Chapter 276: The Graveyard of Nighon

  All of these processes were carried out while Rodhart was very conscious and feeling everything clearly. And this old man, who seemed neither dead nor alive, seemed to possess immense interest and inexhaustible energy for this kind of work. He only rested for a very short period each day, and aside from eating, he devoted all his time and energy to Rodhart's body.

  He had never imagined he would come to such a point. He had thought of death, and he was not afraid of it, but he had never expected to end up in a state worse than death.

  Rodhart finally understood what it meant to be "better off dead." This phrase was almost tailor-made for his current situation.

  That day, fortunately, the Queen had pleaded desperately for his life, otherwise he would have been cut down in a single strike by the furious Captain Roland. He was only exiled, and it was said that he was never to appear in the royal capital again.

  Women are truly strange and weak creatures, Rodhart thought at the time, seeing the Queen actually about to kneel before Captain Roland to beg him to spare him. He had already betrayed her to such an extent, yet she still desperately pleaded on his behalf. But he was also truly fortunate that women were indeed such strange creatures.

  From a Paladin Order squad leader to an exiled commoner with nothing, this failure was utterly complete. But he was not discouraged; he didn't feel the slightest bit of frustration. On the contrary, it ignited his fighting spirit even more. Rather than wandering or living in obscurity, it was better to fight desperately for his dream and die on the path toward it.

  Having already lost so much, the only option was to gain even more; otherwise, he would rather die. He could not accept such a great failure; he could only turn this failure into an opportunity for an even greater success.

  This opportunity was to go to Diya Valley and seek refuge with Marquis, Javi's father. He knew some inside information about Diya Valley from Javi's words; Javi had originally planned to make him his right-hand man, and this information was also a means to make him submit.

  He firmly believed that a useful person like himself would surely gain Marquis's appreciation and be accepted by him. Moreover, he had a piece of information that probably only he knew, and he guessed the Necromancers would definitely be very interested in it. Information was also a form of capital, so he had preserved it well, never telling anyone.

  To storm The Shadowspire Peaks alone, he knew this was practically synonymous with madness. But it was the only way he could do it; he wanted to fly higher.

  He was saved by a Necromancer when he was on the verge of death. This Necromancer, dressed as a Cardinal, not only healed his critical injuries but also brought him to Celeste to meet Marquis. At that moment, he already believed he was about to soar.

  But after Marquis listened quietly to his words, he just nodded, and then a body-binding spell immobilized him.

  "Thank you for telling me those things. I know you are a very useful person, but I also know that you want to be of use to me only because I am of use to you. And I know you will never be content with just being useful to me. In the end, your usefulness is only for yourself."

  "A person who is never satisfied cannot be controlled. And if they can't be controlled, then no amount of usefulness is of any use." After saying this faintly, Marquis no longer looked at him, and said to the Cardinal who had brought him, "Send such a useful person to Master Valthor's place. Didn't he say that one test subject wasn't enough?"

  "Hmm, this was actually my original intention as well." The Cardinal smiled. "To be able to walk so deep into The Shadowspire Peaks alone. His physical condition and willpower are top-notch. Master Valthor said he needs just this kind of useful person. I brought him here just to see what he would say to you, but I never thought I would get such a piece of information."

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  "For now, it's useless information. I hope it's only for now, otherwise this person is truly of no use to me whatsoever," Marquis replied faintly.

  If he couldn't fly, then dying on the path to flight would have been fine. But he never expected that not only could he not fly, he couldn't even die from the fall. He wanted to die but couldn't.

  How could this be? How could I be like this? How could I have become like this?

  He didn't know how long he had been in this strange little room. Perhaps it hadn't been long, or perhaps it was a lifetime ago. Apart from the continuous, intense pain, these were the only thoughts in Rodhart's mind.

  A teeth-grating sound came. The pain from his arm was enough to drive a person mad, but he paradoxically couldn't even manage to go mad. Without looking, Rodhart knew the old man was carving a magic array into his arm. The bones of that large, muscular "peer" in the corner were almost entirely covered with such things. The magical power within his own body was also slowly gathering and creating strange fluctuations along with the creaking sounds.

