Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 75 The Reward Collected

The diviner with brown short hair also spotted the two figures in the shadows, hesitated for a moment, but did not step into the bush. Miss Luisa's dress was relatively simple, but Miss Annette's long gown could not risk being scratched by the bushes:

"Here's your champagne."

She said with a smile to Miss Luisa, then looked at Shard as if she was observing a rare animal:

Your adventure continues at empire

"Hamilton Detective? Good evening. Dr. Schneider mentioned you in his letter. So, the doctor actually found a new Gifted One? Did he really use some precious Relic to overdraw his own luck?"

The opinions about Dr. Schneider were really surprisingly unanimous.

After exchanging greetings, Shard briefly went over the events of the evening again. Miss Annette, the diviner, did not show the same surprise as Miss Luisa:

"In that case, I actually have something to say."

She seemed a bit too calm.

"What else is there?"

Miss Luisa asked hesitantly.

"Actually, I shouldn't be telling you this. It's information from the Prophet's Society, and by the rules, I shouldn't disclose it to others. But since we're all here, I can't let you walk into danger unknowingly... Do you not want to know the reason why Lady Lassoya is attending the banquet, as the detective mentioned?

Is she really here just to accompany her lover, influenced heavily by that Relic Ring?"

Miss Annette's index finger gently tapped the glass she held pinched between her thumb and slender middle finger.

"What's the reason?"

Shard already had a bad feeling. With such strange luck around, it would be disappointing if nothing significant occurred on this surreal night.

"They want to combine a Sage Level (Level 2) Relic, 'God's Gift Box,' with an Angel-Level (Level 1) Relic, 'Blood of Mercury,' which requires even stronger materials for support. Lady Lassoya's presence at the banquet is for one of these materials. The 'Blood of Mercury' plan is to summon the Evil God, 'Lord of the Blood Feast,' within the Lakeside Manor's mansion.

They need the power bestowed by the Evil God."

"Lord of the Blood Feast?"

Miss Luisa said in surprise.

"Evil God? His arrival?"

But this does not mean rituals are useless, although they require advanced preparation, usually involve immense consumption of materials, and need to meet stringent conditions, the effects of large-scale rituals are usually irreplaceable.

Just like summoning an Evil God, something that no Arcane Technique or Sorcery can achieve alone, it requires a ritual. And since it is a large-scale ritual, it absolutely won't be confined to a single table or room.

If the information from the Prophet's Society is correct, and the "Blood of Mercury" is indeed so dangerous, then the scale of the ritual to summon the Evil God could easily cover a small area of the garden from the vast Lakeside Manor.

"Maybe I could try disrupting the ritual's setup in the garden."

Shard found a focal point and was pleased that he might play a role and do so without risking danger. He had already met a relatively friendly Deity of Bygone Days in the past space-time and didn't want to encounter an Evil God in the current one.

Upon returning under the grape arbor, the young poet who had been there earlier was gone. Now, there was only a middle-aged man dressed in fashionable burgundy attire sitting at the stone table, flipping through a small book with one hand.

Shard approached, intending to find some excuse to make the middle-aged man leave, facilitating his search for a way to disrupt the ritual. Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man set down his book, turned towards him with a smile, and spoke first:

"I've been waiting for you for a long time."

This was not Tobesk's accent; this man wasn't local.

"Waiting for me? I'm sorry, sir, but do we know each other?"

Shard said in surprise. He was still some distance from the stone table under the grape arbor but had already stopped:

"A Circle Sorcerer?"

He asked inwardly, and the woman's voice inside him responded:

[Yes, quite a high level.]

His heart seemed to skip a beat, but anxiety did not show on Shard's face:

"I think you've mistaken me for someone else."

As he said this, wanting to turn and leave, the man called out to him, still smiling, but Shard felt a chilling danger, as if facing a primed shotgun.

The man's malice was no longer hidden:

"No, I haven't mistaken you. It's you I'm looking for. Although I don't know your name, don't know your identity, don't know your profession, don't know your address, I am indeed looking for you..."

He rolled up his left sleeve to reveal his arm, black as if charred:

"Has your luck run out? The gift of fate, now it's time to repay!"