Mystery: The arrival of the new Black Emperor

What appeared in mid-air was a huge city "hanging" in mid-air.

The city is high on all sides and low in the middle. The buildings extend in circles toward the end of the underground pit. The whole city gives people the feeling of an inverted mausoleum.

The buildings inside it have various styles, but they are all equally weird. Some of them are tall pale stone pillars with huge stone houses polished on the top. Some are rectangular with no windows and the door opens on the roof. It was built underground, with a tombstone erected at the entrance. Some were made of bones, making it look quite messy.

The closer to the pit in the middle, the better preserved the buildings are. The closer to the top, the more buildings have collapsed, full of a sense of decay and dilapidation brought about by time.

Hobert's first reaction was that it was Calderon, the "City of the Dead", and that it was Calderon that had undergone some kind of mutation.

Then he took a look at the official Beyonders around him. Except for Ted and the two Sequence 5s, most of them were "low-sequence" Beyonders.

If left alone, even Ted could die here.

Hobert thought about it for a moment and said to them: "Don't leave behind me. I'll think of a way."

Then he made a thought and tried to enter the "country of disorder". Fortunately, he could enter the "country of disorder" from here.

However, using the "true vision" of the "Creator", He could not even see where the boundary between the underworld and the real world was. He could only see that the underworld was eroding Monteson Port little by little, and more and more of the real world was being swallowed up by the underworld. .

Hobert used the "State of Disorder" to enhance his own spirituality, and he also felt that the underworld, or Calderon above, had undergone certain mutations.

Moreover, his spirit realized that the "Creator" could transfer Ted and the others to the real world, but he could only send their bodies out, and the spirits would still stay here, which would be the same as killing them.

This made Hobert frown: Even the power of the "State of Disorder" can't penetrate the mutated underworld?

Then he suddenly thought: In the deepest part of Calderon, there seemed to be a tributary of the "River of Eternal Darkness". It was probably the "River of Eternal Darkness" that blocked the power of the "State of Disorder".

Hobert, who was sitting on the "Iron Throne", sighed: In other words, there is no way to stop the current mutation using pure force.

So he returned to the real world first and glanced at the Extraordinaries behind him. Many "low-sequence" Extraordinaries had their lips turned purple from the cold.

Hobert stretched out his hand and "tampered" their state into a state of living corpses and wraiths, so that they would no longer be harmed by the surrounding environment for the time being.

But if the "tampering" time is too long, they may really turn into living corpses or resentful spirits in such an environment.

The official Beyonders all let out a long sigh of relief. Although their faces were pale and their expressions were dull, they looked more like corpses, but they finally no longer had to resist the aura of the undead around them.

"Fortunately, this port is not Calderon in the strict sense." Hobert smiled.

If everyone fell into the "city of death" immediately, these extraordinary people would die in an instant.

Hobert glanced outside and found that the buildings in Port Monteson were gradually becoming darker, as if they were gradually losing their color.

Among the gray buildings, pale white lights suddenly appeared. It was obvious that the city was gradually being assimilated by the underworld.

"Now we are facing such a problem." Hobert briefly described the problems they are currently encountering, but of course information about the source of matter cannot be disclosed to them.

Hobert wants to mobilize everyone to help him think about this problem: "My idea is that there must be a reason why the spiritual world suddenly descended on the real world.

"Next, while we are looking for clues, help me think about what the reason might be?"

For a moment, everyone was eager to give it a try. They didn't expect that they could participate in such a high-level event and serve as the Grand Duke's adviser.

Hobert led everyone out of the building with the teleportation array and came to the street outside.

When I first entered the street, there was nothing there, but soon, there were shadowy figures on the street. They walked back and forth with dull eyes, as if they were imitating the residents of the city.

Gradually, they became more and more solid, and they were human beings or monsters that were rotten and only skeletons were left.

They were no longer so sluggish, and suddenly stopped wandering, looking at Hobert and a dozen other people together.

Hobert stretched out his palm and revealed the mark given to him by Mr. Azik.

This seemed to be a proof of identity. The undead around him saluted Hobert, which surprised Ted and the others. Suddenly, they had the illusion that they were important figures in the world of the undead.

Hobert and others walked forward. The undead in front also saluted, and then the undead behind stood up.

At this time, Ted from behind suddenly said: "Grand Duke, besides looking for clues and reasons ourselves, are there any other ways for us to obtain information?"

