Azure Scepter

Page 89

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Chapter 178 Lady Bloodthorn's Shock

The road to the summit became increasingly winding. Just as he was about to reach the Regent's Garden, Chief Spy Nordman thought to himself, a gust of wind carrying the scent of blood blew in his face, and he couldn't help but shiver.

Yesterday evening, after parting ways with Bishop Vercingetorie, he went to the Great Lighthouse Theatre to find his lover Dorothy. However, the play that Dorothy was supposed to star in was forced to be canceled because the Upper Town was suddenly attacked by demons.

Logically, upon learning of the raid, he should have immediately assembled his personal guards and headed to the upper city. However, the thought of those arrogant out-of-town investigation teams made him utterly indifferent to them. And when he recalled Dorothy's alluring whispers, tinged with the scent of ambergris, he made his decision:

By the light above, to hell with the Kingdom Investigations! Nobody can force me to give up my date with Dorothy!

As it turned out, his decision wasn't a mistake. Last night, he and Dorothy had a wild and exhilarating night together. Even now, in the morning, recalling the pleasure of the night before, he still felt as if his spinal cord had been electrocuted, a tingling, itchy, and slightly numb sensation.

Because the battle between the demons and the guards was exceptionally fierce last night, the emerald steps leading up the mountain were in terrible condition. Even with the help of his attendants, Nordman, who was walking lightly, still had to exert a great deal of effort to finally complete this difficult journey.

To be honest, he didn't really want to come to the Upper City, which was completely under the control of the Kingdom's investigation team. But last night, Dorothy had pleaded with him in a gentle tone by his pillow: "My lord, I want a gift—an item that belongs to a real princess."

Because of his lover's plea, Nordman decided to set aside some of his dignity and personally ask the foolish and naive princess for an item.

He had assumed the princess would be attending her usual breakfast at the Tower of Stars, but when he reached the edge of the Regent's Garden, he encountered the princess's lady-in-waiting, Granny Lor.

The moment he saw Granny Lor, the powerful mage in the blue robes also saw him.

Granny Lor nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then looked away.

Nordman followed Granny Lor's gaze downwards, and then he was startled.

The princess was indeed here, but beside her, with food crumbs all over her mouth, there was another person—Trill was also here!

Nordman lowered his head instinctively.

To be fair, he was very reluctant to face Trier without being prepared.

After a night of recollection, the fear he once felt for this incredibly powerful necromancer was now being branded back into his mind like a hot iron. Last night, while he was sleeping, he even had a terrifying nightmare filled with twisted pieces of flesh and the pungent smell of blood.

In the dream, Trier was dressed in a black robe, expressionless. The other party used a very blunt pair of pliers to slowly tear Dorothy, Vercingetorie, and himself into pieces of flesh scattered all over the ground.

"Sir, Sir Nordman, are you alright?" The servant's worried voice roused Nordman from his daze.

Nordman blinked as if waking from a dream, and after a long while, he realized that he had been daydreaming.

He reached up and touched the back of his neck, which was a little itchy.

"I...I'm fine. Let's go visit Her Highness now."

"I...I'm fine. Let's go visit Her Highness now."

The silver magic mirror rippled, and then the purple blasphemous mark on the back of Nordman's neck flashed and disappeared.

Lady Bloodthorn, the demon lord, let out a long yawn. She casually picked up an elven finger bone from the corner of the table, which was bound with a fragment of a soul. The fragment of a soul attached to the finger bone screamed in terror, but the next moment, it was swallowed whole.

Lady Bloodthorn squinted her eyes with considerable enjoyment. After a moment, she opened them again and observed the development of the various events she was concerned about through different silver magic mirrors.

Within the dark rifts of the Prime Material Plane, several cities of dark elves are ablaze. Under its tutelage, these drow have abandoned false order and embraced true freedom. Slaughter, revelry, and pleasure—an indescribable, immense power surges into its body as chaos spreads.

Ms. Bloodthorn nodded in satisfaction.

In a ruined plane filled with yellow sand and rampaging magical winds, a white-bearded wizard clad in black robes led a group of gray-robed soldiers in a desperate struggle against a tidal wave of demons. He swung his staff with all his might, and scorching lightning burst from its tip. In the next instant, countless demons were reduced to ashes in the lightning.

Lady Bloodthorn frowned. She snapped her fingers, and the powerful black-robed wizard exploded into a shower of blood and flesh, while the gray-robed soldiers screamed as they turned into a bloody soup. These planes were not like the prime material plane; they were not protected by the Azure Laws, so Lady Bloodthorn could freely project her power.

