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Alfred did not wear his colonel's uniform; instead, he wore a common Backlund black trench coat. His brilliant golden hair fell casually, and his azure eyes were like deep lakes in the forest.
Every movement exuded an indescribable sense of majesty. Even without soldiers surrounding him, he clearly presented an aura of authority.
He looked at the two ladies standing across from the desk, holding many documents, and added gravely:
"Before you return to Backlund, you will be temporarily assigned to the enforcement team to participate in the operation to clear Beyonder incidents around Nikifell City. These documents contain intelligence provided by the Nighthawks; you can familiarize yourselves with them first."
"After your merits repay your debts, any remaining merits can be immediately exchanged for rewards, including potion formulas and materials."
Nikifell City generally worshipped the Evernight Goddess, and as staunch supporters of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, the Hall family allowed Alfred to receive maximum support here, without fear of being constrained.
With the support of the Church of the Evernight Goddess and the East Tucker family, after clearing the surrounding chaos, Alfred could establish a new order here at the fastest speed, completing his advancement ritual.
Feeling a little nervous under the gaze of those azure eyes, Fors and Xio hastily nodded. Just then, the door was pushed open, and Audrey stood at the doorway, curiously observing the three people in the study, with Susie wagging her tail behind her.
Seeing Audrey arrive, Alfred voluntarily ended the conversation. Fors, also being tactful, bid farewell and pulled Xio out of the study.
Looking at the documents in their hands, Audrey gestured to Susie with her eyes. Only after seeing the golden retriever dog stealthily following the two did Audrey enter the room.
After informing Alfred of the intelligence that "Vice Admiral Hurricane" Qilangos had secretly landed and infiltrated Backlund, Audrey intentionally did not rush to state her position, to show her difficulty and prevent her brother from asking about the source of the information.
This was not part of her family education, nor was it something she learned at Beyonder gatherings; it was purely a skill she had figured out herself after advancing to Telepathist.
Vice Admiral Hurricane? Alfred frowned slightly. A Pirate Admiral in Backlund was naturally nothing, but his father, Earl Hall, was, after all, an ordinary person. Even with the protection of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, it would be difficult to fully protect him at critical moments.
His expression immediately turned serious. Alfred looked at the conflicted Audrey and immediately responded:
"I will immediately telegraph this matter to Father and seek confirmation from Archbishop Antony."
...
Fors walked down the hallway, which was covered with a velvet carpet, looking at the documents in her hand with a headache, muttering softly:
"Please, we are only Sequence 8. A Sheriff is fine and doesn't back down from a fight, but what can I, a Trickmaster, do?"
"Am I supposed to perform a trick for those Zombies and ask them to lie down in their graves obediently? Preferably, they should give me all their valuable materials first."
Glancing at her chattering friend, Xio put away the documents in her hand, scratched her short golden hair, and ignored her complaints, directly adding a jab in her mind:
"No, more accurately, these tasks also include Wraiths and evil spirits. I don't think they would want to watch your tricks."
"Also, in the study just now, why didn't you just say it?"
Fors rolled her eyes helplessly and retorted crossly:
"The aura from Colonel Alfred was so oppressive I could barely breathe. How dare I say no?"
The two looked at each other, both seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes. Xio self-comfortingly concluded:
"The more dangerous the mission, the higher the reward. There's no such opportunity in Backlund. Perhaps we can both advance to Sequence 7 before returning to Backlund!"
As she spoke, she looked at the golden retriever dog that had been stealthily following them. As a Sheriff, she had long noticed Audrey's pet dog following them; she just hadn't paid it any mind before.
Now that they were going to the Church of the Evernight Goddess to meet with Ms. Daly, they naturally couldn't let Susie continue to follow.
Her eyes slowly turned golden, and Xio's body exuded the unique majesty of an Arbiter. The golden retriever dog immediately shivered, whimpered, and turned to run away.
"Tsk tsk, I actually saw a mix of grievance and curiosity on a dog's face. Hmm, as expected of Miss Audrey's dog, it's truly unique!"
The open-minded Fors quickly composed herself and commented cheerfully, watching the golden retriever dog flee in disarray.
Xio rolled her eyes, stood on her tiptoes, and patted her friend's head. For that Colonel, who was clearly a Mid-sequence Beyonder, this distance was not far at all. If he overheard, she didn't want to be targeted in such a dangerous place.
