Chapter 540: The Prayer to the Sea Ceremony

Bang, bang, bang!

Even through the glass window, Lumian could hear the sound of longswords clashing between the two young men outside.

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

They're actually fighting?

Although the custom of dueling was prevalent in Trier, it was rare for people to just draw weapons and start fighting on the spot. If there was a real conflict and they wanted to duel on the spot, they would still follow the entire procedure—first, determine whether it would be a cold weapon duel or a revolver shootout, then sign a contract, find a witness recognized by both parties, and finally borrow guns or swords from the front desk of a café or the bar of a tavern. Only such a duel was a legal duel and would not be stopped or arrested by the police.

Situations like this, where they would wave longswords and fight at the slightest disagreement, were either a precursor to a riot or a vendetta between gangs. Real brawls rarely used such lethal cold weapons.

Was the public security in Santa Harbor, or rather the Kingdom of Feynapot, really that poor? That was what surprised Lumian.

From the moment he got off the "Flying Bird" until he reached the Sollo Hotel, he noticed that the people of Santa Harbor loved to carry knives and swords, making him feel as if he had entered the kind of environment described in classical novels.

This was actually legal!

In maritime colonies like Faling Harbor, no one openly carried these things; even hanging a short knife had to be done covertly.

Of course, for him, this was actually a good thing.

He watched the two young men fighting to the death through the window with great interest, occasionally commenting on their fighting techniques in his heart.

Just then, a team of people trotted over from the other end of the street.

They were all women, wearing black-bottomed, white-patterned bicorne hats, black inner linings, and brown leather armor, with a deep black cloak and two crossed straight swords on their backs, and a brass-colored revolver holstered on each side of their waists.

The woman in the lead looked to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with thick, naturally curly black hair, thick eyebrows, large eyes, and full red lips, making her quite beautiful.

Standing over 1.7 meters tall, she took a straight sword from her back and shouted something with a stern expression at the two men fighting in the street.

Lumian only understood the word "stop."

The two young men really stopped. They stood by the side of the street and accepted the scolding from the team of women, losing their previous momentum.

After a few minutes, they left separately with their longswords and were not arrested.

Lumian took a sip of Tolar coffee, not quite understanding this situation.

The language barrier was still quite troublesome.

Once Ludwig had finished the food on the table while controlling his speed, Lu Lu Jianuo, wearing an inconspicuous face, returned.

Lumian didn't rush to ask if he had found a black market merchant who could provide fake identities, but said casually:

"In Santa Harbor, is it legal to carry cold weapons?"

Lu Lu Jianuo lowered his round-brimmed black hat and said in a suppressed voice:

"Yes, this is a local custom. The Kingdom of Feynapot government respects this tradition, and besides, to them, it's a good thing if more people in Gaya Province die."

"Why?" Lumian asked with great interest.

Lu Lu Jianuo covered his face with his hand, seemingly afraid of being followed.

Seeing this, Lumian threw the "Lie" earring to him.

Lu Lu Jianuo hurriedly went to the washroom and changed back to his original appearance, though his features were a bit more regular.

Only then did he feel relieved and began to explain:

"Have you heard of the 'War of Broken Oaths'?"

Lumian, who had received a strict education from Aurora, replied reflexively:

"The 'War of Broken Oaths' that started in 738 of the Fifth Era? The war where small central-southern countries like Lünburg, Masik, and Segar separated from the north of the Kingdom of Feynapot, and the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom broke with the Church of the Earth Mother?"

Lu Lu Jianuo was stunned for a moment:

"Yes."

He only knew the general idea, but the other party had actually stated the specific year and the final result.

After a few seconds, Lu Lu Jianuo lowered his voice again and said:

"In that 'War of Broken Oaths', the entire Gaya Province, especially the area near the Daliezh Mountains, also wanted to be independent, but it didn't succeed.

"Later, to guard against the locals, even though there were high-quality iron and coal mines south of the Daliezh Mountains, the Kingdom of Feynapot only built smelters and did not set up gun and artillery factories. The troops stationed here didn't have a single local, and local soldiers were all assigned to other places."

"Was this place widely religious toward the 'God of Knowledge and Wisdom'?" Lumian couldn't help but glance at Ludwig, who was enjoying his post-meal dessert.

A key reason why central-southern countries like Lünburg, Masik, and Segar could become independent was that their mainstream social belief was the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom," not the "Earth Mother."

"I don't know." Lu Lu Jianuo shook his head honestly.

He continued:

"You should be very clear now that the ancient Gaya Province was mainly composed of four types of people: first, farmers; second, fishermen in places like Santa Harbor; third, mountain people who survived by mining and hunting; and fourth, the herdsmen you are most familiar with. The latter three are all very fierce, love knives and swords, and are not afraid of conflict."

Lumian nodded as he listened.

That was indeed the case.

Whether they were fishermen, mountain people, or herdsmen, they were all relatively poor, had to face the cruelty of nature, and had to fight against various dangers outside human settlements, and even had to guard against malicious peers. Knives and swords were necessities, not decorations.

