Azure Scepter

Page 151

He vaguely sensed that Uncle Cohen's grief must be an extremely complex emotion. Perhaps while the Duke was alive, he both feared and hated him, but once the Duke died, this mixture of fear and hatred transformed into a kind of mourning tinged with guilt.

After a moment's thought, Trier accepted the invitation, and the two slowly walked toward the Crystal Garden, which was not far from the chapel.

Silver moonlight fell on the laurel tree, and the shadow of the laurel tree was refracted in the crystal, which reflected the two people walking silently side by side.

After walking for about three minutes, Cohen broke the silence as if he had made some kind of decision.

Would you like some wine?

"I never drink alcohol."

"..."

“I didn’t used to drink.” Cohen sighed, then took out half a bottle of beer from his tuxedo and gulped it down. “It wasn’t until after your father died, when I left here to try to be a chivalrous knight, that I picked up this bad habit.”

Before Trier could speak, Cohen threw down the bottle and then growled in suppressed pain, "Dead, he's dead. Radiance, my father is dead."

After he finished speaking, he fell into a long silence.

Trier listened quietly to his uncle's outburst without saying a word. He didn't ask any questions but patiently waited for the other man to continue.

“My mother is dead, my brother is dead, my son is dead, and now even my father, whom I used to fear and hate the most, is dead.” Cohen gripped his hair tightly. “Trier, I really don’t understand, I still don’t understand, why did he do this? Why did he hate me so much!?”

“Grandmother’s difficult childbirth,” Trier said succinctly.

Uncle Cohen was stunned for a moment, then recovered from his mental breakdown and gave a wry smile: "You still have the same old way of speaking."

As the two passed a table left over from a banquet, Cohen casually grabbed another bottle of cider and chugged it down in three gulps.

"Trier, you know what? I have a feeling I'm going to die too."

"Why do you say that?" Trier raised an eyebrow.

Although history has changed and Uncle Cohen did not become the renowned Mountainbreaker, he is still a seasoned legendary warrior, and it is almost impossible for anyone to kill him here.

“It was a premonition—I knew my father’s hatred for me was far from over. He killed my brother, he killed my wife, so naturally he would kill me too. He was a complete kinslayer,” Cohen said incoherently. “I loved him, but he hated me. He wanted to skin me alive, eat my flesh, and he wished he could throw me into the fires of hell to burn me.”

“Relax, he can’t be coming back.” Trier shook his head. “I didn’t find his soul.”

—Terrier did not reveal the fact that the Duke had been dead for a long time, hoping to gain some benefit from this secret.

“Perhaps he’s already dead,” Cohen suddenly blurted out.

Trier was stunned. He subconsciously thought that his uncle was about to reveal his identity as the murderer and then analyze his own motives, but the next moment, Uncle Cohen started talking to himself in a voice that sounded like he was talking in his sleep.

“When I was a child, he wasn’t like this. He wasn’t this incomprehensible monster. I remember when I was little, he would play hide-and-seek with my brother and me in the garden. He also liked to recite poetry. His favorite poet was an elf. What was her name again? Oh right, Irina. But everything changed after he became a duke.”

At this point, the uncle's narration came to an abrupt end, as if the pause button on a radio had been pressed.

“And then?” Trier asked.

“I don’t know either…” Uncle Cohen rubbed his eyes. “Trier, thank you for listening to my rambling complaints. This may be the last time we meet.”

"Don't overthink it, Uncle. You definitely won't die." Trier sighed, then took out a storage stone made from the soul of the assassin "Emerald Tongue." "Here, if you really encounter danger, just crush it."

—Perhaps due to the effect of divinity, or perhaps because the soul quality of "Emerald Tongue" is extremely high, the quality and effect of this magic storage stone are exceptionally good, and it can actually store two spells at the same time!

Trier placed a "Random Teleport" and a "Heal Fatal Wound" spell inside.

Of course, he also secretly installed a layer of surveillance "secret eyes" on the outside of the storage stone...

Uncle Cohen paused for a moment, then took the storage stone: "Thank you, Trier."

