Chapter 498
The Path of Engraving
As Leah raised her hand and stared at him with killing intent, the Advisor suddenly glanced at Grape beside him and had an epiphany in an instant.
“I have one last question,” he said rapidly, “Am I the only one you intend to kill?”
Leah did not answer, yet her silence was the answer.
…So, after all, Grape was safe.
Had he triggered some condition that guaranteed his death…
Thoughts raced through the Advisor’s mind in an instant. Although he didn’t know what he had done to make her kill him… he decisively abandoned all hope of survival.
—He had witnessed the power of this Phantom Demon before and knew that if she wanted him dead, he would have no chance of survival.
If his true body were here, he might stand a chance of escaping.
However, Sherlock was merely a Third Tier mage, without even a weapon in hand. Facing a demigod possessing divinity, he had no hope of victory.
Since that was the case, struggling further would be meaningless and might even endanger Grape.
In an instant, the Advisor had made up his mind.
“Listen up!”
He sidestepped away from “Mycroft” and shouted with all his might, “Do not make an enemy of Eivass. He is blessed by the Twin Mirrors—”
He did his best to convey the final piece of information to Grape using words that would not reveal their identity as Ascenders.
Having spoken this crucial sentence, the Advisor felt a sense of relief.
Whether he would die in reality if he died this time was unknown. But even if he miraculously survived, he would likely lose all his memories.
The Advisor’s desperate act was not due to excessive loyalty to Valentine VII. He did not care that much for Star Antimony.
Extraordinaries of the Twilight Path were all like this; few things could make them genuinely care.
—But, similarly, he loathed “meaningless death” even more.
Because that signified nothingness, the burying of value, and oblivion.
And Twilight was the Path of Engraving and Eternity.
If he had to die, dying in an Ascension Ritual would be the best choice. Not dying from meaningless grudges, not from political struggles, not from assassination or betrayal… but dying in pursuit of the Path, dying for the desire to ascend higher.
That was the most meaningful thing. When he died, there would be no chain of hatred left behind.
Especially during a Full Moon Ritual, there was no one truly deserving of hatred; even in a New Moon Ritual, it was fair competition witnessed by the Pillar Gods.
He could only blame himself for not being strong enough, not careful enough… What he left behind before his death would only be information and secrets passed on to others.
…The only regret was that he did not die in the ritual for the Twilight Path’s fifth to sixth tier advancement.
That was the “final Ascension Ritual” that existed only in legend. One only needed to pass it to be called the strongest in the Material Realm.
The death rate in that ritual was extremely high, and even if one survived, promotion was not guaranteed. In nearly a thousand years of history, there were few successful cases combined. Few people could reach the peak of the Fifth Tier, and he himself had not yet fully developed his Fifth Tier powers to their limit.
…If only he could witness that spectacle, the Advisor thought.
Competing on the same stage as some of the strongest people in the world, if successful, he would become the strongest in the world. Even failure would mean a glorious death—becoming fuel for miracles, and his existence would be engraved as a result.
Over the centuries, many had reached the Fifth Tier, but few remembered their names. But if he could become nourishment for the Sixth Tier, perhaps future generations would remember his name…
…However, his death was not entirely without meaning.
He had already given the most important information to Grape.
Grape was a very intelligent girl and the Advisor’s most beloved student. Otherwise, he would not have come specifically to accompany her for her Ascension.
He hoped she could analyze what he truly wanted to convey from this sentence and awaken to his intentions.
—Eivass could use the blessings of the Twin Mirrors to replicate the opponent’s Path and abilities!
The Advisor stared intently at Grape, as if hoping she could understand his thoughts.
While speaking that sentence, his feet continued to move, trying to distance himself from Grape. This was to prevent the Butterfly’s attack from harming her, and the words he left behind, on the surface, were a gesture of goodwill to Eivass, giving the Butterfly no reason to kill “Mycroft.”
As the Advisor’s last words fell, he had already taken three steps sideways.
Before his fourth step could land, a scorching stream of flames roared forth!
“Sherlock”‘s body was instantly engulfed by the flames.
On the other side, before this.
Stranger slowly woke up amidst the sounds of intense combat.
He rubbed his forehead, his expression complicated.
…To this day, he finally understood why his mission included “not to be taken back to Star Antimony.”
It turned out if he did nothing, he would be taken away by the Star Antimony people…
Indeed.
