Returning to hometown to farm: The apocalypse system arrived ten years earlier?

Chapter 303 The Curse and Gift of the Holy Blood Thorn
A milky white mist floated among the groves, the moonlight shattered into silver powder among the branches, the Gothic tombstones in the distance were looming in the night, and a few dead leaves fell off as a night owl flapped its wings and flew over, which happened to fall on Irene de Merovinga's curled up metal knees.

The environment was a bit eerie, but neither of them was a coward.

When Irene de Merovinga saw the crown in Li Xiang's hand, she immediately became excited. This was the Merovingian Iris Gold Crown she had always dreamed of. However, when she tried to raise her metal wrist to take it, her elbow joint made a jerky "click" sound.

She smiled bitterly, having forgotten that her hands had become metalized and had spread to her elbows.

"Could you help me put it on, dear Mr. Armored Hero?" Irene de Merovinga raised her slender neck, her cobalt blue eyes glittering with tears.

She actually has the ability to manipulate metal, but now that the "vibranium" inscription is out of control and she is suffering from backlash, she can no longer use this ability.

Li Xiang was a good person so he helped her put it on. He was also very curious about what her reaction would be after she put it on.

He had scanned the crown with his spiritual power and found that although it was a cultural relic, there was nothing special about it.

If there is anything special about it, it is that its material is unknown. It might be gold mixed with other precious materials. The whole thing has a strange dark gold luster. The tops of the twelve spikes are inlaid with pigeon blood stones, and there is a faint blue rust between the iris patterns engraved on the crown.

As a result, when Li Xiang brought the crown close to Irene de Merovinga, Irene's rapid breathing brushed across the crown, and the inside of the crown suddenly lit up with a gossamer-like fluorescence, outlining dense ancient Latin spells.

Li Xiang couldn't help but wonder, is this a treasure that only those who are destined to have it can obtain? Is the crown ordinary in his hands because he is not destined to have it?
However, Li Xiang felt that another possibility was more likely, that is, this foreign girl had special blood. She had said before that it was a relic of her ancestors.

The refiner probably set up conditions so that only people with special bloodlines can be "activated". Westerners emphasize bloodline and may be more stubborn in this regard.

Li Xiang had many treasures on him and was not greedy for this extraordinary item, so he put it on Irene de Merovinga without any hesitation.

Irene de Merovinga's beautiful cobalt blue eyes flickered. She looked at Li Xiang deeply and said in a voice as sweet as a lyre: "Thank you."

She was really worried just now that Li Xiang would notice something was wrong and snatch the treasure away. Maybe he would even kill her to silence her. Maybe he would even toy with her before killing her, after all, she was so beautiful.

Of course, it is also possible to kill first and play later.

This thought just flashed through her mind, but now the foreign girl was relieved and ashamed. How could she look at Mr. Armor like this? He is a gentleman.

"Mutation" happened.

Irene suddenly arched her waist in pain, her spine making a crisp sound like frying beans, and the crown spell swam into her brow like a living thing, combining with the Gothic runes that emerged under her skin to form a complete totem.

The sound of mechanical gears turning came from her chest, and the metalized part shrank like the tide. When her pale skin turned red again, she trembled and pressed her restored right hand to her chest. The silver waist armor rose and fell with her panting: "Thank you, my armored warrior, the Merovingian family owes you a life."

"No need to thank me, just fulfill the previous conditions." Li Xiang said lightly.

Irene de Merovinga pursed her red lips and immediately invited him, "Why don't you come to my house? I'll treat you to a drink and we can chat while we drink, how about that?"

From what happened just now, she has determined that Li Xiang is a noble gentleman, and such a person is worthy of trust and entrustment. Besides, Li Xiang saved her life.

"It's nice to drink and listen to stories." Li Xiang was in high spirits and felt that this trip to Europe was worthwhile and it could be considered a small change of pace.

Suddenly, there was the whine of a steam valve releasing pressure in the distance. Alchemical orange-red sparks burst from Irene's fingertips, and a carriage made of bronze and obsidian appeared from the void. The eye sockets of the two mechanical horses burned with blue soul fire, and the horseshoes inlaid with clockwork gears would bloom magic array patterns every time they stepped on the ground. The phosphorescent fire aroused by the suspended wheels rolling over the tombstones was completely absorbed by the magic patterns on both sides of the carriage.

"This is a ghost carriage made of mithril from the Knights Templar." She gently stroked the roaring griffin relief on the shaft, and the sound of the gears became gentle with her touch. "Do you want to try the feeling of crossing Paris at midnight?"

