Symphony for the Insect Princess

With a thud, the door was suddenly and roughly pushed open, and Osam rushed in, sweating profusely.

"Something serious has happened. Li Jin—eh eh eh eh eh? Uh, ah? Uh, you… you just woke up? Uh, I… uh… didn't mean to look… I'm sorry… or should I say thank you? Anyway…"

"I'll give you three seconds to run away before I dig out your eyes."

"I'm sorry!!!!!!!"

One minute later——

"Huh? That idiot dwarf is dead? That Butcher is dead too?"

Even Sedroon was surprised to hear this shocking news.

"That's right! Not long ago, Butcher was found dead in the square in front of the City Lord's Mansion! The investigation team, people from the City Lord's Mansion, and thousands of onlookers all saw his body!"

"But what does this have to do with the dwarf?"

"Big secret treasure!!!"

"…………what?"

"Great Secret Treasures! The news has spread throughout Kasolu. Two Great Secret Treasures were found on Butcher's body! And then a third one was found not far away in the square! The first one to pick up the third Great Secret Treasure was Li Jin, but he was immediately killed by the war spirit next to him!"

"Wait wait wait wait, I don't understand what's going on! Three? Three great secret treasures? What the hell?"

"God knows! But all we know for sure is that there are more than just three great treasures that have appeared, and they all seem to be counterfeits. There's only one real one! Right now, there's a melee everywhere in Kasolu City! Everyone's going crazy trying to grab the treasures!"

"...So, many counterfeits of the Great Secret Treasures have appeared in Kasol? Is it possible to imitate ownerless Great Secret Treasures? Could it be... the Sage of Craftsmanship!?"

Sedroon suddenly thought of something and his eyes widened.

"The Sage of Craftsmen... I've heard of him. I think he was a sage from more than three hundred years ago?" Osam recalled carefully.

"Four hundred years ago. The Sage of Craftsmanship, Zelanoff, was a renowned research scholar at the time, on par with the Sage of Medicine, Astroy, before his fall. Astroy's achievements were in medicine and alchemy, while Zelanoff's were in magical engineering."

"You know so much... but what does this have to do with the Sage of Craftsmanship?"

"This is a huge deal! The Sage Craftsman published most of his achievements in his early and middle years. He made almost no achievements in his later years. However, only a few people know that he devoted all his energy in his later years to... researching the Great Secret Treasure."

"What!?"

"Don't be so surprised, okay? That guy is a sage after all. If he really works hard, it's not impossible for him to get a great, ownerless treasure. Many of the things circulating about the nature of great treasures were proposed by him."

"Then, those imitations you mentioned..."

"Of course it's his masterpiece," Cedroon waved his hand impatiently. "The Sage of Craftsmanship's long-cherished wish was to 'realize the artificial creation of the Great Secret Treasure.' To this end, he conducted many experiments and even created a prototype that imitated the Great Secret Treasure. Of course, the replica didn't have the ability to become the object people desired, but other than that, it had an identical appearance to the Great Secret Treasure, and even the magical fluctuations were exactly the same..."

As he spoke, Sedroon also fell into thought.

There is only one true great secret treasure, but there are many false great secret treasures.

Why do fakes appear in Kasol City?

It is absolutely impossible to have it from the beginning.

Is it someone who deliberately spreads fake goods in the city?

Why do you want to do this?

"Wait... maybe the real secret treasure has already been discovered."

Sedroon frowned and spoke slowly.

"Discovered?"

"Is your brain filled with paste? The person who discovered the great secret treasure may have made sufficient preparations in advance to conceal their tracks. They may have obtained a fake treasure and placed it in the city to confuse people and scramble for it, so that they could take advantage of the chaos and escape with the real treasure..."

"Now that you mention it...it's quite possible."

"This is just my personal guess, but I think it's very likely."

""""...""""

After listening to Sedroon's analysis, everyone began to think.

Osam suddenly said, "Ms. Sedroon, you know... a lot."

"What do you mean? Sarcasm."

"Uh, no, you misunderstood!" Osam, who had just wanted to flatter her, was frustrated and quickly explained, "I just think Miss Setroon is really knowledgeable! I admire her very much!"

