Chapter 452

Chapter Seventy-Five: Signs of Life

Amidst the galloping hooves, wind and rain raged around us.

“Lord Isaac, that’s it!”

The scout knight at the front turned his head and shouted. Isaac nodded, looking around before spotting a small path on the downward slope to the left. He pointed in that direction, “Stay close to me! Keep your guard up!”

Everyone responded affirmatively, then followed closely down the slope, splashing mud everywhere.

I was running at the back. The lower half of my angwantibo’s body was already covered in mud, and my cloak was also splattered with it; my face might be too… I quickly wiped my face.

The group crossed through the dark brown wasteland and arrived at the steep slope leading to the village entrance.

Two knights were waiting there. Upon seeing us approach, they hurriedly saluted, “Lord Isaac.”

“What’s the situation?”

Isaac reined in his beast, stopping its hooves. He wiped the rain from his head and asked in a low voice.

“It’s very quiet, Lord. There are no signs of life yet.”

The bald man nodded upon hearing this and glanced at the village.

Rumble-rumble-rumble—

Thunder and lightning flashed through the clouds, illuminating the gray sky. The dilapidated thatched houses in the village ahead were momentarily illuminated in bright white. I faintly saw the dead lying on the ground, washed by the rain, along with pools of blood.

“Follow me into the village.”

“Yes.”

“Hah—”

Everyone tightened their reins and dismounted the steep slope, following Isaac as he slowly ran towards the village.

I still lagged behind the group. I secretly rubbed my sore bottom, shook off the water droplets from my cloak, pulled the hood back over my head. The giant beast beneath me was becoming restless, shaking its head and snorting loudly. Its iron hooves clattered on the stone path leading to the village entrance, “clang clang clang.” I stroked its mane, slightly lowering my head. Under the cloak, my black eyes rolled around, observing everything cautiously from side to side. My ears perked up, listening for any movement.

But all was silent.

So quiet…

And…

Everywhere were corpses…

A dozen knights riding massive beasts entered the village entrance. The village, shrouded in rain mist, showed the decayed appearance of the two rows of stone cottages along the road.

It was unclear how long these houses had been eroded by heavy rains. Many of them seemed like sieves, full of holes, most roofs had collapsed to varying degrees, some even had their roofs torn off, exposing the beams which had turned black and shiny from the rain.

A faint smell of blood permeated the air.

Men, women, elders, children—bodies lay scattered, in various postures, drenched by the heavy rain, their eyes wide open without any light. Most of the bodies were intact, but some had their heads chopped off or cut in half, blood mingling with the rainwater, pooling in low-lying areas, staining the village paths red.

A knight dismounted and approached a male corpse nearby, squatting to examine it for a moment before turning back, “The time of death is within a day. The body is still hard and hasn’t started to rot. There’s a deep slash on the chest, with at least three broken ribs.”

“We checked a few corpses at the village entrance before you came. They all had wounds, but not like those from swords… Only one was burned.”

“Look at this…”

More knights dismounted and went to check the other bodies. Soon, someone noticed something and waved, and two nearby knights gathered around to look at a female corpse whose head had caved in.

“This…”

“It seems she was crushed by something heavy. Her head is completely shattered… Look here, the wound on her waist…”

“Four holes… Is it a pitchfork?”

“It’s a pitchfork.”

“It looks like these so-called mountain bandits are actually refugees who fled from elsewhere…”

“They have already fled…”

I continued riding the angwantibo forward. A few steps later, I noticed a patch of charred grass beside me, as if it had been scorched by fire. Lying among the grass was a corpse as black as charcoal.

She was burned…

But something didn’t seem right.

…Just to be safe, let me take a closer look.

With a serious expression, I frowned and first stroked the giant beast’s fur. Then I lowered myself, slowly turned my body, placed my toes on the step-like stirrup on the right side of the beast’s back, stepped firmly, and slid down from the beast’s back, holding onto the saddle and standing on the footrest about a meter high. I looked down at the ground and leaped lightly…

“Ouch!”

I forgot to unhook the iron hook hanging from my waist!

The downward momentum lasted only an instant, then a tug at my waist made my body suddenly stop, and I couldn’t help but shout. I awkwardly hung in mid-air. At the same time, this sudden force caused the giant beast to shake violently, taking two steps to the right, almost falling over—I wasn’t joking about Captain Gray’s weight on my back.

“Whinny—”

The beast whinnied loudly, its iron hooves stomping restlessly. The rope suspending me began to sway, making me feel like I was swinging on a swing. My heart was filled with panic, and my little hands flailed wildly in the air, trying to grab something. Suddenly, I felt lighter.

“Let me…”

It seemed someone grabbed the strap on my leather bag from behind, lifting me up. Then, a thick, rough hand reached out to unhook the iron hook from my waist.

