Chapter 222 Soul Bead, the Terrifying Witch in the Forest! (6000)

Seeing the system prompt, Cao Xing's eyes once again showed a thoughtful look.

"This is the deepest part of the forest, and according to the system, this is the witch's castle."

"Could it be possible to find the witch in here?"

It was obvious that Cao Xing had touched upon the long-hidden truth of this forest.

Those plants and animals that were eroded by the dark aura, and why the Church of Light had to deal with the black snake.

And the legendary witch...

All of these will soon be presented before him.

As long as Cao Xing enters the castle, he can explore all of this.

Thinking of this, Cao Xing took a deep breath.

"Come on, let's go over and take a look."

They soon arrived at a place about ten meters away from the city wall.

The castle seemed very deserted. There was not even a single person in sight, let alone guards.

Obviously, there is no way to stop them with this four or five meter high wall.

Just as Cao Xing was about to approach.

About five meters away from the city wall, Dabai suddenly bumped into something.

"puff!"

There was a dull sound of flesh hitting something, and Dabai's head was shaken by the impact.

And just then.

Cao Xing saw a layer of blue energy shield appear out of thin air in front of him.

"My goodness, what the hell is this?"

"protecting mask?"

At this moment, the system prompt appeared.

[The Witch Castle is the private forbidden area of ​​the Forest Witch. She has set up a powerful seal around it to prohibit all foreign creatures from entering or leaving.]

(Hint: Maybe you can look for clues around the castle.)
...

When Cao Xing saw the system prompt, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

"Isn't this a shield, but a barrier?"

"No wonder there's no durability displayed on it. This way, we can't get in by brute force."

"However, the system prompted me to look for clues around the castle."

So Cao Xing ordered: "Let's go and explore the surrounding area."

After saying that, he led everyone to search around the castle.

This castle is really big, with a diameter of at least four or five kilometers.

You know, Cao Xing’s entire territory is only one kilometer in diameter.

"This castle is really nice, it's large and in a great location."

"It would be great if this was my territory. This way, I could save countless resources."

Cao Xing couldn't help but fantasize.

Of course, he was just thinking about it.

The survivors' territory cannot be moved, after all, the [Campfire] is the core of the territory.

Unless, like before, we take over other people’s territory.

Then occupy it and start development again.

But it is obvious that this castle does not meet the requirements to become a territory.

"However, although I can't turn this castle into a territory, the location of my territory is also good."

"The surroundings are very open. As long as you stand on the sentry tower, you can see at a glance whether there are enemies or not."

Moreover, Cao Xing believed that it would not be long before his territory would develop to the same scale as this ancient castle.

...

As they were thinking, they had already walked half way around the castle.

Through this kind of observation, Cao Xing roughly figured out the terrain inside the castle.

There are many tall towers and some two-story buildings inside.

These buildings have a unified style.

They are all made of stone and are full of medieval style.

The castle was overgrown with weeds and some unknown plants, covering the roads. It looked like no one had been inside for a long time.

In the central area, there is a tower that is 100 meters high.

It seems that this tall tower is the most important building in the entire castle.

And at this moment——

Sarah dodged and emerged from the shadows, looking ahead vigilantly.

Cao Xing realized that Sarah might have discovered something and followed her gaze.

There was a figure lying on the ground in front of him.

What surprised Cao Xing the most was that the figure was actually inside the barrier.

In other words, this person has entered the castle!
This instantly aroused Cao Xing's interest.

"Get ready, we'll go take a look."

After receiving Cao Xing's order, Assam picked up his weapon and walked in front of him.

As they approached, the figure seemed to hear Dabai's heavy footsteps.

He slowly stood up from the ground, lowered his head, and looked at Cao Xing and others.

A beast-like growl came from his mouth.

"Roar...roar..."

As he got closer, Cao Xing saw the man's appearance and was immediately shocked!
This is a man wearing soldier's armor, but his appearance is completely different from that of an ordinary person.

In his left hand he held a long sword, and in his right hand was a sharp claw covered with gray hair.

His face was also covered with gray hair, with a pair of fangs exposed, full of ferocious aura.

"Werewolf? Or what?"

There was a look of doubt in Cao Xing's eyes.

Seeing this strange scene, everyone stopped.

However, although the opponent looked terrifying, it did not seem to be a very powerful creature.

"Assam, Sarah, go and see how he is."

After hearing this, Assam rode on the Frostwolf and rushed forward quickly.

Sarah, who was in the shadows, also came over quietly.

And just then.

The strange soldier seemed irritated by Assam's approach.

"Roar!!!"

