classifiedscript Chapter 312 What are the sewers of Epiru?
Chapter 312 What are the sewers of Epiru?
Chapter 312 What are the sewers of Epiru?
Epiruço, nominally a city belonging to a small Middle-earth kingdom, had long been coveted by the Church due to its advantageous geographical location, and the Church had secretly gained control over every aspect of the city.
In a sense, the church also contributed to its success, transforming it into a thriving commercial city, something the small country to which it belonged could hardly achieve.
This is true in times of peace, but in the current wartime, Epiruçal plays another role in the hands of the Church due to its geographical location: as a key military stronghold guarding vital routes.
"Don't worry, Epiru is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is not only equipped with the most advanced space blocking device, but also has a large garrison of the Church of the Seven Holy Spirits. Any enemy with a brain would not launch a direct attack on this place."
Not far from the city gate, a man who had just finished being questioned spoke confidently, accompanied by a young man with a slightly immature face.
The two men were leading a horse with bags hanging from it; clearly, they were two traveling merchants.
The younger merchant was somewhat nervous, and his companion's words of comfort seemed to have little effect.
"But Epiruço is too close to the front lines. Once the war starts, we won't have any time to escape."
"Don't worry, we won't stay here for long. We'll leave as soon as we sell this batch of goods."
The older merchant didn't take it seriously, glancing back at the goods as if imagining himself making a fortune.
"You know, opportunities to make a fortune from war are rare. The timid starve, the bold thrive, an unknown soldier or a famous figure? Think about it carefully."
Patting the young man on the shoulder, the older merchant carried the horse and continued onward.
The young man who remained behind changed his expression several times. Seeing that his companion had already gone far away, he quickly led his horse to catch up with him.
After the two left, a blurry human figure gradually disappeared at the street corner behind them.
"They are just two opportunistic businessmen, not spies sent by heretics."
"What? Their luggage? We've already checked it, and it's exactly the kind of goods Epiru desperately needs. Maybe we can fabricate a charge and confiscate their goods?"
"No? Well, then they're lucky."
Just as the hidden observers were submitting their report, the two traveling merchants, who had already gone some distance, arrived at a hotel and booked a room.
Lock the door, close the window, and draw the curtains. The entire room is instantly filled with darkness, and the concepts of enclosure and privacy permeate the room at this moment.
The two men, disguised as merchants, finally dropped their pretense and revealed their true colors as merchants.
"Finally, we've shaken off those spies. It seems the setbacks at the front have made the church suspicious," the older merchant complained.
The young man shed his feigned naiveté, his expression turning indifferent as he calmly stated, "It's normal. When people are pushed to the limit, they'll do anything—except for advanced mathematics. Damn it, why would advanced mathematics account for 20% of the total score in the advanced spellcaster qualification exam?"
"You're lucky. Look at us alchemists, we spend all day guarding the alchemy cauldron like we're drawing cards. Damn it, there's no guarantee of success. Whether we can refine new materials depends almost entirely on luck."
The seemingly older merchant gritted his teeth, "I'm the same age as you, but judging from my appearance, I could almost be your father!"
""
"Hey, you're not secretly taking advantage of me, are you?"
"Look at what you're saying. Why would I need to take advantage of you? Isn't that an indisputable fact?"
After exchanging a few words, the two quickly got back to work.
The young man took out two maps. The first was a map of the entire city of Epiru, which had been collected by spies who had infiltrated the city earlier.
The second document, and the most important one at that, is the layout plan of the Epirudian sewer system.
"There used to be an underground river, or underground water vein, beneath Epiru. What we need to do is go deep underground and guide the River Styx to change its course and flow into the underground waterway."
As the young man spoke, his gaze fell upon the sewer system plan.
"We can start with the sewers, find the place closest to the underground river, and then make an opening there."
"When are we leaving?" the man who called himself an alchemist asked.
"Let's do it now, perfect timing, the entrance is right next door."
The two packed their luggage, traveling light, and also left some disguises in the room in case someone came to check on them while they were away.
Upon entering the sewer, the two encountered no unexpected incidents. The only thing that made them frown was the unpleasant stench emanating from the sewer.
