Chapter 1145: The Old Emperor's Words in the Cage
Chapter 1145: The Old Emperor's Words in the Cage
The entire Sealed Hall is arranged according to the internal structure of a living being. Despite the interconnectedness of the halls, each connection is fortified with powerful sealing rituals.
However, the current seals are no longer a cohesive whole, and are rather disjointed. Caligopatres, the emperor of the old era, can now easily break through using the remnants of his strength as he moves outward.
Yet, he does not do so. Instead, he carefully observes each ritual and finds a way to slip through the gaps in their operation. Thanks to the resonant effect, once he understands the fundamental layout of the ritual, it is not too difficult to do this. Throughout his journey, he does not alarm much of the Ritual Power.
He walks along The Wanderer's Corridor, a passage made from the esophagus of a Sulu Beast. In dangerous situations, this corridor secretes a sticky substance to block the exits. However, as he approaches, a mysterious smile plays on his lips, and he emits a peculiar sound. The biological tissue, which had been agitated by his presence, is quickly calmed and returns to its dormant state.
With graceful steps, he easily passes through and continues until he reaches the Amber Hall at the front. From here, he can leave the Sealed Hall, and then he will only face the external rituals.
However, he does not rush out. Instead, he scans the hall with interest.
There are many visitors who have come here in the evening. The Sealed Hall is not only an exhibition venue but also a convenient place for private business talks, political discussions, and even romantic rendezvous. Nowhere is safer than here.
As a result, around fifty people are trapped here this night, and about two-thirds of them are not from Vijiazia.
Due to the changes in the rituals, the Vijiazia Governor Council feared that the imprisoned individuals might escape. Therefore, they immediately took the drastic measure of sealing the venue without notifying the people inside.
This decision was both swift and necessary. It would have been impossible to locate and evacuate everyone in the venue within half an hour. It was better to seal it off first and then figure out how to handle the situation.
The visitors, though somewhat uneasy, are not overly panicked. They were informed before arriving that the Sealed Hall occasionally conducts drills to ensure its security, which usually last a few hours and are part of the tour. Encountering such a situation unexpectedly adds a unique thrill.
Moreover, they are all people of status. If just one or two were trapped, they might worry about the Vijiazia Central City not following the rules. But with so many people together, they are confident that Vijiazia would not dare to do anything to them.
At this moment, Caligopatres steps out. He moves his hand in a graceful, soothing gesture, and an altered organism spreads from it, forming a bone-like harmonica. He does not hide himself but walks over and sits down.
His appearance quickly draws the attention of everyone in the hall. Their gazes involuntarily fall on him, captivated by his unique aura.
They feel that this man does not belong here, yet the solemn and dignified atmosphere around him is oddly fitting.
Caligopatres picks up the harmonica and begins to play a tune. The music is joyful and light, yet carries a hint of depth, perfectly matching the mood of those present. It is both soothing and not overly exuberant or oppressive.
Especially at this moment, it provides a comforting respite amidst the unease.
The people in the hall, maintaining their composure, pretend not to be bothered by their predicament, but they are undoubtedly anxious. The music brings them a moment of relief, and they applaud.
A middle-aged man with a large belly steps forward, as if addressing an actor after a stage play. He says, "I have never heard such beautiful music, even in the theaters of Disegordo. Yes, this is the most wonderful music I have ever heard. Sir, may I ask your name?"
Caligopatres gently strokes the harmonica and gives an elegant smile. "Call me Kapa."
His soft, deep voice immediately elicits gentle sighs from several women, and he maintains his smile. "By the way, the actors in Disegordo are all second-rate. Sir, you have gone to the wrong place. You should visit the Royal Dance and Drama Troupe of Mosawa. Perhaps that will slightly elevate your artistic taste."
The middle-aged man looks somewhat embarrassed.
Someone asks with interest, "Is the Royal Dance and Drama Troupe of Mosawa first-rate?"
Kapa says, "Still second-rate, but a bit better." His gaze sweeps over the middle-aged man.
"We cannot expect someone who was enthusiastically gnawing on coarse bread filled with sawdust to suddenly appreciate a royal feast the next moment."
