Lord: Sequence Master

"Just say it. I'll decide how to handle it," Rosen's thoughts passed through the Nightmare Chains to Grey Mouse's spiritual sense.

Grey Mouse hesitated for a moment before revealing its discovery.

The more Rosen listened, the more intrigued he became. As expected, Grey Mouse, once a demi-god, had insight far beyond his own.

Before the rise of humanity, the Naga were one of the dominant powers of the sea. At that time, the merfolk were merely subordinates to the Naga, and even the mermen were considered unworthy to serve the Naga as their slaves. Only special mermen priests were barely qualified to become servants.

This particular mermen tribe was significant, but why were there a hundred Frost Naga sleeping here? And why were they all at Sequence 8? Normally, Frost Naga, upon reaching adulthood, should naturally grow to Sequence 6. Sequence 8 Frost Naga were either those who hadn't yet reached adulthood or had been severely injured, causing their sequence level to drop.

Even with a reduced sequence level, it didn't make sense for these Naga to be under the control of mermen priests. How could a blood sacrifice performed by the mermen priests awaken them and send them charging into battle against human supernaturals?

Rosen had considered these issues before but had assumed that the awakened Naga harbored an inherent hatred for humans. However, Grey Mouse's discovery of divine power in the sea indicated something else entirely. The hundred Frost Naga were likely sleeping within some demi-god level extraordinary artifact, which might be the true treasure that the Blue Whale Kingdom sought.

Rosen had access to a demi-god level extraordinary artifact, but it was one of Grey Mouse's most prized possessions and wasn't suitable for his use.

But now, a masterless demi-god artifact was somewhere in the ocean. Who wouldn't be tempted?

According to Grey Mouse, finding the artifact wouldn't be difficult. The hard part would be sealing it. If it were easy to contain, the Blue Whale Kingdom would have already acquired it.

However, sealing it wasn't a big challenge for Rosen. He had his Divine Domain, his Scavenger Space, and the Nightmare Slime with its powerful devouring abilities. With these assets, and Grey Mouse's assistance, there was a real chance of successfully sealing the artifact.

The trick would be to act covertly. If the Blue Whale Kingdom found out, they would undoubtedly attempt to seize it.

In theory, after purchasing the spiritual realm ticket, all treasures found within the realm belonged to those who could claim them. But in reality, a demi-god level artifact was enough to make the rule-makers break their own rules.

Thus, if Rosen intended to seal and claim the artifact, he'd have to figure out a way to acquire it without drawing suspicion from other supernaturals.

A few years ago, Rosen wouldn't have dared to steal from the tiger's mouth, but now, he was confident in his abilities.

Rosen's eyes briefly went dark, as though he had momentarily turned from a living person into a corpse. In the next instant, his eyes regained their light.

But in that single moment, Rosen's true body had already used Shadow Step to hide in his own shadow.

The Rosen who remained behind was now replaced by a self-portrait from his Void Gallery.

This self-portrait was top-tier, with the ability to bleed when wounded, a heartbeat, the ability to breathe, and even the capability to eat food. It was virtually indistinguishable from the real Rosen, aside from lacking the abilities of his hunter sequence—it could only utilize his noble and painter powers.

As Rosen's public identity was that of a pet hunter, his combat role mainly involved controlling the Frost Naga-transformed slimes. As long as he could pull the trigger of his Godslayer Crossbow and keep firing arrows for long-range support, nobody would suspect a thing.

Meanwhile, the real Rosen quietly slipped away from the corpse mountain, hidden in the shadows.

Entering the cold, foul-smelling seawater, Rosen's body was wrapped in psychic energy, protecting him from environmental harm.

He released a Bladefin Shark, which he then entered through its control chamber located in its belly. Closing his eyes, he focused on sensing the dream realm nearby.

The Frost Naga were still in a deep sleep, not yet fully awakened. This made it easy for Rosen to locate their dreams, allowing him to pinpoint their exact location and possibly even glean some information about their origins.

Several kilometers away, a vertical sea cave hidden within a coral reef emitted a steady stream of cold air. At the bottom of the cave lay a crystal palace, where a hundred ice coffins began to crack.

As the sound of shattering ice echoed through the palace, the Frost Naga in ninety-nine of the coffins opened their eyes. They were emotionless, like puppets. Without hesitation, they swam out of the palace and rushed toward the surface, ready to engage the humans in battle.

Meanwhile, several old, emaciated mermen priests emerged from the palace's rear chamber, confused as to why the last Frost Naga had failed to awaken. Was it because too many mermen priests had been sacrificed, leaving insufficient offerings?

Suddenly, another priest emerged from the rear—a robust, powerful-looking merman. Without a word, he stabbed the hearts of the remaining priests with his steel trident, spilling their hot blood onto the floor.

The last Frost Naga's eyelids twitched but remained tightly shut.

The lone surviving merman priest quickly realized that human interference was at play. But from what he knew, humans had already thoroughly studied this realm. There was no reason to target a single Frost Naga with a dream invasion unless their goal wasn't to gather information but to locate something specific, perhaps him.

Without wasting any time, the merman priest left the crystal palace. As long as he lived, there was hope. Tomorrow, everything would reset again, and one day, the mermen would emerge victorious, escaping this realm to reclaim their freedom.

A few minutes later, the Bladefin Shark swam into the crystal palace, depositing Rosen safely inside.

As expected, he encountered no danger.

He had already successfully entered the last Frost Naga's dream several minutes earlier. He knew what he needed to know, and by delaying the Naga's awakening, he had succeeded in scaring off the merman priest.

Mermen were weak among the intelligent races, but their numbers made them formidable. Given enough time, the sheer number of mermen could create miracles. This particular tribe had once produced a remarkably talented merman.

This merman prodigy, through sheer genius and completing his extraordinary sequence, had reached Sequence 3, becoming a demi-god.

Among any intelligent race, a demi-god ranked among the strongest.

As the servants of the Naga, the mermen were often used as cannon fodder in the Naga's wars. The demi-god merman's family had perished due to one such conscription by the Naga.

Hatred had taken root deep within him, growing stronger over time.

Finally, the demi-god merman saw his chance when war broke out between the Naga and humans. In secret, he began capturing Naga, but merely killing them wasn't enough to satisfy his thirst for vengeance. He chose to enslave them, reasoning that if the Naga could enslave mermen, it was only fair for the tables to turn.

The demi-god merman succeeded, but he underestimated the Naga.

Though he had reached demi-god status, the Naga demi-gods were far more powerful, possessing abilities beyond his reach. Unlike him, who had stumbled into demi-godhood through talent and luck, the Naga had the support of their entire race.

In the end, the demi-god merman was forced to flee, leaving behind only this crystal palace and a hundred Frost Naga test subjects.

(End of Chapter)