Volume 1: Stranger in a Strange Land Chapter 51: Beginning Ceremony
The Great Cemetery, Temple of the Holy Sepulchre.
Kas and Nezemal walked along the ancient granite steps, going around and around into the depths of the underground holy tomb.
"This place is usually closed. It is only opened during the investiture ceremony when the Duke of Thorns takes office. This allows the new Duke of Thorns to go down to the depths of the holy tomb to worship the ancestors and receive their protection."
Cass said as he walked.
At this moment he was walking in front, and the magic crystal mining lamp hanging around his waist illuminated the steps ahead.
"That is to say, this is a place that only the Duke of Thorns has the authority to open, right?"
asked Nezemal, who was following behind Kas with a crossbow in his hand.
"I'm not sure about that, but considering that the sacrificial activities in Thorn City are basically handled by the Rose Palace, I guess the key to the Holy Tomb is also controlled by the Duke himself... So if that's the case..."
Cass said as he fell into deep thought.
At this moment, the terrifying number of undead in the cemetery outside the temple was really the work of Duke Simon? Was he just like the crazy Black Water King a thousand years ago, hoping to control an undead army?
This is too crazy.
Thinking of this, Cass asked with some doubt:
"Didn't you say before that the Duke was going to summon the Void King? Why did he change to summoning the Tide of the Corrupted Moon now?"
Regarding this, Nazemare seemed a little puzzled and said:
"I don't know. An informant from the Eighth Order in the Rose Palace told me that the Duke might try to communicate with the Void King of the Moon Realm in the near future. That's why I came to the Holy Tomb in such a hurry, hoping that you could pull out the 'Judgment Four' as a trump card, but I didn't expect to encounter this situation here..."
Regarding Nezemar's doubts, Cass thought for a moment and said:
"Could it be that the informant you arranged in the Rose Palace was discovered or betrayed? That's why the Duke deliberately tricked us into this large cemetery..."
Before Cass could finish his words, he felt the stupidity of his own logic.
First of all, there was a long period of time between when the Rose Palace informant gave Nezemar the information and when they decided to act. The Duke couldn't have been so lucky that they were surrounded by the Corrupted Moon Tide just when they arrived at the Great Cemetery.
The second and most important point is that if the Duke had mastered the power of the Tide of the Corrupted Moon, unless he was a fan of classical tragedy and wanted to add some drama, there would be no need for him to resort to such conspiracy to lure them into the cemetery and kill them.
And if he failed to master the power of the Corrupted Moon Tide, everyone would die together, and there would be no need to do this.
"in other words……"
Cass murmured:
"In other words, we may have stumbled in here by accident, and the Duke may not even have noticed our presence!"
There was even a hint of excitement in Cass's tone. He turned back to look at Nezemar and said:
"If we act on purpose, we still have a chance. We still have a chance to prevent this disaster here."
As fate would have it, they came to the ceremony site. One day earlier or later would mean they would miss the opportunity to stop Duke Simon's crazy ceremony.
In response, Nazemare just nodded slowly with a tense face and said, "Then, let's go."
…………
After descending countless granite steps, they finally arrived at the deepest part of the Holy Tomb - the Tomb Chamber of God.
In the ancient mythology of the Blackwater Kingdom, this is the place closest to the underworld. It is said that Vera, the goddess of death whose totem is the snake, was reborn and awakened in this place.
But if we remove the halo of mythology, this tomb of the gods is actually just an underground tomb built on the basis of a natural cave.
The entire hall was decorated in a gorgeous and solemn manner. After entering, the first thing Kas saw was forty or fifty sarcophagi of different sizes and styles scattered throughout the hall. In each sarcophagus was basically a member of the royal family of the ancient Blackwater Kingdom buried.
In the very center of the hall, there is a huge sarcophagus surrounded by seven concentric circles . There are two things standing in front of the sarcophagus, which do not quite match the style of the entire tomb.
An old black stone tablet and a dark and heavy knight's sword.
As soon as Nezemar saw the knight's sword, he patted Cass on the shoulder and said to him in a low voice:
"Look, there it is, that sword is Judgment Four."
"That's Judgment Four?"
From Cass's perspective, the weapon called "Judgment IV" looked like just an ordinary knight's sword. It had no gorgeous decorations, nor did it exude the powerful power of enchanted weapons. It was far from the magical weapon she had described earlier.
"Are you sure it's that one?"
Cas asked doubtfully.
Nezemar nodded and replied, "Yes, I am sure it is that one."
Well, maybe all truly powerful weapons are so plain-looking.
Cass thought, then he asked:
"Then the next question is , how can we get close to that place and get it?"
At this moment, near the "Judgment Four" position in the center of the tomb, a fat monster with a huge body covered with sores and swelling, and twisted and tangled withered horns on its head, was sitting there with his eyes closed, holding a rusty dagger in his hand.
And above its head, countless floating ghosts held an old man in a wizard's robe in mid-air. The surging magic power was stripped from his body and then accumulated into a black sphere that was ready to be launched and floated beside him, trembling slightly.
"Simon, you son of a bitch, how dare you lie to me?! You don't intend to use the Eternal Gift to strengthen your spiritual power. You intend to use it to awaken the undead in the cemetery. You intend to recreate the Tide of the Corrupted Moon!"
The skinny old man yelled hysterically at the middle-aged man standing on the central sarcophagus, who was dressed in gorgeous and complicated clothes.
The person being yelled at was naturally Duke Simon.
In response to the other party's words, Duke Simon just nodded calmly and said:
"Yes, and you are the fuel that activates those rituals. Feel honored."
After saying this, Duke Simon made a grasping gesture towards the old man floating in the sky.
In an instant, the black sphere floating beside him exploded with a "pop" and then turned into a black shock wave that spread out rapidly.
I see……
Cass thought.
So that's how the black shock wave that awakened the undead came from...
After the black sphere exploded, the old man instantly collapsed, and blood continued to flow out from various holes in his head.
He simply dropped his head and stopped struggling.
It was also at this time that the big monster who had been sitting aside with his eyes closed suddenly spoke:
"Contractor, now that all elements are in place, we can begin the ceremony."
