Chapter 99: Tamerlane: He is a knightly genius without equal

Red Fox Castle.

Reception hall.

After a long time, Rosa, who had finally calmed down, sat on the sofa, holding a teacup and sipping, having regained her previous elegant demeanor.

Luo Yi and Luo Lan stood behind the sofa, covering their faces, looking at their mother with worry.

"Your Highness, I am truly sorry. I didn't expect a woman of my age to burst into tears. I have made you laugh."

Looking at the black-haired young man sitting opposite, a hint of apology appeared on the face of the silver-haired Rosa.

"Countess, no matter when, tears are never a sin; on the contrary, they show that your heart is still warm and sincere," Xia Mingyu said softly.

"... Your words are as beautiful as a bard's poem. If my husband had been half as eloquent as you in the past, I fear I would have had my heart completely captured by him in the first year I knew him!"

Count Masha sighed, then refocused her gaze on the letter in her hand.

"Your Highness, would you allow me to see what my husband left for you in the letter? This is the greatest curiosity of an old woman who is about to enter the grave."

Hearing this, Xia Mingyu hesitated for a long time, but finally chose to agree.

Because this might indeed reveal the secret of the Spark on him, but the most important thing right now was to gain the trust and help of Rosa, the Lord of the Southern Region.

After all, he didn't think that this old woman, who looked kind but was actually known as the "Southern Region's Cunning Fox," would disregard interests, family, friends, and stance to bet everything to help him just because of a sentence left by her husband.

Trust is mutual. If he wants to gain a sincere comrade-in-arms, he must also reveal the truth to her.

He wants to be a "King" who brings light, not a cryptic riddle-maker.

"Very well, you and your two sons may read this letter, but I hope you can swear by your honor that you will not disclose the content of the letter to anyone."

Xia Mingyu put forward his request.

Since he had decided to reveal the truth, he might as well include the two brothers Luo Yi and Luo Nan who happened to be present; after all, the combat power of two Crescent Knights was also very worth striving for.

Rosa looked at her sons behind her and immediately said:

"I, Rosa Martha, swear by my own honor that I will never..."

"I, Luo Yi Martha, swear by my own honor..."

"I, Luo Nan..."

After all three had sworn by their honor not to disclose the content of the letter, Luo Yi and Luo Nan couldn't wait to squeeze behind their mother and read the posthumous letter left by their father together.

As they read, their expressions became more and more terrified, especially when they saw the sentence "I revere him like a father"; the muscles on the two brothers' faces twitched uncontrollably as if they had been struck by an invisible force.

Their eyes were wide open, and their mouths were so agape that even their tongues were exposed.

"Respected Your Highness, how old are you exactly this year?" Luo Nan looked at the young man in front of him with a trace of fear in his eyes.

He suspected that this noble Your Highness was only seemingly young, but was actually an old antique who had lived for decades or even hundreds of years, older than his mother, who was already in her twilight years, by a whole generation.

And Luo Yi, next to him, was completely immersed in great surprise.

Your Highness = Father's father = My grandfather = Great-grandfather of the child in my wife's womb = The blessing is secure!

"Grandfather!" Luo Yi shouted affectionately.

Xia Mingyu, who was about to explain, was directly silenced by this "grandfather," and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably...

Even Rosa, as the master of the Southern Region, was so ashamed at this moment that she covered her face.

If you call Your Highness grandfather, then what should I call him, Dad? My dad is still in the grave!

Only Luo Nan, who was already familiar with his brother's lack of seriousness, showed an "as expected" expression.

"Luo Nan, wake him up."

"Yes, Mother."

*Slap! *

"I have an ability in my blessing that can traverse space and even time to talk to people who have the same will as me... and Leo was summoned by me when he was still a beggar..."

After everyone calmed down again, Xia Mingyu briefly described his ability to them, of course, omitting the specific details.

"So that's how it is, to be able to traverse time, worthy of a blessing of 1.4 billion!"

Rosa exclaimed, and the two brothers were the same; they didn't even have the slightest doubt.

This was somewhat beyond Xia Mingyu's expectations; he thought it would take a lot of words, after all, the matter of traversing time was too incredible to ordinary people.

