Chapter 238 Round-faced Bald Head

The Crucible Knight had a fiery temper. His past life made him unable to trust anyone, and even after being defeated by Edgar, he had no intention of surrendering, shouting that he would kill them.

It wasn't until Chen Nuo rushed over and smashed the bottom of a pot against his forehead that he finally quieted down with a dark face.

His face wasn't dark because of anger.

It was because he hadn't had a chance to wash the pot today.

"Are you convinced yet?" Chen Nuo asked.

"...I'm convinced." The Crucible Knight lowered his head and muttered.

He wasn't submitting to Chen Nuo's might, but rather feeling an ancient aura from him.

It was a scent similar to the Crucible.

Subsequently, Chen Nuo bestowed upon him baptism and grace.

With the assistance of the +2 reinforced Crucible Knight, Edgar's speed in clearing out Stormveil Castle was greatly increased.

Ordinary corrupted lifeforms or twisted evil spirits were no match for him.

In this city, there wasn't just the Crucible Knight as an outsider; there was also a sorcerer.

He hadn't intended to reveal himself, but was dragged out by Simba; a lion's nose was quite sharp, after all.

"I mean no harm. My name is Rogier, a sorcerer dedicated to investigating the Black Knife conspiracy. If I have disturbed you, please allow me to apologize."

The pointy-hat-wearing Rogier was sincere.

Such polite people were rare in The Lands Between.

"A sorcerer, huh." Chen Nuo drawled, reaching out to pat him on the shoulder. The force wasn't heavy, but it still sent Rogier stumbling.

Under the oppressive gazes of Simba and the others, his legs couldn't even straighten.

"Yes, that's right." Rogier squeezed a smile onto his face.

"Then you should be of some use. We're short on hands here. Edgar, find him something to do."

Chen Nuo said to Edgar, who was not far from the doorway.

In the current Lands Between, where the average educational level was prenatal, a sorcerer was a high-quality talent who had graduated from the academy.

How could one not put him to good use?

"My lord! I..." Upon hearing this, Rogier tried to speak, but the words of refusal were forced back into his stomach by a single look from Chen Nuo. He could only lower his head in resignation.

"Don't think about running. Simba has already memorized your scent." Chen Nuo warned Rogier.

"Woof woof!!" Simba let out a fierce bark in cooperation.

Who was the King's most loyal vicious dog? It had to be Simba!

"..." A sense of resigned powerlessness appeared on Rogier's face.

Probably thinking of his future fate as a beast of burden.

"Follow me. It just so happens I'm missing a suitable clerk." Edgar was very happy; he was just worrying about having no one to help him process documents, count the population, and manage supplies.

If possible, he would prefer to split Rogier into ten people to use all at once.

Edgar's carpet-search basically dragged out all the survivors, totaling less than ten thousand.

This massive Stormveil Castle was left with only this few living souls.

One by one, they were half-dead, their minds and bodies long since numbed.

Years of war and turmoil had squeezed the vitality out of this city.

This was why Godrick needed to recruit people from his subordinate forces; the current Stormveil Castle couldn't produce any soldiers.

Looking at those eyes that had long lost their luster, Chen Nuo, as the new master of the city, naturally had to stand up and say a few words.

"Dinner is millet porridge with pickled vegetables."

"——!!" The people's eyes noticeably brightened, finally showing some signs of life.

"And an extra egg!" Chen Nuo added.

Scattered cheers erupted from the crowd.

Irena looked at Chen Nuo with eyes full of adoration, as if he were the only one left in her world. Although she wore a veil, that scorching gaze could still penetrate through.

It was just that the smile on Edgar's face was a bit strained.

After all, the eggs were being dug out of his own stash.

The City of Dawn had barely scraped together some assets; he didn't want his King to squander it all.

"Alright, the speech ends here." Chen Nuo stepped down from the platform, ending his remarks.

There were still many things to do.

Just cleaning up the mess Godrick made was a huge effort. Edgar led the people to gather all the grafted corpses.

Roderika was also helping.

