From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

Chapter 439 Number 35: Box of Illusion

Darren smiled and followed Marshal Horatio, leaving the Lorne Royal Palace built of white marble and arrived outside the palace, where they boarded the carriage belonging to Horatio's family.

Although automobiles were quite common in the Lorne Empire, as far as the nobles were concerned, only carriages could symbolize their status.

Once seated in the carriage, he quickly said, "When we met His Majesty just now, thanks to Marshal Horatio's persuasion, His Majesty so readily expressed his support for us, the Cyart people."

Marshal Horatio nodded gently and said calmly, "I wasn't speaking for you."

"You should be quite aware of this matter. I was merely speaking on what I believe to be the right course for the empire at this moment; your interests and those of the Cyart people are not within my consideration."

He was indeed a very practical person, without a shred of pretense, Darren thought. What had just been said would normally not be voiced according to social etiquette, but Horatio had said it very directly.

"But the fact that you helped the Cyart is undeniable, and I will feel grateful to you in my heart no matter what."

He nodded, and quickly realized just how unusual the carriage of Marshal Horatio's family was.

Since raising magic beasts directly contravenes the rules of the True Gods Church, the noble families on the Ouden Continent, though wanting to use magic beasts to draw their carriages, could not do so; thus, they all had horses that possessed magic beast bloodlines.

The horses used by Marshal Horatio's family for pulling the carriage were of a kind with dragon blood, the Dragon Blood Unicorn Steeds. They were almost entirely black, with patterns of lightning, and only their single horns and manes were snow-white. They looked very handsome and large, nearly twice the size of regular horses, and their horns could emit flashes of lightning.

The most remarkable aspect was that even though they were merely beasts of burden pulling a carriage, they still possessed great strength.

This carriage had no coachman; the steeds had intelligence almost equivalent to humans and clearly knew what to do.

Thus, the carriage began to move slowly.

"These two Dragon Blood Unicorn Steeds pulling the carriage even have Transmutation Level strength... Marshal Horatio, your family is too powerful," he said.

Darren knew very well that when facing anyone, it was always beneficial to sincerely compliment them a lot from the heart.

Of course, after complimenting them, he held back from saying the last thought on his mind, which was "Brother, I really want to taste what a Dragon Blood Unicorn Steed is like."

"No matter how, even the most magnificent and noble steeds can only fulfill the role of horses," Marshal Horatio said, looking straight ahead, his voice low yet majestic.

Darren nodded again, recalling the various intelligence provided by the Black Tide network.

In the past century, there still existed three top family clans in the Lorne Empire, respectively the family of the Emperor of Lorne, Marshal Horatio, and Prime Minister William.

The most noble was undoubtedly the Freyr Royal Family under the "protection of the Gods," which had very powerful Bloodline powers and was basically intermarried with half of the top noble families on the Ouden Continent.

Prime Minister William and Bishop Karania both came from the "Sun Bird" Pitt family, another family with Sun God Blood, while the Pope of the Sun Church was also from the same lineage.

Marshal Horatio's Wesley family, on the other hand, claimed themselves as "Swordbearers," also a fearsome family with Divine Blood, but theirs was that of the "World Order Emperor" among the Six Gods.

Eventually, their carriage left the city and arrived at the countryside estate belonging to Marshal Horatio's "Swordbearer" family.

Somewhat to Darren's surprise, the scale of that estate was about as large as the Fischer family manor. Although that was no small size, within the upper echelons of the Lorne Empire, it could only barely be considered average.

He quickly recalled the words Marshal Horatio had just said; if he asked why the estate wasn't expanded to be bigger, the response would surely be "an estate only needs to provide a function for lodging"...

Darren recollected again the description of Horatio's character in the intelligence.

According to the extensive investigations by the Black Tide, for that majestic Iron Blood Marshal, practicality was the highest priority, and all other complex formalities and embellishments were meaningless.

It seemed he did not have any particular likes, but rather many things he indeed despised, and he had dedicated his life to contending against those detested matters.

Without this intelligence from Black Tide, Darren might also have made mistakes in communication and persuasion.

