Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 386 - 385: A Troubled Night

Dark brown tentacles twisted and writhed above the pool, creating a bizarre and terrifying scene that nightmares could hardly replicate. Clement, already severely injured, found himself utterly defenseless against these tentacles, and in almost an instant, his limbs and trunk were tightly ensnared by dozens of large and small tentacles. Feeling the slick, icy limbs gradually tightening around him, this Oblivion Association believer, who often dealt with all sorts of terrifying dark magic, felt a chilling terror that pierced his very soul!

Alongside these tentacles, a woman’s upper body floated up from the water—Tiel’s body "squeezed" out from between the tentacles. The sea demon’s appearance was completely different from usual; her cheeks and large patches of skin on her upper body were covered with a layer of fine scales, membrane-like structures with enchanting patterns woven together with the surrounding tentacles. At this moment, her appearance was like those described by the most superstitious sailors from the eastern continent after a drunk stupor: a bewitching and beautiful maiden, yet with the form of a sea monster. This stark contrast was enough to drag anyone into the sweetest yet most deadly slumber.

Tiel emerged from the water, her eyes, now golden vertical pupils, reflecting the scene before her. She glanced at the fully armed and dumbfounded members of the Steel Cavalry, then at the old man she had ensnared, blinking: "How did another person appear while I was sleeping?"

Soldrin, like the Steel Cavalry, was startled. Tiel’s current appearance was utterly different from the leisurely sea caterpillar monster she was usually, but he quickly calmed down, ready to respond to the sea demon’s question. However, just as he was about to speak, his gaze swept over the perpetually writhing tentacles on the water’s surface.

Some of these tentacles were covered with twisted, bizarre patterns that surpassed human understanding.

In that instant, Soldrin’s consciousness became hazy; the patterns seemed filled with potent magic, containing secret truths mortals should never know. He felt his entire rationality waver, incoherent, low murmurs echoed thunderously in his mind, buzzing and stirring his thoughts, as countless strange and absurd visions appeared before him.

Soldrin finally realized something was amiss. A few days ago, he and Gawain had visited the containment center to see the god’s flesh samples, experiencing a proximity to the divine at a safe distance. The feeling now was uncomfortably similar... He was looking directly into secrets related to the gods!

The High-Ranked Ranger struggled to control his thoughts, but soon realized it was futile. He had already seen those patterns, linking them in his mind to some divine knowledge, knowledge that could not be erased. He felt his thoughts gradually being influenced, soaked. After what felt like an eternity, he slowly regained his ability to think, then shockingly discovered—

He hadn’t turned into an idiot, nor lost his free will, nor been driven mad by any divine whisper. In fact, his mental state had never been better, filled with optimistic positivity: he’d never felt this happy in his life!

No negative emotions whatsoever—he felt like he was at the peak of his mental state, so elated he wanted to burst into a joyful dance.

What does it mean to burst into a joyful dance?

Soldrin finally realized even this elation was abnormal, quickly shaking his head to dispel the incessant, inexplicable joy. Yet his mental state remained exceptionally good—at least, it wasn’t harmful. As he tried to avoid looking at those patterns, he told Tiel: "Miss Tiel, restrain that man! He’s an enemy!"

"Huh? Oh... okay!" Tiel, seemingly still not fully awake, paused for a moment before reacting. She swiftly pulled a few more tentacles from the water, wrapping them around the nearly unconscious Clement. "Let me wrap him tighter then..."

"Don’t squeeze too hard—no need to choke him to death..."

Though things didn’t unfold quite as imagined initially, the outcome was satisfactory in the end. After confirming the old man was no longer capable of resistance, Amber finally emerged from the shadow walk. She too had accidentally caught a glimpse of Tiel’s special tentacles, appearing particularly spirited (in fact, the surrounding Steel Cavalry Warriors were the same; the positive spirit-healing effect made everyone forget the slight fear upon seeing Tiel’s Sea Demon Form). She quickly approached the pool, first looking up at Tiel: "You look...amazing like that...can all sea demons transform like this?"

"Modeled after a big squid," Tiel proudly wiggled her other tentacles. "What do you think, scary?"

"...It’s absolutely terrifying—if you didn’t keep wriggling like that. The way you’re wiggling now is awfully funny."

"Tsk..." Tiel pouted, then curiously leaned down to examine the tightly bound Clement, patting his face with a tentacle. "By the way, where did this guy come from? I just took a nap. What happened—why were things like those called howitzers used?"

