Chapter 302: The Useless Key

  "That was just bait to trick you into helping me retrieve my lost dragon's blood. Stop thinking in such a self-righteous way, little one. To use your morals to judge creatures inferior to you is self-righteous, but to use them to judge creatures superior to you is foolish. If a rat thought you were despicable, that you didn't meet its standards, would you care?" Moriel stroked her chin, making a thoughtful expression. "Besides, in a sense, you were supposed to die anyway. And it's not that I thought you should die, but that Archibald thought you should die."

  "What?" Audibly, he heard Moriel's words very clearly, but in terms of comprehension, he was even more confused.

  "Do you know what Archibald's seal is? Do you really think he, a single human, could easily deal with me?" Moriel pointed to the black gem at the center of the magic circle. "He used half of his own magical power and half of his elven lover's lifespan as the price to activate the soul power within The Black Star, and only then did he create a seal that even I cannot break."

  "Only a Guardian of the Dark Will with the brand of The Black Star, just like Archibald, and who has also finished Archibald's meditation, can use all of his essence and blood to release a part of the seal's power." Moriel pointed to the ice-sealed cave entrance at the top of the cavern. "That passage was specially arranged by Archibald. He told me that the one who comes down this passage is a Necromancer who has finished his meditation technique. Archibald left this path for me to kill whoever comes down it."

  "You have already completely mastered his meditation technique. Even if you were to accept the brand now, you would only merge with the Dark Will within it." Moriel sighed with no small amount of regret, looking at Ethan with a pitying gaze. "You actually possess the life force of the Leaves of the World Tree within you, just like Archibald, making you the perfect key to unlocking the seal. It's just a pity... the details on this key of yours are completely reversed..."

  "Originally, I was going to cut off your head, but I have a rather favorable impression of you. So I only cut open your wrist, only to discover that your blood had absolutely no effect of breaking the seal... You're really lucky."

  Ethan stood there, stunned. Then he abruptly sat down on the ground.

  "Then, please tell me what this is all about." Ethan looked at Moriel, his eyes no longer holding anger, fear, confusion, or anything else. "As long as you tell me and let me understand, I will let you do with me as you please."

  "Heh heh, an interesting little one." Moriel looked at Ethan, a look of interest appearing in her eyes. She considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. Since you are of no use to me anymore, I can indeed consider giving you some reward. I can tell you some things. But before that, you must also tell me some things. It's been some years since a human has come to speak with me."

  "What do you want to know?" Ethan asked.

  "The Central Mountains... no, in your words, it should be the highlands near the Sanderfirth mountain range. A large orc tribe should have been established there by now."

  Ethan was taken aback. He nodded: "You mean Oufu? Yes. But it's not a tribe anymore; it's already a very large city."

  "Oufu?" Moriel sneered coldly, and a gust of air with a strong smell of sulfur rushed from her mouth. "Just a gathering of beast slaves with giant blood, and they dare to borrow the name of a giant's territory. That reptile Sedros is truly arrogant."

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  "You know Lord Sedros?" Ethan asked, astonished.

  "He's a knowledgeable fellow, knows quite a lot. He came to speak with me over a decade ago. But that reptile had better pray I don't see him again." Moriel paused, as if thinking, before continuing. "He should have a companion, a half-elf, with black eyes. By human standards, he would be considered quite strong. Do you know him?"

  "I know him, and very well." Ethan nodded.

  "Moriel is not dead..." Sedros frowned, his fingers tapping on the desktop. The fine black sandalwood desk made a monotonous thudding sound. This was a high-grade material transported from deep within the Lizard Marsh; elsewhere on the continent, it was used for making jewelry, more valuable than gold.

  High Priest Tima stood before the desk, his massive body like a small mountain before Sedros.

  "What about Lancelot, the Temple Knight?" Sedros asked.

  "He escaped."

  "Escaped? How is that possible? The scrolls I gave you..." Sedros's face was full of astonishment.

