Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Two Hundred Ninety-Five:
The name on the tombstone was Fira.
Below the tombstone was a book carved from black crystal, which recorded most of Fira's glorious life.
In the quiet clearing, only a gentle breeze stirred the hair of the two individuals.
After a long while, Freya lifted her head to glance at Kathy beside her.
Kathy's face appeared numb, as if she had been struck by something during this incident.
Letting out a slow sigh, Freya gently asked, "Can you tell me what happened in detail?"
Upon hearing Freya's inquiry, Kathy eased her heavy heart and began to speak.
"Fira's death was an accident."
"An accident?" Freya frowned and then asked, "What kind of accident?"
Kathy recalled the scene from that time as she explained to her.
"It was the second attack by the Sea Tribe. We were originally planning to retreat, but that Third-Rank Wizard from Sky City insisted that we join forces with their people to hold up the Rune Array. Unexpectedly, there were other reinforcements from the Sea Tribe. During the first wave of attack, our newly established Rune Array was broken, and Fira sacrificed herself to cover our escape."
"Reinforcements?"
Freya did not expect that other forces would intervene in this war, she thought for a moment and said softly.
"What will those people from Sky City do after this loss?"
"This is primarily Sky City's responsibility. I heard that in addition to additional military achievements, Fira's family will receive fifty years of protection from Sky City. However, even so, Fira..."
At this point, Kathy let out a deep sigh, and the unspoken words were evident.
Seeing her somewhat pale face, Freya didn't say much and gently patted her shoulder.
Freya questioned whether she could ever possess such virtue to sacrifice herself for the lives of others.
Although she did not have much contact with Fira, she knew some of his character traits, which were even more upright than most White Wizards.
If it weren't for this unexpected incident, Fira might have been able to rise to a high position within the Crimson Eagle in his lifetime.
But now...
After a moment of silence, Freya looked at Kathy, who was still lost in her own thoughts, and calmly asked,
"Do you have any plans?"
Kathy was considered half of the Sea Tribe. The brutality of this war was enough to put some wizards with Sea Tribe bloodlines in an awkward position within Cloud City.
The trade with the Sea Tribe or anything else has definitely come to a halt, but it is difficult to say how the wizards caught in between will choose.
Freya has even guessed that these individuals have started to pick sides for the upcoming battle.
"Most of those initiating the war are from the Shark Clan. It won't have much impact on our Siren Clan, but my family has already sent a notice for me to return, probably within the next two or three days."
"I see. That's good," Freya nodded, just as she was about to say something comforting.
Kathy seemed to remember something and raised her head. "By the way, didn't you have a conflict with Nick Meiler before?"
"Yes, what about it?" Freya raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"It seems she has come back this time with some connections and has already left the Rune Department. Now she is part of the Crimson Eagle Guard Unit. If you encounter her, it's best to avoid her; the Crimson Eagle Guard Unit holds more power than you might think under the Crimson Eagle."
Listening to Kathy's kind advice, Freya frowned.
Nick was the Bald Witch she had fought with when she first joined the Rune Department.
She had decent strength but was quite eccentric. However, so much time had passed that she would have almost forgotten about it if Kathy hadn't mentioned her.
After thinking for a moment, she smiled slightly.
"Since she's joined the Guardians, I suppose we won't have any interactions in the future. Besides, after all this time, there shouldn't be any issues left."
Kathy seemed skeptical about Freya's optimism and continued.
"Hopefully, but after working with her for so many years, I know her personality is quite eccentric, and she holds grudges. You should be careful."
Looking at her serious face, Freya thought for a moment and nodded.
"Okay, I'll remember that."
Although Kathy felt this way, Freya also knew that the agreement of the Crimson Eagle strictly prohibited internal conflicts among organization members, and the penalties were quite severe, even for the more powerful Guardians.
Moreover, if Nick really wanted to cause her trouble, she wasn't afraid at all given her current strength. If such a situation arose, she wouldn't mind eliminating him to prevent future issues.
