??Chapter 53: Chapter 5: The Magic Fortress
Chapter 53: Chapter 5: The Magic Fortress
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The dark towering castle stood in the center of the plains like a fierce behemoth, its mottled, disjointed gate gaping like the beast’s vast maw, motionlessly looming in the distance. It was a conjoined castle with one main and two secondary structures, all constructed of green strip stone, with the seven-ter-tall city wall fanning out in a chevron pattern, and the castle doors precisely at the point of the arrowhead.
Above the door, a blurred bronze emblem had been so corroded by verdigris that its image was unclear, but one could still faintly make out the snarling bear head. Because of many years of weathering, the exterior of the city wall seed sowhat dilapidated, giving the impression that it had been a long ti since anyone had visited this place.
The main castle door faced the avenue, but it was uncertain how many years it had been since anyone had walked down the avenue. The traces of horse-drawn carriages, now overgrown with waist-high weeds, were still faintly visible, stretching all the way to the gate.
The half-beast soldiers, fully ard, stood behind Kor and his group, eyeing the grim castle. The half-elf archer’s face already showed a hint of fear. Possessing elf bloodline, he was sensitive to certain special dangers intrinsically. Although he only carried a portion of elf ancestry, he could still feel the peril hidden within the castle.
Kor looked up and saw nothing on the walls to either side of the castle, the two doors firmly closed. The rust-eaten iron gates, under which moss covered the blue bricks, gave no indication of when they had last been opened or if a key was required.
Walking along the wall for a few steps, Kor noticed that the base was moist and the foundations sowhat soft. He couldn’t understand why soone would choose to build a castle here. Stepping on the ground beneath his feet, it felt more like a semi-arid swamp, though he couldn’t comprehend how the walls built upon it showed no signs of sinking.
The several-ter-tall city wall tilted slightly, assembled from massive stone blocks, and looked extraordinarily majestic.
While the surface was very worn, Kor could see that the craftsn had put in considerable effort—the surface was quite smooth. Weeds and vines interspersed among the seams of the walls, and the brown and withered branches shook in the cold wind. However, this did not affect the overall aesthetic and neatness of the construction.
He didn’t know what lay beyond this wall, what could be there, but his spiritual sense already felt like sothing special inside was waiting for him. What exactly it was, he couldn’t articulate. He knew the day would inevitably co when he confronted this place, but now was not the ti.
He also didn’t have the imdiate desire to reside within this castle. Although he felt a provoking urge to explore it alone, reason told him that, for the mont, he couldn’t do so.
The city walls of the two secondary castles were slightly lower than those of the main fortification. He estimated that within the castle, the secondary castles and the main castle must be separated by their own walls, with passages and doorways interconnecting them. Serving as both a small fortress and the official abode and office of the Lord, the castle had dual functions. Of course, it had never been used as a fortress.
Is this Damarlinsk Castle?
After surveying for a while, Kor returned to where he started and sighed, “Let’s go. Such a magnificent castle that can’t house people is truly a pity. But now that I’m here, I believe it won’t be long before it regains its youth.”
Kor’s voice was very loud, and it was directly addressed to the main gate, as if he intended to declare sothing to the castle interior and its surroundings. Like the half-elf, his spiritual sense had detected the presence of so unearthly being within the castle, and that being had already awakened, senseing the people outside the castle with its tactile awareness.
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This particular sensation made him very uncomfortable, but he was unable to ascertain exactly what was lurking inside. However, one thing was certain, the creature lurking within was definitely not a normal being like himself.
Inside and outside the castle was like a standoff, as an ice-cold soaking feeling slowly swept through Kor’s heart. Kor worked hard to rge the crystal stone close to his heart with his own spirit, a habit that had beco almost subconscious.
Whenever he encountered difficulties, the crystal stone pressed against his belly would always beco his support at the first instant, and the fused spiritual energy would beco exceptionally powerful. The intense sense of resistance made Kor unconsciously adopt a confrontational attitude, and the chill aura emanating from within the castle seed to realize that Kor was not to be trifled with, and suddenly disappeared as if it had never been there, returning everything to a calm and natural state as before.
Whether it was Ilot, Puber, or even Fran, the few people standing behind Kor had already noticed the anomaly inside the castle.
The ice-cold aura was so intense that it almost made their hearts chill in that mont, leaving them exposed before the world as if their chests were wide open, no concealnt possible, filling the three with incomprehensible dread. Yet, they were unable to take any asures against it and could only clench their teeth and endure, not letting themselves fall.
Fortunately, the encounter was brief. They exchanged shocked looks, but discovered that the Lord’s eyes were filled with fighting spirit and interest, which greatly increased their expectations for Kor.
However, the days that followed were rather dull; they were neither as dangerous and thrilling as so people had imagined, nor as peaceful and prosperous as the days under the king’s reign.
The population of Ugru Town was less than three thousand, with one Adventurers’ Guild, three taverns, two inns, one blacksmith shop that also sold weapons and armor, and one or two specialty purchasing offices set up by rchants from other places. Apart from these, there were so small rchants dealing in daily necessities, forming the core area of Kor’s territory.
In terms of the seaside and along the Nissai River, as well as a few scattered villages, the total population within the Caucasus Territory was less than five thousand. This was information gathered by Puber in the first week after taking office with the help of two beastn guards running around, combined with the pitifully ager records left behind by the previous Lord in the farmhouse.
Except for the small number of people living in the town center, the vast majority of people made their living by farming, with a few relying on hunting in the nearby forest for sustenance. Due to the long absence of the Lord and his attendants, the collection of taxes here had virtually co to a standstill.
On the third day after Kor took office, in keeping with tradition, the town mayor appointed by the previous Lord and the village chiefs from nearby villages ca to visit Kor. As Kor had expected, the visitors were without exception lanting the hardships of life and the difficulties within the territory, and in accordance with tradition submitted their resignations, asking Kor to dismiss them from their duties and to bring sufficient funds to improve living conditions within the territory.
Although Kor had not experienced this kind of pomp before, he, born into nobility, had long understood the shalessness of these so-called lower-level delegates. After a round of insincere consolation, he accepted their resignations and solemnly promised that he, as the Lord, would not fail the citizens of the territory like his predecessors had and would strive to make a significant impact here.
After sending off the group of soon-to-be-discharged grassroots officials, Kor welcod the so-called industry representatives of Ugru Town, and he treated these industry representatives with much more regard.
He knew that in the absence of a Lord, when the emperor’s reach was far, the real power was actually in the hands of these fellows. Now that he had taken office, they would certainly be unwilling to relinquish the power in their hands, but they wouldn’t openly resist him, the legitimate Lord. To act in passive-aggressive defiance, however, would be inevitable. All he needed to do was to subdue and control these people, and at least for now, the Caucasus would be in his grasp.
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