Lord: Sequence Master

Rosen only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Karpac had been fully dissolved by the Sea Burial, and then he withdrew the seawater.

That seawater would be sent to the Divine Beast Pen, where the rich nutrients it contained would trigger a flourishing cycle of life.

Rosen released the troops stored in the spiritual realm, as well as the extraordinary citizens sent into the castle.

Alicia, eager as ever, led her forces to attack Karpac's Divine Domain. Now without its lord's castle or the lord himself, Karpac's Divine Domain had only three Sequence 5 heroes left.

With her command over the wood elves, Alicia easily handled all three heroes without needing any help.

Three heroes without troops were like toothless tigers—just barely stronger than ordinary Sequence 5s.

Rosen unleashed a massive horde of rats that swarmed through Karpac's domain, even digging up the high-quality soil. As long as it wasn't too deeply integrated with the domain itself, Void Scavenging could easily collect all the spoils.

Half an hour later, after Alicia had dealt with the three heroes, Rosen completely dismantled Karpac's domain.

Not even a handful of dirt was left behind, save for the empty shell within the spatial barrier.

At that moment, the Elemental Barrier surrounding Karpac's lord's castle inside the Stomach of Gluttony shattered.

Rosen entered the Stomach of Gluttony and quickly made his way to the inner chamber, where Karpac's Sequence Ancient Tree was located.

Underneath the Sequence Ancient Tree, Karpac was in the process of being reborn.

Next to the Sequence Ancient Tree stood three guardian knights—one Sequence 5 and two Sequence 6s. These knights, with maxed-out defense, could hold off even a Sequence 4 long enough for Karpac to fully revive.

However, Rosen had the power of Ashen Armor-Piercing. To him, the guardian knights were nothing but sitting ducks.

The two Sequence 6 guardians activated their Life Protection Barrier, capable of resisting even a Sequence 4 for a short time. But against the Dragon King's Rage, it only took a few dozen Void Piercing Bullets to tear through the Life Protection and take down the two guardians.

The final Sequence 5 guardian, in desperation, raised a Life Protection Barrier strong enough to hold off a Sequence 3 for a short time.

But even that barrier crumbled in less than three minutes under the relentless onslaught of the Dragon King's Rage.

Rosen approached and pulled out the Fire Phoenix painting he had prepared earlier, using sealing techniques to quickly trap the Sequence Ancient Tree within the artwork. Later, he would alter Karpac's memory with the Ashen Veil, attempting to turn him into a puppet.

After stowing away his Divine Domain, Rosen reappeared in the Beast King Arena.

By then, Karpac's eldest son and great-grandson had scattered and fled.

Rosen sealed the Beast King Arena, then began his pursuit of the two escapees.

...

At the same time, Duke Moore immediately sensed the death of his eldest son.

Previously, when many of his direct descendants died at once, Duke Moore knew someone had infiltrated the Beast King Arena. However, the harder it was to locate Rosen, the more convinced he became that Rosen possessed an invaluable treasure—and the less willing he was to give up his pursuit of it.

Losing a few grandchildren was nothing compared to the potential gains of capturing Rosen.

At worst, Duke Moore would just take care of Karpac's lovers in the future.

But Duke Moore had never expected that even Karpac would die at the enemy's hands.

Had he known, he would have rushed back right away.

But now that they were dead, with so much sacrificed already, it was impossible for Duke Moore to give up on Rosen's treasure.

He would extract the truth from Rosen's spirituality, and then spare no expense to eliminate him.

However, just as Duke Moore was thinking of new ways to hunt down Rosen, the appearances of Rosen's doppelgangers within the spatial barrier suddenly vanished. Shortly afterward, he received a message from his great-grandson right before his death.

Of all his descendants, other than his eldest son, Duke Moore cherished this great-grandson the most.

This was because his great-grandson hadn't followed the Moore family's tradition of becoming a Gourmand, but instead became a far rarer Jurist.

