The Record of Unusual Creatures - Chapter 191

Chapter 191: A Surprising Discovery

 

Well…with that said, the three giant rock monsters were finally defeated. After all things considered, the journey was going rather swimmingly.

Truly, knowing one’s enemies makes defeating them easier. The rock monsters may have looked almost insurmountable at first, but after discovering their weakness, they did not seem all that threatening. With just brute strength alone, with the right orders, even an idiot like Lily managed to take out those lumbering giants. Granted, this only applied to the unusual creatures around Hao Ren. For mortal men, these rock monsters were a stone wall too high to surpass.

Looking at the shattered remains of the rock monsters, Lily bounced about in excitement, her wagging tail was almost a blur. “Hehehe! Met your match huh?!”

Hao Ren poked his neck out as he grumbled. “Stop gloating there and give me a hand would you?”

Only then did Lily realise that Hao Ren was buried halfway into the ground and quickly scampered towards him. Using her Frostfire Claws, she started to dig him out, her tail wagging happily as she dug. “Thank you so much, Mr. Landlord. I almost died there. Never thought those rocks would be pretty smart.”

The rock monster had intended to smack its back against the wall to turn Lily, who was clinging onto him, into fine paste. The werehusky did not realise her predicament until it was too late. If Hao Ren did not rush in at the very last moment to knock the rock monster off balance, Lily would surely have become nothing but blood stains on the wall. Hao Ren himself would have paid dearly if not for his Steel Membrane Shield and enhanced physique. The stomp had planted him almost half a meter deep into the earth…

“That was rough…” Hao Ren shuddered as Lily pulled him out of the ground. Massaging his almost broken arm, he jested, “My bones must’ve been dislocated from that stomp. Seems to have set itself back somehow…”

Sounds of clanking armour soon came from the side. Looking up, Hao Ren saw the leader of the mercenary band. The approximately forty-year-old man was decked unlike your regular frontline soldier. His chainmail was splattered with blood, and a stream of blood was flowing from a gash on his forehead all the way down to his neck. As the leader limped towards him, Hao Ren could tell that his wounds were rather severe, but the only thing on the man’s face was the exhiliration of surviving the ordeal, and gratitude. “…How can we ever repay you for saving our hides… I really thought we were done for. Please, do let me know if there’s anything I can do. As long it’s within my ability, I’ll—”

Hao Ren waved the man off. “Oh, it’s alright. Just happened to be in the neighbourhood. Say…how’s your company looking?”

The captain turned back to look at his fellow mercenaries. His face was grim. “One dead, and a few severely injured. Probably won’t be able to lift a sword any longer. Others are coping somehow.”

The surviving mercenaries had little to say, and they were obviously downcast. For them, this was an almost pyrrhic victory. An adventure to the Blood Lake gone awry. They had not even reached their destination when they were decimated by the roving monsters there. Almost half of their force were in no shape to continue, and almost the same number would probably not be adventuring any longer. Such a sudden turn of events was more than anyone could take.

Becky also had a sympathetic look on her face. Being a mercenary came with such risks, and many were dead before they could even react to the danger facing them. These guys were the luckier bunch of the lot, at least most of them were alive.

Wuyue then came out from her hiding spot, clutching Hao Ren’s pot. After taking the pot from her, Hao Ren pointed her towards the wounded. While he had no idea how strong Wuyue’s healing magic would be, at this juncture, with the lack of poultice and medicine, anything was better than nothing. Vivian then threw a glance at Becky. “Didn’t you say the stuff on this mountain path was a cake-walk?”

Hao Ren then remembered that Becky saying something about the well trodden mountain path and that the path did not see monsters of such ferocity. He too glanced at Becky, only to find her shaking her head in confusion. “I—I don’t know… I never ran into these things before… There are monsters in the mountains, but most are earth elementals or gorge scorpions… The easy stuff. Say…do you guys have any clue where these rock monsters came from?”

The last part of Becky’s sentence was aimed at the mercenary leader. He too shook his head. “No idea. We were on our way on the mountain path, and just ran into those bastards. They just came at us. I also don’t recall seeing them in the mountains before during the many times I took this path.”

Even the experienced leader had no idea when Dragonspine Ridge had such dangerous monstrosities. Hao Ren felt things were much, much more complicated that they seemed. At the same time, Y’zaks voice rang out loud. “Over here, look at this!”

The group hurried towards Y’zaks. The giant demon was squatting by the shattered remains of the rock monster he took out moments before, his big finger pointing towards a piece of the rock. “Moss. Do you have moss on the rocks around here?”

“Doesn’t seem like a rock from this area…” Lily said as she looked around. Indeed, the area around them was rather dry. All of the rocks in their vicinity did not have any traces of moss on them. As such, the moss covered rock monsters quite clearly suggested that they originated from somewhere else.

