When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1004 The answer lies in the riddle itself.

Before Cynthia's laughter could stop, Horn asked in a deep voice, "You knew perfectly well that Shilov had a heart condition, yet you still let her come?"

“Oh, no.” Cynthia sat up, yawning. “I only confirmed her identity because she didn’t come.”

"What is her identity?"

“I can’t tell you that,” Cynthia let out a sharp laugh. “You’re not qualified to let me bet on you until the very end.”

Looking at Cynthia's arrogant laughter, Horn didn't delve into the matter: "You brought Sylph here to find out something. Now that you know, shouldn't you give me back what you promised?"

"Ha." Cynthia lazily lay back down on the ground. "Sylvie isn't here, so what can I give you? Go back and I'll ask you again next time I need your help."

"You want to cheat?"

"How?"

"Ms. Cynthia has been in this giant pit for a long time, hasn't she? She hasn't seen the sunlight in ages, has she?" Horn chuckled. "Would you like to see the sunshine outside?"

"You dare threaten me?" Cynthia's scaly eyes narrowed into slits.

Horn remained silent, but reached into his robes and revealed a dragon scale to Cynthia: "We accidentally unearthed a pyramid in the Eastern County, and there was a head inside. I wonder if it's someone you know, uh, a dragon you know?"

"Ottila, is what he said true?" Cynthia's eyes narrowed slightly, but her pupils suddenly contracted.

"Grandma, I saw the dragon head; it's placed on the top of the city wall along the long embankment..."

"How dare you disturb the graves of my kin?" Before Otatira could finish speaking, the red dragon's massive head charged towards Horn.

Ottila cried out in surprise and immediately stepped in front of Horn.

Cynthia wasn't really going to attack Horn. She stopped two or three meters away from the terrace and said, "Give me that dragon head."

“No, that is the property of the believers of the Holy Alliance. I plan to exhibit it in all twenty-four counties along with the griffins and zebras.”

A touring exhibition across 24 counties? Along with griffins and zebras?
"Otatira, are you just going to stand by and watch them bully this old woman?"

Ottila stood there helplessly, looking at Horn and then at the old red dragon, completely conflicted.

“Ottila, say something!” Cynthia screamed.

Otatira looked at Horn, who seemed to be smiling but not smiling, her mind racing. After a long while, she closed her eyes and said, "Grandma Cynthia, as the Speaker of the Black Serpent Bay Federation, I'm sorry, I don't have that authority."

Cynthia was stunned, her huge dragon eyes fixed on Ottila, seemingly completely unable to believe that she would say such a thing.

"Hooray!"

Her entire dragon body trembled, and then she let out a dragon roar, the sharpness of her voice piercing the eardrums.

"Fine, fine, so this is how you treat me? My blood has been shed for you in vain! You ungrateful wretch!"

The swirling, damp wind echoed against the walls, and Cynthia's questioning voice reverberated in the giant pit, as if a hundred or so people were speaking.

Since Cynthia had always spoken with the accent of a crazy old woman, Horn assumed she was just an old woman in a red dragon skin.

But now, as the dragon's roar echoed and its massive tail kicked up clouds of dust, he felt the dragon's power for the first time.

All the attendants present turned pale, and the timid Edwin trembled with fear, almost running away first.

Electricity began to crackle in Jeanne's knuckles, and the shadows under the torches began to sway.

"Grandma Cynthia!" Seeing the tension escalating, Ottila made up her mind. "If you want to deal with Your Majesty, kill me first!"

"You—" Cynthia was both shocked and furious, "Whose side are you on?"

“I respect you because you taught us magic, gave us the breath of the red dragon, and taught us how to resist the church.”

I am absolutely on your side, which is why I cannot allow you to harm Saint Sun.

If you harm the Holy Grandson here today, the entire Black Snake Bay will starve to death tomorrow.

Regardless of whether Saint Sun is killed or wounded, the Holy Alliance will definitely head south. Do you think the Secret Party and the people of Black Snake Bay will stand on your side?
I'm afraid that before the Holy Alliance arrives, they will lead the attack on Celestial Maiden City and offer your head in exchange for forgiveness.

I truly didn't want things to come to that, which is why I'm standing in your way.

Cynthia's dragon roar stopped, and she looked at Ottila with surprise and uncertainty, then at Horn.

"Impossible. When did the people of Black Snake Bay ever bow down to the church?"

