Odis has three such "defensive strongholds": one is 176 River Bend Avenue, which Odis just abandoned; another is Gal Herbalist's Shop; and the last is 77 Helin Avenue, where Odis currently resides more often.
In addition, some extraordinary traps were set up in the basement of Hilton Avenue, the third-floor room of the "Nanmu Ballroom", and the suburban laboratory, but their power and scale were far inferior to those three "defensive strongholds".
176 River Bend Avenue was the place where he first used the "composite" magic array, and he also conducted many experiments there.
However, due to a lack of experience at the time, the traps were poorly concealed. Any extraordinary person with a certain amount of knowledge of occultism could understand that these traps were set up using magic arrays once they reached the second floor.
Because of this experience, when Odis designed the "composite" magic array for Garrison Herbal Shop and 77 Hailin Avenue, in addition to being much more powerful, it was also very well concealed.
Previously, when Odis dealt with the "fighting scholar" and the "secret seeker" who broke into Gard's herbal shop, he planned to activate the herbal shop's magic circle after he had used up all the bullets in his "Flaming Arrow".
But at that moment, he saw Arya, the subordinate of the "Mysterious Queen," and decided to use the "Fool" to intimidate the "Mysterious Queen," which is why he ran to the backyard.
Little did anyone know that Aria was very cautious. After hearing Odis chanting the name of some being, she chose to continue observing. Otherwise, Odis wouldn't have been in such a sorry state.
As for the concealment of these "composite" magic arrays, Odis once tested them by inviting Bernadette to his home.
As long as it is not activated, even a demigod would have difficulty detecting it.
The reason for abandoning No. 176 River Bend Avenue is that it is an old stock with limited power, and it is not cost-effective to continue maintenance.
Odis glanced back at his original masterpiece; the fire at number 176 was growing larger, but it had not affected the neighbors.
In the flames, someone finally shouted, "Fire!"
Odis turned and hurried away into the thick fog, returning to the inn where he had booked a room earlier.
Only then did he take out his spoils and examine them: a gauntlet and three extraordinary items.
The gauntlets correspond to Sequence 8, and their abilities and negative effects are unknown. Since Odis doesn't need them at the moment, they've been placed in the "Wilderness of Knowledge."
Of the three extraordinary traits, one is known to be a Sequence 7 tier "Briber" trait, while the other two are only known to be Sequence 9 tiers, with their specific sequences unknown.
After putting away the spoils, Odis thought to himself: With these spoils, 176 River Bend Avenue has finally broken even.
At that moment, a short sentence suddenly appeared on the wall in front of Odis: I have come.
Odis was slightly taken aback: "The party is ending so late?"
"I just watched a performance." Bernadette's voice came from the air. She commented, "With the help of the magic circle, you have already reached the strength of Sequence 7."
"But those magic arrays can only be fixed in place and cannot be taken away at any time, so you only have the strength of Sequence 7 in specific places."
Odis nodded: "That is a very fair assessment."
Then he asked, "Have you made contact with that 'vengeful spirit'?"
"I asked for you," Bernadette said, unaware of the man's whereabouts. "She said that neither she nor her companions have taken any action against the libertarians recently."
"That's strange." Odis couldn't help but frown. "Who could have warned me? And what's their purpose?"
...
South of the bridge, a vibrant bar.
There was no business here today; only the bar owner Simon, a bartender, and a member of the 3N Party were watching them.
Bang!
The wooden door was suddenly kicked open, and all three people looked toward the entrance.
Glen, with brown hair, appeared there; his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked to be in very poor condition.
The 3N party member had a bad feeling: "What's wrong?"
Ignoring his companion's question, Gran grabbed Simon by the collar and demanded, "What kind of monster is Lelouch? What kind of monster is he?"
Simon, however, recalled Lelouch's earlier instructions: when the other party came to him a second time, he should not be polite to them.
So he said coldly, "I don't know what kind of monster he is, but I do know that if you keep grabbing my collar like this, you'll die a horrible death."
Grant shuddered, immediately released the door, and then took a few steps back, looking somewhat dejected, before sitting down in the chair behind him.
The 3N Party member asked again, "What's wrong?"
"We…we fell into Lelouch's trap. Ford and Fitzgerald are both dead," Gran said.
"And what about Chief Celt?"
"He's dead too." Grant then changed his mind, "He must be dead too, he was already trapped there."
After their initial surprise, the 3N Party members immediately exclaimed, "Quick, go back and get help!"