A hint of cold killing intent flashed through her mind, but Freya's expression remained exceptionally calm.
After standing by Fira's grave for a while longer, they left to report back to headquarters.
Following the death of the temporary head of the Rune Department, an older wizard named Gil quickly took over Fira's position.
During the war between the Sea Tribe and Cloud City, there had been three major attacks. Although the intensity of the war was gradually subsiding, no one knew when the Sea Tribe would strike again. Therefore, Wizard Gil instructed everyone in the Rune Department not to stray too far from headquarters until it was confirmed that the war had ended and to follow orders.
This did not significantly affect Freya.
She needed to recover from the mental drain caused by her recent breakthrough in Crystallization and had taken on three simple tasks from the Toy Room that required completion. Additionally, she was involved in research on Ancient Inheritance and continued improvements on compressing witchcraft, as well as acquiring Secondary Knowledge.
All these tasks did not require her to travel extensively.
After seeing Kathy off as she left Cloud City, Freya returned to the estate she had purchased by the lake to continue her experiments.
Six months later.
In the now entirely white Manor, Freya, dressed in a white silk gown, sat quietly in a brown rocking chair, flipping through the pages of a book.
Beside her was a round brown table, on which rested a cup of refreshing fragrant tea and exquisite pastries.
As she turned the pages of her book, she casually picked up a piece of cake and brought it to her mouth.
The soft, sweet cream filled her mouth, and the cake was interspersed with chunks of unknown fruit, making it quite delicious.
Savoring the dessert slowly, after a while, she looked up at the Crystal Clock hanging on the wall of the manor.
Then she gently closed the book and stood up, softly murmuring.
"It's time."
This was her weekly routine to report to Crimson Eagle Headquarters for the maintenance of the Defensive Rune Array.
In these six months, the Sea Tribe had not launched any further attacks, and the original command for Crimson Eagle to remain on standby gradually lost its urgency.
The Rune Department had also returned to its previous lax state.
During this time, in order to obtain Secondary Knowledge, she had taken on several rune-related tasks to increase her contribution until she finally achieved it not long ago.
The Basic Knowledge of a Second-Level Wizard was not only more nuanced in understanding Energy Particles compared to First-Level Knowledge but also involved a simple connection between the soul and mental power.
At this level, Wizards possess an additional Empowerment Spell, and most have strong means of self-preservation, making them quite difficult to kill.
Some individuals who have delved deeply into soul research can even create magical constructs like substitute puppets.
Regarding this aspect, Freya has already touched upon it, but since she is not yet at the level of a Second-Level Wizard, she finds it hard to draw conclusions despite having some thoughts in her mind.
However, after reading a substantial amount of Second Level Basic Knowledge, she has begun to form some ideas about the upcoming second Empowerment Spell combined with ancient magical traditions and has started to experiment with incorporating it into her own areas of expertise.
After a while, Freya, dressed in a White Robe, walked along a specific path in the headquarters, observing the distant Rune Tower while recording information about it.
Not far away were several Apprentice Wizards in Gray Robes, holding books as they exited the teaching building, their faces beaming with carefree smiles.
Upon encountering Freya, they bowed respectfully and displayed great deference.
Freya simply nodded in acknowledgment.
After walking for another ten minutes or so, she stopped in front of a tall red building, which is an important area exclusive to the Guardians' Department. From within, faint sounds of eagle calls could be heard.
If it weren't for the control system of the Defensive Rune Array present here, Freya would have preferred not to come to this place at all.
It wasn't because of the Crimson Eagle Guard Unit's Wizards; rather, every time she visited this location, she felt an inexplicable sense of comfort, as if she had entered the domain of some powerful being.
Yet when probing with her mental energy, there was nothing to be found.
Freya attributed this feeling to the King Cobra Legacy of the Ancient Wizard, a biological instinctive reaction.
She vaguely suspected that the Crimson Eagle was hiding or sealing away some unknown secret.
Of course, although she was curious about this secret, she also understood that it was not something she could involve herself in.
