Chapter 848 The Broken Knight's Sword <TOC> Chapter 850 Stalactite Fluid
Translator: SumTLMan
Shannon fell into silence for a while, then slowly said, “Because he had dispatched his minions, who once infiltrated the palace.”
“Minions?” Angel looked at Shannon inquisitively.
“It was a monstrous humanoid creature, enormous in size, tall enough to reach the ceiling of this hall,” Shannon continued, sketching the picture of the monster. It had an alligator-like gaping mouth, inverted tusks, its skin greyish, faintly revealing the blue-purple veins beneath. It lacked a nose bridge and instead had five neatly arranged nostrils. Its eyes were incredibly large, but it had only one.
After listening to Shannon’s account, Angel seemed to recall something. He used an illusion to simulate a miniature beast image on the table, which looked nearly identical to Shannon’s description.
“Like this?” Angel asked.
Shannon was taken aback when she saw this illusion. However, when Angel questioned her, she realized that he seemed to be simulating the monster’s appearance using some method.
“Very similar, but the skin color seems to be… darker than yours,” Shannon carefully observed and differentiated.
Angel revealed an understanding look, signaling Shannon to continue.
Shannon added, “This creature attacked the royal palace, wreaking havoc. It was extremely brutal, often tearing out human hearts with a single swipe, then devouring it on the spot… That night, it killed nearly a tenth of the palace population.”
Upon hearing that the creature had a penchant for hearts, Angel was more confident about its identity.
“This is a Gomito, colloquially referred to as a Heart Eater,” Angel paused, “Typically, Heart Eaters are not from this world, they’re a kind of summoned beast. But they’re rather low-level, not particularly intelligent, and they look… well, unusual. So, the ones summoning them are either individuals with unique tastes or those without other options. In short, it’s probably a rogue wizard.”
“A formal wizard?” Leon asked in haste.
“If it were a formal wizard, could the Shannon royal family have held out this long?” Angel replied, “Take Lady Eureka as an example, if she wanted to completely annihilate the Goldfinch Empire, it wouldn’t take her more than a week. If she just wanted to kill off the royal family, a few minutes would be enough.”
Angel’s example sent chills down Shannon’s spine, deepening her fear of wizards’ powers.
“Since Shannon mentioned that the Heart Eater’s skin color is very dark, the one being summoned is probably an aged and decrepit Heart Eater. This kind of low-level summoning can’t achieve perfect summoning, so it’s probably at the level of a first or second-level apprentice,” Angel paused, then added, “It seems that this war does involve transcendent powers. Moreover, it’s a low-level apprentice, someone who does not abide by the unspoken rules and acts recklessly. So, I lean towards the idea that it’s a rogue apprentice.”
Angel finally concluded with a definitive statement.
Although in Angel’s words, the Heart Eater was a weak summoning creature, when faced with ordinary people, a single Heart Eater could easily annihilate the population of an entire city.
The Heart Eater’s armor-like skin alone is a conundrum no ordinary man can crack.
It’s akin to the tragic demise of General Monne from Sandalwood Harbor, which also bore the hallmark of a Heart Eater. If a Heart Eater can infiltrate a military harbor as if strolling into an abandoned town, then a palace with far fewer people would be even less of a challenge.
Hence, Angel’s curiosity was piqued: “Once a Heart Eater goes on a killing spree, it doesn’t easily relent. As of now, there’s no news of any casualties among the Shannon royal lineage. That implies you were able to repel the Heart Eater. How did you manage that?”
Shannon, however, remained silent for a while before finally revealing, “The royal family has a treasure that can protect us and defeat the Heart Eater.”
At this point, Leon interjected, “If the royal family has such a treasure, why worry about an invasion from the Sea Wave?”
Shannon shook his head, “The treasure comes with considerable constraints and can only be operated by members of our Shannon clan. Each activation necessitates the sacrifice of one person. To slay that Heart Eater, my third brother had to perish. The Shannon royal family is sparse as it is; using this treasure doesn’t make much sense. Furthermore, the extraordinary being lurking behind can continue to summon Heart Eaters. If we continue to deplete our forces, even if we extinguish our clan, we still wouldn’t be able to kill him.”
“Thus, we can only implore your assistance.” Shannon suddenly knelt on one knee, offering a knight’s salute, “Please save our Goldfinch Empire, teetering on the brink of collapse.”
Angel didn’t respond immediately, instead, contemplating about the treasure Shannon mentioned.
A treasure with a bloodline connection, requiring the sacrifice of a person for each use? It sounded bizarre. A bloodline connection implied that the creator of the treasure intended for it to be passed down. However, the need for a sacrifice each time it’s used contradicts the characteristics of a bloodline connection.
It was a puzzling paradox. But Angel could tell that Shannon wasn’t lying. Could it be that the creator of this treasure harbored both love and hatred for the Shannon clan?
Unable to unravel this peculiar conundrum, Angel decided to set it aside for the moment, turning his attention to the kneeling Shannon.
Rather than responding to Shannon’s request, he posed a question instead:
“You only mentioned that a Heart Eater attacked the royal family. You didn’t mention its purpose. Without me revealing that a Heart Eater is a summoned being, how did you know there’s an extraordinary being behind the Heart Eater?”
