At the corner of the wooden house, water penetrated the soil on the surface and seeped downwards with clear traces.
Griffith pulled out his sword and inserted it into the gap, sliding it left and right and lifting it upward. Sure enough, there was a basement hidden under a thick wooden board covered with dirt.
"The wooden board is very thick and covered with clay. It is difficult to find this place when knocking and inspecting." Griffith lit the torch and headed towards the basement. "I will go down and take a look first. You wait for me here."
The basement of the cabin was damp and dark. There was a foul smell in the small space. Griffith stepped on something soft. He waved the torch and found that it was an adult man dressed as a country squire. The squire's neck was twisted behind his back, and his face was distorted.
Further forward lay an old man. His body was cut off at the waist with a sharp blade, and his intestines flowed all over the floor.
There are signs of struggle here. In the deepest part of the basement, a tall and burly man sat by the wall. Griffith kept his distance, inspecting by the firelight.
The giant man was naked from the waist up, with a greasy linen cloth wrapped around his waist. He had been dead for a long time. He had a big round head, and his body and height were quite similar to the monster that attacked them. The strong muscles seemed to have been stabbed repeatedly with sharp blades, leaving blood holes and scars everywhere. The fatal injury came from the neck, and some kind of terrible weapon had cut his throat. The blood had penetrated the ground, dyeing the nearby soil dark black.
Galadia jumped down and inspected the scene with Griffith. After making sure that nothing else was found, they moved the giant man's body away together.
The dead giant man was so heavy that the two of them used all their strength to push him away from the wall. There was a notebook left on the wall that was soaked in blood.
The clear and neat handwriting didn't look like it was written by the giant man in front of me. Griffith even doubted whether he could hold the pen with his big hands. The beautiful little notebook was not something a tall man would use, but it looked like a diary written by a dead country squire.
[Diary 1 of an unknown date]
"The Earth Dragon's envoy is certainly stupid, but Village Chief Vlad is also too stubborn. We just want to move to a better place to live, and we don't want to completely break with the past inheritance.
“We will keep our faith in the earth dragon, who is the guardian of the village just like it has been for hundreds of years.
"The resident mage, Mr. Demel Haq, listened to my troubles. He said that he could help me, but he needed to prepare. During this period, I and the divine messenger had to imprison the village chief for a period of time to prevent conflicts between the villagers and the earth dragon. To further intensify. To be honest, I don’t think it’s a good idea to do this, as the villagers will be even more worried. But since Master Mage said this, it must make sense. He is the smartest person in the world.”
【Diary 2 of unknown date】
"I did as the mage ordered.
"The village chief is very angry. I promised him that he would be released as soon as the resident mage arrives. Until then, we cannot continue to let the village chief and the divine envoy conflict in front of the villagers."
【Diary 3 of unknown date】
“I heard that the resident mage came to the village, but I didn’t meet him.
"The pig-killing bastard has a bad attitude towards the village chief. Damn it, it's impossible to reconcile the conflict like this. I tried every possible means to tell him to be respectful and calm! Why would the ancient earth dragon look for such a fool to be an envoy?
"If he hadn't been clumsy with words and failed to convey Earth Dragon's will clearly, how could the conflict have developed to this point?
"I've been thinking these past few days, isn't it just a matter of moving? How could this happen?"
【Diary 4 of unknown date】
"The mage and the knight are missing.
"Many people in the village said that the angel was wandering around wearing his greasy torn bag, exuding a foul smell, and looking at the villagers with strange eyes, as if he wanted to eat people.
"But, it shouldn't be. I clearly told the envoy to hide in his hut and keep an eye on the village chief until the resident mage intervened, and he agreed to do so. Why do some people still say that he appeared in the village to cause trouble?
"What should I do? Maybe I should release the village chief. The basement does stink and is not good for the health of the elderly.
"Well, I have to go and get him out."
【Diary 5 of unknown date】
"There are figures haunting the vicinity of the Angel's wooden house, and there are also big and scary cockroaches. I'm very scared.
"The monster appeared, disguised as an angel,
"Oh no, they were fighting. It was terrible. The messenger was defeated and seriously injured. We hid in the basement together.
"Someone come and save me!"
[The last scribble]
"He's here, he's spotted us, he's up there!"
Galadia put away the diary and shook her head gently towards Griffith: "This is troublesome."
"Indeed," Griffith confirmed that there was no other missing information in the basement and prepared to leave. "Let's go to the Earth Dragon Altar and prepare for a battle. It seems that we will inevitably have to fight that monster."
