The Cornflower Witch Chapter 266

Tonight, Stream Valley City was exceptionally quiet.

After seeing off the caravan members out of the city, Sylphidya did not follow them but turned back into Stream Valley City.

Now that she had no worries, she could do some extra things.

Passing through the city streets, Sylphidya entered the castle on the south side. This was once the residence of an earl, later occupied by Anti nobles, and now served as the main base for the garrison.

Compared to the outside, it was much more heavily guarded, and two knights were stationed there.

Since she no longer needed to cover the caravan, Sylphidya did not continue to use the ‘Illusion Mushroom’ ability, but simply converged her aura and figure, and walked through the dim night.

Her ears could easily hear the snoring of the people in the castle, occasionally mixed with dreamlike murmurs.

Based on the information provided by the caravan member, Sylphidya deftly moved through the castle buildings, gradually reaching the location where prisoners were held.

The entrance to the dungeon was at the base of a tower, where two old soldiers were still on night watch. One stared blankly at the fire in the hearth, while the other dozed in a chair, smelling faintly of alcohol.

The iron door behind them was the dungeon entrance, and there was no way for anyone to bypass it. When Sylphidya arrived outside the tower, she paused for a moment, then twisted the switch on her lantern again, opening its side door to release spores.

The night breeze carried a faint, subtle scent that slowly lulled the old soldier watching the fire to sleep in his chair.

Soon, Sylphidya, in a black dress, walked past him, adding more firewood to the hearth as she went.

“Have a good rest, both of you. I wish you sweet dreams,” the girl said with a hint of playfulness, then took the keys from their bodies and lightly opened the iron door.

Carrying the lantern, Sylphidya walked down a dark, winding spiral passage. Such passages were exceptionally narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass at a time. If prisoners were to break free, it would only take one or two people to block the tunnel.

After descending about seven levels, Sylphidya finally stepped onto the firm, flat stone slab floor. She looked up at the lightless passage, from which various sounds occasionally emanated: painful hisses, normal snores, strange cries of madness, and the drip-drip of water.

Although the caravan member had seen his uncle Hynes, he didn’t know the exact location of his confinement because his eyes were blindfolded during the descent into the dungeon. He could only plead with Sylphidya for help.

As Sylphidya walked past one iron cell door after another, the spores from her lantern spread, and the sounds gradually faded with her steps.

At this point, the prisoners inside began to sense something was amiss. Though they couldn’t see what was happening outside, a suffocating silence was spreading.

The unimaginable unknown brought absolute fear, and some of the inmates who hadn’t fallen asleep huddled in corners, afraid to look up.

Sylphidya had no immediate intention of saving everyone, as, apart from some innocent individuals, there were indeed many heavily criminal individuals among them, whom both Regas and Anti would find difficult to tolerate.

In the darkness, Sylphidya’s gaze swept over the detained individuals along the way, comparing them to the information on Hynes. If they didn’t match, the invisible spores beside her would cause the person inside to fall into a deep sleep.

A figure sitting in a cell sensed the anomaly and stood up. He clutched the iron bars tightly with both hands, shouting into the dark passage.

“Whoever you are, let me out, and I will serve you! I have strength, I can wield a forty-pound broadsword, and I can take on any enemy!” He shook the iron bars, and the chains on his body rattled with a metallic clang.

Hearing his shouts, some in the dungeon laughed, others awoke. Some of them cried out similar words, offering to serve if released. How much truth was in such words was unknown.

Sylphidya’s goal was to find Hynes and take him out. She didn’t want any further complications. Moreover, her time was limited, and she couldn’t stay there indefinitely to verify the situation of every shouting person. Releasing these people recklessly would not be something commendable.

Invisible ‘Illusion Spores’ drifted, and again, the sounds faded. Sylphidya walked past the man who was gripping the iron bars and saying he could wield a sword.

Surprisingly, he wasn’t hypnotized into slumber by the Illusion Spores. Instead, he opened his eyes wide in the darkness, trying to discern who was passing through the passage.

At this moment, the lantern in Sylphidya’s hand obscured its light. Without a light source underground, normal humans couldn’t see anything, but he was different. He could still faintly make out a blurry outline.

