Chapter 58

In the demonic altar, countless red mists gathered from all sides, converging into a pink sphere floating in mid-air. This evil object, known as the Sinful Pearl, absorbed the dark energy and pulsated rhythmically like a living organ.

Thump! Thump!

Amavre stared at the Sinful Pearl with a manic smile: "It's almost time! It's almost time! Once the ritual is complete, our great cause will take another significant step forward!"

Suddenly, the braziers on either side of the demonic altar burst into towering flames. The pale blue tips of the flames rose high, almost touching the ceiling of the hall.

In the flames, a shadowy presence emitted a deep voice: "Kill Gordon Freeman! Kill Gordon Freeman! Kill this insect that dares to refuse the embrace of the abyss!"

Amavre's heart skipped a beat. As a high-ranking believer of Lovita, she was naturally familiar with the ally of the goddess of torture, the Great Demon Akatu T. The powerful demon, who commanded countless undead, had unexpectedly issued an order at this moment, which surprised her.

Gordon Freeman is also in the castle?

Amavre descended from the altar and entered a dark, cold room. Coen Grivbres, who appeared as a courteous knight and a nobleman of the South in public, now stood before a stone table, fully focused on manipulating two crystal balls, dressed in heavy and menacing black armor.

The crystal balls displayed the wild mating ceremony taking place in the castle hall.

"Gordon Freeman is in the castle? Why didn't you tell me?" Amavre demanded.

"Watch your tone, lady," Coen said with a charming smile, but his words were no warmer than the cold stone room. "I'm not a dog of the Rite family. Our masters are allies."

"Hmph!" Amavre snorted.

Coen continued: "Gordon is just a insignificant mage. Even if he has offended Akatu T, what does it have to do with me? I also dislike him, but now we should prioritize the successful completion of the ritual. Besides, this mage and his beloved girl are probably half-dead from the intense mating. After the ritual, all those poor sacrifices will die. Why worry so much?"

"Killing Gordon is an order from Lord Akatu T. You'd better take it seriously."

Coen shrugged helplessly, causing his heavy armor to clank: "Fine, fine, I'll look for Gordon through the eyes of the Disaster Guardians. But the hall is full of naked, writhing bodies, so it might take some time."

The black-armored warriors monitoring the hall were constructs similar to golems, driven by arcane energy. Their blood-red eyes were connected to the crystal balls in Coen's hands, transmitting the images they observed.

With a gloved hand, Coen traced the crystal, and the scene in the hall began to change. Coen and Amavre started searching for Gordon among the crowd.

Unfortunately, they found nothing.

"See? The mage has run away," Amavre said with a sarcastic smile, looking at Coen.

Coen, no longer as confident as before, said angrily: "That bastard not only stole the woman I wanted but now wants to ruin things? I'll go and kill him, rip out his intestines, and force them into his mouth!"

"Focus on your own tasks, Coen 'knight.' Let my Whip Warriors deal with that cunning mage."

"Be my guest," Coen said coldly. It was a pity about Shellya, who was with Gordon. If she were caught by Amavre's subordinates, she would undoubtedly suffer. If he were to go, he could enjoy it, but it was a regret.

After parting ways with Coen, Amavre returned to the hall. A tall figure in blood-red spiked armor emerged from the flickering firelight and approached her.

Amavre snapped her fingers, and a magical image of Gordon appeared in her palm: "Moke, capture this mage. He is the murderer of my brother Mendoza and is also wanted by the Death King. I want to make him taste the greatest cruelty in the world, to make him understand that death is sometimes a luxury beyond reach."

"How strong is he?" the giant warrior Moke asked.

"Just a second-level mage. I believe it should be no problem for you, a ninth-level Black Warrior."

"Of course, lady." Moke bowed to Amavre and then walked heavily towards the stairs.

...

Gordon held Shellya's soft, moist hand and walked through the underground level of the Sun Elf castle, guided by the dim white light of a light spell. If one ignored the conspiracy of the Three Saints Baptists, it seemed like a routine exploration of ruins. Especially with a beautiful girl by his side, it should be a pleasant journey.

