The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 1419 Ask For Guidance

Karl saw a large group in the distance, headed toward their location, and finally noticed that there was a roadway running not far from the ruins.

By his best guess, it was a tourist attraction of sorts for the locals, and the group was all dressed in simple monk robes, holding some sort of ritual flags. They werenʼt moving quickly, they were stopping to pray every few minutes.

For Karl, that was a good sign. If this was still a holy place, they should know something about the region in general, and that would help Karl and Cara identify the location where the System Stones would most likely be.

Well, the other system stones as the ones that had been at this temple were apparently long gone.

So, he waited as they approached, and then led Cara over to greet them a few hundred metres from the temple ruins.

”You shouldnʼt be inside the ruins. If you trample a sacred site, it will upset the gods,” an old man among the group of pilgrims noted in a calm tone.

”Forgive me, but I am familiar with this place, and I was checking to ensure that there hadnʼt been any damage or theft since the last time that one of our people was here.” Karl replied.

”One of your people?” The old man asked.

”The Darklight Host. We still check in on the old places from time to time.”

The man folded his hands in the spread wings gesture used by the Golden Dragon Nation, and bowed politely.

”Forgive me, I didnʼt recognize you without your ceremonial robes on.”

Karl waved his hand dismissively. ”You werenʼt intended to. But there is another location I have been looking for, an ancient Kingʼs tomb which might contain a holy relic.

Itʼs not one of our places, but I was asked to find it and ensure that it hadnʼt been looted.”

The pilgrims gave him bemused smiles in return. ”The Kingʼs Tomb? Thatʼs a legend of sorts. Everyone knows where his castle is, but his tomb isnʼt there. Itʼs been extensively explored, and parts of it are still inhabited.

They even had the dragons come with magic to search the ground for hidden caverns.”

Karl frowned. ”So, the burial site is hidden, and that is where the holy relics are likely to be. Which means there are likely barriers and traps. Do you know when it was set? Was it while the System was active?”

The old man nodded. ”Indeed. You have a keen knowledge of history, it seems. Though, that should be somewhat expected from a long lived race such as yours.

The burial site was indeed created during the years when the system was active, and it is believed to have survived the downturn in the key lines. The problem is that the location was deliberately hidden, and while there are rumours that he appointed guardians to watch over it, nobody knows if any are still alive.”

Karl silently celebrated the systemʼs choice of appearance for him. The cat demon exterior gave him not only respect from a variety of species, it also came with the assumption that he could be much older than he was, as nobody could tell their age with a glance, the way that you could with humans and most dragon kin.

”So, there is a chance that we might find someone who knows the answer, but logically, they wouldnʼt tell us just on the word of a stranger that I had good intentions.

So, I would assume the best way to go about it is to simply search the regions where it is rumoured to be.” Karl replied, watching the manʼs face for unexpected reactions.

His face didnʼt show any unusual reactions, but a few of the pilgrims looked more concerned than eager to gossip about rumours of holy relics.

If they were scared he would actually find the place, that was the sort of reaction that he would expect.

”Would you like to stop for a meal? I will prepare something for your devout pilgrims. Do you have dietary restrictions?” Karl asked.

The old man smiled. ”We donʼt kill anything while we are on this trip. So, only plants that were not uprooted before the end of their life cycle.”

Karl nodded. ”Then, summoned food should be fine, right? I donʼt have the widest variety of options, but if weʼre talking about rice and beans, I can summon as much as we need.”

The pilgrims looked shocked at the news.

”You have the old holy magics?” One asked.

”Not all of them. But I can summon supplies to keep the faithful fed. You see, I am a member of the Darklight Host, and I have a certain affinity for the World Dragon, that wonʼt leave just because the mana of the ley lines is harder to reach,”

They didnʼt truly understand what he was talking about, but assumed that he was one of the Elder Demons, the ones whose System was still partially activated, even this long into the dark ages.

”I hope that some of you are strong. The spell creates a rather significant amount of food.” Karl joked as he activated it, creating a dozen thirty kilo bags of mixed dry rations.

The pilgrims began to cry. Actually cry, at the sight of so much food.

”Is this because of the trip, or are times that hard here?” He asked the silent old

man.

”A bit of both. These pilgrims are travelling to the holy sites praying for a better harvest, and the health of their loved ones. If they can get one of the two, itʼs enough. But between you and me, most of them left so they wouldnʼt be a burden on their family during the lean times.” He whispered, knowing that Karl would be able to hear him when nobody else did.

Karl nodded. ”Perhaps I can help a little with that as well. Does your route take you near any of the suspected locations of the lost burial site?”

The old man nodded slowly. ”It does. In fact, it takes us past five of them, if you believe the rumours. This is one of the locations that it was said the great King visited frequently, so rumours are that he might be buried deep beneath the old

temple.”

Karl shook his head. ”No, I was here when the temple was still intact enough to access the basement. There is no Royal Crypt down there.”

The man gave him a strange look. That was thousands of years ago. Just how long had Karl been ”checking in” on the ancient holy sites of his people?