Crozier's castle stands between the distant mist and a gray village and forest. The winding road bypasses the village and stretches along the rolling hills into the dark forest.
There is no warmth under the hazy sky. The breath and quiet coldness overflowing in the forest make people feel a little colder. Just stepping on the paths and stone bridges here can make people feel like they are falling into a glacier. Such panic and sadness.
Kulala leads a small team forward.
She had a feeling, a vague feeling, that she was being watched as soon as she came here. There was no breeze in the stagnant air, as if someone was whispering, trying to tell her something.
This feeling and the rustling in the breeze lingered in my heart, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get rid of such a depressing and powerless emotion.
After the failure of the battle last night, the remaining headquarters of Berthier's column and the Homon Watts spring camping group ran all the way east to avoid the pursuit of the rebels.
They ran from dusk to early morning, and finally got rid of the enemy. When they came back to their senses, everyone could already see the gloomy castle of the Crozier family in the distance.
From here to the east are the farmlands and small towns under the protection of the lord. If all goes well, they can get supplies here and wait for support.
If everything goes well……
Kurala, who had been marching and fighting continuously for the whole day, braced herself up and carefully examined the unfamiliar trees and shadows around her. An ominous premonition always lingered around her, as if the journey ahead was an abyss with no way back, which made her want to turn around and run away.
I haven't experienced this feeling since the Whispering Forest the year before last.
There were huge stone statues standing on both sides of the not-so-narrow road, which looked like human figures. They were probably the ancient pioneers of this family. They are a stark reminder that if you take another step forward, you will enter the territory of the Crozier family.
The two statues, which are seven or eight meters high, have collapsed. Thick boulders were crushed, crushed and dragged, leaving deep dents in the road. Moss and weeds have not yet grown on the broken base, so the damage did not take long.
Cruella bit her lip.
Like everyone else, she had no choice. There were pursuers behind them, and just breaking through to this point was already exhausting everyone.
The silver-haired Miss Shutoral raised her hand and gave the order for the team to move forward. The four first-year Shutoral who followed them jumped out, crossed the stone statue in a scattered formation of alternating alert, and entered the Verona territory of the Crozier family.
"Command, reconnaissance team report."
"There are traces of impact by large creatures at the entrance, please be careful."
"Every 30 minutes, psychic ripples will be greatly disturbed, interfering with communication signals."
"Reconnaissance team, command received. We will be there soon."
A few minutes later Ophelia, Berthier, and Nona arrived with the rest of the party.
Having lost their professors, most of the Extraordinaries, and almost all of their soldiers, this team that once numbered close to two thousand only had a handful of thirty or forty people left.
Neferti and her first-year classmates were among them. Although they received extra care, they still lost all their horses and baggage, and hobbled along sparsely and in disarray, dragging their tired bodies. As soon as they arrived here, everyone was surrounded by deep silence and dank atmosphere.
The only good thing is that there are no rebels nearby.
"Maybe it's the scenery and the weather," said Berthier, who was the most knowledgeable of the group. "The combination of very simple things has a huge power to infect us, but to explore this power, it is still It’s beyond our ability. Don’t worry, this is the influence of the environment on us. As long as we rearrange the details in front of us, we will effectively change or even dispel this bleak impression. Come with me!”
He led everyone up the hillside to take in the surrounding scenery.
An ancient lake with a weird shape sleeps among the low gray hills. It is slender on both sides and wider in the middle. It is next to Crozier Castle. It is dark and gloomy, like a dark eye, reflecting the dead shrubs and trees. Withered trees. Visitors from outside looked at the lake, and the dead water was also there, staring at them like blank pupils.
In those huge eyes, there is also the reflection of an unrecognizable old castle, and the empty windows without curtains are densely packed and creepy.
Berthier was speechless after witnessing this scene.
"I remember Murat said that he and Isius were here inspecting the territory not long ago. Miss Viscount Lilia was also with them." Nona murmured to herself.
