Chapter 46: [Sun King · Golden Skeleton]

The "Truth Society" meeting between the two came to an end.

The man wearing the gargoyle mask left in a hurried manner.

Zorn obtained his own share of the "Giant Glutton's Stomach" and returned to his original seat.

The gathering of Beyonders continued.

Zorn narrowed his eyes slightly amidst the crowd.

Critical information and intelligence could often be sold for a handsome price.

This time, through the standard procedure for a "Giant Glutton's Stomach," Zorn earned at least 1,200 plus gold pounds.

Yes.

The price of this "Giant Glutton's Stomach" was at least 1,200 plus gold pounds.

Once the formidable effects of the "Giant Glutton's Stomach" were gradually uncovered by more people, buying one might not even be possible with 2,000 plus gold pounds.

"A single meal can provide enough food for at least a week."

"Once fully raised, there is no problem at all in consuming ten days' worth of food in one sitting."

"It simply stands out for having a remarkably good appetite."

"Aside from that, one can actively control the rate of food digestion, drastically increasing the efficiency of growth-type abilities."

"For the [Fighter] sequence, it can additionally increase strength."

"For the [Evil Spirit Wizard] sequence, it can accelerate the efficiency of acquiring vitality and sturdiness from food."

"Except for the tendency to accidentally consume oneself when in a state of extreme hunger, the Giant Glutton's Stomach has almost no side effects."

"Truly, when starving enough, it will even eat itself!"

The gathering of Beyonders continued steadily.

Beyonders continuously brought out good items.

Whenever he encountered something he needed, Zorn would also place a bid.

Most items were worth a few hundred gold pounds, ranging from one to five hundred, while items worth over a thousand gold pounds were extremely rare.

Even so, Zorn still spent 600 gold pounds to purchase five fine materials that he needed.

As the gathering progressed and neared its conclusion, Zorn had yet to see that particular item from his memory appear.

"Could it be that I actually hit that exceptionally low probability?"

Zorn, standing in the corner of the crowd, quietly pondered while rubbing the handle of his briefcase.

Although there was a high probability that the precious item would appear at the first Beyonder gathering after the rat plague, there was still a tiny chance it wouldn't show up.

Time ticked away second by second, and some Beyonders had even begun to leave the venue.

At this moment, a man wearing a grey cloak and a wooden carved mask walked up to the podium.

He took out a slender ceramic jar, about the height of an arm, from the monster briefcase he carried.

The instant he saw that slender ceramic jar, Zorn's pupils constricted slightly.

"It's here!"

That slender pottery jar, about two feet tall, was covered in dense and complex ancient script.

Familiar with this field of knowledge, Zorn could tell at a glance that the ancient script on it expressed reverence and praise for a great existence within the funerary culture of the "Kruger Plateau Empire."

And this was also the treasure Zorn had waited for so long.

"Cough, cough..."

As the man in the wooden carved mask took out the slender ceramic jar, he began to cough violently.

When he set the slender ceramic jar down, the coughing subsided along with it.

"My friends, this is a peculiar item excavated by my friend from an ancient underground catacomb while exploring the misty plateau of Saint Gane."

"Touching it triggers violent coughing; even wearing gloves only diminishes the effect of the coughing."

"Placing it inside a monster chest blocks the effect much better."

The explanation given by the man in the thumb-carved mask piqued the interest of quite a few people.

"Is it a taboo sealed artifact?"

An inquiry from the audience stirred up everyone's curiosity.

"I am not certain, because this ceramic jar, made of an unknown material, simply cannot be opened."

Cannot be opened?

Everyone's curiosity grew even stronger.

The man explained earnestly.

"I have tried various methods: hammering, heavy smashing, burning with fire, and even throwing this ceramic jar down from a cliff hundreds of meters high."

"No matter what, this ceramic jar simply cannot be opened."

"The magical trait where touching it causes coughing proves that it is extraordinary."

"If any friends do not believe me, you may come up and try."

Soon, several Beyonders went up to try.

Just as the man with the carved mask had said, touching it immediately induced violent coughing.

After a round of verification by the crowd, the man with the carved mask named his price.

"500 gold pounds."

When he named this price, the entire gathering hall fell silent instead. For a moment, no one was willing to purchase this strange item that caused coughing at that price.

The price of 500 gold pounds was not cheap.

After all, no one knew if there was truly an unimaginable "taboo sealed artifact" inside.

It might just as well be some kind of terrifying pollutant.

Everyone who came here was a Beyonder, so naturally, they understood the logic behind this.

To take a step back, even if there were a powerful taboo sealed artifact inside, it would be futile if it couldn't be opened.

After asking two more times, the man with the carved mask shook his head and said helplessly.

"If any friend is interested, feel free to make an offer!"

Zorn, waiting quietly in the crowd for a moment, raised his hand, his voice sounding calm and faint.

"200 gold pounds."

Before anyone else could react.

"Deal!"

The man with the carved mask reached an agreement with Zorn at an extremely fast speed, as if afraid Zorn might regret it.

Pulling down the brim of his hat, Zorn picked up his briefcase, stood up, and walked toward the man with the carved mask who was stepping down from the podium.

In the corner.

