Chapter 317: Chapter 314: The Protagonist of the Memorial Service Returns
Rorschach guessed that Singrev and Freddy were on the outskirts of the Jiaomao Peak District, right at the edge of the Shadow Land.
He was right. The Dwarf and the Minstrel were currently next to Garbage Mountain, the Mouse Speakers’ home and the entrance to the Shadow City.
Although Singrev had refused the throne, they were still receiving excellent treatment. Plus, with Little Coal Ball translating for the other Mouse Speakers, communication was much clearer than Freddy’s wild guesses.
Singrev stared up at the canvas ceiling. Their current residence was built from cleaned scrap and wood—a mansion by the standards of the Mouse Speaker Tribe. Discarded tables, chairs, and beds from the surface world had been patched up and brought inside, adding a touch of "luxury."
"Pan-fried frog legs and coarse salt." Though not one for words, Little Coal Ball had been a maid, after all. She served the two of them with practiced form, offering the best food available near Garbage Mountain.
"Thanks, Little Coal Ball. Here." Freddy took the food and pulled out a precious white bread roll to share with her. He had swiped it from the Marquis’s Mansion, never expecting that before they could even enjoy a second fine meal, the Marquis would suddenly turn on them and try to have them all arrested for trial.
"Should we go back to Storm City first? No, wait, in your condition, you can’t go up there. You’d become a Wanderer." Freddy was eager to leave, but Singrev insisted on waiting for Rorschach.
"Rorschach Mage will find us here!" He pulled out the lusterless pearl. Though he didn’t know what it was, he knew it was the pearl that had gotten them out of trouble.
The three of them had been locked up, desperately hoping that Rorschach, who hadn’t stayed the night at the Marquis’s Mansion, would save them. Although Rorschach himself hadn’t appeared, Balan’s Pearl had followed his command, smashing through several walls on its way into the Marquis’s dungeon.
’It must be Rorschach Mage!’ At the time, the Dwarf had grabbed the shimmering pearl. A massive burst of light consumed the Dwarf, the Minstrel, and Little Coal Ball, and they turned into a beam of light, returning directly to the starting point of their journey in the Shadow Land.
Afterward, however, the pearl stopped responding. Devoid of its glow, it was now just a cloudy glass marble.
"The Marquis is very powerful. He was so furious yesterday... I’m afraid things don’t look good for our Mage friend," the Minstrel said, dejected. "The Marquis is about as strong as a Black Cultivator, and we were completely powerless against the Cultivator back then."
"In the worst-case scenario, Rorschach... is probably already..."
The Dwarf refused to believe Rorschach would fall here. "If only we were Mages, or if we had a Caster with us. Maybe we could use this to contact Rorschach."
"I have an idea." Freddy was grateful that Rorschach had remembered him and stepped in to save him, and he was also desperate to get in touch. His eagerness was entirely sincere and had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that all the Golden Artifacts found on the shipwreck were still in Rorschach’s Storage Ring.
"Have you heard of rituals? Even if you’re not a Mage, there are ways to trigger supernatural phenomena. They’re meant for ordinary people like us." Actually, Freddy’s explanation wasn’t entirely accurate. Priests throughout history, and genuine Minstrels like himself, possessed a natural talent for manipulating Magic Power.
And so, under his direction, a simple altar was constructed. The base was a velvet-upholstered hardwood chair, and the pearl was carefully placed on its pilling cushion.
The Minstrel felt like something was missing... ’The mystical knowledge from the epics tells me I need to make the connection to the target more specific...’
He found a relatively large piece of bark, using its clean inner side as a canvas, and picked up a piece of charcoal from the fire. With a few strokes, he sketched the cheerful smile of a young man.
Freddy was very pleased with his sketch. He propped it up behind the pearl, against the chair’s backrest. "I’m truly a versatile artist!"
The Dwarf looked at it disdainfully. "Rorschach Mage would never smile so foolishly."
"Preparations are complete." The Minstrel placed a jug of wine in front of the chair and lit candles at its four corners. Behind the chair, he built up a fire, and from a tree, he hung a bedsheet covered in patches.
All the Mouse Speakers were gathered. When the Minstrel took out his qin, a wave of cheers erupted. The foundation of Freddy’s friendship with these little people was his free concerts. As the strings vibrated, a cheerful melody drifted over Garbage Mountain.
