Volume 1: Stranger in a Strange Land Chapter 31: Pendant and Ambush
This is already my sixth enchanting shop.
Liliana thought.
Because of the development of the source silver industry, Thorn City can be said to be the city with the most prosperous enchanting industry in the entire Wick Continent, except for the imperial capital Platinum City and the arcane capital of Spellring City.
However, even though she visited six of the most famous enchantment shops in succession, she still couldn't figure out the origin of the quaint sunbird pendant.
Even for the old enchantment shop that claimed to have a two-hundred-year history, the owner had to run to the basement and rummage through drawers for most of the day before he found some fragmentary clues in a moldy old book.
"Phoenix...Phoenix, the phoenix of the ancient faith of the Kingdom of Dusk, which is now the Quicksand Province, symbolizes the sun and the sky."
The shop owner pointed at the difficult-to-understand ancient Chinese text in the book and said to her.
"I can only confirm that the shape of this pendant should be the faith totem of the ancient Dusk Kingdom. As for the runes and enchantment properties engraved on it, I have no idea. But I can be sure that the enchantment circuit on it is not the same as the current enchantment system. Even the charging interface is not compatible."
After the owner finished speaking, he hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and asked her.
"Where did you get this pendant? I'm beginning to wonder if it's powered by human souls ..."
There are generally only three ways for magic casters to obtain magic in the world: the astral realm, the moon realm, and the soul itself. After the establishment of the Star Law, the astral realm has become the only legal way for magic casters to obtain magic. Any mage who uses the moon realm and the soul itself as a way to obtain magic is considered a heretic.
If the owner had not seen the two people entering the store wearing the uniforms of the University of Offa, he would have immediately notified the church to catch the heretics .
…………
Just like that, after still not getting any results at the sixth enchanting shop and seeing that it was getting late, Liliana decided to try her luck at one last enchanting shop.
However, fellow senior Rod Wilson gave her another suggestion.
"Liliana, since the shop owner said that this pendant may rely on the human soul to replenish its magic power, why don't we go to some less formal places to ask? Maybe the people there will know more."
After Liliana was released from the confinement room at home, she found her friend who was studying at the Enchanting Department of Offa University, hoping that he could help her identify the pendant that the man who claimed to be William Kane had given her.
However, after tinkering with it for a while, he did not identify any useful information except that he had used up all the magic power stored in the pendant. He did not even know how to recharge it.
Fortunately, Rod Wilson's family was engaged in the industry of refining source silver, so he was very familiar with the distribution of enchantment shops in Thorn City. So he took the initiative to take Liliana to several enchantment shops that could provide high-quality appraisal services for appraisal.
After six consecutive setbacks, he put forward new suggestions.
"Black market?"
Liliana frowned .
If it was a few weeks ago, she would have been looking forward to that place. However, after the series of events that happened before, she didn't have a good impression of the black market.
However, if she wanted to find out the true identity of the magic caster who called himself William Kane, it seemed that this was the only clue she could investigate.
"All right."
…………
The footsteps of the two people echoed in the damp tunnel, and occasionally the sound of bats flapping their wings and the rustling of mice could be heard from the corners.
Senior Rhodes led the way holding a lit magic medium, while Liliana followed closely behind.
According to Senior Rhodes, this black market is located deep in the tunnels of Thorn City.
It used to be the gathering place of the Thieves Guild, but after Duke Simon came to power, in order to crack down on the smuggling of Source Silver, the entire Thieves Guild was cleared out of Blackwater Province.
"Then, the smuggling channel of source silver in Thorn City is now almost monopolized by the Duke himself."
Senior Rhodes said as he walked.
This tunnel was winding, deep, and eerily quiet. Perhaps because she was a little scared, Liliana, who had no interest in such topics, raised her voice and asked.
"Then since the entire Thorn City's source silver industry belongs to the Duke, why do you still want to smuggle it yourself?"
"Because the smuggled source silver does not need to pay the imperial trade tax."
Senior Rhodes turned around and smiled at her. Perhaps it was because of the dim light in the tunnel, his warm smile, which seemed no different from usual, made Liliana feel a little uneasy.
"The silver on the black market has a high premium, and those illegal miners pay protection fees to the law enforcement officers of Thorn City when they mine, and the Duke takes a cut of the profits when they export. All in all, the profit from smuggling is almost the same as that from the regular channels, and all of this is under the control of the Duke, without having to look at the face of the royal family."
Liliana nodded, not quite understanding.
After walking in the maze-like tunnel for a few more minutes, Liliana finally remembered something and asked.
"Senior Rhodes, I remember your family is also in the business of refining silver, right? Does this kind of smuggling have any impact on your family?"
"Whether it's smuggling or formal channels, they are actually all for the benefit of the Duke. Do you know which mine provided the Wilson family with the raw ore?"
"Which one?"
"Silver Mine Cave."
"Uh... I'm not sure, is there anything special about this mine?"
"It's okay, as long as he understands it."
Senior Rhodes said as he suddenly stopped.
Liliana almost bumped into his back.
At this moment, they came to a fork in the tunnel which was slightly wider.
“Senior Rhodes, just tell me who knows.”
The other party's sudden stop made Liliana a little flustered, and she asked quickly.
Senior Rhodes turned his head 180 degrees and spoke to her face to face.
"The man who has been following us since the beginning , no, should I say two people?"
As he spoke, there was still a warm smile on his face.
At this moment, Liliana finally understood why .
Senior Rhodes, or rather the thing that looked like Senior Rhodes, had a frozen smile on his face, as if something was speaking through Rhodes' face.
Liliana was not sure whether she screamed or not. She only knew that when she regained consciousness, she was already sitting on the dirty ground.
Between him and Rhode, there stood a tall man wearing a black cloak and holding a giant sword as big as a door panel.
It seems that this person was the one who rescued her before.
"Are you just implying that the monsters under the Silver Stream Mine are related to the Duke?"
the man asked in a voice that contained suppressed anger.
But "Rod" just laughed and said.
"Hello, Cas Durant, and that little pet of yours. It was our fault for letting you get away last time, but we won't give you another chance this time."
"us?"
Cass glanced around cautiously.
Seven or eight skeletons wearing half-body armor and covered in mist walked out from several branching paths in the tunnel.
The weapons in their hands constantly changed color as the mist flowed.
"I promise to send you to reunite with your friends this time."
