Chapter 267: Trap

The struggling explorers inside the town had no idea that after nightfall, new wizard apprentices had been drawn to the formation of graves outside the gates, seeking to enter Grind Sail Town and uncover its secrets.

Billy, who was always wearing a scowl, for once had a trace of a smile on his face.

He crouched at the edge of a field, watching the formation of graves with great interest.

Angela, cloaked from head to toe, stood behind him impatiently.

“Didn’t you say the town had been completely slaughtered, and told me to come absorb the soul fragments? But look at these graves—they’re spotless. Clearly someone else got here first.”

At her complaint, the faint smile at the corner of Billy’s lips vanished.

“What do you know? This is an auxiliary formation for cultivating curses. What’s hiding in the town now is worth far more than your measly soul fragments.”

He stood up and looked toward the town gates in the distance.

A suffocating stillness radiated outward from the town like a silent wave.

“A curse cultivated with the strength of an entire town…” Billy licked his lips. “Going in might mean death.”

Angela’s face tightened when she heard Billy mutter to himself.

After spending the past few months together, she’d come to understand just what kind of person her temporary companion really was.

Anything that piqued his interest—no matter how dangerous—he’d dive in headfirst.

As someone who had obediently stayed in the lab ever since entering the Wizard Tower, rarely participating in any risky operations, Angela had already left her comfort zone just by coming out here.

Let alone these past few days—she’d practically been dragged through life-and-death situations alongside Billy.

All that talk about gathering souls outside being easier, having more resources, and not needing to be so cautious like in the Wizard Tower…

It was all a lie!

She had finally made up her mind to return to the tower, but halfway back, Billy had been lured over by the anomalies here.

Now it looked like he was seriously planning to enter that unknown town that had already become a cursed land.

“I’m not going in,” Angela declared firmly.

“You can’t leave me,” Billy replied, brooking no argument.

“Why not? I’m not strong enough. If I go in with you, I’ll only drag you down. Just go without me—I’ll wait for you back at the tower, okay?”

Billy didn’t respond.

He showed his answer with his actions.

Angela stood still at first, but as Billy walked farther and farther away, a dull ache began to stir in her lower abdomen.

“Damn it.” She had no choice but to jog after him.

Billy had poisoned her with a special toxin. Unless he gave her a temporary antidote, Angela couldn’t stray more than a hundred meters from him.

Otherwise, the pain in her abdomen would spread to her entire body.

And as for what kind of damage that would eventually lead to… Angela didn’t dare test it.

Billy knew she wouldn’t risk her life to test his poison, so he calmly placed a hand on the town gate.

A pale green gas seeped from his palm, spreading across the wooden gate.

The gas was highly corrosive—upon contact, it began eating through the wooden gate and the wooden bolt behind it, forming a large hole.

Soon the hole widened enough for a person to walk through upright.

Billy didn’t wait for Angela. He walked straight into the town.

Angela followed reluctantly, keeping some distance behind him as she stepped over the fallen wood fragments.

The moment she crossed the threshold of the gate, Angela suddenly heard the sound of water.

But it wasn’t the normal sound of flowing water.

It reminded her of a massive flood that once struck her hometown.

A raging river that crushed everything in its path.

In the face of such a flood, it didn’t matter if you ran or not—no one could escape.

In the end, all would be swept away, their bodies mixing with mud, stone, and broken branches, becoming part of the flood’s force, helping it wreak even greater destruction.

Angela bit her lip, her face pale.

Just then, her left hand suddenly shot up to block her path.

“What’s the point of warning me now?” Angela murmured bitterly, “Why didn’t you stop Billy earlier?”

She knew it was the evil intent within her left hand warning her of danger.

Of course she knew there was danger.

Dragging her feet heavily, Angela followed Billy deeper into the town.

They walked along the main road for some time.

At a fork, Billy suddenly veered into a narrow side alley, as if he had discovered something.

Angela had been keeping a distance, but when she saw his figure vanish around the corner, she panicked and rushed after him, afraid of losing him for real.

However, Billy hadn’t gone far down the alley. He stood before the gate of a small courtyard.

Angela skidded to a stop and peered around the corner.

“What’s so special about this place?” she asked, looking at the damaged gate, “Looks like a house for commoners.”

“Something showed up here,” Billy said, eyes fixed on the courtyard, “The flies I released vanished the moment they entered.”

He jerked his chin at her, “Send in one of your souls.”

Since leaving the Wizard Tower, Angela had performed several sacrificial rites with corpse flowers under Billy’s instruction.

Thanks to the high quality and abundance of the souls Billy provided—far more than what was available within the tower—Angela had quickly gained several souls servants.

They were great for scouting danger ahead.

She had reaped real benefits from this, which softened some of her resentment toward Billy.

Now was the perfect time to use a soul.

A hideous, translucent face suddenly surfaced on Angela’s otherwise lovely features.

It twisted and struggled, desperate to flee.

But it seemed glued to her skin. As it tried to break free, a dreadful tearing noise echoed between them.

Angela’s beautiful face twisted in pain—clearly, the separation hurt her as well.

Wanting to end the torment quickly, she gritted her teeth and flung her head back.

With a series of sharp, splintering cracks, the soul finally detached.

It immediately tried to escape.

Fortunately, it was already facing the courtyard when it detached from Angela, so it dashed straight into the yard.

Saved her the trouble of issuing a command.

But the instant the terrifying face crossed into the courtyard, both Billy and Angela suddenly heard the sound of crashing waves.

Angela had heard it once before—when they first entered the town, but it had disappeared quickly. She assumed it was a magical effect and hadn’t paid it any mind.

The next moment, scarlet water began to seep from the cracks in the wooden boards covering a rear window of the courtyard.

The flow quickly grew, gathering into a red tide at an unbelievable pace.

The red liquid slapped against the walls with the sound of ocean waves crashing on rocks.

Billy took a step back, face darkening.

“Run!” he barked and turned to flee.

Angela hadn’t even realized the danger before her collar was yanked hard.

She stumbled backward a few steps before twisting agilely to follow him.

“My soul! I didn’t retrieve it!”

“You won’t get it back.” Billy’s voice was cold. “We’ve been tricked. This isn’t a site where a curse is being formed. It’s already a fully-formed cursed domain.”

“You’re the one who got tricked,” Angela thought, rolling her eyes behind his back, “I never wanted to come in here from the start.”

(End of Chapter)

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