Seeing how generous he was, the alchemist on duty put down his work and started chatting with him. Isidor naturally turned the topic to the crystal stone.
Seeing that he was interested in crystal stones, the alchemist showed him some large pieces of high-quality crystal stones and said that he had never seen such high-purity crystals in his life, which were even purer than some Vtb fans. Using it as raw material to make enchanted equipment or magic props would have a very good effect.
Isidor nodded pretending to be very interested, and then continued to ask: "This thing is so powerful, where does it come from? I heard adventurers outside say that it was dug out of the ground. Is it really a thing created by heaven and earth?"
The alchemist smiled mysteriously and took out a round crystal ball. "Although there are many different opinions on the market, they are all laymen's views. In my opinion, this thing is more like a carrier similar to memory crystal!"
"Memory crystal?" Isidor had seen Esina use this thing before, but he still pretended to be confused and asked.
"That's right. After this thing is activated with magic power, it can record things around it and transcribe people's memories into it. I have done many experiments on crystal stones, and the results prove that this thing stores some kind of memory. However, these memories are fragmented and seem to be recorded more like they were accidentally recorded. It is also very difficult to interpret." said the alchemist.
"I'm quite interested in this. Can you let me try to read it?" Isidor asked.
"Well... you see, I still have business here, and the equipment needed to read that thing is also..."
"I've booked the whole place," Isidor said, pulling out a gold brick and placing it on the table.
"Okay! I'll close the shop now! I'll only entertain you!" The alchemist was overjoyed and hurriedly invited Isidor into a secluded room. He took out a full set of alchemical equipment, placed a crystal stone on the tray of the scale, and tinkered with it on the side.
"The preparations are complete. Please put your hands on another tray, close your eyes, and then concentrate on feeling it. Reading other people's memories is a process that can be easily interrupted. If you lose focus, it will fail. So we will exit for now and you can feel it alone in the quiet room." After the alchemist finished speaking, he and Emmeline left the room and closed the thick soundproof door.
Isidor took a deep breath, placed his right hand on the tray on the other side of the crystal stone, and slowly closed his eyes.
A cold memory flowed into his mind, chilling his whole body like drinking ice water.
What came into his mind was the back of a woman leaving.
"It's so painful...Mom, where are you? Why don't you come to accompany me?" A young voice monologued alone.
Then, a man sat on the throne, while the young Esna, wearing coarse clothes, knelt on the steps.
"Dad, I don't understand why you want to drive Mom away? She didn't do anything wrong. She was just thinking about the future of the elves! What? I can't call you dad anymore? Fine, then I'll forget all this."
"But, can I really forget it? If there is a way to make the memory disappear..."
The scene then changed to show the young Esuna swinging her sword in the Knights' Order, sweat dripping down her beautiful face. After the practice, Esuna took a simple shower, and then without a moment's rest, she immediately picked up an ancient book and began to study, taking notes while reading.
Elves have an extremely long lifespan, so their lives are usually lazy and leisurely. People like Esna who always strive for every second are truly outliers among outliers.
"One day, I will kill all of you. But before that, I want to fulfill my mother's last wish and save the elves, a race on the verge of extinction." Esina wrote the sharp words in her notebook in beautiful handwriting.
The memory gradually became blurred at this point. Isidor slowly opened his eyes and looked at the empty wall in front of him. For some reason, he felt his nose a little sour and couldn't help but shed a few tears.
Chapter 130: The Truth of the Crystal Stone
"Excuse me sir, you've been in there for an hour."
When the knock on the door sounded for the fifth time, Isidor finally woke up from his sad mood. He opened the door, slowly walked out of the quiet room, looked at the sun in the distance, took a few deep breaths, and his emotions gradually calmed down.
"When reading a memory crystal, one may also be immersed in the emotions of the memory owner. I think this gentleman has a strong memory sensitivity, so he is affected by it. I suggest that you have less contact with this kind of memory crystal in the future." Seeing Isidor's lost expression, the alchemist probably guessed that the memory he read was not a pleasant one.
"I'm fine - Boss, I'll take all the white crystal stones here." Isidor waved his hand and said.
"What? You want them all?" the alchemist asked in surprise.
"That's right, help me install it quickly," said Isidor.
"Yes, yes, yes!" The alchemist had never met such a generous customer in his life, and quickly called his assistant to move the purchased crystal stones.
