Just one coin was not enough to predict the fate of the third chosen one. Even though Luvia had used the time of the players in the big city to advance from the third ring to the fourth ring, her "cost divination" had not significantly reduced the demand for currency relics.
However, she finally got the information about "Midhill Castle" that she applied for from the headquarters of the Prophet Association. It contained a lot of descriptions about the narrow gap between life and death, but it was no longer useful to Shad, and he would not enter that place again.
The only thing that surprised him was that the Prophet Association believed that the "dead volcano" of Mount Xikar was not a naturally formed volcano, but a volcano formed by external forces. Moreover, Mount Xikar still had the possibility of eruption, but the eruption might not be magma.
“Does the association believe that if deaths break out, the most likely outbreak point will be the top of Mount Sikar?”
Shade wondered, but Luvia didn't understand either.
He came from his basement to the abandoned tower in Mount Xikar. After practicing sword-swinging a hundred times in the forest in front of the tower, he went down the mountain and into the city.
Cassandra Auction House is the most famous chain auction house in the entire Old World. Its headquarters is located in the city center of Midhill Castle.
The auction house, along with the parish's Natural Church, Dawn Church, and the City Hall, are all located on Santa Carla Avenue in the city center. Although geographically, this is not the most central part of the city, but rather in the south, the surrounding area is the economic, political, and cultural center of the entire city.
At the two ends of Santa Carla Avenue are Oak Street and Punjab Street. Many important border agencies such as the Kingdom's Border Management Bureau are located in the former, while the latter is dotted with offices of large and small transnational trade groups.
"Wait, Punjab Street?"
In the second half of the harvest month, the leaves on the trees on the roadside had begun to fall off. When Shade got off the carriage at Cassandra Auction House, he was suddenly startled, and then turned his head to look at the intersection of Santa Carla Avenue and Punjab Street:
"I remember that in the intelligence delivered by the Grey Eagle, the Principality of Set told the Kasenrick people that the goods they helped to transport were in a warehouse on Punjab Street... Wait, what does this have to do with me?"
He immediately forgot what he had suddenly remembered, and was very sure that the loyal MI6 major agent Shad Hamilton had no connection with the evil Carsonrick people (note).
Today I came to the Carsenrick Auction House mainly to meet the great witch Zina Cassandra and Sister Defulin of the Spiritual Cult. In addition to thanking them for their help, I also want to explain in detail what happened in the narrow space between life and death on Saturday night.
Of course, Shade would not say that he and Priest Augustus had both "died" once and returned from the world of the dead. He only said that he met many strange people in the narrow space between life and death, and even saw a very strong blood-sucking species from a distance.
"The opponent is really strong. In addition to the man with wings, the one who caused the red aurora above Mount Xikar might also be the vampire. After all, isn't the power of vampires often blood-red?"
Xia De said without any psychological burden.
He saved the middle-aged vampire and his nephew, who were not only of a different race, but also foreigners who spoke the Kasenric language. He might never see them again in his lifetime.
"Dhampir? There do seem to be some long-term residents here, but aren't they just ordinary citizens?"
Mother Cassandra talked to Sister Devlin and didn't seem to doubt his words.
The two also told Shad that a total of 17 missing persons, including Father Augustus, had been found one after another by soldiers from the Royal Draerion Army in City Hall and Windy Path yesterday.
Everyone has lost their memories of the time between life and death. This is not only the result of the Level 0 relic itself, but also because the living are not supposed to have any memories related to the world of death.
In short, Priest Augustus has successfully returned to the Dawn Church. After a physical examination and a simple questioning, he can return to his normal work. Compared with the other 16 missing persons, the priest is not special. No one remembers what he did in the narrow space between life and death.
Granny Cassandra knew that Shade had come to Midhill Castle from Tobesk by special means, so before Shade got up to leave, she told him that if he had any trouble in the city, he could always come here to ask for her help. Sister Defulin of the Spiritual Order also heard all this, but she did not express curiosity about Shade's space crossing.
She didn't understand why the witch would get close to a man, but she also promised that Shade could get help from the spiritual order at any time. She still didn't tell Shade where the order was, but Shade could contact her through the Blind House.
After expressing his gratitude again, Shade told others that he wanted to buy special blood, currency relics, and time keys, and then left Cassandra Auction House. When he reached the door, someone called his name again:
"Mr. John Watson!"
