Book 20, The Crown’s Riddle – Chapter 39, Relief Sculpture
The Okerlund Plane. The Beastgod continent. The imperial capital of the Snowlion Empire – Lionheart City. The imperial palace’s garden.
Linley was seated silently in the meditative position in the midst of a flat, green, grassy area. Bebe was by his side. Linley and Bebe both possessed Godrealms, and so could easily distort the rays of light within their area, making it so that the maids and servants within the palace garden were completely unable to see them.
They had spent a full day in Lionheart City, but during this day, Linley’s divine sense had been constantly searching at full strength.
Linley opened his eyes.
“Boss, find anything?” Bebe asked hurriedly.
Linley shook his head slightly. “Nothing! The entire imperial capital of Lionheart City has nearly ten million people. Aside for a few youths and a few juvenile beasts which I didn’t inspect, I’ve inspected all of the other living creatures here. But none of them are hiding interspatial rings in their bodies.” Brodie had come thirty-plus years ago.
And so, he couldn’t have possibly secreted the interspatial ring into these then-unborn young children.
“It really is hard to find.” Bebe frowned and snorted. “The other eight Paragons have already ordered their Highgod subordinates to thoroughly search through the entire Lionheart City. But after a long period of time, they have yet to find anything. Those many subordinates of theirs have probably searched the entirety of Lionheart City by now.”
Linley nodded slightly.
“Boss, you’ve already completely searched the ground and the deep seas of the Okerlund Plane. In addition, this is just a material plane; very few people have interspatial rings. Those eight Paragons ordered long ago for every person with an interspatial ring to be searched.” Bebe snorted unhappily. “It seems that Brodie really did ‘that’.”
There were no other possibilities.
The only possibility...was that the red caltrop diamond had been put into an interspatial ring, which was in turn placed within some living creature.
Unfortunately, the population of the Okerlund Plane was simply too great. Eight quadrillion people! And that was just the humans. There were also elves, gnomes, and other races...and the magical beasts that lived in the ground, in the skies, and in the seas were astonishingly numerous as well. In terms of number, in fact, magical beasts vastly outnumbered humans.
Given Linley’s spiritual strength, if he were to carefully search in a manner which caused no soul damage, Linley would have to spend an entire day to search just ten million people.
His personal speed was definitely comparable to the speed of hundreds or thousands of ordinary Highgods searching.
Ten million would take Linley a day.
Then eight quadrillion...how long would that take? And that’s not even mentioning the magical beasts.
The number was astronomical!
This was why the ten thousand Highgods, eight Paragons, and Linley and Bebe had yet to find the red caltrop diamond despite having spent months. In the Yulan continent, this group would have probably searched everyone within just ten days or so.
“Brodie, that bastard...he definitely chose this Okerlund Plane on purpose.” Bebe snorted.
“Be patient. We aren’t able to find it, but others also aren’t.” Linley’s divine sense continuously maintained a watch over the entire plane. “Once they do, I will be the first to know as well.”
“Right.” Bebe said, puzzled, “Boss, then, do you think that the information Brodie left behind for the Radiant Goddess to convey to us...those three words, ‘Lion Heart City’...what do you think those words mean? Boss, I have the feeling...that the hiding place of the red caltrop diamond should have something to do with this information.”
Linley frowned. “Brodie shouldn’t have been so bored as to leave behind some random information to misguide us. The three words, ‘Lion Heart City’, definitely hold a secret within. And that secret will guide us to the red caltrop diamond’s hiding place. But what does ‘Lion Heart City’ refer to?”
All the experts, Linley included, upon seeing the words ‘Lion Heart City’, believed that the red caltrop diamond had to be hidden within Lionheart City.
But after investigating it, it seemed off.
“Bebe, let’s go. I want to go to the magus libraries of Lionheart City and search through it for information regarding Lionheart City. Perhaps I might discover something.” Linley rose to his feet.
