Chapter 127 - Frenzied Noise

Chapter 127: Frenzied Noise

The sun had already set, and the horizon was only left with an extremely extensive arc of light.

With the assistance of Amber’s shadow magic, the group made it across the eastern wall of Viscount Andrew’s castle and arrived inside it through an old tower’s stairs.

They made use of the shadows to conceal themselves on the second floor’s balcony. They looked at the empty courtyard and the hallway opposite the courtyard.

This castle was like most of the noble clans’ castles within the Anzu Kingdom. It had a square structure that was made of layers. The outermost layer was the perimeter wall; the next layer consisted of stables, servant rooms, junk rooms, and the external hallway, forming a communal area. Further inside would be the inner hallway and the feudal lord’s mansion which was the residential region. The regions would be connected using thick and firm passages. In various places of the castle, there were sentries placed in hidden and open places. At the four corners of the castle were the tallest points, and there were archer towers, bell towers meant to issue warnings, and the fire beacon platform.

It wasn’t a very comfortable living condition and most of the structure looked like a military stronghold. This place was the front line for the southern territories to resist the Dark Wave, and this construction style had been passed down after each generation. But after centuries of peace, many of the southern territories’ residences started to change, and the people preferred to reside in comfortable and bright manors. But it was obvious Viscount Andrew didn’t really mind the living conditions. His castle still maintained the ‘ancient style’ to a certain degree.

But in this castle that was like a military fort, Gawain didn’t see the guards that were supposed to be patrolling or standing guard. Even the central courtyard of the castle was empty.

“Is there no one anywhere?” Amber widened her eyes and looked down curiously. Her talents for shadow allowed her to see clearly in dark environments. “Furthermore, it seems like no one did any pruning in the courtyard… The weeds and shrubs are growing so much until they are going to cover the path.”

Just like Amber said, the castle courtyard was empty, but the plants were flourishing. Just a few days before, this place still had the normal order, but now, when Gawain took a glance, it felt as though this castle was already abandoned for months or even a year. The thriving plants were growing insanely and had covered the paths and the walls. Some of the vines had already crept to the main building’s door.

“Byron, you have yet to fully recover. Wait here for us,” Gawain turned to speak with the middle-aged knight. “I will give you three ‘crystal grenades’ for protection. Do you remember how to use it?”

The middle-aged knight with grizzled hair involuntarily turned his neck and said, “It truly doesn’t feel good to be treated as a burden.”

Gawain laughed and patted the shoulder armor of the knight who was normally improper. “You have already made a great contribution and fought bravely. At this kind of moment, I do not wish for my knight to die because of recklessness.”

Gawain spoke from the bottom of his heart although he had also secretly ridiculed this unreliable ‘unconventional knight’ who had the background of a mercenary. However, for this incident, Byron had indeed exhibited enough bravery and resolution. It wasn’t necessary for him to take further risks with his frail body. Perhaps Sir Philip, who had a particularly staunch knight’s spirit, would have insisted on fighting to the death alongside Gawain, but Byron wasn’t such an inflexible person.

Therefore, the middle-aged knight nodded and received the three grenades handed over by Gawain. He had a rather complicated expression when he looked at this exquisite ‘magical product’ and said, “Tsk Tsk… Even children can learn how to use this thing…”

A moment later, Gawain and the group used the cover of the dusky sky to sneak into the castle’s courtyard.

Along the way, they didn’t encounter any guards, evil-cult lackeys, or magical traps. This large castle looked as though it was really abandoned. It was empty, quiet, and eerie.

Sir Philip grasped the sword in his hand and followed behind Gawain quietly. He then suddenly scrunched his nose and whispered, “This place is filled with the presence of evil.”

Amber couldn’t help but roll her eyes at this young knight who was normally foolish and inflexible while saying, “You aren’t going to suddenly shout out ‘Oh Holy Light, this evil deserves a fight’ before rushing out and hacking around, right? You aren’t a paladin.”

“Shh.” Gawain silently interrupted Amber’s ramblings and said, “Don’t forget that Philip is a believer of Kehr.”

Amber’s eyes opened a little bigger, and she immediately pursed her lips without uttering another sound.

Kehr was the god of warriors and knights and was also the God of War. Among the main gods, he was a powerful god whose strength was only inferior to the God of Holy Light. He protected all brave warriors and blessed combat. Even though he wasn’t the God of Holy Light, his divine power was also against blasphemy and had the power to detect evil. His believers would receive additional support when searching for an evil cult follower. The support might not be superior to orthodox Holy Light clerics or paladins, but it still made one stronger than normal.

Philip was a devout believer of Kehr, and even if he wasn’t a priest, his devout conviction allowed him to have sharper senses for the evil cult follower’s presence that occupied this castle.

Gawain didn’t believe in gods and naturally didn’t receive any support from them. But his body was automatically emitting alert signals. He grasped the Sword of Pioneers and looked at those lush plants, shrubs, and decorative trees in the courtyard with vigilance. “These plants are excessively lush. Something is probably wrong with them.”