"Why did you buy so many crystal stones? Could it be that these stones contain...my sister's memories?" Emmeline asked in a low voice.
"Yes, I read some vague memory fragments. Although the content is very little, I can feel that it is not a pleasant memory." Isidor looked at Emily in front of him, and seemed to see Esna's face in a trance.
"But even if you buy the crystal stones from this shop, there are so many other shops in Bailu City that are buying them. Can you really buy them all? Even if you can buy them all, there are still many crystal stones buried underground in the area outside..." Emilyne reminded.
Before Isidor could even open his mouth, a voice came out of his pocket: "If the master wants to restore Esna to her original state, he must find enough crystal stones, no matter how difficult it is."
When Isidor heard the sound, he knew that Dice Girl had woken up. Without caring about others seeing her, he quickly took her out of his pocket, put her on the table and asked her carefully.
"Those crystals are Esuna's memories, the byproducts of her overdrawing magic power and forcibly using mind magic. If more than half of the crystals can be collected, Esuna can return to her original state; if more than 70% are collected, she can restore her memory. Although some of it will be lost, the memory itself has overlapping areas, so it can be roughly regarded as fully restored; of course, it is best to collect all of them, so that her state will be more stable after recovery." Dice Lady explained.
"As expected, it seems that Esina did have a great battle with the Demon Lord after we were teleported away. It would be difficult for us to collect such a large number of crystal stones on our own. I think it would be better for us to find some people to help buy all the crystal stones in the city, and then slowly mobilize adventurers to go in and collect them." Isidor said.
"I'll listen to you." Emmeline nodded.
Just as the two men agreed on the plan, the door of the alchemist's shop was suddenly kicked open violently, and a dozen warriors in white helmets and armor filed in and surrounded Isidor and Emilyne.
Isidor looked at the knights who had come in. Each of them was of burly stature, wearing shiny silver plate armor with a deer antler emblem on the breastplate. Both their equipment and their aura were much better than those of the King's Guard of the Hibran people.
"Oh! It's you gentlemen from the White Hart Knights! What rare guests! If you want something, just say hello. Why do you come here in person? I apologize for our poor hospitality." The alchemist's face turned green when he saw this, and he quickly stepped forward to greet them with a smile.
"We're here to arrest the criminals." The leading White Deer Knight said coldly.
"Look at what you said. I think this must be a misunderstanding. These two are customers of my shop. They can't be criminals." The alchemist said with cold sweat on his forehead.
“It’s none of your business. Get out of the way.” The White Deer Knight pushed the alchemist away, and the latter fell to the ground and rolled several times before stopping.
"Foreigner, someone has reported you for murder and robbery outside, but you still don't plead guilty?" The White Deer Knight said, staring at Isidor through the gap in his helmet.
"What crime should I confess? Is it a crime to buy things in your city?" Isidor did not fight directly. First, the knights in front of him were most likely the official force of Bailu City. He had to organize people to purchase the crystal stones later, and he might need their help and cooperation. Second, these dozen knights were obviously not ordinary people. It would be troublesome if Emily was hurt in a fight.
"You really won't cry until you see the coffin - bring witnesses!" The leading knight clapped his hands, and immediately two more knights came in escorting several adventurers covered in wounds.
"Bati?" Isidor recognized one of the adventurers at a glance.
"Mr. Isidor, we didn't want to tell you either... We really couldn't stand the torture, we're sorry..." Batty answered weakly with half of his swollen eye closed.
"It's them! He used witchcraft to cripple one of my arms and stole a lot of our belongings! He killed dozens of adventurers, and he's not a human! He's a monster like a goblin! Ask him to take off his hat! Those ears are the best evidence! And these lackeys helped him lead the way! We also took a lot of his stolen goods!" An adventurer with only one arm followed in and said to Isidor fiercely.
"You are still alive?" Isidor looked at the adventurer in front of him with some surprise. He was the adventurer who asked him for food right away, and whose arm he had broken and whose mouth he had gagged with ice. He thought he had died at the hands of the white beast, but he didn't expect him to be alive and even had time to run out and identify him. It seemed that he had been too lenient in the beginning.
"The stolen goods have been seized, and they are all real gold. Now that we have witnesses and evidence, you can no longer hide your crime of murder and robbery. I advise you to lay down your weapon and follow me to the Arbitration Court for identity verification. If you are a human or subhuman, I can spare your life if you hand over the stolen goods." The White Deer Knight said with his arms folded.
