Klein showed no surprise at Patrick Bryan's answer and nodded slightly.
How many times have you lived this life?
As far as he knew, the " Undying " would die and be resurrected every sixty years, forgetting most of their past memories, which they would then have to slowly recover, like starting a new life.
This was knowledge inherent to the Potion Society, Patrick Bryan easily understood the meaning of the God's Blessed opposite him. After carefully considering his words, he said:
"I'm not even 50 yet, and I've been an ' Undying ' for less than 10 years."
Klein then asked:
When did you convert to Christianity?
The "lord" here refers to the Lord of the Underworld.
Bryan recalled for two or three seconds and said:
"At that time, I had just turned 30."
He entered the mysterious world at the age of 30 and embarked on an extraordinary path, becoming Demigod of Sequence 4 before the age of 40... This speed either indicates amazing talent or that he is likely God's Blessed... Ha, sure enough, in that ritual, both his spirit and body were affected by the " Uniqueness " of the " Death " pathway... Klein listened and thought, becoming even more certain of his previous guesses.
Of course, compared to how he went from an ordinary person to Sequence 4 Demigod in just one year, Patrick Bryan's advancement speed was simply negligible.
Klein, on the contrary, didn't feel there was anything to marvel at, because he was indeed a " God's Blessed," and he also had multiple advantages.
The only problem is whether the rewards received for those gifts are already sufficient.
After a moment's hesitation, Klein turned and asked:
What is your official identity now?
"I'm a businessman who owns two garment factories in Backlund. On the surface, I'm a believer in the Evernight Goddess and a supporter of the New Party..." Patrick Bryan explained.
Klein almost scoffed, and continued to ask:
How many members of the Spirituality Religion do you have under your command, and what are they doing?
Bryan, well-prepared, answered fluently:
"Two groups, twelve Beyonder, some working in my garment factory, others in a watch shop, each with their own formal professions."
"Under normal circumstances, they would carefully and cautiously spread the faith of God among their surroundings. Progress in this area was slow and not their primary goal. The total number of believers did not exceed one hundred."
"Most of the time, they are collecting clues about various things left behind by the gods, as well as different materials needed for the awakening ritual."
"Once we have clues, we will take corresponding actions. After the materials are ready, we will experiment with different awakening rituals to find the most effective one. I am the one who facilitates the action and the core element of the ritual."
He sounded quite proud... Klein asked about other details and received detailed answers to all of them.
Finally, after thinking for a while, he spoke with a serious expression:
"You shall obey God's command; from this moment forward, you shall follow my instructions."
Patrick Bryan immediately stood up and bowed respectfully:
"Yes, Your Blessed."
Klein nodded slightly and said:
"First, cease all rituals and stop collecting materials. God has begun to awaken and is in the recovery phase; we must not allow any noise to disturb Him."
In Klein's view, no matter how the form of the awakening ritual performed by Bryan and his team changes, it ultimately points to the Artificial Death, that is, the " Uniqueness " of the " Death " pathway. This will intensify its activation and make it difficult for the Goddess to further control it.
Whether Klein wanted this situation to happen or not, since " Evernight Goddess " had already sent Bryan over, he had no choice but to make such arrangements.
Patrick Bryan had no doubts about his statement, because " Death " had indeed awakened, and the essence of "awakening" was "disruption."
The " Undying " thought for a moment and then asked:
" Your Blessed, what should we do next?"
Klein smiled approvingly:
"Continuing to search for clues about what God left behind will help Him recover more quickly."
At this point, Klein was about to make a second request, but worried that if there were too few similar clues, the members of the Spirituality Religion would have nothing to do and might cause other problems, so he added:
"Furthermore, you and your subordinates should widely promote literacy activities in the garment factory and other areas of your operations, establishing night schools or study classes to help those around you escape ignorance and barbarity."
To strengthen his persuasiveness, Klein pressed his right hand to his chest and began his sermon with unusual devotion:
"God said, 'You must understand what you believe in order to believe.'"
"God said, 'For to the lost, I will first strengthen their body and arm their mind, for in the kingdom He has promised there is no barbarity or folly.'"
Patrick Bryan did not question Dawn Dantès's words, nor was he surprised that these two sentences were not Record in the Spirituality Religion's holy book, because the other party was Blessed of God, a representative appointed by God!
He nodded sincerely and said:
I will keep God's teachings in mind.
May every spirit live forever in God's kingdom!
As he spoke, he used the prayer gesture of the current Spirituality Religion's Artificial Death Faction, which is to raise both hands, thumbs facing each other, and place them on the center of his forehead.