“…Don’t tell me, they came from the other side of the mountain range?” Becky exclaimed as she scrapped some of the moss using a small piece of rock. As she squished the moss in her hands, she said, “Still looks fresh… Plenty of moisture left. Seems like they haven’t arrive here long.” Noticing Lily’s curious face, she continued to explain, “The Dragonspine Ridge has two vastly different climates on each side. The eastern part of it is very dry and arid, the western side is much more verdant as both the Beinz Water Network and the Little Chaldan River are close by. Furthermore, the Blood Lake’s mysterious energies have also spread to areas around the ridge, and as such, the rocks there are usually very mossy.”

Hao Ren had no idea if the rock monsters in front of him were actual living things or not. He could only nod at what Becky had to say. “So, you mean to say that these rock monsters came all the way from the western part of the ridge to the east? Does it mean that this has to do with the Blood Lake?”

“Who knows?” Becky shook her head. “But, I hope this isn’t the start of something worse to come… The loss of the Orb already sent the town into a panicked frenzy, and with this happening in Dragonspine Ridge…”

The mercenary lass frowned hard. Her worried look was plain to see. However, she was just a minor character, and this issue was way beyond her league. There was nothing she could do but fret.

On the other side, Wuyue had completed her treatment of a few severely injured mercenaries. Her healing mists slowly enveloped the wounded. It was nary a moment before the dying soldiers were once again awake and seated in disbelief, patting the parts that were supposedly injured to find them fully healed. Even those who had their limbs ripped off had grown new ones in place. Aside from a sudden feeling of weakness, all of them were fully restored.

A female mercenary decked in a hunter’s dress could not help but exclaim, “How did you do that?!”

“Healing magic,” Wuyue sounded very pleased as she got up. She did not participate in the combat earlier, but it was now her time to shine. The siren was feeling rather accomplished.

Hao Ren and the others were done inspecting the remains of the rock monsters by then and they approached the mercenaries after not finding any further clues. By chance, they overheard the conversation between the huntress and Wuyue. “Healing magic? It’s very potent by healing magic standards… and I’ve never seen such mist-like magic before. What school of spell-caster are you?”

“Uh… This is a siren’s special ability…” Wuyue sounded rather embarrassed after being showered with praise and gratitude. “Does this world not have any sirens?”

Becky gave Wuyue a blank look.” What’s a siren? A new school of magic?

Hao Ren and the party looked at each other. Vivian quickly signalled for Wuyue to stop talking. She then looked at Becky, “You guys don’t know what a siren is?”

“Nope.” Becky did not seem to be lying. “I’ve only heard of a female-only coven called the House of Witches… So, are you saying that the Sirens specialise in water magic? Seems like healing is your specialty.”

Hao Ren then realised something and gave a perfunctory smile. “Oh yeah, they specialise in water magic…but, this coven is based on an island and they are pretty reclusive. Perhaps, that’s why most landbound countries have never heard of them.”

Becky gave a nonplussed ,”Oh…” and simply nodded.

Hao Ren and Vivian looked at each other, clearly understanding what the other was thinking.

This place has werewolves, vampires and even elves…but, they have never heard of a siren?!

Chapter 192: Continuing Westward!

 

Hao Ren and Vivian tried using various indirect questions on Becky as well as some of the other mercenaries there. They were trying to gleam information about the sirens or anything related to them, even a myth or a tale would have sufficed. But shockingly, no one from that world knew anything about the sirens. In conclusion, sirens did not exist there.

Raven 12345 had said something about the unusual creatures on Earth coming from The Plane of Dreams, and that led Hao Ren to believe that everyone in his group could publicly assume their original identities in the Dream Plane. He never thought Wuyue would be an exception.

Vivian was still checking with the mercenaries for more information about the mountain path. Hao Ren took the opportunity to pull Wuyue aside. “Seems like there are no sirens here at all. Where did the sirens on Earth come from then?”

“How would I know?” Wuyue pouted, her displeasure apparent on her face. “I pretty much thought I was back home.”

Hao Ren realised that Wuyue was not happy about this, and he could empathise with her. Here, Vivian and Lily could disclose their identities without fear of being treated like a circus animal. Wuyue had the same intention as well, and thought she had arrived at Siren Shangri-la, but things now left her rather…excluded. Her disappointment was understandable.

“Oh, don’t worry too much.” Hao Ren had no idea how to comfort her, and tried clumsily to direct Wuyue’s attention to another matter. “Look at Y’zaks, he needs to hide his identity too. In here, it’s pretty much kill first, ask questions later for his kind as well…”

Y’zaks was not far away from the two and overheard the conversation. He gave Hao Ren an incredulous look and waved him off. Wuyue could only sigh in resignation. “Mr. Landlord…you really don’t know how to console someone do you? Vivian’s told you this before, right?”

“Ugh…”

“I’m fine.” Wuyue gave him a warm smile. “Just a tad bit disappointed. I thought I would find more of my kind here. Seems like I’ll just need to find them on Earth instead.”