The Mouse Speakers also brought out metal pots, bowls, and pans, banging on them to create a rhythmic noise. Others started singing along, kicking off a concert that the Dwarf could neither understand nor appreciate.
"Is this really going to work? Honestly, I think you’re just messing around with them..." The Dwarf tried to shout over the background music, but failed. The song continued, and Freddy finally sang a line he could understand: "Whether your name is Rorschach or Heisenberg, hear our song and come find us, come find us..."
’They’re crazy. All of them are crazy...’ It was the first time the Gold Level Adventurer had ever been assaulted by noise. He was a complete misfit in this ocean of joy, and just as he was feeling utterly alone, he suddenly sensed a phantom shadow crossing the river toward them.
’Are my eyes playing tricks on me?’ The Dwarf quickly rubbed his eyes, but the surface of the Living Water Body was still. There was no one there.
CRACK! The bark with the memorial... I mean, the portrait of Rorschach on it, shattered into pieces. The sudden event startled everyone, and the concert came to a halt.
Singrev’s eyes hadn’t been playing tricks on him. Rorschach, Caroline, and Benedict, still wanted by the Marquis, had been concealed by Mirror Flower Water Moon as they followed the map’s guidance to this location.
And then they came upon this absurd scene.
His face was ashen. He had been wondering why the God of Deceit’s light on the map was flashing with increasing intensity. It turned out the Minstrel was leading the Mouse Speakers in some nonsensical ritual.
’Why did they have to put up such an idiotic portrait? That smile is seriously creepy...’ Rorschach had destroyed the portrait from a distance, not getting a clear look at who the subject was.
The Elf’s vision was a bit better than a human’s, and she was struggling to hold back her laughter. Finally, she couldn’t resist and said, "According to Elven custom, the music at a memorial service is usually sadder..."
’What is all this nonsense?’ Rorschach was only worried that Balan’s Pearl might actually be activated, so he hurried forward.
The Dwarf was the most shocked of all. His jaw dropped so wide his beard couldn’t cover it. "Holy cow, Freddy, your ritual actually worked?"
Rorschach took back the pearl and found it pulsing cheerfully and rhythmically with rainbow-colored light. If it were any bigger, you could hang it in a disco to liven up the atmosphere.
"Why does it look like it’s having the time of its life?" After confirming there was nothing else wrong with the pearl, Rorschach placed a seal on it and put it into his Storage Ring.
Now that the two groups had reunited, the "Royal Palace" prepared for "His Majesty King Singrev" became a meeting room.
Rorschach acted as the go-between, introducing the members of both groups to each other before explaining the next steps.
"If we want to free Singrev from the curse of the Shadow Land—no, if we want to free all the residents of the Shadow Land from the curse of removal—we have to break all the seals on it and then destroy it."
"Huh?" came three voices in unison.
"To destroy the Shadow Land, we still need to break the final seal in the Core Area, which means we must defeat the Marquis. With our current strength, that’s obviously impossible."
"Therefore, Singrev needs to be crowned King of the Mouse Speakers and lead them to attack the Marquis’s territory."
"In other words, Singrev must replace the Marquis as the master of the Shadow City. This will cause the Power of Order to no longer recognize the Marquis, and he will be unable to command the power of the Shadow Land." Whoever was master of the Shadow City held the highest authority beneath the Wise Man’s Illusion and would be recognized by the power of the Shadow Land.
This was the key piece of information obtained from the Wise Man’s Illusion. It meant the Marquis’s power could be weakened by conquering his domain. In Rorschach’s view, the Lord of Order had not only created the legal framework for the Old Empire but had also transplanted that same system of order into the Shadow Land.
According to the Wise Man’s own words, he had transferred authority and power over the areas outside the Deep Diving Area to the Marquis and Count Elgin because of their noble titles in the surface world. This transfer was in accordance with the rules the Lord of Order had set for the Shadow Land. So what would happen if a King appeared in the Shadow Land?
Singrev: "Huh?"
"Of course, we can’t send the weak Mouse Speakers to their deaths. That’s why we need to call for outside help—have the Rebel Army enter the Shadow Land and attack the Shadow City’s Core Area."
Benedict: "Huh?"
