Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 1484: Chapter 62: Hill Doesn’t Want to Meddle

The Earth Priest Tote looked around nervously, finally unable to suppress the doubt in his heart: ”Who is so sure that once your whole family is gone, they can inherit your family’s territory and title?

Aren’t you an only child?

Or is it because old Stelter was severely injured...

Otherwise, just based on your mother’s antics...”

Count Stelter glanced helplessly at the Earth Priest... Perhaps due to no longer requiring the faith of mortals, the terrestrial executors of the gods’ authority each possesses their own personality.

The Master of Runes and the Sun God Temple still conduct their affairs within the realm of mortal comprehension due to business dealings, but Earth and Silvermoon... have pushed their personalities to the extreme.

The Grand Rune Priest let out a sigh, perhaps reluctantly speaking because the Stelter family has been faithfully offering tributes year after year: ”Tote, you and Austin go and completely seal off that spider cave first.”

”Don’t we need to kill them all?” Austin’s face turned a bit pale, taking a large gulp of the Energy Potion provided by Finch again, ”I can hold on.”

”We still don’t know what in the Stelter family is enabling these spiders to grow so varied!” The Sun Priest quickly caught on to the Grand Rune Priest’s intention, ”First seal off and isolate the Silk Spiders completely, then once Stelter Castle is dismantled, release these spiders again.

The orchids that serve as food will be gone too, and the accumulated energy will be depleted, so if they want to survive, they will undoubtedly go desperately searching for that mysterious place.

Although that place might not be useful to humans, but... weeds need to be eradicated at the roots!”

”Do we have to wait that long?” Austin was a bit puzzled, ”Even though these Silk Spiders have strong and varied resistances, as long as they’re controlled, Level 10 Moon Followers can still slowly eliminate them.

The pesky thing about them is their concealment, but once discovered, controlling them seems rather straightforward, doesn’t it?”

”Did you forget there’s a place in Aesces called the Forest of the Elves?” The Grand Rune Priest looked at her calmly, ”Can your Silvermoon Temple call upon that many Level 10 Archbishops just using Moonfire?

Moreover, are you willing to roll around in spider silk day and night?”

’Crack’! The crystal bottle in Austin’s hand shattered against the hard stone ground, forming a small silver-white puddle of potion at the Female Priest’s feet.

”Silk... Silk Spider...” She stammered a bit, ”The entire... Elf Forest?”

”That Great Sage Belfran guessed what might happen without even seeing the spectacle of Stelter Castle... So if even the casually-made elf handicrafts could encounter problems, what’s left in the Forest of the Elves without spiders?” The Sun Priest’s face turned an iron blue, ”I just realized something too, when the elves moved away, they didn’t take their famous orchard where all elves ate fruits.

And how much could the Half-Elves eat in a day?

During that time, continuous conflicts with neighboring human kingdoms made it impossible for them to export... Silk Spiders have always lived in the Forest of the Elves!

In just a few years, Stelter Castle managed to raise Mutated Silk Spiders to this scale with just some orchids!

Disgusting... Just thinking about it makes me itch all over!”

The Sun God Temple has always been wealthy, and although they wouldn’t purchase the current so-called elf crafts made by the Half-Elves, they own plenty of silks and ancient elf relics.

For the Sun Priest, the only solace was that because the temple and churches could accidentally catch fire any year... people would always mess up while making Holy Water... they only used items made of Gold and Silver.

The faces of the Grand Rune Priest and the Silvermoon Priestess were exceptionally unsightly.

Tote glanced at Austin, ”Are you alright?

If you’re okay, can you come with me?

The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can return to the temple to assess the situation!

I don’t mind; the Earth Goddess likes nature, and our temple always wears burlap robes.

Your Silvermoon Temple... and...”

His following words were finally swallowed upon seeing Austin’s face instantly appear in front of him with a fiercely angry look.

Austin looked at Tote, letting out a cold laugh, tilting her head as she spoke each word clearly: ”As long as you shut your mouth, then we can go.”

Watching their figures fade into the distance, Finch, turning around to follow behind the Earl towards the castle, asked the Sun Priest curiously: ”I don’t quite understand, why have the Earth Temple and the Silvermoon Temple always been the best of allies?

