The information revealed by the "Hermit" exploded like a thunderclap in the tarot meeting room.
Even Klein, the "Fool" behind the gray fog, couldn't help but show a surprised expression. Fortunately, the other members hadn't noticed this change yet: What? A ritual to ascend to true godhood? Medici once had the opportunity to ascend to true godhood? And who killed Him...?
etc!
He died somewhere in Backlund!
Klein immediately thought of the Quaternary ruins he and Miss Sharon had explored: Could that evil spirit be the one formed by Medici?
He then recalled that the evil spirit claimed that the way he could escape was by collecting the blood of members of the Medici, Sauron, and Einhorn families.
This made Klein even more certain of his guess.
Alger the Hanged Man was pondering something else: "The Ritual of Ascension to Godhood." Although I had received information about Sequence 0 from Mr. Fool, this was the first time I had heard of a case of ascension to Godhood!
Audrey's surprise stemmed from the fact that it happened in Backlund! She couldn't believe something like this had occurred in Backlund! But why hadn't she heard of any ruins being discovered in Backlund?
After his initial surprise, "Sun" Derrick quickly regained his composure: even gods can be killed, and they really can fall... although Medici is not a god in the strict sense...
"The Magician" Fors had already received too many surprises at this tarot gathering, and he quickly calmed down after hearing the news.
She took a deep breath: The scene of the murder of a god... or rather, a person about to ascend to godhood, that sounds like a great story.
After everyone, including "The Hermit" Odis, had mostly recovered from their surprise, he continued, "This was a very secretive matter back then, and it wasn't until the end of the Fourth Age, after the fall of the Tudor Empire, that some details became known to everyone."
"Of course, the so-called 'big names' were not known to the general public, but rather to the various churches, the major noble families of the time, and a portion of the angelic families."
He subtly revealed the source of this intelligence in order to make it appear more credible.
Otherwise, it would be very strange for a Sequence 7 to know such secret information.
Odis continued, "And the mastermind behind Medici's murder was named Arista Tudor."
Klein was the first to react, manipulating "The World" to ask, "Blood Emperor?"
He remembered that the evil spirit had once had a lot of opinions about the "Blood Emperor".
Odis smiled and replied, "Yes."
Upon hearing this, the other members, except for "The Sun" Derrick, almost stood up!
Did the Blood Emperor kill Medici?
Alger immediately asked, "Why?"
Odis smiled and said, "The answer to that question is not in this transaction."
Although this answer sounds incredibly rude, everyone understands that there must be a huge secret hidden within it.
The total value of this transaction was only £800, so it was impossible to discuss anything too high-end or secretive.
The world asks: "In which question is the answer to this question?"
"In the history of the Tudor Empire," Odis said after thinking for a moment. "The week before last, I followed a very powerful extraordinary being into a Fourth Era ruin and learned a lot about the hidden history of the Fourth Era."
"With my previous knowledge, I dare say that I am already very proficient in the history of the Quaternary period."
He actually preferred to trade the history of the Fourth Age with other members, because that part of history left the deepest impression on him.
The history of the other two periods, the third period, is actually the history of the "Ancient Sun God" and the "Redemption Rose," which are of higher value and are not easy to separate.
Odis found the history of the Second Age somewhat vague due to its antiquity, and there were some points he needed to verify before he dared to make a transaction.
Klein manipulates "the world" to ask: "How many gold pounds is needed for the history of the Tudor Empire?"
"3,000 pounds," Odis said. "After all, we have already traded some intelligence about Amon and Adam in that empire."
The price instantly calmed Klein down. He manipulated "The World" and said, "Let's talk about it next week."
The other members have already made two trades this week, so there shouldn't be any more. He can't possibly put up the £3,000 all by himself, so let's wait and see.
Odis nodded: "Okay."
He paused and then said, "Let's continue with the topic we were just discussing. Medici has been planning his ritual to become a god for a long time."
"The first half of the plan went smoothly. His two old adversaries were tricked into falling into His trap and acquiring the Sequence 1 Extraordinary traits of Sauron and Einhorn."
"But no one expected that He would just disappear without a trace."
"Some say He has completely perished, while others say His hatred and obsession have formed an evil spirit that forever lingers in the underground of Backlund."
He couldn't go into too much detail about this place, after all, there were only a few people present at the time... and they were all people who were unlikely to leak secrets.
"It's the latter." Klein, manipulating the "world", said generously, "I also explored a ruin in Backlund before and encountered Medici, who had turned into an evil spirit."
"Of course, I didn't know it was Medici at that time, I didn't even know it was Medici before our deal."
Alger thought to himself: No wonder "The World" is interested in Medici. Although he doesn't know it's Medici, he must have some guesses. It just so happens that "The World" heard the name Medici during the transaction of information about the "Angel King" last week, which is why he is trading information about the "Angel King" today.
Audrey exclaimed: "I never imagined that such ruins actually existed in Backlund, and that over a thousand years, perhaps nearly two thousand years, the evil spirits of Medici still linger there."
Fors was now completely listening to a story: being killed while becoming a god was an ironic tragedy.
After "The World" finished speaking, Klein manipulated "The World" to look at "The Hermit," the meaning of which was very simple: I have provided you with a piece of evidence that is very useful to you, so you have to give something in return.
Odis was both amused and exasperated: Actually, I knew this information.
However, after thinking for a moment, he still said, "According to some intelligence obtained by the Ternsost Empire after the fall of the Tudor Empire, besides Tudor, Amon and Adam were also involved in the murder of Medici."
This information made Derrick sit up straighter; now, when he hears the name "Amon," he almost instinctively pricks up his ears to listen carefully.
Klein thought to himself: No wonder, if the three of them conspired together, Medici would definitely be killed. Then Medici's evil spirit must not be released, otherwise it might provoke Adam and Amon, those two troublesome brothers.
