Lord: Sequence Master

At the edge of the Time Great Rift, the distortion of time drastically shortens the lifespan of anyone living there.

As a result, there are no human cities near the Time Great Rift, but there is an ancient castle that has stood for 20,000 years.

Rosen rode his mechanical steed, hovering in the sky as he gazed at the distant, decrepit castle.

Seeing it with his own eyes, it was hard to believe that the noble family residing in this worn-down castle was none other than the Milburn Dukes, ranked among the top three of the nine hereditary dukes of the Thunder Empire.

The Milburn family was notorious for having very few descendants, and for 20,000 years, no demigod had emerged from their lineage.

Yet they still ranked among the top three because of their extraordinary time-attribute bloodline.

This bloodline allowed the Milburn family to reside on the edge of the Time Great Rift for generations and manage the realm entrusted to them by the Thunder Empire. Rosen knew he couldn't enter the realm without going through the Milburn Duke.

Standing at the castle gate were not living guards but two Sequence 7 alchemical golems.

"Rosen Howard, Hereditary Duke, here to visit Duke Milburn," Rosen said, displaying his family crest as he dismounted his mechanical steed.

The alchemical golems scanned the noble crest and immediately notified the castle's butler.

Inside the castle, the butler, who had been tending to the garden, quickly informed Duke Milburn, who was fishing at the moment.

"A stranger, a hereditary duke? Bring him here," Duke Milburn instructed after some thought.

The butler soon arrived at the castle gate and respectfully invited Rosen to the Crystal Lake at the back of the castle.

When Rosen arrived at the lake, alchemical golems were already setting up reclining chairs and fishing gear for Duke Milburn. Surprisingly, the Duke chose to entertain his guest by fishing, showing just how unconventional he was.

"It's an honor to meet you, Duke Howard," Milburn said, handing Rosen a fishing rod.

Just moments before, Duke Milburn had used his connections in the World Government to investigate the Howard family: a hereditary viscount who became a non-hereditary earl, and now, in a flash, had risen to the rank of hereditary duke. Not to mention, Rosen was under 30 years old and already a Sequence 7 painter capable of creating spiritual realm paintings.

From any perspective, this Rosen was brimming with potential.

"The honor is mine, Duke Milburn," Rosen replied, accepting the fishing rod and sitting down, curiously studying the Crystal Lake before him.

"This lake is quite something," Duke Milburn boasted. "Though it's small, just under a kilometer in diameter, the lakebed contains a rich time fossil vein, and I've stocked it with plenty of time-attribute aquatic species. Whatever we catch today will be the highlight of tonight's dinner."

"I'd better take this fishing seriously, then," Rosen replied with a smile of admiration.

Fishing was dull work, but Duke Milburn was a lively host. Despite the friendly atmosphere, both men were quietly sizing each other up.

This continued until Rosen presented his gift, which significantly improved the mood.

The gift was five rare Pregnancy Stones, a precious offering that held the promise of increasing the Milburn family's descendants—no small gesture for a family known for its low birthrate.

For Duke Milburn, this was a gift more valuable than any treasure.

However, when he learned that Rosen wanted to enter the Time Dragon's Nest Realm, Duke Milburn hesitated. It wasn't that he was unwilling, but the realm was extremely dangerous.

The core of the Time Dragon's Nest originated from the Bronze Dragon Vlada Valencia, a Sequence 1 apostle of the Thunder God who had long since perished. From the very beginning, the Bronze Dragon had known it had died in the physical world.

When the realm first formed, the Bronze Dragon immediately consolidated all its power within.

In the past, multiple gods had descended to confront the dragon, battling it repeatedly to weaken the realm's core. After a millennium of effort from the entire empire, the Sequence 1 realm was eventually reduced to Sequence 5.

However, for the past 19,000 years, the Time Dragon's Nest remained locked at Sequence 5.

The reason was simple: a Sequence 5 realm could only host beings up to Sequence 5, so the Bronze Dragon's power had been forcibly reduced to Sequence 5. Even so, the Bronze Dragon still retained its divinity, and its skills were terrifyingly high-level.

Of course, it couldn't wield LV9 skills, as Sequence 5 spiritual energy wasn't sufficient to activate them, but it could easily use LV6 skills, making the Bronze Dragon a divine-powered Sequence 5 being with LV6 skills—a powerhouse far stronger than most Sequence 5 extraordinary creatures.

Defeating such a creature required the intervention of a Divine Child or a Titled Demigod willing to suppress their power.