In the corresponding occult theories, this is the core of the Underworld within each " Gatekeeper," representing the position of the Death.
Klein responded with the same gesture and words, then said:
"Secondly, any orders sent from the Southern Continent, regardless of their origin, must be submitted to me first and you can only act upon them after obtaining my permission. If I do not grant permission, you are not allowed to act on your own; you can only provide feedback according to my instructions."
He was worried that High Priest Heitel, the Angel of the Death Realm, was still enthusiastic about the Artificial Death Project and would occasionally instruct Patrick and others to make new attempts.
At the same time, he also had to ensure that before the goddess further mastered the " Uniqueness " of the " Death " path, Heitel and the other two Saint would not notice anything amiss, thus preventing them from taking drastic action.
Bryan still had no objection to this:
"Yes, Your Blessed!"
After giving the instructions on the two most important matters, Klein remained outwardly calm but inwardly relaxed somewhat, and carefully said:
"Thirdly, unless I summon you, you must not come to me on your own initiative; all communication shall be conducted through messengers."
"As you know, many beings in the Astral World do not wish to see God resurrected."
Patrick Bryan nodded emphatically:
"I see.
"My messenger's summoning phrase is 'A spirit that roams the Upper World, an absolutely friendly being, Patrick Bryan's contracted partner.'"
Sure enough, a Demigod of the " Death " pathway couldn't possibly be without a messenger... Normally, Sequence 6 of this pathway would suffice... Klein didn't hesitate, speaking at a measured pace:
"Remember, my messenger's summoning phrase is 'A spirit wandering in illusion, a benevolent creature at your disposal, a messenger unique to Gehrman Sparrow. ' And yes, whether you're receiving or sending a letter, you'll need to give one gold coin to complete the agreement."
Klein intentionally revealed the connection between Gehrman Sparrow and Dawn Dantès's identities, mainly to see how the other party would react.
" Gehrman Sparrow..." Patrick Bryan repeated the name in confusion, then suddenly realized and exclaimed with delight, "Your Highness Death Consul?"
Fortunately, although it was a byproduct of the ritual and a product of fanatical faith, it at least possessed normal intelligence and was able to consciously gather information and analyze problems... Klein breathed a sigh of relief and responded with a smile:
"I am not, He is my teacher."
Bryan nodded thoughtfully, feeling that he had a clear grasp of the whole matter.
Klein guessed what he was thinking, but ignored it, crossed his right leg, clasped his hands on his knee, and asked instead:
What do you know about the other factions within the Spirituality Religion?
Patrick Bryan sat down again and said:
"The most powerful branch within the Spirituality Religion is the Royal Family Faction, which, centered on the descendants of God, has created multiple organizations..."
Their leader is currently a divine descendant with a relatively diluted bloodline, named Shia Palenque Eggers. She may be Angel, or she may possess an important relic of God, and she calls herself the ' Pale Empress '...
"Besides her, the Royal Family Faction has five other saints, some of whom are true Demigod, and some who rely on Sealed Artifact..."
"Besides the Royal Family Faction and us, the other branches are relatively weak, mainly the Repose Faction and the Underworld Faction... Together they only have three experts with strength equivalent to a Saint..."
After Bryan finished speaking, Klein nodded almost imperceptibly and said:
That's all for today. Feel free to contact me if anything comes up later.
"Yes, Your Blessed." Patrick Bryan rose, bowed, and retreated to the doorway.
The door opened silently, revealing shadowy figures outside, and a chilling wind swept through.
Once everything had calmed down, Klein glanced at the closed wooden door, walked to the window, pulled back the curtain, and looked out at the street.
Several carriages appeared there at some unknown time, each with two lanterns hanging in front of it. The lanterns emitted an unusually pale, eerie green light, blurring the surroundings.
In this blurry scene, nearly transparent figures clustered on both sides and in front and behind, all dressed in illusory clothing that resembled formal attire, appearing quite formal.
When Patrick Bryan descended from mid-air and returned there, the figures simultaneously prostrated themselves, welcoming the Demigod and the spirits beside him onto a few barely visible carriages, and then the entourage, surrounded by attendants, drove off into the distance.
The pale light, tinged with a hint of green, faded and faded until it disappeared into the darkness, as if it had never existed.
Klein withdrew his gaze, his expression slightly grave as he muttered to himself:
"Although Patrick Bryan's receipt of the oracle stemmed from the goddess's considerations from various angles, I always felt that the undercurrents in Backlund, and even the whole world, were becoming increasingly turbulent."
"Who knows when they'll stir up waves..."
With this in mind, Klein didn't delay and decided to contact the Witch Trissy immediately to confirm that nothing unusual had happened there.