Part Four: Chaos

  Chapter 111: Madness (Part 1)

  The bonfire was very red, very vigorous, and from time to time crackling sounds would burst forth with vitality. Just like everyone's enthusiasm.

  This trade had been a great success. The prices for the artworks and other specialty items were higher than expected, and then they had ripped off a dwarf merchant, purchasing many fine weapons at a very low price. They had also acquired a lot of the finest wood from southeast Ainfast, products made from this wood were extremely popular in the aristocratic society of the Western Continent. The key was that it was heard that an unprecedented heretic uprising had completely destroyed the forest that produced this wood, and this was the last batch of goods. With such a rare commodity, the value of these woods was simply incalculable. Although they already had mercenaries, because the goods were too numerous and too valuable, Oufu had also dispatched three werewolves and one Kodo Beast to help transport and escort their caravan. Many Goblins, unable to endure Oufu's system, had declared independence and were wandering in the Barbarian Highlands, returning to their old profession of banditry. Oufu's personnel were not sufficient to maintain security throughout the highlands, and considering the feelings of those Goblins who had joined Oufu, it was not good to massacre their counterparts who had returned to their old ways.

  But once there were three werewolves in the team, this hidden worry completely disappeared. From the moment they left Oufu, the merchants had been very happy. Almost every night, camping in the wasteland became a bonfire party, with the three werewolves in the team ensuring the source of meat. And now they had reached the edge of the Barbarian Highlands, and in two more days they could return to Erathia. So tonight the merchants brought out their treasured wine and invited the mercenaries to drink together.

  Of course, the three werewolves in the team still refused to drink. Oufu had regulations that did not allow the beastmen to touch such exciting beverages.

  But others were different. Wine and meat heightened the enthusiasm to the extreme. Teasing voices, chatting sounds, drinking curses, and shouts intertwined, turning this originally dead silent wasteland forest into an extraordinarily lively place.

  Under the influence of alcohol, the most talkative were definitely the mercenaries. And there were plenty of topics for them to discuss. Many major events had happened in this year. And among them, the one that most aroused people's desire to discuss and speculate was naturally that wanted criminal. This five thousand gold coin gentleman had enough charm to keep people mentioning him and keeping him in their hearts.

  "If I discovered that guy's whereabouts, I definitely wouldn't make it public. I would first approach him. Pretend to be a very honest, very friendly person to get close to him, make him have a good impression of me, and then he would let down his guard." A mercenary, uglier than a Half-Orc and more ferocious than an Ogre, picked his nose and spoke his hunting plan with spittle flying everywhere. "You know, people on the run must be very lonely and deep inside, so as long as you touch his heart, he will treat you as a friend. Hic~~" He gave a radiant burp, raised his empty hand in a knife-holding position and thrust forward. "I can give him a knife in the back, and then I can, hic, hahaha... Yabin, don't you want that fine steel long sword produced in Kalendor? I'll give you ten. Haha. Aimee, once I, Brother Zhen, have money, those bastard mages at Tower of Fangs, humph, throw a bag of gold coins at them, hic... see if they still dare to expel you. I can also go learn that so-called magic..."

  "Haha, this guy is fantasizing again." The mercenary companions and merchants around the bonfire laughed together.

  A warrior shouted with a laugh: "Zhen, I remember when you were eighteen, you said you were going to kill dragons in the underground of Nighon, then when you were thirty, you planned to open a Magical Jade mine in Sanderfirth Mountain, you're forty-five this year, right? Now you're targeting this wanted criminal. Your plans are getting smaller and smaller, really getting more and more unambitious."

  "No. Getting more and more ambitious. Because he's getting more and more down-to-earth. Probably when he's eighty, he can plan to marry Queen Katherine."

  "Hahaha, why not try to become a Cardinal. That would be more practical."

  The big man, flushed red amidst the roaring laughter of everyone, shouted: "Do you think I'm bragging? I already have detailed plans and steps, if you don't believe me, I'll tell you..."

  "Really improved, really improved. After returning to Erathia, go apply at the cathedral. No, why don't we change course to Celeste tomorrow." Everyone laughed again. Even the three werewolves showed smiles. Although they might not fully understand the humor in the language, they could clearly feel the lively and friendly atmosphere among the people.

