Chapter 54: with translation of chapter title

The dim prayer hall.

Soon, Mrs. Sachs heard the young man's voice again.

"Mother, it is me, Luosen; I am speaking in your heart."

The voice was very clear, gentle in tone, precise in pronunciation, completely lacking the muddy vagueness of the island locals, and very similar to the speech tone of the Shire County nobility.

Mrs. Sachs felt her heart light up, like a sudden radiance in the night.

She tried to respond in her heart: "Child, my child, is it really you?"

The voice did not answer her, but kept speaking on its own.

"Mother, now take your sister back to the inner chamber of the prayer hall, say you have a headache and want to rest, and then you will be able to see me."

Mrs. Sachs did so without hesitation.

She raised her hand to cover her forehead and said to the old steward nearby: "Ah Fu, my head hurts a little; I need to rest."

Go stand guard at the door; don't let anyone in—if someone tries to enter, just cough a few times.

The loyal old steward did as he was told.

Mrs. Sachs then said to her daughter: "Evelyn, help me down."

"All right, Mother."

Evelyn did as she was told.

The two slowly left the table, lifted the heavy curtain blocking the door, and entered the small room inside the prayer hall that was as dark as a tomb.

The only light source in the small room came from the small door; when the curtain was lifted, Mrs. Sachs quickly scanned the whole room, hoping to see her son's figure.

As a result, she was disappointed.

Besides a small wooden bed in the corner and a Mother Nature statue embedded in the wall, she saw nothing.

"Child~ where are you?"

Mrs. Sachs asked cautiously in her heart.

She was a very cautious woman; she thought that even if her son had learned magic, his achievements would certainly not be high. Coming this way, he must be taking enormous risk.

Therefore, she was trying to minimize the risk of exposure as much as possible.

Pff~

The curtain suddenly fell by itself, the small room grew even darker, and just then Mrs. Sachs saw a tall figure standing by the wall.

As tall as her husband, no, perhaps even a bit taller than her husband.

Ah!

Evelyn was startled by the figure and let out an involuntary cry, but only half a sound escaped before Mrs. Sachs covered her mouth.

"Don't shout, that's your brother!"

Mrs. Sachs leaned close to her daughter's ear and said.

Evelyn's tense body instantly relaxed, and she gazed curiously at the tall figure ahead with her dark, large eyes.

When her brother left the island, she was just over two years old, with no memory, so she only knew she had a brother but had never seen him; thus she was especially curious, scrutinizing him closely.

At that moment, the tall figure stepped back, and a pitch-black small door appeared out of nowhere on the wall behind him.

In Mrs. Sachs's mind, she heard her son's voice again: "Mother, follow me in; I will take you out of here."

Mrs. Sachs immediately did as she was told.

She took her daughter's hand and, with slightly unsteady steps, walked into the small door.

And the moment they entered the small door, a click-click sound came from behind; turning around, they saw their son standing at the edge of the small door, one hand pressed against the wall, and that wall quickly closed up.

Soon, the surroundings fell into absolute darkness, but this darkness lasted less than half a second before being dispelled by a soft glowing orb emitting white light.

Mrs. Sachs found herself standing in a narrow passage less than one meter wide; behind her was a tall young man wearing black leather armor, and ahead lay a dark hole leading deep underground.

She did not rush forward, but instead carefully examined the young man.

At a glance, she was certain this was her son, although he had grown much taller and sturdier than ten years ago, his face had changed considerably, but the childhood outline remained.

But there were also many changes that made her feel unfamiliar.

At ten years old, her son was taciturn and dull-eyed, his body frail, giving the impression of a light feather that could fly away at any moment.

The young man before her exuded a mighty, solemn aura from head to toe, like a towering, majestic mountain.

The last person to give her such a feeling was the deceased old duke she had glimpsed in Dawn City.

By comparison, her husband Ted was like a stubborn, foolish old country farmer.

Having witnessed the wisdom of mages in the big city, he wanted to train his own son to become a mage as well.

