Mystery: I Married the Queen of Mystery.

Chapter 347: Tarot Club Talks about the "Lord of Mysteries"

The governor of Solothu State was a man in his thirties, dressed in a formal suit and clean-shaven. He was the man Odysseus had met on the train before.

The two had chatted about governance issues along the way, but when they got off the bus, they did not announce their names or leave contact information.

After meeting, the two shook hands, and Odysseus smiled and said, "I didn't expect that we would meet so soon."

At that time, he guessed that the person he had been chatting with all the way should be a political figure, but he did not expect that it was actually the governor of Solothu.

The first task that Odysseus received from the intelligence network he had just established in Azshara was to gather intelligence about the Western Province. When Odysseus set out, two relatively complete intelligence reports had already been handed to him.

One is a comprehensive intelligence from the sorted government archives. There are a total of 7 states in the Western Province. Compared with other states, the area is not small, but the population is not large.

To the southwest, the State of Voté borders the Kingdom of Feynaport, to the northwest is the small country of Kana, and to the east, from north to south, it borders the States of Châtel, Solothurn, and Valais respectively.

The situation in these three states is not very good either. Chatel has not had a governor for more than a year, which is similar to Vauxhall, where autonomy has almost been achieved.

The situation in Solothurn Province is slightly better. Although the public security in the urban area is acceptable, most places outside the urban area are basically not under the control of the Lenburg government.

The governor who invited Odysseus to dinner was called Celt. He had a good official reputation. The state guard he reorganized had strong combat effectiveness and had defeated the attacks of local bandits many times.

At the same time, Celt's governance was also good. Production and commerce in the Solothu State recovered rapidly, and tax revenue gradually increased, allowing him to recruit more soldiers.

Another intelligence report about the western province in Odysseus's hand also contained a section about Celt. Merchants once commented that it was Celt's efforts in recent years, the infiltration of other countries, and the rampant bandits that kept them in the two westernmost states.

Otherwise, the entire western province might be in great danger now.

There is also a source saying that Celt is a member of the Navia family, an old noble family in Lenburg.

Odysseus was talking politely to Celt while recalling some of the information he had obtained.

"From what you said earlier, I knew you were something special." Celt smiled and said, "This morning I heard the police report and learned that you were the Governor of Odis who just scored so high on the exam."

"A high score doesn't necessarily mean you're capable," Odysseus said politely. "We'll have to see how the queen performs."

As they talked, the two sat down in the reception area. Celt put away his smile and asked, "Are you mentally prepared?"

Of course, Odysseus knew what the other party was talking about: whether he was prepared to deal with the complex situation in Wotai State?
He also put away his smile and said, "I'm prepared, but I'm afraid the situation will be more complicated than I imagined."

Celt then asked, "What strategy do you plan to adopt when you arrive in Wotai Province?"

Odysseus looked at him deeply, then said, "First, we need to understand the local situation. Although I got some information about the city of Wotai in Azshara, it doesn't seem to be the latest information.

"Then, based on the characteristics of each party, formulate a plan to completely retake Wotai State."

He didn't go into too much detail to avoid leaking the information.

Celt didn't pay attention to Odysseus's somewhat vague answer, but continued: "The autonomous association that was spontaneously established last year currently governs the Wotai State.

“The membership of the autonomous association is very diverse, including local nobles, merchants, military officers, and representatives of the bandit army.

"The bandit army there was indeed rampant, but after a period of rampant activity and Azshara's refrain from adopting overly harsh tactics, the various factions had essentially completed the process of mutual attacks and compromises, which is why this autonomous association was established.

"In addition, the State Guard has become a completely independent armed force. Unless you offer them sufficient benefits, it will be difficult to gain control of the State Guard."

Odysseus asked, "What level of nobility are the local nobles?"

"They were two barons who were appointed there a long time ago. Their mission was to resist Feynaporte's infiltration." Celt explained, "Later, the state government of Wotai was established, and the families of the two barons became very prestigious families in the local area.

