Some people said that the brink of life and death could completely change a person, while others said that people who escaped from death were often very open-minded. Regarding these two points, Gawain believed that Viscount Andrew had a deep understanding of them.
During the few days when he was controlled by the cultists with magic, Viscount Andrew had always been conscious. His consciousness was trapped in a body that was constantly weakening, and he was eroded and tortured by the crazy thoughts of the cultists. He watched as' he 'issued the order of martial law in the city, watched his family and servants in the castle being captured by the cultists, and watched the glorious family castle falling into darkness and distortion day by day. In these few days that felt like a hundred years, he realized that the king far away on the horizon could not save him. The small churches in the town that claimed to be blessed by God could not save him. Even the glory of the Leslie family that had been passed down for hundreds of years could not save him.
In the end, the one who saved him was the ancient duke from the lower reaches of the Whitewater River, who came from seven hundred years ago.
Fate was really an inexplicable thing. A bold 'investment' a few months ago had now received an extraordinarily generous return in a completely unexpected way — a life.
In the Lord's Council Chamber, which had a big hole in it, Viscount Andrew, who had recovered a little bit of his strength, sat on his wide chair. He smiled bitterly and told the truth that had brought disaster to him. "Because a new crystal vein was found in the mine, I sent people to dig a new tunnel. In the end, the tunnel collapsed during the digging. The supervisor reported that a large space was found under the tunnel …"
Gwen's heart skipped a beat. So Viscount Andrew had discovered the secrets under his territory?
But his previous judgment was not wrong. The viscount did not know about the existence of the Gondor ruins before. It was only recently that he found out that there was something else under the mine …
Viscount Andrew continued, "It was some ancient ruins. There were ancient, stone-like walls and supporting structures. They were as wide as a corridor in a palace, not a narrow tunnel. Most of them collapsed and were buried, but there were still some well-preserved places. I sent people to explore the ruins. Later, they found a tightly sealed room. The magic seal of the room had failed, so the magicians in my territory easily removed the mechanism in the room. Later, we found some antiques in the room … including a fragment of the Eternal Slate. "
Gwen was no stranger to the Eternal Slate. It was said that all the secrets of the gods in this world came from the mysterious Eternal Slate. In ancient times, when mortals had yet to come into contact with divine miracles, the Eternal Slate was a complete piece. Later on, the sages of humans and other races discovered the Eternal Slate. The moment they came into contact with it, the knowledge of the gods flooded into their minds, including the inheritance of divine arts, the distribution of divine positions, divine names, divine positions, and so on. And the first batch of sages who came into contact with the Eternal Slate became the earliest "Revelation" among mortals, becoming the first Pope and Holy See.
As for the Eternal Stone Slab, it shattered into pieces not long after. It was as if the gods were unwilling to allow mortals to come into contact with divine grace that exceeded what they could bear. The infinitely powerful stone slab shattered into countless pieces and scattered into the mortal world.
In the years after that, several large sects that rose rapidly among mortals found fragments of the Eternal Slate. These sects included the most powerful Church of the God of War, the Church of the God of Holy Light, and the Church of the Three Gods of Fertility and Fertility. They regarded the fragments of the Eternal Slate as sacred objects and kept them in their respective holy lands. Only the highest-ranking members of the church had the opportunity to come into contact with the Eternal Slate and receive enlightenment. Although the Eternal Slate had already been shattered, there was still a lot of power left. After mortals came into contact with it, they would be able to comprehend knowledge related to the gods. Half of the reason why several powerful orthodox churches were able to remain strong and prosperous for thousands of years was because of these fragments of the Eternal Slate.
According to the various churches, the 'sacred knowledge' had already been collected by the major churches. The fragments of the Eternal Slate were currently in the control of several powerful churches. However, Gwen was very clear that the churches had only collected the largest fragments of the Eternal Slate. God knew how many fragments were still scattered in the world. Some of them were secretly collected by the small and medium-sized churches, and some small fragments had even fallen into the hands of kings, dukes, and even great collectors. However, the 'divine grace' in these small fragments seemed to be very little. It was far from enough to raise the level of one's divine spells or allow one to obtain the complete knowledge of the gods. Therefore, they were able to remain in the public without being desperately searched for by the major churches.
Gwen did not expect that Viscount Andrew would be so lucky (or perhaps unlucky) to find a fragment of the Eternal Slate that was scattered outside.
Then, he thought of the ancient ruins in the Gloom Mountain Range, as well as the experiments from a thousand years ago that Nicholas had mentioned, the 'locally unearthed samples', and the conjectures regarding the 'abomination'.
So, the fragment of the Eternal Slate was discovered by the magicians of the Kingdom of Gondor and buried in the underground ruins? Could it be that the locally unearthed samples mentioned by the researchers were fragments of the Eternal Slate? No, it should not be. Although the Eternal Slate was precious, the Kingdom of Gondor was prosperous back then. Even the major churches did not dare to go against the authority of the empire. Gwen did not believe that the emperor of the Starfire Era did not have a few pieces of the Eternal Slate that he played with like walnuts. Then, the fragments of the Eternal Slate buried in the depths of the earth might only be a part of what was unearthed back then …
"So the cultists have their eyes on the Eternal Slate in your hands … That's right. The Universal Finality Cult evolved from the druids. They maintain their twisted beliefs, and it's normal for them to be paranoid about the divine items. But how did they get this information?" Gawain's face was filled with surprise as he looked at Viscount Andrew, "So the cultists have their eyes on the Eternal Slate in your hands … That's right, the Universal Finality Cult evolved from the druids.
