The thick fog was gradually dissipating, but it still shrouded the entire Eastern Plain.
The light of the giant sun became pale and dim in the fog. One town after another was cut off in the fog and strange murmurs. In the streets of the city, in the countryside, distorted and deformed humanoid figures staggered in the fog, as if they had entered a nightmare in the mortal world and were spreading along the polluted land.
Sorin Castle was finally shrouded in this boundless fog.
The irregular wind swept over the city, and all the flags fluttered in the air. More and more bad news was coming from all directions. Not only the city in front of them, but also the vast land outside the city, all the order was rapidly collapsing.
In the castle hall, a high-grade Knight in dark steel armor was reporting the latest situation. "… We have lost all contact with the Soest area. The road is blocked by the fog. The messenger has gone into the fog and there is no more news. Beacons were briefly lit in the morning in the Diagonal Forest Valley and the fortresses in the direction of Mount Artel, but the beacons were extinguished immediately. The communication spell was cut off. The Knight's team that was sent to check the situation has not returned yet. I'm afraid the situation bodes ill rather than well … "
Another high-grade Knight stood up and said, "The situation in the city is also very strange. Soldiers found wandering civilians in the outskirts of the city. They seemed to have lost their minds. Someone also saw an unusually tall giant in a black robe moving in the fog …"
As he spoke, the high-grade Knight seemed to be a little uncomfortable. He moved his shoulders and arms slightly.
At the head of the long table, Edmund's face was gloomy. "How many people are we sure we can contact and mobilize now?"
The high-grade Knight and the nobles in the hall fell into an awkward silence. After a short moment of looking at each other, someone stood up and replied, "The only ones confirmed to be normal … are the 2,000 guards in the castle area and the 2,000 soldiers stationed in the two barracks near the castle area."
"That is to say, because of this strange fog, of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the Eastern Army, only 4,000 are available now?"
"… Yes, Your Highness."
"This isn't an ordinary fog," Duke Silas Lorren said. "It has traces of magic manipulation. It's very likely to be a large-scale forbidden spell or even a product of a God's Advent ritual."
Edmund frowned and looked at one of the noble suzerains. "… Is there any useful information from the royal army?"
The suzerain stood up immediately. "News from that direction has been completely cut off, Your Highness. However, according to the last message that was sent, a great fog has appeared in the plains controlled by the royal army as well."
After a short period of silence, Edmund slowly stood up. He placed both his hands on the table and his eyes were abnormally solemn. "It's obvious that we're under attack. The attacker possesses the power of Celestial Phenomenon. Now, our Mage Squad is preparing a large-scale dispelling and purifying spell. Before they complete the ritual, you must ensure the safety of all the Mage Towers in the inner city. Duke Loren, I'll leave the guards of the castle area to you. Also, please inform Belk to return to the castle immediately. "
"Yes, Your Highness."
The personnel who received the order quickly left the hall. Soon, only Edmund Moen and a few guards were left in the large main hall.
In the sudden silence, the atmosphere became more and more oppressive. Wisps of fog seeped into the hall through the cracks of the windows, as if bringing with them some kind of twisted and crazy malice that occupied all parts of the city. In this unbearable silence, the fireplace on one side of the hall suddenly crackled.
Edmund instantly raised his head and looked at the suddenly brightening fire …
…
On the streets of the outer city, the situation deteriorated faster than expected.
In the slightly thinning fog, the sharp sound of metal clashing temporarily broke the dead silence in the air. Accompanied by a few sudden flashes of light and a few short, hoarse groans, several unusually tall humanoid monsters made of flesh and crystal fell heavily on the ground.
Belk Loren shook his slightly numb arm, shook off some of the dirt on his longsword, and frowned as he looked at the "creatures" on the ground.
They (or perhaps they should be called 'them') were hideous, terrifying, twisted, and mutated. Their bodies were full of growing crystal clusters, and the dangerous arcane energy was still jumping between the clusters after these monsters had died, crackling loudly. On the bodies of these mutated and swollen monsters, there were also fragments of armor and clothes that had fused with the flesh crystals.
A few minutes ago, these "monsters" were the Knight and his squires who followed Belk to the outer city to check out the situation. However, a tall monster in a black robe suddenly walked out of the fog. After the Knight and his squires made eye contact with the monster, they all became like this and crazily attacked their own masters.
"What happened?"
Belk cautiously looked around and slowly moved to the nearest military camp. At the same time, a huge question popped up in his mind.
He also made eye contact with the monster in the black robe, but for some reason, he did not mutate like his subordinates.
"Are my subordinates cursed without me knowing? Is eye contact with the monster the key to triggering the curse? Why am I fine? "
The young Marquis quietly cast a series of protection blessings and invisible armor on himself. His sharp eyes kept scanning the streets and alleys shrouded in fog.
The monster in the black robe quickly left after "triggering" the terrifying mutation. Perhaps it was still hiding in a dark corner nearby. Belk was a powerful extraordinary knight, but he had to be extremely vigilant in the face of an unknown enemy.
Suddenly, a series of messy footsteps came from nearby, and at the same time, multiple magic waves appeared in the range of his senses.
Belk quickly turned around, and a layer of illusory flame was burning on his longsword. A group of tall mutated monsters covered in crystals stepped out of the fog and gathered towards him. They were obviously not the black-robed giants. They were obviously shorter, but still more than two meters tall. Their bodies were releasing visible arcane energy.
They were the same as his subordinates. They were also victims of "triggering" the mutation.
As the thought flashed through Belk's mind, the monsters suddenly launched an attack.
