162: First Battle

Chapter 160: The First Battle

"What are your names?" Arthur knelt down and asked the children softly.

The girl abruptly stopped speaking and turned to look at Arthur.

"My name is Rose, and he is Thorn."

With that, the girl gently stroked her brother's head.

"And your parents?"

The little boy sobbed in response: "Mom and Dad were taken by monsters.

"They're trapped in the basement. Please, kind sir, save them."

Before Arthur could reply, the girl added, "There's also a baby in the nursery; he's been crying.

"He must be starving, but we're too scared to go find him."

"I'm willing to help," Arthur said gently, "but I need you to guide me.

"I'm not familiar with this house. Tell me, where should I look for you?

"Arthur's question made Thorn cry even harder.

Rose, as the older sister, also trembled with fear.

"I know you're trapped here," Arthur continued, "and I know you're powerless against that thing.

"But I promise you, I will find you and take you out of this place."

"In—in the attic."

Before the girl finished speaking, a powerful suction pulled both of them into the house.

Only two desperate screams echoed in the empty space.

Xiao Lingdang was terrified by the scene.

"What—what exactly is this—"

"They aren't real," Arthur explained, "just two poor ghosts.

"This brother and sister are bound to this house by something. Are you scared?"

Xiao Lingdang snapped out of her daze and tried to sound calm: "Scared? No—no way!

"I'm not scared at all. I—I'm going to save the Princess!"

"Then follow me," Arthur said, stepping forward.

The stone archway at the entrance was blocked by a wrought-iron gate, hinged on one side and locked on the other.

Fortunately, the lock was merely decorative.

Arthur pushed the door open and walked in.

The rusted hinges let out a sharp screech.

An oil lamp hung from the archway ceiling, swaying in the wind, making creaking sounds.

Arthur reached up and took it down.

Xiao Lingdang was perched on his shoulder, constantly mumbling about the Fairy Queen's blessings.

Seeing Arthur take down the oil lamp, she couldn't help but ask, "Don't you have magic?

"Then why do you need an oil lamp?"

"You'll see in a moment," Arthur replied.

At the end of the porch was an oak door.

According to the intel, this door was locked and couldn't be opened from this side.

They had to go to the adjacent drawing-room first.

Arthur cast a Light spell, illuminating the dim area slightly.

He saw a half-open door on the side wall, pushed it open, and walked in.

The room was very wide but dimly lit.

Even with the Light spell, the entire room couldn't be seen clearly.

This oak-decorated room was less a drawing-room and more like the owner's hunting display room.

Upon entering, Arthur saw a stag's head mounted above the fireplace.

Two cushioned chairs, covered in black bear fur, faced the fireplace, with a round table between them.

On the table were a barrel of wine, two carved wooden goblets, a pipe rack, and a candelabra.

To his right was another table, covered with a tablecloth, surrounded by four chairs, and a chandelier hanging above it.

To his left was a cabinet.

Arthur examined each item, recalling the next steps.

Then he said to the Pixie, "Listen to my command later, don't run around.

"And don't touch anything in the room."

"I—I understand."

The Pixie obediently replied.

"Good, fly up, close to the ceiling, don't let that deer head see you.

"See that chandelier?"

Xiao Lingdang looked at the chandelier and nodded.

"Go take off the rings from that chandelier, take three. Remember, three is enough."

The little one nodded repeatedly.

Arthur was still worried and made her repeat what he said.

Only after she had fully repeated it did he let her go.

Next, Arthur moved slowly along the wall towards the cabinet.

As he moved, he saw two stuffed wolf specimens placed in front of another wall.

There was another cabinet between the two wolves.

Arthur arrived at the cabinet on the left; its door was open.

He took out matches and lamp oil from inside.

He used a match to light the lantern in his hand, then moved along the wall to the back of the chandelier.

He asked the Pixie about the situation.

"Done, what do I do next?"

The little one poked her head out and asked.

"Next, get out of there and wait for the show."

After Arthur finished speaking, he sprinkled the lamp oil on the wolf specimen beside him.

As soon as the lamp oil was poured, the wolf specimen's eyes turned red.

Immediately after, a terrifying roar echoed in the room.

"What's wrong, what's wrong?"

Xiao Lingdang, startled, quickly burrowed into Arthur's arms.

The specimens and furs in the room transformed into eerie black mist and merged together.

A twisted, ugly, and massive monster appeared before them.

The monster had four heads, a bear-like body, with three heads on one side and the other on its back.

And in the middle of those three heads was the deer head that had been hanging above the fireplace.

The four heads let out terrifying roars, then charged towards Arthur.

The impact from its massive body made the entire room tremble.

Arthur retreated as much as possible until his back was against the wall.

His gaze moved back and forth between the chandelier and the monster.

Just as the intel had predicted, the monster overturned the table blocking its way.

The table struck the chandelier on the ceiling, and the already precarious chandelier crashed down with a clang, landing directly on the monster.

Arthur immediately seized the opportunity, intending to throw the lantern at the monster, but found that the light had gone out.

He cursed, fumbled for his matchbox, and planned to directly ignite the lamp oil on the monster with a match.

However, after a crisp incantation, the oil lamp was relit.

"Throw it, Arthur, throw it out!" Xiao Lingdang shouted.

Arthur immediately threw the lantern in his hand at the monster, which was in the process of getting up.

Flames instantly erupted, and the monster screamed, forgetting to look for Arthur and using its claws to swat at the fire on its body.

Arthur didn't stop; he circled around the monster, rushed to another table, picked up the barrel of wine from it, and poured it directly onto the monster.

With the alcohol as a accelerant, the fire burned even more fiercely.

The monster was in agony, blindly crashing forward, hitting the wall directly.

Then, with a thud, it fell to the ground, motionless.

Seeing this, Arthur let out a long sigh of relief.

The first room was successfully passed.

Xiao Lingdang, delighted, popped out of his arms, twirling around Arthur, exclaiming excitedly: "That's amazing, how did you do that?

"That's truly amazing, can you see the future?"

Arthur smiled faintly, and after the fire had slightly subsided, he walked towards the ashes.

He took a key from the half-burned deer head.

Next, he went to the cabinet previously guarded by the two wolf specimens and opened the cabinet door with the key.

Inside the cabinet were a heavy crossbow, a light crossbow, and a hand crossbow.

All three crossbows were exquisitely crafted, clearly the work of a master, and showed no signs of damage.

However, Arthur's target was not these three crossbows, but the human skull in the cabinet.

He took out the skull and examined it carefully for a moment.

The skull was engraved with unsettling blasphemous symbols.

He judged that it was likely related to some form of demon or devil worship.

He placed the skull on the ground and stomped on it, shattering it.

A wisp of black smoke quickly rose from the bone fragments, disappearing into the ceiling with a shriek.

A bewildered Xiao Lingdang quickly asked, "What—what exactly is going on?"

Arthur explained: "It's simple, there's a ghost in this room.

"It possessed those specimens just now, trying to kill us.

"I found it and sent it to where it belongs."

"But you—how did you know all this?"

"The Goddess gave me a revelation," Arthur offered this all-purpose excuse, "Time is limited, let's quickly go to the next room."

"Hey, there are crossbows and arrows here, aren't you taking them?"

"No, those should be rewards; I don't need them."

"I have my own ways of dealing with all this," Arthur replied confidently. Before entering the next room, Arthur also thanked her: "Oh, by the way, if it weren't for your magic just now.

"I probably would have missed the opportunity. Thank you."

Xiao Lingdang, hearing this, proudly puffed out her chest.