A Castle Appointment

A horse-drawn carriage drove along the road through the Malaga Jungle and came to the ruins of Ellington Castle, where two statues with only their huge feet remaining stood, the weeds on both sides almost completely obscuring the stone platforms.

The coachman pulled on the reins, and the carriage slowly came to a stop.

Sitting in the carriage, Roy looked at the desolate Ellington Castle in front of him. Without the students from the Elf Academy, the place immediately became incredibly quiet.

It has been more than a month since I left Ellington Castle, and some weeds have grown in the cracks of the bluestone slabs in front of the castle.

Roy made an appointment with the coachman through the carriage window to pick him up at the gate of Ellington Castle the next day at noon, and then jumped off the carriage.

His attire made him look like a young archaeologist, wearing tall boots, tight pants, a white shirt, a leather vest, and Magic Pouch around his waist. He had come very well prepared for his visit to Ellington Castle.

Leaving Roy behind, the coachman cracked his whip, turned the carriage around, and hurried away down the main road.

Crossing the arched bridge in front of the castle ruins and entering Ellington Castle, you'll find some rotting fruit peels scattered on the dilapidated castle square.

Several crows flew up from a puddle in the square in front of the castle and landed on the roof beams of a house whose roof had long since collapsed.

Following the desolate and dilapidated streets, Roy arrived at the place where they had once camped. He took out a tent from his Magic Pouch and slowly set it up right in front of the armory.

Then, they gathered some dry branches from a patch of bare bushes, lit a campfire in front of the tent, and built a simple tripod with three thick branches, hanging the water bottle below, the flames licking the bottom of the bottle.

Although he had brought some food, Roy still followed the path to the huge Breadfruit on the platform behind, climbed up the tree, and cut a Breadfruit with his dagger.

Seeing that it was still early, I walked around the castle.

Several sections of the mottled castle City Wall have collapsed, and stepping on them produces the sound of stones rolling down.

The elves seem to have a fondness for building castles on isolated cliffs, and Ellington Castle is surrounded by cliffs as well.

Only when viewed from a distance does it appear to be hidden among the mountain scenery.

Upon closer inspection, it reveals its extraordinary grandeur and magnificence.

I walked around the castle and didn't see a soul in sight. There weren't many small animals around the castle either. Apart from the flock of crows that occupied the square, there were geckos crawling on some of the mottled walls, and a few squirrels darting back and forth in the treetops of the forest opposite the castle.

It seems that this place has completely blended into the surrounding natural environment.

In the valley, it gets dark particularly early.

Soon it was completely dark. Dinner was simple: Breadfruit and a cup of Vanilla Tea.

Roy sat by the campfire, the kettle on the shelf making a constant hissing sound. Roy poured boiling water into the kettle and sprinkled a few herb leaves into it.

Roy felt a gust of cold wind blow by, and simply blinked...

Then he saw Countess Amelia sitting on a rock opposite the campfire, and Roy didn't even realize when she had appeared.

"You've arrived!"

When Roy saw Countess Amelia appear, he wasn't surprised at all and simply greeted her politely.

Countess Amelia sat on the rock, staring at Roy, and said, "You really are a trustworthy young man."

Roy smiled slightly and said honestly, "You gave me some benefits in advance, so even if it's just to fulfill my promise, I must come to see you."

Countess Amelia said impatiently, "I didn't bring you here to listen to your rambling. Tell me something that interests me."

Roy calmly poured Countess Amelia a cup of Vanilla Tea and placed it in front of her.

Although Countess Amelia was merely a spirit and would never drink tea, she was still quite pleased to see Roy do so...

Roy added two more logs to the fire, and the fire burned even brighter.

"Alright, then I'll tell you about what's been happening in Castleton City lately. It's been quite an eventful affair..."

Roy said.

He then began to recount some recent events that had occurred in Castleton City.

Roy began by recounting his first trial at the courthouse, where all the Slave Traders on the Golden Tangerine were sentenced to heavy prison terms.

Even so, upon hearing that the Slave Traders had secretly infiltrated the northwestern Malaga Jungle, Countess Amelia was so enraged she nearly overturned the kettle on the campfire stand...

Once Countess Amelia's mood had calmed down a bit, the Soul Fire in her eye sockets returned to normal.

Roy then brought up the trial of Priest Theodore who stole the Wisdom Holy Grail.

The discussion then turned to the deaths of the Half-Elf Pelius and Windsor, whose lenient sentence for Priest Theodore sparked a ten-day protest by the Half-Elf of the Lower District.

During this time, the conflict between the Guard Squad and the Moon God Temple was completely intensified. The Elf Ranger of the Guard Squad relentlessly pursued the Priest Sandike, eventually uncovering the whole story of the theft of the Wisdom Holy Grail. At the same time, the cause of Windsor's death also came to light.