He let out a strange cry, then instantly crossed the barrier in front of him and rushed towards Assam.

Seeing this scene, Cao Xing quickly reminded, "Assam, be careful!"

Assam, who has rich combat experience, reacted immediately.

The moment the opponent rushed over.

He swept the [King's Blade] in his hand.

"Oh!"

【-twenty four】
-
1562
The soldier was instantly blown away more than ten meters.

After landing on the ground, the opponent quickly got up, then got on all fours and pounced on me fiercely.

The action at this moment was really like that of a wild beast.

Seeing this scene, others were about to go up to help.

Cao Xing stopped them, "Don't go over there yet, they can handle it."

"Assam, Sarah, don't kill it, just beat it half to death."

He wanted to find clues to enter the castle from this monster.

After hearing the order, everyone stood still.

Cao Xing also quickly glanced at the attributes of this monster.

[Experimental Subject: Tamera Soldier]

[Race: Human/Beast]

[Level: Level 31 (Level Ordinary Creature)]

[HP: 24623/28747]

[Attack power: 1213~1246]

[Armor: 279~311]

[Skill: Intermediate Swordsmanship Mastery (When using sword weapons, attack power increases by 20%, attack speed increases by 10%)

Fierce Claw Attack (Swing the wolf claws on the left hand, causing 124% tearing damage to the enemy and causing it to enter a 3-level bleeding state)
Three-stage slash (slash forward three times in a row, causing 97%, 75%, and 64% damage respectively)
Enraged (After being attacked 5 times, it will enter the enraged state, attack power +20%, attack speed +20%)]

[Talent: Fusion (HP +20%, Attack +10%)]

(The soldiers of the former Tamera Kingdom have now become a product of experiments. They become very violent during the day.)
...

Seeing the attributes of this soldier, Cao Xing's eyes showed a thoughtful look.

A fusion?

It seems that the wolf's genes have been integrated into this soldier's body.

This allowed him to display his impressive combat power, as an ordinary creature could possess four skills.

Cao Xing remembered the human-faced trees he had encountered before, and it seemed that they were using the same method.

And these soldiers can enter and exit the castle freely.

While Cao Xing was thinking about this, the battle over there had already come to an end.

As a third-level leader, it was extremely easy for Assam to deal with this fourth-level ordinary monster.

Together with Sarah next to him, they slashed the soldier hard and seriously injured him with just a few blows.

And because of Sarah's deliberate control, her silent blade cut through the soldier's heel, making him unable to move.

At this time, he could only fall to the ground and struggle continuously, with blood oozing from his mouth.

Seeing this scene, Cao Xing quickly led his men over.

He walked quickly to the soldier and asked directly: "Tell me how to enter the castle, and I will let you go."

However, the other party seemed not to understand what he said at all, and still made a beast-like roar.

"Roar! Roar!"

Not only that, he was constantly waving the wolf claws in his left hand, trying to attack Cao Xing.

Seeing this scene, Cao Xing frowned.

He asked Isabel to come over and use [Confession] to see if she could forcibly control the soldier.

However, Isabel tried it and then shook her head and said, "No, my lord, this soldier's consciousness is extremely confused, and the confession spell will not work on him."

Hearing this, Cao Xing frowned again.

"Ho! Roar!!"

The soldier continued to roar, and the roar became louder and louder.

If this continues, the creatures in the castle might be disturbed.

So Cao Xing said directly: "Forget it, let's deal with him."

After receiving the order, Sarah appeared immediately and slashed with a knife.

Swish!
【-twenty four】

Health points are reset to zero.

At the last moment, the soldier seemed to regain a trace of clarity in his eyes.

He looked at Cao Xing for help and uttered the last words.

"The king... deceived us..."

[Your territory member: Sarah Blade Dance killed the fused soldier level 31, a fourth-order ordinary creature, and gained experience points: 1240]

[Combatants gain experience points: 620]

...

"The king deceived him?"

"Which king?"

Cao Xing was thinking about the last words the soldier said.

However, because there are too few clues, it is impossible to make any inferences.

He shook his head and put these thoughts behind him.

"Forget it, let's pick up the things that exploded from his body and take a look."

After saying that, Cao Xing put the things on the ground into his backpack.

[Obtain: Chaotic Soldier Soul Bead (Green) * 1]

[Obtain: Tamera Standard Iron Sword (Green) *1]

[Obtain: Tamera Soldier Seal (Green)]

[Obtain: Intermediate Power Heart*1]

[Obtain: Medium Chaos Book *1]

...

What this soldier revealed was pretty good.

