updrChapter 307 Life is not chosen, it is lived (6k) The Mad King?
Bai Zhou's heart trembled.
Black and red ruins?
Nine moons hanging from the golden tree…
what kind of imagery were these?
These descriptions reminded Bai Zhou of the high priest of Troy.
The last king, the last saint of the Temple of the Sun, the solitary red, the angel of war. She too wandered among the ruins, a ghost left behind after the destruction of civilization. The two were clearly not the same thing, but this "Mad King" that
the Compass Master couldn't forget still made Bai Zhou's mind wander, wondering where this king came from. But, in a remote town like Blackrock City, could there be such a majestic being? A graveyard of civilizations, a forbidden zone of life… what exactly was this? "This is a treasure left by an ancestor of the Canutius family. He liked to call himself an adventurer driven by interest." The governor carefully stroked the patterns on the compass. "In the eyes of his descendants, he was the most rebellious noble ancestor, while some consider him the most outstanding 'Canutius'." "He spent most of his life adventuring in the Graveyard of Civilizations, leaving behind many well-known adventure stories in Blackrock City that are still told today. It is also the only channel through which many people can learn about the Sunset Mountains and the Graveyard of Civilizations..." As he spoke, the governor shook his head. "However, few people know that the ancestor actually lived in regret for the rest of his life." " Regret?" Bai Zhou was puzzled, recalling the contents of the will, and his heart stirred. "Yes, I once obtained his manuscript by chance." With a serious expression, the governor said in a deep voice, "In it, I saw him say..." [It seems I shouldn't have run away, because for the rest of my life, I have regretted day and night for missing the most exciting adventure that day.] "Now, I will set off there again, leaving guidance for future generations..." "Go on an adventure, for the treasure lies there. " These were his last words in his journal.
The governor shook his head.
"After that day, he left all his treasures with his family and, in his later years, ventured into the forbidden zone of Sunset Mountains, never to emerge again."
"Unfortunately, since him, none of Canutius's descendants have produced an adventurer like him, and even fewer have been willing to set foot in the graveyard of civilizations within Sunset Mountains."
"So, to this day, no one knows what that so-called missed, most exciting adventure, and that mysterious treasure he spoke of truly meant..."
"But perhaps..."
the governor murmured thoughtfully,
"When he left behind all his treasures and ventured into the forbidden zone with an open heart, he had already found what he was seeking." At this point, the governor's expression became somewhat dazed, as if he had thought of something.
"Actually..."
"Canutius's descendants aren't entirely without those like him,"
the governor said in a deep voice.
"For example, my youngest son."
"Your..." Bai Zhou's expression froze. "Son?"
"Clatter!" At this moment, the adjutant standing to the side shifted slightly, his armor clattering as he looked at the regent he served, a hint of unspoken worry on his face.
Ignoring the adjutant's concern, the regent nodded. "This child loves adventure; he's been fascinated by many adventure stories since childhood."
"As a descendant of the Canutius family, his birth mission should be to strive to become a key figure in Blackrock City—to receive education, participate in elections, and then step by step climb higher, expanding the family's influence."
Election…
Bai Zhou blinked twice.
In Lukus's memory, in Blackrock City, although nominally all officials had to participate in elections, in reality, ninety percent of these positions had long been firmly controlled by a few families.
Regent, Inspector, Judge… the life goal of every noble family's eldest son was these positions.
Even if it was just a steward, at the very least, one had to strive to become an attendant to the regent.
Every position was like this, every noble was like this.
In the eyes of ordinary people, the lives of these nobles were truly easy.
"My son is a renowned genius, but also a notorious rebellious oddball in Blackrock City..."
"Despite his exceptional talent, on his coming-of-age day he was admitted to the prestigious Ryan First Adventurer Academy, located in the provincial capital—an achievement rarely seen in the entire family history."
As he spoke, the governor's weary face held a complex pride:
"But... he refuses to go!"
"Refuses to go?" Bai Zhou's expression was filled with doubt.
