Kingdom’s Bloodline

Alchemy Tower.

The prince muttered the name silently.

Looking at the ancient and mysterious building in front of him, looking at the incomplete but dilapidated but faintly recognizable "eye" emblem on the stone pillar, feeling the ubiquitous coldness, Thales was in a trance for a while.

He seemed to go back to six years ago, back to that icy and snowy night, in the murderous barracks of Grand Duke Heisha, the moment when the neurotic doctor with a big nose drew the three strange patterns by the campfire.

Three magic towers.

Thales stared blankly at the emblem representing the Alchemy Tower, sighed softly, and old memories slowly flooded into his heart.

Since the night of dragon blood six years ago, the former black doctor of the brotherhood, Ramon died tragically at the hands of the blood mage, Thales lost an important channel to explore the legendary magic and mages, Ashida may be Another source, but neither his chronic erratic whereabouts nor his reservations about teaching could satisfy the thirsty prince.

For six years, Thales had to spend as much time as possible in Nakaju's library, and with the help of Selma, he searched for the long-lost taboo from books, and at the same time tried his best to avoid Nicolai and the The spying and surveillance of Lisban and others, so as not to cause disasters. According to what Ramon said before his death, since magic and disasters are taboos that this world has tried to forget for hundreds of years, then such things as "The Prince of Stars is addicted to mysterious knowledge", "Tell His Royal Highness is obsessed with disaster legends, it is better to seldom appear on the desks of major intelligence agencies.

"The Tower of Alchemy?"

Just when Thales was immersed in his memories in a daze, Russell on the other side couldn't help but say: "Alchemy? What? Does it have anything to do with the alchemy ball?"

No one paid him any attention, of course, maybe because no one knew the answer.

Semir kicked the pile of rubble under his feet, and frowned: "You said, this is the legendary alchemy tower?"

"The source of those alchemy balls, anti-magic weapons, and various gadgets from the Secret Department?"

Ricky shook his head.

"Of course not the headquarters." Ricky held a torch and looked around, looking at the barrenness of this floor, he seemed to be emotional: "According to legend, the headquarters of the Alchemy Tower has more than a hundred magic towers, covering a vast area. , It’s so spectacular, how can it be compared to this simple underground building.”

More than a hundred towers...

Thales looked around, thoughtful.

"Simplicity," Samir snorted softly, lit up the stone stairs behind them with a torch, and looked at the bottomless road below: "You call this 'simplicity'?"

Ricky smiled strangely, but didn't answer.

He turned around and walked towards the downward spiral staircase: "Let's go, let's go to the next floor."

The mercenaries who were immersed in shock came back to their senses.

"it is true."

When passing by Qianzi, Thales noticed that the Assassin of the Shadow Shield was looking around in surprise, his hand gently touched the dusty stone pillar, and muttered to himself .

"Mage, magic, those legends and stories," Qianzi lowered his head and looked at Ricky:

"So it's all true."

Qianzi's eyes moved: "Maybe we can find more valuable things...alchemy balls, anti-magic weapons, and even..."

"Don't think about it." Samir walked past him and interrupted him.

"I don't know how long ago, the Kingdom of Stars turned this place into the 'black prison' of the Bone Prison, dedicated to detaining their felons," the former flag officer of the royal guard said coldly: "Whether it is reconstruction or demolition, you Do you think the Kingdom Secret Division will leave anything of value to someone like you?"

Qianzi silently shut up.

A group of people continued to walk down.

Facing the strange unknown, everyone's whispers sounded quietly in the darkness.

"I remembered, Mage," Russell's voice came from behind the narrow passage, "It was mentioned in some miscellaneous books, but I always thought..."

"Think that's just nonsense?" Qianzi answered with a chuckle.

Russell stopped talking.

Thales listened to their conversation, but was absent-minded.

Even as a hostage, after six years of searching, the prince did not find nothing. However, "magic" and "mage" left Thales with more and more doubts.

Obviously, all the books that existed before the end war will more or less mention magic and mages, for example:

As mentioned in the period of the Kings, the wise Levin stopped the way of six knights, prevented their unwise behavior of robbing the court, and advised them in a barn;

It contains "Facing the grim situation, the advisors suggested retreating, but King Ansett sternly refused. He was determined to lead his troops to stay at the sixth outpost and use the terrain to block the main force of the Emberbone clan";

Wrote that the temple guards, god priests, and representatives tried their best to mediate, so that the violent King Naki and the arrogant King Feilun sat on the seats farthest from each other, which led to the convening of the meeting;

A long bard mentions that "the courts are helpless in the face of the princess' illness".

In fact, in the heroic biographies and bardic epics of the Kings period, whether it is fighting against orcs or elves, in the background of these battles with alien races, the image of mages as wise men appears from time to time, and many of them are even around princes and nobles. Important adviser.

