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Chapter 355: Middla Manor
With the Sword of Night and Flame, now enhanced by a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, the Untouchable Elders stood no chance. Bai Shi dispatched them one by one with ease.
The Untouchable Elders were not alone; the valley floor swarmed with a host of frenzied creatures.
Beyond the frenzied rats common to the Lands Between, goats, deer, and even squirrels had all succumbed to the madness.
Their numbers were so great that Bai Shi temporarily abandoned any thought of cleansing the valley in one go.
The Frenzied Flame these small animals carried was faint and posed little threat.
The primary objective was to seal or eliminate the Lord of Frenzied Flame; this cleanup was merely incidental to their journey.
As long as he dealt with the powerful frenzied beings along their path, he would consider the job done.
Case in point: the figures now appearing before them.
Bai Shi halted at the edge of a scorched forest.
They were now very close to the shadowed manor, but unexpected enemies blocked their way.
Figures of Horned Man Inquisitors, holding candelabras, wandered through the woods ahead.
Unlike the Elder Inquisitor, these were merely common inquisitors, significantly weaker.
Still, as inquisitors of the tower, they were considered elites among the Horned Men.
Bai Shi was wondering why a group of inquisitors would congregate in such a remote corner of the valley when he saw the flicker of the Frenzied Flame in one of their eyes.
Bai Shi raised an eyebrow in surprise.
He hadn't expected this. The inquisitors had been sent to seal the Frenzied Flame—and had apparently succeeded in sealing its Lord—yet so many had become infected in the process.
What a display of incompetence.
Besides, something had felt off ever since they'd properly entered the valley.
He had already gauged the inquisitors' strength from his firsthand encounter with the Elder Inquisitor.
They were strong, but not overwhelmingly so.
And judging by the way the entire valley floor had been scorched by the Frenzied Flame, its Lord was certainly far more powerful than the Elder Inquisitor.
A few wide-area bursts of Frenzied Flame would have been more than the Elder Inquisitor could handle.
A single Elder Inquisitor leading a group of common ones seemed far too meager a force to take on the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
No, forget the Lord of Frenzied Flame; they would have had a tough time just dealing with the Untouchable Elders roaming the valley floor.
And yet, somehow, they had managed to seal him away. It made no sense.
Bai Shi stepped forward, triggering the frenzied inquisitors' alert.
He was met with several blasts of The Flame of Frenzy, which shot toward him with long tails of light.
Seeing the familiar incantation, Bai Shi smiled faintly.
The good old Frenzied Flame sniper. He knew it all too well.
As one of the longest-range attacks, it was a must-have for getting through areas quickly.
A curtain of light materialized before them, and The Flame of Frenzy vanished into it as if swallowed whole.
Irena gazed at the lake-light she had summoned, amazed herself.
Against the Frenzied Flame, this power was proving to be incredibly effective.
So much so that even someone of her strength could block such a potent frenzied attack.
But the golden arcs of flame that followed were not something her lake-light could easily stop.
Bai Shi waved his left hand, and a turquoise forcefield materialized in front of them.
Thops’s Barrier made its combat debut.
Upon contact with the barrier, the golden arcs were all deflected, scattering to strike the withered trees around them.
Bai Shi’s figure flickered, and in the next instant, he appeared in the midst of the inquisitors.
Looking at the inquisitors surrounding him, Bai Shi drew his Sword of Night and Flame.
Bai Shi recalled that The Flame of Frenzy was proof of a will that had slightly overcome the madness.
Unfortunately, all who attempted to master the Frenzied Flame invariably ended their internal struggles by succumbing to insanity, without exception.
It seemed these inquisitors retained a shred of professional dignity. In that case, he would give them a quick release.
The inquisitors closed in, unleashing a volley of frenzied and torturous incantations.
Bai Shi made no move to evade. Wiping his left hand across the blade, he ignited the Sword of Night and Flame.
An unprecedented, scorching fire erupted from the blade, the light of its flames soaring to the heavens.
The sheer heatwave sent the surrounding temperature soaring, causing the inquisitors’ robes to spontaneously combust.
Bai Shi brandished the Sword of Night and Flame, swinging it casually toward the frenzied inquisitors and their assorted attacks.
