The Cornflower Witch

Book 2: Chapter 140: Strange Prisoners and a Dark Age

Vol 2 Chapter 140 Strange Prisoners and a Dark Age

Tonight in Valley City was exceptionally quiet.

After seeing off the members of the merchant caravan out of the city, Sylutia did not follow them to leave, but instead turned back towards Valley City.

Now that she had no more attachments, she could do some extra things.

Walking through the streets of the city, Sylutia entered the castle on the southern side. This place was once the residence of a Count, later occupied by Anty nobles, and now had become the main base for the garrison.

Compared to the outside world, this place was much more heavily guarded, and there were even two knights remaining on duty.

Since there was no need to cover for the merchant caravan at this time, Sylutia did not continue to use the ability of the 'Bewildering Mushroom', but simply suppressed her aura and figure, moving through the dim night.

Her ears could easily hear the deep sleep sounds of the people inside the castle, occasionally mixed with some murmurs from dreams.

Based on the information provided by that caravan member, Sylutia agilely moved through the buildings within the castle, gradually arriving at the location where prisoners were held.

The entrance to the dungeon was at the bottom of a tower. There were still two old soldiers keeping watch here. One was staring blankly at the fireplace, while the other was dozing off in a chair, with a faint smell of alcohol on him.The iron door behind the two was the entrance to the dungeon. Others could not bypass it. When Sylutia arrived outside the tower, she paused slightly, then twisted the switch on the lantern again, opening its side door to let the spores fly out.

The night breeze carried an extremely subtle fragrance, causing the old soldier staring at the fireplace to also slowly lean back in his chair and fall asleep.

Soon, Sylutia in a black dress walked past him, and even took the opportunity to add a little more firewood to the fireplace.

"Rest well, you two. I hope you have good dreams," the girl said with a hint of mischief, then took the keys from their bodies and deftly opened the iron door.

Carrying the lantern, Sylutia walked along the deep spiral passage. This passage was particularly narrow, only allowing a single person to pass through. If a prisoner broke free from inside, just one or two people could block the tunnel.

After descending about seven floors, Sylutia finally stepped onto the solid, flat stone brick floor. She looked up at the lightless passage ahead, from which various sounds came from time to time: painful gasps, normal deep sleep sounds, strange screams and mad cries, and the sound of dripping water.

Although that caravan member had seen his uncle Haines, because his eyes were blindfolded with cloth during the process of going down to the dungeon, he didn't know the exact location where he was held, and could only beg Sylutia to help find him.

As Sylutia passed by one iron-barred cell after another, the spores from the lantern spread, and the sounds gradually fell silent one by one with her footsteps.

At this time, the prisoners held deeper inside began to sense something was wrong. Although they couldn't see the scene outside, a suffocating silence was spreading.

Unimaginable unknowns brought absolute fear. Some members who were still awake now huddled in corners, not daring to look up.

Sylutia had no intention of saving everyone for the time being, because besides some innocent people, there were indeed many evil people with numerous crimes here. These people were difficult for both Regas and Anty to tolerate.

In the darkness, Sylutia's gaze swept over the people imprisoned along the way, comparing them with the information about Haines. If they didn't match, the invisible spores beside her would make the people inside fall asleep.

A figure sitting in a cell sensed something unusual and stood up. He gripped the iron bars tightly with both hands and shouted into the dark passage.

"Whoever you are, let me out, and I will serve you! I have strength, I can wield a forty-jin greatsword. I can fight any enemy!" He shook the iron bars, the chains on his body clattering together, making metallic collision sounds.

Hearing his shout, some people in the dungeon laughed mockingly, while others were startled awake. Some of them shouted similar words, basically saying that if they were let out, they could serve the other party. As for how much truth there was in such words, that was unknown.

Sylutia's goal was to find Haines and take him out. She didn't want to complicate matters. Secondly, her time was also very limited. She couldn't stay here forever verifying the situation of every shouting person. Releasing these people rashly was not something praiseworthy.

Invisible 'Bewildering Spores' drifted, and another wave of sounds fell silent. Sylutia then walked past the man gripping the bars who said he could wield a sword.

Surprisingly, he was not hypnotized and put to sleep by the bewildering spores. Instead, he opened his eyes wide in the darkness, trying to see who was walking through the passage.