But to the people of this world, a blessing with the faith of 1.4 billion people, even if it could traverse the river of time, seemed to be a matter of course.

After understanding the ins and outs of everything that happened in the distant past, Rosa, with her two sons, knelt on one knee toward Xia Mingyu.

If this scene were seen by any noble in the Southern Region, they would surely be dumbfounded and suspect they were hallucinating.

Because although her martial arts were not good, Rosa was recognized as the master of a region in the Kingdom of Sossia, and even if the supreme king arrived in person, she would not need to kneel.

Now, to actually condescend to kneel to a young man, this was simply absurd!

"Your Highness, just as my husband thanked you for giving him a wonderful life, I also thank you for giving me such a perfect husband, allowing me to gain decades of happiness, not lamenting because of gray hair, but only feeling satisfied."

"Thank you, you are the great benefactor of the entire Martha family. I will do my best to provide you with assistance as the head of the Martha family, and I hope you will not hesitate to speak."

After speaking, Rosa bowed deeply, and Luo Yi and Luo Nan behind her did the same.

After all, if it weren't for Your Highness, they might not have come into this world at all!

Looking at it this way, Xia Mingyu, in a sense, really counted as their grandfather.

After Xia Mingyu helped Rosa up and the two sat on the sofa again, he tried to put forward his request.

"Lady Rosa, can I ask you for some high-grade magic crystals? I need them to increase my magic power as soon as possible, so that I can advance to the Morning Star Rank early."

Xia Mingyu said cautiously.

He was not the kind of person who would keep his mouth shut when he needed help; in order to achieve his ideals early, he had to seize every opportunity he could use to improve his strength as soon as possible.

After all, the chess player sitting opposite him playing against him was that King of Gluttony who ruled one of the three major kingdoms of the human race.

And high-grade magic crystals were undoubtedly the items he needed most at the moment, because the speed of increasing magic power by meditating on his own was simply too slow; how could it be as fast as directly consuming magic crystals!

Hearing this, Rosa called Luo Nan, whispered a few words, and the other party left the hall in a hurry.

Not long after, he returned to the reception hall with a maid.

The maid held a tray covered with dark red velvet in both hands, and a fist-sized red crystal was placed on the stand in the center of the tray.

This crystal was deep crimson throughout, and it seemed as if flames were flowing inside, occasionally rippling with crimson waves and occasionally flashing with orange-yellow halos.

Top quality!

The moment he saw this fire magic crystal, Xia Mingyu's instinct as a magician had already made a judgment.

Judging from the quality alone, the purity and magnitude of the magic power contained in this magic crystal were probably much higher than the ice magic crystal Martha had given him last time.

At least worth five... no, six gold Thors!

"Your Highness, high-grade magic crystals are extremely important strategic materials, and often once they are obtained by someone, they are quickly made into magic weapons, magic tools, magic books..."

"Therefore, even in Red Fox Castle, this is the only high-grade fire magic crystal that has not yet been used and can be gifted to you to increase your magic power. I hope you will forgive me."

Rosa said with some apology.

"Lady Rosa, I am already grateful that you can gift such a precious treasure to me; how can there be any talk of forgiveness?"

Xia Mingyu smiled slightly.

"Your Highness, although the castle only has this one high-grade magic crystal at the moment, this is the core of the Southern Region and is also located on the traffic artery of the kingdom. Every moment, countless traveling merchants come here to trade with various goods, and magic crystals will certainly appear among them."

"Your Highness, why don't you stay in Red Fox Castle for a while? During this time, I will offer a high reward for high-grade magic crystals as the master of Twilight City, and once found, they will be sent to you immediately."

Rosa thought for a moment and said with a serious expression.

And the moment Luo Yi and Luo Nan heard this, their eyes lit up, and they looked at the black-haired young man on the sofa with anticipation.

As the saying goes, those near the water get the moon first; wasn't it because Your Highness lived in his Black Langbao that that kid Kalen was able to let Haidun become Your Highness's godson?

If Your Highness could live in Red Fox Castle for a long time, then with their flattery skills, it wasn't certain that the blessing their children would get would be worse than Haidun's!

Staying in Red Fox Castle... Xia Mingyu thought about it simply, and felt that this choice was quite tempting.

