Divine Legacy of the Memorial

Deboning's mind, true to form, proved rather sharp. He caught on instantly, remarking coldly, “My Young Master has other pressing matters this time. Explain everything to me clearly, and I will consider it myself! ‘Five Keys Gathered, Path of Gods Ends’... what in the blazes do these phrases even mean?” His cold, slender eyes fixated on Susanna, subjecting the vixen to a bone-chilling aura of death.

Yet, it also instilled confidence in her, for only such formidable power could possibly retrieve that item!

Du Chen spoke, “Brook was unaware of the Celestial Capital's affairs before; I never mentioned it to him. But since you intend to rely on him this time, you had best explain everything to him!”

Deboning, playing along, subtly furrowed his brow, his cold gaze sweeping over Du Chen. It was as if to say, *Master, you're being unkind. Why keep such secrets from me?*

Du Chen offered a perfunctory nod of apology, then shot a chilling glance at Susanna, as if silently chiding, *You saucy vixen, why bring up the legends of the Celestial Capital in front of Brook? I've kept him in the dark all this time!*

This string of actions dispelled Susanna's burgeoning suspicions. While Francis knew the secret, he had kept even his most trusted lieutenants in the dark. This was indeed the ruthless and cunning Thirteenth Master she remembered!

Susanna redirected her efforts towards Deboning. “Your esteemed Eminence, Lynch Baton, the ancestor of the Saint Baton Clan, once left a profound message for his descendants... He claimed that the Divine Emperor concealed a secret within the Celestial Capital regarding the ultimate culmination of the Battle God's Path. To unravel this enigma, one must assemble five keys! Such is the legend of the Celestial Capital!”

Deboning snorted, “The Divine Emperor himself never reached the end of the Battle God's Path. What significant use could anything he left behind possibly hold?”

Susanna let out a delicate laugh. “But the Divine Emperor is, after all, the foremost figure from antiquity to the present, the one who came closest to the Battle God's Path's terminus! Thus, the secret he left behind must surely be the most reliable! Your Eminence, wouldn't you agree?” A single, enchanting wink was enough to captivate the soul.

But Deboning was utterly impervious to such charms!

“‘He who obtains the Beast Emperor's Seal gains the Great Plains’ — what precisely does *that* signify?”

Susanna sighed plaintively, “My Grand Pontiff, you have seen the Beast Emperor's Seal with your own eyes. Yet, did you not feel that as a Seal, it seemed to be lacking something crucial?”

The image of the Beast Emperor's Seal flashed through Deboning's mind. He frowned. “A Seal's base should undoubtedly bear the owner's inscription, yet the Beast Emperor's Seal's underside was a blank slate!”

“Precisely! The Beast Emperor's Seal you acquired all those years ago was only the upper half. The lower half lies within Orbach's coffin! When both halves of the Beast Emperor's Seal are reunited, the descendant of Orbach who most closely resembles his bloodline will gain the divine power and status of the Supreme Father God, thereby becoming the master of the Great Plains!”

Susanna pointed to the tip of her nose. “Therefore, ‘He who obtains the Beast Emperor's Seal gains the Great Plains’ holds meaning only for those of us who possess Orbach's bloodline!”

Orbach's Divine Power Legacy!? Du Chen's heart stirred, but he found it inconvenient to inquire further.

Susanna stretched languidly, leaning back in her chair. She continued, “Grand Pontiff, do you know why I wasn't executed after being captured by the Saint Baton Clan, but instead became their matriarch? Firstly, my beauty captivated Lombaton. Secondly, after Hawkins retrieved the true Beast Emperor's Seal, Lombaton intended to use my blood to cleanse the impurities from it. But the instant my blood touched the Seal, *hee-hee*, everyone suddenly discovered that *I*, a grave robber who dared disturb ancestral tombs, was, in fact, the only descendant in a thousand years whose bloodline was indistinguishable from our progenitor's!”

Du Chen mused inwardly, *The Goddess of Fate, indeed, has a truly twisted sense of humor!*

Susanna let out another plaintive sigh. “According to ancestral law, Lombaton should have, by then, retrieved the other half of the Beast Emperor's Seal from our ancestor's coffin, unified the two halves, and allowed me to inherit our progenitor's divine power, making me the Empress of McAllen! But that wretched Lombaton declared that I, being a grave robber, was unworthy of receiving our ancestor's legacy. So he merely pardoned my sins and married me off as a consolation... But I understood his true intention: he sought to use my bloodline to bear him a child, and then have *that* child inherit our ancestor's legacy!”

Deboning retorted coldly, “Hmph, so you wish me to steal the other half of the Beast Emperor's Seal, so *you* can inherit Orbach's legacy!”

“Precisely! That is the arrangement! And once I obtain our ancestor's legacy, I shall bestow upon you both the Beast Emperor's Seal, which will then be utterly useless to me, and the Celestial Capital map...” Susanna giggled. “The Beast Emperor's Seal, you see, is one of the five keys needed to unlock the Celestial Capital! Grand Pontiff, I've stated my case. What say you?”

What could Deboning possibly say? Du Chen found it awkward to speak, so he folded his arms, closed his eyes, and coolly prevaricated, “You shall have your answer in one day!”