For years, it was his great-grandson's power that had allowed the Moore family to bend the rules set by the World Government in certain regions.

However, because his great-grandson hadn't joined the World Government, he was still stuck at Sequence 9.

Through the Jurist's Court Summons ability, Duke Moore finally learned that it had been Rosen who attacked the Beast King Arena. Unfortunately, the summons from a Sequence 9 jurist was too slow, so Duke Moore only found out after Rosen had long since escaped.

Furious, Duke Moore burst out of the spatial barrier and returned to Beast City.

The Demi-God Assassin hesitated for a moment but ultimately chose to retreat as well.

His instincts told him there was another demi-god lurking nearby—likely the Elven Queen.

Now that Duke Moore was gone, he wasn't confident he could face the Elven Queen alone.

But despite his desire to flee, he couldn't forget about the missing Twin Daggers of Miracles. The Demi-God Assassin was determined not to let Rosen slip through his fingers.

As the assassin was about to leave, three other demigods appeared, surrounding him.

The Elven Queen had been there for a long time. She knew she couldn't defeat a Sequence 3 human Divine Domain Lord unless the battle took place around the Ancient Tree of Life, so she had contacted two other demi-gods with ties to the elven royal family.

The Ancient Tree of Life produced Life Elixirs, and wood elves made excellent lovers, even companions.

While the Elven Principality would never sell their people to other demi-gods, that didn't stop demi-gods from visiting, and upon leaving, some would charm wood elves who longed for a more exciting life in the outside world.

Thus, the Elven Principality had vast connections. When there were no conflicting interests, few demigods showed open hostility.

Even with a desperate escape attempt, the Demi-God Assassin was slain by the three demi-gods, his life ending under the Elven Queen's arrows.

Cornered, the Demi-God Assassin had been forced to shatter the Twin Daggers of Miracles to boost his own power.

When Rosen noticed the Twin Daggers in his possession regenerating, he realized the Demi-God Assassin had been pushed to his limits.

But one question still remained: Was Duke Moore dead?

Of the two escapees, Rosen had only managed to catch Wollian Moore, the Sequence 9 Jurist.

As for Karpac's eldest son, Willen Moore, he had been rescued, becoming Duke Moore's only surviving direct descendant.

Rosen had already dismissed his Self-Portrait Clone and summoned the Mysterious Study Room to his true body.

And now, he was positioned near the Moore family's castle.

If Duke Moore returned alive, Rosen wanted to know what kind of madness the duke was planning.

Although he had escaped the Beast King Arena and used Death's Judgment to curse several disrespectful low-sequence nobles to death, Rosen had taken extreme measures to conceal his involvement. He had hidden his true body in the Mysterious Study Room and used his Impersonation ability to disguise his Self-Portrait Clone, allowing him to slay nobles without triggering retribution from their Sequence Ancient Trees.

Even if the Moore family suspected him, would they go as far as hiring a demi-god for a no-holds-barred pursuit?

Hiring a demi-god wasn't cheap.

So clearly, Duke Moore wasn't actually after Rosen—he was targeting Alicia from the start.

Was Duke Moore insane? If he picked a death feud with the Elven Principality, the Moore family would be the one to perish.

Unless the Moore family had powerful backing, it was unlikely Duke Moore had acted of his own accord.

Less than an hour later, Duke Moore returned to Beast City.

But Rosen never even saw Duke Moore—over five demi-gods had already slain him upon his arrival.

Rosen stood by the window, watching the five demi-gods. Their attire made it clear they were from the World Government's Intelligence Bureau.

A thought crossed Rosen's mind: Duke Moore might have been a pawn, used to test the World Government.

A Sequence 3 hereditary duke was indeed a formidable force, even among other dukes.

But no matter how strong, even a Sequence 2, unless they became a titled demi-god or the ruler of an empire, or wielded Sequence 0 transcendental artifacts, they were still ants in the eyes of the World Government.