"Don't give me that crap. It's just some things I have to remember... Let's think carefully about our next move."

Sedroon sat on the sofa, crossed his legs and stretched.

"First, Butcher was killed. That alone is bad for me. After all, I had a fight with him three days ago. If they're looking for the murderer, I'll definitely be the main suspect. Second, the city of Kasol has become a gladiatorial arena. Everyone is like a wild dog, searching for any trace of the great treasure. It's going to be tough to determine a winner anytime soon. Third, those idiots on the investigation team are definitely having a hard time right now. Do you know why?"

She turned her gaze to Osam, who thought for a few seconds and said—

"It's a magic mark sample... they are the only ones who possess the magic mark sample of the great secret treasure!"

"That's right!"

The replica of the great secret treasure made by the sage craftsman, both in appearance and the magical fluctuations it emits, are completely consistent with the characteristics of the great secret treasure in the records, and it is impossible to determine whether it is real.

So how do you tell the real from the fake?

Just use it and turn it into the object you want to verify it?

impossible.

The research results of the Sage Craftsman back then, as well as the numerous records of the Great Secret Treasures from ancient times to the present, all indicate that regardless of one's own strength, anyone who wants to transform the Great Secret Treasure into what they want must go through a "transformation cycle."

It is definitely not something that can be used immediately after obtaining it. A lot of preparations must be made in advance. Moreover, it takes an average of about a week from the beginning of the transformation of the great treasure to its final shape.

In other words, if you want to use this to verify the authenticity of the great secret treasure, you will have to wait about a week to get the result. By the time you confirm that the great secret treasure you discovered is a fake, the real great secret treasure has already fallen into the hands of someone else.

So there is only one way.

Three investigation teams, each holding three samples of magic scars.

Fakes are fakes after all. Perhaps the appearance and magical fluctuations can be imitated, but the magical marks like fingerprints are absolutely impossible to imitate.

As long as you compare the magic mark sample with the magic mark of the great secret treasure in your hand, you can get the results immediately.

The Sage of Craftsmen also pointed out that some extremely special individuals may be able to immediately shape the ownerless great treasure once they obtain it, but such people only exist in theory. Such people have never appeared in countless years and are not considered.

therefore,

The three investigation teams are the strongest teams in this huge treasure hunt.

It is also the bait coveted by everyone.

"—So it's decided! Let's take a break, get away from the center of this chaos, and find a place outside the city to wait! The fewer teams left, the greater the chance of encountering the real deal. We can then take action. Why push ourselves too hard?"

“““““Hah!?”””””

"Why are you so surprised?"

"No, it's just... with Miss Sedroon's personality, I thought you—"

"You idiot! I do like excitement, but I hate doing useless work. Is that even necessary?"

Chapter 47 Hunter = Prey

Run

——This is the only wish of a man.

Holding the small package in his hand, feeling its hard touch, he tried his best to ignore the pungent smell of his companion's blood spilled on him and ran as fast as he could.

got it.

Although he didn't know whether it was true or not, although he didn't know why it eventually came into his hands, although he didn't know what to do with it, but for this thing, all the brothers in his adventurer team died, and only he survived.

The obsession with escaping even outweighed the desire, and the means of transcendence replaced the original goal. Run, run, run, as long as I can escape from here——

"It's so ugly, idiot."

—However, the woman's voice was merciless.

The man fell down. Unbeknownst to him, the black shadow that looked like a living thing spread all over the ground, entangling everything that moved and producing tiny spikes to cause destruction at the cellular level. Just a little contact would be equivalent to a death sentence.

The man tried to struggle, but the shadow swallowed him immediately, leaving only black remains.

The shadow transformed into the shape of a hand, grabbed the package that fell from the man's hand - the great secret treasure, and handed it to Ailian.

at this time--

“——Tsk!”

The shadow instantly reorganized into a shield, blocking the attack from above! It was a man who had been lurking nearby. The spear he thrust down was wrapped in extremely powerful magic, clearly a war spirit who had previously deliberately concealed his strength! The silver light from the spear and the shadow eroded each other, becoming indistinguishable for a moment!

"Shadow, transform into a thousand needles and pierce me!"