  This person actually knows some magic, and his magical aptitude is quite good. Rare, so rare. Good, good. This was the praise the old man named Valthor had uttered when he first cut open his arm. It seemed that for this very reason, he was especially meticulous when carving the magic arrays, carving quite a lot of them, and seemed to infuse them with magical power from time to time.

  The old man's movements suddenly paused. He stopped and looked up toward the outside of the hut.

  "Guests? How rare..." The old man turned and made a gesture. "Put yourselves back together."

  Following the old man's gesture, Rodhart's limbs, which hadn't moved for a long time, suddenly sprang into action. He jumped off the stone platform, reassembled his own disassembled arm, and stood in the corner. Standing next to him was that peer of his, a fortress of muscle. Rodhart grabbed a large, dirty piece of cloth from the floor and covered both himself and his peer.

  His movements were fast and smooth, and they were all of his own volition. He only felt a twitch in his mind, and his body just did it.

  That must be the effect of the magic array carved into his skull. Rodhart remembered that the old man had been particularly meticulous when carving this array, and had even dripped a drop of his own blood into his brain. He could still feel that the old man's blood was very sticky and thick, like a mouthful of thick phlegm.

  But he only remembered it. After that drop of blood fell into the magic array, he had almost no ability to think. For the vast majority of the time, he could hear, see, move, and feel, but just not think. Only on very rare occasions, like now, could he vaguely think, recall, and regret.

  "To think there's actually a graveyard in a place like this? And someone lives here?" Talise said in surprise, looking around.

  After several days of flight, they had arrived in the territory of Nighon. They were now standing before an abandoned graveyard.

  When it came to Nighon, the first thing everyone thought of was the enormous underground world. Within the earth's crust on the westernmost part of the continent lay a massive cavern, and compared to the world on the surface, the world below was like a completely different realm. Minotaurs, Drow, Harpies... countless creatures formed a self-contained world down below.

  The origins of the war between these creatures, lurking in the darkness underground, and the humans of the surface were long lost to time. The flames of war had ravaged the surface of Nighon countless times. Although this place wasn't a land of rugged mountains and treacherous waters like The Wyvern Wastes or the Lizard Marsh, it was equally unsuitable for human habitation. Usually, only groups of Goblins and some Harpies roamed the ground.

  Although the location of this graveyard was considered quite remote for Nighon, and they hadn't seen any Goblin communities along the way, it was indeed very strange for someone to be living in such a place.

  Speaking of a graveyard, it just looked like a pile of disorderly mounds. There was some fencing around it. In the center of the graveyard was a house that looked little different from a tomb. For someone to be living in a place like this was truly strange.

  "Excuse me, is Master Valthor in? I have come to visit, guided by Agrael." Ethan did not enter the graveyard directly, but stood outside and asked loudly.

  "Come in." A weak voice, accompanied by a fit of coughing, came from inside the house.

  "Another Necromancer?" Talise's eyes scanned the surrounding graves, and she cautiously touched Ethan's arm. "The things buried in this graveyard... there seem to be fluctuations of Necromancy. It's best to be careful."

  "Only those with the right to be buried here are elites of the Church. Among them are the remains of thirteen Temple Knights and eight bishops, all your predecessors. You should trust that they will not attack you indiscriminately." The coughing intermittently pieced together this sentence, which came from inside the house.

  Talise was still far from the hut, and she hadn't spoken loudly, but the person inside seemed to have not only heard her but also identified her as someone from the Church.

  Ethan made a calming gesture to Talise. Since Aunt El had sent him here, this person shouldn't be an enemy. The three of them entered the graveyard and arrived at the door of the house.

  A stooped old man opened the door. His appearance was somewhat furtive, like a bat's—an old bat, at that. With his trembling, rigid movements and constant coughing, no one would doubt that he was an old man who could collapse and die at any moment. He listlessly glanced at the three of them, his cloudy eyes lingering on Ethan for a moment longer. He raised a hand and said, "Come in and sit."

  Stepping into this tomb-like house, Ethan's first feeling was one of familiarity. Talise still maintained her somewhat wary expression and aura. Aimee, on the other hand, let out a shriek, nearly turned to flee in terror, and shrank behind Talise.