That bard is such a charmer!

Chapter 52 The Gift of the Book of Gray Scales

"The ritual refers to the infusion of divine power, which allows people to absorb the power of killing gods."

"Under Lord Aidan's guidance, we can collect the power of slaughter through special sacrificial rituals. However, this power cannot be used directly. It must first be settled and condensed to reach a certain quantity and purity before it can be infused into the human body through a ritual."

"Originally, the divine power we collected was far from enough, but because you have arrived, Lord Harald no longer wanted to wait..."

"As for the flood, it refers to the water diversion used to flush out the tunnels!"

"This underground base has a passageway that connects to a nearby lake. The original purpose was to ensure that the people inside the base could have drinking water in the event of a siege."

"Later, when Lord Harald renovated this place, he widened the passage and built an additional valve mechanism. With just a slight adjustment, the lake water could flood the tunnel, submerging two-thirds of the stronghold..."

As they spoke, the cult members gave a brief account of the valve's location and structure, as well as specific areas that would be flooded and areas that wouldn't.

Richard felt his hair stand on end after hearing this.

If this plan succeeds, Grace will be in real danger!

Moreover, judging by the timeline, those cult members who were sent to open the valves are likely already in place!

Just as he was starting to get anxious, the Book of Gray Scales in his arms spoke.

[…So that's how it is. So that's what all those rituals and valves were for. Ha, my former master asked you, and you wouldn't tell me no matter what, but now I know anyway.]

Young man, thank you for letting me hear this; it has cleared up a question that has puzzled me for many days.

[Also, I must emphasize again that I genuinely know the way! I'm not giving random directions! And I just came up with a brilliant idea! It will definitely help you!]

However, if you want to know this idea, you have to tell me some more interesting tidbits of knowledge... Please, please, I can't take it anymore, it's so uncomfortable to have ants crawling on me...

Hey, can't you be a little more reserved...?

Richard glanced at the Book of Grayscale with disdain.

But out of curiosity about the idea, he told Isabella and Amelie he needed to think about it, and then took the Book of Grayscale to another corner.

Then, he quickly shared some knowledge about Xiaonanliang that couldn't be written down with the book.

The Book of Grayscale was thoroughly satisfied and promptly handed over the gift pack.

Richard immediately opened it.

You have gained 1 point of Intelligence.

[You have learned a Tier 2 spell: Silver Whisper - You can distract an enemy within a 20-meter radius and turn their misfortune into good fortune for your ally, allowing them to perform at an exceptional level for a short period of time.]

Remarks:

"I never understood how this spell worked until I realized that most of my teammates were ill-tempered and took pleasure in the misfortunes of others." — John Wilde, Jr.

You have obtained 1 piece of information from the Book of Grayscale.

[The Book of Gray Scales: Young man, open me, turn to the last page...]

Richard was slightly pleased with the new attributes and spells, then he flipped through the book and was surprised to find that on what should have been a blank last page, an ink-drawn map had appeared, with many markings and explanations next to it.

Wait a minute, this looks like a map of this underground base!

[Young man, this is a drawing I made based on my memory and the information you just extracted from me.]

[Look at the map, the blue area is a lake, and the arrow points to the place where those people were trying to divert water to flush it out.]

Have you found the problem?

The lake wasn't actually that big, but the outpost was huge, stretching all the way to the foot of the mountain, and filled with leaky firing ports, so it wasn't really that much of a threat of being washed away.

Therefore, in order to enhance the power of the water, they had to block part of the channel beforehand with partitions to prevent the lake water from dissipating and flowing away.

In other words... if you can prevent the valves from opening and stop the lake water from flowing in, that would be ideal. But if it's too late to stop it, simply damaging part of the partition will greatly reduce the intensity of the flood!

That's definitely a good idea.

but……

Li looked at the map on the paper, stretched out his finger, and reconnected a line.

【Huh? What are you doing?】

"Do you think that if we deliberately open the partitions between these two places and then block this one, is it possible to divert the lake's flow, and eventually..."

"Should they rush directly into the hall where the altar is located?"

[Hmm? Hmm... Ha, kid, you're a fucking genius!]

Realizing what Richard was planning to do, the Book of Grayscale immediately burst into laughter, then gradually spoke less and eventually fell silent.

Clearly, its work was done, and its soul ascended to a planet filled with the knowledge of Xiao Nanliang... cough cough.

Next, it was time for Richard to take action.

Richard put the book away and returned to Isabella and Amelie.

At this moment, the two had finished dealing with the cult members and were discussing it with furrowed brows.

"The valve is too far away from us; we don't have time to go there."

"On the contrary, there is a possibility of stopping that ritual... but the risk is also high, and it is not certain that we can win."

"And if that happens, Grace and the others will..."

popping.

Richard clapped his hands, interrupting the two men's deep thoughts.

"I have a way to have the best of both worlds: without having to stop the valve from opening, and without having to rush to the ceremony."

Amelie looked puzzled. "Doesn't that mean doing absolutely nothing?"

"Shh, listen carefully to what the poet has to say."

"Well……"

Isabella patted the girl's head and looked at Richard with expectant eyes.

Richard said in a deep voice:

"I've actually been trying to piece together a map of this place, and just now, thanks to my observations along the way and the information I just extracted from the interrogation, my efforts have paid off..."

To cover up the cheating, Richard fabricated a reason.

To be honest, this reasoning sounded a bit far-fetched, but Isabella remembered Richard's behavior when he was in the sleepy tree spirit, so she didn't doubt it.

In her opinion, Richard's observation and memory skills far surpassed those of ordinary people!

Richard continued, quickly explaining his plan.

Upon hearing this, Amelie's eyes widened in surprise.

Isabella also smiled with joy.

"Sir Poet, having a companion like you is truly the greatest fortune of my journey!"

Without further hesitation, the two followed Richard's lead.

at the same time.

Tens of meters underground.

Grace and the three members of the Forest Arrow Squad are walking here.

Although she had killed many enemies along the way, Grace became increasingly anxious because she still couldn't find Richard's whereabouts.

After turning another corner, she suddenly murmured to herself, "Zoya? Zoya, are you there? I want to talk to you."

Zoya's voice immediately echoed in her mind: "However, I really don't want to talk to you!"

But you still replied, didn't you?

Grace raised an eyebrow and said:

"I might go all out next, which means you have a chance to regain control of this body... I want you to swear to me that when that happens, you won't hurt Richard immediately, and whatever you want to do, you'll let him go first!"

Zoya: "?"

"Are you out of your mind, you bronze dragon? How could I possibly agree to that!"