Chapter 1539: Chapter 266: Witnesses of the Era

Even the desert can experience rain. Since the little Princess was aware of things, this was the first time she had seen rain in the desert.

Tiny droplets hit the ground; the marks would soon fade, but new ones would quickly appear again. Gradually, the moisture on the ground accumulated, until eventually the entire sky turned gloomy.

She stretched out her hand, letting the rain fall into her palm. She cupped it carefully, watching the small puddle as if she was gazing upon the stars.

“It’s raining…”

“Yes, it’s raining… It hasn’t rained for five years.”

The Pharaoh and Queen of the Kingdom strolled hand in hand through the courtyard, savoring the rare occurrence of rain. For people of the desert, this coolness was a rarity and a luxury; even for the nobility of the royal family, it was very lavish.

“Yamana.”

“Yamana.”

They called the Princess by her name from across the courtyard and beckoned to her. She joyfully dashed into the rain and soon arrived in front of her parents.

“Yamana.” The Pharaoh picked up the young Princess. “Remember this moment, my daughter. The next rain might take even longer than five years, and opportunities to see such a scene in your life are scarce.”

The Princess said innocently, “Why can’t we go to a place where it rains every day? That way, it would be cooler, and no one would need to worry about drinking water.”

“We cannot leave.”

“We cannot leave.”

First came the Queen’s voice, and then swiftly followed by the King’s. Both became piercing… Suddenly the Queen’s body split open, transforming into a massive, sixteen-legged venomous spider, while the King turned into a creature with the head of an eagle and body of a man…

“Yamana…”

“Yamana…”

“Don’t come closer… Don’t come closer—!! Ah—!!”

…

Ah—!

A low cry sounded… The Princess suddenly opened her eyes wide, feeling dampness on her face, and she saw the little maid in front of her.

“Your Highness! Thank goodness, you’ve finally woken up!” The little maid, still holding a handkerchief, tearfully said, “I heard a noise, and when I came in, I saw something fly out. You were lying here, face covered in blood. I… I didn’t know what to do… Thank goodness, I thought Your Highness would… wuwu…”

“Alright, don’t cry, I’m fine…” The Princess patted the little maid’s cheek, gritting her teeth as she used the wall to stand up. “Stay here, don’t go anywhere else.”

“Your Highness, where are you going?” the little maid asked nervously.

The Princess picked up the Divine Artifact that had fallen earlier, checked the magazine, and then inserted it into the holster, her expression serious: “The Temple… It went to the Temple.”

“Your Highness, what exactly happened?”

The Princess shook her head. It was the first time the little maid had seen such a look of confusion on the Princess’s face. She heard her slowly say, “I don’t know… Maybe something there can provide an answer.”

“Your Highness, will you… will you come back?” the little maid asked anxiously.

The Princess looked back and smiled, a smile she always wore when setting out, now with a touch more warmth. She softly said, “I will. I’ll come back.”

Then she took the lamp hanging at her waist and tossed it to the little maid, “Take it, keep it safe for me, and give it back when I return.”

She clutched the lamp against her chest tightly, with tears in her eyes, but firmly nodded.

She watched the Princess walk out of the Pharaoh’s chamber, and only when the Princess’s figure disappeared completely did the little maid nervously look inside the great hall.

She had grown up in the Royal Palace, but this was the first time she had entered the Pharaoh’s chamber… Young curiosity always ran strong, especially when it seemed something had happened before she arrived.

Tightly holding the lamp in her hands, the little maid took step after step into the great hall… Of the nine hundred ninety-nine lamps the Pharaoh had lit, most had gone out by now, yet the hall remained bright.

She saw the throne on the platform ahead and suddenly panicked, not daring to look up again. But in doing so, she noticed the marks on the ground… A body lying there!

It looked like the Pharaoh… but it was just a thin layer of skin!

The little maid was so scared she collapsed on the ground, overwhelmed with panic… She hurriedly got to her feet and hid behind the nearest column.

Peering out, only when she was sure there was no danger did she, trembling with fear, step out from behind the column… At this moment, strange noises caught her attention!

The sound was coming from within the column she had been hiding behind—a crack appeared as if something had struck it, even with blood trails lingering on it.

Her heart skipped a beat, thinking perhaps the Princess had hit the column and got injured?

However, within the cracked column, something seemed to emit a strange red glow… The little maid instinctively swallowed her saliva and reached out to touch it.

Her hand barely touched the crack on the column, and it suddenly widened, with fragments peeling off piece by piece—she was astonished.

Within the column, it turned out there was a bizarre object, emitting a red glow, with a round head and something inside that kept contracting… similar to a human eye.

She didn’t know what this was, but she felt like something was watching her… The little maid, whose heart was trembling with fear, quickly exited the Pharaoh’s hall, not daring to linger here.

She returned to the outside of the hall, found some steps, and sat down—Her Highness the Princess had instructed her to wait here… to wait for the Princess to return and to give the oil lamp back to her!

The little maid examined the oil lamp cradled in her arms… it looked tattered and torn, with nothing special, leaving her puzzled as to why the Princess carried it around.

She tilted her head and exhaled towards the lamp, then used her sleeve to vigorously wipe it—As a maid, seeing unclean things demands she scrub them clean; that’s the Palace maid’s self-discipline!

As she continued to wipe, the lamp suddenly became scorching to the touch. The once dull exterior of the oil lamp suddenly burst into a golden shimmer… The little maid was startled, and the lamp slipped from her hands onto the ground!