Turning around, he saw the lobby manager on the first floor of the auction house who had just led the way for Shade. The brown-haired middle-aged man in a neat suit hurried over and handed Shade a brass card.
Xia De originally thought it was the other party's business card, but after looking through it, he realized it was not.
"Mr. Watson, this is the VIP card of Cassandra Auction House. It can be used in all auction houses and branches in the Old World. I forgot to give it to you just now."
He said respectfully. Xia De nodded and put the card away. Then he asked him again:
"If I want to contact an officer stationed at Windy Path, what is the easiest way?"
The camps of these border troops were all in the Xikar Mountains. Shade didn't want to go into the mountains along the Fengqi Trail because it was too far.
"Do you know the specific unit number or camp location?"
The middle-aged manager asked, and Xia De shook his head:
"I only know his rank and name."
"Then I suggest you go to the tavern in the south of the city and ask. Officers like to go to the tavern to have fun during their holidays. They know each other well and you will find the answer."
Seeing Xia De nod, he hesitated and said:
"I mean no offense to those honorable border guards, but they are often... impolite and rude, and I'm afraid it would be difficult for a gentleman like you to deal with them."
The middle-aged man didn't know Shad's true identity, but seeing that he was favored by Ms. Cassandra, the owner of the auction house, he thought he was a young descendant of the nobility or from a wealthy merchant family.
“What do they like to do in the pub?”
Shade asked curiously.
"What else? Women, alcohol, and Rhodes."
"I see..."
Shad thought thoughtfully, he believed he would get along well with the local officers.
Because it is connected to the most important railway line in the central and eastern parts of the continent, the density of pubs and hotels around the Midhill Castle Railway Station in the south of the city is amazing. Even during the day on Tuesday, most of the pubs along the street are still open and have many customers.
It was noon, so Xia De wanted to find a place to eat and gather intelligence. He didn't want to squeeze into a crowded tavern, but going to a high-end restaurant was not only expensive but also impossible to gather information.
I wanted to have a meal in a big hotel like the Three Cats Inn in Tobesk, which looked respectable and did relatively regular business. Just now, when I was riding in a carriage, the enthusiastic coachman recommended the "Sikar Inn" on Birch Street, two streets away from the train station.
The name is quite straightforward, but it seems to leave a deeper impression on people.
"I don't know if 'Xi'kar' is considered a chain brand. If so, someone will probably come and collect the brand fee."
Xia De thought about it happily. Only he understood the meaning of these thoughts.
Midhill Castle City has abundant timber resources, but the buildings in the old days in the southern city are mostly made of stone due to military and fire protection needs. The area of the Sikar Inn is far smaller than the Three Cats Inn in Tobesk City, but this inn is also divided into four floors. The upper two floors are accommodation areas, and the lower two floors are restaurants and pubs.
It was exactly 11:30 in the morning when Xia De put on her eyeshadow and pushed the door open to walk into the hotel. The sun was quite bright today, and the light shone through the gray stone window frame into the window, leaving mottled traces of light or dark on the tables and guests.
There was a scent of wine in the inn, and the guests who were having lunch had already filled two-thirds of the tables on the first floor. The restaurant was bustling with people of different identities talking to each other in various languages.
Even when Shad entered the room, he heard someone complaining loudly in Carsonrick about the excessive humidity in Midhill Castle in the autumn. This was a scene that could only be seen in peacetime.
By the wall, there was a long-haired male bard wearing a red hat, sitting on a high stool playing the lute, with a silver Carsenrick whistle standing at his feet.
Seeing that there was an empty table near him, Shade sat over, then asked the waiter for a menu and selected some food that might suit his taste. He didn't order too much food, after all, he had an appointment with Father Augustus in the afternoon, and the Father owed him a meal.
While choosing the drinks, Shade unconsciously thought of the wine Tifa brought him at dinner yesterday. He kept a straight face and gave the menu back to the waiter, then watched the poet playing and singing beside him while waiting for his lunch to be served.
The bards who performed in taverns for money often used heroic epics and legendary stories as their material. Sometimes they would cater to the needs of the kingdom's officials and sing some current political news in exchange for money.
The poet in front of me is singing about the story of the phoenix in the local legend. The current part of the song has reached the end of the story, which is the part where the people in the story mourn for the phoenix that sacrificed for the city.