"The current president of the autonomous association is Baron Darnell."

Odysseus asked again: "How many bandits are there and how strong are they?"

"The bandit army is said to have 30,000 people, but they are basically half civilians and half soldiers." Celt explained patiently, "It is mainly composed of three forces, two of which are supported by Feynaporte, and the other is supported by Intis.

“Their elite troops are better equipped than the state guards and are now the de facto rulers outside of Wotai City.

"There are also some small bandit groups that are relatively weak because they don't have support from foreign forces. They can only rely on the three larger bandit groups."

Odysseus nodded slowly: "Thank you."

Celt suddenly smiled and said, "I can only help you here, because the situation in Solothu Province is not very good now, and I can't provide you with any practical help.

"But if you need any intelligence, you can go to the owner of Wotai Daily Necessities Store. That's the person I sent."

"If I need anything, I will go to him," said Odysseus.

"I have a hunch," Celt said seriously. "With your level of governance and your abilities, you will definitely be able to solve the problems in Wotai Province. By then, the pressure on me will be much less, and the entire Western Province will be saved."

He paused for a moment and then said, "If you still have the energy to spare by then, the two of us can try to work together to solve the problem in Shatai State."

Odysseus once again looked at the official before him and said, "No problem."

Then he said, "I will start building the railway from Wotai Province to Solothu Province as soon as possible, and I will need your help then."

Celt was stunned for a moment, then looked at Odysseus in disbelief: "You...you want to build a railway?"

Odysseus smiled and said, "Are you really that surprised?"

"Back then, it took several years of Renburg's fiscal revenue to build the railway from the capital to Solothurn," Celt explained. "It would have been difficult to accomplish this with the power of a single state."

"Of course I know that," Odysseus said, "but it's very inconvenient without a railway.

"In fact, for a small country like Lund, the railway should radiate to every state."

Celt said helplessly: "That's true, but..."

He sighed: "Let's talk about something else."

The straight-line distance between Wotai City and Solotu City is only more than 90 kilometers. If a railway is built, it will only take two hours to reach Wotai City from Solotu City.

If you take a carriage now, it will take two days if you are lucky.

If you encounter bad weather such as rain or snow, it may take several days to walk.

But this railway, which is less than 100 kilometers long, is a huge project that is almost impossible to complete for a state. First, it requires a lot of money, and second, it requires a lot of labor.

The total population of Wotai State does not exceed 40, and it cannot rely on Azshara's funding. It can only find a solution to the funding problem on its own.

For Celtic, this will be a difficult goal to achieve.

Talking about this, it was lunch time and the two came to the restaurant and chatted while eating.

However, they did not talk about the previous topic again, but started chatting about the customs and culture of the Western Province.

At around one o'clock in the afternoon, Odysseus returned to the hotel. Longzel had already bought the carriage he needed according to Odysseus's request.

However, today is Monday and the Tarot meeting is about to begin, so Odysseus ordered them to rest for another night and set off tomorrow morning.

After hearing such an order, Longzel also planned to go out for a walk to see if he could buy the auxiliary materials needed by the "Sheriff".

Sequence 8 level materials are not difficult to buy, as long as you find a reliable herbal medicine store, you can buy them.

Odysseus lied that he wanted to take a nap and returned to his room to prepare for the Tarot Club.

At exactly three o'clock, Odysseus's vision was covered by gray fog, and in a blink of an eye he entered the magnificent hall, to the side of the long bronze table.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool." Audrey's crisp voice greeted, and the Tarot Club officially began.

After greeting each member, they sat down. Priestess Cattleya lived up to Klein's expectations and first addressed the head of the bronze table, "Mr. Fool, this time we have three pages from Emperor Roselle's diary."

Klein the Fool smiled and said, "Very good, you can consider your request."

Soon, Cattleya materialized three pages of the diary and handed them to Mr. Fool.