Upon hearing Angel’s question, Leon also chimed in, “Right, why are you so certain that there’s an extraordinary being behind the Heart Eater? Could it be that this extraordinary being has also reached out to you?”
After some hesitation, Shannon decided to spill the truth, “Before the Heart Eater arrived, a letter had appeared in my father’s hands. The letter revealed its intentions, asking us to hand over the treasure… My father tore it up outright, and subsequently, the Heart Eater attacked, followed by a counterattack from the Sea Wave in various provinces, with many provincial generals being killed by the Heart Eater.”
“It’s evident that there’s an extraordinary being behind the Heart Eater, standing in the camp of Sea Wave. He probably realized that a direct assault on the palace wouldn’t work, so he decided to assist Sea Wave instead, employing a strategy of attrition in an attempt to lead the Goldfinch into complete downfall.”
Angel wasn’t particularly intrigued by the master of the Heart Eater; rather, he was more interested in a portion of Shannon’s discourse…
“He demands you surrender the treasure? What treasure—the one from your previous Heart Eater slaying?”
“No, not that scroll… The treasure he wants is something else.”
Angel noticed that Shannon used an odd term to describe the previous item, but he didn’t delve deeper, choosing instead to inquire further about this ‘other’ treasure.
Faced with this question, Shannon wasn’t as concise as before: “The treasure is a secret, but if you would be willing to assist us… I can confide this secret to you.”
The moment these words slipped out, before Angel could respond, Leon’s expression darkened.
“Are you attempting to threaten us?” Leon squinted, took a step forward, and stood beside Shannon.
Leon’s icy tone made Shannon’s heart flutter, but what unsettled her most was the overpowering aura that emanated from Leon standing beside her. This inherent dominance, seemingly stemming from his very bloodline, incited a chilling dread within her, akin to the fear one experiences when facing a formidable beast.
Angel also took note of the peculiar pressure emanating from Leon, a force stemming purely from his physical prowess, even stronger than the intimidation he had felt when he first encountered Nausica.
“In these years, what kind of training has my brother undergone to boost his physical strength so dramatically?” Angel silently pondered.
Faced with Leon’s intimidating aura, Shannon’s voice wavered slightly, “I’m not threatening you, this is my bottom line given by my father. I understand it’s unreasonable to expect you, a wizard, to help us without any compensation. The only thing we can offer in exchange is the secret of that treasure.”
Just as Leon was about to retort, Angel interjected, “I’d like to know, does the secret of this treasure have something to do with this?”
Angel pointed to the shattered knight’s sword resting on the table.
Without any hesitation, Shannon nodded, “Yes.”
Hearing this, Angel fell into deep contemplation, seemingly uncertain whether to accept Shannon’s offer.
This sparked curiosity in Leon. When discussing refugees with Angel in the past, he noted Angel’s complete indifference towards the ongoing war between Goldfinch and the Sea Wave. He had no intention of getting involved. As his elder brother for over a decade, Leon understood Angel’s mindset; once he had made up his mind, it was challenging to make him change it.
But why would a fragment of a knight’s sword cause Angel to hesitate? It appeared that he might even consider altering his decision.
“What secrets does this knight’s sword hold?” Leon couldn’t help but lean in and inquire.
“I’m not certain of the specifics, but there are details that pique my curiosity,” Angel responded cryptically.
Shannon had been keeping a keen eye on Angel. At this point, their only hope for the Shannon royal family was the emergence of a transcendent being on their side, capable of combating the individual with the power to summon monsters. Only then could the war conclude swiftly.
Therefore, Shannon’s inner turmoil was beyond measure, her gaze upon Angel filled with a combination of expectation and entreaty.
After what felt like an eternity, under Shannon’s fervent gaze, Angel finally gave a nod.
“I can agree to your request, but I have a condition of my own.”
……
An hour later, Angel had boarded an airship and was now escorting Shannon towards the city of Sea Moon.
According to Shannon, the Sea Wave army had already amassed in the sea region a hundred miles away from the Vichy Harbor. Their next target was undoubtedly City.
Based on previous offensive and defensive actions, the wizard’s apprentice who summoned the Heart Eater would first let the Heart Eater assassinate the commander of Sea Moon City. This would cause the collapse of the upper echelons, leading to chaos within the army. The Sea Wave soldiers would seize this opportunity to forcefully capture Seaglow City.
This was the reason why the Sea Wave had been victorious in many battles. The appearance of the Heart Eater led to a significant increase in the success rate of their “decapitation operation.”
“According to your request, as long as you can deal with their transcendent being, we will handle the rest,” Shannon assured him respectfully.
Angel nodded. Although he had agreed to Shannon’s request this time, he did not want to intervene in the war of mortals. Firstly, he had no desire to slaughter mortals, not even those of Sea Wave. Secondly, it was a waste of his time.
Therefore, his condition was that he would only deal with their transcendent being. Whether they won the war or not still depended on the Goldfinch army.
And the time frame he had set for this operation was two days.
Chapter 848 The Broken Knight's Sword <TOC> Chapter 850 Stalactite Fluid