Dust of History Chapter 38: Preparation

The princes and nobles from all over the world have all arrived in the capital, and they will go to the hunting ground tomorrow to start hunting, and hold a party in the palace tonight.

Geffenhardt XVII has a pure character and does not have any vices of arrogance and extravagance, but after all he is just a young man who loves to play. Holding such a lively party seems to be his interest, not to mention that it is related to the face of the country, so the scene is extravagant. The best wine and the most exquisite food were brought up like water, and the aristocratic women wished to exchange all their possessions for clothes on their bodies, and countless jewels shone dazzlingly under the lights.

But not even the most dazzling jewelry can match the charm that the Marquis displays. Even though he is no longer a young and enthusiastic boy, he is still the favorite of all women.

True charm will never lose its color with age. Young handsomeness is just a natural insignificant decoration, which attracts young girls who are new to love and don't know how to appreciate men. What's more, the Marquis doesn't look old at all. When the sharpness is revealed and the introversion is mature, the romantic will be swayed freely because of the wind and frost. At this time, the man is the most attractive. Coupled with his already handsome and elegant appearance, the demeanor and aura of his gestures, his huge reputation can attract women more than the most expensive perfume.

As soon as the Marquis and Asa who came with him appeared at the venue, they were immediately surrounded by a tide of women. The innermost layer made no secret of their interest in men, teased the Marquis unscrupulously, and quite a few flirted with Asa. The middle layer wanted to keep a little reserved, but it was still hard to resist. The mature and charming girls, and the outermost people just want to witness the most romantic man in the whole continent.

The Marquis dealt with the ladies around him with ease, and dealt with them for a while with grace and skill before he got rid of this group of supporters, and then brought Asa to the palace of the princes and ministers. circle.

If the Duke of Mrak's communication with people is just a finely crafted handicraft, which is round and clear without any flaws, comparing it with the Marquis's, it immediately reveals the plainness and ingenuity because it is too practical. The Marquis's communication with people is a work of art, not practical, because he disdains practicality, he is not afraid of offending people, there are always eye-catching places as if aggressive, and he is never hesitant to express his dissatisfaction with anyone, but this is just It is the charm of his uninhibited personality. As long as he talks to a certain person, he can immediately attract them, and the other person's emotions are randomly drawn to him along with his words, gestures, and expressions. When he felt it was necessary, he could use a few to-the-point witticisms to unceremoniously knock down other people's emotions and make him unable to fight back, preventing anyone from having a chance to entangle him. He was at home among his most distinguished guests.

Although Asa still doesn't like such occasions very much, he has been able to notice his own words and deeds, and there is no action like picking things to eat, but he still can't appear as happy and lively as the people around him. However, it is said that after the battle between the five thousand rebels and Oufu, his diplomatic skills that were almost able to recover have made him famous, which made his calm and indifferent attitude look even more extraordinary. . Just like a statue on an altar, even with a blank face, it will have an impressive aura.

With the help of the Marquis, Asa quickly became the most unpredictable and important guest in the eyes of these politicians. Many people turned the tide on him and facilitated peace talks to avoid the danger of businessmen in their own country. I expressed my gratitude, and I was also very interested in the details of this achievement, and asked one after another. But at this time, Asa declined, saying that he had something important to do immediately, so under their strong invitation, Asa agreed to join the hunt tomorrow.

After completing the preparations here, the two of them went to meet His Majesty the Emperor together. Participating in the hunting must be approved by His Majesty the Emperor, because according to the custom, the clergy are not allowed to participate in this kind of entertainment.

Geffenhardt XVII only dealt with guests from various countries at the beginning, and then turned around and joined a large group of young noble children. This is a young man who lacks majesty and self-consciousness and only loves to have fun. He's having a nice chat with Chris right now.

One night not long ago, the playful young emperor was really bored, so he changed into civilian clothes and disguised himself, and quietly ran out of the palace to play in a casino in the royal capital. Lost some coins. It wasn't a big deal at first, but a beautiful lady next to him who chatted with him for a few words felt aggrieved by the fact that this young man who was not rich in appearance lost everything in a few strokes, and said outrageously that the casino offered thousands of dollars, which was the same as the casino owner. Yan disagreed and fought immediately, and even snatched some gold coins and returned them to the young man who had lost everything. Suddenly the scene was chaotic.

Duke Mrak arrived not long after, and His Majesty the Emperor learned that the beautiful young lady who drew her sword to help her when encountering injustice turned out to be the princess. But for fear of being recognized by the duke, it would not be a trivial matter if those staid old ministers found out that His Majesty the Emperor went out of the palace to play in the casino privately. So Geffenhardt XVII quietly ran away by himself.