Suddenly, a dreamlike blue flashed past the crystal rose beside Trier.

“Trier, I mean no harm. Can we talk?” A somewhat familiar, ethereal, and beautiful voice suddenly rang in his mind.

Trier glanced at the reflection in the crystal, then turned to Earl Cohen: "Uncle, you should go back first, I have something to attend to here."

Cohen didn't notice anything amiss. He picked up a bottle of sparkling wine, downed another, and by then he was completely drunk. He nodded, then staggered and turned to leave.

Once the other person had completely disappeared from sight, Trier suddenly turned his head and looked towards the original location of the Crystal Garden stage.

Silver moonlight spilled across the ground, and millions of blooming, crystalline flowers reflected the bright, beautiful moonlight. In this dreamlike silver flower field, a girl wearing a cloak stood barefoot in the sea of ​​flowers. Although she wore a hood, a few strands of blue hair hung down to her pointed temples. Her fair and smooth chin was like solidified cream, almost glowing in the moonlight.

The girl gently removed her hood, revealing a face of indescribable beauty.

Trier gripped the hilt of his sword expressionlessly. He knew all too well who was in front of him—the water sprite lord, Fusada!

"Trier, watch out! It's Fusada!" Suddenly, Princess Edith's voice came from behind Trier!

Almost simultaneously, fully armed Edith suddenly drew his holy sword and stood in front of Trier.

The water sprite chuckled: "Little Edith, it's been a long time. It's not too late for you to turn back from your misguided ways."

Chapter 292 Entrance Location

Trier knew perfectly well that what he was seeing was merely a projection of Fusada, and since he hadn't yet figured out her intentions, he didn't immediately draw his sword to attack. He suppressed his malice and patiently observed her.

The water fairy Fusada gently unfolded her cicada wings, which were as transparent as a light veil: "Don't follow Trier anymore, otherwise even if you really kill me and Losewey, you will suffer the effects of the patricide curse."

"So what?" Edith remained unmoved, coldly looking at the water sprite. "Nymph, to me you are no different from the devil. Everything you say has a hidden meaning, but if you grasp the essence, you are just trying to use me."

"I may want to use you, but isn't Trier also using you?"

The water sprite suddenly snapped her fingers, and her body began to shrink. Within a few breaths, she became a tiny sprite no bigger than a thumb. She flapped her wings and flew to the calyx of the crystal rose, supporting herself on the cool calyx with both hands, and sat down directly on it. Then she swung her smooth legs.

She turned to look at Trier, then continued, “Trier, aren’t you curious why Edith appeared as soon as I showed up? Ha, the answer is simple, she doesn’t trust you either. She’s not the naive fool she used to be, trusting no one. It’s unwise of you to protect her like this. Let me guess, you didn’t even notice she was following you, did you?”

“I was worried that Count Cohen would do something bad to Trier,” Edith retorted immediately. “Then I met you.”

The miniature Fusada paused for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, laughing so hard she was doubled over and gasping for breath: "Edith, you're such a funny guy! Even if you gave Cohen your Holy Avenger, he wouldn't be able to hurt a hair on Trier's head—oh, by the way, have you heard that joke..."

"Because even if the warrior gets the Holy Avenger, which is exclusive to paladins, he can't use it, right?" Trier thought to himself.

Before she could finish speaking, Fusada, laughing so unrestrainedly, lost her balance and fell off the calyx.

"Oh--"

"Thud." The water sprite fell straight to the ground.

"..."

Seeing the water sprite lying on all fours with its head tilted back, Trier fell completely silent.

He truly found it hard to believe that this strangely behaving water sprite could actually be a powerful demigod who had lived for countless ages. Even her appearance seemed completely out of place in this cruel and cold world.

At this thought, the terrible memories of his time with the water sprite in his dream flooded back, and at this moment, Trier wanted to kill this chaotic, neutral madman from the bottom of his heart.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the murderous intent surging in his heart. After a moment of thought, he said in a deep voice, "You projected here, surely not just to say these ridiculous and useless provocative things—that would be so boring."