As a member of Star Antimony nobility, Stranger was very familiar with the workings of the Star Antimony Kingdom.
If this timeline held true, given Star Antimony’s desire for skilled talents, they would undoubtedly snatch Master Nobel back. To the Star Antimony people, snatching talent was far more important than snatching resources and treasures.
A country that could accommodate the Child of the Moon, Necromancer, Demon Scholar, Witch, Alchemist, Mage, Priest, Astrologer, Hunter, and Assassin all at once was characterized by its open-door policy.
They even had a small number of indigenous extraordinary individuals of the Path of Authority and the Path of Beauty… As long as they were talented, Star Antimony would want them.
Regardless of whether your heart was here, as long as your person was here, that was enough. If money, resources, status, and respect were provided, you would have to work, right?
At the very least, even if you were uncooperative—couldn’t they kill you and extract your soul to become a spectral scholar? It was at least better than leaving them in other countries to invent things for them.
Since Star Antimony always claimed to be the “inheritor of the Hrasal Empire,” and the Empire was known for its flourishing diversity and inclusiveness in accommodating all paths. Based on this tradition, Star Antimony could not explicitly express resistance towards extraordinary individuals of any path.
Since they wanted everyone, they might as well take the best. The same resources were better allocated to talents than to duds.
—In his teens, Stranger was proud of Star Antimony’s “talent-first” inclusive policy.
Regardless of the path, as long as one could become powerful or a renowned scholar, they would receive respect and trust. They would gain wealth and status, and societal recognition.
For the youthful Stranger, his talent was what made him proud.
He saw no problem with Necromancy. In this world, when a person died, their soul returned to the Dream Realm… If left unattended, corpses would naturally become undead. Rather, corpses that underwent funeral rites by priests and slept peacefully were “unnatural.”
Since that was the case, researching corpses was no different from researching monsters. When people died and turned into undead, it was like flies laying eggs in rotten flesh—researching the undead was like researching these insects.
He became a powerful extraordinary and a brilliant scholar at a young age. In his teens, he was already conversing and dining with Fourth and even Fifth Tier extraordinaries. He always appeared humble and gentle because he was always in contact with the top powerhouses in the country, any one of whom was far stronger than him.
In such an environment, he had no capital for arrogance.
And similarly, he yearned immensely… He yearned to reach such a position.
To truly converse with them as an equal, relying on his inventions and talent—not meeting them because of his background and innate gifts.
One’s background was not something one could choose; and their innate gifts had not been fully realized. How much truly belonged to him?
Under these circumstances, Stranger yearned for validation.
If he had an advantage, it was that he was young. He encountered many new things, and his perspective differed from that of veteran powerhouses and scholars—based on this difference in perception, he could propose “ideas.”
But if he only gave ideas for others to research, he would only receive a word of thanks.
—He had to complete a research project independently.
Stranger thought.
Therefore, when he heard that the Ministry of the Army was troubled by “Armed Gargoyles losing their ability to act when entering a Bishop’s sanctuary,” he was immediately interested.
In a previous experiment, due to an accidental error, he had created flesh without consciousness. This flesh could only be used as skin for stitched corpses, having little value… But what about as skin for gargoyles?
—Thus, before graduating from university, Stranger’s published thesis appeared in the highest-level academic journals and even gained the attention of several generals.
He was instantly intrigued.
Although his initial objective had been achieved, and the gargoyles, as aerial scouts, now possessed the ability to infiltrate sanctuaries without immediate paralysis… could he do even better?
Flesh skin was easily shattered and might detach during high-speed flight. Then, a metal casing could be added for fixation and protection.
But this would make the agile gargoyles clumsy, losing their significance as silent scouts. However, as close-range combat units, they lacked attack power.
—Why not throw bombs?
Previously, gargoyles couldn’t do this because the bombs would alter their center of gravity, making their flight unstable and difficult to aim accurately. Now, with the gargoyle’s weight significantly increased, they could effectively throw them.
As a result, Stranger received praise from the Minister of the Army and was even awarded the rank of Lieutenant, despite never having been to the battlefield or undergone a day of training.
This was “an early commendation for his current inventions and future merits.”
Having gained praise and become famous, Stranger could even converse at grand banquets. He was no longer “a promising star of the future” or “a future Fifth Tier,” but a genuine “genius Necromancer.”
He was no longer someone’s son or student, but “Albert Lore,” the strongest genius of the younger generation!