Audrey was now very curious about the history of the Tudor Empire, but she didn't have enough money to complete the transaction this week and would have to wait until next week.
Odis continued, "As for Medici's descendants, it is said that because Medici's legion was fighting the Byron Empire in the south at the time, after learning of Medici's death and that Terensost had chosen to support Soren and Einhorn, they hid at sea."
"According to some scattered intelligence from the Fifth Epoch, it seems that there are still descendants of Medici in present-day Bansie Port."
Klein was slightly taken aback; this was somewhat different from the information he had received.
So he asked, "Is it only available in Pansi Port?"
"I'm not entirely sure either," Odis said with a slight smile. "After all, there hasn't been any trace of the Medici family descendants for a long time."
Then Klein asked the Hanged Man, "Where is Binsey?"
This was the place name he heard from the evil spirit that resembled the Medici family; it was said that descendants of the Medici family lived here.
Alger paused for a moment before saying, "Binsi is the current port of Bansi."
He paused and then explained, "Pinsi is the old name, and with the change in accent, it has gradually become known as Pansi Port."
Klein thought to himself: I see, then it all makes sense.
He manipulated the "world" and said, "I have no more problems."
Odis smiled and said, "Then, this transaction is now concluded."
The aftermath of this deal was simple: "Justice" Audrey and "The Hanged Man" Alger each paid 150 pounds for "The World," "The Magician" Fors paid 80 pounds for "The World," and "The Hermit" Odis paid 150 pounds on behalf of "The Sun" Derrick.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
In the end, Klein calculated that he only needed to pay 270 pounds, which was a very good deal.
After this round of transactions concluded, no one initiated any new transactions.
Then we moved on to the free discussion session.
Fors spoke first: "I received some information, though I don't know if it's accurate, that a ritual to summon an evil god was disrupted in Backlund last week."
At that time, extraordinary events suddenly increased in Backlund, and the changes in the entire city could not be hidden from the spirituality of the extraordinary beings.
Hugh obtained some intelligence from MI9 and learned that someone was going to perform a ritual to summon an evil god.
"I've heard about this too," Odis said with a smile. "The altar for that ceremony was very well hidden; it took two or three days to find it."
Fortunately, the ceremony was not completed until the altar was found.
As someone with a reputation for being "well-informed," it would be strange if he hadn't heard about this, so Odis simply and openly released some of the information.
Having received no relevant information, Alger thought to himself with a purely spectator's mindset: something so dangerous actually happened in Backlund last week.
Audrey smiled and said, "Thanks to the official extraordinary individuals, the danger was resolved before I even knew about it."
Odis replied, "It's not entirely thanks to the official extraordinary individuals. I've heard that four unofficial individuals played a significant role; they were the ones who found the location of the altar."
At this point, he glanced at "the world" intentionally or unintentionally, to show that he was also aware of the other party's background.
The world pretended not to see it, still sitting there quietly, as if it lacked the presence of living people.
Audrey noticed the Hermit's subtle movements: Was Mr. World among the four unofficial extraordinary individuals? And it was very likely that Mr. Hermit was also among them; he must have recognized Mr. World during the operation!
She then began to speculate further: Could it be that Mr. Fool had given them orders to defend Backlund?
Just as Audrey was lost in thought, Fors asked, "What kind of ceremony takes so long?"
Alger also realized something was wrong. He read in some materials that although the preparation time for this kind of ritual was a bit long, the actual performance was not very long!
After all, it's unlikely that an evil god would be so cooperative as to wait there for several days before descending.
"This is a special ritual. It is said that the evil god that is about to descend does not belong to our world," Odis explained simply.
This answer surprised Klein; he hadn't expected to face such an enemy.
Other members also had various associations based on the description of "not belonging to our world".
But before these associations could fully develop, Odis added, "It's best if everyone doesn't actively seek to understand this matter. The extraordinary one who destroyed the altar reminded me that some knowledge about that evil god is corrupted simply by being aware of it!"
This description made everyone even more curious, and Klein remembered that Russell and Mr. "Door" seemed to have discussed such a question.
The "hermit's" reminder made everyone give up on trying to learn more.
After a few seconds of silence in the hall, Alger said again, "There are new clues about the elven treasure I mentioned before. I can now basically pinpoint the location of that island."
"Who among you is interested? We can collaborate on this exploration."
The Hanged Man's generosity had a reason: he knew the island was extremely dangerous, and he couldn't explore it alone.
Finding partners at sea is not only risky, but also prone to internal strife.
The Tarot Club members are different; with Mr. Fool's testimony, at least there won't be internal strife or betrayal.
Klein, who was already making preparations for sailing, manipulated "The World" and said, "Let me tell you again before we go on the mission: if I have time, I can explore with you."
"Count me in too," said Odis, who was also preparing to leave Backlund. "But whether I can go or not, we'll have to wait and see."
He was afraid that he would be caught and brought back as soon as he left Backlund.
Alger was very satisfied with his two partners. "The World" seemed to be quite capable, and "The Hermit" knew ancient Elvish script, so they might have to decipher some ancient Elvish documents later.
"I will continue to gather intelligence," Alger said. "That sea area is very complex, and we need to be fully prepared before we can take action."
The World slowly nodded, and Odis said, "Alright."
Then "The World" continued: "Ladies and gentlemen, some information I have recently received indicates that something big is brewing in Backlund, and a tragedy may occur."
Audrey asked with concern, "What's the big deal?"
The world simply shook its head: "I don't know."
Fors was also quite concerned: "Where could this potential tragedy occur?"
"The World" glanced at everyone and said, "I can't give you a definite answer."
"I've also received some relevant information," Odis added, "Someone spotted the Witch Cult's saintess in Backlund."