mesbooks Chapter 112 The Artifact is Lost?
Chapter 112 The Artifact is Lost?
Chapter 112 The Artifact is Lost?
The owner of the artifact is dead?
An old man in a shadowy corner of Holy Stone City suddenly stood up, looking outside with a gloomy expression. The sun was shining brightly outside, but for someone like him, it was something he couldn't touch in the slightest.
Under the current Seven Gods Laws, it's already incredibly rare for Shadow to have managed to carve out a safe haven in this corner. He might be able to venture out a little at night, but in the blazing sun, if he dared to show his face, the Rhine Empire's revered Sun God would instantly vaporize him!
This is also why the beings in the Shadow Kingdom cannot appear directly; that divine artifact must... can only be operated by a mortal.
The plan was initially fraught with concerns. The artifact could open the Shadow Dimension and was the only thing in the Shadow Kingdom that could affect reality. Entrusting it to a mortal would involve too many variables and risks. To reduce the risks, the cities to be affected and the initial candidates were carefully selected.
In Holy Stone City today, the highest level of professions is only around level 20, which is completely under control. As long as the artifact is activated, no more than five people in the North District and Mirandil can move. And those five people are all within their surveillance range. If any of them gets close to the artifact, it will alert them. Despite being so careful, something still happened.
What exactly did that idiot do?
The old man paced anxiously, but he couldn't step out of the house, so he had no way to investigate everything. The artifact must not be lost!
After much hesitation, the old man activated the Shadow Summoning. At the same time, the three people in Holy Stone City who could sense the summoning all felt it.
The first to arrive was naturally Lady Eliza, who was accompanied by Yu Nu Wugua, who had just become a shadow scholar.
"Your Excellency, what has happened?"
Today was originally supposed to be her first day presiding over the city's noble council as the acting city lord, but the envoy's summons made her dare not neglect it. She immediately put the meeting aside and came here with the calm and intelligent Rain Maiden.
"Indeed, something major has happened." The messenger frowned. Theoretically speaking, the existence of a divine artifact should not be told to someone like Eliza, who has just become a citizen of the shadows. She is not qualified to know. But now that such a big thing has happened, in order to gather useful information as quickly as possible, it seems that this information must be leaked.
Eliza nodded upon hearing this, while Rain Woman silently bowed and then began organizing the documents on the side.
The envoy was very satisfied with Eliza. The Holy Stone City, a key location, blocked the passage of the elves. The World Tree wanted to leave the forest, and the Holy Stone City was the best location. Moreover, the current ruler of this best location was someone from their Shadow Kingdom. This was gratifying no matter how you looked at it.
"Shadow Scholar?" The messenger looked at the Rain Woman who was rapidly processing data.
"I've disappointed the messenger," Eliza said with a wry smile. "I really didn't expect it to be so difficult to find believers."
"Those who are favored by the shadows are few and far between. You have already done a great job." The envoy's voice was gentle and clearly comforting. The other party had indeed done a good job, but was just unlucky. He did not expect that out of so many warrior slots under his command, not a single one had the talent of the shadows. He could not quickly cultivate a group of his own armed forces. Not only was the envoy a little anxious, but Eliza herself was also extremely anxious.
Soon, a second person entered the room, none other than Judge Osric. As a low-profile presiding judge, he never expected to have so many opportunities as he approached retirement!
First, Eliza's case allowed him to become part of the true profit chain of Holy Stone City, providing the higher-ups with a share of the mineral resources—something Eliza had promised him. In order to win that lawsuit, Holy Stone City's minerals have already distributed at least half of their profits to the higher-ups. This not only led the higher-ups to endorse Eliza, but Osric, as the intermediary, also gained considerable political resources.
With her children's jobs secured, her status in Holy Stone City rose significantly, making it difficult for any new prosecutor to affect her position even if they were to take office later.
Joining the Shadow was his choice after weighing the pros and cons. He was a scholar-type judge who had not received any extraordinary blessings from the Sun Cult and was in a remote place. Without any connections, it was highly unlikely that he would be able to be transferred back to the imperial center. Given this, why would he hesitate when he was invited by a large and ancient extraordinary force?
The fate of prosecutor Lady made him realize that having power was more important than anything else.
"Lord of the city..." Osric politely bowed to Eliza.
"Your Honor, there's no need for such formalities..." Eliza smiled broadly. She was pleased with the other party's thoughtfulness and liked the title very much; it sounded much better than "Lady of the City Lord."
After the two were seated, seeing that the messenger showed no sign of explaining, the presiding judge immediately realized something: "But are some people still missing?"
