Fragmented Ring led him to a cliffside on the left bank of the canyon. There, he sensed the twisted and frenzied aura characteristic of Evil God faith. No one could be sure how many powerful entities were hidden within this church. Charging in recklessly would be suicide.

Using Silent Thunder, Rosen avoided the front area and subtly relayed the general location of the Evil God Church to those behind him.

Soon, several godspawn cautiously approached, quickly detecting the evil aura themselves.

No one was foolish enough to charge in first. All the godspawn chose to hide, waiting for someone else to spring the trap.

Eventually, the area around the Evil God Church was entirely encircled by the gathered godspawn.

Yet even then, none dared be the first to strike.

As the stalemate dragged on, someone finally lost patience.

"Let's set a countdown and attack together. Anyone who holds back will be treated as a common enemy—how about that?"

A voice echoed telepathically across the area.

The speaker soon learned just how treacherous people could be.

Before the agreed countdown even began, dozens of godspawn simultaneously launched attacks—not on the Evil God Church but on the one who made the proposal.

They worked together, forcing that godspawn toward the Evil God Church.

The beastman godspawn from the Vada Continent instantly regretted his words.

These backstabbing scoundrels... all of them are the worst!

Dozens had conspired to force only him to be the guinea pig.

At first glance, the cliffside appeared devoid of anything unusual. But when the beastman godspawn drew within a hundred meters, he saw the church hidden beneath a layer of illusion—an endlessly writhing wormhole formed by countless stacked eyes.

His face turned deathly pale. Even his Sequence 2 strength brought him no sense of security.

As a godspawn, he naturally had access to knowledge of Sequence 0 and True God-level beings.

He immediately recognized the symbol of the Famine Evil God.

Just a few years ago, the Famine Evil God had been the Famine Demon God.

No one knew what price the alien True Gods paid to push the Famine Demon God into a frenzy, causing him to unleash famine laws across the entire Spirit Realm. This had led to the Spirit Realm merging with reality, sparking a period of rampant hunger. The Famine Demon God had paid a heavy price, falling back to Sequence 0.

Later, through unknown circumstances, he had ascended back to True Godhood.

But his return came with complications—the Famine Demon God had devoured every part of himself except for his eyes. The consumed parts mutated, spawning countless new eyes. In the end, the Famine Demon God became a mass of writhing, grotesque eyes, reborn as the Famine Evil God.

In recent years, the Famine Evil God had been exceptionally active, with his newly established cult rapidly expanding.

The beastman godspawn had heard his father mention that the Famine Demon God, technically speaking, had not yet fully become an Evil God. He was still struggling to retain his divine self. If he succeeded, he would return stronger than ever. If he failed, he would perish completely.

Such beings, caught between divinity and madness, were among the most dangerous types of Evil Gods.

The beastman godspawn could almost feel the Famine Demon God's gaze upon him.

Of course, it wasn't the god's true form, but it was highly likely a godly avatar descending through an Evil God Saint.

At this point, the beastman godspawn could no longer afford to care about losses. He immediately unleashed a projection of the Sequence 0 transcendent artifact granted by his father.

The deafening sound of war drums reverberated across thousands of miles, shaking all living beings in the area. Seizing the opportunity, the beastman godspawn attempted to escape.

However, at that moment, the Famine Evil God suddenly moved. All illusions vanished, revealing the true form of the Evil God before the eyes of everyone nearby.

The countless eyes covering his form simultaneously locked onto each onlooker, forming an eerie gaze connection.

In that instant, all the godspawn lost control, compelled to walk toward the simulated gaping mouth formed by the Famine Evil God's eyes.

Only Rosen was an exception—because he was hiding within his Mysterious Study Room.

"Something's off," Rosen muttered in thought, frowning deeply.

These godspawn were no pushovers. Among them were even Sequence 1 offspring of True Gods. With their skills and trump cards, the strongest few could probably hold off a Sequence 0 for a short time. Yet now, none of them could resist the divine avatar of the Famine Evil God.

Is the Famine Evil God truly this formidable? Would their parent True Gods just sit back and let this happen?

