Chapter 1167
Adler’s Benevolence
Such a magnificent and beautiful picture, yet it also evoked a sense of unease and fear.
And this was merely the “air conditioning” in the center of the hall.
Within the hall, slaves dressed in brown robes were frozen in place in various corners, oblivious, like specimens.
Some were kneeling on the ground, wiping the floor, while others were bowing deeply towards the air.
A middle-aged female slave, roughly in her forties, stood before three teenage female slaves. She was either reprimanding them or teaching them something.
Further inside from the hall was a spacious corridor wide enough for ten people to walk side-by-side. On both sides of the corridor, at intervals, were recessed glass display cases, arranged in pairs – they were indeed glass, perfectly flush with the marble walls outside, like flowing water.
Sealed glass display cases were filled with a certain green liquid, immersing the most beautiful men and women of various races. One on the left, one on the right, one male, one female. There were young and old, and people of all races.
Each set of display cases contained a pair of males and females of the same race, age, and even nearly identical hair and eye color.
They had been made into specimens long before petrification set in.
These marble walls were reinforced alchemical stone slabs imported from Star Antinomy. They were densely covered with Anxi script. These were dark gold etched characters, which combined with the gray-black stone slabs, created a solemn feeling.
“What does it say on there?” Eivass whispered to Sherlock.
He did recognize some ancient Anxi script, but it was only to the extent of understanding a few words. Piecing them together, he could only grasp the general meaning – much like deciphering the gist of a passage in Japanese using only the few Kanji within it.
Under normal circumstances, he could usually understand the general meaning.
However, there were occasional instances where he couldn’t make any connections or completely misunderstood. Just to be safe, he let Sherlock, an Extraordinary on the Path of Wisdom, provide the answer.
“Nothing of substance,” Sherlock merely shook his head. “They are all prayer words… or rather, sorcery. They use a lot of exaggerated language to boast of the ancestors of this city’s Lord, their achievements, and then they pray for his and his family’s safety, and curses like ‘May those who plan to harm him die immediately,’ and ‘May the sorcery that invades this city be traced back to the caster.'”
“…Long-term, non-medium-based defensive curses?” Eivass felt like laughing upon hearing this.
Who did he think he was? The Beyad family?
Long-term defensive curses were not impossible to establish. For example, the Beyad family’s main business – anti-tomb raiding curses – were typical long-term defensive curses.
No matter when or who, as long as they dug up their family’s grave without a token, disturbed their family’s tomb, or took anything out of it, they would be cursed and eliminated.
The Beyad family learned this trick from Anxi back then. But even they needed the grave, coffin, or burial objects themselves as the curse medium for such complex curses to be established.
The Lord of Rock Cell City was at most a Fourth Tier. For a single person to cast such aimless defensive curses was simply impossible. This was purely psychological comfort.
“This must be the work of a Troll,” Sherlock commented sharply. “I’ve heard that Troll sorcerers on the Southern Continent like to do this – they regularly take potions to cast spells on their enemies. For example, redirecting curses aimed at themselves towards others, or making those who speak ill of them have diarrhea…”
“Typical Troll sorcerer style,” Eivass nodded. “The most common ones are probably love spells – using curses to make someone fall in love with them. If the other person doesn’t love them, they’ll feel headaches, weakness, and be bedridden. This is usually how Trolls court – they bribe the sorcerers in their tribe to cast spells on their crushes.”
“But…” Lixia was somewhat confused. “Are there that many Trolls in Anxi?”
“How many Trolls there are in Anxi depends on how many Trolls the Goblins catch…” Eivass said, looking at the petrified Troll statues not far away. “These things were probably made by him.”
He wore a well-made gray hooded robe, his tall and strong physique barely contained by the cloak. The ritual bag at his waist and the skull staff in his hand clearly indicated his identity as a Ritualist.
He stood guard before a large door. At the very end of this straight corridor was clearly the Lord’s royal chamber or reception hall.
This Troll sorcerer had clearly sensed something and raised his staff high. With his other hand, he reached for the ritual bag on his waist. Amidst the unaware populace, that strong Troll sorcerer was likely the only powerful individual who realized something was wrong.
But he didn’t manage to do anything before he was turned into a stone statue as well.
And at this distance, Eivass could already feel a slight strain – as he walked forward, it was like a mortal person walking against a strong gale blowing towards them.
The edges of Lixia’s feathers showed signs of petrification.
A cerulean light screen kept appearing before her and Sherlock, with vein-like light patterns flashing across it… This was a spell called “Curse Resistance Field,” specifically used to block rituals or curses from locking onto oneself.
It was currently struggling – if not for the staff in Sherlock’s hand being something extraordinary, the defensive capabilities provided by the spell would likely have been completely breached.
“Viness,” Eivass whispered, “be careful behind the door.”
“Ah, I’m watching,” Viness’s hoarse and ethereal voice replied softly. “Don’t worry, Master…”
After she gave her answer, Eivass pushed the door open.
—A howling dim yellow storm suddenly swept through this already still city!
A Troll sorcerer with hollow eyes and a naked body was in the center of the room, stretching his arms wide in a “big” stance—judging from his brown skin alone, he was indeed a sorcerer of high standing within the Troll tribe, not just a Curse Master.
His entire skin was carved with dense Runes, and these Runes were now glowing with a dim yellow light. It was like candlelight leaking from a jack-o’-lantern.
In the very center of his chest was a rectangular bronze artifact like a memorial tablet, inscribed with blood: “Adler’s Benevolence.”
Eight thin golden chains extended from the bronze tablet, piercing into his collarbone, armpit, ribs, and lower abdomen, surging with the fierce wind, emitting a bell-like sound.
He was repeatedly chanting the same sentence in Troll language: “Praise the benevolent Adler, praise the kind Adler…”
And at this moment.
Three Ritualists clad in white robes with golden patterns suddenly emerged from the corner of the room!
They had been guarding here all along, having integrated themselves into the ritual. As they withdrew from the ritual, the frequency of the petrifying fluctuations instantly decreased tenfold, and Lixia finally regained her vitality.
They held strange balance staffs—a thick bronze rod at the end of which was a balance scale, resembling a flail.
“—Blasphemers, you will not hinder Lord Adler’s great work!” The leader roared, and countless sand grains condensed into a giant python, lunging towards Eivass!
At the same time, four dim yellow crystal spears slowly condensed beside the second Ritualist—these were ritual spells that even Eivass felt threatened by.
The third Ritualist did not raise his balance staff but let a pocket watch hang from his left hand.
The back of the pocket watch was a dim yellow eye. Merely looking at it made Lixia feel her joints stiffen and calcify slightly.
The pocket watch, like a yo-yo, opened and spun after reaching its limit, beginning to heavily steal the time of everyone present.
Elaborate coordination, rare abilities.
“—But it’s useless,” Viness sneered.
The next moment, countless deep purple chains covered in Fallen Runes spread out, binding the three of them tightly!
Three pitch-black void spheres, rhythmically contracting inwards like heartbeats, appeared with the chains, instantly disintegrating the power of the Path they were brewing and accumulating.
This was the Authority that originally belonged to a Fallen Heavenly Envoy, now the law Eivass had mastered—
—Bound by Sin!
(End of Chapter)
