Through the main quest released by Annan, Lin Yiyi and Jiu’er learned imdiately what their next step should be.
That was to inquire of Atalante about the possible whereabouts of the "Heart of Justice."
And Atalante had no intention of concealing anything.
After asking about the current world map and her approximate "death date," Atalante had a rough guess.
"According to my arrangents later on, I would probably head to the Winter region in the north,"
she answered honestly. "If I were to die in the north, I would likely hide the ’Heart of Justice’ in the farthest reaches of the north."
Although the "Winter region" of the imperial era was also a Duchy, it was not entirely coincident with the later "Duchy of Winter."
In such a cold region, difficult to cultivate, living resources were scarce. Several settlents could only spread out as much as possible to harvest more from fishing and forestry, to fish, whale, and hunt better.
The Black Sea of today was called the "Whalebone Sea" back then.
As the na suggests—the carcasses of whales were scattered throughout the entire sea.
But after the collapse of the great barrier, the Duchy of Winter, which used a nesting doll approach with a blizzard barrier to separate the Mist and smaller barriers to block the blizzards, could only cluster on a large scale. And those cities at the very edge of the region had to be abandoned.
Like the northernmost part of the present Duchy of Winter, which was the site of the "Six Provinces of the North Lands’" rebellion. They were, in fact, caught in the middle by the great barrier, with so cities now exposed outside of it.
But a very, very long ti ago... the "Six Provinces of the North Lands" could only be considered a more northern part. If the Duchy of Winter were cut from top to bottom into ten equal parts, they would be roughly in the position of the third part.
Continuing north from the northernmost point of today’s Duchy of Winter, one would arrive at the area now known as the "Amber Sea"—for amber was sotis seen floating in its waters.
And beyond the Amber Sea, further north, there lay an endless expanse of glaciers.
——But actually, in the depths of those glaciers, there were still people surviving.
They were a strange congloration of Elves who believed in the "Path of Good," and so Dwarves and Giants with thick subcutaneous fat, highly resistant to severe cold.
The Giants stood over three ters tall, with the tallest reaching five to six ters... while the Dwarves were usually around one ter, the shorter ones even less than a ter. But it was precisely this significant difference in height that allowed them to live together well, forming a curious symbiotic relationship.
——Until the great barrier shattered.
Because the breeding of their races was too successful, leading to a surplus of elders and children. They didn’t manage to retreat to the Duchy of Winter imdiately and dragged their feet for several days... and by then, a considerable number of them had died outside.
Only fewer than a hundred Dwarves, who at that ti were out on public business or traveling outside the Winter region, were spared from the calamity and narrowly escaped.
Their past dwelling, the endless glaciers, was the so-called farthest north. It was a very remote place, far removed from civilization, an edge of the world, making it highly suitable for the placent of the sacred remains.
The sacred remains, first and foremost, should not be placed in a crowded area, certainly not inside a city. But it shouldn’t be tossed carelessly into the wild either... because if soone were to pass by, they might also unseal it.
Based on the information provided by Atalante.
If she indeed died in Winter, and the "Heart of Justice" was on her at the ti, and she had the chance to choose her place of death,
she would definitely hide the Heart of Justice along with her remains in a corner of the frigid land...
But there was another possibility.
If she believed her ascension ritual was perfect at the ti, planning to ascend... then at that mont, she should be in the "Whalebone Sea" or the Amber Sea. In that case, Atalante would not have ti to hide the Heart of Justice.
"...But it’s unlikely to be in the Black Sea,"
Annan pondered.
Because the body of water now known as the "Black Sea," to the west of Winter, is connected with the surroundings of Noah. If the Heart of Justice were in the Black Sea, then it should’ve been discovered by fishern long ago... at the very least, there would be rumors.
Since the "Heart of Justice" had been lost for several hundred years, even a rumor about it had not been heard.
It was most likely sealed in so unknown place.
Nowadays, both the "Amber Sea," void of any living creature, and the glacier a bit further north, were possibilities.
...And then the question arose.
Neither Annan, Kafney, Maria, nor Salvatore... none had the ability to cross the great barrier. They were genuine Transcendents; stepping outside the barrier would lead them to sudden death...
Allowing an ordinary person to leave the barrier and venture into such a place where both air and water sources were contaminated by the Mist, where only fish beneath the ice layers were edible...
Moreover, they would have to sail to the very center of the ocean or traverse endless glaciers—and after retrieving the Heart of Justice, still make it back alive.
...This was imnsely difficult.
In the Mist, even compasses would malfunction, more than half of the rituals would beco unbalanced due to the excessive amounts of curses in the air. All carried food and water were extrely prone to spoilage; even jerky wouldn’t last three days, and untreated food wouldn’t even endure a single day.
Once injured, a wound would never heal but would instead worsen with each passing day; if one fell ill, the illness would never recede but gradually grow more severe.
Under such harsh conditions, even if one were to obtain the Heart of Justice, how would they successfully bring it back?
But while waiting for Kafney and the others to return,
Annan’s gaze suddenly shifted and he noticed soone.
It was one of the attendants who had co with Annan from Winter.
The "Omnipotent Key," Jacob.
—He was neither a Transcendent, an extrely excellent and adaptable Ritualist, nor possessed the ability to teleport over long distances.
Jacob noticed the gaze and looked back with a bit of confusion.
"It’s alright, go to sleep."
Annan rely smiled and said nothing more.
But he had already made a plan in his mind.
—Since Salvatore had already t Chiron, it would be fine to go see him tomorrow. It was very late tonight... by the ti they returned, it would be around one in the morning.
Senior Salvatore must be asleep by three in the morning—and he had only gone out with Kafney and others after taking a stimulant potion.
Even just to take care of his health, Annan would not drag him at this hour to find Chiron.
Maria and the others returned shortly after without any unforeseen incidents. Both players and Salvatore were placed by Maria at Salvatore’s doorstep.
She then took Kafney back to the palace—unnoticed by anyone en route.
But the next morning, around seven o’clock... soone knocked on the door of Annan and Maria’s temporary residence.
This was undoubtedly a very rude gesture.
However, the situation was urgent, and it was imperative to report to His Highness Annan.
Annan, upon hearing this, was also taken aback for a mont.
This was completely beyond his expectations.
Specifically, it was this.
—Last night, Prince Philip had died.
Reviews
All reviews (0)