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Chapter 160: Zarka Hochi

“Here it is.” Aidan handed the medallion from the box to Karyl.

“Hmm...” Karyl accepted it, shaking his head as if to erase the memory of Allen Javius from his head.

Buzz...!!

At that moment, something unexpected happened. The instant Karyl touched the medallion, his armor emitted a faint green light as if reacting to it.

“What... what is this?”

Karyl, flustered for the first time in a while, stared at the light coming from his body, his expression frozen. However, the light soon faded without any significant change.

“...”

Karyl touched his armor hidden beneath his outer clothes, hearing the clinking sound of the chains.

“That doesn’t seem to be ordinary armor.” Gordon pointed at the silver chain mail visible between Karyl’s clothes.

“No, it’s Elven Mail.”

“Huh... Armor made from the branches of the World Tree? That’s an elven creation. So, you’ve got not only one of the Five Great Artifacts, but also an elven relic.”

Gordon shook his head in disbelief as he looked at Karyl.

“There’s nothing you can’t find in Tatur’s black market.”

In truth, the Elven Mail Karyl wore was something left to him by Calypson, the gnome craftsman, before he departed. Even in the black market, one couldn’t easily get their hands on something like that

Moreover, this is a gnome creation, not an elven one.

Karyl kept silent about the armor’s true origins because he didn’t know how the Guidance Mercenary Gang would react if they realized there were still gnomes out there.

Nevertheless, regardless of whether gnomes or elves had crafted it, this armor was undoubtedly made from the branches of the World Tree found in Aerial Woods, known as the elven land.

Although he knew the armor had excellent defensive capabilities, Karyl was unaware of any hidden abilities that could react to the medallion.

“Why would Elven Mail react to this medallion?”

“Who knows...”

“We can ask the master of the Ghost Castle. Anyway, keep it safe. It’s a rare item. Who knows? If you meet an elf, they might like it.”

Even though it’s made by gnomes, Karyl thought but didn’t say out loud.

“Indeed. I’d like to see an elf myself. People say there are still a few gnomes and dwarves alive, but no one has seen an elf.”

Known as quasi-humans, elves were said to have thrived a thousand years ago during the Magical Era. However, their numbers had dwindled drastically, and now gnomes and dwarves were nearly extinct.

Elves were believed to reside in the small forest of Aerial Woods at the western edge of the continent, but even though many adventurers had explored those parts of the continent, no one had managed to find their forest.

Thus, Aerial Woods remained a legendary land, shrouded in rumors. Some even said that Heim, the holy land of the Church, was modeled after it.

Why did this react to the medallion...?

It was strange. Karyl tried to find a connection between the two but couldn’t come up with anything, shaking his head in frustration.

“By the look on your face, you don’t know for sure. But there seems to be some connection... So you should keep the medallion.”

“I will.”

“Shall we get going then?” Gordon proposed, turning without much hesitation.

“But... to go any further, we need to break the wall and dissipate the toxic gas. I can’t get through there like you guys.”

Aidan looked at the cloud of toxic gas floating along the path ahead. They still had a long way to go until they reached the Ghost Castle.

“We didn’t find a key to unlock the sealing magic from the bone dragon. So what now?”

“Don’t worry.”

“Getting rid of the toxic gas is simple.”

“What?”

Just moments ago, they had recognized that getting past the wall would prove challenging, but Gordon spoke nonchalantly.

Clank...

He picked up the hammer he had set on the ground and slowly walked toward the wall.

“Hup!”

Then, with all his might, Gordon swung the hammer at the wall.

Boom—!!!

Crash—!!

With a tremendous roar, the hammer shattered the wall, scattering debris everywhere. This wall was supposed to be indestructible, so the others were naturally astonished to see a large hole in it.

“Karyl, you’ve sensed it as well, right?”

“Yes. When the box was opened, the mana on the wall disappeared. It seems that taking out the medallion was the key to breaking the seal.”

“Right. If we’d left the box, the seal wouldn’t have been lifted, and we would have kept wandering or ended up in the castle. We almost got trapped, but having a capable subordinate paid off.”

“That’s why I told you he’s off limits.”

“Hmph, you...”

Gordon’s lips twitched, annoyed with Karyl’s constant praise for Aidan.

Whoosh...

Whoosh...

Before, it was as though an invisible ceiling was keeping the toxic gas trapped within the walls, but now it was escaping rapidly through the hole. It looked like a beacon of smoke, rising high enough to be seen from the empire across the Fonein.

Gordon smashed a few more holes through the wall before saying, “What are you doing? Help out. We can’t remove all the toxic gas in this vast area, but it should dissipate enough to allow us to reach the castle.”

