bioinnovel Chapter 99 Returning to Graywood Village
Chapter 99 Returning to Graywood Village
The morning mist had not yet completely dissipated, and Gray Forest Village was shrouded in a layer of damp, grayish-white.
The old gray elm tree at the entrance of the village, which is said to be 300 years old, has its bark covered with the marks of time and the graffiti of the villagers' children.
There were several smooth stones piled up under the tree. Usually, in the early morning, there would be a few old men smoking pipes and chatting here, but today there was no one there.
The entire village was unusually quiet.
Only a few suppressed barks came from the backyard of a house, which were quickly silenced by the owner's low voice.
Lynn and Leah stood side by side on the dirt road at the entrance of the village.
They were no longer wearing the tattered hunter's attire they had worn when they left.
Lynn was dressed in a dark gray traveler's outfit, with a slightly worn leather jacket over it. The sword at his waist looked plain, but the scabbard had subtle flowing patterns.
Leah wore a light blue long dress with a light gray cloak over it. The hood hung down, covering most of her face, revealing only her fair chin and a few strands of light blue hair.
But their appearance is ultimately too unique.
A boy with black hair and brown eyes, and a girl with blue hair and gray eyes.
Such a combination is unique in Graywood Village and even in the entire Blackthorn Territory.
The first person to discover them was Aunt Martha, a widow from the east end of the village.
She was carrying a bucket of water back from the well when she looked up and saw a figure at the village entrance. The wooden bucket in her hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," spilling water all over the ground.
She opened her mouth wide, her eyes wide like saucers, her finger trembled as she pointed at them, and she made a "hoarse" sound in her throat, but she couldn't utter a single word.
The commotion attracted other people.
The door to the carpenter's house next door was ajar, and a pair of eyes peered out in fear.
The sound of hammering stopped in the blacksmith's shop across the street, and the blacksmith, his face covered in coal dust, poked his head out with his hammer.
More and more doors are opening, and more and more faces are appearing in windows and behind doors.
Surprise, fear, disbelief, and a hint of worry... a complex mix of emotions clung to every familiar face.
No one dared to step forward, and no one dared to utter a sound.
Until a hunched figure, leaning on a cane, walked shakily from the depths of the village.
It was Grandpa Fulin, the oldest man in the village. In his youth, he was a traveling peddler who had seen the world and was the most knowledgeable and respected.
His face was covered with deep wrinkles, and his eyes were cloudy, but at this moment they were filled with anxiety.
"Lynn? Lydia? Is it really you two children?!" Grandpa Fulin's voice was hoarse and urgent.
He practically jogged to the two of them, his withered hand grabbing Lynn's arm with astonishing strength.
"How dare you come back?! You fools! Run! While no one's around to warn us, get out of here! Run deep into the Demon Forest, and never come back!"
As he spoke, he nervously looked around, as if soldiers might rush out from a corner at any moment.
"The Blackthorn Baron's men haven't stopped for a month! They come to the village every few days to question people, and bounty posters are plastered everywhere! They say you stole valuables from the Baron's manor, and they'll reward you with ten gold coins if you catch you! All the idle loafers in the village are eyeing them like crazy!"
Grandpa Fulin stamped his feet anxiously, yelling, "Hurry up! What are you all standing there for?!"
Lynn felt the trembling in the old man's hands; it was genuine concern and fear.
He felt a warmth in his heart and gently patted the back of Grandpa Fulin's hand.
"Grandpa Fulin, don't worry."
Lynn's voice was calm, carrying a reassuring strength: "We didn't run away."
He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the familiar yet somewhat estranged faces around him, and raised his voice so that every villager who had pricked up their ears could hear him:
"We've come back for revenge."
A commotion arose among the villagers, their whispers sounding like the wind blowing through the wheat field.
"Revenge? Just the two of them?"
"Lynn's gone mad..."
"Ah, what a pity about such a good girl as Leah..."
Grandpa Fulin was stunned, then became even more anxious: "Child! What nonsense are you talking about! Revenge? What are you going to use to avenge us? The Baron's mansion has hundreds of guards, all of them extraordinary! And a knight! You must hurry..."
His words came to an abrupt end.
From the other end of the village came the sounds of noisy footsteps and unrestrained laughter.
"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for! If they're all gone, I'll twist your head off and use it as a chamber pot!" a rough voice cursed.
"Yes, yes! Boss Roger, it's right ahead, at the village entrance! I saw it with my own eyes! A man and a woman, the features match perfectly! Absolutely right!" Another fawning and eager voice responded, it was Jamie "Yellow Teeth," a notorious thug in the village.
