Chapter 552 far exceeded the Demon King's expectations.
The three-minute break ended quickly.
At Eileen's command, the elite squad of thirty men regrouped and continued their advance into the darkness of the dense forest.
Surprisingly, the rest of the journey went remarkably smoothly.
The rat-men nearby seemed to be terrified, and for the rest of the journey, the group encountered no significant resistance whatsoever.
Even the most greedy and reckless slave rats seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.
Only a few stitched monsters and alchemical golems with unburnt magic crystals wandered aimlessly through the forest.
These large creatures were "escaped fish" that Alakdo deliberately left behind.
As one of the Demon King's most loyal mounts, the giant spider was well aware of its master's wicked tastes—it had to clear the area, but not too thoroughly.
After all, they had to leave Campbell's heroine with some sense of participation.
In addition, his subordinates were all picky eaters and couldn't bring themselves to eat these strange-looking things, so they let them go.
However, Eileen wouldn't let them get away with it.
The silver lightning that streaked across the battlefield was even faster than Prince Colin's wand, severing the massive head in just half a breath.
With a dull thud, the behemoth that could rampage across the battlefield crashed down, turning into a pile of stinking, rotten flesh.
At the same time, Eileen returned to Colin's side, and the unblemished light of the Divine Transmission slowly slid into its sheath.
"Well done."
Luo Yan gave Eileen an appreciative look, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, but it quickly turned into a soft cough.
"What's next? Which way do we go?"
Luo Yan said with a smile.
"This way, please."
As they spoke, the firebird circling in the sky let out a clear cry and swooped down into the dense forest in front of them.
Guided by the firebird, the group quickly passed through the dense bushes and arrived at a huge cave hidden beside a stream.
This is the very place where players like "One Leaf Knows Autumn" encountered the BOSS and suffered a total wipeout.
But now, the scene here has changed.
Alacdor and his spider army swept through like locusts, not only wiping out the ratmen stationed there, but also disposing of the two lizardman players who had previously fallen there, leaving not a single bone fragment behind.
The dropped equipment had already been packed up and sent back to the Great Cemetery.
However, seeing the spider webs hanging all over the hole and the large puddle of green slime left on the ground, Eileen's eyes still showed a hint of confusion.
"These are... traces left by a cave spider?"
She used the tip of her sword to pick up a strand of tough spider silk, her brows furrowing slightly.
Luo Yan stepped forward, squatted down and examined the object for a while, then nodded thoughtfully, his voice carrying the seriousness of someone who had thought things through carefully.
"It seems so."
Seeing the Demon King's serious expression and Eileen being completely fooled, Sarah couldn't help but slightly twitch the corners of her mouth, her gaze drifting around to watch for the movements of the ratmen.
"But... why would the ratmen and the burrow spiders kill each other?" Eileen was even more puzzled, a look of confusion in her eyes.
"Perhaps it's because the ratmen's recent expansion has been too aggressive, encroaching on the burrow spiders' territory? Or perhaps it's because those rats stole the spiders' eggs?"
Luo Yan took out a glass reagent bottle from his pocket, pretended to scrape a little of the viscous sample from the ground with a silver spoon and sealed it, then stood up and wiped his hands with a towel.
"In any case, this is a good thing for us."
Hearing Prince Colin say this, Eileen didn't think much of it. She nodded, turned around, and whispered instructions to the soldiers behind her.
"Everyone, stay alert! Watch out for the slime and traps! Follow me!"
"yes!"
The crowd responded in unison, then lit their torches and followed behind Eileen and Prince Colin, who were striding forward.
The flickering firelight dispelled the gloom at the cave entrance, and the group carefully stepped into the depths of the cave, their feet treading on the slippery ground.
So far, this adventure has only been a righteous march, and everyone's face is filled with eager anticipation.
However, as time went on and the group explored deeper into the cave, the nauseating smell grew stronger, causing them to involuntarily frown and feel heavy-hearted.
Everyone had a bad feeling.
It wasn't just the stench of a decaying corpse that entered the nasal cavity.