In an instant, the flames on the blade surged forth like a tidal wave, drowning everything in a sea of fire.
When the conflagration subsided, the inquisitors and the surrounding withered trees had vanished without a trace.
Only humanoid shadows, burned onto the rock which had been half-vaporized, remained as proof of their existence.
Surveying the effect of his casual strike, Bai Shi nodded in satisfaction and sheathed his sword.
The upgrade from +7 all the way to +10 had undeniably transformed the Sword of Night and Flame.
Previously, the sword couldn’t even contain such intense flames without nearly melting.
Now, however, the god-slaying weapon could even slightly amplify the power of the sun.
That upgrade had been the right choice.
After finishing off the inquisitors, Bai Shi found a Scadutree Fragment in the area.
Confirming there was no other loot, Bai Shi and his companions resumed their journey.
They were very close to the manor now and would arrive shortly.
Along the way, any frenzied humanoid creatures they encountered, whether inquisitors or Untouchable Elders, were completely eliminated.
And any areas with a particularly dense concentration of Frenzied Flame were cleansed and purified by Irena using the power of her lake-light.
Finally, Bai Shi and the others arrived before the manor.
It was situated in the deepest part of the ravine, where sunlight could not penetrate, nestled within a dense forest.
A thick canopy of scorched branches hung over the estate, casting it in an even deeper gloom.
Before the manor lay a shallow swamp, its waters carrying the taint of the Frenzied Flame with every ripple.
Lilianna pointed toward the residence.
“That’s the place.”
“The Lord of Frenzied Flame is in there. He’s been in the same spot, hasn’t moved at all.”
Melina gazed at the distant manor, her brow furrowed slightly.
“To feel this power so strongly from this distance...”
“Perhaps this Lord of Frenzied Flame is not as weak as we anticipated.”
Bai Shi nodded in agreement.
The evidence throughout the valley—the vast scorch marks of the Frenzied Flame—already indicated that their foe's strength was not to be underestimated.
Besides, he was a Lord of Frenzied Flame.
No matter how weak, he was still a Lord of Frenzied Flame.
Bai Shi looked toward the manor from afar.
He could see a row of “crows” perched in front of the residence, lined up neatly.
Unexpectedly, they had golden beaks that emitted a faint glow.
At first, Bai Shi thought they were some new species of creature, standing guard at the manor's entrance.
However, as he drew closer and got a better look, he realized it was a neat row of corpses.
Dozens of corpses, each different, were arranged in the exact same posture—clearly the work of a deliberate hand.
The emaciated bodies knelt on the ground, hands bound tightly in front of them. Their heads had been severed, and golden, reverse-barbed spikes—symbols of torture—were thrust into the stumps of their necks.
It was these half-exposed spikes that Bai Shi had mistaken for birds’ beaks from a distance. Seeing the scene, Irena couldn’t help but cover her mouth.
“How cruel...”
Bai Shi went closer to inspect them and noticed the nascent horns on their bodies. They were all Horned Men.
It seemed they were once servants of this manor.
Were they disposed of when the inquisitors came to seal the Lord of Frenzied Flame?
While such a purge was understandable, was arranging them like this really a necessary part of the process?
Looking at this, the inquisitors truly had a twisted sense of humor, living up to their titles.
They had already killed them, yet they still had to drag the bodies out and turn them into a grotesque monument.
The civilization of the Horned Men was truly too barbaric and bloodthirsty.
Passing the line of beheaded corpses, Bai Shi reached the great doors of the manor and pushed them open.
As dust billowed into the air, the once-slaughtered and sealed residence finally welcomed guests once more.
Only, guests were not welcome here.
If they could, the dead within would wish for no one to ever approach again.
The moment he stepped inside, Bai Shi heard a voice from ahead:
“Turn back...”
“Do not draw near... do not draw near the madness...”
Entering the dusty, dilapidated manor, Bai Shi scanned his surroundings warily, searching for the source of the voice.
He hadn’t sensed any sign of life.
However, as he looked forward, he immediately understood.
In the main hall beyond the staircase, a white spirit stood silently.
He had died long ago, merely a lingering soul bound by some persistence. No wonder he hadn't been detected right away.
Bai Shi did not rush to approach the spirit, choosing instead to observe the surroundings.
