Chapter 221: Sacred Artefact
Chapter 221: Sacred Artefact
It appeared that the Countess had been shocked by what happened.
The young woman was clinging onto Chen Xiaolian, refusing to let go as she cried her heart out. At the moment, she was like a drowning person who had just found a life-saving straw.
Chen Xiaolian neither struggled nor pushed the young woman away. He raised his eyebrows and sighed, enduring the snot that the Countess was leaving upon his clothes.
After having cried for a moment, the Countess gradually lost the strength to continue and she slowly calmed down.
“It would be best for us to leave this place.” Chen Xiaolian cast a glance at her.
The Countess did not say anything. No matter how shrewd she was, she had only just recently turned 20. A scene as bloody and shocking as this was more than sufficient to break that shrewd and rational mind of hers.
“Get on the car.”
Chen Xiaolian pulled her up and helped her walk to the roadside.
Lun Tai took the initiative to be the driver. Chen Xiaolian helped both Bei Tai and the Countess into the back seat of the car. He was about to close the door and head to the front passenger seat when he suddenly feel a tug on his sleeves.
Lowering his gaze, he saw a slender hand clutching onto his wrist.
The Countess was looking at Chen Xiaolian with a terrified expression.
Chen Xiaolian sighed and got into the back seat as well. He sat by her side.
“We need to find a safe place,” Lun Tai said. “Where do we go?”
Chen Xiaolian hesitated for a moment. Then, he recalled the suburban warehouse used by Phoenix and her team back then. Although the warehouse had collapsed, the place was still a good place to hide.
However…
“I know of a place.” The Countess gave a sniff before saying with a trembling tone. “I… I have a private studio. It is not far away from this place. The place is very remote. Furthermore… … the property is not under my name. The number of people who know about it is very little.”
Chen Xiaolian immediately made a decision. “Very well, we’ll go there!”
…
Her so-called studio was in fact, a big house. It could even be considered a small-scale stone castle.
The building was located behind a hill and was built beside it. Not far away, a river bent into this area. As it so happened, there was a depressed piece of land there, causing a lake to be formed.
From a scenic point of view, this place had quite the picturesque landscape.
At the moment however, they were in no mood to enjoy the scenery.
It was an ancient building made purely from stone. Chen Xiaolian judged that this small stone castle possessed some of the Normandy style: the standard thick walls and small windows.
The place was apparently suffering from overgrown weeds.
Weeds covered the open space outside. As for the stone castle, it did not stand alone. In the rear side of the lake was a row of stables… … however, they were already ruined.
The doors to the old keep were locked. However, under the guidance of the Countess, Chen Xiaolian quickly found an iron chain from under a haystack. Pulling it forcefully, they were able to open the doors to the old keep.
“There is a back door here that could be used to go in and out. Normally, there would not be anyone here. However, once in a while, there will be someone here to clean up the place,” the Countess explained.
“Aren’t you afraid of thieves?” asked Chen Xiaolian. He observed the desolate surroundings.
“This is England,” said the Countess as she shook her head. “A great deal of importance is placed upon the privacy of private lands. Additionally… there is nothing here to steal. It has always been empty.”
The first layer of the old keep was very spacious. After entering, they saw an arching column gate. There appeared to be some traces of black coloured rust marks upon its surface.
Although the ground was fairly clean and not much dust had built up, it was still evident that it had been quite a while since it was cleaned up.
The small windows were not made with glass. Instead, they were made with an extremely aged type of wooden board … if they wanted to open the windows, they will need to use a frame to get up and push the wooden board open.
It was apparent to them that those wooden boards were all new. The paint on its surface was clearly no more than half a year old.
“There is a lounge at the back with a simple kitchen that allows for the boiling of water. There are also some simplistic appliances. There is also a well further behind.”
Chen Xiaolian had no interest in drinking well water. Fortunately, there was a lot of mineral water in his Storage Watch. He took out a few bottles and distributed them.
Lun Tai glanced at him and stood up. He said, “I’m going to the back to see if there is anything that can be used.”
Bei Tai was resting on a clean spot. Chen Xiaolian had spread a blanket over the area. Thus, Bei Tai lay with his back to the wall as he rested.
“We… … need to talk. Is that all right?”
The Countess approached Chen Xiaolian and whispered.
In fact, while they were on the way here, she had been consciously staying close to Chen Xiaolian without moving too far away. She appeared very scared. Moreover, she seemed to have decided that Chen Xiaolian possessed the ability to protect her.