The smell was mixed with a chilling stench of blood and the putrid odor of fermenting biological excrement.
Rather than a tomb, this place is more like a breeding farm, and what it raises are chilling creatures.
The ground was hard and slippery from countless claw marks, and the black soil was mixed with rotting straw.
As the group rounded a bend, a shocking altar suddenly appeared in their sight, leaving everyone stunned.
The altar was surrounded by piles of severed limbs and mangled corpses, which were piled up like garbage into a small mountain. The visual impact made everyone's stomachs churn violently.
"……This is."
Eileen's voice trembled slightly, almost uncontrollably. Her emerald green eyes were wide open, and her grip on the longsword creaked as she held it.
That was a mass grave piled up on the ground!
There may not be tens of thousands of corpses lying here, but thousands is definitely an understatement.
They were piled up haphazardly in the corner, just like kitchen waste.
"These demons!" Theresa couldn't help but curse, and had to raise the back of her hand to cover her mouth and nose to avoid vomiting on the spot.
“By Saint Sith… I simply cannot believe that this is happening in the Second Age.” A knight on foot couldn’t help but sigh, silently making the sign of the cross on his chest to avoid affecting his spirit.
Unlike the fighting on the battlefield.
There is no trace of conflict here.
At least the most conspicuous corpses had no wounds from the struggle.
“Even the demons of hell would probably think…this is too blasphemous.” Luo Yan uttered a thought-provoking remark, then snapped his fingers, and countless vines extended from the wall, temporarily covering the mountain of corpses and sea of bones.
Despite the combined physical and mental discomfort, the group bypassed the altar of flesh and blood and continued to explore deeper into the area.
After passing through a narrow passageway, the space in front of you suddenly opens up.
Luo Yan waved his magic wand, and a gust of hot wind blew along the wall, silently igniting the torches that had long since gone out around the wall.
As the light illuminated the vast underground cavern, the Knights from Campbell were once again astonished by what they saw.
The dim firelight illuminated a scene resembling a pigsty, much like the purgatory described in the sacred texts.
Countless crudely made wooden cages were piled up on both sides of the cave, all the way to the top. The cage bars were covered with black grime and grease, as if they had been repeatedly gripped by countless dirty hands.
The animals locked in cages are not beasts.
They were living, breathing Ryan people.
According to survivors in the refugee camp, most of them were refugees who were driven out of Roland during the fire last winter.
They were completely naked, crammed together in a small space like livestock, making it difficult to tell whether they were men or women. Their eyes were all uniformly empty, as if all light had been drained from them.
Many people have developed severe boils and skin diseases, a result of living in extremely unsanitary conditions for a long time.
Some people had broken legs, and the wounds were already festering; others had lost fingers, and the broken ends were covered with black scabs, clearly indicating severe infection.
When the crowd carrying torches appeared at the cave entrance, the expected cheers did not materialize.
Instead, they instinctively curled up like frightened cockroaches, covering their heads and desperately trying to burrow under their companions.
Several people leaning against the cages, probably having nowhere else to hide, began to kneel down reflexively and frantically kowtow in the direction of Luo Yan and the others.
"No, please don't kill me... I remember now, I have two sons, please let me write them another letter! Please give me another chance!"
"Whatever you want, I'll give it to you!"
"Master! Please forgive me! I'll never do it again!"
The people here are so desperate that they can't even cry for help.
When the dignity of being human is stripped away from them, it seems that only animal instincts remain.
Looking at these fellow humans who were being domesticated like livestock, Eileen felt a chill run through her hands and feet, and a coldness that went deep into her soul.
"Who did this?!"
One of the knights couldn't resist stepping forward, his teeth grinding together. However, his action terrified the people in the cage, causing a twisted commotion.
Luo Yan placed his hand on the shoulder of the bewildered knight and spoke in a restrained voice.
"Calm down. They don't know any more than those who have already escaped. There's no need for us to squeeze out the last bit of information from them... Let them go."
