Chapter 1586: Secret Passage

Chapter 1586: Chapter 99: Secret Passage

When Bologue arrived inside Wind’s Breath Castle, the originally solemn and dignified ancient castle was already soaked in the stench of blood, as if nightmares had invaded reality. Corpses of the Bloodthirsty and the Night Race were haphazardly piled on one side. The surviving soldiers struggled to handle the bodies, thanks to the vulnerability of the Blood of the Night Race, these corpses were surprisingly easy to deal with—just move them into the sunlight.

Corpse after corpse was thrown from the high walls, accumulating into small mounds at the base, layer upon layer, with blood seeping through and forming small streams. The sun slowly shifted its position, and when the first ray of sunlight directly hit the mound of bodies, a raging fire ignited instantly, spewing black smoke.

The battle had only ended not long ago, and similar mounds had already piled up in various places around the Fortress of the Morning Wind, with pitch-black smoke rising like blurred giant pillars.

“That Seeker of Glory from the Night Race, you say his name is Severin?”

While advancing, Holt inquired of Fuen, “Besides the Regent King, is there another Seeker of Glory in the Rebellious Royal Court who is not bound by the oath?”

“It seems so currently. Severin is a Calamity Servant of the Rebellious Royal Court, though he doesn’t possess overly strong combat abilities, his mobility is high. Like the Clarks, he is very adept at manipulating the hurricane, hovering above the high sky, thereby maintaining the operation of the Dark Iron Curtain.”

Fuen had faced Severin several times, unfortunately, in the vast sky, neither could do much to the other, with the fight always inconclusive.

Originally thinking that with Holt’s involvement in this battle, Fuen could gain some results from Severin, but while Holt’s Amber Stasis was indeed powerful, in this boundless sky, his mobility was far inferior. Moreover, Holt had almost no experience in high-altitude combat.

When Holt finally got close to Severin, the guy would leap hundreds of meters in an instant, and even attempts to use Secret Energy to capture Severin to slow his speed were futile, as Severin always maintained a safe distance, staying out of Holt’s domain at all times.

Holt felt like a raging bull crashing through sheets of red cloth, never getting results.

“It seems only you can kill that bastard,” Holt said to Fuen, “aside from you, no one should be able to catch up to him.”

“Me? I’ll pass,”

Fuen shook his head, and explained, “Even if I wanted to gamble on a life-and-death fight with him, realistic factors wouldn’t allow me to do so, you understand?”

Holt composed himself, affirming, “Yes, while you are also a Seeker of Glory, you possess a more special functionality.”

Fuen possesses the Power of Storm, which can not only be used to kill enemies but directly change a region’s weather environment, bringing storms and torrential rain. If necessary, the power Fuen can exert far exceeds the conventional Seeker of Glory’s abilities, invoking sea storms to swallow fleets, guiding tides to breach dams. Moreover, amidst the oppression of the Dark Iron Curtain, Fuen is the only one who can barely resist the clouds.

Thus, Fuen is not suitable for those extremely risky operations, whereas Holt, as the youngest Seeker of Glory of the Order Bureau, lacks crucial functionality, possessing only pure killing techniques.

“By the way, everyone,”

Fuen addressed everyone, “remember to change your blood-stained clothes. They are soaked with the Blood of the Night Race and will ignite and self-immolate under direct sunlight.”

Bologue paused his steps, glanced down at himself, the foul blood was everywhere, with some coagulating into dark red clots.

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Bologue said.

“My ancestors didn’t realize this immediately either,” Fuen said, “until someone got burned in the sunlight, then we started paying attention to this detail.”

The team continued advancing, and deep within Wind’s Breath Castle, Bologue met Palmer, who usually wore a cheerful expression. At this moment, he looked serious, covered in blood, unsure if it was his own or the enemy’s.

Palmer was sitting in a corner, beside him leaning a bloody rapier, seeing Bologue’s group hurriedly return, Palmer forcefully blinked, and stood up relying on his sword.

Fuen was the first to ask, “How’s the situation?”

Palmer answered seriously, “We held on, the Night Race did not manage to assault inside Wind’s Breath Castle.”

When Palmer arrived in Wind’s Breath Castle, several High Tier Condensers and High Tier Night Race were fiercely fighting here, and thanks to Palmer’s outstanding professional skills, he tilted the scales upon joining the battle. Though it was difficult, Palmer eventually slaughtered the other High Tier Night Race, defending the sacred Wind’s Breath Castle.

“I initially thought their target might be the ‘Dawn Oath’, but in battle, I realized their target is likely to incapacitate Wind’s Breath Castle,” Palmer carefully analyzed, “their target is to completely destroy the Fortress of the Morning Wind.”

A large Void Realm enveloped the Fortress of the Morning Wind, and the core of this Void Realm was located within Wind’s Breath Castle. Wind’s Breath Castle is like the Decision Room within the Cultivation Room. Once Wind’s Breath Castle falls, the Clarks will be in absolute disadvantage.

Bologue pondered, and said to Fuen, “Only by conquering the Fortress of the Morning Wind can the Rebellious Royal Court’s army seamlessly enter Rhine Alliance Territory.”