-----------------
Layers of prayers awakened Aaron's consciousness from chaos. Everything he perceived seemed to lose its substance, becoming illusory and reverting to its most fundamental essence.
Constructing the world's underlying rules, "chains" of various colors interconnected, intertwined, and spread infinitely, enveloping the entire world. Aaron's own Chain of Order was merely one link among those myriad "chains."
Aaron struggled to gather his body but could not find a sufficiently accurate and clear self-positioning. He felt as if he was about to get lost in this area, and his mind was filled with various symbols of unknown meaning, urging him to move forward constantly, making it difficult to return to the real world.
Using the prayers, Aaron barely managed to control himself. As his consciousness gradually blurred and his body slowly descended, he desperately searched for something that could confirm his existence.
Finally, he saw a broken dark-gold light spot deep within the endless Chains of Order, infinitely high above. His heart stirred, and following his intuition, he flew towards it in a posture of soaring through the Cosmos.
Inside the light spot was a world completely enveloped by dark-gold mist. At the center of this world was a magnificent palace, exceptionally familiar to Aaron. To the side of the palace, in an area that was originally always shrouded in mist, an illusory "Moon City" rose from the ground, and its residents appeared within it.
A realization dawned on Aaron. As he passed through the "Moon City," his consciousness naturally differentiated, completing an invisible connection and making his positioning clearer.
The trembling sound of illusory chains came. The originally insignificant dark-gold was gradually spreading to other Chains of Order that constituted the world's underlying rules.
As if pulled by countless chains simultaneously, Aaron manipulated his consciousness to connect with his starting point and suddenly plummeted downwards.
The dark-gold mist rapidly thinned and gathered into Aaron's figure, and the chains enveloping the world consequently vanished.
He didn't have time to fully grasp his current state. Subconsciously, he raised his head and looked towards the sky, directly seeing the dense dark-gold mist, the ancient and majestic palace enveloped by the mist, and the illusory city beside the palace.
Originally, the Nation of Disorder was about to be stirred by his changes, but as his thoughts shifted, all anomalies returned to calm.
This proved that he had now truly mastered the Nation of Disorder, becoming the master of this Sefirah. As for how much power it could exert in the real world, he could not yet evaluate.
Fortunately, I allowed the rules condensed by the "Moon City" to complete the ritual, which seems to have left an imprint in the Nation of Disorder, helping me find myself at the most crucial moment.
Aaron rubbed his forehead. That Duke of Entropy Beyonder characteristic transformed into a triple shadow crown dotted with specks of starlight, and attracted by the escaping aura of the Nation of Disorder, it voluntarily floated before Aaron.
Grabbing the crown, with a slight thought, Aaron found himself upon the throne. After truly mastering the Nation of Disorder, its god-kingdom-like ability allowed him to directly bring Sealed Artifacts into the Sefirah.
Leaning back against the chair, Aaron didn't rush to examine the changes in the Nation of Disorder. Instead, he first confirmed his own improvements and digested the mystical knowledge he had gained from his recent advancement:
"Hmm… after advancing to Chaos Hunter, my physique has further strengthened, and edicts like 'Deprivation,' 'Mystical Weakening, Reality Strengthening' have all been enhanced."
"And the new ability, 'Domain of Judgment,' its core characteristic is to form an area that can, to a certain extent, interfere with the operation of rules through the mastery of order."
"This is similar to the common combat method of high Sequences in the Black Emperor Pathway, but unlike exploiting loopholes in order, the power a Chaos Hunter can exert depends on the rules of order interference they control."
"It's like adding one's own imprint to the operation of rules. He doesn't need to actively change the rules of the 'Domain of Judgment' to create any combat environment for himself; instead, the surrounding rules will actively support him and restrict enemies."
"Even without the aid of other Sealed Artifacts, he can achieve Beyonder abilities close to spatial teleportation, which feels a bit like 'what he says goes'."
"And targets being hunted will be targeted by the rules of the 'Domain of Judgment,' experiencing slowed Spirituality recovery, increased negative effects from Sealed Artifacts, etc. The longer they stay in the 'Domain of Judgment,' the deeper the interference of the controlled order on the rules, and the more restrictions on the enemy."
"Moreover, for every successful hunt of a high-level Beyonder from a certain Pathway, the edicts within the 'Domain of Judgment' will gain corresponding divine effects. For example, if an Misfortune Mage is hunted."