Unless... this was all part of a special event orchestrated by multiple True Gods and divine beings—an event only godspawn could participate in.

After brief contemplation, Rosen quietly exited the Mysterious Study Room.

Immediately, one of the Famine Evil God's countless eyes locked onto him.

Just like the other godspawn, Rosen was swallowed by the divine avatar.

The primary way to distinguish a godspawn from a regular transcendent was by detecting the divine aura bestowed by their parent god.

Rosen cloaked himself with divine authority derived from the Dragon God, giving him the unmistakable appearance of a dragonkin godspawn.

Thanks to his ancient godly nature and indomitable will, Rosen managed to retain partial awareness.

He watched as countless writhing eyes carried them forward like a conveyor belt.

Seven of the Famine Evil God's eyes parasitically embedded themselves onto Rosen's face, blinking ominously. Eventually, they were transported to a weightless void where a massive ice sphere, over ten miles in diameter, floated ominously.

The godspawn all regained clarity, exchanging uncertain glances as the parasitic eyes on their faces blinked in sync.

Once they calmed down, they immediately assessed their conditions and surveyed their surroundings.

Rosen didn't dwell on the eyes on his face. He quickly noticed that these eyes posed no harm to him. On the contrary, they seemed to absorb some peculiar energy from the environment, shielding his divinity from the corrosive effects of the atmosphere.

Suddenly, several alien godspawn appeared to recall something they previously hadn't known.

At the same moment, a faint divine shockwave touched Rosen's sea of consciousness.

It wasn't an attack but a divine connection akin to knocking on a door.

Rosen allowed it, and the projection of an alien godspawn's divine fragment formed in his mind.

"Let's keep this brief—we need to cooperate. Here's the situation..."

In a flash, they completed a spiritual exchange.

It turned out that everything from start to finish was part of a scheme orchestrated by the alien gods.

An alien deity had infiltrated the Storm Canyon and accidentally discovered Viska's alchemical laboratory. The god initially attempted to break in by force but was unexpectedly trapped inside. Before being sealed, however, the deity managed to send out several Viska Life Stones along with crucial information.

Alien True Gods couldn't directly descend into the Storm Canyon. Doing so would inevitably trigger retaliation from the True Gods aligned with the World Government.

Therefore, they could only dispatch deities at most. Deploying too many would attract attention.

With no other choice, they sent godspawn instead. As long as the godspawn didn't provoke large-scale trouble, the World Government typically wouldn't respond harshly.

However, Viska was human, and his alchemical laboratory was inaccessible to alien races.

Thus, the appearance of the Viska Life Stones, which attracted numerous human godspawn to gather here.

To prevent leaks, the relevant memories of the informed godspawn had been sealed until their arrival at this location, where those memories were finally unlocked.

As for how the Famine Evil God's divine avatar had been brought in, none of the godspawn seemed to know the specifics—it was likely orchestrated by an alien True God. The plan was for the Famine Evil God to lead them out of the Storm Canyon after they had successfully seized the alchemical laboratory.

The alien godspawn quickly gathered together, while the human godspawn, sensing something amiss, also formed their own group.

Two Sequence 1 alien godspawn stepped forward to negotiate with the sole Sequence 1 human godspawn.

Rosen quietly observed. The alien godspawn were withholding a crucial piece of information—there was a Sequence 0 alien deity within Viska's laboratory. At the critical moment, this would put the human godspawn at a severe disadvantage.

Of course, complete annihilation was unlikely. True God godspawn were far from easy to kill.

However, during the final division of spoils, without the backing of a Sequence 0, the human godspawn wouldn't stand a chance at claiming anything significant.

The human godspawn deliberated briefly and even tested ways to escape the surrounding void.

Most methods failed, but the contingency plans prepared by several True God godspawn were sufficient to take the rest of the human godspawn with them.

Since retreat was assured, the human godspawn naturally wanted a share of the spoils.

Both sides quickly reached an agreement—to cooperate in conquering the alchemical laboratory.

When it came time to divide the spoils, it would be every godspawn for themselves.

