"Sir? What's wrong?"
Fendal noticed an unusual aura. Although Joshua's gaze was only for a moment, it brought heavy pressure to the surroundings, so he subconsciously asked.
"Why is there a group of elite monks from the church in the Morlay Palace?"
Signaling the red-haired knight to continue leading the way, Joshua asked simply and neatly, his tone a little confused: "They are very strong, more than half of them are great monks who have reached the golden realm, enough to be a bishop. This is unusual.”
"Ah, they are the ambassadors sent by the church during the previous celebration. They are naturally strong. The leader of the [Freedom Hammer] Knights, Robzek, is a Supreme Paladin. But that gentleman is currently in the main hall. Discuss something with His Majesty."
When he encountered a question that he could answer, Fendal couldn't help but smile and nod. This handsome red-haired knight was indeed a cheerful person: "Some time ago, countries and forces from all over the continent sent envoys to meet with His Majesty the Emperor. The church is also one of them, but now most of the messengers have gone back, but they still stay here as if there is something else."
When he said this, Fendal couldn't help but have a hint of regret in his tone: "It's a pity that you, Earl, did not attend the celebration. It was a carnival celebration that may not happen once in hundreds of years. Many ancient families came. The Imperial Capital... Speaking of which, many people are also interested in you, sir."
"Thank you... As for the celebration, I am also very sorry, but there is nothing I can do about not being able to go."
Nodding, Joshua said that he already understood the other party's identity. As for the celebration, because he was required to save the world, he really couldn't go.
In any case, even if the warriors still had doubts about the familiar aura of the woman at the center of the team, they had already arrived at the Black Swan Palace.
Walking out of the corridor, there is a garden full of flowers, and the Black Swan Palace is opposite this garden. It is an ancient palace with a history of hundreds of years. This palace was built by the third generation emperor of the empire. After his death, It was later transformed into the Royal Library. Due to the passage of time, the black rock walls outside the palace have been covered with traces of creepers and moss. This generation of emperors seemed to like this very much, so they had no intention of cleaning it up.
Nowadays, the evening sun is gradually dimming, and the hazy light and shadow shines on this huge black palace. You can vaguely hear the echo of bells in the distance, announcing the end of the day's work.
The Royal Library is one of the most important places in the Morlay Palace and cannot be missed, so there are many guards patrolling along the way. Joshua can even sense sentries lurking in many blind corners, and they form a picture. The entire Black Swan Palace is covered by a huge net that leaves no one behind.
The guards on the road all knew Fendal. When they saw that he was leading the way, they knew that the person behind him must be a big shot, so they did not step forward to interrogate him.
In this way, they entered the Black Swan Palace.
—In the Black Swan Palace, in the Imperial Royal Library, a library that has been dusty for a long time.
"Worthless."
Between the bookshelves, in the cold light of the pyroxene lamp, the white-haired old man sighed helplessly. He closed the dusty ancient book in his hand and put it aside. With the old man's sigh, another An ancient book floated out of thin air and came into his hands.
It can be seen that there are hundreds of books floating beside the old man. They are held up by layers of hazy blue light, and they are automatically read and put down. Then dozens of books are lifted from the bookcase. The power of magic picks up and the cycle repeats.
The old man is naturally Nostradamus, and he is currently sorting out the ancient books in this library.
The royal family of the Northern Empire has a long history. The large library they built has a collection of books no less than those in the Eternal Lake and the Elf Holy Land. It is also slightly inferior to the secret library of the Seven Lights Council, an old mage organization. Most of the ancient books in the collection are originals written in those years, and contain more information than other transcripts and forgeries.
But it's all meaningless.
Reading hundreds of books at the same time, it didn't take long for Nostradamus to finish reading half of the ancient books in the library. He made a gesture, and the magic power put the books around him back to their original places.
The old mage couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
"The knowledge contained in many books has been outdated by the times."
