Translator: SumTLMan
“What if I don’t speak?”
As the words fell, the air suddenly became still. Even though the Black Count did nothing, everyone felt an overwhelming pressure.
This was not coercion, nor was there any energy fluctuation; it was purely the aura of oppression created by the wizard’s strength reaching a certain height, borrowing from the World Will.
And to borrow from the World Will on such a scale, one must have already ventured far on the path of laws. It is a path that leads to the legendary realm.
The Black Count’s sudden demonstration was clearly a reminder to everyone that, although he had been cooperative before, his cooperation should not be taken for granted. After all, he is a wizard just one step away from reaching the legendary realm.
Angel, being closest to the Black Count, felt this most acutely. Moreover, the Black Count was specifically targeting Angel.
However, the Black Count had no intention of causing harm, so Angel was unharmed, though his face turned somewhat pale.
The Black Count stated flatly, repeating himself: “What if I don’t speak, then what will you do?”
Before Angel could respond, the sound of footsteps entered his ears.
Turning around, he saw Daus walking in with a grave expression, his eyes cautious, directed towards the floating stone slab.
From the look on Daus’ face, Angel knew what he meant.
The Black Count might be formidable, but after all, it was just a challenge; together, Daus and Angel could face him, not necessarily to defeat him, but certainly not to be outmatched.
And this plan was something Daus had discussed with Angel before arriving. Should a confrontation truly arise, they would jointly face the Black Count.
Watching Daus’ resolute expression, Angel sighed inwardly: Is fighting all that’s left in this guy’s head?
The Black Count hadn’t done anything yet, and they hadn’t even entered the underground labyrinth, yet it was already coming to drawn swords; Daus was clearly here to stir up trouble.
Angel quickly used a look to stop Daus from advancing further, while saying: “If you want to suffer from the backlash of the contract again, come in. Otherwise, get out.”
Daus stopped immediately upon hearing this. He did have some self-awareness, trusting that Angel could indeed induce him to lie within the contract barrier.
Moreover, Angel’s intervention also meant that it was not yet time for a complete fallout. Daus wasn’t foolish; he chuckled: “You guys continue talking.”
Daus then sheepishly left the contract barrier.
Although the Black Count had no face, Angel could feel that he had definitely been sizing up Daus, perhaps even guessing their covert agreement.
However, the Black Count said nothing, apparently accustomed to being guarded and vigilant.
“Of course, the lord may choose not to speak; that is your prerogative. Just as I too have secrets about this ruin that I have not disclosed. However, I can assure you that the secrets I withhold will not impede our exploration.”
The Black Count: “So, you still expect me to declare whether this matter will affect our exploration?”
Angel shook his head: “The lord may speak if he wishes, and it is no matter if he chooses not to. However, I hope the lord can make A Promise to me.”
The Black Count: “You are making a demand of me?”
Angel: “Not a demand, but a promise that as the leader, I must consider for the safety of the team.”
The Black Count pondered for a moment. In his mind, Angel was probably asking for a promise similar to one prohibiting internal strife. He had made such a promise before arriving, at least to keep them safe, so he did not mind repeating it.
However, what Angel said next took the Black Count by surprise.
“I hope that whatever happens next, whatever the lord sees, whatever information he receives, he must not in any way contact his other bodily organs, nor summon them, and certainly not appear in his true body.”
“Moreover, the structure of this ruin cannot support the presence of the lord’s true body.”
Even Daus was surprised by Angel’s request… Had Angel anticipated something? Was this ruin actually very important to the Noah family? Important enough that his true body might appear.
The Black Count did not immediately respond but said softly: “You seem to know more about this ruin than I expected. Does this ruin have a connection with our Noah family?”
“I do not know,” Angel replied: “but given that the Black Count himself brought it up, I have some suspicions.”
Angel’s response did not trigger the backlash of the contract barrier, indicating he truly did not know whether the ruin was related to the Noah family.