“Grandma, the people of Black Snake Bay are living better now, and no one wants to go back to the hard times they used to live.” Otatira stepped forward. “Nine out of ten of the local farmlands in Black Snake Bay have been converted into spice fields.”

The Secret Society broke with the local beastman tribes and savage villages over land disputes. Battle mages were conscripted as tax police and soldiers, and military police were stationed in various locations…

Cynthia was crazy, but she wasn't stupid; she realized what was going on in an instant.

Slowly, the red dragon's body slumped down, and the old woman's previously shrill voice returned to its calm tone: "Why didn't you tell me?"

Ottila felt even more helpless: "What good would it do to tell you?"

Even if you had intervened back then, could you have persuaded them to give up everything the Holy Alliance offered?

It's not just about freedom, but also about a more comfortable life and the ability to walk in the sunlight without fear of being arrested by the church.

Cynthia fell silent. She paced anxiously in the pit a few times, her wings and tail swishing against the stone walls with a rustling sound.

After spinning around seven or eight times, the red dragon finally stopped. She stared at Horn for a full minute before turning away.

Arriving at a stone wall, he tapped a stone slab with his dragon claw, revealing the cave entrance behind it.

With her two dragon claws, Cynthia dragged out a wooden cabinet and threw it onto the terrace. Her sharp dragon claws pried it open like a crowbar.

Inside was an oilcloth bag, and beneath the oilcloth bag were piles of books.

Pushing aside Jeanne's obstruction, Horn walked to the oilcloth bag, met Cynthia's gaze, and picked up a book.

The material is neither parchment nor any kind of paper. Although the cover is covered with layers of moss, the inside looks brand new.

These characters are similar to El script, but with more strokes and a large number of unfamiliar words.

Looking at the thick stack of papers, books and notes, Horn wondered if the process of making this Starforged Gear was really that complicated.

"This is the 'Celestial Maiden's Secret Scroll,' a primitive version of alchemy that the elves copied from our dragon language magic."

However, back then, there was no such thing as magic, and the environment was different, so I can't say how much could be used.

In the age of elves, the concept of magic did not yet exist.
Horn made a mental note of this key point, then looked up and asked, "What is this?"

"Besides the method for making star-forged gears, I can also give you the 'Celestial Maiden's Secret Scroll'."

I don't ask you to give me the dragon's head, just promise me you won't desecrate the remains of my people.

The old dragon, concerned about his reputation, refused to show any kindness despite having already yielded, still maintaining an arrogant and domineering demeanor.

Horn didn't want to push her too hard, otherwise it would only lead to a lose-lose situation, so he simply shook his head and brushed it off: "Which book has the method for making star-forged gears?"

Old Dragon pointed to a scroll: "Here."

Horn didn't wait a moment longer; he immediately picked up the scroll and began reading.

Although it was ancient Elvish, he could barely read it thanks to his Elvish proficiency, while Jeanne next to him was completely unable to understand it.

Fortunately, there were pictures inside the scroll, so she stared at them.

The painting is exquisite yet abstract. If I had to describe it, it would be similar to the style of Van Gogh on Earth. It is static, yet it seems dynamic.

As for the content of the picture, Jeanne could barely make out that it depicted a starry sky and an elf with a halo around its head.

Next came a long, thin, unidentifiable object, along with strange runes and circular arrays.

Before Jeanne could finish looking at the drawing, Horn looked up at Cynthia in disbelief: "Are you sure this is the method for making Starforged Gears?"

"Yes, the Starforged Gear is an elf creation, and my understanding of it is limited to this scroll."

"Wait, how did Serfaye obtain the Starforged Gear?"

"That's easy. She spent decades searching and collected all the star-cast gears she could find on the market."

The rest, I suppose, can only be found in the vampire grand duke's palace.

Horn fell silent. How did Serfayer know the secret of the Starforged Gears? And how did she find them so precisely?

"Brother, what does this say? How exactly are Starforged Gears made?" Jeanne couldn't hold back anymore; she couldn't understand a thing.

“Star-forged gears, star-forged gears, the answer is right there in the riddle itself. Of course, it’s a gear forged from stars.” Cynthia crossed her two dragon claws and placed the huge dragon head on top of them. “Anyway, I’ve already handed over this technology to you. Whether you can do it or not is up to you.”

　P.S. There will be another chapter later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)