Blackrock City was a small border town in Ryan Province, the fifty-second sector of the Hiro Empire, insignificant compared to the provincial capital.
It was a place teeming with powerful individuals, technologically advanced, and renowned for its mystical practices—a dream destination for anyone with ambition. Even with only a 0.01% chance of going, Bai Zhou would have tried his best without hesitation.
"Actually, he was gone for half a year, or rather, a semester... Then, after he came back from the holidays, he told me some news that would definitely shock and upset the entire family." "
He said he wanted to drop out of school."
At this moment, the governor looked more like a rambling old man.
His deep voice was very soft, as if an old man in his twilight years was telling someone about a past he didn't want to recall in front of a fireplace on a winter night.
"You know how unbelievable this is? It's the provincial capital, a place countless members of the family dream of, yet he said he didn't want it anymore."
"He said he was tired. For eighteen years, he'd been a son who pleased his father, a younger brother who pleased his elder brothers, a genius the family expected… and he didn't want to live like that anymore."
The governor, a look of shame on his face, continued:
"It's also my fault for letting him see that adventurer's notes."
"After that day, he contacted his mentor and gave his recommendation spot to another member of his clan, not wasting this resource, and resolved from that moment on to live only for himself."
"He said this spot was his way of repaying the family for nurturing him."
"He saw me, saw his eldest and second eldest brothers living diligently their lives under the family's plans and constraints, and he saw his third brother die in battle on the city walls during the invasion of the monsters."
"This made him want to live simply as himself. He also said the world is vast, and the graveyard of civilizations holds countless fragments of history and even treasures waiting to be discovered. He wanted to go there on an adventure..."
The governor shook his head, as if recalling a past scene:
"We argued about this every day."
"I told him he was too willful."
"Perhaps my mediocre life as a father in this small border town cannot compare to the grandeur and excitement of the provincial capital, but this is the life I chose."
"So what about you? What kind of life do you want to choose? At your immature age, can you take responsibility for your choices for the rest of your life, even if it means dropping out of school in the provincial capital, as long as you're sure you won't regret it later?"
This was the question the governor asked his son.
"Hey, guess what this kid's answer?" The governor turned to Bai Zhou.
Bai Zhou shook his head.
"He said;..."
In the governor's eyes, there was a father's undisguised sorrow, and a belated understanding of his son's ideals:
"Life isn't chosen, Father, life is lived."
"That's what he said to me."
Hearing this, Bai Zhou's heart skipped a beat.
As an adventurer, he inexplicably resonated with these words.
He even vaguely saw, perhaps mistakenly, a fleeting, hazy light flash on the compass in the governor's palm when the governor spoke these words.
"Perhaps, this is what an adventurer, or rather, an adventurer-maker, is like."
The governor's words at this moment seemed somewhat similar to those of Raven when facing Bai Zhou:
"Perhaps it was because of this adventurous spirit that he was admitted to the First Adventurer Academy of Ryan... but it was also because of this spirit that he made such a counterintuitive choice."
Adventurer... adventurer-maker?
Bai Zhou pondered the two words.
They sounded similar at first glance, but in subtle ways, they seemed to have slight differences.
"So, I beg you..."
Looking earnestly into Bai Zhou's eyes, the governor said in a deep voice,
"As a father, I beg you to bring my son's head back from the graveyard of civilization!"
"No matter what, I at least want him to rest in peace."
"If you need any help, just let me know."
So, what the governor was so fixated on wasn't revenge, but bringing back his son's head so he could rest in peace...?
"Alright!"
Bai Zhou took a deep breath and solemnly agreed to the request from a grieving old father, taking the ancient, dark red compass from the governor's hand.
The compass, about the size of his palm, felt heavy in his hand. Perhaps because of the passage of time, it lacked the cold hardness of metal, instead possessing a warm, jade-like texture.
"Buzz..."
As Bai Zhou focused on the markings on the compass, the rough, engraved numbers seemed to writhe and twist in his vision, as if countless tiny insects were crawling across the red copper surface, causing the surrounding numbers to change accordingly.
