Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1432: Chapter 159: Map

Pompeii City, Inner City… Inner City Castle.

Unlike the situation with the Godly Land, since being lost due to the constant changes of the castle, Dazzle experienced many upheavals together with Bylegang and Kuluo Luoya.

The legendary hero of the werewolves was now even reaching his limits, his breath slightly disordered and his forehead beginning to sweat, all proving his dire state at the moment, “Bloodsucker, did we really come to this ghost place back then?”

In response to Kuluo Luoya’s question, Bylegang merely frowned deeply, “Kuluo Luoya, do you still remember how we reached the last room back then?”

“Of course! How could I forget that path…” But his words quickly stopped, as he could no longer find the original path, “The terrain here has been constantly changing!”

Bylegang shook his head and then looked at the Luminous Tower Master… Only to see Dazzle still looking calm and composed, though they had encountered quite a few dangers along the way, he didn’t seem to have expended much.

After the great war a hundred years ago, the Allied Forces managed to retrieve some items deemed as divine artifacts from the castle… Besides the legendary Holy Spear, Dazzle also knew the Magician’s Association had obtained another trophy.

The specifics of it were unknown to outsiders, much like others couldn’t understand the specific effects of the trophy he held, either.

But Bylegang learned through special channels that the second trophy kept by the Association seemed to grant nearly infinite magic power to a person… Perhaps that explains why the Luminous Tower Master seemed unspent at this moment.

“Seventy-six times.” At this moment, the silent Dazzle suddenly spoke, “Since we entered, this place has changed seventy-six times, with no regular pattern, all changes are random. That’s why we’ve never been able to find our way.”

Saying this, a beam of light suddenly appeared in the passage where they were… Dazzle reached out and flicked the light beam, shaking his head, “We’ve been going in circles all along.”

Kuluo Luoya looked at the Luminous Tower Master’s methods curiously, while Bylegang seemed slightly surprised, as he hadn’t realized the First Tower Master’s feat at first.

“Anyway, it seems to have stopped for now.” Kuluo Luoya suddenly said, “Given the previous frequency, this broken place should have moved at least twice, after all… What’s that? It looks like Secret Steel!”

They all looked toward the direction Kuluo Luoya pointed, seeing a gray, indistinct figure slowly walking across the passage ahead.

“Slow down.” At this moment, Dazzle waved his hand, stopping Kuluo Luoya who intended to go forward and explore, then lightly tapped his magic wand on the ground, launching a light arrow from the floor which directly shot at the figure appearing ahead in the passage.

Clang——!

The sound of metal striking metal instantly echoed in the passage, Dazzle’s light arrow had vanished, leaving behind a glistening metallic layer slowly flowing over the back of the struck figure.

“This is the steel magic of Secret Steel.” Kuluo Luoya said gravely, “It’s indeed his unique secret technique! Indeed, Secret Steel has also turned into an undead.”

Curiously, even with Dazzle’s attack, the ‘Secret Steel’ at the front of the passage showed no reaction and simply kept moving forward… as if it were guiding something—hinting at an intention to lead Dazzle and the others somewhere.

Even though puzzled, they chose to cautiously follow behind this ‘Secret Steel’—which, in truth, was one of the purposes for their entry into the castle.

It seems odd to say, but ever since the great war a hundred years ago, everything here was taken over by the Magician’s Association, and the Association has spent a full century exploring this castle—repeatedly confirming it was merely an empty castle made of special material.

But this time, amidst the shifting castle, they discovered several rooms previously unreached—naturally encountering many dangers never faced before.

Kuluo Luoya suddenly had a strange feeling, wondering if the final room they once entered, facing those two terrifying figures, was really the ultimate masterminds behind [their] mysterious affairs?

Unsure of how long they walked—the castle’s interior showed no movement along the way.

Finally, Secret Steel came to a stop—standing before an open Stone Gate, then ‘Secret Steel’ turned to glance at the group in front of the gate.

Its face bore no expression, appearing vacant… yet its gaze seemed to occasionally convey something, as though wanting to pass some message to them.

But soon it walked into the room.

They decided to follow inside—they had made it this far, even if danger awaited, they had to find out what lay ahead.

The stone room was not large; it was easy to see everything within—only a stone sarcophagus placed in the center of the room, while ‘Secret Steel’ stood silently before the sarcophagus.

“It seems like it wants us to open this coffin.” Bylegang furrowed his brows and said.

“I’ll do it.” Without much thought, Kuluo Luoya went up directly.

Dazzle could see the old wolf’s intention… he knew his time was limited, so if there was a danger, he would take it on. He did not stop him, as stopping would be disrespectful to Kuluo Luoya who had made up his mind. He just quietly prepared to lend aid at a moment’s notice.

At that time Bylegang was doing the same preparation… which made the Luminous Tower Master appreciate Bylegang a bit more, but he still wasn’t ready to fully trust this acting archduke of the clan.

Then, Kuluo Luoya slowly pushed the sarcophagus open… encountering no danger whatsoever, the sarcophagus easily opened. Kuluo Luoya frowned as he looked inside, then reached in and retrieved something from the sarcophagus.

It was a roll of parchment journal.

“What is this?” Kuluo Luoya unrolled it casually and began to read, “This looks like… a map.”

He laid the unrolled journal out for Dazzle and Bylegang to see—almost at the first glance, they could confirm it was indeed a map.

No matter how Dazzle searched his memories, he couldn’t find anything related to this map—relying purely on the drawings, he couldn’t identify any geographical likeness… However, he was someone who could imprint the entire world’s geography into his memory.

“This mark… I have seen it before.” Unexpectedly, Bylegang suddenly said, “Let me think carefully.”

