Chapter 185: Secret Passage
Alice was a woman with a surname, and one capable of bearing the Patriarch's bloodline. Although Marl did not know what method they had used, a woman like Alice would never have been in such a scrawny state while still within the Theocracy.
"Right, aside from sending me to study, the Three Sages also told me to inform the Church to be wary of those Fishmen," Alice suddenly said.
"Fishmen?" Marl asked. "Weren’t those Fishmen already caught up in the Principality of Corlay?"
Fishmen, Dark Creatures, the remaining forces of the Principality of Corlay, and, as mentioned by Alice, those Aberrants—these were all encroaching.
Moreover, just the portion of territory currently occupied by the Fishmen—most of the Principality of Corlay—was already enough to house nearly a million of them. Even if Fishmen reproduced rapidly, it would still take at least ten years to fully populate the land of the Principality of Corlay.
Besides, they were Fishmen. Were they really going to live on land permanently?
Alice explained, "Those are mutated Fishmen. The Three Sages said they were polluted by an extremely pure power. That power might be leaking from the Morning Star. Under the erosion of the Morning Star’s power, these mutated Fishmen have gradually adapted to life beneath the Morning Star. In fact, when exposed to its light, they even become stronger."
"But Fishmen are originally beloved by the sea. So when they’re torn between the power of the Morning Star and the sea, they become extremely irritable. They've grown increasingly vicious, and because of that, the Aberrant Followers of Original Sin can very easily corrupt them."
"So, the Aberrant Followers' rate of corruption is extremely fast. While the Fishmen resist the Aberrants' attacks, they’re also expanding outward, seeking new land. Heading south or crossing Lake Salvador to attack the Principality of Patlin—either is an option."
Lake Salvador, which served as a natural barrier between the two principalities, instead became a convenience for the Fishmen.
"Is that so..." Marl’s brow furrowed. The situation in the Principality of Patlin was already a mess. If the Fishmen really launched an attack there, it would be hard to organize a proper defense in time.
And thinking again of the news that the Rat Path had already left the York Territory…
"This information is important. I will report it to the rear lines." Marl spoke solemnly. He then raised his hand and gestured. One of the White Doves resting upon the Cross flew over.
"What’s that? Such a beautiful bird." Alice asked with curiosity.
"This is a White Dove. It is the Lord’s Messenger," Marl explained, then took out a feather quill, dipped it in ink, and began writing a letter.
"It can help deliver messages?" Alice asked.
"Yes. From here to the Bishop’s hands—if all goes well, it only takes a day."
"A day... That’s pretty fast for a place outside the diocese." Alice nodded. "The earth-net that the Three Sages developed can only be used within the diocese, and only by Bishops, but it can transmit messages instantly."
Alice spoke with some pride, as if telling Marl that while the origin of the Theocracy lay in the Church of the Sanctuary, and even though she was now going there to study, the Theocracy had its own advancements.
"Is that so? That’s quite convenient." Marl replied casually, not paying much attention.
The Monastery’s discipline of Magic had already researched such a method of instant message transmission within territories. However, it required drawing magic from the Earth Vein, which would affect its vitality. So after the method was discovered, it was set aside.
After all, for a territory the size of York Territory, White Doves could deliver messages anywhere within one to three hours. There was no need to extract the Earth Vein’s energy.
As for the Senate being unable to use White Doves?
What did that have to do with the Monastery?
Moreover, if this magic method were used for long-term instant messaging, it would eventually harm the user. So in a way, the Monastery’s refusal to share it with the Senate's nobles was an act of mercy—to help them live longer.
Aside from that, there was another severe flaw—it couldn’t transmit messages across different territories.
For instance, although York Territory was unified, its core lands and the three newly annexed Baronies had yet to fully integrate their Earth Veins. As such, the method still couldn’t transmit messages to the three Baronies.
Therefore, considering practicality versus cost, it wasn’t all that useful.
Thus, upon hearing that messages couldn’t be sent beyond the Theocracy, Marl roughly understood how the earth-net worked.
Noticing Marl’s indifferent tone, Alice felt a little disheartened.
"Go on, deliver this message to the Bishop." Marl touched foreheads with the White Dove, then released it.
However, after being released, the White Dove didn’t fly away immediately. Instead, it circled around Alice once, then landed on her leg, gazing at her abdomen with curiosity.
Marl glanced at Alice thoughtfully.
Alice only gave a bright and innocent smile befitting her age, then reached out to pet the White Dove.
But the White Dove flapped its wings and flew away.
"What a shame, it’s not very friendly?" Alice said a little disappointed.
