Ducktown's Secret

  Amon was caught off guard and fell heavily to the ground, but there was a mat in front of the door, so he didn't get hurt. He got up quickly and dodged to one side, saying: "It's my fault, I might have tripped on the rug when I backed up."

  "It was an accident, I just showed a bit of strength and didn't control it well..." Maria said at the same time, her tone slightly panicked.

  Gabriel's attention was immediately drawn to Maria's words, and his eyes lit up: "Sir, you can already...?" He stopped mid-sentence, turned to Amun and said: "There's nothing for you here, get out and close the door."

  Suddenly being pushed away and falling to the ground, Amun was still unable to clearly understand what had happened, but he had already calmed down from his confusion. He should feel lucky that if Maria had said one wrong word, it's very likely that he would have lost his life, even if Gabriel spared him, Rodick might have sent someone to kill him.

  Gabriel exclaimed to Maria in surprise, "Ma'am, you really didn't disappoint Isis. You accidentally pushed Amun down just now. When people first use this power, they tend not to get used to it."

  Mary nodded and said, "Yes, I just stretched out my hand and pushed him down from a distance. Is this the power of God?" When Gabriel came in, Amun was sitting on the ground, while Mary stood with one hand stretched out, as if she had knocked Amun down from afar.

  Maria wasn't intentionally trying to lie, but on Amun's first day, she heard Gabriel's orders that Amun was not allowed to touch her, or else he would be punished. What kind of punishment would it be? Would it be like the priest in Duketown who had to cut off one of his fingers? How terrifying! It wasn't Amun's fault.

  Gabriel didn't care about these, she was attracted by another topic and smiled: "Yes, this is the power given by the gods. You just mastered it and it's not strong yet. Amun is very strong, but you can push him down with a wave of your hand. Any ordinary person can open a door, but you can open it without even stretching out your hand, that's the miracle created by divine power."

  "Maria-sama, you must be careful now. Before mastering the pure technique, do not use it lightly. Actually, someone like Amun who has mastered low-level body techniques, if they understand the rules of divine magic and are prepared, you won't be able to push him down. However, in the future, your divine power will become incredibly strong, especially with the help of the Tears of the Gods."

  ……

  Ammon stood downstairs, still feeling a bit dazed, with Maria's scent lingering on his hands and body, bringing a warm and intoxicating fragrance. He couldn't quite understand what had just happened, how he ended up hugging her and then being pushed away - it was all unclear to him, yet somehow also understandable. During the day, their eyes had seemed to be provoking each other, and last night he had almost dreamed of a similar scene, only to actually put his hand on her chest just now!

  He stood there blankly for a long time, until Gabriel came downstairs and suddenly asked: "Armand, what did you see just now?"

  "Your Excellency, I didn't see or hear anything. I just brought water for Lady Maria."

  Gabriel's gaze was like a piercing soul: "Not telling me either?"

  "Ah, yes, sir. You instructed me not to mention anything I see or hear here to anyone, including you, of course." He was quite clever and had already learned Aristotle's three-part argument, so he responded in this way to Gabriel's question, but the truth was that he really didn't know what to say about what had just happened in Maria's room.

  Gabriel's serious face finally floated out a faint smile: "Good, good! Remember what you said, your work is done, the pay has been given to your father, and now you can go home."

  It was unexpected that Gabriel would let him go now, his work had been completed and he had received his pay. Amun should have felt very relieved and happy, but when he left the courtyard, he felt a kind of indescribable melancholy, looking back at it as if in silent farewell.

  ……

  Roddy was finally delighted because Gabriel told him that he could set off and asked him to make preparations overnight, and he could finally leave this ghost place.

  Gabriel also explained to him that the reason he stayed in the town for three more days was not only because Maria was ill, but also because she was teaching Maria Isis Temple some special rituals and regulations so that she could smoothly pass the recognition of her holy girl identity. Now Maria has learned it.

  This made Roddick even happier, and if it were someone else, he would have definitely sent a large sum of money in gratitude, but Lord Gabriel apparently did not want to accept bribes. Roddick thought for half a day and personally gave Lord Gabriel a carefully crafted shield that had been blessed with divine magic, which was the warrior's honor weapon, and explained that this shield was originally intended to be offered to the temple. Lord Gabriel accepted it.

  What kind of gift to give and how to make people accept it with great pleasure is also a study, Lord Roddick obviously excels in this field.

  After three days of recuperation, Maria's maid recovered from her illness. The next day, after finishing breakfast, Lord Rodick's grand and magnificent carriage procession set off. The merchants who had been waiting in Ducktown for some time were getting impatient, but they didn't want to leave themselves. Since it was impossible to hire guards in Ducktown, when they received the news that Lord Dick would be returning last night, they were overjoyed and packed their bags overnight, following behind the lord's carriage procession as they left.

