Cornflower Witch

Chapter 266 Strange Prisoners and a Dark Era
The night in Xigu City is exceptionally quiet tonight.

After watching the caravan members leave the city, Hilti did not follow them but instead returned to Valley City.

Now that she has no more worries, she can do some extra things.

Crossing the city streets, Hiltiya entered the castle on the south side, which was once the residence of an earl, later occupied by the Antian nobles, and now serves as the garrison's headquarters.

Compared to the outside world, this place is much more heavily guarded, and there are two knights stationed here.

Since there was no need to cover the caravan at this time, Hilti did not continue to use the 'Illusion Mushroom' ability. Instead, she simply concealed her aura and figure and passed through the dim night.

Her ears could easily hear the slumbering of everyone inside the castle, occasionally punctuated by murmurs in their sleep.

Based on the information provided by the caravan member, Hilti nimbly navigated the castle buildings and gradually reached the location where the prisoners were held.

The entrance to the dungeon is at the base of a tower, where two veterans still keep watch. One stares blankly at the fire, while the other leans back in a chair, dozing off, and smells of alcohol.

The iron gate behind the two was the entrance to the dungeon, which no one else could bypass. When Hiltija arrived outside the tower, she paused briefly, then turned the switch on the lantern again to open the side door, allowing the spores to fly out.

The evening breeze carried an extremely subtle fragrance, which caused the old soldier who had been watching the fire to slowly lean back in his chair and fall asleep.

Soon after, Hilti, dressed in a black dress, walked past him and added some more firewood to the fireplace.

"You two should get some rest. Sweet dreams," the girl said playfully, then untied the keys from their bodies and deftly opened the iron gate.

Carrying a lantern, Hilti walked through the deep, spiraling passage. This passage was exceptionally narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. If a prisoner were to break free, only one or two people would be needed to block the tunnel.

After descending about seven floors, Hiltiya finally stepped onto the solid, flat stone floor. She looked up at the dark passageway, from which various sounds could be heard: painful hissing, the sound of normal sleep, strange screams of madness, and the sound of water dripping.

Although the caravan member saw his uncle Hines, he was blindfolded during the descent into the dungeon and did not know his exact location. He could only beg Siltiia for help in finding him.

As Hilti passed through the iron fences, the spores inside the lantern spread, and the sound faded away with each step she took.

At this moment, the prisoners held inside began to sense that something was wrong. Although they could not see the scene outside, a suffocating silence was spreading.

The unimaginable unknown brought absolute fear, and some members who were still awake huddled in a corner, afraid to look up.

Hilti has no intention of saving everyone for the time being, because in addition to some innocent people, there are indeed many villains here who have committed heinous crimes, and these people are difficult for Regas and Anti to tolerate.

In the darkness, Hilti's gaze swept over the people imprisoned along the way, comparing them with the information about Hines. If they didn't match, the invisible spores beside her would put the people inside into a deep sleep.

A figure sitting in the cell sensed something was wrong, stood up, gripped the iron bars tightly with both hands, and shouted into the dark passage.

"Whoever it is, let me out, and I will serve you. I am strong enough to wield a forty-pound broadsword. I can fight any enemy!" He shook the iron bars, and the chains on his body swayed along with them, making a clanging sound.

Upon hearing his shouts, some in the dungeon laughed, while others awoke with a start. Some of them uttered similar words, implying that if he released them, they would serve him. As for how much of this was true, that remains to be seen.

Hilti's goal was to find Hines and bring him out. She didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble. Besides, her time was limited, and she couldn't stay here indefinitely to verify the situation of each person who was shouting. Releasing these people rashly was not something to be praised for.

Invisible 'illusionary spores' drifted by, and then another sound faded away. At this moment, Hilti walked past the man who was holding the iron bars and said he could wield a sword.

Surprisingly, he was not hypnotized into sleep by the illusory spores, but instead opened his eyes wide in the darkness, trying to see who was walking through the passage.

At this moment, the lantern in Hilti's hand blocked out the light. In the absence of a light source, normal humans would not be able to see anything at all, but he was different. At this moment, he could still see the faint outline.

"A woman?" His voice sounded surprised, but he quickly recovered.