Zorn paid 200 gold pounds in paper currency and took the slender ceramic jar into his hands.

Sure enough, the moment he touched it, an uncontrollable fit of coughing surged one after another.

Zorn quickly stowed it away into his monster briefcase.

Having completed the transaction, the man with the carved mask turned around and walked out of the venue.

Zorn glanced at the crowd, then likewise picked up his briefcase and walked outside.

Now that this top-tier treasure was in his hands, it was time for Zorn to leave this place.

As Zorn departed, two figures in the corner exchanged glances and tacitly stood up as well.

...

"Hoo..."

In the underground passage, Zorn let out a soft breath as he moved forward.

This time, he had brought a full 6,800 gold pounds in magic gold.

The main purpose was to prevent anyone from competing with him for this share of the [Sun King's Golden Skeleton].

After all, this treasure was an out-of-print item, and its value was easily no less than what Zorn had stolen and sacrificed at the docks last time.

As it turned out, no unexpected complications occurred; he easily secured the [Sun King's Golden Skeleton] for 200 gold pounds.

The Kruger Plateau Empire, possessing a brilliant ancient civilization, worshipped higher beings, colluded with demons, and attempted to desecrate the gods to establish a "Human Kingdom of God," seeking formidable power and longevity.

In the end, when the Kruger Plateau Empire suffered divine backlash, they prayed to the gods, but what responded to them was the gaze and ravages of an evil god.

The terminal emperor of the false kingdom of god, the [Sun King], digested the flesh, blood, and skeleton of an evil god, fused the powers of three higher beings, and condensed his own "Golden Sun."

Attempting to usurp the power of the gods, he ultimately perished.

However, this terminal emperor was too powerful; even after his death, his skeleton was dismembered, sealed, and buried in various locations.

The portion of the sealed skeleton Zorn had obtained in his hands at this moment was just one of those parts.

The flesh and blood it had consumed included a part belonging to Lord "Egunus."

And this was precisely the reason why Zorn could perfectly utilize this piece of skeleton.

"I bought this [Sun King's Golden Skeleton] for 200 gold pounds."

"600 gold pounds for five fine materials."

"Then there is the remuneration of about 240 gold pounds to be paid to the [Artisan]."

"In addition, I acquired a magical resource like the 'Giant Glutton's Stomach' using a piece of intelligence."

"The harvest this time is quite substantial."

"It's just... there is a tiny bit of trouble."

As he walked forward, Zorn had already left the Beyonder gathering venue and entered a gloomy, shadowy alley.

A hazy shadow flickered in and out of view before Zorn.

Behind him, a burly warrior whose figure was shrouded in darkness blocked Zorn's retreat.

At the Beyonder gathering, the financial power Zorn displayed had made certain fellows' hearts skip a beat.

"A tier-two [Assassin], a tier-one [Warrior]."

"Both are rather tricky sequences at low tiers."

If the environment and time permitted, Zorn wouldn't mind having a man-to-man brawl with them to properly promote the adaptation and growth of the Fighter sequence, as well as to stabilize the [Evil Spirit Wizard].

However, this place was clearly not suitable.

Having long since perceived that enemies were trailing him, Zorn had already secretly condensed the Evil Spirit Wizard's forbidden spell, [Scythe of the End].

As the [Scythe of the End] blossomed,

"Swish, swish..."

Like the refreshing wind and waves of midsummer stirring up a sparkling lake surface, a formless and covert wind and wave surged through the quiet summer alley.

Zorn's figure flickered in the wind.

The [Assassin], poised and ready in stealth, and the [Warrior], cracking his knuckles, sensed something and wanted to act, but it was already too late.

"Screech~~ Screech~~"

Amidst the wind and waves of the scythe blade, crisp sounds rose and fell, and the two tumbled down, their heads severed from their bodies.

Their corpses and heads fell to the ground, sinking bizarrely before floating back up.

The solid earth was like the surface of water, and the two corpses drifted unsteadily within it.

The walls at this moment also resembled a shimmering water curtain, reflecting Zorn's blurred silhouette.

The potency of the world-class BOSS forbidden spell, [Scythe of the End], was evidently far beyond standard.

Upon casting, not only did it possess the extremely covert cutting power of the scythe blade, but it could also channel "End-Stage Soil" to a certain extent to influence reality and bury the enemies.

The more powerful such forbidden spells were, the more frequently they needed to be used.

While utilizing them, one had to deeply comprehend the transcendental spell and treat it as a part of oneself in order to advance the growth of the transcendental spell.

Utilizing the effect of the "End-Stage Soil" to dispose of the corpses, Zorn waited at the intersection for a moment and hailed a carriage.

"To Adolf Monastery."

"Respected guest, that place..."

Having been there several times already, Zorn could already recite what the carriage driver was going to say.

Zorn very decisively pulled a 5-silver-dragon denomination paper note from the assassin's black folded leather wallet and handed it through the front small window.

"There will be the same reward upon the return trip."

Zorn's tipping behavior made the carriage driver profoundly realize his mistake. He drove the carriage forward at the very first moment; any hesitation of even a second would be an utter disrespect to the silver dragon depicted on the 5-silver-dragon note.