"What... what are you saying?"
Silvis exclaimed in disbelief, and before Ed could respond, he had already appeared in front of the stone door.
He strode in, and Ed went to greet him, showing Silvis the entire underground space like a tour guide.
"See, I didn't lie to you, did I?"
This space, located on the second basement level, covers an area of several hundred square meters and is divided by several thick stone pillars. Above the center is a Shattered passage that leads directly to the first basement level and the ground.
That should be direct evidence of what Silvis meant when he said " Antos was shot down," and it's also the landing spot where those curious players landed after jumping down.
Whether it was a natural disaster or the aftermath of a battle, the entrance that originally led directly from the ground to this place has now been blocked by large chunks of rubble.
Within this space, one can see Psionic Energy Circuit that once appeared in the sealed lands of many earls and marquises, only in numbers dozens of times greater.
Those circuits had either already extinguished themselves or showed obvious signs of damage, and were clearly no longer usable.
At the very bottom of that hole, instead of the stone coffins enjoyed by counts and marquises, there was a large pit half a person deep, the bottom of which was the starting point of those Psionic Energy Circuit that radiated outward like rays.
The players searched through the ruins of the underground space and did find some fragments of armor and weapons, but they found no severed limbs or even skeletons.
Willow Ignite a Psionic Energy flame and approached the wall, trying to learn the construction logic of this magic circle from the remaining sealing incantations.
Silvis looked at everything before him: Ed, Willow, the Soul Returner...
The figures of people gradually disappeared from his sight, replaced by the illusions of the past that he imagined.
Indeed, based on memory, records, and even on-site investigation, this is absolutely the place where the Grand Duke of Antos was sealed.
But... but where did the sealed Grand Duke go?
Where have my companions gone?
Silvis slowed his pace, greedily absorbing all the information in the basement.
He could identify which comrade left the sword marks several inches deep on the wall during battle, and he could also determine his lord's tactics by how the seal was destroyed.
Everything that happened here six months ago seems to be replaying itself in front of him now.
At that time, he blocked all the Blood Corpse summoned by Antos outside the stone gate, while the rest of the expedition team fought a bloody battle with a High Tier.
The old knight stared blankly into the dark underground space, and the string of reason in his mind suddenly snapped.
"I... I don't know..."
He removed his helmet, revealing his face, and looked at Ed with a look full of apology:
"I didn't know it was like this here... I don't know where Antos went..."
Ed looked up at the old knight, who was a head taller than him, but noticed that the knight's armored body had hunched over again.
Looking into his sincere eyes, Ed felt that Silvis ' words did not seem to be false.
He thought for a moment and said:
"This isn't your fault, and we also want to know what happened here, so let's split up and look for clues."
Silvis gave a low reply, then walked toward the sword wound closest to him.
He reached out and ran his hand over the rough mark, mimicking the knight's stance with his own sword...
Ed glanced at the old knight and quietly sent a message to Willow:
Did you hear what he just said?
"I heard you. It's a pity we didn't find Antos."
What do you think is the truth of the matter?
"I can't come up with a suitable logic right now either. I'll ask him later."
Willow glanced back and saw Silvis mimicking the leaping slash her companion had launched in the center of the basement.
Meanwhile, the Soul Returner had also completed their search of the basement.
Aside from a few fragments of armor, bloodstains, and some tattered collections of former nobles from the Demonic Tide, they found nothing of significance.
The players felt much the same way Ed and Willow did; they had all thought they would finally meet a Grand Duke here, only to find it was just an empty tomb that didn't even qualify as a cenotaph.
Unlike Ed and Willow, whose shock and confusion were genuine, the Soul Returner quickly convinced themselves after a brief moment of astonishment.
This is a puzzle-solving quest! The developers of the World of Disorder must have their own reasons for arranging it this way!
Yes, that must be it!
Ed: Yes, right?
Realizing that this place couldn't completely satisfy the players, Ed immediately issued a new temporary mission to investigate the castle.
This is a form of well-intentioned guidance; since the task has encountered problems, we must find a way to attract the players' attention.
Ed naturally knew that what the players called "investigation" was equivalent to "plundering."
However, this mission did deviate significantly from the initial plan; the absence of the main storyline is clearly not something that can be explained by hidden side quests.
Besides, everyone has traveled so far and worked so hard, what's wrong with taking a break?
After confirming that there were no suspicious items on the second basement level, the players who had received the new mission immediately poured out of the underground space like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
The three groups divided up the right to loot the first basement level, the first floor, and the second floor, instantly filling the entire castle with a vitality called greed.
The second basement level fell silent, leaving only Ed, Willow, and the old knight.
" Silvis."
Ed called out softly, pulling the old knight out of his imitation of swordsmanship:
"We all crave the truth, so I want to ask you some questions, and I hope you won't lie."
"If you want to hide something, please just tell me directly that it's something that can't be said."
The old knight looked ashamed upon hearing this.
"Ask away, young people of the Tree Worship Church. I have failed you in this matter..."
"I want to know, of the information you mentioned before, which parts were based on your own observations, and which parts were based on your deductions?"
Silvis thought for a moment and said:
"My expedition team and I arrived at this stone gate. Antos seemed to sense some kind of threat and emitted a strange Psionic Energy fluctuation, causing a large number of Blood Corpse of the same lineage to quickly gather around."
"Did you see this with your own eyes?"
"Yes, then the lord opened the stone door and led the other team members into the tomb, leaving me outside to hold off the monsters and buy them more time to kill Antos."
"You saw this with your own eyes?"
"Yes, then I kept killing enemies outside until all the enemies outside were wiped out, and then there was no more sound from inside."
"You didn't open the stone door?"
"That's right, that was our agreement before we split up."
"Okay, let me sort it out..."