"Maybe it thought you were hungry," Marl replied.
"Hungry?" Alice asked in confusion.
Marl didn’t answer. He only smiled.
...
Holy Land Town. The tension deepened even further after nightfall.
"Although the clouds above block the Morning Star and allow Werewolves to act during the day, it’s still nighttime when they’re most active," said Leo.
He and George stood atop the town wall. When things were quiet, they could hear the distant Howl of wolves.
On this night without the illumination of the White Star, where even five meters beyond the wall was hidden in darkness unless lit by a torch, the atmosphere was deeply unsettling.
"No signs of Werewolves during today's patrol. Their movements are becoming increasingly strange. It seems like they’ve pulled their encirclement back a bit," said Vito while eating a flatbread.
He had only returned before nightfall and had just learned that George had arrived in Holy Land Town. Naturally, he was delighted.
"Was it because of my and Marl’s actions? Or was it something Sir Puniel did? Is that why they retracted their lines?" George asked.
"Who knows." Leo shook his head, glanced around to ensure that the nearest guard was over ten meters away, and then lowered his voice.
"What about Flint? He has a few guards with him, but they can’t stop us," he said. "Now that we know the Bishop has ordered the Werewolves to be driven out, shouldn’t we prepare to break through and rendezvous with the main force?"
In other words, was there any need to keep Flint—the man who traded with Werewolves—alive?
That was what Leo didn’t say out loud.
Vito hesitated a little, then looked at Leo and George before saying, "Shall we do it the old way—seek the Lord’s guidance?"
George closed his eyes. When he reopened them, his brows were furrowed.
"He’s already gone," George said.
"Gone?" Vito and Leo were both stunned. Then they grabbed their weapons and ran down the wall. After they left, George hesitated a moment before heading toward the Fortress.
Vito and Leo rushed to the Church. The guards outside began saluting, but Leo kicked open the Church’s door.
Inside, it was pitch black. Only the light from outside illuminated the neatly maintained interior.
Leo charged into the rear room. Moments later, his furious voice rang out, "Damn it! He’s gone!"
When Leo and Vito came back outside, the townsfolk who lived near the Church were already gathering.
"Has anyone seen Priest Flint since this afternoon?!" Leo shouted.
People looked at each other, sensing something was wrong. After a moment, a timid woman spoke, "Before it got dark today, I saw the Priest enter the Fortress, but he never came back out."
Leo and Vito exchanged looks. Their faces turned pale.
When they had first taken the Fortress, they already knew there was a passage leading outside—a tunnel reserved by the former Lord for escape in emergencies.
To prevent a surprise attack by Werewolves, they had blocked that tunnel.
But if Flint had disappeared from inside the Fortress now...
Suddenly, a burst of dazzling Holy Light flashed in the direction of the Fortress.
"That’s Knight George?!" Vito shouted. "Everyone here—man, woman, old, or young—grab your weapons and prepare to defend!"
Instantly, all faces changed among the gathered people, but no one screamed. Instead, they moved quickly to gather weapons.
"Guards on the Wall! Stay alert! If you see any signs of Werewolves, then..." He hadn’t finished speaking when the bell atop the Wall rang out.
"Vito! Take some people to the Wall and take command. I’m heading to the Fortress!" Leo no longer hesitated. After speaking to Vito, he rushed toward the Fortress.
Vito gritted his teeth in fury. It was like he squeezed the words out from between them. "...Flint! You bastard!"
His expression was already twisted with rage.
He now bitterly regretted not killing Flint the moment he learned of George’s news.
But there was no time to dwell on that. He sprinted toward the Wall.
...
On Leo’s side, by the time he reached the vicinity of the Fortress, he could already hear the anguished howls of Werewolves. As he rushed in, he saw Werewolves surging out from the Fortress, charging at Knight George.
George merely had his shield strapped to his back, holding a Long Spear in both hands. He swept it skillfully, and any Werewolf that got hit was instantly split in two. Though they were fragile under George’s spear, he was still just one man. How could he hold back so many Werewolves?
"Flint escaped! He must have secretly had the Werewolves dig open the secret passage beneath the Fortress!" Leo shouted furiously. "And now there’s an attack signal from the Wall too! Damn it! That bastard Flint!"
Overwhelmed with anger, Leo swung his Flanged Mace and crushed a Werewolf that had slipped past George’s defense and tried to attack him.
"Leo! We can’t hold this place! Don’t waste time here—gather people and prepare for defense!" George roared. "And these are all Transformed Werewolves—Lower-Ranked Werewolves! They’re just here to create chaos. Their main force is still outside!"