The tragedy of Vespera
Sorea swept her ice shards around in front of her, forcing back any escapees who had managed to get away from Edward and Louis's attacks. Then she stood beside them and said, "Try to buy me ten minutes. After ten minutes, my Icebound ability will be usable again."
A steady stream of workers poured out of the factory. Louis and Edward, without a word, nodded to indicate they understood, and the three of them began to fend off a new wave of attacks.
Even though Soraya and her two companions had reached the demigod level, they had not yet become gods. Their power was rapidly depleting, while the common people and workers here seemed tireless. Soraya had already cast an ice spell three times, but it was just a drop in the ocean against the constant flow of people. Moreover, Lilith's long absence was causing the three of them great unease.
Louis was the first to run out of strength, and wounds began to appear on his body. Sorea quickly stood in front of Louis, and the smell of blood on Louis made those in front of them even more excited and bloodthirsty.
Sorea's strength gradually declined, and in a moment of carelessness, her weapon slipped from her hand and fell to the ground. Just as the enemy's attack was about to reach her, a sharp whistle rang out from the factory.
The tireless workers, who felt no pain, gradually retreated back into the factory after hearing the whistle. The civilians who had been helping them smiled and greeted them before returning to their previous positions.
Sorea felt a chill run down her spine as she witnessed the bizarre scene unfolding before her. She looked up at Edward, who had just pulled the exhausted Louis to his feet, and saw the panic in their eyes.
"Let's go find Lilith first. She should be here in an hour. Something must have happened," Sorea said urgently, bending over and panting heavily.
Edward let Louis climb onto his back, agreed with Sorea's suggestion, and followed her to the previously agreed hiding place.
Fortunately, the three of them ran into Lilith, who was anxiously looking for them, on the road. When Solalia saw that Lilith's clothes were steaming and she was unharmed, most of her worries disappeared.
"Did something happen to you on the way? You haven't come for so long, you scared us to death," Sorea asked Lilith.
Lilith shook her head and then nodded, looking at the three who had escaped with delight, and said, "I'm so glad you're all alright. I was worried that if I delayed you on the way, you wouldn't be able to hold on. I rescued a resident who was still sane on the way. Come on, let's go back and ask what exactly happened here."
On the way, Sorea and Edward told Lilith about their dangerous experiences, and Lilith couldn't help but shudder when she heard about the changes in those people.
When Sorea and the others arrived at the hole Lilith had dug, they were looked over by Euan and Vivian. After confirming that only Louis had some external injuries, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s the man Lilith rescued, his name is Johnson,” Euan whispered to Sorea, pointing to a red-haired man in a textile factory uniform.
Sorea followed Yuan's movements and looked over. The familiar clothes made her immediately grab her weapon. She would attack if the man made any suspicious moves.
Seeing the murderous intent in Sorea's eyes, Johnson trembled, hugged his knees, buried his head in his arms, and remained motionless.
"It's alright, it's alright, we're safe for now." Lilith hugged Sorea, who was still upset, to comfort her.
After calming herself down, Sorea sat down with Louis and Edward opposite Johnson and listened as he began to explain why things had turned out this way.
According to Johnson's account, Vespera did not change overnight.
The emergence of the textile machine attracted the attention of several noble families in Vespera. They joined forces to open a textile factory in the best location in the city, promising high wages to the common people. Many people went to work there, and working in the textile factory became a source of pride in the city.
However, their good fortune didn't last long. As the factory grew larger, the workers' wages decreased. The workers wanted to rebel, but the pollution from the factory meant that they and their families needed expensive medications at hospitals, and they couldn't afford to lose their jobs.
The people of Vespera lived numb and painful lives until one day the factory workers started not going home to rest. As they worked tirelessly, their wages began to rise, and even though their eyes became bloodshot, everyone wore a smile.
No one thought it was a bad thing, until the people in the factory were emaciated but still full of energy. The Knights' branch immediately began to investigate the textile factory, but found nothing. So they reported the situation to the headquarters.
After the Knights sealed off the textile factory and allowed the workers to go home and rest, the whole city went strange. Everyone's emotions were high, and everyone started working tirelessly like the textile factory workers. No one seemed to feel pain or fatigue.
Johnson trembled as he said this, then screamed, "It must be those damned noblemen who ruined this place. They want us to keep working for them."
