Chapter 353: The Kingdom of Loen's Full-Scale Declaration of War

Chapter 353: The Kingdom of Loen's Full-Scale Declaration of War

The Path of the Stars, a supernatural path fully aligned with the Hall of Stars, had emerged. This should have been good news, as Hastur himself had been hesitating whether to switch to an adjacent path when advancing from Sequence 5 to Sequence 4. The timely appearance of the Star Pathways indeed gave him another option.

However, there was a serious problem. At higher sequences, advancing typically required a piece of uniqueness. In the entire lord of the Mysterious world , there were likely no other beyonders on the Star Pathways , so where could he obtain the uniqueness needed for advancement? From the Hall of Stars itself?

As Hastur pondered these questions, he continued receiving information from the Hall of Stars. After absorbing this knowledge, he opened his eyes, a hint of peculiarity flashing in their depths.

Except for advancing to Sequence 4 Exile and Sequence 0,Return of the stars, which required the Hall of Stars as a medium, Sequences 3, 2, and 1 could use corresponding uniqueness from other paths as substitutes! There was a prerequisite, however - the uniqueness from other paths must belong to the Outer Gods and Ancient Ones who attended the Star Conference at the Hall of Stars.

This ability and requirement reminded Hastur of the Chain of Order, which could copy or "leech off" abilities from other paths. For instance, besides his own Black Emperor pathway, he now possessed related abilities from the Judge, Fate, Night, and Sun pathways.

"Chain of Order... this name is no longer sufficient to describe its capabilities. Perhaps Chain of Stars would be more fitting," Hastur mused, renaming the Chain of Order before continuing to contemplate other issues related to the Star Pathways .

He considered the required mystical materials and advancement rituals. While the earlier sequences were manageable, advancing to Sequence 1 and Sequence 0 would require a journey to outer space. Given his identity as a Star Aligner, venturing into space would be like a fragrant meat bun falling into a pack of hungry dogs. He would undoubtedly be torn to shreds and devoured, leaving not even scraps behind.

Perhaps there were other clever methods. Hastur carefully examined the requirements of the advancement rituals, scrutinizing every punctuation mark.

"The Lamp God... should He be sent to outer space in advance?" Hastur tapped his fingers on the desk, deep in thought.

...

As night faded and only the sun remained shining in the sky among the stars, an unusually cool summer persisted. While most people welcomed the respite from the typical scorching heat, some wise elders worried about surviving the coming colder winter.

However, before winter arrived, the smoke of war appeared on the horizon. Without warning or alliances, the Kingdom of Loen and the Intis Republic simultaneously declared war on the Feysac Empire during a morning meeting in the king's council chamber!

This sudden declaration shocked not only the people of Feysac but also the citizens of Loen and Intis, who found it unbelievable and inconceivable. This was especially true for Loen, given that Feysac's overall national strength had always surpassed Loen's. Although their previous conflicts had seen victories on both sides, that was when Feysac had to divide its attention to deal with Intis as well.

Moreover, with the Southern Continent's wars having just subsided, shouldn't they be more concerned about a potential invasion from the south? If the Southern Continent took advantage of Loen's attack on Feysac to launch its own invasion, how would they cope?

However, these voices of concern could not sway the determination of Loen's leadership. The churches remained collectively silent, fully cooperating with the kingdom's decision to go to war. King George III of Loen was even preparing to deliver a large-scale pre-war speech across the nation in a month's time.

Backlund was particularly bustling that day, with almost all of Loen's ministers and influential nobles summoned to the palace to discuss the kingdom's future direction.

At the Holl family manor, Audrey naturally learned of Loen's decision to wage full-scale war against Feysac. She was somewhat bewildered by the news.

Although she hadn't paid much attention to Loen's high-level politics, she knew that the Southern Continent was gaining momentum and could potentially attack Loen at any time. Mr. Hanged had been specifically dispatched to guard the coastal defenses in South Welles County for this very reason.

At such a critical moment, Loen's unilateral declaration of war against Feysac seemed odd. While she didn't want to question the king's decision, she couldn't help but feel something was amiss.

After some consideration, she called for Susie, who was diligently studying Mr. Hermes's psychology texts in her room.

"Susie, please pause your studies for the next few days and listen in on Earl Hall's conversations in the study," Audrey requested.

