Starting as a Behind-the-Scenes Boss in the Honkai World

At midnight, Shi Hen got into Raven's car and they sped towards the outskirts of Raymond. The city's prosperity and lights were left far behind them.

"The moon is so full tonight."

Sitting in the passenger seat, Shi Hen couldn't help but exclaim.

According to the Etheric Lunar Calendar, today was already the fifteenth of August, a traditional festival in Shenzhou for cherishing family and friends.

But he was all alone in this world, with no one to miss him.

"Yes," Raven replied, looking up at the sky and nodding as she gripped the steering wheel. "Speaking of which, we made progress on this mission thanks to the moon."

"Hmm?"

Shi Hen feigned confusion at the opportune moment.

"You've been here for a while, you must have heard the legends of Raymond, right?"

Raven prompted.

"The knight from a thousand years ago?"

Shi Hen asked.

The city was named Raymond, said to be after a knight from a thousand years ago.

Although the knight's family no longer existed, many stories about him were still circulated, and the most famous among them...

"A thousand years ago, a terrifying tsunami struck Sicily. The black waves reached the heavens, plunging the entire island into chaos."

Raven slowly recounted the tale.

"The great Raymond walked on the sea and quelled all the storms with a single sword, restoring the sky to clarity." Shi Hen added, his face showing surprise. "So, this story is true?"

Although the story was recorded in Raymond's historical records, history itself... well, everyone understood.

Often, the subjective assumptions of the recorder became part of history.

Perhaps Raymond had merely saved a few people during an ordinary storm?

As the dust of ages blew by, only heaven knew what had truly happened.

But since Raven was investigating this matter, it indicated that Raymond's story wasn't entirely false; there must be hidden information.

"According to my research, this Raymond was very likely a Natural Stigmata Awakener."

As she spoke, Raven subtly glanced at the boy beside her.

"Are we looking for the Stigmata left behind by Raymond?"

Ignoring Raven's gaze, Shi Hen furrowed his brow in thought.

If this story were true, then Raymond's power would be unreasonably immense.

Facing a natural disaster capable of destroying the entire island of Sicily, while he himself might not be significantly affected, to quell the storm with a single sword... it would likely require the power of a Herrscher core.

The power of Natural Stigmata had its limits.

At the very least, Shi Hen himself couldn't calm a natural disaster solely with the power of his Stigmata.

"Perhaps," Raven pouted, offering no definitive answer. "There's also intelligence suggesting that Raymond might have possessed a powerful pre-civilization Relic.

It was with the power of that Relic that she was able to save Sicily."

Raymond, whose full name was Olivia Raymond, was a knight active a thousand years ago, and she was a woman.

"A Relic... This treasure hunt is truly interesting then."

A hint of anticipation flickered in Shi Hen's eyes.

Generally speaking, any remnants from pre-civilization eras could be called Relics, with the Divine Key series being the most famous.

However, other Relics besides the Divine Keys were not necessarily inferior, because you never knew how far the madmen of Moth to Fire had pushed their technological tree.

Take, for instance, the immortal holy sword that could cleave space – Durandal.

Anyone who dared to claim Durandal was inferior to a Divine Key would immediately be met with a couple of swift punches from a certain strongest Valkyrie.

"Don't get your hopes up too high. Until the very end, no one knows what we'll find this time."

Raven advised with the tone of someone who had been through it all.

Discrepancies between promotion and reality were something she had encountered many times.

Perhaps the intel indicated a holy sword, but upon arrival, you'd find only a Sword of Glorious Courage stuck there, perhaps with a Shield of Radiant Will as a bonus.

Nodding, Shi Hen indicated he had heard her.

Looking at the moonlit plains in the distance, Shi Hen turned his head and asked Raven, who was dressed as a mercenary, "By the way, what's the connection between Raymond's legacy and the moon?"

The story hadn't mentioned the moon at all.

"One record mentions that in her final moments, Raymond ascended to the heavens, to a divine realm above the moon," Raven said softly, her gaze fixed on the moon disk shedding its infinite clear radiance in the sky. "And that day, it happened to be a full moon as well."

Shi Hen: ...

Another sword that calmed the sea, another ascension to the moon – what kind of ultimate Frankenstein's monster was this?

Could Raymond's holy sword have been pulled from a stone as well?

But, the full moon...

Looking at the perfect, flawless white jade plate in the sky, Shi Hen inexplicably thought of the Honkai Beast he encountered in the sea during the day.

Although he didn't know what the full moon meant, since it was something worth specifically recording, the moon must hold an extraordinary significance.

This is really making me more and more excited.

Under the moonlight, a slight upward curve formed on the corner of the young man's lips.

Chapter 10: Moonlit Treasure Hunt

Driving all the way, Shi Hen and Raven finally stopped at the foot of a mountain.

"We can't drive any further, so we'll have to walk up ourselves."

Getting out of the car with a black leather bag, Raven pointed the high-powered flashlight towards a winding path beside the road.

"What's up there?"

Carrying a leather bag just like a legendary mercenary, Shi Hen also took out a flashlight.

He didn't know where Raven had driven the car to. It was so far between streetlights here, and the path was pitch black, with even the moonlight unable to penetrate it.

