When he recognized the man in the black cloak as the dead Philip, a flash of lightning flashed through Lumian's mind, illuminating most of the darkness.
He connected many things together and re-examined some details that he originally thought were rather forced:
Lumian had previously asked Gardner Martin why he supported Hugues Artois, the spokesperson for many evil gods. Gardner Martin replied at the time that he had always known what kind of person Hugues Artois was and what forces were hidden behind him. The reason he supported him in his campaign for Congress was that he believed that he would bring disaster to the market area time and time again, thereby pushing the citizens and workers to the opposition party and the "Iron Cross", in preparation for overthrowing the government later.
Before today, Lumian felt that this reason was valid on the surface. Even if Gardner Martin did not tell the whole truth, he did tell part of the truth. But now it seems that 90% of those words are false!
Hugues Artois was brought up and pushed into politics by the late General Philip, and Gardner Martin had obviously established a cooperative relationship with General Philip a long time ago. He supported Hugues Artois not because he found such an opportunity to take advantage of, but because he had participated in the planning from the beginning!
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Similarly, Lumian did not think it was surprising that General Philip, who faked his death to escape his original fate, used the "Dream Seekers" charity to fund "painters" and other people blessed by the evil god, and joined the Carbonari to try to riot and rebel. However, the fact that it was this "deceased man" who communicated with Gardner Martin and the "Iron Cross" made many details intriguing.
Lumian had roughly figured out the conspiracy when the "Inn Ceremony" officially began, but he felt that some explanations seemed forced. For example, since Miles Maip left the "Supreme Bliss Society" in anger and returned to the market area to prove himself, how did he contact the "painters" or the evil gods who planned the "Inn Ceremony"
This can be explained by the fact that before Susanna died, when she was still the high priest of the "Supreme Society", she had already come into contact with other evil god sects. As her lover and a core member of the "Supreme Society", Maipu Meier should have also mastered certain resources.
To explain, but when you look into it, it's always a bit awkward. Does Maipu.Mier have a good relationship with other evil gods' followers? When he encounters problems and wants to prove himself, he will naturally choose to ask them for help
Although Maipu. Meier knew that there was an angel sealed in Lumian, with his knowledge, he certainly couldn't think of how to use this information except for sacrifice, unless the "Mother Tree of Desire" directly gave him enlightenment. But how could a "recipient" who could receive divine enlightenment not show off, and how could he be ostracized by other members of the "Bliss Society"
After incorporating Gardner Martin and the fact that Gardner Martin and General Philip had long been connected into the conspiracy, Lumian felt that all the details had a more reasonable explanation:
After the disaster of the "Shadow Tree", Gardner Martin openly asked his subordinates in the market area, such as Lumian and Franca, to investigate the incident and the assassination of Hugues Artois. However, privately, he would certainly ask General Philip what the "Society of the Bliss" had done, what mistakes they had made, and what problems they had encountered.
In this situation, Maipu Meier, who wanted to return to the market area, naturally established contact with General Philip, who showed interest in this matter, and provided the most important information. As a result, Gardner Martin knew what was sealed in Lumian very early.
The entire "inn ceremony" might have been thought up by him, General Philip and the "painters":
They have coveted Trier in the Fourth Epoch for many years, and know a lot of secrets and mystical knowledge, as well as the operation of the seal and its past leaks. The building where the Breeze Ballroom is located is the property of the Savoy Party, and Market Avenue No. 13 is where the "Iron Cross" tests new members;
The other one has a very deep connection with the realm of destiny, and has initially united many evil cults through the funding of the "Dream Seekers" charity organization, and must have mastered a lot of knowledge in various aspects.
—The reason why Hugh Artois has many benefactors of evil gods to provide protection around him is not because he has access to so many problematic people, nor because his "enlightened" reputation has been deeply rooted in people's hearts, but because his supporter behind him, General Philip, who has commanded large-scale wars, has been committed to getting the believers of the evil gods to cooperate and accomplish the most important goal since a long time ago.
Lumian suspected that Gardner Martin's formal test and permission to join the "Iron Cross" was not because he initially believed in him, but because he had finalized the "hostel" plan and decided to put the target under his nose and exert various influences and take advantage of it.
If the Tarot Club hadn't intervened, and the ceremony hadn't been hastily brought forward, then the one who finally took action against Lumian, brought him into the world in the painting, and started the ceremony would most likely have been Gardner Martin or a demigod from the Iron Cross!
