Chapter 190: Secret Message
His voice grew sharp as he demanded, "Where is that Torrian guy? Even if he's dead, there should be a body!"
Facing Curtis's interrogation, Quincy had no choice but to step up.
This meeting, as well as the news of Curtis' arrival, was notified to others by Flamingo Merchants, but the president of Flamingo Merchants is not in the Gathering Place, so this meeting can only be chaired by Quincy.
He responded, "Lord Curtis, Torrian is dead."
Curtis, unfazed, asked, "How did he die?"
Quincy detailed the events, emphasizing what happened in the hidden space.
"...We found Torrian's body beneath the collapsed cave. He died from a Thunder Spear piercing his heart. Only Rodney uses Thunder Spear, but his body was also found outside the collapsed cave.
Therefore, we speculate that Rodney might have teamed up with Enzo and Norma to kill Torrian, but then Enzo and Norma betrayed him."
This seemingly plausible theory was actually full of flaws.
Quincy was aware of this, but it didn't matter because Curtis wouldn't care.
As Quincy had anticipated, Curtis remained unmoved after hearing the explanation and cursed, "A bunch of useless fools."
No one dared to retort.
For the various factions at Flamingo Gathering Place, the Snow Fox Territory was an immensely powerful force capable of easily wiping them out.
Therefore, maintaining a high level of respect was essential.
Curtis also didn't care about the thoughts of those present. His personal visit to the Dark Night Forest was not solely his own decision; it was also under Andrew's directive. This surprised Curtis but also delighted him.
When leaving Snow Fox Territory, Andrew had given him a precious item.
With that item in hand, Enzo would undoubtedly meet a gruesome end.
Thinking of this, Curtis looked at the assembly again and demanded, "Where is that brat Enzo now?"
The room fell silent once more.
This time, Curtis's anger reached its peak, and his aura surged violently.
He grabbed a person at random and asked, "Where is he?"
The terrified person answered, "Lord Curtis, I don't know. Since Enzo and Norma left the hidden space, no one has seen them. With the Moon Tide and the war, Flamingo Gathering Place has become chaotic, and no one has paid attention to them."
"Useless!"
Curtis cursed again, crushing the man's skull.
He then roared at the others, "What are you still standing around for? Go find them immediately!"
...
At Crimson Lake Gathering Place.
Enzo and Norma had been there for two days, gradually adapting to the peculiar atmosphere.
After Harvey disappeared following their last meeting, Enzo had visited the cabin several times without finding him, thus missing out on the intelligence he sought.
Enzo wasn't disheartened.
This was originally a temporary idea and also a test.
At that moment, in a stone house on the edge of Gathering Place, Norma opened her eyes, exhaled, and her joy was evident as she excitedly said, "I feel that it won't be long before my strength improves again."
She had been waiting for this day for a long time.
Enzo smiled and congratulated her before taking out the beast skin he had obtained from Rodney.
Having thoroughly understood the knowledge hidden within the beast skin's patterns, Enzo now had faint electric sparks flickering on his arm. Although there was still a gap compared to Rodney, it was something that could be bridged with time.
However, Enzo was not entirely satisfied.
He silently thought, "Currently, the elemental powers I control include Life, Fire, Space, and Lightning. These elemental energies make up most of the patterns on the Ring of the World. The situation is even better than I expected.
I just need to master one more elemental power and absorb the giant crystal obtained from the Flame Cobra to successfully advance to Level 7 and become a high-level inheritor. This would provide me with sufficient self-defense in the Dark Night Forest."
"But which one should I choose?"
This was a question that required careful consideration.
After arriving in the Dark Night Forest, Enzo had not only learned about the various forces in the area but also gained some knowledge related to high-level supernatural beings.
Becoming a Level 7 supernormal from a Level 6 supernormal may seem like only a level, but the leap was enormous.
Enzo's situation was particularly unique.
No one else had mastered so many different elemental powers as he had.
For instance, Norma, an Level 8 inheritor, only controlled Space element power. Even though she had studied the beast skin and understands the Lightning power, she chose not to master it.
