And so, under the command of Queen Isis, Casas was released and temporarily pardoned for his cris.
However, the Yibia Family, including his father Ibia and other mbers, remained imprisoned by the Queen.
As for the family servants, at Casas’s request, the Queen released them to serve as attendants on his journey.
Among them was Noen.
Upon seeing Noen, Casas couldn’t help but weep with joy.
Ibia only had Casas as an only child, hence he had no brothers.
Noen had grown up with him, and Casas regarded this servant as his own sibling.
Queen Isis inford Casas that perhaps Noen knew where the Golden Bull’s Horn was located.
The first person Casas thought of was Noen, who had been a slave of the Yibia Family.
"Noen, do you know where the Golden Bull’s Horn is?"
At that mont, Noen appeared bewildered.
"Young master, what is that... How would I know?"
Casas was puzzled, but he quickly ca to a realization.
How could Noen, a re servant, know about a treasure like the Golden Bull’s Horn?
It must be Noens of other prominent families who knew.
For this reason, Casas spent several days visiting the Noens of various families.
However, contrary to his expectations, not a single Noen knew what the Golden Bull’s Horn was, let alone where it might be.
Despair and frustration overwheld Casas’s heart.
He was only temporarily pardoned, and his family mbers were still imprisoned by the Queen.
If he couldn’t find the Golden Bull’s Horn, the mbers of the Yibia Family would die in prison, and the family’s history would be severed from that point on.
"Kagawus, please give so enlightennt."
In utter helplessness, Casas prepared to invoke the Prophetic Divine Power for once.
It was at this mont that Noen stopped Casas.
"What’s the matter, Noen?"
Casas was quite surprised,
"Do you have an idea? Do you know where it is?"
"I don’t know, young master, but... I have a place I want to go,"
Noen said softly.
"Go on."
After taking a deep breath, Noen spoke:
"The Elves’ kingdom, that ancient kingdom from thousands of years ago...
I heard an old Priest say that there, there are all sorts of legends."
Hearing this, Casas slapped his forehead.
He was the son of the Pri Minister and grew up listening to legends about Elves.
Perhaps... the Golden Bull’s Horn was in that Ancient Kingdom?
Casas felt this was very likely.
Moreover, he didn’t really want to use the precious Prophetic Divine Power for this.
"Young master, why not try it first? Find that kingdom... and there, search for the Golden Bull’s Horn.
If it’s not there,
it’s not too late to make a Prophecy then,"
Upon hearing Noen’s advice, Casas thought for a mont before nodding slowly.
"Just, all these years, no one has known where that ancient kingdom is,"
Casas hesitated to say.
"We must cross the desert; we can surely get there."
Casas glanced at Noen, and, to his surprise, he saw an indescribable certainty in the young man’s eyes.
It seed like Noen truly believed that they were destined to find the Ancient Elf Kingdom.
Casas was infected by this conviction, and sohow, he decided to believe in Noen.
"Alright, Noen. I believe you."
After having a goal, Casas no longer felt as lost as before.
He began to inquire everywhere for the location of the Ancient Elf Kingdom, searching for the ancient history from three thousand years ago.
But this was easier said than done.
The Three-eyed Ape People had lifespans of only eighty years, and after three thousand years of dynastic changes, many historic records had already scattered, the original history had beco vague, and the truth was covered by a thin veil.
Noen and Casas ran all over the Ajia Kingdom, spending a full three years flipping through innurable histories, seeking countless legends and anecdotes, and even purchased many ancient texts in the na of the Queen.
Eventually, amidst a vast sea of information, Noen and Casas pieced together the whereabouts of the Elf Priest Dorias from three thousand years ago.
After the death of King Lam, Dorias took control of the Kingdom’s power, and as the Kingdom’s population slowly increased, the barren desert could no longer sustain them. Dorias led the Kingdom to the south, following the guiding Prophetic Divine Power along the river to the Ajia plains, where they carved out a new world.
And once the son of King Lam ca of age, Dorias returned the royal authority and set out on the journey ho with the remaining mbers of his race.
Since then, no one has heard anything about the elves.
And after Noen and Casas conducted extensive investigations, they discovered that Dorias had made two prophecies before his return.
"You must not retrace the original path, just as the river does not flow backward,"
Casas murmured the prophecy.
This implied that the elves from three thousand years ago probably did not return the sa way they ca.
The other prophecy was this:
"You must never pause and look back, for disaster follows close behind."
Besides highlighting the danger of their journey, they also glimpsed so clues from this.
"Disaster follows close behind... Young master... Does this an that the road Dorias has to take is fraught with extre hardship?"
Noen asked aloud.
This was rely a guess, but it awoke sothing in Casas.
"I rember... Inside the Rove Desert, there’s a ’Path of Death.’"
Casas, having been the son of a Pri Minister, had encountered many cal caravans.
These cal caravans carried food, drinks, precious gemstones, and spices. They traveled between the cities and city-states of the Kingdom, often passing through the desolate Rove Desert.
As a result, among the cal caravans, countless rumors had circulated — so eerie, so magical, so absurd, so true. And among them, the most bizarre were about that Path of Death.
"So have said they encountered ghosts there who would lead cals away at night, trapping people in the desert until they died of thirst; others said the weather was erratic, with daylight one mont and darkness the next; still others claid that at night there are endless wails of ghastly spirits, those Three-eyed Ape People who once perished at the hands of elves...
And the scariest part is that the place is too barren, with no oasis or river, vegetation is extrely sparse... and often fierce sandstorms arise."
Casas muttered, a trace of cold sweat streaming down his face.
He knew, the rumors he recounted were just the tip of the iceberg of the ’Path of Death.’
"Noen... no one has ever crossed there."
Casas swallowed and said with fear.
Noen lifted his head at this mont and spoke:
"Perhaps we just don’t know about it...
Maybe those Logos people have crossed there and returned to that kingdom."
Casas saw Noen’s steadfast gaze, and he felt strangely bewildered.
Noen seed...
No longer the boy who always obeyed his master’s every command.
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