The knight's Adam's apple bobbed, but he eventually loosened his clenched fist, lowered his head, and retreated back into the ranks behind him.
Luo Yan chanted a spell, and a milky white light emanated from the tip of his staff, instantly sweeping across the entire cave.
The warm light, like a belated spring breeze, soothed wounds, both fresh and old, and calmed the fearful people down a bit... at least they stopped wasting their remaining strength.
He lowered his wand and looked at Eileen.
“They are badly injured. I have managed to control their injuries for now, but further treatment will have to be handled by professional priests and doctors.”
Eileen nodded gently, her voice a little hoarse.
"Thanks."
Luo Yan lowered his eyes.
"polite."
Theresa looked around at the huge spider webs scattered on the ground and the arthropod slime left on the railings, her brow furrowing deeply.
"strangeness……"
Upon hearing Theresa's voice, Eileen immediately went over.
"Did you find anything?"
"Um."
Theresa nodded slightly, her index finger pinching her chin as she pondered.
"If this place was indeed attacked by cave spiders, why did the spiders eat all the rats but leave these humans alone?"
The group exchanged glances, clearly finding this to be a point of suspicion.
Luo Yan did not respond.
That is indeed a flaw, but... what does this have to do with Prince Colin?
He also looked confused and glanced at Sarah.
Sarah, do you have any clues?
Sarah paused for a moment.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I..."
"Could it be because they've eaten their fill?"
As Luo Yan expected, a self-righteous knight stepped forward, hesitated for a moment, and then tentatively voiced his guess.
"After all, there are so many rat corpses outside, or maybe they chased the fleeing ratmen to other places and didn't have time to look after these 'food reserves'."
Eileen looked at Colin, instinctively seeking his advice. Luo Yan, on the other hand, shrugged and spoke calmly.
“I think this friend’s analysis makes sense. For predators, live prey is far more attractive than prey in a cage. Moreover, burrowing spiders prefer to lay their eggs on their prey, perhaps they plan to deal with these ‘breeding grounds’ later.”
Upon hearing the prince's affirmation, the knight scratched the back of his head sheepishly, a barely perceptible hint of smugness on his face, unaware that he had been used by the Demon King.
After a brief pause, Luo Yan interrupted everyone's thoughts and continued speaking.
"Instead of analyzing where those spiders went... let's save these people first. By Saint Sith, the priests of Raven City are probably not enough."
The soul and flesh are intertwined.
Magic can regrow festering flesh, but healing a necrotic soul is a long and painful process.
Especially seeing the way these guys reacted like startled birds, Luo Yan knew very well that the damage they had suffered was far more than just physical.
Luo Yan's voice pulled Eileen back to reality.
She took a deep breath, her eyes regaining their firmness and sharpness, and she resumed the composure befitting a commander. She looked at the knight beside her and gave the order.
"Take half the men and stay here to treat these wounded. Then immediately send a fast horse back to the camp to report that His Majesty has sent more men to reinforce us!"
With the limited manpower she had, it was far from enough to rescue so many prisoners.
And nobody knows if the spiders will come back, so she has to prepare for the worst.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The knight pounded his breastplate and took his leave.
After arranging the rescue work, Eileen turned around, her gaze fixed on the dark passage deeper into the cave, and said firmly.
"The rest of you, follow me!"
Her response was a low growl filled with suppressed anger.
"yes!"
...
After passing through the suffocating "pigpen," the group arrived at a spacious natural cave, which had been transformed into a laboratory and contained some things that the ratmen would never have.
However, the ratmen still incorporated some of their own characteristics here, such as the huge millstone standing in the center of the cave.
The millstone was ten meters long and wide, and as heavy as a mountain.
Its surface was covered with dried scabs and cracks, and deep within those cracks, there was a layer of uncongealed crimson, overlapping with faintly visible runes.
Two thick wooden push rods are connected above the millstone, and deep claw marks are still visible on the push rods, indicating that they are usually driven by a giant beast.
“…Now I finally know what those Frankenstein monsters are for,” Theresa whispered.
