……
The Lord's Castle office.
It was two hours after listening to Sean's report.
Overall, the trip could be considered quite successful. Zoe and Betty not only brought back the ancient relics, but also used the captured God's Punishment Warriors to loot the grand duke's island treasury, filling an entire cabin with various jewelry and ornaments. Thus, the foundation of the original Hermes Church was completely severed. No matter which Wolfheart noble occupies Grand Duke Island in the future, they will not have any connection with the Church.
As for the companions, Kakin. Fies immediately bid farewell to the chief guard upon disembarking and returned to the hotel with his disciples, seemingly eager to start creating his new script.
Church members Farina and Joe were taken into the prison, awaiting trial by the Graycastle Security Bureau.
"I'll leave these two to you," Roland said softly, turning his head.
Nightingale squeezed his shoulder to show her understanding.
"So, the rumored treasure... the Festival Cube, is it in this lead box?" Roland looked at the gray box at Sean's feet—according to the description of the traitor Heger, it was about the size of a palm, like a cube made of polished stone; considering the danger of highly radioactive materials, he had the rescue team prepare before departure.
"Yes, I have been personally guarding it according to your instructions, and have not allowed any third party other than Zoe and Betty xiaojie to touch it," Sean replied. "But before putting it into the lead box, I noticed an unusual sign."
"What sign?"
"Your Majesty, do you remember that I mentioned in the secret letter the reason why Lorenzo decided to send Heger to Cage Mountain to inquire about information?"
Roland thought for a moment, "Because the treasure, which hadn't changed for nearly a hundred years, emitted languang?"
"Exactly," Sean nodded. "And what Zoe xiaojie said when she brought back the Festival Cube caught my attention—she said, 'The languang on the surface seems to be changing.' So I paid more attention and found that the light was pointing at me, like a compass. To be honest, I was quite frightened at the time and almost dropped the cube on the ground."
It was like listening to a ghost story, and Roland also felt a chill, but his face remained unchanged. "Did you find out the reason in the end?"
"Probably." Sean took out something from his pocket and handed it to the mahogany table. "After calming down, I thought it was unlikely that an ancient relic would react to an ordinary person, so something must be wrong. After some investigation, I found that it was not pointing at me, but at this coin."
That was the highly concentrated uranium coin used to find mineral sources—after Akima returned to Neverwinter, it was handed over to Sean.
So, the Festival Cube was emitting light again because it sensed the uranium coin?
That's quite interesting...
Roland pondered for a moment and then said, "I see. This mission was completed very well. You can go down and rest."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After Sean left, Nightingale appeared from the mist and circled the lead box.
"What's wrong? Did you find anything?"
"This is a magic creation," she said certainly. "Although it looks like an unpolished stone, it is definitely not that simple. In the mist, I saw a light similar to a magic vortex, like the magic core in the hands of the witches of Taquila."
Sure enough, Roland thought, the influence of magic on this world is probably deeper than he imagined. Unfortunately, judging from the information currently available, there are huge differences in the research and application of it by various groups. In the absence of analytical methods, it is difficult to conduct systematic research.
However, he also knew that empirical formulas are also formulas, and it's always better than having nothing. Before classical mechanics appeared, people still created various tools through observation and practice. Now that there is a new object of observation, we must study it carefully.
"Let's go to the Third Border City," he said. "I don't know if Celine has prepared a dedicated laboratory."
In any case, this relic, which is crowned with the name of a curse,
should not be left in the castle until it is confirmed to be absolutely safe.
……
"Why are you back again?" Pasha quickly greeted him upon entering the underground hall. "Is there a problem with the new weapon?"
Roland shook his head. "How far has the rock cave I commissioned Celine to expand been developed?"
"Ah, you mean that metal chamber? Except for the elevator, the other parts are basically completed. She is in the chamber now. Would you like to go and take a look?"
After receiving an affirmative answer, Pasha bent down her main tentacle. "Please come with me."
When Roland decided to send the God's Punishment Witches to Wolfheart a week ago, he also asked Celine to prepare the necessary facilities for research—a fully enclosed laboratory hidden deep underground with shielding capabilities.
If the Festival Cube really emits high-energy rays as he thought, then conducting experiments on the ground would undoubtedly be a very risky thing. Considering that Nana's treatment effect on radiation sickness is temporarily unknown, it is better to be cautious.
Following the Primal Carrier all the way down, Roland roughly recounted what happened in Wolfheart.
"I see," Pasha said with a smile. "It is indeed the best choice to let Celine tinker with it. Whether it is the research on magic, or the dismantling and repair of relics, she is a leader of the Exploration Society. After changing to this body, her skills have risen more than one level—I dare not say about others, but Celine may be the only one who took the initiative to integrate with the Carrier before Taquila showed signs of defeat."
"Ha..." Nightingale showed a disgusted expression. "You mean, compared to her original body, she prefers... tentacle tumors?"
"If that helps explore the secrets of the world," Pasha twitched her tentacles. "When she was still in the Exploration Society, what she complained about the most was that she didn't have enough hands and her body got tired too quickly. If she had mastered the soul transfer technology at that time, it's hard to say what she would have chosen."
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, the downward passage came to an end, and a vertical hole appeared in front of the three of them.
"This is the entrance, but the elevator will take a few more days to install," Pasha lowered her main tentacle. "Please climb down."
"Uh... is this the only way to get down?" Nightingale looked at the countless wriggling thin tentacles on the other party's body, seemingly a little apprehensive.
"This is the fastest way," Pasha reassured. "Don't worry, don't look at those short tentacles being small and flexible, they are actually quite tough and won't break if you step on them."
Roland took a deep breath and climbed onto the top of the Carrier's head along the main tentacle—he thought it would be as creepy as falling into a swarm of worms, but the actual touch was as soft as a carpet.
After Nightingale also climbed up, Pasha moved into the hole and slid quickly to the bottom of the hole.
After descending nearly a hundred meters, she slowly stopped, and a laboratory reflecting the cold luster of metal slowly appeared in front of Roland.