Chapter 695: Hunt
A few seconds later, the door opened, revealing a familiar fair-skinned man to Charles. He appeared to be around 40 years old, had silver hair, similar silver eyes, a rough face, and was 170 cm tall.
He wore a plain grey robe, held a cigar in his mouth, and showed a confused look.
After two seconds, Hunt recognized Charles and widened his eyes.
"Charles?!"
"You seem aged a little, Mr. Hunt. How are you doing these days?" Charles broke into a wide grin.
"You've grown up, Charles!" Hunt slowly dropped the cigar from his mouth and hugged him tightly.
"I'm sorry for your loss, kid. Lady Eve was such a caring mother and also a good friend to us. But we didn't expect things to turn bad in a few days."
"I'm alright now, Mr. Hunt. Although I still miss her, we can't turn back the 'time,' right?" Charles said with a chuckle and added.
"Anyway, I heard you guys are on a mission from Lady Charlotte two months ago. So, I'm here to help you guys."
"Haa, in a few years, a young lad has already become a Legendary Powerhouse. The future is so unpredictable."
Hunt finally released him from his grip and invited him to the living hall.
"I didn't expect you to return so soon, Charles." As they entered the Living Hall, a pleasant voice came from the kitchen, and soon, a blonde-haired lady in her beautiful gown walked out of the kitchen.
"I came here to fulfill the promise, Lady Charlotte," Charles said with a smile and greeted her with a bow.
"Please sit comfortably and talk with Hunt about the details of the mission, Charles. I'll go and bring something for you guys to eat." Charlotte said with a bright smile, gazing towards Runeth before asking.
"And who might this be?"
Before Charles could open his mouth, Runeth sat on the sofa, crossed his legs, and spoke while leaning on the long, ornate couch.
"I'm Runeth, his teacher."
"Oh! I didn't know Charles had a teacher. Are you also a Legendary Mage, Sir?" Charlotte asked with a hint of nervousness.
"Hmm," Runeth simply nodded his head.
"Would you like anything to drink?" She asked.
"Anything is fine for me." Runeth waved his hand and looked at Hunt before asking.
"So, are you guys planning to steal something or what?"
Charles nodded his head and spoke.
"It's an S-Rank Intellectual Artifact."
"Hmm, S-Rank Intellectual Artifact, huh? Do you think it's easy to tame an S-Rank artifact, lad?" Runeth asked with a frown and soon warned him.
"The reason they are called 'S-Rank' is not only because of their abilities but also due to their scheming mind. Can you tell me more about this artifact?"
Hunt was stunned by Runeth's words and hurriedly responded.
"It's a Series artifact called S-13, suspected to have the ability to grant immortality to anyone."
"Bullshit. Do you think immortality is easy to obtain without any sacrifice? Impossible. It might strengthen one's life essence and increase one's lifespan. Charles, what do you think?"
Charles also nodded his head in approval and gave a little explanation about the artifact.
"I also researched this artifact through 'Wisdom Link' and found some important information. The S-13's real name is Stormheart Whisper, and it has unknown abilities. But there are rumors about this artifact giving the user an endless lifespan. Not only that, but this artifact was in the possession of a Three-Eyed Titan long ago. But for some reason, that Titan ended up in this plane and died, leaving 'Stormheart Whisper' behind."
'Stormheart Whisper...' Although Charlotte had mentioned this name before, he thought Charles might have made it up on the stop.
'But I didn't expect he has the power to find out the artifact's original name!' Hunt finally realized that the person before him wasn't a kid anymore.
"Three-Eyed Titan? Then, that artifact mustn't have chosen its owner yet." Runeth nodded solemnly and added.
"As long as you use the 'Past Touch' skill, you might able to peek into its past and get some helpful information like Titan's name or other secrets. If you play your cards right, you might get ownership.
"But it's not easy to infiltrate the Royal Palace, Sir Runeth. Although I'm grateful for your help, getting our hands on the S-13 is still difficult. After all, it is in a much-secured place." Hunt interjected.
At that moment, Charles thought of something and asked.
"Can you tell me about the true strength of the Lockwood Royal Family?"
Hunt nodded as he sat on the nearby wooden chair and spoke.
"Compared to Hawthorne, Lockwood Royal Family is far below in strength. But unlike the Hawthorne family, the Lockwood family is the main pillar of the Order Church itself. Moreover, there are still three Legend Rank Elders within the Royal Castle who always stay in the Palace."
