Lord: Sequence Master

"A mysterious bell?"

Rosen sifted through the pile of items his Self-Portrait Clone had brought back from the scavenged belongings. Among the clutter, there was indeed a small bell. He hadn't noticed any spiritual energy from it, so he had initially considered it junk. If not for seeing the memories of the Old Redstone Baron, he would have completely overlooked this treasure.

Picking up the bell, Rosen carefully covered the bottom with his hand, ensuring no gap remained, and then lightly shook it. Immediately, his spiritual strength, originally at 39 points, surged by 9 points, reaching a total of 48.

The enhanced spiritual power felt perfectly natural, as if the additional 9 points had always belonged to him. However, as soon as he stopped shaking the bell, the extra strength disappeared.

Frowning, Rosen stared at the bell, realizing its true significance. This was no ordinary artifact—it was an extraordinary treasure.

Why? Simple. This bell could greatly increase the chances of advancing through the Sequence ranks.

In the world of the extraordinary, there were many methods to temporarily boost spiritual strength. Historical records even mention methods that could temporarily raise a Sequence 9's strength to that of Sequence 1. However, these techniques usually relied on external forces that acted as a second core overlaying the original.

But the power from this bell didn't add an external layer; it expanded the core itself, temporarily raising his spiritual strength to 48 points. If he consumed a Sequence 5 Hunter potion at that moment, he could even break through to Sequence 5.

Of course, once the bell's sound stopped, his strength would revert to Sequence 6. Nevertheless, this bell had the ability to bypass the bottlenecks of Sequence advancement.

Such an item was unheard of, even for Rosen.

He proceeded with various identification methods, but even Main God Computer and the Miracle Pouch both returned the same result—the bell was nothing more than an ordinary bronze object. This only heightened Rosen's suspicions that its true nature was extraordinary.

According to the Old Redstone Baron's memories, this bell had once belonged to the Howard Family, just like the Bloodline Compass. It seemed the Howard family was hiding even deeper secrets.

After all, the entire Candlefire Divine Kingdom civilization had collapsed, yet the Howard family had survived. This alone was highly suspicious. Rosen had previously thought the Candlefire True God had protected them, but now it seemed that the Howard family might possess a special nature of their own, which had led them to be chosen as the carriers of a rekindled civilization.

For the next few days, Rosen experimented with the bell, but to no avail. Frustrated, he tried the old-fashioned method of blood recognition and dripped a drop of his blood onto it.

To his surprise, the bell absorbed the blood.

As he digested the information conveyed by the bell, it took him a moment to comprehend what had just happened.

"So, it really was blood recognition…"

Rosen chuckled wryly.

This mysterious bell was neither an extraordinary artifact nor a miracle item. It was something entirely different—a relic known as an Ancient God Relic. Its ability to amplify spiritual strength was merely a passive effect. The true power of this relic was far greater—it could suppress the fate and fortune of an entire civilization and even gradually awaken dormant Ancient God bloodlines.

Speaking of ancient gods, the first thing that came to Rosen's mind was the Ancient God Civilization, one of the three major Nine Tribulation Civilizations.

If this bell was indeed a relic of the Ancient God Civilization, and his blood could activate it, that implied the Howard Family might be descendants of the Ancient Gods, with dormant Ancient God blood running through their veins.

Rosen pressed the Ancient God Relic against his heart. The bell seemed to merge into his chest, and his blood began to wash over the relic, carrying faint golden glimmers with it.

His heartbeat quickened. He had indeed stumbled upon a priceless treasure.

Somehow, he felt that this relic might even rival the Main God Computer in significance.

Several Days Later – Blazing Shadow Royal City, Painter's Guild

Having successfully advanced to Sequence 6, Ms. Fam looked across at Rosen, who was now also Sequence 6, feeling deeply moved.

Back then, one of them had been Sequence 7, and the other Sequence 9, but now both were at Sequence 6. The next time they met, she might be the one looking up to Rosen.

Rosen himself was slightly surprised to meet Ms. Fam again. Typically, new Sequence 6 Painters would travel to other countries to broaden their horizons, but surprisingly, she had stayed in Blazing Shadow Royal City and even become the new Guildmaster of the Painter's Branch.

"My full name is Fam Blazing Shadow," she introduced herself solemnly, clearing up Rosen's confusion.

