Chapter 113: Jacqueline Castle
The Turtle Warrior’s body suddenly shifted sideways, dodging the meteor impact, and rapidly fled close to the ground in a strange posture, as if a rope ahead was dragging him.
Anse was stunned; Hold Person was clearly not interrupted.
‘That Shadow Thief Master! He doesn’t even show himself to save someone, that’s ridiculous.’
He spread his Butterfly Wings and dove down like a great bird, the Elemental Orb rippling with circles of mana spiritual light.
The closer the casting distance, the less reaction time left for the opponent.
“”
「Metamagic: Quick Cast」+「Fireball」!
After a short Dragon Speech, a flashing light with precise guidance appeared in front of the Turtle Warrior in the blink of an eye.
The Shadow Thief Master reacted swiftly and directly flung the Turtle Warrior’s body away.
“Boom——”
Fireball hit the ground, flames sweeping over everything around, fallen leaves and trees instantly bursting into flames, and the Turtle Warrior in mid-air couldn’t escape either, but this time he had no Turtle Shell.
Just as the fireball exploded, another flashing light fell, targeting the Turtle Warrior once more.
At the edge of the flames, the Shadow Thief Master, who still wanted to save him, turned and ran without any hesitation.
“Boom——”
The Turtle Warrior was flung away again, still in mid-air as the Hold Person effect finally dissipated, but his body was scorched by the flames, blinded, and in excruciating pain.
His wail was stifled in his throat; he didn’t even dare to breathe, and there was no air for him to gasp anyway.
At that moment, a small meteor crashed into the sea of fire, banging him away with a thud.
Before his body hit the ground, a bright flashing light descended from the sky again, already waiting at the landing spot.
“Boom——”
The third fireball exploded, the Turtle Warrior rolling in the flames, his body swaying with the heatwave, falling into the sea of fire with no further reaction.
【Target Death, gained 1560 combat experience】
Anse rapidly ascended using the flight ability from Elemental Resonance, skimming over the sea of fire into high altitude.
Beneath his feet, heatwaves roiled, black smoke rose like pillars, trees crackled and burst from burning, flames spreading outward with the wind, affecting an area of hundreds of meters.
“This……”
Anse just wanted to take the chance to finish off the opponent; quick casting three fireballs was to prevent the target from recovering, but he didn’t expect the effect to be explosive, actually triggering a forest fire.
Illyas stared at him blankly, her eyes filled with shock.
She had never seen such a violent spellcaster!
She could understand a Sorcerer mastering Quick Cast Metamagic, but how could he quick cast so many spells? Hold Person succeeded every time, and the power of Fireball was abnormally strong.
“That Shadow Thief ran away.” Anse was somewhat regretful.
From the title, the Shadow Thief Master was also an Advanced Professional, staying invisible the whole time; none of the three fireballs touched him.
To be honest, this Shadow Thief Master was overly cautious, or perhaps he couldn’t gauge Illyas’s true strength, tested a few times, and withdrew when there was no opportunity.
Illyas came back to her senses and beckoned to him: “No chasing, let’s go.”
“What about the forest fire?” Anse pointed below.
“Don’t worry, it won’t burn.” Illyas was very certain.
Toothed Forest is very strange; no matter the reason for ignition, it quickly extinguishes naturally and has never burned for days or nights.
Anse felt relieved and sat down at the back of the Magic Carpet.
King Butterfly Cloak flies too slowly, Fly wastes mana; riding the Magic Carpet is the best deal.
Illyas remained silent, steering the Magic Carpet straight toward the small town ahead.
But before they arrived, nearly a thousand enemies had retreated; no one would believe they had no connection to the earlier attackers.
Dulag is enclosed by two rings of low walls, probably to guard against beasts, covering a large area but with scattered buildings, larger than a typical town but without a city’s facilities or scale, visually supporting a population of several thousand or over ten thousand.
