High hopes

When faced with Trunsoest, who had regained his original appearance, Olnia found it difficult to contain her emotions.

They had not seen each other for nearly two thousand years.

Trunsoest was still asleep, but she wasn't.

Drifting alone in the Underworld, he often thought of the little things between the two of them.

I never expected to have the chance to meet again today.

Trunsoest looked at Olnia and smiled slightly, then gently opened his arms.

Without a moment's hesitation, Olnia threw herself into his arms.

Although Olnia is Wraith, to Archangel like them, there is not much difference; she is just like a normal person.

The two embraced tightly, causing immense harm to those around them.

Feeding single people with PDA is the most unfair thing to do.

Although nominally the Three Sanguine Grand Dukes are all single, given their status, they certainly don't lack partners.

So the most pitiful one is Kronos. Since coming into this world, he has been focused on his career and has never considered his personal life.

Faced with this endless stream of lovey-dovey moments, Kronos wavered slightly, wondering if he should also find a companion.

However, after only a slight hesitation, Kronos regained his senses.

In such a turbulent world, let's focus on surviving first before worrying about all this nonsense.

The Apocalypse is just around the corner; unless one becomes True God, death will be the most likely outcome.

If I am fortunate enough to become True God, it will not be too late to consider these things then.

However, Kronos was extremely arrogant and looked down on ordinary people.

I could reluctantly pair myself with Amanises and have her serve me every day, as revenge for her past attempt to kill me.

Kronos has quite the imagination; he somehow managed to connect the dots to something rather absurd.

However, this also indirectly reduced the harm that dog food caused him.

After the two Trunsoest, Olnia blushed slightly.

Although the two have been legally married for thousands of years, they rarely show affection in front of outsiders.

After all, they are in positions of power, and they still need to maintain their Majesty in front of outsiders.

This time, it was entirely because I couldn't control my emotions.

However, Trunsoest didn't seem embarrassed at all; instead, he continued to hold Olnia's hand tightly and didn't let go.

Having experienced glory and death, Trunsoest now harbors no other thoughts in his mind.

All he wanted at that moment was to be with Olnia and live a good life together from now on.

If he had a further chance, Trunsoest might want to return to his Divine Throne.

However, the pollution of that Nation of Disorder ultimately remained in his body.

It doesn't affect me much normally; I'm just like a normal person.

However, if he wants to get promoted or gets into a fight, he will stir up the pollution that has already subsided.

If it's just a matter of taking action, it won't take long and there won't be any major problems. However, it will take some time to suppress the pollution after the battle ends.

However, if someone is promoted, it's not impossible for pollution to erupt directly.

Therefore, Trunsoest was at an extremely peaceful state of mind at this moment, without a single other thought in mind.

After Kronos and the three Duke congratulated the two on their reunion, Kronos prepared to leave.

What follows should be matters of internal affairs for their Sanguine; it wouldn't be appropriate for him to still be present.

However, Trunsoest called out to Kronos and handed Kronos the Beyonder Characteristic that had previously allowed him to reside.

"Brother Kronos, your help to us has been immense; you must accept this gift as a token of our gratitude."

Trunsoest's expression was sincere; it was clear he genuinely wanted to give it to Kronos.

There's nothing we can do if we don't give it to Kronos; nobody else can use it.

Let alone using it for promotion, even after it becomes Beyonder Item, no one dares to use it; the pollution it contains is not to be underestimated.

Therefore, this Beyonder Characteristic is practically useless to Sanguine; it's better to give it away as a favor.

At this point, the three Duke had no other thoughts, because they had also figured out the logic behind it.

Kronos glanced at Trunsoest, then said, "Since His Night Emperor has bestowed this favor, I will not refuse."

Kronos smiled as he accepted the Beyonder Characteristic from Trunsoest, then turned and left.

Watching Kronos's departing figure, Trunsoest said, "You've really found a good partner."

Only True God truly understands what authority is. Once you grasp authority, even if your strength isn't immediate, becoming stronger is inevitable.

Therefore, in his eyes, Kronos was someone destined to reach the pinnacle.

Olnia gently tugged at Trunsoest's hand and said, "Our relationship with him has always been good, but now we should discuss what to do next."

Amidst such a chaotic situation, and having offended the Augustus Family, the Sanguine still need to maintain their foothold.

Although the Augustus Family did not know that William was dead, they did know that William had been lured away by Olnia.

All nine Ruins contain Ritual for sensing, so when Olnia revealed her identity within the Ruins, it was natural that others would find out.

The reason there's no reaction now is because there are bigger things to deal with.

George III died, and then the full-scale war broke out.

It is no longer a war between Loen and Feysac, but a war between the entire Northern Continent.

However, as long as the Augustus Family is not destroyed, they will definitely seek out the Sanguine, because William is their greatest asset.

Even though the Augustus Family no longer has Archangel and is no longer a match for the Sanguine, being watched by an Angel all the time is still a very unpleasant thing.

After thinking for a moment, Trunsoest said, "Actually, I can take William's place and go back to appease the Augustus Family."

"I could even go further and take Olnia back, saying that I've convinced the Sanguine to fight alongside the Loen Kingdom."

"In that case, we can secretly control the Augustus Family and thus take control of Loen."

"In that case, the Sanguine will be able to live openly and honestly on the land of Loen. This can be considered my atonement for my previous failures."

The defeat in the War of the Four Emperors was not actually Trunsoest's fault, but he still felt some guilt towards those who were loyal to him.

