30 - Chapter 30

The sky was getting darker and the fog was getting thicker. The carriage just rolled over a stone, and Tarina threw herself into Burris’s arms during the bumps. When he held the child, Burris was startled. There was an overwhelming heat on her body, and her skin was hotter than any fever patient Burris had ever seen. This must be a symptom of ‘forced influence’ undoubtedly.

The magic disturbance was torturing her, tearing her apart. This process will cause the person to have a high fever and dehydration, and in severe cases, skin and mucous membrane bleeding will occur. The rate of development of ‘forced influence’ goes from one to two years if it’s slow, to a dozen days if it’s fast, and Tarina course of disease progressed ridiculously fast, surpassing all the cases Burris had read about.

This rate of deterioration must be related to the elements of hell. It is said that the methods of spellcasting of infernal creatures and human sorcerers are very similar. The strength of both depends on the power of blood. The method of spellcasting is to sense the element first, then absorb it, manipulate it, and release it…The difference is that certain elements in hell do not exist in the human world, so infernal magic is very different from the magic of human sorcerers.

So, what if a human sorcerer absorbed the elements of hell…? Will a successful person increase their power? Will an unsuccessful person die insane?

Could it be that the Red Vulture of the Moonset Mountains is the initiator of all this? Or is he just a victim, and something more dangerous is hidden behind him?

Burris stopped the carriage. Now Tarina needed to drink a lot of water, but also needs the call and company of her relatives. In some cases, patients with ‘forced infection’ can firm their will to survive because of the call of their relatives, and fight against the magic disturbance…Although it may not save her, it can at least buy her some time.

Charles and a maid were by the carriage, and the others stood far away, leaving only a faint outline in the fog. The maid carefully fed Tarina with water, while Charles carefully took out the cushion on his sister’s seat and fluffed it and brought her another blanket.

Burris couldn’t help asking: “Sir Charles, it seems you are used to taking care of her like this?”

The apprentice knight looked down. “Our mother died when she was very young, and my father and Nollard were busy with government affairs, so I was the only one with her. Nollard and I were happier than her. Nollard had parents in his childhood, and I had parents and a brother during my childhood, but Tarina lost her mother when she was so young, and her father seldom took care of her personally…She almost had only me during her childhood. But really, she was not like this before. She was just a little timid, but she was never so weak… ”

Burris stood beside Charles and patted him on the shoulder in approval. Compared to Charles, Nollard seemed to be less careful. Nollard was ten years older than Charles and sixteen years older than Tarina. He didn’t have much in common with his younger siblings. However, his interest didn’t seem to be government affairs, but those boys and girls who are not related to him…

Charles thought quietly for a while, then whispered: “Your Excellency, I want to ask you something… Maybe my idea is silly, don’t make fun of me.”

“Please tell me, I’m happy to help you out.” Burris found himself admiring the young man more and more.

Did you know that my mother was like this before she was killed… At first, her temperament changed drastically, and her mood was extremely unstable. Later, she began to faint, had a high fever, and became unable to recognize us…Do you think Tarina would also…?”

Burris looked at him and at the little girl in the carriage and decided to tell him truth. “Sir Charles, I don’t want to lie to you. Tarina’s situation is really dangerous. As you can see, everything we saw along the way was very strange, and the fog is not a natural phenomenon. I believe that…Tarina’s problems are also related to these.”

“You can save her, right?” Charles asked expectantly.

Burris saved Tarina once, and Charles hoped that all would go well this time. But the mage just looked sadly at the direction of the team’s advancement and did not give a clear answer. Charles lowered his head without further questioning.

At this moment, the maid walked off the carriage holding a small water bottle, and Tarina suddenly stood up. She turned her head to look in a certain direction and her eyes widened. Her gaze seemed to be chasing some living thing in the fog…

Burris had a bad feeling. He could disperse the nearby fog temporarily, but he couldn’t keep it for too long, and because he didn’t want to waste this opportunity, he hadn’t cast that spell. Now his instinct told him that it was time.

He had just read the first character, and a gust of wind rushed in front of him. The wind appeared in the blink of an eye, and there was no process from weak to strong. The maid fell to the ground, the knights smashed into each other, the horses roared in shock, and the carriage swayed and rammed.

Burris tried desperately to stand still but was hit by the circling carriage. He heard Charles yelling Tarina’s name, followed by a series of panicked footsteps…

“Bu…Kreve!” A gentle hand lifted the mage up, brushed his hair out of his face, and pressed a handkerchief on his head.

Burris realized that his forehead had been hit by the carriage, and blood was dripping down his cheeks to his robe. Roth rushed over to hug him and looked at him with concern.

The wind suddenly subsided but the dense fog was not blown away at all. Burris looked around, and sure enough, Tarina and Charles were gone.

He pushed Roth’s hand away and cast a spell in the direction where he heard the footsteps. A part of the fog was dispersed with his gesture, revealing the woods and fork roads outside the main road.

“Heisong!” Burris shouted. “Come with me to disperse the fog!” After he said that, he casted a similar spell himself, and another part of the fog was dispersed.

Heisong had been lifted from the ground by the wind, and just now he was crawling back into the bone chair. He drove his chair around and released two fog-removing spells one after another, which temporarily pushed the dense fog away a bit.

