Azure Scepter

Page 42

In an instant, the paper containing what appeared to be prophecy was reduced to flying, charred fragments under the licking of the flames, and the fire suddenly intensified.

A raging fire burned brightly, and a soft, ethereal song drifted from downstairs, while light, rhythmic footsteps echoed outside.

—Fodia should have already reached the door.

Trier got up and walked to the door, patiently waiting for the elf to arrive.

"Cough cough."

Three seconds later, Fati's cough came right on time.

Chapter 75 The Game

The crimson moon hung lonely in the night sky outside the window. For some reason, Futia felt that the moonlight carried a cold and lonely meaning. The moonlight silently passed through the glass of the corridor, stretching her shadow very long.

The noise downstairs gradually subsided, and even the music played by the dwarf blacksmith changed to a softer tune.

Futia looked up at the room at the end of the corridor.

"Maybe... I should go confess to Trier in the morning. It's too late today." She looked at the closed door and felt a little nervous for no reason, but the next moment, she changed her mind. "No, Futia, you can't delay. Opportunities are always fleeting. Hesitation is not a good habit."

"Sometimes, it is necessary to express your thoughts directly and accurately."

With that thought in mind, she took a deep breath and strode towards Trier's room.

With light steps to the gentle rhythm of the music, under the hazy moonlight, the elf, like a dancer draped in a graceful veil, walked through the corridor and arrived at the door.

Futia raised her hand and sniffed it under her nose.

The fragrance of lavender invigorated her, completely erasing the smells of dust, sweat, and blood from the days of bloody battle.

She nodded involuntarily, then encouraged herself in her heart: "Come on, you can do it."

Futia coughed, then slowly extended her right hand, slightly bending her index and middle fingers, and gently tapped on the door.

"Dong dong dong."

Time seemed to stand still, and my heartbeat quickened slightly.

After a moment, the door opened.

"Fodia?" Trier's voice came from behind the door.

Hearing that familiar and reassuring voice, Fythia's tension vanished instantly, and she smiled genuinely: "I'd like to discuss the next steps of the plan with you—may I come in?"

Before Trier could answer, Faudia gently pressed against the door and slipped inside like a shadow.

Inside the room, the stove was burning brightly, and the burnt paper scraps were drifting in the wind.

Fythia didn't dare to meet Trier's gaze. She turned her head to the side and happened to look at the full-length mirror on her right.

The figure in the mirror had a cascading head of golden curly hair, and the flickering orange firelight illuminated her profile, casting a soft halo around her.

She realized her face was red, and her pointed ears were as red as if they had been set ablaze.

“Trier, I…I…” She wanted to speak her mind, but at that moment, she couldn’t utter a word. In the distant sense of alienation, she found her voice to be as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, as if an invisible ghost were choking her.

However, the more nervous she became, the less she could speak; and the less she could speak, the more nervous she became.

She felt that her performance was absolutely terrible, but she also had a vague feeling that, given Trier's intelligence, the other party should already know exactly what she meant.

The next moment, she took another deep breath, mustered her courage, and looked up at Trier.

However, she didn't see Trier, but instead saw Noy sitting by the window with a half-smile on his face.

"You're surprised to see me?" Noy chuckled softly.

Noy's words struck Feudia's heart like a heavy object hitting a piano, and for a moment she felt a chill run down her spine as if she had been caught stealing.

Futia straightened her back instinctively, her azure pupils contracting repeatedly.

She chuckled awkwardly twice, then said sheepishly, "Where...where?"

The room fell silent, with only the crackling sound of burning firewood continuing to echo.

“We will proceed as planned, first clearing out the remaining undead in Beaver Town, and then heading to Eraf to meet up with the survey team.” Trier coughed twice, breaking the brief silence. “You can first introduce the main components of the survey team.”

Fatih breathed a sigh of relief. After a moment's thought, she said, "The investigation team has a lot of people, but very few core members. There are only three people we need to pay special attention to."

"Specifically, the first person we need to pay attention to is Princess Edith's mentor, the legendary paladin Oris, who is an officer in the royal guard accompanying the investigation team. From what I've observed, although he is nominally just the king's deputy assigned to Princess Edith, he actually arranges all the affairs of the investigation team."

After saying that, Fythia glanced at Trier discreetly. Under the moonlight, Trier nodded thoughtfully.

