Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Old Chuck was tied tightly to the chair. He was struggling violently against the bonds. Even though his hands and feet were chafed and bleeding, he continued to writhe. His eyes had turned even a darker crimson color, as fresh blood ran from his eyes. He was also gnashing his teeth noisily.
“Why? You have everything… women… children…”
“I… I don’t have anything… nothing… I don’t want to… be a gravekeeper…”
“I am so hungry, so hungry, eat you… I want to eat…”
Old Chuck’s eyes were out of focus, and he seemed to be talking nonsense. At the moment, his consciousness was already gone. All that was left were his memories and instincts.
Tucker bandaged his wounds, then pointed at Old Chuck in horror and panic. “What happened to him? Is he crazy? What is going on?”
Edward checked Old Chuck’s body, while rolling up Old Chuck’s pant leg. He immediately found a bite mark on his calf. The bite had clear teeth marks and the wound was black and disgusting.
Edward did not bother turning his head, as he answered Tucker’s question, “He died!”
Tucker stared at Old Chuck, who was still slobbering at everyone, and retorted, “How is that possible? You mean, he… isn’t he still alive?”
Edward shook his head. “That is just an illusion. He is already dead. Although there is no problem on the surface, his body is stuck in a strange state between death and life. His breathing and heartbeat can be maintained, but he cannot be officially called alive. I can feel it. He is dead.”
“What the heck is this? Witchcraft? I have never seen or heard of anything like it! Is it a new witchcraft technique?”
Edward was skeptical. After all, he was a student of the second generation Master of the Tower, a direct disciple of the founder of Blood Witchcraft, Bohr Kelermo. As such, he had access to the largest library and center of knowledge within Maria’s World.
So, he knew of the most comprehensive witchcraft inheritance within the Alen Continent. Yet, even he could not see the origins and lineage of this particular witchcraft. So, it was likely that very few people in the world would be able to trace it.
Edward grabbed Tucker’s palm, declaring, “The bandage is useless, as the toxin has already spread through the wound inside your body.”
Tucker jumped up at once. “What?” He looked at Edward with wild eyes. “You… you mean… I have been poisoned?”
Edward nodded and moved his hands. “Isn’t that obvious?”
Tucker swallowed and looked at Edward, then asked, “What will happen to me?”
Edward gestured at Old Chuck, causing everyone else to look at the Old Chuck, who had turned into a ghoul. Tucker’s throat trembled, and he swallowed loudly.
Tucker knelt in front of Edward. “No, Mr. Edward, I don’t want to turn into a monster. Please save me! I’ll do anything you want.”
Edward frowned and looked at Old Chuck. “Although I still haven’t figured out what kind of monster it is, judging from the wound and what he said before, Old Chuck was bitten about six or seven days ago. This means that we still have less than a week…This toxin is mainly used to target living people. As you can see, the toxin became more active, spreading more quickly through the whole body, after Old Chuck died. Before that, nothing abnormal occured.”
Tucker immediately said, “Then, how did Old Chuck die?”
“Well, as it is poisonous, ordinary people have no defense against it. I need to take the blood of Old Chuck. You also need to help me investigate some things, including the identities of the bodies, their locations of death, and others things, like how many bodies have gone missing in total…”
Edward took advantage of this opportunity to seize control of the City Guards and mobilize all of their power according to his own arrangements. After all, he had come to Babus without support.
Moreover, the Wizard Tower had no influence here, and the nearest gathering place for the wizards of Mara was also quite far away. Hence, he had so far only been able to rely on himself!
Edward used the experimental equipment of the wizards to analyze Old Chuck’s blood. As viruses and cells are very different, for wizards, this was also a very new research topic that they had only recently discovered. Viruses were an species that were both living and nonliving, both organic and inorganic.
During an infection, these simple organisms could self-replicate, using the host’s cellular system, but they could not grow and replicate independently. As such, a virus could infect almost any living organisms with cellular structures.
Edward could see that Old Chuck’s blood was infected with a certain virus. The virus’ infection mechanism only targeted the deceased, but it spread very quickly. If the host did not die, it would not initiate the infection mechanism. But, even if it did not activate the infection mechanism automatically, it was fairly easy for the host to still die from the poison of the bite shortly thereafter.
Moreover, the shape of this virus cell was quite similar to the shape of deified cells, which allowed Edward to conclude that the source of this virus must be a wizard. There weren’t too many wizards on the Alen Continent that could transplant such special bloodlines, and most of them were registered in the Tower ledgers.
“Was it the two that I met earlier?” Edward immediately remembered the two mysterious people whom he suspected of being wizards earlier that day.