Looking at the enemy before her, scenes of assassination flooded Amber’s mind—the slain King, the Prince’s obvious involvement, and the Shadow Seal Ring on the King’s hand. Her expression turned more serious than ever: "Something major has happened—if I’m not wrong, this guy is someone I brought from the eastern border. He just killed the King right in front of me!"

"Oh, I was thinking how grave a sin it was to sleep during the exploration of ruins, having you guys blast me with howitzers," Tiel visibly sighed in relief, belatedly realizing, "Ah—that sounds pretty serious? Should we hurry to notify your leader?"

"Of course!" Amber said, quickly turning towards Soldrin, "Ranger, keep an eye on things here, I’m heading back to report!"

In the luxurious lounge at Longwind Fortress, Prince Edmund took out his pocket watch, glancing at the time.

The so-called "Master Clement" didn’t seem like he would be returning.

He had heard long ago that venturing rashly into the shadow realm posed great danger. Throughout history, many masters of shadows had found the door to the shadow realm, but more than half never survived. In that distorted mirror of the real world, deranged and twisted creatures would tear apart any intruder, and their power was unimaginably strong in such an environment...

"Oblivion... It seems that those brainwashed by cults never have good heads on their shoulders." Edmund closed the watch cover and finally looked down at his now lifeless father, a faint hint of sorrow emerging on his face.

"Father, this truly is a regrettable end... But for the resurgence of the Moen family, and for the revival of this kingdom, I must ask you to go ahead first," Edmund said softly as he bent over Francis II’s corpse, "You once said that the most important thing for a king to understand is the art of compromise. Over the past hundred years, every King of Anzu has relied on compromise to secure the throne...

"But times have changed, Father, the era of compromise is over."

The young prince straightened up and walked out of the room unhurriedly, arriving in the corridor where he saw Duke Silas Loland quietly waiting for him.

"Tonight is truly eventful," the Duke of the East said in a low voice, expressionless.

"The King of Anzu has been assassinated," Edmund Moen said, "Assassins from the royal capital killed our king."

"The Wilder Clan has long been dissatisfied with the Moen descendants gradually slipping from their control. Now, they have finally seized the opportunity when the most capable of the Moen descendants left the royal capital, leaving only a controllable pawn in the Silver Castle. Naturally, they couldn’t resist taking action, preventing the King and the heir from returning to the castle," Silas Loland looked into Edmund’s eyes, his expression quite candid, "This is only logical."

"Indeed, that is the situation," Edmund nodded slightly, "Grand Duke Silas Loland, you whom I trust the most, go and select the soldiers and horses—Anzu needs to be baptized in blood and fire to be reborn."

"Of course, my future king," Duke Loland bowed slightly and stepped back, "but before selecting the soldiers and horses, we need a great fire here first, to send our king off."

Edmund nodded slightly, but when Duke Loland turned to leave, he called out to him: "Duke, you are loyal to me, right?"

"Of course, the Loland Clan is eternally loyal to the Moen Royal Family," the Duke of the East stopped in his tracks, looking into Edmund’s eyes, speaking solemnly, "We are not like the greedy mountain wolves of the North."

To the west, on the horizon, a faint red glow appeared. It was in the direction of the Longwind Fortress built by the Anzu people.

The weather was clear, and the night deep. Even from Winterwolf Fortress, that red glow was distinctly visible.

At the topmost tower of Winterwolf Fortress, Rosetta Augustus stood in front of a clear crystal window, quietly observing the red glow rising from Longwind Fortress—that glow was quickly expanding, even tinging the sky in that direction with a slight red.

Even with a plain in between, even with the entire tower shrouded in a magic barrier, Rosetta Augustus seemed able to smell a hint of burning in the air.

Footsteps approached from behind, and Rosetta Augustus turned, seeing the Wendell family’s girl hastily enter the room—he recognized this girl, an outstanding high-ranked knight, who had taken charge of Winterwolf Fortress at a young age, making significant contributions along the border.

The Wendell family heritage is excellent, and their heirs never disappoint.

"Your Majesty," Andresha Wendell quickly saluted upon entering the room, then swiftly said, "The Hawkeye Sentinel observed that there are flames rising from the Anzu’s Longwind Fortress, something seems amiss."

The Typhon Emperor nodded, his tone flat: "Understood."

"Your Majesty, do we need to..."

"No need, that’s Anzu’s own affair," Rosetta interrupted Andresha, a rare smile appearing on the face of this man with a gloomy aura, "We have already signed a peace agreement with the Anzu, haven’t we?"

Seeing the emperor’s meaningful smile, Andresha couldn’t help but feel a shiver in her heart.

After a brief two-second silence, the young Wolf General took a gentle breath and bowed back: "I understand, Your Majesty."