  A handsome young man with a red headband sitting next to the big man patted his back: "I appreciate your kindness to help me buy a sword, regardless of your character, just based on your appearance, even a monkey wouldn't casually let down its guard in front of you."

  Leaning against the young man was a girl in a mage's robe. The weather-beaten look on her face couldn't hide her extraordinary beauty, and her similar appearance to the young man showed they were siblings. She also looked at the half-drunk mercenary and smiled: "Last time, a rich man wanted to buy a senior mage title for his son at Tower of Fangs, taking five hundred gold coins to find the master of the Fire Tower. As a result, Master Asri casually melted those five hundred gold coins into liquid and burned both of his hands. How much are you planning to take?"

  The big man seemed to want to argue for his grand ambitions, but looking at the roaring laughter of everyone, he felt it would only add more jokes. So he reluctantly sat down resentfully.

  The young man continued to pat the big man's back and said with a smile: "Even if you step on dog shit luck and can really see that person, and then dog shit luck steps on you again and he has no guard against you and even shows you his back, but even then, can you kill him? That's the guy who assassinated Bishop Ronis and Duke Mrak, and then broke through from among tens of thousands of royal guards. And he also knows Necromancy, he can turn you into a zombie with just a spit."

  "Tsk. What Necromancy. That guy is just using the name of the Necromancer Guild to swindle, nothing to be afraid of." The big man angrily pulled out a nose hair, baring his teeth. "The Necromancer Guild has already spoken out, would those guys lie? Even several old guys in our guild have been mobilized because of this, that guy is definitely dead."

  A while ago, the leaders of several largest organizations on the continent, such as The Thieves' Guild, Adventurers' Guild, and Tower of Fangs, all received a letter written on gold foil with platinum-engraved characters, with a small magical purple crystal skull embedded on the exquisite letter. The content of the letter was that the criminal wanted by the entire continent had never had any connection with the Necromancer Guild from beginning to end. And because of this person's reckless behavior, which extremely damaged the reputation of the Necromancer Guild, anyone who could catch this person or discover this person's whereabouts could receive gratitude from Diya Valley.

  This was the first time in many years that Diya Valley had publicly expressed its intentions to the outside world, which naturally caused great shock. It could be certain that this news was definitely not a prank by others. The reason was not only the luxury and exquisite weirdness of the letter itself, but more importantly, the way the letter appeared. The leaders of those guilds and organizations were scattered all over the continent, thousands of miles apart, but they all saw an owl flying in front of them with this notice at midnight on the same day.

  If the bounty from the Ainfast Empire had already ignited a fire, then this notice from Diya Valley was a barrel of oil. It not only eliminated people's original concern that the wanted criminal might be backed by Diya Valley, but also stimulated a large number of people who didn't care much about gold coins. The Necromancer Guild was not just synonymous with terror and evil; under that mysterious and terrifying veil were definitely unimaginable magical items, legendary scrolls, and perhaps secrets of dark magic and Necromancy. There were absolutely no shortage of people dreaming of joining the most mysterious organization on the continent, but unfortunately, Diya Valley's unfriendliness to visitors was as notorious and dangerous as its reputation. But now that it had publicly provided a way for outsiders to touch it, like a shadow hidden under a dangerous black veil suddenly extending a jade-like slender arm, for all those walking in darkness with a strong interest in darkness itself, all passion and blood boiled under this notice.

  But there was a more subtle point that these mercenaries knew but didn't pay much attention to. It was said that His Majesty the Pope had also received such a letter. Although the church had not made any statement because of this, many times not making a statement was already a statement.

  "I heard that on that day in the capital of the Ainfast Empire, that person rode a stolen Wyvern and descended from the sky among thousands of troops to save his lover at that time..." The mage girl Aimee looked at the bonfire, trying hard to imagine the spectacular scene in her mind, with a somewhat dazed expression on her face. "This is simply a story like a legend..."

  "This beautiful lady, please calm down. Please remember that this is not a fairy tale, and the protagonist is not some prince charming. The person he saved was originally just bait. That duke's daughter only pretended to be affectionate toward this wanted criminal in order to catch him." The young man with the headband patted his sister's head, smilingly raised the cross he wore on his chest, which turned out to be a magical accessory only worn by clergy of the church. "Lord. Please forgive that noble lady. Sacrificing one's body for justice, this is truly a noble spirit of sacrifice. I heard that duke's daughter was very beautiful..."

