73: Bad Omen

Chapter 73: Ominous Signs

Arthur handed four strange stones to Old Joe, gesturing for him to appraise them.

The alchemist quickly made his judgment.

“Ah, they’re exactly the same stones, identical in size and color,” Old Joe exclaimed. “My Lord, where did you find them? These are excellent alchemical materials.”

“I can turn them into magic stones; the halflings who use slingshots would love them.”

“Of course, I have another option, but it’s quite expensive.”

“Tell me,” Arthur’s eyes lit up.

The alchemist laid out the stones one by one. “My Lord, have you heard of Message Stones?”

Arthur quickly searched his mind, then nodded after a moment.

Old Joe immediately deflated; he had been hoping to boast about his knowledge to the young noble.

In Arthur’s view, Message Stones were similar to walkie-talkies on Earth.

Once two stones were carved with magical runes, they could mutually cast the three-ring magic spell, ‘Short Message’.

Although each message could only be sent to one other person and not exceed twenty-five words.

The miraculous part was that this spell ignored distance and could even cross planes.

Furthermore, the stones that could be used to make Message Stones were extremely rare.

They were highly sought after by various Mage Associations and Alchemist Associations.

“How much will it cost?” Arthur asked.

“Five hundred gold coins for a pair of stones, exactly one thousand for two pairs.”

“Of course, that’s the market price. I can make them for only eight hundred gold coins,” Old Joe replied.

This price immediately made Arthur’s eyes lose their luster.

He waved his hand and said, “Put them away for now. We’ll talk about it when we’re more financially comfortable.”

Old Joe carefully put the four stones into a small box.

Driven by curiosity, he pressed, “My Lord, you still haven’t told me where you found such high-quality raw stones.”

“A marmot’s nest.”

“What? By Ogma, who would believe that if I told them?”

As the gnome mused, a knock sounded, and Flora pushed the door open.

As an educated and absolutely loyal earth mother Priest.

Flora naturally became Arthur’s scribe and messenger.

“What is it?” Arthur asked.

“My Lord, may I speak with you for a moment?”

The two moved outside the room, and the scribe began, “My companions and I performed a divination.”

“The results interpreted by Moonlight are not good. She says evil forces are gathering in the south.”

“So I implore you, if you take any action, please make sure to bring me along.”

Arthur’s mind conjured the image of Eileen Moonlight.

A girl who always carried herbs and flowers with her.

Among the mountain folk who followed him, her sensitivity to the earth mother was the keenest. Every day she would perform a divination to discern the day’s fortunes and misfortunes.

Although Arthur already had an intelligence system, the information obtained from Moonlight’s divinations could still serve as a reference.

Seeing Arthur didn’t respond, Flora thought he was questioning her ability and quickly explained, “My Lord, I don’t just know how to read and write.”

“I know that. I’m just wondering what this evil force is.”

“So you agree to take me with you?”

Arthur nodded.

The rain continued to fall relentlessly, showing no signs of stopping.

Bruce took the towel Catherine handed him.

Wiping the rain from his face, he reported to Arthur, “My Lord, they are just a group of ordinary bandits.”

“They are unorganized and undisciplined, posing no great threat.”

“Lady Jessica’s surprise attack plan is feasible. We can strike in the rain.”

After Bruce returned, Arthur immediately gathered the high-ranking members of the pioneering group for a meeting.

“If you ask me, it’s best to pull out this nail,” the caravan leader Iron Shovel said gruffly. “Bandits are like flies, they’ll hover around the caravan.”

“We’d have to divert our attention to guard against them. If we fight on the road, we’d have to split our attention to protect the civilians and livestock.”

“How confident are you?” Arthur asked Bruce.

Bruce pondered for a moment and said, “If it’s just that group of bandits, my men and I can easily take them down.”

“However, some of them are behaving very strangely.”

Then, Bruce recounted in detail the strange things he had witnessed in Grey Mud Valley Mountain Village.

“Magic ritual?” Arthur mused to himself.

Grey Mud Valley Mountain Village was located precisely to the south, coinciding with Moonlight’s divination results.

Whatever evil that magic ritual was gathering, as long as it posed a threat to his pioneering group, it had to be eliminated as soon as possible.

“Jessica, organize the men. I’ll go with you,” Arthur decisively ordered.

“My Lord!” Godwin quickly interjected, trying to stop him. “You don’t need to go personally. What if something happens—”

Arthur raised his hand, cutting him off, and said, “Is there anyone among us who understands magic?”

“Whatever those people are doing, I have a feeling we must stop that ritual as soon as possible.”

Godwin pondered for a moment, then nodded. “Then I also—”

“No, you stay here. I need someone to guard the rear.”

“Remember, keep an eye on that old steward, especially that Painted Warrior. Don’t let them leave the monastery.”

With the decision made, all parties quickly sprang into action.

Le Fu irritably grabbed a wine bottle and tilted his head back, chugging it down.

Then he roared at the old steward pacing back and forth in the room, “Stop pacing! It’s annoying to watch!”

The old steward stopped, his expression worried. “Lord Le Fu, I have a bad feeling about this—”

“What’s wrong? Damn it, this rotten place doesn’t even have a fireplace.”

“With such heavy rain outside, even if this brat is as greedy and lustful as he and Henry say.”

“There’s no way he’d rush his men to Black Marsh Town in this downpour, right?”

The old steward wanted to retort that his own master would indeed do so.

In his opinion, these low-class people were born to serve their masters; there was no need to consider their feelings.

“You should address him as My Lord,” the old steward reminded him.

Then he walked to the window, poked his head out, and peered outside.

Le Fu snorted coldly, unconcerned.

“Why are they gathering their men?” the old steward suddenly exclaimed.

The Painted Warrior leaped up from his chair, quickly walked to the window, pushed the old steward aside, and looked out.

He saw an armed squad, led by Arthur, leaving the monastery in the rain.

And the direction they were heading seemed to be Grey Mud Valley.

“Son of a bitch! How could this be!”

Le Fu cursed, then turned and walked towards the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Shut up, old man, stay here! I’m going to Grey Mud Valley to warn Ingabado.”

Le Fu threw out this remark, then strode out of the room, heading straight for the stables.

But he hadn’t gone far when Drax blocked his path.

“Get out of the way, you damned beast!”

Le Fu roared, simultaneously reaching for the twin axes at his waist.

“Lord Arthur’s orders are for you to stay in your room.”

“Bah, let him eat shit.”

Le Fu cursed, quickening his pace.

Then he suddenly leaped up, his twin axes cutting through the air as he brought them down on the orc’s head.

Drax quickly raised his axe to block.

The weapons collided, emitting a harsh metallic clang.

Le Fu grinned ferociously, using all his strength to press his axes towards Drax’s face.

His strength was so great that it was in no way inferior to that of the sturdy orc.

“After I kill you, I’ll go chop up your master!” he said viciously.

The orc let out a roar of anger, suddenly exerted force to push his opponent away, then turned his axe and delivered a horizontal slash.

The Painted Warrior laughed as he retreated rapidly, dodging the blow.

The next second, he sidestepped and leaped, seizing the opportunity to attack the orc again.

Drax reacted quickly, thrusting his axe handle hard into Le Fu’s abdomen, but his own right shoulder was also struck by the opponent’s axe.

Both sides retreated, staring intently at each other.