"My butler." After a moment of silence, Viscount Andrew said with a bitter smile. "I should have known. When he found me all kinds of magic potions, when he showed his knowledge of the occult, I should have known that he was a member of the All End Society!"
Gwen was startled. Then, he remembered who the butler was. He remembered that Amber had stolen a watch from the butler. It left a deep impression on him.
Amber also scratched her chin and muttered, "Then it seems that I don't have to return the watch to him."
Viscount Andrew himself was not talented in magic, nor did he have any talent for Extraordinary classes such as Knight or Wizard. But as a noble, he had to ensure that he had the basic 'Extraordinary qualifications'. So, he had always been interested in magic potions, occult rituals and other things that could enhance Extraordinary abilities. And his butler had followed him for many years. He was a knowledgeable person who had a good understanding of the occult. Usually, he could get all kinds of effective magic potions, so he was deeply trusted by Viscount Andrew. But who would have thought that the butler, who had not revealed himself for decades, was a pawn of the All End Society?
Unfortunately, this pawn had escaped even earlier. After the cultists took control of the castle, the butler had disappeared from everyone's sight.
Based on this scattered information, Gwen guessed that the 'butler' was probably a 'peripheral member' specially trained by the All End Society. He did not have any Extraordinary talent, but he had a certain level of occult knowledge. So, he could easily gain the trust of the nobles and not be guarded against. And once the cultists of the All End Society took action, this kind of peripheral member would quickly retreat. He could change his appearance and hide beside other nobles, or he could enter the deeper levels of the organization …
What Gwen was really worried about was that this was not an exception.
Viscount Andrew was not a noble family that could influence the situation of the kingdom, but the All End Society was a behemoth that had spread to many kingdoms. It was unlikely that this cult would plant a spy around a viscount on the border of Ansu for decades. The only explanation was that it was normal for them to plant spies around the nobles.
What kind of monster had the Druil Order, which had fallen seven hundred years ago, developed into?!
Soon, Gawain found out the reason why the cultists controlled Viscount Andrew to issue the martial law.
"I told him that I had already dedicated the Eternal Slate to the king, and I had already arranged for it to be transported out of the castle," Viscount Andrew said slowly, a smile of satisfaction on his face. "His sorcery could control my limbs and tongue, but not my mind. He could make me speak according to the script he arranged, but he could not make me say what I know. So, he did not know where I hid the Eternal Slate. He could only place the entire city under martial law, and then use my name to search every house. And before he found the thing, he dared not let me die …"
So that's how it is … Gwen nodded in understanding. The Druil of the Fallen did have sorcery to control people's words and actions, but it was not the mind control spell of the necromancers. It was a more superficial control spell of the nerves of the limbs, which was twisted and transformed from the original Druil's spell 'Animal Domination'. In the face of this spell, as long as one had a strong will to resist it, one would not be forced to speak by the cultists.
Gwen just did not expect that the sickly Viscount Andrew, who looked like he had taken too many drugs, would have such a strong will.
"So, the cultists buried the people in the castle in the atrium to extract their thoughts in order to interrogate them about the whereabouts of the Eternal Slate fragments …" Amber also reacted at this time. She looked at the weak viscount with some surprise. "But they did not know where the fragments were. Only you knew about this. That is to say … could it be that you did not give that thing away at all?"
"Of course I did not give it away." Viscount Andrew smiled laboriously. Although he was weak, he still tried to raise his head. "I am the son of the Leslie Family. I would rather starve to death, die outside, or jump out of here than succumb to a cultist!"
Although there was a subtle sense of familiarity in the sentence, Gwen still looked at the weak traditional aristocrat with some admiration. This was the aristocrat of this era. He was indeed old-fashioned, backward, and had some foolish actions from God's perspective. But at the same time, he also had the so-called "aristocratic spirit." This spirit supported an almost unreasonable pride, and this pride made him not bow down to the cultists even if he died.
"Then, where did you hide the fragments of the Eternal Slate?" Gwen could not help but ask curiously.
"Ha … Haha …" Viscount Andrew laughed heartily, and even laughed until he coughed violently. "It was right under that guy's nose! Right under his nose! "
As he spoke, the viscount struggled to get up from the chair, and then lifted the thick cushion.
"That idiot opened my treasure vault, rummaged through my magic material room, searched my bedroom and attic, and pried open every locked chest and cabinet in the castle. But he would never, never think that I would be sitting on it under my butt!!"
After the thick cushion was lifted, Gwen saw it.
It lay quietly on the chair. It was only the size of a palm, and its thickness was less than half a centimeter. What was even more different from what Gawain had guessed was that this so-called Eternal Slate was actually not a slate.
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