Chapter 221: The Second Gemstone

"Camp in the desert near the lake in the southwest; when the stars shine and the horn sounds, the hero's will shall reappear."

After a chaotic battle, when Allen obtained the Star Horn in the ruins, this passage suddenly appeared in his mind; for him, who was familiar with the Magic Continent, this sentence was not particularly difficult to understand.

In the southwest of this continent, the only lake known to Allen, or the only place that could be called a lake, was the Lake of Stars located west of Jelkala, the capital of the Rhodok Kingdom.

It was a green lake that could reflect the starry sky on summer nights, formed by the convergence of river water flowing down from the snow-capped mountains west of Maras, and it was an extremely important water source for the surrounding area.

When there was no war, the nobles of the Rhodok Kingdom would take their family members and servants to the manors there to spend a refreshing summer.

It could be said that this popular land brought a great deal of fiscal revenue to the King of Rhodok.

As for the desert mentioned in the sentence, it should refer to the Gobi desert at the border between Rhodok and Khergit; because of the environment and climate, neither the Rodok people lived there nor did the Kujit graze there, so it was indeed a sparsely populated place suitable for hiding treasures.

As for the stars shining, it naturally referred to the night, and specifically a night with clear weather.

So, after deciphering the whole sentence, it meant that when the weather was clear, one should camp in the Gobi desert southwest of Jelkala at night and wait for the sounding of the Star Horn.

Allen had figured out the logic behind this the moment he heard the revelation, after flipping through the memories in his mind.

After all, too much time had passed, and he needed to spend some time recalling it.

Moreover, at that time, he was being relentlessly hunted by small detachments sent by the Druid Order, so he did not rush to the Rhodok Kingdom immediately to search for the second gemstone.

Instead, he lived under an assumed name for a period of time, finally appearing quietly in Zendar, and gathered half of the subordinates who were loyal to him.

Having returned to Zendar, Allen, in order not to attract the attention of others, especially the Druid Order, handed over all matters of the warband to Momucha to manage, while he himself wore a bucket helm that could cover his face and became the personal bodyguard of the "Captain."

Subsequently, under Momucha's arrangement, the cavalry unit of several dozen men took on a caravan escort mission in Zendar and headed all the way toward Jelkala.

As a merchant caravan trading goods, it was naturally impossible to head straight for Rhodok; instead, they had to transit through many places along the way, such as the major towns of the Kingdom of Swadia, which the caravan would basically visit once, and the contract Allen signed with the caravan specified that they must arrive at Jelkala in Rhodok within three months.

Just in time for the launch of the Rhodok Kingdom's specialties, Wine and velvet.

Of course, Allen's unit consisted of twenty or thirty fully armed Mercenary Knights, and their remuneration was extremely high, but what Allen cared about was not this bit of money; the most important thing was that by mixing in with numerous caravans, he could hide his tracks.

The three months passed in a flash; given the plot of the Magic Continent at this time, the journey could be described as one incident after another—water bandits, robbers, rogue soldiers, and even criminal gangs whose names he couldn't name all died under the iron hooves of Allen and his companions, making the caravan boss exclaim that the money was truly well spent, and his attitude toward Momucha became increasingly respectful.

During the journey, Allen also discovered traces of the Druid Order; they were squads of even more elite hunters who seemed to be looking for something, but their eyes did not linger on Allen's unit for even a moment.

These people seemed to know who their target was and did not need to confirm it within the caravan at all; this point made Allen very puzzled.

However, this doubt did not last long, because the caravan soon passed by the smoldering remains of a battlefield, and most of the dead lying on the ground were clearly the hunting squad Allen had seen, while those cleaning up the battlefield were an infantry unit composed mainly of mercenaries; they were very elite, and Allen even saw the figures of Free Knights among them.

And a golden badge emitting a mysterious glow in the sunlight caught Allen's attention in an instant.

At this moment, Allen knew that he was no longer the primary target of the Druid Order, because that handsome young man wearing the badge and smiling brilliantly in the sunlight was the true protagonist of this era.

But Allen did not stop to establish contact with this so-called "protagonist"; if their goals were the same, they would meet again sooner or later on the battlefield against the Druid Order.

