Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 752 - : Third Nail

Chapter 752 -752: Third Nail

“Understood.”

Iluna seemed eager to try:

“Last time, it was with your help that I managed to defeat Daknis. This time, I must prove that I can do it on my own.”

This meaningless “comparison” was actually Iluna’s feeling that Shard did too much. Like Luviya often self-deprecating about her uselessness, the seventeen-year-old girl also wanted to prove her irreplaceable role among the three.

“Your safety is the most important.”

Shard reminded, to which Iluna nodded with a smile:

“Oh, there’s one more thing, a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer from the Three Great Magics Academies has arrived.”

Granny Cassandra had mentioned this point:

“Who is it?”

“Someone from your Saint Byrons.”

“Hm?”

Shard was surprised; there were only two Thirteen-Ring Sorcerers in Saint Byrons in this era:

“Miss Danester has come? Then I should be cautious.”

“No, it’s your dean, Professor Andre Pigman, the ‘Silver Guardian.’

“The dean himself came?”

This was the most surprising news so far:

“But… How could the Church of the Five Gods allow this to happen?”

Although the Church and the Academies had a cooperative relationship, normally, a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer of the Academy would not easily step into the core district of the Church. For instance, Midshire Fort was the core district of the Church of Nature.

“Dealing with the interstice affairs, the Church also needs the help of the Academy. Moreover, in the events involving the second Chosen One, Miss Mana Feliana, the founder of Saint Byrons, appeared. Saint Byrons thinks that since it happened once, it might happen again.”

“Although such reasoning is not without sense. But it certainly won’t this time, I’m sure of that.”

Shard immediately said, while Iluna twirled the cup in her hands, laughing, Miss Feliana was there when she appeared:

“You can be sure, I trust you, but Saint Byrons and our Church don’t know that. So, Professor Pigman is coming… Oh, he hasn’t arrived yet. Thirteen-Ring Sorcerers are always very busy; he will come to Midshire Fort on the day of the ritual. Or, when we find Joey Barton’s whereabouts and take action, he will also come.”

“The Church really is well-prepared this time, first eliminating unstable elements, deterring other sorcerers, and then enlisting a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer from outside the Church as assistance. I think Zaras and Xerxes must have sent Twelve-Ring professors too.”

“After all, with the precedents of Tobesk and Coldwater Port, the Church always learns its lessons.”

She stirred with her silver teaspoon.

Iluna’s cup contained red tea mixed with milk, the quantity of tea being twice that of the milk, giving the tea a silky appearance with a gradient of a white circle and a red circle. In Shard’s hand was red tea with lemon juice added; Outlanders did not understand the art of tea tasting, nor did they have refined tastes, which is why Iluna recommended that Shard try it.

“So when exactly does the ritual start? I asked my priest friend, he is also participating in the ritual, but he still doesn’t know the exact time.”

“Because the time hasn’t been determined yet, the Church’s astrologers are waiting for the right moment,”

Iluna lowered her voice:

“But it definitely won’t be this week, as the ‘Four Nails’ haven’t been dealt with yet. It should be next week, definitely before Thursday.”

Today was already Thursday, and the story of Milestone was finally coming to its last act.

Iluna couldn’t stay out too long, so after discussing matters, she took the red rose and returned to the Sun Cathedral. The eerie city-wide fog, the cause of which the Church had not yet clarified, meant that Iluna, with her fighting strength, had to be ready to depart at any time.

After saying goodbye to Iluna, Shard then walked towards the Dawn Chapel in the city center. Fortunately, nearing noon, the rising sun dissipated some of the dense fog, and it was finally possible to find an empty carriage on the street side; otherwise, Shard estimated he wouldn’t reach the Dawn Chapel before one in the afternoon.

Priest Augustus, as agreed, waited for Shard at the corner of Oak Street. Meeting up, the two first went for lunch, during which Shard informed the priest that the Witch Council had already reinforced the seal halfway up the mountain.

The priest didn’t know what involvement Shard had with the Witch Council but was satisfied with the news:

“So far, all the operations have gone very smoothly. I think the matters of Midshire Fort will definitely come to a perfect conclusion.”

Although everyone hoped for this, from an Outlander’s perspective, saying such things before and after an event seemed a bit ominous.

Shard and Priest Augustus’s task for the afternoon was to determine the locations of the remaining two ‘Nails.’ Since the Church had already started operations in the north of the city, they started their search from the south.

Priest Augustus claimed he could roughly sense the target’s location. Shard thought he just needed to stand in a high place and close his eyes to receive information from the wind. However, Old Cleric laughed at Shard for being too naïve; even the mystic practices of magicians had basic rules.

Searching for the Resurrected Ones, they relied on a pitch-black feather, which, no matter how one looked at it, seemed like the priest had plucked it from his own wings.

“Not at all, don’t get the wrong idea. This is my Arcane Technique; this feather’s essence is similar to your Moonlight Greatsword.”

The priest explained as if he knew what Shard was thinking, then held the feather between his palms and lifted it to his face amidst the misty streets.

