Azure Scepter

Page 41

As a result, he also suffered extreme hatred from his father, and this hatred from a person in a high position quickly fermented into a kind of cold and malicious treatment.

This malice is first and foremost reflected in his name—"Cohen" is an extremely bad word in common human language, which can be directly translated as "negligible malice".

Perhaps due to his terrible upbringing, he is always gloomy and aloof in the game and doesn't like to communicate with people. However, if a player can communicate with him, they can break through the 500-point limit of sword skills and gain an additional 20 points to the level cap of any style of sword skills.

But at this moment, the swordsman, who was usually extremely gloomy and profound in the game, appeared terrified. He exclaimed in surprise, "Noy? What are you doing here? Get out of here! That bloodthirsty madman is coming soon!"

Noe's face turned pale, and she instinctively stepped in front of young Trier.

“Don’t rush, Uncle Cohen, tell me slowly—first, who is he?” Young Trier’s tone was frighteningly calm, without even a slight inflection.

“It’s your grandfather,” Cohen said painfully. “He found Sophie, and he wants to teach me a lesson. Radiance, save me…”

Chapter 73 The Past (Part 3)

"What should we do?" Cohen desperately clutched his hair, his eyes bloodshot.

Young Trill pondered for a moment, then said softly, "Don't worry, just give me the blue and colorless potions on the bookshelf first."

After saying that, he laboriously tore off the red and black silk quilt covering him, shakily rolled off the bed, and stepped onto the pool of blood on the floor.

A putrid stench immediately filled the air, and Trier vaguely heard the cracking sounds of bones breaking. He looked down at his younger self and was somewhat surprised.

Crimson blood soaked through the other man's white silk shirt like dye, as if blood was gushing from every pore of his body. He looked terrifyingly weak; his forearms, exposed outside his blood-stained clothes, were severely lacking in fat, resembling withered bones crawling out of an ancient tomb.

However, his eyes were exceptionally bright, as if all the blood and flesh in his body had burned into those deep-set eye sockets.

It's like he's been drained dry by a succubus. Trier thought to himself.

Cohen stumbled to the bookshelf, fumbled around for a moment, and used his mechanical arm to pick up the colorless potion next to the spellbook. Then he turned around in a panic and handed the potion to young Trier.

Young Trier took the potion and gulped it down. The slightly bitter citrus scent wafted from the bottle, briefly masking the putrid stench of life slipping away.

After drinking the medicine, his condition improved significantly.

Young Trier placed the vial back on the table and then asked, "So, Grandfather killed Aunt Sophie, right?"

“There’s also a blue potion,” young Noi timidly reminded him.

Cohen nodded vigorously at first, but after hearing Noy's reminder, he quickly turned around and reached out to grab the blue potion next to the diary.

“Don’t worry, it’s not that serious—the blue potion is a potion of bear’s toughness, I don’t need it that much right now,” young Trier said slowly. “When did Grandfather find Aunt Sophie?”

Shouldn't the question be why they killed Sophie? Trier was completely confused, vaguely sensing that he was missing some important background information.

At this thought, he called out to Noe in his heart: "Who is Sophie? Why did the Duke want to kill her?"

Young Noe's shadow suddenly began to writhe, as if it had suddenly come to life. The next moment, the shadow grabbed the edge of the desk and stood up like a silhouette.

“You don’t remember anything at all…” Noy’s ethereal and gentle voice came from the silhouette. She sighed softly. “Sophie was a farmer’s daughter and the wife of Earl Cohen. In the Duke’s eyes, this union was an absolute insult to him, so he ordered a hunter to dig out Sophie’s heart and then throw her body into the cold waters of Thousand Sails Harbor.”

Just as Trier was about to say something, Cohen, lost in his memories, suddenly burst into tears.

“In the morning, it was the morning! He stormed out of the manor with the palace guards early in the morning, and when I went to the lower town to look for Sophie at noon, she was gone... The house was a mess, with signs of a fight everywhere. I went to ask Sir Normand, who was on duty in the lower town, and he told me that it was an order from the Duke, who said that it was the hideout of a notorious pirate—a lie, all a lie!”

