Whispering Verse

After bidding farewell to Luvia, Shade took advantage of his free time in the morning and took the cat to Coldwater Port to see if the commission to acquire coins and items related to solar power had any results.

The seven brooms on the black market in the dock area still found nothing, but the bartender recommended to Shade the autumn specialty of the New World, a disgusting plant called "sheep's tail". The thing was white, as long as a sausage, and would sway from side to side when touched. It can be used as a material for some basic healing potions. Unfortunately, there are alternatives such as myotis in the Old World, so it is not very popular.

And when Shade went to the lighthouse outside the city, he was attacked by fishmen on the beach.

This incident is also interesting to talk about. He originally took a carriage out of the city, but because he wanted to see what the beach looked like in autumn, he got off the car early 1 mile (about 1.6km) away from the sea cliff where the lighthouse is located. , walking on the beach holding the cat.

The port of Coldwater Harbor is busy, and the scenery of the shallow water beach outside the city is also very beautiful. Shade even picked up a beautiful conch and planned to take it home and put it in the living room as a souvenir.

Just as he was picking up conches, a faint sound of a horn came from the sea. Then, amidst Mia's panicked screams, three crumpled and bald heads emerged from the water.

Not knowing why, Shade's first reaction was to retreat, and then he realized that what was crawling out of the sea was an ugly fish-man. But it is not the fish-man god's favored one who has the ability to pollute the mind himself, even if he just leaves a portrait on the painting, it can affect the viewer, this time it is just a mixed-race guy.

One of them was fat and short, leaning on a rotten wooden staff with seaweed hanging on it and pearls on the top. The other two were tall and held large iron forks that were rusted by seawater corrosion. After the chubby fishman softly chanted a spell, some blue water patterns appeared on the two weapons that didn't look very useful. This was a spell to strengthen the weapons.

"A spell caster and two melee professionals? The murlocs of Coldwater Port really know how to cooperate with each other."

The three fishmen obviously took a fancy to Shade and Mia. After the fat fishman finished casting the spell, they rushed towards Shade while making the sound of Ulu Uru from his mouth.

This is the common monster with the weakest strength but the largest number lurking in the coastal waters of Coldwater Port. Even if there are three of them combined, the challenge difficulty is probably equivalent to that of a third- or fourth-level human ring warlock.

So there was no suspense in the next battle. Shade drew out the [Moonlight Great Sword] and faced it. With a horizontal slash, he directly chopped off the head of the fastest murloc. Then, the moonlight drawn by his fingertips made the other one The fishman had to dodge sideways, and took this opportunity to get close again, and punched him with his left fist wearing the [Psychic Crystal Ring], causing him to fall down with bleeding from all his orifices.

Look at the fat fishman spellcaster again. It has retreated to the beach, speaking in fishman language and swearing words that are difficult to translate, and then waving the rotten wooden staff embedded with pearls. At the same time as the life ring appeared, Dense schools of fish suddenly appeared in the sea water. These fish swarm on the beach and pile up together, forming a terrifying humanoid shape that can trigger trypophobia.

"Summon?"

Shade took a step back to avoid the fishy smell, reached out to press down Mia, who had her little head exposed from her arms - the cat was twitching its nose, and then took out the moonstone ring and kissed it gently:

"confusion!"

Under the misty yellow moonlight, the fish monster turned around and rushed towards its summoner, leaving a series of weird footprints on the beach. The fat fish man screamed strangely and immediately threw himself into the sea, while the fish monsters also chased after him.

Shade didn't chase because he didn't want to get his clothes wet. He stood on the beach and looked at the two corpses:

"After the Cold Water Port incident, the murlocs here became the only trouble. If the incident in Fort Rice can be successfully solved, 'ghosts' will probably become a specialty there. Every city has its own characteristics."

Restore the canvas toys to canvas, use it to turn the two fish-man corpses into toys, and plan to sell them to Mr. Edmund, who guards the lighthouse. Mr. Edmond was not, of course, studying the bodies, but rather the local church to recycle them. Shade didn't want to go to the city to go to the black market anymore, so it didn't matter if he sold it to the old tower guard and let him make a profit.

But unfortunately, there are no new coins here for the Tower Keeper. As for the items containing the power of the sun, Mr. Edmond sold Shade a dusty parchment roll and a sun-patterned scroll for 5 pounds 3 shillings and 21 pounds 14 shillings. Round metal badge.

There are many ways to draw the sun pattern. The sun pattern on the badge is not the holy emblem of the true god [Old Man with the Lamp].

"This roll of parchment is said to have been found from the ruins of the old temple in the New World. Although there is nothing on it except the runes representing the sun, when it was found, it was placed on a building with only the base left. Under the statue of the god. As for this badge, it is an antique I recently collected. It contains very low miraculous elements and can slightly increase most of the thaumaturgy and spells related to the sun."

The old man explained that Shade tried his "solar rays" and found that the enhancement was almost negligible.

"Are these two items really related to the power of the sun?"

Shade was very suspicious.

"What are you going to do with them?"

Mr. Edmond asked as he packed up his fishing gear.

"Opening an ancient seal requires five different items related to the power of the sun. Now I have found three items, and there are still two more to go."

"Then find a few more items and try them all. You will always find something that meets your requirements."