At a fork in the path, they stopped. Gordon took out the castle map and carefully examined it. Although the castle had been abandoned by the elves for many years and had been operated by the followers of Lielia for a long time, the complex underground structure still had many unexplored areas. Apart from a passage connecting all eight floors, many other areas were marked in black on the map with the note "Unknown."

The Sun Elf noble mage who built the castle clearly had a high level of arcane expertise. Most of the magical traps and mechanisms he left behind in the castle had yet to be deciphered. Some areas marked in bright red on the map were even labeled with "Castle guardians present, dangerous!"

"Perhaps exploring will yield some good results. Mages who can build their own castles are usually very wealthy. The elves' hasty retreat left many valuable items behind."

The evil ritual organized by the Three Saints Baptists was clearly well-prepared. Gordon knew that with his current strength, he could hardly do much and would likely just die in vain. Since he couldn't change the situation, he could only slowly investigate while ensuring his safety.

"We'll go left," Gordon said, putting away the map.

Shellya smiled lightly: "I was thinking the same thing."

"You rely on a woman's intuition, while I rely on my extensive knowledge," Gordon said, tapping his forehead. "Although Sun Elves are not as nature-focused as Wood Elves, who refuse to live anywhere but in forest tree houses, they still try to create a natural atmosphere when living in stone structures."

He touched the wall, and under the white magical light, the intricate and unique patterns were clearly visible.

"The wall is carved with summer buttercups, a plant that Sun Elves often use to make incense for meditation. Sun Elves frequently use the long, oval leaves of summer buttercups as a symbol of magic. So this path should lead to the magical area of the castle. I believe we will find something useful there."

"You know a lot about elves," Shellya said, blinking her eyes.

Gordon's knowledge of elves came from his years of playing "Ancient Era," and fortunately, the habits of elves in both worlds were similar, otherwise his knowledge from countless players and official sources would be useless.

"Actually," Gordon said with a mischievous smile, leaning close to Shellya's ear, "I know even more about half-elf girls' bodies."

"Gordon, you're a bad guy," Shellya said, biting her plump, moist lower lip and giving Gordon a playful glare, but she was smiling shyly and not angry.

As an adventurer, Shellya was also very interested in exploring the castle. The two quickly moved forward and finally reached the end of the corridor.

"Is it a dead end?" Gordon looked at the smooth wall, which was carved with a golden oak tree.

"Omaran sings the Song of Summer, and the garden will open for you."

Gordon read the Elvish inscription at the base of the oak tree. It was written in ancient Elvish, which was quite difficult to understand. Gordon had to think hard to decipher it.

"Let me try," Shellya said, stepping forward. "The Song of Summer is performed at the Midsummer Festival, the most important holiday of the elves, and every elf knows it, including me."

Shellya had a beautiful voice, light and clear with a soft, round tone characteristic of a young girl. Her singing seemed to transport Gordon to a beautiful summer night, with the Milky Way spread across the sky, lush green trees all around, a cool breeze, and the gentle chirping of insects.

As the last notes faded, the sound of heavy stones grinding against each other echoed. The stone wall split in two, and a pale blue light shone from the secret passage.

The two entered the stone door, and the wall behind them slowly closed.

Following the light, they soon found themselves in a greenhouse filled with various exotic plants.

The greenhouse was at least fifteen meters high, with a domed ceiling. Twelve blue square crystals were embedded in a circular pattern, providing the light source. Gordon could feel that the pale blue light was rich in life-nourishing energy, capable of replacing sunlight to nourish the plants.

On each of the six walls of the hexagonal greenhouse, a purple metal sphere hung, which Gordon recognized as magical devices for regulating temperature and humidity.

After countless years, these devices were still functioning, allowing the plants in the greenhouse to grow healthily.

However, most of the plants in the flower beds were still in the growth stage. A few that had matured were only ordinary alchemical materials and not very valuable. So Gordon shifted his attention to the center of the greenhouse, where a large oak tree, emitting a golden glow, stood tall, its sprawling branches almost covering the entire dome of the greenhouse.