Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 548: Chapter 347: Oil Paintings Have Many Uses!

Hill looked on with interest at the quarreling duo; it seemed the bookmaker closed the bets immediately after discovering ”Snow Cloud Peak” had placed a wager!

Although it looked like these two men had made a fortune, the bookmaker had not yet lost anything.

By the time everyone from their alliance had placed their bets, the bookmaker would probably go bankrupt, so their reaction was swift, ending the betting round succinctly.

Unconvinced, ”Snow Cloud Peak” said, ”Would I just come in and ask? I’m sure it was because of that horse that Hill invited me here!”

Not pleased, ”Night Fire Seals the City” said, ”You think when there’s a chance to make money, you wouldn’t ask? Are you some kind of pure and innocent naive being?

Do you think no one knows your name? It would have been enough just to stop you earlier, allowing your family to make a profit. But then they closed the bets.”

”We cannot wait,” ”Snow Cloud Peak” said without hesitation. ”Since he’s paying such close attention, he probably knew I was at Hill’s place already. He might have wanted to wait until the originally set end time, but then hesitated for a moment; after all, they have maintained this account for over a year, right?

It looks like he chose money over face, and they’ll have to change the bookmaker’s account next time they open bets.

But having maintained this account for so long only to discard it means there must have been quite a few people placing bets this time!”

Listening to their discussion, Hill could not help but take a sip of fruit wine. Although the memories of the past were still vivid, he had long suppressed them to the deepest reaches of his Mental Sea.

Only some familiar tactics of the Undead Tribe occasionally caused ripples in his Mental Sea.

”Wait,” ”Snow Cloud Peak” lifted his tablet, ”Hill, William is asking if you have brought that semi-divine artifact painting with you; he wants to borrow it.”

”I did bring it,” Hill said after a few seconds of pause, ”but isn’t this more powerful than legendary? Doesn’t he want to avoid alerting the Radiant Knights Order?”

”How can that be the same?” ”Snow Cloud Peak” explained, ”The legendary painting, kept in a room, is very concealed. No one knows its function until they see it.

But your semi-divine artifact is different; its presence is too strong.

Even when it was in your Magic Tower, our tablets would alert us as we passed by, warning us that we had entered the domain of a demi-God artifact and if we didn’t leave within ten minutes, we could get affected with a ’Sincere Repentance’ BUFF.

Otherwise, even with proper management, we couldn’t prevent spies from causing trouble in your Magic Tower!

No one dares to go in.

Just ten minutes, with so many Elemental Spirits going in and out of your Magic Tower every day, no one is confident they could break in.

Unless there are enough people, but then, we wouldn’t be fools; we’d have taken them out already.”

”I let you in because I was prepared!” Hill said with a chuckle, ”Whether it’s the past List or now Srei, they can directly control the entire Magic Array within the domain, easily killing anyone less than legendary.

Unless millions of Magisters stormed my domain, then there wouldn’t be much I could do.”

”But Mr. Hill could still run away, right?” ”Snow Cloud Peak” curiously asked.

”A Legendary Mage, if he wants to run, can always escape,” Hill replied curtly. ”A Legendary Mage, in his own Magic Tower, can be comparable to a Deity, but only fears not having enough Elemental Energy stored.

So, even before escaping, he could cause significant casualties.”

”Would attacking the Magic Kingdom also be this difficult?” ”Night Fire Seals the City” couldn’t resist asking.

”Even among legendaries, there are differences,” Hill could only respond that way. A knock-off Legendary Mage, if even those from the Radiant Knights Order could take him down, facing hundreds of millions of the Undead, he would only have the option to flee.

However, ”Snow Cloud Peak” saying this implies that they know the painting inside the Magic Tower is gone.

Hill took the painting with him when he left because if something truly went wrong, that painting really could save lives.

He touched the pendant around his neck and looked at ”Snow Cloud Peak,” ”Would you dare to walk away with the painting?”

”I wouldn’t!” ”Snow Cloud Peak” immediately answered, ”William is waiting for you! He’s in the basement! I’ll go ahead, things are heating up outside! I’ve had enough rest.”

The two members of the Undead Tribe swiftly left, not before packing up all the food on Hill’s table.

Hill had no choice but to go himself; he really did not want to appear before the Radiant Knights Order. Knowing Hill definitely knew the truth made a difference compared to directly seeing Hill appear.

The moment Hill walked into the Royal Palace, he was transported elsewhere.

William smiled at him, ”Hill, did you bring the thing I asked for?”

Hill, without diverting his gaze, handed over the painting to William.

”Only you can use this,” William waved his hand, ”The Sun God set it so only those of the Kind Alignment can use it. For others, holding it is like a double-edged sword. It’s not a matter of life and death; I’m not interested in taking risks.”