The shadows spreading across the ground immediately surged, transforming into dozens of spears that simultaneously stabbed at all the man's vital points! The man's spears exploded with magical power, pushing him back and simultaneously tapping the air several times to distance himself. Meanwhile—

boom! ! ! !

"Gu!!"

A flash of red light flashed before her, and without hesitation, she immediately enveloped herself in shadow. The next moment, a massive explosion enveloped her! The power of the explosion was astonishing, nearly flattening the entire street. The shockwave and flames razed dozens of houses to the ground!

At the end of the street, a middle-aged woman was holding a very heavy-looking staff, looking over here and muttering something. It was obvious that she was also a magician!

"The highest level of fire attribute, explosion magic..."

The shadow cocoon encasing her was shattered to pieces. Ailian leaped out, constantly moving to prevent the opponent from aiming! However, before she could take a few steps, a white shadow suddenly attacked from the side, and a spear as fast as thunder almost pierced her neck! Ailian immediately condensed a pitch-black shadow sword in her hand to block the next thrust, and then she distanced herself. At this time, the red light—actually the magic circle of explosion magic—reappeared!

"Shadow Coffin!!!"

Skipping the chant, Ailian cast one of the highest-ranking defensive spells in Shadow Magic. Seeing this, the middle-aged woman in the distance sneered, knowing that this hastily constructed defense couldn't withstand the powerful explosion magic! The man also raised his gun again, placing himself outside the blast range while preparing to launch a surprise attack on Ailian at any moment!

however,

The shadow coffin does not contain love itself,

But it’s the magic circle of explosive magic!

"Varied--!?"

The middle-aged woman suddenly felt something was wrong. Explosive magic erupted from the magic circle. If the magic circle itself was sealed, it would be meaningless! While the shadow coffin was not yet fully formed, she immediately detonated the magic circle.

——The moment before, Ailian suddenly kicked the shadow coffin towards the war spirit man!

The man was momentarily caught off guard by the sudden, flying shadow coffin, and the woman quickly halted her magic, but it was too late! As the shadow coffin approached the man, it suddenly disintegrated into black particles, revealing the magic circle within, emitting a blinding red light! Unable to dodge, the man immediately deployed his magic armor with all his might!

boom! ! ! ! ! !

The man was overwhelmed by the explosive magic from his companions, but Ailian didn't even look at him, just murmured "one", and then rushed towards the magician woman at a high speed!

"Don't, don't come here!"

The next explosion blocked Ailian's way, but her body sank into the shadow on the ground, and when she reappeared, she was already very close to the woman!

"Asshole!!!"

The woman cursed and prepared to release magic, but at such a close distance, the explosive magic would drag her into it as well. The moment she hesitated, the shadow blade in Ailian's hand had pierced her throat!

"two."

Ailian kicked the woman's body aside and stretched her neck. At this time -

“Stop…stop joking!!!!”

The dust raised by the previous explosion was dispersed by the powerful magic power, and a war spirit man with severe burns on his body appeared. Terrifying magic power erupted from his whole body, and the spear in his hand could hardly withstand it!

"You bastard woman... You're just... a wizard! How could you possibly defeat the combined might of a war spirit and a wizard..."

"But I've already won."

“Stop talking nonsense!!!”

The man poured all his magic power into the spear, raised it high above his head, and was about to throw it, when -

"An eyesore."

A transparent box appeared out of nowhere and "put" him inside.

At first glance, the box walls appear to be glass, but they are actually very thin ice with an extremely smooth and flat surface.

The man was trying to break free, but suddenly his whole body trembled and he fell into the box.

His skin turned into an icy blue-gray color, and fine ice chips came out of his mouth, nose, and eyes. He finally struggled a few times like a dead fish, and then he and the ice coffin exploded into countless ice chips and disappeared into the air.

"There are so many rabble-rousers everywhere who don't know their own limits. It's really disgusting."

The moment the old woman's voice rang out, Ailian straightened her back, and the many who had been secretly watching her retreated. In the midst of the cold, Glory appeared. Her steps seemed slow, but they were actually extremely fast, leaving a layer of frost on the ground wherever she passed.