Ark Undead

The site for the fire-lighting ritual.

The Undead was quite certain of the place the Undead mentioned; the familiar description described it as their cozy home during their journey to extinguish the flames.

"Anyone else?"

The Undead thought of his friends and teachers who remained at the Firelink Shrine, and he asked.

Ling shook his head.

"The Fire Girl told me that she used to have some friends here. But by then, they had all left."

"She did say where she went."

No, I didn't ask.

The Undead nodded, then brought the glass to his lips and took a small sip.

Based on Ling Suo's description of the scene, that should have been after the flames had died down.

The teachers, along with the blacksmith Andrei, probably went to finish their unfinished business after the flames died down.

Only the Fire-Binding Maiden remained at the Fire-Binding Ritual Site.

"Then do you know..."

"Don't ask me, I don't know. I haven't met her many times, just chatted and talked. And I still don't understand how I saw her in my dream."

Ling interrupted the Undead's question. It was obvious what the Undead wanted to ask: where had the Fire Maiden gone?

But Ling really didn't know.

According to the Fire Maiden's description, the place she was in did not match any of the places in Ling's memory.

During the time she was awakened, she also spent time searching for the so-called Lordland, the land of kings.

But no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find a single word about Rodland. It was as if it were a false dream, existing only in Yu Ling's memories.

Ling was certain that the quiet and elegant woman was not a fake; the story she told, the words she spoke, all pointed to the Undead in Ling's memory.

"Lordran is a place where time and space are distorted. Especially during the time when the First Flame is waning or extinguished."

"Immortals are easy to understand," he said.

"Perhaps, you just happened to cross time and return to that time."

Speaking of the initial fire, Ling is still very curious.

The remaining power of the Undead has been enough to suppress the Demon Cave. To this day, no demon has dared to cross that line.

This flame does not seem to be a simple fire; to this day, no one can figure out what the so-called First Flame actually is.

If the First Flame, as described by the Undead and the Fire Maiden, were strong, what kind of scene would that be?

Onstan had a slight guess in his mind, and he looked at the Undead and said.

"I saw her before I fell asleep in the world of the painting. Perhaps you can find the answer in the world of the painting."

The immortal shook his head.

"The world in the painting is in Kalan. When I arrived, it had already been corrupted by the abyss. If it were her..."

Even now, the Undead don't fully understand what kind of abilities the Fire Mage possesses.

When he met her, Ludows was a Lord of Cinder who was still on his throne maintaining the First Flame, as Ludows had told the Undead.

Do not underestimate the Fire Keeper; she is merely bound by the cause of linking the fire, along with these Lords of Cinder.

For the undead, the Fire Mistress is the intermediary who transforms those unclaimed souls into power during their journey.

Perhaps she also possesses some power that allows her to rely on the Primordial Flame? The Undead cannot know.

But the Undead absolutely do not believe that the Fire Mage would allow the Abyss to do what it does to the world in the painting.

When he burned down the decaying world in the painting, the fusion between the world in the painting and Kalan had reached its peak.

The remaining space was also eroded by the abyss, and its size was drastically different from before.

Unstan understood what the Undead meant, and he immediately fell silent.

Ling only knew the Fire Maiden, but she didn't know where the Fire Maiden went after the flames went out.

The Undead felt slightly irritated. He drank the wine in his cup in one gulp and slammed the cup on the table.

The trail has gone cold again. Finding someone is so troublesome.

If it were anything else, a person who hasn't died would never experience such emotional fluctuations.

But the Fire Maiden is the center and link of all the problems now.

The Doctor from Rhodes Island seems to have met the Fire Mage as well, and he also seems to have a connection with the First Flame.

Ling also met the Fire Maiden in a dream.

These connections are by no means coincidental.

Ling said that the Fire Maiden told him that the flames burning in the darkness were the flames on the bodies of the Undead.

This shows that the Fire Mage knew all along that the Undead would return in the future.

The Fire Maiden must have made some preparations after the flames went out.

"Ugh."

