Chapter 16

In a world of professionals, weird and wonderful helmets were not uncommon.

There were those with cow horns, those adorned with slender bird feathers, and even those made from animal skulls.

However, a helmet made entirely into a ball seemed to be a novelty.

“Let me take a look.” Cavina said.

“Take off the helmet.”

The skeletal thief ‘Basen’ removed his helmet and handed it over, Wu Heng then passed it on to Cavina.

Removing his helmet revealed not a skull but a villainous cap.

Only the hollow eye sockets revealed the skull’s identity.

While Cavina began examining the helmet, Wu Heng turned to ‘Autruck’ on his side, whispering, “Captain, where are we going?”

As a robust captain, ‘Autruck’ wore a suit of metal armor and took up the space of two people in his seat.

He glanced at the Black Stone Town guards across from him, then continued, “Black Stone Town received a tip-off, everyone in Mining Village disappeared. The investigators they sent out never returned, neither people nor information.”

What, this doesn’t sound safe at all.

“So our mission is to investigate the village?”

“Investigating the village is for these guards; our task is to confirm whether there is any danger to the mine owner. He is an important member of the association. We are also tasked with assisting the guards in their investigation of Mining Village.”

Two tasks, actually just one.

First, confirm if the mine owner is still alive. If he’s dead, we retrieve his body; if alive, we ask if he was affected.

Second, assist the Blackstone City guards in investigating Mining Village.

Assistance might not be the main mission, but danger is inevitable, and fights are bound to happen.

Wu Heng nodded in understanding.

Cavina moved closer and whispered, “The man leading them is ‘Pulamon’, a level 11 warrior from Blackstone City. The curly-haired man in the third position is the investigator.”

His gaze followed her description, looking towards the seats up front.

‘Pulamon’, the leader, was a stern-faced, robust man. His exposed arms looked as thick as a man’s thigh, and there was a longsword by his side.

The curly-haired investigator had slightly dark skin and short brown curly hair.

He looked like a bowl of instant noodles.

The rest of them were city guards.

Two had shields and swords, while the others wielded single-handed swords but carried crossbows.

The captain next to him said, “The task is not difficult, follow the procedure, and return safely.”

“Okay.”

Cavina leaned lazily back, her long, beautiful legs crossed over each other. She nudged him with her arm, “Tell me, why did you choose to become a Necromancer?”

“Uh…it was a chance occurrence. I felt that a Necromancer is also a Mage.”

…

In the afternoon.

The inspection team arrived at a manor.

The mine owner ‘Achido’ received this sudden troop in his side hall.

Achido was a man of medium build and wore rather nice clothes.

After the formalities, ‘Pulamon’ moved directly to the topic at hand, “We received news of a mass disappearance in Mining Village. Do you have any leads?”

Achido rubbed his brow, softly saying, “I’ve been worried about this too. There were originally over 200 miners in the village, and they all disappeared without a trace.”

“When did you notice the villagers were missing?” Pulamon continued to probe.

“At the beginning of the month. I remember it clearly. It was the day of the ore trade. When the convoy arrived, the village was empty. I had to make up a large sum of money.” Achido’s face was full of concern.

“Before us, did any other investigation teams visit?” Pulamon asked, his eyes slightly narrowed as he stared at Achido.

Achido lowered his eyes, “Yes, a small team of three. They asked roughly the same things and then left. Did something happen?”

“Do you have more information? Tell us all you know.”

Achido crossed his hands and placed them on the long table in front of him. He thought for a moment before saying, “I had my guards check the village. All the items, even the valuables, are still there. It’s clear they didn’t leave, and there are no signs of a fight.”

“How far is Mining Village from here?”

“It’s not far. A half day’s ride on horseback…”

The two of them continued this back-and-forth, verifying the situation.

The curly-haired investigator stood to the side, recording the conversation with a pen and paper.

It was clear that this mine owner didn’t know much about the situation. He just knew that all the miners from the village were gone. He was planning to get a result as soon as possible so as not to interrupt his money-making.

About the previous investigating team that went missing, he didn’t provide any valuable information.

“Alright, I see. Prepare horses and a carriage for us.” Pulamon stood up and said.

The mine owner immediately replied, “I’ve prepared a feast for you all. Rest for the night and my people will escort you tomorrow morning.”

“No need, just prepare the carriage!”

Achido didn’t persist and instructed his people to prepare horses and a carriage.

The investigation team boarded the carriage and headed for Mining Village.

…

Once they had left the manor, four horses escorted the carriage according to the map towards Mining Village.

Even food and drink are sorted out on the wagon.

It appears that Pulamon intends to get results today.

The journey was bumpy, and day had grown into dusk.

“Commander, we can see a village up ahead.” A guard’s voice came from outside the wagon.

“Hmm, approach the village.”

The wagon continued to advance. When it seemed it was almost near the village, the intense jarring sensation began.

Outside, a guard’s shocked shout came, “The horses are out of control….”

“Damn it, what’s going on!”

“The horses have gone mad, jump off quickly.”

Pulling back the wagon curtain, they saw the mounted guards charge directly into the trees by the road.

Thud Thud~!

The dull impact sounded like a punching bag being hit.

The guard driving the wagon was also doing his best to control the horses carting the wagon.

But it was clear there was little effect. The wagon’s speed was getting faster, the jolting turning into swaying left and right.

“Jump off the wagon!” Captain Autruck ordered.

However, before anyone could react.

The wagon charged straight into the village, smashing through the obstacles on the road, and slamming into the wall of a house in the village.

The wagon flipped over in the open space.

Crash!

Captain Autruck kicked open the top door of the wagon, and several people, including a skeleton, crawled out from the wagon.

He shook his head a bit to clear it a bit.

The horses that pulled the cart were hit to death, their brains and blood flowing all over the ground. Their necks had been twisted into grotesque shapes from the immense impact.

“Commander!”

From outside the village, the guards who had fallen off their horses came in, carrying their weapons.

No one was missing, but two guards limped, clearly injured.

After gathering again, they began to take potions.

The village gate was open, and there was no one inside.

The entire village was empty and silent.

It looked like a long-abandoned village.

“Someone’s there!” Cavina called.

Everyone followed her gaze to see a mass of dark shapes in the gloom.

Everyone was stunned.

The intelligence briefed and the information from the mine owner both suggested the inhabitants had disappeared.

How could people appear again?

Were they attracted by the impact noise?

“Who’s there? Come out.….” A guard shouted.

Step Step Step!

The moment his words fell, the dark silhouettes began to approach.

Emerging from the shadows, twisted faces appeared, like deranged patients.

Immediately after, they lunged at the group, claws outstretched.

“Commander, the report was inaccurate, they seem to have lost their sanity.” A guard spoke up quietly.

The commander remained calm and cold, his expression unchanged, “Keep them away.”

“Yes!”

Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh!!

Arrows shot out, piercing the legs of the oncoming enemies.

Many figures fell to the ground.

“They are villagers, but they behave like the undead.” The investigator began.

The undead?

The commander’s gaze swept over to Wu Heng.

“Bring one in!” The commander ordered.

The guard opened up a path, and a frenzied miner instantly breached the line and pounced towards the rear.

When he got close, the commander grabbed the miner’s neck with one hand.

And hoisted him up.

No matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t escape from his grasp.

“Necromancer, come here and take a look.”

He said to Wu Heng behind him.