inspire-indiana Chapter 59 Ghouls
Chapter 59 Ghouls
"Yes."
Viscount Jennings rose to accept the order, "I'll make the arrangements right away."
"Oh, right," the Marquis said with a faint smile, "I remember you've had your eye on the White River Territory for a long time."
"The reason we haven't made a move yet is simply because of Baron Leo Kramer's status as the King's Guard."
"Now that the Baron is dead, White River Territory is a crucial stronghold of the Upstream Target, and we cannot afford to make any mistakes."
"Considering your hard work over the years, I'll entrust you with the management of that land. I'll explain everything to the king, and then it's just a matter of time, understand?"
Viscount Jennings' eyes lit up with ecstasy.
He had long coveted the White River Territory, and his affair with the Baroness, besides her allure, was primarily motivated by a desire to seize the land.
The same goes for secretly getting the Baroness pregnant; after all, Baron Kramer was ugly and unattractive.
Now my wish has finally come true.
He stood up, bowed, and said, "Jennings swears to follow the Marquis to the death."
The Marquis curled his lip. "I never question your loyalty. Perfect timing, there's something else I need you to do."
As he spoke, he glanced at the wizard beside him, who nodded in acknowledgment before speaking directly.
"Franktal Town is your territory. Are you aware of the situation at the Temple of Meritelli?"
Viscount Jennings shuddered, sensing something was amiss.
"Know."
The wizard said coldly, "These crazy women have gone too far. They've performed abortions on women without permission. The nobles are very disgusted by this."
"Get this done quickly."
"But...but Meritelli has too much influence among the common people, and even some nobles are involved. If we touch them, we might face a backlash."
"So we can't leave any evidence against us. I'll talk to you about this later."
Viscount Jennings smiled and said, "Then I thank you for your guidance, sir."
……
The sky was ablaze with sunset colors, the setting sun like blood.
In a remote village, the barking of dogs could be heard incessantly.
A small, black figure streaked across the sky, eventually circling above a certain spot, making a "cawing" sound.
Before long, a tall and upright figure slowly walked over.
He wore a cloak and hood, and the wolf head badge on his chest vibrated constantly.
Holding a silver sword in his right hand and a black glass bottle in his left, he drank all the remaining liquid inside.
He then flexed his wrists, the silver studs on his boxing gloves gleaming in the setting sun.
I raised my head slightly, my gaze fixed on the circle enclosed by a wooden fence in front of me.
The air was filled with the pungent smell of feces and urine.
His nostrils twitched, and he also smelled a foul, bloody odor.
Through the gaps in the wooden fence, several dark red shadows could be seen crawling and wriggling on the ground.
He twisted his neck, moved it slightly, stuffed the empty medicine into his waist pouch, and then made a Kun seal.
Light blue light spots adhered to its body.
He quickened his pace, his boots treading through the mud, and with a push of his left hand against the thick wooden stakes of the fence, he easily flipped himself to the other side.
Alwin scanned the area and saw five rotting humanoid creatures crawling within the circle. Their bodies were hunched over and deformed, with all four limbs on the ground, their grayish-brown, ulcerated skin stretched taut over their bulging muscles.
"Huff...huff...hiccup..."
They kept waving their hands at the cow lying in the middle.
Suddenly, one of them seemed to sense something and abruptly turned its head.
The hairless head was twisted and grotesque, with sunken eye sockets containing a pair of lifeless eyes. The protruding teeth were constantly chewing, and a small piece of beef intestine was hanging from the corner of the mouth. Blood mixed with saliva dripped continuously onto the ground.
Ghoul.
He discovered Alwin's presence, but it was too late.
A flash of silver light appeared, slicing through its neck as easily as cutting tofu. The blade, coated with sword oil, sliced off its ugly head, and foul blood sprayed out like a fountain.
The remaining ghouls realized what was happening and immediately scattered in all directions.
Alwin had anticipated this, and quickly formed a hand seal with his left hand, pressing it down on his feet.
A purple array, centered on him, rapidly expanded outwards, with a diameter of approximately 3 meters.
【Yadin Sign】!
The powerful gravitational compression slowed down the ghoul's escape.
Arwen swept across, reaping the head of another ghoul.
As it turned to attack, the other three had already escaped from the magic circle.
They circled around Alwin like monkeys, showing no fear even though their kin were dying right before their eyes, treating Alwin as their prey.
The latter was already used to it.
Ghouls, like water ghosts, share many similarities.
They live in groups, eat carrion, are weak in silver, and are afraid of fire.
The only difference is that ghouls have a tiny bit of brains, but not much.
However, there are exceptions. In The Witcher 1, there is a ghoul that is intelligent enough to speak, but it is an extremely special being.
"roar!"
The ghouls suddenly stopped and moved to three different locations around Alwyn.
The latter's cat-like eyes were silent, while the ghoul directly in front of it let out a low, inhuman growl from its throat, its sharp claws digging deep into the soil.
This is a signal that they are going to attack.
Arwen gripped his silver sword tightly. "Come on."
Three sharp, piercing sounds suddenly rang out.
The ghouls launched their final assault, and Arwen strode forward, his hood flapping wildly in the wind.
He raised his silver sword high with one hand and slashed diagonally, splitting the head of the first ghoul open.
At the same moment, he pressed his left hand into the void towards the second ghoul.
[Alder Seal] was unleashed.
"Thump!"
The powerful impact blew it away, and it crashed heavily into the mud pit with a loud thud.
Alwin sensed a chilling aura behind him and quickly turned to the side.
Suddenly, a gauntlet studded with silver nails appeared in the murky eyes of the third ghoul, and the gauntlet continued to expand in its field of vision.
"Bang!"
The punch struck its face, the terrifying force twisting its features into a jumbled mess, followed by the sound of its facial bones shattering, before its body crashed heavily to the ground.
A flash of silver light swept across, and the rotting flesh on the neck was sliced open like waves.
Arwin drew his sword, his gaze shifting to the last ghoul that had been pushed aside.
The latter's eyes showed instinctive terror as he struggled to get up and run away.
But the former had already charged forward with its sword, giving it no chance, and pierced its heart with a single strike, blood dripping from the tip of the sword onto the ground.
"Pfft."
Arwen drew his silver sword, and the ghoul collapsed to the ground.
[Aard Sign Experience +1!]
[Slay ghouls to obtain 25% ghoul mutants] x5!
[Ghoul mutant acquisition detected at 125%, synthesize now?]
A prompt appears on the panel.
"synthesis."
[Gained 1 Ghoul Mutant, 25% Ghoul Mutant Remaining]
[Ghoul Mutant: Installing this mutant will slightly increase your strength and grant you the white talent, Gluttony Digestion]
[Gluttony Digestion (White): Your stomach has been mutated and strengthened, allowing you to better extract nutrients from food. If you absorb magical food or potions, the duration of this enhancement will be increased.]