By then, the wounded mercenaries had recovered after a short rest. They were still wobbly and the streaks of dried blood that caked their armor were rather horrifying to say the least. As the mercenaries supported their wounded, the leader approached Hao Ren again. “We’re leaving now… But, honour dictates that I repay your kindness. Pray tell, do you have anything that we can help you with? The lady there, Vivian, said you’re the captain, and that I am to ask you.”

“There’s no need, really.” Hao Ren waved his hands. He never thought of asking for any sort of compensation and he could not really think of anything this band of mercenaries could help with. His only goal at that point, was to reach the Beinz Blood Lake, and he already had Becky as a guide. If it was possible, the lesser the people who knew of his purpose, the better. “…If you insist… Have you seen a lithe looking lady in white robes along the way?”

Hao Ren told the leader about their search for this “foreign visitor”. The leader frowned as he tried to jog his memory. “…Speaking of a lady in white robes, I do remember meeting another group of mercenaries who were returning from the Blood Lake. They mentioned meeting a strange, young woman who was travelling to the Blood Lake alone. That was two days back by the way.”

“That means she’s probably reached Leyton by now,” Becky quipped.

“Is she an acquaintance?” the leader asked curiously as he pondered. “She would have been stopped by the sentries. The Beinz region is under lockdown at the moment. Only registered mercenary companies or the knightly orders are allowed to pass. A lone adventurer would not be granted access to the place.”

Hao Ren simply nodded. He knew that the lady would have found some way to get pass this obstacle. He knew nothing of her, but his gut feeling was telling him so.

After all, it is almost impossible to stop someone who is determined to return home.

The rescued mercenary company decided that they had enough and would not be continuing on to the Blood Lake. While their wounds were healed, their equipment and morale were badly damaged. Thus, they decided to return to the kingdom’s borders. The leader once again tried to dissuade Hao Ren and his group from continuing on the mountain path and to take a detour but, Hao Ren politely declined.

The mysterious lady was gnawing at his curiosity and whatever it was, happening at the Blood Lake gave him the jitters. Hao Ren was concerned that using a detour would cost them valuable time, time that they could not afford to lose. That said, it was not like the rock monsters were undefeatable. Based on their performance that day, Hao Ren felt that they were well equipped to deal with such threats.

Seeing that Hao Ren was determined to press on, the leader did not press the matter further. As he gathered his men around to prepare for their return, he took a gold medallion from his waist and pressed it into Hao Ren’s hands. “We owe you our lives. Hold on to this. If you happen to be around the Royal City of Steinne and need help, look for the Iron Thorns Company. I’m their leader, Kastein.”

Mercenaries had a reputation of being ruthless, money-minded thugs but, there were many among them who knew of honour as well. Hao Ren felt that it would have been disrespectful if he declined Kastein’s offer, and so, he kept the medallion in his pocket. Then, he heard the leader asking him, “By the way, can I have your name? I suppose all of you are part of a mercenary company as well. Would be good for business when we cross paths next time.”

Before Hao Ren had time to respond, Lily came roaring behind him. “We are the Dogs Have Gotten All the Good Names Mercenary Group! I’m the deputy, Lily! The leader is Hao… ughgughghughgh…”

Hao Ren used all his strength to restrain Lily from talking, but failed to stop her from blurting out that awful name. An incredulous look appeared on Kastein’s face and he could only laugh drily. “That’s a rather fancy name…”

Hao Ren was cursing inside. How could the name not be fancy? Thank goodness this was not an MMORPG, where your guild ID would be tagged to your name. Or else, you would be PK-ed¹ by your own guild members if they had to bring that guild tag out with them!

After saying their farewells, Kastein led his company down the moutain while Hao Ren and his gang continued on. Becky approached him to ask a question, her voice sounding concerned. “You sure you don’t want to take a detour?”

“No, it’ll just cost us time.” Hao Ren nodded. “Sides, our combat strength isn’t anything to scoff at. You’ve seen it yourself, we have the full set of paladins, warriors, priests, mages and thieves. All classes accounted for. Not a problem.”

“…Right… I actually wanted to say this…” Becky could not hide her scepticism as she took a sweeping glance at them. “You’re still going on that wizard schtick after all of this?”

Lily had not retracted her Frostfire Claws when Becky spoke, and the werehusky just squatted before she started to dig into the ground. “I usually just use these to dig holes, you know?”

Becky was of course, too intelligent to fall for that. Just look at Hao Ren’s party: He was a shield-wielding tank, taunting everyone and their ancestors. Lily was your typical, sneaky rogue. Y’zaks was a full-fledged berserker with all skill points put into STR². Wuyue could not even as much as cast an offensive water spell. At the very most, Vivian was the only one who went about throwing lightning bolts and frost chakrams. Then again, the vampire also had to rely on her brute strength to take down the enemy. With such raw display of brute strength, they still tried to hide behind the facade of being wizards, who were studying the art of teleportation. Truth be told, even Hao Ren did not buy their story.

