Chapter 408 Wedding Banquet (8)
The footsteps were getting closer, but Tarun, who was hiding in the shadows near the candlelight, relaxed a little because she smelled a familiar smell, it was her companions. Soon, she saw the "Siren" walking around the corner with the "Shadow Demon" and the "Earth Dragon". Just when she was about to show up, she stopped moving immediately because she noticed something was wrong with her three companions.
The steps were steady and slow, without saying a word. The Earth Dragon, who usually walked with his hands hanging down, had a hunched back, but now stood up straight. The smile on the Siren's face was a little stiff, which might not be noticeable to others, but to Tarun, this was very obvious in her eyes.
Then there was Shadow Fiend, this usually stern and unsympathetic guy, now frowned, his eyes unconsciously looking at Sea Siren and Earth Dragon from time to time. Among the three people, he walked the slowest and was at the end. Tarun could hear his heartbeat was very fast, he must be very nervous, and was looking for an opportunity to do something. And his movements were very small, as if he was trying to avoid being discovered by someone.
Except for Tarun and Earth Dragon, other companions do not know complete information about the identity of "Shadow Fiend". They only know that he is a genius in the field of black magic. Although he is usually not very human, he attaches great importance to these companions. Although he usually doesn't talk much and always criticizes his companions, it is no exaggeration to say that if necessary, he will not hesitate to use his life to protect others.
When "Shadow Demon" has no missions, he always hangs out with "Earth Dragon". The two of them don't talk much usually, but when they get together, they always have a lot of fun chatting. Thanks to the "Rat King" who let the cat out of the bag, Ta Lun learned that "Earth Dragon" is a hybrid of a demon and a banshee. There is only one possibility for him to have a common language with someone of this identity, that is, he, like "Earth Dragon", has an unusual identity, either a demon, a wizard, or a hybrid of the two.
Combined with Shadow Fiend's abnormal heart rate and his micro-movements, Talen had a guess in his mind, that is, Shadow Fiend was trying to push away the Siren and Earth Dragon in front of him. Shadow Fiend rarely did meaningless things, and Siren was the best among his companions in terms of stealth, while Earth Dragon was the tough guy among his companions. He needed to do this, which meant that he clearly understood that only by doing this could he protect the two of them. So Shadow Fiend should want to hold someone back after this action and let them escape quickly.
The companions' strength is not that of weaklings. On the contrary, 99% of the people in the entire castle cannot pose any threat to them, including the arriving guests and their personal guards. You know, those people are also good at fighting. Their only disadvantage is that there are only six of them. But generally speaking, relying on the previous investigation of the castle by the "Rat King", it is impossible for these people to block them.
Taren immediately understood the current status of his three companions. They were being kidnapped or threatened by someone. The latter was more likely because Taren did not see anyone behind them, nor did he hear any footsteps. However, Taren believed that there were very few people in this castle who could pose a threat to them, so they must be nearby, probably just outside the secret passage, and there might be a large number of them.
But considering the actions of the three, Ta Lun immediately denied this idea. If this was the case, the "Siren" and "Shadow Fiend" would immediately use their abilities to escape, and the "Earth Dragon" would immediately dig away from the ground through the ability of its race after eliminating some of the pursuers, and would also deliberately avoid the same route as the "Siren" and "Shadow Fiend". However, the inside of the passage was very quiet except for the footsteps and breathing of the three of them, so the number of people who coerced them would never exceed five, otherwise at least the sound of armor friction would be heard.
"Damn it!"
Combining this information, Tarun quickly figured out who was able to do this. As mentioned before, if the people inside the castle did not rely on favorable terrain and human wave tactics, ninety-nine percent of the people would be unable to do anything to them. But today they were unlucky. There happened to be some people in the castle who could pose a threat to them. They were the elite regiment led by the Inquisitor, the Grand Mage, and three people who were suspected to be assassins or nuns of the Inquisition.
At the request of the "Shadow Demon" and the "Candle Merchant", the "Rat King" once used his own abilities to secretly approach these people. They were divided into three teams, searching for something in the entire castle area. According to the information passed back by the "Rat King", they seemed to be preparing to build something, but what it was exactly was not clear.
After the news came back, the "Candle Merchant" relied on his own ability and the rats controlled by the "Rat King" to investigate the strength of these people several times. The information he obtained showed that compared with his own people, the entire elite regiment, including the assassin or nun, and the archmage, were basically as strong as his own people. Neither side could completely defeat the other. However, there was only one problem, that is, the regiment had an advantage in numbers. They had eleven people, but his side had only six. However, according to the analysis of the "Earth Dragon", even if they couldn't win, they could still run away.
However, there was only one problem, which was also the biggest unstable factor. That was the Inquisitor, or the guy who meant the Inquisitor. His investigation into his strength made the "Candle Merchant" doubt his own abilities. Because in his several investigations, he detected a strength in the Inquisitor alone that was enough to rival an entire elite regiment. In other words, if there was friction between him and his own people, he would be able to defeat them by himself without the help of those members of the regiment.