The only reason Duke Moore hadn't been outright killed earlier was because of the law, and the Noble Council, which upheld the rights and order for all nobles.

As long as Duke Moore didn't court death, the World Government would never openly execute him.

But Rosen felt there was a faction within the Sacred Wood Empire testing the World Government, with Duke Moore as their pawn. The Elven Principality had been used merely because of its unique status, and behind it all, at least one Sequence 0 god was involved.

Now that the test had been concluded, that Sequence 0 god would likely retreat for a time.

But the Sacred Wood Empire was about to enter a bloody storm.

As expected, over the next few days, the Sacred Wood Empire was bathed in blood.

It wasn't just the Moore family—three of the empire's six hereditary dukes were killed, and the number of marquises and counts slaughtered was countless. Even one of the kings had been killed, leading to a change in emperors.

However, this emperor hadn't died, possibly because he hadn't participated in the recent events.

Through the Main God Computer, Rosen hacked into the Intelligence Bureau via the Spiritual Web and pieced together what had happened.

The Beast King Arena had violated the rules of the World Government, which was supposed to foster talent but had instead been used to stifle it.

This had been happening for hundreds of years, with no word from the Spiritual Web or the Intelligence Bureau, because the bureau had been infiltrated and the relevant information had been erased.

At least a third of the Sacred Continent had slipped from the World Government's control.

Several titled demi-gods from various empires had been stripped of their thrones and sent to the frontlines to atone for their crimes.

The World Government's laws were nuanced. Breaking them didn't always mean a death sentence.

It all depended on the severity of the offense and maintaining balance between different factions.

So, this time, the World Government had made an example of Duke Moore and his ilk, while the mastermind behind the plot had merely been testing the World Government's response.

What exactly that mastermind sought to achieve remained unclear, even to the Intelligence Bureau.

Rosen decided to stay put for a while, waiting for the chaos in the Sacred Wood Empire to subside.

In the meantime, he would begin repairing his Divine Domain.

This time, nearly all of his Divine Domain had been destroyed by Karpac's Meteor Shower.

Likewise, Karpac's Divine Domain had suffered a similar fate.

Rosen finally understood why Divine Domain Lords could reshape their domains like putty. Without such power, a single territorial war would be enough to completely ruin them.

But this wasn't a sustainable solution. Could Divine Domains only exist as fragile, easily destroyed landscapes?

Rosen had planned to search the Spiritual Web for answers, but it turned out that Alicia already knew. Although wood elves didn't have Divine Domains, they had encountered enough Divine Domain Lords to pass down this knowledge.

Apparently, Divine Domains weren't meant for warfare.

The reason was simple: destruction was easy, but rebuilding was hard. Hence the saying, "Even a victory in your own home is a loss."

The main purpose of a Divine Domain was to recruit citizens, develop production, accumulate wealth, and harvest faith.

But sometimes, even if you didn't want war, war would come to you.

So, to prevent your Divine Domain from being destroyed in battle, it was best not to station your citizens on the surface.

Instead, the spiritual realms should be integrated into the Divine Domain, allowing the people to live safely within them.

All spiritual realms should be housed within the lord's castle, along with production-related extraordinary structures.

Only the lord's castle and war-related extraordinary buildings should remain on the Divine Domain's surface, ready to face any invaders.

In the end, a Divine Domain was just a fledgling version of a Divine Kingdom, but Sequence 6 was worlds apart from Sequence 0, which was required to establish a Divine Kingdom. The only way to truly strengthen a Divine Domain was to become a demi-god, grasp the authority of laws, and integrate them into the domain.

Rosen moved the troop nests to the spiritual realm, along with the alchemy fields, Divine Beast Stables, and other extraordinary structures.

On the surface of the Divine Domain, only the Ash Castle, Radiant Lighthouse, and Time Tower remained.