"Isidor! Look at that sword! Judging from the shape of the hilt, it looks like my sister's sword!" Emmeline suddenly came up and whispered in Isidor's ear.
Isidor looked quickly and found that the leading knight was carrying an exquisite sword. Although only the hilt could be seen from this angle, it was most likely Esna's sword.
"Take the sword! It is very important to my sister." Emmeline whispered.
"Hey! What are you guys mumbling about? You really don't take our White Deer Knights seriously!" A White Deer Knight walked up impatiently and said.
"Oh? What are the White Deer Knights? Why should I take you seriously?" Isidor asked with a sneer.
"You're looking for death, aren't you?" The White Deer Knight drew his sword angrily and slashed at Isidor's head.
"Emilyn, stand back," Isidor said, and he took the sword of the White Hart Knight between two fingers and snapped it in two.
Chapter 131: Esina's Sword
The White Deer Knight was shocked and quickly retracted his broken sword and stepped back a few steps.
Isidor threw away the half-broken sword and nodded slightly: "You have some skills. That sword strike was fast and steady. If the Adventurer's Guild were to rate it, it would be at least A-level."
The leading knight had a gloomy expression. He had heard that the opponent was an ice sorcerer, so he led the White Deer Knights to rush forward. First, if a sorcerer was approached, he would have already lost a large part of the battle; second, the armor of the White Deer Knights was made of star silver, which had a high resistance to magic.
However, it now seems that the opponent also seems to have good skills in close combat.
But now that things have come to this, I can only bite the bullet and go ahead.
"Everyone, display your emblems and capture the criminal!" The leading White Deer Knight drew his sword and shouted.
"In the name of the White Deer!" The knights drew their swords in a flash. The deer antler emblems on the breastplates and hilts lit up with a faint white light, as if some kind of magic rune was activated.
After the emblem lit up, the knights' speed suddenly increased a lot, and wisps of breeze attached to their swords.
"Good momentum." Isidor smiled, dodged behind the leading knight, and pulled out Esina's sword.
As soon as the long sword was drawn out, the soft sword body swayed in the air. Isidor pressed the sword spine to stop the shaking.
"Give it back to me now! That's the sword I bought at a high price!" the leading knight said angrily.
"Are you worthy of using her sword?" Isidor frowned, and with a flash of his sword, the informer, who had only one arm left, was beheaded on the spot, at a speed so fast that it was almost impossible to catch with the naked eye.
After killing the informer, Isidor stabbed again, this time aiming at the gap in the leading knight's helmet.
The leading knight hastily raised his sword to stop him, but the force on Isidor's sword was too great and the knight's sword was actually shaken away.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly and took a step back, but was still stabbed by the end of the sword. However, a wind wall instantly formed at the location where he was stabbed, barely blocking the sword.
"Oh? So it has defensive functions? This armor is really amazing." Isidor said in surprise.
"Let's charge together!" When the leading knight saw the sword, he immediately realized that the opponent was a top swordsman, and hurriedly ordered all the knights to charge forward.
"Whirlwind." Isidor swung his sword in a circle, and the six knights who came forward were immediately cut into two pieces.
A gust of wind blew up, and the whole room could not withstand the strong wind pressure and exploded instantly.
"This move of his must have consumed a huge amount of energy. Go ahead! Don't give him a chance to breathe!" The leading knight was stunned for only a moment, then immediately gave the second order.
Although their companions died tragically, the remaining White Deer Knights still attacked without hesitation.
"You're right. This is indeed not a skill that can be used continuously. But to deal with you, ordinary moves are enough." Isidor said, relying on his high agility and the dexterity skills of the ranger profession to move among the blades.
Although the swordsmanship of the White Stag Knights was superb, Isidor's swordsmanship was taught directly by Esina, and it was agile, ingenious, and unconventional. Even if the physical abilities of both sides were switched, they might not be powerless to fight, not to mention that Isidor's physical ability was far superior to his opponent.
Within a few rounds, the White Deer Knights fell one after another. Esina's soft sword was extremely sharp. Even if the target was wearing full body plate armor with wind attribute protection, it was still as easy as cutting melons and vegetables.
Less than five minutes had passed since the battle began, and the only White Deer Knight still alive in the room was the leading knight.
"This... This is too strong, isn't it?" The leading knight's eyes almost popped out of his head in shock. But he had been on the battlefield for a long time, so he quickly regained his composure.