Lily finally realised that Becky was clearly not buying her excuse, and sheepishly retracted her claws. She quickly ran behind Hao Ren after she concealed her ears. “Mr. Landlord, say something convincing!”

“…”

Becky simply raised an eyebrow.

“To be honest, our situation is rather unique and we don’t exactly fall into any fixed classes.” Hao Ren sighed. “Just believe me when I say this, we are not the bad guys. It’s not that I want to keep you in the dark… I don’t even know how to begin explaining this to you. You can take this as the last time cooperating with us, and just forget about us once we’re done.”

Becky did have some reservations. Her life experience taught her that people who knew too much often ended up with a blade in their back. Even when she was working, she tried to avoid knowing anything that she did not need to know. The group in front of her clearly fit the bill of such insidious covens, but Hao Ren’s words had somewhat allayed her fears.

“Well… I’ll be damned if I don’t do something that’s worth the music box you gave me.” Becky gave out a hearty laugh and went forward. “I won’t poke my nose into your business. Who doesn’t have secrets anyway?”

Hao Ren felt a little sorry for the lass. That MP5 and battery powered charger only cost him 600 Yuan…

Chapter 193: Premonition

 

After going through the winding mountain path, they finally reached the top of the mountain.

It was the top in name only. For ease of travel, the mountain path was carved through the ridge and the “top” that they were on. It was one of the higher points of an already low-lying altitude. They were surrounded by two massive peaks that marked the Dragonspine Ridge. It almost felt like the two sides were closing in on them. A remarkable scene indeed.

Lily as usual, was at the forefront of the party. Fatigue did not seem to exist in her dictionary. While the strong horses that they rode were already gasping for air, the werehusky was bouncing up and about. “I see the Blood Lake! Over there! Over there!”

Hao Ren and the rest quickened their steps as they heard her cry. From the open area on the mountain where they stood, their destination lay before them. The Beinz Blood Lake. Actually, there was still some distance to go before they reached the lake proper but, the skies were clear that day, and the party could see miles beyond.

A wide open plain and a thick forest lay towards the foot of the mountain. In the middle, was the Beinz Blood Lake, its crimson waters shimmering like rubies. It was just like the legends, the water on the lake was red as blood and it was all the more captivating under the sunlight. It was highly unusual, but nonetheless, still a sight to behold.

“It’ll be much easier going downhill. The road conditions ahead are much better than the eastern ridge. Plus, the elevation is not that steep. After reaching the foot, we’ll head southwest towards Leyton. That’s the last proper town we’ll see before going into the Blood Lake area. Let’s rest up in Leyton for a while. We’ll get into the Blood Lake region after passing through the Leyton Outpost,” Becky said from the back of the party.

“This is really something, isn’t it.” Hao Ren could not help but be amazed by the scene before him. He had wondered how the Blood Lake would have looked like. At first, he thought it was simply a lake filled with red liquid. But, the scenery before him shattered that image. The majestic lake was not only a sight to behold, its effect on its surroundings were equally palpable. The land around the lake had a crimson hue to it, giving the lake a sense of foreboding mystique, almost as if the land was surrounded by some sort of force field. Hao Ren stood awestruck for a good while before noticing that the crimson hue around the lake was not just a reflection of light. “Is that a forest?”

Becky looked in the direction Hao Ren pointed to; a patch of forest between the mountains and the lake. A path that they had to tread to reach the lake after leaving Leyton. The forest was surprisingly uniformed with its layout. With almost each square metre of land covered in the same density of trees. The leaves were an eerie shade of crimson purple. She noticed that Hao Ren and his gang were all astonished by the sight of the forest. An unsurprised look appeared on her face. “There’s always a first time, eh? That’s the forest, the Gnarled Grove. Legend says that when the goddess destroyed the world, her rage was stored within the lake. The Gnarled Grove was formed from the corruption of the plant life. I’ve heard that the Blood Lake has many strange and dangerous creatures. That forest is the most lethal of all. It’s a plant life the size of a plain, and we have to traverse through it.”

“A plant? What do you mean?” Hao Ren was dumbfounded.

“Literally. Don’t tell me you don’t even know this? I thought you might have at least heard of it before?” Becky shrugged. “The entirety of the Gnarled Grove is from the same plant. The trees are pretty much appendages of an ancient lifeform that have broken to the surface. A group of elven researchers finally confirmed this after about a hundred years of research. But don’t you worry, the forest itself isn’t hostile. It’s the flora and fauna within it that we need to be weary of.”

A shiver went down Hao Ren’s spine as he heard what Becky said. He threw his gaze towards the forest by the foothills once again and tried to imagine the patch of forest as a gigantic living plant life. His thoughts then went to the fact that they would need to go through it and goosebumps started to form. Lily did not even bother to hide her nervousness. “Is there any other way?”