"Even the most formidable and ancient families in the Ryan Province might not possess this compass-like treasure,"
the governor explained .
"Because they don't have an ancestor who spent his entire life adventuring in the graveyard of civilizations, recording all the footprints he'd left behind and all the ruins he'd seen in this compass."
"With this compass, following the traces of our ancestors... at least, in the outer areas of the Sunset Mountains, this graveyard of civilizations, we won't easily lose our way."
"Like the mountain peak where that vulture was, it's marked inside the compass. As long as you provide certain information and clues, the compass can lead you there!"
With that, the governor flipped his hand upwards, and a snowflake, seemingly eternally unblooming, appeared in his palm.
With a flick of his finger, the snowflake flew, melting onto the compass.
At the same time, the governor softly chanted a spell:
"Reveal, reveal!"
he said,
"The footprints hidden deep within the mountains!"
"Buzz!"
The instant the snowflake merged into the compass, all the rough markings on the surface of the compass emitted a dazzling light.
The dark red pointer trembled violently, its tip emitting a cluster of tiny, hazy points of light that swirled and danced in the air above the compass, transforming into a blurry phantom.
This phantom formed the outline of a vague mountain peak, clearly Bai Zhou's destination.
Soon after, the wildly trembling pointer stabilized, its tip firmly pointing in a definite direction.
"This compass..."
Holding the compass, Bai Zhou's heart trembled.
Although not a spirit-named treasure, in a perilous place like the Graveyard of Civilizations... it might be more precious than any spirit-named treasure! A treasure that only worked on the Sunset Mountains was practically a divine artifact that any ritual master needing to form a bond would dream of!
Only the Canutius family, rooted for generations on the edge of the Sunset Mountains, could possess such a treasure;
and only a governor, consumed by grief and anger after the death of his youngest son, would retrieve this treasure as a guide for Bai Zhou's journey.
Of course, their past encounter and the promise to receive the treasure also played a role in this process. "
If I hadn't set foot in the Sunset Mountains without this compass..."
Bai Zhou muttered to himself.
"I once replicated this compass, stealing some of its coordinates, and made a copy for my youngest son... This is the key reason he dares to venture into the Sunset Mountains." "
But that place is ultimately an unfathomable wasteland. Even our ancestor perished there; what chance do we, his weak descendants, have?"
The governor solemnly warned Bai Zhou:
"Take this compass and traverse the graveyard of civilizations in the Sunset Mountains. Don't look back, don't look ahead, focus solely on what's ahead, and don't stop for anything you see or hear..."
"Once you successfully defeat the Vulture, return immediately. Do not linger, and never deviate from the compass's direction."
The governor paused, then added:
"...Even if you fail to defeat the Vulture, as long as you bring back my son's head, I will consider you a success." "
At that time, the entire Canutius family, including myself, will owe you a favor!"
Seeing the governor's horrified words, Bai Zhou's expression also became solemn.
"This graveyard of civilizations..."
Choosing his words carefully, Bai Zhou asked, "Frankly, in my memory, I know very little about this place." "That's normal."
The governor wasn't surprised. "Because apart from seasoned guild-registered adventurers, it's indeed impossible to come into contact with a graveyard of civilizations without reaching a certain level... nor is there any need." "
In fact, the so-called graveyard of civilizations, as the name suggests... is the burial ground of many ancient civilizations."
The governor used the simplest description to explain the origin of the "graveyard of civilizations":
"In the Hiro Empire, even a three-year-old knows—during its rise, the Hiro Empire swept across three hundred civilizations and three hundred city-states."
"Those city-states, each with its own writing system and traditions, passed down through countless years on their own lands, until they were conquered by the empire. This devastating war also led to a consequence... what would it look like if the remains of three hundred civilizations were piled up on the empire's territory?"
"The air is thick with resentment, and monstrous creatures roam freely. Newly built cities on those ruins are corrupted by this malevolent energy within three years, becoming inhospitable places where normal people cannot live." "
Of course, an invincible empire always has a way."
