Chapter 235: Chapter 29, Blood of the Sealed Dust
Twin moons hung high, their radiance falling onto the ground, spreading like delicate mercury, reflecting the lingering twilight of firelight from the gaps between houses.
“It-it’s you!”
The panicked male voice was interrupted by the sound of a drawn sword, followed by the tearing of silk and the piercing of flesh by a metal blade. The young baron, dressed in luxurious robes and with a face contorted in fear, slumped to the ground, his viscous blood slowly flowing out, staining the frost-kissed earth.
“The last one.”
Count Lunse’s voice carried a hint of ease. He casually glanced at the baron who had fallen under his sword. The bright silver blade held in his hand clashed with the cold night wind, and slowly dripping blood made him appear chillingly austere.
The remaining lights of the town flickered in the night wind, yet only the rustling of the wind could be heard, followed by a deathly silence.
“Lord Lunse, thank you. The soldiers you and Lord Douglas trained are truly elite warriors. Even within Harankton’s domain, there are not many who can compare.”
A hoarse male voice echoed from the darkness, uttering praise. Then, a heavy footstep landed on the ground, causing ripples in the mercury-like surface and splashing onto the viscous blood. He used a playful tone in his last sentence, but it inexplicably evoked a chilling sensation.
“Your Excellency need not thank me. This matter is a gift from His Majesty of the Magic Kingdom to Lord Douglas, and it is I who should be thanking you.”
Count Lunse smiled, sheathed his sword, and then looked up.
The person who arrived was clad in a grey-black robe. His skin, exposed through the gaps in the fabric, was a sickly pale, and faintly, a greyish deathly aura flowed.
“Lord Douglas’s talent and ambition have always been admired by Lord Fatter. It is just a pity that Lord Douglas has no intention of leaving Peka. Otherwise, under His Majesty’s command, he would undoubtedly gain far more than he has now.”
The black-robed mage spoke with a hoarse voice. Although he was speaking with a smile, the faint blue-grey ghostly fire flickering beneath his hood gave him an eerie feeling, like facing a fierce ghost crawling out of the frigid underworld.
What was even more oppressive were the rows of well-equipped soldiers standing behind him, their armor inscribed with the crest of Andefil. At the feet of each soldier lay fallen town residents, men and women, old and young.
Warriors with powerful strength rigidly held their blood-stained swords, like marionettes. Blood dripped from the blade edges, and their rigid eyes glowed with the same ghostly fire as the mage’s.
Regarding the words about Douglas, Count Lunse merely smiled and shook his head, raising his eyes to look beyond the silent small town towards the hills shrouded in moonlight and darkness, sighing:
“Legend has it that in the Demon Race War a hundred years ago, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Race, the King of Death known as the ‘Black-winged Monarch,’ fell here after being slain by the King’s Sacred Sword. The ‘Black-winged’ blood dyed the earth. I never expected that the legendary story would be so true.”
“The Black-winged King’s blood indeed flows through the life force of these people. However, they have only gained a commonality but not strength… For several months, I have been experimenting to find the key to opening this sealed land.”
The dry, hoarse voice of the black-robed mage sounded. His pale palm grasped a strangely shaped staff, and his raised, bone-white cheek revealed a few strands of withered white hair beneath his hood. His ghostly blue eyes flickered.
Regarding this envoy who had come alone from the Magic Kingdom of Harankton, Count Lunse felt as though he were facing a talking skeleton, yet the Count’s smile remained warm.
“Lord Count, I have one more matter to discuss. Yesterday, I detected a powerful soul approaching. I suspect it is Vicena, the current Archmage of the Peka Royal Court.”
The mage’s dark gaze fell on Count Lunse’s face. “Although Lord Fatter once disdained this woman, considering her far inferior to her sister, Lady Vicena was, after all, a participant in that war, and she also possesses the ‘Staff of Freedom’… Lord Count, please do not let her interfere with our agreement.”
“Archmage Vicena… Please rest assured, I will delay her until this domain is opened.”
Count Lunse looked at the ground under the boundless night sky. “Even if the former Black-winged Monarch is dead, if his domain truly opens, even Vicena, holding the ‘Staff of Freedom,’ will be powerless. I have prepared a teleportation array for you afterward.”
The mage nodded and turned to leave. Suddenly, Count Lunse called out to his back, “Your Excellency, what about our agreement?”
The black-robed mage’s footsteps paused, and he turned around. Instantly, a chilling wind blew, rustling his hood and withered white hair, revealing his bone-white face. Dark deathly energy flowed, making him look like a desiccated corpse.
“The reason the King of Death became famous among the Demon Race is that legend claims he was once a skeleton-winged creature who stole Atros’s authority of ‘Loss of Life.’ Please assure Lord Douglas that, as per the agreement, the Magic Kingdom only requires his soul.”
—
“Yes, hey, you found me out. However, this young lady’s materials are still far from complete, and to refine it, well… it should take a considerable amount of time.”
In the highlands of Gland, at a temporarily set up camp, a wood elf with long ears held the girl’s storage ring, and looking at Verafia’s nonchalant statement, she blinked her eyes vigorously and asked in disbelief:
“But, this magic potion’s recipe… even in the wood elf’s inheritance, it is extremely secret! Even I only know the materials, how did you know it!”
“Heh heh, do you want to know?”
Verafia’s exquisite little face revealed a smile with ill intentions. EINSIL’s emerald blue big eyes looked earnest, and she nodded vigorously.
The girl suddenly opened her mouth wide, revealing her pearly white little fangs: “Of course, it’s because this young lady ate a few elves who knew about this magic potion!”
“This, this is impossible!”
Einsil took a step back in fright, her little boots rustling, but she still mustered her courage. “There’s no such method to know other people’s secrets!”
“Tch, such a short-sighted little elf… this young lady is a phoenix! What’s strange about swallowing elves like you and finding knowledge from their souls.”
Verafia hugged her arms across her chest with her slender hands and said as a matter of course. Suddenly, the girl’s golden big eyes turned, “How about, you little elf, you want to try?”
“A monster that e-eats elves! Woo, stay away from me!”
EINSIL, startled, threw the storage ring she was holding and ran away.
Verafia picked up the ring from the ground. Her snowy cheeks, like exquisite porcelain, tilted up proudly in the moonlight.
“Cowardly elf, hmph, you dared to mock this young lady just now! Wait… you dared to call this young lady a monster? Hey, you idiot elf, stop right there!”
Verafia, suddenly reacting, stomped her slender foot angrily and hurried after her.
Behind Verafia, Igert watched her slender figure, his eyes filled with suspicion and confusion.
