Azure Scepter

Page 181

Faudia was a little uneasy, seemingly unsure whether she should go out. Trier simply grabbed her hand and shook his head.

Soon, only Trier, Feudia, and Aurelius remained in the cave.

“Alright, Trier, I’ll tell you the truth now,” Aurelius said. “This cave used to be my dragon’s lair and my treasure trove. Since I was wanted by Losewey, I was worried that my treasure would fall into the hands of the enemy, so I dismissed all my servants and sealed this place with magic—to be honest, I never thought I would be able to return here one day.”

As Aurelius spoke, he led the two deeper into the cave.

Soon, the group arrived at a fairly spacious open space.

“The moment my injury healed itself, I knew you had succeeded. I originally planned to come find you when you returned, but you stayed in Wirth for too long. I went back to Erlav several times but didn’t see you, so I left.”

Trier remained silent, still deeply puzzled.

While Aurelius's explanation is reasonable, how could it block the prophetic spells blessed by divine power? And why would it leave an empty bottle of weak life potion in a secret compartment of a house in the port area? How did it come to know these refugees?

Although he was filled with doubts, Trier did not speak, waiting for Auris to explain himself.

“Uh, why aren’t you saying anything?” Aurelius glanced at Trier, then smiled nervously. “Trier, I know you may have gone to great lengths to find me, but believe me, I didn’t mean to mess with you. All the arrangements I made were to prevent Rosevie from catching up and chopping me up—hey, how about I explain the arrangements to you in detail?”

“Let’s start with that bottle in the house in the port area,” Futia said first.

“Well, look, here’s the thing. Losevie doesn’t have any good rangers under her command. After all, everyone knows that when people become undead, their noses are affected to some extent, otherwise they would be overwhelmed by the stench of their own corpses,” Aurelius said. “Since Losevie doesn’t have any good rangers under her command, the only way she can find me is by using magic, right? And using magic definitely requires the sympathetic law—so I prepared a bottle in my residence beforehand. This bottle doesn’t point to me, but to another bottle, which I threw into the sea.”

"Just think about it, the dim-witted undead under Losevie's command went through all sorts of trouble to find the bottle I hid, then they spent even more effort searching for me in the endless sea, and finally, they found another bottle on an unknown island—ha, what an interesting design."

Trier interrupted, "But my prophecy about the bottle was blocked by divine power."

“Shielding?” Aurelius’s words came to an abrupt halt. He turned his head and repeated blankly, “Divine power? Huh? Did I hear that right? It can’t be that the King of the Good Dragons has really manifested himself. To be honest, this sounds like the beginning of some kind of ghost story.”

“Uh, there might be some misunderstanding here. The fact that the divination is blocked doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the work of divine power…” Before Trier could speak, Aurelius continued, “Wait a moment, let’s get down to business first.”

Aurelius snapped his fingers, and the next moment, the entire cave suddenly began to crumble layer by layer, like a mirage in water!

In less than half a breath, the once cold, damp, and vine-covered cave vanished, replaced by a dazzling golden flash—

"Clang, clang, clang..." The crisp sound of gold coins rang out incessantly. Tons of ancient gold coins stretched from the end of the open space all the way to his feet, almost forming a mountain of gold coins, or a sea of ​​gold coins.

Amidst the undulating golden waves, clusters of crystal peaks made of gems and diamonds occasionally pierce through the landscape. Mithril crowns forged from dragon flames, as well as swords, giant axes, and powerful bows from Aurelius's private collection, are everywhere. The starlight emanating from various magical armors adds an elegant touch to the gaps in the pure golden light.

Faudia was stunned; her azure eyes were filled with the glittering reflection of wealth.

“How about it, isn’t it spectacular?” Aurelius said smugly. “Long before Losevie conquered the Darklands, this was my territory—I’ve amassed this fortune over hundreds of years. I’m not exaggerating; among all the mature dragons, I’m probably the richest. Only those few dragons who rule small kingdoms in the Broken Isles and also act as pirates plundering merchant ships can compare to my wealth.”

Trier was pondering the reason for the divine power shielding when he heard Aurelius's words. He didn't react immediately, but when he fully understood the dragon's words, he was stunned.

"Huh?" Trier opened his mouth wide in disbelief.