The Undead sighed, not because he felt bad, but because he was trapped in the fog and unable to see the truth, which was really annoying.

I've been awake for so long, and I feel like I've grasped a lot of things, but I'm still completely in the dark.

However, this is inevitable; in the face of the immense power of time, nothing can remain as it was in the beginning.

The three chatted, but Nian, who was standing next to them, couldn't understand what they were saying even after listening for a long time.

She began to speak.

"Now is not the time to talk about these things. The question right now is where these abysses came from."

"Sister, you said the gourd we brought was a fake. But who could fake something like that?"

Nian still harbored thoughts about the demonic seed that had suddenly appeared in Shangshu.

With the intervention of the Taiping Heavenly Court at this crucial moment, the situation is now somewhat complicated.

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? There are plenty of people who can deal in antiques. The only clue I have is that the person who can make my gourd definitely knows me, and might even remember my gourd."

Nian nodded, agreeing with Ling's point of view.

"So, the scope has narrowed down again? It really is among the people we've been in contact with."

Ling shrugged noncommittally. Then he put away the gourd, plopped down on a high stool, and said while swaying back and forth.

"Now, besides you, me, and Xi-mei, who have awakened, our eldest and second eldest brothers are still missing, and our third and fourth eldest brothers are still asleep. We haven't been in touch with the rest of our brothers and sisters for a long time."

"It's really difficult to pinpoint who did it. But why do we have to look inward?"

Ling seemed to have already grasped some information, she continued.

"The Great Yan is currently beset by crises. The external crises are not too bad, but the internal impacts are not to be underestimated."

"The old emperor is nearing his end. He wants to pave the way for his departure before he passes away. That way, whoever ascends the throne won't be caught off guard."

"But now you all know the situation. The southern expedition is imminent, and the northern expedition is imminent. At this crucial juncture, if the old emperor really passes away, who will take over this burden?"

"There's no news from Ursus. The only thing that's been said is that the so-called Reunion Movement has thrown Ursus into chaos. To truly ensure stability within the Great Yan, we need to see who exactly is harboring ulterior motives."

At this moment, Ling took out a secret letter and handed it to Nian.

She took it and glanced at it, then immediately frowned.

"General Li bid farewell to the emperor; was he preparing to offer himself as a sacrifice in the fire?"

"Ah."

Ling nodded. It was not surprising that she had some information channels in the army, having served in the military before.

"General Li resigned from his post and recommended his only son as his successor. The whole family are heroes. But with the change of leadership in the army and the palace, I'm afraid some people might really get restless and want to meddle in the throne."

"The so-called Si Sui Tai is nothing but bait. You'll know once you've actually met the people in Si Sui Tai. They're just a bunch of hotheads, a way for emperors throughout history to appease those brain-dead civil officials."

Having already found the answer in his heart, he looked at the immortal and spoke.

"Lord Ash, do you know Theresis?"

The immortal raised his head.

He had just pulled his thoughts back from the Fire Maiden when he heard that familiar name.

“Theresis…”

The immortal nodded.

"knew."

292. Infiltrating the Great Yan

Kazdel, the main city under the Regent, located on the flank of the Royal Army, and a mercenary camp.

The middle-aged mercenary took the longsword from his waist and put it down against the table.

Almost a month has passed since his integration movement plan failed and he returned to Kazdel.

For the past month, all Hadley did every day was to gather information on the mercenaries and be ready for the next mission.

Hedley knew very well that this current king of Kazdel was no good.

But he was indeed a victor who survived that war. The victor has everything.

Hedley is not a mercenary who is used to being controlled. Several years ago on the battlefield, he was one of the leaders of an independent mercenary group. Every Sarkaz mercenary has rebellious blood in his veins.

The reason they came together was simply to survive better, and to be able to stab their so-called companions in the back at any time.

Now that they are under the king's roof, the mercenaries can only temporarily suppress their tempers and bow down to the king sitting on the throne.

No one wanted to die, not even the usually arrogant Hadley.

Even so, they still have their own principles.

As one of the mercenary managers appointed by the current regent, Hadley naturally has access to more information.