Chapter 235: Origin of the Enchantment Effect
What Duane held was the enchanted longsword he had taken from Blood Anchor.
The sword’s enchantment had yet to be depleted, and the Magic Patterns on the blade were still clearly visible.
Natalia reached out, her slender fingers gently lifting the blade. She observed it as she spoke:
"Any lord of note will have a few mages with special skills in their service, and that includes Enchanters."
"I might be able to recognize the enchantment’s effect, but it’s very hard to determine its origin."
That made sense.
Take Blazing Fire, for instance. Many people knew how to create that Enchantment; Duane was just one of them.
Just from a longsword bearing the Blazing Fire effect, it was naturally impossible to tell if it was Duane’s handiwork.
Natalia observed it carefully. Magic Power seeped from her fingertips into the longsword, and like a flame igniting dry grass, the blade burst into fire.
"Huh?"
She let out a soft cry of surprise, her gaze sharpening as she examined it more intently.
After a long moment, she said, "If this were a common Enchantment, I really wouldn’t be able to tell. But your sword is something of an exception."
Duane’s eyes lit up. "Which family’s work is it?"
Natalia said with great certainty, "This is an Enchanted Longsword produced by the Atkinson Clan. The Enchantment is called ’Ascension,’ and it’s a Middle Level Enchantment."
"This effect allows the weapon to erupt with surging flames when a Warrior or Mage injects a large amount of Fighting Qi. It looks just like the Flaming Fighting Qi used by a Shooting Star Warrior!"
As she spoke, she took the longsword from Duane’s hand.
Channeling her Magic Power into it, she made the blade erupt with fierce flames, several times stronger than the effect of Blazing Fire.
"Moreover, the only person who can currently create this Enchantment is Viscount Kaler Atkinson."
With that, she returned the longsword to Duane.
"This longsword would sell for at least six or seven hundred Gold Coins on the market. It looks like you’ve spent quite a bit for this tournament!"
She assumed Duane had bought the Enchanted Longsword to give himself an edge in the tournament.
Duane offered no explanation. He was busy searching his memory for information on the Atkinson Clan.
His first encounter with the family’s name was because they sold White Crystal Fruit—one of the essential ingredients for making Fire Source Beast Bone Soup.
"I was under the impression that Viscount Kaler was only a Level 5 Mage."
Natalia smiled. "Not everyone announces it to the outside world when they advance. Take my mother for example. The public information says she is still a Level 4 Mage, but in reality, she reached the Peak of Level 5 long ago."
Duane was stunned.
He had come to Sea Cliff Castle several times and had never seen the Countess, nor had he heard anyone mention her. He had thought something might have happened to her.
"I had no idea your mother was so powerful!"
Duane couldn’t help but exclaim, "No wonder you’re already a Level 3 Mage at such a young age!"
"My father also often says that my two older brothers inherited his talent as a Warrior, while I inherited our mother’s talent as a Mage."
Natalia said, "Unfortunately, my mother isn’t fond of crowds and is completely focused on researching the applications of Magic. She doesn’t normally reside at Sea Cliff Castle. Even I have to give her advance notice if I want to see her."
Duane had a moment of realization. No wonder he’d never seen the Countess on his visits to Sea Cliff Castle. It seemed she was an incredibly busy woman.
From the sounds of it, the Countess was likely the one heading the modifications for the Kennedy Clan’s ships.
The conversation returned to the longsword in his hand.
"Do you know if Viscount Kaler sells longswords like this to the public?"
He had no dealings with Viscount Kaler, much less any reason to be enemies.
He couldn’t believe someone like that would, for no reason, assemble such a powerful force to ambush and kill him.
Therefore, he suspected the true mastermind was someone else.
"Of course he sells them publicly!"
Natalia smiled. "It’s a way to increase the Atkinson Clan’s influence. It’s just that such Enchanted Weapons are rather expensive. Typically, only wealthy nobles or rich merchants can afford them."
Duane nodded slightly.
A weapon worth several hundred Gold Coins was not something the average person could afford.
For Blood Anchor to have a weapon like this, it must have been a gift from his benefactor.
But that meant it would be very difficult to identify the mastermind just from the Enchanted Weapon.
Duane thought of something else and asked, "Are the Atkinson Clan and the Calvin Clan on good terms?"
He asked mainly because he had previously offended the heir of the Calvin Clan: Elwin, Viscount Ugo’s only son.
However, he thought it was highly unlikely that Viscount Ugo would spend a fortune hiring assassins over such a matter.
"What’s wrong? Is the Calvin Clan giving you trouble?"
Natalia’s brow furrowed slightly. She suddenly sensed there was more to Duane’s words, that he was hiding something.
"That incident happened because of me. If Viscount Ugo is really causing you trouble on his son’s behalf, you tell me, and I’ll have my father step in."
Duane gave a wry smile. He hadn’t expected her to deduce that someone was causing him trouble from just a few sentences.
He hesitated, then, considering the Kennedy Clan had no motive, he said, "Someone is giving me trouble, but I’m not sure if it’s the Calvin Clan."
As he spoke, Duane recounted his encounter at sea, but he didn’t go into detail about the fight.
Natalia’s expression darkened as she listened.
"Did you ever suspect that I was the one who leaked your whereabouts?"
She looked Duane straight in the eye, wanting to hear him say no.
"Of course not!"
Duane shook his head without hesitation. "Why would I ever suspect you?"
’She, and by extension Count Kais, had no motive to move against him.’
Natalia breathed a sigh of relief at his answer. She had been truly afraid he might misunderstand.
"Still, for them to have tracked your movements so precisely, it must be connected to me somehow."
Natalia analyzed, "When you left Black Forest Island, you wrote me a letter, so I told Zelina, Derek, and Sharp that you were coming to the Silent Shore."
"The thing is, they must have passed the news of your arrival down to their subordinates. Especially Sharp... the docks are a flurry of activity..."
At this, she couldn’t help but shake her head. "Too many people are involved in that chain of communication. It would be difficult to pinpoint where the leak about your travel plans occurred."
It was clear she was a girl with a quick and lucid mind; not just anyone could grasp the key points of the situation so quickly.
"Can you sketch the assassins’ faces? I’ll ask my father to have his people look for them."
"That would be wonderful!"
Duane was eager to find out who was trying to kill him. Using the Kennedy Clan’s intelligence network to lock down the enemy would save him a great deal of time and effort.
He handed Natalia sketches of Blood Anchor and the two mercenaries.
She took them, glanced them over, and then handed them to her personal bodyguard.
As a personal bodyguard, Eleanor’s duty was to protect her lady’s safety.
To be an outstanding bodyguard, one naturally needed the ability to read people and spot danger.
Because of this, she frequently trained in ’people-memorization,’ making sure to remember anyone who seemed dangerous.
Eleanor shook her head gently after looking at the three sketches.
"I don’t recognize any of these people. However, if they’re all Human Tier in strength or higher, then they’re probably not from the Silent Shore."
Natalia nodded and gave an order: "Keep these sketches safe. I’ll deliver them to my father tonight."