Chapter 157 157. Greedy Orange, hidden chapter (5K)
A victim who jumped down later confirmed this:
"He really didn't want to kill me."
The female prisoner was a clown from the Stardust Circus. She fiddled with the bomb made of pure magic power and said curiously, "This guy looks like he was forced."
"And I sensed a light on him that was similar to the light emitted by the Master Mage... The color seemed to be orange."
Although this was just her guess and feeling, she couldn't help trembling when she said this, as if she was suddenly blown through by the icy air and felt like she was falling into an ice cave.
Hearing her say this, the three of them silently touched their arms, or to be more precise, touched the place where the thorns of justice were planted.
Lord Croa had imprinted a touch of eternal golden magic in it, and that magic continuously radiated warm power within the thorns, which was their unchanging goal.
But at this moment, when they looked at the castle, they seemed to feel something, there was a greedy orange halo lingering.
It seemed to cover the entire castle. Even in the snowstorm, it continued to radiate an indescribable force, as if tempting people to keep going forward.
“…”
"Let's go back!"
Ryan suppressed the throbbing in his heart and quickly took his two friends and the prisoner back to the team waiting in the distance.
He felt that if he stayed here any longer, he might not be able to resist the temptation and seduction.
…
At this time, on Hanjiao Island.
Kloya stood up suddenly. In his mind, a new poem suddenly appeared in the Orange Song chapter, which he remembered every word clearly.
That is...
"Mammon's boundless greed."
He read out the name of this chapter and also saw the content of this chapter clearly. This is an article that describes the evil deeds of someone who has received the gift of orange light but cannot satisfy his inner greed.
Finally, under the sunlight, he turned into an orange devil.
Croa was very sure...the power those children felt came from greed.
Those greedy forces seemed to sense the unchanging eternal light in the apprentices' bodies and wanted to tempt them to indulge in greedy desires.
The eternal light ensures that these greedy forces cannot directly touch their bodies, but if they have the desire for greed, the light will quickly dim and disappear.
By then, these apprentices will surely become puppets of greed.
At the same time, he also vaguely understood that if he wanted to complete the study of this hidden chapter, he needed to erase greed, so that he could gain a lot of power!
And only then can it be considered a complete Orange Song.
“…the sun colors desire in seven colors.”
"I'm afraid there are seven deadly sins that correspond to seven colors."
He sighed deeply, sat back in his seat, and looked at the screen in silence.
He wanted to know what choices the apprentices would make before giving orders to the myconids and telling them something.
…
Outside Baron Andy's castle.
The apprentices had already had some discussion.
They finally decided to rescue the people in the castle - many of them might be their relatives and friends, and they couldn't bear to watch them sink.
After they made this decision, the mushroom man tremblingly conveyed Cloya's meaning: "The lord said that you don't have to worry about the influence of the demon's power. They dare not approach you at will.
But you must be careful, the beings possessed by the devil can still kill you using their powers."
After saying this, it opened its mouth and the clear sound of a harp came out.
After hearing this music, the apprentices felt the golden light in the thorns inside their bodies move slightly.
It is like dew hidden under the morning sun.
Including the mage apprentice, they also felt Kloya's blessing.
The effect of eternal light still exists, and it has become even stronger and more special, completely resisting that strange force outside the body.
"The master has been keeping an eye on you."
The mushroom-man who transmitted the music through himself collapsed, exhausted.
After hearing the mushroom man's words, the knights looked at each other and suddenly gained confidence - Kloya had been watching them!
After learning this, they suddenly burst out with endless courage, and the thorns in their bodies seemed to sense their will.
It moved briefly, then fell silent again.
"Let's go!"
Ryan finally decided: "Master Croa is watching us, we can't embarrass Master Croa no matter what!"
"Just as I said just now, go and rescue the people inside first. If there is any danger, I will use the armor and sword given to me by the Lord to face that Git."
The young knight apprentice directly took out an exquisite bottle, which contained the prayer light fire in the form of gas.
This is one of his trump cards. As long as he swallows these prayer fires, he will gain the power of these flames in a short period of time and can reach the second level.
But the price is that the internal organs will be burned by the flames, suffering a certain degree of damage, and will be weak for a period of time.
But as long as the goal can be achieved, it is worth it.
"How can you let the captain go alone?"
"We have something too!"
When the apprentices saw that their captain was determined to fight to the death, they no longer hid anything and took out all their belongings.
There are gadgets that can emit holy light bullets, modified burning peppers, and even scrolls with magic patterns depicted on them.
These were all little gadgets that Kloya made in his spare time to hone his skills, but these little gadgets made by a powerful wizard were also life-saving treasures for them.
