Bernadette thought the ideas Odis had given her were very good. Although she didn't thank him, she politely said goodbye to Odis when she left.
Odis lay back down and began to think about the whole story.
He suddenly remembered the sealed artifact "0-08", and was completely relieved, knowing that Bernadette would not be able to find any important clues.
Or rather, whenever an important clue is found, it will inevitably be misled by "0-08".
It is believed that "0-08" played a role in misleading the Ruen royal family into the Fusak Empire, and even in misleading intelligence agencies of other countries.
Even Adam might have helped, since He was quite supportive of the king before George III officially began his journey to godhood.
Thinking of this, Odis quickly stopped his thoughts. It was fine to just think about "0-08" or Adam, but if he continued to think about it, it would easily attract their attention.
Odis meditated intently and soon drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, he went to the basement, changed into the clothes of the wizard Gandalf, and went to 66 Rose Street through the basement's "teleportation circle".
After cooking some noodles to solve her breakfast problem, Odis had just made herself a cup of coffee when the doorbell rang.
Max delivered the gold pound he had acquired last night for its extraordinary properties. Max had nothing to do today, so he visited Odis's new base and had a cup of coffee before leaving.
Odis counted out 1,120 pounds, put them in a parcel, then found a horse-drawn carriage and had the driver take him to 26 Tutwa Street, instructing the driver not to reveal the sender's information.
Back in the living room, Odis put her 1,600 pounds into the "Wilderness of Knowledge" and waited quietly for new clients to arrive.
...
"The Forsaken Land," Silver City.
Derrick was summoned to the Round Tower by Chief Colin. As soon as he entered the hall, Angel, one of the vice-captains of the Council Guard, said to him, "Wait here for a moment."
The Council Guard is the most elite and extraordinary force in the entire Silver City. Due to the limitations of the ceremony, there are not many Sequence 5s in Silver City, and most of those who are promoted to Sequence 5 are members of this guard.
This vice-captain Angel is a Sequence 5 "Guardian," while the captain is usually concurrently held by the chief.
Soon, three more members of the "Council Guard" arrived: a "Guardian," a "Psychoanalyst" (what Odis and his companions called a "psychiatrist"), and a "Necromancer."
Once everyone had arrived, Chief Colin came downstairs, and Derrick and the others immediately bowed.
Colin waved his hand and got straight to the point: "A few days ago, Derrick provided some intelligence after returning from patrol. He discovered something unusual in the northern swamp. Angel has already led people to explore it twice and confirmed that there should be a demigod-level sealed artifact in the swamp."
Everyone's faces were beaming with smiles. The "guardian" said, "I never expected to find such a wonderful thing so close to us."
In the general education curriculum in Silver City, grammar courses rarely teach adjectives; they generally focus on teaching people how to express themselves concisely and clearly.
Therefore, the way people in Silver City express themselves is generally very straightforward.
The people looked at Derrick with a mixture of admiration and confusion, because they had all been members of the patrol team outside the city, but none of them had noticed anything unusual in the swamp.
Upon hearing the chief's words, Derrick was initially pleased, feeling that he had made a contribution to Silver City and that he had proven the "Hermit's" guess to be correct.
But Derrick offered no explanation to the others who were puzzled.
During his previous conversations with the "Hermit" and the "Hanged Man," his inner world underwent significant changes. He had prepared himself mentally to move forward alone amidst the incomprehension and skepticism of his compatriots.
Then, Angel began to describe the two expeditions, during which the chief concocted a powder that could drive away the annoying strange fish in the swamp.
So they ventured deep into the swamp and encountered some monsters and enemies.
Based on the distribution of those monsters and enemies, they were able to roughly determine the location of the sealed artifact.
Therefore, the third expedition was personally led by Chief Colin, with Derrick also participating in the operation, aiming to find and obtain the sealed artifact in this mission.
After making some simple preparations, the group set off.
