rpbooks Chapter 19 : Weirdness
Chapter 19 : Weirdness
WeirdnessAlthough the ancestral hall looked small from the outside, its interior was actually immense.
After passing through the main gate, it was as if she had entered another world, completely cut off from the outside. Cecilia guessed that the inside of the ancestral hall's gate in Blood-soaked Soil Village was most likely an entirely new map, independent from the outer world.
Additionally, because the building had no windows by design, the lighting inside was extremely dim.
Of course, for a Vampire with built-in night vision, the brightness barely mattered. However, being in such a suffocating environment, stepping onto a floor thickly covered in dust, still made Cecilia feel very uncomfortable inside.
This map was really too eerie—frankly, even if a ghost were to suddenly jump out in a moment, she probably wouldn't be surprised in the least.
The background of Legend of Kaloran was fantasy to begin with. Since there were already monsters like the water ghost, a couple of ghosts thrown in wouldn't be anything unexpected.
She wondered if maybe her luck was just that bad, because before she had finished this very thought, Cecilia actually did run into a ghost.
After walking forward for a dozen meters, as she turned a corner, Cecilia was gripped by a sudden, intense sense of danger.
She didn't even have time to think. Almost as an instinctive reaction, she quickly tilted her head back—just as a rusted pitchfork thrust out briskly from the corner, missing her face by barely a hair's width.
In the countryside, a pitchfork was a commonly used farm tool, with four iron prongs, each as sharp as a spear, usually for turning wheat straw. Cecilia was no stranger to it.
But often, depending on the user, thanks to its long handle and sharpness, it could also turn into a rather deadly weapon.
Just like now!
When the surprise attack missed, the pitchfork's wielder tried to withdraw it, but there was no way Cecilia would let that happen. In a movement almost imperceptible to the naked eye, she darted out with her right hand and gripped the handle tightly. Then, crossing her left hand against the wall, she twisted her waist, her petite frame driving her arms sharply with force!
An attack exceeding a thousand not only boosted her Physical damage, but also gave her immense strength where the numbers didn't show. The ambusher hidden beyond the corner hadn't expected the target to be so strong and failed to let go in time—getting yanked out on the spot.
By the dim remaining light within the ancestral hall, Cecilia could faintly make out the attacker's appearance.
It was a thin, frail old man, with a long beard, a face full of wrinkles, his eyes tightly shut, and his entire being covered in thick dust, making him look like a terracotta soldier freshly unearthed.
Furthermore, as the earlier Darkwing Demon Bat's sonar had shown, this old man had no signs of life—no vital characteristics at all. Coupled with all the dust that had accumulated on him, it was obvious: he was a dead man, and had been dead for a long time.
But if he was a corpse, why would he ambush a player with a pitchfork?
This question did not bother Cecilia for long. She was not some soft-hearted person—respecting the elderly or cherishing children wasn't her style, and she couldn't bother with that now.
No matter if he was an old man, a dead man, an old dead man, or a dead old man—as long as anything made an attack against her, she counted it as an enemy!
Because of that earlier powerful yank, she was already close to the old man, with no time to draw her dining knife. So, Cecilia simply let go of the pitchfork, clenched her right hand into a fist, and with a blow imbued with massive power, smashed it into the old man's dust-covered face!
-1286!
As dust flew upward, a bright red critical damage number floated up.
Because she struck barehanded and did not use a weapon, the damage was not maximized, but a critical hit still produced quite a formidable number.
If this were an ordinary level-15 boss, a punch like that would have taken it down by half.
However, what shocked Cecilia was that after taking this punch to the face—usually the weakest spot—the old man stood utterly unharmed. Not only did he show no HP deduction effects, he actually started to slowly open his lifeless eyes.
If it were some other player facing this eery scene, they'd have been scared out of their wits. But Cecilia wasn't affected in the least. Seeing that her attack didn't work, she immediately changed tactics and shouted, "Stupid bat! Bite him for me!"
At her order, a massive black shadow lunged from behind the girl. Since the space was too cramped for flight, the Darkwing Demon Bat simply crawled forward like a mythical dragon, pressing its forewing membranes to the floor, hind claws digging in support, leapt over the girl's head, and sank its giant maw onto the old man's head.
Crunch—
In the silent ancestral hall came the harsh sound of bones breaking.
Was it over?
Cecilia took two steps back, eyes locked on the motionless old man, while her right hand slowly shifted, drawing out a dining knife that flashed silver.
Yuewu hadn't mentioned anything about such a terrifying thing being inside the ancestral hall.
It seemed that this old man was also the result of the system "appropriately" increasing the difficulty.
But what Cecilia couldn't figure out was, why this monster, clearly targetable, took absolutely no damage from her punch.
Forget it—thinking about it further was pointless. If a punch didn't work, she'd just try a knife strike next.
With her current attack, plus weapon passives and skills, this stab would far surpass any random punch earlier.
However, just as Cecilia reversed her grip on the knife and inched toward the old man, an abrupt change occurred!
As if by some invisible force, the Darkwing Demon Bat's jaws, which were clamped tight, were bit by bit pried open, and the old man's head sagged limply out.
Somehow, at some point, his tightly-shut eyes had opened, staring at Cecilia, the corners of his shriveled mouth twitching into a faint smile.
But before he could fully form the smile, Cecilia suddenly lunged, her dining knife tracing a silver arc through the air, slashing fiercely at the old man's throat!
"Smile? My ass! Die!"
The old man's smile froze. His withered, frail little body twisted a whole one hundred eighty degrees, emitting a shrill, giggling "wooo wooo wooo" as he dashed toward the deepest part of the hall, disappearing into the pitch-black darkness in the blink of an eye.
Right now, this bizarre old man was her only clue to finding the "Heart of Bloodthirsty Tree."
Naturally Cecilia couldn't let him escape. Activating all her speed boosts, her body blurred into shadow as she chased toward the depths of the ancestral hall.
......