NOVEL NEXT Chapter 51 - Beginning the Ritual
Chapter 51: Beginning the Ritual
Translator: CKtalon
Graveyard, Holy Sepulchre Temple.
Cass and Nizemar followed the ancient granite steps that circled deep into the underground Holy Sepulchre.
“This place has always been sealed off. It will only be opened at the appointment ceremony when the Duke of Thorn takes office. The new Duke of Thorn will go deep into the Holy Sepulchre to pay respects to the ancestors and obtain their protection,” Cass said as he walked.
He walked ahead. The Magic Crystal Lamp hanging at his waist illuminated the steps forward.
“In other words, only the Duke of Thorn has the authority to open this place, right?”
Nizemar—who was following behind Cass with a repeating crossbow in her hand—asked, “I’m not sure, but considering that the Rose Palace is basically in charge of Thorn City’s sacrificial activities, the key to opening the Holy Sepulchre is probably personally controlled by the duke… In that case…”
As Cass spoke, he fell into thought.
Was the terrifying number of undead in the graveyard outside the temple really Duke Simon’s doing? Was he like the crazy King of Blackwater a thousand years ago, hoping to control an undying army?
This was simply madness.
With this in mind, Cass asked in puzzlement, “Didn’t you say that the duke planned on summoning the Void Sovereigns? Why has it become the Rotten Moon Tide now?”
Regarding this, Nizemar seemed puzzled and said,
“I don’t know. An Eighth Order informant in the Rose Palace told me that the duke might try to communicate with the Moon Realm’s Void Sovereigns soon. That’s why I came to the Holy Sepulchre in a hurry. I hope that by pulling out Judgment 4, it can be our trump card, but I never expected to encounter such a situation here…”
Faced with Nizemar’s doubts, Cass thought for a moment and said, “Could it be that the informant you arranged in the Rose Palace was discovered or has betrayed you? That’s why the duke deliberately tricked us into this graveyard…”
Before Cass could finish speaking, he felt the stupidity of his logic.
First of all, it had been a while since the Rose Palace’s informant had given Nizemar the information. The duke could not conjure such a coincidence to have them surrounded by the Rotten Moon Tide the moment they arrived at the graveyard.
Secondly, and most importantly, if the duke had grasped the power of the Rotten Moon Tide, there was no need for him to come up with such a scheme of luring them to the graveyard to kill them unless he was some classic tragedy enthusiast and wanted some drama.
And if he failed to grasp the power of the Rotten Moon Tide, everyone would die together, so there was no need for him to do so.
“In other words…” Cass muttered.
“In other words, we might have really barged in by mistake. The duke might not even have noticed our existence!”
Cass’s tone even revealed a hint of excitement. He turned to look at Nizemar and said,
“Since it’s all by chance, there’s still hope. We still have a chance to stop this disaster here.”
Fate’s perfect arrangement led them to the ritual venue. They would have missed this opportunity to stop Duke Simon’s crazy ritual if they had been early or late by a day.
Regarding this, Nizemar only nodded slowly with a tense expression. “Then, let’s go.”
…
After descending countless granite steps, the group finally arrived at the deepest depths of the Holy Sepulchre—the Tomb of Gods.
In the ancient legends of the Blackwater Kingdom, this was the place closest to the Netherworld. Legend had it that Death—Vera—who had a snake as a totem, had been reborn here.
However, without the halo of myths and legends, this tomb was only an underground tomb built over a natural karst cave.
The entire hall was gorgeously decorated and solemn. The first thing Cass saw when he walked in was 40 to 50 sarcophaguses of varying sizes and styles. Every sarcophagus buried a member of the ancient Blackwater Kingdom’s royal family.
In the center of the hall was a huge sarcophagus surrounded by seven concentric circles. There were two things in front of the sarcophagus, which didn’t match the style of the entire tomb.
An ancient black stone plaque and a pitch-black and heavy knight’s sword.
The moment Nizemar saw the knight’s sword, she immediately patted Cass’s shoulder and whispered to him, “Look, right there. That sword is Judgment 4.”
“That’s Judgment 4?”
From Cass’s point of view, the weapon named Judgment 4 looked like an ordinary knight’s sword no matter how he looked at it. It didn’t have any gorgeous decorations or the powerful strength emitted by an enchanted weapon. It was nothing like the divine weapon she had described.
“Are you sure that’s the one?” Cass asked suspiciously.
Nizemar nodded and replied, “Yes, I’m very sure it’s that.”
Alright, perhaps all true divine weapons look like this.
Cass thought before asking, “Then, the next question is, how can we approach it to obtain the sword?”
At this moment, near Judgment 4 in the middle of the tomb, a huge fat monster with festering, swollen, and twisted horns sat there with its eyes closed. It held a rusty dagger.
Above its head, countless floating spirits held an old man in a mage robe in midair. Surging magic power was stripped from his body before accumulating into a black ball that floated beside him and trembled slightly.
“Simon, you son of a b*tch, how dare you lie to me?! You aren’t using the Eternal Gift to strengthen your mind at all. You planned on using it to awaken the undead in the graveyard. You plan on recreating the Rotten Moon Tide!”
The thin old man roared hysterically at the middle-aged man standing on the central sarcophagus in gorgeous and complicated clothes.
The person being shouted at was none other than Duke Simon.
Duke Simon only nodded calmly and said, “Yes, and you’re the firewood that shall activate the rituals. Do you feel honored?”
With that said, Duke Simon made a grasping motion at the elder floating in the sky.
In an instant, the black ball floating beside him exploded with a bang, turning into a pitch-black blast that quickly spread out.
So that’s how it is…Cass thought.
So this was how the black blast that awakened the undead came about…
After the black ball exploded, the elder instantly shrunk, and blood constantly flowed out of the holes in his head.
His head dropped and he stopped struggling.
It was also at this moment that the big monster—who had been sitting at the side with its eyes closed—suddenly said, “Contractor, all the elements are in place. You may begin the ritual.”