Firstly, located in Twilight City, a prosperous city that could rank among the top in the entire Kingdom of Sossia, he could come into contact with more customs and information of this world, as well as all kinds of people to broaden his horizons.

Secondly, if there were really high-grade magic crystals to absorb and practice with, his magic power improvement speed would definitely increase to an extremely terrifying level.

Thirdly, the safety level of Red Fox Castle was undoubtedly several levels higher than that of Black Langbao, and he would feel more at ease living there.

"Lady Rosa, thank you for your kind invitation, then I will trouble you for this period of time."

"Haha, you are too polite, it is our honor!"

Seeing that Your Highness finally agreed, even Rosa couldn't help but have a brilliant smile like spring breeze appear on her face at this moment.

"Luo Yi, Luo Nan, what are you still standing there for? Quick, go send someone to tidy up the best room for Your Highness!"

"Also, call Sairisi over to be Your Highness's personal butler."

"Yes, Mother!"

Luo Yi and Luo Nan were overjoyed, and as if afraid that Xia Mingyu would go back on his word, they disappeared from the spot in an instant.

Castle Guest Room.

Led by the maid, Xia Mingyu pushed open the oak door and stepped inside.

The first thing that caught his eye was the wall covered with dark velvet wall cloth, embroidered with delicate golden patterns.

And not far away, there was a stone fireplace, with several silver candlesticks placed on the mantelpiece, and a gold-plated mirror hanging above the fireplace.

And the ceiling overhead was supported by wooden beams, with exquisite and complicated patterns carved on the beams, making one sigh at the high level of craftsmanship.

"Refreshing!"

Xia Mingyu didn't pay much attention to the luxury of this room, but walked straight over and slumped on the extremely soft silk bed, stretching his waist comfortably.

The running around for the past month, either sleeping in the carriage or sleeping on the hard bed in the village, had really almost broken his waist!

However, because Boge and Anliya were both used to it, he was really too embarrassed to say it out loud.

After all, he was at least staying in the carriage or on Anliya's lap, while Boge was sitting in the front room of the carriage all day driving for him, and Anliya was even a weak young girl.

If they could get used to it, Xia Mingyu naturally had to persist.

"It's time to do the real work."

After slumping on the bed for half an hour, looking at the sky that was already pitch black outside the window, Xia Mingyu reluctantly climbed up.

He looked at the crimson crystal sent by the maid on the wooden table, flashing with a faint red light on the stand, and a trace of heat couldn't help but flash in his eyes.

After absorbing this magic crystal, the magic power in his body might be able to double directly!

Without thinking much, he reached out his palm toward that magic crystal.

"Hiss!"

The moment his finger touched the surface of the magic crystal, he was burned and moved his finger away instantly.

"This thing is probably over fifty degrees on the surface, no wonder it has to be placed on a stand."

Xia Mingyu looked at his reddened fingertips, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

Because this kind of scene that had an impact on the outside world just showed the high quality of this fire magic crystal.

After all, that ice magic crystal at the time didn't reach the point of being able to freeze his fingers.

"It seems that before absorbing it, it's better to cool it down first."

"Freeze, wind, impact."

Xia Mingyu condensed magic power at his fingertips, and in an instant, he drew three magic patterns in the air, then superimposed and released them.

*Rustle, rustle, rustle. *

A burst of cold air surged toward the crimson crystal on the stand out of thin air, and even a faint layer of frost appeared on the surface of the wooden table.

"The temperature can be touched for a long time now."

Xia Mingyu touched the surface of the magic crystal; although it still carried a bit of heat, it was no longer enough to burn his skin.

Considering the scene where the entire top of the bell tower was frozen after absorbing the ice magic crystal last time, he decided to change locations to absorb it.

After all, if he let this room, which the other party had carefully prepared, turn into a sea of fire just after moving in, that would be too impolite.

In a closed secret room of the castle.

This place was built entirely of gray-black stone, extremely quiet.

Xia Mingyu sat cross-legged on the cold ground, holding the crimson magic crystal in both hands.

He began to imagine his soul leaving his body as he did in his daily meditation, standing alone on the full moon, looking at the pitch-black continent from afar, looking at his body from afar.

