Chapter 692: Literature
Prit East Coast, Tivyán.
In Green Shade Town No. 17 in the northern suburbs of Tivyán, Dorothy sat calmly on the sofa in her home attire, sipping tea as she analyzed the information she had just received from Vania, who was far away at Sacred Summit. Her face showed a look of great interest.
“Ten thousand people’s relief… Is this the final ceremony of the Red Tier Level of the Path of Redemption? It really seems quite challenging. In a way, it’s somewhat similar to Adele’s promotion ceremony with the Dance of Giving, where one needs to influence many people. On one side, it’s dancing; on this side, it’s providing relief…”
After taking another sip of tea, Dorothy pondered this thought. She had been waiting for a long time for Vania’s promotion ceremony to be completed, and now, with only the final part remaining, Vania just needed to provide relief to ten thousand people to officially become a true Red Tier.
“Although ten thousand people seems like a lot, if there is sufficient support behind it, it shouldn’t be too difficult. By personally engaging in extensive relief efforts in places hit by major disasters, it wouldn’t take long to complete the ceremony. There are plenty of disaster-stricken areas in this world, so for Vania to complete the ceremony with the church’s support should not be too hard.”
“But the place chosen by Saint Amanda for Vania to complete the ceremony is quite thought-provoking. She specifically chose North Ufeiga for Vania to perform the ritual. This is intriguing…”
Dorothy stroked her chin, pondering this. From the arrangements made by the Redeemer Saint for Vania, she sensed something unusual.
“There are many places where Vania can complete the ceremony, including areas deeply influenced by the Radiant Church, making the Redeemer’s actions more convenient. Yet, this Saint Amanda still chose to have Vania go to North Ufeiga for the ceremony. This is quite intriguing… Although the reason she gave about Vania having good influence in Adus makes sense, it seems they have better options compared to North Ufeiga. Could it be that Saint Amanda detected something special about Vania?”
“The ‘Lamp’ has powerful detection methods, especially at the Golden Tier. Even though I had Vania prepare thoroughly before going to Sacred Summit—leaving the Sacred Text as a communication medium for The Navigations of the Literary Sea, removing the Puppet Mark, clearing all other spirituality within her body, only communicating through information channels and low-frequency interactions, and not linking with her when she entered important venues or met important individuals…
“Even though such measures were taken… in close proximity to a Golden Tier ‘Lamp,’ it’s impossible to guarantee hiding all secrets. Now it seems… Saint Amanda must have discovered something.”
With slightly furrowed brows, Dorothy pondered this in her heart, interpreting the intentions of the church’s living saint.
“Perhaps Amanda sensed some residual traces of my power on Vania, leading her to suspect Vania might be related to the mysterious external sects. She might have seen my traces linked to ‘Enlightenment,’ and since the only known organization associated with ‘Enlightenment’ is the Judge of Heaven Church, she concluded that Vania has secret ties with the Judge of Heaven Church based on the events of the Adus Rebellion and the Kankdar incident. This is why she sent Vania to North Ufeiga.
“Amanda has already seen through Vania’s secrets but chooses not to directly expose her, instead supporting her promotion. One reason is that Vania holds significant political importance for Amanda, and another reason might be that Amanda wants to use Vania as a channel to contact the Judge of Heaven Church. So she let Vania go to North Ufeiga, perhaps hoping to create an opportunity for contact…
“According to intelligence from Sander, the church’s upper echelons are embroiled in intense political struggles due to the Pope’s ascension to heaven, even reaching the point of collaborating with external organizations. Perhaps Amanda shares similar ideas on this front…”
Dorothy pondered this in her heart, her furrowed brows gradually relaxing. If her deductions were correct, despite some of Vania’s secrets being revealed, Vania’s current situation seemed safe from the standpoint of Amanda’s current attitude. As long as Vania’s superior in the Redeemer faction continued to protect her, the risk of Vania facing trouble within the church would be minimal.
“It looks like after going to North Ufeiga, I’ll need to be prepared to directly interact with the Redeemer faction…” Dorothy murmured to herself as she sat on the sofa, then reconsidered the idea. She also planned to go to North Ufeiga for clues, and if relations could be managed well, she might even leverage their strength to help herself.
“Vania’s ceremony requires providing relief to ten thousand people in disaster-stricken areas. Busairite fits the criteria perfectly. Vania will certainly be provided with ample armed forces by the Redeemer faction. If used properly, it might even result in acquiring additional combat strength.”
Dorothy calculated this in her mind. Soon after, she temporarily ended her analysis of the information Vania had sent back earlier and began addressing the immediate issues before her.
Dorothy turned her gaze to the tea table in front of her, where several books of varying covers, newness, thickness, and condition were placed.
These were the secret transmissions that Dorothy had recently ordered from Beverly. After purchasing them, she planned to use these transmissions to replenish her spirituality in preparation for her journey to North Ufeiga. Given her previous lack of spirituality, the secret transmissions she bought focused mainly on practical applications.
After scanning the tabletop, Dorothy first picked up an old-looking transmission and began reading it carefully.