Hobert was slightly startled: "This is a good idea."

He just wanted not to ask the "Pale Queen" for help, but that doesn't mean he can't get information from her!

"Wait a moment." Hobert made a prayer. In fact, he entered the "Country of Disorder" and briefly described the situation on his side to Audrey to see if there was any channel for her to get some information?

…

Servas, the capital of the Balam Empire.

Audrey was waiting in a side hall of the palace, with Beverly and Raymond right behind her.

She had already asked the "Pale Queen" just now: "Does the extraordinary event that happened in our country mean the formal declaration of war by the Balam Empire?

"You are also a country that signed the Backlund Peace Treaty, and now your actions are a sneak attack! We will protest to you in the League of Nations and condemn your actions in the international community."

This question poked at the weakness of the current Balam Empire, which attaches great importance to its international image.

Just like a person who is used to having low self-esteem and suddenly realizes that someone is paying attention to him, he will definitely care about his own image.

Of course, the "Pale Queen" didn't pay attention to such questions at all, but the ministers present were very concerned about it.

The "Pale Queen" is similar to Hobert. She only cares about the general strategy and has long since stopped caring about such daily management matters. These matters are basically the ministers' concern.

So Prime Minister Santos said that they did not know the specific situation and asked Audrey to wait in the side hall for a while. He promised to give Audrey a satisfactory answer.

Audrey was in the side hall thinking about how to bring this matter into this negotiation so that she could occupy the moral high ground, when a majestic figure sitting among swords suddenly appeared in front of her.

Then the scene in front of him changed to Hobert's figure. He briefly described the problems he was currently encountering and asked Audrey to find out as much information as possible.

Audrey thought about it for a while, and after making a plan, she asked the waiter outside to invite Prime Minister Santos to come here.

Four or five minutes later, Santos came to the side hall: "We believe that this incident has nothing to do with us, and we can provide corresponding evidence to the League of Nations.

"But if you need our help, as neighbors, of course we will lend a helping hand, but the question is what kind of compensation you can give."

Audrey shook her head, looking disappointed: "Is this the sense of responsibility of being a big country?"

Santos smiled and said: "We have already issued a statement to sever all ties with the 'Underworld Sect', and we will not be responsible for any actions.

"This is well documented and I can get the relevant documents."

Audrey seemed to understand something: "Don't the 'Underworld Sect' support your queen?"

"Their crazy people even live in the underworld!" Santos spread his hands and explained: "I haven't seen anyone from the 'Underworld Sect' for a long time."

While observing Santos's expression and body movements, Audrey used her ability to follow the topic and said: "Okay, I was successfully persuaded by you, because I also guessed that this might be the behavior of the 'Underworld Sect' .

"But I need to report this matter to the principality government. Just because I believe you is not enough. You have to provide some evidence."

"What kind of evidence do you need to provide?" Santos did not realize at all that he was providing information to Audrey: "The purpose of the 'Underworld Sect' is to integrate the underworld with the real world. They believe that in this case, the 'God of Death' path Only extraordinary people can become the masters of this world.

"So they've been studying 'City of the Dead.'"

Audrey showed her intellectual curiosity at the right time: "I am very curious about their research results."

"I'm also curious." Santos said under Audrey's guidance without leaving any trace: "I heard that they have been trying to become residents of the 'City of the Dead' while maintaining their sanity.

"I also heard that they found a very powerful power in the 'City of the Dead', but I don't know what the specific power is."

Audrey nodded and talked about another issue: "In order to give the principality government enough reference, please tell us how you would help us if we asked for your help?

"You should know that they also need to estimate your help and then make a decision."

"Of course." Santos turned around and signaled his guards to close the door with his eyes before whispering: "For us, this matter is not difficult to solve, because our angels can be free in a short time. Walking around the outskirts of Calderon City.

"If a change occurs there, they can also use their own abilities to help uncover the people of the 'Underworld Sect' and obtain more information, so that they can know how to prevent the underworld from eroding the real world."

Audrey nodded thoughtfully: "I will report it to the boss."

"I hope you can discuss the issue of remuneration by the way." Santos smiled: "We are not greedy, we only hope to get your part of the Star Highlands territory."

"I think our reward will be to ask for compensation from you." Audrey suddenly changed her face: "You and the 'Underworld Sect' are both extraordinary powers of the Spiritual Religion.

