Chapter 2591: Chapter 2592: Ice Mirror World
At this point, the Black Earlâs voice suddenly became somewhat strange: "By the way, you probably havenât seen that old guy Rheinâs daughter, have you?"
Angel knew some things about Lord Rheinâs daughter, and it could be said that this was a deep scar within Lord Rheinâs heart.
Since this was an internal matter of the Barbarian Cave, Angel didnât want to discuss it much in front of outsiders: "Iâve met her a few times, but sheâs not the focus today."
Angelâs attitude of not wanting to discuss this matter was already clear, but the Black Earl seemed oblivious and continued: "Youâve met Samantha? Could it be that Samantha still harbors feelings for your mentor and went to see him, and then you ran into her?"
"Tsk tsk, what a pity. If Samantha hadnât betrayed the Barbarian Cave, she might have become your masterâs wife by now."
Though the Black Earl only spoke a few words, the content hinted at "Samanthaâs alleged liaison with Sanders," "Samanthaâs betrayal of the Barbarian Cave," and most importantly, Samantha is the daughter of the current controller of the Barbarian Cave, Lord Rhein.
This isnât a secret among the higher-ups of major organizations, but for the two apprentices present, as well as Dox, itâs definitely an inside scoop.
Angel didnât need to turn his head to guess; those behind him likely had their ears perked up high, eager to continue listening to the gossip.
"Matters concerning Lady Samantha are elder affairs, and I am not qualified to comment. If you have any valuable insights, Black Earl, you might as well share them, and I will convey them word for word to Lord Rhein, perhaps your thoughts align perfectly."
Since the Black Earl wished to tease, Angel didnât mind. After all, he wasnât acquainted with Samantha, but he was happy to act as a messenger.
When the time comes, Rhein and the Black Earl can engage directly.
The Black Earl gave Angel a deep look and softly said: "Just casually discussing, why do you look like youâre about to flip the table?"
"However, there is a reason Iâm bringing up Samantha. Her most famous spell, known as âGlazed Paradise,â although the concept was proposed in the Barbarian Cave, was only truly perfected after she went to the Frostmoon Alliance. Although the Frostmoon Alliance is now a super organization, it was established just over sixteen hundred years ago, and its foundation isnât very profound. As far as I know, the Frostmoon Alliance doesnât possess such niche spells from the mirror branch."
"Without the help of the Mirror Lady, perfecting Glazed Paradise wouldnât have been easy for Samantha."
Upon hearing this, Angel still didnât quite understand what the Black Earl was trying to convey: "Does this have anything to do with the Mirror Demon God?"
"Donât rush, let me finish. A few years ago, there was a rumor that spread like wildfire; the Frostmoon Alliance discovered the ruins of an unknown Legendary Wizard in the Frozen Tundra. Shortly after this rumor, Samantha advanced to True Knowledge through her Glazed Paradise spell."
Angel: "Are these two events linked?"
The Black Earl scrunched his nose: "I donât know, but I can provide some trivia for you. What you know as the Frozen Tundra is now an associated world occupied by the Frostmoon Alliance. According to secret information Iâve gathered from ancient texts, the Frozen Tundra, only acquired its name and became an associated world after that worldâs decline and its fusion with the Wizardsâ Realm. It originally wasnât a minor plane; it was called... the Ice Mirror World."
"Do you know what Samanthaâs current codename is?"
Angel replied quietly: "...Ice Mirror."
The Black Earl: "See, this connects it all together. The Ice Mirror World existed for a considerable length of time, but long ago, a group of wizards occupied it. Itâs said that the name of that world was given by those wizards. This event occurred over ten thousand years ago."
Angel: "Are you suggesting, my lord, that the Mirror Demon God may be related to the Ice Mirror World?"
The Black Earl: "Itâs just a conjecture. However, there is a way to verify this."
The Black Earl paused and looked at Angel: "I heard that Lord Monty promised you access to the Shroud of Frost and Moon Chapter. Thatâs quite an impressive reward. If they really discovered a ruin that allowed Samantha to perfect her Glazed Paradise on the Frozen Tundra, you could seize the opportunity and request to check out the ruin, and see if it was left behind by the âMirror Demon Godâ."
Angel: "..." Sounds easy, but would he dare go?
