Chapter 2269: The Puppet King (20)

The next morning.

"Is that okay? Then I'll take the big dog out for a walk. Verne laughed.

"Oh, go ahead. Arthur stuffed the five silver coins that were counted as pocket money into the palm of the little ghost's hand, looked at Bediwell and said, "Bedi, keep an eye on this kid, don't let him get lost in the city." ＂

"Wow. The Great White Wolf was obviously unhappy with his appointment to become Verne's nanny, but if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to separate the little Verne from Arthur, and Arthur would not be able to contact Merlin. For the sake of the big picture, Bediwell couldn't even think of being a nanny.

"By the way, go to the mercenary union and hand over the papers. Arthur added, "Let yesterday's events be explained." ＂

"Well," Verne was glad to get the pocket money, and the errand business was naturally agreed: "But won't you go yourself?"

"No, it's too troublesome. Arthur snorted. He was actually very dissatisfied with the hiring of mercenaries, and most of yesterday's battle was actually handled by him, and the mercenaries didn't help much. Although yesterday's situation was indeed special, and I don't blame the group of mercenaries of the Crescent Moon Mercenary Group, but after spending so much money and not seeing the actual effectiveness of the mercenaries in battle, Arthur was aggrieved in his heart.

That's fine. Anyway, he didn't plan to rely on that group of mercenaries from the beginning, and the matter of hiring mercenaries was only half-pushed and half-done at the request of Duke Cirnant. The mercenaries, on their part, only need to submit a "good-looking" enough report to the Duke and the Guild, as long as the Duke is satisfied with everything.

Then let's talk to Merlin about the Abyss Grimoire first, and then go to Fort Hillant to meet with the Duke to discuss the interception policy.

"Merlin?" asked Arthur only after Bedivel had taken Verne out.

"I'm here. On the beam of the inn, a black crow figure replied. Of course, it didn't make a sound in its answer, it used telekinesis.

"What do you think of the Abyssal Magic Book: Ten Thousand Worlds Dimension that I got yesterday?" the Knight King asked.

"It's a dangerous book indeed. Merlin replied, "It can be seen as an influence of the forces of the abyss on this world. And the impact is still negative. ＂

"This [abyss] you are talking about...... Is it the same abyss we've encountered before?"

"An abyss is an abyss, and it exists in all timelines, past, present, or future. So yes, Your Majesty. What that book takes you to is a part of that abyss, or a branch. [The abyss] is a hyperspace, and it can have an infinite number of regions or domains. In the same way, those creatures in the abyss may even rule their own realm. Your Majesty, you should have arrived at the realm of a powerful creature in the abyss. ＂

"I see. Arthur snorted. He still remembered the owner of the voice that spoke so slowly and anxiously, the owner of the "Abyss Library", the --- of the Abyss, Morbius Maiyu. The guy never showed up, and Arthur only heard it in the Abyss Library. But judging from the distortion of that space and that library, this Abyssal Möbius is certainly not a good thing......

"Merlin, what should I do if I want to destroy this tome?"

"I guess, I can't destroy it at all. Merlin replied, "The tome itself is something akin to a portal, and it is also part of the abyss, a product of the outward extension of that hyperspace. It is not the substance of this world, and the space to which it belongs is even higher than our world dimension. This higher-dimensional existence cannot be destroyed in the way of our world, even if it uses the sum of the energy of the entire universe, it cannot destroy a hyperspace. ＂

"Tsk. Arthur frowned: "If you can't destroy it...... It's always okay to seal, for example, in the deepest part of the warrior's grave, in a secret place that no one can reach. ＂

"That sounds like a good idea, Your Majesty. ＂

"Then it was decided to do it. Arthur took a deep breath: "It seems that we will have to go to the Warrior's Grave in the near future." ＂

"Take that kid called Verne with you?"

"Of course not, how can you bring it. Arthur smiled indifferently: "The less people know about this, the better." This tome was not meant to be touched by the people of this world. The imp could just find a reason to get out of the way, and even Bediwell could not follow. Anyway, I still remember the way in and out of the warrior's grave. ＂

"If Your Majesty thinks it is appropriate to do so...... Merlin had no intention of objecting. Of course, he did not explicitly agree with it. King Arthur went deep into the tomb of the warrior alone, and there was still a certain danger.

