Chapter 12: I'll leave without disturbing you
Inside the dimly lit Basement No. 4.
Flames flickered, and a lit white candle stood at each of the central altar's four corners.
A sunflower-like potted plant stood quietly on the altar, its head hanging and its stalk bent as though it had wilted.
An aged, wrinkled hand held a tiny glass bottle, carefully pouring out the blood inside.
Droplets of blood carrying faint points of light fell onto the sunflower.
The sunflower's leaves instantly absorbed every drop.
A moment later, the sunflower seemed to regain a little vitality. It slowly straightened, revealing its "true face."
A baby's face grew in the center of the sunflower, its eyes tightly shut as though it were enjoying a sweet dream.
"Waaah!!!"
It suddenly opened its eyes, revealing pupils without a trace of white, filled entirely with darkness and malice, and began to wail.
Its strange, hoarse, owl-like cries sent rings of black light rippling outward in every direction.
Whoosh!!
Every torch and candle in the basement went out.
The priest was forced into a corner by a wind that did not exist. He even felt as though his soul would be blown out of his body.
Fortunately, the crying only lasted a few seconds before the eerie sunflower lowered its head again and fell deathly still.
Still shaken, the priest wiped away his sweat and spoke in a low, raspy voice.
"It seems it doesn't much like the taste of the moon... but it clearly belongs to this sequence. Why would this happen?"
The old priest returned to the altar and looked down at the powerful bizarre object, his gaze inscrutable.
Suddenly, he noticed that the potted plant had extended a tiny branch, pointing somewhere outside the basement.
Something in that direction seemed to be attracting it.
"Hmm?"
The old priest turned to look in the direction the branch indicated, but all he could see was the basement's iron door.
Clang!
The cell's iron door opened.
"Hurry and escape while everything's in chaos. I've already killed the guards nearby."
Chen Lun stood before several sacrificial offerings who looked like frightened quails and spoke softly.
But they ignored him, huddling together in even greater fear and shrinking into a corner.
"P-please... please don't kill us."
Chen Lun paused, then looked down at his outfit: a leather coat, a brimmed hat, and a short sword at his waist.
He realized that these poor souls had mistaken him for a church guard, so he casually removed his disguise, revealing his original linen clothes.
"I'm not a bad guy, understand?"
Chen Lun shrugged helplessly.
Only then did the sacrificial offerings believe him, but they still did not dare step through the cell door.
Chen Lun sighed softly.
"I've given you your chance. If you don't want to die, hurry up and leave."
With that, he turned and walked away.
"Th-thank you! Please tell us your name, our savior!"
Chen Lun looked back and saw one of the girls bowing to thank him, her eyes full of hope.
He waved indifferently and hurried toward the upper level.
"I, Chen Lun, never leave my name when I do a good deed. If you absolutely must know, just call me Red Scarf!"
"??"
Leaving the bewildered girl behind, Chen Lun reached the door leading to the upper level.
He unlocked the iron door with his key, immediately drawing the attention of several guards beyond it.
Before they recovered from their surprise, Chen Lun used animal speech to command the rats to swarm them.
He followed close behind with his short sword, finishing them off.
Before that, he tossed the key ring to a large black rat and instructed it to deliver the keys to the imprisoned sacrificial offerings one by one.
As long as those people weren't too stupid to open a door, they should have little trouble escaping amid the chaos.
With him drawing the enemy's attention here, the mission to rescue the sacrificial offerings was essentially complete.
Chen Lun slit the last guard's throat, wiped his bloodied short sword clean on the man's body beneath his wide, unseeing eyes, then sheathed it.
Shing-
Click!
[You killed a Red Apple Church guard. Gained 10 EXP.]
Chen Lun stood still and glanced over the church guards' bodies strewn across the floor.
Without exception, the large black rats had torn them to shreds, leaving their faces mangled and bloody, while a fatal blade wound cut across each throat.
Woof! Woof, woof!!
A burst of savage canine snarling rang out.
Chen Lun turned to look and felt a foul wind strike his face as a gaping maw packed with sharp teeth filled his vision.
Crack!!
The bloody maw snapped shut, its sharp fangs crashing and grinding together with a tremendous noise.
Chen Lun rolled across the ground, successfully avoiding the attack.
But a shallow cut had opened on his cheek, beads of blood seeping out.
[You were attacked. HP -1.] [You were infected with germs and afflicted with [mild rotting poisoning]. Lose 1 HP per second for 10 seconds.]
He frowned as he studied his attacker.
It was a strange, enormous dog, its skin rotting away to expose the muscle underneath.
Another half-formed, malformed head grew from one side of its hideous skull.
Only one eye, filled with madness and bloodlust, and half a jaw lined with sharp teeth were visible.
"Another one of those nightmarish things the Red Apple Church cooked up..."
Watching the Half-Dog pant and drool, Chen Lun recalled what he knew about this monster.
It was a supernatural creature the Red Apple Church had cobbled together using diluted [flesh school mystical substance]. Although it was no match for a true Beyonder, it was far stronger than an ordinary church member.
Killing ordinary church guards would be effortless for it-one crunchy bite apiece.
"You think I'm scared of you, doggo?"
Chen Lun rose, short sword in hand, and slowly approached the Rotting Hound.
Woof! Woof, woof, woof!!
Woof, woof!!
Soon, another three or four rotting figures darted out of the darkness, their vicious eyes all fixed on Chen Lun.
Chen Lun smiled contemptuously, then backed away at twice his previous speed.
He also noticed two tall figures clad in heavy armor and carrying spears slowly approaching from behind the Rotting Hounds.
Their dull armor, marked with red apple emblems, clanked as they walked, making its weight and sturdiness apparent.
Shing!!
The heavily armored guards pointed their spears at Chen Lun and slowly advanced, clearly entering combat mode.
"Well, damn, even the elite mobs are here!"
Chen Lun had no intention of getting tangled up with them here. He turned and ran.
As long as he reached his cell, he could escape through the tunnel he had dug.
One side pursued while the other fled. Even with Chen Lun's Dexterity already at 13, shaking off the four Rotting Hounds wasn't easy.
Chen Lun sprinted through the cramped corridor, the wind howling in his face.
But the pounding footsteps and savage panting behind him did not fade. Instead, they drew ever closer.
This won't work. I have to deal with those four dogs behind me.
That was what Chen Lun thought.
Judging by the size and speed of the relentless Rotting Hounds, they would catch him even if he managed to escape into the tunnel.
Then the tunnel's confined space would only hinder him in a fight.
"Damn it! Die!!"
Still moving at full speed, Chen Lun made an instant decision. He spun around, drew his sword, and delivered a vertical slash.
It struck one of the Rotting Hounds charging straight at him!
Chapter 13: You can't leave
Squelch!!
The short sword hacked deep into the Rotting Hound's main brain, sending rotten flesh and filthy blood spraying.
[-72]
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