Becky then pointed towards the northern part of the forest. The flat plain on that side had a darker hue of crimson purple, and under the sunlight, it was even more pronounced. Connected to the purple plain was another range of mountains. “There is another path towards the Blood Lake but, that means going through the Virulent Flatlands towards the north of the lake. You will then need to pass through the sacred mountains of the mountain folk and the werewolves. It’s way, way more dangerous. Don’t be fooled by the mountain folks’ congeniality, they absolutely abhor foreigners stepping into their sacred lands. The werewolves, even more so.”

“Even though they have their own kind here?” Lily puffed her chest up to press home the point that she was a werewolf.

Truth be told, if her proportions were more like Vivian’s, perhaps the chest puffing would have worked better…

Becky gave Lily a sideways glance. “You sure you’re a werewolf? I feel that I know more about their customs than you. Throughout the years, only a few popes of the Disciples of Glory and the last great king, Baldwin were invited into the sacred mountains. Where did your confidence even come from?”

Hao Ren knew the husky was about to snap back and quickly pulled her back. “Hehehe, both her and Y’zaks were brought up on the plains. On top of that, they’re not pure-blooded…”

Of course she was not pure-blooded. There’s even 1/16 of Pekingese blood in her. This was not a lie. Hao Ren prided himself on being an honest man after all.

Becky then stepped ahead, “Right, let’s get down the mountain. Try to get to Leyton before nightfall. I don’t want to spend my night in the mountains.”

The climate on the western side of Dragonspine Ridge was just as Becky said, totally different from the eastern side. The arid eastern side barely had any vegetation, but towards the lake in the west, the vegetation was lush and the air much more humid. While the thought of this humidity originating from the strange lake may probably unnerve some, all in all, the climate of the western side was much, much more comfortable.

The rocks around them were also crawling with thin vines and resilient vegetation. And of course, the ubiquitous moss.

As the party was halfway down the mountain, Becky suddenly stopped. She pointed towards a cliff wall on the far end and exclaimed, “Look, over there!”

The whole party turned, and all they saw was a landslide, with moss, vines and tress toppled over the side of the cliff face, as if struck by God’s wrath. The only thing left was an almost 90° mountain wall. The landslide had pretty much created a stone wall right through the mountains. Grey boulders were scattered all over the place, and you could see dust by the foothills. It seemed that the landslide happened not too long ago.

Hao Ren swiftly recalled the loud crash they heard soon after ascending the mountain path. So, it was from the western side of the mountain?

Lily looked up towards the sky and remembered that it was rather cloudy when they first ascended. “Seems like the clouds reflected the sound and carried it all the way to the east side.”

Hao Ren coughed drily as he heard what Lily just said. He was wondering what the idiot was up to on that day. Was she that smart all along? That her idiocy was just a show?

It did not take long for Lily to disprove Hao Ren of his notion as she picked up a rock and threw it as hard as she could towards the far side of the mountain, trying to see if she could hit it. Hao Ren let out a sigh of relief. She was truly an idiot…

“A landslide on Dragonspine… This is not good…” Becky was muttering to herself, her voice quivering with fearful piety. Vivian quickly summoned a bat to scout the area as she had caught sight of something.

The bat quickly found what Vivian was looking for, and she made a big gulp. “Those rock monsters came from this part of the mountain, and there are definitely more than four!”

Along the mountain face was a series of specific indentations, they bore the hallmarks of a struggle. They resulted from rock monsters within the mountain, who struggled to free themselves. While Vivian had no opportunity to further check the rocks farther downhill, she did see many similar dents all across.

It was almost as if the mountains had come apart. How many of those monstrosities were there?

Chapter 194: Leyton Town Under Martial Law

 

Looking at the suspicious dents on the cliff, Becky stared at them for quite a long time without speaking.

“Those rock monsters probably split from the cliff,” Y’zaks frowned, feeling some of the mysterious forces around him, “There is a very weak force coming from the depths of the earth, the mountain is the vent of this power.”

“There were four of them on the east side of the mountain, but there must be more rock monsters out there. We don’t know where the rest of them are now.” Vivian’s tone was tense, and the fact that the cliff caved and a whole bunch of rock monsters could possibly rush out of the mountains reminded her of the Mythological Era on Earth. She was sure this was going to be a disaster— because she had witnessed many similar catastrophes before. “Becky, who should we report to?”

They could not solve the situation in front of them by themselves so, the first task was to inform the “relevant department” in this world, but Vivian did not know who could deal with such a thing.

“The Disciples of Glory… or the Knights of the Kingdom.” Becky had been in a daze since the beginning and now, she finally woke up from it. With cold sweat on her forehead, she spoke hastily, “Let’s go back now! We need to inform the Knights of Leyton Town!”