Hill slightly widened his eyes, then calmed down, ”Alright, what do you need me to do?”

He did not know why William acted as if he was still human, but whatever the reason, Hill would certainly cooperate.

”I remember that the power of the Sun God can purify some evil spells,” King William asked nonchalantly, ”Can you see if you can cancel the transformation spell on him first?”

”Throw a cloth over him.” Hill said directly, ”This transformation spell is different from a druid’s; clothes don’t change with him.”

William was stunned for a moment, then stiffened, and after a while, he asked, ”So he’s naked now?”

After Hill hummed a response, William quickly pulled a piece of sackcloth from his ring and threw it over the horse.

Hill wasn’t surprised, guessing William’s ring could hold the contents of two royal treasuries; he wouldn’t possibly tidy up himself, probably having everything imaginable inside.

William didn’t remind the three Radiant Knights to stand further away; Hill looked at Spencer and took out the Semi-Divine Artifact Painting with a composed smile.

Hill grimaced slightly. He had to take the painting down for a reason, a Semi-Divine Artifact might be safe in an unmanned valley, but the one in Hill’s hands was already counted as the lowest tier of holy relics.

Whether William thought of it, Hill didn’t know, though he guessed William might have a clue.

The Goddess of the Earth had awakened!

The painting Hill made depicted a gathering of the Three Gods; it used to show only the powers of the Sun and Silvermoon because the Goddess of the Earth had not awakened.

When the World Tree erected its avatar in Hill’s Domain, his painting quietly shone with a third type of light, a deep brown.

When the powers of the three deities converged, the painting advanced in rank, which wasn’t just a matter of doubling the skills.

Hill dared not replicate this painting; he suspected that even a copy would be a lower-level Semi-Divine Artifact.

As soon as the activated painting appeared, the entire underground hall was filled with gold, brown, and silver light.

Everyone’s body and mind seemed to have been purified, unwittingly revealing happy smiles.

A wave of frenzied screaming woke several people immersed in the Light of Purification.

Hill quietly took back the painting.

With the combined Power of Purification of the Earth and Sun, a devil would be unlucky to appear, let alone a mere lackey.

Commander Mason looked at Hill, shaken. When that divine power appeared, facing the unknown force, he had no alertness at all!

If it were not for the scream that woke him, he even wanted to stay in that light a bit longer.

That was definitely more than just the power of the Sun!

”Commander Mason,” King William said with a smile, looking at him, ”I’m not very familiar with the matters of this world, so why don’t you start the questioning? If I still have any questions, I can ask him myself later.”

Mason was startled, about to decline but was fiercely pushed away by his own lieutenant. ”Fool! When others are giving us respect, you want to reject it? We still need to save face!

His Majesty King William, we will do our best to find out everything you want to know.

But please allow me to first inquire about how much of the secrets of our base he has disclosed!

There are thousands of children there! If it’s not safe, we must evacuate early!”

William looked at the three knights, who were all robustly lively, and smiled slightly, ”Of course, the safety of loved ones is most important. If needed, our place is always open for your relatives to stay.

However, we do have faction requirements; people from the Evil Faction, no matter their plight, cannot enter.”

Commander Mason took a while to understand, then looked ruefully at his two companions who had already drawn Thin Swords and were rushing towards the spy under the sackcloth, turned to William and said, ”Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty King William. We will consider it.

About those from the Evil Faction, we can’t deny their existence. To protect everyone, someone always must consort with evil. Those children, without them, simply wouldn’t survive.

To do evil for the sake of saving others, we ourselves don’t even know if it’s worth it.”

Hill quietly stepped back a few paces, stood next to Spencer; at this time it wasn’t suitable for him to leave, so he could only watch the affair unfold.

Although those two ladies said they’d question him first, in reality, they were just venting anger with their Thin Swords, but being Legendary Knights, they probably knew their limits—they would at most make ’Becky’ suffer terriblly, surely not kill him.

But still, even in anger the two Female Knights retained enough reason not to provoke the seemingly unfathomable William.

And William, appearing so understanding, probably really wanted to win over this Radiant Knights Order.

He probably had a way to revert the horse back to human form, but William still had Hill come over, probably just to ensure these three could remain normal under the radiance of the Sun God.

Hill could now be sure, William must have known his Semi-Divine Artifact had advanced, otherwise, he wouldn’t trust the power of the painting so much.

From the corner of his eye, Hill could see the two ladies’ Thin Swords, mostly thrusting towards ’Becky’s’ lower half; he drew in a sharp breath, until ’Becky’ screaming in pain shouted, ”Let them stop, I’ll say everything!”

”Hill, bring out the painting again.” William said with a smile to the three knights, ”That will ensure he tells the truth.”