??Chapter 163: Chapter 2: Puppet_2
Chapter 163: Chapter 2: Puppet_2
Assisted by the bright light of the Light Ball, Kor was able to make out several dark shadows approaching at great speed— they were actually blood-red bats the size of washbasins, with their shrill screams coming from their mouths and the vibrations of their bat mbranes.
The response of the Mage and the Dark Knight was equally swift.
With a flourish of their great sleeves, a torrent of Soul Refining Demon Fire spewed forth, weaving into a dense network of flas, and nurous Red Bats fell screaming into the inferno.
The Dark Knight’s movents were even more direct and efficient, as sword light at his waist transford into countless gleaming blade waves, silent and unnerving, with nearly every touch bringing down a Red Bat. When the blade, serene as Autumn Water, stopped and pointed towards the ground, there was not a single trace of blood on it.
“Red Ice Bats!” A hint of pleasure flitted across Rebry’s face as he examined the creature that had fallen beneath the Dark Knight’s sword, their huge mbranous wings, gloomy small eyes, sharp beaks, and claws—all pointing to their extraordinary aggressiveness, especially the stinger-like elongated bone spike at their tail end.
This creature was a mutation between Magical Beasts and ordinary animals. To call it a Magical Beast wouldn’t be too far wrong because they did not exist on the Blue Continent hundreds of years ago. They evolved following the migration of various Magical Beasts, from ordinary vampires and the hellish giant bats among the Magical Beasts.
It carried a fair amount of Ice Magic power, albeit weak, but retained the preference for sucking the blood of warm-blooded creatures. However, its presence in this darkness also proved that the Eye of Darkness was indeed beneath this castle, or else a creature like the Red Ice Bat would not be inhabiting this place.
“It seems our guess was correct, this is indeed the site of the Eye of Darkness. Red Ice Bats generally cannot live in the warm southern regions, only in certain special areas. From what we see of this castle, aside from being ancient, there is nothing unusual, which only confirms this point,” said Rebry, smacking his lips with so excitent. The Eye of Darkness was originally a Holy Land for cultivating dark and Ice Magic, and with it as the core, who knows how many dark undeads or other strange creatures dwell here. Just the thought of a potential Underground Palace below the castle was enough to make Rebry tremble with excitent.
Kor was not as interested in this so-called Eye of Darkness; what concerned him was whether he could steady this castle as his own, and move in with confidence.
For him, the Dark Sky seed a bit too distant at the mont, and how to solidify his rule in the Caucasus, preventing threats from the north, was the reality he needed to face directly.
The Puppet had already leaped out of the Passage while the three were exchanging opinions, and the Red Ice Bats faced either escape or death under the overwhelming might of Rebry’s Soul Refining Demon Fire.
As they ca into the light, all three were simultaneously startled by the sight—what an awe-inspiring Square!
A Square more than one hundred ters long and about eighty ters wide was enough to make anyone feel refreshed and uplifted at first glance, with an imposing Obelisk standing tall in the center. There were sculptural groups on each side of the Obelisk, but from a distance, the slightly blurred sculptures seed to have more fluid and lively lines. The slightly raised area in the middle was probably the central region of the Square.
Encircling this central area was a several-ter-wide belt of grass, probably to demarcate the region. The thick, lush weeds, up to knee-high, added a touch of desolation and decay.
The rest of the Square was paved with large flat bluestone slabs, fitted closely and neatly together. Yet, still, stubborn seeds were sprouting through the gaps, poking their heads out defiantly.
The warm sunshine cast into the square, yet the three felt not a trace of warmth, the aura surging from the square’s center gave them a sense, this place was more like an ancient relic, seemingly harboring even more mysteries awaiting their exploration.
Kor’s gaze scoured every corner within the castle’s enclosure, the chilling presence that had confronted him outside the castle that day had never shown itself; he did not know whether it was because the combined strength of the trio was too formidable or for so other reason. From the mont they entered the castle, the mysterious entity had not appeared. No matter which thod Kor used to search, he still could not detect that particular breath.
The ring-shaped colonnade was the main architectural feature along the castle’s interior periter; starting from the entrance of the passage, every six ters stood a circular stone column supporting the entire structure, with the elliptical colonnade becoming the outer hall of the first floor of the castle. Beyond the colonnades lay various rooms and grand halls, and of course, there were occasionally spiral staircases leading to the second floor.
Kor carefully searched everything, but aside from the staircases that felt sowhat sinister, there appeared to be nothing else particularly noteworthy. Almost every pillar was embedded with a group of bronze wall lamps, all differing in design, the level of luxury surprising Kor when considering the wealth of the original builders.
The Puppet hastened its pace, running around after entering the square, Rebry likely wanted it to bear all the risks for the trio, so he intentionally let it pass through all corners or, more precisely, suspicious-looking places, while the gaze of the three slowly shifted back from the surrounding colonnades and sunlit corridors to the obelisk at the central area.
The shape of the obelisk was truly unique, its base not large, forming a slender trapezium. As it ascended in height, it beca more elongated and sharply edged, culminating in a gourd-shaped support point at the top, with an angel statue that seed to be soaring at its highest point.
However, due to the passage of ti and the years of wind and rain, the statue had acquired a certain weathered look, but if you stood beneath the obelisk and gazed up, you could still clearly see the lively posture of the statue with its wings outstretched to the sky.
Mr. Rebry, with a serious expression, walked along the slightly raised central area, occasionally inspecting the ground; around the group of statues was a circle that was not very deep, appearing to be a moat or fountain area.
This circular depression encompassed a rather large area, not only encircling the obelisk and statues but also extending outward, forming a massive core area.
Rebry seed not to be interested in the constructions within the area, but rather in so of the hidden features along the outer edge of the depression, constantly stooping and searching for sothing.
“Mr. Rebry, it seems like you’re hoping to discover sothing, aren’t you?”
A sowhat bored Kor had already reduced the search radius of his Eye of Dark Spirit to their imdiate surroundings to conserve his magic power, while the diligent Puppet continued to follow the orders given to it by its caster, walking step by step along the colonnade, visiting almost every nook, and then pausing at places deed suspicious to test whether any danger might present itself, working quite hard.
Slowly raising his head, the pensive look on Rebry’s face seed to be signaling sothing to Kor and the Dark Knight. However, he didn’t seem particularly inclined to answer Kor’s question, only after a long while did he respond gloomily, “This seems to be a huge ancient magic teleportation array; I can sense that there has been a release of powerful magic power here, it’s just that the ti since then has been quite long.”
“Oh? A magic teleportation array? Could this place also have been inhabited by magicians?” Kor raised his eyebrows and asked, throwing a sidelong glance at the Dark Knight who had remained silent all the while.
“It’s hard to say, this castle seems filled with oddities and secrets. So of the symbols engraved here should be Ancient Magic Words, which I cannot decipher. Look, this obelisk should be right at the midpoint of the castle’s central axis, and beneath it should be the core of the Eye of Darkness. If this is an ancient magic array, it indicates that both the designer and builder were keenly aware of the utility of the Eye of Darkness. According to the records, aside from the Lord himself, no one else was involved in the construction, which is quite odd.”
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