Chapter 61: Post-Investigation

MI7 arrived very quickly.

Perhaps it was because, strictly speaking, this was their very first on-site mission since their establishment, and they were rather excited about it.

All three experts were present, while the other staff wore police uniforms, searching around and taking photos.

Incidentally, after that, Levi also found the exit of this underground ruin———hidden behind a bookshelf in the first-floor office.

It was quite uncreative, yet fairly standard.

Similar to the Pink Lady’s secret passage, only slightly more refined.

At least judging from the building traces, it did not look like something added later, but rather something that had always existed.

Miss Windsor went to question the couple and the little girl to see if she could find any clues.

Levi, on the other hand, mainly brought Benjamin to inspect the battlefield.

“Good heavens……………”

Benjamin’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the traces before him.

“This thing is more powerful than a grenade blast.

Was it really done by that phantom?”

“Indeed. I must say, these fellows are quite bothersome.”

Levi looked down at the ground and pursed his lips.

Now he understood why those famous generals of old were so detestable.

They were genuinely hard to kill!

Take that knight for example.

Levi could not kill it with a gun; it not only blocked bullets but also possessed terrifyingly skilled close-combat techniques.

If Levi had not possessed 【Eye of the Reaper】 and 【Shadow Step】, and if Benjamin’s cane-gun had not been powerful enough, taking down that ghostly knight would have been far from easy.

It could very well have been that Levi would stand his ground, fire a shot, the opponent would simply raise its shield to block, then charge straight at him and slash him down with one strike.

“Maybe we need to boost the firepower? Or perhaps add a magazine?”

Hearing Levi’s complaints, Benjamin began pondering.

Initially, he had designed the weapon as a bolt-action rifle—load one bullet, fire one bullet—for the sake of disguise.

But against an opponent like this, even he found it troublesome.

He could not read people, but battlefield traces never lied.

Benjamin was an expert in weaponry, capable of deducing the power of a weapon from ground marks.

With Levi’s explanation, comparing it against the evidence here and the type of enemy faced, he indeed found it difficult to handle.

“Let’s enhance the firepower a little more. As for quantity, there’s no need to worry.”

The number of attacks Levi could cheat with 【Eye of the Reaper】—three strikes in one round.

But raw firepower was a different story.

Unlike novel protagonists who wielded innate sword-qi and other mystical abilities, Levi’s offensive power came entirely from modern weapons.

Thus, Benjamin was essentially his “grandfather.”

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do when I get back. I’ll think of a solution. At least, the power of silver bullets has now been confirmed—we can switch all the rounds to them. This way, other squads will also have some combat effectiveness.”

After a few more exchanges, Benjamin left with his notebook to continue his work.

Levi wandered about for a while before heading to Richard, who was examining the altar.

“Any findings?”

Seeing Levi approach, Richard straightened his short, rotund figure with a grin and greeted him.

“There are findings, yes—and very interesting ones.”

“Interesting?”

“Yes.

Judging from this altar, the surrounding architecture, and the patterns, this should be a relic of the First Era.”

“You’re that certain?”

“Of course.”

Richard nodded again.

“Do you know why the First Era of the Age of Silver is called the Age of Gold?”

Levi thought for a moment before replying.

“I recall it’s because Emperor Arthur claimed to be of the golden lineage, descendants of the gods?”

He had seen such tricks many times—it all came down to the same “Mandate of Heaven” play.

“Correct.”

Richard nodded once more.

“Back then, Emperor Arthur and his tribe were called the Golden People, and thus the dynasty they founded was called the Golden Age.

A major characteristic of Golden Age ruins is their enormous scale—architecture and objects far exceeding the proportions of ordinary humans.

You said the ghost knight you encountered was two to three meters tall? If you had captured it, we might have uncovered a historical mystery.”

“Historical mystery?”

“Yes.”

Richard patted the stone chair beside him with a sigh.

“In historical academia, there are several theories regarding these gigantic Golden Age structures, but all are speculation.

Many historians lean toward the idea that it represented a kind of giant worship by the Golden People, rather than them truly being so large.

More likely, because myths of the Age of Gold described gods as towering, the Golden People—calling themselves children of the gods—worshipped these giant forms as vessels of divinity.

Thus, mainstream academia does not believe the gigantic structures were meant for the Golden People themselves.”

“Why not?”

Richard spread his hands.

“We have found no remains of the Golden People.

Moreover, their greatest creation—the imperial capital, Golden City—has vanished without a trace.

So, all of this remains only legend.”

“Hm……………”

Levi could somewhat understand.

The empire Arthur once built had indeed been glorious, but it disappeared completely, much like the First Qin Dynasty’s fleeting fall.

No one knew exactly what had happened.

Folklore claimed that Emperor Arthur, child of the gods with divine blood, had completed his task after unifying the continent, and then ascended to heaven with his Golden City———something along those lines.

Since then, millennia had passed.

The empire had undergone countless trials, even relocating its capital three times.