The scene in front of me is really unimaginable. A noble family was once active here.
No matter what, they must pass through here and head to the safe area to the east to hide; the continuous actions and battles have exhausted everyone's dust crystals and materials, and the wounded also need food and rest.
The castle of Isius de Crozier is to the north of the main road, and there is a village by the lake not far to the south. The place was shrouded in deeper haze, and even in the dim light of dawn it was impossible to see clearly. What was vaguely discernible was that the entrance to the village was on a trail extending from the main road, on the shore of the lake below the hillside.
The cold bare walls, the windows with empty eyes like soulless eyes, the dense shrubs, and the dead tree trunks like claws between the withered trees were all watching them silently.
The farmland here is not deserted, but the owner of the land is missing.
Do we really want to go there? Everyone hesitated to speak. In the end, it was Berthier who spoke out:
“We can’t establish long-range communication without supplies.
"Divide into four teams.
“Joshua, take the wounded to the intersection below, set up an echo enhancement device, and maintain contact.
"Dedius, Kulala, you search eastward to confirm whether the subsequent evacuation route is safe.
"Ophelia, take the first-year students and a few sergeants to the castle to investigate and find as much clothing, dust crystals and spellcasting materials as possible. If there is a letter file, I want to know what happened in this territory.
"Nonna and I took a small team to investigate the nearby estate and collect food.
"We will meet here in two hours, everyone be careful."
…
Arriving at the woods outside the village, the low hills and the castle in the distance, the land that originally had a glimmer of light suddenly fell into darkness. There was no sound of insects or birds in the silent woods.
It was too quiet here, and there were slight and weird sounds coming from the silent darkness. Vaguely, it seemed as if something was watching passers-by from all directions.
The road turned another corner ahead. Nona turned around and waved her torch to get a better look around. The flickering firelight lit up the shade of a tree, and between the dry vertical lines, there was a big black mouth pouncing over.
"Wow!!!"
The whole team was shocked. Nona hurriedly glanced over there, only to find that the monster's huge mouth had stopped in place. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a building made of black stones. The wall on one side of the road had collapsed, and the uneven gravel looked like rugged teeth.
"Is this a Holy Grace Church?" Nona looked at it carefully for a while, and finally saw some traces. "Look at the top, there is still half of the coat of arms of the Holy Light."
She held a torch and walked toward the ruins. Although it was early in the morning, there was no firelight, and it was already dark after walking a few steps.
The walls here are solid and thick, and the windows are small and squeezed into the high walls.
After passing through the long and narrow hall, you come to the altar with a cross plane in front, where the horizontally expanded space becomes spacious. This is a design that facilitates believers to gather near the altar to listen to sermons. The oppressive space is suddenly opened up under the high hanging windows, making worship and awe rise.
"The walls are tall and the window openings are narrow. The reason for this design is to make the walls strong enough to withstand the lateral push of the cross arches above."
Berthier's voice sounded from behind, and he had already walked in with someone.
This Holy Grace Church has been abandoned for a long time. The tower in the center has collapsed, and even the tables and chairs arranged in the prayer room and the iron bell on the bell tower have disappeared. However, although the style is old, judging from the size and structure of the building, the standards of this Holy Grace Church are very high.
"This Holy Grace Church was built for at least a thousand years," Berthier looked around carefully. "Although the structure of the cross arch is strong, it is too bulky. In the second era, it was replaced by the design of rib arches and skeleton coupons. "
As he spoke, he patted the wall: "Have you ever been to the Holy Light Cathedral in Beyeland? The dome of the hall there is more than forty meters high, and the stained glass windows on the wall are as big as clouds. This is because of the lightness The new dome structure allows the buttresses to be lighter and taller. However~
"Judging from this building, it should have been very important and noble in the era when it was built. It should be presided over by a Sequence 7 priest, and it is the center of faith in the nearby area."
