The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 652: Volume Eighteen: Stormy Secrets, - Three: Direct Confrontation

Chapter 652: Volume Eighteen: Stormy Secrets, Chapter Three: Direct Confrontation

"This is the place known as the curse of God—Damarlinsk Castle?" Caru breathed deeply and gazed into the distance. The imposing Damarlinsk Castle was actually not very tall, but the flat plains surrounding it made the fortress-style castle remarkably striking and abrupt. The blackened walls appeared to have a considerable history, and the moss that grew and dried up on the walls before falling off and regrowing did not diminish the castle’s simple and rustic style. Instead, it added a sense of historical significance, making one feel as if they were in long-established cities like Jazair or Gutenberg.

It was undeniably a pleasure for both Caru and Boritz to encounter such an unadorned architectural marvel in such a desolate place. It seemed that the individuals who lived here should not be tainted with any dark dust. Although idealism often diverges from reality, Caru and Boritz couldn’t help but entertain such thoughts.

"It must be here; I can’t imagine there being a second such castle in this area. Having this one is already astonishing enough." Boritz was also visiting the Caucasus for the first time. He had to admit that the town of Ugru had made a good impression on him. Despite scrutinizing everything with a critical eye, he had found little to discomfort him. If only there had been fewer half-beasts and barbarians, it would have been perfect. That was Boritz’s only regret. In fact, Ugru had far fewer half-beasts and barbarians compared to Muscat. Mostly, it was affluent families from Myron, Meine, and Susoer who settled here, and with the Lord’s Mansion situated here as well, the town’s development was unrivaled throughout the Caucasus.

"It looks like our host, the Lord, knows how to enjoy himself. Such a castle would be top-notch even in Jazair or Cyprus." Caru joked, "It’s just that I wonder whether His Lordship, recently promoted to Viscount, is entitled to enjoy this inheritance?"

"Let’s go and weigh him up then. Hopefully, he won’t disappoint us, nor overjoy us," Boritz added, unusually profound, prompting Caru to nod subtly.

The formidable and fierce-looking half-beastman guards stood fully armed on either side of the door, but to the two of them, they might as well have been scarecrows. Of course, the two visitors didn’t think the other side was just posturing. After all, these half-beast soldiers did have a deterrent effect on this land, especially for those vagrants who came from afar, seeking a life or hoping to strike it rich. They also effectively balanced the power between half-beasts and mortals. Caru realized that the young man approaching at a brisk pace was not a simple character. But just how complex he was, that would depend on Caru’s own assessment after contact.

"Welcome to you, friends from Marco; I hope you can bring more light to this remote wilderness." Komer’s face still bore that respectful but proud smile, and the sincerity and joy within that smile did not reveal any pretense. His clear eyes met the piercing gazes of Caru and Boritz squarely, and although he seemed somewhat unaccustomed to their sharpness and instinctively dodged, Komer’s demeanor was fairly standard.

Exchanging glances, neither Caru nor Boritz could discern any particular meaning in the other’s eyes, but both sensed each other’s deep disappointment, with Caru feeling an additional touch of relief. To be honest, they hadn’t discovered anything out of the ordinary. Although the other party was avoiding their gazes, it was merely an intentional provocation on their part. Any person would react to their probing shine, whether it is through avoidance or resistance. If there was no reaction, it would mean that the person either had no magical foundation or was inscrutable. However, resistance undoubtedly signified hostility, while evasion was the most normal response.

"Hehe, Viscount, the God of Light never abandons His citizens. Any believer who harbors faith in the divinity will receive God’s protection. We have come to the Caucasus with this belief, hoping to bring peace and tranquility to the Viscount’s territory."

Caru and Boritz were not adept at the almost slogan-like preaching typical of most missionaries, but as high-ranking priests of the Church of Light, these clichés were second nature to them. They spoke with authority, though not with the same fervor as those preachers who could rattle on for hours with frothy zeal. Their delivery inevitably carried a slightly awkward tinge.

"Monks, thank you for your kindness and compassion. For the sake of a lofty ideal and faith, you have traveled thousands of miles to this wilderness to spread the nectar here. I believe the great God of Light will surely shine Her Holy Light here and allow all races who admire her to emerge from the clouds, to bathe in divine grace." This kind of palaver, which even dogs wouldn’t stomach, was also somewhat ungainly for Komer to articulate. Yet, facing two judges of the Court, who were equally unskilled in verbal banter, Komer seemed to be of a slightly higher caliber.