Fuen thought for a moment, and tentatively asked, “You figured out?”

“Yes, only recently. This appears to be the ultimate secret of your Clarks family,” Bologue continued asking, “interested in explaining further?”

Fuen didn’t hesitate, raised his hand, gesturing for several people to follow him, “Of course, you are the expedition army, this matter will eventually be explained to you.”

“What are you talking about?”

Palmer’s serious demeanor couldn’t last long. Faced with a conversation he couldn’t understand, he quickly reverted to a bewildered and foolish state.

Bologue’s figure appeared with a strange double image, and then Aimou emerged from Bologue’s body, the smooth, shiny Second Skin enveloping Aimou’s body, curving gracefully like a dolphin leaping out of the water.

“Talking about the exact location of the Land of Eternal Night,” Aimou combed her hair and asked back, “Palmer, you’ve lived in the Fortress of the Morning Wind for so long, haven’t you ever wondered, what exactly is the Fortress of the Morning Wind guarding against?”

Palmer hesitated for a moment. From a geographical perspective, the establishment of the Fortress of the Morning Wind seemed inexplicable. It guarded the steep coastline tightly, yet few ships passed through this sea area, with no other forces present. Even if it was to defend the Wind Source Highlands, the position of the Fortress of the Morning Wind was too deep. If enemies were at the gates, the Wind Source Highlands would probably have fallen considerably.

Sometimes Palmer also didn’t understand what exactly these massive fortresses were defending.

Bologue straightforwardly explained, “The Land of Eternal Night is located in the Angry Sea.”

“Oh.”

Palmer nodded as he listened. The Angry Sea, that near and eerie sea area, made the establishment of the Fortress of the Morning Wind reasonable.

“Wait a minute!”

Palmer’s reactions were always this sluggish.

Under Fuen’s storm, the Dark Iron Curtain gradually dispersed, and the sky above the Fortress of the Morning Wind grew clear once more. The desolate sunset descended from the sky, casting intense, blood-like sunlight on the coastline, scorching the corpses already charred to coal.

Soldiers were clearing the battlefield. To prevent any accidents, even after being burned by the blazing sun, the bodies of the Night Race had to be gathered together for compression burial.

The Condensers took turns resting, as the weary people finally extricated themselves from this harsh war. First, they cleaned the bloodstains from their bodies, changed into new clothes; some went to rest, some continued their guard, while others moved into the treatment room to dress their wounds.

Field staff from the Order Bureau gathered at Wind’s Breath Castle, discussing with Fuen the next action against the Land of Eternal Night, but this time, members of Group Five, the Hunter’s Bow, did not participate.

Hinda and others were skilled Hunters, prowling with their animal companions along the edges of the Fortress of the Morning Wind, conducting a carpet search for any surviving Night Race by following the blood scent.

Given the Night Race’s morbid propagation speed, Hinda could not allow even a single Night Race to escape.

Under the gradually dimming sky, the occasional sounds of eagle cries and dog barks echoed, and a faint sense of Ether reactions arose, like the cruel echoes of the battlefield.

By the time Bologue exhaustedly left Wind’s Breath Castle, Hinda and the others had already returned, carrying in their hands the heads of the Night Race to identify them. As for the remaining bodies, they were burned on the spot for harmless disposal.

Group Five had previously handled several tasks regarding the Night Race, and they had become skilled at the workflow.

Hinda asked, “Have the discussions yielded any results?”

Bologue shook his head, “We’re still considering how to enter the Land of Eternal Night.”

In the discussions at Wind’s Breath Castle, how to quickly and safely enter the Land of Eternal Night had been troubling Bologue and the others. Now, as the Rebellious Royal Court had risen again within the Land of Eternal Night, that extreme supernatural environment, once a prison for them, had now turned into a barrier protecting them.

With a large team, crossing the sea directly to the Land of Eternal Night would certainly draw the attention of the Rebellious Royal Court. Once a battle erupted on the sea, Bologue and the others would have no advantage whatsoever, and might even be annihilated by the enemy.

Bologue was trying to find a way to sneak in silently, but even Fuen couldn’t come up with a feasible plan. After all, the Clarks had been the Prison Guards for nearly a century, but had never considered releasing this malevolent convict.

Hinda urged, “We don’t have much time. We cannot afford to delay too long over something like this.”

The Rebellious Royal Court was already aware of the Order Bureau’s presence, and a decisive battle was imminent. Whoever took the initiative would have the advantage.

Bologue felt a headache coming on; too much had happened today for him to handle, especially with his Alchemical Matrix wounds not yet fully healed.

Compared to physical injuries, the damage to the Alchemical Matrix healed particularly slowly.

Just as Bologue was at a loss, Palmer suddenly spoke, “Serey, Serey might know some secret passages.”

Palmer’s eyes sparkled, “That bastard must know something!”

“That coward won’t come out.”

Bologue naturally knew that Serey certainly had secret passages, but after some words from the Undying Club, he already realized that Serey was completely unreliable. This matter could only depend on himself.

That’s right, it must depend on oneself. Bologue had long realized that certain things must be in his own hands.