The stench lingers here, the deathly aura persists, and sewage mixed with garbage flows together into the drain.
Treading through the mud, the two maintained their purification spell as they explored deeper into the sewers.
"Don't those Epirudians clean their sewers regularly?"
The alchemist complained that the mud under the boots made him feel nauseous.
"Damn it, if this were discovered in the North, the person in charge would be fired."
"With such a dense aura of death and putridity, there are probably quite a few monsters lurking here... They've arrived."
The young man suddenly stopped and casually reached out a hand to stop his companion.
He looked up and stared at a shadowy spot above him.
The next instant, a cloud of black mist suddenly surged out, rushing towards the two of them in a fan shape.
"A mere trifle of skill, yet you dare to show off your amateurish abilities before an expert?"
The alchemist sneered, and bright silver patterns began to appear beneath his feet.
The mercury-filled conduit stretched out and pierced through the air; the moment its tip touched the black mist, a chilling aura emanated from it.
The black mist vanished without a trace, but the mercury loop did not stop; instead, it continued to probe into the darkness ahead.
A short while later, after several roars, the mercury flow reversed and disappeared into the flask in the alchemist's hand.
The two continued walking forward, and after only a few steps, they saw more than a dozen frog-like monster corpses lying on the ground.
"Cursed frogs, the monsters I hate the most." The young man glanced at the corpse on the ground. "You can always find them in any dark and damp corner."
"It seems we'll have plenty of opportunities to deal with them on this trip," the alchemist said half-jokingly.
"I hope I never encounter it in my life."
As a thriving commercial city, Epiruço's sewer system underwent countless expansions and modifications, eventually forming the labyrinthine structure it is today.
Even though the two managed to get their hands on the sewer system plan, they still had a very difficult time getting around, because... the plan seemed outdated, and many of the newly constructed sections were not marked.
"Ugh, you son of a bitch, Epiru, how could you be so careless with something like this?"
The alchemist intended to lean against the wall to rest, but when he touched it, he was met with a sticky and disgusting sensation.
He reflexively withdrew his hand, inwardly lamenting his bad luck.
"Staying here is a complete waste of my youth! If I stay any longer, I suspect I'll become pickled and seasoned."
"You've been marinated to perfection." The young man said expressionlessly, looking the wall in front of him up and down. "This should be it."
Their location was the closest point to what used to be an underground water vein.
"Ha, finally found it."
The alchemist flexed his wrists, looking ready to make a big splash.
"What do you mean? What do you want me to do?"
Bringing an alchemist along on this mission must mean there's something he needs to do. Besides providing protection, he might also be needed to open up passages and construct a loop through the River Styx.
The young man waved his hand, leaned forward, and gently tapped the brick wall. The hollow sound echoed in the sewer, suggesting that some secret was hidden behind the wall.
"Let's just destroy this entire wall," he continued.
"Hey, so it turns out I still have to do some destructive work."
Stepping forward, the alchemist casually slapped the wall with his palm.
Bright silver patterns spread from his palm, clinging to the wall like a spider web, forming concentric loops, and finally creating a complete magic circle.
The faint light emanating from the loop indicates that the magic circle has been activated.
A moment later, the wall covered by the magic array gradually turned into sand from the outside in, revealing a deep passage behind it.
The young man peered his lantern further inside, slightly dispelling the darkness of the passage.
"This should be the path leading to the underground waterway, right? There are traces of human activity inside. Could it be that the waterway was artificially created?"
The alchemist glanced around and found many signs of artificial excavation in the passage. Unsurprisingly, humans or other intelligent beings had been active here.
"Also, the people of Epiru are just too... sigh, they just sealed it off with a brick wall? They're so careless."
The young man shrugged and a smile appeared on his lips: "But that's precisely why we were able to complete the mission, isn't it?"
'
"That's true. Let's go, once we've set up the beacon in the abandoned sewers, our mission will be complete."
The two figures disappeared into the shadows of the passageway.
That night, the citizens of Ipiru heard the sound of flowing water as they slept.
The sound of flowing water is ethereal, as if it comes from a distant place, seeping into the soul and causing one to fall into a dreamless slumber.
The next day, when the citizens woke up, they were surprised to find themselves full of energy.
