The Tawny Owl thought it would see some giant sleeping beast from the window, but it didn't see any living creature in the compartment.
It looked like an unused laboratory.
It was clean and tidy, with long tables covered with metal plates and shelves filled with glassware - flasks, test tubes, retorts, mixing bowls and various small utensils. Just looking at these things, you could almost smell the strong smell of alcohol, ether and formalin.
However, what attracted the gray owl's attention most was a steel chair with a leather hoop. The chair had a strange shape and was obviously used to tie people to it for some special purpose.
Gray Owl was an experienced interrogator. He was keenly aware that the chair had been used many times and that there was an uncomfortable smell everywhere.
"Don't look at that. That's used to hold the fruits of our victory." Vigfortz called the Tawny Owl's attention back and pointed to the compartments from which roars and howls were coming. "These are what can help us achieve victory."
[The fruits of victory... This guy seems to want the placenta of the lion cub...] The gray forest owl recalled Viggofortz's plan for Princess Cintra, and even he couldn't help but shudder.
Compared to the warlocks' fancy experiments, it seems that the Empire's interrogations of traitors and spies have become merciful.
The Tawny Owl swallowed and said, "You want these imprisoned monsters to come and help? I think if you open the door, they will rush out and tear us to pieces!"
The implication is that one is unwilling to act together with these uncontrollable monsters.
"Isn't this better? The more ferocious they are, the more damage they can cause to Cintra." Viggofortz chuckled, "Don't worry, you won't have much chance to get along with these big guys, because they will be directly dropped into Brokilon Town."
He walked through the iron doors one by one, listing them one by one: "The Chimaera, which is a mixture of Deer-headed Demons, Griffins, Pterodactyls, and Insectoids; the Troll Mantis, which was created by Arzu and then transformed by the resident alchemist of Kaer Morhen and named the 'Fear One'; and the mutant crab demon Koshchet, which is a combination of native and alien creatures - each of them is a beast capable of destroying an ordinary town."
Viggo Fortz sighed with pride, "It's a pity that I haven't been able to find the technology to summon or create [Salivary Demons]. Otherwise, I might be able to replicate [Alzu Double Cross Summoning Technique]."
"In that case, not to mention the forces of a small town, even the entire army of Cintra would not be able to stop us from taking Cirilla away."
Every name reported by this warlock is well-known. Even if you don’t study monsters or biology, you can still find the names of these monsters in history books.
Gray Owl became delighted and nervous: "Are you going to use the portal to drop them directly into Brokilon Town?"
“No.” Viggofortz denied, “You have some misunderstandings about the magic of [Portal]. I can’t teleport so many creatures of such size—in fact, I can’t even send my mercenary group and you to Cintra.”
The warlock openly admitted his incompetence, which made the gray forest owl's face twisted instantly.
"What do you mean?" the Imperial Coroner growled. "Are you kidding me? Are we going to walk to Cintra after all? The battle has already begun on the front line, and we have already wasted so much time! It will be too late when we get to Cintra!"
"Don't be nervous, Tawny Owl. I care about the young lion much more than you do, even more than your emperor." Viggofortz consoled him indifferently.
"I can't do it, but 'it' can."
The warlock led the gray forest owl to the end of the corridor, where there was a door with a lot of inscriptions engraved on it.
The Tawny Owl thought there might be some terrifying beast locked up inside, but when he opened the door he found another empty room.
There was only a metal table, with inscriptions densely covering it and all around it.
There was a small bottle on the table.
"Is this your other lab?"
"No, this is the prison where the most terrifying beasts are imprisoned." Viggofortz pointed to the bottle.
…
The Tawny Owl walked forward suspiciously, and what it saw was not only a bottle, but an extremely old bottle.
It seemed to be made of clay, sealed with wood and wax, and had a crust of mud on the surface, which the Tawny Owl had no doubt would get on the hands of anyone who touched it.
If there is anything special about this bottle, it is that there is a six-pointed star painted on the stopper of this bottle.
Another feeling of being teased came over me.
However, before the Gray Owl turned around to question, the next second, the warlock behind him suddenly began to chant an unknown spell loudly.
At this moment, all the inscriptions and runes on the ground seemed to come alive like fish in the water, emitting a cold light and starting to rotate around the pottery bottle.
