NABC Page 39
Page 39
"This tea is called black tea. It does not actually come from the Grand Continent, but from another continent in the East, from a vast and incredibly powerful ancient country."
I traveled to that place, experienced the local customs and culture, and learned many interesting things, including this black tea drink.
Arthur listened and seemed to be deep in thought.
Merlin's words broadened his perspective, which had previously been limited to the continent of Gran.
Merlin opened the ancient book in his hand and returned to the main topic:
"Regarding the information about the Shadow Monster disaster in Qingfeng Village that the lord wishes to know, we may have to go back three hundred years."
Upon hearing this, Arthur and Gawain both abandoned their desire to enjoy the desserts and tea.
Then, Merlin continued speaking as he turned the pages of the book:
Three hundred years ago, Qingfeng Village in Fengpu Territory was a stronghold of a certain church.
That church is the Shadow Church, which believes in the gods of shadow and the abyss.
At that time, the Shadow Church and the Holy Church were the two most powerful ecclesiastical forces in the kingdom.
However, due to significant differences in their beliefs, the two sides are irreconcilable enemies.
Thus, the two churches, taking advantage of a power struggle, stirred up conflicts between themselves and started a holy war.
That holy war not only changed the power dynamics of the church, but also greatly influenced the outcome of the struggle for royal power.
Ultimately, regarding the power of the church.
The Church of Shadows was no match for the judgment and reckoning of the Holy Church and was almost uprooted and eradicated from the kingdom.
However, the Holy Church also paid a heavy price, suffering severe damage, which allowed two other church forces to rise, namely the present-day Moon Church and the Star Church.
As for the kingdom's power...
The decline of both the Holy Church and the Shadow Church led to the gradual weakening of the Klee royal family, which needed their support at the time. As a result, the struggle for the throne developed into a war for unification of the kingdoms, with various warlords vying for power.
In fact, for the church's power, the disadvantages of dynastic change were far less than the infiltration of pagan beliefs.
On the contrary, a turbulent kingdom can sometimes be more conducive to the growth of the church's believers and the cultivation of devout faith.
This was also one of the important factors that enabled the Moon Church and the Star Church to develop at that time.
And the victors of that war for the unification of the kingdom, as you can probably guess, are none other than the Grey royal family, currently residing in the central capital city of the kingdom.
When Merlin spoke of the Holy War and the Kingdom War that had taken place three hundred years ago, Arthur connected it to the Kingdom's situation he had recently learned from his butler, Leon:
The capital city was under lockdown; one could only enter, not leave.
The Earl of the Four Realms is recruiting soldiers and expanding his military.
He couldn't help but have a strong premonition.
—This battle for the kingdom is showing signs of developing into a turbulent and chaotic kingdom war.
Chapter 44 Merlin's Stone Gate Treasury
Merlin's languid narration pulled Arthur back to the present:
"After introducing this history from three hundred years ago, you should be able to understand why the Shadow Monster disaster occurred in Qingfeng Village."
The reason why Shadow Monsters, these shadow-attribute monsters, appear in human areas can only be related to the Shadow Church, which has disappeared into the annals of history.
So, I guess.
The dry well in Qingfeng Village that is associated with the Shadow Monster disaster is likely an altar once created by the Shadow Church to cultivate Shadow Monsters in the Shadow Space.
Logically, to open the shadow space within the altar, a sacrificial ritual by the Shadow Church is required.
But three hundred years have passed, and the altar that looks like a dry well should no longer be being looked after by the Church of Shadows.
Therefore, it's possible that the altar was damaged, allowing the weaker shadow monsters inside to escape briefly, but not completely leave Qingfeng Village.
After hearing this, Arthur pressed for an answer:
"If the altar continues to deteriorate, will more and stronger shadow monsters appear in Qingfeng Village?"
Shadow monsters have the characteristic of becoming stronger the more they are killed, and the three early-stage Tier 2 Shadow Monsters are already troublesome enough.
Not to mention what if an even higher-level Shadow Monster were to appear.
"It's possible, but I can't be sure."
Merlin nodded, stroked his chin, and pondered:
"However, based on your description of the altar's features, I estimate that the one in Qingfeng Village is just a small altar, and the shadow monsters cultivated inside can reach a level of three at most."
"Are there any Tier 3 Shadow Monsters?"
Upon hearing this, Gao Wen frowned.
Because he was unsure whether his upgraded Knight Breathing Technique's Solar Waveguide would still be effective against Tier 3 Shadow Monsters.
In contrast, Arthur...
Upon hearing this, a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.
Then he looked at Merlin:
"Mr. Merlin can see that the root cause of the Shadow Monster disaster is the damage to the altar, so you must have the means to repair it, right?"
It turns out that Arthur had already grasped Merlin's hint during the conversation.
Therefore, unlike Gawain, he was not worried about the possible third-tier shadow monsters, but pointed out Merlin's intention.
"Hahaha! Of course."