“Right. Lionheart City involves these secrets. Perhaps those materials will have information regarding it.” Bebe was overjoyed as well.
Linley and Bebe immediately disappeared from within the palace.
As Linley and Bebe were advancing to the ‘Lionheart Magus Institute’, in a lavish, towering estate within Lionheart City, Clementine was leading his subordinates to set up shop here.
“Milord, we’ve already searched the entire Lionheart City. No person or magical beast has an interspatial ring within them, much less a red caltrop diamond.” A short silver-haired youth bowed and spoke. Those hundreds of Highgods searched quite quickly, but were only comparable to Linley searching by himself.
“You can leave now.” Clementine said calmly.
“Yes.” The silver-haired youth bowed, then left, leaving behind just Clementine himself within the courtyard.
Linley wasn’t the only one pondering. Clementine was pondering as well. “That paper only had three words; ‘Lion Heart City’. No other words. What do those words mean?” Clementine’s gaze flashed, and he immediately activated his Sovereign’s Might!
A powerful divine sense swept out, passing out from the Beastgod continent and stretching deep through the ocean until it encapsulated the entire Fogdeep continent as well.
“Do you know what the meaning of the three words on that paper, ‘Lion Heart City’, refer to?” Clementine sent.
Far away in the distant Fogdeep continent, within the Radiant Temple, the Radiant Goddess felt her heart tremble, and she immediately responded, “Milord, the three words, ‘Lion Heart City’...I am unclear as to the true meaning of those words.”
“How many Lionheart Cities exist in this continent?” Clementine asked.
“Just that imperial capital of the Snowlion Empire of the Beastgod continent.” The Radiant Goddess was completely certain.
“Just one?” Clementine truly did not understand. If there were other Lionheart Cities, perhaps he might go search those places. But now, what was he supposed to do with those three words, ‘Lion Heart City’?
“When Bordie gave that paper to you, did he say anything? Have you told me everything he said in detail?” Clementine said.
“Thirty years ago, when Brodie descended upon the Okerlund Plane, he came with his wife. He once came to my Radiant Sacred Island. Although we were both Gods, he easily defeated me. He lived with me for a time, and when he left, he gave me a gift! He said if many Deities descended on the Okerlund Empire in search of some treasure, I was to hand it to a powerful expert...he said that after the powerful expert acquired the treasure, I would then be rewarded.”
The Radiant Goddess felt extremely resigned.
She had thought that after handing over the paper, she would be praised and rewarded.
But who would have imagined that not only did Clementine not reward her, he even gave her attitude.
Actually, even Brodie himself had no idea...that the ‘red caltrop diamond’ would attract the descent of so many experts, to the point where even eight Paragons and a Paragon-equivalent, Linley, would come! With so many experts, even if she offered up the ‘paper’, the others would notice as well.
If the others hadn’t noticed, perhaps Clementine would have been overjoyed and truly have rewarded the Radiant Goddess.
“After the expert found the treasure, you would thus be rewarded?” Clementine frowned.
From these words, Clementine could deduce...that the red caltrop diamond should truly be in the Okerlund Plane.
“Whoosh.” Clementine withdrew his divine sense from the Fogdeep continent, then gave the order. “Marquis Winter [Wen’te], come over here.”
Marquis Winter was the owner of this estate. However, when Clementine’s group came, all they had to do was show off the high-level talisman from the Radiant Temple for Marquis Winter to immediately become extremely respectful.
“Milord.” An old man with a head full of silvery white hair, but whose eyes were blue and flashing with life walked over. He saluted respectfully.
“Come with me for a stroll about Lionheart City.” Clementine gave the order. “Take me to some of the interesting areas of Lionheart City.”
“Yes, milord. I know every single special, historical area or building which exists within Lionheart City.” Marquis Winter didn’t know Clementine’s true status; he thought that Clementine was a high level member of the Radiant Temple. But that was already enough for him to be extremely respectful.
