Chapter 74 (1/2)

In the roup advanced 20 more yards before they encountered another sneak attack

This time, two dark arroere shot at theht Jacker raised his shi+eld and ht, Lucy was ht as she thrust her sword forward Then, out froust of wind that sent the arrow flying in the opposite direction

Anderson and Jacques were both staring dumbfounded at Lucy, stunned by the power of her sword She then calmly sheathed her sword after the arrow had been deflected, paying no attention to the two h the men were full of wonder and curiosity, they dared not say anything to her because of her inti cool attitude Nonetheless, the extraordinary sword had left a great impression on them

Link noticed Gildern was going to rush towards the enemies, so he said, ”Gildern, leave one alive, don't kill them all!”

After hearing Link's instruction, Gildern killed one of the thieves with an arrow, then held back and carefully shot another arrow in order to not kill the target Soon after, there were two cries of pain and a shadowy figure fell from the cliff and landed with a hard thud The other one fell too, but he was still conscious He waved his hands and feet rasp at the rocky cliff face to slon the speed of his fall When he finally hit the ground, the thief wailed in pain but was still alive

”Go, interrogate hiure, and the rest followed him

Just as they were approaching the thieves, the corpse of the dead thief reanimated, just like the others before it, and clies of the cove back into the darkness This time, a corpse had come back to life before of everyone's eyes, so they could plainly see the shocking disfigurements of the zombie

The zo was the expression on the walking corpse's face—its empty eyes ide open and blood and other bodily fluids uncontrollably oozed out of itssounds due to its broken bones - it was siht

”By the Lord of Light, what a terrifying organization the Syndicate is!” muttered Anderson under his breath

If he was lucky enough to survive this, he thought it pre-emptive to report whatever he'd seen today to the church Such a sacrilegious organization must be cleansed and eliminated from its roots!

The zoht, so Link walked towards the other thief and pointed his wand at him The tip of the Fire Crystal staff lit up in a red aura, and under Link's precise control he shrouded the dying thief with the red light

The light did no harood ploy to scare soic It worked very well, evidently, by the look of horror on the thief's face

”Now, you have two options: one, answer my questions, or two, keep silent, and I will burn your soul!” threatened Link coldly with a h

Before he could finish the sentence, the thief was scared witless

”I'll answer your questions, please don't kill me!” he pleaded

”Very good, you've made a clever choice”

Link's countenance softened slightly He then asked, ”What's going on in the cove? Why is it so dark?”

”Because a Magician had put a ic seal around the cove The leader, Andy, said it would scare away the enemies of the Syndicate,” answered the thief in a panicked voice

”Magic seal? Where?” asked Link

”In the main hall inside the cave, about 30 yards fro this path and you'll find it”

”One ain? And where are they going?” asked Link

He had encountered nothing like this at the Syndicate's lair in the game so Link couldn't expect as to cooing on

Link's confidence in his own strength was unshaken, though, as he now had his Matchstick wand and his Mana was almost full Moreover, by his side there were two Level-4 Warriors and three Level-3 professional ic scrolls He was confident that all this was enough to help him face whatever the Syndicate was to throw at them

”No, I can't tell you anything, otherwise the master will punish me Please… Please don't force me!” answered the thief

Link was taken aback by the response His eyebrows furrowed, and the aura of the Fire Crystal shone even brighter now

”Do you want to kno painful it is to have the Fire Crystal's flame burn your soul?” asked Link

”No, I can't tell you… I can't tell you… Ahhhh!” Then, soradually became fainter and his pupils dilated until finally, he died

Jacker walked up and checked the thief's body, then turned around and said to Link, ”My lord, it seemed he was shocked to death”

Shocked to death? I don't think so, Link thought in disbelief

Link used Aura Detection to scan the corpse and saw a black haze receding from the skull of the thief This haze was much denser and even moved more quickly than the one that filled the atmosphere of the cove

”No, he wasn't shocked to death It's a curse These thieves were cursed so as to not reveal anything about the zombies, otherwise, they would die,” said Link

Everyone was stunned by Link's explanation This was the kind of demonic plot that would've made anyone's blood run cold!

Link noticed how everyone around him was petrified, so he added, ”Don't worry, this curse involves a complicated process It would require someone to swear an oath that would bind them to the curse, so rest assured that on't find ourselves cursed without our knowing it”

This was coic Since Link had read so many textbooks, he could easily see the tricks involved in the ic curse

Everyone was instantly put at ease after hearing Link's explanation

”Mr Link, what should we do now?” the leader of the militia Jacques asked

A everyone present, he was the least experienced and thethey should do right noas to retreat and escape from this dreadful place as soon as possible