Chapter 262: Dream
In the cold and gloomy hall, Klein suddenly shivered. He retracted his
gaze and said to Miss Bodyguard, "Let's return."
*From the way Azik's copper whistle reacted, it's likely that the room
contains a terrifying evil spirit. Its danger level is highly likely to
be above that of Marionettist Rosago and Vice Admiral Hurricane
Qilangos... It's been roaming these confines for centuries to thousands
of years. Perhaps it's already equivalent to a High-Sequence Beyonder.
If it wasn't for its experiencing difficulties in letting its powers
escape the room, I would already be dead... Even if Miss Bodyguard is a
powerful Sequence 5, there's no hope of us turning the tides of battle
with our powers combined... One needs to be aware of one's strength. I
cannot be enticed by the suspected Beyonder characteristics and mystical
items left in there... Greed often leads to death...* Klein
silently came up with a reason to convince himself.
Miss Bodyguard turned her head to look at him. Without much emotion in
her eyes, she asked, "What happens next?"
Next? Klein silently gritted his teeth and said with
deliberation, "Let Millet Carter get the police. Who knows when this
evil spirit will escape. It's best to finish it as soon as possible. No,
that won't work. Mr. Carter doesn't know enough. By informing the police
this way, the police department won't pay enough attention to it. The
first batch of people who come to explore this place will suffer heavy
casualties, and they might even indirectly help the evil spirit escape
from its restraints. Also, for me to see these statues, a detective like
me might be silenced... Uh... Did you see the bones and spiritual light
in the room?"
Miss Bodyguard once again cast her gaze towards the dark path behind the
ajar stone door, and very slightly nodded her head.
Klein thought quickly and said, "My guess is that these are the corpses
of the explorers from before. They were killed by the evil spirit in
that room, and one of the Beyonders left behind some mystical items.
This might have had something to do with the viscount family that lived
beyond this premises. I plan to inquire about their last names, go to
the library, and look for information about their descendants. Perhaps,
I might gain some valuable clues.
"After coming to a preliminary confirmation of the situation, I'll make
a choice based on the severity of the situation. I might get some
explosives, destroy the door, or send an anonymous letter to the police,
detailing the existence of the evil spirit. However, I'll have to think
of a way to avoid the risk ahead of time.
"This isn't too urgent. I can take my time."
Miss Bodyguard quietly listened to what Klein had to say. Looking ahead,
she said in an ethereal voice, "Are you not considering to get people to
exorcise this evil spirit?
"Even if there were no mystical items left behind, the remains after the
evil spirit dissipates are still precious enough."
It's the first time I've seen you talk so much... Probably...
Klein replied without hesitation, "The risk is too high. I think my life
and health are more important."
He organized his words and added, "The most powerful person I know is
you. And from your performance just now, you don't seem to be a match
for that evil spirit. I can't imagine any other way of finishing it,
other than calling the police."
Miss Bodyguard turned around, her pale face somewhat translucent.
"You still have some sense," she commented calmly, then drifted toward
the exit of the ancient hall.
*Other than being suspected to be under the True Creator's influence, in
what way do I look like a madman?* Klein silently lampooned. He
held the lantern and cane and followed behind Miss Bodyguard. Throughout
the entire process, he felt as if he was being watched by the cold eyes
of the dark corridor.
It was only when they walked out of the stone door that suffused an
ancient aura did the feeling suddenly disappear.
Klein turned around and closed the door, sealing the inverted
candlesticks, scuffed marks, and the creepy statues of the six deities,
allowing them to continue their thousand-year-long "slumber" in that
unchanging darkness and silence.
Patting the dust off his clothes, he switched the lantern in his other
hand and hurried back to Millet Carter's basement. As for Miss
Bodyguard, she had disappeared into thin air as usual.
Millet Carter was pacing about in the basement. When he saw Klein exit,
he hurriedly asked, "How is it? What's the situation inside?"
Klein had long thought of an excuse as he said with an expression of
fear, "Terrible, there are a lot of snakes in there, and many spots have
collapsed. I plan to gather some information, gather some manpower, and
once preparations are done, do another round of exploration. During this
period of time, it's best that you don't send anyone in. Believe me,
there are more venomous snakes in there than you can imagine."
Millet drew a gasp and asked in fear, "Will they slither out?
"Do you know any experts that can deal with the snakes?"
Klein immediately nodded. "I'll get people to help and try my best to
deal with this matter. It's the cold autumn now, and the snakes aren't
willing to move. As long as you don't send anyone to disturb them,
nothing will happen."
"Okay, please hurry. I'll close this door and prevent anyone from
entering." Hearing that, Millet relaxed a little.
When Klein saw that his employer was truly intimidated by what he said,
he quickly put down the lantern, nudged his gold-rimmed spectacles and
said, "Next up, I'll gather some information. I'll first gain a
preliminary understanding of the layout of the underground structure
before I explore it again.
"That requires you to tell me which viscount was the original owner of
this house."
Millet had bought this building precisely because it was an estate of a
former noble, so he answered immediately, "Viscount Pound."
"What do you know about him and his family?" Klein asked in a
professional manner.
