NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1260
Chapter 98: Vilyric’s Door Opening Method
After a bit of thought, the Golden-haired Little Girl stood up, hands on her hips, looking down at Lenca with an air of authority.
“Listen, even cubs can’t hide behind their parents in situations like this anymore. We have to work hard on our own, relying on our own claws and teeth to carve out a path for ourselves!”
“In the next few days, I’ll teach you how to use the magic in your body in the simplest way, but in exchange, you’ll need to keep watch nearby while I scout. Report any situation to me immediately, understood?”
“Oh! Leave it to me, Sister Xiao Guang!”
Lenca Dolgon enthusiastically thumped her slightly puffed-up chest, completely unfazed by the orders and showing an oddly excited demeanor.
What a strange character in many ways.
……
“…Hmm, yes, this is the place.”
Outside a rural manor surrounded by dense woods, a group of nearly ten people stopped, led by the Black-haired Girl in White Robe as she admired the lofty outlines of the distant building, the silver-blue beauty of her eyes seemingly shimmering with black-and-white glows.
“The traces left by Xiao Guang have completely vanished here; I suspect they probably entered another Shadow World from around here, a place much larger than the previous Village 192 of Adelaide… the stronghold of the Church of Truth.”
She turned to the Youth of the Treant Tribe beside her.
“Mr. Enrique, this should be close to the Eternal Night Forest, correct?”
“Yes, at most it’s just a few dozen kilometers away from here to officially enter that zone; the straight-line distance might even be shorter. Did those cultists of the Church of Truth intentionally set their headquarters here? Could it be related to their magical rituals?”
“Clearly… within that vast forest said to be eternally shrouded in night, certain secrets must be buried that are unknown to us.”
Brushing the hem of her robe, the girl stepped out from behind the trees and walked forward.
“Let’s go; we’ll check out the manor first.”
“Uh…?”
Surprised by the Priestess’s unreserved action, Enrique quickly realized and hurried to follow with his comrades.
“Wait, wait, wait… Miss Vilyric, isn’t this a bit too reckless? Shouldn’t we scout the surroundings first? This is a stronghold of cultists…”
Vilyric turned her head and gave him a light smile, correcting him.
“You’re mistaken; this isn’t the real danger. The real danger is inside. Since we’re already so close, it’s a waste of time to hide and seek; it’s better to be straightforward.”
“By the way, we can now send messages to the nearby city’s guild and officials to summon reinforcements. Just describe it as we agreed beforehand; by this time, even if their informants are in the city, it’s too late for them to report back. It’s still a bit troublesome with just our small numbers.”
“Hmm… you’re right.”
Enrique nodded, signaling to Tree Branch with his eyes. The latter promptly took out a piece of oddly textured paper from his pouch, quickly jotting down certain information with a special ink. The thin paper then burned away quickly, disappearing into the air.
“…”
Glancing at the scholar busy sending the message, Vilyric subtly raised an eyebrow but said nothing more, continuing down the small road leading to the farm.
Tree Bow walked beside her, seemingly curious.
“Speaking of which, Miss Vilyric seems really familiar with command and deploying troops. You seemed really authoritative when giving orders earlier; it makes one want to comply. Are you secretly the leader of some great power or faction?”
Knowing that the other’s words were more joking than probing, Vilyric didn’t mind, casually shaking her head in ambiguity.
“You’re overthinking it. I don’t have any faction; I’ve just traveled often and seen many places and people, inevitably facing various situations and occasionally dealing with things like this.”
Upon hearing this, Enrique couldn’t help but chuckle again.
“If that’s true, then Miss Vilyric’s experiences are rather spectacular. I can’t help but be curious.”
“Alright, big brother, quit prying into personal matters; let’s be serious.”
Sophie caught up from behind, hitting his head playfully and pointed ahead.
“This manor seems a bit eerie.”
“I was just trying to lighten the tense atmosphere… but indeed, it’s another abandoned place.”
Crossing through the open entrance, the adventurers entered the front yard of the manor, gazing around.
To be honest, the farm’s area was quite impressive, almost absurd; just the building area alone seemed able to house over a thousand people, yet all the doors and windows were tightly shut, and the thick front door completely isolated the internal area from the outside, making it impossible to see what was inside.
After a few glances at the empty front yard, the Priestess said nothing more, only stepping forward to try pushing against the front door.
“Clang, clang…”
With a slight rattling sound, the solid steel-reinforced door frame remained resolute.
The girl nodded slightly at the others beside her.
“It’s locked, but there’s no dust on the doorknob, and the lock feels like it hasn’t rusted at all, indicating that someone maintains it regularly, which is quite different from Village 192 of Adelaide.”
Seeing this, a certain Miss Thief’s eyes lit up, and she stepped forward enthusiastically, thumping her chest to offer her assistance!
“I got this! At times like this, it’s the professional’s turn, right? Don’t worry, I’ll have this child’s play lock opened in thirty seconds!”
But Miss Vilyric only looked at her strangely, a bit puzzled.
“Why go through so much trouble? Thirty seconds? I could probably do it in three seconds. You all step back.”
“Ah? Boss, you’re not thinking of… Wow, I haven’t stepped back yet!”
“Boom!!!!”
In the midst of Le Qiao Qiao’s strange cry and hurried ducking for cover, a barely visible arc of light zipped past her head, crashing heavily against the door.
“Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!!!!”
The entire massive front door, along with the surrounding walls, collapsed in an instant, splintering wood and flying stones exploding outward amidst a sharp crashing sound, shaking the whole manor as if it were quaking from the terrifying impact.
Smoke and dust scattered, and a new “door” formed before the astonished crowd.
The Priestess shook the slender staff that had appeared in her hand at some point, grinning widely.
“Look, wasn’t that less than three seconds?”
“Uh… I mean, is this how a staff is used? No, no, no, are you really a Priestess? And wait! Isn’t that a bit too arrogant!?”
Gazing at the dazed Miss Tree Wall who didn’t know where to begin with the complaints, the Priestess waved her robe sleeves to clear away the dust, nonchalantly laughing it off.
“Oh, don’t worry about the details; as a proper Priestess, isn’t it reasonable to learn some close-combat self-defense techniques to protect myself? It’s just a door; I’m not ripping a fierce enemy into pieces barehanded, so why all the fuss?”
“That’s clearly very weird!”