They were like sharks seeing blood, greedily clinging to the shell of the pottery bottle.
This strange scene made the gray forest owl couldn't help but take a few steps back, fearing that it would be hurt by these little creatures that seemed to have life.
Until all the runes penetrated into the pottery bottle, this originally ordinary and shabby thing suddenly began to glow. Accompanied by a "click" sound that seemed to happen in the mind, an illusory face suddenly emerged from the bottle with the strong wind.
The storm is coming.
The face that emerged from the bottle burst out with a light as bright as the sun, and unparalleled power swirled around it. The power that was enough to tear a city apart was compressed in this small room, looking for a direction to vent.
The Tawny Owl frantically tried to reach out and grab something to stabilize its body in the storm, but found that everything except itself and Viggofortz had been torn to pieces.
A thin protective shield firmly protected him in the middle, preventing any harm from touching him.
Viggofortz was exposed to this power without any protection, but all the forces bypassed him, as if they were afraid of something.
The owl's embarrassed look amused the warlock, and Vilgefortz smiled maliciously as if his plan had succeeded. Then he raised his hands before the owl got angry and shouted:
"Dijing, obey my orders - go back!"
The runes absorbed by the old pottery bottle burst out with light at this moment, as if the suction of a black hole was tearing off the unwilling face and stuffing it back into the dark and narrow space without any room for questioning.
Calm returned to the laboratory.
The Tawny Owl was breathing heavily with lingering fear, staring blankly back and forth in the room, taking in everything.
"That's, that's..." A name that only existed in fairy tales and poems appeared in the mind of the gray forest owl.
Vigfortz confirmed: "That is a spirit."
…
It has been said before that between the atmosphere and the astral plane of today's world, there is also the elemental realm.
Previously, when Lan was absorbing energy in the Elemental Ring of Kaer Morhen, he accidentally entered the Elemental Realm, and his own power was spied on and plotted against. If it weren't for a big brother who did not want to reveal his name who helped Lan at the critical moment, the consequences would be disastrous.
The elemental realms are divided into four types: earth, water, fire, and air, and four corresponding elemental spirits are born in each realm.
Among them, air elves were given a special name by scholars - Djinn.
Warlocks prefer Djinn because Djinn are full of magic and elemental essence. Mages with extremely powerful magic can capture and seal Djinn, draw energy from Djinn to cast spells instead of traditional sources of magic.
Of course, fighting against the Dijing is quite difficult. They can release spells that top human warlocks cannot cast even after years of preparation. And they can also manipulate the air element at will and summon hurricanes of natural disaster level.
However, the warlocks' preference for Djinn is not only because they can be used as a mobile energy source, but more importantly, Djinn also master many ways of using magic that humans cannot learn or even understand.
The warlock, and even other people who inherit the seal of the genie after the warlock's death, can use the genie to accomplish things that they themselves cannot do.
Therefore, there is a strange description in various poems and fairy tales: If you pick up a bottle sealed by magic in the wild, then congratulations, lucky traveler - please open it. The magical elf will come to you and fulfill your three wishes...
…
"Dijing! Dijing!" The eyes of the Tawny Owl became greedy and naked, and it was almost licking the pottery bottle with its eyes.
Viggofortz's eyes revealed the expected mockery.
"With it, why do we need to go to Cintra? We can just make a wish to let Cirilla come here!" The Tawny Owl panted, "No, we can do more. The wishes of the elves can also..."
"It can't do that." Vigfortz said coldly.
This sentence calmed the blushing Tawny Owl down.
"Even if you are such a person, you must have heard fairy tales when you were a child." Viggofortz chuckled, "But have you ever thought about why there is no clear record of people in history who have used Djinn to fulfill their wishes? Why can we only see them in fairy tales?"
The Tawny Owl was stunned.
Viggofortz slowly unveiled the dark fairy tale.
"First of all, the Djinn are not 'omnipotent', they just do things in a way that we cannot understand, otherwise I would not have caught them."
"Secondly, such a 'beautiful' Djinn is extremely dangerous. It's recorded in the notes circulated among our warlocks." Viggofortz said with emotion, "The greedy who wanted wealth but was crushed to death by gold, the deserter who wanted to escape the battlefield but was transferred to another desperate place, the unknown person who wanted eternal life but was turned into a sculpture..."