Susanna frowned slightly. “As I've said, unforeseen variables have arisen within the Saint Baton Clan, which compelled me to initiate this plan ahead of schedule. If the Grand Pontiff is interested, I require an answer before noon!”

Deboning gave a slight nod. “Agreed.”

Susanna added, “Grand Pontiff, rest assured. Once I receive the divine power legacy, I will not wield it against you. For I shall require the close alliance between Du Chen's Divine Cult and the Holy Church to help me consolidate my imperial authority! There will be many opportunities for our cooperation in the days to come!”

Du Chen rose to take his leave, a cold smirk playing on his lips. *Saucy vixen, get real. By the Earth Burial ritual, this place will likely become a battlefield between Humanity and Fiendkind before noon. If you can even preserve your life amidst the chaos, that will be an achievement!*

*A deal? To hell with that! I desire the Celestial Capital map, but I certainly won't seek death by venturing near Orbach's corpse at this moment—Bonis is currently monitoring Orbach's body within the Labyrinth of Life! Nevertheless, thank you for the plethora of intelligence you've so generously provided for free!*

Bidding Susanna farewell, Du Chen continued towards the Earth Burial Sacred Tomb in the grand canyon. The Pontiff had already moved in secret. After Du Chen reunited with the two Grand Matriarchs, he recounted the information Susanna had divulged.

Upon hearing this, the two Grand Matriarchs expressed little understanding of the Celestial Capital's and Beast Emperor's Seal's relationship, but they were exceptionally intrigued by Susanna's bloodline. Lily pondered for a moment, then blurted out, “Given Susanna's shameless demeanor, if you told me her bloodline was identical to Marshal Orbach's... I'd believe it!”

Lucy's lips twitched. “Sister, Marshal Orbach was the Allied Forces' strongest commander. We should accord him respect and veneration... even if his character was, well, *quite*...”

Du Chen found it amusing. “My dear ladies, was Marshal Orbach's character truly so flawed?”

Lily was usually blunt and unrestrained in her speech, but under her sister's subtle warning glance, she could only phrase it delicately, “Steve, Frinda, Old Bovin, and that Porter whom I've recently heard soldiers speak of... Conflate all their flaws, and you can conjure an image of what Marshal Orbach was truly like!”

*Lecherous, violent, spouting utter nonsense, and even an effeminate dandy!? Such a man was the Allied Forces' mightiest commander, recorded in history, the sole God of War capable of defeating Bonis's army on an open battlefield?*

Du Chen suddenly found his usually robust imagination somewhat insufficient.

Traversing the Auerbach Grand Canyon, the Earth Burial Sacred Tomb appeared before them. Rebadon the Beast Emperor stood upon an altar, watching as beastmen hurled corpse after corpse into pre-dug pits. Yellow earth covered them, Kodo Beasts trampled the ground firm, and then beastmen slaves scattered grass seeds. In merely a month or two, the graves would become indistinguishable from the grasslands' natural turf.

Around the altar, Beastkin priests murmured profound incantations, while guests and beastmen soldiers observed from a respectful distance. The Pontiff, serene and composed, with his aura completely restrained, also stood among the onlookers.

Beside the Pontiff stood a short, stout man with large ears, one of the two dozen individuals the Pontiff had brought with him. His appearance was quite comical, especially his strikingly prominent, flaring ears. Yet, this man's name rendered Du Chen utterly unable to laugh!

Tyr! A Godslayer Aberrant Beast, the Papal Curia's Guardian Divine Beast, Sama IX's Divine Pet, and simultaneously, Brockman's adopted son and Homan's biological father.

Du Chen approached the Pontiff and whispered, “Your Majesty, all my affairs have been concluded.”

“Indeed! Tyr reports that the first batch of interred corpses has already entered the Labyrinth of Life. Homan, who is with Brockman, has also been secured. You need not worry about Homan. Prepare to act!”

Concurrently, within the first “factory” facility for transforming the Undead in the Labyrinth of Life, Brockman touched his ear, pausing his work to ask, “Homan, what troubles you?”

Homan vigorously shook his body. “Papa, Homan feels a headache, a very, very painful one.”

Brockman immediately plucked Homan from his ear. The child, a plump, large-eared ball of flesh, nestled into Brockman's hands. “What is this? You've never been ill before!” He examined the little one thoroughly, yet found no abnormalities.

“Papa, Homan is fine! A good sleep will make me better!” The little one forced a smile, even attempting to comfort Brockman.

Brockman felt a pang of heartache. He glanced around – overhead, Fiendkind soldiers were transporting the first batch of corpses, numbering around seven to eight hundred. On the open ground, thousands of Undead were already poised to greet their ‘new brethren’ with gaping maw. Philip, meanwhile, was with Bonis in a deeper base. Brockman's brow furrowed. He called over an Undead assistant and commanded, “You watch over things here. The Young Master isn't feeling well; I'll take him to rest!”

Brockman soared away. The Undead assistant turned with a chilling demeanor. “Hurry, everyone! Begin transforming this batch of soldiers immediately!”

As he spoke, he dragged his mangled body towards a freshly arrived corpse, hissing as he leered at his target up close, a savage grin spreading across his face. “A big bear-kin fellow! I like him!” With a single bite, this Undead, whose intellect was high enough to serve as Brockman's assistant, was already contemplating making this giant bear-kin his personal Retainer once he reanimated!

Hmph!