Arthur ignored Merlin's hints, and instead put away the cloth bag containing the Abyssal Grimoire. He was very careful every time he touched the bag, lest any part of the bag leak out and his hand would inadvertently come into direct contact with the evil book. God knows if he'll be sucked into that otherworld again when he touches that book again, and despite all his disgust, Arthur can't take the book away from him. He even had to hide his sack under his pillow when he slept last night, lest Verne would come and get a book out of curiosity. In general, the book was not safe at all with him, and he had to get rid of it as soon as possible.

Two hours later, the reception room at Fort Hillnant.

"Ah, I heard about last night. You're doing a good job. The Duke of Hillante said slowly, looking out the window while smoking his pipe. He seemed to care about something, and didn't look at Arthur at all as he spoke.

"So, you've decided to support my future actions?" Arthur asked straight to the point, "Do you want to be my guarantor and introduce me to the lords of various places?"

"Considering your talents, yes, I think it's worth investing my credit in you. The Duke said, only then did he turn his head to look at Arthur: "That boy from Verne will also go with you for the time being, right? ------Anyway, did you find any unusual treasures in the [Bone Pickers] thieves' cottage last night?"

"Oh?" Arthur suddenly frowned, sensing that something was wrong, "For example?"

"For example, a book or something. The Duke looked at Arthur without emotion and replied.

This reception room was on the top of a tower in the fortress, and it was almost impossible for anyone to overhear outside, and the guards guarding the door were still close associates of the duke, and he said that he could speak freely here without worrying about being overheard. Despite this, he was quite vague and didn't explicitly ask Arthur about the Abyssal Grimoire.

"I've seen one before, but it's a pretty weird book. Evil to the ...... Hiding that book would lead to the kind of level where the church comes looking for trouble. Arthur also replied cryptically, "How did you know that book------, Lord Duke?"

"I don't think the church is going to come and look for trouble. Speaking of the church, the Duke of Hilnant had no waves on his face, and still responded calmly: "That book was originally a book in my family's collection, and according to legend, it is a cursed book. Anyone who reads that book will immediately go crazy and die a tragic death in the madness. The cursed book had been sealed in my family's underground library, and it was under heavy protection, forbidden for anyone to read. However, half a year ago, the thieves of the [Bone Pickers] thieves dug an underground tunnel to rob the treasury of my castle, but accidentally dug in the wrong direction, and the tunnel exit was on the side of the underground library. As a result, they stole all the precious books in my library, including the cursed magic book. ＂

"So you want me to exterminate the thieves this time, is the real purpose of that book? Arthur snorted, "But why? If you really want to take back that book, wouldn't it be better to send your elite soldiers to get it?" Why bother so much with an outsider asking a mercenary to pick up the book?"

"There are several reasons for this. The main reason is that I can't send my own troops to retrieve the Book of the Damned, and I don't want more people to know about the book that has fallen into my hands. The Duke snorted, "As you said, that book is quite evil, and the owner may be troubled by the church. I don't want to touch this strange thing at all, so I'd better let its next owner worry about it. ＂

I see. Did the Duke of Cirnant want to stuff Arthur with the hot potato of the Abyssal Grimoire from the beginning?

"There's another reason. The Duke continued, "There was once a man in our family who touched this magic book, and before he went mad, he prophesied: [He who enters and exits the abyss and can maintain his sanity will have the means to become kings]. So I'm actually looking forward to seeing what happens when you touch the abyss. ＂

Damn the old fox. Arthur couldn't help but curse secretly. In other words, this matter was arranged by the Duke of Hillnant from the beginning. He had long expected that Arthur would come into contact with the Abyss Magic Book: Ten Thousand Dimensions in the process of suppressing the bandits, and was dragged into the Abyss Library.

If Arthur touches the abyss and becomes insane, he naturally does not have the means to become a king, and the duke will save a lot of trouble, and there is no need to support a fool who has gone mad. Then, the Duke can also support Arthur's future actions more confidently. This guy's wishful thinking is quite loud.

"Well, the book will be given to you. The Duke said, "Take it, hide it, and don't let it appear before my eyes again." And then, take this one and ------."

He handed Arthur a document, and Arthur didn't look at it closely, only to see that it was a letter of introduction signed by the duke.

The recipient of the document was the man who was currently controlling the whole of England behind the puppet king Henry VI, the shadow king------ Earl of Warwick, Richard Beechham.