“Understood!”

“...”

At his command, Miliana and Aidan started moving.

“Karyl, are you sure the guy you’re waiting for will recognize these signs and find his way here?”

“Yes. Once the sealing magic is lifted, it doesn’t matter. Suan won’t come through here anyway.”

“Hmm...?”

Karyl pointed to the opposite side of the wall where they were making holes.

“He’ll come across the sea.”

***

Contrary to their initial worries, they came across no monsters as they made their way through the fading toxic gas.

They had expected Zarka Hochi of the Ghost Castle to try something when the wall was breached, but instead, it seemed like he was waiting for them, clearing the path instead.

Creeeak...

When they arrived in front of the castle, the massive gates opened as if expecting them.

“Wow...”

A murmur of surprise swept through the group at the sight before them.

“Welcome.”

A blinding light poured out, revealing a neatly dressed butler. He had a long service napkin draped over one hand, and his other hand was behind his back as he bowed to Karyl.

Ding... Ding...

Faint melodies echoed from within the castle. The walls were adorned with hundreds of candelabras, all burning majestically, and the large chandelier hanging from the ceiling made it hard to believe that Karyl’s crew had just crossed a land of death.

“What is this...?”

Aidan looked around in bewilderment.

“Please, come in.”

As they stepped inside, a warm breeze brushed against Karyl’s cheek. The air was filled with the aroma of delicious food and a subtle fragrance. It felt like a grand celebration was underway, with people dancing in pairs, all of them wearing splendid dresses and costumes.

“Hahaha!!”

“Hehe...!”

Laughter rang out from all directions. Many people were chattering around tables.

Step, step, step...

Then, a man strode toward Karyl through the crowd.

“Dear sir, you must have had a long journey! It’s gotten quite cold, now that winter has set in. Would you like a drink?”

With a hearty laugh, he snapped his fingers, and the butler brought over a tray with steaming cups.

“This will warm you up.”

The man handed Karyl a large cup from the tray. The drink gave off a sweet aroma that was unlike anything he had ever smelled before.

“Hmm...”

Gordon stared at the cup and sighed softly.

Smack...!

Then, without warning, he grabbed the man’s face with his large hand. As the man was slowly lifted, he dropped his cup and gripped Gordon’s wrist, kicking at the air and struggling to breathe.

“Aah!!”

“Ahhhhh!!”

The people in the hall screamed and ran away from the scene.

Crunch...! Thud!!

It wasn’t long before Gordon crushed the man’s head like a watermelon, his brains splattering everywhere. The man’s legs went limp, hanging helplessly above the floor.

Gordon kicked the corpse away and shook off the blood from his hand.

“What a farce. These bastards,” he said in an irritated voice.

Fwoosh...!

At that moment, the warm, inviting atmosphere of the hall vanished, replaced by a bitter cold.

“Eek?!” Aidan shrieked as the cup he was holding transformed into a decrepit bowl, the fragrant drink turning into putrid water filled with worms and insects. He dropped it in horror.

Corpses lay scattered around the hall. The chandelier swung like the blade of a guillotine, and there wasn’t a single light left in the eerie ballroom.

Squish...

Miliana recognized the clothes of the corpse she had tripped over.

“...”

It was the butler who had greeted them. She kicked the skull in disgust.

“Tsk! I’ve seen illusionary magic before, but never on this scale. Is the one living here a Grand Sorcerer?”

Gordon spat and grimaced at the foul stench.

[You don’t seem to appreciate these beautiful sights.]

At the end of the hall, a man stood on a large stage with a throne.

“So you’re the lunatic pulling these tricks. Making corpses dance, is that your idea of beauty?” Gordon shouted at him. “Breaking your skull open would be more fitting.”

[Hehe...]

The man’s shoulders shook with laughter, and his long silver hair was swaying gently in the wind. Even though his face was obscured, his strikingly handsome features were still visible. His appearance felt entirely out of place in the corpse-filled hall.

But there was something else that caught their eyes even more.

“Did you see that, Karyl?”

“Yes.”

“I think we now know why your armor reacted to that medallion.”

“Yup.”

Gordon snorted and stepped forward.

“The master of the Ghost Castle isn’t human, but an elf.”

“Indeed. It’s a shame the first elf I see is nothing but a skeleton,” said Karyl as he watched Zarka Hochi smile lightly. His long ears peeked through his silver hair.

“The so-called sacred ground, huh. No wonder no adventurer could find it,” Gordon muttered in a low voice, hefting the Martyr onto his shoulder.

“This is the land of the elves, Aerial Woods.”