“Let me make this clear first, the purchasing power of these gold coins can’t compare to that of gold dragons today. After all, the metallurgical technology back then was quite rudimentary,” Aurelius said. “Back then, gold coins were less like gold mixed with a lot of impurities and more like impurities mixed with a little gold. According to the gold dragons issued during the Lothaway era, the gold coins in this cave are actually only equivalent to a few million gold dragons. So my treasures may not be as valuable as you think.”

“You can’t give me these things. Without treasure, you will die. Wealth is a dragon’s second life.” Trier took a deep breath and then directly refused Aurelius’s offer. “Besides, you have no reason to give me these.”

“You helped me kill Lorraine, Trier. You have no idea what that means to me—to be honest, it’s no different from giving me a second chance at life.” Aurelius’s tone was resolute, and as if to make his point, he clenched his fist. “I didn’t make this decision out of fear or on impulse. In fact, I’ve been thinking about this ever since Lorraine died.”

“Ever since I was wanted and forced to disguise myself as a human, I’ve thought about so many things,” Aurelius said, jumping into the pile of gold coins and rolling around. “Do you know what I’ve been thinking about all this time?”

Trier shook his head: "Of course I couldn't know."

"The first thing I thought about was my entire dragon life." Aurelius lay on the pile of gold coins, curled a gold coin with his tail, and threw it into his mouth. "To be honest, as a dragon, the first half of my life was quite successful. Growing up, leaving home, building a nest, accumulating wealth, raising a bunch of dragon eggs, you know, I even think there are few dragons in the world whose lives have been smoother than mine."

“Then you met Lothaway,” Trier said.

“Yes.” Aurelius chewed the gold coin, swallowed it with a slight movement of his throat, “but what truly pains me is not just the wound on my face—after I was injured, my mate abandoned me without hesitation, and all my children left. I tried to seek help from other dragons, but they all scorned my plight. Those evil and greedy colored dragons even tried to steal what little I had left. In short, Losevie’s axe not only struck my face, but also my social relationships. I became a lone dragon.”

“I admit that I went too far in my actions against that foolish duke, but I never had any ill intentions toward the other dragons—but as soon as I was weak, they all bared their fangs at me.”

“You hate them,” Trier said.

“No, I don’t hate them. After all, it’s just their nature,” Aurelius laughed. “When I was human, I heard a very true proverb: nature cannot be taken away. My noble kin are nothing more than slaves to their nature. They are even more pathetic than religious fanatics among humans. After all, religious fanatics actively choose their beliefs, while my kin simply act on instinct like mindless lizards.”

“The saying that nature cannot be taken away is not necessarily true,” Trier comforted him. “I once met a great goblin who not only got rid of his cannibalistic instincts, but he even forgave the enemies who killed his family.”

“Indeed,” Aurelius agreed. “But the key is to be aware of one’s own nature. To be aware of the nature that binds one’s own nature, one needs to observe one’s own kind and see the shadow that binds one’s free will in one’s own kind. Only in this way can one have the possibility of transcending one’s nature. In fact, this is also the realization I have finally come to.”

Trier never expected that Aurelius, this talkative, cowardly dragon, could utter such philosophically insightful words...

"So what do you think is the nature of elves?" Fythia couldn't help but ask.

Aurelius shook his head: "I'm not an elf, how would I know? I can only tell you what I've perceived about the nature of the copper dragon."

“Arrogance is the nature of all dragons,” Aurelius said. “They look down on all other creatures except the gods, considering themselves the masters of the sky, and ruthlessly crushing their weaker enemies with their dragonfire and physical strength. Even when a dragon shows friendliness to mortals, it is merely a condescending pity. They use this friendly gesture to demonstrate their moral and spiritual superiority. In a sense, arrogance brings courage, so when a dragon overcomes its arrogance, it also becomes timid. This is my first observation.”

"So that's your reason for being afraid to fight?" Trier retorted.

Aurelius laughed and said, "That's me breaking free from the bondage of my nature."

“My second observation is that copper dragons all like to talk and listen to stories,” Aurelius continued. “But after a long period of observation, I have found that I am not bound by my nature in this respect. I do genuinely enjoy talking and telling stories, but I do not enjoy listening to stories as much. So we cannot completely reject our nature, but rather we should discover the part of ourselves that is not bound by our nature and make full use of it.”

