Mercenary Wars

Chapter 260 Secret Cellar
Magic was never very powerful to begin with, and it has become even weaker over the passage of time.

With a single dispel from Gaucano, the magic vanished.

According to Pierce, there were some traps behind the door, so he activated Earth Skin before pushing open the stone door. However, perhaps due to years of disrepair, the traps were not triggered.

He looked at the scene inside the secret cellar.

The cellar was fairly spacious, about thirty square meters, with walls made of thick stone, carved with text and patterns, mainly depicting the glorious deeds of the Shackleton family's ancestors.

After a quick glance, Gao Jiano learned that the Shackleton family's ancestor was an ordinary farmer from the ancient kingdom of Asur, whose name was "Roden," a name that consistently ranked among the top ten most common in Farallo.

Although some of the writing on the wall was blurred, most of it was still quite legible. The carved characters were simple and profound, bearing the unique style of that era. Gao Jiano gently ran his hand over the uneven characters, as if he could feel the solemnity of the carver back then.

According to the inscription, Rodden lived a mediocre and arduous life, just as his ancestors had repeated many times before. And his situation was even worse than his ancestors', as he could not find a wife willing to marry him and faced the risk of dying alone.

But heroes create the times, and the times create heroes. The change of top leaders often changes many things, which has been seen many times in history.

Roden's fate changed when a fanatical pope came to power.

With the rise of a fanatical pope, religious wars ensued as expected.

Harboring perhaps a devout faith and fantasies of fame and fortune, the ancestors of the Shackleton family joined the army that fought against the heretics. They were fortunate enough to survive and made remarkable contributions, earning them the title of knight, a fief, and the surname "Shackleton," thus entering the ranks of the nobility.

The room was filled with a variety of miscellaneous items, many of which belonged to Rodon Shackleton. Among them was a full set of warrior's gear, including plate armor, a longsword, and a shield—equipment Rodon Shackleton used to fight the heretics. Since, apart from the first generation, the Shackleton family had produced almost no one who pursued a career as a warrior, this gear had likely been left unused and rusted away for many years after Rodon's time.

Gaucano approached the armor, examining it closely. The plate armor was covered in a thick layer of rust, the once-shiny metal now showing dark red stains. He tapped the breastplate lightly, producing a dull sound. The longsword leaned against the edge of the stone platform, its blade more heavily rusted, the leather wrapping that should have been on the hilt long since decayed away, leaving only a bare metal grip. Some heraldic patterns were still faintly discernible on the shield, likely the early coat of arms of House Shackleton.

Besides warrior equipment, the secret cellar also contains other items, some of which are placed directly on the ground or stone platforms, while others are placed in chests.

For example, there is the decree of fiefdom signed by King Asur, the genealogy of the Shackleton family, a silver goblet used in ceremonies, a statue of Saint Roden... and of course, some gold and silver jewelry, which are estimated to be worth several hundred gold coins.

The purpose of this secret cellar was clearly both for family inheritance and as a precaution, so that the Shackleton family could regroup and make a comeback after a disaster.

However, fate is fickle. The Shackleton family did not rely on these things to achieve a revival, and continued to progress for hundreds of years after the War of Asur, eventually becoming one of the top families known throughout the continent.

After looking around the secret cellar, Gao Jiano put away all the items.

Ideally, the land where the cellar is located would be bought directly, since the cellar itself is of great significance to the Shackleton family. But what if the owner is unwilling to sell or asks for too high a price?

Therefore, to be on the safe side, it is natural to take everything that can be taken with us first.

As he tidied up, Gao Jiano also checked the various items he had put away.

Most of them are nothing special, typical antiques and cultural relics. For someone like him who has no interest in collecting, the value of antiques and cultural relics is no different from that of gold and silver.

He was more interested in books, but unfortunately, most of the paper items had long since decayed, with only royal edicts and family genealogies barely surviving due to their special materials.

Upon final inspection, only one thing truly caught Gaucano's attention.

A map carved on a stone slab.

The stone slab was clearly a product of magic, its texture reminding Gaucano of the examination desks and chairs used in the entrance exams at the Ax Magic Academy. The map depicted a maze.

The maze-like passages are interconnected, with many door-like dividing symbols in the middle of the passages.

Upon closer inspection, the textures of these separators are not all the same; there are four different types in total.

After staring at the map for a while, Gao Jiano gradually understood.

A partial map of the Elemental Maze.

The Elemental Maze is a special place of tides, said to be the ruins of an ancient elven magic academy, containing many profound magical and historical mysteries. Each opening of the maze is a grand event for the mage community.

However, the opening of the Elemental Maze is extremely irregular.

While strictly speaking, the opening of all Tidal Lands is random, there are still some vague patterns in most cases. The closure time is roughly the same each time, except for the Elemental Maze, which is an exception. Its closure time fluctuates greatly, sometimes opening every few years and sometimes every few hundred years.

The "opening rules of the Elemental Maze" are even considered an unsolved magical mystery, and are being studied in various magic academies.

So, although Gaucano also longed for the Elemental Labyrinth, he had no idea whether he would have the chance to enter it.

But in any case, this map is still quite valuable.

Gao Jiano couldn't just keep it for himself, but he definitely needed to make a copy for his own safekeeping.

Of course, cleaning up the secret cellar is the priority right now; it's not too late to replicate it after that.

Gao Jiano emptied the contents of the secret cellar and then returned to the surface.

"Has anyone been here?" he asked Daryls.

Darius: "A farmer just passed by, but he certainly couldn't see through my illusion."

Gaucano nodded, filled in the tunnel, and leveled it to make it look the same as usual.

The two then left the manor.

When dawn broke, Gaucano inquired about the owner of the estate, intending to buy it.

However, once he inquired, the result surprised him.

"The manor is Princess Sara's property?" When Gaugano heard this news at a tavern in a nearby town, his eyes widened. "Princess Sara of the Kingdom of Sain?"

"Who else could it be but Princess Sara?" the tavern owner said casually.

Gao Jiano was puzzled: "Why would Princess Sara buy an estate in the County of Lorraine? To be honest, the land here... isn't very good."

(End of this chapter)