Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 885

Surprisingly, it was Mr. White Cat who was most familiar with the Black Forest. At his suggestion, the four of them strayed from the faint woodland path. By taking a winding route, they reached the graveyard's vicinity much faster, and it was there they discovered something unusual.

“I can smell something... foul.”

Jenkins, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up. He twitched his nose, then stated his conclusion:

“That's the smell of improperly stored herbs.”

He had smelled this very scent many times at Old Jack's shop.

“...It smells like an herb for treating external wounds, but it's been prepared incorrectly. The dosage of the Dolora grass is off.”

As they drew closer, they saw that there were indeed figures patrolling the large graveyard. But they weren't the undead—they were living people.

At least ten "sentinels" patrolled the open areas, and it was obvious they were guarding an entrance to a crypt in the graveyard's southwest corner.

“Do you think that terrifying sword could be in there?”

“No, I don’t think so. The power of death in this area isn’t nearly as thick as it is around Mr. Candle’s horse.”

“I agree. I don't sense any undead, either.”

Mr. White Cat nodded as well.

Jenkins finally chimed in. “There are four Enchanters in the crypt. One is Mr. Hood; the other three are all below level four. There's also one numbered item...”

The monocle silently appeared before his left eye.

“The special item is shaped like a human hand, but it's not a Mysterious Object or a divine artifact. They're carrying a lot of undead-type talismans and man-made tools, which could be trouble.”

The information he provided was so detailed that his three companions almost suspected this was a trap laid by Mr. Candle himself.

But the thought was too absurd. Mr. Candle might be bizarre, but he wasn't dangerous.

Of course, Jenkins hadn't told them the full story. Among the Enchanters he'd seen, besides the familiar Mr. Hood, there was another acquaintance: the duke who had fled earlier that day was right there, underground.

“It seems even fate doesn't want to let you go.”

Bypassing the ordinary guards was a simple matter; all four Enchanters were experienced. But the focus of their mission was to rescue Mr. Hood, who, for some unknown reason, had been captured.

Jenkins was actually quite curious. The other Enchanters in the crypt were weaker than him, so it made no sense that they could have captured Mr. Hood.

“Could there be accomplices?”

Jenkins's heart jolted, and he hugged the flowerpot even tighter.

Magic Miss beckoned the other three to huddle closer. She pointed toward the distant cavern.

“We just need to lure the three people from underground up here. Rescuing Mr. Hood is the priority.”

“I'm worried that even if we make a commotion up here, not all of them will come out.”

Mr. White Cat voiced his concern.

“Don't worry, I have a means of turning invisible. Two of us will go down while the other two handle things on the surface. If Mr. Candle's intelligence is accurate, we shouldn't be in any real danger.”

The other three nodded. After a brief discussion, it was decided that the "strongest," Jenkins, and Magic Miss would explore the unknown crypt, while Silver Flute Miss and Mr. White Cat would handle the situation on the surface.

Of course, it would be even better if they could solve the problem quickly. None of the four were saints who would shy away from killing.

The plan started without a hitch. For some reason, Silver Flute Miss had a steam bomb on her. She pulled the pin and tossed it near the entrance to the crypt. A massive explosion sent dirt and stones flying, killing or wounding more than half of the ordinary men on patrol.

Silver Flute Miss and Mr. White Cat sprang from the bushes to finish off the rest, while an invisible Jenkins and Magic Miss hid near the entrance. Once two of the Enchanters rushed out, they ducked inside the cavern.

The space inside was narrow and dark, clearly converted from some ancient burial pit. Jenkins didn't need a light, thanks to his monocle, and Magic Miss had an ability akin to Dark Vision.

“This place is deeper than I thought.” Fresh chapters posted on novel⸺fire.net

The woman muttered to herself, her voice echoing in the narrow crypt.

“The passage ends just around this bend. The other person besides Mr. Hood isn't close to the entrance, so I don't think we've been discovered.”

Magic Miss glanced back at Mr. Candle behind her, hesitating before she spoke:

“I don't know if I should mention this, but your cat is chewing on your flower.”

The cat was indeed chewing on it, but thankfully, he'd noticed in time; it had only left faint teeth marks. Under the cover of darkness, the cat had crawled from his right shoulder to his left, hooked the stem with a claw, and pulled it closer, all without Jenkins realizing a thing.

“We're here, this is it...”

Rounding the bend, they entered a small underground chamber. Torches flickered on the rock walls, illuminating a narrow, irregular space where several coffins lay scattered about. All of them were open, their contents missing.

The unlucky Mr. Hood had been bound and tossed into one of the coffins, while Duke Antak lay in another.

They could see Mr. Hood's face clearly in the gloom. He was just as Jenkins had imagined: a thin, middle-aged man with a scruffy beard. As Magic Miss and Jenkins entered, Duke Antak remained still, sleeping peacefully in his coffin like a vampire from an old story.

But Jenkins knew the Duke was no vampire, neither now nor in the past. As a writer, he was quite familiar with the subject and was certain of his conclusion.

Mr. Hood wasn't unconscious. Vaguely making out an acquaintance and a familiar cat, he immediately tried to make a sound, but it came out as an unintelligible muffle.

Jenkins moved toward Duke Antak's coffin while Magic Miss went straight to Mr. Hood and yanked the rag from his mouth.

“Go, quickly! There's a secret passage under that coffin! The Skull Sword and its wielder are down there.”

The moment he could speak, Mr. Hood said urgently.

Unlike Jenkins, who was fully prepared, Magic Miss had never imagined they would run into that terrifying entity. Without a second thought, she grabbed the ropes binding Mr. Hood and took off, hauling him over her shoulder like a farmer carrying a piglet.

Jenkins didn't leave right away. Instead, he swiftly moved through the darkness to Duke Antak's coffin and threw a punch at the man's head.

With Jenkins's strength, if that punch had landed, the duke's skull might not have burst, but he would have been dead for certain. Unfortunately, the blow never reached its target. A bony claw shot out from the bottom of the coffin and caught his fist.