"As for the third point, it is the endless pursuit of wealth and treasures." Aurelius's voice deepened. "You might say that many humans, dwarves, and even elves are like this, but I must tell you that the dragons' desire for treasure is an exaggerated state completely different from the above three. You just said that some dragons even die of heart failure due to the long-term loss of treasure, which is undoubtedly quite abnormal. If I want to overcome my nature, then I must abandon these things that enslave my mind and soul."

“Big Lizard, if I may be so bold, I feel like you’re one of those cultists who’ve lost their minds,” Futia couldn’t help but say. “Giving up wealth and cutting ties with your original social environment—these are all classic phrases from those cultists.”

“A cultist? No, a cult master.” Aurelius didn’t care about the elf’s teasing at all. “But in any case, I don’t want to be bound by my own nature anymore.”

At this point, a rather solemn expression suddenly appeared on Aurelius's gaunt face: "I not only hope that I can get rid of my mortal nature, but I also hope that all beings I encounter can transcend the shackles that bind their nature and thus move towards true freedom. I have also decided to devote the rest of my life to this cause."

Looking at Aurelius's face, Trier suddenly realized why his divination had failed—perhaps this cowardly, talkative dragon had begun to condense divinity.

“But if you leave all the treasure to others, you will die of heart failure. Wouldn’t your plan be doomed before it even begins?” Trier finally advised.

Aurelius laughed loudly, reverting to his massive original form. His enormous dragon body instantly stirred up a storm of gold coins. Amidst the clanging and clattering sounds, he suddenly flapped his wings, and his streamlined body crashed straight through the cave ceiling, soaring into the sky.

“If I can’t even overcome this, wouldn’t I be joking? — I’m leaving, Trier, Fytia, see you later.” The dragon’s voice echoed in the cave. “By the way, I really like Hult, please remember to give him that mithril sword for me; and one more thing, if you can, please treat the blood plague that infected those refugees, I know you have the ability.”

In less than a few breaths, the figure of the bronze dragon completely disappeared into the boundless clouds, leaving only the clattering sound of gold coins and the silent Trier and Fythia inside the cave.

Chapter 344 Thirteen Attributes

Looking at the gold coins, Trillen fell into deep thought.

Although Aurelius's treasure is quite astonishing, the Southern Duchy, currently in ruins, has practically no use for it. The largest expense for the Southern Duchy right now is the cost of diamonds needed to treat everyone for the blood plague, but the exorbitant diamond cost for this treatment has already been covered by the vampire tycoon of the City That Never Sleeps, making that enormous expense negligible.

Besides that, there's the reconstruction of the entire duchy. If I were to lead the planning, it would undoubtedly require a huge sum of money. Considering my current divine authority as the "Guardian of Road Repair," the investment needed for road construction would need to increase further. However, no matter how much this construction cost increases, it's still a drop in the ocean compared to Aurelius's treasure. As for the miscellaneous relief funds, ransom fees, mercenary commissions, etc., these are basically negligible.

Although the gold content of these coins is quite low due to their age, they are still an astronomical fortune.

"It's time to use the wish spell," Trier thought. "I've accumulated a lot of experience and have so much treasure, so I can use the wish spell to greatly increase my attributes."

In the game "Azure Scepter", Wish is an extremely difficult 9th-level spell. It is even understood by many as the most powerful spell that mortal beings can cast - this understanding is of course wrong, after all, even in the material plane, there are many powerful spellcasters who can cast legendary spells.

However, the power of the Prayer spell is undeniable. With the Prayer spell alone, the caster can create things out of thin air, restore youth and health, perfectly resurrect the recently deceased, and even directly kill relatively weak opponents. It can be said that the Prayer spell is one of the most versatile spells in the world.

One function of the Prayer spell is to permanently increase a spellcaster's attributes by paying experience points and a large amount of wealth. This attribute increase is an intrinsic bonus, and the maximum bonus can reach 5 points. For example, if a spellcaster has enough wealth and experience points, he can even increase all of his attribute values ​​by 5 points simply through the Prayer spell.

A 5-point increase in a single attribute is quite exaggerated. After all, without considering other growth factors, an adventurer can only gain a total of 5 free attribute points from obtaining a job level to becoming a legendary. However, through the Wish spell, he can theoretically gain up to 30 attribute points by burning experience and wealth!