Gran was dragged away like a walking corpse.
Simon, who was adjusting his collar, overheard their conversation clearly: "A leader has died..."
Yesterday, he learned that the organization that had been causing them trouble was called the 3N Party. It was said that the organization had three leaders, each with magical abilities.
"Give me a drink," Simon said to the bartender.
He congratulated himself on having a new patron, because it was said that whoever could kill the leader of the 3N Party would become the new leader of the organization.
...
Thursday morning, Queen's Road, at the Earl of Donat's villa.
Today, Donat's eldest son, Joels, is holding a mystical salon at the villa, inviting many aristocratic youths with an interest in the mystical.
Among them was Audrey Hall, who today shared with some friends three ways to prepare daisies and the uses of this herb.
The noblemen around her were amazed, praising Audrey for her professional handling of the herb and for explaining it in such detail that anyone could understand.
As Audrey accepted the compliments with a smile, she thought to herself: I have to thank the "Hermit" for providing the material.
At the same time, she also praised her friend, which made everyone happy and made the discussion in the salon more lively.
Once the topic was over, Audrey smiled and said, "Unfortunately, we encounter too few occult cases. Each salon can only discuss this kind of occult knowledge."
At this moment, a young nobleman said, "I have a mysterious event that happened in Backlund to share with you!"
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
The speaker was Quincy, the son of Earl Philip.
Audrey kept smiling at the other person, and everyone else looked at Quincy as well.
In fact, Audrey had noticed earlier that Quincy's demeanor today was somewhat dismissive, and he wasn't really listening to what others were saying.
Moreover, he almost spoke several times but held back, clearly indicating that he had learned some occult information and wanted to share it at the most exciting part of the salon.
So Audrey helped create the right atmosphere, and then at the right moment, she revealed her "regret," and Quincy immediately "took the bait."
Quincy said, "This morning at 176 River Bend Avenue, a case involving the occult occurred."
Joels, the organizer of the salon, was taken aback at first, and then said, "I read it in today's morning paper. The paper said that the fire was caused by a gang fight."
Several noblemen nodded in agreement; they had all read the report.
"At first the police thought it was a fire," Quincy continued, "but when they were clearing the scene, they found three bodies!"
"Because few people lived in that house, it was assumed to be a gang fight."
"But before I came to the salon, I unexpectedly learned the results of the autopsies on those three bodies."
"Of the three who died, one was stabbed to death with a sharp weapon, one died from having his blood drained, and the third, although he had a wound on his neck, froze to death!"
The other noblemen expressed their surprise: "Frozen to death? Frozen to death at the scene of the fire?"
"Oh, by the goddess above, have you been drained of your blood?"
"..."
No one questioned the autopsy results provided by Quincy, because Quincy's father, Earl Philip, was the Minister of the Order.
Quincy said, "This must be a case involving the occult!"
"I happened to learn some inside information about this case by chance." The speaker was a young nobleman named Theodore, who was about twenty-two or twenty-three years old.
The noblemen who came to the salon immediately said, "Tell us quickly."
"what is going on?"
Quincy was displeased to see that everyone's attention had immediately turned to Theodore as soon as he finished speaking: "How do you know about the case that just happened last night?"
"As everyone knows, I enjoy going to 155 King's Road to watch fighting matches," Theodore said with a smile. "Of course, this is also related to the fact that my cousin is currently the manager of the fighting arena."
Upon hearing this, Audrey frowned slightly, her beautiful brows furrowing. Most of the people present knew about the so-called fighting competition taking place there.
But Audrey only saw indifference, a sense of entitlement, and no one showed any doubt about the existence of the fighting arena, not even through their eyes.
At this point, Theodore continued, "This morning, I went to my cousin's to pick up the tickets for this week, only to find out that there were fighters in the fighting arena yesterday because of a fight that took place off the field on River Bend Avenue as a result of a match last week."
"It is said that three people died in that battle, one of whom was a veteran fighter in the arena."
"And their opponent is a newcomer named Lelouch!"
Audrey couldn't maintain her "spectator" demeanor for a moment: "Lelouch?"
"Yes, that's the name," Theodore said with certainty after a moment's thought.
He continued, "You all should understand now, right? It was the same River Bend Avenue, and three people died in the same incident."
"So, this Lelouch is likely an Extraordinary?" Joels said.
Audrey wondered: Based on my previous observations, Lelouch is not a vicious person, so why did he suddenly kill three people?