No one dared to delay and they quickly ran down the hill. Hao Ren found that Becky was in a panic from head to toe and he realized that this kind of incident was unprecedented in The Plane of Dreams. He asked, “You’ve never heard of rock monsters being on Dragonspine Ridge?”

“No!” Becky said loudly to stay calm. “Never has any kind of big monster appeared in the mountains, let alone rock monsters! This must be related to the disappearance of the Orb, I’m afraid the goddess will…”

Becky was afraid to continue. As a native, the tale of the destruction of their world by the goddess, and the atonement of humankind were deeply rooted in her mind. Not to mention, the job of a mercenary was precarious. Therefore, she was quite superstitious. In her mind, there was a secret and ancient connection between the Beinz Blood Lake, Dragonspine Ridge, and the Orb of the Holy Synod. These connections made her even more tempted to associate the situation with a bad course of events.

“Don’t worry too much,” Hao Ren comforted Becky. “Even if the sky is falling, we have Y’zaks here. The Church and those important individuals within the Knights will find a way.”

Becky looked at Hao Ren gratefully and said, “Although I don’t know where your weird words come from, they sound quite reasonable. Thank you.”

Y’zaks, the tallest one in the team, could not help but draw back his neck. Even he felt that Hao Ren was truly not very good at comforting people.

Going down the mountain was much faster than going up the mountain, and with them rushing at full speed, they finally left the mountain range before sunset. They set foot on an old, wide path, which led them straight to Leyton Town.

In the fading daylight, Hao Ren saw a lavender glow, rising from the earth in the far distance. He did not know what it was.

“It looks like a town-level defensive barrier.” Becky saw the lavender glow. It was uncertain if she looked relieved or worried. “The town’s activated the defense, I’m afraid the rock monsters have…”

Hao Ren mounted the horse and said, “Don’t say anymore, let’s go!”

Everybody mounted their horses and rushed away. The urgent situation compelled the foolish Lily to make more errors. She could not mount the horse after trying many times. In the end, she could only give up and barked loudly. She carried her horse and rushed all the way to catch up with them. So basically it looked like this: Hao Ren, Vivian, and Becky were riding horses and rushing in front of the team, the fierce-looking Y’zaks was running wildly behind them, while Lily was carrying the horse and running madly at the back of the team, with sand and stones flying around her. It was chaos. If not for the wrong timing, Hao Ren would have to stopped and recorded Lily. What was the use of this horse?! They might as well have let her run with Y’zaks from the beginning!

After rushing all the way, Leyton, the small town at the foot of the mountain finally appeared in front of them.

This town was slightly smaller than Lamberg, built according to the shape of the mountain. It was located in the middle of a canyon terrain, and this valley was the key road to the Gnarled Grove. It was obvious that the town was built specifically to guard this thoroughfare. Large tracts of lavender light curtains hung from the sky like a waterfall, which sealed both ends of the valley.

On the open ground in front of the valley, there were traces of battle.

The originally flat, triangular rocky beach was still littered with blast pits. Green smoke was still coming out from the pits. Broken swords and fragments of various equipment were scattered everywhere. There were a lot of cracked, dark brown stones scattered on the ground within hundreds of metres of the town entrance, some of which were still slightly trembling. They were probably the remains of the rock monsters.

Large-scale combat spells seemed to have been used at the site. Strange magical energies still remained in the air. Plenty of glimmering, tiny air masses or energy sparks were floating about half a metre above the ground. They were momentary magical life. Although the Disciples of Glory believed that these magical remnants were just ordinary energy reactions, far from being “life”, old-fashioned wizards, especially those from the steeple factions, still called them “magical life” in accordance with their customary tradition.

The battle was just over, and Hao Ren could smell a lot of strange smells in the air, but it seemed that Leyton Town was not damaged by the raids of rock monsters. It was after all, the stronghold that guarded the Beinz Blood Lake, stationed with elite troops, which were far beyond imagination. Obviously, the lavender beams of light that enveloped the whole valley were not created by ordinary people.

In front of the town, a number of half-curved bunkers, built with huge rocks and steel, were urgently being molded by battlefield mages. Just before Hao Ren and the rest reached the bunkers, more than 10 heavily armed knights jumped out of the bunkers. One of the tall men who did not wear a helmet shouted. He looked stronger than the others. “Who are you? Report your identity!”

Becky reined in the horses and dismounted lightly. She shouted before she touched the ground. “Don’t be nervous. We’re humans, not rock monsters!”

The town guards were a little jittery. The surreal battle earlier left them in a state of extreme nervousness. And now, the sky had become increasingly dark, therefore, a group of unidentified strangers suddenly running to them from the mountains made them too nervous. The guards were relieved after Becky spoke to them, but the officer was still pointing nervously to something behind Hao Ren. “What’s that monster over there?”