He knew that although he was stronger than the fallen knights, he was still far from being Isidor's opponent. At the moment, the other party was already bloodthirsty, and if he wanted to save his life, he had to use some other means.
Thinking of this, he looked at Emily who was hiding aside.
The girl looked short, her eyes were evasive, and she seemed very introverted. She was obviously a person with no fighting ability. And Isidor seemed to take special care of her, which meant that the girl was probably Isidor's lover or blood relative, or at least a close friend.
If he could take this girl hostage, even if he couldn't make Isidor surrender, at least saving his life shouldn't be a problem.
Thinking of this, the White Deer Knight decisively threw a sword at Isidor. The sword brought with it a whistling wind, which lifted up the surrounding soil and rocks. The momentum was quite intimidating.
Isidor also used his sword to knock away the sword thrown by the White Stag Knight, but his vision was blocked for a moment. When he broke through the strong wind and rushed forward, the White Stag Knight was no longer there.
"Put down your weapons! Otherwise don't blame me for killing this girl!" The White Deer Knight held a dagger in his hand, put it on Emmeline's neck and shouted.
"Calm down and don't kill anyone!" Isidro turned back in panic.
Seeing Isidore's panic, the White Stag Knight secretly breathed a sigh of relief - it seemed that his bet was right, this girl was indeed very important.
"Listen to me, calm down first and be sure to control your strength." Isidor said worriedly.
"Put down your sword first! Don't come over! Otherwise, I can't guarantee that my shaking hands won't hurt her!" The White Deer Knight said loudly.
"Listen to me: I still have something to ask him, so let him live for now. It's not appropriate to dirty his clothes at this distance." Isidor continued.
"What? Who do you want to ask?" The White Deer Knight was a little confused. It seemed that Isidor's words were not spoken to him, but to the girl he held hostage.
Could it be that this girl had some skills and was not just a pretty face? Even if so, what could she do with a knife at her neck?
"Brother Isidore, you are forcing me to do what I want." Emmeline frowned, her eyes revealing disgust.
"I hate it most when men touch me, and no one but you." Emmeline said, reaching out to hold the White Stag Knight's wrist.
The White Deer Knight only felt a numbness in his wrist, and the dagger had already fallen to the ground.
He suspected that he had not held it firmly, but when he looked closely, he found that his wrist and the wrist guard had been pinched into a dent, with the thinnest part only as thick as two fingers.
"You must be kidding! This is a wristband made of fine steel!" The White Deer Knight cried out in surprise.
At this moment, excruciating pain finally came from the wrist. The wrist bone was crushed so hard that even the veteran White Deer Knight screamed in pain.
Emmeline elbowed the White Stag Knight again, hitting his breastplate. The White Stag Knight immediately staggered to the ground, spitting blood. There was a large dent in his breastplate, as if he had been hit by a blunt object.
"I told you to calm down! I wanted to ask him where he bought the sword! Maybe I can find other personal belongings of Esna." Isidor hurried forward, made some life potion and fed it into the mouth of the White Stag Knight, while softly blaming Emmeline.
"I'm sorry! I didn't realize my sister's things might still be with him. It's my fault. I should have been a little gentler." Emmeline said in panic.
"It's okay, he won't die. This guy's armor is of good quality and his body is very strong. But you should change your bad habit of controlling your emotions." Isidor finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the White Deer Knight did not die on the spot.
Chapter 132: Wall of Wind
After saving the White Stag Knight's life, Isidor took out potions to heal Batty and his group. Although the life potion he could make after the fantasy construction upgrade was already the highest level, it was still impossible to heal this level of injury quickly.
Thinking of treatment, Isidor couldn't help but miss the Vampire Knight Fidna who could be a brother. If she were there, perhaps a ray of holy light could heal these adventurers instantly.
After the battle, most of the shop owners and merchants around had fled. Isidor moved the stone statue of Esna to the "house" without walls and carefully cleaned off the dust.
At this time, the White Stag Knight who was knocked unconscious by Emmeline's elbow slowly woke up. When he opened his eyes, he saw Emmeline's face full of disgust, and he was immediately frightened and shuddered.
When Isidor saw that he was awake, he drew his sword and pointed it at his throat and asked, "Tell me, where did this sword come from?"
The White Deer Knight endured the pain in his wrist and said, "I bought it from an adventurer."