After returning to the palace, the young emperor still missed the princess, but it was inconvenient to call her into the palace directly. Finally, he waited until today for this opportunity to meet the beauty he had missed for a long time.

When the two saw each other, Chris was quite surprised. His Majesty the Emperor immediately hinted to her to keep quiet and not to reveal that she had been in the casino. Naturally, Chris didn't lose her composure, and the two talked more and more happily in a few words.

"Your Majesty, please interrupt your good time with this beautiful woman." Even when the Marquis faced the emperor, his tone was unruly, but his demeanor and the charm in his words were enough to be accepted. "My lord priest and I are here to ask you for instructions. At the invitation of the palaces of various countries, he will participate in the hunting meeting tomorrow."

"Sure." His Majesty the Emperor obviously did not want to be disturbed, nodded and waved his hand. "You go."

A noble young man suddenly said loudly next to him: "According to the regulations of the church, priests are not allowed to participate in such activities. Oh, but this priest may be an exception, you know, he still swaggered to find What about whores?"

"Really?" All attention, including His Majesty the Emperor, was focused here.

It's worse. Asa cursed secretly. He has already recognized this malicious guy, who is actually the Prime Minister's son.

The Marquis spoke. He stared at the man with pitiful eyes that everyone could see and said. "My dear nephew. Why do you still speak so poorly? Although everyone knows that you have coveted the position of this priest for a long time, everyone knows your bad behavior, and everyone knows that this priest has taught you a lesson, but You don’t need to make up such a far-fetched lie. Apart from proving your embarrassing failure and jealousy, and your knowledge is still as remote as a mouse, it can’t explain anything else.”

There was commotion and whispering among the young nobles around. Everyone knows that the prime minister was beaten for no reason at that time, and it turned out to be the masterpiece of the priest. And it's not surprising that such a dandy who is used to running amok was hit and started spreading rumors nonsense.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with elders reprimanding younger generations. Although I always knew that this uncle's weird temper was not easy to provoke, but I never expected to encounter such a situation where his elbows were turned outward. After receiving this blow that he could not fight back, the prime minister's face immediately turned pale.

The marquis ignored the deformed nephew, turned to the emperor and said, "By the way, Your Majesty. Bishop Ronis asked me to come and tell you that tomorrow he will invite Captain Roland to discuss some important matters." .Please allow me."

"Okay. Let him go, let him go." His Majesty the Emperor nodded immediately, almost overjoyed to see his expression. Captain Roland will guard the emperor when he is on tour or has any activities, to be responsible for the safety of His Majesty the Emperor. But his rigor and meticulousness are undoubtedly not in the taste of the young King Geffenhardt XVII. His Majesty the Emperor has great hopes for tomorrow's hunt, but he is suffering from being unable to get rid of that old-fashioned and annoying bodyguard. This was exactly what he wanted.

The Marquis showed a worried expression, and continued: "However, His Majesty's safety will be worrying... I suggest that as many military veterans as possible go with His Majesty with many guards to protect His Majesty. safety."

"It's free. It's not going deep into the enemy's country. It's not far outside the capital. Just bring thirty or forty guards with you. There's no need for such a big fanfare." Geffenhardt XVII has always Just hate those very stuffy old guys. And after being reminded by the marquis, he also remembered that they must not be allowed to spoil the atmosphere. "Pass on my order, the military ministers will not participate in the hunting meeting tomorrow. The distinguished guests from various countries are present, and they will fight and kill as soon as they speak, and they will all have a violent temper. What if diplomatic relations are damaged?"

The Marquis and Asa looked at each other with a smile, they never expected to arrange all the preparations so easily. As for Captain Roland, and other people who might hinder the progress of the plan, the Bishop of Ronnies tried to get them to leave.

When he turned around to leave, the Marquis suddenly said to the Prime Minister who had not yet recovered from his complexion: "Dear Nephew Modo, I heard that you once asked someone to plot against this priest?"

The prime minister's face was not good, and he didn't speak.

"Actually, you don't need to do this." The Marquis said in a very earnest voice: "It's nothing to be ashamed of a person who is inferior to others, but it's wrong to use some despicable means to frame you. That proves that you are not only capable He’s not as good as others, and he doesn’t even have the confidence to confront him head-on.” He looked his nephew up and down, and shook his head with emotion. "But it does look worse, it's too far away. So you have to remember, don't make any more despicable plots."

Ignoring this trembling nephew, the Marquis turned around and patted Asa on the shoulder, and said softly: "Let's go, these flashy and superficial scenes and supporting roles have been set up, let's prepare for the real and dangerous scenes." props."