Gently adjusting her robe, she took a deep breath and stepped into the building.
There were not many people inside, only three or four Guard Wizards in red robes stationed at headquarters.
In fact, most of the guards were either patrolling or assigned to other branches for missions.
Compared to the tranquility of the Rune Department, the Crimson Eagle Guard Unit was the busiest department.
Without any intention of greeting these individuals, Freya quickly arrived at the Control Center of the Rune Tower.
This was an open room, with walls made of special materials designed to isolate ability fluctuations.
In the center of the room stood five massive black Crystal Pillars.
The pillars rose straight from the ground to the ceiling, and countless Blue Lights flowed over these enormous Crystal Pillars, twinkling enchantingly.
Freya approached one of the control pillars and extended her hand to cover it.
"Hiss."
A faint sound echoed as a large blue aura quickly gathered around her palm.
With her eyes slightly closed, she sensed if there were any damages before opening her eyes and walking to the next Crystal Pillar.
In no time, she had checked all five Crystal Pillars.
Just as Freya was about to exit the Control Room, she suddenly heard faint footsteps coming from the distant corridor around the corner.
Before long, two talking wizards approached from the corner.
One was a peculiar witch with a bald head marked by a fierce Scorpion tattoo, and the other was a handsome Wizard with blood-red long hair.
Freya was momentarily taken aback upon seeing the witch; it was Nick Meiler, whom she hadn't seen in half a year.
At that moment, she was dressed in a Guardian's Red Robe, carrying a slender red longsword on her back, exuding a strong aura of heat.
However, compared to her previous appearance, there was now a black lightning-shaped scar on her left cheek, adding an even fiercer quality to her already strange face.
It was quite a coincidence. Nevertheless, after a brief surprise, Freya maintained her expressionless demeanor and walked directly toward the two.
Nick seemed to recognize Freya as well, his gaze turning slightly aggressive as he looked at her.
A slight stimulation of mental energy made Freya frown. However, given her current level of Crystallization, this kind of stimulation couldn't even penetrate her automatically expanding Mental Field.
Yet, this provocative behavior still left her feeling displeased.
After a pause, she suddenly shot a fierce glare at Nick, her azure eyes transforming into two emerald slit pupils.
It seemed that Nick sensed something, his expression slightly changing as the two of them brushed past each other.
Soon, Freya turned the corner and vanished from their sight.
Noticing Nick's change, the Wizard furrowed his brow and asked, "Nick, do you know that person from the Rune Department?"
Coming back to his senses at his companion's question, Nick smiled and replied, "Yes, a former colleague."
"Is that so? Then why do I feel like you two don't get along? She's just a Liquefied Sorceress. Do you want me to..." The Wizard made a gesture.
Seeing his action, a faint cold glimmer flashed in her eyes. However, she quickly shook her head and said, "No need. It's just a minor conflict from the past; it's nothing serious. Let's continue our previous topic. Where did you find the Crimson Scorpion?"
As the two continued their conversation, Freya had already left the area.
In her perception just now, Nick's mental fluctuations had nearly reached the peak level of Liquefaction, while the Wizard's strength was on par with hers, belonging to the Crystallization Level.
However, the two posed little threat to her.
Firstly, all three belonged to Crimson Eagle, and secondly, aside from some conflicts with Nick, there were no significant interests at stake between the two.
There was no need to fight over past grievances.
As for Kathy's previous concerns, they were likely just her own misunderstandings.
After two hours, she had inspected the entire Rune Array and Rune Tower outside of Crimson Eagle.
This inspection was part of a weekly routine, so for the next six days, she had no other work to do.
After borrowing some advanced Enchantment Basic Knowledge from the library, she headed towards her estate.
Upon returning to her room in the estate, she placed the books on the table and then walked into a dark room filled with the scent of pine oil.
She approached the window and pulled back the curtains with a whoosh, allowing the light from outside to flood in and illuminate everything inside. (To be continued)
Comment 0 Comment Count