Chapter 108: Knight of Order!

Chapter 108: Knights of Order!

"Has it been resolved?"

Alfred’s eyes gleamed with a faint crimson hue as he stared toward the master bedroom on the third floor of the distant ancient castle, answering with utmost gravity:

"Master, the lights have gone out."

"I can see that much myself."

"Yes, Master."

"I believe that since the Ancestor has made his move, there will certainly be no problem. It is impossible for an ancestor to simply watch his kin degenerate into nothing more than blood-food in the mouths of others," Mike remarked. "Though we, his descendants, are utterly worthless, an ancestor remains an ancestor after all. I arrived at this conclusion by placing myself in his shoes."

Mr. Bede spoke up, "The aura that just manifested from the Ancestor was terrifyingly powerful. If even he cannot resolve this, then tonight is destined to be the catastrophe of Allen Manor."

Karen glanced at Mr. Bede and inquired:

"So, you find yourself unable to resist the urge to paint again?"

Mr. Bede smiled, remaining silent.

Setting aside secular ethical constraints, witnessing the destruction of one's own home, painting while watching, could indeed give birth to an exceptional piece of artistic mastery.

At that moment, a plume of water mist flew from the direction of the castle toward them, twisting the very vision of everything it passed through.

"The Ancestor approaches."

Mike once again lowered himself from his wheelchair, prostrating upon the ground.

Mr. Bede did the same, bowing low in reverence.

Then, two streams of water mist diverged from the main path, tightly enveloping Mike and Bede respectively before flinging them far into the distance;

Though the two of them held the Ancestor in absolute reverence, the Ancestor’s loathing for them was to such a degree that he did not even wish to set eyes upon them.

Immediately following this, the mist along the main path came to a halt right before Karen, the vapor dispersing completely to reveal the figure of Count Recar, with Purr perched upon his shoulder.

Karen, whose heart had been somewhat uneasy, finally felt the heavy stone lift from his chest upon seeing Purr accompany him.

Purr leapt down from Count Recar’s shoulder, scurrying to Karen's side before scaling up to sit upon his shoulder with practiced familiarity;

Turning her head, she deliberately glared at the Golden Retriever resting on the ground nearby.

The Golden Retriever wagged its tail in mild confusion, utterly unaware of how it had offended her this time.

"Master Karen."

Hearing Count Recar change the manner of his address, a natural smile surfaced on Karen's face as he responded:

"Lord Count."

At that moment,

Count Recar dropped to one knee before Karen:

"The Allen family expresses its deepest gratitude for your protection!"

"Please do not do this, pray stand up."

"It is only right. The Allen family always repays its debts of gratitude!"

Count Recar struck his fist against his chest,

"Regrettably, I am on the verge of complete annihilation and cannot personally repay your kindness, but my clansmen will surely continue to serve you."

"If it is acceptable, we could sit down and converse. I am not particularly suited for such formalities."

"Very well, I shall heed your command."

Count Recar shifted from kneeling to sitting, crossing his legs.

Karen sat down as well, though once seated, he could distinctly perceive the immense stature of the other man.

"You may sit upon a chair," Count Recar offered.

"There is no need."

"Very well." Count Recar extended his fist and slammed it against the ground before him with a heavy thud, creating a crater. Now, sitting within the depression, Count Recar’s line of sight was level with Karen’s.

Upon witnessing this display, Karen could be absolutely certain that Count Recar had engaged in an extensive conversation with Purr.

If at the beginning, the other party had viewed him as a powerful Bishop of the Church of Order, then now, he viewed him as the future reliance of the Allen family.

Though Count Recar was incredibly powerful at this moment—powerful enough that killing Karen would require almost no effort at all—he was, after all, about to "die."

Of course, some individuals facing such a predicament would choose to indulge themselves even more recklessly;

Yet others would choose to do whatever they could for the family members who still lived.

Evidently, Count Recar had chosen the latter.

"Master Karen..."

"You may simply call me Karen."

Purr glanced at Karen with a hint of perplexity, wondering why his treatment of her was so different from his treatment of Recar when both of them possessed such ancient seniority. Soon enough, Purr figured it out—it was still a matter of strength.

Therefore, he only dared to stroke her belly, but did not dare to stroke Recar’s belly right now!

"No, this title cannot be altered. I know that old fool Anderson... no, that Patriarch Anderson also addresses you in this manner. Within the family, the Patriarch’s word is absolute."

"The current Patriarch is Mr. Bede."

"Oh? Where is he?"

"He was just thrown away by you moments ago."

"Oh, hah." Count Recar let out a soft chuckle. "The matter regarding Gloria IX has been resolved by me."

As he spoke, Count Recar produced a block of ice;

Purr prepared to leap down from Karen’s shoulder to retrieve it, but unexpectedly, another figure proved swifter than her.