“Mm, let’s talk,” said Chen Xiaolian. He sat down upon the ground. “Sit and talk.”
The Countess sat down and unscrewed a bottle of mineral water. She took a gulp.
Her body trembled slightly.
“Those people… … their target is me, right? What I mean is the ambush.”
The Countess was as pale as a paper.
“… … should be.” Chen Xiaolian nodded his head.
He had already made some deductions inwardly.
This London instance dungeon was not a competitive-type instance dungeon.
If so… there should be no reason for other teams to lay an ambush specifically to deal against them.
The intentions behind such an action did not make any sense.
As for personal grudges… … judging from the way the black-clad man had reacted when they first confronted each other, it appeared that he did not even know who Chen Xiaolian was.
Thus, personal grudges could be ruled out.
Then… … the other party’s objective must certainly be the Countess!
“They… why are they coming after me?” the Countess bit her lips and asked.
“I’m afraid I have no ability to answer that question.” Chen Xiaolian shook his head. He said in a calm voice. “I do not know the answer to that question. I also do not know who they are.”
“They… do they want to get something from me? Could it be… could they have the same purpose as you people? For the sake of the sword?”
Chen Xiaolian’s mind raced.
That could be possible…
No, it is very possible!
In order to obtain the quest props, their approach of attacking the Countess seemed to make sense.
Could it be… other teams had also been issued the random quest of finding the Sword in the Stone?
No, more accurately, to find the Sword in the Stone’s hilt.
When he thought of that possibility, Chen Xiaolian’s heart sank. He turned around and faced the Countess.
“I feel that after what happened earlier, there is a need for a change in attitude toward how we treat each other – I must say this. Our present circumstance no longer allows us test each other out and beat around the bush. Do you understand?” Chen Xiaolian slowly said with a heavy voice. “I must know for sure. Is the Sword in the Stone’s blade with you? Or rather, where have you hidden that item?”
“You want me to give it to you?” The Countess bravely stared back into Chen Xiaolian’s eyes. “Then what? After you obtain that item, won’t you leave? Then, what will happen to me? Those people want to kill me! They have already killed Stewart!”
“You can… …”
Chen Xiaolian was going to say: You can call the police.
However, those words were quite the shameless words and Chen Xiaolian could not bring himself to say it out.
Call the police?
Call the police to go against those powerful Awakened ones or Players?
Was that supposed to be a joke?
Clearly, this intelligent young woman had also come to understand this point.
Thus, on the way here, she did not even mention about calling the police.
She had seemingly understood that this terrifying attack was not something that could be solved by calling the police.
In London… … even though they were in the outskirts area, they dared to use RPG to attack. Moreover, they also possessed those terrifying and magical abilities.
Enemies like that was not something that ordinary police could deal with.
Call the police?
Stop joking around!
Only this young man before her seemed to have the ability to deal with those people!
“My family does have the thing that you are asking for.”
It would appear that the Countess had made up her mind.
She spoke those words out softly, giving Chen Xiaolian the answer that he was hoping to hear.
“It has been with my family since the days of my ancestor, William the Conqueror.
“Naturally, I do not know where this sword came from. I also did not know whether my ancestor had obtained the Sword in the Stone… or if he was the inspiration for the legend of King Arthur. At any rate, this item is indeed with our family.
“However, the one we have with us is not a complete Sword in the Stone. Rather, it is… a broken sword.”
The Countess said gently while Chen Xiaolian listened quietly without interrupting her. Bei Tai who was not far away also pushed his body up; his ears perked up as he listened in as well.
“It is indeed the legendary Sword in the Stone, the Sword that chooses the King.
“It seems to represent the symbol of royal authority. However, the sword in our family is a broken one. And we were never able to find the other half. Truth be told, the ancestors of my family have once spent a great deal of effort to find the sword hilt in an attempt to put them back together. Unfortunately…”
Hearing her say that, Chen Xiaolian nodded his head and said, “You did not find it.”
“Yes, if it could be found… … perhaps the Norman Dynasty would not have ended that quickly.”
“Ha!” Chen Xiaolian laughed out. “If the Norman Dynasty had not ended, then your current identity would be that of a Queen. Should I address you as Your Highness?”
Pausing for a moment, Chen Xiaolian knitted his eyebrows and said, “Have you ever considered… … maybe the sword hilt was acquired by another family. Thus… your Norman Dynasty would end and be replaced by another family.”
