Chapter 294: The Land Drifters’ Sign |
Although Saul had fallen into an ambush, the diary had issued a non-lethal warning, letting him know that the enemy this time wouldn't be too strong. At the very least, when he directly faced their attacks, the diary hadn’t popped out to slap him with a reality check.
He wasn’t in a rush to check the new soul within the diary. Instead, he walked over to the corpse and crouched down, inspecting the pale green sprout in the enemy's palm.
At that moment, the diary within his soul body opened once again, automatically flipping to the page associated with Herman.
On the black page, milky-white writing appeared, somewhat messy in layout, reflecting the urgency of Herman.
[Master, I know this person. He's a newly promoted Third Rank apprentice of the Land Drifters. Specializes in earth element magic. His name is…]
Clearly, Herman couldn’t remember.
“Forget it if you can’t remember.” Saul casually picked up a dry twig from the ground and poked at the sprout in the corpse’s palm. “Do you know what this is? Is it a magic tool or his personal spell?”
[Neither, Master. This is one of the three types of demonic creatures raised by the Land Drifters—a Soul-Devouring Flower.]
“A demonic creature raised by the Land Drifters?” Saul repeated softly.
As one of the former top Third Rank apprentices of the Land Drifters and a former captain of a frigate, Herman naturally knew them well.
He even knew some of the deeper secrets behind the organization.
He proceeded to explain the three types of demonic creatures.
The first—and most numerous—were the Slender Wraiths. They served as the enforcers of the Land Drifters. Their necks could stretch hundreds of meters, making them excellent at tracking and observation. Since their true forms were shadowy apparitions, they could also slip into places others couldn’t.
Saul had previously encountered a Slender Wraith. Back then, he had just reached the Second Rank and had almost lost his life to one in Hanging Hands Vally. He only managed to survive by relying on his Phantom Eye and Little Algae for a counterattack.
The second type of demonic creature the Land Drifters raised were the Thousand-Eyed Banshees. Their bodies were covered in eyes. When concealing most of them, they could pass for ordinary beauties. But once they opened their eyes, they could emit dazzling rays of light that interfered with mental energy flow. With so many eyes open at once, they could see into areas or things invisible to ordinary people.
Thousand-Eyed Banshees were far rarer than Slender Wraiths. Most of the time, only true wizards from the Land Drifters had access to them, unlike the Slender Wraiths, of which any Third Rank apprentice might have one.
The final and rarest were the Soul-Devouring Flowers.
It was said that the entire Land Drifters organization possessed only a single original flower. What was used here was merely a seed from it.
These seeds generally couldn’t develop over time and were considered one-time-use items.
“I just noticed, when this seed came into contact with my soul body, it left a mark in my mental space. Is that how the Soul-Devouring Flower works?”
[That's a marking function—just one of the Soul-Devouring Flower’s most basic abilities. Once marked, both the seed and the original flower retain the imprint, allowing for tracking. If the mark matures, it can even affect your mind, Master.]
Saul blinked. “To what extent can it affect me? Could it alter my memories?”
[…Not that powerful. Otherwise, the Land Drifters wouldn’t be just a merchant-type wizard organization.]
So it wasn’t on the same level as the Nightmare Butterfly.
Makes sense. If the Land Drifters had access to the creature at a Nightmare Butterfly level, they could easily rival the Wizard Tower in power on the western continent.
Saul nodded. “Does this seed still have any use?”
[It still contains some energy. But its marking… seems to have been erased by your diary, Master.]
Herman was actually a bit shocked.
Usually, unless Saul actively used the diary or allowed them to emerge, they couldn’t perceive anything happening in the outside world.
But before engaging this Land Drifters apprentice, Saul had deliberately activated the diary, letting the four souls act as his advisers.
They hadn’t disappointed him—Herman had immediately recognized the man as one of the Land Drifters and even urgently warned Saul not to touch the Soul-Devouring Flower sprout.
He was just a moment too late. Saul’s tentacle still made contact, but nothing happened.
The instant the seed left a mark in Saul’s mental space, it was “squashed” by the diary.
This made Saul realize: if he truly wanted the four of them to serve as combat advisers, they not only needed to understand the enemy, but also needed a better understanding of his own capabilities. Otherwise, they could easily provide inaccurate or even harmful intel.
But that could be arranged later.
A pale yellow root tendril rose from underground and tapped the tip of Saul’s boot.
“Looks like the guest in the Black Castle has been taken care of, too.” Saul motioned for Little Algae to wrap up the intruder’s corpse and turned toward the castle.
“The Devil Vine performed pretty well.”
Herman: [Master, that might be because the Slender Wraith lost its controller—its combat power would have dropped sharply.]
Saul: “…Oh.”
Inside the diary, the noisy Agu nearly smacked himself in the face and quickly jumped out.
Agu: [Master, the main function of the Devil Vine isn’t combat. It's mainly for surveillance and early warning. Those who guard the Black Castle—whether it was you or Mochi Mochi before—are all very powerful wizard apprentices. Ordinary intruders shouldn’t be a problem. In case of truly overwhelming threats, you can request aid from Borderfall City or the Wizard Tower.]
Herman: [Y-Yes, Master!]
Saul, however, asked curiously, “But when Lady Yura made me the temporary master of the Black Castle, she never told me how to contact the Wizard Tower or Borderfall City. Do you think it’s because she didn’t have time… or she didn’t want to?”
A brief silence fell among the souls.
Agu: [Master, I’m not too familiar with the situation here at the Black Castle, but over the years it has always been able to contact the Wizard Tower remotely. It’s just that most of the time, messages were sent from the Tower to the Castle, not the other way around. Possibly because the cost of initiating contact is too high.]
In the end, it was the usually quiet An who spoke up.
An: [Master~ I actually know a little about Lady Yura’s situation.]
By this time, Saul had already returned to the Black Castle. The front doors opened automatically, revealing a mess inside.
Long-necked heads and dark green vines tangled together—some hanging from the walls, others draped across the floor.
Most of the vines and heads had stopped moving. Only a few tendrils still slowly twisted and writhed, seemingly struggling to recover from the earlier fight.
“What do you know?” Saul casually nudged aside the heads and vines blocking his path with his foot, sounding rather indifferent.
An: [I know that Lady Yura specialized in dark-element magic during her lifetime, and she had a fondness for cultivating demonic creatures. The Devil Vine beneath the Black Castle and the Soul-Devouring Mire beneath the Wizard Tower were originally planted by her.]
Saul’s step faltered—he didn’t complete the stride.
Squish.
He stepped on a shriveled head and crushed it flat.
(End of Chapter)