He murmured to himself: "The spells and secrets from hundreds of years ago have now become common knowledge, and even many ancient prophecies have now been fulfilled. These books have no value at all and can only be used as historical records. Seal it and maybe put it in a museum in the future.”
Regarding this point, he seemed to have no emotion, just a simple emotion. The old mage walked to the next bookshelf and frowned: "Obviously for these people, the lost three hundred years have just passed, why don't there be any points in their books? News about the Era of Glory?”
The above point is the real reason for Nostradamus's disappointment.
Ever since the Empire discovered the sacrificial site of the ancient race under the Orc King's Court, ancient monuments of varying sizes have been discovered across the continent. The most shocking of them is the ancient artifact found by Guantian White Pagoda in the central Black Forest. City ruins.
This immediately set off a wave of archaeological craze in the academic world. Naturally, Nostradamus was also very interested in this. He took over the task of sorting out the ancient books in the Great Library, just to find out those long-lost books. Clues of the ruins.
In any case, the traces of a race's life and the record of a city's existence cannot be erased quietly like that. They must have left some clues in the books - this was the old mage's idea, but in fact, he But nothing was found, as if those ruins appeared out of thin air, leaving no trace in history.
-Perhaps, this is the so-called lost three hundred years. Nostradamus couldn't help but think so.
There is no trace at all, as if even its existence has been erased. That period of history may be an untouchable taboo for today's humans.
And in the hall of Black Swan Palace.
"Sorry, Master Nostradamus is sorting out the ancient books in the room. He said it was best not to disturb his work, so..."
A maid in a gray dress stood in front of Fendal with some embarrassment. She shook her head and said, "It's best to wait. It's already dinner time. The master might come out to dine..."
At this time, Joshua and others had arrived at the Royal Library.
In terms of structure, the Royal Library is actually similar to an ordinary library. Soft pyroxene lamps flicker between the bookshelves, emitting silvery light. There are no luxurious decorations or too surprising structures here. Everything is ordinary. Common, but the difference between it and other ordinary libraries is that it is large enough.
It is as big as an entire palace, and even more than ten floors of basements are part of the Royal Library. Here, people with a poor sense of direction can easily get lost. There have been many records of such incidents in history, and even the emperor of this generation I got lost here when I was a kid.
In a place like this, it is obviously unrealistic to find someone by yourself. Fendal directly found a maid serving here and asked where Master Nostradamus was, but the answer he received was not satisfactory. .
"Master, did he really say that?"
Joshua said, and he motioned the somewhat dissatisfied red-haired knight to step aside: "In that case, it doesn't hurt to wait for a while."
"Yes, it is!"
When she saw Joshua, the maid suddenly began to speak slurred words. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead and she looked very nervous. The maid stepped back bit by bit instinctively, but even so, professional Morality also made her say the last words: "If you want to wait... please go to the No. 3 lounge over there. We will inform you and the other party as soon as Master Nostradamus comes out."
"In that case, I'm almost leaving."
Knowing that his mission was now over, the red-haired knight bowed slightly to the warrior, who nodded in response: "Thank you."
"It is an honor to serve you."
After finishing speaking, Fendal turned around and walked towards the door.
Under the guidance of the maid, Joshua and others arrived at Lounge No. 3.
The lounge is actually a reading place for those who have borrowed books. It is a square hall with tables, chairs and bookshelves. Many people are reading books, most of them are young nobles. This can be seen from the coat of arms on their clothing.
Most of them are in their early twenties or under thirty. At this time, they should be studying some books related to nobility or extraordinary power. In the corner, there are several middle-aged men wearing mage robes. The young man was flipping through several thick spell books, transcribing and recording some important data.
Originally, the atmosphere in the entire lounge was quite harmonious. Apart from the identities of the people in it, it was no different from an ordinary library reading room. Even if some young nobles were chatting and laughing with each other in a low voice, it did not affect those busy people. The work of a mage.
But the arrival of Joshua broke this.
