Lumian didn't quite understand how Gardner Martin relied on to determine that Fermonda Sauron was not dead, but it seemed that the other party didn't intend to explain, so he had to give up questioning.
He only cares about one issue now:
"Then my mission is over?
Obviously, combined with the fact that Count Puyver liked to make wax heads for friends he knew and that the person who attacked him just now was a wax figure, Lumian believed that he had been suspected by the other party and that it would be very dangerous to contact him again.
Gardner Martin slowly shook his head:
"No, keep going."
He took a cigar, stood up, and walked a few steps toward the floor-to-ceiling windows:
"The fact that you became the king after being chosen after Puyver will definitely make him doubt your origins, but he will want to find out the real reason why that happened. The subsequent attack on the wax statue was also mainly for this.
"So, he will also invite you, test you in different ways, and extract your hidden secrets. For us, this is an opportunity to confirm the true status of Fomunda and other Sauron family ancestors.
"With this, we can understand the reasons for the gradual decline of this once extremely powerful family. This is of great significance to us who also focus on the 'Hunter' path, and is our current main task.
"To put it simply, the current Sauron family is like the Red Swan Castle. It has long been in disrepair, but it also hides many secrets. There are guards that can scare snoopers. What we have to do is to find out the castle. Defense loopholes, confirm whether those secrets will pose a fatal threat to us, and then find opportunities to break through the guards, bypass traps, and take away the treasure.
"Don't worry, I will secretly provide protection for Puifer's future invitations. The risk you need to bear is not big."
Lumian thought for a while and said:
"Sir, you said before that our main task is to find the real entrance to Trier in the Fourth Age."
How can this main task change so easily?
Gardner Martin took a puff of his cigar and smiled:
"These two things are related to a certain extent and serve the same purpose, but you don't need to know that for the time being."
What is the purpose? In other words, the current focus of the "Iron Cross" is to explore the underground, find the entrance to Trier in the Fourth Age, and investigate the reasons for the gradual decline of the Sauron family over the past two to three hundred years, and find ways to get rid of them. Bite off a piece of fat? According to Mr. K, one of the reasons for the decline of the Sauron family is that many important members went crazy and died in succession over a period of time... Gardner Martin and I are mainly responsible for the direction of the Sauron family. Including "supervisor"
"Guide" Olson and other members to explore the underground? Lumian has a clearer understanding of the "Iron Cross"'s recent plans.
And this is also his main task.
Of course, he only knew what to do, not why.
"Yes, sir." Lumian agreed without saying any more.
He had a vague hunch that this would be his chance to digest the "Arsonist" potion and take a step further on the "Hunter" path.
You know, according to Ms. "Magician", the Sauron family was a powerful force that once owned "Hunter" angels.
Gardner Martin did not ask Puyver how much gold he had dedicated to the "King", but indicated that Lumian could leave and wait for the next invitation from the empty-headed count.
When walking through the renovated hall, Lumian saw the butler Faustino, who was also a formal member of the "Iron Cross", leading a man in a black cloak in.
The man was of medium height, less than 1.75 meters tall, and his clothes were loose and tightly wrapped, making it difficult to see his specific appearance and body features. 34
Lumian could only make a preliminary judgment that he was a man based on his walking posture, height, and stride size.
Faustino nodded to Lumian as a greeting, and then led the mysterious man hurriedly through the hall and into Gardner Martin's study.
Who could it be? What did you come here to discuss late at night? Lumian looked back and left No. 11 Quanshui Street with a flood of thoughts.
Market area, chaotic streets, Golden Rooster Hotel.
After Lumian reached the second floor, he suddenly stepped harder and made a thumping sound.
He slowly returned to room 207, lit the carbide lamp, turned around in the armchair, sat down, and looked at the ajar door with a smile.
Twenty or thirty seconds later, slight footsteps came from the direction of Room 201.
The footsteps were hesitant at first and then firm. They soon arrived outside 207 and knocked gently on the door.
"Please come in." Lumian raised his chin slightly and said.
The person who came was indeed Laurent. He was wearing a linen shirt and black trousers, which was completely different from the formal look he wore every time he went out.
After closing the door with his backhand, Laurent looked at Lumian and said:
"Mr. Dubois, I would like to borrow 500 ferkin from you."
Lumian was startled for a moment, not expecting this development.
He thought this guy was here to beg Ken not to reveal his true identity.
Who knew, he would actually come here to borrow money!
"Why do you need 500 Firkin?" Lumian's expression did not change at all.