“Stop. I know the secret of this dungeon. Whether you want to find someone or get any information, I can help you.” These words, different from before, finally moved the passing Hilti.

The girl stopped and paused for two seconds.

"Tell me where Hines is."

The girl's voice was soft and beautiful, and it was exceptionally clear in the dark environment.

As the other person racked their brains to recall, a scene suddenly flashed through their mind: the day after the fall of Valley City last month, where soldiers were dragging captured enemies into the dungeon one by one.

But that wasn't enough. He continued exploring the labyrinth of his memories, and one last vague fragment came to mind: among the prisoners who had come in, one of the young men had uneasily muttered, "Uncle Hines, will we even get out of here alive?"

Who was he speaking to? Who were those people at the time? Which cell were they imprisoned in?

The blurry fragments of memory were constantly scavenged and polished until one obscure piece shone brightly again and emerged.

"Hains is imprisoned in the room on the second fork in the road on the left side of the fourth floor of the dungeon." He stated the location precisely, at which point the side effects of excessively exploring the memory maze began to appear, and he was completely exhausted.

Before he lost consciousness, he pleaded once more with the figure standing not far away.

"Please, take me away from here."

Hilti didn't answer, but simply walked quickly in the direction he indicated.

A few minutes later, she went down to the fourth basement level and found Hines in the side passage. There was also a younger man being held in custody with him.

Hines was in very bad shape at the moment. He had a high fever, was extremely weak, and had a wound that had not fully healed. It was probably this wound that became infected, causing inflammation and leading to the persistent high fever.

Opening the lantern's shield, Hiltiya slightly activated her power, and a faint glow illuminated the dark dungeon. She then took out the Radiant Gold Blade she had previously crafted, gripped the hilt, charged up her strength, and swung it, severing the iron bars in front of her.

The iron bar struck the ground with a crisp sound, waking the sleeping young man. He was surprised to see the girl standing outside the cell, and then he hurriedly stood up.

"Who are you? Are you here to save us?"

“Yes, help Hines up and come with me,” Hilti explained succinctly.

Hearing this, the young man was extremely surprised, but he had no time to deal with the various questions and confusions that popped into his mind. He quickly helped the seriously ill Hines up and left the room.

However, it was difficult to support an unconscious adult, and his condition was not good either. He almost fell to the ground with Hines as soon as he stepped out of the cage. Seeing this, Hilti took out two portions of food and handed them to him, and also put down a pot of water, adding two 'white camellia' petals to it.

"Let him recover his strength first, then feed Hines some," she instructed.

"Thank you." Without thinking about where these things came from, the hungry young man picked up the soft, baked pie and put it in his mouth.

With one bite, the subtle sweetness and aroma of wheat filled the air, interspersed with perfectly roasted meat chunks. This delightful sensation stimulated his taste buds, causing them to salivate. After eating, a warm feeling spread from his stomach to his limbs. He had never felt so clearly how nutrition and energy were being replenished in his body.

This is definitely not ordinary food!
The young man realized this, then took several large gulps of water from the kettle, the cool and sweet spring water instantly clearing his drowsy mind.

Then, remembering something, he quickly helped Hines up, somewhat embarrassed, and fed him some water. He then crushed the pie and tried to feed it to the dazed Hines.

After drinking some water, Hines seemed to clear his head a little and regain a vague sense of consciousness. He slowly chewed the food that was being fed to him and finally had the strength to open his eyes and see his surroundings.

"Rez, who is this?" He didn't know why he had come out of the cell, or who the girl in the black veil and black dress in front of him was.

"There's no time to explain, Uncle Hines. We have to get out of here quickly. This is our savior."

"I see, I understand." Hines wasn't the type to dwell on things. As his consciousness slowly returned, he regained some of his thinking ability.

"Hel me up."

With the young man's help, he stood up again. Then, Hilti nodded and led them quickly toward the exit.

The journey was unusually quiet; the prisoners and soldiers along the way were all asleep. Hines and Rez dared not ask why no one was stopping them, but felt surprised and fortunate.