  "The scrolls should have been completely used. The priest Marquez I dispatched didn't have overwhelming strength, but his adaptability and resourcefulness were not an issue. But I don't know why, they all escaped in the end. And one Temple Knight interfered while my clan was attacking the Drow, using a Forbidden Spell scroll."

  "It was Purgatory of Paradise? That scroll could almost be considered a treasure of The Radiant Citadel. I can't believe Magnus was willing to part with it..." Sedros's expression was strange. He naturally knew that the Church possessed this powerful magical scroll, and it was one of his biggest concerns about the Church. Now that the scroll had been used in Nighon, logically, he should be able to breathe a sigh of relief, but he also knew that since the Pope was willing to use it, there must be a good reason.

  "At that time, we were in the heat of a fierce battle with the Drow army. Tens of thousands of people were turned to ash under the Forbidden Spell. My clan's elite troops were almost completely wiped out. Not only that, but a great mage infiltrated our rear and wantonly slaughtered our women and children, and even destroyed the Horned Demon Temple..." High Priest Tima was silent for a moment, closing his eyes, as if brewing or hesitating. Then he opened his eyes, let out a long sigh, and said, "I came here this time because I have a favor to ask of you..."

  And Sedros, without the slightest hesitation or consideration, answered crisply: "No problem, my friend. Just state your request."

  "It has come to this. Moriel will absolutely not let my people and the Harpies go. Chieftain Loralei of the Harpies and I have already escaped from Nighon to the surface. But we have nowhere to go..."

  "No problem, my friend." Sedros still did not hesitate. This old man, as capable as a young man, now acted as straightforward and chivalrous as a passionate young man. "Oufu now has enough resources and land to accommodate friends of any race. Moreover, our system is sufficiently lenient and free, absolutely without the xenophobic beliefs and concepts of the nations of the Church. Since we are all Ogres, werewolves, and Half-Orcs here, why would we mind Minotaurs and Harpies?"

  High Priest Tima seemed to have completely expected Sedros to be so straightforward. He was stunned for a moment, then bent down to bow to the old human before him, and said in a voice full of gratitude, "May the Horned Demon be praised. Your friendship will surely win the respect and gratitude of all Minotaurs. In our eyes, even all of humanity is not equal to you alone."

  "You're welcome, my friend. For our many years of friendship, this is but a small effort." Sedros gave a slight smile.

  "But..." High Priest Tima hesitated, lowering his voice before continuing. "That... that person... Moriel's adopted son... Gru...?"

  High Priest Tima's voice was very low for this sentence; his thick voice actually using a whisper-like tone. There was no one else in the large city lord's office. This was not him deliberately lowering his voice, but a natural, instinctive reaction when speaking of and thinking of this person, as if afraid of touching something dangerous.

  Sedros looked up at the ceiling, thought for a moment, and answered with a smile: "It should be fine. Everything in Nighon has long had nothing to do with him."

  "Then... where is he now? Should we notify him first?" High Priest Tima, somewhat relieved, asked.

  "He's not in Oufu. He's been in the Sanderfirth mountain range for some time."

  "The Sanderfirth mountain range? There..."

  "Actually, if the timing on your end wasn't so tight, if it could have been delayed for a while longer, this operation would not have failed." Sedros suddenly sighed.

  "Why?"

  "Because with enough time, what I could have given you wasn't just one Gravity Field and one Blazing Might Shot, but ten." Although Sedros's tone was very flat, it couldn't hide his disappointment and regret. "Meticulously calculated and deliberated tactics are indeed an art, and my favorite way of doing things, but I also have to admit that sometimes, savage, overwhelming bombardment is the truly effective and safe method."

  High Priest Tima did not speak, just staring at Sedros before him with his mouth wide open.

  When he received those scrolls from Sedros, who had visited secretly a short while ago, he was already very surprised. Whether it was Blazing Might Shot, Thunderblast Bomb, or Elemental Summoning, those were top-tier scrolls that ordinary mages considered treasures, not to mention the Spatial Lock and Gravity Field, which he had never even seen before—those were priceless treasures.