Alfred received the block of ice encasing the black seed from Count Recar’s hand and presented it before Karen. As Karen reached out to touch it, Alfred warned in a low voice:

"Master, this ice is no ordinary ice. Take care not to suffer frostbite."

In truth, traces of frost had already manifested upon Alfred's palm.

"Store it away securely," Karen commanded.

"Yes, Master." Alfred immediately went to find something to contain it.

Count Recar said, "Rest assured, Master, this block of ice will not melt even if placed in a public square during the height of summer. It is sealed within and is perfectly secure. Should you wish to melt it, you may utilize spellcraft or the temperature of molten lava."

"Very well, I understand. Truthfully, I still do not know what it actually is."

"It is a Seed of Light."

"A Seed of Light?"

"Yes, perhaps this name will come as a great surprise to you, but it is indeed a Seed of Light.

Legend has it that two epochs ago, many such seeds appeared within a certain kingdom. They absorbed the blood of living humans and livestock to grow. Because their branches and vines were black, once fully grown, they blocked out the sun, plunging that entire realm completely into darkness.

Thus, the people there evaded the drainage of the black vines while crying out for the arrival of light."

"And then, the God of Light appeared?"

"Yes, it was at that time and in that kingdom that the Church of the God of Light was born. Drawn together by their yearning for light, the people declared war as one against this man-eating darkness.

In the end, the God of Light descended, utterly defeating the darkness and tearing it out by its roots.

When describing this story in the *Chronicles of Light*, this seed is referred to as the seed of light. This does not mean it is the literal seed of the God of Light, but rather it adopts a positive, hopeful attitude:

When darkness falls upon the land, have no fear, for the light is soon to follow!"

"Your explanation, sir, leaves us exactly where we started," Karen said with a smile.

Before the explanation, hearing the name made him feel the seed was inextricably linked to the God of Light; after the explanation, he felt even more certain that it was.

"The interpretation of true sacred scriptures has always differed among a thousand minds."

"Do you enjoy reading these books, Count?" Karen asked curiously.

"Yes, because a pirate's life is actually quite dull most of the time. You cannot always have an enemy before you, nor can you stay in the brothels ashore forever.

Under normal circumstances, you might have to drift for two or three months before encountering a true target.

Therefore, I formed the habit of reading during those times."

"So that is how it was. I heard that this seed originated from that sea chart you left behind all those years ago."

"That was my mistake," Count Recar admitted directly. "Years ago, I discovered an abyss deep within the ocean. I attempted to explore it but could not go deep, and I sensed the danger within.

On the return journey, I casually drew that sea chart and marked the location of the abyss.

Because a pirate's life is so dull, drawing a sea chart is actually just a game one plays with future generations.

Just thinking about how people of later generations might slaughter one another for your chart, then endure untold hardships to hunt for treasure following your guide, only to dig up a chest at the final location and find a pair of worn underwear inside!

Haha, what an incredibly amusing thing that would be!"

"Mm..."

"Because we were frequently fooled like that by our pirate predecessors, we decided to follow this tradition after being pranked ourselves."

"But that sea chart was clearly not a joke," Karen reminded him.

"At the time, I felt it was of no use, only dangerous. It just so happened that after Gloria finished serving me, I didn't have any suitable jewelry on hand. But as pirates, we couldn't stiff a prostitute of her money; after all, their lives are very difficult too.

So I very solemnly tore that sea chart—which I deemed useless—into two halves. One half I gave to her, telling her it led to a mysterious treasure, and the other half I intended to take back to my family.

In truth, I just casually tossed that half into my luggage.

Yet who could have known that many years after my death, members of Gloria's family would actually bring that half-map to find the Allen family, and my descendants would genuinely manage to dig up the other half I had casually thrown away.

Then the two families formed a sailing expedition and set out to find the treasure I left behind, following the guidance of the sea chart."

"But the harvest was indeed bountiful," Karen said.

Aside from this seed of light, there was also the finger of the God of Light.

"Their losses must have been immense as well, and I even suspect that the reason both families have begun to decline now is highly likely because their actions back then brought a curse upon their respective bloodlines."

The ruin of the Allen family was glaringly obvious.

As for the Gloria family, strictly speaking, they had also been decaying for these past few centuries. Although the Queen back then needed to sleep with Count Recar to secure the pirates' support, the royal family at that time truly wielded the power to sway the empire's military and politics.

The Queen of that era was a true Queen.

But the current royal family had truly been reduced to mere mascots. To contemporary politicians, the Queen's existence merely represented the legal cohesion of the Wien Empire. If the Queen were gone, many of the vassal states and colonies beneath the Wien Empire would likely clamor for independence.

Of course, the Queen was now dead.

"That might be part of the reason," Karen echoed.

He understood that as the ancestor of this family, Recar looked at the family the way parents look at their own children. How many parents could calmly accept the fact that their child was a mediocre fool? Therefore, they would always invent all sorts of excuses for it.

And what excuse could be more fitting than 'my child only became this stupid because he was cursed'? It was both difficult to prove and difficult to resolve.