He set his sights on that goal, then disregarded whether it matched reality, charging forward like a bull, exerting all his strength, advancing day after day for ten years.

Mrs. Sachs had always thought her husband's stubbornness bordered on foolishness, but seeing her son in that instant made her feel that the past ten years of effort were worthwhile.

Her own son had truly become a wise mage, even better than her husband had hoped.

Much better! Her deceased husband should be able to rest in peace.

She couldn't help reaching out to touch her son's face, her voice trembling: "Oh~ Luosen~ it's a pity your father couldn't see you."

Luosen greatly respected the old baron, even though this otherworldly man was not his soul's father, but the latter's support indeed helped him get through the most difficult beginning of his transmigration.

But it must also be said that the old baron was extremely stubborn, as obstinate as an ox, very hard to get along with; even in their letters, they would often quarrel.

This is also a major reason why Luosen delayed returning to White Sturgeon Island: he simply did not want to argue with the old baron every day.

But he ultimately took over the other man's son's body; now that the old baron has passed, he will naturally take proper care of the baron's widow and daughter.

He grasped the woman's hand before him and said earnestly: "Mother, Father in the divine kingdom will surely be able to see all this."

He then urged: "But this place is still not safe; keep moving forward."

"All right."

Mrs. Sachs complied, responding.

Having such a son who looks incredibly powerful by her side, she felt only calm in her heart, with no fear at all.

On the other hand, Luosen sensed the other's obvious emotional change upon seeing him, feeling a quiet pride inside.

My Leader Technique, trained through extensive sampling, works quite well.

So-called Leader Technique, strictly speaking, is not a spell, as it basically does not use magical power.

It uses body language, appearance, speech style, and other external details that ordinary people can directly perceive to build a mental suggestion of "strength, wisdom, and lofty superiority," achieving the effect of "subduing others without fighting."

In other words, it is also called "overbearing aura."

Ordinary people would need strict training from childhood to possess such an aura, but Luosen needs only to activate the corresponding ability to achieve near perfection. However, the Leader Technique is merely a minor art; it must be used cautiously in accordance with one's identity, status, and occasion, otherwise it may backfire.

Colloquially called "overdoing the pretense invites divine retribution."

Getting back to the point.

The three walked down the narrow passage all the way, with Luosen continuously using the Transformation Technique to seal the passage behind them.

After walking about twenty meters, the three arrived at a narrow underground chamber.

"Mother, this is a secret chamber I dug out with magic, about fifteen meters beneath the altar house; no one will find it here."

"Mother, you can now tell me in detail what happened in the castle over the past month."

Madame Sachsen blinked: "Shouldn't we leave right away?"

She thought Luosen would quietly take them away from White Sturgeon Island to live on Weilan Island.

Luosen gave a slight smile: "Of course not; I intend to retake Crescent Castle."

"Retake?"

Madame Sachsen shook her head repeatedly.

"No, you can't do it alone; there are over a hundred knights in Crescent Castle, and your uncle, Knight Alais, is there as well—"

Before she could finish, Luosen raised a hand to stop her: "Mother, I know all that, and I'm not alone; my warriors will come to my aid at any moment."

"I want to know why the Crescent Knights swore allegiance to my uncle Alais instead of patiently waiting for my return."

He had already written a reply, stating in the letter that he would return within a month.

Moreover, Crescent City has over seventy Crescent Knights, plus their knight attendants and ordinary soldiers, making a regular force of over 1,400.

These forces could easily hold Crescent City until he returned to inherit the barony, yet instead they promptly pledged allegiance to Knight Alais.

Although his reputation on the island is surely not great, and the islanders admire strength, Old Baron Ted is still a competent lord—surely he has at least one loyal follower? Thus, the speed with which the Crescent Knights defected is somewhat strange.

Furthermore, these past internal details are hard to uncover quickly even with the Detect Guard technique.

The best approach is to ask those who know.