"When facing a Djinn, the first thing to do is to control your greed." Viggofortz glanced at the Tawny Owl who was still taking a deep breath, "So you need to recover quickly, otherwise I won't be able to hand it over to you."
"You want to give me the genie?" The Tawny Owl showed a surprised expression.
"Yes, the power of the Djinn is an indispensable part of the plan. But I don't want to be exposed to your people for the time being, so you have to take all the power to Cintra." Viggofortz said very generously and considerately, "Take the pottery bottle, uncork it, and the Djinn will obey you."
The Gray Owl's hands trembled slightly. Even though he knew the double-edged sword properties of the Dijing, he still found it unbelievable that he was about to obtain this power.
But Gray Owl could clearly see the greed and insidiousness under Viggo Fortz's gentle mask. He understood that the warlock just wanted to turn him into a chess piece to test the enemy, while he would be high above the chessboard, looking down on everything, waiting for the opportunity to join the game and reap the benefits.
Moreover, the Tawny Owl was absolutely certain that since Viggofortz had given the Djinn to him, he had ten thousand ways to take it back.
Unfortunately, the Tawny Owl no longer has many options.
"I've calmed down." The Tawny Owl took a deep breath. "How should I make a wish, and what should I wish for?"
"There is one thing that is true in those fairy tales, that is, the Djinn can only grant people three wishes, and then all the seals will disappear. Either seal it again, or release it back to heaven."
"And considering the distortion of wishes by the Genie and the possible harm, the process of making a wish must be done with extreme caution."
Vigfortz had already made up his mind: "We can't directly wish for the 'result' of bringing Cirilla to us. The most we can do is let the genie help us shorten the 'process' in reaching our goal."
Vigfortz held up a finger: "My first wish is that these monsters I created will not harm you."
Then he held up another finger: "The second wish is to teleport you and my monsters to the town of Brokilon in Cintra."
"That's all for now. Now it's your turn. The monsters will destroy the town to attract attention, and you, the wise ones, will seize the opportunity to capture Cirilla."
"Only two wishes? What about the third?"
Viggofortz showed a sarcastic look for the nth time today: "If you dare to make a third wish, the spirits that will break the seal will destroy Brokilon and you in an instant."
The Tawny Owl took two deep breaths and said, "I understand... Shall we start now?"
The Emperor's orders were constantly in pursuit of the Tawny Owl, and he wished the action to begin immediately.
Vigfortz once again denied the Tawny Owl: "No hurry."
"Like I said, in order to prevent it from misinterpreting the wish and hurting the wisher, you have to be careful when making a wish."
As the Tawny Owl stared, Vigfortz reached into his arms and pulled out two thick rolls of parchment and handed them over.
"This is your 'wish'. You'd better spend some time to familiarize yourself with it and make sure you don't make any mistakes when you make a wish." Viggo Fortz showed a wicked smile, "Although I am looking forward to that scene, you'd better not give me such an opportunity."
As soon as the Tawny Owl unfolded the two rolls of parchment, he stared in amazement as they fell directly to the ground, with words as small as flies written on them.
He first saw the wish of "transferring everyone to Cintra": the parchment clearly defined the country of "Cintra" and the mode of movement of "teleportation", and wrote down in detail the specific coordinates of the town of Brokilon; it also stipulated whether everyone should be teleported to water or land, how many centimeters above the ground, whether there were any obstacles or possible enemies around, etc.
As for the wish that "monsters should not attack themselves and others", it was even more exaggerated: Tawny Forest Owl first saw the descriptions and designations of these monsters; then he saw a list of the names, backgrounds, physical characteristics, etc. of each of the more than 100 people in his team and the mercenary group; it also listed all the possible attacks these monsters might make, and clarified the various possible damages they might cause to the team...
The Gray Owl suddenly began to admire Viggofortz. He had to admit that he played an irreplaceable role in this operation.
At the same time, the Gray Owl also noticed that in the list of more than 100 people who were told "monsters should not attack themselves and others", Vigfortz also added the name of the young lion Cirilla.
This makes sense. You can't let your target be killed by your own tools by mistake, right?