Chapter 61: Damaged divine artifact

Nightfall Domain — inside a concealed small iron mine.

"Rraaagh—"

A corrupted corpse, shackles still hanging from its body, let out a hoarse screech and charged straight at Phield.

"Shk—"

Phield drew the Silver Iris Longsword, stepped forward, and closed the distance. Power flowed through his shoulder and elbow as the blade hummed sharply through the air.

There was no resistance at all—

as effortless as slicing through empty air.

The sword light cleaved into the corrupted corpse’s face, shaving off its entire lower jaw. Broken teeth scattered across the ground as foul black blood sprayed out like water from a ruptured pipe. The corpse collapsed, shrieking horribly. Phield stepped forward, planted his foot on its body, and finished it with a downward thrust.

"Hah... Looks like I’ve cleared out most of the corrupted corpses in this mine. Before their corruption, they were probably criminals. This place isn’t far from the grand estate—once our territory expands here, we’ll be able to start mining."

He shook his hand, which trembled slightly from exertion, then glanced back at the twelve uniformly dressed corpses behind him. A strong sense of accomplishment welled up inside his chest.

"Yes. Most criminals in Nightfall Domain are sent to the front lines as cannon fodder to fight the orcs. Not many are left here," Rosalia replied while rummaging through a crate nearby, complaining as she searched. "If only soldiers could help with this. To think I have to look for things myself."

Cold, filthy blood slid down the blade and dripped along the edge. Phield felt his right hand grow sticky and slick—an unpleasant sensation.

"I’m mostly used to it now. Magic has drastically boosted my strength and speed. If I had a proper magic manual, my progress would be much faster."

Rosalia clapped the dust off her hands, shook her head, then spoke thoughtfully. "There’s no rush about manuals. Your talent shouldn’t be wasted on magic alone. We should focus on building the territory—prosperity accelerates the advancement of Divine Chosen."

"Besides, most magic manuals originate from Divine Chosen anyway. There’s nothing special about them. Your ability to contract with different Divine Chosen talents is something I’ve never seen before. Contracting more of them will help you far more."

"You’re right. A lord shouldn’t be fighting on the front lines anyway. As long as I can protect myself, that’s enough."

Phield had no intention of abandoning a perfectly good lord’s life to play berserker. If things got out of hand, the last thing he wanted was for Ashina and Rosalia to collect his corpse.

"I found it!" Rosalia exclaimed proudly, waving a plain, unremarkable little key in the air.

"What’s that?" Phield’s eyes lit up.

With Rosalia—a native noble—around, Nightfall Domain held almost no secrets.

This hidden mine wasn’t marked on any map sold on the market, nor did it show up on his minimap. Yet Rosalia was intimately familiar with it.

"Come with me. There’s something good," Rosalia giggled behind her hand. "You’re definitely going to like it."

"A new game?"

"Come on. It’s even more exciting than a game."

The two eventually stopped at a hunter’s cabin. After entering, Rosalia smashed the floorboards open with her greatsword, revealing an iron cellar door beneath.

"Hehe—inside is my secretly stashed dowry!" Rosalia said smugly. "I’ve been saving it for years. My mother is such a cheapskate—just to protect her treasure, she wouldn’t let me get close to men, forbade me from marrying, and even planned to send me to a convent."

Phield stared at the little girl in shock. "Is this really something I’m allowed to know?"

In this world—much like certain countries in his previous life—women were required to bring a dowry when marrying. The gifts could range from vast sums of gold to servants; some generous nobles even included cities or territories. But stingy families were another matter. Take the king of the Kingdom of Franveria, for example—he possessed fertile lands stretching for thousands of miles and gold beyond measure, yet to avoid paying dowries, he sent several of his daughters to convents to spend their entire lives there.

"Of course you’re allowed to know."

Rosalia happily scurried down first. "My dowry is a first-tier divine—artifact?"

The cellar was damp, with foul water dripping intermittently from above, splashing onto a slightly decayed golden chest. At the center of the basement stood a display rack holding an exquisitely crafted crystal goblet—but it lacked the glow of a divine artifact and was riddled with cracks instead.

"Oh no..." Rosalia held the cup with trembling hands, tears sliding down from the corners of her eyes. "Only eleven years... and its power has completely dissipated."

Divine power, as a form of energy, was still subject to decay. Without nourishment from a Divine Chosen, a divine artifact would gradually degrade—until it eventually turned to dust.

"A flawless creation. As expected of a young lady from the Starnight family—your taste is impeccable," Phield said gently, patting her head in consolation.

Seeing that Rosalia remained silent, Phield’s heart ached. "Isn’t there still a whole chest of treasures? If you want a divine artifact, I’ll buy you one in the future. You can just store it again."

"Idiot, idiot! Who do you think I’m saving my dowry for? Isn’t all of it yours anyway?"

Rosalia threw a few small punches at him. After calming down, she wiped her tears. "Don’t touch that chest. That one’s a mimic—it grabs people and makes them produce babies. I don’t even know if it’s still alive after eleven years."

...What the hell? A mimic?!

"Pfft—" Phield completely lost it. "Why would you keep something that twisted inside a house?!"

"To stop thieves, obviously."

After putting away the broken crystal goblet, Rosalia dug around in a corner and pulled out another key—though she was clearly less excited this time. "There’s still a bit of property left. Not much. Let’s go take a look."

Phield asked curiously, "About how much?"

"A little over a thousand gold coins, plus some jewelry. That’s assuming no one’s found it."

"...?"

Rosalia alone had managed to stash away that much wealth—while he’d arrived in this world with nothing but poverty.

"It’s a pity," Rosalia said solemnly. "The wealth that the Starnight family accumulated over generations was all taken from us."

"What happened, exactly? To be honest, I’ve always been confused. Why didn’t you leave the Northern Province back then? When the Empire released the deathly gray mist, how could nobles like you not know?"

The situation made no sense to Phield.

"Yes. It was extremely strange. Before the gray mist erupted, my mother secretly took all the wealth from the family treasury—every divine artifact and alchemy formula included—and moved them away with the family’s Divine Chosen. She didn’t even tell me where they were sent."

"In just three days, the orcs broke through seventeen fortresses. Even the central capital of the Northern Province was bathed in blood—twenty Divine Chosen fell. And yet the major noble families showed no response at all."

"I couldn’t contact my mother, and Nightfall Domain had no fortress. With no other choice, I tightened our defenses and sent out scouts, trying to escort all the people to Starnight City to seek refuge."