And for now, Allen needed to continue hiding his identity to search for the second gemstone.

Because he clearly remembered in his mind that the previous owner of that golden badge was actually a brutal Sea Raider, and that so-called "protagonist" could actually defect to the darkness.

In other words, the path of that young man with the very nice smile was not fixed on the light!

Everything had to be verified by time.

In the following days, the entire large caravan soon arrived at Jelkala in the Rhodok Kingdom, and after arriving there, Allen could be considered to have officially completed the mission; he left the city under the lingering gaze of the caravan boss and headed southwest.

In his decades of trading, this boss had never hired such a cost-effective guard; if Momucha hadn't rejected his recruitment so readily, the two sides might have entangled for a while longer.

However, the process of searching for the second gemstone was not particularly smooth; within half a month, Allen had changed over a dozen camping spots under the strange gazes of his subordinates.

The weather was always clear, and the stars twinkled in the sky, watching the increasingly restless Allen.

Because the Star Horn in his arms had never made a sound, which once made Allen think that he had not been chosen by the Star Horn, which was why it had no reaction.

It wasn't until a remark from Momucha that Allen was completely awakened.

"Boss, I don't know what you're doing wandering around in this Gobi desert where even birds don't want to come, but if you're waiting for someone, shouldn't you blow that horn in your hand? That way, others might be able to follow the sound and find us, right? If we just wait here like this, how long will we have to wait? We don't have much food and drink left."

"That's right, why didn't I blow it myself?"

Hearing this, Allen suddenly realized; under the gaze of the starlight, he blew the horn in his hand with all his might, and as the melodious horn sound rang out, flashes of deep blue light flickered to the west of Allen, at least several miles away.

Having finally found the target, Allen pointed at the light with joy and said to his subordinates: "Momucha! Do you see that light?"

And Momucha, with a blank look on his face, touched his head and looked at Allen strangely, saying: "What light? Boss, there's nothing!"

"Forget it, never mind the light. Prepare the horses, everyone follow me."

Soon, guided by the sound of the horn, Allen and his party arrived at the destination and saw the light that kept flickering with the sound of the horn.

It was unknown what kind of Magic principle it was, but when Allen, holding the Star Horn, approached, the light suddenly dispersed into individual points of light, flying rapidly toward Allen and converging before him; in a short while, it became a gemstone shimmering with deep blue luster, and ripples of the ocean kept rolling within the gemstone.

【Congratulations to the player for obtaining the supreme treasure of the Magic Continent, the "Water Stone," Ocean's Blessing.】

【The player can use the gemstone to exchange for related abilities, or keep the gemstone and use the abilities inherent to it.】

【"Water Stone" Ocean's Blessing: Possessing this item allows you to consume the Qi within your body to summon a ray of light filled with the grace of water from the gemstone. Under the protection of this light, the injuries of all friendly forces can be quickly recovered in a short time, and they will maintain a vigorous fighting spirit and never retreat. Please note that this ability consumes a massive amount of Qi, and after the ability fades, the soldiers will fall into a short period of weakness, which can be recovered by eating.】

【Consuming the "Water Stone" Ocean's Blessing allows you to obtain two abilities; the ability list is as follows.】

【Ability 1: Quiet Rain, consume the Qi within your body to summon a heavy rain filled with healing energy. This rainwater can not only heal injuries sustained by any living creature but also suppress any form of dark power to a certain extent. Please note that this ability consumes a massive amount of Qi, and the energy in the rainwater will evaporate in a short time.】

【Ability 2: Water Protection, by consuming Dinar, you can summon a film that protects the caster. This film allows them to breathe and move freely in water, while also gaining the ability to see underwater. The film is very special; except for the caster interrupting the spell, almost no one can break it, but it does not possess any defensive capabilities.】

This result was somewhat beyond Allen's expectations; he thought that what was hidden in this Gobi desert would be the "Earth's Protection," but what he obtained now was a water-attribute gemstone.