The dirt road outside the main road was full of footprints, and some rotten flesh and blood were scattered, as if a group of carrion corpses had rushed past… and about a hundred yards in front of them was the first city wall of Silver Falcon Castle.

Their spell effects wouldn’t last long. The natural mist will be at the mercy of the spellcaster, but this mist seemed to be alive, and the newly torn opening soon closed again.

A tumult broke out at the end of the team. In the chaos just now, the corpses in the prison cart broke the lock and escaped. A knight caught one of them and nailed it to the ground with a spear. The corpse struggled in place, squirming in vain, and its face kept facing northwest.

After this tossing, the soldiers on the far wall also saw the situation on the road. The city guard sent two groups of soldiers to meet the prince, but Prince Lanto stood there in a daze, unable to give an order.

The city guard said that they did see a group of scary guys running from the road. It was already a little foggy at the time. They thought it was where the refugees were coming from, but they didn’t see that this was a group of corpses in the graveyard. However, the corpses did not hit the gate of Silver Falcon Castle, but scattered and disappeared on the nearby small road.

Burris thought, because they are not going to the city, but the Moonset Mountains, the corpses in the prison cart, and maybe even Tarina… There is some kind of power in the mountains that dominates them, summons them, and waits to become their master.

The only exception was Sir Charles. He should have disappeared to catch up with his sister, but even if he was sane, it would be difficult for him to face the unknown in the mountain alone.

Prince Lanto gradually recovered from the panic and ordered the soldiers present to divide into several groups and track all the footprints. When he was about to give his eldest son an order, Burris walked over and bowed. “Your Highness, I and other spellcasters will also participate in the search.”

“Very well.” The prince wiped the sweat from his forehead. “But you should wipe your face first… you have blood on your face.”

“I’m fine, it’s just a little scratch. Human scalp bleeds easily.” Burris deliberately didn’t want to wipe off his blood, because this blood might still be useful after waiting for a while… Some spells require the blood of the spellcaster, so they need to cut their fingers, but it hurts. “Your Highness, I suggest you don’t let Sir Nollard participate.”

“Why?” The prince asked. A gleam of gratitude flashed in the eyes of Nollard beside him.

“Your Highness, do you remember what those dead assassins wanted to do to you?” Burris said. “Your birthplace is in the capital, not in Silver Falcon. You are relatively safe here, but it’s not the same for your children, because…they should have been born here, right?”

Nollard didn’t know what this meant, but Prince Lanto understood clearly. Someone wants to kill him, want him to die near his birthplace, so that he will be turned into something like that group of assassins, retain a certain intelligence before his death, and absolutely obey his new master…

Burris went on to say: “Your Royal Highness, something dangerous is lurking in the mountains. For you and us, the worst result is nothing but death; and for people born here, they may be controlled by evil spellcasters… so I suggest that Sir Nollard stay in the city. If you have enough manpower, I even suggest that you try not to send local-born soldiers to participate in the search and rescue.”

The prince listened to the advice of the mage and reorganized the team. Soldiers participating in the operation must report their birthplace, the farther away from Silver Falcon Castle, the better. Nollard hurried into the gate with a team of people, with a relieved expression on his handsome face.

Both Prince Lanto and Heisong were familiar with the mountains and were studying the map and searching for routes. Burris sorted out magic items and medicinal materials, hoping to be fully prepared in case of danger.

If he hand’t the problem of his soul being out of sync; if his ability to cast spells was restored as it was before, he would have been more confident…but now he could only have hope in the knights and Heisong.

As for the Skeleton King, his role may be very limited. If there are many enemies, he couldn’t rush up and kill a group of people one by one…

The Skeleton King was standing aside, staring at the slowly closing mist.

He closed his eyes and opened them again. The whites of his eyes became hollow black, and the ice blue iris was replaced by a cluster of fire.

“Siegfried*, answer me.” The Skeleton King spoke with his consciousness, probing the place of his creation in silence. “Siegfried, where are you? Wake up and respond to me…”

Odile had the power of necromancy, and she was good at attacking and killing, just like a merciless verdict. Siegfried had the power of hell, and he was good at dominating and corroding, just like the whispers of devils…

Infernal magic fluctuated in response, but the Skeleton King never heard an accurate answer.

When the distance was close enough, he could easily find Odile, because she is a complete and lucid individual. But Siegfried was different. He either hasn’t awakened yet, or is unconscious even though he is awake…

There was too much power spilled over this land, and the ubiquitous elements of hell simply formed a barrier. The scope was too large for him to see the position of Siegfried.

“Siegfried, wake up soon…” Rothbart continued to mutter silently. “If you continue, you will create demons that shouldn’t exist in this world… and then you won’t be able to wake up again.”

The author has something to say:

*Note: Siegfried and Odile, are names in the real world, but the stem is indeed from Swan Lake, including the name Rothbart (and Odette who hasn’t appeared…). These names were taken by the Skeleton King…

But on the other hand, the relationship between these people, their identity and personality, is completely different from the Swan Lake, and has nothing to do with it, so Siegfried will not be a prince (What he is will appear in the future….)