"I will not make any statement on your statement of drawing a line between you and the 'Underworld Sect' for the time being, but I am not very clear about the attitude of the Church of the Goddess of the Night.

“I need to remind you that the God of War has fallen.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be so rude to the South Balam Principality, which has close cooperation with the Church of the Night Goddess."

Santos opened his mouth, not only sighing with emotion, why did the special envoy change his face so quickly? It was because Audrey's words once again pricked the minds of Santos and other ministers, or to be precise, the concerns of the "Pale Queen".

Previously, the Church of the Goddess of Night allowed so many Beyonders from adjacent pathways to operate in the Southern Continent because their main enemy was the Church of the God of War.

The reason why the Balam Empire worked so hard to integrate into the international social system of the Northern Continent after the war was to find opportunities to use the power of other churches to restrict the Church of the Night Goddess.

This has been their core strategy in recent times, and I didn't expect it to be revealed by Audrey like this.

"Okay, please leave now. I will give you an answer later." Audrey sent Santos away, a little surprised, and told Hobert the information she learned through the "Extraordinary Communication System".

…

Port Monteson.

After hearing Audrey's information, Hobert probably understood the whole story.

He raised his head again and glanced at Calderon City above his head. As long as he was a demigod-level Extraordinary, he could operate on the edge of this city. In theory, the "Pale Queen" should be able to penetrate deeper into the city. .

But if it reaches the interior of the universe, it will be more susceptible to the erosion of the "River of Eternal Darkness".

After knowing the cause, it was easier to handle. Hobert didn't even need to borrow the sealed artifact from Bernadette. He only needed to use the "0-73" Death God Realm, and he could walk there without any hindrance.

Even without the use of the "Reaper Realm", with the protection of the power of the "State of Disorder", he can even enter the center of the "City of the Dead" all the way.

But there was no point in going there for Him, and suddenly He thought of a better way.

Hobert smiled and said to Ted and others: "'There is strength in numbers.' Ted's reminder just now allowed me to obtain another key piece of information. Now, I will find you a safe place first, and then I will Go explore it alone.”

Ted was a little embarrassed by the praise. Others were happy for Ted when they saw that he was not so useless.

As he was talking, many heavy coffins suddenly floated out from near the core of the "City of the Dead". When they reached the position between Calderon City and Port Monteson, there was something in those coffins that sounded like they had not been maintained for a long time. Like a machine, it makes a "creeping" sound.

The coffin lid slowly opened, and a phoenix with pale white illusory feathers flew out from inside.

The undead in Port Monteson have also changed. The undead wandering on the streets have gradually changed from ordinary humans to giants with a big vertical pupil on their face, looking a bit honest. The two of them are tall and handsome, and There are some arrogant vampires and tall elves who don't look easy to mess with.

The wandering monsters have also changed from common extraordinary monsters to tall magic wolves, demons with horns and wings, and werewolves with crazy colors flashing in their eyes.

These monsters no longer bowed when they saw Hobert with the special mark, and occasionally looked at this group of people, wondering why they were so small.

The changes in the "City of the Dead" seem to be getting more and more severe.

At this time, a phoenix suddenly landed on the buildings in Monteson Port in the sky, and many illusory bricks were scratched and fell to the ground.

The phoenix with pale white illusory feathers opened its mouth and spit out a mouthful of white flames. The undead creatures around it fled away!

White flames spread out in front of Hobert and others, forming a wall of fire that was not very high.

Ted and others felt like they were facing a formidable enemy and were always ready to protect themselves when the Archduke dealt with the phoenix.

However, Hobert raised his hand, indicating that they should not be nervous. Archangel-level "tampering" was not so easy to see through. At this time, in the eyes of the undead creatures, they were no different from normal undead.

The phoenix turned to look at Hobert, and asked hoarsely in a very ancient language that Hobert could understand: "Whose subordinates are you?"

This is the "Language of the Dead", which can be understood by any creature with a soul.

Hobert had an idea: "'God of the Dead' Salinger."

The Phoenix was slightly startled: "The feathered snake is also dead?"

Hobert said seriously: "Yes."

The Phoenix said nothing more and raised its wings slightly, and the pale wall of fire in front of Hobert and others disappeared: "Pay attention to everything around you, I have a bad feeling."