When the warrior first arrived here, the maid who led the way bowed hurriedly, and then left quickly as if she was running away. Others in the lounge also felt something cold climbing up their spines, and couldn't bear it. They all turned around and looked at the door.
"Earl Radcliffe!"
A young nobleman who recognized Joshua couldn't help but exclaimed in a low voice: "Why is he in the imperial capital now? He seems to have disappeared during the celebration, and no one can be found at all!"
In fact, almost everyone present knew Joshua, and even with a few exceptions, they had at least heard the warrior's name.
Because of slaying the dragon and killing a big demon in the imperial capital, Joshua's reputation was even louder than he imagined. Originally, he should be in the same class as these young nobles, but now, warriors can already compete with Their fathers are on par with, or even far surpassed. After all, most of these young nobles have not yet touched the edge of the golden barrier, but the warriors have been personally confirmed by His Majesty the Emperor as geniuses who can advance to legend in the future.
These are two worlds.
Not only that, they also vaguely felt that the pressure on Joshua was getting heavier and heavier, and the atmosphere was becoming more solid. As the soldiers gradually approached, the young nobles felt that they were slowly sinking into the deep sea. The water pressure The gradually expanding feeling almost suffocated them.
The soldier didn't care about this. He just found a seat and sat down with Ying and Lin, preparing to wait for Nostradamus to finish sorting out the ancient books.
"Sorry, I feel a little uncomfortable today..."
Just as Joshua sat down, a young nobleman who was closer stood up. He swallowed, his exposed skin was covered with goosebumps, and his voice seemed a little trembling: "Dear friends, Forgive me for being rude, but I'm really not feeling well. I'll take the first step in today's party..."
After saying that, he picked up his book and walked out quickly. When passing by where Joshua was sitting, he subconsciously took a long detour.
"So to say… "
"I also… "
"actually, I… "
After a period of silence, many people stood up again. For them, the entire lounge hall was getting darker little by little. Although the pyroxene lamp still flickered, the light was completely unable to illuminate the shadow in the soul. So when they saw someone leaving first, they subconsciously followed them together, even praising the person who left first for giving them an excuse.
Not long after, almost all the nobles left, and the mages on the other side also felt that something was wrong.
"... Let's go back to the research room to do the rest of the work. It's really a bit cold here."
After muttering softly, a middle-aged mage called his partner, and the two quickly left the lounge with their books. They could still vaguely hear their complaints about the library's heating system.
As a result, the remaining people also left the lounge with various excuses.
At this point, the third minute since Joshua arrived in the lounge, the entire hall was empty.
"...Didn't I bring magic equipment?"
Looking at the empty lounge, Joshua was silent for a while, then frowned, turned around helplessly, and said to Ying and Lin: "The effect of the mist pocket watch is very strong. When we were on the commercial avenue before, those passers-by You didn’t notice the coercion on my body, but why was everyone so nervous and wary of me as soon as I arrived at the Morlay Palace?”
"...Probably because, Master, you were just passing by before, and those passers-by naturally didn't have time to notice the coercion on your body..."
Rin thought for a while and said with some uncertainty: "And those nobles and mages just now saw your face, and they all knew your identity, so they focused their attention on you... Because of this reason, the effect of the fog pocket watch is weakened?"
After hearing Rin's guess, Joshua nodded slightly, but before he could speak, another voice came from the corner of the room: "It's a good explanation, but it doesn't get to the root of it."
A tall figure stood out from the corner that had been obscured by the bookshelf. His voice was low and clear: "No matter how the beast reduces its sense of existence, it is still a beast. You can't expect people not to be afraid of the lurking night leopard. A half-asleep lion.”
"Not to mention you, Joshua Van Radcliffe, a man who claims to be able to kill demons with his bare hands."
This chapter is in mobile phone code. I will correct the typo later.
The promised second update has finally been added. Why do I need a chapter of 4,000 words... If a chapter of 2,000 words can be updated twice every day... Do you guys agree
By the way, happy Seal Day!
(End of chapter)