Chapter 185: Crazy Experiments

The monsters efficiently dragged the two of them into a concealed karst cavern.

A foul stench mixed with the scent of herbs rushed straight at them.

Lydia trembled as she looked around. Seven or eight women’s corpses hung on the walls, each with a grotesque gash across the abdomen, their blood long since dried.

Aside from tables and chairs, the cavern was lined with neatly arranged cabinets filled with various herbs.

“Help! Don’t touch me!”

Mei flailed wildly, kicking and struggling while chanting spells, but her mana was already depleted—she had no strength left to fight back.

She was slammed to the ground by a goblin, which showed no trace of mercy. Its rough hand struck down brutally.

The mage cried out in pain.

“Goblins are not allowed to act recklessly. You worthless trash, get back.”

The black-robed man frowned at the drooling goblins, who were already preparing to breed, and shouted sharply.

“Ya-ka-ka!”

The goblin turned its head, baring its teeth.

“You filthy thing, daring to bare your fangs at your creator.”

Without hesitation, the black-robed man chanted a spell. The disobedient goblin convulsed violently, letting out a miserable scream as threads of venom seeped from its seven orifices.

With a thud, it collapsed, slowly turning into a foul-smelling corpse.

Seeing this, the surrounding goblins’ eyes cleared instantly, and they scattered in terror.

“Good. That’s more like it. You—come here.” The black-robed man pointed at a wounded, drooling beastman nearby. “Get her pregnant.”

“Roar?”

Upon receiving the command, a glint of excitement flashed through the beastman’s cunning and brutal eyes. Compared to the ugly and savage females of its kind, this one was far more pleasing. It immediately rushed forward with eager, guttural cries.

“N-no… I’ll die…”

Mei was overwhelmed with fear.

Soon, disturbing sounds echoed throughout the cavern.

“Why… why?”

Lydia’s teeth chattered as she watched her companion being tortured, her body stiff with terror. She couldn’t muster even the slightest courage to resist. They were all human—yet this man allowed other races to torment his own kind. She simply couldn’t understand it.

Regret flooded her heart: if only she had listened to the Baron of Nightfall Domain and left the Northern Province when she had the chance.

But now, it was far too late.

“Because this is my job, understand? Just like how you accept commissions.” The black-robed man watched her trembling with interest and waved his hand dismissively. “Ah… staying in the Northern Province alone for so long, talking to goblins all day… encountering such a cute girl is truly a blessing.”

“To repay you, I’ll reward you first. That way, when it’s the beastman’s turn, it won’t hurt as much.”

Overwhelmed by fear, Lydia couldn’t even speak.

The black-robed man took out a beautiful vial, admiring it like a piece of art. “I need to create a potion that allows creatures to adapt to the gray mist—so beastmen can move through it as freely as those gray-mist goblins.”

“These goblins are the result. Unfortunately, they’re too weak. No matter how well they adapt, it’s meaningless.”

“Just imagine—after a wave of corrupted corpses assaults the exhausted human army, a beastman army immune to the gray mist charges out. What an entertaining sight that would be. Once I perfect the adaptation potion, it will surely become reality.”

With that, he walked over to the mage, who was already delirious, pried open her mouth, and poured the potion down her throat.

“Experimentation is always difficult. If I could obtain a high-quality subject, I could endure far more trials.”

“You devil! You’ll go to hell!”

Lydia gritted her teeth.

“Not at all. Alchemy and bloodline studies are the arts of sages.” The black-robed man chuckled. “Besides, my employer is… hehe. If I told you, you’d collapse.”

Lydia said nothing more, curling into herself as she whispered prayers.

“Hey, don’t play dead, bitch. Talk to me.”

The black-robed man cursed impatiently. Too long without social interaction had made him increasingly unstable.

Without hesitation, he flung off his robe, grabbed Lydia by her skirt, and began tearing.

“No! My body and soul belong to the Holy Light!”

Lydia cried out, her helpless eyes fixed on the cave entrance, desperately hoping that a divine messenger would arrive to save her.

But the savior she longed for did not descend in radiant light as the church had promised.

Nothing happened.

A suffocating despair slowly enveloped her.

She could only close her eyes and struggle instinctively.

Just as the struggle dragged on—

“Kaka!”

A goblin suddenly rushed into the cavern, shrieking and hopping wildly.

“You piece of shit, can’t you see I’m busy?”

Before his words even finished, a pillar of eerie blue flames surged in from the cave entrance. Accompanied by countless goblin screams, charred remains and ashes were blasted into the cavern.

“What’s going on?! Stop the intruder!”

The black-robed man was shocked. He immediately released Lydia, grabbed his staff, and ordered the goblins inside the cavern to charge forward.

“Endless vermin.”

With a cold curse, a figure clad in full plate armor crashed into the cavern, sending the charging goblins flying. The frail creatures fell like sacks of flour, hitting the ground with dull thuds before twitching twice and going still.

“Huh?”

The light returned to Lydia’s hopeless eyes. Her heart pounded violently, and for a moment, she found it hard to breathe.

“Lord Baron!”

Her voice trembled as if all her suppressed grievances burst forth at once, and she broke down in tears.

“Huh? Isn’t this that adventurer from before? Someone actually lives here… and there are corpses. Heh, looks like someone’s been conducting experiments.”

Phield glanced around the cavern, clearly surprised. Without a lord’s ability, maintaining a mist-dispelling lamp twenty-four hours a day would cost an enormous amount of gold.

“Who are you?”

They spoke at the same time, then both froze for a moment.

Phield rubbed his chin, thinking, He hasn’t discovered my territory. That’s good—he’s not here for me.

“Since you’ve come here, there’s only one outcome—become food for my pets. Consider it an honor.” The black-robed man licked his lips. “Daring to interrupt my creation of new life—you have a death wish.”

However, his smile quickly vanished.

Footsteps echoed as ten fully armored soldiers rushed in, shields and maces in hand. Ashina followed on foot—the black wolf was too large to maneuver in the narrow cave.

“My lord, the hidden goblins have all been dealt with,” Ashina reported respectfully. “There are also beastmen inside. Please be cautious.”

“I will.” Phield’s voice turned cold. “Those monsters are raised by this idiot. Let me and the soldiers attack first—I want to test a new divine artifact.”

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