"So that's it. Well, I still recommend that you visit the Thunder Empire when you get the chance," Rosen advised earnestly.

"I will, in a few years. A Sequence 6 Painter can't progress any further in the Blazing Shadow Dukedom," Ms. Fam agreed, nodding.

The two spent most of the day exchanging their insights on the Painter Sequence. Rosen also used his Ashen Veil to display the natural wonders he had painted.

Eventually, Rosen explained the main reason for his visit—he wanted to complete two Spiritual Realm Paintings at the Painter's Guild. One of these paintings would be left for the guild, while the other was for the Alonso Family, who had migrated from the Underground Kingdom.

Years ago, the Alonso Marquis had invested in Rosen, allowing him to acquire the heart of a Sequence 4 Heart Eater, which had greatly enhanced his Sketching Technique. When the Demon God incident in the Underground Kingdom caused widespread destruction, the Alonso family had relocated to the Blazing Shadow Dukedom after the Marquis' death.

Rosen had originally planned to repay this debt in the Underground Kingdom, but finding the Alonso family here, he saw an opportunity to clear his dues by creating another Spiritual Realm Painting.

For the painting he was leaving with the guild, the guild naturally provided the necessary materials. With the help of the Tower of Time, Rosen completed the first painting in just two weeks of real time.

The painting depicted a shipyard in the Blazing Shadow Dukedom that had once been destroyed by an extraordinary sea beast. The shipbuilders who had died years ago were brought back from the spiritual realm, captured from the remnants of history and given life once more through Rosen's brushstrokes.

This painting would allow the Spiritual Realm Shipyard to consistently produce Sequence 9 Extraordinary Ships.

However, after finishing the painting, Rosen's mood soured slightly. He discovered that the shipyard hadn't been destroyed by an extraordinary sea beast at all, but rather by a pirate ship disguised as one. Worse, the destruction seemed to have been orchestrated by the Blazing Shadow Family themselves.

The Blazing Shadow family had likely destroyed the shipyard so that it could later be recreated as a Spiritual Realm property, essentially converting a public asset into their own inheritance. This practice was probably not uncommon in the dukedom.

Though it seemed that Ms. Farm was unaware of this, Rosen decided it was best to limit his future dealings with the Blazing Shadow Family. After all, a confrontation with them was inevitable.

Rosen moved on to the second painting, an original Spiritual Realm Painting without any historical replicas. This one depicted a Spiritual Crystal Mine that would generate a steady flow of spiritual crystals—more valuable than the Heart Eater's heart Alonso had given him.

Had the Marquis still been alive, Rosen wouldn't have repaid the debt so soon, as he had great respect for the Alonso Marquis. However, with the Marquis gone, there was no point in maintaining an outstanding favor with a family he hardly knew. Better to clear the debt and move on.

Two weeks later, Rosen delivered the painting to the Alonso family. After five months of hard work under fivefold time acceleration, Rosen had also earned two points of Creation Power. He now possessed 4 points of Creation Power, enough to create four real-life beings.

For a Painter, these hard-earned points of Creation Power were a precious resource.

With the affairs of the Blazing Shadow Dukedom wrapped up, Rosen began taking on bounty missions through the Hunter's Guild, often targeting those who broke the world's laws or sought power through contact with the evil gods. These individuals were ripe for turning into fuel for his Death Verdict skill.

Eventually, Rosen had cleared out all the bounties related to evil god cultists in the Blazing Shadow Dukedom. Of course, he hadn't taken these missions under his real name. He had no desire to get entangled with the cults of the evil gods.

As he carried out more and more executions, Rosen felt his Death Verdict skill grow stronger.

One day, while sketching another bounty target, Rosen suddenly paused. He sensed a warning from his Divine Domain.

Divine Domain: Sequence 6

Territory Size: 7,800 meters in radius

Lord Powers: Bloodline Glory, Vast Knowledge, Bloodline Awakening, Ruler

Territory Features: Divine Domain Lord, Glory Vault, Divine Reproduction, Fountain of Life, Sequence Seeds, Fate Perception

Territory Buildings: Sequence 9 Divine Scavenger Space, Sequence 7 Divine Beast Pen, Sequence 7 Radiant Lighthouse, Sequence 7 Ashen Castle, Sequence 7 Slime Nest, Sequence 8 Ashen Hive, Sequence 7 Demon Nest, Sequence 5 Tower of Time, 1060 Sequence 9 Extraordinary Residences

Attached Spiritual Realm: Ironwood Town

Citizens: 36,921

Territory Forces: Slimes, Ashen Bees, Cavern Demons, etc.