“Because the Sword of the King in our hands is incomplete, each dynasty was only able to endure for a few hundred years before coming to an end?” The Countess cast a glance at Chen Xiaolian.
She paused before gently continuing, “Now, I am increasingly certain of one matter… … you are so urgently looking for the sword blade. That means that the sword hilt is in your hands!”
Chen Xiaolian shrugged his shoulders.
“Those fellows, could they have also come for the Sword in the Stone?” the Countess asked.
“I’m not sure.” Chen Xiaolian thought about it. “That possibility exists.”
After saying that, a spark flashed through Chen Xiaolian’s mind as he realized that there was another possibility!
…
In the legends of King Arthur, the sacred artefacts mentioned in the legends were not limited to just the Sword in the Stone!
There were several other items!
For example… … the Sword of Promised Victory!
That sword was THE true sharp and unparalleled weapon of combat! After King Arthur’s Sword in the Stone was broken, he acquired a new sword. That was the Sword of Promised Victory! According to the legends, the Lady of the Lake bestowed the sword upon King Arthur and it symbolized indestructible power!
In terms of combat prowess, the Sword of Promised Victory was much more amazing compared to the Sword in the Stone!
Additionally, other sacred artefacts were also mentioned in the legend of King Arthur.
For example…
The Holy Grail!
For example …
The Holy Lance!
…
The Holy Grail and the Holy Lance. These two legendary sacred artefacts were in fact, closely linked.
In the legends of the West, they could be described as magical and wondrous.
Of course, in the ‘Da Vinci’s Code’, the Holy Grail was turned into a woman, Jesus’ wife. This was another legend.
However, at the moment, the most acknowledged legend about the Holy Grail and the Holy Lance was:
During Jesus’ last night, before Judas betrayed Jesus, Jesus and his disciples were gathered together for the Last Supper. There, Jesus used a wine cup to drink wine. The bright red grape wine symbolized Jesus’ blood.
After the Romans crucified Jesus to death, the Romans proposed to have someone stab Jesus with a spear to test whether Jesus was truly dead.
Back then, none of the soldiers dared to do so.
Thus, a centurion named Longinus was selected – this fellow was obviously a scapegoat. He was the most unfortunate of them all; he was also a man who was so short-sighted he was practically blind.
At the instigation of others, he stabbed Jesus’ body with his spear and blood flowed out from Jesus’ body.
The lance in his hand was stained with Jesus’ blood and was transformed into the Holy Lance. It also became known as the Spear of Longinus or the Spear of Destiny.
At the same time, a man named Joseph used the cup that Jesus had used to receive the blood flowing out of Jesus.
This cup was then hailed as the Holy Grail in the legends.
According to the legends, because the Holy Grail had once carried the blood of Jesus, the Holy Grail came to possess miraculous powers. If the Holy Grail were used to drink holy water, one would obtain everlasting youth.
As for the Holy Lance, also known as the Spear of Longinus, it was even more miraculous. The spear possessed the miraculous ability to heal any sickness. According to the legends, the Longinus who had used the spear to stab Jesus was splattered with Jesus’ blood, and his blind eyes were able to see properly once more.
Additionally, the Spear of Longinus that was coated with Jesus’ blood came to possess another miraculous ability: With this Holy Lance in hand, anyone within 120 feet of it would surrender and fall into a state of worship!
Naturally, these two objects were also among the sacred artefacts mentioned in the legends.
And…
The legend of King Arthur just so happened to mention those objects as well.
In the legends, the one who held the Holy Grail, Joseph buried the body of Jesus. Then, he took the Holy Grail with him and settled down in ancient Britain. Finally, the Holy Grail went missing among the people of Britain.
Hearing about the legend of the Holy Grail, King Arthur commanded his Knights of the Round Table to find the Holy Grail.
Among those who went in search of the Holy Grail was the douchebag, Lancelot.
However, even though he managed to find the Holy Grail, he was unable to bring it back due to his impure heart. It seems that there was justice in Heaven after all.
In the end, Lancelot’s nephew who possessed a pure heart and was also a Knight of the Round Table was able to find the Holy Grail and bring it back.
Unfortunately, after this Knight of the Round Table died, the Holy Grail was recovered by the angels and returned to Heaven.
According to legends, the story of it being returned to Heaven might not be true.
If so…
If the Sword in the Stone had fallen into the hands of the Norman family…
Then… could the Holy Grail too… had fallen into the hands of the Norman family?
Thinking about that, Chen Xiaolian’s eyes flashed and he turned around to look at the Countess!