After a bout of nauseating flattery, both parties began to delve into the main topic, ranging from the development trends of the Church of Light in the Caucasus to the laissez-faire attitude toward nature worship among various races. Boritz kept initiating conversation, trying to break through the other’s psychological defense. Although his Spiritual Sense found nothing of value on the other party, just like the repulsive intuition Caru spoke of, the other gave him an intuition as well—a bad one, much like trying to catch an eel hiding in the mud; you feel its presence, but can’t seem to catch it.

Caru, on the other hand, shut his mouth and focused entirely on enhancing his perception. This fellow in front of him seemed to be shrouded in layer upon layer of thick masks, his true form obscured by clouds and mists. The information gained through his Spiritual Sense from this man was pitifully scant, with only the certainty that his elemental Mana was thunder-based. Beyond that, he could scarcely find anything of value.

However, one thing was certain, aside from his Thunder Power Origin, this guy also seemed to have traces of heterodoxy; his body was tinged with mixed Mana, which was sufficient to prove the speculations from the outside world: this guy was not a simple Mage, but a formidable individual who possessed at least the qualifications and strength of an Archmage. It was truly unimaginable for such a significantly powerful individual to appear in a remote place like the Caucasus. Moreover, according to the information he had, there shouldn’t have been any chance for him to have encountered Mages, except during those two years of exile. But could a mere mortal who had not even started learning magic ascend to the realm of an Archmage in just two or three years? It was simply too incredible.

Komer felt as though he were in a crucible, with beads of sweat consistently emerging all over his body. On the surface, he had to maintain the graceful demeanor of a Noble, but deep down, he realized that if this continued, he might indeed give something away. The other two’s Spiritual Sense was alarmingly potent, exploring every inch of his body. Even though he had compressed the core of his Dark Origin Magic power to its smallest size, and had already released the rest of the Dark Magic Force the previous night, he could still feel the searing pain caused by the others’ probing Light magic power within him.

He had to turn defense into offense, or he would eventually be found out by the others. Komer let out a sigh, using sipping coffee as a pretext to adjust his internal state, as wave after wave of pressure forced him to exert all his efforts to cover it up.

"My dear priests, I warmly welcome your decision to stay here. I believe that with the help of Priest Beran and Pastor Gustav, the Church’s teachings will certainly spread much more extensively. The minds of the citizens here are too closed and conservative and need enlightenment. Should the Church of Light achieve this, I’m convinced that its popularity here will substantially increase."

Komer, while responding positively to their request, also tossed the challenging problem back to them. To expect the mostly illiterate Half-Beasts to be enlightened was not something that could be achieved by mere proselytizing. It required both carrot and stick—feeding them as well as having the strength to inflict pain upon them at will. Only then would they obey. Since the Church of Light seemed to think that they could accomplish this through mere words, Komer was happy to oblige generously, knowing all the while that they were unlikely to stay long in the area, and thus he displayed even greater cordiality.

The one-and-a-half-hour meeting left both Caru and Boritz extremely frustrated. Caru was somewhat mentally prepared, but for Boritz, such a fruitless exchange of pleasantries was nothing but a waste of time.

Back at the inn, Boritz was still seething with discontent. Their opponent was too sly; all his words were devoid of any real substance. Even promises that seemed beautiful on the surface were utterly empty, with countless objective excuses at the ready to delay or even refuse them, and their attempt to explore with Spiritual Sense yielded nothing. Nevertheless, this did not diminish Boritz’s suspicion.

"Caru, I think we can’t allow ourselves to be led by the nose. Everything he said might be true, but those are just superficial matters. I think we need to investigate Damarlinsk Castle. Clearly, he is an elemental Mage of considerable Power, yet he chooses not to reside within the Castle. Isn’t there something peculiar about that? Or does he deliberately avoid allowing outsiders to enter and exit Damarlinsk Castle to prevent secrets from being revealed?" Boritz’s keen intuition at least guessed part of Komer’s concerns— the special Eye of Darkness in Damarlinsk Castle could easily bring too many things to mind.

Third update! The new book "Exotic Hunting in Different Space and Time" is aiming for the Top Three in the new book potential rankings. I hope my friends will support it by adding it to their collections, clicking, and utilizing their Recommendation Tickets to show support. The book number is 141568. Regan thanks you here! (To be continued. For more Chapters, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM, support the author, support authorized reading!)