"Mr. Bright must have something on his mind," Eliza said calmly, sipping her coffee.
"Mr. Bright?" The judge suddenly realized that Mr. Bright had also joined the shadows?
That makes sense. Since the Shadow Forces have won over both Eliza and themselves, there's no reason they wouldn't win over Mr. Bright as well. Mr. Bright is no longer just a mysterious corpse collector; he's one of the four remaining viscounts of Holy Stone City and also holds the title of the Igor family. Even without any actual official position, his status is extraordinary.
He was a reliable person, but also a sensitive one.
"Mr. Bright didn't seem to attend the noble meeting today either, did he?" Yu Nu Wugua suddenly said, making the atmosphere in the small house even more subtle.
Eliza stirred her coffee without saying a word, but her gaze softened noticeably when she looked at the Rain Woman. She was very satisfied with the Rain Woman's behavior over the past two days, and she seemed to have completely taken her side. Then she looked at Osric.
Osric frowned immediately. Sure enough... just as he was thinking about it, something sensitive happened.
He had recently become aware of the conflict between Eliza and Mr. Bright, and he didn't want to get involved at all. The two of them had been much closer than he had been, and given his status, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to take either side.
"A council of nobles?" The envoy frowned.
"Yes, it's a rather important meeting," Osric explained. "It involves the upcoming personnel adjustments in Holy Stone City. As Your Excellency knows, Holy Stone City has just experienced a period of turmoil, with many nobles being slaughtered and the power structure changing. Many people in the city have lost their jobs, and new nobles need to be introduced to stabilize the city. Meanwhile, many established nobles also need to take this opportunity to adjust their personnel structure."
The envoy nodded upon hearing this. He understood the current system of power and authority in humankind. Under such a system, the interests of a nobleman are directly related to the structure of his subordinates. The more high-quality professionals under his command, the more abundant the nobleman's income and the stronger his voice. In the case of a viscount, the structure of his subordinates directly determines his status.
With the restructuring underway, many nobles have died and need to be replaced. The surviving nobles will naturally want to gain more benefits, such as replacing some of their farmhands with more profitable mining jobs. Meanwhile, some high-ranking viscounts will likely want more high-net-worth middle-class professions.
Meetings involving disputes of interest are naturally of considerable importance.
Given this situation, it is indeed somewhat suspicious that Bright did not arrive.
A shadow crossed the messenger's eyes. Of the three people who possessed the Seed of Shadow, Bright was the only one who had not become a member of the Shadow Clan. Even the messenger couldn't quite see through his background. If there was a variable, he might be the only one!
"Mr. Bright's workforce consists entirely of workers, many of whom are former refugees. The factories involved are still undecided, so no noble is likely willing to exchange benefits with him. This meeting won't actually be very effective for Mr. Bright." Osric thought for a moment and still spoke up in defense of Mr. Bright. He felt that today's matter was very serious, and if Mr. Bright were to be killed by the envoy because of this, things would become quite troublesome.
He didn't want to get involved in the conflict between Bright and Lady Eliza, but he couldn't allow himself and his companions to be easily killed by the messenger, because if the first one happened, the second would become a matter of course.
Eliza frowned, about to say something, when there was a knock on the door.
"Please come in..." As the messenger spoke, a familiar figure walked in; it was Bright.
"Viscount Bright has arrived just in time," Eliza said coldly.
The Noble Council was the first important meeting I held as the acting city lord. As a member of the Igor family, Bright's absence gave many people room for discussion, which to some extent undermined my authority as the acting city lord.
And most importantly, her intuition told her that the envoy's urgent matter was related to Bright, since he was able to arrive here so quickly.
Bright strode in, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry, I've been too busy dealing with those corpses these past few days."
"Mr. Bright is certainly doing his job well," the messenger said with a smile.
"You flatter me, sir. I just don't want any trouble," Bright said with a smile. "May I ask what business the envoy has with us this time?"
The envoy gave Bright a deep look and said quietly, "I've just received news that one of our Shadow Kingdom's hidden envoys has died, and they've also lost a very important item. That item is directly related to the Shadow Kingdom's plans. Of the three of you, does any of you know anything about it?"
The messenger is dead?
Eliza's pupils contracted, and she looked directly at Bright.
Bright remained unfazed: "If I may ask, is that envoy someone like you? If so, surely no one in Holy Stone City could threaten him?"
The messenger looked up at Bright, his eyes filled with a cold scrutiny: "His name is Eric, from the Heart of the Forest. His lost item is very important. If you have any information, you can exchange it for something of considerable value, including... powerful divine strength or... a longer lifespan!"
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