The Cornflower Witch

Book 2: Chapter 66: The Twin-Snake Cult

Vol 2 Chapter 66: The Twin-Snake Cult

Arriving inside the tall castle of White Stone Fortress, Sylutia followed the guard through complex corridors and passages until she finally reached a tower heated by roaring fires.

“This is where Tristan usually stays.” The guard opened the door and asked Sylutia to wait while he went to notify him.

Before long, he returned.

“Master Tristan says you may go in.”

“All right.” The girl nodded and stepped into the tower.

Walking down the passage, she soon reached a smithy where four blazing forges were crafting different implements. A blacksmith about 2.4 meters tall worked there, his muscles like cast bronze, exceptionally powerful.

When he saw the girl approaching, he set down the piece he was hammering.

“You must be Sylutia. Have you decided what you want forged this time?” This was Tristan the Stoneworker, branch president of the Forging Gold Hammer in the Glittergold Plains.

He eyed Sylutia, his large candle-like eyes seeming to peer right through her.“You have thin arms, but I think you’d look especially imposing wielding a great axe.”

Hearing the suggestion, Sylutia pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling that all the adults wanted to train her according to their own ideas.

Kuland Hill hoped she would choose the Spring Garden, Knight Captain Cassius hoped she would become a battlefield rose of a knight, and this blacksmith uncle suggested she play with an ultra-heavy great axe and become a warrior.

“Thank you for the suggestion, but I only need a suit of armor, something that lets me move easily.” The girl thought for a moment.

“Armor? The most I forge is the knightly plate armor for those lads in the knight orders.” He answered with a chuckle.

“But that stuff looks like iron cans on you. It would be too ugly.” Unexpectedly, the blacksmith had a sense of aesthetic.

“Let me think if there’s a style that suits you.” He folded his arms and thought back.

Two minutes later

“Got it. I once saw a mural depicting the Blood Dynasty era, showing Princess Ilenetina of the Blood Rose going to war. She wore floral battle armor, sat atop a Nightmare Warhorse, holding a long haft, the black-and-red great axe rising with the steed like a general conquering hell.”

“Using that as a template, I’ll slightly modify it and tailor it to your measurements.”

“I don’t understand armor aesthetics too well, but that set was the crystallized wisdom of Blood Dynasty masters. It should be very beautiful.”

“Don’t worry about materials, I’ll front the cost. Measure your body so I can make a mold.”

After the blacksmith’s description, Sylutia was curious what such armor would look like, but unfortunately she had never seen that mural.

She went into the side room, found a tailor’s tape, carefully measured her body, recorded the data, and handed it to the blacksmith.

“All set. With these I can craft fitting armor.”

“Go back for now. When it’s ready I’ll have someone notify you.”

“All right, thank you Master Tristan.” Sylutia bowed and then turned to leave.

……

Over the next two months, Sylutia stayed mainly at White Stone Fortress, studying various courses under Scholar Seraph. She had already mastered Elf Language, Fairy Language, Basic Runes, and Luo Bai’s Garden. She was currently studying Ancient King Mureto and Noble Etiquette and Heritage.

“During the Seventh Epoch, Primordial King Mureto led the people across the Vast Star Wilderness. They trudged for nearly twelve years, enduring countless hardships before reaching the Midsummer Lands…” Seraph tapped the tablet, and a huge dual-headed serpent image appeared.

“One head of the twin-headed serpent had the Nightmare Aspect, with dark purple scales, while the other had the Dead Embers Aspect, with black-purple scales. They represented a double death of life and spirit. Facing them, Mureto stepped to the brink of death many times. He was defeated and fled three times before finally winning on the fourth attempt.”

“How did he ultimately defeat the twin-headed serpent?” Sylutia wanted to know.

“That twin-headed serpent had a special ability to continually resurrect, so it had to be killed both heads at once. At that time, there were no heroes among humans on par with Mureto.”

“In the end, Mureto used his wit. He grasped each of the serpent’s necks in his hands, forcing them to bite each other, injecting venom into one another until they died together.”

“This story later spawned an idiom called ‘the snake devours itself,’ used to describe those whose evil deeds eventually harm themselves.”

“There’s another way to view the tale. Although the serpent died, some of the humans who accompanied them became especially fascinated and enamored with the serpent’s vitality. They preserved portions of the carcass and secretly worshipped it, hoping to obtain the same powerful force.”

“That is how the early human cult called the Twin-Snake Cult arose. They domesticated serpents, fed them human offerings, and cultivated them. After the serpents grew strong enough, they fused themselves with the snakes through advancement, becoming half-snake, half-human monsters.”

“If you ever encounter members of the Twin-Snake Cult, kill them on sight.” Seraph informed the two.

“Are there still Twin-Snake Cult members now?” Sophitina asked.

“There are, but they operate more secretly.” Seraph shook his head and continued explaining.

“You must understand that not everyone can ascend to higher tiers and gain longevity. Some people go mad for the sake of extending their lives and thus embrace such cults, using sacrificial rituals to empower themselves. Even if they become monsters, they want to keep living.”

“The human heart is inscrutable. Evil organizations like the Twin-Snake Cult still exist in corners everywhere.”

“All right, that’s enough for today. Class dismissed.”

“Yes.” The two girls nodded and packed up their notes.

After class, Sophitina invited Sylutia to the castle training ground.

“I haven’t done sparring in a while. Sylutia, will you practice with me?”

“Of course.” Sylutia also wanted to test herself;

she hadn’t done real combat in a long time either.

Half an hour later.

They changed into training gear and faced off in the training ground. Sophitina used a rapier while Sylutia used a long blade.

Sylutia’s sleeve flicked up as she advanced. The long blade lined up with her arm, forming a straight line as she stepped forward.

Sophitina then rushed in, her rapier stabbing on the shortest trajectory straight for Sylutia’s face. But Sylutia moved too—she pivoted her body and nimbly avoided the strike. As she turned, the blade in her hand gathered power and executed a sweeping arc that struck Sophitina, sending her to the ground in pain.

After all, this was a spar. Neither used transcendent abilities on purpose, but even with training gear, Sophitina felt she couldn’t endure the blow.

“Sorry, sorry.” Sylutia helped her up and sat her aside.

She hadn’t practiced with others for a long time, and her reflexes reverted to battle mode. Even though she had held back somewhat, the force was more than Sophitina could withstand.

“Tia, it hurts.” Sophitina, who had intended to keep training, now lay on a bench unwilling to move.

“Sorry.” Sylutia repeatedly comforted her and worked to stimulate Sophitina’s blood flow to help her recover.

Was Sophitina really this fragile? Sylutia thought. She had clearly been restraining herself earlier as she pressed on Sophitina’s waist.