Although there were many words that Fasi couldn't understand, he could barely make out that the monsters nearby had been largely wiped out by Elite Warrior.
Thinking back to the two men's tall, well-proportioned bodies, and then to the villagers whose bodies had undergone various Aberration, Fasi felt a growing urge to join them...
But he also knew that this was wishful thinking. Fasi was seventeen years old this year. Although he looked normal, according to the experience of the people in the Upperstream Village and Midstream Village, his body would probably undergo obvious Aberration in another year or two, and his physique would deteriorate day by day. No armed force would need such a warrior.
Fasi's Symbiotic Tree is on the right side of his neck. According to the old folks, the most likely Aberration his body will undergo is a continuous bend in his spine to the left, accompanied by increasingly severe breathing difficulties year after year, eventually leading to suffocation and death on some long night...
Lost in his thoughts, Fasi's subconscious told him that they had arrived at the Upperstream Village. The moment he returned to reality from his fantasy, Fasi could hardly believe his eyes.
On this moonlit night in the wilderness, the young man asked the ruins before him—
What about Upperstream Village?
The Upperstream Village originally had nearly a hundred people and more than thirty dilapidated houses, has been completely reduced to ruins. Looking Fasi, you can only see three or four relatively intact houses, and there is almost no wall standing.
The wood that made up the main structure of the house had been shredded and scattered everywhere.
No wonder the river was full of broken wood...
Fasi swallowed hard, feeling his body enter a state of stress.
His first thought was to turn back to Midstream Village to report the news, but he instinctively stopped just as he was about to turn around.
The young man thought of a common sense:
Never turn your back to a monster.
The ruins are now in front of us. Whether it was a heretic or a monster that caused all this, something may still be hidden in the ruins.
However, retreating back to Midstream Village is not realistic, and there is even a high probability of falling into the river.
After some mental preparation, Fasi, with a death wish, chose to venture deep into the ruins of the Upperstream Village to explore, hoping to find some possible clues.
The moonlight streamed down from the clear night sky, Fasi could see almost every corner exposed to its glow.
He searched five or six houses, but ultimately found nothing.
This precisely illustrates something—
The village was reduced to ruins, but there were no corpses, no tree seedlings, and almost no bloodstains except for a small area within the village.
This put Fasi at ease; the villagers of the Upperstream Village should be unharmed. But where had they gone?
To be fair, Fasi felt that if the Midstream Village had encountered such misfortune, he would definitely have gone to the Upperstream Village to seek refuge.
But now none of those villagers are going to Midstream Village, which means they have found a better place to go.
Fasi slowly turned his head to look at the ancient castle that was not in his sight.
He had a hunch: if it was true, he could finally put his mind at ease; if it was false... well, the dead offered a rather unique kind of reassurance...
On the way to the castle, Fasi noticed a wooden plank that appeared to have been deliberately stuck into the soil at the entrance of the Upperstream Village.
Several new shoots have sprouted from the edge of the wooden board, and inscriptions on it are characters that Fasi cannot understand.
In fact, he was completely illiterate, so it made no difference to him what was carved.
However, he could still understand the arrow at the very bottom of the inscription, and that arrow pointed precisely in the direction of the castle.
When people are caught in a dilemma, they subconsciously look for evidence to support their argument. This was the case for Fasi at that moment. The instant he saw the arrow, he became even more convinced of his previous guess.
Looking at the potentially dangerous wilderness, Fasi resolutely embarked on the journey to the castle.
He had already prepared his explanation: if he met Bishop Adrian, he would say he was there to inquire about the apostates and to confirm whether the villagers of Midstream Village had caused the bishop any trouble.
If the apostates win, inquire whether there was a reward for the previous reports, and also ask about the situation in Upperstream Village.
Fasi didn't know how long he walked in the moonlight; he only knew that when he saw the Shattered Castle suspended in mid-air, the moon was already high in the sky.
The entire area around the castle was eerily silent; there were no people, no torches, and nothing that appeared to be alive...
In the nearby bushes, Duolin tugged at Aoda's shoulder, signaling him to wait until the target was closer before taking action.
Ever since Duolin learned Ed's "true identity," he has become unusually excited.
Ed is the Son of God, so as Son of God follower, he will surely become a Saint a hundred years from now, and may even become a living saint who appears only once in a thousand years!
Just thinking that he might be called Saint Duolin a long time from now gave him inexhaustible strength and energy. Even the quiet night couldn't contain his excitement, and he even dragged one of his men out for a night patrol while he was sleepless.
Duolin knew the area should be safe; the apostates from White Wax Town couldn't have discovered their anomaly so quickly, much less come directly to the castle at night to investigate.
The night patrol ultimately proved effective, though the target appeared weak and outnumbered, hardly resembling an enemy capable of launching a night raid.
As Fasi drew closer to the castle, Duolin and Aoda leaped out from a dense thicket of bushes and pinned him to the ground.
Fasi was completely stunned. He was about to shout for help when his mouth was covered. By the moonlight, he saw that the two people who had grabbed him were the bishop disguised as a heretic and the tax collector.
It's over, Bishop Adrian has lost!
While feeling terrified, Fasi only regretted that he hadn't been able to convey this message to Midstream Village.
Aside from that, he wasn't as afraid of death as he had imagined.
Just as he was being flanked by Aoda and Duolin, a figure suddenly emerged from the shadows of the castle in front of him.
Fasi looked at the newcomer's figure and face with disbelief:
"Hmm ( Kaping )?!"
Duolin also greeted them warmly:
"Village Chief Kaping, what brings you here? Were we too noisy while we were catching the thief?"
Fasi's surprised gaze darted back and forth between Duolin and Kaping. What's going on? When did you two become so close?
Could it be... that Kaping betrayed Bishop Adrian?!
As Fasi brainstormed the current situation, he noticed a change in the Shadow on the ground, as if some tree-like thing was falling.
He looked up and saw another figure slowly descending from the sky in front of everyone; it was none other than Bishop Adrian.
The others also became respectful upon seeing his arrival.
"Your Excellency, Bishop." This is Kaping.
"God... Your Excellency the Bishop." This was Duolin.
Fasi's brain was completely Overload; he simply couldn't understand why these three people were so familiar with each other...
They... are in cahoots?!
And what about myself?!