049 Head-on Encounter (3)

Meanwhile, after encountering two gossipy women on the road, word that Green, the Necromancer, was going to investigate the strange incident soon spread throughout the castle.

Viscount Paul and Vincent had played no small part in fanning the flames. They had first used the matter to stabilize the situation and prevent those below from fleeing in fear. At least in the eyes of those foolish men and women, judging solely by the terrifying nature of their methods, a Necromancer who manipulated corpses was no less frightening than the strange existence that controlled mysterious curse powers.

What was more, Green's strength and experience had both been exaggerated, suddenly giving the unsettled castle a glimmer of hope. Some servants who had been preparing to flee in secret now decided to hold on to that hope and see whether this evil Necromancer named Green could deal with something even more evil and strange.

Green did not care what the others thought. At that moment, he was fully focused. This was his first time facing a strange entity head-on, and he was slightly tense. The hand gripping his staff was taut, the veins standing out across its back.

Suddenly, a shriek came from within the thick fog. A streak of white light shot out abruptly, hurtling straight toward Green.

Along with the white light came a faint smell resembling fish.

The moment Green smelled it, his mind reeled, and he nearly lost consciousness. Fortunately, a sliver of his true spirit was entrusted to the great bell in the Graveyard. He merely swayed for a moment before quickly regaining his clarity, just in time to see a twisted, hideous ghost face dragging a streak of white light toward him.

Green immediately ordered Evil Spirit Maxim to intercept it.

Evil Spirit Maxim was like a male lion that had discovered one of its own kind. It had already grown restless, and upon receiving the order, it let out a howl and charged wildly forward like a stray dog breaking free of its leash.

In the next moment, there came a sharp crack, like the sound of an electrical short circuit. Evil Spirit Maxim collided head-on with the streak of white light that had shot out. The result, however, was completely beyond Green's expectations. The instant they collided, their strengths were laid bare. It was not that the suspected strange ghost was too strong, but that it was too weak. It could not even withstand a single exchange with Evil Spirit Maxim. It immediately let out a shrill scream, like a monkey whose backside had been set on fire, and slipped back even faster than it had come.

Green could not help staring blankly. Was this strange entity really that cowardly? It had spent so long building up its entrance and constantly creating a terrifying atmosphere. Just now, its momentum had nearly fooled Green. Yet when they actually fought, it had turned out to be this weak. But Green was not pleased. Instead, he knitted his brows, because as far as he knew, no strange entity could possibly be this weak. If strange entities were truly this weak, they would have been deciphered long ago and would never have survived until now. That left only one possibility: this thing was not the strange entity itself, but merely a part of it, or a vassal driven by it.

Evil Spirit Maxim immediately pursued it inside. However, after charging into the room, it found no trace of it. Even the dense fog and white vapor that had originally filled the room had vanished.

Green stood at the doorway and swept his gaze inside. Clearly, that thing had escaped just now.

At that moment, Steward Laurence also regained consciousness. He gave a grunt and came to his senses, but his face was deathly pale, as though he had gone through something terrible. Fortunately, the old steward possessed a strong will and had awakened ahead of time. Otherwise, after a few more minutes, it would have been hard to say whether he could wake up at all.

"Thank you, Young Master Green!" Steward Laurence understood how critical the situation had just been and hurriedly thanked Green.

Green waved his hand, indicating that he should go back first and did not need to stay here with him. Then he walked into the room step by step.

Although Green judged that the suspected strange entity would not return in the short term after escaping, he still did not dare lower his guard. He heightened his vigilance and prepared for anything.

The room was not large. The bedding on the bed lay in disarray, the table against the wall had been knocked crooked, and a chair had been thrown to the floor. Various other belongings were scattered everywhere. The window stood open. Since this was a castle, iron bars had been built into the windows for defense. At that moment, the bars were covered in bloodstains. Someone had evidently crashed into them with tremendous force, nearly bending the iron rods out of shape.

However, after looking around, Green did not find the corpse of the former gardener, Gilmore.

Green frowned and ordered Maxim to return to his side and stand guard, while the other ghosts spread out to search the surroundings...

Several minutes later, no counterattack came, and the ghosts searching everywhere still failed to find the dead gardener's corpse. They found only more than a dozen dead rats in the wardrobe, their deaths gruesome. Some had died recently, while others had already begun to rot, yet none gave off the slightest stench.

"Hm? The positions of these dead rats..." Green opened the wardrobe door to examine them. At a glance, he could tell that something was wrong with how the rats had been arranged. They formed some kind of summoning array, which suddenly reminded him of the array Les and Old Bill had drawn when he had first crossed over. "Could this gardener, Gilmore, also be a secret cultist developed by the Tower of Yin Spirits?"

With this discovery, an idea flashed through Green's mind, and he used Death Spirit Sight.

Originally, Green had not paid much attention to the gardener, Gilmore. But now that he had discovered the other might be a cultist, the matter had become complicated.

Green had always believed that the strange entity that killed Baron Lonanks was connected to the Tower of Yin Spirits, and that the strange entity that had appeared at Wilson Castle this time was as well. But judging from what had now been revealed, the situation was probably more complicated than he had anticipated.

Just then, Evil Spirit Maxim beside Green suddenly looked warily toward the door. Through vibrations in its spirit body, it let out a series of shrieks to warn Green to be careful.

Green looked up and saw that a stretch of white mist had risen outside the room at some unknown point, just like the mist in the room earlier. A white shadow poked its head out and peered inside, observing Green. When it noticed that Green was on guard, it immediately withdrew, and the white mist outside the door rapidly receded with it.

Green quickly chased after it, once again ordering Maxim to lead the way. He himself gripped Ghost Eye, ready to use it at any moment.

Earlier, because he could not be one hundred percent certain of his opponent's strength, Green had not used Ghost Eye right away. After probing it just now, however, he could confirm that the opponent was not strong and belonged to the category of ghosts. Ghost Eye could definitely restrain it. Since that was the case, Green did not hesitate.

But that ghost was extremely cunning. By the time Green rushed outside, it had vanished without a trace. Even Maxim, who had passed through the wall ahead of him, had failed to catch it.

"Hm? What's going on? That fellow shouldn't have been able to run this fast!" Green's heart began to pound. He activated Death Spirit Sight and examined the surroundings, but found no trace whatsoever.

This ghost was different from the strange entity at Baron Lonanks's residence.

That strange entity had left behind at least a trace of aura wherever it passed. Whenever this ghost appeared, it was accompanied by a vast expanse of thick fog, which meant that wherever it went, it would inevitably leave some behind. Just like now, the entire corridor and the adjacent rooms were covered in traces, which instead made it impossible for Death Spirit Sight to determine the ghost's true direction.

Green let out a breath and tightened his grip on the Ghost Eye pendant. Feeling somewhat disappointed, he returned to the room once more, but found no other clues. The escaped ghost did not appear again either.