“Don’t panic, maybe Aunt Sophie isn’t dead yet, she might just have been kidnapped—we still have a chance,” young Noe whispered to comfort her.

“No, there’s no chance.” Cohen looked at young Trier with a dejected expression. “She’s dead, because my brother died because of her…”

Upon hearing the news of his father's death, young Trier maintained a calm and composed expression, as if this devastating news were merely a gentle breeze passing by his ears. His face was expressionless, like an impenetrable stone wall concealing all his emotions.

This cold, metallic reaction startled young Noe, who instinctively gripped young Trier's hand tightly; Cohen, seeing Trier's reaction, calmed down instead.

“Tell me slowly,” he said succinctly. “When, where, and why did you die?”

“It was at noon, at the manor in the northern suburbs.” Cohen trembled as if he had been electrocuted.

Young Trier took a deep breath, then opened the blue Bear's Resilience Potion and poured it directly into his mouth.

The narration, accompanied by choked sobs, continued: "The Duke took Sophie to the manor in the suburbs, where your father was also at the time, checking the accounts."

"Upon seeing Sophie, he immediately demanded that the knights escorting her release her, while the Duke, enraged, berated his brother as a traitor and threw his scepter at him, the spike of which struck the brother squarely in the temple..."

"What are you doing?" young Noi couldn't help but ask.

“I don’t know, I was terrified, I ran away! The Duke has gone completely mad. He killed Trier’s father, and he will definitely kill Trier too. He’s such a madman, I know…” Under pressure, Cohen’s words were completely incoherent.

Young Trier pondered for a moment, then said, "This is obviously an accident. Father may not die. I remember that High Priest Vercingetori should be patrolling the villages near the manor today. He must have prepared divine magic. If the treatment is timely, he should be able to be saved."

“Just to be safe, let’s teleport to the manor together. I’ve also prepared healing spells. After that, we’ll figure out how to rescue Aunt Sophie—given this accident, Grandfather might not have time to execute her—Noy, you stay in the room for a while.” As he spoke, he dragged his emaciated body to the bookshelf and grabbed the spellbook.

"Your body..." Cohen hesitated, "...can it really hold up?"

Young Trier sighed: "There's no point in hesitating, time is of the essence."

Suddenly—"Bang!"

The door was violently kicked open again.

A haggard-looking, middle-aged bald man wearing chainmail walked in, followed by a fully armed knight and a tall, thin priest who looked like a withered tree.

The spacious room suddenly felt crowded, and time seemed to stand still.

“Trier, go and receive treatment from High Priest Vercingetori first. I have some things to discuss with your uncle,” the haggard-looking middle-aged man said in a hoarse voice. “Take the Hall family’s little girl with you as well.”

The armless Cohen looked to his much shorter nephew for help, while young Noe hid behind young Trier.

“No need for that, Grandfather. I already know the cause of the accident. Now is not the time to blame each other. We need to solve the problem first,” young Trier said slowly.

The haggard man suddenly grabbed the gemstone sculpture beside him and then slammed it to the ground in a fit of rage.

"Bang!" The statue shattered into pieces instantly, and the expensive gems scattered like glass among the plush carpet.

"Too late, too late! He's already dead!" the man suddenly roared in anguish. "—We should have solved the problem; this cursed, crippled monster was the problem itself!"

Without a doubt, this haggard middle-aged man was the Duke of the South.

Cohen instinctively took two steps back, and young Noe screamed. Trier, who was standing at the front, remained expressionless, as if nothing had happened. He turned his bloodshot eyes toward the priest at the back of the line.

Drops of blood spilled onto the deep red carpet, and fragments of gemstones scattered a crimson glint.

"Please accept my condolences. Your father has been summoned by the radiance and gone to the divine realm," the tall, thin priest said stiffly. "I did my best, but it was too late when I arrived."