One of the Crystal Giants rushed towards Belk at a shocking speed. The other giants were either charging at Belk or raising their hands to create powerful arcane electric arcs. The young marquis quickly twisted his body and dodged the sharp claws that were aiming at his neck. At the same time, he swung his longsword diagonally, and the illusory flame shattered the electric arcs that were coming at him. Then, the longsword continued its momentum and cut off the arm of the second Crystal Giant with a sickening sound of metal colliding with metal.
After temporarily neutralizing the attack, Belk immediately jumped back and swung his longsword down with his right hand. A crystal clear energy sword fell from the sky and nailed the first crystal giant to the ground. At the same time, a hair-raising gust of wind blew past the back of Belk's neck. He instantly jumped forward and turned around, dodging the attack. A few strands of hair that were cut off flew in the air.
The attacker launched another attack. Belk adjusted his balance and raised his sword to meet the attacker.
In less than a hundredth of a second, a pair of partially crystallized eyes flashed in front of Belk's eyes.
Belk was a bit surprised. He vaguely felt that the eyes were a bit familiar …
…
A woman wearing a green priest's robe slowly walked out of the fire. Her upper body was beautiful and her lower body was made of ferocious plant roots. She slowly walked towards Edmund Moen.
Edmund, who was wearing black armor and a wolf skin cloak, stood behind the table and stared at the woman who walked out of the fire. He stared at the matriarch of All Things Will Die.
"Is this all part of your plan?" He said in a low voice. Before his voice died away, a black sword had already appeared in his hand.
At the same time, he noticed that the servants and guards standing not far away did not react. It was as if they had fallen into a state of hypnosis. They did not notice the intruders at all.
Bertilla slowly walked to the other side of the table and looked at the Ansu prince in front of her. She smiled faintly and said, "To others, this is a conspiracy. But to you, this is an open conspiracy, isn't it? Our 'ally' Your Highness … "
Edmund knew that this strange woman was extremely dangerous and powerful. He secretly blessed himself with Knight's domain while suppressing his anger and said, "You really can't be trusted."
"Didn't you know this from the very beginning, Your Highness? You're full of confidence. You're just used to underestimating others and overestimating yourself. "
Bertilla said as she calmly pulled a chair from the side and sat down in front of Edmund. Her vines and roots grew out of her legs and with a rustling sound, they merged with the chair and the floor.
"What do you want to do? What do you want to do?! "
"We?" Bertilla smiled. Her smile was exceptionally sincere. In fact, it was almost the only time she smiled from the bottom of her heart in seven hundred years. "We want to find a way to survive for mankind. A way to survive on the table of the gods and in the malice of the world.
"And I … I'm just here to welcome you, to welcome the new you."
"Lunatic." Edmund felt that he could not understand the thoughts of these cultists at all. He had already gathered his strength and did not want to have any more variables. So, he raised his longsword, and countless fine black cracks quickly spread out from the tip of the sword, sealing the entire space like a spider web.
The table crumbled into dust and the chairs fell apart one by one. But before the fatal black crack spread to Bertila's body, waves of headache-inducing murmurs and murmurs suddenly surged into Edmund's mind. He suddenly lost control of the longsword in his opponent's hand, and his entire body swayed and couldn't stand up.
Bertilla quietly looked at Edmund who was supporting his body with his sword and gradually collapsing. She said faintly, "Have you been feeling thirsty recently?"
"Water …" Crystal clusters gradually grew on both sides of Edmund's cheeks. His eyes suddenly had a flash of understanding. "You poisoned me?"
"Not poison, just a blessing — a blessing from the 'gods'."
"You … will destroy … Ansu …"
"The one who will destroy it is you, or should I say, it is you." Bertilla looked at the prince in pity. "Do you remember, this vortex, it was you who started it?"
Edmund felt that his rationality was quickly dissipating. The murmurs were rapidly depriving him of his ability to think. He struggled to speak and almost instinctively said, "I just … want to bring it … prosperity …"
Bertilla stood up from the chair. She quietly looked at the prince of Ansu who was about to lose his will. Her eyes were deep and her voice was low. "Do you really understand what true prosperity is?"
Edmund's vision was covered with a layer of hazy light curtain. His eyeballs were rapidly being reshaped by the crystals. In that mutated vision, he could only see Bertilla's eyes. Those eyes were deep, determined, and seemed to have some kind of terrifying paranoia, but also had an unbelievable purity and rationality.
He could not understand why a crazy cultist would suddenly have such a look.
This look reminded him of a person, a person who had returned to the world from the grave.
Before he lost his will, he heard the person's last words.
"You have never really lowered your head to look at those lowly people."
…
The "crystallized" attackers all fell, including the … person whose eyes looked familiar.
She had become a two-meter-tall monster. Her swollen and twisted flesh was mixed with charged crystals, but Belk still recognized her.
She fell on the street covered with mist. Her body was curled up and trembling slightly. This reminded Belk of the time when he saw her in an alley not long ago. At that time, she was also curled up on the ground, curled up in the mud.
Belk slowly walked forward. Some of the small wounds on his body were sharp and stinging. He supported his body with his longsword and squatted down in front of the "laundress". His head was at the same level as hers.
"Who turned you into this? Is it also those black-robed monsters? "
The crystallized woman said with a hoarse voice. Belk heard an answer that he could not understand. "We … did it willingly, my lord."
The young marquis exclaimed, "Why?!"
The "monster" who no longer looked human raised her head and said softly.
"Becoming like this … can live by eating stones, my lord …"
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