BXBX NOVEL Chapter 236: The Principality of Florence
"I\'ve always been friendly, why would I set you up?"
He nodded coldly and then followed his "subordinates" off the airship.
Sterl found himself standing in front of a palace hall.
"A bit shabby..."
He couldn\'t help but mutter.
Compared to the grandiose architecture of the Hall of Valor, this palace seemed rather plain and unadorned, covering only a few thousand square meters and mostly constructed from rough bricks and stones.
The only decorations were knight shield reliefs carved here and there, resembling the shield designs of Kant Weir that Sterl had seen earlier.
Additionally, there were some red and green flowers and fruit trees, but they were of very ordinary varieties, lacking any special attributes.
However...
Sterl soon chuckled to himself.
At least they had the luxury of building a palace openly, while back on Earth, humanity had to construct clunky, unattractive bases to fend off potential monster sieges.
The Principality of Florence\'s strength was at least greater than his homeland\'s.
"Thank you, envoys of the Hall of Valor, for coming to our aid."
As soon as the Rainbow Ship had disembarked its passengers, a well-dressed man adorned with multiple medals—presumably the duke or king of the principality—approached with his queen and several ministers.
Their demeanor was extremely humble.
"We haven\'t prepared much for your arrival, just some local specialties. Please accept them."
With that, attendants carrying treasure boxes approached. The other legends received boxes encrusted with diamonds, while Sterl\'s box was inlaid with golden threads.
"This must be the leader of this mission. Truly, a hero in his youth."
The king was shrewd enough to notice that Sterl was subtly regarded as the backbone by the other legends.
Without speaking, Sterl opened the treasure box.
[Heavenly Fragrant Jade Essence (Rare)] +
[Description: A specialty from the Principality of Florence, produced in very limited quantities each year for royal use.]
[Effect: Consuming it cleanses the body of impurities and randomly increases all attributes.]
Sterl casually threw out a Star Insight, scanning the surroundings. He noticed that the other legends had received the same item, but in a standard form.
Immediately, a smile crept onto Sterl\'s face—a rare attribute-boosting item that he could enhance with his abilities made him quite pleased!
"Not bad, I see the sincerity of the Principality of Florence," he said.
Sterl felt that the people of the House of Radiance, whether ancestors or descendants, indeed knew how to interact with others. He decided that if there were no significant conflicts of interest, he would go out of his way to protect the Principality of Florence during this mission.
"I appreciate your sincerity," he continued. "Let\'s not waste any time; we can start the mission now."
The king hesitated for a moment, "No need, no need. You have just arrived; how can we trouble you so soon? I\'ve arranged a banquet to welcome you. Please, rest and refresh yourselves first."
Seeing this, one of the more daring legendary players stepped forward, "Leader, you might not know, but these Hall of Valor missions are also our opportunities for a break."
"In the Hall of Valor, we\'re lower than dogs. There are high-level, mid-level legends, demigods, and gods above us."
"Anyone can order us around."
"But outside, a legend has the power to destroy nations."
"So we can take the time to enjoy ourselves first."
Sterl frowned slightly but then nodded, "Very well, let\'s do that."
He thought to himself that if this mission involved the Blood Cult and he wanted to covertly steal the power of their grand formation, he\'d need to avoid his companions.
Thus, Sterl soon followed the king and the other legends into the palace for the banquet. However, after passing through a blind spot in their view, two shadows slipped away from his side, activating Shadow Stealth and disappearing in broad daylight.
One was Bionic Tear, tasked with investigating the mission.
The other was Sterl\'s true form, leaving the Principality of Florence\'s royal city to observe from a distance.
Incidentally, Sterl still possessed a teleportation scroll evolved from his time in the Netherworld. He could teleport to Bionic Tear if needed or use it to escape.
...
Sterl\'s three-man team had clear divisions of labor.
First, the clone was seated at the banquet\'s main table, enjoying the Principality of Florence\'s specialty dishes while listening to the king and some nobles complain and explain the mission.
"This time, the Hall of Valor has finally sent some strong individuals. We had no choice but to ask for help," the king said, his voice filled with relief.
As the king rambled on, Sterl understood the situation.
Initially, there were just some sudden disappearances of citizens in the Principality of Florence. But then, the number of missing persons increased, including some second-class and third-class player NPCs who mysteriously vanished.