But just then, a plume of red and black smoke slowly emerged from the oil lamp.

At the same time, the little maid heard an irate voice saying, “I said not to come into this ghostly place… Oh? A new summoner? Oh my heavens! So quick, could it be this Lamp God’s luck is turning?”

Its form was giant, akin to the desert monster of legends, fiery red across its body, wrapped in rolling heat waves, appearing exceedingly fierce… The little maid’s mind went blank and she fainted from fright.

“Hey, hey—Don’t faint! Make a wish! Quick, make a wish!! Wish… Hey?” The red Lamp God shrank its body in frustration and furrowed its brow, “Tsk, I’ve always said that women are troublesome things!”

It lifted the little maid directly, then glanced back at the sky about to brighten… The red Lamp God again frowned, muttering to itself, “Why is this place so bizarre… Is it dead?”

…

…

Along the way, they encountered some White-robed Guards… even some ordinary priests from the Temple.

But Guardian Otto didn’t say a word to these encountered folks, and upon meeting, he killed using the carbon fiber longsword seized from the white-robed Otto.

He claimed he was a lunatic; his behavior indeed resembled that of a madman, killing people calmly, efficiently, and decisively.

Yiben followed behind Guardian Otto with a pounding heart, witnessing his cold-blooded murdering ways; his scalp tingled, regretting not leaving earlier!

Originally, he should have slipped away while outside, but the High Priest’s body unexpectedly faded and vanished—Yiben felt unwilling to leave so abruptly…

The bodies of those White-robed Guards and priests slain by the Guardian soon turned into sand… At that moment, Yiben suddenly had a thought: In this Temple offering the true body, perhaps what’s present is not a godly envoy but an unknown devil?

At last, there were no more White-robed Guards or priests on the road… The Guardian also stopped before a grand door.

What’s amazing was that the door seemed to know someone would arrive, for it slowly opened… The Guardian took no pause; as the door opened, he walked straight inside.

Yiben, timid as ever, didn’t follow this time, hiding behind the door, peeping inside— The room contained things Yiben had never seen but felt strangely familiar… distantly familiar!

Yiben gulps, a bead of cold sweat trickling down, not daring to make a sound but listening attentively—Inside the room, besides the Guardian who just entered, was the missing High Priest from outside the Temple!

The Guardian placed the black long sword in his hand on the ground, dragging it as he approached the High Priest— But he quickly stopped as something blocked his path.

It was a piece of transparent… reinforced glass.

The Guardian sneered, tapping the glass nonchalantly, and scoffed, “Those who believe in you, the foolish people, probably think this is some divine force’s masterpiece… The gap between ages can sometimes be quite convenient. So you fear death too, Professor Xie Jiatu.”

“Between people, one should maintain a safe distance.” The High Priest remarked calmly from behind the glass wall, “Observing this world, sometimes distancing oneself makes observation clearer.”

The Guardian scoffed, “I’m not interested in discussing life philosophy with you here… I’ve told you, I only wish to leave this place. As for what you want to do or use this place for… I have no interest.”

“Otto, the King of the Seventh Dynasty.” The High Priest mused, “I can let you leave this place, but I need more information about the thing you’ve been searching for.”

The Guardian sneered, “Weren’t those… those replicas of mine useful? Haven’t you found out all there is from them?”

The High Priest shook his head, “Their will is stronger than I imagined, always guarding that secret; I couldn’t learn more.”

The Guardian frowned and asked, “All this time… have you been sending those fake things out to search for it… the Magic Lamp?”

“Correct.” The High Priest admitted openly, “But I’m not interested in the power of immortality it offers. Rather, I’m interested in the power to grant wishes… I need it to do certain things for me.”

The Guardian shook his head, “It’s a shame, someone like you with a heart full of desires, the Magic Lamp won’t respond to you.”

The High Priest retorted, “Desire is human nature; even the purest will find something to be obsessed over someday… For example, you, the King of the Seventh Dynasty. Once you gained power, you wanted immortality, and with immortality, you wanted a lifelong companion. And then? You still want more, don’t you? I might not be able to get the Lamp to respond to me, but in the City of the Sun, there are many pure-hearted individuals… among the seeds I’ve nurtured, I’ll eventually find a suitable candidate to become the Magic Lamp’s new summoner. Otto, during your long hiding in the City of the Sun, haven’t you noticed that most residents have pure minds?”

The Guardian remained silent… silence was akin to consent. He hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, “If I tell you about the Magic Lamp, will you really let me leave?”

“Otto, I’ve traveled with you before.” The High Priest smiled gently, “We met in Cairo, explored the Oasis Temple in the desert together, and faced many challenges. You should know I’m fair and trustworthy.”

The Guardian scoffed, “I genuinely regret joining that exploration… I shouldn’t have accepted this invitation in the first place… How long have you been operating this place? Ten years? Twenty years… or even several decades? Probably more than that.”

Guardian Otto surveyed everything in this room.

The metallic walls, the massive reinforced glass, even the futuristic equipment behind the High Priest… These couldn’t be created in a short time.

He even concluded, “Perhaps… you’ve mastered the method of immortality too, haven’t you?”

The High Priest… Professor Xie Jiatu clapped a few times before slowly speaking, “I haven’t lived as long as you might think… When I was born, the Hundred Years’ War between Britain and France had just begun…”

The Hundred Years’ War had started at least six hundred years ago… The Guardian was aghast that Professor Xie Jiatu was from that era of humanity…