At this point, the governor's tone took on a hint of pride:
"So, the empire used some incredible means to extract those difficult-to-purify, malevolent places from their original locations. With a massive ritual beyond our comprehension, they were moved and gathered, divided into thirty sealed lands, each suppressed on one of the empire's thirty borders!"
"As time flows, the resentment dissipates… Creating these sealed lands also serves to remind the empire of its original purpose, to maintain a constant sense of crisis. These sealed lands serve as training grounds for young people, while also facilitating the honing of the border troops."
"In these places, monstrous creatures roam freely, and ruins abound. A valley in front might still be covered in perpetual snow, hiding the remnants of an icy city-state… while a mountain behind might be unbearably hot, where desert towns have weathered away."
"This is the origin of the Civilization Graveyard—the Civilization Graveyard located here, one of those thirty graveyards, is called Sunset Mountains."
"Why is it called Sunset Mountains? Because those past city-states all believed their civilization's sun would never set… until the Empire came and crushed them one by one!"
"However, for us weaklings, while Sunset Mountains hold many opportunities, it is undoubtedly a forbidden zone for life!" At this point, the governor added solemnly,
"A single leak of pollution or escape of abominations would be annihilation for us… Without the protection of the city walls, Blackrock City would have been destroyed countless times over!"
A forbidden zone for life, a civilization graveyard—a place where ruins converge, a land of overlapping wastelands!
Bai Zhou took a deep breath. Although he had long suspected this place, hearing it firsthand still left him deeply shocked.
To mix the ruins of three hundred civilizations and suppress them in thirty different imperial border regions… what difference was there between this incredible method and creating a man-made "Reflection Ruins"?
Countless years later, on Earth, a nascent civilization that had only developed for a few thousand years was still growing by excavating the ruins of the Void Realm—all of these ruins were monopolized and controlled by major powers. Even the slightest new ruin, occasionally spilling from the depths of the Void Realm, would trigger a fierce, bloody struggle! It was simply not a chance for a lone chosen one like Bai Zhou.
But here?
Three hundred ruins left behind by once-glorious civilizations lay within the mountains, freely accessible, used as a place for trials and tribulations! Holding the compass, Bai Zhou dared not imagine what he would encounter or experience there, perhaps even one day witnessing something left behind by Troy. After all, when Troy was terrified by Rome and fled beyond the heavens… they had left a group of people on their homeland to guard it.
They were probably gone too, leaving only ruins, sealed away in some unknown graveyard of civilizations.
"As expected of the Hiro Empire..."
Originally, after learning of the Hiro Empire's existence, Bai Zhou had wondered—since he had arrived here through the pass not as the deeper layers of the Ruins he initially thought, but as a real, undeniable pre-civilization era from countless years ago on Blue Star…
then why hadn't he discovered the renowned "Reflection Ruins" of Blue Star's mysterious world?
Could it be that in this era, the Reflection Ruins, this colossal entity formed from the accumulated corpses of countless pre-civilizations on Blue Star, hadn't yet taken shape? But now, Bai Zhou felt he no longer needed to dwell on this question.
The Reflection Ruins, man-made, with no hidden layers or hierarchical structures within its ruins, all existing simultaneously.
The remains of all civilizations lay there, ownerless and exposed, eternally existing, neither monopolized by any power nor subject to competition. It was simply the purest adventure!
Pure exhilaration.
At this moment, Bai Zhou even felt the compass in his hand getting hot.
This feeling was perhaps incomprehensible to the natives of the Hiro Empire; only a chosen one like Bai Zhou, from a later era and accustomed to poverty, could understand it. His heart pounded in his chest. He recalled the excitement of first activating the Golden Pass, arriving in the desolate wasteland of Troy, mistakenly believing he had reached the depths of the Ruins.
If the chosen ones on Blue Star were all tomb raiders, archaeological experts,
then Bai Zhou, like a rat, was certain at this moment that he had found his own rice bowl.
He even had a compass as his "Luoyang shovel"!