Lumian had once heard herdsmen who moved with the seasons talk about wolf pack attacks and the cruelty of bandits, and he had a deep impression of this.

Lu Lu Jianuo gulped down the lemonade he had just ordered, sighed, and said:

"One of the three major combat orders of the 'Earth Mother' is stationed in Gaya Province. On one hand, it guards against us in the north and Lünburg in the northeast, and on the other hand, it also means to monitor the locals.

"Hehe, in Gaya Province, in Santa Harbor, running into combat nuns is not a strange thing. Their temperament is quite different from other women..."

Lu Lu Jianuo revealed a look of longing.

Was that team just now combat nuns helping to maintain public order? Lumian suddenly realized.

He smiled and teased Lu Lu Jianuo:

"Those are nuns."

Lu Lu Jianuo smiled ambiguously:

"Nuns of the 'Earth Mother' Church don't have vows of celibacy. Instead, they promise to have a certain number of children before a certain age. If they take a fancy to you, they will be very proactive. Sometimes, it's even semi-forced. What the young men here like most is to show their masculine side, their fierce side, in front of those nuns. Maybe they'll be chosen by one of them."

Promise to have a certain number of children before a certain age... this sounds a bit strange... although this is very consistent with the doctrine of the "Earth Mother," it always makes me think of that other "Mother"... local traditions, government indulgence, doctrinal influence, and animalistic expressions during courtship have jointly forged the folk custom of using cold weapons to fight in the streets here... Lumian didn't expect that such a small matter just now would have such a complex historical origin.

If you savor it carefully, it's quite interesting.

At this moment, Lumian suddenly understood a sentence Aurora had once said:

"If I enter university again, without the pressure of life, I will study history."

Hu... Lumian exhaled slowly and said to Lu Lu Jianuo:

"Any harvest?"

Lu Lu Jianuo, who was still imagining combat nuns, froze and couldn't recover in time.

"You Intis people..." Lumian made a "tsk" sound.

Only then did Lu Lu Jianuo figure out what the previous question was asking, and he smiled sheepishly:

"Harvest, yes. I found a black market merchant who is very resourceful and has many channels to help.

"Do you want to go see him? He is also a descendant of the Daliezh people."

"Okay." Lumian drank the remaining coffee and stood up.

Trier, fourth floor of the catacombs.

Jenna and Franca each held a burning white candle, looking at the ancient tomb with its "gate" wide open, neither daring to move forward.

No one knew what was buried inside, or if something terrible would pop out.

If it were in the outside world, the two "Witches" could use divination to confirm the situation, but being deep in the catacombs, it was almost impossible to establish a sufficiently close connection with the normal Spirit Realm, so the result was predictable.

You know, Lumian couldn't directly use "Spirit Realm Travel" to get in, but he could "teleport" inside.

After hesitating for a moment, Franca handed a substitute mirror that belonged to her to Jenna, then stepped forward solemnly, relying on her spiritual intuition to slowly approach the ancient tomb.

After getting close enough, the dim yellow candlelight in her hand shone inside, revealing a pile of pale bones stacked in the entrance area.

Pale green and black mold spots had already grown on them.

Franca raised the white candle in her hand and cast her gaze into the depths of the tomb.

It was full of bones, piled up messily, occupying every inch of the ground. In the very center was a stone coffin, already tilted, spilling out a large amount of bones that were almost rotting.

"Doesn't look like there's any danger." Franca hesitated for a moment.

Only then did Jenna move closer and return her substitute mirror.

Franca looked for a while longer and said:

"There's nothing of value either."

Among the various grave goods, gems and the like were already gone, likely lost when the catacombs were first built and these ancient tombs were opened. Other things were either weathered and rotted or already shattered. Even the murals on the walls only had some traces left.

Jenna followed and watched for a while, then said uncertainly:

"What about the places covered by these bones?"

"Let me see." Franca moved a few steps closer, letting invisible "spider silk" spread out, wrapping around the pile of pale bones at the entrance, helping them move to another position.

Suddenly, an irregular mirror fragment that looked like it was painted with black pigment appeared in the firelight.

Jenna and Franca both narrowed their eyes.

That, that was very similar to the mirror world fragment they had obtained in the Fourth Epoch Trier!

"A special 'Mirror Person' died here once?" Franca whispered to herself, "Did the phantom of Kriesmana appear here to tell us this? But why did she attack us?"

Jenna was equally confused. She thought for a moment and said:

"Why would a special 'Mirror Person' die here? Whose tomb is this, or rather, which ancient family does it belong to?"

Franca gazed for a moment and nodded solemnly:

"This might be what we need to investigate next."

Seeing that there was nothing unusual, the two put away the mirror fragment and carefully searched the entire tomb with the help of the invisible spider silk of the "Pleasure Witch," but found no items indicating the identity of the tomb owner.

"Sigh, let's think of a way when we get back." Franca sighed, "Now let's go get the antique tear bottle for that employer."

(End of chapter)