At this time, the lantern in Sylutia's hand blocked the light. In the lightless underground, normal humans couldn't see at all, but he was different. He could still see a faint outline at this moment.

"A woman?" His voice was surprised, but quickly changed tone.

"Stop. I know the secrets of this dungeon. Whether you want to find someone or obtain some information, I can help you." These words were different from before and finally moved Sylutia who was passing by.

The girl stopped, pausing for two seconds.

"Tell me Haines's location."

The girl's voice was soft and moving, exceptionally clear in the pitch-black environment.

The other party thought hard, searching his memories. Suddenly, an image flashed in his mind: it was the day after Valley City fell last month, soldiers were escorting captured enemies one by one into the dungeon.

But that wasn't enough. He continued exploring the labyrinth of his memories. Finally, a vague fragment was recalled. Among the prisoners brought in at that time, one young man muttered uneasily, 'Uncle Haines, can we still get out alive?'

Who was he talking to? Who were the few people there at that time? Which cell were those few people locked in?

The vague fragments in his memory were constantly scraped together, polished, until one obscure piece flashed bright again and surfaced.

"Haines is held in the room inside the second branch of the east side passage on the fourth floor of the dungeon." He accurately stated this location. At this moment, the side effects of excessively exploring the memory maze began to show, and his whole body became weak and exhausted.

Before passing out, he pleaded once more to the figure not far away.

"Please, take me away from here."

Sylutia did not answer, only quickly walked in the direction he indicated.

A few minutes later, she turned to the fourth underground floor and indeed found Haines in that branching passage. Locked up with him was a relatively young person.

Haines's condition at this moment was very poor. He had a high fever, his body was extremely weak, and there were incompletely healed wounds on his body. It was probably this wound infection that caused inflammation leading to the persistent high fever.

Opening the light shield of the lantern, Sylutia slightly activated her ability. A faint fluorescence lit up in the dark dungeon. Then she took out the previously forged Glittergold Blade, gripped the hilt, gathered strength in her hand, and swung, cutting through the iron bars in front of her.

The iron rods fell to the ground, making a crisp sound, startling the sleeping young man awake. He looked at the girl standing outside the prison cell in surprise, then hurriedly stood up.

"Who are you? Are you here to save us?"

"Yes. Help Haines up and follow me out." Sylutia briefly explained the situation.

Hearing these words, the young man was extremely surprised, but there was no time to dwell on the various questions and confusions popping up in his mind. He quickly helped up the seriously ill Haines and walked out of the room.

However, helping an unconscious adult was really difficult, and his own condition wasn't great either. Just after stepping out of the cell, he almost fell to the ground with Haines.

Seeing this, Sylutia took out two portions of food and handed them to him, also placing down a jug of water, adding two 'White Camellia' flower petals into it.

"Recover some strength first, then feed some to Haines," she instructed.

"Thank you." Without time to think about where these things came from, the hungry young man picked up the soft, baked pie and put it in his mouth.

With one bite, the slight sweetness and aroma of wheat overflowed, mixed with thoroughly roasted meat particles. This surprising feeling stimulated his taste buds to continuously secrete saliva. After swallowing, a warm feeling spread from his stomach to his limbs. He had never felt so clearly how nutrition and energy were being infused back into his body.

This was definitely not ordinary food!

The young man realized this, then took several big gulps from the water jug. The cool, sweet spring water instantly cleared his groggy mind.

Now he remembered something, somewhat embarrassed, and quickly helped Haines up, also feeding him water. Then he crumbled the pie, trying to feed it to Haines who was barely conscious.

After drinking some water, Haines seemed a bit clearer, having a vague awareness, slowly chewing the food fed into his mouth. Finally having some strength, he opened his eyes to see the situation around him.

"Retz, what is this?" He didn't know why he was out of the cell, or who the girl in black veil and black dress before him was.

"No time to explain, Uncle Haines. We have to leave here quickly. This lady is our savior."

"Is that so? I understand." Haines wasn't the type to dwell on things. Now his consciousness was slowly recovering, and he had some ability to think.

"Help me up."

With the young man's support, he stood up again. Then Sylutia nodded and led them quickly towards the exit.

The journey was exceptionally quiet all the way. The prisoners and soldiers along the route were already asleep. Haines and Retz didn't dare ask why no one was stopping them, only feeling astonishment and relief in their hearts.