Lady Bloodthorn licked her lips, and the next moment, her purple eyes suddenly lit up, and her breathing became a little rapid.

In the magic mirror on the left, it saw a very interesting figure—the old lich disguised as a paladin, Trill.

Due to the influence of the demigods in the Dream Realm, it could not directly see the other party, but through the mark of the corrupted, Lady Bloodthorn saw the other party again:

At this moment, Trier was smiling, though the smile seemed somewhat stiff; opposite him was Princess Edith of the Kingdom of Orco, whose eyes were darting as she wiped food crumbs from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief.

“I…I’m…sorry…it was just…too delicious,” Edith said weakly.

Trier put down the coffee pot and took a second handkerchief from the flower basket: "Your Highness, you didn't wipe it clean, on the left side."

Edith pursed her lips and wiped the left corner of her mouth, but she wiped the wrong spot.

Trier sighed and went straight to wipe her mouth; Edith did not resist, she lowered her eyelids slightly and awkwardly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"boom!"

The silver wine glass shattered on the floor, and the crimson wine meandered down the carpet.

Ms. Bloodthorn gaped in disbelief.

Edith's eyes were misty, but a smile played on her lips. Clearly, the paladin had fallen in love, and it seemed that they were very close to taking things a step further.

But how long has she known Trier? A day?

Even a succubus or a dream demon, skilled at manipulating hearts, would find it difficult to corrupt a paladin through love in a single day, right?

Lady Bloodthorn was completely dumbfounded. In shock, she got off the bed and went to the silver magic mirror on the left.

It stared intently at Trier, its eyes wide, and after a long while, it came to a professional and accurate conclusion: by the aesthetic standards of humans in the prime material plane, Trier was definitely not an extremely handsome person.

How did he do that?

Lady Bloodthorn took a deep breath, and the next moment, Trier spoke again.

“Don’t blame yourself, I wasn’t hungry at all.” Trier gently wiped the black sauce from Edith’s lips, then looked intently into Edith’s emerald green eyes. “Speaking of which, aren’t you curious why that arrogant knight acted so humble?”

"How did you know?" Edith blinked in surprise. "No, I mean, how did you know that knight was arrogant?"

"Good heavens, like Futia, Edith is also a bit arrogant. Birds of a feather flock together, indeed." Trier thought to himself.

“Your thoughts are written all over your face,” Trier said. “You and Frodia are really alike.”

Edith paused for a moment, then instinctively retorted, "No way! I'm not the kind of person who's all talk and no action..."

Trier smiled but did not answer.

The next moment, he caught sight of the spy chief, Nordman, and for some reason, he vaguely felt an indescribable sense of oppression emanating from the man.

The time traveler subtly withdrew his gaze, and then his mind raced.

P.S.: Just a filler chapter to get back into the swing of things. The paper is finished, QWQ

Chapter 179 Keeping You in Suspense

Trier knew very well that the presence that could make him feel oppressed was at least legendary or above, but Nordman, the chief spymaster of the Southern Duchy, was obviously not legendary. Therefore, it was reasonable to infer that some powerful demigod was attached to Nordman and using him to observe this place.

Subconsciously, he felt that the person spying on him was Lady Bloodthorn.

Trier secretly became more vigilant, but the next moment, the feeling of being watched, like layers of dark clouds piling up before a storm, suddenly vanished.

"So, why exactly does the Lord of the Scepter respect you so much?" Edith asked curiously.

After a moment's thought, a rough plan came to mind.

He deliberately took a slow, deliberate sip of his coffee.

"Why don't you try to guess, Edith? If you guess the keyword, you've succeeded."

Edith pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "I guess it's related to the deal the Scepter Knight mentioned. You and your teacher reached a deal last night that concerns the interests of the Knights of the Holy Judgment, right?"

Trier nodded, then shook his head.

"You're half right, but it's too vague. You can guess the specifics of the transaction."

"To claim your rights to the Southern Duchy?" Edith tried to ask.

Trier shook his head.

"It has nothing to do with this."

Edith frowned, paused for a moment, and then cautiously asked, "Sharing my experience of divine revelation with you?"

Trier did not answer. He glanced at Nordman's position and realized that Nordman could hear him.

——It’s time.

“Unfortunately, no.” Trier spread his hands.

Edith was a little bewildered by the question, and her two consecutive guesses left her somewhat frustrated.

“I’m not an astrologer who can predict the future, how would I know the specifics of your deal with the teacher? You are…” she complained softly.

