CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 32: THE MYSTERIOUS RING

After Duke withdrew his longsword, Leo collapsed to the ground, his armor clanging against the stones, the sound echoing continuously within the cave.

After a moment of silence in the cave, a bandit standing behind Duke approached silently with a dagger, aiming it directly at Duke’s neck.

Duke didn’t even turn his head, he stretched out his hand and caught the bandit’s neck like catching a chicken, then exerted force, and the sound of bones cracking was heard.

The bandit died instantly, and Duke casually tossed the corpse aside without a second glance.

The other bandits exchanged glances, instantly reaching a tacit understanding, and immediately turned and ran toward the cave entrance.

Duke watched them run towards the entrance but didn’t chase after them. Two bandits were turned into porcupines by a few arrows the moment they reached the entrance. The others abruptly halted their steps upon seeing this.

"There’s someone outside! And a lot of them!" The thought quickly surfaced in the bandits’ minds.

Duke stood behind them, watching them with a blank expression.

A few bandits looked outside the cave, then back at Duke’s cold face, and made the wisest choice, dropping to their knees on the spot.

"Spare us!"

...

Zorn then led the soldiers in and tied up the remaining seven bandits.

Due to insufficient manpower, to prevent these bandits from having any other ideas, they dislocated all the bandits’ arms, leaving them in a dislocated state.

In this era, there was no such thing as human rights, and bandits certainly couldn’t expect any humane treatment.

These bandits, due to their dislocated arms, lost their ability to resist on the spot, making them easier to control.

One of Zorn’s comments slightly diminished the rebellious thoughts in the bandits’ minds: recently, there was a manpower shortage in the territory, and these bandits were likely to be used as slaves instead of being executed.

For these bandits, as long as they weren’t sent to the gallows, anything was negotiable.

If they had to be slaves, so be it; at least they were alive. Some of them had originally been slaves, so it was like returning to their old profession.

Wood was naturally rescued and received some emergency treatment on the spot.

Although Zorn’s team was small, they had prepared some basic medicines.

After examination, it was found that Wood had no fatal injuries, but countless small ones.

Had it not been for the physique of a mid-level knight attendant, an average person would have been tortured to death long ago.

While Zorn was treating Wood, Duke stripped the silver-white armor off Leo’s body.

Since the corpse hadn’t stiffened yet, it was easier to strip the armor at that moment.

Duke then wandered around the cave and found a delicate small chest; its surface was engraved with extremely complex patterns, which made just looking at it a bit dizzying.

According to the bandits, this chest was Leo’s treasure, and no one else was allowed to touch it. They didn’t even know what was inside.

After careful observation, Duke discovered that the chest was made of gold and mithril.

Just the chest itself was likely worth a thousand gold coins.

If one considered the potential historical value, the price might be even higher.

Duke couldn’t figure out what the chest was, as he had virtually no knowledge of this world’s history.

All he knew was that there must be something hidden inside the chest.

After some thought, Duke decided not to open it there; he’d deal with the contents after settling Wood first.

After a brief treatment of Wood’s injuries, Duke carried him out of the forest overnight, rushing back on horseback to the town of Endland.

There was a priest in the town who usually treated the surrounding residents, and with the help of medicine, provided more meticulous treatment for Wood’s injuries.

Wood had been conscious all along, but fell into a coma after returning to the town of Endland.

Duke also checked, and although Wood’s heartbeat was fine, his body was too exhausted, and in a stable environment, he fell into a deep sleep.

After Wood’s condition stabilized, Duke temporarily stayed in the town of Endland, living in a small wooden house next to the training ground.

After closing the door, Duke took out the exquisite chest, which wasn’t locked but used some extremely special internal mechanisms.

After studying for a while, he pressed a sunflower on top of the chest, and the lid opened automatically.

By this time, Duke had already donned the full armor he recovered, fully armed in case any poisonous darts flew out of the chest.

None of the anticipated threats appeared; aside from layers of gold coins, there was an ancient brass ring at the top of the chest.

Duke didn’t pay much attention to the coins and instead picked up the brass ring.

The brass ring looked very simple, resembling an ordinary brass ring with nothing special about it.

However, Duke’s attention was involuntarily drawn to the ring. After rotating it for a while, he discovered what seemed to be inscriptions on it.

"Why didn’t I see these inscriptions before..." Duke pondered this question.

The inscriptions seemed to appear automatically or, more accurately, they appeared when Duke looked directly at them.

When Duke wasn’t looking, the inscriptions would submerge back into the ring.

This mysterious scene piqued Duke’s interest. The inscriptions on the ring were strange, written in a script he had never seen before.

Duke patiently examined each and every inscription, remembering every stroke and structure clearly in his mind.

Once he memorized all the inscriptions on the ring, a message floated into his mind.

"Amor Coelerenza..."

Duke was immediately startled, realizing the message originated from the ring.

Moreover, at that moment, even though he didn’t understand the ring’s inscriptions, he comprehended their meaning.

"This phrase means a skin-adhesive membrane for elemental energy defense..." Duke roughly understood the message.

Yet he was even more puzzled as to why he could suddenly understand the meaning of these unfamiliar inscriptions.

Duke suddenly thought, "Spiritual power..."

He realized that perhaps this was a method of direct information transmission through spiritual power.

All languages and writings are carriers of information, a way to convey messages.

And spiritual power seemed to be a more effective means of information transmission, allowing the receiver to understand the entire meaning without any language or textual explanation.

Holding the brass ring, Duke repeatedly rubbed it, pondering the previously heard group, Wizards.

On a whim, he chanted the inscriptions on the ring: "Amor Coelerenza!"

The next moment, a wave of fatigue surged deep within his mind, and his vision darkened, nearly causing him to faint.