The Record of Unusual Creatures

Panda Novel

The Mad Lord’s power was taking over Grand Duke Owen’s body.

Not just physically, but also on the soul level. He could even feel his soul clearly being chipped away.

Hao Ren approached the bed and carefully observed the wound while the MDT flew around it.

Grand Duke Owen and the silver-haired woman paused for a moment, looking puzzled when they saw the MDT, but no one noticed the tiny details except Rheia.

“Yes, it is the result of the Mad Lord’s power, but this man has slowed down the erosion process with his strong willpower and physical strength,” said the MDT in Hao Ren’s head. “Samples have been taken. Start thinking about treatment options.”

“We want to know what happened last night,” Vivian suddenly said, stepping forward. “If you can tell us…”

Grand Duke Owen fixed his eyes on the guests in the room, pondered a moment, and asked, “Why are you interested? How much do you know about my wounds?”

“A lot,” said Rheia, gently pointing at the wound on Owen’s chest, and the rotting flesh stopped wriggling for a moment. “I can even cure you. But only if you can tell us details regarding the Knights of the Ebon Blade who turned into monsters.”

Grand Duke Owen looked at the changes in his wound in astonishment, his eyes flickering with a strange expression. Shortly after, he laughed. “It seems wise to have you all here. There is nothing to hide about what happened last night. I think you have heard the rumors.”

“We heard that a team of the Knights of the Ebon Blade reached the northern legion post last night, and the Knights of the Broken Blade noticed them,” Hao Ren went on. “The Knights of the Broken Blade greatly overpowered the Knights of the Ebon Blade, but the Knights of the Ebon Blade suddenly burst with monstrous power…”

“They turned into complete monsters.” Owen nodded. “There were only about a dozen attackers, and I suspect that they were mutating in a totally controlled way. It was a well-planned situation. Their armor melted like wax, then metal and flesh fused as they grew. A great number of asymmetrical limbs grew from their bodies, and several mouths as well as eyes, opened wide on their skulls. The roar from their mouths are mind-numbing, and looking them in the eye can drive a weak-minded person mad on the spot. Ordinary soldiers are no match for these fellows—cuts from swords heal almost in the blink of an eye, but being stabbed by their limbs or blades can be fatal.”

Grand Duke Owen spoke while he pointed at the wound on his chest. “When the ordinary soldiers were wounded by them, they all became similar monsters in a short time. These monsters can only survive for a short time, but they bring about disastrous consequences. I was actually hurt by them, but I have lasted a little longer than the others.

“I was going to use myself as a sample and return to the castle to let the scholars and wizards study my wound to find a way to fight the corrosion, but none of the treatments have worked. Even Scholar Holman can only prolong my life for a day. If you had not shown up, I would have been ready to leave the castle.”

Grand Duke Owen’s message was clear: he was leaving the castle not to return to the frontline, but to exile himself in the wild, or even end his life because once a powerful fighter like him was completely mutated… even if the monster only survived for a short period of time, the damage could be devastating.

Hao Ren nodded slightly. Grand Duke Owen’s description was very detailed and had sufficient reference value. There was no doubt that the Knights of the Ebon Blade’s mutation was caused by the forces of the Mad Lord. But based on their “controlled” and “purposeful” mutation, it could be concluded that a superior individual or “brain” unit was controlling everything behind them.

In L’Haronne, the “brain” should be the Dragon Soul Emperor.

“About what time were you attacked?” asked Lily.

Grand Duke Owen thought for a moment. “About half an hour after midnight.”

“Then the time is right. It was when we sensed the ‘explosion’,” Vivian said, nodding.

“Explosion?” Charlemagne asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Ah, you may not have sensed it, or you may not have realized it even if you sensed it,” said Lily, waving her hand. “It was last night when the storm was at its worst. An evil force burst forth from the direction of the imperial capital, roughly the same time as the attack on Grand Duke Owen.”

