Chapter 221: Sacred Artefact (1/2)

Chapter 221: Sacred Artefact

It appeared that the Countess had been shocked by what happened.

The young woman was clinging onto Chen Xiaolian, refusing to let go as she cried her heart out. At the moment, she was like a drowning person who had just found a life-saving straw.

Chen Xiaolian neither struggled nor pushed the young woman away. He raised his eyebrows and sighed, enduring the snot that the Countess was leaving upon his clothes.

After having cried for a moment, the Countess gradually lost the strength to continue and she slowly calmed down.

“It would be best for us to leave this place.” Chen Xiaolian cast a glance at her.

The Countess did not say anything. No matter how shrewd she was, she had only just recently turned 20. A scene as bloody and shocking as this was more than sufficient to break that shrewd and rational mind of hers.

“Get on the car.”

Chen Xiaolian pulled her up and helped her walk to the roadside.

Lun Tai took the initiative to be the driver. Chen Xiaolian helped both Bei Tai and the Countess into the back seat of the car. He was about to close the door and head to the front passenger seat when he suddenly feel a tug on his sleeves.

Lowering his gaze, he saw a slender hand clutching onto his wrist.

The Countess was looking at Chen Xiaolian with a terrified expression.

Chen Xiaolian sighed and got into the back seat as well. He sat by her side.

“We need to find a safe place,” Lun Tai said. “Where do we go?”

Chen Xiaolian hesitated for a moment. Then, he recalled the suburban warehouse used by Phoenix and her team back then. Although the warehouse had collapsed, the place was still a good place to hide.

However…

“I know of a place.” The Countess gave a sniff before saying with a trembling tone. “I… I have a private studio. It is not far away from this place. The place is very remote. Furthermore… … the property is not under my name. The number of people who know about it is very little.”

Chen Xiaolian immediately made a decision. “Very well, we’ll go there!”

…

Her so-called studio was in fact, a big house. It could even be considered a small-scale stone castle.

The building was located behind a hill and was built beside it. Not far away, a river bent into this area. As it so happened, there was a depressed piece of land there, causing a lake to be formed.

From a scenic point of view, this place had quite the picturesque landscape.

At the moment however, they were in no mood to enjoy the scenery.

It was an ancient building made purely from stone. Chen Xiaolian judged that this small stone castle possessed some of the Normandy style: the standard thick walls and small windows.

The place was apparently suffering from overgrown weeds.

Weeds covered the open space outside. As for the stone castle, it did not stand alone. In the rear side of the lake was a row of stables… … however, they were already ruined.

The doors to the old keep were locked. However, under the guidance of the Countess, Chen Xiaolian quickly found an iron chain from under a haystack. Pulling it forcefully, they were able to open the doors to the old keep.

“There is a back door here that could be used to go in and out. Normally, there would not be anyone here. However, once in a while, there will be someone here to clean up the place,” the Countess explained.

“Aren’t you afraid of thieves?” asked Chen Xiaolian. He observed the desolate surroundings.

“This is England,” said the Countess as she shook her head. “A great deal of importance is placed upon the privacy of private lands. Additionally… there is nothing here to steal. It has always been empty.”

The first layer of the old keep was very spacious. After entering, they saw an arching column gate. There appeared to be some traces of black coloured rust marks upon its surface.

Although the ground was fairly clean and not much dust had built up, it was still evident that it had been quite a while since it was cleaned up.

The small windows were not made with glass. Instead, they were made with an extremely aged type of wooden board … if they wanted to open the windows, they will need to use a frame to get up and push the wooden board open.

It was apparent to them that those wooden boards were all new. The paint on its surface was clearly no more than half a year old.

“There is a lounge at the back with a simple kitchen that allows for the boiling of water. There are also some simplistic appliances. There is also a well further behind.”

Chen Xiaolian had no interest in drinking well water. Fortunately, there was a lot of mineral water in his Storage Watch. He took out a few bottles and distributed them.

Lun Tai glanced at him and stood up. He said, “I’m going to the back to see if there is anything that can be used.”

Bei Tai was resting on a clean spot. Chen Xiaolian had spread a blanket over the area. Thus, Bei Tai lay with his back to the wall as he rested.

“We… … need to talk. Is that all right?”

The Countess approached Chen Xiaolian and whispered.

In fact, while they were on the way here, she had been consciously staying close to Chen Xiaolian without moving too far away. She appeared very scared. Moreover, she seemed to have decided that Chen Xiaolian possessed the ability to protect her.

“Mm, let’s talk,” said Chen Xiaolian. He sat down upon the ground. “Sit and talk.”

The Countess sat down and unscrewed a bottle of mineral water. She took a gulp.

Her body trembled slightly.

“Those people… … their target is me, right? What I mean is the ambush.”

The Countess was as pale as a paper.

“… … should be.” Chen Xiaolian nodded his head.

He had already made some deductions inwardly.

This London instance dungeon was not a competitive-type instance dungeon.

If so… there should be no reason for other teams to lay an ambush specifically to deal against them.

The intentions behind such an action did not make any sense.

As for personal grudges… … judging from the way the black-clad man had reacted when they first confronted each other, it appeared that he did not even know who Chen Xiaolian was.

Thus, personal grudges could be ruled out.

Then… … the other party’s objective must certainly be the Countess!

“They… why are they coming after me?” the Countess bit her lips and asked.

“I’m afraid I have no ability to answer that question.” Chen Xiaolian shook his head. He said in a calm voice. “I do not know the answer to that question. I also do not know who they are.”

“They… do they want to get something from me? Could it be… could they have the same purpose as you people? For the sake of the sword?”

Chen Xiaolian’s mind raced.

That could be possible…

No, it is very possible!

In order to obtain the quest props, their approach of attacking the Countess seemed to make sense.

Could it be… other teams had also been issued the random quest of finding the Sword in the Stone?

No, more accurately, to find the Sword in the Stone’s hilt.

When he thought of that possibility, Chen Xiaolian’s heart sank. He turned around and faced the Countess.

“I feel that after what happened earlier, there is a need for a change in attitude toward how we treat each other – I must say this. Our present circumstance no longer allows us test each other out and beat around the bush. Do you understand?” Chen Xiaolian slowly said with a heavy voice. “I must know for sure. Is the Sword in the Stone’s blade with you? Or rather, where have you hidden that item?”

“You want me to give it to you?” The Countess bravely stared back into Chen Xiaolian’s eyes. “Then what? After you obtain that item, won’t you leave? Then, what will happen to me? Those people want to kill me! They have already killed Stewart!”

“You can… …”

Chen Xiaolian was going to say: You can call the police.

However, those words were quite the shameless words and Chen Xiaolian could not bring himself to say it out.

Call the police?