The School of Magic at night was surprisingly quiet, and the magnificent cathedral was also hidden in darkness. Only a majestic outline was revealed. Asa and Lord Marquis walked towards the light under the silhouette. According to the arrangement of Bishop Ronis, Priest Cuthbert was waiting for them at the door of the church.

Principal Cuthbert is in his forties, with a lean physique, an old-fashioned face, and a pair of dull eyes on it. He is a man famous for his strong sense of justice and responsibility and his hatred for evil. Not only has a pious belief, but also commanded priests and magicians to make great achievements in the previous battles against heretics. Although the way he dealt with the heretics once made him quite controversial—he once burned more than 2,000 heretics alive, but because of his loyalty to the church and his outstanding ability, he still has a high status. Some time ago, when Bishop Ronis advocated peace talks with Oufu, he actually opposed it, thinking that those dirty and evil orcs are absolutely not qualified to be equal to the people of God.

"It's too late, the bishop said you should have come five minutes ago." Not welcome to anyone of pious faith. He looked at Asa with stern eyes again, and warned: "You have to remember that as a priest, 'strictness' is an essential quality."

"Yes." Asa nodded politely. In my heart, I made a gesture to him. This guy seemed very dissatisfied with Bishop Ronnies promoting him, a newcomer with no qualifications, and he often had problems with Asa's casual and undisciplined behavior.

"Still so old-fashioned, no wonder he has been able to maintain a pure virginity. No, probably because he has been suppressed for too long, so he is old-fashioned..." The Marquis looked at the sharp eyes of the great priest, and waved his hand quickly Say: "Hey, forget it. People who can't take jokes are so boring. Take us in."

The two walked into the cathedral under the leadership of Cuthbert, and came to the altar in the center of the front.

The huge statue in the middle of the altar is still so holy and majestic in the dark. The great priest recited a strange incantation, and pressed on the foot of the statue, and the huge statue moved aside silently, revealing a secret door below. There was a lock on the secret door, and after Cuthbert took out the key to open it, a long tunnel appeared, and the three of them walked down the tunnel.

The tunnel is dark and damp, and there is a strange stench in the air. The further you went down, the weird smell became stronger and stronger, and the air became more humid and stuffy. Asa had the illusion that the three of them seemed to be walking towards a cauldron that boiled corpses.

The smell lingered in this narrow place, and when I breathed in, it seemed as if I had stuffed a ball of rotten cotton into my lungs. The air in the Lizard Swamp was already unbearable, but compared with this place, it was like the smell of a lady's bedroom. Asa glanced at the Marquis. This rascal, who was used to the smell of makeup, now had a calm expression on his face. Even his walking posture was still so elegant, as if he was still in the luxurious party just now. This made Asa feel a little admirable, this is really a battle in the hall.

"I've been in the Magic Academy for several years. If Bishop Ronis hadn't asked me to come, I really didn't know that this dungeon was actually in the most sacred cathedral." The Marquis said to Asa. "'Under the most holy surface, there is still the most filthy flesh and blood.' What do you think of this line?"

"Inham, please pay attention to your words and deeds. After all, you are also a member of the Magic Academy. At least academically speaking, you should be a priest. Don't think that you can talk nonsense just because you are a nobleman." The one who walked in the front The great priest said coldly.

The Marquis spread his hands, and said with some regret: "At least I'm telling the truth, in an artistic way. And you should be thankful that I'm not a clergyman, otherwise the church system must be reformed, and you will get rid of those unsightly things like you." old-fashioned guy.”

The great priest turned his head and stared at the Marquis, then turned around and continued to walk down.

"Hey, what the **** is this place?" Asa could feel a wave of magic passing by around him, which was the feeling of passing through a magic circle. And as the magic circle passed through, some strange roars also appeared in the ears, and the unpleasant smell in the air became stronger and stronger.

"This is the Academy of Magic, the holy church's dungeon where the most dangerous prisoners are imprisoned. Of course, not just humans, evil creatures and undead monsters account for the majority. Some have special reserved value, and some are used for research and experiments , to take our great white magic to a higher level. I have only heard these things vaguely before. This kind of dark side cannot be known to pure-hearted and simple-minded believers, so it is probably magic The academy’s top secret, no more than five people know about it, and now we’re adding the two of us.” The Marquis’ voice was not without ridicule. "So we should feel honored."

"Honour, honor." Asa nodded, feeling a little cold sweat on his forehead. If Bishop Ronnies had planned to arrest him, he would probably be imprisoned in this place by now.

The great priest snorted coldly and said: "I advise you not to speak rashly to the younger generation." He turned his head and looked at Asa and said seriously: "You must remember your sacred identity, and don't be fooled by those nonsense." The gibberish interferes with the xinxing."

"Yes." Asa nodded again.