"Secondly, we also need to be careful of the accompanying court mage, Granny Lor. She is a high-ranking mage specializing in Evocation and Transmutation. Before I left Eraf, she had been locking herself in a temporary laboratory to study the Blood Plague, but she had not produced any useful results."

“Finally, there is Princess Edith.” Fatiah paused. “I think you two, as Orko people, should know a lot about this princess known as the Star of the Valley. Do I need to continue?”

“Of course,” Trier said without hesitation.

"She is a gentle yet decisive person. Like you, she is also a powerful paladin. She is also quite accomplished in politics, military affairs, diplomacy, financial management, and scholarship. It is said that she was the one who orchestrated the resolution of the conflict between the Kingdom of Orko and the dwarves of Shining Peak a few years ago."

Suddenly, a clear, ethereal laugh interrupted Futia's narration.

"So, most of the members of the survey team are humans from the Kingdom of Orko. How did you, as an elf, manage to sneak in?" Noi asked with a smile.

Fythia glanced at Noy, only to find him staring intently at her.

—Although the other party concealed it well, Futia still keenly sensed the subtle hostility and wariness in their tone.

“Obviously, I’m hired,” Futia retorted without any politeness. “I’m a military attaché from the Elven Embassy. Because of my good personal relationship with the Princess and in order to find my missing sister, I reached an agreement with her. By the way, are you even alive now?”

As soon as she said it, Futia felt a little regretful.

Isn't it too harsh to say that?

Noi wasn't annoyed at all. She winked playfully, then tilted her head and smiled, "Of course I still exist, and your sister... although she's dead, she might still exist too."

Noy's voice was soft, but the news hit Feudia's head like a hammer blow. She instinctively clenched her fists and stared wide-eyed at the nun.

My heart suddenly started racing!

Although the sister's body has turned into a ghoul, it does not mean that her soul is still in the ghoul's body!

At this moment, Noe continued to polish the diamond at her own pace. She had lowered her head again, seemingly not intending to continue the previous topic.

“She’s dead. I saw her body with my own eyes,” Futia retorted after a moment’s thought, feigning ignorance.

Noi still had a playful smile on her lips, completely unconcerned about Futia's simple provocation.

Futia felt a little irritated. The monotonous and boring grinding sound amplified this irritation like gears. Just when she was about to lose her temper, Noy suddenly spoke up: "If you want to know where your sister is, apologize to me."

Apologize?

Noy's words pierced Fythea's chest like arrows. In an instant, turmoil, doubt, struggle, and humiliation flooded her mind like different colors of paint...

After a moment's hesitation, Futia made her decision.

—Verbal humiliation is nothing as long as it can save my sister.

She struggled to lift her head and noticed that Noe's ruby-like eyes were misty with moisture due to excessive excitement.

Fydia's lips parted slightly, as she was about to say "I'm sorry," but the next moment, Trier's steady voice suddenly rang in her ear: "Tell Fydia not to do this again."

Noi seemed to have expected this. She sighed softly, her pure white eyelashes trembling slightly: "Yes, Master."

Owner?

Fatiya stared in disbelief at the paladin beside her.

Chapter 76 Necromancer

"Master"—what a strange title. That was Futia's first reaction.

Her second reaction was a sense of dread that came with seeing the truth.

As a mage apprentice who had received systematic magical training, Futia possessed a strong analytical ability; in an instant, she abstracted the crux of the problem—

It is known that Trier is a paladin who has used spells similar to corpse explosion in the past; it is also known that Noy has now become an undead and calls Trier his master.

—The answer is very clear.

Trier enslaved Noy with evil necromancy!

Futia thought she would be scared, but to her surprise, the feeling of dread vanished in an instant, like the morning mist.

She helplessly discovered that she seemed to have become completely numb to Trier's various behaviors that were beyond her imagination.

Trier must have her reasons. She thought instinctively.

However, it seems we should no longer pray to the radiant god of humanity, since He actually tolerated paladins using necromancy to enslave priests...

Judging from Neu's usual behavior, she was probably deliberately addressing Trier as her master in order to intimidate me.

With this thought in mind, Futia couldn't help but turn her head to look at Noy.

Under the moonlight, Noi's silver hair seemed to glow slightly. As if sensing that Futia hadn't been fooled, she lowered her eyelids slightly.

