Heart of the Castle

Chapter 380 The Abandoned Viscount Castle

When the haze of the evening forest was left behind, it was already noon on the third day. Although the snow did not continue, the weather was still bad. Ice needles splashed down on the caravan.There are surprisingly few people on both sides of Guangyao Avenue. Although there are farm huts surrounded by wooden walls from time to time, most of them are sealed by snow, and there is no smoke from the roof.

The adventurers and mercenaries who escorted the caravan knocked on the doors of several farmhouses, but those houses were already empty, with neither food nor furniture—the peasants who used to live here had already gone to Lion City with limited property. The domain of the Vulture Lords, seeking a better life and trustworthy protection.

In front of a deserted knight's manor, Li Wei and others parted ways with Mr. Hullen's caravan, because it was safe enough here, and Mr. Hullen was going to the territory of His Excellency Cedric, the Lord of the White Wolf. Each has a goal.Li Wei did not say where the end of his journey was, and Mr. Hu Lun wisely did not ask. After the two embraced like old friends, they each embarked on different paths.

After that, the weather became colder and the surroundings became more and more silent.The caravan struggled forward in the strong wind, the werewolves tucked their necks under their furry shoulders, the lizardmen were too sleepy to keep their eyelids open, and even the big crows closed their noisy mouths.No one in the entire motorcade was in the mood to speak, as if they were afraid that their words would be frozen by the freezing weather, and they would choke in their throats.

Li Wei and Tang Na rode side by side at the front of the team. It seemed that Tang Na was hit hard by the battle yesterday. His expression was sullen along the way, and Li Wei's mind seemed to be very heavy, so neither of them had any troubles along the way. How to talk until a somewhat familiar shadow of a castle looms ahead.

"The Castle of Viscount Lane..." Li Wei looked forward, the golden face of Flandara was hidden behind the dark clouds of lead gray, and only a faint and pale light fell on the ground. Grey-blue imprint.The past years suddenly flowed through my heart like running water...I saw Iron Hall and the silent Gavin for the first time in the mansion of Ston Knight, and I went shopping with the young and impatient Liat Bread, laughter scattered on the stone-paved street, and then there was a clash of crackling wooden swords. Knight Ston stepped back, showing a half-relieved and half-disappointed expression, watching a faint wave appear in Liat's palm. Fighting light...

"No, it should be Baron Hughes' castle now." The young lord shook his head, getting rid of the melancholy in his heart.Whatever memories the castle once brought him was a thing of the past now.There are still many things he needs to consider now, even if he wants to indulge in the memories of the past, he has to wait until the threat of demons disappears from this land forever.

The caravan was going to pass by the castle and continue heading north, but just as it approached the castle, Donner's surprised voice sounded from Li Wei's ear.

"Your Excellency Li Wei, look at the castle!"

What happened to the castle?Li Wei looked in the direction Tang Na pointed in confusion. He saw the familiar tall tower of the castle. Viscount Lane jumped from that tower and tragically ended his life; he saw the guards at the four corners of the castle. The tower, with the broken banners on it, trembled in the cold wind; he saw the gate of the castle... Li Wei's expression became so surprised that he could hardly believe his eyes.The gate of the castle and the surrounding walls all collapsed, and even a guard tower near the gate disappeared. The remaining one was tilted so badly that it looked like a drunkard was throwing up on his side.And it really vomited a lot, and the scattered stones piled up underneath, like a hill.

"Impossible? Why is it still like this here?" Levi cried out in surprise, "Mr. Dish did say that he let the giant earth element knock down the gate of the castle, and taught that Baron Hughes an unforgettable lesson and warning, but it has been several months now, hasn't Baron Hughes arranged for someone to repair it?"

"Then it's not that I was wrong." Donna said with a solemn face, "The castle has not been repaired, and there are no soldiers on guard towers. Your Excellency Levi, when did the northern border become so safe, allowing a lord to Rule his domain like this?"

This is of course impossible.

Maybe other places in the Kingdom of Arthur can, but the northern border has never been called a safe place, whether it is the wild beasts and wolves that have nowhere to look for food in the forest, or the half-orcs and goblin tribes that come and go from time to time, for the unsuspecting As far as the territory is concerned, it is a very fatal blow.

Li Wei patted the forehead of the Dark Nightmare in the North twice, and Xiongjun's black horse stopped immediately. "Blood of my blood, Donna, it seems that we can't just leave like this. Instead, we need to visit our neighbor, Baron Hughes, to see if something happened to him."

Downer nodded in agreement, and then conveyed to the team the order to rest on the spot, but to be vigilant.The leader of the werewolf wolf and the lizardman sharpshooter Leslin volunteered to go together, and Babrupa also joined in with a bark box.And when he was about to leave, the Black Crow Queen Sigma quietly appeared in front of Li Wei in a black robe.