However, the Shroud of Frost and Moon Chapter is indeed an excellent reward, and though now he doesnât dare go, once he attains True Knowledge and has a method to not fear Lord Montyânot confrontational defiance, but rather the ability to safely escape from Lord Montyâor a similar ability like the Black Earlâs avatar, he might really visit the Frozen Tundra.
The Black Earl seemed to perceive Angelâs thoughts and continued: "Besides going to the Frozen Tundra, thereâs a second option. Once you return to the Barbarian Cave, you can ask the Mirror Lady; she should know some inside information."
Angel sighed: "I understand."
He also wanted to ask the Mirror Lady, but alas, sheâs currently asleep, and no one knows when sheâll wake.
...
The Black Earl shared all he knew, along with information that possibly related to the âMirror Demon God.â However, for now, they were completely out of reach, impossible to confirm.
In other words, despite discovering this mural, they had made absolutely no progress in exploring the ruins.
"Regarding the mural, thereâs nothing more to analyze. Letâs put it aside for now; weâve lingered in this building for quite a while, likely the people from the Merchant Organization are coming after us. Letâs leave here first." Although Angel had a keen interest in these Mirror Demon Gods since they seemingly had connections with Augustine, the priority was completing their task.
Since nothing could be discerned now, itâs best to let it go and see if any discoveries come later.
Everyone naturally nodded in agreement.
"Weâre leaving, so what should be done with this mural?" Kaier suddenly asked.
Angel was silent for a moment: "You want it?"
Kaier quickly nodded. He was very intrigued by these things.
Angel thought for a bit, and after glancing at the others, seeing they had no interest in the mural, he said: "If you want to take it, go ahead, but once we return, try not to interact with it too much. If it truly is related to a Demon God, it could pose some danger."
Kaier eagerly nodded and quickly stored the mural in his space.
After putting away the mural, there was no need to continue exploring this building; they directly proceeded along the spiral staircase to the top-level doorway.
A humid, chilly breeze, carrying an unknown, drifting stench wafted in from outside and lingered at their noses.
As they stepped out, the apparent rooftop looked quite normal. However, another alley lay ahead of the rooftop, conveniently connected by a stone bridge, making this both an exit as well.
Ignoring the alley ahead, one could walk to the edge of the rooftop and see the high walls in the distance and the nearby desolate ruins.
Judging by the relatively intact buildings, this place is less of an underground maze, and more of an interconnected, tiered underground city.
If it werenât destroyed, and with lit lamps and intersecting buildings, it certainly could have been a bustling scene. Sadly, such beauty can only appear in imagination now.
"Where should we go next?" Kaier, somewhat excited, asked while staring at the ruins, his eyes glowing.
Angel first glanced at Dox, who didnât notice his gaze at all and was instead leaning to peek into the alley below.
Dox is unreliable, so Angel turned to the Black Earl.
The Black Earl was silent for a moment: "Although my bloodline indeed has a resonating feeling with a certain place, whether this is my imagination or reality, I cannot determine. Moreover, it seems far from here, and I canât discern the direction."
This question shifted back to Angel.
After all, Angel initially promised to lead them to the destination.
Angel carefully observed the surrounding situation but didnât notice any familiar landmarks. He thought for a moment and pointed to the alley connected by the stone bridge in front: "Letâs head that way."
The reason Angel chose the alley ahead was twofold. First, when he was in the Nightmare Realmâs Underground Labyrinth, he was constantly traversing narrow paths, rarely encountering open spaces. That was more like a maze, while this resembles a city.
Therefore, he prioritized the alley ahead that looked most like a maze.
Second, based on the previous translation of the Woodsoman language by the Black Earl, he had a hypothesis that the "Sacred Object" the Mirror Demon Godâs followers were searching for might be in the Hanging Jail Stairway. The "Dominators" they mentioned might refer to Franklin, the overseer of the Hanging Jail Stairway. They might have also mentioned the Noah Clan because they discovered Franklinâs daughter, Margaret, had a relationship with Augustine.
Based on this hypothesis, Angelâs intuition told him that if the followersâ target was indeed the Hanging Jail Stairway, it shouldnât be far from here.
Angel was quite familiar with the Hanging Jail Stairway; the open view here was clearly not its location.