Different elemental energies could easily conflict with each other.
And only some geniuses could control them perfectly.
Norma preferred Space element power, which was her main reason for not pursuing Lightning.
The uniqueness of the Ring of the World allowed Enzo to control multiple elemental powers and merge different totems into it, making him incredibly powerful at his level but also making his progression more challenging.
Especially for breaking through to Level 7!
"This is really troublesome." Enzo muttered.
Just then, there was a knock on the door of the stone house.
Norma exchanged a glance with Enzo and then walked over to open the door.
Standing outside was a middle-aged woman dressed in beast skin, carrying a large knife on her back. She looked very serious, but when she saw Norma, her face broke into a bright smile. "Ms. Norma, is your stay comfortable?"
The owner of the stone house was indeed this middle-aged woman, Grace.
Her husband was the leader of a small organization in Crimson Lake Gathering Place and had a modest reputation in the surrounding area.
Grace's friendly demeanor towards Norma, despite the bounty on Norma and Enzo, was due to the fact that Norma had paid a substantial rent of 10,000 Kafen for the house, which far exceeded the amount of the bounty.
Enzo also realized Norma's affluence.
Stone Tavern had been running for a long time, and Norma's earnings over the years were evidently considerable.
"Grace, is something up?"
Norma asked, curious about Grace's visit.
Grace smiled and said, "Norma, tonight there will be an auction at the Bloodstained Shop in the Gathering Place. Interested?"
"An auction?" Norma pondered, asking, "What exactly will be auctioned?"
Grace shook her head, "That's a secret, I can't reveal it. But I can assure you, there will be things of interest to you."
It seemed Grace was just delivering this news.
After speaking, she left.
Norma then closed the door and asked Enzo, "Shall we go?"
Enzo replied, "Might as well go; we could find something worthwhile."
Although Flamingo Gathering Place had posted a bounty, bounties were common in Crimson Lake. In fact, not having a bounty would be unusual.
Therefore, Enzo didn't suspect Grace had ulterior motives.
He guessed Grace's specific invitation was likely because Norma had been generous.
Time passed quickly.
And before long, it was evening.
Enzo and Norma arrived at the Bloodstained Shop mentioned by Grace. It was a large building near Crimson Lake, with luminous gemstones embedded in the outer walls providing light.
The blood-red lake, illuminated by these gemstones, appeared unusually bright, but its blood-like color gave it a peculiar feel.
This was Enzo's first close-up view of Crimson Lake.
Norma approached and asked, "Notice anything?"
Enzo shook his head and said, "Not really. Grace seemed to have been waiting at the entrance for a long time."
The two then headed towards the entrance.
Seeing Norma and Enzo arrive, Grace hurriedly greeted them, warmly inviting them inside. Once inside, Enzo understood why Grace was so enthusiastic: the event was not really an auction but more of a small social gathering.
There were only five items to be auctioned.
As for the participants, there were not many, only about ten people.
Grace smiled and explained, "This is a special situation. I assure you, the items up for auction are valuable."
However, Grace's assurance did little to convince them.
Enzo and Norma found themselves somewhat bored, as the items presented for auction so far were extremely ordinary and showed no signs of anything particularly special.
When the final item was presented.
It was nothing—an empty space.
This piqued Enzo's interest.
The auctioneer then announced, "This last item isn't a physical object but a secret message. The authenticity of this message is for you to determine."
"In order to give everyone a better understanding, I will inform you of the basic information of the confidential message."
"To give you some context, this secret message is related to the Barren Peninsula and involves a significant event that also impacted the Dark Night Forest. Additionally, it contains a Potion recipe—Level 7 supernatural Potion with extremely powerful effects!"
Hearing this, Enzo frowned and glanced at Grace.
He was almost certain that Grace's invitation to the auction was due to this secret message.
Enzo's background wasn't hidden.A brief investigation would reveal his connection to the Barren Peninsula.
So, what could Grace's true intentions be?