Chapter 1144: Narrowly

Due to the fact that they had arrived early, the seats that Melissa and

Benson could choose from weren't too bad. They could directly see

something strange on the grayish-white stone pillars in the middle of

the square. Its two heads dramatically differed in size and were painted

with dark blue paint. It was connected to some cables.

At the foot of the object was a troop of soldiers in red shirts and

white pants. They were carrying grayish-white metal backpacks, as well

as complicated structures and small-caliber rifles. They were watching

their surroundings in high alert.

As more and more citizens gathered, the square began bustling with

activity.

At nine o'clock sharp, the strange object on the stone pillar suddenly

produced sizzling sounds. Finally, it changed into a deep and thick

voice:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm your emperor, ruler of Loen, East Balam, and

Rorsted Archipelago, George Augustus III."

...That thing can talk? It's using the principles behind the telegram?

Melissa's eyes widened as her attention shifted from the speech to the

strange thing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm your emperor, ruler of Loen, East Balam, and

Rorsted Archipelago, George Augustus III."

At Memorial Square in West Borough, Audrey accompanied her father,

mother, and elder brother near the platform. She looked at the king in

his formal attire as she attentively listened to his speech.

As she knew in advance what George III would be focusing on today, and

the mood that would be created, Audrey didn't wear anything that she was

fond of. Be it the colors or style, they were nothing a girl would wear.

It was the same as the Earl's wife, Caitlyn. The dress was simple and

conservative. It was black in color without any traces of accessories.

"...I'm very happy but also feel heavy-hearted to tell everyone that

we've finally stopped the first stage of the Feysacian attacks. We've

foiled their plans of annihilating Loen within three months...

"...But many outstanding young people have already died at the front

lines and died in this war. They had a better future ahead of them. They

should've accompanied their parents in growing up, aging together with

their spouses, and allowing their children to grow up in a loving

environment and have a good childhood...

"...The Feysacians have destroyed everything..."

Knowing why this war had started, Audrey wasn't incited by the King's

speech. She only felt that he definitely had talent in inciting drama.

She heard slight sobbing sounds coming from the crowd around her. She

could feel the sadness rising bit by bit as they intertwined and brewed.

Her eyes reddened uncontrollably.

The king's speech was very fake, but the sorrow of the people was real.

In particular, Audrey had seen many family members who had been killed,

having helped those who had lost their children, husbands, and father

overnight.

This is a great resonance of emotions, the best place to consume the

Manipulator potion... Audrey suddenly came to a realization, but she was

unable to make use of it because, not only had she not digested the

Dreamwalker potion, but she had yet to provide enough contributions to

Mr. World.

She slowly took a deep breath and controlled her emotions. She shifted

her gaze away from King George III and let her thoughts wander.

Mr. World is very concerned about today's speech. I wonder how he's

going to exploit this...

I hope it won't lead to a serious accident...

That thing called a "radio broadcast" is based on the principles of

wireless radio transmission? Mr. World mentioned that certain factions

at sea have already put such technology to use... Compared to the sea

which is constantly affected by storms, something like this is clearly

more suitable for use on land...

As the thoughts flashed through her mind, the stern and old-fashioned

George III finished the first part of his speech and solemnly said, "Let

us mourn for our heroes here. Ladies and gentlemen, recite this together

with me in your hearts:

"In the name of Emperor George III, I wish for the dead heroes to be at

peace. I hope they will become eternal in the kingdom of the deity they

believe in."

This sentence carried an indescribable sense of dignity, making

everyone, including Audrey, involuntarily lower their heads, clasp their

hands, and silently recite, In the name of Emperor George III...

In the name of Emperor George III... On the other side of Memorial

Square, Klein, who was wearing a black coat and an ordinary face, stood

and prayed with the crowd around him at the same time. He appeared

completely normal.

After three minutes of silence, he used an avian marionette standing on

the roof of a nearby building to carefully observe George III's every

move in an attempt to find a sign that the king was about to quietly

leave and enter the mausoleum to consume the potion.

According to Klein's understanding, the "in the name of Emperor George

III" segment was core to the entire Black Emperor ritual. If one were to

consume the potion, it would definitely happen at this moment, or within

two to three minutes after the collective mourning. The effects would

likely be lacking if there was any delay.

Eh, George III is also silently mourning. He isn't doing anything

else... Klein held back his impatience and puzzlement as he patiently

waited.

Tears streamed down many people's faces as the mourning gradually came

to an end. Everyone opened their eyes one after another. At this moment,

George III didn't do anything. He spoke again and continued his speech.

