Chapter 1078: Xia De's Lie

Even if the Earl didn't know the quantity of luminous stones required, he certainly wanted more. So it wasn't that he wasn't in a hurry to enter the swamp—he had to stay, at the very least to obtain the luminous stones here:

"That's why he was seen by the witch's followers. It wasn't carelessness—he had to stay!"

Having figured this out, Xia De did not go to resolve the Keeper's trial before him, because clearly Earl Puliša had already reached the final stage, while he had only just begun and could no longer catch up:

"Since the Keeper is still here, this proves that at the very least, the trial has not yet ended!"

Thinking of this, Xia De tried to gather anger within his heart, then stood beside the cardboard house and covered his face with both hands.

Along with rustling sounds, stone-textured skin spread from his hands across his entire body. At the same time, two curled wings grew from his back, and Xia De once again transformed into a stone statue amid the wind and snow.

The grey-haired old man saw this, shook his head slightly, then shrank back into the cardboard house. The wind and snow grew heavier; snowflakes covered the angel statue's head and shoulders, and gradually the statue was buried beneath the snow.

No one would want to venture into a filthy alley where no one shovels the snow in this kind of weather. The empty alley welcomed a new figure only half an hour later. Leikinse Puliša's boots stepped on the snow as if treading solid ground, arriving smoothly before the cardboard house.

He did not notice the angel statue that had nearly blended into the alley, but called out softly:

"I have already helped the children of the slums, allowing them to safely get through this winter. I exposed my whereabouts to the Church. The Church discovered that those children had been in contact with me, and while investigating those children, they will help them through the winter. This is your first trial."

He waited a while without receiving a reply, then continued:

"I found the public Fuli Academy of Huntington City, and sought out the child who lost both parents two years ago in a relic out-of-control incident. I extracted the relic derivative from within him, left him a large sum of money, and hired a lawyer to monitor how that money is used—enough for him to live until adulthood. If he wishes to study, that is also enough. This is your second trial."

The Earl waited again, but still received no reply, so he spoke a third time:

"The third trial—you had me investigate the origins of this strange snowstorm. In fact, the cause of this blizzard is related to the power of the Pantanal Pantanal Xiewu. Two hours ago, I could have told you the answer directly, but I first went to the church, donated all the money on me, and only then returned here. I hope those children can smoothly get through this winter. I have, I believe, perfectly completed your trial."

He still received no reply, but the gale suddenly blew away the cardboard house at that moment. As the cardboard fluttered high into the air, a crystalline blue teardrop-shaped crystal stone already lay quietly upon the snow.

The middle-aged gentleman smiled, reached out to pick it up, but suddenly froze, looking to his left.

【He has discovered you.】

"This miracle is quite impressive to have held on this long."

He had intended to ambush the Earl when he turned to leave.

Thinking this, he lowered his hands and dispelled the petrification. The two faced each other in the snow; the breath from their nostrils formed white vapor that drifted away with the wind.

After a good while, the middle-aged gentleman from the Southern Kingdom asked softly:

"Mr. Hamilton, what a coincidence to run into you again... Have you truly come here just to see Princess Margaret?"

Xia De did not answer his question, but asked instead:

"Then, Earl, what exactly are you doing now?"

The middle-aged Earl from the Southern Kingdom said with a smile:

"I am very clear about what I am doing—pursuing that supreme wisdom. From my youth I had thought to devote my entire life to the pursuit of knowledge. I assumed mortals ultimately have their limits, and that my life could only be enjoyed in the process of chasing knowledge. But now I have the chance to take one great step forward directly. Yes, that is a great step mortals cannot cross."

"Then what is the price?"

Xia De asked in standard Carsonrick.

"Knight, do you remember our conversation on the carriage back after we contained the 'Fool's Book'? You told me the story of your professor friend who chased knowledge but ultimately gave up out of his own cowardice. At the time I wanted to tell you something, but was too embarrassed to say it then."

Xia De snorted; two streams of white vapor entered the snow.

"The wise who chase knowledge have always known what they want. The price—the price doesn't matter, because everything is worth it."

The Earl said to Xia De with considerable certainty:

"Knowledge is power; wisdom is humanity's most precious treasure. I shall forge my crown with wisdom and knowledge, to touch that ancient miracle mortals cannot reach."

His eyes looked at Xia De; the wind and snow did not make either of them blink, even though Xia De very much wanted to.

"I know you wish to stop me. Then, sir, do you not have your own goal to pursue?"

"Of course I do, but I would not sacrifice others for my own goal. Still less would I burn down an entire library for a few books."

"You're still hung up on that little matter?"

The Earl was surprised by this, smiled, and said again:

"You won't sacrifice others only because your goal is not lofty enough, not grand enough. The wise are like water, endlessly flowing; the pursuit of wisdom has no end. People often say that a person's life goal can reflect a person's ambition and wisdom. My ambition and life goal are wisdom and knowledge themselves. What I thirst for is precisely what I thirst for—this is the loftiest ideal of mortals."