Rosen's Divine Domain had come a long way. From the Hunter x Hunter world alone, over 10,000 citizens had migrated to his domain, alongside over a thousand from Ironwood Town and numerous Catfolk. With the population from the domains of Count Fritz and Fort, he now had nearly 40,000 citizens in total.

Rosen had long known that his Divine Domain in the Spirit World would eventually face danger. The World Government had established rules requiring every Divine Domain to withstand endless waves of Spirit World Creatures. This was both a test to weed out the unfit domain lords and a way to provide them with resources while simultaneously reducing the number of spirit creatures on the surface of the Spirit World.

However, over the years, his domain had remained untouched, never facing an invasion.

Through conversations with other nobles, Rosen realized this was because he had grown too quickly. In the Spirit World, Divine Domains acted like beacons in the night, attracting spirit creatures like moths to a flame. However, while these creatures might flock to the light, not all were bold enough to attack a powerful domain.

His domain's rapid growth had outpaced the gathering strength of the "moths." By the time a swarm of Sequence 7 creatures was ready to attack, his domain had already advanced to Sequence 6. Moreover, Rosen had been constantly on the move, causing any would-be invaders to lose track of his domain before they could mount a proper assault.

But this time, he had stayed too long in the Blazing Shadow Royal City, allowing the delayed invasion to finally catch up.

Rosen vanished from his hotel room and reappeared atop the Spirit Realm Watchtower in his domain. Using his Fate Perception ability, he foresaw an incoming assault by more than 10,000 Spirit World Creatures in two days.

The horde mostly consisted of Sequence 9 creatures, with over a thousand Sequence 8, hundreds of Sequence 7, and more than ten Sequence 6.

This number of creatures exceeded the usual threshold for a Sequence 6 Divine Domain invasion, but Rosen suspected this was the consequence of his domain dodging previous battles.

If every domain could simply avoid conflict, the rules set by the World Government would become a joke.

While the numbers were indeed high, Rosen had complete confidence that he could annihilate the invaders.

Despite the domain's current size of 7,800 meters, only the central mountain, with a radius of 3,000 meters, housed the population. The outer areas were home to over a hundred Sequence 7 Slimes and Cavern Demons, and the land was riddled with traps set by the Cavern Demons. Those traps alone would wipe out most of the invaders below Sequence 7.

For the next two days, Rosen's entire domain prepared for battle.

On the evening of the attack, the Radiant Lighthouse beamed its light across the spatial barrier at the domain's edge. Within a few miles, hordes of spirit creatures could be seen gathering from all directions.

The invaders were divided into five main groups: Goblins to the east, Minotaurs to the south, Grey Ratmen to the west, a mixed group of various spirit creatures to the north, and a swarm of Ghost-Faced Bats circling overhead.

These spirit creatures were all remnants of creatures that had once lived in the Blazing Shadow Dukedom. Having been exterminated by humanity in reality, their lingering spirits had found new life in the Spirit World. Naturally, they harbored a deep hatred for humans.

The light from the Radiant Lighthouse provoked them, and the hordes began charging toward the domain from five directions simultaneously.

The first to reach the barrier were the Ghost-Faced Bats. These creatures once had intelligence comparable to a ten-year-old child, but after becoming spirit creatures, their intellect had regressed to that of a toddler. Only a few individuals retained higher intelligence, and it was clear that this swarm was being directed by one of these more intelligent individuals.

Normally, a domain lord would take advantage of the disunity among the spirit creatures, picking them off one group at a time.

However, Rosen chose the opposite approach—he ordered the Ghost-Faced Bats to be the primary target.

He found the invaders disappointingly weak. If he didn't raise the difficulty, the battle wouldn't provide enough of a challenge to properly train his citizens.

Nine Sequence 8 Wizard Towers near the mountain's base unleashed massive area-of-effect spells at the sky, instantly striking down half of the Ghost-Faced Bats. These towers had been acquired from the domains of Count Fritz and Fort, with some of the towers' original owners submitting to Rosen. Those who hadn't complied had disappeared, and the towers had been reassigned to the first of his citizens to reach Sequence 8.