The Principality of Florence initially tried to handle the situation themselves but lost a third-class individual in the process. Consequently, they decisively sought aid from the Hall of Valor.
As Sterl continued the conversation, he discovered that the Principality of Florence was indeed quite weak, having only one legendary guardian. Generally, when trouble arose, they would turn to the Hall of Valor, as their ancestors had made significant contributions to it.
Initially, the Hall of Valor had classified this as a standard mission. Several legends had gone missing as if they had vanished into thin air. This led to the mission being upgraded to a group task with Valor Contribution Points as rewards.
"To be honest," the king began, "it\'s no longer just about people disappearing."
The king lifted his shirt, and the queen raised her skirt. Some nearby nobles quickly averted their eyes, while the legendary players continued to watch calmly. They noticed that the king and queen were both wearing fine, high-quality soft armor underneath.
"As the disappearances increased, demons from hell began to appear," the king continued. "Initially, they were at least second class in strength. We organized a group of strong fighters to exterminate them, but upon their deaths, the demons\' energy merged together, creating several third-class demons."
"These demons can absorb nutrients by devouring the corpses of strong fighters. After our guards fought them, the demons in the city grew even stronger. We no longer dare to attempt an extermination, as we have no idea how powerful the demons in the Principality of Florence have become."
"My beloved and I have to wear this armor at all times to avoid demon attacks."
...
After hearing this, Sterl and the other legendary players were left speechless. They understood that the principality was weak, but to completely give up on fighting the demons out of fear that it would only make them stronger?
"So, what is the current situation in the city?" Sterl couldn\'t help but ask.
"For some reason, although the city should be swarming with demons now, the number of disappearances has stabilized at a few dozen people per day. Moreover, there haven\'t been any reports of residents being harmed."
"However, we\'ve received word that all the nobles who attempted to flee the city have met tragic ends. Now, everyone lives in a state of constant fear."
The king was practically in tears as he spoke, clearly emotional about the dire situation.
Meanwhile, the legendary players from the Hall of Valor exchanged glances, sensing that this situation could be quite troublesome.
The appearance of demons in the main world implied that there must be a spatial rift to hell somewhere in the Principality of Florence. While the city\'s demons might not have reached legendary strength, their behavior—capturing people without harming them and preventing escape—suggested a larger, sinister plan.
Moreover, according to the well-known terrifying stories about demons in [Transcendence], such events typically followed a pattern. Initially, a small spatial rift appears, followed by demons conducting mass slaughter and blood sacrifices to expand the rift. Eventually, legendary and demigod demons would emerge as bosses.
"So, what should we do?" one of the players asked.
"The demons aren\'t harming the city\'s inhabitants likely because they need them for something, like a sacrifice. The people who have already disappeared might have been used for preliminary preparations, consuming their life force."
"This means the demons could be rapidly accumulating power. The longer we delay, the harder this mission will become."
"Should we...?" The legendary players turned to Sterl, seeking their leader\'s opinion.
Those who could enter the Hall of Valor were all proud geniuses. Their reaction wasn\'t to suggest a swift resolution but rather to consider delaying the task further to increase its difficulty and earn more Valor Contribution Points.
At the same time, a prompt appeared before Sterl. The legendary players had sent him a private message: "The House of Radiance within the Principality of Florence has always enjoyed special protection from the Hall of Valor. We shouldn\'t push things too far."
Sterl smiled and decisively said, "This is already an urgent matter. Your Majesty, we will now leave to begin a thorough investigation of the city."
He also replied to the private message, "Then let\'s not rush. Take your time. If you encounter demons or forces responsible for the disappearances, notify me first, and I will handle it."
Sterl was quite pleased with his subordinates\' thinking. He was still in the speculative phase, suspecting that the Blood Cult might be behind this. If his hypothesis was correct, it was likely that parts of the Blood Sacrifice Swallowing God Array had already been set up in the city.
Everyone knew that setting up such an array required many rare materials. The intricate, god-level array was beyond Sterl\'s means to dismantle or replicate. If his legendary subordinates were to discover and destroy the array, the Blood Cult might not have the resources to rebuild it.
His subordinates seemed to understand his intentions well: "Leader, I have an idea," one of them said. "If those demons are setting something up, we can refrain from destroying it immediately. Let\'s summon stronger enemies first before taking action!"