In order to maintain its reputation, the Moon God Temple had no choice but to expel Priest Sandike from the Moon God Temple. Unfortunately, this move by the Moon God Temple did not salvage its reputation much. On the contrary, because Priest Sandike gave up on himself, he showed an even uglier side to the elves.

Countess Amelia sighed as she spoke of the current state of the Moon God Temple, including its attitude toward the half -Moon God Temple Half-Elf.

Roy concluded by mentioning the trial of the two pirates Gray Dwarf Relf and Madam Yidula.

I originally thought it would lighten the conversation, since the elves of Castleton deeply resented these two pirates.

On the day of the trial, a large number of elves gathered in Heroes Square in Castleton City.

After the campfire burned out, only a few embers remained. A mountain breeze blew by, casting flickering light on Countess Amelia's face.

Countess Amelia was slightly taken aback when she heard the name ' Madam Yidula '.

When she heard that the Arbitration Committee had ruled that Madam Yidula had to dig for Magic Crystal in the mines near Neuhaus City, her pale face suddenly appeared in front of Roy's face, startling Roy.

"You mean her name is Yudora? What does she look like?"

Roy couldn't understand why Countess Amelia was so agitated, but he still said, "She has long red hair. To be honest, I've never seen Blood Elf with red hair before!"

"..."

Countess Amelia said nothing more. She floated directly to a dilapidated watchtower atop Ellington Castle and remained there for a long time.

Roy and the others stood by the campfire, watching the flickering flames, and guessed that Countess Amelia might be an old acquaintance of Madam Yidula.

After a long time, Roy curled up in front of the campfire, almost falling asleep.

Roy felt a chill all over his body, and just as he was about to pull the blanket up, he suddenly woke up from his sleep. He had just fallen asleep in front of the campfire.

When he sat up, still half asleep, he found that Countess Amelia was sitting opposite him again, her eyes, which had been shining with the Soul Fire, were now somewhat dim.

She sighed softly and didn't say anything to Roy.

"Would you like to continue listening?"

Roy asked.

"Of course, but I don't want to hear about the filth inside the courthouse," Countess Amelia said weakly, rubbing her forehead with one hand.

Roy quickly sat up straight in front of the campfire and said, "Well, I have something to tell you, and I also wanted to ask for your opinion. I lent the Magic Crystal you gave me to Miss Moira next door. She's the most talented Half-Elf I've ever seen in combat. This time, she learned your ' Dance of Radiance ' in just one month..."

Roy said somewhat guiltily:

"If you think what I did was wrong, I will go back and retrieve the Magic Crystal immediately."

After all, this matter has a bit of a "fait accompli" feel to it.

Countess Amelia glanced at Roy and asked him, "The Dance of Radiance was a reward I gave you. It's your business if you're willing to share it with your friends. It seems that your relationship with Moira is quite special?"

"We've been friends since childhood. She's a bit introverted and doesn't have many friends..."

Countess Amelia nodded to Roy, and then said:

"If you try to practice this Dance of Radiance, you'll probably get the feeling that this sword dance is extremely difficult."

Roy nodded repeatedly, having experienced this firsthand.

Countess Amelia continued:

"The reason I gave you that Magic Crystal is because once this Dance of Radiance is cast, it will grant nearby companions a divine power boost, which is perfect for you..."

Countess Amelia paused briefly, then, as if remembering something, looked up at Roy and spoke first:

"Of course, it also has its own unique Breath Method."

Roy listened attentively without interrupting.

"Under normal circumstances, it is very difficult for Warrior Class have not yet completed the first class change to comprehend this unique Breath Method."

"Now that your friend has learned the complete set of movements for the Dance of Radiance, I also have a detailed explanation of the Dance of Radiance Breath Method here. You can take it and show it to her. Don't be discouraged if she doesn't understand it. Keep working hard to improve yourself. After you become a first-class cultivator, looking back at this Breath Method will make it very simple."

Countess Amelia gave Roy some instructions.

After she finished speaking, a book appeared out of thin air in her hand.

The book was practically floating in mid-air, and it was slowly drifting toward Roy.

Roy reached out and took the parchment book in his hands, then stood up and bowed to Countess Amelia:

"Thank you, Countess Amelia!"

"Come here often when you have time, chat with me about Castleton, let me know what's happening outside, otherwise I'll have the illusion that time has been frozen and is repeating itself endlessly!"

Countess Amelia spoke calmly to Roy.

Then, a sliver of dawn appeared on the horizon, and before we knew it, a whole night had passed.

The sky above was also subtly changing, its color gradually lightening as dawn broke...

Countess Amelia's figure also faded further and further...