Madame Sachsen felt unable to resist the unintentional aura of menace Luosen exuded, even though he was her own son.

Thus, she immediately spoke of what had happened in the castle.

"That night, when the news came back that your father had been assassinated by a Forest Spirit, everyone in Crescent City panicked, and we were terrified."

"The Crescent Knights also fell into internal strife."

"You know, Crescent City has three chief guard knights, and their attitudes were deeply divided."

"Kade Lin insisted on burning the forests to avenge your father."

"But Hanske said that once the mountain fire spread, it would destroy White Sturgeon Island; the best course now is to stabilize the situation and prevent the Forest Spirit from attacking Crescent City amid the chaos."

"Goodman also thought it wise to steady things, suggesting they contract the lines, pick a new lord first, then figure out how to retaliate against the Forest Spirit."

"Just as the argument reached an impasse, your uncle, Knight Alais, arrived with his mountain knights to lend support."

"That night, they discussed matters in the castle hall all night long."

"I also don't know what exactly happened that night, as they wouldn't let me listen."

"The next morning, Kade Lin was arrested and thrown into the castle dungeon, while Hanske and Goodman began to support Alais."

"Hanske came to me and said he could only do this, for only then would Knight Alais spare me and your sister."

"Goodman also came to see me, saying you are a worthless waste, not worth relying on, and that Knight Alais is a strong leader who will lead the warriors to avenge your father and protect Crescent City's safety."

"The other knights also had no confidence in you; seeing the two chief knights support Alais, they too swore allegiance to him."

Madame Sachsen chattered on, somewhat tedious, but her account remained fairly clear.

Having listened all the way, Luosen roughly understood the situation; he gave the wall a light pat and reached a preliminary conclusion.

"Father's death is highly suspicious; it likely has something to do with Alais!"

On the other hand, Madame Sachsen gasped: "How could that be? Alais couldn't be that outrageous, could he?"

Luosen did not argue, instead asking back: "Mother, if I killed Alais, would you oppose it?"

He now, through Levin and the Detect Guard technique, understood much of Crescent Castle's current state, with countless ways to kill Alais.

Of course, he would choose the method with the least repercussions and the greatest gain.

On the other hand, Madame Sachsen shook her head without hesitation: "No, he's an outright demon; I'd rather he died soon!"

With that, Luosen had no more reservations.

He then asked: "Is Knight Kade Lin still alive?"

Madame Sachsen nodded repeatedly: "He is still alive. Knight Kade Lin has long practiced the seven knightly virtues, enjoying great prestige among the Crescent Knights, so they dare not kill him lightly."

"But I fear they have been torturing him; by now he may be severely wounded."

This information is already enough.

Luosen felt pleased in his heart, for both his mother's description and his father's letter show that this Knight Kade Lin is a truly loyal and righteous man.

Now that he is still alive, not only will retaking Crescent Castle by normal means be much easier, but he will also gain a powerful right-hand man.

As for being tortured, that's no problem; as long as he's alive, Luosen can rescue him.

"What does Kade Lin look like?"

"He's about just over thirty, very tall—almost as tall as your father, which is rare on the islands."

Luosen nodded to show he understood, then reached out and gently touched his sister's cheek.

The little girl had been hiding behind her mother like a kitten, cautiously observing her brother.

At this moment she timidly wanted to hide, but as a result Luosen

His hand suddenly flipped, and a delicate little paper box appeared in his palm.

Exactly the milk-flavored soft candy popular among the aristocratic circles of Shire County.

The little girl was instantly stunned by Luosen's little trick, eyes wide with disbelief, but soon her attention was drawn by the fragrance of the milk candy.

She couldn't help but eat one, and her little face instantly showed an intoxicated sweet smile; the unfamiliar feeling toward this older brother quickly faded.

"Mother, sister, wait here peacefully; I will start acting now."

Without waiting for the two women's reply, he thought, and again activated the Transformation Technique.

From underground, bit by bit 'squeezed' toward the castle dungeon.

(End of chapter)