She found all her companions, though there was no way to piece them back together completely. Who knew where their limbs had been grafted to, or where they had been discarded.

But being able to find their torsos was enough to console Roderika.

Burial was impossible; these corpses were filled with a Grafting aura even more dangerous than a plague.

This aura was like a meme; if one were shrouded in it for too long, their mind would be twisted, and they would contract a Grafting addiction.

Burning them with Chen Nuo's fire was the most straightforward and correct approach.

Roderika's companions were lucky; at least there was someone who remembered their names and could erect a monument for them.

It wasn't just these grafted corpses; the entire Stormveil Castle needed a thorough cleansing and disinfection by Chen Nuo.

Compared to the surface, the pollution buried underground was the most severe, with some already seeping out; those twisted death roots were already rooted inside the city walls.

While Edgar and the others handled surface matters, Chen Nuo wasn't idle and went underground alone.

Well, not alone, since there was Little Wood Melina, who was like a spirit behind him.

This place was like a graveyard, with the Erdtree roots supporting the underground world.

Underground rats, as large as wild boars, smelled the scent of the living and swarmed toward Chen Nuo with their rotten flesh and abscesses.

Godrick had raised these rats too fat.

With the lighting of the Sunfire, these underground rats that saw the light screamed and hid back into the shadows one by one.

Compared to the surface dwellers, these rats seemed more like the masters of Stormveil Castle, familiar with every crack and waterway here.

Chen Nuo really had no interest in dealing with these disgusting things; he would let the big cat Simba handle it later; that was his racial specialty.

Here, there was also a Rotten Tree Spirit.

Chen Nuo spent some time burning it into tree ash and obtained a Golden Seed from it.

Within the territory of Stormveil Castle, there was more than just this one Golden Seed.

Irena had already mastered the relevant conversion technology, so he would just have her plant the seeds later.

What was truly evil and strange was a giant face spread across the ground.

This was the face of the Prince of Death, Godwyn.

As previously mentioned, after Godwyn's soul was killed, his body was buried under the tree roots.

The Erdtree failed to resurrect him, but the life force constantly injected into him wouldn't disappear into thin air.

Godwyn's body thus continued to grow, and proliferated along the root network to all parts of The Lands Between.

This was one of the most heavily polluted parts.

This kind of flesh mutation wasn't just strange to look at; more dangerously, it contained a highly erosive death curse.

If anyone were accidentally contaminated by this curse, only death would await them.

If it weren't for Chen Nuo detaining Rogier and letting him continue exploring Stormveil Castle to find this place, he would have eventually fallen victim to it.

"Truly disgusting stuff, wouldn't you say, Little Wood." Chen Nuo's voice echoed underground.

Melina responded in a low voice; she instinctively loathed this twisted death and subconsciously wanted to burn it all away.

"A bit difficult to deal with." Chen Nuo said after observing.

The Prince of Death's face was connected to the entire root network; if he burned these cursed flesh with fire, the roots supporting Stormveil Castle would inevitably be affected.

Chen Nuo wasn't sure what the outcome would be.

The worst case was the collapse of Stormveil Castle. One must know, this city was built on a cliff by the sea.

After researching for a while, Chen Nuo decided to hold off for now, but that didn't mean he would do nothing.

He would throw the problem to the sorceress Sellen later, to see if there were any sealing methods to treat the symptoms first.

Supreme wisdom was starting to play an active role again.

The capital had already taken a city; he couldn't be expected to handle everything himself.

But since he was here, Chen Nuo still cut off a piece to take away as a gift for Sellen, believing his advisor would definitely be happy.

After arranging everything, Chen Nuo continued his journey.

Stormveil Castle connected to the Liurnia region, and one only needed to travel north for a stretch of steep road.

Along the way, he could see some abandoned churches.

One of them flickered with a faint firelight in the night, presumably someone was living inside.

Chen Nuo patted the horse's rump, and Torrent turned direction.

Indeed, a sorcerer in robes was sitting in the church. From the style, one could tell he was from the Raya Lucaria Academy of Sorcery.