The prisoners also expressed their opinions. Although this was still part of the trial, they would also take action if they encountered danger - are you kidding? Croix has already spoken, can they just sit back and watch?
"Okay." Ryan nodded.
After making sure they were all ready, Ryan led them towards the castle, quickly found a corner, and used the earth and stone shaping scroll to create a hole in the thick wall.
This time we have to sneak in first, rescue people, and then fight, so of course we can't just climb through the window like before.
Fortunately, there were some friends who were somewhat familiar with the castle, so their infiltration work could be said to be quite smooth.
After passing through the narrow hole in the wall, they arrived at the lower level of the castle, where the servants lived.
If it were any other time, there would definitely be a group of people sleeping tightly together on the big bunk bed, but now it is empty.
In the dark and damp room, only the lights on the wall that were about to go out flickered. The tense and uneasy atmosphere made the apprentices more cautious.
Only the servants' personal belongings scattered around the beds tell of the bustle that once existed here.
The smell of the servants' quarters was of course extremely exaggerated, and things were scattered about. The apprentices dispersed one by one and began to look for anything that could be used.
Soon, a man found a diary.
The apprentices gathered under the dim light, reading the diary.
The owner of the diary should be a young male servant. Although it is called a diary, it only records some scattered words at most.
And the handwriting is crooked.
This is actually quite normal. In this world, it is already very difficult to learn a little bit of writing, and writing fluently is even more difficult.
After all, not everyone is like Croa, who puts literacy first. He cannot accept that the knights and subordinates he has trained with great effort are illiterate.
"People came and they killed the lord."
An apprentice read out the important contents of the diary.
"They said...if we believe in Mammon, we can witness God's power, ascend to heaven, and sleep in God's arms."
These two sentences are the only useful ones in the entire diary.
After watching it, they looked at each other, feeling as if they had not watched it at all.
But at least I know a name: Mammon.
"Tell the Master Mage this news, and we will continue to move forward." Ryan patted the mushroom man on his shoulder, and the latter nodded immediately.
Then they moved on.
They walked cautiously in the dark corridor, as if facing a great enemy, but they did not encounter even one person. Instead, they quickly found the stairs leading to the underground prison.
What's even stranger is that there are no guards here either.
They easily reached the bottom of the stairs and saw the nobles imprisoned in the prison.
Baron Andy and several other nobles were hung on the wall by orange vines, in an upside-down position, stripped naked, like pigs to be slaughtered.
His scalp had been cut and blood was dripping from his head.
“Tick-tock~Tick-tock~”
The sound of dripping blood was particularly obvious in the silent dungeon. In fact, because several people were bleeding at the same time, the sound actually sounded a bit harmonious.
The apprentices had never seen a piano, but if they had heard the sound of a piano, they would have been able to feel that these sounds were extremely similar to the music of a piano.
The blood did not drip directly onto the ground, but instead moistened the dense orange vines growing on the ground.
Small orange flowers grow on the surface of the vine, emitting a strange pollen that dyes the surrounding environment orange.
This orange color is somewhat similar to the orange magic light cast by Croa that can make people feel peaceful, but if you look carefully, you can notice the difference between them.
The former scatters light selflessly, making people feel peaceful; the latter lures you to get closer and contribute your soul and consciousness to them.
"Hmm."
The victims suddenly covered their heads and took a few steps back, their eyes filled with horror.
Just now, they inhaled a little pollen and felt that their greed could no longer be suppressed. They wanted to get more, magic, status...
The feeling almost swallowed them up, and they quickly retreated to a place where the pollen could not reach them, gasping for breath after surviving the disaster.
There is no light given by Croa in their bodies, and their greed is actually very strong. After leaving the Stardust Circus, they greedily desire a better future.
This greed almost made them assimilated by the orange pollen.
Fortunately, they had heard Croa's music.
Although the effect of the music was certainly not as useful as the light that was directly rooted in the apprentices' bodies, it was enough for them to react and take a few steps back.
"Are you okay?" Ryan looked at them with vigilance. The instructor's courses had emphasized countless times the tragedy of people killing each other after being controlled by mental magic.
If these prisoners, who were nominally their protectors, were really controlled, he would definitely draw his sword without hesitation.
The prisoners shook their heads.
"fine."
They smiled bitterly and said, "We can't get in. Please go in and save them."
"Be careful... you might have alarmed them."
The "they" mentioned here are of course demons and cultists.
Obviously the situation was not optimistic, and the apprentices did not exchange too many pleasantries and rushed directly into the pollen.
The power from Croa ensured that they would not be affected by the orange pollen, and they soon found more people.
