The Cornflower Witch Chapter 208

‘Dead Ember’ and ‘Nightmare’ coordination, coupled with the twin snake carvings, immediately brought the notorious ‘Twin Serpent Cult’ to Hylial’s mind.

Even among numerous cults, the ‘Twin Serpent Cult’ was infamous, even reviled by other cults. Other cults would occasionally disguise themselves, as they had to consider the pleasantness of their organization to attract followers and fellow travelers. But the ‘Twin Serpent Cult’ was simply too inhumane, casually indulging in cannibalism for pleasure, and transforming into true monsters when they reached higher ranks, making them detestable.

There were actually relics of the Twin Serpent Cult here. Could this place have once been a cult stronghold?

Hylial pondered for a moment, then re-examined the area. Sure enough, she found traces of architectural ruins in the soil.

It seemed that this place was indeed where the ‘Twin Serpent Cult’ had been active a long time ago, but judging by the remaining traces, it was at least several centuries old.

Putting away the broken twin serpent cup, Hylial led her horse away from the forest and headed back towards Mammoth Town.

…

In another corner of the Shadow World.

“Oatmeal, more oatmeal! I’m sick of it. Don’t you people have any better food?” Prince Jabos threw the wooden bowl in front of him to the ground, his mood irritable.

“Jabos.” Hearing his curses, a girl with golden hair and a black dress rushed in from the next room.

She came to Prince Jabos’s side, gently stroked his back, and soothed him with a soft voice.

“This isn’t the palace. Please bear with it.”

“Enough, sister, I really can’t stand it anymore.” Facing the girl with golden hair and a black dress, Jabos’s expression softened slightly, but he still couldn’t contain his anger.

“A month ago, I said the food here was too shabby, the bed planks were too hard, the room was so small, and I hadn’t seen the sun for over half a month. It’s depressingly uncomfortable.”

“Every time they say they’ll consider improving the environment and ask us to bear with it.”

“What’s the result? I’ve mentioned it three more times since then, and nothing has changed. These guys are just being perfunctory!” Prince Jabos felt like he had been tricked into coming to this godforsaken place.

“I know you’re distressed, but this is someone else’s territory, and we’re just refugees here. Don’t ask for too much,” the golden-haired girl in the black dress advised Prince Jabos again.

Because the other person was his elder sister and had saved his life, Jabos couldn’t really get angry at her, but he felt that things couldn’t go on like this.

“I suspect they have ulterior motives and saved us for their own gain,” Jabos said.

“There’s nothing we can do about it.” The girl at his side shook her head. Of course, she could also sense that the ‘Hundred-Eyed Cult’ who saved them had impure intentions, but the situation was critical then, and they had no other choice.

“Look, they’ve confined our activities to this camp, we can’t go anywhere, and they won’t tell us exactly where this place is. This is not how you treat friends and partners; they’re clearly treating us like prisoners.” Jabos paced back and forth in the room, then pulled back the curtains, peering at the surroundings.

They were currently living in a two-story house, surrounded by a low fence, and in the distance, they could see people in dark red robes patrolling.

“At least Sir Everett and Sir Gerard are here,” Princess Morwen, with golden hair and a black dress, gently comforted him.

They had fled south that day, encountering many pursuers along the way. Many knight attendants were killed by the assassins and cavalry, leaving only two royal knights alive.

“But I haven’t seen them for the past two days. I wonder if they’ve been isolated,” Princess Twilight said with concern.

This princess’s beauty was on par with Iona’s. If Iona was a blooming scarlet-golden chrysanthemum, then this princess was a black-gold rose under the night sky, with a hint of subtle grace, and her figure was more mature than Iona’s.

Not far from the house where the two lived, the two knights who had protected the prince and princess throughout their escape were deep in discussion.

“You were informed about the state of the Duchy yesterday, weren’t you?” Sir Everett, seated in a chair with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, looked up at Gerard who had just entered the room.

Compared to Sir Everett, who was nearly sixty, Gerard was much younger, only thirty-eight now, with short, slightly curly black hair and a handlebar mustache.

“That’s right.” Gerard paused his steps.

They had already heard the news of the fall of the Regas Duchy. In fact, they had been mentally prepared for such an event, but when it actually happened, their spirits were inevitably low.