The laboratory was right beneath their feet, but it was sealed under a layer of extraordinary ice, impervious even to Sequence 0 attacks.

Fortunately, there was a natural fissure running through the ice.

The void around them was in a state of weightlessness, and the godspawn soon moved toward the fissure.

The closer they got, the faster the parasitic eyes on their faces blinked.

Clearly, the unknown energy absorbed by the Famine Eyes originated from within the fissure.

Someone needed to scout ahead. Summoned creatures of all kinds soon appeared.

However, every summoned being was polluted by the mysterious energy and collapsed within moments.

Their bodies ignited spontaneously, signaling that only the godspawn present could traverse the path.

The three Sequence 1 godspawn conferred for a moment and quickly reached a decision.

Sequence 3 godspawn would scout first, followed by Sequence 2 as the second wave, and finally Sequence 1 as the third wave.

The outer perimeter of the laboratory would be cleared by Sequence 3 godspawn, who would then share 40% of the spoils.

Sequence 2 godspawn tasked with the middle section would also receive 40%, and the remaining 20% would go to the Sequence 1 godspawn.

On the surface, the Sequence 1 godspawn seemed to receive the smallest share, but there were only three of them.

The Sequence 3 godspawn, being the most numerous, had some complaints about the arrangement. However, considering the power gap, they remained silent.

The distribution plan was agreed upon, but when truly valuable treasures were found, who could resist the temptation?

Since Rosen was close to the fissure, he was one of the first chosen to enter.

He didn't refuse, instead voluntarily stepping forward to be the first inside. Walking at the forefront was undoubtedly dangerous, but it also presented the best chance for rewards.

Inside the fissure, there was no light at all. Darkness engulfed everything, rendering visibility nonexistent.

This was clearly abnormal. Any Sequence 7 extraordinary being would have evolved night vision. For demigods, their baseline eyesight was already comparable to mid-tier ocular abilities. That they couldn't see at all here was anything but normal.

Rosen cautiously extended his domain, spreading it outward into the darkness.

At first, everything seemed manageable—until the darkness suddenly surged outward, enveloping him and dragging him deeper into the void.

There was no time for the nearby godspawn to react; they could only watch in shock as Rosen was swallowed by the pitch-black fissure.

Dozens of Sequence 3 godspawn instinctively retreated in alarm.

...

Inside the Mysterious Study Room, the seven Famine Eyes on Rosen's face were peeled away.

Though these eyes posed no immediate threat and contained none of the Famine Evil God's divine essence, there was no guarantee that the Famine Evil God couldn't use them to observe the surroundings. For safety's sake, it was better to remove them.

As for the mysterious aura that caused spontaneous combustion, Rosen had other solutions.

He released the Miracle Cloud. Since merging with the Wolf Totem, the Miracle Cloud had gained a devouring miracle attribute.

When the cloud-like mist enveloped his body, it consumed any approaching mysterious aura.

Leaving the Mysterious Study Room, Rosen immediately expanded the Miracle Cloud outward.

Wherever the mist spread, his divine perception followed, allowing him to sense everything clearly even without sight.

Guided by the Sea God's Remnant Ring, Rosen navigated swiftly through the darkness.

Before long, he seemed to arrive at the alchemical laboratory's main hall.

There were rest areas, passageways leading to different sections, security doors, and even a map of the entire laboratory, which marked zones accessible based on varying clearance levels.

There were six zones in total, each with a corresponding door. Two of these doors had already been violently dismantled.

One door had been destroyed from the inside out, and from within came a continuous, intensifying flow of mysterious energy.

The other door had been broken from the outside, likely the work of the alien deity.

The main structure of the alchemical laboratory was made of metal. Even the materials used in the hall were Sequence 3-grade unknown extraordinary alloys. The passageways and security doors leading to the various sections were constructed from Sequence 1-grade alloys.

Rosen speculated that the laboratory's core components might even be crafted from Sequence 0 materials.

He immediately realized that whatever research had been conducted here was extraordinarily dangerous.

The experimental subjects themselves were likely at least Sequence 0 in strength.

Otherwise, there would have been no reason to waste such vast amounts of high-sequence extraordinary alloys.