The people around couldn’t help but laugh, and the middle-aged man’s complexion worsened.
"So, sir, in your opinion, which ones are first-rate?" someone in the crowd asked curiously.
Kapa said, "You should look in the Palace of Thyat or Angshant."
These two places are the capital of the Ayorean Strait Alliance and the political center of the Paranoy Faith Region, respectively.
Someone asked in confusion, "Do you mean the politicians keep a dance troupe?"
Kapa replied, "No, I mean they are excellent actors themselves."
The man said earnestly, "Oh, sir, I admit they are professionally trained, but their vocal and artistic skills are far from those of musicians and singers on stage."
Kapa said, "Indeed, so the Disegordo Theater has never been an opera house; it's just a place for performing stage plays."
Hearing this, many people felt awkward, but some smiled knowingly.
"Kapa?"
A man who looked like a traditional Yonozhou noble stepped forward, bowed slightly in a standard manner, and said, "I am Laroel Ake Tore from Flerdor, pleased to meet you."
"Ake Tore, are you a descendant of the Ake blacksmith?"
Tore said with some surprise, "You know my ancestor?" He lifted his head and said with a tone of pride, "Yes, my ancestor was indeed just a blacksmith, but he served under Emperor Regal Iii, and was granted the fief of Ake for his military achievements. Even in the new era, we still retain this land."
"Hmm, that's worthy of pride", Kapa nodded. "The blacksmith from Ake, though a bastard son, had a mother from Evelyn, Vitoria. Later, she married King Lotheric I of Abien, so he was a brother to the later King Velorn."
"Is that so?" Tore himself didn’t know this and was both skeptical and delighted.
"Yes", Kapa said with a nostalgic look. "That beautiful lady... some mistakes can be forgiven in her case."
Speaking of this, everyone became interested and gathered around the man named "Kapa" to chat.
They soon discovered that this man was knowledgeable, had a powerful and modulated voice, was logically clear, and very persuasive. Just listening to him speak was a pleasure, making them feel they were gaining knowledge and nourishment, and they couldn’t resist wanting to be close to him, even to... follow him.
Especially when they found out that he was well-versed in court affairs from many years ago, particularly the quirks and private lives of legendary and prominent figures, they found it fascinating. Here, they felt their knowledge was increasing.
Gradually, everyone gathered around him, clapping continuously, and for a moment, they forgot about being trapped here. However, no one noticed that when the harmonica played at the beginning, an invisible ripple spread from their surroundings and continued to resonate throughout the Amber Hall.
Although the harmonica stopped playing, as Kapa spoke and guided, the sound continued to resonate, and fine cracks began to appear on the amber walls.
The strange Altered Organisms inside seemed to be disturbed, and their limbs began to move slowly.
At the White Rock Long Hall, the Governor Council received increasingly frequent alerts from the Sealed Hall via the Ritual Expert Group.
Since Alura's backup consciousness had not yet fully taken over, they couldn’t detect what was wrong inside the Sealed Hall, nor could they actively adjust the ritual. The only thing they could do was wait.
No one blamed Len. If any issues arose later, he would be the primary responsible person, so there was no need to provoke him. Moreover, his proposed solution was timely. If they hadn’t held a voting session and made the decision earlier, they could have intervened by now.
Furthermore, no one could have predicted the current changes. After all, the Trinity Convergence occurs only once every three hundred years. Three hundred years ago, this place was still the territory of the First People, and the entire city hadn’t even been built. They had no idea what effects it might have.
The only detailed simulation data came from Alura, but while she didn’t falsify it, she provided the least fitting data.
She chose the lowest value within the allowed range, leading the Governor Council to severely underestimate the danger. Now, all they could do was have the ritual experts maintain the outer rituals and wait for the consciousness to fully cover before handling the situation.
Len remained calm, knowing that even if the ritual inside the hall had issues, it wouldn’t collapse that quickly. Besides, there was another layer of ritual outside the Sealed Hall.
He glanced at his watch; it was only five minutes until Alura could be fully restored, and everything would soon be corrected.
...
...
Chapter end
Report