Hao Ren paused, then turned to see Lily, who was holding her horse, running towards them…

“You are the monster! All of you are monsters!” Lily put down the innocent pony that was frightened by her and shouted with her hands on her waist.

“Oh, it’s a werewolf. What great strength.” The officer stared at Lily for some time, and finally put down his weapon in embarassment. He apologized. “Sorry, I have night blindness.”

Hao Ren was speechless.

Was it really okay for a guy like that to be the sentry captain?

He did not know that the big fellow was also a temporary replacement. The real sentry captain was still lying in the town’s hospital.

Becky came to the sentry captain and said, “We are a mercenary group. We just came from the mountains. We have something important to report to the Knights! Or, the head of the church… Anyway, the official in the highest position in the town, right now!”

When the sentry captain heard this, he could guess what had happened to them in the mountain. He quickly sent a man to find the border mage to unblock the entrance while he looked nervously at the direction of the mountains, and asked, “Is—is it something related to the monster?”

Becky nodded and did not speak.

The protective barrier over the town was maintained by the small church in the middle of town. No one dared to shut it down at such a critical period. However, there were some energy node devices which had been put together on the outskirts of the town. The border mages could temporarily open some passages for people to enter and exit through the barrier by controlling these devices. Soon, they got permission to enter the town. A man with a straight face, dressed in robes flew out of the town and said, “I was instructed to bring you to the rector. It’s an emergency now, the whole town is under martial law. Don’t leave my sight until the rector gives you full permission. I hope you can understand.”

It was a reasonable request. All of them nodded. Then, they followed the serious man in black robes into Leyton Town, which was already in a state of alert.

Chapter 195: The Bishop

 

The sun was almost completely gone. Coupled with the low-lying terrain of Leyton, which was surrounded by mountains, it was getting dark fast. When they entered the town, the evening lights were lit. The magnificent lavender light curtain was even more spectacular in the fading night sky but, not many people came to the streets to watch the spectacular night scene. Hao Ren walked into the town, following the serious man in the black robes, and all he saw were closed doors. It was supposed to be a lively and bustling night market, but he could not even see a booth. Heavily armed town guards were the only common thing on the streets. Part of them were Knights of the Kingdom, who wore standard armour or robes, with the Kingdom’s blue emblem on their chest; another group of them were the Knights of the Disciples of Glory, who wore black or white dustcoats outside their garments. And in addition to these two groups of soldiers, there were also some messily armed mercenaries in the streets. Although they were less armed than the soldiers, it was obvious that they were all veterans. They were probably called up by the knights to aid in their defenses after the attack.

The whole town was haunted by such a depressing atmosphere. It seemed that the attack, which lasted from the afternoon until the evening, had left everyone in that taut state. Hao Ren also noticed the dazed looks on the faces of some young soldiers. It appeared that these soldiers were also stunned by the unexpected weird monsters.

The tall and thin man. who was leading the way hardly said a word the entire way. He just took them through the depressing streets silently. Hao Ren also took the opportunity to observe this man, to make a comparison with some of the knowledge he had just obtained during the past two days.

The man in black robes had a tattoo, which consisted of a circle, a triangle and lighting on his back. So, this was probably a church mage. The clergy of the Disciples of Glory in this world were very special. While they were in the priesthood, they also followed the job classification of our world. They were divided into mages, warriors, alchemists, hunters and many other occupations. This included all races, which made them quite inclusive. The priesthood was just another identity outside their respective professions. The priest of the Disciples of Glory also used “divine skills” and their own professional power to fight. A church warrior, in addition to his own fighting ability, had to also know the priest’s blessing skills. Similarly, a church mage also needed to practice the power of prayer in addition to magic. Although no one knew how they got the extra “godly power”, every priest apart of the Disciples of Glory was indeed powerful than the average professional.

They interpreted this special power as the “proof of the goddess’ blessings”. Most people in this world firmly believed in that.

Hao Ren was certainly doubtful of this. He knew what a real god was. It was a group of creatures that were beyond comprehension and they were knowledgeable. Raven 12345, the unreliable lady always focused on the balance of the universe. Therefore, he did not think that the inefficient goddess’ of The Plane of Dreams was the true God. He believed that there was a strong creature in this world, but most probably, that powerful creature was not quite the same as the Disciples of Glory had described.

In short, the clergy of the Disciples of Glory was a group of people with special powers, and all their clergymen were divided into two types: the White Robe and the Black Robe.

The Black Robes were professional combatants. They fought with a firm belief in the goddess, and they only focused on their own beliefs. They belonged to “force”. And, the White Robes were responsible for everything else, such as missionary work, medical aspects, research, administration and so on. They belonged to “wisdom”. At the same time, the Pope himself had to be a White Robe. This was enshrined in the sacred writings of the Disciples of Glory: the power had to be under rational control to ensure balance. Therefore, the spiritual leader and the commanding class of the Church could only be the White Robes.

