Archer's Adventure Manual

Chapter 184 Castle Trap

Lorraine suddenly realized why Barton's parents and old Smith had reacted so strangely; it turned out there was such a secret behind it.

They cannot speak out about this based on their own thoughts, as it concerns the livelihoods of every resident of Rockfall.

If this matter were revealed, those who have become monsters would not be accepted by the kingdom, and women and children would also be implicated.

But if these things aren't said, Rockfall will remain the same as before, with Baron Warren's promises and guarantees, and everyone's lives will continue as before.

This has shaped the current appearance of Rockfall Town.

Behind the peaceful scene that Loran and the others witnessed lies a hidden truth: it can be said that everyone in Rockfall Town has become a puppet of that "creator," and no one knows what he really wants to do.

Loran swung his scythe, severing the monster souls that the other two mages were entangled with, and the three mages regained their freedom.

"Come on, since you still have a conscience, tell me, what solutions do you have for this problem?" Loran sized up the three people in front of him.

The three mages thought for a moment and finally said, "The solution we can think of is very simple, which is... to eliminate that creator, but our power is definitely not enough."

"Alright, you were all once Plasson's people, right?" Loran looked at the three of them. "You will take this situation back to Plasson and resolve this issue."

The three mages hesitated. "If we really take this information back, won't the people of Rockfall Town truly be without hope? Just as the Creator said, no one will accept a monster..."

"If I can restore the three of you to your original state, I can naturally restore the villagers as well. You don't need to worry about that. Only by eliminating this creator can we truly solve the problem."

"Alright, then we'll head to Plassen to report! Thank you!" The three mages bowed deeply and then hurried off to Plassen.

Loran finally got the details of what happened, and now he planned to return to the hotel to remind Barton and check on the legion's situation.

As Plassen's elite legion, if we can unite their strength, we might be able to turn the current situation around.

Let's go back to a short time ago.

Captain Lake followed Captain Dunn into the castle at Warren Manor, where he was going to meet the shrewd Baron Warren.

The sound of boots echoed in the hall, a spacious and once bustling place where people gathered, but now it was deserted.

Passing through the hall, there was a long corridor ahead. The candlesticks on the walls on both sides were not lit, and only a faint light came in through the windows.

Even in the dim light, Lake could still clearly see the oil paintings hanging on the walls on both sides. This was a basic feature for nobles, and the portraits in the paintings were probably of Warren's ancestors.

Turning left at the end of the corridor, the two arrived at a double door, where a butler stood with a smile.

"Please come in, gentlemen."

The door was pushed open, and the reception room came into view.

Facing them was a fireplace with a fire burning, and above it hung a pair of crossed stag antlers. Baron Warren was sitting in a comfortable chair beside the fireplace.

"Commander Lake, I have long admired your name. I am deeply grateful that you traveled from Plassen day and night to Falling Rock Town."

Baron Warren may look a bit older, but he gives off an incredibly capable and energetic vibe, without a trace of old age.

Lake returned a polite smile and sat down on the sofa. "Baron Warren, you are more energetic than I expected."

Baron Warren agreed, "Yes, if it were a dejected fellow, Rockfall would probably be hard to save."

""

The butler poured the tea into the exquisite teacups on the table, and the rich aroma of tea immediately filled the room.

Upon seeing this, Lake remarked meaningfully, "Baron Warren is farsighted; he still has such fine tea in the face of resource scarcity."

"Of course, the Warren family's resources still exist, and tea helps me keep a clear head so I can make the right decisions in tense moments," Baron Warren said calmly.

Lake didn't waste any time and asked the key question: "I'm here on behalf of Plasson this time, and I have a few questions that I'd like to ask the Baron to answer for me."

"First, the mission alert level I received is red. You know what that means. I want to ask you what exactly happened in Rockfall Town. I need to record the entire process so I can report back."

Baron Warren remained remarkably calm upon hearing Lake's words, and briefly recounted what had happened.

The gist of the story is that monsters invaded, and the villagers fought back fiercely, eventually managing to hold Rockfall Town temporarily with the help of adventurers and the advance team.

But the danger in Rockfall Town is not over yet, because there are still many monsters in the vicinity that have not been eradicated, which is their main crisis now.

This answer is similar to Mark's previous one, but there are some points of doubt.

"Baron, why haven't I seen any other adventurers in Rockfall Town? Did they all leave after helping Rockfall Town?" Lake questioned.

The fireplace in the drawing room crackled as the firelight illuminated Baron Warren's face, revealing the wrinkles of time etched upon it.

As time ticked by, the atmosphere in the drawing room seemed to become somewhat awkward, and Baron Warren's smile took on a slightly deeper meaning.

Lake realized something was wrong. As the leader of the legion, his strength was beyond doubt, and he was also very sensitive to danger.

Furthermore, he had never let his guard down since entering this place, and no one could make any trouble under his nose, let alone a noble lord who was not very powerful.

"Baron, what are you thinking about?" Lake stared at Baron Warren.

Baron Warren chuckled and shook his head. "Captain Lake, I was just thinking about something. You mentioned the adventurers, right? I admit they have indeed provided considerable help to Rockfall Town."

"Our Rockfall Town is a fairly large town, and the number of adventurers is quite strong. If the adventurers had stepped forward to help us during the most critical and difficult period for Rockfall Town, the outcome might have been different."

Lake narrowed his eyes. "So, the adventurers didn't help you at the crucial moment? That's understandable. Humans are creatures that seek profit and avoid harm. If there aren't enough benefits, they naturally won't stay."

"But overall, the result was good, right?"

"Yes...the outcome was good." Baron Warren's eyes sharpened. "And you, Commander Lake, what brought you here?"