Li Xiang flicked the buzzing wheels with his fingers and watched the ripple-shaped defense array spread out at his fingertips: "More interesting than my earth escape." When he leaped onto the gilded shaft of the carriage, the planetarium on top of the carriage began to operate automatically, projecting the Milky Way into the mist to create a starlight tunnel.

Irene swung the moonstone-studded reins, and the mechanical horse raised its head and neighed with a mixture of steam and soul fire. The wheels crushed the frost on the tombstone and carried the two of them towards the rotating starlight vortex in the forest.

A wonderful journey began. This was an exotic scene that was completely different from his earth escape technique.

About half an hour later, the bronze carriage crushed the moonlight and rushed into the thick fog. Li Xiang looked through the carved window. Ten Gothic spires pierced the violet sky, and the fluorescent vines clinging to the stone battlements outlined the entire castle into a suspended light net. When the carriage passed through the twenty-meter-high cast iron fence, Li Xiang noticed that on the top of each railing there was a bronze griffin squatting, flapping its wings and ready to fly.

"This castle has undergone nine major renovations." Irene lifted the velvet curtain and tapped the window sill with her index finger, which had returned to flesh and blood. Her fingers were very slender and beautiful, like works of art. "The westernmost tower hides the armor of our ancestors - of course, they have now been replaced with alchemical puppets."

Irene parked the carriage at the gate and took Li Xiang inside, introducing things as they walked.

What surprised Li Xiang was that in such a magnificent castle, there was no living person except the two of them. All of them were alchemical servants. Even cats and dogs were alchemical creations.

"Oh my god, how lonely must she be living here all alone?" If it were Li Xiang, he would not want to live in such a haunted house.

He prefers the hustle and bustle, so he built the scenic spot near his home. Every day, there are many tourists, and there are also beautiful girls such as Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui working there. Lijia Village is full of vitality.

If it were him, well, he would turn this castle into a tourist attraction. It doesn't matter whether it makes money or not, it will at least increase its popularity. Besides, the money earned can also be used to hire servants, increase employment opportunities, and serve as a source of funds for repairing the castle.

Finally, Irene took Li Xiang to a huge restaurant.

This restaurant was like a palace. The huge chandelier hanging from the dome made Li Xiang's pupils shrink slightly - tens of thousands of teardrop-shaped crystals contained dancing will-o'-the-wisps, and the dim blue light made the silver cutlery on the long table look cold and eerie.

There were only two of them dining in the restaurant which was several hundred square meters.

When Irene rang the gilded bell, twelve skeleton puppets inlaid with gears came in one after another, carrying plates, and the steam valves at their joints spewed out white mist regularly with their steps. "Burgundy truffle stewed guinea fowl." Irene elegantly pinched the goblet with her slender fingers, and the dark red wine rippled in the glass. "This bottle of Romanee-Conti has been sleeping in an oak barrel for forty years, and it should be worthy of the taste of the mysterious armored warrior."

She looked at Li Xiang with a smile, her cobalt blue eyes flashing with a sly look. She thought, do you know why I have to treat you to fine wine and delicious food? If I drink and eat, I have to take off my mask, right?
Li Xiang's mind moved, and the mask on his mouth and nostrils disappeared, while the rest of his body was still tightly covered.

Erin: "..."

She felt a little angry, but at the same time she became more and more curious and wanted to see Li Xiang's true appearance. However, what made her feel a little relieved was that Li Xiang's lips, teeth, and nostrils were all very beautiful.

Well, judging from his skin color, he doesn’t seem to be white, but... the clean-cut Chinese man whom she had seen from a distance in the Louvre during the day suddenly appeared in her mind.

"Oh, it's you!" Irene de Merovinga slapped the table, stood up and exclaimed in surprise.

"Do you know me?" Li Xiangxin said, that's impossible, I speak authentic French.

"You have beautiful lips and a very nice nose, but you are definitely not European. You are... Chinese. We met in the Louvre during the day, and I felt at the time that someone was secretly looking at me. Mr. Armor, do you really need to cover up so tightly?" Irene de Merovinga had a smile on her lips, and her cobalt blue eyes were moist.

Li Xiang sighed lightly, thinking that this foreign girl was quite scheming, and she recognized him just by looking at his exposed mouth and nose. Well, that was pretty impressive.

Immediately, the Giant Whale Holy Armor was retracted into the body, revealing its true appearance.

It doesn't matter. With a top speed of Mach 12, a strength of 22 pounds, and the magical earth-based ability of "Earth's Transformation Record", he can be said to be the most powerful fighter on the planet, and he is not afraid of anyone.

He is at level ten, while the foreign girl in front of him is only at level two.

"It's you." Irene de Merovinga smiled brightly, finally relieved. The distinguished gentleman in armor who saved her life was very handsome, and completely in line with her aesthetic taste. Moreover, he was exotic.