The Black Count mused: Was it really a premonition?
Whether it was a premonition or not could be set aside for the moment. The question was whether to agree to Angel’s request.
If this place was indeed closely related to the Noah family, his part here might indeed be at a disadvantage…
Angel: “The lord’s hesitation, is it due to a lack of confidence in oneself?”
The Black Count understood that Angel was employing a provocation tactic. Usually, it would be ineffective, but under the contract barrier, it was somewhat restrictive.
Because he could not be sure if saying “I am confident” would trigger the backlash of the contract’s power.
After weighing the options, the Black Count sighed internally and finally nodded: “Very well, I agree to your request.”
Angel was ready to reveal his trump card. If it came down to backup support, his was no less formidable than the Black Count’s. Under the contract barrier, Angel’s words could be confirmed, putting pressure on the Black Count.
But now it seems that Daus was right; the contract barrier only ended up binding the Black Count more tightly.
Of course, there’s another reason, it was the Black Count’s nose that was present; if it had been his brain or other limbs, that would be another story. After all, the brain can think faster than the nose can smell.
Considering this, Angel immediately showed a radiant smile: “Since you have promised, lord, whether you wish to speak or not, it’s your freedom.”
The Black Count felt that Angel’s smile at that moment was somewhat glaring, so he simply turned away with the stone slab, not wanting to see him.
Angel didn’t mind and continued to ask: “Lord, are you really not considering revealing any hidden messages?”
The Black Count snorted coldly but did not respond. He had already made a promise, why should he reveal any hidden messages?
Angel: “It’s your freedom not to speak, lord, but perhaps I can guess?”
“Could it be information related to the Noah family?”
The Black Count still snorted coldly. Anyone normal, having heard their previous conversation, could definitely guess that the information he concealed was related to the Noah family.
“The Noah family is indeed a major clan, having such a heritage from such an ancient era,” Angel remarked: “But it’s strange, why would these followers of the Demon God of Mirrors inscribe information related to the Noah family on the podium too?”
Daus: “Perhaps the ruler they speak of in that group of followers might be an elder of the Noah family.”
Angel was certain that Daus’ statement had no inspiration. He even hesitated to respond, knowing that the elder of the Noah family they spoke of was probably Augustine, who was no ruler.
If he responded, he would surely be exposed under the contract barrier.
Angel remained silent, pretending to think.
In reality, he was indeed pondering.
He remembered that from the information obtained in Nightfall City of the Nightmare Plane, Augustine seemed to be enamored with a lady named Margaret, and Margaret seemed to reciprocate Augustine’s feelings.
Margaret’s father——Franklin, was the warden of the Hanging Prison Stairs.
Hanging Prison Stairs… prison… warden…
This Hanging Prison Stairs should be considered an important institution in Nightfall City, right? As the warden, would Franklin be considered a ruler?
Thinking this, a bold guess arose in Angel’s mind.
Perhaps, the institution that the followers of the Demon God of Mirrors wanted to strike at was the Hanging Prison Stairs! Otherwise, why mention the Noah family out of the blue? At that time, the Noah family, the then Augustine, was not the colossal entity it is now.
And the one most connected to Augustine was none other than Margaret from the Hanging Prison Stairs.
Regardless of whether Angel’s speculation was right or wrong, he decided to keep it in mind until he found the entrance and could verify the truth for himself. According to the translation provided by the Black Count, the followers of the Demon God of Mirrors had mentioned that the underground church was not far from that institution.
If it was indeed the Hanging Prison Stairs, then Angel had stumbled upon a stroke of good fortune. He was unfamiliar with other areas of the underground labyrinth, but he knew the Hanging Prison Stairs very well, it was there that he had acquired his guidance method for cultivation.
While Angel was contemplating this, the Black Count spoke up: “I have translated everything that needed translating; now it’s your turn. This, in the center of the podium top, must be a rune, right?”