“I thought you had improved after getting that ridiculous prosthetic limb, but I was wrong, terribly wrong! You are still that pathetic waste, cowardly, dissolute, and ignorant…” The Duke walked step by step toward Cohen, his tall shadow gradually engulfing Cohen’s terrified face like a tide.

“I…I’m not,” Cohen replied weakly.

"You cursed monster, you killed your mother, and now you've killed your brother!" The Duke drew ever closer.

Cohen kept backing away until he bumped into the corner of the table with a thud.

"I...I didn't—what exactly did you do to my wife?"

The duke abruptly stopped, then sneered, "Wife? How ridiculous. How could anyone possibly love a monster like you? She's nothing but a power-hungry opportunist, indulging in unrealistic dreams..."

"Enough! You can't talk to her like that!" Cohen suddenly shouted, cornered against the wall. "What have you done to my wife?"

"A prostitute should naturally go where a prostitute should go."

"boom."

The dull thud of flesh hitting the ground suddenly interrupted the increasingly heated argument.

Trillton, who was completely engrossed in watching the play, was startled. He looked down in the direction of the sound and was shocked to find himself lying face down on the ground.

The magic book lay scattered on the ground, its open pages pointing directly at Trier.

Trier looked closely and saw the magic written on the page: "Pacify Humanity".

Undoubtedly, the young version of himself attempted to calm the situation by casting a silent spell, but his poor body could no longer withstand the strain of releasing magic, leading to the scene before him.

My memory ends here.

—At the same time, Noi's ethereal voice rang in his ears: "Master, please be careful, Futia is right outside the door."

PS1: Thank you to all the big shots for subscribing, urging for updates, recommending, donating, giving monthly tickets, and commenting.

PS2: How am I supposed to pay off this debt? /facepalm

Chapter 74 Foothills

The crimson moonlight quietly spilled onto the windowsill, and the lively celebrations of the survivors downstairs gradually subsided.

The warm glow of the fireplace illuminated Noy's silver hair, and the smooth yet cold touch felt like an electric current traveling from the tips of Trier's fingertips to his central nervous system. He blinked, and the stinging pain in his capillaries made him realize that he had left Noy's memories.

“Fodia should be on the stairs now.” Noy nuzzled Trier’s hand affectionately. “She’ll be there soon.”

Before Trier could answer, Noi slowly raised her head, then smiled and said, "Having my memories read is too tiring, Master. I don't want to grind diamonds anymore~"

"Polishing diamonds will greatly help restore your sanity..."

“I’m fully recovered now! Someone as kind as you wouldn’t have the heart to make me work all night, would you?” Noi blinked her ruby-like eyes.

"She can actually act cute?" Trier thought to himself.

Looking at Noi's expectant gaze, he couldn't help but recall the scene he had just witnessed in his memory: Noi had looked at him in the same way when he was a child.

The crimson moonlight, like a hazy veil, enveloped memories and reality, and Noy's image gradually began to overlap in Trier's mind.

Trier felt a slight flutter in his heart, and his calm heartbeat began to slowly quicken.

Dong Dong... Dong Dong...

The next moment, he decided to follow this sudden impulse.

Trier said gently, “No, I don’t think you need to rest. You must finish grinding by seven o’clock tomorrow morning.”

“You are indeed the most virtuous…” Noi stopped midway through her sentence, and the smile on her face suddenly froze as if struck by frost.

Noi's pure white eyelashes trembled slightly, and after a moment, she opened her eyes wide in disbelief. Her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but the words, under the influence of the spell, ultimately turned into the clattering sound of teeth clashing.

Trier laughed and said, "Stop daydreaming, get back to work. I'm waiting for your good news."

After saying that, he sat back down in his chair and continued working on the plan in a cheerful mood.

He picked up his pen again and wrote down next to "Edith Lorinman" a major hidden danger that he had not previously considered but which was very real—"The Duke of the South".