"Such a clean and handsome Chinese man, and a world-renowned powerful armored warrior." Irene de Merovinga suddenly felt her heart moved, and for the first time she had thoughts about a man.

"Cheers." Irene de Merovinga was in a good mood. She raised her glass gracefully and invited Li Xiang to drink with her.

"Not a bad wine." Li Xiang took a sip, then picked up the knife and fork, picked up a small piece of food and put it in his mouth to taste. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly. The food wrapped in amber gelatin was soft, tender and juicy and melted in his mouth. The unique earthy smell of fungi was perfectly neutralized by brandy.

"Tell me your story." Li Xiang nodded.

"...That was five years ago..." Irene de Merovinga naturally fulfilled her promise and began to tell her story. Her cobalt blue pupils suddenly split into twin irises, and her fingertips unconsciously scraped against the tablecloth, making a metallic friction sound.

"It was my sixteenth birthday. That night, I fell and broke my knee in the cellar of my ancestral home." She slightly opened her collar, revealing a diamond-shaped scar below her collarbone. Liquid metal faintly flowed under her skin. "When blood dripped onto the rusty armrests of the throne, a scene from more than a thousand years ago suddenly pierced my mind - the man wearing this crown was pierced through the heart by a long sword, and his blood turned silver-white in the moonlight."

"I am a descendant of the Merovingian dynasty, and the only surviving descendant. The man in the memory fragments left on the throne armrest should be my ancestor, the first king Clovis I."

(The Merovingian dynasty, also transliterated as the Merovingian dynasty, was the first dynasty of the Frankish Kingdom. It existed in Western Europe from 481 to 751, and its territory was equivalent to most of contemporary France and western Germany.)
"The dormant holy blood of the Merovingian royal family in my body was activated, the gene chain was torn, and a chapter called 'Nibelungen Mystery' appeared in my mind. Not long after, I condensed the first spiritual power vortex and awakened the 'alchemy' ability. I used this ability to refine many alchemical creations, including the carriage before, and the many slaves in this castle."

"However, the good times didn't last long. At the beginning of this year, when I entered the second level of the extraordinary realm, a 'vibranium' inscription appeared and floated in the second spiritual power vortex, which then triggered the 'holy blood thorn backlash': breathing Gothic runes appeared all over my body, my pupils split into twin iris totems, and my whole body turned into metal."

"This may be a curse on our family. It is both a gift and a curse."

Li Xiang looked at the girl and suddenly couldn't help asking, "Where are your parents?"

"Parents?" A look of extreme pain emerged on Irene de Merovinga's face. A cruel scene surged up from the depths of her memory, almost making her alienated again.

That was an accident that happened three years ago when she was forging alchemical works in the laboratory.

Dozens of metal puppets suddenly went berserk and nailed the terrified housekeeper to a cross made of gears. Her parents came shortly after and also suffered misfortune.

At that time, she fainted on the ground and was unconscious.

Originally, she was a bright girl, but from then on, she became extremely withdrawn and liked to live alone.

"I was the one who killed my parents and the old housekeeper..." Irene de Merovinga's face became extremely ugly, twisted like a mask of pain, but she was very strong. After a long time, she finally recovered a little from the heart-wrenching pain and continued to tell the story.

"The Holy Blood Thorn is backlashing. Every time you break through a level, the backlash will become ten times more severe."

"I read through the ancient family books and finally found a glimmer of hope." Irene de Merovinga's memory went back to the night of a week ago.

She knelt in the astrologer's room of the Merovingian Castle, the moonlight cast a mottled rainbow light on her silver-gray dress through the stained glass, twelve bronze candlesticks suspended in the air, the candlelight flickering along the path of her fingertips. The sheepskin scroll spread out on the table was rusty, and the ink gradually revealed floating Gothic runes under the moonlight.

The iris emblem in the parchment scroll suddenly oozed a silvery-white liquid, which flowed upstream along her fingertips. When the liquid reached her right calf and touched the metalized part, the entire scroll burst into flames, and seven phantom crowns of different shapes emerged in the flames.

"Use Merovingian blood as a guide!" Irene bit her left index finger, and the moment the blood bead fell into the flame, the alchemical array rose from the cracks in the floor tiles. The bronze candlesticks trembled in unison, and the candlelight gathered into a light curtain, reflecting fourteen lines of flickering ancient Latin:
"The seven crowns are hidden in the place where power changes.

The bloodline must step into the places of coronation and dethronement.

The moon has cycled seven times and the thorns remain unresolved.
Then the holy blood will solidify into eternal metal. "

(End of this chapter)