Pittman gripped a bunch of ironwood seeds in his hand and inspected the surroundings as he didn’t dare to recklessly release any druid spell. Just like how he easily detected the Oblivion Association follower’s spells which were of the same source and origin as his, the evil cult follower with his druid spells would also be able to instantly detect Pittman if he cast a spell. Unless there was a confrontation, he wouldn’t dare to take such a risk.

They started to pass through the courtyard and approached the main building in Viscount Andrew’s castle. That was the place that the evil cult follower was probably hiding.

A faintly discernible ‘veil’ of dusk enveloped the figures of the group. Amber was walking in the centermost position of the group; she used her shocking talents in shadow to create a group stealth effect for everyone. Had it not been for this hacker-like fellow in the group, Gawain wouldn’t choose to save time and risk entering this castle by sneaking in.

The sun had already gone below the horizon, and the only remaining splendor had been gradually engulfed by darkness. The starlights started to appear, and when they appeared initially, a chilly night wind blew across the courtyard.

These lush plants that seemed to have grown without restraint for an entire year had started to sway in the wind. They emitted rustling sounds, and within those sounds were countless muffled murmurings.

Goosebumps instantly formed on Amber’s skin. Due to the curtain of the night, her shadow power was now enhanced, and her vision was transforming toward the direction of the ‘extraordinary’. Things that she neglected during daylight had suddenly entered her vision.

The half-elf young lady was so frightened that she nearly exclaimed… Before she could so, Gawain had already covered her mouth.

“I saw it too,” Gawain whispered.

In the courtyard, under the lush and thriving plants, in between those roots and vines, there were things.

The closest shrub that swayed in the night wind had revealed a pale hand within the roots. That hand was buried in the soil and was spasming slightly.

The weed at the side exposed half a face that was buried, and the eye of that face was half-closed and half-opened. The utterly chapped lips were still opening and closing.

There was a half-dead oak at the side of the path that had a swell at the roots. The shape of this swelling resembled a head, and a pair of eyes could be seen in between the tree bark. The swelling was dry, yellowish, and rigid, just like the half-dead oak.

The entire courtyard’s plants had buried human body parts, and the owners of those body parts were obviously still alive!

“In the name of the God of War!” Sir Philip suppressed his voice and exclaimed softly, “What kind of demented activity is this?!”

Amber took two deep breaths and peeled off Gawain’s hand before asking in a soft and terrified voice, “These people… Are they still alive or dead?!”

“Most of them should still be considered alive. But it is hard to say how long they will continue to live.” Pittman clenched the spellcasting seeds in his hand. “No wonder we didn’t see any guards or attendants… They are all buried in the central courtyard!”

“Be extra careful not to touch those plants.” The old druid added another statement, “They are the eyes of the evil cult follower!”

“Why did the evil cult follower bury these people here for?” Amber endured the disgust and frowned while asking, “Are they extracting their life energy?”

“…I’m afraid not.” Pittman shook his head and said, “The extraction of life energy doesn’t need such a troublesome ritual. The evil cult follower controlled these people in a half-alive and half-dead state. Furthermore, he is maintaining their dazed consciousness… I suspect he is extracting these people’s thoughts.”

“Extracting thoughts?!” Amber was alarmed as she asked, “Are the Oblivion Association capable of this?!”

“If they were dealing with people with extraordinary powers, it definitely wouldn’t be so easy. But these are ordinary people who don’t have any resistance against abilities.” Pittman sighed before saying, “From the looks of it, that evil cult follower doesn’t just want to kill these people. He has an objective, and he is gathering information…”

As they were talking, they had already walked, with extreme caution, across the courtyard filled with frenzied plants. They arrived at the door of the castle’s main lobby. In front of them was a large oak door that was engraved with the Leslie Clan’s crest.

The crest seemed to be flowing with fresh blood and had a dark red glow.

Gawain didn’t directly use his hand to touch that obviously abnormal door. Instead, he used the Sword of Pioneers to push the door open slowly and silently. Subsequently, he stepped inside with 120% vigilance.

The instant he stepped across the door, an extremely unbearable noise suddenly swept over from an unknown source!

It felt like ten thousand different voices were blasting at his ears, like ten thousand individuals yelling at the same time, like ten thousand chaotic musical instruments performing at the same time, or like two drunk Ambers rambling by his ears…

Gawain felt that his body had rusted as it was particularly difficult to even turn his head. He had quickly noticed that the noise didn’t come from outside; it was coming from his mind. While that noise was trying to drive him insane, Gawain could see the castle hallway with the dark red carpet suddenly extending in front of his eyes. The walls that were hung with portraits of the generations of Leslie Clan’s ancestors were rapidly getting further without limits. Everything in the surrounding had suddenly turned expansive, and a dark starry sky had replaced the scene within the castle.

Those chaotic noises had finally fused into a clear and discernable voice, and it was constantly howling, “Oblivion is going to be extinct! Oblivion is going to be extinct! Oblivion is going to be extinct!”

Gawain might be enveloped by the noises and illusion, but he realized that his thoughts were actually abnormally clear. The intelligible howlings continued, and his mind had involuntarily produced a rather clear thought. “That’s right. Because of the increase in entropy… What is going on?”

“Oblivion is going to be…”

Before Gawain could react to what was going on, the frenzied noise and illusion of the dark starry sky suddenly vanished like a puff of smoke.

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