Chapter 104 – The Outbreak of the Epidemic

The White Tower stood against the night sky with its pristine white structure adorned with eerie crimson patterns. Perched on the hillside, it resembled a red-capped creature luring travelers into the swamp—both sinister and intriguing.

Bilan and Dichiduo sat panting on the floor of the White Tower’s hall. Since Punk had never furnished the hall with any furniture, the exhausted Dichiduo and Bilan had no choice but to endure the heavy scent of blood as they rested on the ground.

“Hah… Hah… Finally… finally safe? Damn it!”

Dichiduo gasped for breath, his strength completely drained from the long run as an ordinary person. Now collapsed on the floor, he paid no mind to the nauseating smell of blood.

Bilan, with her professional level, knelt on the ground tending to the Little Boy’s wounds, but she remained silent.

For a moment, the hall fell into a heavy silence.

“Damn it! Why did those people watch us being chased without helping? Couldn’t they see we were carrying a severely injured child?”

Dichiduo spat out the words with the last of his energy, gritting his teeth. During their escape, he had clearly seen many townsfolk—usually friendly and helpful—watching through their windows as he and Bilan fled desperately. They heard their pleas and cries for help, yet… from start to finish, no one stepped out to stop the fanatical preachers. Not even a single voice called out. Those townsfolk, whom he had joked and mingled with daily, simply watched like spectators at a horror show, their faces filled with fear but devoid of action.

“Damn it! Why? Couldn’t they see those mad preachers? Just a dozen people could have stopped them. Don’t they have any compassion at all?”

Dichiduo roared the last sentence, tears streaming down his cheeks. Having grown up in Nielan Town, he felt the true nature of those seemingly harmonious and caring townsfolk was shameful and cowardly. From beginning to end, they acted like cold bystanders, with many even taking pleasure in others’ misfortune!

“Humans are contradictory beings. The kindness they showed before was real, and the cowardice today is also real. They’re just making different choices under different circumstances—it’s not that they meant to deceive us!”

Bilan carefully used her spells to soothe the Little Boy’s pain. Hearing Dichiduo’s outburst, she spoke in a sorrowful tone, stating the tragic truth.

“………………”

Dichiduo fell silent at Bilan’s words. Having been raised surrounded by people’s goodwill, he had never known such an ugly side of human nature. Today, he had witnessed a group of fanatical believers and a crowd of cowardly townsfolk. The former filled him with fear, while the latter… broke his heart.

“But we can’t give up hope because of this. No matter how others treat us, as kind individuals, we must always hold fast to the goodness in our hearts!

Kindness… is our own matter. It never requires repayment from others!”In the dim, flickering light, Bilan gently stroked Dichiduo’s disheveled hair. The young girl comforted the weeping Dichiduo with a tender voice. Though Bilan herself felt sorrowful and helpless from today’s ordeal, the crying boy before her needed solace more than she did.

Through tear-blurred eyes, Dichiduo gazed at Bilan – the girl seemed to be the only light in this dark world.

“Pull yourself together! We need to treat this child and… leave this place!”

Bilan’s ethereal voice carried determination and resolve. She gently helped the aching Dichiduo to his feet, then hurried to Punk’s Experiment Table to carefully search for surgical tools and medicine.

Though Punk had left several magical traps on the Experiment Table, Bilan – who had often been forced to stay nearby – remembered all their locations. As for what would happen when Punk returned… saving lives came first now, they’d deal with the consequences later!

Dichiduo stared blankly at Bilan’s retreating figure, suddenly realizing how terrifying and bizarre the environment of the White Tower truly was. That bloodstained Experiment Table… it looked just like some evil mage’s research Base. Was this what Bilan had called “not too bad”?

At this thought, Dichiduo felt his nose sting with emotion. He now understood that those words had merely been Bilan’s attempt to keep him from worrying. Watching her back, he sensed incredible strength and resilience hidden within her slender frame.

“How… how can I just wallow in despair like this!”

Gritting his teeth, Dichiduo stood up. He felt he must strive to keep pace with the girl’s retreating figure. Now… was no time to stop moving.

“Um… Bilan… let me help…”…

The White Tower stood firm on the hilltop amidst the howling cold wind. Though gloomy, it offered safe shelter to the two sorrowful travelers. The residents of Nielan Town hadn’t been as “fortunate” as Bilan and Dichiduo…

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The White Tower’s defenses bore distinct marks of Punk’s style. To facilitate slave transportation, Punk’s programmed enchantments permitted entrants to bring others inside. After all, Punk always carried important items with him – the things in the White Tower were just a few worthless auxiliary tools.

Thus, the White Tower’s defensive arrays leaned heavily toward offense. Powered by several mana-filled gems, any foolhardy missionaries charging into the array’s range were instantly torn to shreds by the violent spell traps.

However, without Punk’s magical replenishment, these offense-oriented, high-consumption arrays couldn’t sustain themselves for long. Moreover, since Punk had “disposed of” the last few slaves before leaving, the White Tower stored no food or water. Dichiduo and Bilan couldn’t remain here indefinitely.

Apparently aware of this, five or six listless missionaries clad in gray-red robes stood silently just outside the array’s boundary. Their turbid eyes remained fixed on the White Tower atop the hill, as motionless as wax statues devoid of life!Nielan Town had now completely lost its former peace and tranquility. A terrifying disease had erupted as if descending from the heavens, with nearly one-third of the townspeople discovering their bodies had become inexplicably fragile—even minor bumps could cause bone fractures or breaks!

Amid the panic of the spreading plague, the missionaries of Tisha Xia’er abandoned their previously persistent tactics. They formed small groups and went door-to-door promoting their doctrine, presenting “Holy Water” that claimed to cure the so-called “Gray Bone Curse.” If anyone refused to drink it, several missionaries would swarm them, prying open their mouths and forcibly pouring the liquid down their throats!

The so-called “Holy Water” did indeed possess the ability to treat this dreadful disease. Nearly one-third of the afflicted townspeople, driven by fear, joined this bizarre Church to seek a cure, while many others were coerced into drinking the “Holy Water.” Without exception, all who consumed it became fanatical believers of the “Goddess Tisha Xia’er” within half an hour!

The lucid townspeople who witnessed this scene couldn’t fail to recognize it as a massive conspiracy. Yet, powerless, they could only hide in their homes, trembling in silence. Fear of being discovered by those fanatical missionaries left no one brave enough to resist or flee…

As if premeditated, the plague and the cult erupted simultaneously overnight in the villages and towns surrounding Doleiz City. However… due to the highly inconvenient transportation, the dozen messengers sent to report to Doleiz City were still on the road…

(End of Chapter)