Count Recar pulled out a piece of cloth, and Alfred stepped forward once more to take it from him.

This cloth appeared to have been torn from Count Recar's own clothing. The quality was excellent, as could be seen from the fact that the clothes had not rotted even though Count Recar had been buried for so long.

"This is a newly drawn sea chart marking that location. I believe the young master can weigh when it might be appropriate to go and take a look."

"Alright."

"Because I never truly descended into that place, I cannot offer you too much advice, as I am more worried that my speculations might mislead you."

"You worry too much," Karen said with a smile.

"Thank you for your trust."

Well, Count Recar had misunderstood Karen's meaning. He had no interest in this sort of 'adventure,' so this map would likely remain at the bottom of a chest, never to be used.

"In fact, if it were possible, I truly wish I could sail in person and take you there to see it, young master. The depths of that place might very well be where the God of Light fell."

"A pity, then," Karen sighed.

"No pity at all," Count Recar laughed. "For I was already thoroughly dead. How many people in this world can be like me, coming back to life to look at the world again after being dead for so long?"

"You are very open-minded."

"I have made a fool of myself before the young master."

"There is one more matter I need to explain to you, young master."

"Please speak."

"Eunice possesses great talent."

"Oh, is that so?" For Karen, this was indeed a pleasant surprise. "That is truly good news."

"I have granted her the family blessing. Over the next six months, she may be somewhat prone to oversleeping."

"Is it

Karen stood up as well, saying, "You don't have to be this way."

"I am merely speaking the truth, for you understand as well, Young Master, that the me of a few moments from now will depart completely. Facing a thing devoid of spirituality, there is really nothing left to be scrupulous about.

However, it is also thanks to you, Young Master, that upon being awakened I discovered that through the accumulation of the aura of death, I have actually reached the level of the Progenitor Alan;

To be precise, I have reached the level of the Progenitor Alan's water attribute."

"An advancement?" Karen asked in surprise.

"Yes. The pinnacle of the water attribute turns out to be death. This is truly... a rendering speechless result. One must die to reach the pinnacle, so what meaning is there left in this pinnacle?"

Count Recar spread his palm, and a ring of frost coalesced upon it:

"The pinnacle of the water attribute path is death—a death capable of freezing or drowning everything."

Count Recar withdrew his palm and walked toward his own burial chamber. "Young Master, I am going down."

"Safe travels," Karen said.

"Mm. It was an honor to meet you and to speak with you." Count Recar walked to the edge of the burial chamber and looked at the ceiling of the tomb he had punctured earlier. "I think the future construction of the family tombs should include a door that can be opened from the inside. That would be much more convenient, and when going back down, it could still be utilized."

"I will suggest that to Old Anderson."

"Much obliged, Young Master."

Count Recar looked around once more.

"It is time to say goodbye to you again, the world I once traversed, and the sea I once galloped across. It is a pity I could not see you after waking up this time."

With that, Count Recar jumped into his burial chamber, a dull thud echoing from below.

Karen breathed a long sigh of relief; though Count Recar had been very polite to him, the man had indeed brought immense pressure upon him.

There was one thing Karen had kept bottled up in the depths of his heart: when Count Recar had climbed out of the grave earlier and dashed up to the third floor of the castle to find the Queen, Karen had a premonition that the man actually desperately wanted to turn around and punch him to death.

"Alas," Pu'er sighed, shaking her head. "A pity, this piece of scum."

"Mm."

Karen nodded. A pirate who, in order to foster goodwill between his family and Karen, could offer up his own bones to be forged into armaments, was indeed somewhat endearing on top of being a piece of scum from Karen's perspective.

It was a pity that although the chains had briefly turned red when Karen awakened him—and turning red meant there were likely other colors, perhaps corresponding to other usable modes and functions.

But at his current self, it was simply impossible to achieve that step; the distance was catastrophically far.

Moreover, ever since Count Recar was awakened, the spiritual energy within his body would inevitably and continuously dissipate; this was an irreversible process.

Therefore, Count Recar could only return dust to dust, and ashes to ashes.

Alas,

If only he could be frozen, paused.

Hmm?

Karen froze for a moment, and a sentence Count Recar had spoken earlier suddenly surfaced in his mind:

"The pinnacle of the water attribute path is death—a death capable of freezing or drowning everything."

Could he try it? Could he freeze himself to halt the dissipation of spirituality?

Karen spun around immediately and ran toward the burial chamber. Pu'er lost her grip and was thrown straight off Karen's shoulder.

Soon,

Karen arrived before the breach above the burial chamber, lying prone on the edge and shouting down into the depths:

"Lord Count, are you thoroughly dead yet?"

If he was already thoroughly dead, then there was absolutely nothing that could be done.

"Uh... not yet."

—

"The Light of Order": [The Twelve Knights of Order shall forever be the most loyal guardians by God's side.]