Although the other party is a demigod, Fusada is not associated with the word "scheming" due to her nature as a water sprite. Because of this, even though they haven't had much contact, Trier knows very well that the other party is a pure, crazy, and fun-loving person. Calling her boring is more effective than any other excuse.

"boring!?"

Fusada immediately sat up from the ground, her eyes wide, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Her face turned visibly red, and she instantly returned to her original size.

"I'm not bored! You just don't understand my humor."

“From a clown perspective, you’ve been quite successful,” Trier said in a cold tone.

He hoped to provoke the other party.

"Ah? Thank you for the compliment." Hearing Trier's words, the water sprite, who had just been flushed, smiled again.

"..." Trier was completely at a loss for how to communicate with the other party. He suddenly realized that perhaps the copper dragon Aulius could talk to this crazy water sprite lord.

Suddenly, Fusada shook her head and then took a deep breath.

Trier's gaze narrowed slightly. He realized that the other party was trying to control her emotions, and the fact that the madwoman wanted to express her emotions meant that the other party was about to get to the point—Fusada's transformation from the dream world projection required a huge amount of divine power, so she probably wasn't here just to act crazy and have fun.

Fusada coughed twice, then, quite unusually, focused her attention and said seriously, "Triel, there is no irreconcilable grudge or fundamental conflict between you, me, and Losevie."

“It’s too late to think about peace now,” Trier sneered.

Fusada shook her head: "You see, the conflict between you and us ultimately boils down to the distribution of divinity, nature, and office. Aside from violence, we can find other ways to resolve this..."

"for example?"

“For example, by playing cards!” Fusada said quite seriously.

“…” Trier’s lips twitched slightly, while Edith’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Was Fusada using distraction as a tactic to alter the course of negotiations that was detrimental to her own agenda? Trier pondered to himself.

"Hahaha." The water sprite laughed the next moment. "See, you laughed! Isn't this joke hilarious?"

She turned around, plucked a rose from the crystal thorns, touched the crystal surface, and the crystal flower instantly transformed into a vibrant red real flower. She gently inhaled the dew from the flower, then coughed violently, spitting out crystal shards...

“Nothing is in my interest in negotiating peace.” Trier took a deep breath, suppressing the murderous intent surging within him once more. “You can’t guarantee the agreement will be honored either. You’re just spouting nonsense right now—if you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll just kill you, this projection.”

Without waiting for a response, he continued to exert pressure in a tone as if stating an objective fact: "You have no bargaining chips. I have found the entrance to the underground mirror city. Your destruction is only a matter of time."

Fusada shook her head, snapped her fingers, and turned the crystal that had turned to dust on the ground back into a crystal rose. She then placed the stem of the crystal rose on her index finger.

"Balance." The water sprite's playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a serious expression. "Triel, for you, the key to smoothly acquiring divinity, divinity, and divine office lies in balance."

The water sprite gently pushed the end of the flower with her thumb, and the crystal rose began to spin at her fingertips. The silver moonlight refracted in the swirling crystal, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

“But now it’s obviously out of balance.” Fusada tilted her head. “Trier, this isn’t about provocation—you don’t understand who Sel and the others really are. Right now, you have an overwhelming advantage over me and Losevie, but to balance things out, the two of them will definitely be secretly plotting against you—listen, I know you think I’m an untrustworthy madman, and I’m not so stupid as to think that you’ll stop now, but I just want to say one thing—pay attention to the rhythm and balance.”

Fusada tilted her finger downwards, causing the swirling flower to lose its balance and fall to the ground, shattering into pieces. Cold fragments flew everywhere, and the crystalline beauty that had just resembled a fairy dancing gracefully vanished instantly.

“Hehe, it’s like playing cards,” Fusada added, laughing to herself. The next moment, the glittering shards on the floor transformed into a card.

“One last piece of free information.” Fusada held the card between her fingers and slammed it to the ground with a flippant tone. “Wilt’s underground mirror city is essentially the remains of the Many. Under the will of the Many, the location of the entrance is of course constantly changing, because He doesn’t want you to find it so quickly. He wants to drag it out until other beings intervene, so that there is room for maneuver—the city hall was dragged away by Him.”