"Certainly, Audrey," Susie agreed, then added, "Audrey, you should try to change your habit of pacing back and forth when you're preoccupied. It easily reveals your current state of mind."

"..."

Susie left the room to eavesdrop in the study, leaving a stunned Audrey behind.

...

On the Southern Continent, in the East Balam Empire, Sharon was preparing to return to South Welles County by ship after a two-day stay.

Due to Gregory's influence, East Balam's attitude towards her was notably ingratiating. Upon hearing her desire to gather former members of the Moderation faction, they mobilized the entire country to help her accomplish this task.

When she was about to leave the Southern Continent, East Balam even offered to send a large warship to escort her back to South Welles County. Sharon declined this proposal, opting to return with Gregory on a regular passenger ship.

This was a normal ferry from the Southern Continent to South Welles County, carrying merchants who had been doing business in the south along with their families, as well as some government officials from Loen, Intis, Feynapotter, and other countries.

With the Southern Continent's domestic war concluded victoriously, these ordinary government officials had not been persecuted but were simply required to leave the Southern Continent within a specified timeframe.

The ferry's passengers were a mixed group. Sharon occupied a VIP cabin alone, as the ship's captain was also someone specially assigned by the East Balam royal family.

Mr. Azik was also on board, staying in another VIP cabin. He was currently sitting at a desk covered with books, writing a letter with an ink-stained quill. The letter was addressed to his student, Klein.

"Faking your death to hide yourself is a good decision, but before you advance to Faceless, you'll need a mystical item that can conceal your aura," Azik wrote.

"I have a mystical item called the Mask of Falsehood. It can help you hide your true appearance and make it difficult for others to discover you. It has only two negative effects."

"The first negative effect is that for every three days you use the Mask of Falsehood, you'll have one day where you'll feel a strong urge to tell the truth. On this day, you must minimize or completely avoid communication with others."

"The second negative effect is that the longer you wear the Mask of Falsehood, the more likely you are to fall into a state of confusion between reality and illusion. Therefore, you should remove the mask for one day every two weeks to allow it to reset its effects."

Azik had specifically requested this mystical item from East Balam's treasury, intending it for Klein, who was currently adventuring at sea.

After a pause, Azik continued writing: "I have regained my past memories. Although there were many twists and turns, I will always be your teacher, and I intend to live out the rest of my life peacefully in this role."

"This winter, I plan to vacation in northern Feysac. If you have time, you could join me there for skiing and seal hunting."

After finishing the letter, Azik summoned a spirit world messenger to deliver it to Klein, who was still drifting on the high seas.

Having completed this task, Azik rose to visit Sharon's cabin. Although he couldn't be certain of the young lady's relationship with Gregory, he assumed it must be quite close.

Perhaps by teaching Sharon, he could help Gregory retain more of his humanity. A Death God full of humanity, who hasn't succumbed to complete madness, would be less likely to bring excessive death and war to the world.

Upon Azik's arrival, Sharon ceased her puppet performance and began to learn and discuss various mystical knowledge with him.

Gregory, standing by the window enjoying the breeze, merely glanced at them before turning his gaze back to the sky. He was contemplating whether to take advantage of the crucial moment when the everNight Goddess was absorbing the uniqueness of the God of War pathway to launch a sneak attack.

However, considering the everNight Goddess's authority over secrets and her vicious yet patient scheming, it was possible that she hadn't even begun absorbing the God of War pathway's uniqueness yet. If he were to enter the everNight Goddess's divine kingdom now, he might never be able to leave, inadvertently benefiting her instead.

Realizing this, Gregory's mood soured. He lowered his head to adjust the feathers on his chest, then flew to Sharon's shoulder to quietly listen to Azik and Sharon's casual conversation.

When bored, he dozed off, swaying his body and nearly falling from Sharon's shoulder. Sharon had to cup him in her hands and place him safely on the table.

Although she was aware of Gregory's extraordinary nature, she still found it hard to believe that this small creature was at least a Sequence 2 angel.

Azik was quite pleased with this, seeing Gregory's behavior as evidence of his increasing humanity.

He couldn't help but reflect that whether gods or ordinary people, everyone has their own shortcomings. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that this world itself is not perfect, and thus always requires mutual complementation.