…
Holding the Stone of Lighting, Banach Lothar walked step by step to the deepest part of the Black Money.
It was a steep slope. Even with the help of his servants, he still found it difficult to walk.
"I'm old after all." He felt sad. At the age of 20, he took over the family business from his father. Today, he had built the Chamber of Commerce into a behemoth with wealth comparable to that of a country. Only he knew the struggle and excitement during this period. Even though the title of Sir was only an honorary one, his reputation and status in the Kingdom of Dawn were not much lower than that of the three families of Radiant Light.
But great achievements did not mean that they could be passed on to future generations. In fact, as the scale of the Chamber of Commerce continued to expand, its foundation was in jeopardy. In order to consolidate the strength of the Chamber of Commerce, many influential businessmen and even upper-class nobles joined it. When he was alive, they were either reliable arms or valuable pawns. But what about after he died? Would they still be willing to stay in their current positions?
This question hardly needed to be answered.
Banach had five sons and one daughter. Among them, the most outstanding son, Victor Lothar, was only 21 years old. Although he had shown extraordinary talent in business, he could not suppress his cunning partners at such a young age. The Chamber of Commerce was not the private property of the Lothar Family. If he forced Victor to take over his position, he was afraid that he would suffer a strong backlash.
At that time, it was not a big deal for the Chamber of Commerce to be torn apart, but his children might be in danger.
But to give away the behemoth that he had worked hard to build in his life? Banach was really unwilling to do so.
As he was thinking, he suddenly slipped.
"Sir, be careful!" The servants beside him immediately held him.
Banach adjusted his body several times before he regained his footing.
Obviously, this body no longer had the vigor of youth.
He was already 69 years old. How many times could he repeat such a steep slope? He had to hurry.
At the thought of the promise given by the oracle, Banach's heart was rekindled.
Only by becoming one of them could he solve this seemingly unsolvable problem once and for all.
The downslope gradually became flat, and the surrounding air began to become humid. Banach faintly heard the sound of the underground undercurrent hitting the stone wall, which was like continuous thunder, dull and vigorous. To be honest, he didn't like this kind of place. Although it was secluded enough, it didn't give people a sense of security. He was always worried that one day the water would break down the walls of the cave and swallow this place completely.
In fact, many similar situations had already occurred in this group of caves. There were quite a few passages that had turned into deep pools due to the backflow of underground water. In the end, they had no choice but to be sealed. "Black Money" only occupied a small part of the karst caves. If Banach was given enough time, he could even build an underground city here.
When they reached the bottom of the slope, the light suddenly dimmed. It was not that the Stone of Lighting had dimmed, but the space around them had suddenly expanded several times, and the light could no longer illuminate the stone walls on both sides.
The sound of the underground water flow became very loud, as if a branch was passing under their feet.
In the pitch-black cave, two balls of yellow light were flickering in the distance. They were the guards sent by the Oracle to receive him.
"Alright, you guys can send me here."
"But Your Excellency, there's still a long way ahead …" the servant said worriedly.
"It doesn't matter. I'll walk the last part of the road by myself," Banach said slowly.
The two did not dare to say another word due to the power he had accumulated over the years. "Yes, please be careful, Your Excellency."
Leaving the cave entrance, he carefully walked to the center of the karst cave. This cave at the bottom of the karst cave group was very strange. It was shaped like an isolated island, surrounded by bottomless ravines. The protruding rock mountain in the center and the slope were only connected by a narrow stone bridge. When he walked on the bridge, he was surrounded by darkness, and the Magic Stone could only illuminate a few meters under his feet. If it were not for the yellow light on the opposite side, Banach would even have the illusion that he was walking in the abyss of hell, and the roaring water under his feet was the hissing of ghosts and evil spirits.
A thin mist gradually rose around him, and the range of light was further reduced. It was formed by excessive water vapor. He knew that he had to be very careful. The bridge was likely to be covered with moss. If he slipped off the stone bridge, even the Oracle could not save him.
Facing the moist air, Banach Lothar finally arrived at the central rock island.
Before he could take two breaths, the Oracle's guard had turned around and walked backward. "Follow me. Your Excellency has been waiting for you for a long time."
Having no time to complain, he took a deep breath and followed the two.
The peak of this isolated island-like rocky mountain was no more than a hundred paces in radius. It wasn't very big, and the place to meet the Oracle was located inside the mountain. Before stepping on the stone stairs around the mountain, Banach noticed that there was an extremely wide cave behind the karst cave. It was connected with the slope that he came from and formed a straight line. However, it was much closer to the Rock Mountain and also much larger. The cave wall was a standard circle, and the edge that the Magic Stone could illuminate was very smooth, as if it was artificially carved.
If he guessed right, the Oracle's guard must have entered the Kingdom of Dawn through this underground passage.
After entering the Rock Mountain, Banach was so tired that he almost could not stand.
Fortunately, the Oracle did not care about the posture when they met. The guard brought a soft cushion and let him sit in the one-square-foot stone room. Then he put down the heavy curtain to isolate the sound of water outside.
"Are you ready?" one of them asked.
"Yes, please summon Your Excellency." Banach wiped the fine sweat on his forehead. Although he was exhausted, his heart was full of expectation.
As soon as he finished speaking, the Magic Stone of Lighting in his hand suddenly flashed. Not only his, but also the Magic Stones of the other two guards.
Then the three light sources went out one by one, and the stone room was shrouded in pitch-black darkness. As it was not the first time that Banach had seen such a scene, he was not surprised. Instead, he was full of admiration and awe for the power of the Oracle. Soon, a purple light curtain rose from the ground, turning the surrounding darkness into a different scene.
It was also deep in the ground, but red lava flowed below. Numerous "rivers of fire" gushed out of the holes in the rock wall and converged at the lower part, forming a cobweb-like picture. Above the illumination of the flames was the Oracle's torso — a huge sarcoma with countless roots like a plant hanging on the rock wall. The tangled epidermis pulsed rhythmically, as if it was breathing hot air.
It had neither eyes nor mouth, but it could see and talk to him — directly through his consciousness, echoing in his mind.
This was the true appearance of the Oracle.
It did not need to transform into a human form because it itself was extraordinary.
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