Eileen, who was standing next to her, did not say anything.
She simply took a step forward silently and glanced at the several drained rat-man corpses lying beside the millstone.
These creatures were likely rat-man overseers or laborers in this laboratory. Their deaths were clearly the work of the burrow spiders.
These guys got off easy.
Eileen wasn't the only one who remained silent; the knights standing beside her were equally so.
Even those of them who knew nothing about magic could guess what kind of cruel things had happened here when they saw the glowing powder accumulated in the stone grooves below the millstone and the pools of nauseating dark red flesh.
The ratmen are here processing the parts they take from the Ryan people.
At the end of the ditch, there were several simple oak barrels.
The bucket contained a murky and viscous liquid with a strange oily sheen on the surface—it seemed to be unrefined "raw pulp".
Sarah silently walked to Luo Yan's side and offered him a handkerchief she had been carrying in her bosom for a long time. Luo Yan gently shook his head, indicating that he didn't need it, and then went to a wooden table next to the altar.
The table was also covered in blood, but among the mess of torture instruments, there were a few well-preserved sheets of paper.
Luo Yan reached out and picked it up, glanced at it briefly, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
The handwriting was elegant and neat, even carrying a hint of scholarly reserve, which was out of place in the bloody and barbaric environment around it.
"What does it say?" Theresa leaned closer and couldn't help but ask.
"Some experimental records. Or rather... a slaughtering guide."
As he carefully read the contents of the manuscript, Luo Yan continued expressionlessly, "They have recorded in detail the process of removing 'parts' from different parts of the human body, and how to purify the soul components within them with maximum efficiency."
Eileen paused for a moment, then instinctively pressed for an answer.
"Purification? Soul...how do you purify it?"
This was clearly beyond the scope of a knight's knowledge.
However, for the prince who had studied at the Academy, this was not something profound.
"Grind it, then filter it."
Luo Yan turned around and looked at the huge meat and blood millstone next to him.
"In the literal sense, for example, this is one of their workshops..."
"vomit……"
Several young knights finally couldn't hold back any longer and rushed to a corner to retch violently. Even Eileen, who was used to seeing life and death, turned pale instantly, her stomach churning.
Luo Yan continued reading the manuscript in his hand, but did not read it aloud again.
The rest of the content was full of obscure academic jargon, which these brutes who had not received a systematic education at Xuebang would definitely not understand. Asking questions frequently would only interrupt his thinking.
The information on the manuscript paper became increasingly alarming.
At this moment, Luo Yan finally understood why that great sage dared to open the library of the Tower of Origin Law to him so openly, allowing him, a prince from the empire, to inspect it at will.
Because those soul-searching secrets are not in the library, or even in the mage tower on the snowfield!
These lunatics have actually devised a method that completely bypasses the "belief system," even outside the sight of the gods!
It was a standardized slaughter line that physically squeezed out all the value of a person, using cold, magical techniques to achieve "soul ascension"!
This is what is known as "holy water"!
It's like a magic wish-granting machine, a liquefied deity!
Those who crave power can easily break through ranks by drinking it, while those who desire longevity can slow down the aging of their bodies by drinking it.
It will achieve a miracle that even emperors could not truly achieve!
"...This looks just like the Philosopher's Stone." Luo Yan muttered to himself as he turned a page of the manuscript in his hand.
Compared to this thing, the wonders that Taff and he built are nothing but dwarfs, since this thing directly bypasses the restrictions of faith!
Harvesting the faith of the masses?
Is it a way to release fear through fright?
How can we advance the progress of civilization to achieve common prosperity?
That's too inefficient.
It's like picking fleas off a monkey; it's a waste of both the monkey and the fleas.
So these magicians devised a more efficient method.
That is to throw monkeys into a pot and stew them into soup, along with the fleas on their bodies.
Originally, faith is a resonance of the soul. It can also resonate in the stomach, avoiding the waste of materials and unifying the distractions of the group.
That's true arrogance—
I don't care anymore.
