Chapter 147 : Chapter 147
Chapter : 147
The danger level of the forest near Skarn was higher than the area of Sigret's outdoor training, because it was closer to the Sea of Death, and also the place where the War of the Gods was most intense back then.
This meant: high-level demonic beasts could appear in this place at any time, not just limited to within the Sea of Death.
Following the location marker on the minimap, I found the edge of the ruins.
Before I even got close, I had already keenly spotted several red dots on the minimap.
I stopped my advance and counted the number of red dots on the minimap.
Not many, only six, and they weren't too scattered. I suspected it was a patrol team from that Eternal God Cult.
If this evil cult was really up to something dangerous, there would definitely be people on alert in the surroundings. It would be very difficult for me to approach the target easily.
I thought for a moment and decisively activated the Roleplay skill, still turning into a Kami beast.
The probability of a Kami beast appearing in the forest was much higher than that of a black cat.
Mimicking the running style of a Kami beast, I quietly approached one of the red dots and finally got a clear look at the person's attire.
It was very ordinary, just like a common villager, wearing old linen clothes with patches on them.
His face was simple and honest, and his whole person exuded the air of a bottom-level working person.
If I hadn't seen the conspicuous red name above his head, I probably would have really thought this was a most ordinary NPC.
No wonder they could lurk in Skarn City and run an evil cult. It turns out each and every member had such superb disguise skills!
I squatted on a tree and observed for a while, discovering that these red names seemed to be walking aimlessly, but they actually had a patrol route.
It was just rather messy, and most people wouldn't be able to tell with the naked eye. I still had to use the minimap as an aid to map out their patrol route.
After silently memorizing these few routes, I directly used the Kami beast form to exploit a blind spot in their line of sight, got close to a red name, instantly canceled Roleplay while switching to the Joker persona, a dagger appearing in my hand. I covered the opponent's neck from behind with one hand, and with the other, I swiftly slit his throat.
That red name didn't even manage to let out a cry of alarm before he stopped breathing. His body went limp, and his knees went straight to the ground.
I gave him a tug to cushion the impact of his fall, then immediately turned and pounced on another red name who had heard the sound and was looking this way. With a flick of my wrist, I slit his throat as well.
After taking out two red names, my experience bar rose by a barely visible amount. I didn't linger in battle.
I reactivated Roleplay, turned into a Kami beast, and leaped onto a treetop, conveniently tossing two [Fire Emblems] beside the corpses.
Whether they would be useful was another matter.
After the previous few experiences, I had already fallen in love with the thrill brought by explosions.
Whether it was for attracting the enemy's attention or reducing the enemy's numbers and strength, it was undoubtedly effective.
Explosion is art!
However, the commotion on my side wasn't big. The other few red names around didn't notice that their companions had already died quietly.
They were still pretending to be ordinary villagers, patrolling 'aimlessly'.
I repeated the same trick, approaching another two-man team and slitting their throats in the same way.
But this time, I wasn't so lucky. Before the second person died, his hoe was thrown out and happened to hit a rock, making a dull thud. It immediately attracted the attention of the other red names.
"Who's there—!"
The nearest red name shouted, "Come out!"
I tutted, pulled the corpse on the ground up, and threw it into the bushes. Then I turned into a Kami beast, scurried up a tree, and leaped in the opposite direction.
Several red names rushed over. They didn't need to search carefully at all; they saw the corpse in the bushes almost at a glance.
They were all shocked. One of them went forward and turned the body over. The bloodstain on the corpse's neck was extremely conspicuous.
"Enemy attack!"
And at this moment, I had already arrived in the ruined village. Broken walls and ruins were everywhere. Only a few houses looked slightly better, but they still didn't look like places where people could live.
I didn't cancel the Roleplay and still used the appearance of a Kami beast. Although it was also a bit strange for a Kami beast to appear here, it was still more natural than a stranger suddenly appearing here and saying he was lost.
This ruined village looked deserted, but my minimap showed several red dots... hmm, and several yellow dots.
I wasn't sure if these yellow dots were neutral units in the Eternal God Cult who hadn't turned bad to a certain extent, or the 'victimized masses' who had been duped by these Eternal God Cult people.
I followed the direction of the yellow dots to search, but all I could see were broken walls and ruins. I couldn't see a single person. Excluding the hidden red names, it was easy to guess where the rest of the people were.
Underground.
There must be an entrance to the underground here. I heard that the few people who found the corpses were already heading this way. I tilted my head and stared at these broken walls and ruins, thinking.
In a village like this, what kind of place could be made into an entrance to the underground that was very normal and wouldn't arouse suspicion?
Several possibilities popped into my mind, and I eliminated them one by one, finally leaving only one keyword.
Cellar.
No matter the era, every household in the countryside likes to build a cellar to store some infrequently used or long-term storage items, such as various brewed wines, prepared pickles, uneaten grains, and so on...
Especially in this world, the technology tree was a bit skewed due to the existence of magic.
