BXBX NOVEL Chapter 44: Chapter44-The Guards of House Carter
Twelve blood moons encircled the entire mountain, casting an eerie red glow.
The blood-colored monolith soared into the sky, with humanoid creatures that seemed to be formed from fresh blood wandering around it continuously.
At the summit of the mountain stood a tower that had existed for who knows how many years.
This tower seemed to be made up of corpses embedded within it, their wails of agony constant as pairs of crimson eyes filled with resentment and pain.
Yet, the group of people standing in front of this horrific tower seemed unfazed, as if oblivious to the terrifying scene unfolding on it.
Baron, Victor, and other powerful figures had been there for quite some time, not in a hurry to enter, still waiting for others.
Beneath Demonbone Peak, thunderous roars echoed as more individuals fought their way to the top.
Upon seeing Baron, Theodore, Victor, and the others, they dared not make any rash moves, waiting quietly instead.
A strong member from House Fairfax stepped forward and respectfully said to Baron, "My Lord, all who were expected have arrived."
Baron nodded, sensing it was about time, and addressed the transcendent-tier powerhouses earnestly, "Gentlemen, as I, Baron, have said from the start, whatever treasures one might find in this secret realm are solely based on personal ability, and I will not go back on my word.
My only hope is that if any of you come across some treasures and wish to sell them, please consider our trade association first. I assure you, the prices will be fair and you will not be at a loss."
Regardless of their true thoughts, everyone nodded in agreement, showing respect to Baron.
Then, Baron turned his gaze to Victor, smiling, "I wonder, Captain Victor, if you'd like to remind everyone to play by the rules, to prevent any unsavory behavior?"
Victor wore a golden mask, concealing his expression.
With arms crossed, he spoke indifferently, "Hidden Stars, whatever you may find here is yours, but should anyone dare bring the malevolent spirits and oddities from within to reality, don't blame me for being unreasonable!"
As his words fell, Victor's presence surged dramatically.
The terrifying and sharp pressure made everyone's heart skip a beat, feeling a tingling pain all over.
Many cast serious glances towards Victor.
Just the force of his aura alone was enough to trigger a sense of danger in everyone.
This man, Victor, was outrageously powerful!
Having effectively intimidated the crowd, Victor's aura quickly receded, returning to his unremarkable demeanor.
Yet, no one dared to underestimate him now.
Seeing his objective achieved, Baron smiled at the group, "The time is about right, everyone, please proceed as you wish. I'll be taking my leave first."
With those words, a blinding golden light suddenly emanated from Baron.
Behind him, a colossal golden statue, several dozen meters tall, slowly emerged!
The statue, with its eyes closed and a dignified aura, had six arms behind it, each holding a weapon. It looked solemn and extraordinary.
Baron's corpulent body slowly ascended and eventually merged into the brow of the golden statue.
Suddenly, the golden statue with six arms fiercely opened its eyes!
"Boom!!!"
It was as if thunder exploded atop the peak, and everyone present felt an immense power emanating from the golden statue.
Alexander chuckled, "This 'Radiant Visage' of House Fairfax truly lives up to its reputation. Baron, this chubby fellow, is a world apart with or without the divine aspect."
Eldritch mused, "The 'Radiant Visage' of House Fairfax is a hereditary class, its strength beyond doubt. It's just that the talents of House Fairfax's descendants are somewhat lacking, hence they can't fully unleash the 'Radiant Visage's' potential. However, I heard that last year, House Fairfax had a chubby youngster with remarkable talent. This generation of House Fairfax might be different."
Theodore nodded, smiling, "I visited the capital a few days ago, and the old man of House Fairfax mentioned his grandson's talent surpasses any in House Fairfax's century-long history, hopeful to reach the sage-tier."
Hearing this, everyone felt a stir in their hearts.
That was the sage-tier, level one hundred, nearly the pinnacle of humanity. Unexpectedly, House Fairfax had such a monstrous talent!
Behind Theodore, Seraphina remained composed. She had met that genius of House Fairfax, named Albertus, whose talent was indeed monstrous. His compatibility with the 'Radiant Visage' was the highest in the history of House Fairfax.