Whether you believe it or not is irrelevant, just like your joys and sorrows. Once you're in my stomach, everything you have will be mine!
Recalling the face of the great sage Dolrich, a barely perceptible bead of cold sweat slowly slid down Prince Colin's neck.
"The Philosopher's Stone?" Looking at Colin's solemn expression, Eileen's eyes showed a hint of worry, and she asked in a low voice, "What is that?"
"It's nothing, just a legend from alchemy."
Luo Yan gave a perfunctory reply, leaving a bewildered Eileen behind, and continued reading.
The theory written in his experimental notes quickly reminded him of another old acquaintance, Professor Uriel Ackley.
As a professor of the Holy Power School and a sage candidate succeeding Arist Thorne, his specialty is the forbidden soul grafting technique known as "Soul Weaving."
Even by hellish standards, it is an extremely evil and dangerous technology.
It's like forcibly stitching a fragment of one person's soul onto another's soul, like kneading two lumps of clay together!
However, this secret technique is obviously dangerous; if not handled carefully, it can lead to the patient's mental breakdown or even madness.
After all, using another person's soul to mend oneself often means that "I" will no longer be "I", or at least no longer be the pure "I".
Luo Yan recalled the witch named "Green Fang" Hecajelline that he had encountered on his way to Xuebang.
That was a typical case of failure.
After devouring the souls of several innocent villagers, the magic apprentice gained power and broke through his innate limitations, but he also suffered a mental breakdown and became a "living lich."
Eventually, she ended up on the Adventurers' Guild's bounty list. Even if Sarah hadn't killed her with a single sword strike, she would have been killed by later adventurers or local lords as the bounty piled up.
However, the researchers in this underground laboratory solved the most intractable problem of "soul rejection" in an extremely cruel way.
The methods recorded in the experimental notes were not complicated; in fact, they could be described as simple and crude.
First, it is necessary to ensure the unity of the species. The souls of humans combine to minimize the rejection reaction, and the same applies to rat-people.
Secondly, according to the view of the soul school, the human spiritual body is composed of two parts: "spirit" and "soul".
The "soul" is the innate source of life, and also a substance that enters the cycle of reincarnation. The "spirit," on the other hand, is the part that grows after birth, including memories, emotions, self-awareness, and even acquired experiences.
"Spiritual essence" is different from "soul essence". The former usually does not enter the cycle of reincarnation, but disappears along with the soul essence after the soul essence enters the cycle of reincarnation or naturally dissipates.
"Spiritual essence" often represents a person's existence in the mortal world. Its value is beyond doubt, and it can even be said to be the entirety of "consciousness".
However, it is precisely these "spiritual qualities" with strong personal imprints that often lead to mental confusion in the recipient and become the root cause of "soul rejection reaction".
Since that's the case, let's filter out all this "garbage"!
Just like desulfurizing iron ore.
Through years of research and tireless exploration, and perhaps with reference to experiences in the virtual realm, the "professor" hidden in the towering mountains finally succeeded in separating the spirit from the soul.
He first used the tortures inflicted by the ratmen to repeatedly torment the Lane slaves, destroying their personalities and driving them insane...
This process is equivalent to the pretreatment of ore. Before it is sent into the smelting furnace, the steel plant needs to crush the ore.
This is an essential part.
This is why the survivors say that people who feign madness and attempt suicide are sent back to jail and given another beating.
Offerings that meet the criteria will be sent to the altar for further processing, a process no different from smelting ore... but Luo Yan could no longer bear to read on.
That's too cruel.
Death is but a moment, and even if one awakens as a ghost, it is merely the same as being reincarnated.
However, this kind of assembly-line slaughter, where even human dignity is ground up in the millstone of flesh and blood, would probably shock even the devil.
The purgatory described in the Book of the Word is right here...
Through this inhumane method, the professor successfully removed the "spiritual essence" containing memories and emotions as waste, retaining only the purest "soul essence".
But this is still not perfect.
The manuscript mentions that the density of soul matter varies in different parts of the body, and there are also slight differences in the soul matter of different individuals.