The various experts all had their own thoughts. Linley chose to go to the libraries in search of information regarding Lionheart City, while Clementine let this person lead him to view some of the unique sights of Lionheart City. Although his divine sense was able to cover Lionheart City, with no one to explain for him, even if he found a ‘rock’ that had existed for countless ages, he wouldn’t know that there was any special meaning to that rock.
Under the guidance of Marquis Winter, Clementine learned quite a bit about the classical history of Lionheart City.
At this moment, Clementine and Marquis Winter were located within a history museum. This museum’s exhibition hall walls had enormous relief sculptures on them. These relief sculptures were almost all at the same height on the wall. The wide halls only had a few dozen figures located sparsely within them.
“Milord, look.” Marquis Winter laughed as he pointed at a relief sculpture up ahead. “The nineteen people in this sculpture are our Snowlion Empire’s Founding Emperor, ‘Venna’ [Wen’na], and his most loyal eighteen knights. Even the weakest of these eighteen knights had reached the ninth level, while our Founding Emperor, Wenna, was a Saint-level expert.”
Clementine just nodded slightly.
Ninth rank? Saint? To a supreme Deity like Clementine, there was no difference.
“Milord, look at this carving.” Marquis Winter said as he pointed to a giant carving next to them. This carving was of an enormous, mono-horned lion-type magical beast. In the carving, this enormous lion-type magical beast had a large wound on its lower body. A person was currently flying out from this wound, and that figure was holding something in its hands.
The sculpture had captured that moment.
“Oh, rather interesting.” Clementine, upon seeing this sculpture, couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Milord, this sculpture describes the greatest danger our Founding Emperor Venna faced; this was also the battle that led to Emperor Venna’s rise to fame!” Marquis Winter said hurriedly. “And this battle occurred at the old location of Lionheart City. It was precisely because he wanted to commemorate that battle that Emperor Venna ordered this imperial capital and named it ‘Lionheart City’. This is where Lionheart City came from.”
“Where Lionheart City came from?” Clementine’s eyes lit up. “Explain in detail!”
Marquis Winter had never seen this ‘high level member of the Radiant Temple’ show so much excitement. He couldn’t help but say hurriedly, “That year, Emperor Venna had just reached the Saint-level. But he encountered the Saint-level magical beast, ‘Silverhorn Snowlion’. That year, Lionheart City was nothing more than a desolate region. Emperor Venna engaged in a fierce battle with the Silverhorn Snowlion! Back then, Emperor Venna was just an early-stage Saint, while generally speaking, magical beasts who reach the Saint level are comparable to late-stage human Saints.”
Clementine nodded slightly.
“Emperor Venna was at a definite disadvantage and close to the point of death. But at the critical moment, with life and death hanging from a thread, Emperor Venna managed to find life from death; he charged straight into the mouth of the Silverhorn Snowlion. He entered the Silverhorn Snowlion’s stomach. None of us know exactly what happened, but what we do know...was that Emperor Venna cut through the Silverhorn Snowlion’s stomach when he escaped. And, in his hand, he was clutching part of the Silverhorn Snowlion’s heart when he emerged. Clearly, he had already shattered the Silverhorn Snowlion’s heart...but of course, the Silverhorn Snowlion died as well.” Marquis Winter explained in detail. “That battle resulted in Emperor Venna growing much more powerful. He became the most powerful Saint of the entire Beastgod continent.”
Clementine’s eyes flashed with a complicated look.
“Lionheart City...no wonder it is named Lionheart City.” Clementine had a smile on his face, and in his heart, he murmured, “He broke out of the Silverhorn Snowlion’s stomach, grabbed its heart, then emerged.”
“Let’s go back now.” Clementine maintained his calm.
“Go back?” Marquis Winter was startled.
Clementine paid him no mind. He pretended as though nothing had happened as he once more returned to Marquis Winter’s estate. Only, just an hour after returning to the estate, Clementine himself silently slipped away from Lionheart City!