With this thought in mind, Trier took a deep breath, glanced at the many experience points he had accumulated, and immediately made a decision.

He walked to the pile of gold coins, pulled out the mithril sword that Aurelius had specifically requested to give to Hult, and then handed it to Feudia.

"Could you stand guard at the door and prevent anyone else from coming in and interfering with my spellcasting? It won't take long, probably only about ten minutes."

Fythia took the mithril sword and glanced at Trier: "You're not going to cast a wish spell, are you?"

“It is indeed a wishing spell,” Trier said, taking out the materials needed to draw the ritual array from his backpack.

Prayer is a 9th-level spell, and Trier's current spell slots only allow him to cast Prayer three times. The remaining spell slots will need to be filled by ritual casting.

“Wish is a very dangerous spell, Trier.” Fythia paused for a moment, then warned, “My mother told me that wishes granted by Wish are often fulfilled in a distorted form, ultimately leading to terrible tragedies. Although I have never seen a Wish spell in person, I have seen the distorted creations it produces.”

"Don't worry—many mages have studied the range of wishes that can be reasonably fulfilled by prayer spells." Trier shook his head. "This is much safer than making a deal with the devil."

Futia nodded with some concern, but in the end she still walked to the end of the stone chamber and began her guard duty.

Unlike the other spells Trill cast through ritualistic incantations, the scale and complexity of the ritual required for the Prayer spell were significantly increased. In some respects, the level of knowledge required was comparable to the ritualistic array beneath Wilt that could threaten even saints. Even as a master of ritualistic incantations, Trill checked the drawing three times after it was completed before confidently casting the spell.

“I wish I could permanently enhance my physique,” ​​Trier said to the completed spell.

The next moment, a flame appeared out of thin air and devoured a pile of gold coins and gems in the treasury. Almost at the same time, a surge of heat emerged from Trier's chest cavity and, accompanied by the pumping of his heartbeat, flowed through his blood vessels to every capillary.

Amidst the soothing and comfortable feeling, reminiscent of soaking in a hot spring, lines of cobalt blue information flowed across Trier's eyes like mercury spilling across the ground.

[Warning: Wish effect detected...]

[Experience points have been reduced!]

[Your constitution permanently gains 1 intrinsic bonus]

[Current Constitution: 24]

Trier clenched his fist, nodded in satisfaction, and then activated the second magic circle.

Keep adding more Prayer spells!

“I hope to permanently improve my physical condition,” he said again.

This time, the flames that were originally the size of a campfire swelled to the size of a bush, and in an instant, countless gold coins and treasures turned to ashes. At the same time, his physique was improved once again.

[Warning: Wish effect detected...]

[Experience points have been significantly reduced!]

[Your constitution permanently gains 1 intrinsic bonus]

[Current Constitution: 25]

[Warning: Due to overuse of the Prayer spell, you have temporarily gained the "Exhaustion" effect... Under review, you have already saved "Exhaustion".]

—Each time a wish spell is used to enhance a single attribute, the cost increases exponentially. According to Trier's estimation, what currently limits his wish spell usage isn't the amount of wealth Aurelius has accumulated, but rather his current experience points. Based on his current experience points, increasing one attribute by 3 points and the remaining attributes by an average of 2 points seems like a reasonable strategy.

Considering his lack of survival abilities and specializations after breaking his oath, he should prioritize improving his constitution. In other words, he should ultimately gain 3 points in constitution, 2 points in strength, 2 points in agility, 2 points in perception, 2 points in intelligence, and 2 points in charisma—a total of 13 attribute points!

After quickly calculating and allocating the attribute points, Trier felt a surge of excitement and continued to tirelessly cast the "Prayer" spell.

I hope...

When Trier finally finished, the once-surging tide of gold coins shrank by half, and all the experience he had accumulated was swept away.

However, as a result of this massive consumption, Trier felt that he was in an incredibly good state, as if he was currently receiving a full set of divine magical enhancements from Noi.

Although no one in the Prime Material Plane currently poses a threat to him, every increase in his strength means a further strengthening of the power he can rely on. After all, once the Azure Laws shatter and the gods roam the Prime Material Plane, it will undoubtedly be a period of great upheaval filled with unpredictable dangers. In that situation, no matter how much he plans ahead, unexpected events will inevitably occur, and he will only be able to adapt to the situation. At that time, the only thing he can rely on will be pure strength.