Finally, he planted countless plants throughout the domain, creating a battlefield suitable for wood elves.

For the first time, Rosen felt that his Divine Domain was secure.

After reorganizing his Divine Domain, Rosen began to inventory his spoils.

Not only had he looted Karpac's Divine Domain, but he had also taken over his eldest grandson's domain after the battle.

Between the two domains—one from Sequence 4, the other from Sequence 6—he had gained nearly 100,000 citizens.

Those who were fiercely loyal were sent to reunite with Karpac, while those who could be converted were transferred to the spiritual realm paintings.

Rosen acquired a large number of low-sequence farmers, craftsmen, and other professions, all of whom had been carefully trained by the Moore family in various production sequences. But the greatest treasure was the two spiritual realms controlled by Karpac.

[Gourmet Island: Spiritual Realm Painting]

[Rank: Sequence 5]

[Size: 1,000 square kilometers]

[Population: 51,519]

[Specialties: Extraordinary ingredients, extraordinary materials, population, extraordinary cuisine]

Rosen carefully examined the spiritual realm painting. This wasn't a spiritual realm created by a painter.

Instead, it had been conquered and modified, then sealed into the painting to stabilize it, allowing the realm to last as long as possible.

The second spiritual realm Rosen had taken from Karpac wasn't a painting, but a Bottled World.

[Bottled Cellar: Bottled World]

[Rank: Sequence 3]

[Size: 100 square kilometers]

[Population: 6,511]

[Specialties: Extraordinary ingredients, extraordinary wines]

Though small in size and population, the Sequence 3 realm was concentrated with the finest resources.

It regularly produced extraordinary wines of Sequence 4 quality, many of which had unique effects when consumed. The Moore family had relied on this Bottled Cellar to generate over a billion spiritual crystals annually.

Rosen relocated both spiritual realms into the Ash Castle, replacing part of the management.

After a few days of stabilizing everything, he turned his attention to the Beast King Arena.

Upon refining it, Rosen discovered that it wasn't just an extraordinary building—it was a Sequence 3 miracle artifact.

Moreover, like the Potion Bottle, it was part of a series of miracle artifacts.

In addition to the Sequence 3 Beast King Arena, there was a Sequence 2 All-Race Arena, a Sequence 1 Gods' Coliseum, and finally, the Sequence 0 Twilight Battlefield. It was said that combining the four would evolve them from miracle artifacts into a miracle building.

Currently, the All-Race Arena was located at the human frontier, under the control of the World Government.

The Gods' Coliseum was in the hands of the many deities of the Pantheon.

As for the Twilight Battlefield, no one knew where it was.

Though only Sequence 3, the Beast King Arena was still one of the legendary miracle artifacts.

Though incomplete, and with no visible attributes, it was known that killing a Beast King within the arena would cause all of its power to be distributed among the spectators, enhancing their spirituality.

Additionally, the Beast King Arena could produce tickets, allowing spiritual projections to bypass space and attend as spectators.

The Moore family had made billions of spiritual crystals annually from selling Beast King Arena tickets.

It was somewhat baffling that such a cash cow was in the hands of the Moore family.

After much thought, Rosen concluded that it must have been bait.

Of the four miracle artifacts, aside from the elusive Twilight Battlefield, the other two were held by the World Government and the Pantheon.

If someone obtained the Twilight Battlefield, would they dare go after the other two pieces?

Naturally, they would go after the easiest target—the Beast King Arena.

It was a lure, designed to trap someone, and the one holding the line might very well be a god.

Realizing this artifact was a dangerous hot potato, Rosen promptly auctioned it off on the Spiritual Web.

It sold for over 200 billion spiritual crystals, a shockingly low price.

Clearly, those who could afford to buy the Beast King Arena knew how perilous it was.

But as long as the Twilight Battlefield didn't surface in the next few centuries, the buyer would likely make their investment back.

