Chapter 1519: Chapter 1513: Useless Avatar
Ronald and his companions continued forward and soon arrived at the city center.
Just like other places in the city of Orel, the central stage was bustling far more than during the day—I the festival atmosphere made people pack the area tightly.
As a result—when Ronald and his companions tried to approach the judge’s table as they did before, they discovered it might take one or two hours to weave through!
But that was their goal, one they couldn’t bypass.
Orel himself had already left, but before heading to the library he had left an essential puppet here to preside over the site and the entire ceremony.
Ronald and his friends could absolutely not ignore this place!
"Sir, why don’t we fly over?" Costate suggested, noticing Ronald’s distress.
"No, let’s slowly push our way through," Ronald immediately shook his head, rejecting it, and explained his thoughts, "Any action that might disrupt the ceremony must be avoided at all costs."
"No one else is causing trouble now."
"Though troublesome, we can still make our way through slowly."
As he spoke, Ronald stepped forward, using his excellent physical skills to clear the path for his group.
It’s inevitable to get annoyed while squeezing through the crowd.
Fortunately, the surrounding beast folk’s singing was pleasant and balanced it out, making the journey not entirely tormenting.
Finally, after a long squeeze.
Ronald and his companions arrived in front of the judges’ table for the singing contest.
The guards who maintained order recognize them, naturally allowing them passage without obstacle.
Inside the judges’ section—sitting here was Orel’s puppet.
Just like when he was personally here in the afternoon, the puppet was seriously appreciating the performers’ voices on stage, occasionally expressing its own evaluation or sentiment.
At this moment, noticing Ronald and his companions’ arrival.
Orel’s puppet turned its gaze and immediately smiled at them:
"The three of you, is there something you need here?"
The inquiry and actions were all normal.
But soon after speaking, this puppet revealed an awkward mechanical expression.
Clearly—
This guy was a puppet, only able to act according to preset instructions.
It could perform gestures like waving hello, and handling beast folk wasn’t a problem either.
But expecting any useful information from it to aid Ronald and his team was unlikely.
"..."
"No, no issues, we’re just here for a look."
Ronald shook his head disappointedly.
Leaving a sigh behind, he led his companions away from the stage.
Once again pushing their way through the bustling crowd.
At this moment, Martha looked at Ronald’s back and couldn’t help but speak up to comfort him:
"Though the situation is a bit rough... Ronald, we already have a pretty good grasp on it now!"
Ronald in front nodded in response.
But when he turned around again, Martha noticed her thoughts differed — Ronald’s face didn’t show dejection, only calm, stable disposition while handling the situation.
Then, Ronald pointed at Martha’s chest:
"My suggestion—it’s best we check Orel’s warehouse. Though he left suddenly, considering his past stature in the church, he should have left something meaningful."
Martha pulled out the key immediately, nodding affirmatively:
"You’re right, let’s head there now!"
"..."
Finding Orel’s vault wasn’t difficult, as the place absolutely attributed to him in the city was the palace.
It was already late at night.
Ronald and his team squeezed out of the crowded throng and arrived at Orel’s palace again.
Here they found the palace, perhaps the quietest place in the entire city at the moment.
In the eyes of the residents, their leader was on the plaza watching and directing the singing festival. Instead, the palace, originally a focal point, had quieted down due to his departure.
Even the guards at the doors, for a change, started enjoying the festival atmosphere, humming their favorite tunes while standing guard.
This was permitted during the festival.
Seeing the situation, Ronald stepped forward to talk to the guard.
Before he could speak, the guard, seeing Ronald and his companions approaching, spoke first:
"The three of you, the master instructed earlier that if you come, you can move freely inside."
Ronald was taken aback upon hearing this.
Since arriving in the city, Orel’s actions mostly aligned with theirs, he didn’t recall him giving such instructions to the guard!
"Indeed? When did Orel instruct this?"
The guard replied immediately:
"Just today, before the evening when the sky darkened."
"..."
"Alright, thank you."
This timing made Ronald realize once again it was impossible to pursue Orel.
Accepting the grace, he and his companions entered the palace.
Because of Orel’s prior instruction, the palace attendants were informed of the situation, soon a designated person led the three toward the vault entrance.
Standing at the door, the attendant reminded:
"The three of you, the key to open the vault is held only by Master Orel himself. If you wish to enter..."
"He already gave us the key."
Ronald directly dismissed the attendant, then looked at Martha.
The church’s high priest went forward, inserted the crescent-shaped key into the door slot.
Unlike the doors protected with spells outside.
Accompanied by the key insertion, a gentle tune played from the door slit, and the vault flew open.
——a very Song of the Trees-style door.
Ronald and his companions exchanged glances and proceeded inside.
Just a few steps inside, they were shocked by the scene they saw.
Glittering gold and silver were molded into neat shapes, stacks upon stacks piled in the corners. Jewelry and gemstone-laden shelves filled the room, making the quantity almost count impossible.
No exaggeration.
If some fallen noble arrived here afterward, the wealth before them would certainly be enough to raise an army and rise again!
"Isn’t this too much?" Mar’s tone carried excitement.
Coming from a church background, she felt both elated and unexpectedly ashamed.
"These were left by the church," Ronald said calmly, "As long as the church uses them correctly, I think this is definitely a good thing."
Martha picked up on Ronald’s implication, solemnly replied:
"Rest assured, they’ll undoubtedly be used where they’re supposed to be."
"..."
After a brief conversation, the three continued deeper into the vault.
The vault storing the church’s past wealth was much larger than observed from the outside. Furthermore, true to the mystical realm’s typical trait, it extended deeper underground, revealing an even more exaggerated space!
Passing through a treasury of gold and silver, they encountered a descending staircase.
Came upon the first underground floor.
They saw orderly rows of icy sculptures, exquisite artworks, alongside various strange antiquities.
At present, much of history had been lost.
A large portion of things here couldn’t be assessed for value.
But for the three who arrived, none doubted the underground floor’s collection far surpassed the surface gold and silver!
Ronald couldn’t help but reflect:
"As a former world power, in terms of wealth and collection, it’s ridiculously impressive!"
Triggered by the previous conversation, Martha almost reflexively responded:
"I think the items here could be rigorously researched and categorized, then curated in a dedicated ancient art museum."
Instincts ignited from his previous career, Ronald instantly agreed:
"I think it’s a great choice."