One [Heart of Intermediate Power] is equivalent to 1 Ice Dragon Marks.

"Good, I save money again."

Cao Xing thought happily, and then began to check the properties of other materials.

There was no need to check the standard iron sword, since it was only green quality equipment. Cao Xing first looked at the properties of the seal.

[Tamilna Soldier Seal (Green)]

[Equipment part: Accessory]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Attributes: Strength +3, Agility +3]

(Note: The mark of a soldier from a destroyed kingdom has a certain commemorative value.)
...

"Oh? Has the Tamera Kingdom been destroyed?"

"So the king this soldier is talking about is the king of Tamera?"

Cao Xing's eyes showed a thoughtful look.

He didn't think much about it and started checking another thing.

[Chaotic Soldier Soul Orb (Green): Special Item]

[Introduction: The souls of two different races are fused together, which contains extremely chaotic consciousness.]

[Item Effect: After using it, you will be subjected to a strong mental shock, with an 80% chance of falling into a state of confusion, and your mental attributes will permanently decrease by 10 points. There is a 20% chance of increasing your mental state or agility by 10 points.]

[Number of uses remaining: 10/10]

...

"Wow! Soul beads that can be used to improve attributes, 10 points at a time."

"This is twice as powerful as the improvement from the Large Attribute Book!"

The most important thing is that this thing is different from those attribute books.

This can be used for survivor lords!
In other words, Cao Xing and Liu Muxue can both use this thing to improve themselves.

[Soul Orb] can be used 10 times.

If you are lucky, you might be able to directly increase your spirit by dozens of points, which is a huge improvement.

However, this kind of [Soul Orb] has a major drawback, which is that the probability of failure is too high.

A full 80% chance of failure!
At this time, Cao Xing suddenly noticed the prompt above, [Using this will cause you to suffer a strong mental shock, causing you to fall into a state of confusion]

"In other words, it failed because of the mental shock, right?"

"What if I can withstand this mental attack?"

After all, they all have a status skill now, called [Faith].

This skill can just make you immune to one mental attack.

Can it be used to be immune to attacks from the [Soul Orb]?
After thinking for a moment, Cao Xing decided to give it a try.

Although the side effects of this thing's failure are a bit scary, he can still bear it.

So Cao Xing took out the gray bead directly from his backpack and looked at it in his hand.

This bead is the size of a thumb, and there seem to be two auras entangled with each other inside.

The method of use is also very simple, just crush it.

And he did not hesitate and crushed it on the spot.

"Crack!"

next moment.

Two cold auras suddenly penetrated into Cao Xing's mind.

He seemed to see a horrifying scene: a soldier was placed on a laboratory table, his body covered with knife wounds, and a figure was standing next to him.

Then he transplanted organs from various animals into his body...

At the same time, a system prompt.

[Ding! The thought of faith has been triggered, you are immune to this mental attack...]

...

The scene in front of me disappeared instantly.

[Successfully used the Chaos Soldier Soul Orb (green), Spiritual attribute +10, remaining times: 9]

Cao Xing was surprised when he saw the system prompt!
“Haha, it really works!”

"Great! This way, this thing has a 100% success rate for me!"

Thinking of this, a look of ecstasy appeared in Cao Xing's eyes!
He even wanted to get a few hundred more and use them on all the mages and assassins on the field.

After all, the improvement of dozens of points of spirit or agility attributes is very significant.

To Cao Xing, this thing is just one or two hundred points of magic attack power.

But it's a pity.

There is only one of this thing at the moment.

Shaking his head, Cao Xing put away these thoughts.

“Keep going,” he ordered.

Then, they circled the castle and began to explore.

A few minutes later.

They advanced nearly another mile.

At this moment, Sarah appeared again silently.

"There's something going on ahead. I found a cabin in the forest."

"A cabin?"

Cao Xing was stunned.

Sarah nodded and pointed to the woods not far away.

Obviously, the sudden appearance of a small wooden house in such a forest is an abnormal thing no matter how you think about it.

So Cao Xing said directly: "Take me over to have a look."

"As ordered!"

Then, Sarah led everyone towards the area she discovered.

Not long after, a small wooden house surrounded by vines was found at the foot of some large trees ahead.

This cabin looks really small, it only has one floor.

The surface of the wood has turned black and damp. The humid environment in the forest has caused some fungi to grow on the surface of the cabin.

The key is.

There was still light inside, as if someone was still living there.

Cao Xing thought for a moment and stopped in front of the door of the wooden house.

He walked up and knocked on the door.

"Boom! Boom!"

No one responded the first time, so Cao Xing knocked again.