Klein seemed to be casually reading the diary. The information in these three pages was very advanced. First, the Emperor talked about the "universal" path to advancement to Sequence 4 and the ritual of advancement to Angel. This made him feel that the advancement process seemed to be a very twisted and uncontrollable madness.

Then we talked about the role of "anchor" and discussed it with Mr. "Men".

Finally, Russell had a strange dream in which he returned to a small island he had explored before.

Some of the people who were exploring with Russell at the time were strangely contaminated. He had always thought that the problem had been solved, but now he was reminded of the contamination again, which made him alert.

After reading all the diaries, Klein thought for a moment before asking Cattleya, "What is your request?"

Cattleya immediately asked, "Respected Mr. Fool, has Emperor Roselle's life ever been influenced by an ancient organization?"

The other members immediately thought of the fact that Roselle had once joined the "Twilight Hermit Order" and made some speculations along this line. Basically, they all believed that Emperor Roselle must have been influenced by this organization.

After all, the initiator of that organization is the Angel King of the "Audience" path.

However, Alger, the "Hanged Man", noticed that the "Priestess" was asking about "Emperor Roselle's life" and whether it had been affected.

This not only refers to some important decisions made by Russell during his "lifetime", but also refers to the emperor's temperament and some of his ideas.

Odysseus realized that Bernadette's investigation of Roselle had revealed some connections between him and the Twilight Hermits. And last week, she had met Adam again, which had given her many associations, hence her question.

Klein thought that the "Mysterious Queen"'s selection of diaries was vague, and it was impossible to accurately ask questions about the content provided.

As for the question of "priestess," it wasn't difficult for him to answer: "Yes."

Klein could tell from Russell's diary that Russell's joining the Twilight Hermits was more like an investment by Adam, which had a certain impact on many of Russell's decisions in life.

That's why Russell left a reminder in his diary: "Be careful with the audience."

After Klein answered, he didn't add anything else and said, "It's your turn."

Cattleya stood up and saluted The Fool to express her gratitude.

Alger had already begun to speculate: During the previous discussion regarding the Russell deal, "The Hermit" had mentioned that Adam invested in Russell because he had his own agenda. It seemed that while Russell had benefited from that organization, he had also suffered certain negative consequences.

Audrey and "Magician" Fors lamented that Russell's problem might be even more complicated than the "Hermit"'s previous description.

Derrick the Sun first said to Odysseus, "Mr. Hermit, I've already used my merits to exchange for the staff you requested. I'll have The Fool give it to you after the party."

Everyone was stunned at first, and then they recalled one after another that at the last Tarot meeting, the "Hermit" gave the "Sun" a task. At that time, they were all wondering how the "Hermit" influenced the "God-forsaken Land"?

Hearing what "The Sun" said, Klein, Alger, and the others were all wondering why the same type of staff worn by Odysseus was also found in the "God-Forsaken Land"?
Only Emlyn the Moon had never come into contact with Odysseus in private, so he had no idea what kind of staff it was.
Odysseus nodded and said, "I have also prepared the 100 extraordinary weapons you need, and will give them to you after the party."

"Okay," Little Sun Derrick agreed, then asked, "Mr. Hermit, what kind of being was it that killed that demigod-level demon wolf that day?"

what?
A demigod-level demon wolf also died?

Everyone immediately understood that in the process of searching for the staff, they must have experienced a demigod-level battle.

Klein the Fool immediately thought of the Lord of Mysteries. None of the other members had seen this being, and thus had no corresponding associations.

However, they also gradually realized that during the demigod war that day, an unknown existence took action and helped Silver City obtain the staff.

Then they all began to guess who that great being was?

The "Priestess" Cattleya first ruled out the "Mysterious Queen". She had some self-awareness that the "Queen" was not yet that powerful.

The other members guessed for a while but had no clues.

"That's the 'Lord of Mysteries'." Odysseus replied.