At least in the history humans know, these two temples have never fallen out over the years!

How is this achieved?”

”The Earth Priest is most sensitive to malice and lies; the Silvermoon Priest chooses allies based on intuition rather than what they hear.” The Sun Priest glanced at him, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, ”Their Main God is like this too.”

Finch glanced at him... This reason is truly indisputable, though he didn’t believe it fully, or rather, he believed only half of it... He knew these priests seldom lied, but they must have only spoken half-truths, and the least important half at that.

The Grand Rune Priest looked at Count Stelter, speaking very solemnly: ”Although Austin’s words are not pleasant, she was right.

I believe you should have several potential candidates in mind, correct?

Or possibly, you’ve already identified the primary suspect in your heart?

But now, this isn’t just a problem for your family, or even the Danboro Nobility to handle, you’d better not keep it hidden.

Who can say if that family is still human even now?”

Count Stelter naturally grasped his implication, and instantly recognized that familiar person in his mind, what they may be like now... Besides a human skin, everything else inside was filled with spiders, even the blood vessels possibly flowing with spider silk.

To Silk Spiders, human blood vessels were practically wide highways.

He couldn’t help but feel his legs go weak, leaning heavily on the longsword in his hand: ”I... I understand.

I’ll explain this clearly right away.

My father had two sisters, and one of them married Evan Hadley, the Baron from the Capital.”

”I remember you have an uncle, Vaclav Kent, who married a Hadley daughter, but your aunt shouldn’t be related to you by blood!” Finch’s quick response earned a deep look from Count Stelter.

”I naturally researched everything about your family before coming to Basia,” Finch sheepishly explained.

”The uncle who married a Hadley daughter was the second son, and was only conferred the title of a baron, owning merely a small village-sized territory in the wilderness, so he married his eldest son to the daughter of another of my aunts.

I believe you should know Baron Jorgen Solari of the port town, Forbes.

Stelter family revived from my father’s generation. Previously, apart from being an Earl by title, there was nothing else, otherwise, our family wouldn’t have come to build Basia City.

So those two aunts could only marry into baron families as daughters of an Earl.

Yet those families were still relatively wealthy, and their daughters mostly married well.”

”Hmm... Your cousin’s son, once he declares he wants to inherit your title, there’s actually no one competing against him!

To think, when did the Kent family begin plotting against your family?

Did you sense it... Was it before or after they wanted you to marry that cousin?” Finch asked curiously.

”Ha~” Count Stelter let out a cold laugh, ”Does it make any difference? Would rejecting the marriage first justify them trying to sabotage me?”

”Of course not.” Finch shrugged, ”I just wanted to determine if the Kent family is the mastermind, or if there’s another hidden hand.”

”If not the real culprit, then surely someone aware of the truth long ago.” Count Stelter replied without hesitation, ”Some things weren’t comprehensible then, but now...

The Kent family likely started having problems thirty years ago.”

”Then you’re pretty lucky!” Finch cheerfully comforted Count Stelter, ”At least your biological mother definitely has no issues in her bloodline, the Stelter family dodged a bullet there.”

After all, the Earl is already over forty years old.

”We’re near the gallery.” The Sun Priest’s words halted Count Stelter’s sword-raising hand; he took out a bottle of Number 18 Holy Water, ”Let’s sprinkle two waves of holy water in the corridor first. Ah, best spray ourselves a bit too before making any moves; I don’t want to be rushed by newly-hatched tiny spiders.”

Count Stelter suppressed the anger unexpectedly triggered by Finch, which had been building for days: ”Please proceed carefully; the family gallery is more precious to us nobles than our very lives.”

He fixed Finich with an unwavering gaze.

The Alchemist spread his hands: ”Rest assured, you might say mine is a wicked mouth, but you cannot doubt my hands will make a mistake.”

Once everything at Stelter Castle got on track, Hill moved his usual room up to the top floor.

In Basia City, flames rose everywhere, dazzling golden flames soared into the night sky from time to time.

Clearly very lively.

After casually petrifying all the earth twenty meters deep under the street he was on, Hill felt he could no longer let his feet touch the ground.

After all, he promised not to meddle!