  The bustling town of Du Ke finally returned to calm, the townspeople enjoying the fine wine and food brought by the merchant caravan, many families' hearths also extinguished. After being busy for so many days, it's rare to be able to relax a bit, even the mayor didn't urge the miners to hurry up with their work. During this time, the townspeople handed over quite a few divine stones, and relaxing a bit was well-deserved.

  Everyone was relaxed, except for Road-Dick, who was a bit tense because before returning to the Sea Cape Republic, they had to cross a desolate desert and an undulating Gobi crossing area, where anything could happen, and it was not guaranteed that Maria and the Tears of the Gods would be safe.

  He had privately informed the mayor of Dastin that the news of the Tears of the Gods must not be spread. However, two nights ago, he received a secret report that the temple priest Xiao Gu sent an envoy to the city-state of Xuya, sending the divine stone offered every season to the temple there. This is a regular occurrence, and no one can stop it, but Lord Dick always feels that something is not quite right.

  He even thought of sending someone to intercept the messenger, but in the end he didn't do that. From Duketown to Syracia, the post road through the Blackfire Forest was the only way to go, and there were checkpoints on it; his people would not be able to avoid inspection before catching up with the messenger, making it difficult to conceal their tracks. Besides, this was after all within the borders of the Hatti Kingdom, and sending someone to kill a temple priest's messenger would be a very serious crime; if exposed, Lord Dick might not be able to withstand such accusations either.

  As the convoy entered the desert area, Roddick looked back at the direction of Duke Town which had already disappeared beyond the horizon and thought to himself: "Is this place blessed by the gods or abandoned? What a strange place."

  The mining techniques passed down through generations in Duketown, in Dick's opinion, included martial arts. The qualified adult miners in the town were no less skilled than low-ranking warriors in terms of martial arts training. The outstanding ones had already mastered second-level martial arts, awakened the power dormant in their blood, and could use it proficiently.

  A low-ranking warrior who has mastered martial arts is also an elite in the army of the Egu Empire!

  What's even more frightening is that the miner's technique actually contains basic divine magic, although it's just the simplest and hasn't passed the test of God, but after all, it's still divine magic. If combined with physical skills, its power will be astonishing. The miners here only use this skill to mine, not for combat.

  If all the miners in town were gathered together, taught battle formations and commands, and mastered the use of weapons, this town could withstand an ordinary legion. Even if the miners spontaneously gathered to fight with pickaxes alone, they would be difficult to deal with. When Lord Rodick lived in the town, he even thought that if a large-scale civilian uprising occurred here, his personal guard would not be able to suppress it, and at most could only protect Maria's rapid escape.

  The city-state of Syria is located in the border area of Hatti, Assyria, Babylon and Egypt. In the historical war, it has been governed by different dynasties, but the small town of Douke, which belongs to the city-state of Syria, has never been occupied by the army.

  Every dynasty that occupied the Syrian city-state would send envoys to Duketown, notifying them of the change in rulers and guaranteeing Duketown's status as long as they maintained their subordinate relationship. They would still dispatch troops to garrison the Black Fire Forest post road, collect the same taxes, and provide protection for the coming and going trade routes.

  The reason is simple, it's not that the absolute power can't take it down, but the cost isn't worth it. Launching an elite army and going through a difficult journey just to capture a small town is unnecessary. Moreover, every dynasty and country needs the divine stones and iron produced by Duketown, killing or enslaving the miners there is completely unnecessary, as long as control over Duketown can be guaranteed.

  The geographical location of Douke Town is so special. Its north is the Syrian Plateau, and the low mountain range closer to the town is where the divine stone mine core is produced. Further away are high peaks that stretch continuously, forming a natural barrier that is difficult to cross. The east is also a mountainous area, where it is said that cave-dwelling wild people live, with dense forests and complex terrain, and further away is the impassable Yubu River Grand Canyon.

  To its west lies the Blackfire Thicket, where a hundred-mile post road leads to the capital of the Xuya City-State. This is the closest and most convenient route for travelers coming from Duketown. To its south lies an endless expanse of desert and gobi, stretching all the way to the coast of the Haijiao City-State in the Empire of Ai. If traveling from Haijiao to Xuya, it's more convenient to cross the desert directly rather than going through Duketown and then crossing the Blackfire Thicket.

  The arable land around Douke Town is very barren and lacks sufficient pastures, which can hardly support the local population, but its products are so important. This special situation makes it difficult for Douke Town to exist independently of the Xiyacity-state, and the temple in the town also listens to the temple in the city-state.

  Duketown has a special feature, that is, there are almost no slaves in the town, except for Dasti and Xiaohe's two households, the rest of the residents are almost all civilians. This is completely different from other places on the mainland of Tianxu, the reason is very simple, all countries around have the same decree: slaves' hands cannot touch divine stones, every time they violate it, one finger will be cut off.