After a moment, a voice came from inside.

"who is it……"

The voice sounds like an old man in his eighties or nineties.

Old, and unusually harsh.

Just listening to it gives people a creepy feeling.

Tong Chuchu and Elisa behind them couldn't help but hold each other's hands tightly.

But Cao Xing didn't think much about it. After all, their strength was there.

He straightened his expression and continued, "Hello, we are explorers passing by and would like to ask you something."

After hearing this, there was silence for a moment, and then footsteps were heard.

After a moment, the wooden door of the cabin opened a crack.

A skinny, mummy-like right hand stretched out from inside and grabbed the wooden door.

"Crench!"

The wooden door opens.

An old woman with a hunched back, wearing a dirty black robe and a black scarf on her head, appeared in front of everyone.

When the opponent raised his head, everyone on the field felt a slight tremor in their hearts!
Even Cao Xing was frightened and took a step back.

The old woman's face really scared everyone present!

Because she looks so much like the witches in fairy tales.

The wrinkles on her face were piled up like the folds on a crocodile's skin, and even her eyes were a little blurry.

The most iconic feature is her wide nose, which almost reaches her chin!
It is not normal to have such a scary old man appear in a forest like this.

And Cao Xing also checked her attributes in an instant.

【Witch in the Forest】

[Race: Unknown]

[Level: Level 12 (Second-order common creature)]

[HP: 1340/1340]

[Attack power: 95~102]

[Skill: None]

[Talent: None]

(The witch of unknown origin seems to have existed in the Witch Forest a long time ago...)
...

Seeing the opponent's panel attributes, Cao Xing's eyes showed a thoughtful look.

It's just an ordinary level 12 creature and doesn't look threatening at all.

However, Cao Xing did not underestimate the other party.

You know, in this world, there are many beings that use disguise.

His [Eye of True Vision] can only see through fifth-level disguises.

Therefore, Cao Xing also remained extremely vigilant, ready to escape or fight at any time.

The old witch looked at Cao Xing and others, and her eyelids gradually opened.

Cao Xing discovered a pair of cat-like eyes among the wrinkles on her face.

Her eyes swept over Cao Xing and others.

Everyone who was stared at by her felt a creepy feeling in their heart!

"Ho ho..."

The old woman's throat made a sound like a blower, as if she was holding a piece of thick phlegm, which was very unpleasant...

"Young explorers...what do you want to ask me?"

Cao Xing calmed down, suppressed the discomfort in his heart, and asked, "Old man, I want to know how to enter the castle?"

He pointed to the castle behind him.

The system prompted him to look for clues nearby.

And nearby, Cao Xing only found this forest hut.

So he got straight to the point.

Hearing this question, the old witch's cat-like eyes rolled a few times.

"Young explorers... why did you want to enter that ancient castle..."

"That castle... is too dangerous... there are many man-eating monsters in it..."

A man-eating monster?

Cao Xing's eyes moved slightly, "Old man, can you tell me in detail?"

The old witch thought for a moment, as if recalling something.

"There is a big evil wolf in there..."

"A cannibal who likes to eat humans and drinks a glass of freshly squeezed corpse juice every day..."

"And there is also a Rapunzel who enjoys torturing other people's souls..."

After hearing this, Cao Xing's eyes flashed with thought again.

The Big Bad Wolf, the corpse-juice-drinking ogre, Rapunzel…

This should be the monster in the castle.

But the strange thing is that Cao Xing just walked around outside the castle.

Apart from the soldier, no signs of biological activity were found inside.

So Cao Xing directly asked his doubts: "But when we came here just now, we didn't find any monsters in the castle?"

When the old witch heard this question, a curve appeared at the corner of her dry mouth.

It looks like she's smiling, but it's uglier than crying.

"Ho ho ho..."

A blower-like laugh came out of her throat again.

"That's because... this castle only reveals its true appearance at night..."

"Young explorer...haven't you noticed that there are very few wild animals in this forest?"

Hearing this question, Cao Xing looked thoughtful.

Because he did discover this problem.

Except for the group of wild boars we met last time we came in.

This time when I came in, I didn’t even encounter a wave of wild beasts.

What they encountered were strange monsters such as the carnivorous plant and the human-faced tree.

He nodded.

"Hehe... That's because all the beasts in the forest have been captured by the witch in this castle..."

"That evil witch...sends her soldiers every night to capture all the wild beasts in the forest and bring them into the castle to conduct evil experiments..."

"It was not until recent years... that the number of wild animals in the forest decreased, and the castle finally became peaceful..."

……

(End of this chapter)