A dozen or so figures emerged from around the corner of the village road.
They wore all sorts of leather and chainmail armor, and their weapons were also varied, including swords, axes, and maces. Most of them had scars or a thuggish look on their faces, and their eyes were fierce and greedy.
The leader was a bald, burly man with a hideous scar across his face, carrying an exaggerated double-edged battle axe.
He was none other than the leader of the "Grey Wolf Mercenary Group," nicknamed "Blood Axe" Rogue, a high-ranking knight who was somewhat famous in several nearby territories for his cruelty and lechery.
Jamie with yellow teeth followed like a lackey, pointing at Lynn and the other man, and excitedly shouted, "Boss! It's them! The black-haired boy and the blue-haired girl! Ten gold coins! Plus the Baron's extra reward!"
The mercenaries' eyes all turned to look at them.
Then, almost everyone's eyes were instantly fixed on Leah.
Even with a hood up, her slender figure, delicate chin, and hair as blue as silk are enough to evoke all sorts of fantasies.
As the gentle morning breeze blows, the hood is pulled back slightly, revealing the full face—
"hiss……"
A collective gasp filled the air.
Time seemed to stand still for a moment.
His platinum-gray eyes were as cool and clear as winter mist and morning stars, his long, light blue hair reflected the rising sun as if it were flowing with radiance, and his skin was fair and flawless, with exquisitely beautiful features...
These mercenaries, who had spent years licking blood from the blade and had seen countless women, had never seen such beauty before!
Their eyes widened, their breathing became heavy, their throats bobbed, and the sounds of them swallowing saliva rose and fell.
"Blood Axe" Rogge's eyes practically overflowed with greed. He licked his dry lips and chuckled maliciously, "Damn it... that old lecher Blackthorn has a really sharp eye! I've been traveling all over the country for over a decade, and this is the first time I've seen a piece of this!"
The mercenaries behind him immediately erupted in commotion:
"Captain! We can't just give this to Blackthorn! Let's keep it for ourselves!"
"Exactly! Kill this kid, and this little beauty... hehehe!"
"I'll go first! I'm the first one!"
"Bullshit! Let's play rock-paper-scissors! Whoever wins goes first!"
"Leave the man to me! He's got delicate skin and tender flesh, don't ruin him, he's perfect while he's still hot!"
Vulgar language, accompanied by lewd laughter, echoed unrestrainedly at the village entrance in the early morning.
The villagers were terrified and retreated hastily, some covering the children's eyes and others closing the doors and windows.
Grandpa Fulin's face turned pale. He tried to stand in front of the two children, but Lynn gently pulled him behind her.
Throughout the entire process, Lynn's expression remained unchanged.
He even turned his head slightly and whispered to Leah beside him, "Close your eyes, Leah. The picture might not look good."
Leah gave a soft "hmm," her long eyelashes drooping as she closed her eyes. She even leaned slightly closer to Lynn, as if all the noise outside had nothing to do with her.
This action further provoked the mercenaries, and their screams became even louder.
Lynn then looked up at the dozen or so mercenaries who had already formed a fan shape and surrounded him like hungry wolves eyeing their prey.
A slight smile curved the corners of his mouth.
There was no chanting, no gestures, and not even any obvious fluctuations of magic or fighting spirit.
He simply uttered four words:
"A surge of blood."
"Bang!"
The mercenaries hadn't even reacted when the first sound rang out.
That's the mercenary on the far left, grinning and holding a machete.
His smile froze on his face, then his whole body swelled up like an inflated balloon, the veins under his skin bulging out and turning an eerie purplish-black—
"Bang!!!"
With a muffled thud, he exploded into a thick cloud of blood mist, unable to even utter a scream.
Immediately afterwards—
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"...
A continuous, teeth-grinding muffled explosion, like a string of lit firecrackers, rang out in the open space at the village entrance!
One mercenary after another, whether they were charging forward, shouting, or just realizing something was wrong and trying to retreat, all of them, at the same time and in the same way, swelled up and then exploded!
One after another, bursts of blood mist exploded, instantly filling the air with a heavy, pungent stench of blood, turning the cool morning air into a nauseating pink.
The time should not exceed three seconds.
The dozen or so mercenaries who were just laughing and joking arrogantly have all disappeared, except for their bald leader, "Blood Axe" Rogue.
All that remained were a dozen or so pools of dark red grime, slowly spreading and mixed with bone fragments and internal organs, and lingering blood foam in the air.
Rogge remained standing in the same spot.
But the sneer on his face had already frozen, then shattered into endless terror.
