Zhou Mu was all too familiar with the map's style.
Although it only depicted a small portion of the Southern Grief Mountains, the layout of this map was identical to when Zhou Mu opened up the map in-game.
It was impossible for such a coincidence to happen.
In other words, it was very likely that there were clues about his old acquaintances behind this map. He just didn't know if the other party was a friend or foe.
Of course, from the fact that the other party had handed the map to a demon summoner, the probability of an enemy was higher.
But no matter what, he couldn't give up this clue.
Zhou Mu stared at the person and tried his best to sound intimidating.
"Where did you get this map?"
Silence.
"Do you not want to say it or can't?"
Silence again.
"So you can't say?"
Looking at the silent David, Zhou Mu continued asking.
David gritted his teeth and replied, "I can tell you anything other than the origins of this map."
"I'm not interested in anything else. This is all I want to know."
"Then kill me."
The other party's answer surprised him somewhat. Since he had surrendered so decisively, he definitely wasn't the kind of person who wouldn't fear death.
To make the other party choose to die so calmly, it probably wasn't because of greed or loyalty.
It should be fear.
After all, death wasn't the worst ending in this world.
"I know there are methods that can punish a person's soul when they reveal certain secrets, but coincidentally, I also have some methods that can torture your soul the same way…"
"You have no idea…"
David interrupted Zhou Mu's threat.
"You don't know what it means to have your soul tortured, and you don't know what true horror is. You can rely on your strength that's enough to banish a Stumbling Demon to threaten me, but don't think that I'll be afraid. I assure you that this bit of strength of yours is nothing compared to that lord."
"Very good, there's finally some progress. Tell me who the lord you're talking about is, and I promise to give you a quick death."
The other party immediately shut up.
"Do you think I can't do anything to you as long as you stay mum? If you have such thoughts, I advise you to abandon them."
Zhou Mu waited for a few more seconds. When he saw that the other party still appeared unafraid of death, he could only sigh helplessly.
"Alright, this is your own doing. To be honest, even if you do deserve death, I didn't want to do this."
With that said, he turned around and looked behind.
"Liliana."
"Ah… Yes."
Liliana replied as if she had snapped awake from a dream.
Zhou Mu couldn't help but frown when he saw the girl's dejected expression.
"It wasn't your fault."
Liliana's eyes turned red as she choked.
"But how am I to tell their families this terrible news? How should I explain why I was the only one who survived? How should I face them? I don't know…"
Zhou Mu picked up the lead-colored staff that had been thrown away from the ground and handed it to the trembling girl.
"Tell them that the culprit is dead."
Liliana looked up at him in surprise.
"This is also the only thing you can do to bring some comfort to the families of the deceased. The rest can only be left to time."
With that said, a pitch-black energy beam shot out from Withering Cold and struck David, who was tied to the side.
He looked up and collapsed.
Zhou Mu walked over and half-knelt in front of the lifeless corpse. He released Withering Cold, but the staff didn't fall to the ground. Instead, it floated beside him as if it were alive.
His right hand was covered in a hazy black shadow as he reached into David's corpse—his hand penetrated the corpse like an illusory ghost and pulled out an equally illusory humanoid outline.
It was the soul of David Obis.
He looked a little puzzled until he saw his corpse lying on the ground and seemed to understand what had happened.
"Where did that map come from?"
Zhou Mu didn't say a word. Instead, he used his will to produce a soul voice.
He used his will to control the will of others.
Master-level Necromancy spell, Commandeering of the Dead.
The expression on David's face changed from confusion to a daze, and then to endless affliction.
"What's the name of the lord you were talking about? Where is he?"
Seeing that the other party still didn't answer, Zhou Mu estimated how much the other party's soul could withstand and used Commandeering of the Dead again.
The other party's soul began to tremble violently under Zhou Mu's command, and it looked like he could barely maintain his human form. A few seconds later, he gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words with difficulty and slowness.
"Father… Father of the Crows, Thorn City…"
He didn't finish his sentence because three scratches suddenly appeared on his soul the moment he said the first word. With every word he said, the scratch deepened.
When he said the name Thorn City, the claw mark tore his soul to pieces.
Looking at the tiny specks of light that filled the sky when his soul dissipated, Zhou Mu fell silent.
