Unexpectedly, the final page of the diary had actually been written in blood.
There was only one line on it:
"Farga, may the devil curse your soul..."
Bai Xiaowen put away the parchment scroll.
"The infighting happened after all. It looked like Farga had won, killing his own servant, apprentice, and companion. But what was this Evil Soulstone mentioned in the diary? Something capable of driving the Empire's chief alchemist mad had to be an extraordinary treasure."
After deciphering the parchment, Bai Xiaowen had understood most of what had happened. Based on his speculation, the female knight who had just pursued him should have been Royal Knight Golia mentioned in the diary.
Anyone who could beat the Empire's chief alchemist into fleeing at the mere sight of her was unquestionably powerful.
"I wonder how Farga's forbidden ritual turned out. Did it succeed?"
Bai Xiaowen thought of the Zombie Rats filling the entire cave. "The Zombie Rats mutated because they were affected by the Evil Soulstone. That meant that whether the ritual succeeded or not, the Soul Stone's power had already spread. Now that the cave has been sealed off and I'm so weak, running into more than three Zombie Rats is practically a death sentence..."
"Every moment is dangerous right now. Hiding forever isn't a good option... I have to break the deadlock myself!"
Bai Xiaowen abruptly rose to his feet. It seemed as though flames were dancing in his eyes.
Plague Rat Burrow, tunnel bend.
Zhou Yi and Wu Xiaoyan were pale as sheets, pressed tightly against the tunnel wall.
Just twenty meters beyond the bend stood the female knight! Her dark-blue armor radiated light, while a hazy glow flowed slowly across her cape. Even in this dark, fetid cavern, she remained completely spotless.
Xiao Jinsheng and Jiang Wen had already been captured and lay limply on the ground. Judging by their condition, they had suffered quite a bit when they were caught.
"What do we do?" Wu Xiaoyan's voice trembled with panic. "Teacher Xiao and the others have been captured!"
"Keep it down!" Zhou Yi snarled in a low voice. "It's already a blessing that we haven't been caught! How can we afford to care about whether others live or die?"
Suddenly, a familiar male voice rang out, speaking in an obscure language.
"It's Bai Xiaowen!" Wu Xiaoyan craned her neck for a look in shock. "Has he gone crazy? Why did he show himself willingly?"
Zhou Yi also leaned out to look. Bai Xiaowen stood tall before the powerful knight without the slightest hint of fear, slowly uttering word after word. He was actually negotiating with her!
"When did this kid become so fluent in that gibberish..."
In the female knight's ears, however, Bai Xiaowen's ancient Latin was terrible. He spat out one word at a time, unable to form a complete sentence. He knew nothing about grammar, tense, or sentence structure.
Still, she could understand him.
"Hello," Bai Xiaowen said laboriously as he recalled the contents of his Latin textbook. "Don't attack. I can help you find... what you want."
The female knight slowly lowered her raised hand, lifted her visor, and asked curiously, "What do you know?"
"I know a great deal," Bai Xiaowen said. "For example, your name is Golia, and you are a Royal Knight of the Lionheart Empire. You came here to recover the Soul Stone lost by North County Monastery..."
Bai Xiaowen was not completely certain that this female knight was the Golia described in the diary, but he was at least eighty or ninety percent sure. He watched her reaction as he revealed some of the contents of Malgao's diary. When he saw the female knight nod slightly, the suspicion on her face gradually faded.
"You know where Farga is?" The suspicion on Golia's face suddenly turned to vigilance. "Are you with them?"
Bai Xiaowen gave a bitter smile. "Come on, I'm this weak. Could I possibly pose any threat to you?"
Golia examined Bai Xiaowen, then nodded slightly, acknowledging that he was harmless.
"You have a way to find the Soul Stone?"
"I'm eighty percent sure I can find that mad alchemist, Farga," Bai Xiaowen said. "I can go with you, but you must open the barrier at the cave entrance and let my teachers and classmates go."
Golia nodded readily. "I have no intention of needless slaughter. If you can help me obtain the Soul Stone, I will leave immediately."
Bai Xiaowen relaxed slightly. This Royal Knight named Golia was not difficult to communicate with, and most of the tension in his heart dissipated.
"Bai Xiaowen, what are you saying to this person? Can you even communicate?" Xiao Jinsheng asked quietly.
Bai Xiaowen smiled. "Teacher Xiao, I've convinced her. You're safe now. Of course, that's assuming I can help her complete her mission... Teacher Xiao, find a chance to slip away."
Not only Jiang Wen, but even Xiao Jinsheng showed gratitude mixed with concern.
"You're going with her? How can you do that? It's too dangerous," Jiang Wen said worriedly.
"This is the only way. Teacher Xiao, lend me your sword." Bai Xiaowen said.
Xiao Jinsheng hesitated slightly before handing over the battered iron sword.
Bai Xiaowen had already used Insight to scan the iron sword's attributes.
[Rusty Iron Sword] [Quality: Crude] [Equipment Slot: One-Handed] [Equipment Requirement: None] [Attribute: Attack Power 1–3] [Durability: 8/10] [Description: This sword was once standard-issue equipment forged by a qualified blacksmith.]
Bai Xiaowen gave it a few light swings. Though the iron sword was rusty, it was still a spiritual energy piece of equipment, granting 1–3 Attack Power.
By comparison, Bai Xiaowen's own machete looked fairly decent, but it had no attributes such as Attack Power or Durability at all. That was the difference between spiritual energy equipment and mass-produced mechanized weapons.
When Golia saw the iron sword in Bai Xiaowen's hand, a trace of inquiry appeared in her eyes. Bai Xiaowen hurriedly explained, "There are too many rats in the cave. I'm carrying it for protection."
Golia was clearly uninterested in the scrap metal in Bai Xiaowen's hand. To her, Bai Xiaowen's combat power was negligible. Even with an extra piece of Crude-quality equipment, it was merely the difference between 0.1 and 0.11.
"Follow me. No one will lay a finger on you." Golia snorted, suddenly drew the rapier at her waist, and hurled it! More than forty meters away, a Zombie Rat was struck head-on and sent flying four or five meters before being pinned to the rock wall with a clang. The rapier's hilt still trembled slightly.
The threat behind that strike was obvious.
Bai Xiaowen sensibly lowered his head and walked forward. He had secretly used Insight Talent to examine Golia's strength, but gained nothing. Aside from her name, Insight Talent had returned only a string of question marks!
Bai Xiaowen guessed that the gap in strength was simply too great. Golia was far stronger than an ordinary Awakened.
Golia followed close behind. As the two figures disappeared, Jiang Wen and Xiao Jinsheng felt relieved, yet secretly worried as well.
Around the bend, Zhou Yi and Wu Xiaoyan stared at the scene in stunned disbelief.
"That guy actually managed to persuade the female knight to leave? What exactly did he say?" Though secretly relieved, Zhou Yi was also annoyed. "Hmph, relying on that pretty-boy face to deceive people everywhere. It would serve him right if that female knight ran him through with her sword."
Wu Xiaoyan whispered, "But Bai Xiaowen did save us..."
"Bullshit! Did I need him to save me?" Zhou Yi nearly exploded. "I was hiding perfectly well. What did I need saving for?"
Wu Xiaoyan fell silent. As she watched Bai Xiaowen's receding figure, an inexplicable unease flashed through her heart, as though she had missed out on several hundred million.
Before you continue