Everyone except Klein was stunned, as they had never heard of such a deity. However, Cattleya immediately realized: "The Hermit" was actually connected to an unknown being?
Then, a sudden realization dawned on her: Could it be that all the secrets of the Beyonder Realm he knew were obtained from this unknown being? What price had he paid? Did the "Queen" know about this?

Alger and other members also had some speculations and believed that the "Hermit"'s true loyalty should be to the "Lord of Mysteries."

Among them, "Moon" Emlyn thought: The background of each member of the Tarot Club is indeed unusual. I felt a long time ago that since the "Hermit" knew so much, he must be from a secret organization. Now it seems that my guess was correct.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but raise his chin.

Before Derrick could continue his questioning, Audrey had already asked, "Mr. Hermit, what kind of being is that?"

Odysseus pondered for a moment before saying, "That is a being who wishes to spread the glory of knowledge to this world."

Cattleya suddenly froze: "That...that's the 'Hidden Sage'?"

If this is true, the "Queen" is in danger.

Klein also had this speculation, suspecting that the "Lord of Mysteries" was just a pseudonym for the "Hidden Sage."

"No," Odysseus said immediately, "Please distinguish. 'He's the light that spreads knowledge,' not the one that imparts it."

Cattleya was stunned for a moment before she breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she recalled: when they were trading information with the Emperor, according to the information mentioned by the "Hidden Sage", it seemed that the "Hidden Sage" was only at the level of the Angel King. Could it be that the "Lord of Mysteries" was a new angel that appeared through the "Secret Peeper" path?
Although everyone had some guesses, since the "hermit" did not continue to speak, no one continued to ask.

The grand hall was silent for a second or two before Audrey broke the silence: "Everyone, has anyone heard anything about the 'Psychedelic Wind Chime Tree'?"

Alger paused for two seconds before saying, "I have a clue, but it will take at least a few weeks to get it."

The clue he mentioned came from the island where he had previously traded with the "world". A psychedelic wind chime tree was once found there, but he did not try to get close to it due to lack of strength.

Now, he plans to advance to Sequence 5 in the near future. Then, he can explore the "world" and obtain the extraordinary materials that "Justice" wants.

"No problem!" Audrey was so happy that she didn't even ask the price.

Then, Klein manipulated the "world" and said, "I have a magical item I want to sell."

He had some savings at sea, but after arriving in Backlund, he realized that the life of a wealthy man was too expensive. He also owed the messenger lady several thousand gold coins, so he planned to sell the unused seal he had just seized.

Everyone looked towards the bottom of the long bronze table, waiting for the introduction of the "world".

The World paused for a moment and continued, "That magical item is called the 'Lucky Balance'. I named it that myself.

"Its first ability is to passively make the wearer lucky. For example, in daily life, the owner of this magical item will occasionally encounter good things and succeed in everything they do.

“The second is to actively bring bad luck to the enemy, making the target unlucky.

"The negative effect is that good luck is immediately followed by bad luck. The more lucky you were before, the more unlucky you will be next."

Finally, "The World" reminded: "This necklace is not recommended for Beyonders who lack combat power. Although it can help people avoid fatal attacks, the subsequent explosive backlash is equally dangerous. You must have sufficient combat power and sharp reactions to survive it relatively easily."

Audrey, who had been very interested in the magical items sold by the "World", nodded slightly disappointedly, indicating that Mr. "World" was right.

The more Priestess Cattleya listened, the more familiar it became. She seemed to have seen the effect of the "Lucky Balance" somewhere before.

After some thought, she asked in slight surprise, "Senior?"

Cattleya initially judged that it should be the necklace of "Blood Admiral" Senior.

Upon hearing this, Alger, the Hanged Man, couldn't help but wonder: Where did Gehrman Sparrow get this information? What had he done last week?
For the past week, he had been on a deserted island not far from Cruz Island, keeping a close eye on the movements of the "Argo" and lacking any knowledge of the outside world.

