The Law of the Silent Gentleman

"No one has ever been to that island!" Barsano said in amazement, "The witch doesn't even want people to approach the Mausoleum Island, let alone invite us to the building in the lake!"

"Great, we're going to be the first people to set foot there. Yay." Enzo cheered nonchalantly, stared at the three indifferent people on the shore, raised his eyebrows, and urged, "What the **** are you doing?" Do you want to go together?"

"...I'll go! I'll go! Don't leave me alone!" Antoine was startled and frightened, and jumped onto the boat in three steps at a time. He moved a lot, but the boat didn't move at all, like a fortress standing on the water. The young swordsman stood still beside Enzo, only then remembered that the elf was still on the shore, so he jumped back and gestured to Giuliano with hands and feet, asking him to help him carry the elf to the boat.

Giuliano glanced at the pirate chief. The mysterious witch is certainly dangerous, but Barsano is even more unreliable, it is better to act with everyone. If Barsano would rather stay on his own, so be it.

He and Antoine lifted the stretcher and carefully transferred the elf to the boat. Barsano stared at them motionless, his face as unpredictable as an autumnal storm. After they settled the elves, the pirate leader finally couldn't help it: "I'll go too!"

He picked up Fernando's body and jumped onto the boat. As soon as he stood firm, the boat moved slowly. First, it retreated a bit, away from the lake shore, and then turned its bow 180 degrees, facing the white building in the lake. Antoine scratched the side of the boat, looking around curiously, as if he hoped to find out some mechanical device to control the boat. To his disappointment, the device he had imagined was not on board. The boats sailed slowly across the calm and waveless lake, leaving their reflections on the mirror-like water.

The white building is getting closer. Standing on the boat, you can see the magnificent avenue in the center of it, about one-fifth of the width, and every other step is connected to a platform, followed by steps, and the bottom step is submerged in the lake. Giuliano wondered where the underwater steps led. Seeing the building up close is more awe-inspiring than seeing it from a distance. Everyone had to raise their necks desperately to see the top of the building.

The boat stopped at the bottom step, telling them silently that the end had come. Everyone got off the boat one by one. Giuliano had expected the boat to sail away, but it remained motionless in its place, reminding the young apprentice of the carriages used to fetch lords, ladies and ladies at balls. They will always be waiting for you where you drop off.

"So many steps! I'm exhausted!" Antoine complained while carrying the elf.

"Shut up, save the energy of speaking, and you will be able to move up a level!" Barsano taught harshly.

Antoine pouted and muttered, "Who was reluctant to come just now, but now he has learned to work hard."

Complaints are complaints, they still have to climb up the stairs honestly. Every time they climbed a platform, they had to rest for a while. The higher he went, the more Giuliano felt that the building didn't look like a mausoleum. Who would build a mausoleum like this? He had seen the tombs of Emperor Omaran and Emperor Darian in his books. The former was solemn and beautiful, while the latter was simple and simple, both of which were suitable for future generations to pay homage to. Their mausoleums have also become models for later generations to build mausoleums. After all, who dares to make his residence after death more gorgeous than the emperor's? Giuliano had never heard of a style of mausoleum that looked like this. The building is more like a temple than a mausoleum. The wide and long steps symbolize the road from the world to heaven, and the hard work of climbing the steps represents the suffering that must be passed on the way to the embrace of the gods. Every crack in the stone slabs under your feet tells ancient stories, and every corner of the pillars around you sings sacred scriptures. Standing under such a building, human beings can't help but feel small and humble. Brilliant architects designed temples with awe, and a single building alone can evoke a feeling of admiration in people's hearts. They, on the other hand, believe that the gods put inspiration into their heads. An architect of Vanessa once delivered a speech after the completion of a certain temple: "What you see is not the entity of my thoughts, but a rough reflection of the kingdom of God among the stars, because my ability is limited and I cannot Even a thousandth of that beauty is restored."

If this building is really a mausoleum, who is buried here? And who guarded it in the long years?

They finally boarded the top platform and came to the grand gate. As if welcoming them, the door slowly opened outwards, and a dignified and ancient atmosphere rushed over.

Inside the door is a hall, because there is no lighting, and the sunlight cannot penetrate the thick marble, so it is dark. Standing outside the door, it is impossible to get a glimpse of it. You can barely see a column on the left and right, like guards lined up.

