Translator: Legge
Melgor did not have as good a memory as Wang Yun. If Ren Xiaosu had not mentioned the Central Plains rider, he would probably not have remembered the detail was mentioned in the biography that he read.
But with Ren Xiaosu’s reminder, he realized now that the Eye of True Sight he had sensed was probably the one the Central Plains rider had taken away.
With that, everything made sense!
However, Ren Xiaosu was a little puzzled. It was obvious Melgor regarded his black Eye of True Sight to be the one that Ren He had taken away.
But the Eye of True Sight in his possession was actually granted to him by his mind palace.
What was going on? Ren Xiaosu was deeply puzzled.
Before this, Ren Xiaosu had never thought about the origins of the black saber and black sniper rifle when they first appeared. Therefore, when the Eye of True Sight appeared, Ren Xiaosu took it for granted that it was of the same origins as those two weapons, that they were just materialized items like the steam locomotive.
But now that Melgor suddenly mentioned the Central Plains Rider had taken away one Eye of True Sight, an unusual problem dawned on Ren Xiaosu. The palace had only rewarded him with one Eye of True Sight.
There were two black sabers, which he and “Old Xu” each wielded.
There were two black sniper rifles, which he and Xiaojin each carried.
But the only exception was this black Eye of True Sight. There was no second stone materialized by the palace.
It was clearly a weapon he had unlocked, so why was the Eye of True Sight the only item that was special? This meant the Eye of True Sight the palace had given him had different origins from the black saber and black sniper rifle!
As Ren Xiaosu sat on his horse which slowly trotted along, he suddenly asked the palace in his mind, “How is this Eye of True Sight different from the black saber?”
The palace did not answer. Ren Xiaosu asked again, “Can you tell me the origins of the Eye of True Sight?”
“Unauthorized to answer.”
Ren Xiaosu took a deep breath and then asked, “What is my relationship with that Rider, Ren He?” However, the palace did not directly answer his question. Instead, it suddenly issued a quest. “A new side quest has been unlocked. Search for clues related to Ren He within the Magi’s territory. 1 of 4.”
Ren Xiaosu was stunned. The palace had not issued any quests in a long time.
In fact, ever since he became stronger, the frequency of the palace assigning him quests had lessened. Back to the topic of the quest itself, based on the fact the palace had issued him this quest, it meant he had already found a relevant clue: the relationship between Ren He and the Magi, as well as the fact that Ren He had taken away an Eye of True Sight.
In that case, he still needed to gather the three remaining clues.
“What’s the quest reward?” Ren Xiaosu asked calmly.
“Unauthorized to answer.”
“Alright then.” At this moment, Ren Xiaosu was sure he was indeed related to that Rider, Ren He. Otherwise, why would the palace suddenly assign him said quest?
But Ren He was already a legendary figure before The Cataclysm, so what could his relationship with him be? Ren Xiaosu had a guess in mind, but he found it a little hard to believe.
Next to him, Melgor immediately asked, “What’s the matter? Are you feeling unwell?”
“It’s nothing.” Ren Xiaosu shook his head. “By the way, is that biography of that archmage in your Sorcerer’s Tower?” “Yes.” Melgor nodded. “Why? You want to read it? I’ll look for it for you tomorrow.”
“Do it today.” Ren Xiaosu said, “I really want to read it.”
“Are you in such a hurry?” Melgor wondered.
“Yes. Since that person is from the Central Plains and you also mentioned that you sensed the black Eye of True Sight there, I might be able to find some clues from the book and locate the stone.”
Melgor got excited when he heard that. “Really?”
“Yeah, really.” Ren Xiaosu did not even bat an eyelid when he lied to this inexperienced young sorcerer. “If I can really find some clues in there, I can even return to the Central Plains to search for this Eye of True Sight for you. Then, when I bring it to you, who knows? You might really be able to win back your love’s heart.” Melgor got extremely excited. “Thank you, thank you so much!”
“Gratitude received from Melgor, +2!”
Ren Xiaosu smacked his lips. He felt that Melgor’s gratitude tokens were way too easy to earn. It even made him feel a little bad!
Melgor suddenly sighed and said, “But if you can find it, use it for yourself. After all, you don’t have an Eye of True Sight yet. Although I also want to have that black Eye of True Sight, you would be the one who found it.”
Ren Xiaosu was floored. Was Melgor deliberately saying those words in an attempt to move him? Their band rushed to York County. They traveled from morning until night as green vegetation slowly started appearing on the sides of the road. Then the farmlands of York County came into view, as well as the sights of the county residents farming
Not far away, the tall cornfields were already filled with stalks of ears. They were exceptionally eye-catching.
When the residents of the county saw the knights, they hurried to the roadside and placed their right hands over their chests before bowing.
A person looked at Melgor and asked, “Pardon me, are you Lord Melgor?”
Melgor nodded. “Yes.” “My esteemed Lord Melgor,” the resident in his forties said with a bitter expression, “we weren’t expecting you to suddenly return. We’re supposed to submit our taxes to your Sorcerer’s Tower… but we haven’t collected them fully
yet.”
Melgor was taken aback. “Why is that?” “Last year’s harvest wasn’t good, so the crops we were preparing to pay as tax to you were used to tide us through the famine this year.” The resident explained, “Please give us half a year’s grace. The crops are growing well this year, so we can definitely make up for all our taxes by autumn. We heard that in the neighboring county, some people got executed by the sorcerer lord there because they couldn’t pay their taxes. But with your good reputation in York County, we were hoping to plead with you for more time.” Melgor sighed and waved him off. “Alright, I’ll consider it.”
Upon hearing this, the residents of York County who were standing on the edge of the farmland knelt down together. “Thank you, Lord Melgor.”
One of them even walked forward while bowing, trying to go in front of Melgor’s horse and kiss Melgor’s boot.
Melgor quickly said, “You don’t have to do that. Get up.”
Off to the side, Ren Xiaosu pondered this. So it turned out the Kingdom of Sorcerers was also like Fortress 178. They had also suffered a famine caused by the harsh climate.
However, it sounded a little brutal that the sorcerer in the neighboring county just executed his residents for not paying their taxes.
Ren Xiaosu said, “These residents aren’t lying to you. They’re all skin and bones, which means they don’t even have much fat left in their bodies to burn. This is caused by long-term hunger.” Honestly, when Ren Xiaosu looked at these black-haired and yellow-skinned residents of York County, he felt like he was looking at the Zhou Consortium’s refugees. He nearly had the impulse to bring all of them back to the Prosperous Northwest.
After all, he had been planning to bring a lot more Central Plains refugees to the Prosperous Northwest, but he got stopped by the Wang Consortium’s troops. Right now, he felt quite sure of where to go to make up for the remaining population shortfall.
The Prosperous Northwest 3..o plan was taking shape and becoming even more substantial now!
