Crown of Silence

Uptown Avalon in the afternoon.

On the bustling streets, a towering white marble building occupies the prime spot of Avalon. Inside the black iron gate, there are few people in the vestibule.

At the end of the vestibule, guarded by statues of saints on both sides, the door to the Hall of the Musicians' Association is open. Even during the day, the lights are on, slightly diluting the cold and gloomy style.

Here, people come and go in silence. In a solemn atmosphere, everyone's face was serious and solemn.

This is the Avalon branch of the Musicians Guild.

Across the street, opposite it is Westminster Abbey.

Different from the silence in the Musicians Association, there was a lot of traffic and people in front of the cathedral.

Carriages of believers kept stopping. Or merchants come with bills of exchange and holy symbols to exchange money or store banknotes.

For hundreds of years, these two iconic buildings have been standing on the Queen's Road in Avalon. One has protected the kingdom from being destroyed by demons, and the other has maintained the economy and finance of Angel and the lives of civilians. , and the royal family held up the sky of this country.

And now, outside the door of the Musicians Association, in a luxurious carriage, several noble youths were waiting anxiously.

"Is that what he said?"

Edmund's eyes were cold. The bruises on his face were still there, and his eyes were swollen, looking a little ridiculous, but the cold light in those eyes made Bart shudder.

"That's right." Bart gritted his teeth: "He said he would make you kneel down to apologize and become the laughingstock of the academy forever."

"In this case, we can't keep them..." Edmund's eyes became more sinister, "It seems that I am too naive. After all, they are untouchables, and we cannot expect them to know what is good and what is good."

"Bart," Edmund's swollen eyelids were slightly raised, "you know you will fail during the competition, and the academy always prepares some 'casualty quota' regulations..."

"You have to give them to..."

Bart's expression twitched and he hesitated to speak.

He was obviously in a carriage, but he seemed to smell the stench of the sewer. In the murky waters of the Thames, pale corpses will drift into the sea and disappear.

It's a pity that that girl, so fair and slender, is going to disappear into the sewer...

“Let them be proud for a few more days, after all, ‘life is short’.

Edmund's mouth was ferocious: "When my uncles come back, I will make them look good!"

"Are you sure?" Bart asked in a low voice, "What if your uncle doesn't want to take care of this matter?"

"Impossible!" He rubbed the bridge of his aching nose: "In the family, my uncle loves me the most. He will not let a black neck sit on my head."

Edmund's eyes turned sinister, "When I borrow the 'Dragon Breath Ring', I'll show that bastard what doomsday means! Even the mentors present can't save him!"

Bart suddenly felt a chill in his heart and fell into silence.

-

While waiting, a servant squatting at the corner of the road seemed to have discovered something. He turned back and shook his hat in the direction of the carriage. Everyone was shocked:

"I'm coming!"

While everyone was watching, at the corner of the road, a column of figures galloping on horseback appeared.

On the strictly regulated Queen's Road, a group of people in gray cloaks rode horses at a fast pace. It was as if they had gone through a rough and tumble journey, and everyone had frost on their faces.

Some of them were armed with swords and crossbows that civilians were strictly prohibited from carrying, and they were tall and tall. Some people were injured, and red blood oozed from under the bandages.

The most horrifying thing was the heads hanging on their saddles. The faces of those heads were covered by long withered hair, and four sharp teeth intertwined in the gaping mouths. Just on both sides are pointed ears that are different from ordinary humans.

——Yue Ling.

It was a race of darkness that had fallen from the human race, a race of twisted monsters created by the Dark Earth Mother.

This kind of monster that is good at disguising itself as a human being and hiding in human society has always been a frequent visitor on the Musicians Association's wanted list. This group of seemingly elegant creatures, good at archery and gorgeous swordsmanship, once exposed to the moonlight, can't help their thirst for blood and turn into blood-sucking demons.

As the leading middle-aged man reined in his horse, the team stopped at the door of the musician.

He dismounted, took off his dust-proof cloak and handed it to his subordinates. Underneath the cloak is a noble hunting attire that does not show the embarrassment of the journey at all.

He took off the gloves stained with dried blood on his hands and put on new pure white gloves. So, in an instant, he changed from a dusty traveler to a nobleman, and he was well-dressed again.

Edmund's eyes lit up when he saw him.

"uncle!"

-

Outside the gate, a middle-aged man was chatting and laughing with his entourage. As he walked into the association, he heard a voice coming from behind.

"Uncle! Uncle Bradley!"

The man stopped for a moment, turned around, and his eyes lit up: "Little Edmund? It's been a long time since we last met."

He laughed and walked towards his nephew, full of joy: "I heard that you were admitted to the Royal Academy of Music. My uncle was also very happy for you when he heard it from abroad.

Are you here to pick me up? "

He hugged his nephew, and when he looked at it carefully, he frowned: "What's wrong with your face?"

"It's just a trivial matter not worth mentioning."

Edmund smiled obediently: "I heard that you were ordered to eradicate those corrupted moon spirits? How was the harvest? I have been praying for you to come back as soon as possible these days."

"A bunch of pointy ears don't pose much of a threat."

Bradley carried him forward: "It was just that there was some trouble when we were looking for a local guide. A group of frightened civilians hid themselves when they heard that they wanted someone to lead the way. They lost all the Anglo people." Face."

"Those untouchables dare to refuse the call of the nobles?" Edmund asked in astonishment.