Edward had no way to kill the virus, but figured that there could still be a way for him to remove the virus from a living body before it proliferated. Edward knew that Babus already had more than a few victims, who were already infected with this virus. If he didn’t work fast enough, he was afraid that the occupants of the entire city of Babus would all become monsters like Old Chuck!
Edward anxiously carried out various experiments on the ghoul virus overnight. Finally, he found some targeted methods and developed a drug to cleanse the virus from infected people, whose conditions had yet to metastasize.
After working tirelessly the whole night, Edward felt a little light-headed. Yet, he had a test tube of the anti-venom that he had just prepared, ready to go! In fact, a slender hand reached out at that very moment to pick it up.
“It’s very good. You’re a talented wizard. It didn’t take you too long to make an anti-venom. Although it’s on the rough side, it will do.”
Edward stood, staring in shock. This man had actually snuck in! He didn’t know how long the intruder had been there, since Edward hadn’t detected the slightest trace of him.
It seemed that this man had been watching him for a long time. If the man had attacked him, Edward wouldn’t have even known what hit him! Edward broke into a cold sweat, as he thought of this.
As soon as Edward registered the presence of the intruder, he fell to the ground, hitting the stone bricks on the floor. All of them immediately disintegrated, like sand, then immediately reconfigured themselves into stone spears, which then flew straight at the intruder! Edward did not bother to see the results of their flight, as he leapt straight for the exit.
Lu Zhiyu swiped the air, immediately causing the spears to disintegrate. All of the stones from the surrounding walls of the house quickly transformed into huge stone palms, which gathered to slam Edward against the wall.
“I admit defeat! I surrender!” Edward yelled in terror.
Lu Zhiyu, whohad been preparing to dole out some punishment on him, immediately stayed his hand. “Not bad. You attack like lightning and run like a rabbit. You’re also pretty good at begging for forgiveness.”
Edward, who was still being pressed tightly against the wall by the palms, grinned. “Well, I didn’t recognize your esteemed presence. You appeared so suddenly. I was terribly shocked.”
Lu Zhiyu teased Edward. “Do you know who I am?”
Edward immediately said, “I transplanted the bloodline of the earth bear, which controls the transformations between mud, rock, and dust. This particular bloodline transplant has just been developed. So far, I’m the only one who possesses it. Not even my master, Instructor Bohr·Kelermo, can use it yet. The only person, who can use such extraordinary witchcraft at will, would be the founder of the Wizard Tower, the Sage Anthony. My Master Bohr is your student. I have heard him describe your appearance, but I didn’t recognize you before.”
Edward never expected to meet this legend, especially here. This was the mysterious wandering Sage, the originator of the wizards, a legend, whose power rivaled the power of the Gods. Although he looked calm, Edward was sweating bullets.
Lu Zhiyu took a chair and sat in front of Edward, who was still stuck on the wall. Edward couldn’t move, so he just looked at Lu Zhiyu awkwardly. He did not dare to ask Lu Zhiyu to let him down.
“I was passing through the Kingdom of Mara, when your teacher Bohr told me to look after you. But, I didn’t expect you to be so late in arriving, after accepting your Instructor’s mission a month ago.”
Edward hastily replied, “That is because, while I was on the road, I caught wind of Adonis’ whereabouts, so I went to investigate and lost a lot of time.”
Lu Zhiyu blinked. “Adonis? The student Bohr expelled from the Tower? Are you familiar with him?”
Edward nodded. “I heard that he appeared inside the Duchy of Creer, but still wasn’t able to locate him. Although he was expelled from the tower by Master Bohr, who was very angry about his behavior, Master Bohr is still very concerned about him. Thus, I wanted to persuade him to return to the tower.”
Lu Zhiyu laughed. “Ah. The forbidden lands of the Duchy of Creer. In the undergrounds of the Northern Wilderness, lies the old base of Li Weisi. The Owl Knights were born there. In a sense, the Owl Knights and the ghouls that you saw are very similar.”
Edward frowned. “Ghouls? Is that the official name of the monster that I saw before? That’s quite fitting! Mr. Anthony, what is happening in Babus? What is going on? Do you know?”
As Edward said this, he hesitated to look at Lu Zhiyu. He was worried that Lu Zhiyu may be responsible for the affair.
Lu Zhiyu looked at Edward. “I know quite a bit, but this is a task that your Instructor gave you. It’s also a trial, so I don’t want to help you. Therefore, I will leave the Kingdom of Mara soon, just after dawn.”
Edward immediately sulked. Lu Zhiyu, with a twinkle in his eyes, went on to say, “But, I can still give you some essential information…”