However, unlike Sellen, this guy with a somewhat weathered face and a bald head wasn't wearing the iconic glintstone crown, and he looked a bit dejected and gloomy.

"Are you a Tarnished?" The man asked proactively when he saw Chen Nuo arrive.

"That's right. And who are you?" Chen Nuo got off Torrent and stood in front of the other person.

"My name is Thops... I suppose I'm a glintstone sorcerer, knowing a few unspeakable magics. If you are willing to give me some Runes, I can teach them to you." Thops' tone carried a hint of self-mockery.

"I don't have any Runes on me, but I do know another glintstone sorcerer. I wonder if you've heard the name Sellen." Chen Nuo really didn't have any Runes in his pocket.

"Sorceress Sellen!!" Thops exclaimed in surprise.

"She is the sorcerer I admire most... But I heard she had been expelled by the academy. Where did you meet her? I really hope I can have the chance to learn and exchange ideas with Sorceress Sellen; surely she could answer the questions I've encountered."

"You want to meet her? That's simple. Just head towards Limgrave later, and I'll tell you the specific location." Chen Nuo looked back behind him.

"...No... I have to return to the academy. My research project isn't finished yet..." Thops hesitated for a moment, then his gaze became firm, looking toward the direction of the Academy of Sorcery.

However, thinking of the reality, he couldn't help but lower his head and sigh.

"But I can't go back now... The academy gates have been sealed by magic, and no one can enter without a glintstone key."

"Is that so? I don't believe it." Chen Nuo jabbed at Thops, but he didn't mind, recounting his past life in the academy with nostalgia.

Looking at his expression, one who didn't know would think Thops had been living a wonderful life in the academy.

But listening closely, he didn't even have a seat of his own. Thops had to find his own table and chairs, sneak them to the corner of the wall outside the academy to settle down, and that barely counted as having a place.

The reason Thops was left alone outside and couldn't go back was that when the academy closed, they didn't think of him at all and left him behind when they shut the doors.

"With this situation, what are you going back for? Why not join me? I have some power in Limgrave. If nothing else, giving you a place to shelter from the wind and rain is easy." Chen Nuo put his arm around Thops' shoulder and invited him.

Such an honest person was rare in The Lands Between; it would be a pity not to have him work as a beast of burden for himself.

"...You are not a sorcerer, you don't understand. The academy is our only pure land, and all my research materials and experimental equipment are there..." Thops shook his head, refusing.

Just kidding, he didn't even know Chen Nuo; this was the first time they had met.

"How do I not understand? Sellen has cursed those stubborn old fossils behind their backs more than once, saying something about a King's return..." Chen Nuo repeated a few of Sellen's criticisms of the academy, scaring Thops so much his face turned several shades paler.

But compared to the grudges between sorcerers, Chen Nuo was actually more interested in...

"I heard the Queen of the Full Moon is quite handsome~."

"Ah?!" Thops opened his mouth wide.

He had never thought about such questions. Being asked by Chen Nuo, his brain basically crashed.

"Asking you is a waste of time. Looking at your appearance, I know you'll never get laid in this lifetime." Chen Nuo glanced at Thops, seeing his pitiable, easy-to-bully appearance, and consoled him.

"It's fine, being a single male is beneficial for studying magic."

"...I don't like women." Thops tried hard to squeeze out a defense.

Looking at his stubble and this small round face, Chen Nuo retracted his smile, silently distanced himself, and wiped the hand he had just patted the other person with on Torrent's rump.

Seeing this scene, Thops' face turned red, and he hurriedly defended himself again.

"I, I don't like men either."

A suspicious pause.

"I only like researching magic." This sentence was said fluently and firmly.

"It's fine, I understand everything." Chen Nuo nodded and continued.

"Let's go, start the journey with me to the Academy of Sorcery. You lead the way."

"Ah?" Thops didn't expect Chen Nuo to really not believe the evil.

But now that things had come to this, sitting here wallowing in self-pity was useless, and the academy gates wouldn't open on their own.

Since that was the case, it would be better to try with this Tarnished, and at worst, look for the glintstone key together.