Most of them did not remember the ethereal sound of flowing water last night; only a few retained a vague impression.
The church authorities naturally learned of this matter as well. They were quite frightened and instinctively believed that it was the work of the enemy, so they immediately began an emergency investigation.
The war kept the church on edge, and the slightest disturbance would draw their attention.
Not to mention, this incident involved the entire city.
They had reason to suspect that this was a psychological attack orchestrated by the enemy, designed to drown them in their sleep.
They did indeed deploy a lot of manpower to investigate, but the problem is, they didn't find any clues.
Since there was no follow-up, the matter was eventually dropped.
But not everyone gave up the investigation.
Brother Arwin, driven by some inexplicable intuition, continued his investigation after others had given up.
Having come from the Tide Cult, he possesses an exceptionally keen sense of water flow.
It was from the sound of the flowing water that he noticed something unusual.
Silence, tranquility... Without a doubt, it was a river of the dead, and such concepts often exist in dark and unseen places, such as underground rivers and sewers.
Yes, the sewers.
"Brother Arwin, here is the sewer plan you requested."
At the Great Library of Epiruço, the librarian, with a warm smile on his face, handed him a copy of the latest sewer system plan.
"Is this the plan after the expansion?" Alwin took it and looked at it carefully.
"Yes, since you requested it, I will naturally find you the latest one."
The administrator's words carried a hint of flattery, but Alwin didn't care. Rather, he was already used to others flattering him.
"Thank you, but I have other things to do, so I won't stay any longer." Nodding, Alvin took the planning map and left the library, heading straight for the nearest sewer entrance.
A strange feeling gripped him, driving him to enter the sewers to find out what was going on.
Perhaps, everything will turn out as I expect, and maybe it's not too late.
It is cold and damp.
The air was thick with the smell of decay and death. Just one sniff made Alwin want to turn away, but he forced himself to stay.
In any case, since we've come all this way, we can't leave empty-handed.
"It still stinks as much as ever, damn it, are the people at the city hall just sitting around doing nothing?"
Cursing under his breath, Alvin trudged through the mud, his hands gripping the wall, deeper into the sewer.
The chill seeped into his body, causing him to shiver involuntarily.
"Something's wrong. The deathly aura is far too dense, clearly exceeding normal levels. Could this place have been imbued with the concept of a 'River of the Dead'?"
His expression darkened further as Alvin followed the deathly aura deeper into the abyss, inevitably leading to various speculations in his mind.
Could it be the Blood God Cult? If so, what exactly are they planning? Are they perhaps trying to unleash a cataclysmic undead invasion?
With more and more questions arising, Alvin couldn't help but wonder if it was too risky for him to venture into the sewers all by himself.
Should he go back and get another squad of guards to clean up the sewers? After all, sewers usually harbor monsters like cursed frogs...
"Wait, something's not right. It's too quiet. I haven't encountered a single monster since I entered the sewers."
A sudden flash of inspiration struck him, but he shivered, feeling as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
Glug glug.
As he paused, he vaguely heard some strange noise behind him.
He turned and retreated, the water carrying sand particles that sprayed out rapidly, striking a dark figure rushing towards him.
puff.
Internal organs rained down from the sky, and the attacker, cleaved in two, fell silent.
Looking at the attacker's full form displayed on the ground, Arwen frowned. "A crocodile? That can't be right, how come there's one here in the Ipiru sewers?"
"unless..
""
"It was brought in by someone."
The sudden appearance of a male voice made his heart skip a beat.
He was completely unaware that someone was approaching him.
At the corner ahead, two figures stood on either side, blocking his way.
"Tsk, I didn't expect you to actually be right. There really was a fool who wasn't afraid of death who barged in alone."
The older man crossed his arms and scrutinized the young man in monk's robes, his gaze lingering on the young man's handsome face for a second.
I should be about his age, but why... ugh, damn alchemy.
Although he didn't want to admit it, he did feel a slight jealousy towards the cultivators.
The young man next to him noticed the monks' scriptures, and his thoughts inexplicably veered to another level.
I remember that monks in the church don't seem to have to take advanced mathematics exams, right? That's great...