Chapter 7: The Four Warriors of Yesteryear (3)
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The entrance to the basement was located in Monroe’s study.
From the worn edges of the tunnel, it was clear that the basement had been built ages ago, not just recently.
Noticing Trissa’s questioning gaze, Monroe said, “This underground chamber was specially built by our ancestors to keep the Coat of Arms safe. It’s been nearly four hundred years since then.”
Trissa struggled to contain her excitement. She never imagined that her own home hid such a secret passage.
If her father hadn’t discovered something about the Coat of Arms, she might never have known about this hidden room.
As they walked through the dim corridor, Monroe used a flint to light the oil lamp in the center of the basement.
The light was still dim, but it was a vast improvement compared to the pitch-black surroundings before.
At that moment, Trissa noticed many black boxes lining the edges of the secret chamber, clearly meant for storing various items.
Monroe skillfully pulled one out and placed it beside the lamp for the two of them to examine.
Even though he’d opened this box countless times over the past few decades to observe the shape and patterns of the Coat of Arms, he still took a deep breath as if witnessing this ancestral relic for the first time, hands trembling as he gently opened the box.
Trissa couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
Sure enough, the design of this Coat of Arms was nothing like most of the current noble family crests in the Empire.
From its material to its intricate patterns, she could feel the ancient essence it exuded, and there was even a faint hint of magical power.
“Father? This…”
Monroe nodded, “Yes, the technique to infuse magical energy into the Coat of Arms to prevent forgery has been lost to the Empire for a long time now.”
Just as she thought!
Trissa redirected her focus to its shape and design.
A prominent white wolf’s head was at the center of the Crest, surrounded by a ring of slender green leaf shapes that Trissa couldn’t quite name. Together, they didn’t seem out of place at all; the longer she looked, the more natural the design felt.
“White wolf? Is there even a habitat for such creatures within the Empire? And what about that plant…”
Trissa couldn’t help but ask.
“Your thought process is nearly identical to mine when I first laid eyes on this Coat of Arms,” Monroe smiled. “Unfortunately, the white wolf has been extinct within the Empire for thousands of years, and that plant has never been found.”
No wonder her father couldn’t trace the origin of the Coat of Arms despite his capabilities.
“Yeah, I was close to completely giving up on finding its origins. But lo and behold, the heavens don’t close all doors…”
Monroe’s excitement was rare, and in that instant, it was as if he was transported back to his youth the first time he realized there was a basement in their home.
This time, he carefully retrieved a tattered scroll from one of the black boxes.
“This is a travelogue left behind by a wandering poet before the Empire was established.”
He spread the scroll on the table, using a precision steel tweezer to carefully flip the pages, ensuring that his fingertip sweat and oils wouldn’t ruin the delicate remnants.
“Inside, there’s a tale about the origins of this Coat of Arms.
The white wolf and the green leaf crest belonged to a great noble whose territory was located at the northernmost tip of the Demon Race.
When the wandering poet arrived at the domain of the white wolf and green leaves, he received the utmost hospitality from the local lord, which prompted him to document some interesting encounters related to that noble.
It is said that this noble’s ancestors came from the eastern part of the continent, and after migrating here, through countless intermarriages over the centuries,
they lost almost all traces of their original ethnic features, except for their pure black hair.
But to distinguish themselves from the locals, they maintained an old naming convention,
so everyone living in the castle, whether master or servant, had names that consisted of just one character.”
Trissa murmured, “Names consisting of just one character?”
At that moment, a vague memory flashed through her mind. She seemed to have encountered a Demon Race with single-character names somewhere, but the impression was fleeting, like trying to catch smoke with her hands.
“It’s strange, right? After all these years, I’ve never met a noble with a similar naming convention within the Empire.
They must have completely vanished from this world before the establishment of the Empire.”
Monroe continued, “And yet, our ancestors met a descendant of this noble family beneath the Sky Tower. No, since they were undead creatures, it’s possible they were just remnants from thousands of years ago, animated by the Sky Tower to serve as guardians.”
“What happened next?” Trissa asked eagerly.
Monroe sighed, “Back then, the Four Warriors reached the 70th challenge but didn’t proceed any further. The Goddess of Destiny sensed their sincere efforts and manifested to bestow upon them powers rooted in their bloodline.
However, the ancient text currently in the Emperor’s possession alludes vaguely to the existence of a fifth person.”
Trissa was taken aback. “A fifth person? Did the Four Warriors have a bodyguard with them?
But according to the official histories, the Four Warriors relied solely on their strength…”
Monroe scoffed, “Official history?
Haha, history is written by humans. Isn’t it just about showing the public what they want to see?
Those things they don’t want you to see will be forever submerged in the river of history, unknown to anyone.”
Trissa fell silent; her father was right.
“Logically, after founding the Empire, the Four Warriors should have documented their past great achievements extensively to quickly win the loyalty of the citizens.
But in reality, just take your official history as an example—
the history praises the deeds of the Four Warriors from all angles, painting them as the heroes who saved the nation and its people.
Yet the part about the Four Warriors receiving the blessings of the Goddess of Destiny is brushed over with extreme brevity, leaving people only with a vague concept.
Had it not been for a certain servant who served one of the warriors and documented his reminiscences in detail during his later years, we might still be unaware of what trials the Four Warriors faced beneath the Sky Tower.
But even so, that warrior’s account still concealed something crucial during key moments.
After all, memoirs tend to embellish past experiences to some degree; they shouldn’t be taken at face value.
But he did mention the fifth person in the group. Unfortunately, this individual didn’t leave a name; only traces of their actions during the challenges. By the time the Four Warriors worshipped the Goddess of Destiny, that person had completely vanished from the records.”
Trissa’s blue eyes sparkled in the firelight.
“Father, do you mean that the fifth person in the group is the missing noble with the white wolf and green leaf Coat of Arms?”
Monroe nodded. “Yes, that’s my guess.”
“And the boss-level figure her ancestor Aiven encountered on the 70th floor was a few black-haired undead demons.”
Trissa fell silent. This almost confirmed that the Four Warriors had concealed the truth of their experiences as they strove to conquer the Sky Tower.
The heroic education she’d received during her childhood now had an irreparable crack in it.