"Within the 'Domain of Judgment,' one can interfere with fate, divination, and prophecy to a certain extent, and even achieve some precognitive effects, somewhat similar to a Devil's 'Malice Perception.' The benefits brought by hunting are closely related to the target's Sequence and Rank."
"Aside from lacking the most direct high-burst damage, a Chaos Hunter is almost omnipotent within his own domain."
Aaron couldn't help but think of Prince Grove, who was also a Chaos Hunter in the Loen royal family, guessing that his wielding of the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact in the Sun domain might be to compensate for the deficiencies in attack.
Gathering his thoughts, Aaron's eyes instantly blurred, as if stained with a golden-yellow color, and at the same time, a dense dark-gold mist flowed within them. A substantial majesty emanated from him, stirring the mist that enveloped the entire world.
Feeling the surging power filling every part of his body, he leaned slightly forward, extended his palm, and declared in ancient Hermes:
"Execution!"
Accompanied by a whooshing sound, an invisible and immense force swirled into a terrifying hurricane, raging within the palace. Looking at the mess on the floor, Aaron's lips curved upwards slightly.
Even without the enhancement of other items, relying solely on the Sefirah power he leveraged, he could exert Angel-level power within the Nation of Disorder.
After thinking for a moment, Aaron raised his right hand again and gently lifted it upwards.
In an instant, the boundless dark-gold mist immediately boiled. One by one, slightly dim rays of light gathered together, condensing into a translucent Angel with illusory wings on its back, according to Aaron's will.
Unlike the empty shell before, this was an Angel with corresponding Rank and power, an Angel of majestic sanctity and immense pressure.
"I don't need to attach the 'Black Emperor' card, nor do I need to borrow the 'Sun Chaser Scepter.' By myself, I can leverage the power of the Nation of Disorder to the greatest extent, allowing the Angel of the Lord of Order to become a true Sequence 2 Angel."
"Hmm, however, this Angel cannot respond to prayers, cannot be maintained for too long, and only exists in prayer light spots and a few attacks. It also possesses the ability to cast edicts."
"But that's enough. Advancing to Chaos Hunter has freed me from the last restraints. Some things no longer need to be so cautiously considered…" After examining himself, Aaron moved his thoughts to restore the palace to its original state, then slowly stood up.
He was preparing to leave the palace and examine what exactly the "Moon City" that had suddenly appeared in the Nation of Disorder was all about.
Within the "Moon City," which was formed by an boundless dark-gold mist, Aaron's figure appeared. He simply glanced around and immediately discovered an anomaly.
The most obvious point was that this illusory "Moon City" seemed to be constructed from a blend of faith and the power of the Nation of Disorder. Gently touching the illusion of High Priest Nim, a broken sentence suddenly appeared in Aaron's mind:
"Great Lord of Order, I wish to offer everything I have, praying for you to bring salvation to Moon City…"
The somewhat blurry prayer became clearer and louder after Aaron touched it. Aaron was somewhat surprised to find that the surrounding dark-gold mist had thinned a bit, flowing into Nim's illusion and making it more real.
This was not a one-sided giving. With the increasingly clear prayers, Aaron's own divinity, which had been constantly expanding due to his recent advancement, was consequently suppressed, and his self-perception became clearer.
This seemed to be a more unique anchor, and also a special product of the combination of faith and order. This was not a tool to help Aaron maintain his humanity.
Its main function was to form corresponding cognition, positioning, and image, to counteract the spiritual imprints within the Beyonder characteristic, maintaining a subtle balance.
Under this balance, Aaron's own humanity could be maintained, not being severely influenced by either side.
It was somewhat similar to how the Seven Orthodox Churches replaced concrete idols with their respective Holy Emblems, creating a distinction between the deity recognized by believers and the actual deity, preventing the image of the deity in the believers' minds from gradually overshadowing the deity's true appearance.
Realizing this, Aaron controlled the dark-gold mist to continuously pour into the illusory "Moon City," enriching the illusory buildings and figures. The previous contact had given him a realization:
The city constructed within the Nation of Disorder was the true cornerstone for his future establishment of a terrestrial Divine Kingdom. After he attained a higher Rank, he could even directly interfere with cities in reality by modifying the rules of the illusory city through the Sefirah.
This also seemed to be the method for a Sequence 0 Justiciar to modify underlying rules!
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