Klein hadn't expected that just after he had described the ability of this magical item and before he had even shown its appearance, the Priestess would already realize that it came from the Blood Admiral.

After pondering for a moment, he manipulated the "world" and said with a smile: "He is dead."

Cattleya frowned: "He's dead?"

Although the bounty of "Admiral of Blood" is higher than that of "Admiral of Stars", that is mainly because Senior has done too many bad things.

Cattleya and Senior had clashed several times before, and she always had the upper hand, but she was unable to severely damage the "Pirate General".

Unexpectedly, the "Blood Admiral" was killed by German Sparrow.

At a level like Sequence 5, generally speaking, the difference in strength between people isn't that big. Strength gaps like the one between Cattleya and Senior are common: one party is slightly stronger, but it's difficult for them to severely damage the other.

Very few people can create enough distance to kill another Sequence 5.

Therefore, Cattleya and Alger were somewhat surprised that the "Blood Admiral" was killed by Gehrman Sparrow, and they were wondering about Gehrman Sparrow's true strength.

The other members then gradually recalled what the "Hanged Man" had said before, about the news on the sea.

Senior is the name of the "Blood Admiral". Unexpectedly, last week, a "Pirate General" was killed by the "World".

Members of "Justice" and others did not realize what this incident meant. Audrey suddenly thought: If I can find out who killed the "Blood Admiral", then I can find out the true identity of Mr. "World".

Odysseus, the Hermit, broke the silence and asked, "How much do you plan to sell it for?"

He didn't need this magical item. It had too much negative effect on him. It was easy for him to defeat the enemy because of the luck bestowed by the magical item, but die from some seemingly ordinary things.

Odysseus wanted to inquire about the price because he realized that this was a magical item that matched the "Monster" path and Sequence 5 "Winner". It could be crushed and used for the second mate's promotion.

"12000 pounds," Klein said, manipulating the World. "But if you buy it, it'll only cost 9000 pounds. It's my repayment of the favor I owed you."

Everyone was stunned, and soon Cattleya naturally guessed: Could it be that in the process of "The World" killing Senior, "The Hermit" provided a lot of help?

If it's two against one, then it makes sense.

Odysseus thought about it and felt that 9000 pounds was an acceptable price.

However, his current savings were around 1 pounds, and he had originally wanted to trick Vice Admiral Deep Sea…he had wanted to trade arms with him, but after meeting Siatas, the guy left immediately, and he didn't even have time to see the Extraordinary Machine Cannon.

Odysseus is currently building a port town on Cruz Island. Although he plans to use more wooden structures for the buildings there, it will cost a lot of money to build a town that meets his requirements.

Money is needed in Wotai Province, and the allocation from the senior official Biqier is not enough to fill the gap.

Odysseus has enough money now, but if he spends 9000 pounds, he may immediately face financial crisis again.

So after thinking about it for a while, Odysseus shook his head and said, "Forget it, I don't have much spare money recently."

Klein was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect the Hermit to be so frank.

If it were Emlyn the Moon, he would probably say: Let me think about it.

At this time, Cattleya said, "If it's cheaper, I might consider buying it."

Klein manipulated the World and said, "If you can use some gold coins instead, it will only cost 11000 pounds."

Priestess Cattleya pondered for a moment and then said, "I can pay you 5000 pounds in gold coins and 6000 pounds in gold pounds.

"But the condition is that you must tell me why you are giving the Hermit such a big discount. Otherwise, you must reduce my previous offer by another 500 pounds."

For a "pirate general", he got a lot of gold coins during the previous robbery, but because they were not as easy to spend as gold pounds, they were always piled up in the cabin.

The World glanced at the Hermit and, seeing that he had no objection, said, "No problem."

The deal, involving a sum of over ten thousand pounds, was finalized.

After the two agreed on a rough time for the transaction, Klein manipulated the World and said, "Last week, the Hermit and I teamed up to hunt down a Sequence 5 from the Rose School.

