Chapter 268: The Tolling Bell

Billy gritted his teeth, his expression grim, “That grave formation outside wasn’t an auxiliary curse ritual at all. It was a bait. A bait set up to lure in people with some knowledge of curse cultivation.”

It was the first time Angela had ever seen Billy so angry. Her own expression grew more serious, “Is it that dangerous? Even you can’t handle it?”

Although she had gone through one dangerous situation after another since leaving the tower, Billy had always appeared calm and in control—never like this.

While running, Billy glanced back at her, his eyes complex. That look made Angela’s heart skip a beat.

“I’ll protect you,” he said. Then, he pulled her into another street.

Strangely, the moment they stepped onto the new road, the sound of the surging tide behind them suddenly disappeared.

Billy halted and looked back down the alley.

The red current that had been chasing them, flowing close on their heels, had vanished as well.

Billy frowned and began to ponder what might have triggered the curse—when suddenly, he heard Angela gasp beside him.

“Saul? What are you doing here?”

Saul had just stepped out of the house where the wandering apprentice wizards had once lived.

He looked down at the small cloth pouch in his hand and sighed.

“There were indeed some leftover Grinding Sound fruits, but most had already rotted. I picked through everything and only managed to find about ten. At most, they’ll be enough for two long mental realm experiments.”

Maybe there were more elsewhere in town, but Saul couldn’t afford to linger.

He hadn’t forgotten the death warning from the diary.

The longer he stayed and the more he explored, the greater the chance he’d accidentally stumble “behind the scenes.”

“Well, I’ve got some at least. Maybe just two more experiments and I’ll be able to completely turn the diary into a locator. For now, I’d better focus on leaving. No idea where that Mochi Mochi wandered off to.” Just as he thought this, the sound of a bell rang out.

“This town has a bell tower?” Saul tried to recall, “I think… it does.”

Almost every town had a bell tower to summon civilians, so he hadn’t paid much attention to it before.

Now that he heard the tolling bell, he had no intention of checking it out. Instead, he turned and ran in the opposite direction—toward the town gates.

He wasn’t greedy. He came here for Grinding Sound fruit, and now that he had it, it was time to leave.

As for Mochi Mochi?

That guy might not even want to leave.

At this point, it should be just the two of them left in town. And that bell… it was probably Mochi Mochi’s doing. Especially since he had deliberately split from Saul earlier—clearly, he didn’t want company.

So Saul didn’t hesitate. He dashed through the opulent residential district and made his way onto the town’s widest main avenue, planning to follow the broad road straight to the town gate.

But just as he stepped onto the avenue, two figures turned the corner from a diagonal alley.

It was Billy and Angela.

“What are they doing here?” Saul’s thoughts raced.

Before he could decide what to do, Angela looked up and caught sight of him.

“Saul? What are you doing here?”

Hearing her shout, Billy immediately turned his head.

He had been too focused on analyzing the red tide earlier to notice there were others nearby.

But upon seeing Saul, Billy didn’t appear surprised at all.

It was as if Saul’s presence made perfect sense.

Since they had run into each other head-on, Saul didn’t bother hiding.

“I’m leaving. What about you two?” Saul made it clear from the start that he wasn’t interested in competing for the source of the curse within the town.

The strange phenomena hadn’t ceased. Since Mochi Mochi had spotted the clues from the grave formation outside, someone as reputable as Billy among Third Rank apprentices surely saw it too.

Billy was the kind of guy who could drive Mentor Gudo into depression.

Surprisingly, Billy had come to the same decision.

“We’re leaving too.”

Angela glanced at Saul, then at Billy, and finally opened her arms with a smile, “Well then, let’s go together.”

In her eyes, Billy was a seasoned Third Rank apprentice, and Saul was the Tower Master’s personal student. Both were incredibly strong.

If this town was as dangerous as Billy said, traveling with these two gave her a better shot at escaping.

But Angela’s left hand didn’t share her optimism.

It anxiously tugged at the fabric over her chest, looking more nervous than anyone else present.

Saul was slightly surprised—they weren’t here for the curse’s source either?

Billy, with a dark expression, gave Saul a nod, silently agreeing to the joint departure.

Just then, the bell tolled again, and all three of them turned toward the sound.

At the end of the avenue stood a small plaza, and across from it was a somewhat dilapidated but still-standing bell tower.

From where they were, they could see the bell swinging at the top.

There was a rope attached to the bell’s clapper, clearly meant to be pulled to make it toll.

But no one was visible.

As the bell rang out, the sound of waves surged again—this time surrounding Saul like a surround sound system.

It was even closer now.

It felt like it was right nearby!

Saul knew that if they lingered any longer, they might run straight into the red tide.

“Let’s go.” Saul gave a quick shout and ran toward the town gate.

Angela had been keeping an eye on the other two, and when Saul took off, she didn’t hesitate to follow. She figured if Saul and Billy were both running, Billy wouldn’t stay behind either.

Sure enough, the sound of footsteps followed her an instant later.

The three of them sprinted without any concern for appearances.

Fortunately, after running several hundred meters, the roar of the tide faded behind them.

They followed their original route and reached the town’s main gate.

But what met their eyes was a perfectly intact gate, with a two-meter-long square beam firmly lodged in place to lock it.

Angela covered her mouth in shock, “How? We clearly corroded the door when we came in. Why is it whole again?”

“The door was whole when you came in?” Saul frowned at the gate. “Mochi Mochi and I smashed it open when we entered.”

“This isn’t surprising,” Billy said coldly, “If it’s a trap meant to catch people, of course the cage door has to be sealed.”

As the strongest among them, he didn’t hold back. He stepped forward and pressed his hand against the gate, releasing a faint green gas like before.

But this time, it didn’t work.

The gas hovered around the door, touching it—but to no effect.

Billy retracted the gas, leaned in, and examined the gap between his hand and the gate.

His face darkened. Then, he unleashed a more powerful attack—Corrosive Claw.

The ghostly green talon slammed hard into the gate.

But the gate didn’t budge. Not even a scratch.

After several failed attempts, the claw dissipated helplessly.

Angela was about to say something when Saul suddenly fired an Arrow spell at the top of the wall.

Predictably, the arrow struck an invisible barrier with a clang, snapped in two, and fell to the ground inside the town.

“Looks like we really are trapped in a cage,” Saul murmured.

(End of Chapter)

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.