Chief Colin walked at the front, carrying two swords, while only Derrick, of Sequence 8, was in the middle of the group.
They soon arrived at the swamp, and Angel took the lead. Their previous two explorations had already led them to a relatively easy path.
Angel would occasionally sprinkle some medicinal powder to drive away the strange fish in the swamp.
After traveling through the mud for several hours, the exploration team rested twice and encountered some monsters.
When Angel indicated that he suspected the sealed artifact was not far ahead, Colin ordered a final rest and some food to replenish their strength.
By this time, they had gone deep into the swamp. Under the light of the lightning, they could occasionally see strange fish and monsters fighting in the swamp, and sometimes they could see some strange plants waving their leaves or tentacles to hunt.
Even the least experienced Derrick had become accustomed to such sights and did not consider the animals and plants to be monsters.
After the final rest, Colin once again took the lead in the group, heading in the direction Angel had indicated.
Not long after they started walking, Colin suddenly pulled out a sword and plunged it into the mud beneath his feet. A humanoid monster struggled in the mud and soon became motionless, losing its life.
Strangely, no sound was made during the entire process.
After the monster died, it turned into silt.
Then, illuminated by the lanterns and lightning, everyone saw that the surrounding mud suddenly seemed to come alive and began to shape itself, eventually turning into humanoid monsters.
Before the exploration team members could even draw their weapons, they were already surrounded by these monsters.
Angel said, "When we came here before, we had already killed all the monsters. I didn't expect them to reappear."
At this moment, the team's "psychologist" reminded them: "They're all puppets!"
She sensed no mental activity from these monsters, and they seemed to have no spirit, only an instinct to attack intruders.
As Derrick, wielding the "Hurricane Axe," fought these monsters, he mentally assessed that they weren't very strong.
Upon hearing the "psychologist's" reminder, Colin's pupils suddenly emitted a blue light, and his gaze became extremely deep.
After looking around, he took out a black medicine bottle from his waist, poured out some black grease, and spread it evenly on the longsword.
Then, he plunged his longsword into the ground, and a dark light rippled out. The monsters around him suddenly froze and turned into clay sculptures.
Colin sheathed his sword: "Conserve your energy and keep going."
The road ahead became increasingly muddy, with mud reaching up to the thighs in some places.
At this moment, the "Undead Mentor" stepped forward and summoned a blue ghost with a head that looked like a round crystal. Derrick immediately felt the surroundings become extremely cold, and he even exhaled white mist.
Under the command of the "Undead Mentor," the blue ghost suddenly flew forward, and a layer of white frost immediately appeared on the ground, freezing the muddy swamp and making it as solid as normal ground when stepped on.
The exploration team continued forward, and soon many monsters roared as they emerged from the unfrozen swamp to attack the team members.
These are monsters that can be seen everywhere outside Silver City. The team members cooperated tacitly, and Colin didn't even need to lift a finger to stop their attacks.
When the road became muddy again, Angel said, "We explored this far last time."
Everyone's spirits sensed that there seemed to be danger ahead, which is why Angel and his group explored to this point: there might be insurmountable dangers further ahead.
Then everyone was even more puzzled. They walked for several hours before they seemed to sense the threat of the sealed object. How did Derrick sense the sealed object when he was patrolling the edge of the swamp?
However, now is not the time to think about this. Since the chief has not raised any questions about it, the other members will not ask any questions either.
The "Necromancer" summoned the blue ghost again. As the ghost flew forward and disappeared into the darkness, the road ahead became frozen solid once more.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
Just as everyone stepped back onto the frozen swamp, the "Undead Mentor" suddenly said, "The blue ghost from before... suddenly broke free from my control."
Colin immediately smeared a layer of golden oil on his eyelids, and his eyes suddenly emitted a faint glow: "Prepare for battle! That ghost has mutated."
Everyone immediately formed a battle formation. The two "Guardians" summoned the "Light of Dawn" to illuminate the surroundings. Derrick knelt on one knee, opened his arms, and prayed for the sunlight, which made everyone feel warm all over and full of courage and strength.