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  A mercenary shouted: "This little guy is in heat. When we return to Erathia, big brother will treat you to some fun..."

  "When calling upon the Lord, you must be devout." An old man among the merchants glared at the person who shouted randomly, looking at the young man with a serious expression.

  "Yes. Grandpa Raelas." The young man Yabin smiled, nodded and put down the cross.

  The old man sighed. He had wanted to cultivate this child into a paladin since he was young, but it seemed that in terms of personality, it couldn't be cultivated just by constant reminders. His sister Aimee was the same. He had worked hard to send her to the Tower of Fangs in the Eastern Continent to learn magic, but a while ago she felt sorry for someone and privately let a prisoner escape, resulting in her being expelled and sent back. If she could obtain a senior mage certificate and then go to a monastery, in a few years she might be able to go to Celeste for further study.

  Old man Raelas was once a priest of the Erathia church. Later, in a meeting about personnel transfers, he offended the messenger from Celeste and was thus dismissed and expelled from the church. But his devout faith in the God of Light did not weaken because of this. These two siblings were orphans he picked up and adopted after being dismissed and expelled from the church. He truly treated these two siblings as his own grandchildren.

  Yabin looked at the three werewolves opposite and asked: "Hey, have you seen that guy in person? I heard that the peace treaty between your Oufu and Ainfast was signed by this person on behalf of the emperor when he was at the Magic Academy." This was his third time going to Oufu, and he was somewhat accustomed to getting along with these furry huge beastmen. He didn't care too much about those old matters before his birth. From a personal feeling, these werewolves were also easy to get along with, even a bit simple-minded and honest.

  "Never seen them." All three werewolves shook their heads.

  Yabin also shook his head and sighed: "Speaking of which, this guy really did well in Ainfast. If he had a little patience, he might have been able to get a Cardinal position after Bishop Ronis retired. I don't know what was in that guy's head." He simply walked over and sat down next to the werewolves, asking: "That guy was actually able to steal a Wyvern right under your noses, isn't that a bit too impressive?"

  "Wyverns... are raised by half-beastmen... and lizardmen... we... don't know." The werewolves answered haltingly with difficulty. Their mouths speaking human language was really a bit forced.

  "May the Lord bless you to cure your stutter. Hehe." Yabin smiled and raised his cross to a werewolf. The werewolf snorted.

  Old man Raelas looked at Yabin with a dark face and said: "The Lord said. Besides me, there shall be no other gods. So those who are not God's people are heretics. These savage beastmen can absolutely not convert to the glory of God. You doing this is really too imprudent."

  Although he had been a merchant for so many years, old man Raelas's devout faith had not been tainted by money at all. Such occasional sudden seriousness often made his companions feel a bit out of place. Especially last month when His Majesty the Pope suddenly began to express dissatisfaction with Oufu, a city where the church obviously could not gain a foothold, saying that these savage beasts and God's people sitting on equal footing was simply blasphemy against God. The merchants didn't care much about these things. After all, the shiny gold coins were not given to them by God, and His Majesty the Pope's words were just verbal. But old man Raelas deeply agreed with His Majesty the Pope's holy decree. If it weren't for the fact that he was also a member of the merchant guild, he would resolutely not go to this savage and dirty city.

  "The Lord said, all beings are equal." Yabin looked at him and smiled. Old man Raelas shook his head and sighed. Yabin patted the werewolf's broad, hairy back and said: "Please don't mind."

  His sister Aimee also walked over to the werewolves and said: "My grandfather is actually a very good person, you'll know when you get along with him for a long time." Although this was her first time in Oufu and her first time seeing these huge beastmen, she didn't find them scary.

  "The old man is too serious." Someone among the merchants laughed. For a priest, being expelled from the church was a great humiliation, so old man Raelas had never told anyone about his past experiences. In the eyes of people in the merchant guild, he was just an ordinary old man with a relatively devout faith.

  The werewolf showed what might be a friendly smile, but the fangs exposed at the corner of its mouth looked somewhat ferocious no matter how you looked at it. "It's okay. Our city... lord says... everyone has the freedom... of belief, the freedom... of speech."