Thinking of this, he shook his head and then quickly walked out of the cave.

When Trier arrived outside, the cave was already surrounded by people—the scene of Auris crashing through the cave roof and flying into the clouds was still too shocking for most people.

Even the elite knights who had fought the entire battle and experienced countless bloody battles and grand scenes were now looking up at the sky.

According to the folklore of Orco, if a person is shrouded in the shadow of a dragon, he will have good luck for the next year, so everyone's enthusiasm is quite high at this time.

Seeing Trill emerge from the cave, Edith, who had been waiting in the corner, quickly approached and quietly asked, "So what happened? Was that dragon your friend?"

Trier nodded: "Fodia didn't tell you?"

“She didn’t say anything, she only told me there was a lot of treasure inside,” Edith said. “Did you end up falling out over the treasure? And why did the dragon suddenly crash through the mountaintop and fly away?”

At this point, Edith took a deep breath and then whispered, "That dragon seems to be a copper dragon. I read in the book that these kinds of dragons are very friendly—Trier, I don't think it's necessary to rob a copper dragon for wealth."

“It may sound unbelievable, but actually, it was the dragon that gave it to me of its own accord.” Trier spread his hands. “It’s the dragon from ‘White the Speaker.’ Except in reality, it wasn’t a bard who suddenly appeared, but the murderous Rhodesville and a professional dragon hunter who dealt with it. Rhodesville cleaved it in the face with an axe, leaving it with an incurable wound—after Rhodesville died, it gave me all its wealth in gratitude.”

Edith glanced at Trier with a hint of suspicion: "Then why did it crash through the mountain to escape?"

“Because before it took flight, it gave me and Trier a long string of nonsensical but self-consistent theories, claiming that it wanted to overcome its nature as a dragon,” Faldia suddenly interjected, saying with great interest. “Perhaps Aurelius thought it would be cool to leave like that—just like how some theaters use magic to cover up the scenery when changing scenes.”

Just then, the refugee leader, whose body was covered in pus, suddenly walked over quickly. As he walked, he suddenly knelt down on the ground!

“Your Grace, please uphold justice!” he said in a deep voice. “Your loyal subjects implore you to destroy the blood-sucking beast that roams your territory. Your treacherous vassal, Count Bortard, is a vampire! I beg you to destroy that monster!”

Before refusing to pay the blood tax and publicly executing the blood tax collector, the burly man covered in pus was the town's garrison captain. To secure the position of garrison captain, in addition to excellent military skills, one also needs good interpersonal skills.

Just as Trier and his companions entered the cave, he quickly became acquainted with the horse-watching knight thanks to his excellent interpersonal skills. After some probing, the unsuspecting knight told the burly man that the paladin who had treated him was Trier, the new duke of the Southern Duchy.

Chapter 345 Celestial Globe

When the leader, whose body was covered in pus, uttered these words, the previously chaotic and noisy crowd suddenly fell silent, as if an invisible scythe had silently severed everyone's vocal cords.

Edith frowned slightly, giving the kneeling refugee leader a deep look. She pondered for a moment, then immediately looked at the knight she had assigned to watch the horses. Her gaze then swept over the anxious yet hopeful crowd, finally settling on Trier's face.

These displaced refugees were shocked that Trier was the new ruler of the duchy, and worried that they might be killed because they knew nothing about Trier's ways. But amidst this shock mixed with fear, they also secretly hoped that Trier would, like the wise lords in the stories, uphold justice and punish the wicked Earl Bortard.

However, Edith knew very well that their demands were unlikely to be met. After all, Trier had already reached an agreement with the vampire businessmen behind Count Bortard: if they wanted to save the tens of thousands of poor people in the duchy suffering from the blood plague, then Count Bortard could not be killed.

Thinking of this, Edith couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She lowered her eyelids and sighed softly.

As expected, Trier gave the refugee leader a cold look, then shook his head and said in a detached tone, "There's nothing we can do about this for now."

Trier's voice was not loud, but it was very clear. When he said those words, many people showed obvious disappointment. It was as if the illusions of beauty and justice in people's eyes had been extinguished by an invisible hand.

The refugee leader lowered his head and clenched his fists in regret.