The double-edged battle axe in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.
His burly body trembled violently, and pale yellow earth elemental battle aura instinctively erupted, forming a thin, constantly flickering halo on his body surface.
It was this protective aura of a high-ranking knight, the earth element's attribute advantage, and his extraordinary physique that allowed him to barely survive the bizarre and terrifying mass explosion just now.
But blood was seeping from all seven orifices of his body; blood kept flowing from his ears, nostrils, mouth, and eyes.
His blood vessels and organs had clearly been severely damaged.
He stared at Lynn, his lips trembling, uttering broken syllables: "You...you...are actually...a Super...Super-Rank...?"
Aside from the legendary super-level powerhouses, what other being could so casually and instantly, in such a bizarre and terrifying way, almost wipe out his elite mercenary squad?
"Oh?"
"It's a high-level earth elemental knight? No wonder he's still alive."
Lynn seemed a little surprised and raised an eyebrow.
His tone was flat.
Rogge was terrified. He collapsed to his knees with a thud, ignoring the blood and grime covering his face, and began to kowtow frantically, his forehead slamming against the blood-soaked mud with a dull thud.
"My lord! My lord, spare my life!"
"My lord! I was blind! I couldn't recognize your greatness! I was just doing my job for money! It was Baron Blackthorn who offered a bounty for your capture! I was blinded by greed! Please, my lord, spare my life! I'm willing to serve you like a slave! I know the defenses of Blackthorn Keep! I..."
He begged for mercy incoherently, tears streaming down his face, mixed with blood, leaving no trace of the imposing presence of "Blood Axe" Rogue.
Lynn simply shook her head slightly, no longer looking at him.
He raised his right hand, his fingertips shimmering with a vibrant, emerald light, and chanted a soft, poetic incantation:
"Seeds buried deep in the earth, listen to the call."
"Break free from constraints and pierce through filth."
"They live on blood and are nourished by sin."
"Grow freely! Beautiful yet piercing—"
"【Overgrown with thorns】."
The last syllable falls.
Roger, who was kowtowing, suddenly froze.
He looked down in horror at his chest.
Beneath the skin there, something seemed to be wriggling and growing wildly!
thorns!!
From every blood vessel, every muscle, and even every inch of bone in Rogge.
The tender thorns with sharp barbs pierced through his skin and emerged!
"No...no...ah—!!!"
A piercing scream, so shrill it was inhuman, tore through the sky.
Roger frantically scratched his body, but the thorns grew extremely fast, piercing through all over his body in the blink of an eye, and using his flesh and blood as nourishment, spreading, intertwining, and blooming wildly!
His body was twisting and deforming, and the clattering sound of his bones being crushed and reassembled was chilling.
A few seconds later, the screams stopped.
In the spot, a giant thicket of thorns, about two people tall and shaped like a human, appeared, blooming with dark red flowers.
The roots of the thorns dug deep into the blood-soaked soil, and the sharp thorns were still covered with torn pieces of cloth and flesh.
The dark red flower trembled slightly, as if it were still breathing, eerie and terrifying.
Lynn waved his hand casually.
A gentle breeze blew by.
All the bloodstains and debris on the ground, along with that eerie thorn flower, vanished like pencil marks erased by an eraser, turning into elemental energy and silently dissipating in the wind, leaving not even a trace of scent.
It was as if the brief but bloody massacre had never happened.
Only a dozen or so patches of slightly darker soil on the ground, and the lone double-edged battle axe lying there, proved that it was not an illusion.
A deathly silence enveloped Graywood Village.
All the villagers hiding behind the doors and windows were petrified.
Their mouths were agape, their eyes were wide, and their expressions were extremely complex.
Grandpa Fulin's hand, which was holding a cane, trembled like a leaf in the wind. He looked at Lynn's back as if he were looking at a stranger.
Lynn turned around and said softly to Leah, who still had her eyes closed, "Alright, Leah, you can open your eyes now."
Leah's long eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Her platinum-gray eyes remained clear. She glanced at the now "clean" village entrance, then at Lynn, nodded gently, and reached out to take Lynn's hand.
Her palms were slightly cool, but very soft.
Lynn squeezed her hand, then nodded slightly to the stunned villagers around them, especially to Grandpa Fulin: "Grandpa Fulin, fellow villagers, I apologize for disturbing you."
"We still have some things to do."
After saying that, he took Leah's hand, turned around, and started walking towards the north of the village, towards the castle whose black outline could be vaguely seen.
Their pace was unhurried and composed, as if they were simply going to an ordinary appointment.