The barrage from the towers incited the remaining bats into a frenzy. Ignoring the commands of their leader, they recklessly charged past the spatial barrier, heading straight for the mountain, where the human presence was strongest.

Over a thousand human extraordinaires on the mountain, all battle-hardened and eager for rewards, gazed up at the approaching bats like wolves spotting prey.

Mounted knights soared into the sky, hunters fired their arrows, and wizards unleashed their spells. Every participant knew that the more kills they made, the greater the post-battle rewards.

Seeing the bat swarm being shredded, Rosen commanded his Storm Thunderbird to ascend. The two Sequence 6 Ghost-Faced Bat Leaders required more than just a few Sequence 7 subordinates to handle.

With the air battle stabilizing, the fight on the ground began in earnest.

Knights without flying mounts, assassins, and the Catfolk warriors who had transitioned to the Shadow Cat Sequence clashed with the invading spirit creatures, aided by Healers providing constant support.

Rosen, however, refrained from sending in reinforcements. The creatures invading his domain were mostly Sequence 9, and the spirit creatures' leaders, cunning Sequence 6 commanders, seemed intent on wearing down his forces with a war of attrition.

The invaders' tactic was sound. Human extraordinaires lacked the ability to rapidly recover their spiritual energy. As the battle dragged on, human forces were forced to expend more and more energy on defensive skills to protect themselves, while the relentless spirit creatures fought without regard for their own survival.

As the fight progressed, all 1,000 of the Sequence 9 Spirit Creatures lay dead at the domain's edge, but at the cost of over ten human casualties. Most of the remaining Sequence 9s had exhausted their spiritual energy, despite the assistance of healers and potions.

War always carried a toll. No one could predict if they would be the unlucky ones to face a coordinated attack from dozens of spirit creatures. Even a Sequence 8 could fall if they were swarmed by enough Sequence 9s.

The battle had also revealed some shortcomings: the knights' reinforcements were too slow, the assassins often overextended, the healers weren't fast or accurate enough in their assistance, and the wizards sometimes ended up injuring their own allies with their spells.

Rosen had trained these citizens extensively in virtual spirit realms, where they had fought countless battles of varying scales. Yet, despite their experience, they still made such mistakes.

It was clear now that their training had been insufficient.

In virtual training, they knew they wouldn't die, but in real combat, the fear of death made them hesitant.

Still, this was a common flaw among all new soldiers. After a few more battles, they would grow into seasoned warriors.

Out of the thousand extraordinaires, fewer than a hundred had the potential to surpass Sequence 7. Rosen had carefully selected these individuals from millions in the Shafik State within the Hunter x Hunter Spiritual Realm. Those with potential were given relative freedom to grow, while the rest would eventually become career soldiers.

With the cannon fodder wiped out, the elite spirit creatures began their assault.

Leading the charge were the Sequence 9 Elites, interspersed with Sequence 8 and Sequence 7 individuals. In addition to the hundreds of Ghost-Faced Bats in the sky, each of the four ground forces boasted over a thousand elite units.

"All Sequence 9 and 8 units, retreat to the mountain. Sequence 7s, engage freely," Rosen's voice echoed through the minds of all his citizens.

This was the power granted by the Ruler's Military Authority—the ability to connect with and command the spiritual energy of all his subjects during battle. Once he officially conferred titles of Hero upon certain individuals, this power would grow even stronger.

Those who received the order retreated to the mountain in perfect order, leaving only a few Sequence 7 fighters to hold the front lines.

It was then that the Sequence 7 Slimes and Cavern Demons emerged to reinforce the trap-laden areas.

The Grey Ratmen, charging from the west, drove tens of thousands of dog-sized rats toward the domain's perimeter, spreading them out across the trap-filled landscape.

At that moment, the outermost fire traps activated, turning the perimeter into a sea of flames. The scent of burning flesh and hair, along with the sight of flaming rat corpses strewn across the battlefield, made several human citizens observing from the mountain gag.

Tens of thousands of rats perished in the second line of traps, impaled on spikes and left to burn.

By then, the remaining spirit creatures had regrouped at the Minotaurs' position. It seemed that the invaders' leaders, realizing the strength of Rosen's domain, had abandoned their plan for a multi-pronged assault and shifted to a concentrated push.

Rosen responded by repositioning the Slimes and Cavern Demons to meet them, preparing for a decisive confrontation.