Chapter 228: [228] Secrets Of The Treasury (2)
Chapter 228: [228] Secrets Of The Treasury (2)
Artie was leaning by the side of the wall, patiently waiting with the rest of the knights.
So far, the plan was going smoothly. She had managed to avoid suspicion by stabbing herself and delaying her healing until the marshal arrived.
Since a lot of high ranking warriors had also been defeated with ease, it was easy to believe the intruder would defeat a fresh wizard with ease.
More so if they found out she was not even as strong as the other wizards...
While she was still thinking about all that happened, her eyes closed. She heard the sound of clicking armour and opened her eyes to see that all of the knights suddenly bowed.
"Your magesty." Grand Marshal Reginald greeted first.
— The first regiment humbly greets your majesty!
The other knights echoed after.
King Darius sighed, giving his knights the stink eye. His grey eyes looked wary, there were still sleep marks on his face, and he had not even bothered to change out of his pajamas.
Considering how hectic things must be in Donia right now, Artie could understand why he would be tired.. and angry.
He could not sleep during the day, and now even at night he was still being woken up...
"Reginald, what is the meaning of this?" King Darius seethed, his arms folded across his chest.
"I apologize your majesty, the intruder eluded even our most competent knights."
"Then they were never competent! My God, I barely have two hours to sleep before I have to get to the next meeting." He sighed tiredly.
The king’s hammer floated next to him, titling forwards in a nodding motion. It seemed to agree with his statement...
"Can you imagine this, Stone Breaker?" He glanced at his hammer. "Waking up the king just to deal with a petty task."
The hammer swayed from left to right. It had no eyes, yet, Artie could tell it was glaring at all of them.
Artie stared at the weapon for a while longer. She already knew that the king was powerful, but that weapon... it was of the legendary rank.
A sentient weapon was one in a million as it often took soul essence to craft, making them some of the rarest weapons in the world.
"That is a cute hammer..." Yen whispered in Artie’s ear. "But what happened to the knight that went to call him?"
"You may all rise." The king declared.
Reginald stood up, after which the knights stood as well. Then the knight that had been given the assignment hurried forward from behind the king. His face was red and swollen, the outline of a hammer indented on it.
"Ahh, I see..."
King Darius grabbed his hammer and walked up to the door. "Alright listen up whoever the fuck you are!"
His voice was so loud that Artie had to cover her ears with her hands.
"I’m going to give you till the count of five, if I have to so much as lift a finger, I’ll break your legs till your bones turn to dust!"
"ONE, TWO, FIVE!"
"Heh?" Yennefer glanced at Artie. "He definitely skipped a few numbers right?"
He lifted the hammer, the runes glowing fiercely, and then he brought it upon the door—
<••>
The treasury was covered in glowing lines that shone a white-blue light. Although at first sight, they looked senseless, on closer observation, you would notice that these likes had formed several complex shapes.
A vast majority of these shapes were broken or incomplete, and next to each shape was a formula written in the language of runes.
"What is this?" Alex asked in awe. His eyes were wide open as though he did not want to miss a single detail, and the mana lines were reflecting in his Iris.
"It is a magic formula." Eliron explained.
He reached out for one of the lines, and when he tapped it, it rippled like a calm lake.
"A magic formula??" Alex asked, his confusion deepening. "Like mathematics?"
Eliron nodded. He was moving around the room, captivated by the sight. "Precisely. It seems whoever hid this artifact was a scholar of the tower."
Alex sighed, his head tilting back as he stared above. "Things keep getting complicated. So how are you going to solve it?"
"..."
Alex frowned and glanced in Eliron’s direction, only to see a wide grin on his face.
"Wait, don’t tell me..."
"Ding, Ding! You are exactly right, this is the part where you use that big brain of yours."
Alex’s shoulders dropped. "You can’t be serious..."
’So this was why he brought me...’ he mused as he stared at the elven lord.
It was strange, somehow Eliron seemed prepared for everything that was being thrown at them.
He knew exactly what book would trigger the mechanism, and he even brought him along, meaning he already knew that they would experience something like this.
Frankly, he was scary. Was the elven lord secretly a genius beyond comparison? Did he possess a skill even superior to his own?
’That would explain how he beat me during our first interaction.’ Back then, Eliron had figured him out with a simple glance.
"Eliron, if you don’t mind me asking..." Alexander began.
"Hmm?" He raised a brow. "Sure, ask away."
"How did you know about this mechanism?"
"Ahhh, that? Hahahaha." Eliron put on the most brazen face Alex had ever seen and said, "I read it in a book."
Yup, it was an obvious lie.
’He is a monster.’
"Now chop chop, get to it!"
Alex nodded, focusing his attention on the equation. His eyes glowed softly as he activated [Higher Cognitive Function], the formula unraveling before his eyes.
"How much time do you think you will need?" Eliron yawned, leaning by on the wall.
"It would normally take an hour for regular people..."
"But for me? Five minutes at most." Alex did not take his eyes off the glowing lines, pouring his entire attention into it.
"I see. Do it in thirty seconds..."
"What?! Why would I do it in such a short—"
— Alright listen up whoever the fuck you are!
— I’m going to give you till the count of five, if I have to so much as lift a finger, then I’ll break your legs till your bones turn to dust!
"?!"
"Thirty seconds, got it!"
BANG!
The first hit caused a tremor to spread through the room, a rattling sound reached their ears as the gold coins tipped over, spilling on the floor.
Alex gritted his teeth, moving pieces to their place as he raced to complete the formula. Meanwhile, Eliron was busy stacking books atop themselves, seemingly unconcerned.
— I’LL RIP YOU IN HALF FOR INTERRUPTING MY SLEEP!
— By the time I’m done with you both, your heads will be as flat as chisels. Chisel head one and two!
BANG!
The door groaned, the adamantine hinges bending inwards.
"Shit. Shit. Shit!"
Alexander was sweating, his hands moving quickly while his mind raced ahead of him.
"Damn it! Why the hell did I let myself get dragged into this?!"
The moment his father saw him, he would surely pound his head in!
BOOOM!
The hinges finally gave up, the door was blown in, dust spewing out of the walls that had been decimated by the hit.
The king rushed into the room, his eyes red with rage and steam seeping out of his nose, but the treasury...
It was empty.
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