This was the first time he had seen a spell that had never appeared in-game. He didn't even know how to stop it.
Father of the Crows… I've never heard of it… Moreover, Thorn City?
Thorn City reminded Zhou Mu of something more pressing.
That was to repair the now-ruined Twilight Fortress.
No matter what, he couldn't let the place that carried so many memories remain in its abandoned state.
However, it wasn't easy to restore the Twilight Fortress to its original state. The exquisite defense systems and functional designs in the Twilight Fortress were the culmination of the efforts of the strongest craftsmen and enchanters on the continent back then. Zhou Mu even doubted if he could replicate all the functions of the Twilight Fortress now that a thousand years had passed.
Even if he had to settle for the next best thing and only wanted to repair the outer framework, it wouldn't be a trivial project.
Problems pertaining to ordinary construction materials and labor were fine; he could just spend more time and effort summoning Elemental Souls to do manual labor. However, the troublesome thing was that because it hadn't been maintained for years, the Sealed Magic runes buried in the structure had been deactivated. He had to build the entire fortress's rune system from scratch.
This was a very important job, and it had to begin together when rebuilding the main body of the fortress. It was equivalent to taking the best possible route before a house was renovated. Otherwise, even if it was repaired, the Twilight Fortress would only be a stone fortress that dazzled on the surface. It wouldn't be able to withstand the invasion of the Lunar Monsters.
Relaying the Sealed Magic rune system required a large amount of Elementium Silver—a Demon Sealing Metal that had a strong affinity for all types of spells.
Although his Treasure Hall had some reserves of Elementium Silver, they were only stored as specimens. They couldn't meet the needs of rebuilding the entire Twilight Fortress.
The largest Elementium Silver mine and refinery on the continent was in Thorn City a thousand years ago.
With this and the fact that he had to investigate the mysterious Father of the Crows, it looked like it was indeed necessary for him to make a trip to Thorn City.
Zhou Mu grabbed Withering Cold that was floating to the side again and turned to ask Liliana,
"I remember you saying that you studied at Arcana University in Blackwater Swamp, right?"
Liliana had never studied Undead spells, so from her point of view, the scene of Zhou Mu interrogating David's soul was just him walking to the corpse and squatting down. Then, he held something in his hand and stood up before spacing out.
She nodded and then corrected him.
"It's not Blackwater Swamp, but Blackwater Province. Blackwater Swamp was its name from a long time ago."
The other party didn't say anything to her on this topic and continued asking, "Is the headquarters of Arcana University still in Thorn City?"
What does he mean by 'still in'? Hasn't it been in Thorn City since more than a thousand years ago?
Suppressing her doubts about the other party's strange question, Liliana replied, "That's right. It has always been in Thorn City."
"How about this? Aren't you going back to school after this matter is over? I happen to have something to do in Thorn City. Since it's on the way, how about I hire you as a guide? As for the remuneration, I'll pay with the pendant from before. What do you think of this deal?"
How was this deal?
As a guide, this deal was a windfall!
Although Liliana wasn't an Enchantment Expert, such an enchanted item was definitely one of the highest-grade items in the university's collection. It could probably be sold for more than 10,000 gold riels at an auction.
In comparison, hiring a guide to Thorn City only cost about ten gold riels.
But the problem was that the other party was a heretical mage who had betrayed the Astral Laws. No matter which city he went to, he would be wanted by the Church and the local Overlords as long as he was discovered.
Of course, she had no doubt that this man with unfathomable strength could easily escape, but when that happened, she would be in trouble as his guide.
Moreover, more importantly, she didn't know anything about this person other than the fact that he was ridiculously strong.
This wasn't a deal that could put her at ease.
However…
The other party had saved her life and even avenged her.
No matter what, she had to repay this favor.
…
The girl named Liliana hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.
"Alright, you have my word. But before that, I need to know your name."
"Name, huh…"
Right, what should I call myself?
Only then did he carefully consider this question.
Zhou Mu? This was a name he used in his previous life when living in the concrete jungle.
But now that I'm in this world, do I still need to use this name?
He was silent for a long time until the girl began to panic.
"William Kane."
He spoke as if he was announcing something, naming the character he had played in his alternate life.
The name that once resounded across the continent.
"My name is William Kane."