Knights and Magic Wand
Chapter 756: 354: Corpse Theft

Chapter 756: Chapter 354: Corpse Theft

Southern Border of Kantadar, Roslava Territory, Morag County.

Sunlight poured over the streets and stone buildings of Chiatus City, with residents bustling as usual, people coming and going on the streets, and the market bustling inside and out.

Exquisite silks hung on shop racks, harvests of vegetables and grains piled high at the stalls, and enticing aromas wafted from bakeries, making everything seem so peaceful and prosperous.

Yet, a subtle silence and unspoken understanding pervaded the air, like an invisible veil shrouding every resident’s heart.

Conversations were always cautious, with eyes dodging, as if fearing to touch on something taboo.

No one dared to speak the truth openly, with residents tacitly focusing on their current lives, just as their ancestors had for countless years in Chiatus.

Day after day, the daylight slowly faded away.

The night descended like a black curtain, once again enveloping the entire city.

Residents hid early in their homes, doors and windows tightly shut, suppressing anxiety and gradually falling asleep, as if only in dreams could they temporarily forget the shadows lurking over the city.

Yet under the dimly revealed moonlight in the gloom, figures moved slowly on the vast city square.

They wore hooded cloaks, heads bowed, their footsteps heavy but carrying a sense of helplessness and fear, silently queuing like lambs awaiting slaughter.

Soon, the line moved toward the giant castle that used to belong to the lord, each figure appearing utterly helpless in the night, only occasionally breaking the deathly silence with stifled sobs.

On the second floor of a house not far from the square, a boy lay at the window, peering through the narrow wooden slits with terrified eyes, watching the stream of people heading toward the city’s high ground in the dark.

He saw those cloaked people with steps like they were marching to execution, his young heart filled with fear.

Suddenly, a large hand roughly pulled him back from the window.

It was his father.

The man’s face was filled with terror and anger, whispering harshly: “No peeking, no thinking too much, and definitely no talking. Go to sleep obediently!”

The boy trembled, tears brimming in his eyes, unable to suppress his fear as he asked, “Father, why don’t we run away?… Soon it will be our turn, will my sister and I be eaten by them?”

The father’s expression twisted for a moment, his eyes filled with hesitation and conflict.

After a long silence, he shook his head helplessly, slowly sitting beside his son, gently stroking his head.

“Don’t speak nonsense. Your Uncle Hank’s family went through it and now are living just fine. Besides, if you’re lucky, they say some people who go once are not taken a second time…”

“But I am still scared… Maybe they will kill us one day, just like when they first arrived…” The boy shivered, still remembering the terrifying scene over a year ago when those dreadful creatures tore apart soldiers and the nobles in the city.

The agony and screams of thousands as they were dismembered still echoed in his ears.

The man sighed at his son’s fear, powerless: “…Child, we can only accept it. Merchants returning from outside say that outside Roslava Territory is an even scarier hell, full of undead creatures everywhere…”

Pausing his words, he looked toward the darkness outside the window, his voice growing even lower: “Moreover, since their arrival, all those thugs and criminals in the city have disappeared, no more extortion or robbery, and we no longer have to pay taxes to anyone. In this past year, we’ve saved more money and food than in many past years, and the market food is both cheap and abundant, a stability we’ve never known…”

As for the cost…

Regularly providing “Blood Tax” to those fearsome blood-drinking beings… It seems, continuing like this, not too unbearable?

Escape? Each time the man thought of this question, he couldn’t hide his confusion.

Where to escape to? To the territories of the Kingdom lords, to be landless peasants?

Recalling the past life and this past year, he shuddered.

At this moment, the man only felt that compared to the vampire monsters now ruling Chiatus City… perhaps those nobles once pressing upon them were even more terrifying…

…

……

In the sky over the Ustato Territory, a large and a smaller silhouette quickly skimmed through the clouds.

The Griffin Death Claw carried Leon and Olivia, while Kovis rode the Stormhawk alongside.

Sitting behind Leon on the saddle, Olivia gazed at the cities on the Ustato Territory plains below.

A few days ago, after leaving Baldim County, Leon temporarily changed his original plan to head towards the South Mountain Territory.

He instructed Azeryan and Lokhak to lead the Avalon Knight Order to continue marching towards Ustato Mountain Pass to apply for passage.

Meanwhile, he took Olivia and Kovis, moving swiftly through the air toward Kantadar Royal City.

The news of General Trolsa’s death made him somewhat sentimental, but more puzzled. However, this was not the reason Leon was eager to head to Avim.

He was more concerned with the vampire assassin mentioned in Sir David’s letter, as any clue about vampires now related to Count Eriv’s whereabouts.

The Griffin descended from the sky but did not enter Avim City, which had reportedly been sealed off by the Orland Army, instead landing at the old Thorny Flower Army camp on the north bank of the great river as indicated in the letter.

Hearing the noise of Death Claw and Stormhawk landing, David led a few Farolis Knights and Ranger Knights to greet them.

Seeing the long-unseen second son of Count Eriv, Leon and the others followed into the military tent to rest and inquire about the changes in Avim City.

After some exchange, they found David didn’t know much.

They had just completed their investigation south of Ustato Territory, returning to Avim City planning for a brief rest and resupply, but had stumbled upon the Orland Army’s blockade preventing their entry.

David inquired at the camp outside the city under the Thorny Flower family’s name, only to learn that General Trolsa, who had recently arrived from the North to sit in command of the forces in Ustato Territory, was found murdered in the city.

It was said his body was desiccated without a drop of blood, exactly like the victims of vampire attacks described in legends.

The sudden unexplained death of Orland’s Kingmaker obviously caused significant upheaval in the region, so David hurriedly wrote and sent news back to the Holy War Alliance.

Listening to David’s account, Leon frowned.

The rumors and whispers of vampire sightings had been frequent in the Bokuya and Raventon Counties south of the Ustato Kingdom, which David had been investigating for a while.

But a vampire appearance in Kantadar Royal City would undoubtedly be the first.

And the target of the murder was the Commander of the Orland Army controlling the Kantadar Royal Court.

Could the undead army plan to invade Ustato Territory from the North? Did they want to eliminate the Northern Kingdom’s military leader first?

But… was this really the work of vampires?

Leon rose, pacing as he pondered, feeling it’s not that simple.

“This is too strange, King Lydwen was just assassinated, and then General Trolsa was killed right after.”

Although he hadn’t seen the body, deducing the perpetrator merely from the condition of the corpse seemed rash.

In his mind, the people at the Kantadar Royal Court and the Athiasians both had notable suspicions.

Both had motives to murder Trolsa, especially the latter, whose presence was haunting and pervasive.

“What? King Lydwen, assassinated too!?”

David was greatly shocked.

Leon nodded at him, briefly explaining the turmoil and court upheaval during the Oran Knight Tournament in the capital.

In these times, information traveled slowly; David had been deep in Southern Kantadar hunting vampires, unaware of King Lydwen III’s assassination.

“Send someone into the city in my name to contact Baron Kellan. Kovis and I might use magic to unearth some clues about the true culprit for the Deer family,” Leon said to David.

To his surprise, David replied helplessly, “Sir Leon, Baron Kellan is not in Ustato Territory.”

“What? Kellan didn’t come to the South with General Trolsa?” Leon was surprised.

David nodded, “Lord Kellan did not accompany the General, otherwise I wouldn’t be unable even to enter the city gates now.