"I killed the Blood Admiral, and the Hermit also made some significant gains. The Rose School of Thought shouldn't appear in Bayam for the time being."

Cattleya was stunned. It sounded like the Hermit's gains were even greater than the World's. Could it be that he had also killed a Sequence 5?

The World continued, "During this process, the Hermit helped block the angels from the Rose School.

"Although I didn't ask for any other spoils, I still feel like I owe the Hermit a favor."

Cattleya almost stood up: "Did the Rose School send out angels?"

This news made the other members look at the "hermit" together. In everyone's concept, the angel seemed to be very far away from them.

But what was unexpected was that last week, "The Hermit" and "The World" not only encountered angels, but also had a conflict!

This news sounds so magical!
Klein believed this wasn't confidential information worth concealing, so he manipulated the "world" and said, "Yes."

Audrey looked at the Hermit and asked, "How did you block the other party's angel?"

Cattleya was not too surprised by this. It was most likely that the "Queen" helped to block it. Cattleya knew very well that the "Queen" had a level 0 seal and that ordinary angels could also resist it for a while.

But it could also be the "Lord of Mysteries" we just talked about.

Odysseus smiled and replied, “Not me.

"It's a mysterious being I invited."

Cattleya was convinced that this "mysterious being" was the "Queen".

Audrey was slightly stunned, and thought that the "Hermit" had invited the mysterious "Lord of Mysteries".

Alger was also a little puzzled at this time. Logically speaking, the World was Mr. Fool's favored one, so why didn't Mr. Fool help?
Cattleya then asked the World, "Did the Rose School only send out one angel and the Blood Admiral?"

After he reminded them, the other members noticed that the spoils of "The Hermit" should be even richer than those of "The World".

"A demigod was also dispatched." The World said, "and several Sequence 5s.

"There are probably eight or nine other 'Mid-Sequence' Beyonders, and quite a few 'Low-Sequence' Beyonders."

Alger sighed inwardly: With so many people mobilized, the "Rose School" must be carrying out a major operation!
"One last question." Cattleya, with the mentality of "I've already spent 500 pounds, it's a waste not to ask," asked: "How did you escape? What were the results of the battle?"

This was the question Klein wished to answer, because only by answering it could he prove that The Fool had not sat idly by. So he replied:

"The helper I asked for stopped the demigod, and another one helped me escape from the gaze of the 'Evil God' S'ea and the 'Sea King'."

Alger thought to himself, "That makes sense. It seems the World has also used the identity of the Fool's Follower to recruit a demigod and an angel-level helper." However, the reality might be more severe than imagined, so they had no choice but to join forces with the Hermit to block the opponent's angel-level attack.

In addition to Klein and Odysseus who were involved in this matter, the "Priestess" Cattleya also realized this.

However, the other members did not think about this. They just felt that this battle seemed very complicated, and both the enemy and our side had dispatched a large number of high-level extraordinary forces.

They would rather know the results of the battle?
The "World" did not answer immediately, but looked at the "Hermit".

Odysseus smiled and said, "In addition to eliminating three Sequence 5s, including the Blood Admiral, we also wiped out all the Mid-Sequence enemies we found, including four Zombies, as well as the Low-Sequence enemies.

"In short, we didn't let any of the enemies we found escape."

Upon hearing this answer, Audrey, Fors, and the others, who had little idea about Extraordinary Battles, were simply happy, believing that the joint action of the two Tarot Club members had once again dealt a blow to the evil Extraordinary Organization.

Cattleya and Alger, two members with extensive combat experience, realized a problem: as long as the operation was planned by the "Hermit", the enemy's casualty rate was generally very high.

The last operation in Porto Oravi was the same, and this time the entire army was wiped out!

They knew very well that in extraordinary battles, especially those involving Sequence 5, even if there was an ambush, if the enemy could not be killed in a short period of time, there was a high probability that the enemy's Sequence 5 would escape, and there were not many cases of total annihilation.

(End of this chapter)