"Don't worry,"
Bai Zhou gripped the compass tightly, looked up at the governor, and said earnestly,
"I will definitely bring back your son's head."
"Go now!"
Ten minutes later.
As Bai Zhou's figure emerged from the city hall's doors, from
a distant corner, prying eyes withdrew, and the furtive figure quietly disappeared.
The furtive figure moved swiftly through the alleyways until arriving at a magnificent manor. Knocking on a small door, the figure quietly entered after a brief conversation.
"I saw with my own eyes that the remnants of Noranus... made contact with the One Heart Brotherhood and that governor."
At the end of a dark corridor, in a windowless meeting room surrounded by dim candlelight.
The man knelt and bowed, whispering to the man in the ornate robe seated at the end of the long table:
"Although it seems he currently has no intention of avenging his family, and knows nothing about the reasons for their destruction... he will definitely do so."
The shadowy figure in black robes presented his analysis to the master of the place:
"We cannot remain indifferent to his growth!"
As he spoke, the man in black robes boldly raised his head, his eyes revealing undisguised hatred and resentment:
"To deal with the remnants of the Noranus family... my team and I are always ready to serve you!"
Mentioning the Noranus family, the man in black robes seemed agitated, and the spiritual energy in the air around him resonated violently, the dark red spiritual energy boiling like hot water.
If Bai Zhou were standing here, he could vaguely deduce from this scene with extreme shock that this shadowy man's strength was
probably greater than that of [Parincitin] of the Blood Cult of Listening to the Sea!
[Parincitin] was a Life Forger.
Therefore, this furtive man is very likely a Second-Life Forger!
Moreover, he is a "senior" on the same path as Bai Zhou.
A seasoned, high-sequence adventurer on the adventurer's path.
First or Second Life [Trialist]!
Table of contents
set up
daytime
Error
Chapter 308 The Story of Troy's Treasure
"A little over five hours left... I'll give it my best no matter what!"
Bai Zhou thought to himself as he left the city with the certificate issued by the governor. "Make sure you're back before dark!" The guard at the city gate solemnly warned, his expression extremely serious. " I'll just leave when it gets dark..." Bai Zhou muttered to himself, but still appreciated the guard's kindness. As soon as he left the city, as if sensing something, Bai Zhou looked up and glanced at the demon's desiccated corpse nailed to the city wall, and the blood-red spear that had been there for two thousand years. "Long time no see." He casually greeted it in his mind, and following the guidance of the compass in his hand, Bai Zhou began to head towards the Sunset Mountains. In fact, at this stage, Bai Zhou didn't even need a compass for guidance... because once he stepped out of the city gates, without the obstruction of the city walls, the magnificent, vast, and endless mountain range stretched out before his eyes like a boundless expanse. In the distance, at the horizon where the sky met the heavens, the outline of the mountain range stretched across the sky. An ominous blackish-gray mist billowed into the sky, like a menacing demonic aura, appearing from afar like a boundless ghost realm. Through the hazy black mist, he could vaguely see many cracks on the mountainside, which Bai Zhou guessed were probably ruins, appearing like burning spots on the mountainside under the sunlight. The mountain was no ordinary mountain range; its angular outline resembled a giant coffin, its somber atmosphere awe-inspiring, giving Bai Zhou a suffocating feeling of carrying a heavy burden just by looking at it. Bai Zhou strode forward, traveling swiftly, quickly traversing a desolate wilderness devoid of even weeds, arriving at the foot of the Sunset Mountains. A colossal pillar, its shaft jutting diagonally into the earth, its surface densely covered with ancient characters he couldn't decipher, blurred by millennia of wind and sand, yet stubbornly standing its ground. Only in the center of the pillar, Bai Zhou vaguely discerned four large characters written in Heroic script by later generations: [Sunset Mountains]! The suns of three hundred civilizations set here. "Clatter..." His boots crunched through the gravel, the boy's figure elongated by the afternoon sun, as he walked alone into the boundless, endless mountains.