"Your Majesty, this is not your fault. The war broke out because we all agreed to it. No one blames you," Olnia said, tightening her grip on Trunsoest's hand slightly.

To avoid being bombarded with more dog food (a form of online bullying), Olmer said, "That's right, none of us have blamed you."

"However, I think your suggestion is very suitable. The Augustus Family is currently unstable, and your return would be a good opportunity to bring them a pillar of support."

"Furthermore, in my opinion, you still need to recover your strength. As for the Justiciar Pathway, the Augustus Family is clearly more familiar with it than we are, and their resources can be of greater help to you."

"As for controlling Loen..." Olmer hesitated for a moment.

Trunsoest chuckled and said, "Is there something I don't know? You can say whatever you want, it's nothing."

Upon hearing Trunsoest's words, Olmer then said, "As far as I know, Kronos is also pursuing a similar plan."

"However, he is using control of the army to forcibly change the system after the war, undermine the Royal Family, and ultimately control Loen."

Trunsoest didn't react, but continued, "Isn't this perfect? We can cooperate with them then."

However, everyone else present was quite surprised by this statement.

In their minds, Trunsoest wasn't that kind of person.

Despite his youthful appearance and bookish demeanor, Trunsoest is, at his core, an extremely domineering person.

Otherwise, how could they have won the battle against Tudor, forcing Tudor to forcibly switch to the Red Priest?

Otherwise, how could they have won the final battle in the War of the Four Emperors?

Therefore, in their view, Trunsoest's previous proposal was an attempt to secretly control Loen and then restart his own imperial ambitions.

However, the fact that Trunsoest actually wanted to cooperate with Kronos's plan was something they hadn't expected.

Seeing the four people's surprised expressions, Trunsoest smiled.

"I've been through too much. I've been emperor, I've been a god, I've fallen from grace. I'm tired, I don't want to keep pushing myself like that."

"Besides, this is just how my body is, so why force myself? I'd rather find a place to live well and enjoy more of life's pleasures with Olnia."

Those present sensed a touch of melancholy, but also a greater sense of magnanimity, in these words.

"So, if Kronos can treat the Sanguine well, then let them have Loen, because I don't have any other intentions."

After listening to Trunsoest's words, Olmer asked, "Do you really think so highly of Kronos?"

Indeed, Trunsoest made this decision not only for the reason he mentioned, but also because he had high hopes for Kronos.

"I have high hopes for him; perhaps becoming True God isn't his ultimate goal."

It's important to understand that neither the Hermit Pathway nor the Paragon Pathway has anything to do with the Authority of Time.

Now that Kronos is Beyonder among the twenty-two Paths of the Divine, yet carries other powers, isn't his potential limitless?

If he could merge the power of the authority associated with the Pathway with the power of the Authority of Time, wouldn't he be able to directly become the Great Old One without needing Sefirah?

If, after the Western Continent is unsealed, Kronos is fortunate enough to obtain the Knowledge Moor, and combined with the Authority of Time, could he advance even further?

As a being of the Demon of Knowledge, he became a figure whose strength was no less than that of the Pillar of the Great Old One!

Whether or not these conjectures can come true, at least Kronos has this opportunity.

Trunsoest might be stuck in Sequence One for life, so isn't it perfectly normal to favor Kronos?

However, Trunsoest did not share these speculations with Olmer and the others.

Olnia should be able to know, but only when the two of them are alone, not when there are outsiders present.

After leaving the Sanguine, Kronos went straight back to the Cathedral of Machinery.

This time, however, Kronos did not head straight for the Enlightenment Monastery, but instead went directly to the Library of the Cathedral of Machinery.

To transform the Hand of Order Beyonder Characteristic into Beyonder Item, only Kronos can do it alone.

If they were from within the Church of Steam and Machinery, they might be capable enough, but Kronos didn't trust them.

Once they learn of the existence of this Beyonder Item, they will either want to possess it for themselves or offer it to Stiano, which would be a loss for Kronos.

The few new Artisan in Kronos were either weak or disabled, and were of no use whatsoever.

Using them carries a risk, with a greater than 90% chance of contamination.

Therefore, the best way is still to do it yourself.

However, Kronos didn't go through the Artisan stage. How can this problem be remedied?

It's actually quite simple: just use God Almighty's Substitute.

If Kronos were to observe closely how Artisan craft Beyonder Item, he would be able to Replication their abilities.

At that time, combined with the abilities of a Scholar of Yore and Knowledge Mentor, perhaps one could truly become a Paragon Pathway Angel on the path to perfection.

Before that, however, Kronos needed to thoroughly research some information about Sequence One Beyonder Item.

Even the True God Churches has very few of these Beyonder Item; most only have one.

Therefore, there are not many records of these items in the Church of Steam and Machinery, because most of them were formed naturally.

However, based on the information on Angel-level Beyonder Item, Kronos deduced that Beyonder Item of this level were beyond human capability to create.

The only role of human intervention is to provide some guidance.

This is a good thing, after all, there is always a difference between the abilities Replication by God Almighty's Substitute and the abilities of Beyonder themselves, and the smoothness of the process is definitely incomparable.

If he only needs to provide some guidance, it means he won't need to intervene much, which will save a lot of mistakes.

The materials in the Cathedral of Machinery are arguably the most comprehensive in the Church of Steam and Machinery, so the conclusions drawn from them should be fairly accurate.

After learning about these materials, Kronos did not return to the Enlightenment Monastery, but instead went straight to an area of Cathedral of Machinery.

He wanted to see what a real Artisan like.