Merlin greatly admired Arthur's foresight, and he looked back with interest at the handsome blond youth before him:
"Since I can offer five Wind Elemental Essence Gems as payment, this information must be worth more than its price."
Merlin paused here, then stood up:
"Next, please come with me to my treasure vault."
There, I will tell you how to repair the Shadow Church altar.
And how to avoid fighting the Shadow Monster and directly seal the altar will solve your problem at its root.
Next.
Arthur and Gawain left the main hall and followed Merlin into the depths of the alchemy workshop.
Soon, a thick, dark stone door appeared in front of them.
The stone gate was tightly closed.
Upon reaching this point, Merlin, who was walking in front, approached the stone gate, raised his staff, and then drew a white circle again, aiming at a groove in the center of the stone gate.
next moment.
With a dull thud, the heavy stone door slowly opened to both sides.
Then, what came into Arthur and Gawain's view was the treasure vault filled with a dazzling array of artifacts.
The glass box, crafted from deep blue crystal, has its lid half-open, revealing a corner of an exquisite gold wine glass.
The magic scepter was inlaid with the terrifying eye of a monstrous beast. The eyeball seemed to be alive and strange. When Arthur and Gawain looked at it, the pupil suddenly turned and stared at them.
The monster corpses soaking in the cylindrical flasks, with their twisted and bizarre bodies, further refreshed Arthur and Gawain's understanding of the forms of monsters.
……
Similar to the layout of the main hall when you first enter the alchemy workshop, these artifacts inside the stone gate are mostly displayed on two rows of seemingly flimsy wooden shelves.
"You two, please come in."
Merlin called out to Arthur and Gawain behind him without turning around, and then walked into the vault first.
Arthur and Gawain, recovering from their shock at the collection, followed Merlin.
After entering the Stone Gate Treasure Vault, Merlin did not stop, but continued to delve deeper.
He finally stopped when he reached the end of the treasure vault.
He then turned to face Arthur and Gawain, continuing the conversation that had been interrupted:
"Generally speaking, to repair a damaged object, you first need to find the location of the damage."
The same applies to the altars of the Church of Shadows.
However, searching for the damaged parts of an altar that looks like a dry well would be an inefficient and dangerous method.
Because during the restoration process, it is possible to accidentally trigger other arrangements left by the Shadow Church in this altar well, leading to unpredictable crises.
Therefore, to efficiently repair the damaged parts of the altar, I can provide you with something useful, my lord.
At this point, Merlin took a piece from the shelf next to him.
The artifact is in the shape of a palm-sized crystal ball containing a curled white worm about the thickness of a finger.
"This is a space worm, a rare magical beast that lives by parasitizing rifts in other dimensions."
Merlin placed it before Arthur and Gawain and explained it to them in detail:
"The Shadow Church's altars keep shadow monsters, which essentially rely on a special internal space."
Therefore, the location where the altar was damaged must also be the location where the spatial rift appeared.
Having said that, Merlin took another item from another shelf.
This artifact is a tiny, round bottle about the length of a thumb, with a transparent body that reveals a grayish, viscous liquid inside.
Merlin continued:
"After using the space worm to locate the damaged parts of the altar, the next step is to use materials that can repair the damaged altar."
This small round bottle contains a kind of adhesive material that is specially used to repair rifts in other dimensions.
I obtained it from an alchemist whose ancestors had served emperors when I was traveling through an ancient desert kingdom.
According to him, this adhesive material was once used in the construction of imperial tombs to ensure that the interdimensional passage leading to the underworld within the tomb would remain intact for thousands of years.
Therefore, it is perfectly suited for repairing the damaged parts of the altar's dry well.
After hearing this, Arthur cut to the chase and asked:
"These two collectibles sound so precious, I suppose they won't be counted as part of the five Wind Elemental Essence Gems I paid as payment."
So, what kind of extra compensation do I need to pay to get them?
Merlin replied:
"With the resources Your Lordship currently possesses, it is far from sufficient to exchange for these two items."
but……"
Merlin then changed the subject:
"Your Highness can use two Wind Elemental Essence Gems to exchange for one use of each of these two collectibles."
"make a deal."
With the deal having progressed this far, Arthur no longer hesitated to accept the two Wind Essence Gems, making a decisive move to do so.
He comforted himself, thinking of it as an investment to win over Gawain, the man with the heart of a knight.
Furthermore, Arthur hadn't forgotten Merlin's last words before leaving the main hall:
"Then, Mr. Merlin, you still haven't told us how to seal the restored Shadow Church altar, have you?"
"this one?"
When this matter was mentioned, Merlin deliberately paused, turned his head, and looked at Gawain beside Arthur:
"This task will require the assistance of the knight with the Lv.4 bishop-level 'Blessing of the Sun'."
Chapter 45 The Second Transaction, The Counterfeit Holy Sword (Part 1)
Gawain was puzzled. He scratched his head, a look of confusion on his face.
"I just heard Mr. Merlin say that the Shadow Church was destroyed by the Holy Church."
Gawain possesses the "Grace of the Sun," a high rank reserved for bishops in the Holy Church.