Thus, walking straight towards the alley squeezed between those two unfathomably high walls might be the optimal solution.
Angel didnât verbalize his analysis; he merely indicated which direction to take.
The group did not question him, as they only needed to mindlessly follow.
As they stepped onto the stone bridge, they glanced downwards. Below was the alley they had previously been able to see through the window, with a shadow lying at its end.
"Thatâs a dead Magical Creature, almost completely devoured, indistinguishable which kind. I was just looking down at it," Dox said.
"Thatâs the corpse of a Greedy Demon, also a bait for fishing. Greedy Demons tend to engage in cannibalism and use whatâs left as bait to attract other creatures, so there should be others lurking nearby," the Black Earl glanced, naming the creature immediately.
Despite having only a few bones left, the Black Earl was able to recognize it, showing just how far behind their experience was compared to his.
Upon hearing that there might be hidden creatures nearby, Dox immediately became eager: "Shall we go and kill them?"
Angel: "You must have forgotten what I said before. Let me repeat: avoid Magical Creatures when possible, use Photostones for relic research, and donât waste time in the moment."
With that, Angel didnât speak further, directly crossing the stone bridge and entering the alley ahead.
Dox smacked his lips, muttered something indiscernible, but ultimately followed with enthusiasm.
As soon as they stepped into the alley, they felt a distinct change.
Outside, some fluorite was still operative, so it wasnât too dark. But inside the alley, it was pitch black, devoid of light.
The walls on both sides were quite high, connected to a Mana array up top, preventing any climbing over; they could only follow the alley.
This claustrophobic, narrow, pitch-black atmosphere made Angel feel as if he had returned to that Underground Labyrinth in the Nightmare Realm, filled with bewilderment for the path ahead, leaving only wild thoughts and fears of the unknown.
Of course, back then, Angel wasnât even a Junior Apprentice, merely a novice. Now, he was an Official Wizard, and such darkness was nothing to him.
Moreover, having traversed the Underground Labyrinth of the Nightmare Realm, would he still fear the underground maze in reality? Itâs known that, in terms of danger, the Nightmare Realm maze is a hundred, a thousand times more perilous, or even more.
After walking for a short while, a faint light arose from the side.
It was Vay casting the Light Source Technique, an advanced trick of the Light Radiance Spell, capable of lighting the vicinity like daytime.
Seeing everyone looking over, Vay asked in confusion, "Did I do something wrong? Canât I use the Light Source Technique?"
Angel: "No, you can use it."
Vay: "...???" Then why didnât any of you use it earlier?
Perhaps noticing Vayâs confusion, Dox said, "I intended to, but seeing Angel wasnât using it, I refrained. So, you wanted to compete with me in nocturnal vision, right?"
Angel: Who has the leisure to compete with you in nocturnal vision.
Kaier: "Same here, since none of you were using it, I didnât dare either."
The Black Earl remained silent.
Angel, who was being watched by everyone: "..." He was merely reminiscing about the feeling in the Nightmare Realm, absorbed in thought, not even considering the lighting issue, yet now it seemed like he was the scapegoat.
Angel pondered briefly, then adopted a solemn expression: "Do you need me to command even whether or not to use the Light Source Technique?"
"As I said, within the agreement, as long as youâre not wasting everyoneâs time, feel free to do as you wish."
With that said, Angel proceeded forward.
He truly couldnât be bothered to haggle over such trivial matters.
However, Angel hadnât walked for even a few minutes before he came to a halt. He vaguely heard someone breathing.
After the group caught up, they too noticed that faint breathing sound.
They exchanged glances, keeping silent, while conversing through the Mind Ribbon.
Kaier: "It seems to be coming from the other side of this wall, right? Thereâs someone behind who appears injured? Is it someone from the Merchant Organization?"
Dox: "Spiritual power canât penetrate, can we smash the wall?"
Angel: "...No."
After a pause, Angel said, "Breathing sounds trying to penetrate this wall with a Mana array isnât so simple. Whether itâs a person or a creature behind it remains unknown. No need to bother with it, letâs continue moving forward."
It was evident they were in the maze already, if there were truly an injured person, they would help if they encountered them later. But, Angel felt it wasnât likely a person; the number of creatures in the underground labyrinth far exceed those in the open areas.
Or rather, even more.
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