abnabooks #479 - Mountain Palace
#479 - Mountain Palace
Removing his poncho, Horn took the handkerchief and wiped the rain off his face and neck.
Jeanne still seemed a little sleepy, her eyes slightly swollen, as she stared at the rock cave behind the vines on the distant mountainside: "Are you sure it's safe?"
"Of course, we sent people ahead of time to search the entire secret passage and cave," Raphael said, glancing back at the two demon hunters being held. "But this passage is a dead end; there won't be any attackers."
"Dead end?" Aigron, bound by iron cuffs and shackles, raised his head and asked in disbelief.
Standing under the makeshift rain shelter at the entrance of the cave, Horn looked around.
The entrance to this underground passage was precisely where the giant spiders had previously nested. Most of the giant spiders in Great Marsh Township have now been driven into the mountains.
Even now, there are guard posts stationed next to the dredging project to prevent giant spiders from coming down the mountain to attack.
Harkin's giant spider farm hasn't made much progress yet, producing only a hundred or two yards of spider silk cloth each month.
This isn't even a luxury item; it's a special supply, only allocated to the Savior Army's decision-making level and veterans.
The textile industry on Autumn Twilight Island is still mainly based on flax and wool, barely managing to produce enough for its own needs.
"Your Majesty," Bruner, temporarily conscripted, gave Horn a salute with his hat, holding a holy rifle. "We've checked again; it's definitely safe."
"Have you found any trace of that Favarelli?"
"No," Jiro, standing beside Bruner, replied. "He's very careful; he didn't leave any traces."
"Alright," Horn said, taking Jeanne's hand. "Let's go take a look."
Walking down the wooden ladder from the edge of the cave, Horn turned his head and saw rows of stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling.
When the light of the torch shone on the stalactites, it reflected a faint, crystalline yellow-green color, the natural glimmer of minerals.
Reaching out to touch the rock wall, Horn felt as if he were touching the slimy surface of a frog, wet and sticky.
The flame of the pine resin torch danced on the damp rock walls, reflecting undulating shadows, as if the cave itself were breathing.
Horn sniffed; the air here was surprisingly cold and heavy, with a faint smell of decaying wood.
Could it be that this group of people escaped from this stalactite cave? How long would this stalactite cave have to be?
Moreover, how did they prevent giant spiders from invading?
Those giant spiders are cave-dwelling animals; there's no reason for them to leave such a good cave unused.
"Your Majesty, please follow me."
Stepping on the cold, hard stones, led and guarded by the holy riflemen, Horn and his party continued forward, soon seeing an opening that was clearly artificially cut.
"Is this it?" A nearby holy rifleman grabbed the back of Aigron's neck, making him look up at the artificial cave entrance.
"Haven't you been through it several times already? Why are you asking me again? Do you think it'll change?" Aigron struggled, gnashing his teeth in anger.
The holy rifleman, who wanted to show off in front of His Majesty, became angry and raised his palm to slap him: "Hey, what's a prisoner acting so tough for?"
"Enough," Armand beside him stopped him. "Don't be rude in front of His Majesty."
"Mr. Aigron, is it?" Horn walked up to the demon hunter, holding up the fluorite lamp. "I'll trouble you to lead the way."
Raising the fluorite lamp, the light, as bright as daylight, shone into the dark, long cave. Aigron, the old demon hunter, and several guards holding torches walked at the forefront.
Then came the Cheka and the military police, followed by seven or eight military police guards behind Horn.
Walking beside Horn, Jeanne held his hand tightly, ready to use "Jeanne, help me" at any moment.
This cave-within-a-cave was initially extremely narrow, so narrow that a person could only pass sideways. After walking for a while, it became wider and wider.
Jeanne's white nose twitched; she seemed to smell a grassy odor.
Judging from the condensed beads on the hilt's counterweight ball, the temperature was dropping, and the moisture in the air was increasing.
"Your Majesty, this way." The leading holy rifleman bowed and made a gesture of invitation to Horn.
Looking at the blue light ahead, Horn raised the fluorite lamp high, took Jeanne's hand, and stepped out of the cave-within-a-cave.
Witt, Armand, and Raphael followed closely behind, all stopping at the entrance.
After standing for about ten seconds, Armand turned around and asked the old demon hunter and Aigron, who were pointing the way, "You call this an underground passage?"
The size of the "underground passage" before them exceeded everyone's expectations, with mountain walls over ten meters high and an open space in the cave with no visible boundaries.
With the area currently revealed, it could even fit the castle of Jeanneburg inside.
The sound of an underground river rushing could be heard in their ears, and moss glowing with a faint blue light formed a sea.
The crystals on the rock walls reflected the fluorescent moss, torchlight, and fluorite light, and everything in sight seemed to be covered with a layer of light blue纱.
It feels like moonlight, Jeanne thought to herself as she looked around.
Before Raphael could warn Horn, Witt suddenly shouted.
"How, how can there be a palace here?"
Following Witt's gaze, Horn was also surprised.
Under the towering rock walls, there was actually a palace built, or rather, embedded into the rock wall, halfway up.
The style of this palace was very peculiar, neither ancient Elvish nor the current classical Gothic.
But this form was similar to the illustrations in some ancient books that Horn had seen, but he couldn't remember what it was.
However, why did he always feel that it wasn't built on the rock wall, but rather that something had neatly cut it in half and then stuck it to the rock wall?
Or was half of this palace hidden in the rock wall?
Otherwise, there was no way to explain why it was built with only half pillars.
It wasn't just Horn who had this feeling; Jeanne was also staring at the palace with her head raised. Although it had already been checked, she still felt a pang of fear.
"............"
In a daze, she seemed to hear a strange murmur again.
Just like the murmur she heard when Horn was descended upon by the Holy Father that day. At that time, she thought it was the Holy Lord communicating with her...
No!
Jeanne's expression changed, and she immediately took out a sedative potion from her pocket and drank it. After waiting for a while with her eyes closed, the murmur disappeared as expected.
Opening her eyes and looking at Horn's back, Jeanne immediately realized that she had to remind Horn.
"Bro... Bro, Bro?" Pushing Horn's shoulder, Jeanne actually saw the same dazed look on Horn's face as she had just had.
"It's nothing, just spaced out," Horn shook his head, clearing the distracting thoughts from his mind. "Raphael, are you sure it's safe here? I want to go up and take a look."
"There isn't a single living creature, Your Majesty, but I'm afraid of something happening," Raphael said, looking at Horn, who was eager to try. "The three counties and eleven townships of the Papal States are still on your shoulders. If it weren't for the fact that those murals couldn't be copied or pried away, I wouldn't want you to risk it."
"What's so strange about those murals?"
"We've determined that this palace is ancient, and the content of the palace's murals is an introduction to the Holy Lord's life..."
"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!" Irritated by the humid and cold air, Armand sneezed several times in a row. He took out a handkerchief and wiped his nose. "What's so rare about this? Is it because it's only half a palace that something's missing?"
Raphael took a deep breath: "It's not missing, it's extra..."