Yet, she felt that compared to John's talent, Albertus might still fall short.
...
On the edge of the Withered Forest.
John, clad in the black uniform of Hidden Stars and wearing a black mask, had already entered the forest.
From the outside, the forest seemed ordinary, but upon entering, John sensed something amiss.
Silence!
It was too silent!
Given that numerous powerhouses had entered the Withered Forest, even if John was somewhat distant, it was impossible not to hear any noise they made.
He hadn't paid it much mind in the Corpse Plains, assuming those powerhouses had all ventured deep into the forest, too far away.
But now, he suddenly realized the forest had an isolating effect.
Here, John could feel his spiritual perception being suppressed, as if a pair of large hands covered his eyes.
John furrowed his brows, remaining vigilant of his surroundings.
In his mind, he thought that the guy from House Fairfax, who seemed harmless, was actually quite complex.
He had only ventured in a short while and could no longer hear any noise from outside.
However, at that time, Albertus was able to keenly sense the disturbances outside the Withered Forest.
His perception was possibly several times sharper than John's.
"Whoosh!"
Just as John was pondering this, a swooshing sound suddenly came from above his head.
A sharp tree branch fiercely stabbed towards John's head. It was merely a branch, but the tip gleamed with a faint cold light, as if it were metallic!
The branch didn't pause at all, piercing straight through John's skull and even into the soil below!
"Rustle, rustle!"
Several seemingly ordinary trees suddenly began to shake, making rustling noises.
Their mundane trunks slowly revealed features resembling human faces.
With terrifying smiles on their faces, they seemed pleased with the successful ambush.
However, the next moment, the smiles on these trees froze on their trunks.
The John that had been pierced began to slowly dissipate.
In just the blink of an eye, he turned into black mist and vanished into the air.
Meanwhile, John had somehow already appeared a few meters away from them.
"Shadow Puppet!"
Looking at the few eerie tree spirits, John's gaze was cold.
[Name: Ghost-faced Treant (Common)]
[Level: lv21]
[HP: 42000]
[Spirit: 234]
[Defense: 131]
[Speed: 24]
[Skills: Camouflage, Isolation, Absorption…]
...
John didn't give them a chance to react, his staff lighting up with a mix of ice-blue and aqua-blue glows.
An enormous ice sphere quickly formed above his head, its mere presence terrifying to behold.
"Ice Meteorite!"
Looking at the bewildered ghost-faced treants, a hint of mockery played at the corner of John's mouth as he said, "I've noticed something off about you trees for a while now. I didn't want to bother with you, but you brought this upon yourselves!"
As John's words fell, he lightly tapped his Necrostaff.
The ice sphere above him instantly transformed into a meteorite, flying fiercely towards the terrified tree spirits under their horrified gazes!
"Boom!!!"
The Ice Meteorite turned into a blue streak of light and crashed heavily onto the ghost-faced treants, leaving them no chance to fight back.
The heavy impact caused their trunks to break and branches to scatter wildly!
"-55979!"
"-56028!"
"-55701!"
...
As the damage numbers rose, the ghost-faced treants were instantly annihilated by John!
Meanwhile, kill notifications appeared before John's eyes.
[You have slain a lv21 "ghost-faced treant," earning 21,300 Exp!]
[You have slain a lv22 "ghost-faced treant," earning 22,500 Exp!]
...
[Current Level]: lv16
[Experience]: 107,000/320,000
...
With the notifications appearing, John's experience points saw a significant increase.
At this point, he was about 200,000 experience points shy of reaching level 16, but it seemed it wouldn't take long to level up.
He stepped forward, collected the equipment and materials dropped by the ghost-faced treants, and then left the area, heading deeper into the forest to find a new spot for leveling up.
However, as he walked, John suddenly felt an inexplicable discomfort.
He frowned, this feeling seemed like a premonition of danger, yet not quite.
John muttered in confusion, "Could it be a fever?"
He paused for a moment, detecting nothing unusual.
Shaking his head, John continued his journey deeper into the forest.
Yet, shortly after he left,
The air around a few of the previously still trees twisted strangely.
Suddenly, three figures in bronze armor appeared out of thin air!
They were the guards of House Carter!