  "May the Lord bless those who can say such words." Yabin smiled.

  Just at this moment, the three werewolves suddenly stood up from the ground.

  The werewolves' movements were very swift, as if they had been stabbed in the body. Even the fur on their bodies stood up, three pairs of green-glowing eyes stared straight at the forest.

  Everyone else was stunned. Following the werewolves' line of sight to look over there, but in human eyes, there was only darkness. Even if the bonfire was vigorous, in this wilderness forest, it only illuminated a small area. And there really were no sounds or unusual feelings around. They were already close to the border of Erathia, and with three werewolves in the team, the Goblins shouldn't act rashly. And in this area, there was absolutely nothing that could make the werewolves alert.

  "What's wrong?" Yabin asked the werewolves.

  "You... didn't hear it? There's something..." the werewolves answered, and all three werewolves picked up their weapons. The huge meteor hammers under their arm strength were enough to make any beast and enemy fearful.

  "Something? What thing?" Yabin and his companions tried hard to stare into the darkness, but in their line of sight, there was only darkness beyond darkness, silence beyond silence.

  "You... don't move, we'll... go check..." the three werewolves walked toward the dark forest. Their figures quickly walked out of the range of the firelight and disappeared into the darkness. It was unknown whether the werewolves' footsteps were too light, as if melting into the silent darkness of this forest, the three werewolves left no trace or sound, disappearing from people's sight and feeling just like that. The dark forest ahead seemed like a huge monster, quietly swallowing them up.

  The remaining people by the bonfire were a bit at a loss. No one spoke, looking at each other. The bonfire was still as vigorous as before, with crackling sounds bursting out from time to time, but the sound that seemed so lively just now now burst out in the silence, feeling a bit eerie.

  "Huff." The Kodo Beast took a heavy breath, startling many people.

  "These three guys... are they okay?" The big man named Zhen foolishly picked his nose. "Did they go to shit and pee together..." Seeing that no one paid attention to him, he shouted again. "I know."

  "What?" Several mercenary companions looked at him.

  "Think about it, what is something they can sense but we can't?" The big man smiled mysteriously and said: "It must be that these three guys all smelled the scent of a she-wolf, but they were embarrassed to say it in front of us, so they used this method to leave."

  "Fuck you." Someone immediately threw a piece of mud over. Others also laughed. The atmosphere eased a lot. Amidst the teasing, people also felt that there probably wasn't anything serious, it might just be the werewolves' own nervousness, after all, it was impossible for a group of monsters to suddenly appear out of nowhere.

  People returned to their relaxed state, only old man Raelas walked over and whispered to Yabin: "Did you feel any magical fluctuations?"

  "Magical fluctuations? No." Yabin was stunned. "Did you feel it?" Although old man Raelas had been out of the church for a long time, his daily quiet prayers and meditation in his room never stopped. Although people in the merchant guild didn't know, Yabin was clear that his cultivation was no less than any priest in the church, and in terms of the quiet perception required by white magic, he was more sensitive to magical fluctuations than any other magic school.

  Old man Raelas wiggled his nose, as if trying to smell something unusual in the air, but finally shook his head, frowned and whispered: "Am I too sensitive..."

  "Should I call Aimee, and we'll cast a water mirror scrying spell together?" Yabin whispered.

  "Forget it. It's probably my illusion, getting old." Old man Raelas shook his head. He didn't want others in the merchant guild to know that he and Yabin could use magic, and white magic at that. For people outside the church to use white magic in Erathia, a religious country, was a considerable taboo.

  A faint sound came, and the figures of the three werewolves finally appeared within the range of the bonfire. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Hahaha..." The big man named Zhen laughed loudly, picking his nose and walking toward the werewolves. "How was it? Did you have enough fun..."

  The leading werewolf suddenly threw a punch. A fist not much smaller than the head of this nonsense person hit his face with a muffled sound mixed with cracking.

  The big man's body flew back to the bonfire under the pull of his head and face. His fingers picking his nose completely dug into his own head, his palm was completely shattered, and together with his facial features became a mess and sank into his head. An eyeball flew out and hung by his head. His neck was also pulled apart by this force, at least becoming half as long as it originally was.