Seeing that the other party was about to leave, Hobert quickly asked: "Sir, why were we... awakened?"

He didn't know if his wording was correct, but it seemed that the "City of the Dead" had awakened some ancient souls.

The Phoenix took off and said: "Because our ancestor is going to be resurrected, be happy! His Kingdom of God will return!"

Hobert's eyes narrowed: The ancient god of death is going to be resurrected! What kind of research have those guys from the "Underworld Sect" done here?

Without further ado, Hobert immediately took Ted and others into the nearby city hall.

At this time, there was a pale white will-o'-the-wisp inside the spacious city hall, illuminating the surrounding area with a particularly eerie look.

There are a few illusory shadows hiding in the corner, as if they want to make their home here.

Hobert took out a piece of "Order Crystal" and handed it to Ted, and told him how to use the barrier formed by the "Power of Order".

"Your status may change in a while. Don't panic. That's the chain reaction caused by me looking for members of the 'Underworld Sect'." Hobert warned: "Wait here and don't go anywhere. No matter what Whatever happens, don’t open the barrier!”

Although this will consume a lot of spiritual energy, Ted, as a "fallen Earl", should be able to sustain it for more than half an hour.

Ted summoned the barrier, and everyone watched Hobert leave. Soon they all glowed with brilliant colors like a rainbow, which looked very unusual in this world dominated by pale white.

Because of Hobert's advice, no one panicked, and even joked that they seemed to have become much more holy.

At first, everyone just thought that they would just wait here, but soon an innocent little girl ran in from outside and opened her arms towards them: "Dad, give me a hug."

"Rena!" An official Beyonder rushed over in disbelief: "Is it really you?"

"That's not your daughter!" Ted quickly used his ability to "distort" space to twist the official extraordinary person back behind him: "Attention, everyone! Without the protection of the Grand Duke! The mutated underworld will notice us! But , no matter what, don’t leave this barrier.”

The official Beyonder was suddenly drained of all his strength. He sat down on the ground and cried bitterly: "Dad misses you so much."

Ted took a deep breath: "This is death..."

"Kid, are you a demigod now?" A woman in her forties and classically dressed walked in from the outside. Her eyebrows bore a slight resemblance to Ted.

Ted's breathing suddenly became rapid, but in the end, he stabilized himself and then tried to calm himself down: "Mother, you... you haven't aged at all, you are exactly the same as when I buried you."

The lady asked kindly: "You seem to have matured a lot. You must have experienced a lot of difficulties in these years."

"Yes." Ted suddenly smiled with tears in his eyes: "Ada is thirteen years old this year, and a few days ago he said he dreamed about grandma."

The lady's expression instantly became serious: "Have you prepared extraordinary characteristics for him?"

"Mother, the curse is lifted."

"Ah, it's lifted. It's good, it's good. Your father's spirit body was contaminated because of the curse. I searched for him in the underworld for a long time, but I couldn't find him."

Ted's defense suddenly broke, and he covered his face and cried bitterly, just like the official extraordinary person he had just been.

However, he still remembers his mission and has been injecting spirituality into the "Order Crystal".

Without the protection of the Archangel, even with the barrier composed of "Order Crystal", the spirit bodies of these official Extraordinaries are very insignificant in front of the "City of the Dead".

…

After Hobert left the city hall, he stretched out his hand and took out the "0-80" brass book of rules from the "State of Disorder", which is the uniqueness of the "Judge" path, the former "Trunsoest Yellow" Bronze Book".

He injected spirituality into the "Brass Book of Laws". As the owner of the "Country of Disorder" and the owner of this sealed object, the Brass Book understood Hobert's intentions without opening his mouth.

It opened on its own, and a line of mercury font appeared on a new page: This is the underworld, and the colors of any non-undead creatures are different from this pale white world.

Hobert's body immediately emitted colorful light, but he conveniently gave this color to an undead giant.

However, under the "regulations" of the "Brass Book", his previous "tampering" with his own state still failed. The undead creatures around him looked at him and realized that he was not a creature of this world.

Then the second line of mercury font appeared on the page of the "Brass Book": As the owner of the "State of Disorder", the great "Founder" has noble moral integrity and is a unique being who can Escape from the constraints of many rules.

Hobert was slightly startled: Sealed objects can really flatter you! It's just that the "Brass Book" has a higher status and is not as shameless as Magic Mirror Aroost!