  Interestingly, Amun was almost punished by having one of his fingers cut off.

  However, there is a decree in the surrounding countries that seems to be deliberately ignored here. Whether it is the Kingdom of Balen or the Empire of Egu, they seem to turn a blind eye to the situation in Du Ke Town. This decree is: Slaves are not allowed to learn martial arts, and only nobles have the qualifications to learn divine magic. Those who practice divine magic without permission will be considered disrespectful to the gods and will receive severe punishment from the major temples.

  In fact, learning divine magic is so difficult that even if one has the qualifications of a noble, many people cannot cross the threshold of "awakening the power granted by the gods". Without the guidance and instruction of the temple priests in strict rituals, it would be even more difficult to practice privately. However, there are many people in the world, and there will always be outstanding talents who have mastered similar powers without permission or guidance from the priests.

  These people are called magicians or sorcerers on the continent of Tianxu, in short, a derogatory and evil title, which will be hunted down by the Temple according to the law. Those who master divine techniques, such as priests or nobles, are called divine technique masters.

  On the continent of Tianzhuan, other places also produce divine stones, but the last step of extracting divine stones from the mine core is done by low-ranking divine artisans, because it requires the use of some basic divine techniques. Therefore, divine stones are not only expensive but also seem sacred. However, the situation in Du Ke Town is obviously different. The environment here is so harsh, the location is so remote and closed, and the output of divine stones is so large that it is impossible for so many noble divine artisans to work here. All the divine stones were mined by miners.

  Perhaps it was out of respect for the divine spirit that bestowed the divine stone, but the fact that the basic divine technique was included in the mining techniques passed down through generations in Du Ke Town was a forbidden event that those in power who knew about it did not mention, as if they had not seen it at all, and the residents of Du Ke Town themselves were also unclear.

  In the city-state of Syuria, the miners in the town of Duketown are allowed to keep one divine stone for every ten they excavate. This privilege is envied by people all over the continent. However, there is also a law that states "Registered miners in Duketown who have registered with the Temple of God are not allowed to leave this place without permission". Perhaps it's because of this reason. In fact, due to geographical constraints, they would find it difficult to leave secretly anyway.

  Duketown not only produces divine stones but also iron, especially high-quality refined iron. However, the blacksmiths here are not allowed to forge weapons, and they only produce well-forged iron ingots. What Rod Dick smuggled this time was a batch of high-quality refined iron ingots.

  Roderick sat under the carriage canopy, gazing out at the distant sand dunes as he pondered the peculiarities of Duke Town. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword at his waist. The caravan had set off in the early morning coolness and was now approaching noon, with the scorching sunlight beating down on the sand, reflecting heat from all sides that was becoming increasingly unbearable.

  To the right, in the distance, a chain of hills appeared, with strange boulders standing on them, just right for finding a shaded area to rest for a while and avoid the hottest sun after noon. Walking in the desert was such a nuisance. Lord Dick insisted on sitting at the front of the first car in the convoy, and Gabriel added, "Sir, you are really brave!"

  Lord Dick was worried, fearing an ambush on the way, as it is said that there are dangerous desert tribes lurking around here, specializing in attacking merchant caravans, possibly disguised as bandits from neighboring countries. The so-called brutal and dangerous desert tribes may just be a legend. However, ordinary bandits would not dare to attack Lord Dick's convoy, which can be seen from afar with elite warriors escorting it, and they probably fled early on.

  But for someone with a special purpose, it's hard to say, otherwise Lord Dick wouldn't have brought his personal guard. This Lord Dick is well aware that no one in the Imperial Guard surpasses him in martial arts, and his own martial arts skills have reached the sixth level, just one step away from becoming a rare high-ranking warrior.

  The bulk of the Imperial Guard was clustered around the first three cars, with Maria's car being the second one and Gabriel also on board. Roddick saw the hills in the distance and was about to give the order for the convoy to turn when he suddenly heard Gabriel's sharp cry: "Everyone stop!"

  The sound of drinking was like a thunderclap, echoing far away in the desert sky.

  Lord Dick had ordered that Gabriel's words were commands, equivalent to his own. The well-trained charioteers in the convoy reacted quickly, shouting and pulling on the reins to stop their horses. Nearly a dozen carriages ahead stopped almost simultaneously, and the mounted warriors also reined in their horses. However, the merchant caravan behind them was somewhat disordered, with some carriages colliding, people falling off camels, and goods tumbling down.

  Rodick sprang up, drew his sword, but saw no danger anywhere. At that moment a silver light burst out from above his head and flew towards the sand dunes in front of him. Looking up, Gabriel was standing on top of his carriage, one hand holding a shield and the other wielding a sword.