At the same time, he also had to imagine absorbing the warm and pure magic power in his hands into his body.

As the meditation progressed, not long after, clusters of red light emerged from the crimson magic crystal, continuously transmitted to Xia Mingyu's body, and finally completely wrapped him.

At the same time, the surrounding temperature soared sharply, and clusters of heat waves were released from Xia Mingyu's body.

The gray-black stones that built this secret room were now scorched by the heat waves; if it weren't for their extremely high ignition point, they would have already turned into a sea of fire.

*Crackling. *

Clusters of raging flames engulfed Xia Mingyu, but for some reason, they only burned his clothes to ashes, but did not hurt his skin, flesh, or hair in the slightest.

At this moment, he had no time to take care of the outside world; in his senses, clusters of heat flowed into his body, flowing everywhere, as if countless ants were crawling in his blood vessels, both hot and itchy.

"So uncomfortable, hurry up and finish absorbing it." This was his last thought before losing consciousness.

Starfire Hall.

Under the dimness of the eleven black prisms, the only crimson prism, carved with vivid character murals and as smooth as jade, appeared particularly unique.

Therefore, Tamerlane and Hagek Kesi were watching the murals on this prism, their expressions stunned and lost.

After Xia Mingyu came back to his senses, he had already arrived here.

"I didn't expect that after falling into a trance while meditating on magic crystals, I could also come to the hall. In this case, I suffered a lot less."

Xia Mingyu recalled the strange feeling earlier and couldn't help but sigh.

"Your Highness, do you know the reason for the mutation of this prism in the hall? Is the mural carved on it Leo's life experience? He hasn't come for a month, where on earth has he gone!"

Seeing him appear, Tamerlane crossed the distance of tens of meters in an instant to come before him, and asked several questions in a row with an anxious expression.

*Sigh*... It's also time to tell them the truth.

Looking at the panic on the blond young man's face, Xia Mingyu sighed secretly in his heart.

Things had reached this point, and since the closed loop on the timeline had been completed, there was no need to hide it from the two of them anymore.

"Calm down, Tamerlane, Hagek Kesi, please sit in your seats, I will tell you everything about Leo."

Xia Mingyu said calmly.

In front of the bronze long table, Xia Mingyu sat in the main seat, Tamerlane on his right, Hagek Kesi on his left, and the bronze seat where Leo used to sit was now empty.

"Before answering your questions, I want to tell you a story first, it is about the greatest knight in the history of the Southern Region—the story of the Crimson Fire."

Xia Mingyu silently took out the biography "Crimson Fire" and then whispered it.

A beggar child from the slums was knocked down by a young lady's carriage, and like all fairy tales, was taken back to the castle by the young lady, then the beggar child practiced hard and became a heroic knight...

The knight also married the young lady like all fairy tales, had children, and finally went to the battlefield, participated in an unjust war, met an upright enemy, and exchanged his life for a wish that saved countless people from hell...

As Xia Mingyu recited, Tamerlane's expression kept changing: shock, relief, sadness...

After finishing the story, a smile uglier than crying had already been squeezed onto Tamerlane's handsome face.

"Your Highness, this is Leo's story, right? He exists in the past, and a year is our day, right?"

Although he had already confirmed the answer in his heart through the various clues on Leo earlier and the story of the Crimson Fire, Tamerlane still asked with a glimmer of hope.

How he wished that Your Highness could scold him severely and say that this was just his wild imagination.

However, under his tense gaze, Xia Mingyu just nodded quietly.

The next moment, a surge of deep blue magic power like a river erupted from Tamerlane, causing Hagek Kesi, who felt the threat opposite him, to subconsciously adopt a fighting posture according to instinct.

However, this magic power came and went quickly, and soon dissipated.

And Tamerlane just lowered his head silently, his expression dim.

"Are you alright? Tamerlane."

"I... I'm fine, Your Highness."

Tamerlane raised his head; his azure eyes were now slightly flickering with mist, like the misty rain on the sea, but a brilliant smile hung on his face.

"Crimson Fire... no, Leo, he is the best disciple I have ever taught, and I am honored to be his master."

"He is... a one-of-a-kind knight genius!"

(End of chapter)