This transmission was titled “City of the Mountain Furnace, Part 1,” documenting the history and culture of the dwarf race from before the current era. According to the unknown author, this transmission was translated from archaeological literature of the Third Era Empire, meaning it was a work produced during the Fourth Era based on research from the Third Era. Essentially, it was an archaeological study.
The main content of this transmission detailed a dwarf city named “Guhu Debuho,” which was excavated in the northern region of the current Main Continent during the Third Era. It was a grand underground city carved out inside the Great Snow Mountains, described in great detail in the original Third Era author’s account of the archaeological process, from discovery to initial exploration to deep exploration, with all encountered difficulties documented.
The first archaeological team of the Third Era discovered that the city was called “Guhu Debuho,” one of the key cities of the dwarf kingdom during the Second Era, primarily used for continuous mining of rich mineral deposits. The mountain body contained the palace temples and residences of the dwarves, while the underground sections below were continuously expanding mining areas.
The transmission mainly recorded the investigation of the internal mountain structure.
“Archaeological records of dwarf cities from the Second Era? Interesting… Based on previous information, the Second Era was a period when multiple intelligent races coexisted. The dwarves were likely quite prosperous, suggesting they were mainly active in the northern regions of the Main Continent during the Second Era. According to the author of this book, there are other remains of intelligent civilizations on the Main Continent besides the dwarven civilization.
“Compared to the Second Era, the main human power base seems to have been the First Dynasty of North Ufeiga. The name ‘First Dynasty’ originated from the naming of archaeologists during the Third Era Empire, probably because it was the first dynasty established by humans and the first strong regime. The First Dynasty flourished in North Ufeiga and coexisted with other intelligent civilizations during the Second Era.”
As Dorothy read this archaeological document, she pondered this in her heart. After finishing most of it, she extracted the spirituality, ultimately gaining 5 “Stones” and 2 “Enlightenments.”
After putting down this transmission, Dorothy picked up a second ancient book. The binding was similar to the previous one but thinner. Upon flipping through it carefully, she realized it was a continuation of the first transmission, titled “City of the Mountain Furnace, Part 2.”
“City of the Mountain Furnace, Part 2” continued the narrative from Part 1, detailing how the Third Era archaeological expedition team explored the lower parts of the dwarf city after completing the internal mountain section. The record noted that they discovered the paths to the mining areas below, and after prolonged preparation, continued exploring the ancient city.
The underground area of the ancient city was extremely complex, with various mining routes intersecting and connecting, making it easy to get lost. Accidental collapses were also common.
The archaeological documents described the team’s descent, encountering the most frequent signs of dwarf mining activities. Besides mining traces, they found numerous scattered weapons and armor, indicating warfare and conflict. The deeper they went, the higher the proportion of discovered weapons. In some large caves, tens of thousands of scattered weapons and armor were found, with walls bearing countless marks from blades, blunt instruments, and explosions, showing these large caves were once fierce battlefields!
The imperial archaeological team conducted meticulous studies and analyses of these ancient battlefields in the underground tunnels. They found that the size of the weapons and armor was smaller than those of ordinary humans, clearly not made by the dwarves themselves. They had fought fiercely against unknown enemies in their excavated underground tunnels, leaving behind these traces.
The imperial archaeological team confirmed that these battlefields were left by the dwarves, but strangely, no dwarf remains were found. Not only were the dwarf remains missing, but the remains of their mysterious opponents were nowhere to be found either. Besides the dwarven equipment and battle traces, everything else had vanished, leaving the imperial archaeological team of the Third Era with deep confusion. This transmission ended abruptly amidst these questions.
“Could the underground mining areas of the dwarf race have experienced so much fierce fighting? Who were they battling? Why did the battles concentrate in the underground mining areas? Could their enemies have come from here?
“The questions brought up in this middle part are much more numerous than those in the first part. Looking at the title on the cover, it seems there is a third part to this transmission. At the end of the middle part, the archaeological team mentioned they intended to explore the underground mining areas further. Could the third part document this?”
Dorothy pondered this, then began searching the table for the next part of “City of the Mountain Furnace” to read. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find it after searching around. It seemed the batch of transmissions sold by Beverly did not include the third part. Reluctantly, Dorothy extracted the spirituality from the middle part and began reading other transmissions.
This middle part provided 3 “Stones” and 1 “Enlightenment” for Dorothy.
After putting down “City of the Mountain Furnace, Part 2,” Dorothy picked up a thin, loosely-bound transmission with a deep green cover. The title of this transmission was “A Record of the Witchwood Forest Civilization.” Like the previous one, it was a Fourth Era re-examination and translation of Third Era archaeological results, authored by an archaeologist from the Third Era Empire.
The archaeologist led an expedition to a vast rainforest region in what is now the southern part of Ufeiga. This dense rainforest, teeming with miasma, is currently the site of activities by the Rotten Sect. Dorothy had previously seen similar descriptions in a transmission gifted to her by Lu’e, the leader of the Holy Communion in Igewent.
According to the original Third Era author, this dense rainforest in South Ufeiga also housed an ancient non-human intelligent civilization from the Second Era. This civilization revered nature and life, worshipping a deity known as “Mother Earth.” Legend has it that the deity’s incarnation was a towering world tree. This civilization was also known as the “Elves.”
