Chapter 120: Whispers in the Ear
Chapter 120: Whispers in the Ear
"May I ask who you are?" The middle-aged man, unfamiliar with Reyn, bowed politely and inquired. Despite not recognizing Reyn, he maintained a respectful demeanor.
The Reyn before them now was no longer the slender commoner he had been two months ago.
At this moment, Reyn stood at a moderate height, with a robust build, mounted on a tall horse, clad in a set of knight's plate armor, and carrying a large sword wrapped in sheepskin. His appearance exuded formidable strength.
The impression he gave was that of a formal knight, or at least a knight acolyte.
Reyn dismounted and nodded to the middle-aged man, "I am Reyn. Is this Agatha's Mill? I heard that a mysterious incident occurred here, and I'm here to handle the matter."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man's face lit up with joy, "Yes, this is Agatha's Mill. Lord Reyn, I am Gregory Viktor, the steward of Baron Watson's family. I'm delighted to meet you!"
"Mr. Gregory, could you please give me a detailed account of the situation?" Reyn looked around and noticed that while two of the windmill mills at Agatha's Mill had issues, the remaining mill still had very few people grinding flour.
The rumors of ghosts and a series of deaths seemed to have left most people with lingering fears.
"Of course, Lord Reyn, please come this way and have a seat. Let me offer you a cup of bitter daisy tea."
Following Gregory, Reyn entered a nearby farmhouse, and after they sat down, Gregory began to narrate the details of the entire incident.
"Not long after Baron Watson purchased Agatha's Mill, one day, a thick fog enveloped the mill, lasting an entire day. The next day, we discovered two dead farmers in the windmill closest to the mountainside."
"Their bodies were brutally mutilated, with gruesome claw marks on their necks and bodies. Initially, we thought it was some kind of wild beast, so we hired a bounty hunter. However, the next day, the bounty hunter also met their end at the hands of the culprit."
"After the consecutive deaths, an experienced bounty hunter arrived. He examined the wounds on the victims' bodies and investigated the area around the windmill. He claimed to have smelled putridity and the essence of ghosts."
"Since then, no bounty hunter has dared to take on this task."
"Until recently, Baron Watson dispatched a team of family guards to investigate. However, the next morning, all five of them were found dead inside the two windmills, their bodies contorted."
"Their chainmail armor was torn open by sharp claws, leaving them bloody and mangled! After that, the two windmills were sealed off." As the middle-aged man spoke, his face betrayed a hint of fear, still haunted by the gruesome scene.
Reyn nodded, realizing that the claws of the ghost or monster had immense destructive power, capable of tearing through chainmail.
"Mr. Gregory, have you ever seen the monster?"
"No, not yet. No one has seen what the monster looks like. That's what makes this situation so unsettling." Gregory replied, furrowing his brows.
The unknown instilled fear.
"I understand. Leave the rest to me," Reyn nodded.
Whether the culprit was a ghost or not remained uncertain.
Reyn decided to inspect the two windmills, even though the bodies had been dealt with; there might still be some traces left behind.
"Lord Reyn, here are the keys to all the farmhouses and three windmills." Gregory respectfully handed Reyn a set of bronze keys.
"Thank you, Lord Reyn. I'll inform the Baron of your arrival immediately."
Reyn nodded, took the keys, and headed to the base of the two windmills alone.
It was nearing noon, but strangely, the weather was changing. The once bright and sunny sky now had a thin veil of mist rising.
Reyn found this peculiar because fog usually appeared in the morning or evening, while the midday sun typically dispersed it. Yet, at this moment, the opposite was happening.
This prompted Reyn to heighten his vigilance silently.
Using the bronze key, Reyn opened the door to the first windmill with a 'click,' and instantly, a musty smell of damp grain assaulted his senses, mixed with a hint of putridity.
Due to the mill's design, a tall, cylindrical structure with a wider base, the milling area at the bottom was the largest, a circular space of about a hundred square meters.
Inside, various farming tools, stone grinders, and other objects were neatly arranged.
Reyn approached the stone grinder and examined it. Despite some time having passed, clear dark red bloodstains were still visible along its edges.
Reyn crouched down and scrutinized the spattered blood, recalling Gregory's account. The farmers who had come to grind flour were likely attacked by sharp claws, directly hitting their necks, causing blood to spray, and resulting in their swift deaths.
After inspecting the first windmill, Reyn stepped out.
The fog outside had thickened, significantly reducing visibility. Reyn could only clearly see objects within a ten-meter radius; beyond that, his vision blurred.
Without hesitation, Reyn proceeded to the second windmill, unlocked it with the bronze key, and pushed the door open. The interior structure of this windmill was almost identical to the first one.
Similarly, Reyn found bloodstains on the stone grinder here, radiating outwards, indicating that the victims had been attacked in the same manner.
Based on this, Reyn believed that the two farmers had fallen victim to the same type of attack, implying that the culprit was either the same monster or belonged to the same category.
