**Chapter 165: Mountain of Corpses**
Following the sound, I jogged over, hands pressed against the cold stone wall, leaning my head to listen closely, and patiently waited for a moment…
Bang—!
A muffled, heavy roar, accompanied by that distinct metallic clang when heavy metal strikes something hard, echoed with unprecedented clarity.
The source of the sound… seems to be nearby.
Realizing this, I quickly felt around the wall, glancing here and there, poking and tapping along the edges of the bricks. Soon enough, I discovered a square gap in the wall that looked just like a door.
How do I open it… Do I smash it?
I hesitated for a moment, then leaned in closer to smell the gap… It was a bit foul.
…I wonder what’s inside.
Let’s not start smashing things; there’s definitely a mechanism…
With that thought in mind, I tilted my head back, eyeing the extinguished candlestick above on the wall. I rose on my toes and reached out to touch the wick… sticky. There was oil, enough to light it.
But I don’t have a fire… Wait, is that a… slide rail under the candlestick?
I can pull it down!
I grabbed the candlestick, using my weight to pull it down hard—
Click.
With a light sound, the candlestick dislodged from its place and shifted down by ten centimeters. Immediately, the inner wall began to creak with the sound of shifting gears.
Click clack… Bang—!
The previously even wall suddenly caved in, creating a large indent. The commotion kicked up a cloud of dust that was swept in by a breeze and hit me right in the face.
Phew—
I quickly shut my mouth and stepped back repeatedly.
“…Ugh—, ugh! Cough, cough, cough!”
Still managed to choke on some of it. The dust had made its way into my mouth, and the gritty texture was utterly disgusting.
Rumble, rumble…
The ground trembled slightly.
After finally spitting out the dirt in my mouth, I looked up again.
The wall was slowly opening. Behind it was a dark, narrow passage, stretching into the suffocating blackness, vanishing into the unseen depths.
It felt like a terrifying monster ready to devour me, roaring in anger.
Bang clang—!
Clang… clang… clang…
The echoes of the huge noise bounced around the small cellar, refusing to dissipate.
This time I heard it clearly and understood.
It was the sound of an indestructible, honed blade cutting through flesh, smashing bones, and embedding deep into rock, sparking as it struck—I could imagine that kind of sound.
As if to confirm my guess, moments later, a potent stench rushed at me, filling my nostrils.
This smell… I was quite familiar with it.
I knew it well: the mingling aromas of decay and bl**d, the scent of d*ath.
A foreboding sensation flooded over me, and my heart raced. I tightened my grip on Captain Gray, removing the black cloth that covered it and tossing it aside.
My right hand gripped the scythe handle tightly.
Slowly inhaling, I swung downward.
Clang! Click click click!
Zing—
The massive, pitch-black d*ath instrument was ready.
Then I stepped forward, entering the dark passage.
The corridor felt long, long enough that I thought I could walk through a century; I knew it was just my mind playing tricks.
The strange booming had stopped. I thought the one who made that noise… or whatever else it was, probably heard me and knew the hidden door had been opened. At that moment… it was likely lying in wait in the dark, patiently hunting for its prey.
I assumed that was the case.
So, what was hiding in this kind of place, human, monster… or something even more terrifying…
…and, Teresa, are you here?
Raising my vigilance to the max, I carefully moved forward, slowing my pace.
The passage widened, and my view gradually opened up. Soon, the walls that pressed above me disappeared… I seemed to have stepped into a spacious underground hall.
I was instantly drawn to a massive stone sculpture standing in the middle of the hall.
It seemed to be a human figure, about five meters high. I craned my neck but couldn’t see its head… yet the craftsmanship was exquisite; I could vaguely make out the details from the silhouette.
But it was too dark, dark enough that I couldn’t even discern the gender of the statue. I didn’t dare to use the Power of Order to illuminate the surroundings, as that would completely expose my presence. So, I could only explore in the dark, observing the changes in my environment while staying alert for potential enemies lurking in the shadows.
The air was foul-smelling.
Besides the scent of bl**d, I could smell something even more gag-inducing—the stench of decaying animals.
This terrified me, my heart raced uncontrollably as if it would jump right out of my throat.
But I had to keep calm and continue forward.
“Phew—”
I quietly exhaled.
Clunk—clunk—
The sound of my boots on the stone slabs echoed in my ears, oddly clear, but I thought I was being light enough.
…The enemy shouldn’t be able to hear me.
Alright… let’s check ahead.
I left the sculpture’s side and walked toward the darker area.
The stench in the air grew to a point that made my eyes uncomfortable.
I rubbed my eyes, then at the end of the hall, I caught a glimmer of firelight… something was over there!
What… uh!
Suddenly, I kicked something.
!!!!!
I was nearly startled out of my wits, every hair on my body standing on end. I jumped back two steps, steadied myself, then froze in fear, tightening my grip on Captain Gray and closed my eyes to listen and feel carefully.
Buzz buzz… buzz buzz…
I only heard the buzzing of flies flapping their wings.
Aside from that, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
…What did I just kick? It was soft…
Suddenly, I heard a soft “whoosh” sound ahead.
Then, at the edge of my vision, two long tongues of flame rushed forward, twisting along the walls like snakes, and in an instant, they were beside me, swooping past the wall with a whoosh.
As they flowed by, candles ignited one after another, the flames instantly driving away the darkness and lighting up the area.
…So bright!
My eyes instinctively squinted.
Then I bent down, ready, scythe raised high above my head. In that moment, my reflexes were quicker than ever, mentally preparing for an enemy attack.
But there was no attack.
Just a buzzing explosion in my ears.
In an instant, the whole space filled with swarms of flies.
Buzzing buzzing buzzing—
“Ugh!”
I whimpered in fright, quickly clamping my mouth shut.
What’s going on!
Where did all these flies come from… go away!
These flies should have been quiet, but they suddenly panicked, flapping crazily in response to the sudden light, colliding into my head and arms. I quickly stepped back, and once my eyes adjusted to the light, I finally saw what I had kicked earlier.
A female corpse leaning against the wall, her chest split open.
The body lay with her mouth agape, her face pale and purple, her lifeless eyes staring blankly upward, the bl**d on her body had already dried to a brown—she hadn’t been dead long.
A few seconds later, I recognized this corpse.
She was Tanis, the vice-captain of the Sword of Kanli.
Behind her, countless bones had piled up into a small mountain.
In that grim sight, I recognized several familiar faces. There were people with the sword insignia on their shoulders… and clerics from the Church wearing clerical robes… I recognized them as those who had helped Teresa intercept goods in the alley.
Flies crawled over their pallid faces, the dark brown bl**d crusted on their bodies, their clothes stiff from drying… and deeper within the pile, some corpses had rotted beyond recognition, or turned entirely into skeletons.
“…Ugh—!”
I couldn’t help but turn away and vomit.