However, no one with such power would risk their life fighting the Bronze Dragon, as their death would be permanent, while the dragon's death would only mean waiting for the realm to refresh.

This is why realms tied to non-human civilizations posed more risk than benefit for humanity. Some warned that realms could one day turn on humans. Civilizations destroyed by humans might one day rise from their realms to overthrow humanity.

For generations, the Milburn family had guarded the Time Great Rift. Not only did the rift's environment benefit their Bronze Dragon bloodline, but they also had the means to suppress the Time Dragon's Nest and prevent the realm from regaining its strength.

To Duke Milburn, Rosen's desire to enter the Time Dragon's Nest seemed like a death wish. Word of this would likely lead many to believe the Milburn family had set up the Howard Duke for failure.

And Duke Milburn himself wondered if Rosen had an ulterior motive for wanting to enter the nest.

This matter, which offered little reward but plenty of trouble, naturally made the Duke hesitate.

Had it not been for the Pregnancy Stones, Duke Milburn would have outright refused. But now he was stuck, trying to think of an excuse to politely decline and a suitable gift to return.

Rosen couldn't read Duke Milburn's mind, but he could sense the hesitation.

"I can swear under the witness of the Contract Spirit God that I won't do anything to harm the Time Dragon's Nest," Rosen said, speaking up. "I only seek specific extraordinary materials to enhance my Time Trap Crafting. You don't need to worry about my safety—I've prepared treasures specifically designed to counter dragons, and I wouldn't attempt this without full confidence."

"Time Trap Crafting?" Duke Milburn asked, intrigued.

Rosen activated his trap space and projected a Time Dust Trap over the surface of the Crystal Lake.

"A Dungeon Freedom Skill Crystal?" Duke Milburn stared at Rosen in envy.

A Sequence 7 possessing Time Trap Crafting was already worth tens of millions of spiritual crystals, but a freedom skill, unrestricted by one's sequence level, would increase the value tenfold. Such a skill would easily fetch hundreds of millions of spiritual crystals, a luxury even the Milburn family couldn't afford.

Rosen's statement and demonstration left no room for refusal. If Duke Milburn continued to reject him, it would likely strain their relationship.

Since Rosen would be the one risking his life, and with a Contract Spirit God overseeing their agreement, Duke Milburn had no fear of being slandered afterward.

"The Time Dragon's Nest can be opened at any time. The study has detailed information on the realm," Duke Milburn said, abandoning his fishing and leading Rosen to the castle's study.

For the next two days, Rosen pored over the study's documents on the Time Dragon's Nest, and his confidence in tackling the realm plummeted.

With his Dragonblood Flask and a handful of life-saving treasures, he had thought that a mere Sequence 5 realm would be manageable. But now, it was clear that the Time Dragon's Nest was far more dangerous than the realms he had previously explored.

Still, having given such a generous gift, backing out now would feel like a loss. Moreover, the true value hidden within the Time Dragon's Nest far exceeded what could be found on the virtual networks.

After a good night's sleep, Rosen woke early the next day, fully rested and ready to enter the Time Dragon's Nest.

Duke Milburn personally escorted Rosen to the Time Great Rift, leading him to the bottom of the ravine beneath the castle, where the ruins of a bronze tower lay. Only the base of the tower remained, surrounded by seals that even a demigod would struggle to breach.

Duke Milburn opened the first layer of the barrier, allowing Rosen to step inside.

Passing through nine layers of barriers, Rosen found himself standing alone atop the base of the bronze tower.

He pulled out a specially crafted space key, which, when activated, created a spatial vortex.

As Rosen stepped into the vortex, Duke Milburn shook his head and returned to the castle.

Emerging from the vortex, Rosen found himself in a dense forest.

He released his Godslayer Eye, allowing it to soar into the sky and share its vision of the surroundings.

The forest lay behind a grand city. Surrounding the city were endless fields of crops, and beyond that, vast plains. At the city's center stood a 3,000-meter-tall bronze tower, adorned with countless mysterious bronze dragons in bas-relief.

At the top of the bronze tower was a giant clock, spewing thick black smoke from its many gears.

The city had no walls, making it easy to observe the situation within.

Much of the outer part of the city had been dismantled, replaced with farmland.

In the inner city, Rosen estimated there were still tens of thousands of people living lifelessly.

Most were human, but a small number were rare half-dragon humanoids.

As Rosen quietly observed the city, commotion stirred outside the bronze tower of the Time Dragon's Nest.