A laboratory of this caliber likely didn't even exist in large numbers under the World Government's jurisdiction.

How could such a facility be abandoned here? Rosen pondered. Or was this Viska's private laboratory? But as far as he knew, Viska had only reached Sequence 0 before his death. Even as one of the pioneers of the Potion System, it would be difficult for him to amass the resources needed to build such a high-standard laboratory.

Rosen sketched a map from the cloud-sourced perception data using his true body in the Mysterious Study Room.

The laboratory had six sections: the Extraordinary Material Cultivation Zone, Extraordinary Material Breeding Zone, Extraordinary Material Research Zone, Potion Research Zone, Evil God Research Zone, and a final unnamed Special Zone, accessible only with the highest clearance.

The door broken by the alien god ultimately led to that special zone.

According to the Miracle Pocket's positioning, the Sea God's Remnant Ring was also located there.

Rosen initially considered abandoning his search for the Sea God's Remnant Ring and heading to other zones. However, none of the other sections were accessible without proper clearance.

So clearance is the key. Without it, entering safely was impossible; breaking through the doors would trigger a series of deadly traps.

Those alien godspawn must be hiding crucial information, he concluded.

Rosen then realized that perhaps the human godspawn weren't entirely ignorant either.

After all, Storm Gorge is in the human world. Although its unique conditions make it difficult to control completely, Viska came from the World Government. With so many human godspawn, could none of their divine parents have known anything in advance?

And among those informed alien gods, could there be spies from the World Government?

Rosen was well aware that high-ranking "actors" at Sequence 1 and Sequence 0 levels couldn't be traced on the Spiritual Web. It was obvious that many of them were likely embedded among the alien races. Who knew if one of those alien gods had already been replaced by a Sequence 0 actor?

A sudden possibility came to mind. He immediately searched the Spiritual Web and the Main God Network for relevant information, focusing on those godspawn outside the laboratory.

Rosen soon confirmed a fact: out of all these godspawn, aside from fewer than ten exceptions, the rest were all those whose growth potential had already reached their talent limits.

This explained why they were risking everything for Viska's Life Stone.

But does that mean only godspawn with mediocre potential need such a treasure?

Of course not. The more talented the godspawn, the more they would need the Viska Life Stone.

So my analysis is correct, Rosen thought grimly. Both the alien and human sides are aware of this laboratory. The fact that many of these godspawn were abandoned by their divine parents suggests that only those with the highest potential were excluded from this mission.

In the world of the extraordinary, familial bonds really can't be trusted.

Feelings were often eroded by time.

For ordinary people, months of separation led to fading memories, years brought estrangement, and decades rendered them strangers.

Extraordinary beings might fare better, but even then, decades, centuries, or even millennia of solitary cultivation could fray bonds.

Rosen was already one who cherished those close to him. Yet even he occasionally secluded himself for critical periods of cultivation that lasted decades.

How many gods and true deities who had lived for eons genuinely valued familial ties? Probably only a handful.

I need to publicly demonstrate power unrelated to my true form in this laboratory, Rosen concluded.

This was the only way to avoid trouble afterward.

Although he would have to reveal one of his cards, Rosen was confident the rewards here would be worth it.

For those gods and true deities to sacrifice hundreds of godspawn, the benefits must be immense.

Rosen arrived at the Extraordinary Material Cultivation Zone and gently placed a finger on the security door.

The door of the Mysterious Study Room opened. Stepping into the room, Rosen leaped out of the window and directly appeared in the passage behind the security door.

With the Mysterious Study Room, doors and walls were as good as nonexistent for him.

Thanks to the sealed security door, the mysterious aura leaking from the Evil God Research Zone posed no threat here.

Rosen released a few human death-row prisoners under his mental control from the Void God Prison.

They crossed the dozens of meters of passage without encountering any danger.

However, when the prisoners attempted to retreat, a Sequence 1 spatial trap activated instantly.

The death-row prisoners were disintegrated, vanishing without a trace.

Clearly, entry into the passage was unrestricted, but leaving without proper clearance meant facing every danger head-on.

(Chapter End)