He had only just entered the manor, not even the inner rooms, and already he saw several toppled, web-covered bookshelves.
Countless books lay scattered about, covered in a thick layer of ash.
Considering the manor’s expansive grounds and luxurious exterior, Bai Shi already had a theory.
Evidently, the master of this manor had held a high status and was likely a scholar.
Stepping fully into the estate, Bai Shi and the others entered the main hall and saw the spirit who had just spoken.
The spirit wore a simple yet elegant robe and had small, nascent horns on his body.
Just then, the Horned Man's soul suddenly turned its head and spoke to them.
“...Uninvited guests. You are welcome here.”
“But please, heed the warning of my master, Middla:”
“Do not draw near the madness...”
Melina looked at the soul with curiosity.
She and Bai Shi had encountered many white spirits on their journey.
But those spirits only ever repeated words from their past, never responding to the outside world.
This was the first soul to address them directly.
Though its voice was still hollow and robotic, it was certainly unusual.
Looking at the Horned Man, Bai Shi guessed he was some sort of steward or butler.
After a moment’s thought, he decided to see if he could gather some information and asked:
“This Middla you speak of, he was the master of this manor, correct?”
“Was he the one who brought the Frenzied Flame here?”
At the mention of the Frenzied Flame, a look of anguish crossed the Horned Man’s ethereal face.
“The Frenzied Flame... the source of all madness...”
“So insane, so terrifying, so blasphemous...”
As he spoke, the white spirit clutched its head and began to scratch at it frantically.
Seeing the spirit’s growing torment and the faint yellow glow emanating from its eyes, Bai Shi frowned.
The Frenzied Flame could melt souls, but it wouldn't just burn him out of thin air like this.
Clearly, this Horned Man had been exposed to the Frenzied Flame while he was still alive.
He must have used some method to suppress it and preserve his soul.
The keyword must have triggered the dormant flame, causing it to reignite within his soul.
Bai Shi tried to redirect the spirit’s attention, hoping to return it to normal.
“Who is Middla?”
Hearing Bai Shi ask about his master, the spirit’s focus was finally diverted.
It stood frozen for a moment before lowering its hands, the Frenzied Flame gradually subsiding.
On its spectral form, half of its eye socket had been melted away by the flame, leaving it disfigured.
The Horned Man spirit spoke sorrowfully:
“My master, Middla.”
“He was a scholar of the ruins, a noble sage of extraordinary status.”
“Here in the valley, we lived far from conflict, while my master focused on his research.”
“But... my master touched the madness...”
“That was the beginning of our destruction, and the beginning of our pain.”
As if a memory had been jogged, the somewhat mechanical spirit continued to recount its past, speaking without pause.
Bai Shi didn’t know what was happening with this spirit, but if he could learn something, it was ultimately a good thing.
“Long ago, my master and his wife, Nanaya, lived here together.”
“Back then, the valley was a beautiful, secluded place, filled with blooming flowers.”
“But everything changed when the research materials from the ruins were brought in.”
“In his research, my master came into contact with the Frenzied Flame.”
“The Frenzied Flame... the Frenzied Flame! Aaaargh—”
Recalling the Frenzied Flame, the spirit’s phantom form was once again set alight, burning even more fiercely than before.
Irena was startled and reached out, attempting to suppress the flame.
But her lake-light, which had been so effective before, now passed right through the soul without effect.
Bai Shi held up a hand to stop her, shaking his head.
“He’s long past saving.”
In the agony of the flames, the white spirit turned to face them, its voice choked with tears.
“I... I remember.”
“I—we, everyone in the manor, we were all infected with the Frenzied Flame without even realizing it!”
“The power of the Frenzied Flame was spreading constantly, but we didn’t notice a thing.”
“Something was hiding in the shadows, subtly altering our perception.”
“It wasn’t until the very end, when the inquisitors broke in, that I realized I had become inhuman, lost to madness.”
The soul continued to melt away, but the spirit paid it no mind, looking earnestly at Bai Shi and the others as it pleaded one last time:
“Quickly, please turn back!”
“Do not touch the madness...”
Before the words could fade, the soul was completely consumed by the Frenzied Flame, vanishing from the manor.