The great Bronze Dragon Vlada had issued a divine decree: a blasphemer had once again infiltrated this world. At any cost, they must find the blasphemer, string up their corpse in the inner city, and offer their heart as a sacrifice to the great Bronze Dragon.

The once lifeless city had come back to life, but it still appeared as though it was in its death throes.

When the Time Dragon's Nest was a Sequence 1 realm, its spatial expanse covered tens of thousands of miles. However, after being weakened to Sequence 5, it now spanned only a few thousand miles.

Though the realm seemed vast, nearly all the spiritual energy had been absorbed by the Bronze Dragon into Time City. Only the land at the city's edge still contained some spiritual energy; beyond that, the realm was a spiritual wasteland where only ordinary plants could grow.

Logically, with such a high concentration of spiritual energy in Time City, the residents should have lived comfortably. However, all the energy was confined within the Time Tower, hoarded by the Bronze Dragon. As a result, the spiritual energy within the city was so scarce that there wasn't even a single Sequence 7 individual among the residents—they were all weak Sequence 9s.

Watching these death-bound cannon fodder, Rosen couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for them. They were nothing more than slaves to the Bronze Dragon, brainwashed into believing that their role as cannon fodder was a noble honor.

These people were easy to deal with—plentiful in number but lacking in quality. The real trouble was the Bronze Dragon itself, and Rosen had no intention of confronting it head-on. He wasn't here to die.

Placing his hand on a nearby tree, he activated the Mysterious Study Room, stepping inside and heading to a window directly facing the Time Tower.

He set up his massive Godslayer Crossbow, aimed like a sniper rifle, and projected Four-Element Time Rounds through his Mental Canvas. The fusion of time elements propelled the bullet at an unimaginable speed.

Even Rosen himself lost track of the bullet's trajectory. He could only barely reverse it back into a spiritual painting at the moment it hit the Time Tower, causing an explosion that bloomed into a rose-shaped cloud.

The explosion spread light and heat across a thousand meters, but it didn't destroy the city. However, the ensuing virus was too much for the mere Sequence 9 residents. Their bodies began to fail, their spiritual energy disintegrating, until they could only stare helplessly at the Time Tower in despair.

Rosen could feel the gaze from inside the Time Tower focusing on the point of the bullet's origin. He was certain the Bronze Dragon could have intercepted the Four-Element Round but chose not to, allowing its followers to die. After all, they were merely realm inhabitants, and when the realm reset, they would be revived.

Time City's population wasn't limited to the visible souls; most had already been devoured by the Bronze Dragon. Of course, the dragon wouldn't allow the realm to reset unless absolutely necessary. A reset would leave it in its weakest state, erasing 19,000 years of accumulated power.

A realm was essentially a segment of history brought to life, endlessly cycling through its timeline. Normally, the Time Dragon's Nest should have reset countless times. However, the Bronze Dragon had isolated a portion of the timeline, creating a micro-cycle to prevent the reset, allowing it to continue accumulating power without losing progress.

The Bronze Dragon's plan was simple: amass enough spiritual energy to unleash a demigod-level attack and break through the seals the Thunder Empire had placed on the Time Dragon's Nest.

The Thunder Empire was aware of the Bronze Dragon's ambitions and continuously drained its power through the seals. Despite 19,000 years of effort, the dragon had never seen hope of escape. Even as a Sequence 1 being, the Bronze Dragon's will could not withstand such torment, so it remained in a state of slumber unless faced with a real threat.

Rosen knew the Four-Element Round had awakened the Bronze Dragon. He continued firing at the Time Tower, causing mental explosions with each hit, though no real damage was done.

The attacks had little effect but were highly provocative.

Inside the tower, the Bronze Dragon Vlada glared out through the windows with its Time Dragon Eyes, growing increasingly frustrated. Despite its powerful vision, it couldn't locate the human who was taunting it, hidden in a space even it couldn't reach.

Being repeatedly provoked yet unable to retaliate infuriated the Bronze Dragon more than being trapped in the realm itself. In the past, the battles had been real, with life and death at stake. This one-sided taunting and humiliation nearly drove the dragon mad.

Seeing the dragon still holding back, Rosen stored away the Godslayer Crossbow and used his Mental Canvas to project an image of the Time Dragon wearing a collar and bowing at the feet of a human, like a dog on a leash. Sparks nearly shot from the dragon's nose.

And that was just the beginning. Rosen projected one humiliating spiritual painting after another into the sky.

