Chapter 1057 - 871: Treasury

Behind the Duke, Lloyd kneeled on the cold stone slab, her dust-covered fingers desperately digging into the gaps between the slabs, her knuckles turned white with force.

But she didn’t rush up again.

She only turned her head and issued a few brief commands in a hoarse voice to the soldiers behind her, who still held their weapons, uncertain of whom to point them at.

Clear the plaza, collect the corpses, and bring all the civilians still lying on the ground back to the village.

Then she gritted her teeth and stood up, picked up the metal box dropped by the Earl, wiped the bloodstains off the lid with the back of her hand, and tucked it into the inner side of her armor, close to her heart.

The Philosopher’s Stone inside had already been taken by the Duke, and she had no ability to retrieve it, she could only keep the box safe.

The Duke moved to the center of the plaza, next to the rune array shattered by the Four-Color Divine Light, crouched down, and placed his palm on a still intact rune stone slab.

Spiritual Power slowly seeped along the engravings as thick as forearms, as if tracing a Water Element course along a dried riverbed that long ago ceased to flow.

Although the energy circuits of the ceremony had been violently destroyed, the structure of the runes remained, and those residual energy nodes, like severed nerve ends, still faintly twitched, emitting a dim red glow.

He took out paper and pen from his Space Ring and began tracing the rune’s path segment by segment, occasionally letting his finger lightly slide along the engravings, feeling the residual energy warmth and material wear inside the engravings, thereby deducing the energy flow when the ceremony started.

Behind him, at the edge of the plaza, the surviving civilians were stumbling up the steps.

A middle-aged woman, with a broken forehead, was being pushed forward by the crowd, clutching her child tightly, leaving one shoe behind, unable to retrieve it.

A few elderly and frail ones lagged behind, being dragged up the steps by the young and strong, supporting them on either side.

The soldiers still stood around the plaza, none chasing the fleeing civilians, yet none putting down their weapons.

A few soldiers at the front exchanged glances, the tips of the spears in their hands slightly drooping, clearly having lost all motivation to continue carrying out orders.

Deep inside the cave, a few soldier leaders with slightly different armor designs gathered together, conversing in low voices.

Though they were some distance from the plaza, the Duke’s Spiritual Power captured their conversation word for word.

A stout man with a beard and copper-edged helmet spoke first, saying the Earl was dead, Lord Lloyd was still alive, and according to protocol she should temporarily command, but the title was inherited not by Lloyd, but by the Earl’s children.

Another slim, tall captain with a fresh scratch on his shoulder armor immediately retorted, saying the Earl had dozens of children, several living in Stone Crown City alone, with a few commanding troops at the border. Based on seniority, it wouldn’t fall to those at the border, but considering military power, it’s uncertain.

The third, an always silent old soldier, was quiet for a long time, then lowered his voice and said something that made the other two fall silent simultaneously.

He said, have you considered, the Royal Capital has long wanted to regain military power over the border territory, while the Earl was alive he could resist, now with him gone, the Royal Capital’s redeployment orders would arrive within a month.

While there’s still time, after returning to the city first hold onto your troops, no matter who inherits the title, only those with troops have the privilege to negotiate.

The Duke didn’t listen further, he depicted the final rune engraving onto the last page of his notebook, closed the notebook, and stood up.

The calculations and alliances of these soldier leaders were unimportant to him.

Whoever inherits the Cadwell Earl’s Territory, who holds the military power, whether the Royal Capital seizes the opportunity to consolidate power, none of it affects his goals on the Path of Divine Revelation.

However, this conversation confirmed one thing, Stone Crown City will face significant tumult ahead.

Tumult implies lax order, meaning no one will have the time to investigate an outsider, which for him is a blessing.

Most civilians in the plaza had evacuated, and under the shouts of several leaders, soldiers began transporting corpses and cleaning up the aftermath.

He did not say anything more to Lloyd, simply stood at the edge of the plaza’s shadows, suddenly vanished like mist blown away by the wind.

Lloyd looked up just in time to see this scene, a living person turned into an almost imperceptible breeze in front of her, disappearing into the dim firelight of the cave.

She stood numbly in place, still clutching the empty box, her lips slightly parted and then closed again.

Lloyd had grown up in the Osseron Kingdom, living a life of constant upheaval, only in recent years serving under Count Cadwell.

She had never seen such means as the Duke’s, only heard of similar legends in rumors.

Elsewhere, the Duke traversed mountains and wilderness in his Wind Element form, returning to Stone Crown City at night.

The entire city remained under lockdown, soldiers patrolled the streets everywhere, torches formed a winding chain of light along the city walls.

The Earl’s mansion was brightly lit, servants hurriedly pacing through the corridors, their faces anxious.

The Earl had been out of the city for a whole day and had not returned, the atmosphere in the mansion had long transitioned from initial calm to current apprehension.

Past Divine Sacrifices had never lasted this long, this time the prolonged absence, along with some news spreading back, caused unease within the Earl’s mansion.