Bradley snorted, "Her Majesty the Queen is too indecisive towards those who clamor for human rights, and even the serfs have become ignorant.

Don't worry, I don't lack the wisdom and means to deal with those cowards. "

"Let's not talk about these trivial matters. The contribution value obtained from this mission is very generous, and I did not make my trip in vain."

Bradley walked into the hall of the association and stared at the list on the pillar, his eyes became hot: "After working hard for so long, it's time to reap the fruits."

In the hall of the Musicians Association, there are always three stone tablets erected in the center.

These three stone tablets were erected on the foundation before the entire building was built. As the building was improved, different equipment and etheric circuits were continuously connected, and finally they were coordinated by dozens of musicians who had advanced to become alchemists. , engraved with hundreds of chapters of music score, and finally formed the current model.

The three stone tablets will display different contents according to the instructions played by the musicians. One of the stone tablets records all the reward tasks and the contribution value after completion for the musicians to collect.

These include crusade against natural disasters, hunting down hidden black musicians, and cleaning up monsters that appear in the kingdom's territory.

A stone tablet in the center shows the reward.

The alchemical equipment that can be redeemed through contribution points also includes musical instruments and music scores, including manuscripts by masters of the past and even saints, and even legendary scores such as "Gothenburg Variations" and "Missa Solemnis".

and musical instruments forged by the legendary Holy Spirits. As long as the contribution value is reached, even legendary artifacts such as the ‘Horn of Heaven’ can be exchanged for it.

The last stone tablet is the ranking of musicians from all over the world. This is the result evaluated by the Holy City based on the tasks and actions of the musicians themselves. You can choose whether to display it or not according to the musician's wishes.

Of course, the three kings always occupy the top spot, followed by saints such as Haydn, Chopin, Shi Kuang, Boya and so on.

This is the meaning of the existence of the Musicians Association. Through the collaboration and efforts of all parties, it pools resources and guides musicians who are loose in nature to make practical contributions to the world.

But this time, Bradley did not hesitate to go out for a month for a rare blessed alchemy item - the Double Snake Timepiece.

Among the seven departments of the Musician, the Summoning Department masters animal nature, the Chant Department explores life, the Illusion Department is immersed in nothingness, the Imagery Department controls the mind, the Revelation Department longs for the future, and the Forbidden Department focuses on the ether...

Among them, the one with the largest number of musicians is undoubtedly the change system.

The musicians of this faction are good at mastering the nature and changes of all things, including battlefield musicians with ridiculously lethal power, and alchemists who are good at forging items and making alchemical equipment and musical instruments through runes and music scores.

In addition to his own strength, a musician must rely on external things.

If the equipment is good, a third-level rhythm-level ordinary musician can even take advantage of a strong resonance-level person who can break the 'barrier of knowledge' and resonate with the world.

The alchemy equipment itself is also a rare item, and it is often snapped up by people once it leaks out. Those who are qualified to be on the exchange list are all high-quality products.

Some of them can make people come and go like the wind, some can inspire different movements, and some can provide powerful auxiliary effects for the musicians themselves.

Among them is the 'Two Snakes Clock' that Bradley has been thinking about day and night for some time. What is inscribed on it is the third chapter of the "Brandenburg Concerto".

Its function is: within one minute, the musician's induction of ether will be doubled!

Although it is not effective for musicians above level six and can only be used once a week, it is enough to make people flock to it! If you seize the right opportunity during the battle and instantly double your ability to sense and control the ether, the outcome will be completely reversed even if it only takes one minute.

This kind of treasure-level alchemy equipment is naturally expensive, with a price tag of two thousand contribution points, but it is already worth every penny.

Most people would never exchange it for something like this, but because the seller had been wasting at the musician level for too long and had no hope of understanding, he decided to go all out and collect a large amount of contribution points to exchange for the materials of the 'Resonance Ceremony' in order to break through. Obstacles of knowledge'!

Otherwise, this precious piece of equipment passed down from our ancestors would never be consigned through the Musicians Association.

If other people knew about it, they would definitely fight Bradley to claim it. However, a week has passed, and this piece of equipment numbered ST101 has not been shown on the exchange list.

-

Thinking of this, Bradley couldn't help but smile proudly.

On the day it was consigned, Bradley knew about the existence of this equipment in advance through his friends in the association, and spent a lot of money to exploit loopholes in the process.

Generally speaking, after an item is registered in the association, it can be exchanged. But at this time, it still needs some time for identification and preservation before it is officially listed on the "Exchange List".

According to previous regulations, this process must be completed within a week. But over the years, part of the process has been simplified, and it takes less than half a day between these two steps.

In other words, Bradley has one more week of preparation time than others. As long as the item is exchanged within this week, no one will know that the item has ever existed, and he can also have an unknown trump card.

With uncontrollable ecstasy, Bradley came to the front desk and showed his ID and proof of mission completion.

Behind the front desk, the teller looked up and checked the heavy book beside him. On the pages of the book, silver fonts wandered, showing Bradley's information.

"Congratulations, Mr. Bradley. Your contribution value has now increased to 2,041 points."

Hearing the teller's words, Bradley's face showed an unconcealed pride: "Please help me exchange the number ST101, the Double Snake Timepiece. Move faster, I can't wait."

"Okay, wait a moment."

The teller opened the book and checked the association's records and files through the changing handwriting on the book. After a while, a look of surprise appeared on his face:

"Sorry, sir, the Double Snake Timepiece has been exchanged."