"We've already endured through the most difficult part. We'll definitely

defeat this evil and brutality. This is the power of justice. This is

the power of every soldier at the front lines. This is the power of

every factory worker..."

This... The arrangement by 0-08 wasn't successful. George III has no

intention of becoming a god today. He's just trying to "bait" any

enemies who want to destroy his ritual. In any case, he can still give

many more speeches like this in the future? Klein frowned slightly as

thoughts flashed through his mind.

Suddenly, his expression turned solemn as he thought of a possibility.

In the blink of an eye, Klein switched places with Enuni, who was hiding

in the sewers. The latter was dressed the same as him, and his external

appearance looked identical to him.

Following that, Klein took four steps counterclockwise and went above

the gray fog. With the help of the crimson star representing Miss

Justice, he used his "true vision" to observe the situation in the

square.

He was already a Sequence 3 Beyonder, so there was no need for him to

use the Sea God Scepter to widen his field of view. Of course, compared

to a Scholar of Yore, a Sea King's "true vision" was obviously much

larger. However, there was no need for that.

The moment his gaze landed on the stage where King George III was giving

his speech, his gaze froze. There was no one there, or rather, there was

only a fake "phantom"!

It was an "imagined" George III giving the speech!

Before the speech, Klein had been wary of this problem. He had specially

observed and confirmed that it was the real George III. Who knew that,

within a few minutes, the real George III would become an imaginary

George III.

In the midst of his silence, he had used the Black Emperor pathway's

powers to distort and silently swap himself with a substitute? George

III should've already entered a secret mausoleum and is consuming a

potion in an attempt to advance! With a thought, he quickly checked the

surrounding area and discovered that there was something abnormal

beneath the platform. Boundless black energy was secretly emanating from

there.

He then picked up the Black Emperor card on the surface of the long

bronze table and tried sensing it. Using the law of convergence of

Beyonder characteristics, he confirmed that the power belonged to the

Black Emperor pathway and came from "Distortion" powers.

Impressive. While using a speech to "bait" the enemy, he disguised

himself as a fake person and secretly left to consume the potion...

There's not much time left... Klein's heart tightened as he immediately

returned to the real world. In the sewers, he recited in Jotun, "The

sacred spirit that pursues knowledge;

"The mysterious world's lighthouse;

"Eyes that pry into fate;

"The royalty above the sea;

"The pure and holy Bernadette Gustav..."

This was the honorific name of Queen Mystic, but it was somewhat

different from a normal Sequence 3's. Its range was very large and was

effective all across Backlund. With regards to this, Klein suspected

that the eldest daughter of Emperor Roselle had used a Grade 0 Sealed

Artifact to achieve this effect.

Bernadette rarely told her honorific name to anyone, afraid that some

enemies would use the prayer and automatic response property to lock

onto her position before she reached Sequence 2. This was very similar

to what Klein had thought of.

Klein had come to an agreement with her that, as long as he recited her

honorific name, she would choose any secret mausoleum and open the door

with the symbol drawn by the blood in an attempt to destroy it.

Both of them didn't have any hopes of success, because the guards in the

mausoleum would definitely chant the honorific names of the angels every

once in a while, causing a situation that allows "Them" to see the

corresponding areas through the prayer point of light. Once "They"

discovered something amiss, "They" would immediately rush over to help.

Bernadette's main purpose was to attract attention!

Of course, if those angels were to arrive at a slower pace, Queen Mystic

could also go from providing support to being the main offensive force.

After doing this, Klein immediately stretched out his right hand to grab

the air.

As his arm pulled back, a figure appeared in front of him.

It was a woman with average facial features and dark eyes. She wore a

simple robe and a tree bark belt. Her raven-black hair hung down as she

stood bare feet without any shoes or socks.

The Evernight cloister's matron, the ascetic leader, the Servant of

Concealment, the Grounded Angel, Arianna.

I succeeded in one try... Klein was shocked, but he didn't think too

much about it. He quickly said, "Keep my existence concealed and protect

the people of Backlund."

He was worried that after George III lost control due to the destruction

of his ritual, he would rush out of the mausoleum and harm the people of

this city.

"Alright," Arianna replied with a calm expression. She wasn't rigid or

stiff at all.

...It can't be "Her" in person, right... Actually, my summoning wasn't

successful, but the Goddess had already gotten Ma'am Arianna to secretly

return to Backlund. The moment "She" sensed that "She" had been

summoned, "She" came over... An angel of the concealment domain also has

a certain degree of control over "Their" Historical Void image? As a

thought flashed through his mind, he realized that he had entered a

special state, no longer being sensed by the outside world.