“A woman?” his voice was surprised, but he quickly changed his tone.

“Stop, I know the secrets of this dungeon. Whatever you want to find, or whatever information you seek, I can help you.” This was different from his previous words, and it finally moved Sylphidya, who was passing by.

The girl paused, stopping for two seconds.

“Tell me Hynes’s location.”

The girl’s voice was soft and gentle, remarkably clear in the dark environment.

The other party racked his brain for memories, and suddenly a scene flashed through his mind: it was the day after Stream Valley City fell last month, when soldiers escorted captured enemies into the dungeon.

But that was not enough. He continued to explore his memory labyrinth, and finally a vague snippet came back to him: among the prisoners brought in at that time, a young man had anxiously muttered, “Uncle Hynes, can we still get out alive?”

Who was he talking to? Who were the people present at that time? Which cell were they taken to?

Fuzzy fragments in his memory were continuously scoured and polished until one obscure fragment gleamed again and surfaced.

“Hynes is held in a room on the fourth floor of the dungeon, in the second fork to the left on the east side.” He pinpointed the location accurately. At this point, the side effects of over-exploring the memory labyrinth began to show, and he felt utterly drained.

Just before collapsing, he pleaded again with the figure not far away.

“Please, take me out of here.”

Sylphidya didn’t answer, but swiftly walked in the direction he indicated.

A few minutes later, she turned to the fourth underground level and, sure enough, found Hynes in that fork in the path. With him was a younger man.

At this moment, Hynes was in a very bad state, suffering from a high fever, extremely weak, and with unhealed wounds. It was likely that the infection of these wounds caused the persistent high fever.

Opening the light baffle of the lantern, Sylphidya gently activated her ability, and a faint glow lit up in the dark dungeon. Then, she took out the Blazegold Blade she had crafted earlier, held its hilt, and, after gathering strength, swung it, severing the iron bars in front of her.

The iron bars crashed to the ground with a crisp sound, waking the sleeping young man. He saw the girl standing outside the cell room in astonishment, then quickly stood up.

“Who are you? Are you here to save us?”

“Yes, help Hynes up and follow me.” Sylphidya succinctly explained the situation.

Hearing these words, the young man was incredibly surprised, but there was no time to dwell on the myriad questions and confusion in his mind. He hastily helped the ailing Hynes up and out of the room.

However, a unconscious adult was difficult to support, and his own condition was not good. As soon as they exited the cell, he nearly fell to the ground with Hynes. Seeing this, Sylphidya took out two portions of food and handed them to him, and also placed a pot of clear water, adding two ‘White Camellia’ petals to it.

“First, recover some strength, then feed Hynes some,” she instructed.

“Thank you.” With no time to wonder where these things came from, the hungry young man picked up the soft, baked meat pie and put it into his mouth.

With one bite, the faint sweetness and aroma of wheat filled his mouth, mingled with perfectly roasted meat bits. This delightful sensation stimulated his taste buds to secrete saliva continuously. After swallowing, a warm feeling coursed from his stomach to his limbs. He had never so clearly felt how nourishment and energy were re-infused into his body.

This was no ordinary food!

The young man realized this, then hugged the water jug and drank several large gulps. The cool, sweet spring water instantly cleared his drowsy mind.

At this point, he remembered something and awkwardly helped Hynes up, also feeding him water, then breaking the pie into pieces, trying to feed it to the delirious Hynes.

After drinking some water, Hynes seemed to clear up a bit, gaining some vague awareness. He slowly chewed the food fed into his mouth, and finally had the strength to open his eyes and discern his surroundings.

“Reiz, what is this?” He didn’t know why he was out of the cell, or who the girl in the black veil and black dress before him was.

“No time to explain, Uncle Hynes. We need to leave here quickly. This is our savior.”

“Is that so? I understand.” Hynes wasn’t one to dwell. With his senses slowly returning, he also regained some clarity of thought.

“Help me up.”

With the young man’s help, he stood up again. Then, Sylphidya nodded and led them quickly towards the exit.

The journey was exceptionally quiet. The prisoners and soldiers along the way were all asleep. Hynes and Reiz dared not ask why no one stopped them, only feeling astonished and relieved in their hearts.