This place is called Dulag’s Tower, but no tower is visible, only a ruin that seems like a tower base, and it’s not even inside the town.
Illyas circled over the town and flew toward a small mountain several kilometers to the east.
The mountain is no more than a few hundred meters high, with gentle slopes covered in fruit trees and flowers in vibrant colors, and at the top sits a castle, neither large nor small, its walls painted with colorful murals that make the solemn fortress look somewhat cheerful and lively.
The castle is very quiet; at a glance, aside from the dozen or so guards on the city walls and at the gate, few people are visible.
The Magic Carpet flew straight over the high walls into the main castle hall.
The guards didn’t react, clearly recognizing Illyas and her Magic Carpet.
“You go down first, I have something to handle.” Illyas turned to look at him.
“Okay.”
As soon as Anse jumped off the Magic Carpet, Illyas whooshed out of the hall and vanished.
‘Could she be going to resurrect that warrior?’
Third-circle Necromancy Spell「Resurrection」 can only revive recently deceased creatures, best within one minute, and cannot revive those who died of old age or restore lost body parts.
That warrior named Stol was poisoned to death, and over half a day had passed; at least a fifth-circle Necromancy Spell「Raise Dead」 would be needed to save him.
But this spell is only mastered by Bards, Priests, and Paladins, hard to find normally, and even harder now with the Magic Net disrupted.
Once death exceeds ten days, 「Raise Dead」 is powerless.
At this moment, an elderly man in a double-breasted black formal wear walked over and slightly bowed: “Sir, I am Harold, the butler of Jacqueline Castle.”
“Hello, I’m Anse.” Anse turned around, silently observing the surroundings.
The hall isn’t luxurious, with warm-colored furnishings and decorations that are very stylish.
“I have prepared meals and a room for you and the young lady. Would you like to eat now, or rest in your room first?” Harold quietly sized up Anse, his cloudy eyes hiding a hint of amusement.
“I’ll rest and freshen up.” Anse was still thinking about that dragon tail segment and urgently wanted to enter Hollewen to check it out.
“Very well, follow me.” Harold gestured and led the way from the side.
Anse walked while observing the castle’s layout and details, pondering how to decorate his own Black Tower.
Earlier the old butler said this castle is called Jacqueline; from name to appearance, it’s typical human noble style, and details suggest it may have decades or centuries of history, but he had never heard of it.
This isn’t surprising; the original owner was a shut-in who knew little about areas around Baldur’s Gate, let alone distant Dulag’s Tower.
This place has a special location, separated from Amn only by Cloud Mist Mountain; it’s too normal for them to target it.
Moreover, Amn’s intelligence capabilities are strong; after learning of Blue Water City and Illyas’s movements, they set up an ambush in advance on her must-pass route, a classic old schemer move.
Without Anse, Illyas would likely have suffered greatly.
‘Her methods are too one-dimensional, but it should just be a matter of time.’
With the Magic Net disrupted, Wild Sorcerers should be among the spellcasters least affected. Within a few years, Illyas should recover most or all of her strength.
Amn’s side should also be aware of this, hence their urgency to eliminate him.
“From your accent, Mr. Anse is from Baldur’s Gate?” Harold smiled warmly, his attention never leaving Anse.
“Yes, your experience is rich.” Anse replied casually.
“I heard Baldur’s Gate suffered a catastrophe; your family… are they alright?” Harold lowered his voice, probing carefully.
“They’re gone.”
“Sorry……”
“It’s fine; people must look forward.” Anse pretended to be open-minded.
Actually, upon learning of the original owner’s parents’ deaths, he decided to choose a good burial site for them, but now even returning is a luxury.
“Jacqueline Castle has great scenery and is safe; why not stay here for now? Everything will get better.” Harold said with a beaming smile.
“Mm.” Anse’s expression was odd.
The scenery is indeed good, but safety is debatable.
Illyas left in a hurry; the old butler didn’t see that corpse, otherwise he wouldn’t be so calm.