Finally, the Bronze Dragon could take no more. It accelerated time and left the Time Tower in an instant, dragging a distant mountain and crushing the forest where the Mysterious Study Room was hidden. The taunting ceased.

But soon after, the mountain was pierced by another volley of bolts, and the Mental Canvas projected once more.

The Bronze Dragon tried everything—setting up barriers to block off space, tearing the entire forest from the ground, even shutting off its own senses.

Unable to find or stop the human, the Bronze Dragon was forced to metaphorically bury its head in the sand, refusing to see or hear anything.

After days with no sign of the dragon, Rosen realized it had likely sealed off its senses, unable to cope with the provocations.

He immediately released his self-portrait clone, sneaking it into the shadows and moving toward the Time Tower. As he approached, with no danger in sight, the clone placed its hand on the tower's wall and opened the Mysterious Study Room's door. Rosen used this moment to exit the Study Room and enter a spatial transfer trap, bringing his real body next to the clone.

Now inside the Time Tower, Rosen quickly entered the Mysterious Study Room, while the self-portrait returned to the Void Gallery.

Had the Bronze Dragon not been driven into shutting off its senses, there would have been no way for Rosen to get this close to the tower. Of course, there was still a 50/50 chance that the dragon hadn't truly shut down its awareness.

Rosen didn't mind taking the risk—he had plenty of life-saving trump cards.

Now that he had succeeded, Rosen walked to a window and peered inside the lowest level of the Time Tower.

The Time Tower had only three levels. The bottom level was once where the Bronze Dragon's followers would offer their respects. According to the Thunder Empire's investigations, this area had been converted into a spiritual energy compression zone, where time-attribute spiritual crystals were produced. Rosen saw massive piles of these crystals—19,000 years' worth of accumulation by the Bronze Dragon.

At its peak, the Time Tower had been a Sequence 3 extraordinary building. Even now, weakened to Sequence 5, the Bronze Dragon had full confidence in the tower's defenses. Only Sequence 3 power could breach it.

Earlier, when the Rose of the Poor exploded against the tower, it hadn't left a single scratch. But with the Mysterious Study Room, Rosen had managed to open a door and a window.

He extended his spiritual perception, enveloping the mountain of time-attribute spiritual crystals.

Soon, all of the crystals vanished, transferred into his Scavenger Space.

Unaware that its hoard had been stolen, the Bronze Dragon remained on the middle floor, pondering how to locate the human. It had no idea its most secure stronghold had been looted.

However, the dragon soon sensed something wrong—the spiritual energy concentration was dropping. When it extended its perception to the lower level and saw the empty space, it nearly collapsed.

Nineteen thousand years' worth of treasure... gone in an instant?

The Bronze Dragon realized the human had somehow bypassed the Sequence 3 tower's defenses and stolen its wealth.

"Damn human rat..."

The Bronze Dragon's curse sounded less angry and more like a broken sob.

Hearing the dragon's cry through the window, Rosen wasted no time. His Mental Canvas projected another taunting image: a faceless human sitting on a mountain of spiritual crystals, counting them leisurely.

The already heartbroken Bronze Dragon let out a roar of rage.

"Cough... we could make a deal, actually," Rosen's voice carried through the window. "I'm not a noble of the Thunder Empire. If you meet my conditions, I'll return the spiritual crystals. If not, I'll just stay here and keep tormenting you."

"...What do you want to trade?"

After a long silence, the Bronze Dragon finally asked through gritted teeth.

"Your dragon's blood, your dragon's horn, your dragon scales, your dragon's teeth—I'm not picky."

To the Bronze Dragon, Rosen's voice sounded more terrifying than any Sequence 0 devil it had ever faced. But at this point, the dragon had no choice but to agree to the deal.

After intense negotiation, the Bronze Dragon reluctantly placed a ball of dragon blood at the designated spot, which was instantly sucked away by an invisible force.

Seeing his dragon blood disappear, the Bronze Dragon sneered. He couldn't locate the human hiding in another dimension, but he could track the dragon blood. He had imbued the blood with a portion of his divine essence, allowing him to transform the blood into a dragon-blood avatar and pinpoint the human's location.

But moments later, the Bronze Dragon's smile vanished, replaced by despair.

Rosen held his Dragon Blood Bottle, inside which a miniature Bronze Dragon struggled. Without the Dragon Blood Bottle, Rosen would never have agreed to the trade. While the Mysterious Study Room could block almost all external damage, it wasn't designed to guard against internal threats.

Now that the dragon blood was in hand, Rosen only needed an opportunity to escape the realm.

(End of Chapter)