Chapter 443 Searching The Compound
Searching through the first area of the compound, Shiro managed to find a few spots where it would be suitable for a camp. With the area being quite large, they didn't need to worry too much about being discovered as long as they stayed on guard.
However, at the same time, she could also see a few marks that were fairly recent meaning there had been people coming here for various reasons. As to why they're coming, she couldn't say for sure.
One of her guesses was that the families tried to find the missing spell. With the risk of them coming back at any moment, Shiro wasn't exactly keen on setting up camp in a spot like this.
"Kali, how are the secret rooms?" Shiro called out since Kali was responsible for checking out the rooms that the Shadow Guards had access to.
"Unfortunately, it seems like all of the hidden rooms have been discovered and raided clean. I even managed to find a few tracks in the emergency exits so I can say for sure that the enemy knows of their existence." Kali replied with a rather annoyed sigh.
"Hmm… well they did have quite a bit of time to pick this compound clean. In that case then we should probably look elsewhere for a better camp. Are there still weapons around or have they been taken? I want to find something to replace the spear for now." Shiro asked.
"I'm not too sure since I was focused on looking for the secret rooms. Perhaps we'll find something if we go to the blacksmithing areas further in." Kali suggested as Shiro nodded her head.
Making their way further into the compound, all they saw was destruction. The sub buildings that housed the blacksmithing areas had collapsed.
"Hmm… I don't think we'll be able to get anything too worthwhile in here." Shiro furrowed her brows while moving a few of the rubble out of the way.
Nodding her head, Kali agreed with her statement while looking at the destruction with sadness. She could still remember her time in this compound as if it was just yesterday. The happy faces of the servants and the young misses running around while the lord followed behind them. It was a peaceful time, one that was free of worries like being killed by an assassin.
Thinking back, Kali couldn't help but feel as though that spell the lord developed was a two sided blade. It was the catalyst to the family's destruction but also the main weapon to help the young missus survive in this world today.
"You ok there? You're zoning out a little." Shiro called out after noticing the longing look on Kali's face.
"Mn? Oh it's nothing. I was just thinking about some stuff. Anyways, I think there is one more place we can check. It's not really for a camp but it could hold some information that's helpful for us." Kali nodded.
Guiding Shiro to the very back of the compound, where she and Kuromi had escaped to when the enemies attacked, she pushed aside a few of the fallen walls to reveal a cellar of sorts.
Climbing down, she narrowed her eyes and saw that there were a few handprints on a few of the items in the cellar.
"Seems like a few people have already been here huh?" Shiro muttered while briefly scanning the room. From what she could see, most of the handprints were focused around a single area, making her believe that whoever was here must have known what to look for.
"This wall contains a password that only the shadow guards can open. For there to be signs of use on the hidden mechanism in recent times, it must mean that there was a traitor in the guards. No wonder the enemy realised that the lord had completed the spell. Though I do wonder if the spy has been dealt with or not. After all, it would be a real shame if that traitorous b*stard was to survive." Kali frowned before inputting the password.
*Krrrrr
Hearing gears turn, Shiro could see a hidden staircase being revealed in the corner.
"Oh? What's in this place?" Shiro asked curiously.
"This place contains most of the information that the shadow guards have gathered along with a few books on exceptional weapons scattered throughout the country and their owners. The lord had us collect information about these things so that we have a decent grasp of what's happening in the outside world." Kali replied while pushing open the door.
Looking into the room, her heart wrenched at the sight of all the information they had gathered being reduced to ashes. Years of effort, all gone.
Sighing softly, she searched through the ashes in hopes of finding the information that she needed.
Seeing this, Shiro assisted her and looked through the ash. There were a few books that they managed to salvage as there were some pages that could be read. In particular was a book about the royal family and their members.
She could see notes about a woman specialised in regeneration and brute forced combat, a man with excellent swordplay and a few esteemed grand teachers that focus on different weapon types in the royal family.
Reading the information that was available, she could somewhat guess that the teachers were probably the peak of level 3 or maybe 4 from their descriptions.
If this was the outside world, they would be B ranked adventurers due to how much damage they can cause with a single spell.
'Hmm… I can only find the most basic information on one or two of them but the rest of the books are heavily burnt. What a shame." Shiro thought with a frown but made sure to store the book away safely. After all, information was still information regardless of how little there were.
"Ah I found one!" Kali called out in happiness.
Pulling out a severely burnt book from the ashes, she managed to recover a few pages of information about the powerful weapons scattered around in the world.
"Young miss, this is a book that originally contained quite a bit of information in regard to the most powerful weapons around. While it is severely damaged, there are still small pieces of information so first young miss may be able to make use of this." Kali said while handing Shiro the book carefully.
Nodding her head, Shiro stored it away much like what she did with the first book she found.
"So I think that's everything?" Shiro asked as she looked around some more just in case there's anything else she missed.
"Mn, let's go regroup with the others." Kali nodded.
As they were leaving the compound, they saw a sudden burst of energy in the distance as lightning smashed down towards the city, destroying several buildings in the process.
Furrowing her brows, Shiro nodded to Kali as they quickly dashed towards the battle so as to get a better idea of what was happening. Since most of the attention was focused on where the lightning had struck, they were able to run towards it without too much worry of being spotted.
Upon arrival, Shiro saw several people being tied up and struck with lighting as people stood around the area and watched.
Thankfully, she didn't spot Cert or Liam in the crowd of people being struck by lightning.
Looking up in the air, she could see a person with lightning flickering in his hands as he continued to torture the people that were tied up.
Listening carefully to the mutters around her, she discovered that the people who were being tied up were actually spies that one of the families had found.
"While everyone is focused here, let's find the others and regroup." Shiro suggested as Kali nodded her head.
Quickly writing a small note that told the others to meet them at the old compound, Shiro sent them through the orb so that she could guarantee the message being passed on.
Waiting back at the old compound for a short while, they soon spotted Cert and Liam making their way towards them while making sure that they weren't spotted.
Gesturing for them to enter the compound, they sat down in one of the shades and started to share the information that they had gathered.
"So have you found a spot where we can set up camp?" Shiro asked as they nodded their heads.
"Due to the fact that quite a lot of civilians have evacuated from the city, there are quite a few homes that are located near the outskirts of the city. I've managed to find two places that are quite suitable for a camp." Liam reported.
"And what about you Cert?" Shiro turned to Cert.
"I was only able to find one spot that was suitable." Cert frowned and bowed his head.
"That's fine. With this, we now have three options for us in terms of camps. While we can also make camp in the compound, it's a little risky since there are signs of recent use." Shiro replied.
"Anyways, show me to the spots that you have found and I'll see which one is the best for us."