It looked like the early days of the Industrial Revolution, but occasionally there were many alchemy items that made me think I had entered the information age, while ordinary civilians seemed to be living in an even more backward era.
There were no such things as refrigerators or freezers here, so the villagers were even more inclined to build a cellar for storage.
I took a fancy to one of the houses that showed signs of entry and exit, and scurried in.
It was empty inside, covered with a lot of dust. I didn't look at the things in the house, but went to the side yard and found a cellar entrance without any effort.
The cellar entrance was only covered with a huge wooden plank. I reached out and touched the top of the wooden plank, and not a speck of dust stuck to my hand.
From the dust in the house, it could be seen that no one had lived or taken care of this place for at least three years, yet this cellar plank, though looking old, was completely dust-free to the touch.
It was obvious that this plank had been moved frequently recently, which was why there was no dust on it at all.
I guessed right.
I canceled Roleplay, changed back to Joker's appearance, and lifted the wooden plank.
It was pitch black underground, but my night vision was very good, and I could still see everything in the dark clearly. I scanned the area and decisively jumped in.
This was indeed an ordinary cellar. The space inside was not large, about seven or eight square meters.
It was filled with decayed wooden shelves. Several earthenware jars were scattered in a corner, emitting a not-so-pleasant smell.
Hmm? This cellar shouldn't be this small, right?
I wandered around the cellar and finally found another passage hidden behind a pile of bottles and jars.
After moving away the debris on top and lifting another wooden plank, I, as expected, saw a downward staircase.
I raised an eyebrow.
So it was a space built on top of the original cellar? Quite hidden.
A pity it ran into me.
I smugly thought for a moment, then estimated the size of the passage. I felt that my Joker persona could go down, but it would be a bit difficult.
It seemed that this passage was not a commonly used one either, otherwise the passage would not have been set so small.
A slightly larger person wouldn't be able to pass through. But it didn't matter, I could still turn into a Kami beast!
Kami beast Yan Yunqing was back online.
I turned into a Kami beast and jumped down. The steps were steep, and I walked very carefully, trying not to make a sound.
Fortunately, the steps here were directly built with earth, so as long as one was careful, it was difficult to make loud footsteps.
The four sides of this staircase were sealed off. After all, it was a downward passage, and it was impossible to open a few windows on the four walls for ventilation.
The surroundings were filled with an unpleasant smell... If I wasn't mistaken, did I also smell the scent of blood?
I tutted and checked my quest panel again. It indeed did not show a quest failure notification yet, so Rowena and William should still be alive.
I quickened my pace and conveniently dropped my beloved [Fire Emblems] on the road I passed, and at the same time, detonated the few I had left by the corpses earlier.
A few muffled bangs came from above, shaking the yellow-earth-built roof so much that a layer of yellow earth fell down, sprinkling onto my fur.
I shook the fur on my body and glanced up. I didn't know if the few red names who were rushing towards the corpses just now were affected. If they were, then they were just unlucky.
I hummed a little tune in my heart. As I ran down, I kept an eye on my experience bar. Sure enough, my experience bar had intermittently risen by a tiny bit.
It wasn't very obvious; normally, I probably wouldn't even have noticed the change in the experience bar.
But now I could boldly guess that the few [Fire Emblems] I had left just now had successfully taken care of a few red names.
When I reached the end of the stairs, I turned around and saw a dark passage.
A faint light came from the entrance of the passage, but this bit of light was not of much use in the dark, only making the darkness a little hazy.
I walked through the passage with the help of the dim light. This passage was dark and narrow. The walls were mottled with moss.
The sound of water droplets falling from somewhere unknown echoed in the quiet space, inexplicably adding a bit of a sinister atmosphere.
My footsteps were still light and silent, but I could feel a sticky touch under my feet, probably some filthy mire.
These Eternal God Cult guys, why did they make their church base so gloomy and sinister?
They didn't learn any of my Demon King's essence at all. The Demon King's palace back then, not to say it was built to rival a divine palace, but with my aesthetics from another world and the help of several retainers with excellent magical attainments, my palace was definitely unparalleled in the world at that time.
Look at this place again, this crude, gloomy, and sinister dump. How dare they do bad things under the Demon King's name?
This was simply ruining the Demon King's reputation! It was adding frost to the snow of the Demon King's already bad reputation.
I was deeply grieved.
Suddenly, I heard a faint uproar in the distance. I paused, opened the minimap, and saw many red dots and yellow dots on it—and my gaze locked onto two of the blue dots.
Without any further thought, these two blue dots could only be Rowena and William!
Because we had already formed a team, the other four members of Team A were displayed in blue on my minimap, which meant they had become temporary teammates.
I quickened my pace and ran towards the noisy direction.
After passing through the dark passage, the space hidden under the ruined village was finally revealed before me.
I could feel many people ahead. I dodged behind the nearest stone pillar and quietly poked my head out to look outside.
In that instant, I was deeply shaken by the scene before me.