Both of them had grown up in the Regas Duchy, and many of their family members were in Whitecliff City. They were secretly worried about what had happened to those people after the capital fell.

“The Hundred-Eyed Cult told us that they’ve sent people to contact their informants in the city, and there should be results soon,” Gerard walked to the counter, picked up the pewter pot, and prepared to make some tea.

Soon, the fireplace was lit, and the faint red flames added a touch of light to the room, bringing a hint of warmth to the somber night.

The two men watched the fire, silently lost in their thoughts.

After a long while, Gerard spoke, “Senior Everett, what are your plans?”

“Plans?” Hearing this, Sir Everett frowned slightly, but quickly understood.

He had followed Grand Duke Regas, Grace, for many years, even campaigning with him in his youth. Loyalty had long become a part of his life. Even though the Regas Duchy was now destroyed, he would still protect the prince and princess until the very end.

But Gerard was different; he was still young, only thirty-eight. Reaching the third rank at that age, even in the capital, was exceptional. Now that the Regas Duchy had fallen, he probably wouldn’t want to stay on this sinking ship.

“Those Hundred-Eyed Cult members, did they promise you something?”

“As expected of Old Man Everett, you guessed it so easily.” Gerard didn’t deny it.

“I advise you not to trust them too much. Cults are called cults precisely because they are unconventional and don’t abide by rules or agreements,” the old knight warned.

“I understand,” Gerard nodded, saying nothing more.

In the following days, Prince Jabos requested to go outside, but the Hundred-Eyed Cult members told him that the Shadow World was dangerous and keeping him in the camp was for his own good.

Prince Jabos clearly didn’t believe such an explanation. He demanded to meet with the two knights, and the Hundred-Eyed Cult didn’t refuse this request.

After meeting and conversing with the two knights again, Prince Jabos became much more subdued, which the Hundred-Eyed Cult considered a good thing.

However, this docility suddenly changed after two weeks.

One night, with the help of Knight Everett, Prince Jabos and Princess Morwen escaped, attempting to leave the Hundred-Eyed Cult’s camp. However, they hadn’t gone far from the outpost when they strayed into an unfamiliar gray-white world and lost their way.

“Where exactly is this?”

Lost in the gray-white world, every moment was a消耗. They desperately sought a region with ‘color’ to rest for a while. However, all three were new to the Shadow World and unfamiliar with its environment and conditions, having only learned limited information about it from books. Finally, on the fourth day, the three were caught by members of the ‘Hundred-Eyed Cult’.

These cult members in dark red robes seemed to have anticipated their getting lost in the gray-white world. They followed the trio unhurriedly from a distance, only revealing themselves when the three were exhausted.

“Now does His Royal Highness know that we weren’t just fear-mongering?” A man, who appeared to be a mid-ranking cultist, stood before the three and slowly spoke.

“I know this place is dangerous, but you, vague and always refusing to state your true intentions, are even more suspicious.” Jabos raised an eyebrow, drawing the golden-hilted long knife from his waist and holding it before him.

The man in the dark red robe shook his head, a hint of regret in his expression.

“We actually have no ill intentions. We merely wish to leverage His Royal Highness’s prestige to unite a small portion of the Regas Duchy’s forces, consolidate our defenses, and ensure our survival.” In fact, over the years, the Hundred-Eyed Cult had been forced to hide, and their internal strength had steadily declined. They sensed a crisis of survival, which is why they put all their efforts into capturing the prince and his party this time.

They had originally thought that by having the royal heirs of the Regas Duchy in their hands, they could then recruit a group of nobles and have the Hundred-Eyed Cult ‘parasitize’ within a new national organization, thereby gaining resources and fresh blood.

However, unexpectedly, the collapse of the Regas Duchy was so swift, and the other nobles surrendered at the first sign of trouble, showing no intention of standing with the royal family and resisting together.

This forced them to repeatedly alter their plans and ideas, and because the plan was constantly changing, they never consulted with Prince Jabos.

“If His Royal Highness had been a little more discerning and not broken this unspoken understanding, we could have coexisted amicably. Alas, alas…” He shook his head and sighed, his words causing unease in the three.

“Take them down, but do not harm His Royal Highness,” he commanded, and the cultists beside him sprang into action.

These hooded and robed cultists suddenly threw back their cowls, revealing strange, frenzied eyes.