As he spoke, his eyes swept over the butcher's body.
"That's not what I'm talking about," the elf sighed and said softly, "The disaster in Xiluo Village is deeply involved. If you successfully handle this sealed object incident, you will cause even greater trouble.
"You said that this area is Lord Salorian's territory and dam?"
"That's right."
"Griffith, these records confirm my guess about the true identity of the earth dragon," the elf explained. "It should be an ancient mythical creature that can travel underground and even possess the telepathic ability to control people's hearts.
"Its mysterious name is 'Earth-Drilling Demonic Insect'. It has a long lifespan. It is a giant earthworm-like mythical creature that lives in the soil and has squid-like tentacles. Its worm-like body is wrapped in mucus, and every time it appears They are all accompanied by the sound of sharp and reverberating horns, and powerful individuals can even create hallucinations in a large area.
"The worm is a quiet mythical creature that doesn't like fighting and is afraid of water. Its telepathic ability, like similar extraordinary abilities, can make people blind and stupid in the long run. This is a very distinctive feature, and it is very It is easy to expose its existence. Therefore, the Earth-Drilling Demonic Insect will not use this ability extensively."
Griffith understood somewhat and said solemnly:
"So, what happened in the village is roughly like this:
"In this ancient Xiluo Village, some villagers worship an earth-burrowing demonic insect called the 'Earth Dragon', and the stupid butcher wearing a weird bag on his head is his angel.
“When the village needed to be relocated due to the dam construction incident and was about to be submerged, there was a conflict between the worshipers of the earth-boring devil insect and other villagers led by the village chief.
"The missing squire Ennaze Victim tried to mediate and asked the resident mage to assist. In his opinion, the worms can start a new life with the village."
Galadia nodded in approval:
"Yes, but he misjudged the reaction of the mythical creature. There must be a reason for the earth-burrowing bug to settle here, so it controlled its admirers and tried its best to block the dam relocation plan. The conflict intensified.
"Just when the resident mage came to mediate, a new monster suddenly appeared. It had a similar appearance to the Butcher. It should be for the purpose of disguise. It was probably the cockroach-driving monster that attacked us.
“The monster first caused panic among the already uneasy villagers, and then killed the village chief, butcher, and squire, and probably also killed the Beyonder team.
"At this point, the conflict between the earth-boring demon insect and the village has become irreconcilable, and a conflict will definitely break out at the Earth Dragon Altar. The monster will definitely appear there.
"This is the secret hidden in the Black Domain of the Sealed Artifact. The Earth-Drilling Demonic Insect was probably killed in the subsequent conflict, but some of its powerful power and thoughts remained to form this domain."
…
The strong butcher's corpse became a living corpse, following Griffith, shaking its terrifying body, silent and obedient.
Griffith took it to the warehouse of the village hall and recalled four more dead members of the Beyonder team.
Although there may be powerful Beyonders in front of them, at this moment they are just ugly and hideous skinless monsters with a sinister aura of decay.
Under the spell of resurrection and domination, Griffith controlled them and headed towards the Earth Dragon Altar, the final battle site.
Galadia looked at her companions who got along day and night with complicated emotions. From time to time, ferocious monsters staggered past her sight, making her tremble with fear.
Griffith drove the immortal monsters with a contented look on his face, not caring about the evil and darkness they hinted at, and even somewhat satisfied and confident. If you look at his face alone, it's quite reassuring.
only……
Four skinless living corpses were stumbling with hunched bodies. The unusually tall and ugly butcher shook his head like a mountain of meat.
Griffith surrounded by them is like the representative of death. He moved towards the altar, clearly intending to bring more destruction and killing there.
He seemed to have defected to the evil god and became the leader of monsters. He had a condensed temperament and a cold gaze. Commanding and commanding evil didn't seem to be a big deal.
"Griffith..."
The elf girl called softly.
"What?" Griffith, who was surrounded by people, turned his head in high spirits, looking quite enjoying it.
Five living corpses turned their heads along with him, and twelve evil gazes focused on Galadia, almost frightening her to faint.
"My soldiers, step forward and occupy our positions on the battlefield!" Griffith waved his hand and hummed proudly.
After saying this, the living corpses swarmed up and rushed towards the altar.
Griffith watched his servant leave, turned his head and looked at the elf gently: "Is there any problem?"
His smile is natural and gentle, even making people feel a little warm. But that wasn't the case just seconds ago.
Galadia found this heartbreaking scene unbearable. She rubbed her forehead, endured the discomfort, and quickly followed her companions.