Rosen didn't consider it much of a loss. He had requested that the payment be made in space-attribute spiritual crystals.

He exchanged around 20 billion, which, compared to time-attribute spiritual crystals, had a relatively normal exchange rate.

After roughly accounting for Karpac's inheritance, Rosen turned his attention to Wollian Moore's legacy.

Although Wollian was only Sequence 9, his status as a Jurist made him second only to Duke Moore and Karpac within the family. Otherwise, he wouldn't have possessed the treasure that allowed him to resist Death's Judgment.

From Wollian, Rosen obtained three particularly exciting items: an extraordinary Jurist's Essence, a miracle artifact, and a transcendent artifact.

He had considered capturing Wollian alive, sealing him in a painting, and providing the resources to help him grow.

But after careful consideration, Rosen decided against it. The World Government was dealing with Duke Moore, and that's why Rosen had been allowed to kill a Sequence 9 Jurist. However, privately raising a Jurist was definitely forbidden. Duke Moore had been made an example of, and secretly nurturing a Jurist would have been one of his crimes.

Thus, Rosen could only extract the Jurist's Essence and see if it contained any useful skills for replicating in his Human Body Drawing technique.

He handed the Jurist's Essence to his Self-Portrait Clone for analysis, then picked up the miracle artifact.

[Primordial Edict: Miracle Artifact]

[Rank: Sequence 9]

[Effect: Greatly accelerates the evolution of man-made laws]

[Miracle Traits: Legal Order, Corruption of Justice, One and Only, Eternal and Unyielding]

At first glance, Rosen wasn't too impressed by the Primordial Edict. After all, a Sequence 9 miracle artifact didn't seem very valuable.

But after examining it more closely, he realized it was more precious than the Beast King Arena.

He even suspected that the Primordial Edict wasn't limited to just Sequence 9.

After throwing it into his Miracle Pouch, Rosen went as far as using a fortune to enhance the Miracle Pouch's appraisal result through an equal exchange. As expected, the Miracle Pouch revealed detailed information not displayed in the artifact's attributes.

The Primordial Edict was inscribed on a piece of tortoiseshell, etched with ancient oracle bone script.

This was another instance where Rosen found traces of an era he had once lived through.

The Primordial Edict could evolve, provided there was a strong enough legal foundation.

If it fell into the hands of the World Government's Chief Justice, its rank could potentially jump to Sequence 0.

Even at Sequence 9, it held tremendous value.

Its ability to accelerate the development of new laws was highly significant to Jurists, while the miracle trait of Legal Order greatly enhanced the power of any legal rule. However, the most valuable trait was Corruption of Justice.

Once activated, this trait could undermine legal rules.

If the World Government learned of this trait, they would stop at nothing to kill Rosen.

Fortunately, Wollian had told no one about it.

He had discovered the Primordial Edict through his own efforts, and upon realizing the danger of Corruption of Justice, he had decided to keep the artifact a secret, attributing his abilities to his innate skills.

Rosen carefully stored the Primordial Edict. It could prove invaluable at a critical moment.

Lastly, Rosen picked up the Sequence 3 Transcendent Artifact, a phantom heart crafted from the heart of a Void Worm. When activated, it provided immunity to Sequence 3 damage, though it had limited uses.

Originally, it had five charges; now, only one remained.

While the artifact was excellent, its flaw was that after merging with it, the user would need to consume human blood to maintain the fusion.

After some thought, Rosen decided to auction it on the Spiritual Web in exchange for a more practical transcendent artifact.

A Sequence 3 life-saving artifact that could be used by a Sequence 9 quickly attracted interest, and soon someone offered an item that caught Rosen's attention.

However, the transaction would take a few days to complete through the Spiritual Messenger.

While waiting, Rosen planned to hunt some giant beasts and challenge a Beast King.

It was the perfect time to get accustomed to his newly acquired Twin Daggers. After all, leaving them unused would be a waste.

(End of Chapter)