"The Trial" has begun!
"Remnants? Remnants of the Noranus family...?"
Inside the opulent mansion, in the dimly lit conference room,
the man sitting at the end of the long table opposite the kneeling [Trial Taker] in black robes slowly rose.
He was indeed very tall, his slender figure exceeding 1.9 meters, yet without any visible muscles; his proportionate, even delicate, physique was perfectly proportioned. His movements, under the dim candlelight, appeared exceptionally elegant, without a single gesture deviating from noble etiquette.
His long pink hair nearly reached his waist, cascading down like gaudy satin, while his skin possessed a sickly, gloomy pallor, a stark contrast to the pink hair framing his ears.
At the same time, he wore a dark blue robe with a vibrant green lining, which echoed the robe, making him appear exceptionally eerie.
Rather than a nobleman, he resembled a court entertainer performing acrobatics, able to amuse people solely through his comical attire. But this flamboyantly dressed, tall man, when he stood up, made the black-robed man, a second-life [Trialist], not dare to utter a sound. He even bowed his head respectfully and awe-inspiringly, like a docile house dog.
"Some people, while fantasizing about sprouting unhindered wings, also waste their lives like stray dogs, achieving nothing." Dragging out his words, the man waved the sleeves of his dark blue robe, the fabric fluttering in the air:
"Whether one achieves fame and soars to great heights, or dies in obscurity on a winter night… sometimes it's just a matter of a single thought."
"What I mean is,"
the man said, moving with two clatters across the empty, gleaming black stone floor, standing before the black-robed man.
"Being my dog... was the best decision you ever made."
"Otherwise, you would have been consumed by hatred long ago, dead without a burial place."
Hearing this, the black-robed man kneeling on the ground trembled. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the ornate, jewel-encrusted boots standing beside his face in the candlelight, and beads of sweat streamed down his forehead.
"...It seems you've realized your mistake."
The ornate boots lifted the black-robed man's chin, and the flamboyant man looked down at him with a fawning, lapdog-like smile, nodding in satisfaction.
"I like the hatred in your eyes; that's why I spared you."
"But you must remember one..."
"You absolutely cannot let your selfishness delay my plans... and don't try to influence my decision with your shallow words." A sharp, terrifying smile slowly appeared on the flamboyant man's thin lips, which were smeared with lipstick, seemingly full of meaning:
"A dog should have the awareness of a dog, otherwise there are too many stray dogs on the street... don't you agree?"
"Y-you're right!"
Having fully received the warning signal from the other party, the black-robed man's back was already soaked with cold sweat.
Knowing the other party's methods, his heart was about to jump out of his chest, fearing that the capricious man would turn on him at any moment and kill him while he was kneeling on the ground defenseless.
"I'm so sorry, I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"
Thump, thump, the black-robed man kowtowed repeatedly, and the bright red blood quickly spread on the dark and clean ground.
While kowtowing almost frantically, oblivious to the pain, the man in black robes trembled as he promised,
"I assure you, this... this will never happen again!"
"Enough, enough... get up." The tall, blue-robed nobleman waved his hand, turned around, and moved his ornate boots.
Glancing out of the corner of his eye at the man in black robes still frozen on the ground, the nobleman narrowed his eyes and raised his voice slightly:
"I told you to get up!"
"And also, clean the floor!"
"Yes, yes, yes..." The man in black robes breathed a sigh of relief, staggering to his feet. Blood streamed down his forehead and nose, making his already sinister features look even more ferocious.
He pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve, knelt on the ground, and vigorously wiped away the blood, again and again, making a grating "squeak" sound, until the floor returned to its clean, shiny black stone appearance.
"In truth, who doesn't have selfish motives?"
Without any visible movement, the slender figure had already left the black-robed man's presence, reappearing at the end of the long table.
The dim candlelight cast a long, distorted shadow of him. One hand rested on the edge of the table, while the other casually toyed with a silver candle, the flame flickering eerily at his fingertips, casting the blue-robed nobleman's silhouette in shifting light and shadow, utterly mysterious.