“You’re just a clumsy little girl, aren’t you?”

Isaac’s deep, rugged voice echoed in my ear.

Before I could fully react, he had already lifted me up with one hand.

I mentioned in front of me as if holding a little chick, his wet face enlarged in front of my eyes. The rainwater slid down from his glistening forehead, passing over the complex bloody tattoos… Immediately after, that face grinned at me, as if mocking.

I was furious inside: “Put me down!”

I raised my hand to grab his face.

“Little one, what are you carrying on your back… It’s quite heavy, is it a weapon?”

Isaac quickly leaned his head back, stretching my arm… I couldn’t catch him anymore! Ah ah ah ah! So infuriating…

I forcefully held back the impulse to shoot an ice blast at his face, struggling and wriggling in mid-air.

“Let go of me!”

“Pfft…”

“Huhuhu—”

Through the wind and rain, I faintly heard stifled laughter. Perhaps it was inappropriate for the occasion, or due to their status, the knights turned away or rode off on their mounts. They began checking the surroundings, some entering the house, but their shoulders shaking were still visible to me out of the corner of my eye.

“Isaac…”

I was enraged and humiliated. Even though I was soaked in cold rain, my face felt hot. Clenching my teeth, I shouted his bald name, wishing I could eat him right then and there.

“What’s wrong? I saved you, aren’t you even going to say thank you?”

“…”

I don’t need your help…

I remained silent with a cold expression.

Isaac slowly put me down.

“…Your appearance just now reminded me of a little black cat I used to have… yes, its name was Little Black Dog. It died two years ago. You resemble it; your fur is similar, and you’re both small, with a terrible temper. Despite being weak, you always try to threaten me… Seeing you reminds me of it, and I almost scratched your chin just now.”

The giant bald knight spoke to himself as he turned to leave, “But now isn’t the time for this. You and the knights should enter the house to search. Maybe you’ll find something.”

I watched his retreating figure, clenching my teeth tightly. My fists clenched several times, barely holding back my anger.

Little black cat?

Little black dog?

Weak to the point of…

Bald dead man…

I really want to freeze him into an ice sculpture…

For now, I’ll remember this.

I turned angrily, took a few deep breaths, forcing myself to calm down, and walked to the charred body. Squatting down, I frowned, then picked up a branch nearby and poked the body, which was as hard as wood… Alright, I admit I’m amateurish and can’t tell much.

But burning to death in this position is very strange… There’s nothing around that could burn, and judging by the posture, he wasn’t tied up before dying. Instead, it looks like he caught fire while fleeing, and died quickly…

It was as if someone threw a ball of extremely high-temperature flame at him.

…The Fire of Sin, the Gate of Truth.

I had thought of this possibility before coming here, which is why I rushed with Isaac and the others. Although the likelihood is very small, we were all prepared for battle… Even so, this possibility is slim.

Although this place is already the southern region, it’s still land north of the southern border. From here to the city of Alertheon beyond the coast, we still need to travel a long distance… If everything goes smoothly, it will take about twelve to fifteen days, or half a month. If it keeps raining heavily, it might take longer…

Even if the heretics were fierce and powerful, they couldn’t break through the Third Knight Order’s desperate resistance, occupy Alertheon, and then proceed to burn, kill, and plunder, finally reaching here… unless they were all like Victoria, flying directly over the clouds from the coast.

This is impossible…

Unless someone left the group and acted independently…

Dropping the branch, I slowly stood up and glanced in Isaac’s direction… He had remounted his mount and was leading the knights deeper into the village. It seemed there was no useful discovery here.

The people here should all be dead.

“Sigh…”

I pouted and sighed, unable to express my current mood. I turned and walked to the massive beast, which had become quiet, and nervously touched its neck. Then, I lifted my leg and stepped on the lowest stirrup, climbing up using my hands and feet.

Once on the beast’s back, I grabbed the reins and controlled it to move forward slowly.

The scout knight said the village behind was a hill range, perhaps there’s a shortcut… Let’s go look for it.

If not, I’ll check the collapsed area again. If it’s not too large, I’ll think of a way to clear the path… I hope I won’t waste more time circling the mountain.

I need to rescue Barry as soon as possible.

Then, I’ll beat Isaac up.

Thinking about what happened earlier made me angry. He actually carried me like that… and mocked me… He…

Wait…

Just now…

He lifted me with one hand…

I was carrying Captain Gray!

I suddenly raised my head, eyes wide open, staring at the bald head in the rain mist, watching his silhouette as he shouted commands. For a moment, I was stunned.

With one hand…

He lifted me so easily…

“Lord Isaac—”

Suddenly, a knight’s voice echoed from afar.

“There’s someone in the house!”

“A living person!”