Overlord: Start from the Goblin Lair.

Chapter 336 The Earl's Notes

"'...This year marks the third year since we came to settle in this desolate mountain. The parliament's repeated exclusion of me has worn out my patience. Even if they ask me to go back and take charge of the situation, I won't do anything - to hell with that lord who gets drunk from socializing all day long! The same goes for those ambitious people in the Ryan family. I can foresee that the elves' rule over this land is likely to come to an end because of them!'"

"That's pretty far-sighted. It seems that the history of this territory is even longer than that of the Hailan Empire." Ron shrugged. He was not surprised by this.

"Before the Hailan Empire, the elves were indeed glorious," Ivy said, "but no one mentions it anymore, otherwise they will inevitably be accused."

"'Do you miss the Hailan Empire? Do you want to continue being their slave?'" Quest took over the conversation, "In the early days of the city-state alliance, many lords, mainly the elven lords, were overthrown because of this trap."

"'Although there is almost nothing here, I am not penniless. I still have a family that loves me and I love, as well as people who support me. I believe everything here will be fine, and Mary will grow up in an environment that is no less beautiful than her hometown. And I have plenty of time to change everything here, and I will definitely be able to do it, swearing on the honor of my family.'"

"The family's honor..." Yelena sneered. This shadow spirit still practices the family tradition, but she no longer looks down on those of her fellow tribesmen who crawl on the ground and dig the soil - serving the Grand Duke of Purgatory, such an opportunity is not available to everyone.

"'Especially after my wife Hecate made some discoveries in this land, I am more convinced that our future must be bright - I fantasize that there was once a huge empire rising from this land. If we can find their legacy, everything will change! I must do my best to support her research!'"

"This is the ninth year of records," Ron flipped through the records at the back and sighed. "A relatively rational earl was buried here. Almost all the discoveries that followed were made by him and Hecate. His witch wife did find some clues and warned him, but this somewhat paranoid guy completely ignored them."

"So they fell out, and he even thought that Hecate intended to murder him and take everything for himself, so he decided to strike first... In the following years, the records above were extremely messy, and it didn't look like they were written in ink, but more like..."

"Blood," Driver came closer, stood on tiptoe to identify it, and said confidently, "These are old bloodstains, and the writing is not as good as mine."

"Of course my handwriting is not as beautiful as your painting," Ivy curled her lips, "I have never seen anyone write so well as to draw a house!"

"Just tell me if there's anything better than what I wrote! You're just jealous of my talent!"

"In the following years, he spent his time in endless regret - not only because he accidentally killed his daughter, but also because of the magic sword found in the ruins and the ritual to gain power: the magic sword devoured Mary's soul and Hecate's body, which caused his carefully prepared ritual to fail. The uncontrolled power raged in his body, and his life fell into a countdown until the mysterious being appeared again."

"The guy in the black fog?"

Ron nodded. "It first met the Earl and his wife in the ruins they excavated. In its self-introduction to the Earl, it claimed to be the soul of a generous ancient magician who had helped the ancient empire and was willing to give the same help to the Earl and his wife, which ultimately destroyed their family."

"And in the second meeting, it gave the count two options: either he would die, and his people would continue to reproduce in peace; or he would change his life form to save himself, which would turn all the residents of the territory into undead creatures."

"Of course the Count chose the second option. He offered all the living creatures on his territory to the other party. In return, it offered the Count a deal - a ritual that would allow him to gain power as planned even if he became a vampire. When the ritual succeeds, that being will come to collect the other half of the reward." "I am the key point of that ritual," Sylvia sighed and raised her hands. "I will never be fooled by such a 'good thing' again. I promise!"

"What about those coffins in the bedroom?" Quest glanced at the room full of mummies.

"This is a gift," Ron found the answer in the Earl's notes. "In order to ensure that the plan can be implemented smoothly and not be disturbed by outsiders, the other party built a powerful gargoyle guard for the Earl, using all his knights and guards. These people were invited to the Earl's house for dinner. During the dinner, the Earl left on the pretext of something. The mysterious man controlled them all, extracted their souls, and erased their memories, leaving them with only infinite loyalty to the Earl."

"Dying for one's lord is not a complete tragedy," Victoria sighed. "It's a pity that these people probably don't even know how they died in the end."

"Let us put these men to rest in their coffins again. Sylvia, is there anything else of note here besides his bedroom?"

"Then there's the attic," the dhampir spread his hands, "I believe you've already been there. Besides that, I'm sure we've been shown every room, and there won't be any omissions."

"Really?" Quest looked at Sylvia with suspicion.

"Why would I lie to you!" Sylvia said helplessly, "Although I lost my mind this time, think about it, have I ever lied to you? No matter what, we are on the same side!"

"That's not what I meant." The spy waved his hand. His eyes passed Sylvia and looked at the wall behind her. "Don't you find anything wrong with this room?"

"Mr. Ron, what do you think?"

"What do you think?" Ron was startled by the sudden question. He immediately cast a spell to check the entire room, but found nothing. "Quest, I don't think I noticed anything unusual here."

"Is the magic aura normal?" Quest shook the horns on his head. "It looks like a purely physical mechanism."

"Have you not noticed? Although this room looks spacious, its area is still smaller than the length of the corridor outside, the size of the castle's outer wall, and the thickness of the stone wall!"

The tiefling walked behind Sylvia, to the wall where the earl's coffin was leaning against, and tapped the wall twice. "I bet there's a secret room in here!"

(End of this chapter)