"Who are those three Legend Rank powerhouses?" Charles asked.
"One is the Emperor named Madison of Sacred Empire, the second is Patriarch of the Lockwood Family, and the third person is an Elder named Finley."
"There is an Emperor in this Sacred Empire? I thought the Pope was in the highest position." Runeth showed a dubious look.
"That's because he is an emperor in the name only, Sir Runeth. And from the information we've gathered, he mostly never interacts much with Nobles and acts more like a puppet Emperor. But his strength is the real deal."
Charles pondered for a moment and shook his head.
"If it were two months ago, I would've thought twice before even planning on how to steal the artifact. But I don't need to act more cautiously. Mr. Hunt, can you give me a detailed report of this artifact's location?"
"Are you planning to enter the Royal Palace alone and steal the artifact?" Hunt was startled deeply and slowly turned his gaze towards Runeth.
"Don't look at me. Charles will be the one stealing that artifact. Also, don't worry about his safety. At this moment, even the Pope of Order isn't a match for him." Runeth waved his hand and spoke.
"What?! But last time, you said you can stand against the Pope only for around 2 minutes." At that moment, Charlotte entered the living room, placed plates full of sliced fruits on the tea table, and spoke in shock.
"I've been improving my strength constantly." Charles didn't plan on explaining anything further and kept his words short.
"You sure are growing at a monstrous rate," Charlotte commented in a dumbfounded tone and then added.
"You shouldn't get overconfident just because you became a Legendary Powerhouse, Charles."
"Her words are indeed true. We should gather more information first." Runeth also nodded in approvement.
Then, Hunt took a deep breath and started to speak.
"Then, I shall explain it in more detail. Currently, 25 members of Whithering Shadows infiltrated the Royal Palace in the form of servants, chefs, guards, cleaners, and so on. Only one person saw the Artifact two years ago and confirmed its appearance. But even he managed to see its appearance from a faraway place only for a split second." Hunt paused for a moment and continued in a solemn tone.
"The S-13 is currently being put in the Palace Treasury and guarded by three powerful Magic Enchantment Array Locks. The First Lock, called 'Disruption Divine Array,' can completely stop teleportation, divination, Astral, stealth, or other movement-type spells, making stealing almost impossible. This array completely covered the Royal Palace, making it impossible to infiltrate. The second Magic Enchantment Array lock is called 'Bloodline Lock.' You need to be a direct descendant of the 'Lockwood Family,' it is almost impossible even to enter the Royal Palace Treasury. And even the Patriarch can enter the palace treasury once per year. Finally, the third Magic Enchantment Array Lock is called 'Time Lock.' A mysterious spell will be activated if someone touches any of the artifacts without the Patriarch's or the Emperor's permission, and will be frozen in time. Although the third Array Lock seems exaggerated, we dare not to relax our guard and still think of a way to tackle that lock."
"Oh? The bloodline lock seems a little troublesome, but I think I can manage as long as I have a drop of blood from any one of the direct descendants of the 'Lockwood Family.'" Charles suddenly thought of something and asked.
"How many direct descendants are there in the Lockwood Family? Can I get a drop of any of the descendants' blood?"
Hunt was startled by his strange request and soon nodded.
"Although it's a little difficult, it's not impossible to get the blood of any direct Descendant. If I'm right, the fourth and sixth princes will always go hunting every Friday in the northern woods. We can use that opportunity to make some accident and stealthily get a few drops of blood from any of those princes."
"That's a good idea." Charles nodded.
After that, Hunt also explained the royal family's history and gave a detailed report about the spies working in the Palace.
Charles listened to his every sentence and finally chose a perfect target.
"I also want a few drops of Cyrus's blood and learn more about his daily activities. He is the Crown Prince's assistant, right? He had considerable authority in the Royal Palace and a good reputation among all the servants and Royal Knights. If I use his identity, I can easily steal the artifact."
"What are you planning, Charles? How can you infiltrate the Royal Treasury with only the blood of a direct descendant?"
Instead of answering, Charles shrugged his shoulders and added.
"Also, tell the people working as spies to leave the City while I enter the Royal Palace. By the time I walk out of the Royal Palace, even you guys shouldn't be staying in the territory of Holy City. If you do, then even I won't be able to save you."