Of course, the Magic that this gemstone could exchange for was also unexpectedly powerful; from then on, Allen had the ability for group recovery and could also suppress dark power on a large scale, giving him more trump cards to change the situation on the battlefield when confronting Sauron.

After obtaining the gemstone, Allen naturally exchanged it for an ability that could be cast anywhere; his main battlefield was not in the Magic Continent fighting the Druid Order. As long as he didn't become a lord here, the progress of this script would always need Allen to push it forward, so there was no need to worry too much about the safety of this world.

And when Allen obtained the second gemstone, the Star Horn also gave a new hint: "The power of the gods is sealed somewhere, and before that, you may need to obtain the supreme glory of a warrior."

Looking at the hint, Allen no longer had much energy to search for the third gemstone; he closed the simulation with satisfaction and fell into a deep sleep in the tent, holding Yamila.

This time the simulation lasted for a long time, and Allen's extremely exhausted spirit was in urgent need of rest; moreover, in the short term, the matters of the simulation needed to be put aside.

The next day, after everyone woke up, Yamila, along with the Elf girls, prepared a breakfast that could be considered quite sumptuous.

And Tiehaer, with great familiarity, brought his subordinates to sponge a meal at Allen's place.

It was clear that after a night, this Dwarf of the Black Hair Clan had recovered from yesterday's embarrassment.

Or rather, he didn't feel embarrassed at all; he just thought that Allen shouldn't care about yesterday's events anymore, which was why he greeted Allen with a face full of smiles in the morning.

What could Allen, who was preparing breakfast, do? He could only invite his travel companions to enjoy breakfast together.

This breakfast was thanks to a nearby farmer; although they did not have enough rooms to provide these travelers with a place to rest, they sold some bacon, pickled cucumbers, and salt pork to Allen at a very fair price.

Furthermore, after the transaction was completed, the farmer gifted a basket of eggs due to the buyer's generosity, adding even more flavor to this breakfast.

In fact, the place where Allen camped to rest was already very close to Dale; after half a day of trekking, the party could already see the towers rising within the town.

Before the sun set, Allen and Tiehaer bid each other farewell, because the place Allen was to stay tonight was Dale, while Tiehaer was to head directly to the Lonely Mountain to pay a visit to the King of Durin, Thorin II.

Upon learning of his King's sudden arrival, Bard hurriedly took his family to prepare for the reception.

One must know that Allen had not sent him any message before arriving, and as a Vassal, Bard felt he had to bring out the very best when the King arrived at his fief.

However, Holimion, who had delivered the message to Bard, stopped the Lord of Dale's actions; after all, Allen had not made this trip to enjoy himself in Dale, he only needed to stay for a short two days.

If not for the consideration that Thorin might reveal his whereabouts and cause unnecessary misunderstandings, Allen might not have even disturbed Bard, as he was quite satisfied with everything in Dale and really had nothing to instruct or find fault with.

Nevertheless, that evening Bard still prepared a sumptuous banquet to host the suddenly arrived King and Queen, though all of this was kept from outsiders; those attending the banquet, besides Allen and Yamila, were only Bard and his children.

Having not seen him for several years, Bard's son, Bain, had grown into a mature and steady young man; he had always been groomed by Bard as an heir and had grown much over these years, no longer possessing the rashness of a youth.

Originally, Allen had wanted to have this young man serve as his Attendant for a time, but once things got busy, this thought never appeared in Allen's mind again.

Bard's two daughters had also grown into graceful young maidens.

During the banquet, Yamila was very fond of Bard's two daughters, namely the twelve-year-old Tilda and the fifteen-year-old Sigrid.

To show the closeness between the two sides, Yamila gave a silver hair ornament inlaid with a Sapphire and a pair of gold earrings with rubies as New Year's gifts to the two young girls.

Allen, for his part, gave a Noldor Rune Bow to Bard's son; ever since he had the Sapphire Rune Bow, Allen rarely used it.

Bard, who had originally wanted to decline, was stopped by Allen's gaze; there was really no need for the two sides to be so distant.

The two young girls who received the gifts were naturally very happy, and with radiant smiles, they performed a wonderful dance for Allen and Yamila.

This banquet also ended amidst laughter and joy.