Lord: Sequence Master

"Noble Sequence... Bloodline Awakening..." The Gray Rat Ancestor squeaked in unwillingness as it faced defeat.

Karman reverted from his transformation, nodding slightly. In his earlier Sequence 8 days, he had been fortunate enough to acquire the noble sequence's extraordinary ability: Bloodline Awakening. This was also the core reason he eventually chose a transformation-based power for his Gourmet Sequence.

Any transformation, when combined with Bloodline Awakening, allowed him to greatly enhance the strength of the extraordinary creature he turned into for a short period.

Without the Beast Cage, the Gray Rat Ancestor could have easily escaped, dragging the battle long enough for Karman's Bloodline Awakening to expire. However, the limited space of the Beast Cage left the Ancestor with no escape and only one fate: death.

As the battle concluded, the Beast Cage dissipated, leaving no trace behind.

Karman, though feeling a twinge of pain from the costly use of the cage, pulled out a box and carefully placed the Gray Rat Ancestor's head inside. He activated the alchemy array on the box, initiating the process of extracting the divinity from the Gray Rat Ancestor.

At this point, two of the other Sequence 7 superhumans who had been watching the battle from outside the cage came forward to guard Karman.

After half an hour, Karman closed the box, a satisfied look on his face. He planned to hunt a few pirates on the surface to replenish his strength.

Rosen, still hiding in his Mysterious Study Room, waited patiently, not rushing out.

Something didn't sit right with him. The Gray Rat Ancestor, possessing divinity, had died too easily. It made no sense that a noble gourmet like Karman had contingency plans, yet the Gray Rat Ancestor, despite holding divine power, seemed to have none. Something felt off.

Another half-hour passed, and with no signs of abnormal activity, Rosen began to believe he had misjudged the situation and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, he heard faint footsteps. Soon, a Sequence 7 superhuman appeared, the same one who had been the first to flee during the chaotic battle. But now, this person's appearance was different—his face had become rat-like.

Rosen immediately realized that this human had likely been parasitized or taken over by a Gray Rat. His initial retreat during the battle wasn't just to force the others to withdraw; it was also a means of preserving a backup plan in case the main body was defeated.

But why would the Gray Rat risk returning now, after successfully escaping?

The ground was being dug with the knight's sword, and after digging about ten meters, the rat-like figure uncovered a gray stone.

Although Rosen couldn't see exactly what the Gray Rat was excavating, he could hear the sound of the knight's sword hitting something.

Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Rosen used his Godslayer Crossbow, infusing it with spiritual energy, and fired both bullets and bolts directly at the target.

The bullets and bolts, designed to automatically track their prey, curved through the air and burrowed into the ten-meter-deep pit.

In the cramped space of the pit, the Gray Rat could only lift its knight's sword to try and deflect the incoming projectiles.

With a fierce battle cry, the rat-man leaped from the pit, launching itself in Rosen's direction.

However, its war cry carried the strength of only a Sequence 9 superhuman, far weaker than a true Sequence 7.

Rosen immediately understood—not all parasitic entities had the same level of ability as the Shadow Cat.

While the Shadow Cat's parasitic ability allowed it to fully inherit the power of a Sequence 7 human, the Gray Rat, on the other hand, couldn't fully control the abilities of the human knight it had possessed.

Moreover, with the death of the Gray Rat Ancestor, the parasite's power was diminished, and it could only exhibit Sequence 9-level strength.

If Rosen had been facing a Sequence 8 opponent, he would have remained cautious and continued attacking from a distance. But now that he was dealing with a mere half-strength Sequence 9 opponent, he felt confident enough to take the fight head-on.

Rosen leaped out of the Mysterious Study Room, immediately utilizing Shadow Step to enter the shadows.

In fact, he even activated one of his two remaining Shadow Step teleportations, moving instantly to the Gray Rat's blind spot.

Rosen initiated Death Strike, firing a barrage of bullets and bolts at close range, all aimed at the Gray Rat's back.