Unexpectedly...
There was no pollen in the prison where these people were placed, and none of them looked like they had been subjected to any torture or abuse. They were simply locked up here.
"Hey! Jack!"
"It's you, Pete!"
"Edward, you're not dead?"
When the people in the prison saw the apprentices suddenly appear, their faces were immediately filled with excitement. They all knew each other and hadn't seen each other for a while.
The apprentices were also surprised and their tone became excited.
"Uncle Joseph?"
"Aunt Lal?"
After they made sure there was no danger here, they immediately chopped open the prison - these wooden bars would definitely not be able to withstand the slashing of swords.
When friends and relatives meet, they are naturally very cordial.
But they did not forget to ask about the situation here.
"What is going on here?"
"Let me tell you."
An old man with a white beard who looked energetic said helplessly: "One day, Git suddenly said that he had received a revelation from God, and he brought us here.
The castle guards and nobles were no match for the horrific creatures he summoned.
He took us to occupy the castle, and at first he let us walk freely in the castle and eat whatever we wanted.
Some people thought that something was wrong with him, and that he might have been bewitched by the devil and ran away, saying that he was going to Hanjiao Island to seek help from the wizard.
When he found out, he was furious and locked us up here. He didn't allow us to leave, but he still sent those monsters to deliver food and water every day.
We’ve been here a long time.”
The old man briefly and clearly recounted what had happened recently, and finally couldn't help but sigh.
"I feel like he wasn't completely controlled, he was forced to do it."
The servants from other baronies also nodded:
"He didn't kill us."
"Are you going to kill him?"
"Is there really no way to make him return to normal?"
Listening to these people talking in a flurry, Ryan thought for a moment and decided to take them to a safe area first.
But now there is still a huge problem before them...Can they withstand the erosion of these pollens?
Don't wait until you take people out and they all become crazy, because that would be a waste of time.
Just as he hesitated, in the deeper dungeon, there was an area covered by orange pollen.
An extremely clear voice sounded.
"Under the light of the goddess, there can be no greed."
Along with the sound, there appeared an extremely dazzling platinum-colored beam of light, which burst out from the orange pollen like a divine sword tearing through the sunlight.
The pollen was like a prodigal dog in front of this beam of light. It could only flee in panic with its tail between its legs. It soon disappeared completely, and the surroundings became clear.
The apprentices stared at this scene in a daze, almost thinking that it was Cloya who came here in person.
Unfortunately, the person who walked out from the depths of the dungeon was a blond young man wearing a rather complicated but extremely gorgeous and solemn robe, holding a cup-shaped object in his hand.
He had a smile on his face and was in a mood to wave: "Yo, brave friend!"
"Who are you?"
In front of the unknown extraordinary person, Ryan maintained sufficient respect and asked in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Are you a priest of the church?"
The blond young man scratched his hair: "Maybe it was in the past."
Obviously he didn't want to talk about this matter. After giving an unclear answer, he went straight to the point.
"Are you here to clean up the Mammon Flower as well?"
After he finished speaking, he looked at the boys and girls in front of him suspiciously and said curiously:
"No, although you are slightly better than the church's knight apprentices, you are still too weak to clean up these things."
Ryan shook his head.
"We are apprentices of Master Croa from the Reef of the Great Sea."
"The master ordered us to come out for training, and we unexpectedly encountered this situation."
The doubt in the blond young man's eyes became more and more obvious: "Hanjiao Island... I just came back from outside the kingdom, and I really don't know who he is."
"But none of this matters!"
He waved his hand: "Brave children, since you are here... I will leave now!"
“May the light of the goddess shine upon you.”
After saying this, he turned around and left, quickly disappearing into the depths of the dungeon.
It's like getting rid of a huge burden.
“…”
The apprentices fell silent for a long time when they saw this scene.
Really gone? Aren't you a member of the church? Isn't it your responsibility to clean up the demons?
They really didn't know how to deal with this priest with such a peculiar temper.
Finally, Ryan spoke: "We..."
Before he finished speaking, a figure suddenly ran out from the dungeon. It was the priest.
At this moment, he was running outside, waving: "Follow me quickly, the demon has discovered me, and it won't allow anyone to leave here!"
The apprentices did not dare to delay, because they had heard a sound like a crawling snake coming from deep in the dungeon, coming from far away and getting closer.
Those were huge and thick flower vines. They emerged from the depths like ferocious snakes and were rushing towards here.
“Run!”
They dragged the serfs who had not yet figured out the situation and hurriedly ran towards where they came from, hoping to leave here quickly.
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(End of this chapter)
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