Thus, when the three reached the first level of the dungeon, Sylphidya once again approached the prisoner who had told her Hynes’s location. The man was now slumped on the ground, idly breathing with closed eyes, seemingly performing some special meditation method to recover his mental energy.

Sylphidya once again cut through the iron bars and went inside, also severing the iron locks on the prisoner’s feet and wrists.

She also took out food and water, offering them to him.

“Eat some, then come with us.”

As the iron bars broke, the prisoner awoke from his meditation. He heard the girl’s voice, tumbled over, gratefully accepted the food and water, and began to eat heartily.

While eating, muffled sobs escaped his throat, and tears streamed down his face, soaking the meat pie in his mouth.

“Wuwu…wuwu.” The sound seemed to carry an untold amount of hardship and vicissitude. After eating several bites of food, he struggled to curb his desire to continue devouring, and picked up the water jug to drink deeply.

Perhaps fearing that Sylphidya and the others would abandon him, he finished his water, grabbed his food, and struggled to his feet, indicating that he could move.

At this point, Sylphidya led the three of them out through the passage entrance. The two soldiers at the bottom of the tower were still sound asleep, snoring.

“Don’t mind them, let’s go.”

“Yes.” In truth, the three of them had no desire to take revenge on these Anti soldiers; they simply felt that escaping was a great blessing.

And so, before dawn, Sylphidya led the three of them out of Stream Valley City, and two days prior, Karen had also received a reminder from Sylphidya and left Stream Valley City, waiting for them in the forest outside the city.

After traveling several kilometers away from Stream Valley City, and seeing no pursuers, the four finally confirmed their safety. At this point, the accompanying individuals finally had the opportunity to ask the myriad questions weighing on their minds.

“Let’s make it clear beforehand, I won’t answer every question,” the girl blinked, not wanting to lie but also not wanting to reveal too many secrets.

“We know.” Hynes sighed, his fever having subsided considerably; it seemed the water he drank earlier had a special, miraculous effect.

“Regardless, you are our savior, and Reiz and I are deeply grateful to you.”

“However, I also know that I’m not some great figure. I don’t know who could have persuaded you to help us.”

“I can answer that question. It was your nephew.” Sylphidya lightly pivoted on her toes in the grass, revealing the answer to Hynes.

“So that’s the lad, isn’t it?” Hynes murmured, but he didn’t press further on how his nephew had managed to enlist the girl’s help.

“Reiz and I were both imprisoned by the Anti people for participating in Prince Jabber’s rebellion. After this, we’ll probably have to live in seclusion or travel to a distant land.”

“However, these are but our humble thoughts. If there is any place where you can use us, we are willing to serve and obey you, to accomplish various tasks for you.”

At this moment, they had nothing else to offer in gratitude. If they were to depart dismissively, not only would they feel uneasy, but they also feared that such ungrateful and stingy behavior would enrage the mysterious girl before them.

Since she could rescue them from under the strict watch of the Anti army, taking their lives would also be a very easy matter for her.

“There’s no need to be so solemn about service,” the girl in the black dress with blue eyes shook her head.

“However, there is indeed a place where I could use you recently.” Sylphidya thought of Scorched Stone City and the hidden settlement outside it.

“There are some Regas refugees, just like you, who are unlikely to be able to integrate into the Anti Kingdom and lack the ability to protect themselves. I can’t stay here long, so I need your help to train and lead them, so they can have some self-protective capabilities.”

“Regas refugees just like us?” Hearing this, Hynes not only felt no resistance but also a sense of kinship and gratitude.

Rather than fleeing abroad in shame, living among those who shared their plight might be a more worthwhile life than serving royalty.

Having experienced the war between the two nations, Hynes’s romanticized notions of the ‘Knight King’ legend had long since vanished. He now truly realized that even the best legendary tales were merely legends. The descendants of the Knight King did not naturally possess the wisdom and virtue of the legendary monarch, and the glory of their ancestors, like history itself, was buried deep within piles of dusty records.

“We are willing to go there.” He and Reiz gratefully accepted.

Since there was no longer a king of such grand demeanor in the world, being an ordinary warrior, guarding one’s homeland and companions, was an excellent choice.

Not every young man gets to live in an era where a king appears and pursues a great cause that spans eternity.