novelraw Chapter 402-1: Star-Favored, Ancient Saint Emerald Dragon (1)
Chapter 402-1: Star-Favored, Ancient Saint Emerald Dragon (1)
With the search carried out by a large number of undead, it did not take long to yield results.
[…]
[Within the endless fog, you follow the footsteps of the Skeleton Warrior and soon arrive at the scene…]
[The Refined Copper Carriage’s door stands wide open. The metal horses stand still at the front, staring at you with a pair of enormous equine eyes, hot steam snorting from their nostrils from time to time.]
[Their master, the Branch Association Grand Scholar, is not in the carriage. Instead, his corpse is scattered to the side, dismembered into bloody chunks.]
[The corpse’s four limbs have all been cleanly severed by a sharp weapon. The torso is still connected to the head, but the huge eye on his chest has vanished as if deliberately gouged out by someone.]
[Beside the corpse lies a long, thin metal strip you are familiar with. It is the Beacon of the Refined Copper Carriage.]
[There are not many traces of battle remaining at the scene. You surmise that from start to finish, the fight did not last long. Whatever creature killed the Branch Association Grand Scholar must have been much stronger than he was.]
[…]
Lin Xun frowned.The corpse before him was in such a mangled state that there was no way to possess it to experience its memories and learn what unexpected situation the Grand Scholar had encountered.
“How did this Grand Scholar die? What killed him?”
Although the Grand Scholar could only be considered a weakling compared to him, his actual strength was not poor. At the very least, he was stronger than the Star Cantor and the Starlight Priest in the Shell Slots.
He suddenly recalled that despite traveling through the fog for a long time, he had not run into any creatures like the Veiled Aberration or the Veiled Aberration Overlord.
Could it be that the Grand Scholar had run into one of the fog monsters?
Lin Xun shook his head. Judging from the description in the text, this did not seem like the work of a massive fog monster.
At that thought, he clicked his additional skill, Ghost Domination.
Summoning a remnant soul to question it was the same as directly possessing a Shell to experience its memories. Either way, he could only obtain the deepest memories from when the Shell was alive.
Ghost Domination had very obvious pros and cons. The advantage was that even if the corpse was too broken to possess, so long as it was not reduced to something truly ridiculous, he could still summon the remnant soul for questioning.
The downside was that the remnant soul had no intellect and drifted in a daze like an idiot. Trying to obtain information through questioning was troublesome and far less convenient than directly possessing the Shell.
[…]
[The tall, black-robed silhouette behind you raises his short staff and chants an obscure spell…]
[A hazy shadow floats out from the broken corpse before you. Its form is translucent and its expression vacant. It is precisely the remnant soul of the Branch Association Grand Scholar.]
[You quickly ask it what it encountered before it died…]
[The Grand Scholar mumbles nonstop, Monster, monster… it must have been a monster created by the Polar Star Society.]
[It was a subterranean demon, no… a starborn being, no, that’s not right either…]
[He has realized it. That was a fusion of demon and starborn spirit. Too terrifying, too terrifying…]
[The remnant soul seems to have been terrified by something. In the blink of an eye, its soul form begins to tremble and flicker, then scatters into spots of light and vanishes…]
Seeing this, Lin Xun frowned.
“A fusion of subterranean demon and starborn creature…”
He could not help recalling how, in Chapter Four, the Multivision President had fused an abyssal demon with a starborn spirit in an attempt to become a god, in that so-called Abyss Demon Completion Project.
The Multivision President had long since thrown in his lot with the stars and secretly joined the Polar Star Society. Perhaps methods like fusing demons with starborn spirits had been something he obtained from the Polar Star Society.
If the Abyss Demon Completion Project came from the Polar Star Society, then there must be some enormous secret hidden behind that project.
Lin Xun continued sending out the little skeletons to conduct a carpet search. After waiting a long time, they still did not find that supposed fusion of demon and starborn spirit, nor did they find any other explorable location.
He could only put away the Grand Scholar’s leftover Beacon, climb onto the Refined Copper Carriage, and continue on toward the Polar Star Society temporary stronghold.
After traveling for about twenty minutes, Lin Xun finally reached his destination.
Strangely enough, the entire journey went very smoothly. He did not encounter any fog monsters. Not even those distant giant footsteps he had heard before appeared.
[…]
[The carriage slowly comes to a halt. The carriage door opens on its own and you step down…]
[In the pale fog, a ring of towering metal fence walls takes shape. The walls extend off to both sides into the boundless fog. At the center is a large closed gate made of metal bars.]
[You are not the only one here. There are dozens of exquisitely crafted carriages parked all around you…]
[You look up and see a massive plaque above the metal gate. On it is written: Dexter Manor.]
[The guards stationed at the gate see that you, the Star Cantor, have arrived. They hastily open the gate…]
[Looking at the familiar manor plaque, the memories within your Shell gradually reawaken…]
[Viscount Dexter was fortunate enough to behold the brilliance of the stars and naturally changed his faith, secretly joining the Polar Star Society.]
[He often holds auctions in this manor, and people from all walks of life flock here to make purchases. It is an excellent place for gathering intel, which is why it became the Polar Star Society’s temporary stronghold in the auxiliary capital Notos.]
[Having successfully completed your mission, you should now enter the manor as soon as possible to report to your superiors.]
[You pass through the gate and enter the manor, moving toward the residence in the manor’s deepest area according to your memories…]
[The main hall of the residence is packed with guests, most of them nobles in luxurious formal attire.]
[The mood at the cocktail party is lively. It is said that after the party ends, today’s auction will be held on the first underground floor of the residence.]
[Led by a servant, you cross the banquet hall and a long corridor. After several rounds of inspection by the guards, you finally arrive at a door deep within the residence.]
[You open the door and immediately see a massive starry painting that covers the entire wall. The radiant sea of stars is majestic and vast. Under the glow of that endless river of stars, you have never felt so small.]
[Below the massive starry painting is a desk. The Star-Favored of the Polar Star Society who assigned you your mission is here. He is the one in charge of this temporary stronghold.]
[You close the door and look to the Polar Star Society Star-Favored One Who Gazes Upward. He wears a simple robe and, at a glance, his features do not seem much different from an ordinary person. Only a pair of strange eyes shine with a deep blue, like the sea.]
[You see the Polar Star Society Star-Favored One Who Gazes Upward for the first time. Your Knowledge stat increases by 5000. Current Knowledge stat: 32800/37800.]
[You step forward to report on the mission to the Star-Favored, stating that you have already rescued the Starlight Priest from Blackwater Prison.]
[On the way back, you interrogated the Starlight Priest, but after being tormented by the illusions in the Time Prison, he had already gone mad. You could only follow the mission’s requirements and silence him…]
[Before you finish speaking, the Star-Favored nods, indicating there is no need to say more. You have completed the mission.]
[He will keep his promise and, as previously agreed, grant you access to the organization’s core.]
[The Star-Favored takes a silver badge from his pocket and tosses it to you.]
[You have obtained Teleportation Badge (Special Item).]
[Teleportation Badge (Special Item): A silver badge inlaid with countless stars, possessing a unique teleportation ability. When used in a designated area, you can teleport to a certain location.]