When Grand Duke Owen heard Lily’s words, his eyes widened, and his face began to look strange. “You can feel the ‘thing’ too… You are inheritors as well?”

Hao Ren was a little shocked: there were clues here!

However, he did not show it. He just bobbed his head and said, “We do know a few things, but before we go into more details, we better cure you first. Rheia, I’ll leave it to you.”

Rheia nodded and stood next to Grand Duke Owen, but she did not do anything. She just watched the old man lying in bed.

Others looked at her curiously, wondering how the “little girl” was going to cure the terrible corrosion in the grand duke.

The eerie silence lasted for several seconds. Just as Grand Duke Owen was about to say something, Hao Ren suddenly noticed that a blurry shadow had appeared next to the grand duke’s body.

Everyone noticed the abnormal “shadow”, which at first remained motionless but began to squirm after a few seconds.

The wriggling black shadow suddenly squirmed and wriggled, “swimming” away from Rheia.

However, the shadow could not escape. Almost as soon as it left the grand duke’s body, Rheia had flashed over to the other side of the bed and grabbed the wriggling shadow.

It struggled violently and crumpled in the air into a sickening sooty soft mass. But it could not escape Rheia’s tiny hand no matter how hard it tried. The shadow kept screeching and squeaking in Rheia’s hand. Within thirty seconds, it was ablated and formed into a black sphere of fewer than two centimeters in diameter.

“Okay, okay, you can stop burning it now.” Hao Ren quickly grabbed the black sphere from Rheia’s hand and threw it into the sample storage container. “We need to keep a sample for analysis.”

Then he turned his head to the grand duke and asked, “Grand duke, how do you feel… Errr, ahem, Grand Duke Owen, grand duke?”

“This… That is it?” asked the old man.

“It is not complicated,” Rheia said, waving her hand. “It is just a little pollution. But you are quite impressive. An ordinary person… This is the first time I have ever met someone who has been able to hold on for such a long time.”

“Yes, yes, the inheritors!” Grand Duke Owen’s face lit up. “Whose inheritors are you? What era is the predecessor of the Basilica of the World Tree from? Such a powerful force… Is it the Tumen Empire? No, Tumen cannot fight Gorgon so easily… Are you of Gorgon, or even before Gorgon…”

Perhaps it was his excitement, perhaps it was the accumulated weakness of the body that burst forth after the Mad Lord’s power had been driven out, but the inordinately fit old man suddenly began to cough violently. “Calm down, calm down. We just saved your life. Do not lose it so easily,” said Hao Ren.

“I have only banished the corrosive force from within you. Your lost strength and soul will not be so easily restored—especially your soul. A third of your soul has been eaten, and that is irreversible damage, which even I cannot fix perfectly. If you get too excited, your body and soul will not be able to handle it,” reminded Rheia.

Grand Duke Owen lay back, gasping violently. His wound was healing at an astonishing rate, but the physical damage caused by the suppression and ravaging of the Mad Lord’s power had manifested itself, making him even weaker than before. “I… I see. What are the consequences of an incomplete soul?” asked Owen.

“You will still be alive. But honestly, it is probably impossible to be a powerful guardian of the North,” Rheia said bluntly. “Your mind, your will, your memory, even your personality can be significantly weakened or transformed in bad ways. Your body will also be affected. Due to the mismatch between the soul and the body, you will have difficulty controlling the body, causing it to weaken continuously until it matches the soul. Of course, ordinary individuals would basically be disabled under such circumstances, but your foundation is very good. I also tried to protect and fill in parts of you that were damaged so that you would not become disabled. Nonetheless, you are not going to be half as good in every way as you were in your prime.”

“For me… it is no different than becoming disabled.” Owen sighed but shook his head in relief. “However, I am grateful that I have gotten my life back.”

“Now we can talk about what you mentioned earlier,” Hao Ren immediately said, “about the Tumen Empire, Gorgon, eras, and the inheritors.”