Millet pondered and said, "Not much. I only know that he won his
aristocratic title in the Battle of the Violated Oath. It once enjoyed
an illustrious period, but decades later, suddenly declined due to
unknown reasons. The family kept losing its heirs, causing it to
eventually have to seek out distant relatives to keep the aristocratic
title. And the new Viscount Pound is, heh heh. He squandered most of the
family's fortune, and he was demoted to baronet by the king. He's
probably still in Backlund and can go bankrupt at any moment."
*Battle of the Violated Oath? The Battle of the Violated Oath that began
in 738 during the Fifth Epoch?* Having successfully graduated as
a history student, Klein instinctively recalled the corresponding
knowledge.
The war that happened about six centuries ago was a war involving
religion. The southern Feynapotter Kingdom originally believed in both
Earth Mother and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, but due to some
influencing factors, the two churches began to be at odds with each
other, and their believers often clashed.
During that period, its two neighbors in the north, the Loen Kingdom and
the Intis Kingdom, seized the opportunity to start a war in the name of
protecting freedom of religion. In the later stages of the war, the
Feysac Empire joined the fray and attempted to destroy the ploy by Loen
and Intis. However, they still failed to turn the situation around.
The result of the war was that the border between Loen and Feynapotter,
as well as Intis and Feynapotter, countries such as Lenburg, Masin, and
Segar, gained independence. They mainly believed in the God of Knowledge
and Wisdom, leaving the Church of Earth Mother as the only religion in
the Feynapotter Kingdom.
The conflict that lasted five years was called the Battle of the
Violated Oath because both sides of the war accused their adversaries of
violating the Holy Oath at the end of the Fourth Epoch.
After that, there was more than 300 years of peace in the Northern
Continent. This didn't mean that there was no conflict between nations,
but rather, there were no wars on that scale again. It lasted until
Roselle invented the steam engine and improved the sailboats and
artillery.
*This is the information recorded in the history textbooks... Thinking
about it now, since it involved faith, there must've been some Beyonders
from the Church involved. There must've been an intense Beyonder war...
However, it's said that that era was a period with few Beyonders...
Squadron battles? Could the Pound family's sudden waning and continuous
loss of heirs, which happened decades ago, have something to do with the
discovery of the ancient structure underground?* Klein
thoughtfully asked, "Do you know where Baronet Pound currently lives?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know." Millet shook his head slightly.
Klein asked a few more questions, but seeing that he couldn't get any
more information, he bade farewell and returned to 15 Minsk Street.
It was almost five in the afternoon and the sky was as dark as the
night. Klein thought that the public libraries would've be closed by
then, so he temporarily put aside the underground structure and prepared
dinner for himself.
He had wanted to learn to make Feynapotter noodles based on a recipe in
the newspapers, but he ended up with noodles mixed in meat, sauce, and
vegetables. To his surprise, it tasted pretty good.
After having had his fill, Klein tossed a coin casually, divining if he
should inform the police. He received a negative answer.
The Backlund evening was as serene as other cities, at least in Cherwood
Borough.
Klein was sleeping soundly, wandering through different dreams in an
adrift manner when he suddenly realized, with a jolt, that he was
dreaming.
Someone is invading my dreams? Klein resisted the urge to
frown and pretended to look around in confusion.
He found himself in a scorching yellow desert.
A roar suddenly came from the sky, and a huge monster dyed in black and
gold flew over.
The creature had a thick, lizard-like body and a pair of wide wings
covered in a hide on its back. It descended and blotted out the sun in
the sky.
A dragon! A powerful dragon! Klein saw scales the size of a
plate, a gaping mouth that emitted pure light, and two dark golden
vertical pupils.
Roar!
The dragon spat out a beam of light that seemed to envelop everything.
Soon, large swaths of the desert was obliterated.
Amid the light, a figure jumped into the air.
He was three or four meters tall, but he didn't have the unique vertical
eye of the giants. He had a handsome, young face, and he wore black
full-body armor which seemed to be spattered with blood.
This giant knight swung his broadsword upwards and countless
bluish-white flames, which appeared a little purple, condensed into long
spears. They shot at the dragon. It was as if he had an entire army of
illusory Beyonders helping him in battle!
In the midst of the meteor shower, the giant knight leaped onto the head
of the dragon, and he swung his sword down.
The afterimages he had created earlier instantly overlapped, and the
sword rays turned into intersecting lightning.
Pow!
The ground shook wildly, and the dragon fell, splattering its dark gold
blood.
At that moment, the scene changed to a huge bloody door. It was the same
bloody door that Klein had seen in the ancient structure that very
afternoon.
With a creak, the bloody door opened a crack, allowing him to catch a
glimpse of a black high back chair.
A man of normal height sat on the high back chair. He had his head
lowered, silent and deathly still.
As his vision got closer and closer, Klein saw the man's clothes
clearly. He seemed to be the knight that had just killed the dragon, and
he was still wearing the black armor that was stained with blood!
The only difference was that he was no longer three or four meters tall.
At this moment, the man suddenly raised his head. His handsome, young
face had terrifying signs of decay; his eyes ice-cold and emotionless.
Klein jumped in fright and awoke from his dream. Opening his eyes, he
saw the crimson moonlight shining through the curtains.