"Be careful of the hungry wolves in the castle." The little witch's exquisite face showed no expression at all, and her pair of black eyes as deep as night shone with an inorganic light.After saying these nonsensical words, the Black Crow Queen turned and left, leaving Li Wei and the others looking at each other in blank dismay, thinking about how terrible hungry wolves are lurking in this castle, who needs the spiritual leader of the Rotten Swamp I want to come here to remind you.

"Her Majesty's prophecy has never been missed. Leader Li Wei of the Griffin Tribe, please be careful." Lacelin said with some worry, fingers nervously stroking the special short bow on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, with this guy around, no matter what kind of hungry wolf it is, you don't have to be afraid." Tang Na confidently patted the bear-headed battle ax on his waist and said.

"There is a roaring bear, and any hungry wolf will be turned into a meatloaf." Babrupa's shrill voice sounded, and then he glanced at Chief Worf again with teasing eyes. "And we have a distant relative of Hungry Wolf here. If necessary, we can communicate with each other, right?"

"If you meet my distant relatives, I will take you there as a gift, so that the distant relatives can have a good meal." Hearing Babrupa's teasing, the leader of Worf immediately showed his sharp teeth and smiled half-truth Said with threats. "It seems that apart from this function, this short fat man is useless, right?"

Several people talked and laughed like this, while climbing over the ruins of the collapsed gate of the castle. When they saw the scene behind the city wall, including Li Wei, they all gasped.

There was a mess everywhere, as if there had been a bloody battle, corpses were lying everywhere under the cover of white snow, fragments of long swords and shields were scattered all over the ground.Li Wei and others walked towards the corpses carefully, with weapons already in their hands, only Babrupa's footsteps became slower and slower, and soon fell to the back.

Li Wei squatted down next to one of the corpses, and stretched out his hand to brush off the white snow covering the corpse. The corpse was wearing an iron breastplate and spiked iron gauntlets, and the helmet was tilted to one side. Half of his face was shaved off, and a piece of blood-red flesh hung beside his skull, and the teeth exposed under the blood-red were so white that it looked like a ferocious smile.

Li Wei resisted the slight discomfort in his chest and abdomen, and carefully looked at the posture of the corpse on the ground. Obviously, the corpse had resisted before it died. A broken sword that fell beside him proved his efforts, and it also proved this How futile this effort is.

"These dead people were all guards brought by Baron Hughes. The marks on the wounds all have something in common, and they probably came from the same person." Donner walked over, his tone full of worry.

Li Wei knew that he was definitely not worried about the aristocratic young master who was sent here from the capital of Fermeyer, but because of the culprit who caused the massacre.Compared with soldiers, although the guards who came from adventurers are not well-disciplined, they have rich combat experience and better personal strength.Since that person can kill so many adventurers, of course he can also kill the same number of soldiers. If he continues to stay on this land, it is likely to pose a threat to Li Wei's territory.

"Donal, can you tell how long these people have been dead?" Li Wei asked thoughtfully.

"I'm afraid not." Tang Na shook his head with a wry smile and replied, "I can only see that they died for more than a day, but because it was too cold outside, the corpses were all frozen hard, and it is impossible to judge from the degree of decay."

"I can see it." Leader Worf came over triumphantly, "Leevi, the leader of the Griffon tribe, these people should have been dead for more than three days, but not more than a week. In winter, the decaying swamp The tribes often use freezing to preserve food, and food for more than a week will dry out and crack due to moisture loss."

Li Wei didn't want to know what those so-called foods were, so he hurriedly changed the subject. "Okay, Chief Worf, your wisdom has helped a lot." His words made the werewolf leader grin and nod repeatedly.

"There are 35 corpses in total, but Baron Hughes brought over a hundred of his subordinates. Where are the others?" Tang Na put forward his opinion.

"Maybe he escaped, maybe he died somewhere else, who knows?" Babrupa suggested with a trembling voice as he looked around. "Since they're all dead, shall we go back?"

"We can't go back yet. We have to go inside the castle to see if there are any survivors... or other clues." Li Wei said with a serious face, "The next thing may be dangerous, Babrupa, You are not a knight, nor a warrior, if you are afraid, go back first."

"Short, did the dead scare you?" Chief Worf deliberately added contempt in his tone, causing Babrupa's eyes to burst into flames. "Father God, the devout Babrupa is not afraid of anything. Where the coyote's head can go, Babrupa can definitely go."

"Then go in together?" Chief Worf couldn't help laughing when he saw that Babrupa was still nodding in agreement despite his face turning pale.

"Could the murderer have not gone far?" Reslin suddenly asked.

"Maybe, so everyone should be careful." Li Wei's eyes extended towards the main building of the castle, and there was nothing in the field of vision of the probing technique, and the whole castle was immersed in a chilling silence.