Finally at the end of the tunnel, a huge space suddenly opened up in front of my eyes, and the roaring and stench came from here.

After the granite was hollowed out, it was divided into cells with arm-thick steel bars, and various monsters were imprisoned in the middle. A three-headed dog as big as a horse violently charged into the cage, with three huge mouths drooling and roaring wildly. In another cell, a few evil eyes waved their tentacles, using their eyeballs as big as water tanks to emit magical light to attack these suddenly appearing targets, but the light could not pass through the magic circle of the cage, which was blocked inside and made crackling noises. . A Medusa twisted its snake hair and lower body snake body to move to the side of the cage, looking at it with the legendary eyes that can petrify people. In the inner cage, a huge body sits silently, with a huge cow-like head on it. This is the legendary tauren.

These are evil creatures in the distant underground world of Nigan, even the most famous adventurers have rarely seen them, and it is unexpected that these things are imprisoned in the dungeon of the church.

The undead monsters on the other side were much quieter. They don't know how to roar. Skeleton warriors, zombies, and white ghosts sensed the anger of humans and wanted to rush over, but they were constantly bounced back by the magic circle on the cage. The elaborate works of these necromancers have lost the control of their masters, leaving only some simple basic consciousness, and they don't even need to eat. They are really the most convenient prisoners.

"Wow." Asa let out a gasp when he saw so many strange creatures that he had heard about a long time ago and had always wanted to see. "But why didn't I see the prisoner?"

The great priest said coldly: "The last one committed suicide a few days ago. They are all leaders of pagan organizations created by the Necromancer Guild. But after being locked up here, they all said that they were not subordinates of the Necromancer Guild , crying and clamoring to get out. After being imprisoned here for a period of time, all of them committed suicide. Some bit off the blood vessels in their hands, some hit the wall, and one pulled out his tongue with his hands. These dark The believers have come to such a fate is entirely their own fault, and they don’t even need to collect the corpses, they are directly given to the monsters as food.”

The Marquis shook his head, tsk-tsk: "It's too unsightly, are you really sure that those are members of the legendary Necromancer Guild?"

Asa went to several cells inside and asked, "Why are these empty?"

The great priest replied: "That is the prison where other undead monsters were imprisoned a long time ago. Since the establishment of the Magic Academy, this place has been used to imprison undead monsters. I don't know."

Asa suddenly felt that the whole dungeon seemed to shake slightly. A strange feeling came over him.

Asa looked around, it seemed to be just an illusion, because neither the Marquis nor the high priest responded. But the creatures outside suddenly fell silent, and the zombies and skeletons in the cell also stopped moving. The dungeon, which was still noisy just now, suddenly became quiet.

"What's wrong?" The great priest realized something was wrong.

Asa looked towards the deepest part of the dungeon, and that strange feeling came from there. Only then did he realize that the light in the hands of the great priest could not shine inside, as if there was a black air that swallowed all the light. The light of the magic circle can be vaguely seen on the stone wall next to it.

Very fine small runes are pieced together into larger runes, and the arrangement is also very strict. From the scale, the magic power contained in the magic circle should be amazing, but there is not the slightest bit of magic power here. Obviously, it should be acting on the inside.

Asa pointed to the deepest place and asked the great priest: "Is there something imprisoned there? It takes such a big magic circle."

"Where is it? Isn't that a wall?" The high priest glanced in that direction, shook his head and turned around. Only then did Asa realize that the great priest was turning his back to that direction intentionally or unintentionally, as if he didn't want to take a second look.

Asa vaguely recalled something, this kind of reaction seems to have seen him somewhere...

"What are you doing?" The great priest suddenly shouted ~IndoMTL.com~ which startled Asa.

"I'll come in to see if there is anything interesting. Maybe I can find some treasure left by the monster." The Marquis' voice came from the dark cell. It turned out that he himself ran into an empty cell.

"Regardless of whether there is anything in it, it is not allowed to enter without authorization. Come out quickly." The great priest roared. "I really don't know why the bishop called you, an unruly guy."

"Okay, okay, come out now. Why are you so nervous..." The Marquis walked out of the cell with his hands behind his back, and looked at the priest with disdain.

The High Priest Cuthbert had obviously reached the limit of his patience with the Marquis, and he completely abandoned the solemnity of the clergy and said to him fiercely: "Listen well, it was the Bishop who told me to let you down, and I I brought you down. Now I advise you not to act rashly, otherwise I don’t know if I can resist locking you in too. So hurry up and finish what the bishop ordered and get out of here Let's go."

The Marquis completely ignored the high priest who was almost going crazy, and smiled confidently at Asa with a relaxed face. "Based on my instinct as an artist, I have already decided on our props, which will definitely help us put on a great show."