When the three of them reached the first level of the dungeon, Hiltiah once again approached the prisoner who had told her about Hines' location. The prisoner was now slumped on the ground, eyes closed, breathing slowly, seemingly performing some kind of meditation to recover his energy.

Hiltiah slashed through the iron bars again, went inside, and cut off the iron chains on the prisoner's feet and wrists.

She also took out food and water and handed them to the other person.

"Eat some, then come with us."

The prisoner awoke from his meditation as the iron bars broke. He heard the girl's voice, scrambled over, gratefully accepted the food and water, and began to eat heartily.

As he ate, sobs came from his throat, and tears streamed down his face, wetting the pie in his mouth.

"Waaah...waaah." There seemed to be endless hardship and vicissitude in his voice. After eating several bites of food, he managed to resist the urge to continue eating and picked up the water bottle to drink water in big gulps.

Perhaps fearing that Hilti and the others would abandon him, he finished drinking the water, picked up the food, and struggled to get up, indicating that he was ready to move.

At this moment, Hilti led the three of them away from the entrance of the passage. The two soldiers at the bottom of the tower were still fast asleep, snoring.

"Ignore them, let's go."

"Yes." Actually, the three of them had no intention of taking revenge on these Antian soldiers at the moment; they only thought that being able to escape would be a great blessing.

And so, before dawn, Hiltiya led the three away from Valley City. Two days earlier, Karen had also received a reminder from Hiltiya and left Valley City, waiting for them in the forest outside the city.

After being several kilometers away from Valley City and seeing that there were no pursuers, the four were finally sure they were safe. At this point, the others who had been with them finally had the opportunity to ask the many questions that had been weighing on their minds.

"Just so you know, I won't answer every question." The girl blinked; she didn't want to lie, but she also didn't want to reveal too many secrets.

“We know.” Hines sighed. His fever had subsided considerably, as if the water he had just drunk had had a special effect.

"No matter what, you are our savior, and Rez and I are extremely grateful to you."

"However, I am also aware that I am not some great person. I don't know who could ask you to lend a helping hand."

“This question can be answered; the other party is your nephew,” Hiltia said, her toes twirling lightly across the grass as she told Hines the answer.

"So it was that kid," Hines muttered, but he didn't press further about how his nephew had managed to get the girl to help.

"Rez and I were both convicted and imprisoned by the Antiochians for participating in Prince Gabriel's rebellion. After we are released, we will probably live in seclusion or go far away."

"However, these are just our clumsy ideas. If you, sir, need our help, we are willing to serve you and do whatever it takes to accomplish your tasks."

At this point, they had nothing else to offer in gratitude. If they were to leave in a frivolous manner, not only would they feel guilty, but they would also fear that such ungrateful and stingy behavior would anger the mysterious girl before them.

Since the enemy was able to rescue them under the tight guard of Antioch's army, taking their lives would be a very easy matter.

"Serving someone doesn't have to be so heavy-hearted," the girl in the black dress and blue eyes shook her head.

“However, I do need your help recently.” Hiltiya thought of Scorched Stone City and the secluded place outside Scorched Stone City.

“There are some Regas refugees like you. They will probably have a hard time reintegrating into the Kingdom of Antioch and lack the ability to protect themselves. I can’t stay here for long, so I need your help to train and lead them so that they can have some self-defense capabilities.”

"Are you a Regas refugee like us?" Upon hearing this, Hines felt not only no resistance, but also a sense of kinship and gratitude.

Rather than slinking away to a foreign land and fleeing their homeland, it might be better to live with those who have suffered the same fate. Perhaps such a life would be more worthwhile than serving the royal family.

Having experienced the war between the two countries, Hines's longing and fantasy about the legend of the 'Knight King' had long since dissipated. Now he truly realized that no matter how good the legend was, it was just a legend. The descendants of the Knight King would not naturally possess the demeanor and virtue of the legendary king. The glory of his ancestors, like history, had long been buried in thick piles of paper.

“We are willing to go there,” he and Rez gratefully agreed.

Since there are no longer any kings with such grandeur in the world, then being an ordinary soldier and guarding one's homeland and comrades is the best choice.

Not every young person can encounter the era when a king appears, and follow in his footsteps to create a glorious legacy that will last for eternity.

(End of this chapter)