"The wise are like water..."

This phrase, Xia De had also said before Miss Violet in the Fifth Epoch:

"My life's goal is beyond your imagination. Even my simplest ideal—to explore the mysteries of time and reunite with those friends from the past—is something you could not comprehend."

Xia De said firmly. The Earl shook his head slightly, as if mocking Xia De:

"Pride is a cardinal sin; lies are an unforgivable crime according to doctrine. Mr. Xia De Hamilton, the Hamilton Knight of Rejd, the detective at 6 Saint-Derain Square—do you truly wish to stop me? Or are you truly Xia De Hamilton? When did your Carsonrick Common Tongue become this good?"

He had already grown suspicious. After all, Xia De appearing here so quickly was unreasonable to begin with, and his combat ability didn't look like that of a Fourth Ring at all. Combined with two consecutive chance encounters, it was hard not to make him suspicious.

And the Earl's understanding of Xia De's Carsonrick was still limited to his clumsy greeting at Lakeview Manor.

"Who I am—does it matter? I am... the Chosen One of Knowledge and Wisdom. Yes, I am as well, only my rank is behind yours. Kill you, and I am the Chosen One."

After the matter of Sister Sister Daifulin, most organizations seeking the Chosen Ones had learned of the "rank" system among the Chosen Ones, so Xia De's saying this now was nothing unusual. And deliberately muddying the waters was, of course, to make the identity of Xia De Hamilton even safer.

Unexpectedly, Earl Puliša frowned:

"I see, that explains it. The few ring-mages I am acquainted with in Tobesk also happen to be seeking the Chosen Ones. That sounds too much like a coincidence—my luck wouldn't be that bad... I did say so last time we fought in the alley by the library; you had a power on you that felt very familiar to me. Disguising yourself as Hamilton to deliberately approach me—not a bad idea, not bad at all. But Princess Margaret has already arrived here. I have already inquired and learned that she hasn't been seeing anyone at all. I had originally thought... it seems I wasn't wrong."

Xia De said nothing more at this point, but took from his coat a pistol with an unusual black metallic sheen, its surface as if wrapped in a layer of glass. As the Earl's expression grew solemn and he slowly retreated, his Fate Ring manifested:

"Do you know the 'Fool's Book'? I saw some interesting knowledge within it."

It seemed he was about to display his power.

Xia De shook his head, raised the gun, and pulled the trigger. Earl Puliša smiled confidently; the Profane Spirit Rune 【Egg】 and the Enlightenment Spirit Rune 【Shield】 shimmered, and a transparent eggshell layer enveloped him.

But after Xia De pulled the trigger, there was strangely no gunshot. Even, in that instant, all surrounding sounds vanished. An inexplicable darkness seemed to suddenly shroud the surroundings. After the half-second in which Xia De and Earl Puliša were completely blinded, Xia De looked in puzzlement at the smoking muzzle, while the middle-aged gentleman in the windcoat staggered back a step, then collapsed onto the snowy ground of the alley.

A through-wound had appeared in his chest; black sludge writhed within the wound, corroding flesh and blood. Blood spilled across the snow, but all of it turned into corrosive liquid. Leikinse Puliša's entire complexion was turning black, and Xia De sensed at least five different curses taking effect upon him.

That shot just now—Xia De had used the Lady Lady Sanmei demon bullets pre-loaded in the magazine. Since he had such a weapon, of course he wouldn't save it for last, but he hadn't expected the effect to be this good.

Not only was the Chosen One nearly severely wounded by a single strike, but even he who fired the shot felt a sickening curse spreading toward his palm, and whispers in the demon tongue arose in his mind. The doctor telling him not to casually use demonic power was clearly justified.

"Quite an impressive pistol."

The blood-spitting Earl tried to push himself up from the snow, but Xia De had already raised the muzzle toward him and prepared to fire again.

"But you won't get the chance."

The moment the Baron's voice fell, he had already vanished from the snow's surface.

【Underneath the snow layer.】

A reminder sounded in his ear, and then a book really did fly out from beneath the snow layer. A high-speed flying object—Xia De had no confidence of hitting it, so he didn't waste his remaining two demon bullets, and instead chased after it with a frown.

The book did not fly out of the alley; it quickly came to a stop. As its pages spread open, Baron Puliša, whose body was already fully intact but who was still coughing blood, leapt out from between the pages:

"The books I have read, the knowledge I have mastered—cough, cough—is my greatest power."

This seemed to be an incantation for casting a spell. The moment the words fell, two four-tiered bookshelves appeared beside the Baron. Just as Xia De realized what was happening, the snow beneath his feet trembled and shook slightly, and then dense clusters of grey stone rose up from the ground.

Looking more closely, those were clearly ancient grey stone bookshelves. Following Lekins Puliša's spellcasting, like standing tombstones, they overlapped and tilted, erected within the narrow alley, until the two of them were completely surrounded.

"Maze lock?!"