The old man gave his advice and recommended that if Shade couldn't find it, he should sneak into the Church of the Sun in the countryside and wait for an opportunity to steal the Holy Emblem hanging on the main auditorium.

Of course he was joking. The only outcome of doing this would be to be hunted down by Sun believers from all over the world.

First, we returned to the city of Coldwater Port and tasted the delicacies of the coastal city in a restaurant with little Mia. Then we returned to St. Teresa Square and took a carriage out of the city to visit the witch's manor and ask the witch if she had obtained items related to the sun.

Shade hopes that he can be promoted to the fourth ring before the incident at Fort Midhill is over, so that he can have more strength in the trouble he is involved in. Therefore, he must enter the fifth era of 3024 for the third time as soon as possible to complete the unfinished story. And assisting the witches to obtain the "Unknown Book of Sacrifice" is also something that needs to be done.

Unfortunately, when Shade arrived at the manor at two o'clock in the afternoon, neither Miss Carina nor Tifa were there.

But they did not go into the city, but accompanied Queen Diana to watch the horse racing at the racecourse on the outskirts of the city.

"race?"

"Yes."

The old butler of the Witch Manor smiled kindly in the foyer:

"Now is the last season suitable for horse racing before winter comes. There are many well-known racecourses in the southern suburbs of the city. There are one or two races every week. Well-known local jockeys can sign up to compete, and there are even official gambling bureaus. The lady is not keen on it Queen Diana liked this kind of sport very much, so she often summoned the ladies and royal family members in the city to watch horse racing outside the city."

"Then I'll wait here for Miss Carina to come back. Since they are all ladies, it's not appropriate for me to go."

Shade said, but the old housekeeper shook his head again:

"It's not just ladies. The racecourse they went to today belongs to the Le Maire family. The racecourse is close to the large estate of Marquis Le Maire. Nobles are allowed to go there at will, and there are many nobles who like horse racing. Moreover, being Her Royal Highness the Queen has attracted many good people, so you can go there now. Do you need to prepare a carriage? Or do you want to ride a horse yourself? The weather is nice today, and the country roads in autumn are worth admiring."

Shade doesn't know how to ride a horse, so Tifa only lets him learn to mount a horse for the time being. And he also took little Mia with him, so of course he would not engage in such "high-risk" sports:

"Help me prepare the carriage. I have never seen a horse race before."

Le Maire Racecourse is located about 2.3 miles (about 3.7km) from the edge of the city. When the carriage drove Shade further south, he felt that the road in front of him looked familiar.

After inquiry, I learned that the large manor and horse farm of the Marquis of Le Maire were connected to the manor of another nobleman. That manor was called Lakeview Manor. In fact, the horse farm and surrounding pastures are sandwiched between two manor houses. Lakeview Manor is adjacent to Lake Schluch, and technically half of the area belongs to the Marquis de Le Maire.

When thinking of the special location of Lakeview Manor, Shade would inevitably think of the Rhodes cards under the vines on a midsummer night, the blood-clothed god on the third floor of the manor, and a kick under the moon.

Obviously it was only half a year ago, but it really seemed like it happened many years ago.

To enter the racecourse, you must first enter Le Maire Manor. Although this manor also covers an amazing area and has exquisite sculptures and gardens in the courtyard, it is still not as luxurious as Miss Carina's manor.

The carriage bearing the emblem of Duchess Saladir entered the manor without encountering any obstruction. It's just that the manor courtyard is divided into two levels: inner and outer. The carriage did not drive towards the inner level where the three-story mansion was located. Instead, it drove along the carriage path in the outer courtyard towards the side entrance of the manor.

A servant had been waiting here for a long time. After the carriage stopped for a while, the servant respectfully asked the name of the guest on the carriage. After the coachman announced the name "Hamilton of Ray Jade", Miss Carina's current location was immediately known.

There is a dedicated driveway connecting the side gate and the horse farm, and wooden fences on both sides separate the manor from the adjacent pasture. Not long after, I heard loud noises, and then I saw from the car window the racecourse surrounded by tall fences made of wood and iron, as well as the tiers of spectator seats at the edge of the racecourse.

The carriage stopped. After Shade jumped from the carriage, he could see the dust raised by the running horses through the gaps in the fence, and could also hear the cheers and roars.

Colorful ribbons were pulled above the racecourse, and good people excitedly waved their hats to the riders. The riders rode freely on their horses, and the heavy sound of horse hooves even frightened little Mia in Shad's arms.

Under the leadership of the servant, Shade stooped and walked up the rear stairs to the auditorium, while Miss Carina and Queen Diana sat in the awning in the south of the racecourse. The richly dressed ladies all wore sunhats with colorful feathers, or held porcelain tea cups, or held small telescopes, or held feather fans, enjoying this dull and boring autumn afternoon.

The shadow of the awning rested on the sunlit ground, and there was no wind at all in the muggy yet cool air. Everyone is so comfortable, and the activities of the nobles have always been like this.

The tension caused by venturing into the ghost-infested, foggy and windy city of Fort Midhill actually dissipated at this moment.

The racecourse seemed to be covered in golden yellow, and the warm sunlight made the body warm. A smile appeared on Shade's lips unconsciously. He raised his hand above his eyes and looked at Miss Carina, who seemed to be aware of it and looked over.

Tobesk is really peaceful this autumn.

PS: The final period of daily life before the decisive battle.