Suddenly, Reyn's keen senses detected something moving in the air. His exposed skin felt the air currents within the room.
Reacting swiftly, Reyn unsheathed the 'Radiant Greatsword' from his back and held it in his hand.
Despite wearing knight's plate armor and possessing the supernatural ability 'Iron Skin,' Reyn didn't want to be caught off guard by an unknown enemy. Who knew how powerful their attack would be!
At that moment, the fog outside thickened further, seeping into the windmill, gradually obscuring the interior.
The hair on Rain's arms stood on end as he thought he heard a faint whisper in his ear.
Instinctively, he strained to listen more closely, and it seemed to be a woman's voice, shouting:
"Danger! Run! Run! Run!"
This sudden warning sent a chill down Rain's spine.
He decided to leave the windmill to consider his options, as the place did seem rather eerie.
Just as Rain turned around, he froze in his tracks.
Standing at the entrance of the windmill, where he had just entered, was a human girl with a sorrowful expression.
Her hair was in golden pigtails, and she wore a plaid dress with a white apron over it, her sleeves rolled up, giving her the appearance of a farm girl.
The girl's sudden and eerie appearance made Rain's skin crawl, and he felt goosebumps all over.
"Is this a ghost?"
"But why didn't my danger sense give any warning?"
Rain gripped his sword with one hand and reached for his waist pouch with the other, intending to take out some holy water just in case.
Suddenly, a long, sinewy arm with protruding tendons emerged from the thick fog behind him, aiming directly for Rain's neck, its sharp claws resembling eagle talons.
At almost the same time, Rain's level 2 danger sense went into overdrive, and the next second, his head was attacked, causing his thick plate helmet to emit a grating metallic scraping sound! Rain dodged swiftly while swinging his sword backward, the powerful sword wind causing the surrounding mist to swirl violently.
Rain could sense that his greatsword had struck something, but it felt more like he had slashed through a stream of water rather than a solid object.
Suddenly, a piercing scream came from behind him, so shrill that it could affect one's consciousness. Rain's head rang from the sudden, jarring noise, and his brows furrowed deeply.
The girl in the plaid dress had disappeared from the entrance.
"Drip!"
Rain looked down and saw several drops of blood on the ground.
In his hand, the radiant greatsword began to glow faintly, and there was a smear of crimson blood on the blade.
Red blood? It didn't seem to be a ghost after all.
Rain brought the greatsword close to his nose and sniffed; the blood had a pungent, fishy odor, distinct from the rusty scent of human blood.
Clearly, the owner of this fishy blood was the one attacking him.
Rain had a premonition that his attacker could hide in the fog and launch sudden assaults.
Against such an ambush predator, Rain could only defend passively, luring the creature to attack. Otherwise, it would be impossible to track its movements in the thick mist.
After some thought, Rain added his last skill point to his level 2 danger sense.
【Core Skill: Danger Sense Lv. 3 (Passive)】
Effect of Danger Sense Lv. 3 (Passive): Your perception of surrounding dangers is greatly enhanced.
(Note: The sensitivity of Danger Sense is directly proportional to the host's mental strength. The stronger the mental power, the more acute the perception.)
The level 3 danger sense gave Rain an immediate advantage. Whereas before, the level 2 danger sense could only alert Rain at the moment of an attack, now Rain could vaguely sense the direction of the threat.
For instance, Rain could now discern that something was watching him from not too far behind.
The level 3 danger sense allowed Rain to perceive the general direction of the danger.
Rain didn't turn around but stood still, gripping his radiant greatsword. He had already formulated a counterattack plan in his mind.
Time passed, and the creature behind him seemed to be getting restless.
At that moment, the farm girl appeared again, this time about ten meters to Rain's right, even closer than before.
She approached Rain with a sorrowful expression, her face filled with anguish.
However, despite the girl's proximity, Rain's level 3 danger sense still gave no warning!
Instead, the alarm bells rang behind him! A sharp claw shot out of the fog again, aiming for Rain's neck.
But Rain was prepared, and he reacted instantly.
'Break Limit!'
Rain's chest swelled, and the muscles and veins on his neck bulged like a giant python.
'Roaring Strike!'
A massive sound wave burst forth from Rain, rippling outward in all directions.
The dense fog was shaken, and a hunched figure with long, slender limbs and sharp claws emerged from the mist.
The creature had a hideous face with protruding eyes, and it stared at Rain with fear. Its entire posture suggested it was about to pounce from above, its claws aimed at Rain's neck.
Apparently, the sonic attack was equally effective against this creature hidden in the mist.
In that moment of the creature's paralysis, a flash of silvery light streaked by.
"Plop!"
A heavy thud sounded as a hideous head rolled on the ground of the windmill.
Rain had beheaded the creature with a single strike!
The next second, Rain turned to look at the girl again.
This time, the girl's expression had changed.
(End of Chapter)
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