But in the age of empires, the records about mages and magic began to decrease, and the images became more and more mysterious, evil and terrifying. However, many religious books mention some "unbelievers", which are usually negative descriptions:

The Rites of the Ancient Empire tell of how the saint Losona was treated horribly in the land, his eyes were blinded and his hands and feet trembled, even though these unbelievers turned their backs on the teachings of the gods and mocked his faith. , but the steadfast Losona is still the same, and the piety remains the same;

Mentioned an illegal expedition, the Duke of Allende sent a letter to the people behind the expedition, sternly reprimanding their intrusion into the forbidden area as "violation" and will bring disaster to mankind;

As one of the ancient books of the Knights Temple, it describes a battle between the knights and the evil gods. One of the knights once lamented that their enemies were "simply weirder and more evil than the mages", and the general history narration in it mentioned that " The Northern Temple branch has to lower its self-esteem to ask the empire for help, in order to curb the insatiable greed of the mages”;

It even wrote: "The terrible witches warned the lord of the city, claiming that his contempt for the government would make him pay the price, but the lord of the powerful city laughed it off, and that night, the lord of the city's daughter developed a high fever."

More recently, after the fall of the ancient empire, in the books of the final empire period, the figure of the mage only appeared in very few records.

The results of Thales' efforts come to an end: there are only a few words about the magic of the mage.

It stands to reason that these few words should show that the group of mages exists, but even after the end of the war, Naikaru, who is the king of Exeter, smiled for Queen Botian, and collected a large number of classics searched by the whole country. , Thales could not find any positive records about magic and mages.

From the changes in the description and description of mages, to the gradual reduction of their figures, to their complete disappearance, and even no trace at all...

It feels like...

Thales sighed.

He rubbed the dusty wall and followed the people in front of him down the stone stairs.

It’s like a certain person, you can see his footprints, used things, written records, saved information, and photos taken everywhere in your life, but when you really want to go back to find this person , everyone around you will tell you in unison: No, there has never been such a person, he does not exist.

Even in the group photo, there is only a blank space for a human figure.

This is the mage.

This could not but give Thales a strange sense of horror. Even when he was sitting alone in the library, he couldn't help the chill that came from behind him.

And just today...

Thales couldn't help but raised his head, looked over the shoulders of the people in front of him, and looked at Ricky's figure.

Today, he really stepped into the legendary Magic Tower, although it is only a branch, according to him, it may still be the birthplace of the Anti-Magic Armed Forces.

At this time, the brazener spoke again, interrupting Thales' thoughts:

"How did you find that key, Crassus?"

"I don't think the Star People keep a lock with two keys and use it as a prison for felons."

This question aroused Thales' interest.

Ricky, who was walking ahead, paused.

"The Starmen think they're in control of this place, just like they thought they covered up history and sent magic and mages to the grave," Ricky's laugh slowly rang out. "A grave known only to the gravediggers."

"The thing is, they're not the only gravediggers."

"The records in the Tower of the End are not less than them."

"So," Qianzi's voice suddenly increased in the darkness, "you used to be a member of the Tower of the End?"

Ricky didn't speak, as if he suddenly realized his slip of the tongue.

Thales looked serious.

"Well, that explains it," Qianzi's laughter came, and Thales could imagine the corner of his mouth curled up in the dark: "Why not long ago, you were able to attack the Tower of Terminator with such force."

Time passed by every minute and every second, and the coldness around him became more and more unbearable. In the field of vision illuminated by the torch, there were still only stairs one after another.

Thales stepped on the flat ground again.

They came to the next level.

Ricky kicked a piece of scrap wood out of the way and raised the torch.

What appeared in front of my eyes was still the central stone pillar with the emblem of the Alchemy Tower, the familiar architectural pattern, and nine cells with only pitiful skeletons left.

Wait, nine?

But Thales discovered that this room was bigger than the one on the upper floor.

"Still no one."

Ricky took back the torch and shook his head in disappointment:

"Keep going down."

Thales put away his curious eyes, put away his eagerness to take a closer look at this place, and was pushed forward again by Marina behind him.

The third floor is still empty, only the skeleton remains.

The fourth floor, the fifth floor, the sixth floor...

With each lower floor, there are more and more corresponding cells, and the rooms are getting bigger and bigger.

The prison Thales said to himself: This is like a cone buried in the ground.

With repeated misses, repeated disappointments, and the same dim scene, just like Thales trekking in the desert, he found that the people in the team were gradually affected.

In the boundless darkness, the voices of everyone gradually became less and less, only the sound of footsteps could be heard vividly, and the atmosphere became more and more depressing.

They came to another floor of cells.

"This is the tenth floor." Clay let out a sigh of relief: "If we can't find it anymore, maybe we should consider the way out."

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the Swords of Disaster all sank.

"Well," Russell looked at the drill beside him: "It makes sense."

The brat didn't answer, just glanced at Ricky.

Ricky frowned slightly, and said to Semir:

"Maybe it's still below, maybe you're sure he's still alive?"

Samir walked to each cell, bent down holding a torch, and looked at the bones carefully.

"I'm sure," his voice was slightly stiff: "I'm sure."

"He must be alive."

he?

Thales saw that Clay shrugged and gave Josh a disapproving look.

Josh understood what he meant.

"Do you know how much damage imprisonment can do to a person?"

