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Chapter 129: The Strength of the Lanchi Tribe is Revealed
Chapter 129: The Strength of the Lanchi Tribe is Revealed
Lichtenstein Castle
The cathedral's clock hands had just passed 9:30 in the morning.
After their excursion to the cliff's edge, the group had returned to the mansion and made their way to the second-floor library.
Despite employing various magical investigations, no hidden compartments or mechanisms requiring decryption were found in the ancient castle. The detective had also bypassed any potential clues during their earlier exploration.
However, the master bedroom and library-like study might contain some useful historical information.
For instance, they could uncover obscure details about this enigmatic era, the relationship between vampires and humans, and records related to the Honing Empire.
Even if it didn't aid in unraveling the mysteries of the shadow world, documenting this knowledge would enable the Southern Continent's Shadow World Association to share it with numerous research societies, allowing for analysis of this significant historical period.
Apart from Lanchi and Hyberian, who stayed together, the other challengers maintained their original groups of three, keeping a safe distance from one another.
Lanchi, standing by the window, pulled aside the red velvet curtains, allowing natural light to grace the deep brown bookshelves, revealing the wood grain in sharper detail than the morning sunlight had afforded.
Illuminated by this newfound radiance, the faded gilt lettering on the ancient books' covers sparkled anew.
As the sunlight permeated the library, the air became fresher, infused with the scent of ink and candle wax. It was almost as if one could hear the books whispering tales of the forgotten stories they held within their pages.
"Since we all agreed to investigate and gather information while waiting for the detective's return, let's begin by searching for any books related to the vampire clan," Lanchi suggested, his back to the sun-drenched window as he addressed the group.
Among the two most trustworthy individuals present—the geographer, a young scion of a merchant guild, who seemed a bit unreliable, and the lawyer, the detective's companion, who exuded a calm and steady demeanor—Lanchi chose to rely on the latter.
However, that very composure sparked an instinctive sense of wariness, as if there were a hint of danger lurking beneath that perpetually mild smile.
"I have a suggestion," a female voice suddenly interjected from behind them. The group turned to see the Kreise Empire's noble lady, who had remained largely silent until now, speaking up. "Let's burn all these books."
Beside the noble lady, her female knight remained silent, while the little priest felt even more intimidated under the gaze of the group.
"Since the detective found the answer by circumventing all the mechanisms, the original mechanisms are of little use to us. Destroying them might also cause the traitors to lose even more critical information," the noble lady continued, her voice steady and resolute.
A hush fell over the group as they considered her words, realizing the logic behind her proposal.
"But it's also possible that these books contain information beneficial only to the challengers, especially regarding one of our other mission objectives," the high priestess of the Northern Continent's Fate Goddess Church hesitantly added, seemingly more inclined to support Lanchi's decision. "I think it's better for us to quickly skim through the books and filter out those related to the vampire clan."
After a moment of silence in the library, it became clear that the decision boiled down to a simple gamble.
If they took a chance and destroyed the books, they might also inadvertently destroy critical information related to the traitors' objectives.
"I'm personally quite opposed to book burning..." Lanchi shrugged, adopting a conciliatory tone as if to say he'd be fine with whatever the group decided, as long as they could resolve the matter amicably. "...but let's put it to a vote."
Without delay, the three Northern Continent clergy members voiced their opposition to burning the books, especially given their keen interest in ancient vampire-related intelligence.
Hyberian, of course, unconditionally supported Lanchi, aligning with his decision to preserve the books.
The three from the Kreise Empire, however, stood firm in their support for burning the books.
The guild scion glanced between the two sides, initially tempted to play it cool and vote for burning the books. But after a moment's thought, he sided with Lanchi and the clergy members, deeming their approach more prudent. As for the guardian siblings, they remained silent, their abstention from voting rendering the outcome unaffected.
In the end, the majority favored a cautious approach, and after the vote, everyone began searching the books without complaint, almost always in groups of five or six, never taking their eyes off each other as they wove through the bookshelves.
From time to time, they bowed their heads to scan the pages, then looked up to wander among the shelves. The sound of turning pages, accompanied by the occasional whisper, made time fly by.
Lanchi remained silent, his fingertips gently tracing the spines of the books as if engaged in a silent dialogue with the knowledge they held.
He opened a book and flipped through it page by page, his eyes focused and profound.
Hyberian secretly observed Lanchi's expression.
She always felt that Lanchi seemed to be even more certain about something after that vote, but she couldn't quite figure out what he was planning.
...
And so, the entire morning was spent searching for books in the library.
Every book that was suspected to be crucial was examined by at least two different groups of challengers to ensure that no one was withholding information.
It was almost noon when someone opened a book, causing everyone's [Mission Objective 2: Explore the Secrets and Crises Hidden in the Ancient Castle] to change simultaneously.
An additional note appeared: [Collected a core piece of intelligence, awaiting decryption].
The group looked at each other and noticed that the guild young master had opened an ancient book with demonic script on its cover, and he looked just as perplexed as everyone else.
"This book... describes an ancient sealing technique. By gathering the powers of the sun, moon, and stars, one can create a powerful and eternal seal. Likewise, to break this seal, one needs to collect fresh blood with the powers of the moon and stars as a catalyst, and the unsealing must be done while avoiding the light of the sun."
The guild young master quickly flipped through the pages, his expression confused as he read out the key contents, "This is a magic book, but I can't understand the specific magical text. Is there anyone here who knows sealing magic?"
The twin guardians standing behind him remained silent, clearly assassins by trade who only knew a handful of spells.
Not to mention sealing magic, a type of magic that even specialized mages rarely mastered.
Everyone's gaze naturally fell on the female mage from the Kreise Empire and the northern continent's high priest, the two most likely to understand it.
"I'm not very proficient in sealing magic," the high priest shook his head regretfully.
In the present age, priests skilled in sealing magic were actually quite rare.
Moreover, in the northern continent, sealing magic carried a notorious reputation, all due to the heinous acts of mass slaughter committed by Bishop Askesang of the Extinction Church.
"I know a little about it. Let me see," the female mage from the Kreise Empire nodded and walked over to take the book from the guild young master.
But as she quickly browsed through the book, flipping to the very last page, she could only shake her head in dismay.
"The compilation of this book... much of its content is written in Demon Magic script, or rather, a form of magical script that hasn't fully evolved into human magic yet," the Empire's female mage explained.
According to legend, humans originally couldn't use magic, and it was only when demons taught magic to humans that they gained magical powers.
However, it is still proven today that overuse of Demon Magic can cause humans to mutate, go insane, and even turn into monsters.
Over the long ages, ancient human mages gradually improved and eventually created the earliest forms of human magic script, allowing humans to use magic without paying a heavy price.
The magical script in this ancient book was in a transitional stage between Demon Magic and human magic.
It was indecipherable not only to humans but also possibly to demons.
(End of Chapter)
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