As his thoughts raced, Lumian's thoughts suddenly became clear:
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Everything Gardner Martin did after the Shadow Tree disaster was for the sake of the Lodge Ritual!
As expected of a former or current “conspirator”… Lumian sighed sincerely.
Of course, Gardner Martin certainly didn't know that Lumian had the residual aura of the "Blood Emperor" Alistair Tudor, but he would most likely have some doubts, but he just couldn't guess what the essence of the problem was. After all, he knew clearly that there was an angel sealed in Lumian Lee's body, which was a walking trouble and would attract many anomalies.
As for whether Gardner Martin knew that there was another organization behind him and Franka, Lumian tended to think that he had noticed something wrong, but he was not sure about the specific situation. Even Maipu Meier did not participate in the "Shadow Tree" ceremony, so he had no idea what happened at that time.
Lumian signaled to Janna that she could interrupt the mirror magic to avoid being noticed by Gardner Martin and General Philip, and at the same time, he had a new doubt:
"The Iron Cross is so eager for Trier in the Fourth Epoch and has made so many preparations. What do they want to get and what is their purpose
"If I hadn't arrived in Trier, hadn't stayed at the Golden Rooster Hotel, and hadn't recruited the 'Fallen Tree Spirit' Susanna Mathis, then what was the original plan of the 'Iron Blood Cross' and the various evil god sects? How did they plan to bypass the seal and open the door to Trier in the Fourth Epoch?"
As soon as the latter question came to mind, Lumian remembered something:
Gardner Martin once had a smuggling caravan of "Rat" Christo bring an item into Trier through an underground tunnel. That item triggered a special mirror world that was originally hidden underground. Later, when Franca was tracking a member of the Carbonari wearing a black cloak, that is, General Philip who faked his death, she sensed that item...
Now, General Philip has also entered here, into a place that looks like Trier in the fourth century!
"They were making a lot of preparations, including a very large riot, in order to use that item, its connection with the mirror fragments in the wilderness, and the seal leak that had appeared under the Breeze Ballroom to sneak in here? Later, I had a better choice...
"Fuck! Most of what Gardner Martin said about why he supported Hugues Artois' election to Congress was actually true! He really needed such a person to stir up anger in the market area, but not to overthrow the government, but to satisfy the ceremony!
"Haha, he's pushing bad people to power while playing the role of the leader of the resistance movement. He's the bad one, but he's also the good one. He's really squeezed all the value out of the people in the market area..." Lumian re-recognized the sequence name "conspirator" from Gardner Martin.
At this time, Janna understood what Lumian meant and interrupted the mirror magic.
She immediately heard Gardner Martin laugh and say:
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"It is indeed you, Philip. Let us go to Trier in the Fourth Century."
Philip... Janna had been lurking in the dark before, and she didn't have a very deep impression of the photo of General Philip. Only then did she suddenly realize that the cloaked man that Franca had followed before was General Philip who had faked his death.
Philip's deep, mellow voice sounded:
"You're not going to look for Lumian Lee? If he becomes your loyal subordinate and joins your team, you can immediately complete the ritual, take the potion, and ascend to demigod."
"I'm sorry, too. He has an angel sealed in his body. He can take on an entire team by himself. I've given him many chances, but he never knew what loyalty was. Now, I have another choice. Let him die naturally in Trier in the Fourth Century." Gardner Martin sighed.
Sealing an angel? Janna's eyes widened and she looked at Lumian.
Lumian raised his lips and sneered at what Gardner Martin had just said: I believe you are the one who is stupid!
A cold plot from the beginning, planning to use my people to talk about loyalty and regret
Just as Gardner Martin and General Philip turned around and prepared to walk towards the magnificent city, two figures emerged from a mirror fragment in the nearby wilderness.
They were Franka, who was wearing a women's shirt, beige jodhpurs, a dark brown jacket, and black leather boots, and Anthony Reid, who was dressed in army green.
Franka glanced around and saw Gardner Martin, who was wearing a silver-white full body armor and had his mask pushed up.
Anthony Reid's eyes were fixed on General Philip's face, which had a bulge in the middle of his nose.
Eight eyes looked at each other, and the air froze for a moment.
Count Puyfer appeared at the edge of the wilderness, in front of the light black bricks.
He looked at the giant figure several dozen meters tall that was shrouded in storms, lightning, fire, and smoke, and ran over with the frenzy of a sacrifice on his face.
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That figure was Vermonda Soren, who had gone mad and out of control and entered the underground.
A former archangel, a "conqueror" very close to the throne of God!