Under the gaze of these eerie eyes, the trio felt a numbness spread rapidly through their bodies, making it hard to move.

“Shield of Protection!”

Knight Everett roared, and a grey-white light shield unfurled before him, temporarily blocking the cultists’ vision, then he pulled the prince and princess, attempting to escape.

“Old fool.” Seeing the elderly knight block them, the leading man spat under his breath, then raised his hand.

A dark purple ray emerged from behind him, piercing through the gray-white shield, and then continued to sweep, grazing the trees along the way and striking Knight Everett’s back.

The tall trees slowly fell with their branches, and Knight Everett’s back was scorched.

“Your Highness, go!” He called out to Prince Jabos and Princess Morwen in front of him, urging them to escape quickly, then turned back, drawing the long sword from his waist.

Unexpectedly, Prince Jabos only walked a few steps before stopping.

“I surrender.” He turned to look at the cultists.

There was no point in escaping; they couldn’t outrun these people. Moreover, this was the Shadow World, and they had no idea of the local situation. Where could they even run to?

The man facing him was not surprised by Prince Jabos’s change of heart.

“It would have been so much better if you had done this earlier,” the man said, lowering his hand and stopping the ‘Ghostly eyes’ behind him from attacking.

The cultists stepped forward and bound Prince Jabos. As for Knight Everett, they used a special dagger to stab him in the shoulder blade, rendering him unconscious. Finally, facing Princess Morwen, the golden-haired girl in the black dress, they were slightly more polite, merely tying her wrists with rope.

“Let’s go, Your Highness.”

“Indeed, we were not hospitable before, but in the days to come, you will witness the power of the Alien Demonic Eye.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t harm you. In fact, our goals will be perfectly aligned in the future.”

“You aspire to restore your kingdom and avenge your family. We can provide you with assistance, make you stronger, and our many hidden cultists will aid you.”

“Likewise, we need your royal identity to establish new strongholds for our cult and gain new room for development.”

“Although those nobles of the Regas Duchy surrendered, they have now been stripped of much wealth and territory. They probably harbor resentment.”

“They need a name to unite and resist, and we happen to be able to provide that name. Similarly, you need us as your backing.”

“You see, isn’t this a wonderful future? Everyone gets what they desire.” His voice seemed to possess a hypnotic magic, rekindling hope in the eyes of the originally downcast Prince Jabos.

Observing this scene, Princess Morwen, who was walking behind, felt deeply uneasy.

Prince Jabos, among his many siblings, was the youngest, having just turned 18 and not yet mature in mind. He could easily be led astray by these people. Moreover, Princess Morwen was well aware of her brother’s situation.

Among the three princes, his talent was only slightly better than the eldest prince’s, far from being considered outstanding, and a vast distance from truly gifted individuals. Even if he joined the Hundred-Eyed Cult, he would likely end up as a puppet, with no real say in anything.

However, she could only suppress her worries at that moment. If she were to speak up and dissuade him, it would only break the superficial harmony, and the outcome for both of them would be unpredictable.

At the very least, they currently had utilitarian value to the Hundred-Eyed Cult, which meant they would survive.

Walking back to the camp, Princess Morwen, with golden hair and a black dress, clasped her hands together and prayed silently.

(Before this, dear Mother in the Heavenly Courtyard, how can I protect my brother Jabos and continue the family bloodline?)

With her brothers no longer alive and her elder sister married off to a foreign land, she, a princess who grew up in the inner palace, might have known a little about political maneuvering, but she was far from her mother and father. Her talent in cultivating supernatural aspects was also mediocre, which made her deeply feel the twists and turns and mercilessness of fate, making it difficult to see the future path clearly.

Finally, her only outstanding asset, perhaps, was her appearance. Even during Iona’s prime, she had never been outshone in beauty, and many nobles often compared them in this regard.

If the Regas Duchy had not fallen, she would have likely been married off by the royal family as a tool for political marriage, a beautiful ornament to win over a neighboring country or a powerful noble within Regas territory.

But now, she could only pray that the Hundred-Eyed Cult would adhere to their rules and not abuse her.

If she could marry a high-ranking member of the Hundred-Eyed Cult, she might be able to exert some influence and somewhat protect her brother Jabos.

This, perhaps, was the only good outcome left.

Under the dim, overcast sky, the golden-haired princess in the black dress closed her eyes and prayed.