The gate of the castle's main building was ajar and not locked, which made Li Wei and the others even more uneasy.Upon entering the main building, one faces a spacious hall where once long tables with rich tablecloths, silver candlesticks and gleaming knives and plates, were hung with rich tapestry, even The hospitality of the kingdom's mission is also grand enough.However, although the long table here is still there, there is nothing on it except thick dust, the high-backed chairs are tilted to this side, and some even have traces of being cut by a sword.

Li Wei looked at the hall with bleak walls, feeling a little melancholy again in his heart. He walked to the fireplace and gently stroked the ancient stone carving patterns on it.The fireplace was cold, and it was covered with ashes. There were only a few solitary pieces of charred charcoal. Li Wei frowned, because he found that the charcoal looked very strange.

"Oh, the guy who lives here must be out of his mind." Babrupa leaned over, looked at the fireplace with regretful eyes, and said, "He even chopped up the chair and burned it as firewood. Doesn't he know the value between the two?" Is there much of a difference?"

Li Wei frowned, he and Babrupa saw exactly the same thing, it seems that something must have happened here that he didn't know about. "It seems that a comprehensive inspection is needed, but this castle is too big, and it will take too much time if we go together." Levi thought about it, then raised his head and ordered: "Chief Worf, Miss Raistlin, you and Don Take a group, check the corridors and rooms on the left, and Babrupa and I go to the right."

"This should save the most time." Donner replied, "Where shall we meet?"

"Still here, if you find anything wrong..." Li Wei stretched out his palm towards Tang Na, and the blood alliance mark on it made the latter nodded in understanding, "Your Excellency Li Wei, please be careful."

Babrupa changed his posture a little uneasy, but he didn't raise any objections.Because time is really short, there is no way to stay here for too long, and at the same time, he is also very afraid of being ridiculed by the coyote head who has been having a hard time dealing with him after putting forward his opinions.

The two walked to the corridor on the right one after the other. Of course Babrupa was the one in the back, holding a dark elf assassination crossbow with poisonous arrows in his hand, and Li Wei, who was walking in front, drew his sword in his hand, but did not use fighting spirit protect the body.Because on the one hand, although the light in the castle corridor is not good, it can only penetrate through a few narrow and long holes in the wall, but it is also enough to see the road under your feet clearly.On the other hand, he is confident enough in his probing skills that he thinks that he will never be attacked.

Most of the rooms on both sides of the corridor had their doors open, and the inside was empty, with nothing but some heavy furniture.Thinking that this seems to be the result of an order he gave before leaving, and then let the servants in the castle overzealously execute it, Li Wei couldn't help showing a dumbfounding expression.They carefully inspected each room, and it seemed that no one had lived in it for a long time. There was a thick layer of dust on the floor and on the furniture. A little bit of heavy footsteps would cause a burst of choking smoke.

"Master Li Wei, there seems to be something wrong here. At least one or two months, no one has lived here. Let's go back?" After finding nothing in three or four rooms, Babrupa began to shrink back again, "Maybe Master Tang Na and the others have discovered something, and they are waiting for us to meet up."

Li Wei didn't bother to pay attention to him, and pushed open the door of the next room. The door was ajar, and there was not much dust in the furnishings inside. It was obvious that someone had lived there not long ago.

"Well, people lived here at last, but the smell is really bad, although the dusty smell of those houses just now is not much better." Babrupa walked in, took a sniff, and immediately said with a bitter face .

What Babrupa said was right, the smell here is indeed unpleasant, it seems that something is rotten, and it is exuding an indescribable sour smell.Li Wei walked to the innermost part of the room and found the source of the smell beside the two side-by-side beds.It was a rusty pot, and the handle was stained with too much dried soup, and the original color could no longer be seen.Li Wei picked up the lid of the pot with his sword, and the strange smell suddenly became stronger, making him take a step back involuntarily.

"My God, even the goblin chowder doesn't smell so bad." Babrupa walked over while covering his nose in amazement. His curiosity made him glance at the contents of the pot, and he regretted it for a long time. "Father God! The contents of this place can poison a mammoth to death!"

"And it was cooked not long ago." Li Wei said in a deep voice, and at the same time, the silver-white fighting spirit flames began to burn on the blade. "Babrupa, get back behind me." The young lord reminded the fat man who was still looking around, "The owner of this pot seems to have found us."

"Then I have to take a closer look. Is the guy who can stew this kind of thing a goblin or something else disgusting?" Babrupa murmured, while hiding behind Levi at the fastest speed.

Li Wei stared at the door with piercing eyes, a reddish light spot was approaching, but the speed was not very fast, it seemed a bit sneaky.The young lord was not nervous. The light red color indicated that the opponent was only average in danger. If he handled it carefully, there should be no problem.

The light spot stopped in front of the door, hesitating for no more than three heartbeats, and then quickly moved away. "Damn, the handprint left on the door." Li Wei cursed in a low voice, and rushed towards the door with a stride. When he opened the door, he happened to see a black shadow flashing by the corner of the corridor, followed by hurried steps The sound quickly faded away.

(End of this chapter)