Of course, it did not mean that all the White Robes were civilian staff, or that they did not fight. On the contrary, not only were the White Robes often present on the battlefield, the vast majority of the white-robed priests were extremely powerful, except for those who were thorough clerical workers. It was just that their duty involved focusing more on strategy and support, not fighting like black-robed priests.

Knights and mages in white robes could also be seen on the streets. They were the community commanders or staff officers in the defense force.

Their firm belief in the goddess, the worship of the Holy Scriptures, the deep fear of the end of the world, together with the wise reign of the popes, ensured that no one ever overstepped the system.

In addition to these superficial divisions, there were many distinct divisions within the Disciples of Glory. They influenced the whole world with a complex and efficient multi-ethnic, multidisciplinary partnership. However, these were not things the Hao Ren of today could understand thoroughly.

Perhaps the black-robed priests were not easy to get along with. The man leading the way still kept a straight face and did not say a word. Nangong Wuyue was bored. She could not help but bring up the unpleasant topic. “Hmm… Was the attack this afternoon serious?”

The man was silent for a while, and then replied with a stoned expression on his face, “Local defense, no comment.”

Nangong Wuyue felt snubbed. Becky was also a bit unhappy and said, “We bring important information regarding rock monsters. We have witnessed them separate from the cliff. This information is worth at least 20 shielders. Why can’t we ask about some trivial matters?

The black-robed priest remained silent, and replied, “Local defense, no comment.”

He was still a repetitive machine.

Vivian stopped Becky who wanted to keep asking. She felt that it was not the time to fuss about such a thing. Once they ventured into the depths of the town, a small but ornate spire chapel appeared at the end of the road.

In front of the chapel was a semicircle courtyard with red pebbles. A circle of magical light balls floated around the courtyard, which made the place as bright as day. The black-robed church knights guarded the gates of the church tightly, while several middle-aged monks in white robes surrounded a purple-red crystal in the middle of the courtyard, praying silently.

The central tower of the church was emitting a mysterious glow. Layers of complex runes emerged from its ancient and luxurious carved stone bricks, circling the square tower. The runes were slowly rising and moving in circles repeatedly. A bright lavender beam gathered up at the end of the surging scripture, rushing into the unfathomable night sky. It then dispersed throughout the town. This was the defensive enchantment of Leyton Town, the miracle force that was reliant on this church. It was completely supported by “divine power”.

“The collection of energy sample has been completed.” Almost simultaneously, the voice of Mobile Data Terminal sounded in Hao Ren’s mind. “Preliminary analysis: No analytical value, it’s a simple repulsion wall, it can counteract external physical shocks of a certain speed, energy flow is very normal, mysterious attributes associated with the symbolic power of the true God is not found.”

“The so-called divine power of the Disciples of Glory is just a special kind of magic indeed,” Hao Ren muttered. The black-robed priest who led the way explained everything to the person in charge of the courtyard. He then took them to the church. He finally spoke more words this time, “His Excellency, Bishop Gelton is discussing important matters with guests, but he agrees to meet you first. Please pay attention to etiquette, His Excellency is a venerable elder.”

The church was brightly lit, but there were no people in the long hall of prayer and worship, only the black-robed priests on duty. They reached a special room in the depths of the church, from a small corridor behind the long hall. The black-robed priest stood at the door and said, “Please.”

Becky pushed the door and entered the room nervously. The scene in the room was visible.

Surprisingly, it looked pretty simple. The office, belonging to the bishop of the entire Beinz region was just a normal study without decoration. The room was spacious, but almost all of the walls were occupied by heavy stacks of files. There was no carpet on the ground, just plain stone bricks. There was a large wooden table in the middle of the room. An old man and someone, who looked like a young woman, judging from her back were talking across the table.

The bishop, Gelton was a sixty or seventy-year-old man with sparse hair, a long beard, a wrinkled face and short stature. He sat down at the back of his desk, hunched over his arms, and kept his hands in his sleeves as if they were cold. The bishop took his priests to inspect the vicinity of the Beinz Blood Lake all year round, absorbing too much “bad air” in the process. That made him look unhealthy but, people who knew his situation would not despise the seemingly slow, old man. His body may have begun to decay but, his spirit was still strong. As long as those wise eyes of his were not closed, he was still a mighty lion, and the gift of God would work with his thoughts.

The one facing Gelton was a woman wearing special armour. As she was not facing them, they could only see from the back. She had long, chestnut-coloured hair, and the pale complexion of her neck and wrist showed that she wast most likely still young.

When Becky opened the door, Gelton was speaking to the female soldier, “Your Excellency, Ophra, the situation is not clear. There is no evidence that these series of changes are linked, and there is no evidence that the goddess’ test would be carried out in this form. We should first appease the people, and then with pious—Oh, looks like our guests are here.”

The old man stood up and smiled at Hao Ren.