Trier couldn't help but laugh out loud upon hearing this.

“You’re right, it’s about astrology.” He didn’t change his voice. “Using astrology to predict certain things.”

“A prophecy?” Edith blinked incredulously. “A prophecy of what—Trill, please stop keeping me in suspense this time, I want to know directly.”

“Lord Oris has entrusted me with the task of using divination magic to find a vessel,” Trier said slowly and clearly.

Edith paused for a moment, then tentatively asked, "A container? A container for storing food infected with the blood plague?"

“The vessel through which the demon lord descended into the prime material plane,” Trier said in a calm tone.

Trier's words seemed to possess a magical power; the moment they left his mouth, the air instantly filled with a deathly silence. Edith's eyes widened in utter shock.

After a long pause, Trier said in a low voice, "It's a little girl. She's in this city now. I've seen her."

"What will happen to that little girl after the demon lord descends?" Edith pursed her lips.

“It’s obvious,” Trier said calmly. “Death, of course.”

Edith closed her eyes tightly, and after a moment, she took a deep breath: "So, behind the Blood Plague is the Silent Whisperers, and behind the Silent Whisperers is the Demon Lord? Our true enemy is that Demon Lord? And Teacher, you've known all this all along?"

Trier stared directly into Edith's eyes, but Edith did not back down.

“Can I trust you?” Trier asked.

Edith suddenly realized that she had just said the same thing.

She nodded without hesitation.

"Of course, we are friends."

“Auris’s enemy is the Demon Lord, but your enemy is not.” Trier’s voice was cold and light, like a thin mist that could be easily broken in winter.

Instinctively, Edith felt that the other person had said something that could change her life.

Before she could think about it in depth, Trier quickly moved on to the next topic.

"After preparing the materials, I will perform the ritual spell, at the location..."

Suddenly, Nordmann walked over without trying to hide his footsteps and interrupted in a deep voice, "Good morning."

"After preparing the materials, I will perform the ritual spell, at the location..."

Lady Bloodthorn stared intently at the silver mirror, her body unconsciously leaning forward slightly, but the next moment—

"Good morning," Nordman, the head of the intelligence agency, interrupted Trier's narration.

Lady Bloodthorn felt a sense of displeasure at being interrupted at a crucial moment. She glared fiercely at the other silver mirrors behind her, and then, through the mirrors, she saw a bard in a circus in a sub-plane, talking glibly to the audience.

Enraged, Lady Bloodthorn snapped her fingers, and the next moment, the bard turned into a swollen, red-skinned frog with a "bang." The audience screamed and scrambled away from the scene.

This bard probably never dreamed that the reason for his misfortune was that someone from another dimension was speaking in suspense...

Lady Bloodthorn let out a long breath, venting much of her frustration, and then once again observed the Southern Duchy of the Prime Material Plane through the Silver Mirror.

“Greetings, Your Highness.” Nordman bowed slightly. “Excuse me for disturbing you.”

Edith frowned slightly: "Sir Nordman, you seem to be a little weak? By the light, your face is rather... abnormally pale."

Staring at the fine beads of sweat on Nordman's forehead, Trier couldn't help but think to himself: This must be at least a state of "fatigue and exhaustion," which, in the game's terms, means half the mobility, unable to run, charge, jump, and with strength, dexterity, saving throws, and attack accuracy all reduced by 6...

Trier felt he had reason to believe that the other party had fought hundreds of rounds with the succubus last night.

Nordman paused for a moment, then nodded: "I am a little tired."

"You heard the conversation just now, didn't you?" Trier suddenly asked.

The head of the intelligence agency, Nordman, froze for a moment, hesitated for a second, and then nodded.

Trier said kindly, “Don’t worry, I will still keep my promise to you and to Bishop Vercingetorie. I will tell you the outcome of the prophecy when the time comes.”

At this moment, a playful smile appeared on the lips of Lady Bloodthorn in the bottomless abyss.

It had thought that it would be unable to learn the accurate information of the prophecy because of Nordman's interruption, but unexpectedly, Trier took the initiative to tell it, and as a result, it was able to obtain the final prophecy result effortlessly.

But deep down, it still had some concerns.

Given Trier's demonstrated scheming abilities, it vaguely suspected that the other party had already noticed that it was being watched through Nordman, and that the other party's words might have been deliberately said to it.

Chapter 180 Granny Lor

The silver magic mirror rippled, and Trier in the image looked natural, as if the talk about the vessel and the prophecy was just something he said without thinking.