Antoine barely swallowed a mouthful of saliva: "This place...is really evil...or we..."

"It's all here, and it's too late to retreat in spite of the difficulties." Enzo said.

"But—uh!"

Two lights suddenly lit up on the left and right, scaring Antoine into turning his back on his back, the stretcher dropped from his hands, and the elf slid to the ground without a sound. Enzo glared at him dissatisfied. Antoine stuck out his tongue and put the elf back on the stretcher apologetically.

It turned out that there were alchemy lamps inlaid on the walls on both sides. As soon as they approached, the nearest lamp would light up automatically. This kind of installation is very similar to the ruins on Mount Chevignon. In that underground city, there are also many light bulbs embedded in the walls and ceilings. The mysterious similarities between the two convinced Giuliano that this was not a mausoleum. He prefers to believe that this is also an ancient ruin.

"Look! There seems to be something on the wall!" Antoine dropped the stretcher and ran to the left wall. Others followed one after another. Barsano placed his lover's body discreetly next to the elves before joining them at last.

"It's a mural!"

Antoine wanted to touch the mural, but Giuliano quickly stopped him. "Don't touch it! Many of the pigments used for painting in ancient times are highly poisonous! What if this mural is also poisonous?"

Antoine quickly put his hands behind his back.

"I, I'll just take a look..." He hesitated, "What is this painting? A group of people eating?"

Giuliano turned his gaze to the wall. There are six characters in the mural, sitting around a long table. There is only one person on the main seat at the top of the table. It seems to be the protagonist of this mural. The remaining five people are on both sides of the long table, and the two on the left There are three people on the right, and there should be one person at the lower left corner of the table, but the mural has peeled off, leaving only a white space. The characters in the painting are two-dimensional and abstract, but the colors are bright, and the style is very old, which is quite different from the current fashion. It can be seen that it has been around for some time.

There is also a line of text at the bottom of the mural. Antoine stared at it for a long time, and said, "I know these letters apart, but I don't know them together."

"It's the ancient Imperial language from which the modern lingua franca—that is, the Imperial language—has evolved," Giuliano explained.

Antoine looked at him reverently: "Do you understand?"

Giuliano snorted proudly: "Of course. Ancient language is a compulsory course for nobles. The literal translation of this line of words is 'seven warriors'."

"Seven warriors? But there are only six people in the painting. Where did the seven come from—ah! I know!" Antoine exclaimed, "I know what story this mural tells!"

"You know?" Giuliano looked suspiciously sideways, thinking that you don't even know the ancient language, how could you know the allusions in the ancient murals?

"It's the story of the encounter between Emperor Darien and the warriors! It's even compiled into poetry! Lei Xi sang it!" Antoine excitedly pointed at the figure on the top of the mural, "Look, this person is the young Darien Emperor Li'an, he met many warriors in a tavern on a snowy night, and this is the beginning of his destiny. This gray-haired man in a cloak is Grado of Gray Wing City, and he is the number one wise general under Emperor Dali'an , and later became the prime minister of the empire. The man with the scar on his face was Kessler from Frozen Harbor. He was known as the number one general in the empire. He can shoot a wild goose in the eye one round away. In the final battle of Emperor Darien against the old empire, he shot Duke Enframan off his horse with one arrow. This one in blue is Amon, the Witch of the Lake Dina, she sacrificed herself to protect Emperor Darien during the "Battle of the Polar Night". This man with two swords is the "betrayer" Hetherell, who is both wise and brave, but ambitious. When it was not stable, it set off a rebellion, trying to replace it, and was finally suppressed by the army led by Emperor Darien."

Antoine finally pointed to the vacancy in the lower left corner of the mural: "Here... there should be another character here—the white dragon **** Reshtani. It was transformed into a human woman to assist Emperor Darien, but in the end the emperor forbade people to mention it. I I think there was Rishthani in this mural, but because of the emperor's decree, this part had to be stripped."

"If this is a fresco that tells the story of Darien the Great, then someone from Darien's time is buried in this tomb?" Giuliano asked.

