Don't panic

The whole group charged toward the diseased village through the wind and rain.

As they drew closer, Zhao Si sensed an evil presence circling in the air. It made his soul tremble and his bones tingle. It probably wasn't the frenzied flame, but the presence of Milos-the Dung Eater.

Then the evil presence weakened considerably, replaced by utter madness. That madness spread from deep within the woods and swept through the entire forest.

Violent, scorching, frenzied. Faint, buzzing whispers drifted into his ears, piercing his eardrums and reaching straight into his soul.

Zhao Si's face went pale.

Riding beside him, Alberich noticed that Zhao Si seemed off and asked, "Hey, little loser, are you feeling sick?"

"Huh? No, the presence up ahead just feels terrifying." Zhao Si gulped for breath. Rain fell into his mouth, its icy chill washing over his tongue and throat and easing his fear.

"Heh, you're really sensitive to these things," Alberich said. "Try sensing a little more. See what else you can pick up."

"It's a passive effect, not something I asked for! I'd rather not feel any of this!" Zhao Si felt cold all over and began shivering uncontrollably.

The closer they got, the more clearly he could feel the madness. The air seemed filled with the smell of sulfur, which kept forcing its way into his nose and mouth. It was unbearably acrid.

They could already see the steeple of the Carl Baptismal Church ahead, but what greeted them was a huge mass of frenzied flame.

The fiercely burning frenzied flame had gathered into a fireball suspended in midair. As they approached, they could see numerous plainly dressed villagers kneeling around it, muttering meaningless prayers as they prostrated themselves before the frenzied flame.

Meanwhile, the cordon established by the Morne Army soldiers was completely deserted.

Blaidd? raised a hand, signaling everyone to stop. "Don't rush in. Wait here. I'll scout ahead."

Zhao Si summoned his courage and volunteered. "I-I'll go with you." He was deeply worried about that mass of frenzied flame in the air. He had seen it once in the game and knew how dangerous it was.

"Try to stay behind cover as we advance," Zhao Si warned Blaidd?, his brow tightly furrowed.

Blaidd? looked back. "Why?"

"Because I keep getting the feeling that the fire is alive. We'd better not let it shine on us. We don't have anything to cure madness." Zhao Si furtively hid behind a large tree and peered at the Frenzied Flame Ball.

Blaidd? nodded in understanding. In a treacherous place, caution was what kept you alive.

Compared with the enormous fireball in the later Frenzied Flame Village, which resembled the Eye of Sauron, the one above the Carl Baptismal Church was quite small. It wasn't like a miniature sun. Still, since it was frenzied flame, they couldn't afford to take it lightly.

Only when they approached the checkpoint did Zhao Si realize something was wrong. Goose bumps rose all over his body-the soldiers were all dead.

Their wounds were gruesome, as though they had been ripped apart by a saw.

Blaidd? moved to investigate, but Zhao Si grabbed him.

"Wait..." Zhao Si's voice trembled. "I've got a bad feeling."

As soon as he spoke, as though to confirm his premonition, the dead soldiers of Castle Morne suddenly stood up, their movements stiff as marionettes. Yellow flames poured from their eyes, and they charged at Blaidd? and Zhao Si with weapons clenched in both hands.

Blaidd? reacted quickly, drawing the twinblade from his back first. Since he had been prepared to fight at any moment, the twinblade wasn't wrapped in its leather sheath this time, allowing him to act faster.

Zhao Si drew his Estoc and parrying dagger from his waist and stood ready. He knew that recklessly rushing forward would only get in Blaidd?'s way.

Blaidd? swept into the soldiers' ranks like the wind, but before he could display his superb swordsmanship, frenzied flame came gushing from their eye sockets.

They howled as they spewed frenzied flame, forcibly driving Blaidd? back. The sight alone was enough to erode one's sanity.

But as long as he could dodge it, there was nothing to fear. Sometimes, frenzied flame incantations weren't all that different from impotent rage.

Relying on his nimble footwork, Blaidd? whirled his twinblade and severed head after head. As the soldiers died, the frenzied flame dwelling in their eyes dissipated.

While he fought furiously up front, Zhao Si wasn't idle either.

Giant rats burst from the grass nearby!

Good grief, those rats were as big as large dogs. They were fat and powerfully built-who knew what they'd eaten to grow that large? Worse still, there was frenzied flame in their eyes too.

"You goddamn bastards!" Zhao Si cursed.

Animals definitely didn't have Grace, so it was even easier for frenzied flame to infest them than humans. The soldiers' corpses had probably been possessed because Milos had killed and defiled them first, damaging their Grace and giving the frenzied flame an opening.

Zhao Si dodged a giant rat's pounce and thrust his sword into its neck with a backhand strike.

The sharp blade pierced the rat's coarse hide and flesh. Blood gushed out as he pulled it free. Not daring to let up, Zhao Si drew back his sword and thrust again.

The strike felt perfect. His second thrust entered the same wound and pierced clean through the rat's neck. It died instantly without another sound.

A sharp rush of air came from behind, prickling his skin. Zhao Si spun and slipped away like flowing water.

The Estoc followed with a slash that struck the giant rat squarely across its back.

The wound was too shallow. An Estoc wasn't meant for slashing.

But Zhao Si angled the Estoc downward and repeated his trick, plunging it into the wound and severely injuring the giant rat. Bleeding profusely, it collapsed to the ground.

I'm not so useless that I'd get eaten by rats!

He had barely begun to feel pleased with himself when pain struck his waist. Before he could react, another giant rat slammed straight into him.

He lost his footing, smacked his head and face against a tree, bounced back, and landed on his backside.

The giant rat pressed its advantage and pounced straight onto Zhao Si. Its foul stench made him gag, and its rodent incisors were only a few centimeters from his face.

The frenzied flame in its eye sockets seemed ready to suck out his soul!

He drove the parrying dagger in his left hand into the giant rat's eye socket. Blood sprayed out mixed with frenzied flame, frightening Zhao Si into squeezing his eyes shut, turning his head, and struggling.

The giant rat breathed its last. Zhao Si shoved its corpse away and wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve. Waves of foul, bloody stench seemed to drill into his brain, leaving him nauseated.

Fortunately, there was blood. Much of the frenzied flame burned along with it and splashed elsewhere instead of burning Zhao Si's eyes.

Being afflicted with madness was no good thing.

His left hand, however, had suffered. Since it had been closest to the rat's eye, frenzied flame had splashed onto it and burned right through his glove. Terrified, he hurriedly stripped off the glove and tossed it aside.

Still shaken, he inspected his left hand and found nothing wrong.

Before he could investigate further, he heard Blaidd?'s

shouts.

It turned out that while fighting the giant rats, he had exposed himself to the Frenzied Flame Ball. In just a few seconds, his entire body became painfully hot, as though burning. The hairs on his back stood on end, and even his brain trembled!

There was no madness buildup gauge here to give him a clear visual warning. Now he couldn't move his hands or feet. He might already be on the verge of madness.

"Don't panic."

A lovely, melodious voice rose from deep within him, like a basin of cold water poured over him from head to toe. The burn mark on his wrist throbbed once, instantly snapping Zhao Si back to his senses.

He seized the opportunity and darted behind a large tree. Only then did his body feel at ease, free of that trembling, paralyzing sensation.

He couldn't help knocking on his skull to check that his brain was all right and reassure himself.

After clearing out all the soldiers, Blaidd? sheltered behind the barricade blocking the road and called toward Zhao Si, "Are you all right?"

Zhao Si wiped away his sweat. "I'm fine!"

The burn mark on his wrist had noticeably worsened.