Chapter 30: The God of Death’s Ruins
2016-01-09
Author: Floating Tower
The Normans.
Previously mentioned in the information about this ancient human race, they are a group of people who are even more long-lived than half-elves, belonging to a human branch with a special affinity for spells. The origin of the Normans is now impossible to verify; some say they were born during the Silver Era, while others claim they emerged during the Arcane Empire period. The Normans are pure-blooded humans, and some ancient scholars consider them to be a more advanced form of humanity, their existence intimately linked to the archmages’ pursuit of immortality.
Many legends believe that the emergence of the Normans was a consequence of the archmages’ quest for eternal life.
The lifespan of the Normans is up to 300 years.
This is their natural lifespan, requiring no additional power. If they can advance to become professionists, their lifespan can be greatly extended; at times, they may obtain a life longer than that of high elves.
There are no Normans left in the southern continent.
This ancient race has nearly vanished, with only a slight presence remaining in the Eastern Kingdom.
However.
In the Eastern Kingdom, their lives are not easy, primarily because the long lifespan of the Normans has brought them disaster.
There once was a tyrant in the Eastern Kingdom who sought every means to extend his life as he approached the end of his natural span. There are many methods in the material plane for extending life, but the vast majority are controlled by spellcasters. Unfortunately, this tyrant was merely a warrior, and the few methods available to him for extending life were extremely scarce. In the end, after failing several methods, the tyrant turned his gaze towards the Normans of the Eastern Kingdom.
The blood of the Normans.
He extracted potions to prolong his life from the blood of the Normans in a certain evil manner.
The story is predictable; the already scarce Normans suffered significant casualties. Though the tyrant succeeded in extending his life, he enraged the Normans.
Thus, the last kingdom of the Eastern Kingdom was destroyed in the turmoil of war.
From that time until now, no state has emerged in the Eastern Kingdom, which has maintained a relatively loose city-state system.
The monasteries also took this opportunity to become the most powerful force in the Eastern Kingdom!
………………
Soren clearly should not mention the racial disaster of the Normans.
So he quickly retracted his next words and turned to leave. He had just placed a tracking mark on the girl named Alice, and if necessary, Soren could use the [Tracking] divine profession to find her at any time. Although he was very interested in the advanced technology from the Arcane Empire that she possessed, Soren decided to take it slow. After all, it was their first meeting, and there was still a strong sense of vigilance between them; such an important matter was better postponed until after they had met a few more times to consider cooperation.
Besides.
Leaving after putting on a show is truly exhilarating!
………………
In the midst of swirling sands.
After leaving the town, Soren headed westward toward the Eastern Kingdom, where the location of the God of Death’s ruins is approximately 300 kilometers away, situated in the quicksand area near the northwestern edge of the Death Desert.
Before departing, Soren sent a magical message to Gloria. He briefly summarized his encounter with the girl Alice and detailed the puppet girl she had created. Soren wasn’t very familiar with the advanced technology related to alchemy, so Gloria would likely know more about it and could more clearly assess whether such technology was worth Soren’s precious time and effort.
About an hour later.
Gloria’s magical message returned. The content was simple, the gist being—”No matter the cost, you must bring that girl back to me. If possible, lure her back; if not, forcefully capture her. In the worst-case scenario, kill her and bring back her puppet girl and related items.”
Finally.
Gloria informed Soren that the girl named Alice might possess top-tier alchemical knowledge from the Arcane Empire regarding imbuing “specialty” abilities into golem puppets.
The alchemical technology she masters might even be more valuable than what Soren brought back from the Golem War!
Eventually.
After some time, possibly due to Gloria mentioning this matter to the Fallen Witch, the Fallen Witch also sent a magical message indicating that if it really came down to it, she would temporarily set aside her current tasks to help Soren eliminate the girl named Alice. Ultimately, she confirmed that Alice also held top-notch knowledge of rune engraving; without such premium knowledge, it would be impossible for the golem puppets to shrink to the size of a palm while retaining so many powerful abilities.
Furthermore.
The Fallen Witch also suspected that Alice possessed another application technique for the “Floating Ring” because, in Soren’s description, these puppet girls could fly freely without needing to cast spells.
Free flight.
This is not something that can be achieved solely by relying on levitation devices from alchemy.
In simple terms.
Both legendary witches believed that the girl named Alice carried a wealth of advanced technology from the Arcane Empire!
Well.
Perhaps because they had been in contact with Soren for a while, both legendary witches had become decisive in their actions. Having confirmed through Gloria the value of this legendary puppeteer, Soren naturally knew what to do next. Killing was certainly not a good approach, especially since Alice had the even more powerful Eastern Empress behind her; now was not the time to antagonize her. Thus, Soren could only think of ways to get close to her, preferably able to lure her back to Modo City.
Modo City also has advanced technology!
Whether in the Chess Half-Plane or the Wizard Tower of the Shadow Plane, or even the recently acquired [Elemental Furnace], not to mention Soren’s identity as a True God.
For such a specially advanced puppeteer, Modo City would surely have one or two things that could attract her attention.
Many legendary spellcasters are academic enthusiasts.
As long as she could be drawn back to Modo City, Gloria should have ways to extract useful information or exchange something valuable from her.
Soren had already foreseen that the golem technology in Modo City would make tremendous progress!
………………
The journey spanned more than 300 kilometers.
There are too many chaotic magical areas in the Eastern Kingdom; during the journey, Soren also had to trek on foot for a while, but fortunately, he managed to find the location.
He even discovered the location where the Demon Avatar had initially fought.
The location of the God of Death’s ruins is in this area; due to the intense sandstorms here, Soren needed to search a bit. However, with his god-level perception ability, he still determined the spot through the fluctuation of magical energy.
The God of Death’s Ruins.
Soren was curious about which fallen god left this ruin behind. (To be continued ~^~)