Therefore, he dedicated himself wholeheartedly to the research and optimization of “Armed Gargoyles.”
Gargoyles were merely a weak unit, previously serving the purpose of silently landing on buildings at night to provide long-range vision for Ritualists.
The unconscious rotten flesh he researched had no value. Even the most common dagger could cut through it, and stitched corpses made from it were extremely fragile.
Armor was much the same—Star Antimony produced an abundance of metal but rarely used it. The core materials of golems were stone and jewels. Only those physical profession users in Black Hawk Territory required large amounts of metal.
They had also developed numerous advanced firearms and ammunition, but they were mostly sold to goblins, because the inventions of Alchemists were far more useful. These machine guns could only be used by hunters who could move freely even in heavy armor.
In Stranger’s opinion, he was turning waste into treasure. Combining worthless items, things no one wanted, and a weak troop type, he made them the main force of the army. He even had the army arrange tactics around his research—Fifth Tier big shots had to change their habits to accommodate him.
He continuously wrote papers, and later, he didn’t even need to conduct experiments himself, only to build prototypes.
The Ministry of the Army’s laboratories had many experimental personnel far more professional than him. He only needed to write down theories and provide prototypes, and they would carry out various tests with greater efficiency than him, returning the results to him by the time he woke up.
The incredibly comfortable research environment made Stranger feel extremely satisfied.
It was like drinking fine wine, his brain swelled and tingled. He was excited, and researching day and night did not tire him. He didn’t have to do the troublesome parts, only conceive! Only imagine!
Truly leveraging his talent—not just for Armed Gargoyles, but he even wrote down every idea that came to mind and submitted it to the laboratory for further deliberation.
Even though Star Antimony was still at war, it continued to pour vast resources into him.
Stranger believed that in another two months… the Armed Gargoyles would be completely finished. During this time, he had also refurbished and optimized many weapons from the old era. He had not worked on his primary task of stitching corpses for three months, as the work in his hands grew day by day. The research matters he needed to handle were already scheduled for two months later.
The praise he received from people now, Stranger could finally accept without reservation. He was no longer anxious about his background or talent. People no longer expected great things from his future; they already worshipped the current “Albert Lore.”
His teacher had taught him that the Twilight Path was the Path of Engraving and Eternity.
In his view, the Path of Twilight meant “the present.”
—Now, is eternity!
But when the old woman who saved him was blown into a puddle of minced meat before his eyes.
Those blood splatters, like spray but with a slight grainy texture, flew out and evenly covered his face. His face had already turned dark red, with dense, scattered bloodstains on his skin. It looked like a glass window on a rainy day.
No longer praise, no longer flattery. No longer the approval of elders, the recognition of seniors.
He had handled a lot of blood, a lot of corpses. But he had never made himself this dirty—to prevent infection and contamination of materials, he always wore gloves and protective gear according to procedure when handling corpses.
He had indeed seen executed people. But in Star Antimony, condemned prisoners were extremely valuable materials… Besides Necromancers, the Child of the Moon and Demon Scholars also used them. To ensure the integrity of the corpses, aside from electric shocks, injections were used, and even hanging was rare.
The moment the bomb fell, he felt as if he had been awakened by the explosion.
The past few months felt like a dream…
And in an instant, he felt as if he had woken from a dream.
Stranger even had a fleeting illusion—as if after getting drunk, he had accidentally pushed his child down the stairs. His mind cleared again in an instant, and the entire noisy world fell silent.
Now, recalling his research… he felt only disgust.
“…What genius.”
Stranger bitterly looked at his own hands. “A genius at killing…”
After he had fainted, the blood on his hands had already been wiped clean, but now he repeatedly saw a faint scarlet on them.
At this moment, the sounds of battle outside gradually subsided.
—Star Antimony had probably won.
Stranger calmly thought.
He was now under arrest… nominally for escort, but actually detention. He couldn’t complete his mission, and it would be difficult to advance smoothly.
This advancement had failed.
He could not imagine being “escorted” by a unit with golems and gargoyles. How could he escape?
…There were still several days ahead, and he didn’t know how he would endure them.
Just then, the curtain of the carriage he was in was lifted.
And the person who lifted the curtain made Stranger freeze.
Because he recognized this person.
“The Grand Guardian of Avalon?”
“Master Nobel.”
A middle-aged blond man, his eyes filled with fatigue, asked calmly, “Are you… returning to Star Antimony?”
(End of this chapter)