The Black Count could see some of the runes, but something seemed off to him, as if the lines were broken or intermittent. That’s why he used the uncertain phrase “must be a rune.”
Everyone else looked to Angel, who had understood the characters, but not where the entrance was, as the characters did not specify. So, could there be a clue on these patterns?
“Yes, these are runes, but they’re not just any runes, they’re three-dimensional runes embedded within the podium top,” Angel pointed out what appeared to be “broken” lines, explaining: “These runes as a whole are inscribed inside the podium top, so looking from the surface, it seems like there are only segments.”
Hearing that these were three-dimensional runes, the others realized as well. They had heard of this kind of complex and hidden rune technique.
Daus asked: “I’ve heard that three-dimensional runes, if you have the actual object, aren’t hard to distinguish for a rune wizard. But now that the actual object is gone, do you have a way to distinguish it?”
Angel almost instinctively wanted to respond with a modest “I don’t know, but I can try my best,” but as the words reached his lips and he felt the surge of contractual power around him, his heart skipped a beat. Contractual power does not care whether one is modest; it only recognizes truth and lies. So, Angel quickly corrected himself: “I can do it; just give me some time.”
After a pause, Angel added: “This is not a good place to decipher runes. Let’s go back to the underground church. From what the characters suggest, the entrance, if there are no surprises, should be in the underground church.”
The Black Count agreed with this point. If the entrance wasn’t in the underground church, there was no reason for the group of Demon God’s followers to have specially constructed it here.
And so, they decided to move out.
The Black Count retracted the light of the contract barrier and then proceeded along the corridor towards the underground church.
At this moment, the underground church was brightly lit and coincidentally it was mealtime. Smoke wafted from the rooms, and the smell of food and meat filled the church, giving it a stronger scent of life and activity than before.
“These people did not consider air circulation at all, did they?” Vai remarked, apparently disliking the smell of food and smoke, frowning as he spoke: “If they had considered it, they would have discovered that inscription card.”
“How do you know they hadn’t considered this? Sometimes it’s better to be oblivious,” Daus casually retorted.
Though it was just a quibble, Angel felt that Daus might be right. Despite Old Tireless’ always-smiling demeanor, that was just the surface; given that others showed fear when facing the transcendents, yet Old Tireless remained calm, his respect and formal address were merely polite. From his eyes, it was clear, he was a calm and wise old man.
A wise head of the household would consider ventilation issues. It was impossible that he hadn’t. He surely knew something, but was just playing the fool.
Unlike Vai, Daus seemed to enjoy the bustling atmosphere; he wasn’t at all averse to the smell of smoke, and even approached with a smile, asking someone for a grilled meat leg to eat.
While eating, Daus also remarked: “The Traveling Merchants organization is quite favorable to these adventure groups. The meat is good, and there’s no shortage of fruits and vegetables. If there were wine, it would be even better.”
Daus spoke loudly, as if deliberately for others to hear.
A few seconds later, Old Tireless approached with a smile: “Lord, there are a few bottles of blackberry wine in the supply store; would you care to try some?”
Daus muttered: “Blackberry wine, isn’t that for women… Well, as long as there’s wine, where is the supply store? Let’s go!”
Daus didn’t bother with anyone else and cheerfully followed Old Tireless.
Angel couldn’t be bothered with what Daus was doing and turned to the others, saying: “If I’m not mistaken, since the podium top uses a three-dimensional rune, you might want to look again for something that looks like a pattern but is cut off. Here, there might be a magic formation formed by the three-dimensional rune.”
The group thought it made sense; previously, during their search, they had only looked at complete patterns, naturally finding nothing. But if it was a three-dimensional rune, exposing only a small part on the outside, there might indeed be something.
With this thought, everyone went in different directions to begin their exploration.
As for Angel, after instructing the others, he returned to the podium indentation on the first floor of the hall.
Using illusion magic, he restored the podium that had once stood there.
He quietly observed the rune on the podium, his mind already unfolding a three-dimensional simulation…