Suddenly, snow began to fall and a cold wind blew. A blue giant appeared before them.
Judging from the giant's crystal-like head, it must have been the blue ghost summoned by the "Necromancer" earlier.
It let out a shrill roar, forming ice spikes in front of it, which it hurled at the members of the exploration team.
A "Guardian" knelt on one knee and plunged his weapon into the ground. The "Dawn Light" around him instantly solidified, forming a solid barrier that blocked the ice spikes for himself and his teammates!
After observing for a while, Chief Colin took out a bottle of golden potion and gulped it down.
His body suddenly emitted a dazzling light, and the sword in his hand seemed to turn red from the intense heat.
Colin bent down and lunged forward like a gust of wind towards the blue giant.
Whew~
Suddenly, layers of flames ignited around them, as if burning the silt in the swamp.
In the blink of an eye, Colin had rushed close to the monster. He dodged the blue giant's attack and plunged his crimson sword into the blue giant's body.
The blue giant seemed to raise its head and let out a roar, and orange flames spewed from its mouth.
Then the giant went limp like a melting snowman and disappeared without a trace.
At this moment, the light on Colin and the surrounding flames disappeared one after another, and the chief sheathed his sword: "Keep going!"
...
Backlund, 66 Rose Street.
While studying witchcraft, Odis waited, and in the afternoon, he suddenly heard a noise outside.
Ding-a-ling~
Soon, the doorbell rang.
Odis picked up her staff, opened the door, and there stood Lord Brad Rick, who was slightly overweight.
Last weekend, Odis had just been invited to visit his castle in the suburbs, where he encountered Eleanor, who possessed strange abilities.
At the same time, Odis noticed that behind Brad was a man in his thirties, dressed in fine clothes.
Judging from the design of the badge the other person was wearing, he was a true nobleman, and probably a viscount or earl whose ancestors had distinguished themselves in battle.
Odis had some prior knowledge of noble badges, which often represented the honor of a noble family, with the highest-ranking being the "founding badge of the nation."
Those were the true old nobles of Rune, and it is said that they were awarded more than a thousand years ago when Rune had just been founded.
Secondly, there are the "Twenty Years' War Badge," the "White Rose War Badge," and the "Battle of the Oath Badge." Currently, most of the traditional nobles of Rune were ennobled or distinguished themselves in these three wars.
The lowest tier is the "Colonial War Badge," a batch of badges awarded by the royal family more than a hundred years ago when colonial wars broke out.
These badges were not symbols of noble status, nor were they part of the proof of the legitimacy of a noble title. However, they could be used to display the honor of one's family and were generally only worn by the person who inherited the title.
The nobleman behind Brad is wearing the "Order of the White Rose," which is generally awarded to viscounts or earls to noble families who participated in the war, unless they have been too promiscuous or in poor financial condition in recent years.
Odis judged that the nobleman's financial situation must be good, because he was accompanied by a caravan when he traveled, and judging from the bodyguards, it was clear that he hadn't just hired people to make a show of things.
"Wizard, we meet again." Brad introduced with a smile, "This is Earl Brandon. He has heard about your story and would like to have a chat with you."
Earl Brandon greeted him politely with a warm smile, "Greetings, Wizard."
"Hello, please come in," Odis said calmly.
He then noticed that Brad and Earl Brandon's personal valet had followed him in, indicating that the conversation was unlikely to involve private topics such as "my son."
After they were seated, Earl Brandon looked around curiously: "This is the first time I've ever visited a wizard."
Odis said, "This is also the first time I have hosted a count."
"Let's get down to business. What do you need me for?"
The count then looked at Brad, who was standing to the side.
Brad smiled and said, "My Lord, I have described my experience, and I believe that this Mr. Gandalf is a very reliable wizard."
Earl Brandon then slowly nodded and said, "Wizard, it seems my family is cursed."