179: Unwelcome Visitors

“I am Barton, the butler here.”

“May I ask what brings you here?”

Barton’s voice was calm and unperturbed.

“Charles Manor…”

Makins recalled the information he had obtained from the church.

The current lord of Graystone Village was none other than the Charles Family, said to be a minor noble family from the countryside.

Now, it seemed, it had been usurped by the Old God Remnants?

He scrutinized Barton behind the door.

There was not a single trace of extraordinary aura on the old man.

Hollow, weak, aged.

He was Li Ke an ordinary Mortal, on the verge of death.

“Haha…”

Makins chuckled softly, the sternness on his face softening into warmth.

“It’s Li Ke this, my beloved is a villager from Graystone Village nearby.”

“This time, we wanted to come back to visit relatives, but we found the village empty.”

“So, I wanted to inquire here, where have all the villagers of Graystone Village gone?”

“Graystone Village…”

Barton’s eyes flickered slightly.

He carefully examined Makins’s face, as heroic as a lion’s,

confirming that he had never seen this golden-haired man before.

“Is that so?”

Barton’s voice was very gentle.

“You should also know that the beast tide in Oak Tree Territory was very severe recently.”

“Our master was worried that the villagers would be attacked, so he had everyone move into the Manor early on.”

“Is that so?”

The smile on Makins’s face grew wider.

“So, the villagers of Graystone Village are all inside this Manor now?”

“Yes, they are all here. Please come in.”

Barton extended his hand, making a standard inviting gesture.

Makins slowly stepped forward, entering the Manor’s gate.

The moment he stepped into the Manor,

the Platinum Iron Maiden slung across his back subtly trembled, then quieted down again.

Makins slowly walked into the interior of the Manor.

He looked around.

This was a medium-sized Manor, not too large in area,

with the central ancient castle as its core building.

Around it, rows of stone or wooden houses were distributed outwards.

Further out, there were flat plots of land, planted with various cash crops.

It looked Li Ke an ordinary noble Manor in the countryside.

“Actually, most of the villagers from Graystone Village have already joined Charles Manor and are managing various affairs for our master.”

Barton led the way, introducing enthusiastically as he walked.

“Alas, if it weren’t for our master, such a good lord, in this current world, everyone would probably have starved to death long ago…”

Makins followed behind him expressionlessly.

As he passed the fields,

he saw the serfs, who were originally bending over to work between the ridges, all straightened their bodies.

They turned their heads expressionlessly, looking at him with hollow eyes.

Everyone’s skin had a slight paleness, as if they hadn’t seen the sun for a long time.

There was no talking among them while they worked, nor did they make any sound.

It seemed the entire Manor had fallen into a strange, deadly silence,

with only the faint sound of the wind whistling.

“Hmph, as expected, this place has been corrupted…”

Makins’s expression remained unchanged, but the feeling of disgust in his heart grew stronger.

Barton led Makins into the central castle.

In the reception hall on the first floor of the castle,

he served Makins a steaming cup of black tea.

“May I know your beloved’s name?”

“And where is she now?”

“Actually, I am also from Graystone Village and served as village chief for a few years. If you tell me her name, perhaps I will know her.”

Barton wore a benevolent smile on his face.

“Where?”

Makins’s face showed a half-smile, half-sneer expression.

He reached out and gently patted the large box on his back.

“Here.”

“This world is not easy. I think you all would be very willing to reunite.”

Makins slowly stood up,

his tall and burly figure gradually obscuring Barton’s view.

“Call all the villagers of Graystone Village over.”

“You should feel honored. This is your closest moment to Holy Light.”

“Is that so.”

Barton paused slightly, then let out a soft sigh.

“So, it’s an unwelcome guest.”

He turned and slowly took down an ancient-looking oil lamp from the corridor wall.

Behind him, the space instantly darkened.

In that deep darkness, countless figures seemed to crowd in, gradually filling the space around Makins…

“Facing Holy Light, you show no repentance, and you even dare to resist?”

In Makins’s eyes, fervent Holy Light began to flow,

“Seeking death!”

Boom!

An extremely dazzling platinum Holy Light burst forth from Makins’s body!

A terrifying pressure, Li Ke a tsunami, instantly enveloped the entire castle.

The intense light aimed to completely purify and incinerate all darkness and evil within this area!

Creak…

However, under the illumination of this Holy Light,

the space within the castle began to violently ripple and distort.

At the edge of the space, an ancient picture frame slowly emerged.

The entire castle had actually turned into an oil painting!

Within the painting, there was indeed a bizarre Charles Manor,

with incomparably fervent light erupting from the central castle.

Barton stood in front of this oil painting,

quietly watching the scene within the painting, his face still maintaining that rigid expression.

Boom!!!

Above the oil painting, the fervent Holy Light completely covered the entire canvas.

The picture frame continuously twisted and deformed,

then exploded entirely!

Makins’s burly figure reappeared amidst a burst of Holy Light, his golden hair wildly flying.

However, as the Holy Light faded,

he was surrounded by boundless darkness.

In this pitch-black Void Realm,

oil paintings of various sizes hung everywhere.

Barton stood quietly in the center of this darkness, holding a dim oil lamp.

The entire castle space had been fragmented by him into countless oil paintings, stacked layer upon layer within this pitch-black space.

Li Ke’s study, where he was in seclusion, had long sunk to the deepest part of the darkness, perfectly protected.

“Haha… I haven’t seen such a method before…”

Makins surveyed this bizarre space, with fervent Holy Light rising all over him.

The Platinum Iron Maiden slung across his back slowly floated up, hovering behind him.

The silk wrapped around it gradually peeled away, revealing its complex full form, entwined with countless Chains of Holy Imprisonment.

Clang, clang…

Countless Chains of Holy Imprisonment, shimmering with Holy Light, began to slither madly Li Ke living vipers.

Their tips continuously pierced into the surrounding Void Realm, gradually forming a heaven-and-earth net within this boundless pitch-black space.

“Our master is in seclusion; he cannot be disturbed by you…”

Barton remained expressionless, quietly watching Makins’s actions.

Only around him, in that pitch-black Void Realm, a subtle rustling sound continuously echoed.

Countless dark-gold, tiny vines were quietly spreading and growing in the darkness.

From the hanging oil paintings around, countless grotesque and evil things began to emerge,

pairs of malicious eyes peeking out from behind the picture frames.

…

At the same time.

To the east of Oak Tree Territory,

a luxurious noble Manor was burning with raging black fire.

Countless noble corpses were piled up in the center of the Manor, forming a small mountain.

Hatties sat quietly at the top of the high pile of corpses.

Streaks of dark-red essence emanated from the corpses below, continuously flowing into his body.

Above the Manor,

within the clouds, a massive dark shadow subtly stirred silently,

drawing in more surrounding clouds, forming a huge cloud void.

Suddenly, Hatties opened his eyes.

In his pupils, there were two circles of pitch-black spirals, one rotating clockwise, one counter-clockwise.

In front of him, a narrow small door silently opened, and the door was pitch-black inside.

Hatties’s aura suddenly retracted,

and he transformed into a streak of black light, instantly disappearing into the door.

…

And to the north of Oak Tree Territory.

Deep within an underground mine.

The Golden Armor Corpse’s hideous and heavy body was quietly coiled,

as countless golden Qi surged into its body Li Ke a tide.

Suddenly, it slightly opened its eyes.

A pair of pitch-black pupils silently looked forward,

only to see a narrow small door quietly opening before it, the door pitch-black inside.

The Golden Armor Corpse did not hesitate at all; its massive and hideous body directly transformed into a slender black line,

and disappeared into the small door.