Numerous factors limit the purity of the final product, resulting in a significant reduction in the effectiveness of this artificial holy water in enhancing "soul level."
Luo Yan turned the manuscript paper in his hand to the last page.
The handwriting there had become somewhat illegible, seemingly left by the experimenter himself, which would be an extremely important clue.
That's not all—
From those hastily written notes, he gradually discerned a twisted excitement.
The attrition rate of adult bodies is too high... it's difficult to completely filter out spiritual impurities... we need purer raw materials...
[...I should have thought of that! We could actually get more efficient materials from the source, as long as we process them before they're exposed to light...]
Luo Yan's expression froze slightly, and a bad premonition rose in his heart.
Alakdo didn't mention this to him at all. Obviously, they had only taken a cursory look around outside and hadn't gone any deeper into the area, much less carefully read these notes that they couldn't understand.
As if to confirm his worst suspicion, a knight responsible for searching the surrounding area ran out from behind a stone door not far away.
His face looked even worse than when he had vomited, as if he had seen purgatory from the Holy Scriptures.
"Your Highness! You...you'd better take a look at the room next door."
Eileen's heart skipped a beat. Not daring to delay, she quickly followed behind the knight, while Luo Yan also put away his notebook and followed.
As they passed through the heavy stone door and entered the room next door, the scene that greeted them made everyone's breath catch in their throats.
“These beasts…” Theresa’s voice trembled.
The environment here is completely different from the bloody and filthy outside.
The nauseating stench was gone, and the air was even somewhat dry and warm. The ground was covered with relatively clean, thick animal hides, and fresh food and water were piled up in the corners.
However, this unnatural "preferential treatment" carries a chill that is deeper than death itself.
Behind several low wooden fences, hundreds of girls of varying ages were imprisoned, some mature and some young.
Most of them had blank expressions and unfocused eyes, clearly indicating that they had been given some kind of drug for a long time and were in a semi-conscious state.
What's most shocking is that each of them had a swollen belly...
Judging from the time they became pregnant, they were clearly not recently sent here; it's more likely they had been "raised" here for a long time.
If the previous area was a breeding farm, then this is a production base.
Strangely, however, there was no sound of a baby crying, no sign of a child, and no swaddling clothes or anything like that.
Eileen stared blankly at the scene before her, her pupils devoid of luster as if they were broken, and the longsword in her hand trembled slightly.
"...What are you doing?"
Even on the brutal battlefield of Twilight Province, even when faced with thousands of corpses, she had never felt so desperate and powerless as she did now.
Luo Yan stood silently behind her, hesitated for a long time, and finally decided to tell her what he knew.
There's no point in hiding it anymore.
The fact that such information could be found even in this cave suggests that the magicians' research did not begin with the Winter Fire, but rather had likely been ongoing for a long time before the Copper Pass began to crumble.
ten years?
Twenty years?
He didn't know either; perhaps only Saint Sith knew.
"...According to the theory of the Soul School, the human spirit is divided into 'spiritual matter' and 'soul matter'. 'Spirit' is the sum of acquired memories, emotions, and self-awareness. 'Soul' is the innate life energy, which is what ultimately enters the cycle of reincarnation."
Using the concepts of the information age, it can be explained more clearly: the former refers to software, and the latter to hardware... but explaining this would definitely only confuse Eileen further.
However, Taff will definitely understand.
"So?" Eileen turned her head and stared straight into Colin's eyes, her eyes full of pleading, but she was not getting the answer she was hoping for.
However, she was destined to be disappointed.
The evil here far exceeded the Demon King's expectations.
"...Newborn children, or those yet to be born, have not yet formed their 'spirit,' or their 'soul' is extremely weak. But their 'soul' is no different from that of an adult, and the time cost is much lower."
"For these magic researchers who pursue ultimate purity, that is the perfect raw material without any impurities."
"Holy water uses soul matter as its raw material and spiritual matter as its impurities."
"They have paved a shortcut to the abyss in a way we never imagined..."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com