Then, the black-robed man, who had just risen to put away his handkerchief, heard the blue-robed nobleman say calmly:
"I only let you go because of your selfish motives... I'm very familiar with your eyes; they hide a hyena-like ambition. Once you gain power, you'll tear everything apart in revenge against the world."
"Fortunately, that's exactly the kind of tearing I need."
He waved his hand:
"As you wish, that remnant of the Noranus family is yours to deal with."
"Yes!" The black-robed man bowed in agreement, his reply crisp and decisive, daring not to utter another word or make any further accusations.
"Squeak..."
The door to the dimly lit conference room creaked open a crack.
Mechanical, dragging footsteps echoed through the room as a blonde girl entered, carrying a silver tray. Her shoulders slumped, and every movement seemed controlled by invisible threads.
Her long, golden hair reached her waist, its luster dull. Her face was delicate yet pale; her features still hinted at her former radiance, but her eyes lacked any focus, making her appear like a lifeless
corpse.
"Thump...thump...thump...
" The puppet-like walking corpse girl slowly walked to the long table, placed the teapot and teacups on the tray, and then dragged her mechanical steps away.
Seeing this, the black-robed man lowered his head even further, almost burying it in his knees.
Everyone in the entire magnificent manor, the entire enormous residence, was in this state.
The blonde girl was the former owner of this manor, the only daughter of a minor noble family.
She once had blonde hair that even the sun paled in comparison, back in Blackrock City . A once-famous noblewoman… and now, she and her clansmen have become tamed, mindless zombies, serving tea and water to the very enemies who murdered her family in their own manor.
The man in black robes, as the manor's head guard, had almost become one of them…
Yes, the tall man in blue robes before him was neither the lord of this manor nor the owner of this residence.
He came from the provincial capital, having secretly orchestrated the downfall of the Noranus family in Blackrock City. His true identity and background were enough to shake the entire city!
"In a while, I should leave this small town and return to where I came from."
The noblewoman in blue robes shook her head. "It's time for this massive earthquake that has swept across the entire province of Ryan to subside."
Earthquake…
The man in black robes appeared outwardly calm and composed, but inwardly, he was already pondering something.
"Tsk... You people from this small place like Blackrock City will never know the terrifying influence the main branch of the Nolanus family wielded in the capital, how arrogant and domineering they once were!"
"Even throughout the entire empire's fifty-two sectors, the Nolanus family was extremely famous!"
The blue-robed nobleman sat down again, picking up his teacup and sipping it:
"Without me, you would never have been able to take revenge on the Nolanus family—absolutely not!"
Hearing this, the black-robed man remained silent, only half relieved and half fearful as he recalled that night when the Nolanus family's branch in Blackrock City was destroyed in a raging fire, and the family banner bearing the grapevine fell.
He had witnessed it all, seen the greed of the many nobles of Blackrock City as they divided up the Nolanus family's property, and also the calm composure of the mastermind behind it all—the blue-robed man.
"Fortunately, the Nolanus family brought this upon themselves, provoking the wrong people and getting involved with a group of taboo figures, which led to their demise."
Taboo...?
Even the man in black robes had heard of the Nolanus family, located in Blackrock City. The true Nolanus family, a thousand-year-old clan with a grapevine as their crest, was an incredibly powerful entity located in the capital of the Ryan Province. Even all the nobles and powerful figures in Blackrock City combined were insignificant compared to that family.
So, what kind of taboo could cause such a family to collapse overnight?
Furthermore, the aftershocks of the earthquake spread throughout the entire Ryan Province, even targeting the family branch located in a remote town like Blackrock City, with people specifically sent from the capital to target and exterminate them!
Although suspicious, the man in black robes dared not ask further questions, and could only pray that the nobleman in blue robes would elaborate. Fortunately, after taking a couple of sips of red tea, the nobleman in blue robes actually blurted out the rest:
"It's a forbidden cult, involved in some terrible heretical belief, and a key target of the empire's crackdown."
