Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 44 Disguise
"Sister Lance, when did this Master Xiugu come to the temple?" Lucia asked in a low voice, looking at the direction he was going away.

"About five years ago," Lance Shanks recalled, "I remember one morning in December, when the knights opened the gates of the temple to clear the snow and found him on the corner of the street. He was injured. It was very heavy, and he was beaten to death. When I first received the news, I thought it was a slave thrown out of an arena in the city. Later, I found out that his injuries had been carefully bandaged. Died in the snowy night the day before."

Lucia frowned slightly, and intuitively told him that there was something unusual about this incident, so he said, "What happened later? Did he say who injured him and who saved him later?"

"No," Lance Shanks sighed softly, "After his injuries were almost recovered, Priest Karen, who was in charge of logistics in the temple, asked him carefully about his situation, but whenever these questions were mentioned, he would fall into a trap. A long period of sluggishness and bewilderment, as if frightened stupid by some great fear."

"Until one time, when he saw other mixed-race masters in the weapon foundry during activities in the apse, he suddenly hugged the pant legs of the medical priest who was traveling with him, expressing that he knew a little bit of casting skills, and begged us to take him in to work here, Don't drive him away - as you have seen, we would take in some troubled hybrids and demi-humans, and those who couldn't accommodate them would be sent to the East China Sea Islands under the jurisdiction of Sky City, so naturally there is no reason to refuse. "

"But what I didn't expect was that Master Xiugu's so-called 'a little casting skill' is not just a little bit," Lance Shanks praised, "He is the most skilled weapon craftsman I have ever seen, Not even the master forges who serve in the golden royal family can compare with him, look at this sword—”

As she spoke, she held up the knight broadsword that had just been forged by Xiugu in her hand. Lucia looked intently, and saw that the sword body, which was a fusion of rare materials such as fine gold, cold iron, and ancient dragon scales, presented a kind of It is a pale azure color, and the whole body exudes a gloomy cold light. Even if you are on the side of an astonishingly hot furnace, you can still feel the coldness coming from the blade.

"Come on, try to slash with these two swords." Lance Shanks reached out and handed both swords to Lucia, "You don't need to use too much force."

Lucia took the knight sword forged by Xiugu in his left hand, and the ordinary knight sword in his right hand, found an empty space with no one, crossed his hands in the middle and cut, only heard a crisp clank, the ordinary sword made of fine steel The knight's sword had already been split into two, and the cut was as smooth as a mirror. On the other hand, the one produced by the Ancient Dragon Temple did not show even the slightest scar.

"This kind of strength is almost catching up with the Dragon Scale Knife made by Sky City!" Lucia said in amazement. He thought it would be enough to make a gap, but who knows that these two swords are not of the same magnitude at all. I don't know whether to say that the materials used in the Ancient Dragon Temple are too good or the technology of Xiugu is too strong.

"The weapons made by other masters are basically a little weaker than this sword, but they are enough. I asked Master Xiugu to teach other craftsmen the casting technique. It has been quite effective in the past few years. In time, I will use this sword again. A whole set of smelting and casting system is enlarged and copied to Sky City, and the effect should be very good." Lance Shanks smiled slightly.

After hearing this, Lucia only felt a wave of sincere admiration, and it was only after Sister Lance said that he realized that every detail of this foundry was clearly the result of precise design—a high-temperature furnace with a magic rune array , Conveyor rails and large tools made with the mechanical technology prevailing in Rodell, and the highly efficient assembly line production mode after strict training. , Completed a series of fruitful experiments for the future plan of the ancient dragon dynasty to improve its national strength.

For this ancient dragon leader who has been hanging alone in his king's capital for many years, breaking through the limitations of Sky City's thousand-year history and embracing the tide of the times is not just empty talk. She realized the possibility of stagnation earlier than countless compatriots. brought disasters, and tried their best to promote the pace of the Dragon Clan to catch up with the Golden Dynasty.

Perhaps it was also for this reason that the relationship between her and Lucia quickly became close. In this era when the Golden Dynasty was in full swing and Sky City was declining, a like-minded comrade and comrade-in-arms was really rare.

The two left the weapon foundry, chatted all the way to the priest's dormitory where Lance Shanks lived, and while waiting for her to change clothes, Lucia still had many questions about Xiugu in her heart.

Judging from Xiugu's fleeting astonishment and panic when the three of them met, Lucia was at least [-]% sure that he had judged his identity. It is not surprising to the master, what is really strange is, who rescued him five years ago and sent him to the Ancient Dragon Temple, and why did he let him go for such a long time?

As for the possibility that everything was just a coincidence and that Xiugu was indeed just a wounded slave, Lucia did not consider it at all.

He often heard about those gladiatorial arenas where human warriors were organized to engage in savage fights, and occasionally some foreign slaves were set up to fight for fun. Most of the places where people were abandoned were in the lower urban areas where the law and order were relatively chaotic, especially in those gutters and alleys. Who has seen people thrown at the entrance of the Ancient Dragon Temple or the Golden Tree Cathedral?

Considering Xiugu's ability, experience, and his various abnormal behaviors when he first came to the Ancient Dragon Temple, Lucia rubbed the center of his brows. If you are a little longer in this wave, you can smell the strong conspiracy in it, okay?
"Is it Queen Malika? But it's too early, and I haven't seen her place people in the golden temple?" He tried to deduce it based on the few clues he had in his previous life, but he didn't have any clues for a while. .

While she was in distress, Lance Shanks, who had changed her clothes, had already walked out of the hall. She came to Lucia with light steps, and quickly turned around on the spot with light steps, and said expectantly: "How about it, Is this a good disguise?"

Lucia stared dumbfounded at the scene in front of her. Lance Shanks changed the solemn and elegant white priest robe and put on a set of tight black leather armor, which showed the tall and graceful curves to the fullest. Elk leather boots, two daggers hanging obliquely from the waist, and the veil and hood covering most of the peerless face, she looks like a dangerous and charming female mercenary assassin like a rose!
"Gao Ming, it's like a different person!" Lucia said as she lowered her head and looked at the dilapidated chain mail on her body, lamenting that people are afraid of comparison.

Standing with Sister Lance, his image has quickly degenerated from "a veteran mercenary who is young but experienced at first glance" to "beautiful and terrifying, a servant next to the elder sister who is super powerful at first glance." "Yes!
For some reason, although he hasn't set off yet, he is already so tired that he wants to go home and sleep.
(End of this chapter)