When the three of them reached the first floor of the dungeon, Sylutia came once again before the prisoner who had told her Haines's location. The other party was now slumped on the ground, eyes closed, breathing slowly, as if performing some special meditation method to recover his spirit.

Sylutia cut through the iron bars again, walked in, and also severed the iron shackles on the prisoner's feet and wrists.

She similarly took out food and water and handed them to him.

"Eat some, then come with us."

When the iron bars broke, the prisoner woke from his meditation. Hearing the girl's voice, he scrambled over, taking the food and water with immense gratitude, then ate hungrily.

While eating, sobs came from his throat, and tears streamed down his face, wetting the pie in his mouth.

"Woo... woo..." This sound seemed to contain endless hardship and vicissitudes. After taking several bites of food, he barely managed to restrain the desire to keep devouring it, picked up the water jug, and drank large gulps.

Perhaps afraid that Sylutia and the others would abandon him, after drinking the water, he picked up the food, struggled to stand up, indicating he could move.

At this time, Sylutia led the three of them away from the passage entrance. The two soldiers at the bottom of the tower were still asleep, snoring.

"Don't mind them. Let's go."

"Yes." Actually, the three of them had no mind for revenge against these Anty soldiers now. Just being able to escape was a heavenly blessing.

And so, before dawn broke, Sylutia had taken the three of them out of Valley City. Moreover, two days ago, Karen had also received Sylutia's reminder and left Valley City, waiting for them in the forest outside the city.

After moving several kilometers away from Valley City and seeing no pursuers, the four finally confirmed they were safe. Now the accompanying few finally had a chance to ask the countless questions weighing on their minds.

"Let me say in advance, I won't answer every question," the girl blinked her eyes. She didn't want to lie, but also didn't want to reveal too many secrets.

"We understand." Haines sighed. His high fever had subsided quite a bit now, as if the water he drank earlier had some special miraculous effect.

"Regardless, you are our savior. Both Retz and I are immensely grateful to you."

"However, I also understand that I am not some great figure. I don't know who could have asked you to help."

"This question can be answered. It was your nephew." Sylutia's toes lightly turned on the grass, telling Haines the answer.

"So it was that kid." Haines murmured softly, but he didn't continue to ask how his nephew managed to get this girl to help.

"Both Retz and I were convicted and imprisoned by the Anty people for participating in Prince Jabers's rebellion. After getting out this time, we'll probably have to live in seclusion or travel far away from our homeland."

"However, these are just our clumsy thoughts. If you have any use for us, we are willing to serve and obey, to accomplish various tasks for you."

At this moment, they had nothing else to offer as thanks. If they left with a frivolous farewell, not only would they feel uneasy in conscience, but they also feared that such ungrateful and stingy behavior might anger the mysterious girl before them.

Since the other party could rescue them under the tight guard of the Anty army, taking their lives would also be a very easy thing.

"As for serving, it doesn't need to be so solemn." The girl in black dress with blue eyes shook her head.

"However, there is indeed a need for you recently." Sylutia thought of Scorchstone City, and that hermitage outside Scorchstone City.

"There are some Regas refugees like you. They probably find it hard to integrate into the Kingdom of Ante again and lack the ability to protect themselves. I cannot stay here long-term, so I need your help to train and lead them, to give them some ability to protect themselves."

"Regas refugees like us?" Hearing this, Haines not only felt no resistance in his heart, but also a sense of familiarity and gratitude.

Rather than slinking away to a foreign country fleeing their homeland, it would be better to live together with people who shared the same fate. Perhaps such a life would be more worth trying than serving the royal family.

Having experienced the war between the two countries, Haines's longing fantasies about the legend of the 'Knight King' had long since dissipated. Now he truly realized that no matter how good the legendary stories were, they were just legends. The descendants of the Knight King did not naturally possess the bearing and virtue of the legendary king. The glory of those ancestors, like history, was already buried in thick piles of paper.

"We are willing to go there." He and Retz gratefully agreed.

Since there was no longer such a magnificent and imposing king in the world, then as an ordinary warrior, guarding his homeland and companions was also the best choice.

Not every youth can encounter an era where a king manifests, to follow glory and pioneer great deeds for all ages.