Trier knew perfectly well that the water sprites were talking nonsense; the imprisoned beings had no ability to interfere with the prime material plane.

Although Fusada appears to be crazy, there is a hidden agenda behind this seemingly unrestrained madness—if someone is always talking nonsense, then it is quite difficult for others to discern when she occasionally says something with ulterior motives.

Of Fusada's ten statements, almost all were true, but the last few were false—if Trier hadn't known the relevant information, he would have been easily fooled and might have even given up on calculating the entrance location.

“The cathedral,” Trier suddenly said, seemingly casually staring at the water sprite opposite him, “the entrance is located in the cathedral.”

Fusada paused for a moment, her unfocused pupils narrowing slightly.

Trier couldn't help but smile.

Seemingly realizing something, the water sprite stuck out her tongue, made a face, then turned around gently, her figure disappearing into a dazzling array of light particles.

“Trier, why did she suddenly leave?” Edith asked incredulously.

“I wasn’t sure of the exact location of the entrance either; I only knew there were a few possible options.” Trier paused for a moment. “Then, when she was at her most triumphant, I tricked her. She couldn’t control her expression, so I saw through her – and her subsequent reaction further proved that.”

Edith frowned. "But what if she's deliberately misleading you?"

“That’s not her personality,” Trier shook his head. “And even if she were to mislead people, it wouldn’t take long.”

P.S.: Something came up today, so the update is late. It won't be late tomorrow; it'll still be 8:10.

Chapter 293 Chapel of Cleansing

"Da...da...da..."

The brass mechanical spring turned, and the second hand on the dial ticked away, minute by minute. When the hour hand reached 4 o'clock, the clock perched high atop the Holy Hall suddenly rang.

This is the small chapel of purification outside the cathedral in Wirth. The silvery moon shines through the light mist rising in the night, through the magnificent dome above, onto the somewhat broken statue of Saint Sebastian in the hall, and also onto the densely packed refugees lying on the ground sleeping.

Although the bells rang, people did not break their slumber; the sounds of teeth grinding, snoring, sleep talking, and flirtatious whispers echoed in the spacious and sacred hall.

Suddenly, a heavy knocking sound came from outside the heavy wooden door of the hall.

"This is so annoying!" The old pastor suddenly opened his eyes in the darkness and then muttered a curse under his breath.

He roughly pushed away the sleeping woman beside him, then grabbed a flint from the table in the dark, took the candle, and left the confessional with a furious expression.

He glanced at the shattered statue of Saint Seil, then looked down at the filthy refugees scattered on the ground, and felt increasingly agitated.

Since the holy image mysteriously shattered, he can no longer even obtain divine magic through prayer. Now, if he wants to obtain divine magic, he can only rely on understanding the Holy Scripture of Radiance. But by the light above, after so many years of dissolute and joyful days, his once decent theological foundation has long since become sparse.

He did not summon the temple guards, because there were hardly any left in the church of Saint Seiler—they had all been summoned to Wirth by divine decree not long ago, and none of them had returned.

The old pastor pushed open the door, cursing, and saw a strange red-haired female pastor, followed by a large group of fully armed soldiers.

"This is the transfer order issued by High Priest Noi." Although the red-haired priest had a solemn expression, she gave off a strange charm. Her beautiful violet eyes were quite alluring, as if they could speak.

The old pastor's heart seemed to skip a beat. He couldn't help but lick his lips; there were no such pretty young girls among the refugees.

In an instant, all the dissatisfaction and weariness in his heart were burned away by the rising fire of desire.

Those beautiful eyes...

He glanced out onto the street, which was now filled with fully armed soldiers moving swiftly.

The gleaming, sharp metal shattered the old pastor's lustful desires, and fear once again took hold of his heart.

The old pastor quickly bent down to accept the transfer order, his face beaming. He glanced at it haphazardly, found nothing seriously wrong, and then asked, "The riot has been quelled, so why are there still so many people outside?"