Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 767: Chapter 767: The Moth to the Flame

There was only one enemy on the second floor, but the third floor had three Corpse Hounds. They were not ethereal undead but rather immortal creatures similar to ghouls. Their bodies were covered in a dreadful pale flesh resembling rotting meat, with wrinkles and signs of decay all over. They looked almost identical and moved very rapidly, and they even possessed some intelligence, coordinating their attacks.

Shard had encountered them as soon as he ascended the stairs, and his hasty counterattack nearly cost him dearly. Fortunately, he managed to retreat to the staircase, where the narrow space allowed him to face the enemies one at a time.

To be honest, the trio of hounds was far more fearsome than a powerful, single humanoid undead.

The third floor’s ground was covered with a layer of inexplicable dust, resembling ashes. Besides the footprints the Corpse Hounds left in the dust, there were also additional, disordered footprints.

These footprints had been manipulated, but their traces were not completely erased. Shard observed them and concluded that at least three different people had been here recently:

“I hope these traces are from within the last 36 hours.”

Thinking this, he used the Arcane Technique “Echo of the Past.”

This arcane technique allowed him to hear past sounds, especially biased towards those made by humans. Given that in the Interstice, sound didn’t travel far and there were hardly any living people, Shard succeeded in his first attempt:

“Professor, you actually managed to escape?”

This was the voice of Joey Barton, his tone affected by his damaged lungs, making it quite distinctive.

“We escaped, but our operatives deployed to the Milestone Area by the Truth Society have almost all been wiped out… This time, the Church acted with precision and ruthlessness.”

Shard raised his eyebrows. Both the witches and Iluna had mentioned that, on the night of the Battle at the Ice Lake, the majority of the local members of the Truth Society were either killed or captured, with only a few slipping through the net. He hadn’t expected that they hadn’t left Midshire Fort but had instead found Joey Barton in the Interstice—or perhaps it was Barton who had found them.

“Fortunately, we learned from the lessons of the Blood Spirit School. Although many were sent, only one of the Academy’s Twelve-Ring Sorcerers came, so it wasn’t a painful lesson. I heard that Weeper Helmons of the Blood Spirit School barely managed to escape.”

People always seem to mock those who are worse off when they themselves face misfortune.

“Mr. Barton, though I don’t know how you found us in the Interstice, the Academy has already informed us; we are no longer involved in the affairs of Midshire Fort. What we are doing here now, is to retrieve some materials left in the Interstice. After such losses, we must at least collect those alchemical items worth thousands of pounds.”

The speaker continuously spoke in Carsonrick language, while Mr. Barton spoke with a heavy Draleon accent from Milestone.