Dazzle and Kuluo Luoya fell silent, watching Bylegang take the map from Kuluo Luoya’s hand to inspect it closely… After a while, Bylegang finally said with a solemn expression, “Luminous Tower Master, how much do you know about the Akashic Records?”

He didn’t ask if Dazzle had heard of the Akashic Records, as most seasoned Non-Humans had at least heard of its legend to some extent.

“Are you saying this map is related to the Akashic Records?” Dazzle’s expression shifted, becoming serious in the face of the legend.

“Yes,” Bylegang nodded, “Within the Holy City of the Church, the cover of the Akasha Records is stored, and on that cover, there’s this mark.”

His finger pointed on the map at a certain location, indicating a mark: a symbol resembling a ship’s helm.

“How do you know?” Kuluo Luoya couldn’t help but feel curious, “Something hidden within the Church? That bunch of old stubborn fools would let you visit their house?”

Bylegang completely ignored Kuluo Luoya’s words and looked at the Luminous Tower Master, saying, “Speaking of which, it’s also a secret… At that time, your Unhuman Domain had not yet been established. It’s been many years ago… Back then, an aristocrat from the Torrido Clan fell in love with a priest from the Church and was eventually captured by the Tribunal. She was imprisoned in Shenwei Prison. Later, a riot occurred in Shenwei Prison, allowing many dark creatures to escape. She took advantage of this opportunity to escape and also brought back a notebook belonging to the priest. The notebook contained records of the priest’s experiences inside the Church… Among them were accounts of the Akasha Records cover.”

Kuluo Luoya didn’t have much doubt about Bylegang’s explanation—he had written scripts featuring similar love stories between bloodsuckers and nuns… but due to the opposition from those old stubborn fools, they were banned. Now they could only be seen in some underground small theaters, where resources and willing performers were few.

This was all based on real events, with just a bit of artistic embellishment.

“What about the escaping aristocrat?” The Luminous Tower Master suddenly asked.

Bylegang shook his head and said, “A month after returning to her domain, she died from her severe injuries, unable to be treated… The Holy Water had completely extinguished her Spirit Fire, and even her heart lost the ability to regenerate.”

“Where is that notebook?” Luminous asked again.

Bylegang said, “It should be in the reading room of the Clan’s castle… However, Fafnir caused a disturbance, and the reading room was severely damaged. I can’t guarantee whether the notebook can be preserved.”

“Hmm…” Luminous nodded, then said calmly, “No matter, even if the notebook is gone, I can help you extract relevant memories of those who have read this notebook.”

Bylegang said, “There’s no need to trouble the Luminous Tower Master, I can also recreate memories… I will send the notebook to you later.”

Luminous didn’t say much, just nodded, and then directly put away the map stored in the stone casket.

And at that moment, ‘Secret Steel’, which had been motionless throughout the process, suddenly moved—its face showing an expression of pain.

Its mouth opened, hands clutching its head tightly… But it made no sound at all, as if enduring something.

The group wanted to help but had no means to intervene, feeling secretly anxious—finally, ‘Secret Steel’ suddenly fell silent.

Yet its body began to gradually fade… turning transparent… until it disappeared, and before vanishing, the expressionless face of ‘Secret Steel’ revealed a hint of solace in its smile.

It just vanished in front of them.

Luminous sighed softly, speaking with a grieving tone, “It seems that Secret Steel, after being transformed into an undead, violated some rule in order to lead us here… preferring to ensure we obtained this map.”

“Luminous Tower Master, do you mean?” Kuluo Luoya seemed to realize something, and his face immediately turned terribly unpleasant.

Luminous slowly nodded, “Secret Steel has truly sacrificed… for bringing us here.”

“Secret Steel might have discovered something,” Bylegang’s voice was low, “However, he likely couldn’t reveal anything… He could only try to let us know through such means.”

“Damn—!” Kuluo Luoya angrily struck the stone casket, shattering it to pieces.

…

After ‘Secret Steel’ disappeared, this stone chamber no longer held value, and the three quickly left from there—what surprised Luminous was, shortly after exiting the chamber, they encountered Long Xiruo and the little butterfly monster who had been separated when the castle changed.

At that moment, Bylegang still didn’t know the true identity of the Godly Land’s True Dragon… he occasionally furrowed his brow, pondering something.

“After going around, I didn’t find anything,” Long Xiruo spoke directly to Luminous, “Don’t tell me you guys found nothing either.”

“A bit… we’ll talk when we get back,” Luminous said simply, “Moreover… the isolation function of this castle seems to have disappeared.”

Godly Land’s True Dragon nodded, “Mm, after this ghostly place ceased activity, it seems to gradually recover, even the suppression force.”

“Indeed… it seems you also encountered the suppression force,” Luminous thought for a moment, then waved his hand to shoot a beam of light—the light continuously divided, then began to split across all passageways, and after a moment, “The exit has been found, let’s leave here first.”

With little conversation, a simple nod and everyone directly moved.

At this time, walking at the end, Kuluo Luoya couldn’t suppress his curiosity and asked, “By the way… What is the suppression force Luminous Tower Master mentioned just now?”

Bylegang shook his head, indicating he was not too clear either—he knew the perception within the castle was blocked, but felt no so-called suppression, and…

Bylegang looked at the shadow behind Luminous Tower Master, feeling regretful—also, since entering the castle, after so much time had passed, copying… had still failed.

Not only that, even the two mysterious women beside Luminous Tower Master had… failed.

…

…

“When we entered just now… was it like this?”

After smoothly exiting the castle interior, Godly Land’s True Dragon looked up at the colossal building before them—it was completely different from anything else.

“It seems… we still know too little about Them,” Luminous Tower Master sighed gently.

Just then, a noise came from a distance… it turned out to be Crimson Flame Tower Master bringing the Magician’s Association’s troops for support.