The estate they entered was situated in a vast meadow surrounded by lush forests, with gentle rolling hills in the distance and a crystal-clear stream flowing at the foot of the hills.

The outer walls of the manor were covered with patches left by the passage of time, the roof was filled with dark tiles, and under the afterglow of the setting sun, it shimmered a warm golden color. A bronze lion's head was hung on the main gate, imposing yet solemn.

Around the manor were scattered several quaint farmhouses and barns, the barns full of harvested grain and agricultural products.

As Darren walked into the estate, the first thing that caught his eye was a meticulously maintained garden, with flowers of various colors orderly scattered across the flowerbeds; bees buzzed among the flowers, and butterflies danced, the air filled with a faint fragrance of flowers.

Not long after, the two arrived inside a room in the manor that, on the surface, seemed quite normal—a storage room that appeared immaculate, with everything in its proper place. This room was completely constructed of alchemy materials, designed to block external Perception Abilities...

But that was only in theory. Read latest chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

In reality, Karl had sensed from afar that this seemingly ordinary room was not only fortified with powerful Arrays to withstand various attacks but also had barriers that could undo invisibility and function as automatic alarm systems...

Most importantly, it held a significant number of Forbidden Rare Artifacts!

He felt immense pain.

"To think there are actually twenty-five Forbidden Rare Artifacts..."

"I never imagined I would still endure such immense pain and despair..."

After his consciousness arrived here with Darren's body, it was like a starving ghost entering the finest restaurant in the world, seeing countless delicious dishes yet unable to move.

Karl practically wanted to die, so rarely had he experienced such agony in decades!

"This Forbidden Rare Artifact is aid from the Empire, and also a part of the 'compensation,'" Marshal Horatio said.

Having spoken, the Iron Blood Marshal expressionlessly took a glaze-colored square box from an ordinary old cabinet in the room, and handed it to Darren who kept observing his surroundings.

"Huh?"

Darren immediately realized something was terribly off just from handling it; the square glaze-colored box was extremely heavy, so much that even in his human form, he needed to exert all his strength to lift it.

If it were an ordinary person, they wouldn't be able to budge it in the slightest.

Marshal Horatio continued, without shifting his gaze:

"Forbidden Rare Artifact Number 35, a rather important one, is named 'Box of Illusion.' Its method of use is simple—once opened, it emits a light that can cause all things to vanish into illusion."

"Essentially, anything exposed to it, whether living beings or objects, will collapse and be destroyed instantly, and it can even threaten beings at the Heavenly Enlightenment Level."

"In theory, if exposed for a sufficient duration, it can even completely kill Heavenly Enlightenment, I can assure you of that," Marshal Horatio said calmly.

Darren's heart was both shocked and thrilled—it was a Forbidden Rare Artifact powerful enough to cause damage to Heavenly Enlightenment beings...

Then, Horatio's words took a turn.

"However, its cost is simply enormous. The lower the number of the Forbidden Rare Artifact, the greater the cost; the person using this box must be an Extraordinary Exponent at the Monarch Level, and upon use... will vanish instantly, turning to nothing alongside the illusion..."

That was it, Darren quickly realized why Marshal Horatio had specifically given him this Forbidden Rare Artifact, rather than any other two-digit Forbidden Rare Artifacts.

And it was not a loan, it was a direct gift!

Because the cost was too great!

It also had to be a Monarch Level to use, not just any expendable soldier opening the box, likely making it rather underwhelming for the Lorne Empire.

But...

"The Fischer family and the Cyart people are deeply grateful for the Lorne Empire's assistance!"

Darren, with a broad smile, genuinely and enthusiastically expressed his gratitude, unable to conceal his excitement.

Marshal Horatio was somewhat puzzled, staring at Darren Fischer in wonder.

In his memory, the number of Monarch powerful experts among the Cyart was not many; even if there were many, it wasn't possible to casually order any to die. Although this item had strategic value, its cost-performance ratio was very low among two-digit Forbidden Rare Artifacts, yet he was so excited?

In reality, someone was even more excited.

That was Karl, insatiably craving!