Although Shi Hen could see in the dark himself, since Raven, the boss of the organization, was holding a light, he naturally had to restrain himself.

"You'll know when you get there."

Raven just smiled mysteriously.

Following the path upwards, the two of them were not slow.

After all, with Honkai Energy in their bodies, Raven and Shi Hen's physical fitness was far beyond that of ordinary people. The winding, dimly lit forest path was no different from a flat avenue to them.

Before long, the two arrived at the end of the road.

Turning a corner, a grand and magnificent building appeared before them.

Much like the castles often seen in knightly tales, the entire structure was made of brick and stone. It encircled the mountainside with a thick, high wall, featuring protrusions and indentations that served as firing ports. Tall towers stood at the corners.

Within the walls, the main building was in a Gothic style, appearing both grand and imposing.

Without a doubt, it was a castle!

But unlike the solemn and majestic castles in stories, this one was uninhabited and unlit, clearly abandoned for many years, with even several breaches in its walls.

Under the moonlight, the castle looked like a dilapidated corpse, lonely waiting for visitors to pay their respects.

"This is the castle passed down through generations of the Raymond family," Raven introduced.

"Are there really Raymond treasures inside?"

Shi Hen frowned, expressing his strong doubts.

A thousand years was a very long time; even dynasties could change hands several times.

To expect many treasures to remain in this castle was like believing Qin Shi Huang could climb out of his tomb and become a great general with just fifty yuan.

"According to our investigation, this place emits abnormal Honkai Energy fluctuations every full moon." Raven pulled out a palm-sized device and pointed to the circular ripples on the screen. "There's definitely something hidden here, it's just that ordinary people can't see it."

Seeing Raven's serious demeanor, Shi Hen could only nod and accept the explanation.

While this explanation didn't sound very scientific, it was actually quite consistent with scientific principles.

Simple optical camouflage could create an effect of invisibility, let alone the fact that the Previous Era possessed black technology that could interfere with space.

If the Raymonds of a thousand years ago possessed a Relic, then anything that defied common sense was possible for them.

Combined with Honkai Energy and Previous Era technology, it was equivalent to having gods on earth in ancient times when civilization was not yet developed. Their methods and power were beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

In fact, if one were to investigate carefully, many of the myths and legends of this era were related to Previous Era Relics.

Passing through the collapsed city gate and entering the castle, an even more desolate scene unfolded before them.

Overgrown weeds occupied every patch of land where they could grow. Bricks and rotten wood were piled up haphazardly, and here and there, one could see several skeletons that had long since turned to bone.

"It's said that this place was still in use until World War II," Raven said with a hint of surprise as she surveyed the desolation.

"Destroying ancient buildings, it's a shame we can't fine those people now."

Shi Hen's gaze swept over the area, and he did indeed notice some traces that appeared to be left by explosives, but due to the great age, he couldn't be sure.

"This castle was rebuilt over a hundred years ago; not a single brick is original." Raven pouted, her boots crunching on the grass and debris.

"Even so, the Raymond treasures still haven't been found?"

Shi Hen couldn't help but admire their mastery of the "dogging" technique.

He imagined that this knight would have a lot in common with a certain doctor who had been secluded in Thousand Worlds for fifty thousand years.

"Yeah," Raven also couldn't help but sigh. "There is information suggesting that the Relic controlled by the Raymonds might be related to space."

Space had always been the most troublesome ability.

Things tend to get very troublesome once these are involved.

"Didn't Schicksal notice?"

Shi Hen couldn't help but ask.

That Bishop had always been very interested in spatial abilities.

Besides, Sicily wasn't really far from Schicksal's headquarters.

"World Serpent and Schicksal's technology aren't exactly the same." Raven tilted the palm-sized device in her hand, a hint of pride on her face. "This is the organization's latest Honkai Energy detector."

If it weren't for the breakthrough in this area of technology, World Serpent probably wouldn't have noticed what Raymond had hidden.

"I see."

Shi Hen understood.

Although the three major powers were often mentioned together, each organization's technological focus was vastly different.

For example, in terms of biotechnology, Schicksal's artificial Stigmata aimed to universally improve Valkyries' Honkai Energy adaptability, while World Serpent directly abandoned human identity and dedicated themselves to turning humans into Honkai Beasts.

Therefore, it was quite normal for World Serpent's technological level in certain aspects to surpass Schicksal's.

"But..." Shi Hen retracted his overly scattered thoughts, stepping through the collapsed gate into the castle hall, a hint of hesitation in his expression. "Where do we even start looking?"

Even in its ruined state, the castle was still too vast for them.

Standing at the entrance of the castle hall, the two of them were like children who had wandered into a giant's home.

Facing such a massive castle, even a large archaeological team would need a considerable amount of time to explore it completely, let alone the two of them.

"There's no need to search every nook and cranny. We can use some modern methods." As she spoke, Raven pulled out a disc-shaped object from her backpack. "Install these in various locations throughout the castle. The positions and usage instructions have already been sent to your terminal."

A thousand years had passed. Even if this had once been a noble castle, explorers with various motives would have scoured every corner of it.

Trying to find Raymond's treasure through normal means would undoubtedly be a fool's errand.