132: Walking towards death

Chapter 131: Marching Towards Death

For the rest of the day, Arthur, accompanied by Heir, visited people in town who had relatives or friends working at the plantation.

Plantation workers usually returned once every month or so.

Only half a month had passed since their last return.

So, almost no one knew what exactly had happened there.

Coupled with the appearance of the Night Mist and the Undead, contact between Mist Town and the outside world had been severed.

This led to fewer plantation workers returning and at longer intervals.

However, those who did return all said the plantation hadn't been greatly affected.

The Undead would also attack the Candy Family's manor.

But they had repelled those Undead under the leadership of the manor lord, Jean Candy.

After grasping this information, Arthur told his subordinates to rest well, intending to go to the plantation tomorrow to investigate.

After a long discussion, the townspeople finally decided to appoint Ismark as the interim Town Mayor.

This decision was also within Arthur's expectations.

After ruling out other options, Ismark, as a descendant of the Lovich Family, was indeed the most reliable choice.

After dinner, the Sheriff found Arthur.

He proposed that he also wanted to go to the plantation tomorrow.

“The last time I went, I always felt something was off,” he said. “That was after the first Undead attack.

“Dimitri suspected that all of this was related to the Candy Family.

“So, he and I, along with a few guards and a priest from the Long Night Alliance, went to the plantation.

“The place looked completely normal.

“The priest even checked the plantation's crops to see if they were contaminated.”

The Sheriff paused, pondering, as if organizing his words.

“That was three months ago, right?” Arthur asked.

The Sheriff nodded, “Yes, three months ago.

“You know, the Candy Family's plantation is protected by the Dark Lord.

“Not only is the land there not contaminated, but it's also quite fertile.

“The adults always say that's because many corpses are buried beneath the land.

“They also always use this to scare children, threatening to throw them into the plantation if they don't behave.”

Arthur looked at the study's fireplace and asked again, “Approximately how many people are at the plantation?”

Including the workers, there are about seventy-odd people.

“About ten people from the village work there.”

Arthur nodded, beginning to ponder how dangerous tomorrow's journey would be if all these people had turned into Undead creatures.

“Please continue, Sir Grey, you just said you felt something was off?”

“Yes.” The Sheriff continued, “Most of the labor force at the plantation comes from the slaves brought by the Black Goat Caravan.

“Those serfs are strictly guarded by the Candy Family, with almost no freedom.

“I know some of them.

“When the Town Mayor and I went to investigate, a child of one of the serfs kept secretly following me.

“At first, I didn't understand why, but now that I think about it, he seemed to have something he wanted to tell me.”

“Tomorrow's journey won't be smooth. Are you sure you want to come with us?” Arthur asked.

The Sheriff nodded firmly, “I've been thinking about this for a while, perhaps we overlooked something back then.

“Which led to the current situation.

“Let me go, Sir, if I don't resolve this knot in my heart, I will never find peace in this life.”

“Alright, everyone, get moving, our vehicles are limited.

“Most people will have to walk, hurry up!”

With Jessica's string of commands,

the entire Pioneer Group began to bustle.

Since most of the wagons needed to remain at Lookout Fort for grain trade,

most people basically needed to carry their own bags.

The weather these days had been quite good, so the road wasn't very muddy.

No one complained, and no one was afraid.

They were full of hope and vigor, marching towards the land of death.

At the same time, a carriage left Mist Town.

Sheriff Grey was driving the carriage, with Flora sitting beside him.

The people inside the carriage had serious expressions.

A bag of Blazing Fire Glue dangled by Arthur's feet.

They too were heading towards a land of death.

Arthur was reviewing today's intelligence.

Three subsequent intelligence reports remained unchanged.

[Blue Intelligence] The Black Blood People have marked you as prey; they are coming to hunt you.

[Green Intelligence] A large number of Undead creatures are lurking in the plantation.

It is safer to proceed along the main road.

Some living people are still imprisoned in the manor's underground wine cellar.

[Green Intelligence] All the manor's servants have been transformed into Ghoul; they are loyal servants of the Candy Family.

Arthur closed his eyes and quickly calculated in his mind.

“Alright, friends,” Arthur said, “Remember, it's not just the Undead who are after us!”

The plantation was not too far from Mist Town; the carriage would only take twenty minutes to arrive. Initially, the carriage followed the old road, and then a wide fork appeared.

As the carriage turned onto the small road, the first wolf howl sounded.

It was followed by a second, then a third.

The two docile draft horses suddenly became disobedient.

The Sheriff struggled to control them, so the carriage wouldn't overturn.

Flora stood up from her seat, frowning as she looked at the mist-shrouded wilderness.

She vaguely saw a few figures, but they quickly disappeared into the fog.

Those were definitely not wolves.

She thought.

“You should sit down, Miss.” The Sheriff tried to slow the carriage.

But the two horses, as if sensing some danger, galloped forward desperately.

“How much further to the plantation?” Flora asked.

The Sheriff pointed ahead with his chin and replied, “After that patch of woods, it's just a short distance.”

Flora looked ahead and muttered, “They will attack in the woods.”

“What?”

“I said those Beastmen will attack in the woods, get ready.”

No sooner had she spoken than the wolf howl sounded again.

This wolf howl was exceptionally long and clear.

The draft horses neighed, as if terrified to the extreme.

The carriage's speed increased again.

“Damn it!” the Sheriff shouted, “I can't control them anymore.”

A movable door on the carriage roof was pushed open, and Arthur poked his head out of the carriage compartment.

He cast Calm Emotions on the two horses in front.

The draft horses quickly calmed down.

The carriage's speed was brought under control.

It soon stopped by a beech tree.

The wolf howls continued, growing closer and clearer, but they no longer frightened the horses.

Arthur climbed onto the roof of the carriage and cast Light.

At this moment, they were the most dazzling presence in this forest.

“Back against the carriage, friends,” Arthur said to everyone, “Watch for anything that comes out of the woods.”

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from the woods opposite the carriage.

The next second, a deer leaped out from within.

The alert group had just breathed a sigh of relief.

Three terrifying figures pounced out from the woods.