Although the idea of ​​hand-grinding diamonds is outrageous, after reading Noy's memories, Trier felt that his grandfather in this life, the Duke of the South, was even more outrageous.

In the game, he knew very little about the complex noble relationships in the Southern Duchy before the outbreak of the Blood Plague, because he mainly operated in the Great Swamp region and had always been indifferent to these fleeting rulers in the neighboring areas.

He only vaguely remembered that the Southern Duke was known as "Thunder's Wrath".

However, with just a brief glimpse of Noy's recollections, he realized that "Thunderous Fury" was probably not a compliment, but rather a veiled irony.

After all, it is rare for someone to accidentally kill their own son due to a loss of emotional control, and the Duke of the South truly deserves the title of "Thunderous Fury".

Without a doubt, the Duke of the South was a chaotic, disorganized, and extremely stubborn man.

When Edith's impatience combines with the Duke's chaos, the entire Southern Duchy will be like a building block corroded by strong acid, riddled with holes and teetering on the brink of collapse. With just a gentle push from Lorsevie, the entire kingdom will crumble like sand.

Trier couldn't help but sigh. It was indeed very reasonable for Lothaway to choose the Southern Duchy as a breakthrough point.

“Let’s think about our immediate plans first.” Trier took out another piece of paper and wrote down our most important goal: “To Eraf City.”

Then, he quietly wrote another line under this main objective.

"On the way, we will stop by the knight statue at the foot of Mount Saint-Saëns and use the cooling method to dig for possible treasures."

Almost all players of Azure Scepter know that there is a headless knight statue at the foot of Mount Saint-Sel, north of Beavertown, and that an extremely valuable treasure is buried near the statue.

This event is so well-known because something incredibly strange happened in the middle of the Scourge expansion.

At that moment, a blind, crazed elven mage suddenly appeared out of nowhere at the allied forces' frontline military meeting, and in a prophetic tone declared to everyone present: the key to defeating the lich lies beneath the statue at the foot of Mount Saint-Ser. After uttering this prophecy without any prior cause or consequence, the mage vanished like a dream before everyone's eyes.

—The area around the Allied forces' military camp was filled with various spatial blocking spells, but this blind elven mage easily bypassed all the restrictions. This amazing magical skill was enough to shock anyone with basic magical knowledge, so people immediately turned the area around the knight statue at the foot of Mount Saint Seil upside down.

However, until the lich was completely defeated, no one found this so-called "key to defeating the lich".

This minor incident from the mid-game of the Scourge expansion was quickly forgotten. However, towards the end of the Age of Insects expansion, a research-oriented player suddenly discovered that the blind mage was actually a rarely used avatar of the elven god of knowledge, the "Sunset Sage"...

This discovery, like a pebble dropped into a calm pond, instantly reignited a frenzy of uncovering the secrets of the knight statue. However, even after a thorough search of the entire foothills of St. Sergius, people ultimately found nothing.

However, when a volatile demon player chose to violently flatten the entire mountain, completely destroying the knight statue, the mystery became an unsolved enigma...

Therefore, everyone concluded that the so-called treasure should not be in the material world, but should be hidden in other dimensions, and finding the coordinates of this dimension requires an anchor as a guide.

“Anyway, that statue is on the way to Eraf, so I can go and take a look.” Trier thought to himself, “If the cooling is really the key to unlocking that place, then it will definitely be very rewarding.”

He pondered for a moment, then continued writing: "Upon arriving in Eraf, we obtained supplies that had been buried in the past."

"Through Futia, we will make contact with the Princess and use military force as soon as possible to block the outward transport of the contaminated grain—if all goes well, the messenger who left Beaver Town the day before yesterday should have already delivered this message, so time is not a problem."

"Other: Cleanse the town of the dead, prepare travel supplies, and make defense arrangements for Beaver Town before leaving..."

"That's about it. There shouldn't be anything missing."

Trier glanced at the plan in his hand, then threw all the drafts he had used to organize his thoughts into the fire.