Lake said earnestly, "The Plasson Clan gave me a sufficient commission, which is my honest intention, and I also do not want Rockfall Town to continue to be harassed by monsters."

"You are respectable. I can see that you are different from others. However, it's about time." Baron Warren shook his head.

"When is it about time? Baron, are you trying to get rid of me?" Lake frowned.

But the next moment, a strong magical fluctuation struck, startling Lake. As the leader, he was quite proficient in magical abilities and was very familiar with such fluctuations.

He suddenly turned around and looked at the surrounding walls. He sensed a strong magical aura emanating from them. This aura... was a magic circle!

"Baron Warren!" Lake stared at Baron Warren, noticing that the baron, who had looked fairly well, now had a changed expression, one of helplessness and bitterness.

Without a second thought, Lake drew his knight's short sword and rushed out of the room.

The short sword slashed heavily at the door of the room, but only created a magical ripple on the door; it did not open the door directly.

A holy light emanated from Lake's short sword, which, imbued with divine power, slammed into the wooden door, colliding violently with the magical barrier on it!

The result was not as expected. Lake was thrown back heavily due to the recoil, but the magic barrier on the wooden door also cracked slightly. Lake's attack was still very powerful.

The next moment, a huge dog-headed man rushed out of the bedroom in the living room. With a roar, its silver scimitar slashed through the air.

Lake picked up his short sword and charged forward, managing to handle the force of such a thick arm with ease.

"Scum! Die!"

Lake swung his short sword upwards with tremendous force, causing the scimitar to lose control and surge upwards. Then, Lake executed a spinning flying kick, striking the kobold hard in the abdomen!

"Whoosh!" A flash of light, and a tremendous force mixed with intense holy light slammed the kobold against the wall, creating ripples of magic.

Baron Warren, who was sitting in the chair, also stood up. Thick gray hairs grew on his arms, his fingers turned into sharp claws, and his skin was covered with layers of fish scales.

"Baron... what are you doing!" Lake was shocked, but he didn't have time to ask any more questions. He swung his sword at the Baron.

Baron Warren, with his wolf-like agility, began to entangle with Lake, but even with his monstrous strength, Baron Warren was quickly defeated.

Lake's short sword flashed with a beautiful light, easily shattering Baron Warren's scale armor, and he kicked him to the ground.

However, this was just the beginning. After Baron Warren's failure, another agile adventurer emerged from the room, possessing monstrous physical characteristics just like the Baron.

He held a short sword and wore plate armor, but hair could be seen peeking out from the gaps—it was definitely the fur of some kind of wild animal...

"You're an adventurer? Why?" Lake was a little confused. He didn't know how many people were hiding inside the castle, and if this continued, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to keep up.

His will transformed into a dazzling sword light, and Lake charged forward with a powerful slash, instantly forcing the adventurers in front of him back. The next moment, Lake launched an even more ferocious attack on the wooden door.

"Whoosh!" A powerful shockwave struck, and the magic circle covering the wooden door could not withstand the attack, collapsing in an instant.

Lake kicked the door open and found five mages standing in the doorway, holding up their magic wands and concentrating their magic. A huge fireball, accompanied by a scorching wave of fire, instantly engulfed Lake.

Dunn watched all this silently from outside the door, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He remembered when he first came to this place, he had suffered the same fate as Lake...

"I'm sorry, my friend," Dunn could only say silently in his heart.

The next moment, Lake, whose face showed obvious burn marks, actually burst out of the flames, and holy light mixed with strong will exploded in front of the group of mages.

Lake shoved the person in front of him aside and then ran wildly down the corridor.

However, the elegant butler blocked his way again. Lake thought that this guy was just like the adventurer with monster-like features before, only slightly stronger, and wanted to finish the fight quickly.

"Die!" Lake's short sword flashed with light, intending to defeat the butler in front of him with one strike, but the next moment, several tentacles appeared unexpectedly and instantly wrapped Lake tightly.

"Knightly Style!" Lake shouted, and holy light exploded around him, instantly scorching the strange tentacles.

The butler scoffed, "Is this the strength of the Plassen Legion Commander? How rather boring."

The butler took several steps back, and then strange purple tentacles began to appear on the ground, constantly hindering Lake's progress.

Several assassins and adventurers had already caught up from behind. They were incredibly fast, constantly using dodges and various movement skills to get there.

With the added bonus from monster parts, they are even faster than ordinary adventurers.

Lake kept severing those annoying tentacles, but it was no use. Every time he cut off a batch, another batch of tentacles would appear, and it seemed like he could never get rid of them all.

The adventurers and assassins behind him also arrived behind Lake and launched a surprise attack on him.

Lake steadfastly maintained his will, unleashing a surge of holy light to fight back against the adventurers.

Once they regained their senses, the mages began casting spells, imbuing the assassin adventurers with wind magic that further enhanced their speed.

Although Lake was incredibly strong, he was ultimately just one person, and after being worn down by repeated battles, he eventually succumbed to his injuries.

Looking at the utterly exhausted Lake, the butler teasingly lifted his chin. "Captain Lake, now it's your turn to feel this surging power!"

The butler took out a bottle of strange blushing potion, then picked up a syringe and injected it all into Lake's body.

Despite the excruciating pain, Lake gritted his teeth and said, "What...did you do to me?!"

"It's nothing, just letting you experience this power. Trust me, you'll love the feeling!" The butler chuckled. "Come on, bring this guy to see our results."

The butler glanced at the mage behind him. "Alright, you and Jasper go patrol the town and keep an eye out for any new adventurers. Don't let anyone know our secret for now. I'll have a good talk with Captain Lake."