Relying on his superhuman senses, Rosen had also preemptively blocked the Gray Rat's ability to hear him.

By the time the Gray Rat realized the danger was behind it, it was too late to fully turn around and block with the knight's sword.

However, the rat-men's battle instincts, honed from countless fights, enabled it to make the right decision—it charged backward, using its knight's armor to absorb the impact of the incoming projectiles.

It was a smart move, but the Gray Rat hadn't accounted for the slowed bullet lurking in the shadows.

Both the bullets and bolts Rosen fired were transformed by his spiritual energy-infused art. Depending on the type of spiritual artwork placed in the ammunition magazine, the bullets and bolts would possess different attributes.

Normally, Rosen prioritized high-damage artwork like explosions, ice, or armor-piercing scenes.

However, this time, he used an artwork that featured Freddy Krueger.

As a result, one of the bullets didn't exist in reality—it traveled from the dream world and struck the Gray Rat's consciousness, attempting to force it into a nightmare. The attack failed, though, as the Gray Rat's consciousness was much stronger than Rosen's own.

Nevertheless, the rat-man had a weakness: its parasitic mind lacked the depth of a full-fledged consciousness.

For a brief moment, the Gray Rat was dazed by the bullet's impact.

Seizing the opportunity, Rosen teleported again, appearing beside the Gray Rat's left flank. He drove the barrel of his Godslayer Crossbow into a crack in the knight's helmet and unleashed a storm of bullets and bolts directly into the Gray Rat's head.

The confined space of the helmet intensified the explosive impact of the spiritual energy, shredding the Gray Rat's head to pieces.

In its final moments, the rat-men's mind was consumed with regret and despair.

Ironically, the crack in the knight's helmet that had allowed the Gray Rat to take control of the human knight was the same crack that now led to its demise.

With one last, desperate act of fury, the Gray Rat punched Rosen in the chest with an elbow charged with spiritual energy.

Even though Rosen had funneled all his remaining spiritual energy into defending his chest, the Gray Rat's elbow strike crushed his defenses, caving in his chest, shattering ribs, and piercing his internal organs.

The force was so great that Rosen's back bulged outward, revealing the impact of the blow.

Rosen felt his life slipping away, a mixture of fear and excitement coursing through him.

He had never been this close to death, nor had he ever experienced such a life-or-death battle.

With great effort, Rosen used his remaining spiritual energy to temporarily suppress his injuries. His control was so precise that he isolated the damage to his internal organs and bones, keeping them from affecting his brain and limbs.

He then retreated to his Divine Territory, clutching several glowing orbs as he teleported to the Alchemical Castle.

Rosen lay beneath the Sequence Tree, his life force rapidly draining away.

In a matter of minutes, his life essence was completely depleted, leaving behind nothing but a mummified corpse.

Even the remaining nutrients in his body were absorbed by the roots of the Sequence Tree, leaving only his clothes and extraordinary items scattered on the ground.

Moments later, the Sequence Tree began to blossom and bear fruit.

A few hours passed, and the fruit, now fully ripened, split open from within, revealing Rosen, who leaped out, fully restored.

The Divine Lord, as part of the Noble Sequence, possessed the greatest ability—immortality. The power of the Divine Lord extended far beyond merely carrying a portable domain for battling in the spirit realm.

As long as the Divine Territory remained intact, the Divine Lord could continually resurrect from within it.

Of course, resurrection came with a price. Rosen's spiritual energy limit had been reduced by one point—he had been on the verge of reaching 11 points, but now he had fallen back to 9.

Additionally, the Sequence Tree used a significant amount of spiritual essence, consuming 10,000 units to regenerate Rosen's new body.

This was just the cost of resurrection for Sequence 9. The higher Rosen advanced, the greater the price of resurrection would become.

Without the Divine Territory's ability to resurrect, Rosen would never have dared to confront the Gray Rat holding divine power.

(End of Chapter)