According to her, the guy didn't even use any strength to save people when he was at the scene of the explosion with the "Siren". He only used physical strength, which was contrary to the purpose of the Inquisition. He didn't try his best to save the civilians. He didn't care that all the civilians around him might die. His real purpose was just to protect the archmage. Combined with the previous information, he protected the archmage probably because the archmage might be related to what they were looking for or preparing to build. Based on this, Talen thought that there must be something wrong with him.
Taren slowed down her heartbeat and tried to stay still as much as possible. She immediately understood that even if they were absolutely superior in strength, if the distance was far, the Shadow Fiend, the Siren, and the Earth Dragon would have enough opportunities and abilities to escape. But they didn't look like they were going to run away, or even couldn't run away, which meant that the Inquisitor must be nearby. As for not being able to see where they were, after all, he was followed by a great wizard who could become invisible or something, which was normal.
Taren's keen perception can actually see through the archmage's disguise, but she would definitely not do that now, because once discovered, the three people would lose their safety and would most likely be attacked by the Inquisitor. So Taren planned to remain secret and observe their next move.
Soon, the three of them passed by Tarun. Judging from the direction they were moving, it should be the room with the mechanism at the end of the secret passage. They did not move very fast and it took them several minutes to turn the corner. Just as their backs disappeared around the corner, Tarun used his ability to sense their position. Sure enough, there was an invisible magic shield behind them, and inside it was the great wizard that she and the "Siren" had seen before.
However, Talen immediately realized a fatal problem, that is, the Inquisitor was not here. It was impossible for the Archmage to coerce three companions at the same time, so they must have been controlled by the Inquisitor. The reason why his three companions cooperated so well must be because they thought that the Inquisitor was also behind them. If this was the case, then when he and the "Siren" came here, the Inquisitor might have discovered them.
“Tread…Tread…”
Sure enough, a few seconds after the great wizard and his three companions turned the corner and disappeared, Tarun heard the sound of the secret door closing at the entrance of the secret passage. Then, she heard footsteps. Judging from the volume and frequency of the sound, the person coming was tall and strong, and there was a faint sound of cloth and metal rubbing against each other. This appearance, plus Tarun's previous speculation, meant that the source of the sound could only be one person, the Inquisitor.
He walked out from the corner, his hands clasped behind his waist, and walked slowly, like an important person who came to inspect. He tilted his head from time to time to look at the nearby wall and the candles left on it by the "candle merchant", but even when he saw something that interested him, he did not stop, but just slowed down temporarily. He moved forward while observing, and soon arrived near Talen.
"despair."
Just when he walked to the second secret door, he suddenly stopped and turned to the wall. He seemed to stare at the secret door disguised as a wall for a while, then stretched out a hand and touched it twice. Then, Tarun, who was hiding in the shadows on his side, saw his head turned to one of the secret doors. Tarun thought to himself that it was not good, because he must have discovered that there was a secret door behind it.
As if his observations were verified, the Inquisitor stopped observing and turned his body towards the inside of the passage, but he did not continue to move. Instead, he stood here, probably waiting for the return of the Archmage and his three companions. After a while, footsteps came from behind the corner deep in the passage, and the three companions and the Archmage returned.
After turning the corner, they saw the Inquisitor's three companions, who were obviously surprised. It seemed that they really thought that the Inquisitor was still following them. "Shadow Demon" and "Earth Dragon" looked at each other, stopped, and seemed to be preparing to do something.
"I don't recommend that. I guess there's no other way out of this place."
It was very quiet inside the passage, so the Inquisitor's voice quickly reached their ears. There was no way. Their situation was not optimistic. It was a slim hope to defeat the Inquisitor. The great wizard behind him was not a problem, but as he said, there was no place to escape here. If they maintained cooperation, they might have a chance to survive. If they took action, their end would probably not be good.
This time they quickened their pace and returned to the Inquisitor. The archmage behind them also removed the invisibility shield and returned to the Inquisitor's side.
"There is a room at the end, sealed by a metal gate. There is a deformed gap on it, which should have been made by their companions. There is stagnant water in it, but it is not stagnant water. There are places where water flows, but the gap is very small. It is impossible to leave through that place. There is a blocked place, which may be another exit before, but the material is the same as other places in the castle, which can block energy."
"Is there anything else that you find suspicious?"
"There are a few rats inside. The gap in the metal gate is just big enough for the rats, or something of similar size, to pass through. I guess the rats didn't appear there on their own. After all, the room was soaked in water and full of garbage. There was no possibility of finding food, even for the rats."
"I guess there's probably a mechanism in that room to open the secret door."
"Secret door? Where is it?"
"That's it."
The Inquisitor stretched out his hand and pointed at the wall next to him. The Archmage seemed to agree with him, but from her expression, she could not tell where the secret door was.
"There is a 2x3 secret door on the wall you are looking at now. The material used is the same as other energy-blocking walls, but it is only five centimeters thick. On your left hand side, in the upper left corner of the 2x3 secret door, there is a gear set with a metal piece on it, connected to a very long metal wire. It should lead to the room with accumulated water at the end. The mechanism to open the secret door should be there."