He took a deep breath and then blew, the feather lifting into the air like it was caught in a whirlwind, swiftly flying towards the sky.

“That should do it.”

Priest exhaled and gestured for Shard and him to find a carriage:

“Arcane Technique ‘Search of the Deceased,’ originally designed to precisely detect undead creatures. However, due to my own Talent, its effect has mutated to allow searching a wide range for any entity that can be defined as ‘The Deceased.’ Of course, knowing their main characteristics is necessary.”

The pitch-black feather floated and circled above the area where the target was located. Today’s weather was just right for using this Arcane Technique without being noticed.

Priest could sense the feather’s approximate location, so the two of them just needed to direct the carriage to the corresponding place. The rest was up to Shard.

Fortunately, after floating for twenty minutes, the feather indeed found the target in the southern part of the city. Shortly afterward, Shard and Priest Augustus arrived to find that the area was the bustling core of the South District.

Priest Augustus approximately marked the range on the map, then Shard and the priest set out on foot in the fog to search the area. At three in the afternoon, as they turned from Elmwood Street onto Annabelle Street, Shard finally felt a burning pain on his right shoulder:

“It’s somewhere around here.”

The two quickened their pace, and upon arriving outside a large manor belonging to a local noble located in the middle of Annabelle Street, the Red Butterfly Brand couldn’t wait to leave Shard’s skin, flapping its wings in front of him as if to lead him into the house:

“This is the place!”

Shard stopped walking, Priest Augustus glanced curiously at the Red Butterfly, then took in the manor shrouded in dense fog.

The house was surrounded by high walls, and the ground level of the courtyard was at least half a person lower than the road surface. Only the upper part of the second floor of the mansion was visible from the courtyard, indicating from the decoration that the owner was a grand noble fallen on hard times; a common sight in the big cities of this era.

The mansion looked run-down due to its antiquated decor, and its grand nobility was discernible from the ornamental designs at the gate. Lecia often shared some common knowledge about nobility in her Saturday classes, so Shard understood these things too.

Of course, this wasn’t enough for Shard and Priest Augustus to know who the house belonged to. But after asking around the area a bit, they found out that the mansion belonged to Earl Dalark of Campbell.

“Is it him?”

Having returned to the mansion’s gate, Shard looked surprised.

“Detective, you know him?”

“Yes, I met him at the Fire Worship Festival’s party. That time, this Earl wanted to invite one of my companions to dance, and then he challenged me to a duel with Roder Cards, and then…”

He shrugged, the outcome was obvious.

“Do you know this man?”

Priest asked again, and Shard nodded as he reminisced:

“He was dressed quite flamboyantly, wearing a red formal gown adorned with ornate medals, a flower pinned to his reddish-brown hair. He wore dark red trousers on the lower half, and his legs were covered in white long socks that wrapped over the trousers up to the knee. Oh, I can’t appreciate that style of clothing. The Earl’s height is about the same as mine, but he is slightly leaner, supposedly recovering from a serious illness…”

At this point, Shard realized something:

“Could it be that what was called recovery from a serious illness was actually his death. It’s just that after being resurrected, everyone, including the Earl himself, thought he had healed… Speaking of which, when I saw him at the festival party, I felt there was something off about him, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. (Chapter 693)”

“Sounds like a typical fallen noble, I’ve seen many in Tobesk. As to whether we’re looking for him or a servant in the house, we’ll find out once we go in.”

Priest was about to pull the bell at the entrance, but Shard stopped him with a hand:

“What reason do we have for visiting? Although I’m carrying ‘The Night Watchman,’ we can’t just say we’re here to sell antiques, can we?”

Shard shook the longsword wrapped in grey cloth in his hand.

He was disguised using Witch’s eyeshadow, and Priest Augustus also had his Magic Potion to use, not worried about being identified, but visiting required a reason.

Old Cleric, experienced as he was, provided an answer:

“Isn’t he a Roder Card Player? You can claim to be a Roder Card Player from out of town, wanting to challenge the Earl to a game. You should have some Special Cards that you haven’t used from when you were a Big City Player, right?”

“Of course I do. ‘Legend of the Hero: Bard Fletcher’ can be used.”

Shard waved his hand, and the card automatically flew out of his pocket, hovering between them.

He had won it in a tavern at the Traveller’s Camp on Rising Wind Trail from a young poet who had traveled the Old Continent. Besides Mr. Sean Asmon, the Demonologist, Sister Delphine, and the Vampire Kind Armand Bernhardt, nobody knew this card was in Shard’s possession. As for the ‘History of New World Exploration: Winds of Exploration,’ related to Miss Aphrola which he also acquired in Milestone, it was inconvenient to bring out.

“Showing this card might just get the butler to let us in.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

Shard asked, Priest shook his head again:

“Detective, look around.”

“Around… what’s wrong?”

Shard puzzled, Old Cleric said meaningfully:

“It’s quite foggy out, and in this weather, anything can happen.”