Vivian and Euan sat down next to Johnson and, seeing him in distress, went to comfort him and ease his pain.
"Then why haven't you become like the people in the city?" Sorea had always been suspicious of Johnson, her cold eyes fixed on him.
Upon hearing Sorea's words, Johnson clutched his head and rolled on the ground in agony, repeatedly crying out, "I don't know, I don't know anything!"
Seeing Johnson's nose and tears streaming down his face from the pain, Edward couldn't bear it and went over to knock him unconscious to ease his suffering.
Sorea replayed Johnson's words in her mind and finally concluded: "You can't believe everything he says."
"Sister, why is this happening?" Louis, still recovering, leaned against the wall and asked weakly.
“Because if he had no problems, he couldn’t have remained conscious.” It was Yu’an who spoke. “Judging from the state of this place, I don’t think it could have been caused by simple inscribed items. It’s possible that this place has been contaminated by the aura of an evil god.”
Lilith felt completely overwhelmed. She felt like she had encountered far too many evil gods lately, and in despair, she grabbed her hair with both hands, exclaiming, "What kind of evil god is this?! I haven't seen an evil god in all these years, but I don't know how many I've seen in the last few months!"
"It is the Blood-Eyed Greed. His authority is greed and money. His followers have a kind of power that can excite people, which is very similar to the situation here." Based on what Sorea had seen and heard over the past few days, it was not difficult to figure out who the evil god controlling this place was.
After discussing it for a while, the group decided to first visit the homes of the noble families that Johnson had mentioned.
"Lilith and I, hurry up! You guys wait here," Sorea's voice rang out, leaving no room for argument.
After emerging from the cave, Sorea realized they had spent the entire night there, and dawn was approaching.
Looking at the sky, Sorea said to Lilith, "Let's speed up and try to get back before the sun is fully up. It's too easy to be watched during the day."
Lilith nodded and took the map Johnson had drawn earlier to the homes of the nobles. The nobles of Vespera all lived in the east of the city, which made it easier for Sorea and Lilith to investigate.
As she approached the woods separating the nobles' quarters from the commoners' homes, Solaya saw countless bats and crows flying in the sky, emitting mournful cries. Her keen sense of smell detected a strong, fishy odor emanating from the woods. Solaya knew that this smell was produced by the blood and stench of at least a hundred dead people fermenting over several months.
Sorea stopped Lilith, who wanted to continue forward: "I don't know how many people have died here. I can feel the pain and despair left behind here. Be prepared."
It turns out that even with mental preparation, one cannot necessarily accept the horrific scene. Lilith thought she was not afraid of anything, but when she saw the countless corpses in the woods, the fear made her squat on the ground, unable to utter a single word.
Even though Lilith and Sorea covered their mouths and noses, the nauseating smell still seeped into their nostrils. It was like hell; almost every tree branch had a human corpse hanging from it, and the ground was covered with pools of blood and the oil dripping from the corpses under the scorching sun.
Solaya suppressed her discomfort and examined the corpses in the tree. Judging from their clothing, the group of people should be nobles from Vespera. After getting a little closer to the woods, Solaya discovered that the group of people had not been hanged. Instead, their hands had been tied with ropes and they were hanging from the tree. They had died from blood loss because their hands were cut by the ropes.
Soraya couldn't imagine the despair of these people watching their lives slip away, watching their loved ones die one by one in the middle of them. Although these people may have indeed oppressed innocent civilians, Soraya also saw several babies hanging among them.
Lilith was unable to accept the horrific scene before her eyes. Her face was deathly pale as she squatted on the ground, clutching Solaya's clothes, her voice choked with sobs: "Children, these children are innocent."
Solaya patted Lilith's hand reassuringly: "There's no need to look inside. Everyone should be here. The sun is about to rise. Let's go back first."
On the way back, Sorea and Lilith remained silent the entire way; no one could remain unmoved after witnessing such a human tragedy.
Sorea and Lilith were still recovering after returning home. When Edward and the others asked them questions, neither of them could open their mouths to describe the terrible scene.
Finally, Soraya said in a hoarse voice, "All those nobles are dead, including the babies." After she finished speaking, the entire cave fell silent, except for the sound of breathing.
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