To trace back Emperor Arthur’s history now was nearly impossible, as difficult as finding the Queen Mother’s palace at the Heavenly Pool.

If the Age of Gold had been a mythological period of Nüwa mending the heavens and Houyi shooting down suns, then the First Era of the Age of Silver—the Golden Age—was like the legendary time of Yao, Shun, and Yu.

Some plausibility existed, but heavily colored with myth.

The lack of remains was fatal.

Thus, legend always remained legend, never history.

But conversely, if modern archaeology suddenly unearthed Pangu’s or Kuafu’s skull, the entire view of history would be overturned.

So, if a three-meter skeleton were found, the Golden People could truly shift from legend to reality.

Unfortunately, what Levi had encountered was a phantom, not a skeleton, so no evidence could be left behind.

“What about this ruin, then?”

“For now, it looks like a typical First Era temple.”

“Typical?”

“Yes.

We’ve found similar structures across the Empire.”

As Richard spoke, he grew increasingly enthusiastic, and began to lecture Levi.

“We all know the tales of Emperor Arthur and his Twelve Knights.

Of course, there are many versions, often contradictory.

But the core remains: Arthur and his knights fought across the continent and unified the Empire.

So most scholars see this as a gesture of reverence for them.”

He pointed at the round table, then at the throne.

“Twelve knights, and Arthur.

As you can see, the chairs are enormous, far beyond normal human size.

Ordinary people could never sit on them.

Likely, since creating idols was forbidden, people chose to worship them in this symbolic way instead.”

“I see……………”

“Of course, some ruins lack the round table, containing only an altar and throne.

We believe those worshipped Arthur alone, or perhaps a single knight.”

“Hm……………”

Hearing this, Levi thought of the small temple he had discovered beneath the Pink Lady tavern.

It had contained only an altar and a chair………

“But this mark here—that’s the symbol of the Holy Lord Church, isn’t it?”

Levi pointed to the mark on the throne before him.

Just like in that smaller temple, here too the chair was carved with the All-Seeing Eye.

“Indeed.

The Holy Lord Church regarded Arthur as a divine descendant, and Arthur in turn relied on them to pacify and govern the regions………at least, that’s what the records say.”

“So, what isn’t in the records?”

Levi naturally caught the hidden meaning in Richard’s words.

“Some suspect the Holy Lord Church attempted to assassinate Arthur, sparking a great war, and the Golden City was destroyed as a result.”

Richard chuckled.

“Of course, that’s just speculation.

After all, the story that Arthur returned to the gods all came from the priests of the Church.

And since they all told the same tale, it’s hard not to suspect something else.”

Levi was unsurprised.

Conflict between divine authority and royal authority had always been so.

Just look at the Church’s current position in the Empire: the Puritan Sect was considered heretical, yet with imperial support, it nearly beat the Holy Lord Church to death.

From the Empire’s standpoint, promoting the Puritan Sect was indeed beneficial.

The Puritans discouraged prayer in churches and large ceremonies.

This made it difficult for the Church to extract wealth from believers.

Without that, the Church had to rely on state funding.

And if they relied on state funding———then they could only obediently eat from the Empire’s hand, as its dog.

If the Queen were just a little bolder, she might already be deciding who the next Pope would be.

“Any other discoveries?”

“None.”

Richard shook his head.

“If we’d found some antiques or treasure, that would’ve been interesting.

As it stands, we can only do a favor for Shuo Academy’s history department.”

“That’s fine. Better to let professionals handle it—we’ll be at ease that way.”

Levi didn’t mind.

Archaeology was best left to the professionals.

Their job was only to read the final reports.

After circling the ruins, Levi returned through the tunnel to the manor, just as Miss Windsor emerged kindly from the dining room.

Seeing him, she gave a small smile.

“How is the situation?”

“The little girl was frightened and remembers little.

Her parents’ testimonies have also been checked—they are basically true.”

Speaking, Miss Windsor glanced out the window.

“You know, sometimes I wonder whether I should buy an estate in a place like this and live quietly.”

“And now?”

“Shuo Academy is quiet enough.

Die here, and no one might notice for three to five years.”

She said it casually, then withdrew her gaze.

She was effectively MI7’s interrogation expert.

“The others’ statements have no problems.

Their reactions are normal, nothing strange.

The only odd one was the manager himself—but he’s already dead.

The two maids were hired from nearby villages, mainly for household chores.

Apart from them, there were also two gardeners and a groom, but they only worked until evening and didn’t stay in the manor.”

“Inspector Lestrade went back to investigate the manager’s identity. Hopefully, there will be some results.”

Levi sighed.

As things stood, the manager was undoubtedly the most suspicious.

Unfortunately, Levi had found no clues in his office.

To borrow Inspector Lestrade’s words———as clean as a corpse.

After chatting a bit more, Levi turned away, returned to his room, sat on the sofa, and opened the system.

Next came the reward time………

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