"If we trace their origins, it's even more taboo. They're suspected to be descendants of remnants from three hundred city-states, roaming various imperial sectors, constantly plotting and organizing subversive activities against the empire."
Remnants? Heretics?
The black-robed man's eyes widened. He never dreamed that the powerful Noranus family would dare to defy the world and contact the descendants of remnants from three hundred city-states!
Is this... so arrogant that they want to rebel?
Surely not?
"You think it's stupid, right?"
As if seeing through the black-robed man's thoughts, the blue-robed nobleman's lips curled into a mocking smile.
With a soft "clatter," he slowly set down his teacup and spoke:
"Actually, for those high-ranking families, there are no eternal enemies. Even if it's the remnants of city-states who want to overthrow the empire, as long as they can provide enough benefits, making contact isn't a big deal..."
Casually revealing inside information that could shatter the worldviews of many imperial citizens, the blue-robed nobleman shook his head:
"But the problem with this is that the benefits are extraordinarily large, so large that even the Noranus family can't cover it up!"
As he spoke, the blue-robed nobleman's expression became serious, even his tone turned solemn:
"Many reports indicate that the Noranus family seems to have found clues related to the Trojan civilization."
"That's why he contacted those remnants, intending to cooperate in finding the treasure left behind by the Trojan civilization!" Hearing this, the black-robed man suddenly looked up, his gaze filled with surprise and doubt, even his breathing became heavy for a certain word:
"T... Trojan civilization—"
"In Hero, anyone with even a slight interest in the history before the empire's founding knows..."
the blue-robed nobleman said solemnly,
"The once-powerful Trojan civilization, ranking among the top of the three hundred city-states, was completely different from other city-states. They never engaged in any significant war with the empire." "
Because, before the empire's arrival, they poured all their resources into building an incredible giant wooden horse, carrying most of their civilization's treasures and knowledge into it, exiling it into the void, preparing for their future revival."
"People firmly believed that Trojan's treasure was hidden inside, and any family that had the opportunity to enter and conquer it would rise to prominence, potentially gaining a position of power and prestige within the empire!"
Trojan's treasure!
The entire legacy of a once-powerful civilization!
Families would rise to prominence, and remnants would have the hope of restoring their kingdom!
The story of this void treasure was once widely circulated in the Hiro Empire, and many people and forces searched for it desperately... But for many years, people found nothing, only verifying one seemingly true clue after another as false.
The Noranus family, however, actually found a clue related to this treasure?
"Perhaps, like before, this is just another false rumor, and the so-called treasure will ultimately prove to be nothing."
The blue-robed nobleman spread his hands:
"But one thing has been confirmed... the ancestors of the Noranus family may indeed have some Trojan remnant blood." "Furthermore, the forbidden order, the teams they sent to contact the Noranus family—they are also suspected to be descendants of Trojan civilization!" "These clues are enough to tempt those important figures and make them take action..."
As he spoke, the blue-robed man placed his hand on the table, leaned forward, and stared intently at the black-robed man:
"Of course, I'm also very interested in this."
"What if... I mean, what if the Trojan clues are of great importance, and the Noranus family has hidden them in an inconspicuous branch of their family? Blackrock City is one possibility."
The blue-robed nobleman looked earnestly at the black-robed man and said:
"I'm not able to act on my own; you'll have to help me find it."
"You must take this matter seriously, because it's crucial for both of us..."
The blue-robed nobleman then revealed another previously unknown piece of secret information:
"Furthermore, there's information, though its veracity is unclear..."
"A month ago, that forbidden order was suspected of showing signs near the Sunset Mountains!"
"Perhaps, within this unassuming little town of Black Stone..." Amidst
the black-robed man's heavy breathing, the blue-robed nobleman said in a deep voice:
"It truly holds the secrets of Troy, secrets unknown to anyone, yet capable of attracting the attention of great figures!"
"And it also holds,"
he said:
"an opportunity for us to soar to new heights!"
What Secrets Do Your Fingers Keep? The Hairs Stand On End