  Everyone was completely stunned at first. Then a few people shouted: "That's too much. He was just joking."

  A shrill, wild, bloodthirsty howl suddenly rose from the ground. The violence and wildness in that howl overflowed beyond the scope of hearing, even the skin could feel it. This sound seemed not to come from vocal cords, but purely an illusion condensed from this beastliness. The silent, boundless wasteland forest was suddenly pierced by this sound, filled completely. All the horses were startled, struggling and moving restlessly. Even the Kodo Beast, known for its sluggishness, mooed.

  The three werewolves looked up at the sky, but there was no moon, and the clouds at the edge of the highlands dimly covered the light in the sky. The werewolves were so hysterical in their howling that even their bodies were trembling and convulsing.

  Everyone was horrified, they could all tell that this didn't seem like a joking howl.

  The howling suddenly stopped, and the werewolves rushed toward the crowd. Reflected by the firelight, those green-glowing eyes were actually all bloodshot, the white sharp teeth were like daggers inserted upside down in the huge bloody mouth, the bright red tongue hung at the corner of the mouth, and saliva kept dripping down. This was definitely not a joking face.

  People's screams had just risen when they mixed into wails. The werewolves' movements were worlds apart from ordinary people's reactions. Five merchants hadn't had time to dodge before they were sent flying by the swing of the meteor hammers. Three of them had their skulls shattered everywhere like eggs under a heavy blow, one's chest was completely opened, with ribs, flesh, and internal organs turned outward, and another was almost broken in two at the waist.

  The mercenaries subconsciously picked up weapons to resist, but in front of werewolves, especially seemingly crazed werewolves, ordinary humans were as fragile as insects. Screams and wails sounded one after another.

  Yabin also raised the sword in his hand to rush forward, but was pulled back by old man Raelas. Priests in Erathia, where wars were frequent, were usually not numerous, but the combat experience of these priests who often went to the battlefield was absolutely incomparable to colleagues cultivated in the peaceful and tranquil Magic Academy of the Eastern Continent. And the old man also saw where the key point was. He said solemnly to Aimee: "Quickly cast weakness and slow on them."

  Aimee hurriedly made gestures and chanted spells, but her eyes fell on the several corpses with horrific deaths beside her, and her voice and hands were both trembling. She usually didn't even dare to watch chickens being killed.

  "Merciful Lord, please soothe that troubled heart." Yabin's hand held his sister. The pure and gentle fluctuations of white magic swept over Aimee's heart. Although it couldn't really sweep away fear and confusion, she herself tried hard to focus and continued chanting the spell.

  The movements of the three werewolves suddenly slowed down, and the mercenaries finally barely managed to hold their ground. Being able to restrain three werewolves at the same time, it seemed that the cultivation and learning at the Tower of Fangs had not been a waste of time.

  Old man Raelas kept chanting spells in a low voice, then stretched his hand toward the werewolves. A white light wrapped the three werewolves from head to toe.

  After the white light, the werewolves were not harmed at all, but their attacks immediately stopped, and the expressions on their faces changed from manic to wooden and stunned.

  The surviving mercenaries and merchants finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then they were more surprised. It turned out that the originally inconspicuous old man Raelas in the caravan was actually a magic master who could miraculously control the situation at such a time.

  "Huh." A faint sound came from the darkness. This sound was very small and very light. If the werewolves hadn't stopped, and people had fallen silent because of surprise, this extremely subtle sound would absolutely not have been noticed.

  "Clang." Yabin, who hadn't moved, drew his sword and rushed toward the direction of that sound. From the moment old man Raelas pulled him back, and then used magic on the werewolves, he had already understood what was going on. What old man Raelas used on the werewolves was the white magic "Purification." That was for removing negative magic, but that made the werewolves stop, which undoubtedly indicated that the werewolves' crazed attack was due to the influence of magic.

  "In the name of the Lord, grant me the blade that breaks magic." The long sword hummed, its sound like a dragon's cry, the snow-white light making the sword in his hand like a solidified beam of light. Yabin jumped up and leaped over a still-stunned werewolf, his posture as agile as an eagle. "By the grace of the Lord, grant me blessings."

  "Yabin, come back quickly." Old man Raelas shouted. His voice was hoarse and distorted due to tension.