“Although your sister’s immortal nature has been transformed into a ghoul and destroyed in the church, her immortal nature may still remain,” Noy said slowly. “And I may be able to provide some clues.”

Trier tapped the table lightly, reminding him, "Stop keeping us in suspense."

"But I don't want to grind diamonds anymore!" Noi blinked pitifully.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Trier nodded.

Noi immediately put down the diamond-grinding equipment she was using, then stood up with great pleasure. She floated across the table and came to Feudia's side.

Fatiah smelled a fresh and cool citrus scent.

“Your sister’s body was smuggled from the northernmost part of the duchy,” Noy said in a light tone. “Three months ago, her body was transported here, and by then her spirit had already disappeared, without even a trace—which means that her soul had been intercepted beforehand.”

"The person who smuggled your sister's body was a broker who called himself the Shadowless Man. He came from the Great Swamp in the south and was a necromancer who had become quite famous in recent years."

"He didn't reveal the origin of the corpse, nor did he accept any monetary payment—he merely exchanged the rare elven corpse for a rumor that seemed both true and false..."

At this point, Neu naturally picked up Trier's water glass and took a sip.

Futia listened intently, her pointed ears twitching involuntarily.

"He came to the southern duchy of the Kingdom of Orco to search for the legacy of another legendary necromancer who rose to prominence like lightning more than a decade ago, only to disappear like a shooting star."

"In short, he's a treasure hunter."

Neuer glanced at Trier without any attempt to hide it.

Trillburn approached the story with an open mind, but upon hearing this part, a sense of foreboding suddenly arose in his heart.

"Could he be here to rob my grave?" He suddenly realized a terrible possibility. "It seems that my activities from over ten years ago coincide with the period before I lost my memory..."

"If he really finds the preparations I made for myself, then I'll be at a huge loss."

"All things considered, he should have been searching for three months now—although three months isn't a long time, if we let him continue searching, he might actually find the treasure, since the place where I buried the equipment isn't exactly well hidden."

"Therefore, I need to get to Eraf as soon as possible and dig out the equipment I left behind. This will minimize the potential risks."

Trier took a deep breath and looked up at Fythia.

At that moment, Futia was staring intently at Noy. The warm yellow light from the fire wasn't bright, but her clear, azure eyes shone with brilliance.

"So what kind of rumors did he exchange for?" Futia asked curiously.

This time, Noy didn't keep them in suspense: "The rumors about all the haunted places in the Southern Duchy are true. His last public appearance was in Erlav. If you want to find your sister's spirit, you can start there."

Futia nodded slightly, and the swaying, hazy shadows on her face, outlined by the flickering firelight, seemed to sway as well.

“The entire duchy is currently in a state of apocalyptic chaos. If the necromancer who is pursuing the legacy leaves Eraf, his trail will rapidly diminish over time. Therefore, you don’t have much time left,” Noy chuckled.

Trier's heart skipped a beat. He realized that Noy was covering for him, so he added, "That's right, we should head to Eraf as soon as possible. We need to speed up the process of clearing out the remaining undead in Beaver Town."

—This time, Trier's plan went exactly as expected.

After being tempered by bloody battles, the surviving militia and soldiers have seen a qualitative improvement in their combat effectiveness. With the active participation of the Copper Dragon, the remaining undead in Beaver Town were cleanly and methodically destroyed within two days, like fallen leaves swept by the autumn wind.

As the recaptured area expanded, many survivors who had miraculously survived while hiding in their homes were rediscovered. For two days, new survivors were found almost every hour. Thanks to the large quantity of diamonds seized from the town hall and Noi's tireless work, all survivors infected with the plague received effective treatment.

Trier also took the opportunity to rebuild his organization in Beaver Town, and in just two days, order was restored to the war-torn town.

Although the disaster reduced the town's population to less than one-tenth, the final statistics were far better than Trier's most optimistic estimates. The fact that the survivors successfully completed this extremely difficult census also proved the reliability of the organizational structure he had established.

Two days later, at noon, after attending the funeral of Harlan and the other victims, Trier left Beaver Town with Noy, Fydia, and the copper dragon Olius.

The soft, crimson moonlight filtered through the branches, casting dappled patterns on the clearing in the woods.

"Crack."

A few sparks danced and landed on the open ground, clinging to the damp grass before turning into a wisp of mist.