Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Chapter 808- Onwards to Castledor

808  Chapter 808- Onwards to Castledor

The air engine was the other way where that dreadful woman and the army of ghouls was. He has no choice but to give up on it, which left him with only one choice and that was to use his spatial skill.

However, to use this skill he needed a lot of time and focus all of his attention on the activation. As such, he needed to open some distance from his pursuer and hide somewhere. And so, Lucas kept on running.

When he walked past the tall thickets and appeared before a rocky outcrop, all of his hopes was smashed away and the most frightening thought he had been refusing to think about all this time, came true like an omen.

 He was surrounded, standing before him was none of than the dreadful woman who wiped out his entire team and the army of ghouls she commanded. The three legendary criminals were also there, or should he say two. One of them was missing.

 "Can you leave this one to me? Since I was the one who started it, it's only normal that I should finish it".

Just as he was wondering who she was talking to, a reply came from behind him.

"As you wish. Miss Maybell only told us to track him and stop him from escaping".

It was the demi humans, at some point, they had easily caught up with him.

"Now then, it ended up taking more time than I thought but shall we finish this?" Saying that, she set her dogs or the two criminals per se lose on him.

"Why are you… no, why is she doing this?!!" in his last moments, he could only ask so. His question received no answer and soon, his Lucas Blackwood's life ended there.

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Inside a pure white room that was completely empty, a silhouette suddenly opened his eyes. The appearance of the figure couldn't be seen as they were radiating an intense golden light. Nevertheless, from their bodyline, one could figure out that they were female.

"What is it Domiel?" the figure spoke.

At this moment, another voice rang inside the room "Paraclete of Light, I am here to report that one of the seeds we put the stigma on has died"…

 "All mortals must die someday, death is something that cannot be escaped. Its just one seed, why are you so flustered?"

 "Yes, it as you say, it's inevitable for some seeds to die before they fully mature. However, the cause of this seed's death raises a little concern"…

"Oh?! How so?"

The voice replied "The one who imprinted the Stimga on that seed was none other than me. When the seed died, I felt an ominous and foreign energy from the revelation. I'm afraid that it might be the signs of the out.."

 Domiel was just about to speak something when the figure covered by the golden light stopped him.

"Do not speak that name. I understand your concern, I will bring it to 'her' notice when I meet her".

"I am grateful for the Praclete's understanding"

With that the voice of Domiel excused himself. Once he left, the room fell into silence once again. The figure covered by the golden light continued to stare ahead blankly for some time before muttering a few words.

"If it's really as Domiel said, then the world is in danger again".

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Back inside the wagon, Annette recounted the events to Cynthia.

 "So even Benny Beckerman is now gone huh" the princess sighed.

"Are you regretting your orders Hour Highness?" Annette asked noticing a tinge of disappointment in her expression.

 "It's not like that. I am aware that as someone who was in the opposite faction, he was a threat that needed to be taken out. It was unavoidable; however, thinking that we lost one of the strongest men in our kingdom, I cannot help but lament a little" Cynthia explained.

 "Even if he was someone like a guardian to the Kingdom, he needed to die for the offence he committed against master" Annette's voice was cold. She had no sympathy for anyone who tried to go against her master.

"You are right, he did indeed go against the dungeon. As someone who is now also part of that dungeon, I cannot think like that".

This was the deal, in exchange for his aid, everything that she owned, her life, soul, possession and even the kingdom, would become his. She had made her decision after thinking about it carefully.

"We are nearing the area, the battlefield should soon come into view" Just as Annette had said, the lineup of wagons stopped after travelling for a little while.

CLACK… CLACK, the footsteps of a person came near and the guard commander's voice rang out.

"Princess, there are signs of battle nearby. We sent a couple of our people to go ahead and investigate the area. There might still be danger around, so please be careful".

Cynthia opened the door and stepped out.

 "Your Highness" Her retainers bowed.

 "I wish to go there and see the area where the battle took place with my own eyes" She spoke.

 "But your highness the place is dangerous. Who knows, the ones who fought there might still be around" Bret the old assassin, raised his concern.

 "Don't worry, we have the greatest force in the kingdom with us right now. Do you really think anything that is out there can still threaten us?" Cynthia's words silenced everyone.

It was as she said, the group of people who they were travelling with were all elite adventurers and powerhouses of the kingdom. All of their level were above 400 with some even reaching level 500.

With a line up like this, one can easily destroy a city. How can there still be something in this northern outlaw forest that can still threaten them? And even if there was something, with the woman beside Her Highness, it would still not be a problem. After all, the woman was the subordinate of that being.

"If you must insist, then we will accompany you".

With that Cynthia and the others made her way over to the vanguard of the group. A few meters away, the aftermath of a destructive force lay scattered across the forest floor.

Broken branches, displaced rocks, and upturned soil marked the aftermath of a recent clash, evidence that something powerful had recently transpired here. The air still carried the faint scent of magical residue and the turbulent mana hinted at the nature of the battle that had unfolded.

Standing at the site of the destruction the figures of Blake and the others could be seen. With their guards up and still maintaining the formation, they carefully scanned the place.

"Any insight Blake?" Cynthia asked approaching the group.

"Your Highness, this place is..." Blake was just about to say that this place was dangerous and she ought not to move around here carelessly when he remembered who was with her. His eyes moved towards Annette who followed the princess like a shadow before quickly shifting away.

He did not even realise that she was gone from their side, fought a battle and quickly returned back without anyone even noticing it.

"Not much Your Highness, we are still investigating the place. However, from the leads we have found so far, it's clear that this was not the doing of some clash between two monsters but something that was caused by people. I cannot give you numbers but from the footsteps we have seen, there seemed to be quite plenty of them" Blake answered surveying the site with a solemn look in his eyes.

"I see, do we know who are the people responsible for it?" Cynthia asked feigning ignorance.

"Not yet, however, I have sent a few assassins to investigate the area around here. If they find anything they would report back to us… oh! Speak of the devil" Just as he was saying that, the assassin he sent to scout the area, returned back.

"Sir Blake, we have a report. Two kilometres south from here, we spotted an Air Engine parked on top of a small mountaintop"…

"An Air Engine" Blake raised his brows not expecting an Air Engine to pop up in the report.

"Who is driving it? who all are inside?"…

"The Air Engine seems to be abandoned, there doesn't seem to be anyone around" the assassins reported.

"Hmm, could it be the ones who fought here, the people from the air engine? If so then where did they go?" Wyot muttered, generating more questions inside everyone's head.

"There is no point dwelling over something we have no clue about. How about we go and see that Air Engine, maybe we will find some more clues there" Cynthia suggested.

 Everybody nodded their head, given their objective and their lives at stake, they needed to investigate every factor and element at play here. If it affected them, they needed to learn about it or eliminate it if it threatened them.

As reported by the assassins, the Air Engine had no one manning it, nor was there anyone to be seen around, it looked totally deserted.

 "Considering the size of this air Engine, it should be capable of carrying around 10-12 people. I have looked around the cabin and the engine, there doesn't seem to be any problem with it. Heck, it's in tip top condition, I don't see any reason to abandon such a fine ship" Wyot who was somewhat knowledgable about the mechanics of the Air Engine, said after examining it.

"If it's not broken, then where did the people who board it go?"…

"Don't know, but could it be that they were all killed?"…

 "Don't say something so ominous".