Antoine didn't answer, but ran to the other side of the hall. There is also a mural on the wall opposite the "Seven Warriors", which is clearly identifiable by the alchemy lamp inlaid on the wall. There are still Darion and the five warriors in the painting, but this time they are not sitting at the table, but on the battlefield. In the center of the screen, Darion is holding a long sword and confronting a man in black armor, while his "warriors" are scattered around, fighting against the soldiers: Grado of Graywing City stands behind Darion, pointing at The enemy seems to be making plans; Kessler in Frozen Harbor wields a sword and cuts the enemy in two; the sharpshooter Olmeda shoots arrows into the sky; the witch Amandina raises a water barrier to defend the enemy Arrows; the traitor Heatheril rushed into the enemy's formation, and countless souls died under the double swords. One part of the painting has peeled off, leaving only a blank space, presumably the original place should be the woman in the avatar of Rashtani.

There is also a line of words written in ancient Chinese at the bottom of the mural - "First Battle". Giuliano translated it, and Antoine said at once: "This painting says that Darien the Great and the 'Warriors' fought side by side for the first time against a corrupt nobleman of the Old Empire, and it was in this battle that , he displayed extraordinary courage and talent and won the respect of everyone."

They took a few steps forward, and two more lights came on, illuminating the two murals behind. One of them is called "Siege of the City of Ravina", which depicts Emperor Dalian wearing a brocade robe and riding a horse into a city, followed by five warriors (and a walking blank), and the common people lined up to welcome him. The other one is called "Day Dies Forever", which depicts a woman in blue in the arms of Emperor Darien in the ice and snow. Blood dripped from the wound on her neck, staining the snow red, and one hand was hanging down weakly, with blue lines drawn on her arm. Judging by her attire, she is none other than the witch Amandine. The emperor, who has always shed blood but not tears, also wept for her passing.

They continued to move forward, and the next two murals were "The Coronation of the Dragon King" and "The End of Heatherell", which naturally depicted the story of Emperor Darion's ascension to the throne and the rebellion of Heatherell.

Antoine has been staring at "The End of Heatherell" non-stop. He seemed more interested in the end of the Renegade than in the coronation. Giuliano walked up to him and said, "There are also poems in this one. I have performed with Lexi on the same stage, and I can recite the lyrics."

"Of course I know." Antoine frowned, "But don't you think there is a subtle difference between the content in the painting and the poem?"

"What's the difference? Isn't it exactly the same? You see, the two sides in the painting are facing each other: on one side is Darion wearing the crown, surrounded by the remaining three warriors, and behind him are his thousands of troops; The person holding two swords on the opposite side is Heatheril the Betrayer, and behind him is the old empire's rebel party. What's the difference?"

Antoine pointed to the blank space on the side of Heatheril: "The blank space here should be the dragon **** Reshtani. But the dragon **** supports Emperor Darion, why did he appear on the side of the rebels?" ?”

"It's all stripped off, who knows what it looked like. Maybe Rishthani is attacking the rebels?"

"I don't think so, the soldiers below it are obviously calm, it doesn't look like they are under attack..."

Giuliano wanted to argue with Antoine, but Enzo stopped them both: "Come and see!"

The assassin did not know when he had reached the deepest part of the hall, where the last alchemy lamp was lit. The white and soft light is like the clear light of the moon. Under the lamp is not a mural, but a white sarcophagus. It's well-shaped and unpretentious, without feeling heavy at all. At one end of the sarcophagus stood a life-size statue carved from a whole piece of white marble. It was a woman in a luxurious robe with long hair reaching her waist and a beautiful face. She clasped her hands in front of her chest in a gesture of prayer. Because of her movements, the sleeves of the gown faded to the elbows, exposing her slender forearms, which were covered with blue patterns, which made people think of the sorceress Miss Constantia at a glance. It's just that the tattoo on Constantia's arm is bright red, and the pattern on the statue is bright blue. When Giuliano got closer, he realized that the blue was not a paint, but a groove carved out of the arm of the statue, and then filled with hundreds of sapphires, each of which shone brightly due to the light.

The tattoo on the arm is the symbol of the occultist. They use this mysterious symbol to control the magic power pervading nature and cast incredible spells.

Pointing at the statue, Antoine stammered, "She is... ah... the one in this coffin... so this tomb belongs to... hers..."

The answer is imminent.

"Yes. This is my own mausoleum."

A beautiful female voice said.

The sound echoed in the empty hall, echoing repeatedly, before disappearing after a long time.