Josh crossed his arms and said to Semir: "Especially in the black prison, you can only live alone, ignorant, and die miserably. From being locked up to dying, you will be cut off from all ties with the outside world. People can hear your wailing and howling."

"Believe me, I've been in a lot of cells and very few people can last that long."

Samir paused slightly and stood up.

But seconds passed and the ex-royal guard just shook his head firmly.

"If it was him, he would be able to survive no matter what kind of injury it is."

Thales' heart skipped a beat.

he?

Josh smiled.

"Do you know what the most terrible punishment can be for a man?"

"It's not death, it's not injury, it's not torture," Josh sighed softly, seeming to be emotional:

"It's isolation."

Samir stood still on the ground, motionless.

Thales could only see his back trembling slightly.

Josh paced slowly.

"When you lose all communication with the outside world, when you are completely isolated, no one listens to you or talks to you, no one reacts to you or waits for you to react, no one interacts with you or takes you to interact, you can't see Nothing new, nothing new to hear, nothing new to feel, everything around you, including yourself, remains the same day after day, back and forth, forever and ever..."

Josh's voice expanded in the darkness, with a slight hatred and deepness, which made people quite uncomfortable.

Thales saw that Semir's fists slowly tightened.

"On the first day, you can still handle it."

"On the third day, you feel uncomfortable all over, irritated, jumping up and down, hitting the wall and hitting the ground."

"A week later, you're talking to yourself, looking blank, and going your own way like a madman."

"Two weeks, you ushered in the final despair and madness, doing all the things you would never think about after abortion."

Josh smiled lightly, his eyes wandering, as if he remembered something.

"And when a month passed, the vast majority of people became slurred and confused."

"They often lack emotion, their intelligence degrades, and their whole person collapses into a beast. Even if you let them out, it's useless."

Josh's voice was low, as if he was telling a story with a bad ending:

"They are lost forever in a lonely void, never to return."

Josh's voice slowly disappeared.

The atmosphere in the crowd was also suppressed to the peak.

Samir was silent for a long time.

Ricky didn't rush him, just watched silently.

After a few seconds, Samir took a deep breath.

"He must still be here."

Semir turned around abruptly: "He taught me how to fight, how to persevere, how to..."

"He can."

His eyes burst into flames.

"Besides, only he knows what it is."

Josh shrugged at Clay and made a "powerless" expression.

The prince frowned: Who are they looking for? What does that person know?

He wasn't the only one who asked this question.

"Who are you looking for?"

Russell overheard their conversation and asked displeasedly, "You know, we're in a hurry."

"Really." Samir pointed to the stairs and snorted coldly:

"If you want to go first, no one will stop you."

Russell was momentarily at a loss for words.

Ricky sighed, "Go ahead."

So they started the downward cycle again.

Step by step, layer by layer.

Finally, after passing through countless empty cells, they came to a room with more than a dozen cells on the first floor. No, this room is so big that it can already be called a "hall".

Ricky stood in this hall.

"What's wrong?"

Clay stepped forward in disgust, held up the torch and illuminated the surroundings, and also revealed many prison cells and a piece of skeleton.

"It's still the same, there is nothing but dead people."

But Thales noticed something different.

Among the dozen or so cells separated by metal bars, there was one cell that was particularly strange.

It's all black.

Can't see the fence, can't see the bones, can't see everything behind.

There was only darkness.

It's like... like there's a black curtain over the outside

Soon, others noticed this too.

Ricky narrowed his eyes.

"The other cells only have fences." He walked forward slowly, stepped on the rubble, and slowly approached the room covered by the 'curtain' with a torch: "But this..."

"careful."

Semir approached from the other side, frowned and said, "You don't know how many alchemy towers the Star People have inherited."

Ricky nodded. Standing in front of that strange cell, he stretched out his torch and carefully knocked on the thick "curtain".

Bang, bang.

The dull and heavy voice echoed in the small dark cell.

Everyone subconsciously held down their weapons, wary of possible accidents.

But a few seconds passed and nothing happened.

The cell remained silent.

Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's made of iron, rising or falling from the crack in the ground outside the fence," Ricky squatted halfway, carefully observing the contact point between the iron curtain and the ground: "At least it's some kind of metal, I think, this thing It separates this cell from the hall outside."

He raised his head and asked Semir on the other side:

"Is it this one?"

Semir was standing on the edge of the Iron Curtain, looking at an iron plate made of unknown material hanging on the wall.

"No." Samir looked at the text above and said calmly:

"It says on the sign that it is locked here. This is a lone thief who traveled across the southern part of the Kingdom more than 20 years ago."

Russell narrowed his eyes: "Big thief?"

However, the iron curtain suddenly trembled!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Everyone was shocked and took a step back!

In the extremely oppressive darkness, a scary dull sound suddenly came: "Boom! Boom! Boom!"

"Calm down" Ricky drew his sword in his hand for an instant, looking vigilantly at the Iron Curtain that was trembling with the muffled sound.

Clay's face turned pale: "This is..."

The apprehensive crowd looked at each other.

at this moment.

"Woooooohhhh"

A faint scream seemed to come from tens of meters away.

Echoes in the dark.