Laurent said in a slightly deeper voice:
"I am about to become one of the deputy editors of the "Little Trier" newspaper. Although I am only the most junior one, I can no longer live here. I have to regularly invite my colleagues to my home for gatherings and establish a good relationship with them. Relationship.
"So, I want to borrow 500 Firkin to rent a good apartment in places like the Observatory District and Memorial Hall District, move my mother there, and seize the time to let her learn how to hold a small banquet.
"When I get my salary, I will pay back the debt in installments. What interest rate do you think is better?
This is not only to borrow money to consolidate the work, but also to take the initiative to hand me the handle, and bring me some benefits by the way, so that I will not destroy his good deeds... Lumian looked at Laurent a little higher, and nodded gently thoughtfully. road:
"I don't need interest. You will definitely come across some noteworthy or surprising news, information and advertisements in the Little Trier newspaper. I hope you will sort it out regularly and give me a copy."
While talking, Lumian took out his wallet and counted out 5 bills with a denomination of 100 Firkin:
“It’s enough to pay it back within this year.” 2
Laurent secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"no problem."
After watching the speculator write down the IOU and leaving room 207, Lumian took out the five heavy gold bars presented by Count Puyver from his pocket and tossed them in his hand.
With this windfall, he has already saved gold worth 75,000 fergins, as well as 2,000 fergins that have not been converted into gold and the remaining 4,000 fergins for activities.
"It won't take long to complete the contract of 'Armor Shadow' and summon it again..." Lumian played with the gold bars for a while, left the briefcase containing the "torture" gloves in the armchair, and washed himself and went to bed. , waiting for the inevitable nightmare.
.......
In a state of confusion, Lumian once again saw Red Swan Castle, whose exterior walls were beige and stained with old blood.
In a dazed state, he walked in and arrived at the large living room where the king cake game was played.
Miss Eloise, the painter Mullen, and the editor-in-chief of the "Little Trier" newspaper Cornell and other guests who often attended Count Puyver's banquets were all sitting in the sofa area, as if waiting for Lumian's arrival.
But Laurent and the temporary female companions of several other guests were not here.
This makes the place look like another or past salon.
Lumian approached the sofa area step by step. Count Puyver and others stood up one after another and stood respectfully.
"Good afternoon, His Majesty the King," they greeted in unison.
Lumian glanced at them coldly and almost instinctively:
"Um?"
Count Puyver and others were stunned for a second and said:
"Your Majesty the Emperor!"
Lumian nodded lightly, sat on the single sofa, and watched the guests sit around him.
They chatted endlessly, the topics divergent and vague.
Suddenly, Anoli raised his right hand and scratched his face.
With a stabbing sound, he tore off a large piece of skin, revealing the squirming flesh and blackened thin tubes.
Almost at the same time, painter Mullen and others either picked up a table knife and stabbed themselves in the heart, or bit the necks of their companions.
In an instant, the entire living room became extremely bloody, with horrific scenes everywhere.
Lumian's thoughts were startled, and what he saw in front of him immediately changed.
He was in another hall of the castle, guarding a coffin surrounded by countless lit white candles.
The coffin was made of bronze, and its surface was rusty. It was unknown how many years it had been placed here.
Lumian felt the sadness and helplessness of losing a loved one and losing support. He slowly stretched out his right hand and tried to rub the rusty bronze coffin.
At this moment, the lid of the coffin opened sideways with a creak, revealing a deep gap.
A dark red palm with protruding blood vessels suddenly stretched out, holding an extremely dry heart but with some blood leaking out.
The heart was still contracting and expanding gently and invisibly.
After seeing this withered heart, Lumian's thoughts quickly became chaotic and infected with a certain degree of madness.
His right palm felt slightly warm, and he suddenly woke up from his dream.
He was not surprised or panicked at all about the nightmare. He recalled all the details in the nightmare while calming down his naturally accelerated heartbeat.
Gradually, Lumian frowned.
In the first scene, most of the participants in the King Cake game ended up going crazy. They harmed themselves or others, but there were three exceptions. Until the scene changed, they were still normal people.
That one was Lumian himself, and the other was Count Puyver.
There is another thing Lumian did not think of:
That Miss Eloise!
She is not as reserved and well-behaved as she appears, and she also has her own secrets... Lumian smiled silently.
As for what the bronze coffin, the dead body, and the dried heart in the second act scene represented, he couldn't decipher them at all. He could only guess that they might be related to the secrets of the Sauron family.
Like last time, Lumian had several nightmares this night, but the clarity and completeness of the dreams gradually declined.
As daybreak approached, the nightmare had completely disappeared.
After getting up, while his memory was still clear, Lumian quickly wrote these situations into a letter and sent it to Ms. Magician.
