Chapter 71: The Strange Town
“What do we do now, do we just rush into that castle and kill the viscount?” Takebitori’s suggestion was both brainless and brute.
Li Lin shook his head and immediately dismissed her idea.
“Wilson Castle has at least two hundred guards, well-equipped, and even equipped with heavy crossbows. In a head-on confrontation, we should be the ones being crushed.”
This was the truth. Deception Mages did not possess strong combat capabilities, but when it came to illusions, phantoms, and various control skills, Deception Mages were top-notch.
Although Takebitori was not convinced, she still followed orders.
“The castle’s defenses during the day are much stronger than at night, so we can try to sneak into the castle at night. Until then, everyone wait for the opportunity in the tavern. I will notify you when the time comes.”
*
Li Wen did not stay obediently in the tavern. She walked alone on the streets of Wilson Town.
She heard the townspeople sincerely praising Lord Wilson, which she found ridiculous. Who would praise their oppressor in the streets?
However, to her surprise, there seemed to be an exceptionally large number of people agreeing with them.
If she hadn’t known about Wilson’s collusion with mercenaries, Li Wen might have thought that Viscount Wilson was a beloved lord.
“Excuse me…” Li Wen directly took off her hood and activated her non-existent investigation skill. “Who is this Lord Wilson you speak of?”
Li Wen obviously knew who Wilson was, but she had to start the conversation.
As expected, as soon as she asked this question, someone immediately replied.
“Lord Wilson is our most beloved lord!”
“I’m sorry, I’m from out of town. I don’t know what this Lord Wilson has done to deserve such high praise?”
After Li Wen finished speaking, everyone around her turned to look at her. They had smiles on their faces, but their eyes were empty and devoid of spirit.
“Lord Wilson brought a good harvest,” one person said.
“Lord Wilson made the cattle and sheep fat! He brought a child to every household!” another person said.
“Lord Wilson wiped out bandits, mountain thieves, and goblins,” yet another added.
“Lord Wilson brought peace and tranquility!”
“Lord Wilson should be canonized as a saint!”
“He will be king!”
“He is our savior!”
Li Wen quietly moved away from the increasingly fanatical crowd.
What was this? Some kind of mind-control spell?
Li Wen didn’t think it was that simple. The residents seemed fanatical, but there were no signs of magical control. In other words, they were all speaking from their hearts.
This place was becoming more and more eerie. If Li Wen didn’t have to kill Wilson, she wouldn’t want to stay here for half a day.
She came to a plaza. It seemed to have been set up for some ceremonial activity. A tall, giant human statue woven from willow branches stood there. A group of people wearing animal masks were circling it, seemingly performing some grotesque dance.
Li Wen looked at the human statue woven from willow branches, her brow furrowed. If she guessed correctly, this should be some kind of sacrifice ritual.
Before the Glorious Religions broke through the walls of the Norradon people, the mainstream beliefs in the Norradon Empire were led by the Church of Truth and the Church of War God. In the folk, the Blood Lust lineage sects were more prevalent.
After Norradon fell, the Kingdom of Arthur, as one of its inheritors, inherited Norradon’s vast magical assets, while in some remote areas, the fervor and belief in the Blood Lust Sects were preserved.
And one branch of primitive nature worship druidic beliefs combined with some Blood Lust beliefs, thus giving birth to a sect that has long disappeared today, but has left a notorious reputation in history.
Li Wen couldn’t remember the name of that sect, but she vaguely remembered that the sacrifice method of weaving the human statue from willow branches originated from that sect.
In this kind of sacrifice ritual, the sacrificial offering was sealed in the willow branch statue and then burned to death. The best sacrifice was a living person, followed by livestock.
After the ritual was completed, the remaining ashes from the sacrifice were collected and used as fertilizer, or given to women to drink. The former could double the yield of farmland, while the latter could make women pregnant quickly, and the children born would grow up quickly.
This long-prohibited sacrifice ritual was now being carried out openly and without scruples, which was likely related to Viscount Wilson.
The intelligence gathering was almost complete, and further searching would be a waste of time. Li Wen turned and walked back towards the tavern. Her mana had been consumed a lot by enchanting new weapons today. She needed to meditate to return to her peak condition to deal with tonight’s battle.
What she didn’t notice was that after she turned back, everyone in the plaza stopped their movements and unanimously looked at Li Wen’s receding back, their expressions stiff, their eyes empty and spiritless.
*
As night fell, the players prepared their states and got ready to start the mission.
Li Lin took out a map, which turned out to be the armament distribution map and engineering blueprints of Wilson Castle, and no one knew where he got it.
“I originally planned to enter the moat by water and then sneak into the castle from the moat, thereby bypassing all defenses… but now it seems there is no need for that.”
“Why?”
Takebitori consciously played the role of a straight man.
“Because this town is holding a grand celebration tonight, and most of the guards in the castle have been transferred to maintain order during the celebration. Therefore, there are not many guards at the entrance of the Lord’s castle now, and we can easily enter the castle from the front.”
“It sounds like a deliberate trap, waiting for stupid rats to sneak in,” Takebitori quipped, proving she wasn’t as foolish as she appeared.
“Relax, even if it’s a trap, it has to have a target. We are in the dark, and Wilson is in the light. He cannot know about our existence, so he naturally cannot set a trap for us.” Li Lin’s tone was exceptionally confident.
After the players discussed it, most of them felt that the veteran beta player was right and agreed to Li Lin’s proposal.
Li Wen had no other thoughts. Entering from the front or sneaking in through other routes made little difference to her. Besides, she really wanted to see the strength of Li Lin, who was ranked seventeenth among the beta players.
Outside the window, cheers could be heard, as if the celebration had already begun.
The players, taking advantage of the night, left the tavern and stealthily headed towards the castle on the mountainside.
Li Wen clutched the Raven Feather Dagger in her hand, knowing that tonight would be exceptionally long.
And she didn’t know where the Ghost Fairy Martha had gone at this time.