Nona listened to his explanation, raised her head and walked under the half-ruined beams: "So, a long time ago, there was belief in the Holy Light here, and a church that was very respected at the time was built. But, Yi Hughes’ family is the lord here, but it is the inheritance of wizards.”
Berthier recalled: "The Crozier family has not always been a wizard family. Earlier, they were believers of the Holy Light. There were priests among the family members, and there were Holy Grace Church members in the territory. Not surprisingly."
"Griffith has said that he and Aaron have a close family relationship."
"Yes, I remember it too. 'Aaron' means 'favor of the Holy Light,'" Berthier said about history. "Magic has been flourishing for an era, but a few decades ago, there were still many people who persisted. The traditional land is governed by the monks and paladins of the Holy Light Church. The wizards at that time were also very powerful, but they did not have the glory they have today."
…
Neferty and the first graders followed Ophelia into the castle under the protection of Desai and others.
The building is grand in scale, with tall gables extending along the gentle slope of the lake. The halls, cloisters, spires and workshops are solid and intact. Apart from the appearance of decay, there is no sign of crumbling in the entire building.
However, something inside the castle had been ravaged, and many stairs and corridors were damaged and impassable.
Everyone came to the floor where the owner lived and spread out in twos and threes to look around. There is a master bedroom, a magic workshop, a study room and a material library here. It is the place where you are most likely to find spellcasting materials for emergencies.
Neferti walked along the stone steps to the door while paying attention to her steps. Under the arch of the hall, the heavy door is cold and gnawing at the bones. She looked around quietly and found that this place looked like the master's study.
This is a cylindrical room that penetrates the upper and lower floors, with towering bookshelves reaching to the ten-meter-high roof. The books and materials on the shelves were scattered everywhere, and there were even a few letters on the ground by the corner of the table that had not been taken away.
Neferti carefully picked up a notebook and looked at the cover.
"The Diary of Lilia de Crozier"
"January 8, 1445,
"Brother is finally sending a reply from the south!
“He told me that this was an adventure into the hot and humid jungle and an ancient civilization, an archaeological miracle that unveiled the lost troll civilization.
"He was bragging again. If it were really so easy to find miracles, archaeologists should have discovered them long ago. He would have lied to me, and Murat would not have lied!
"I'm so worried about his health, eczema, and skin diseases. He has been wearing a strange silver mask for a long time. Will the rainforest in the south worsen his condition? I want to pray for him."
Seeing the girl's concern for her brother, Neferty sighed bitterly and continued reading.
"January 12, 1445,
"Brother is back! Holy light, I was frightened. If Murat hadn't been with me these days, I would have been frightened to death by the terrible things in Beyelan. Summoned by the Sacrifice of the Chosen One What are they?
"My brother didn't seem to care. He was eloquent and kept talking to Murat and me, describing a magical lost world that had no trace in any documents.
"He said that there is a basin surrounded by mountains. There are many extremely huge creatures living in the hot and humid forests and ancient troll ruins. They are like the descendants of legendary dragons, trolls, and many strange and ferocious giant insects. Rule that world together.
"I don't like it when he keeps talking! Especially when he announces his adventure story and then rushes into the laboratory!"
"January 13, 1445,
"What is my brother doing? He didn't even tell Murat~ It's so strange, they have such a good relationship! I've also seen their book drawn by Miss Xia Long. Of course, it's an abridged version, the kind that can be shown to ladies!
"I have to go investigate!"
"January 14, 1445,
"What~
"Ise de Crozier, the Viscount of an ancient family, brought back some dry stems and leaves of plants from his great southern expedition? I can go to the garden and pull out a bag for him in five minutes!
"I want to tell Murat! Let's laugh at the great explorer Isius during dinner!"
Neferty felt something was wrong for no reason.
She felt as if she knew and had even seen those plant specimens with her own eyes.
Trembling, she turned to the next page. The delicate and beautiful words of Miss Viscount became confusing and distorted here, and only one sentence was left:
"It's alive!"
