Chapter 61: A Corner of Shadows (Bonus Update)

【Fusion of Vengeful Spirits, Legendary Mass Production Project】

【On July 9th, 1366 of the New Calendar, to further enhance the power held by us immortals and delve deeper into the relationship between souls and life, we officially commenced this significant special experiment.

Research has found that when intelligent beings die out of extreme hatred or fear, the vengeful spirits that are born from their death often possess powers far exceeding those they had in life, though the reasons remain unclear.

The fusion of vengeful spirits program refers to the artificial creation of a large number of homogeneous souls filled with hatred, which are then combined in units of hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands, allowing the resulting entities to wield powers comparable to legends and to be controlled.

Through cooperation with Ban Meikailande, the Second Prince of the United Kingdom, the organization has secured sufficient experimental subjects, so we can anticipate groundbreaking progress in the experiment soon.】

Most of the following content consists of Leopold elaborating on the details and methods of creating vengeful spirits, such as how to inflict extreme pain on a person in a short time, the timing of killing for best effect, and a myriad of minute details spanning over a hundred pages of notes.

Moreover, from the choice of words, one can easily see that the person writing this record harbors no guilt or hesitation about such actions, instead giving readers the impression that the “experimental subjects” are not real humans but rather mass-bred pigs, dogs, cows, and sheep.

However, at the end of this document, a significant amount of space is indeed allocated to detail the gender, age, state changes, and the quality of the vengeful spirits formed from each experimental subject, concluding with the insight that “the purity of children’s souls is extremely high; although they are unsuitable for creating vengeful spirits, they can serve as samples for nourishment.”

It seems that’s probably why those children are kept here, but where exactly are the vengeful spirits?

Though the resentment is heavy here, it’s quite scattered; frankly speaking, it shouldn’t pose any significant threat.

And how does the supply mechanism work?

Though Vilyric is not yet clear, it probably isn’t anything gentle.

To be honest, now that the Priestess has seen all sorts of wrath-inducing antics from 【Throne of Immortality】, it’s quite hard for her to feel surprised anymore, as she suddenly realizes that this bunch is fundamentally different from normal people.

The creation of undead is an imperfect method of “prolonging life”; it seems that any remnants of humanity have long disappeared from them. Even their values are hopelessly distorted; they merely appear normal on the surface.

No wonder it feels like after Plakaka was revived, his character has subtly changed?

At least back in the Tapeia Basin, he certainly didn’t have the guts to tease the Priestess.

If we judged that old rat during its time as the Throne’s loyal servant to have a fear level of 100 points, now he would probably only have 70 points—growing braver with behavioral logic no longer limited to simply surviving, which is what a normal living being should do.

However, the Priestess isn’t overly concerned with these matters; she just uses that rat to infer the psychological state of the lunatics at the Throne of Immortality.

At the end of this record, Vilyric noticed that after numerous human experiments, it seems the Throne of Immortality indeed managed to create several powerful fused vengeful spirits.

However, those entities are either completely irrational, only capable of indiscriminate attacks around them, or cannot maintain a stable state and soon disintegrate. Truly, only one successful specimen remains.

Regarding the reasons for success and specific information, Vilyric flipped to what should be the last page documenting these details, but found that…

Probably due to the compiled volume lacking a proper cover, this last page was right at the bottom, having been stained with a strange liquid spilled from various instruments during the earlier chaos, rendering most of the content unreadable.

“What the…? Just when it matters, they do this to me?”

The Priestess frowned in displeasure.

Gazing at the blurred page for quite a while, Vilyric could only make out half of an indistinct name.

“Li… what was it again?”

This information is so sparse, it’s almost as if it doesn’t exist at all…

Forget it.

In the end, it’s just a slightly stronger vengeful spirit. Were these Throne members not all of a similar chaotic nature? Just like those two wrapped in shrouds, they look eerie, but in reality, when it comes to a fight, their strength is just average.

Better not let them appear before the Priestess, or else this abominable product formed from the aggregation of countless lives wouldn’t mind her giving them a thorough physical purification.

After wandering around the chaotic experimental site, flipping through some records filled with extreme cruelty that seemed utterly meaningless to Vilyric, she quickly lost interest.

Though she hadn’t found any activity records related to 【Heart of the Red Dragon】 or those fellows from the Oaken Gorge, Vilyric also lost the desire to explore further.

“How boring, let’s go look elsewhere.”

“Oh, okay, Master!”

Called by the Little Dragon Daughter, who had already run off to sharpen her claws at the side, looking curiously at the ceiling, oblivious to what she might be watching, even though Vilyric hadn’t found those so-called vengeful spirits, she still cast a barrier that only the living could approach around the iron cage holding those children, just in case.

Then, the Priestess led her pet through a large hole in the wall, leaving behind a mess of scattered corpses and an even denser atmosphere of resentment in the experimental site.

The two returned to the corridor outside the experiment site. According to Ilai’s description, from here to the back should be the cells holding those unfortunate captives.

In fact, based on the markings Vilyric had previously made for that maid, she was indeed quite nearby, so it must be true.

Originally, Vilyric intended to capture a leader for interrogation about 【Heart of the Red Dragon】 before disposing of them, but who knew that guy would just get flattened by a door.

As for the other minions, Vilyric had no interest in engaging; after all, the dragon treasures painstakingly acquired by 【Throne of Immortality】 must be placed with someone very important, likely the Throne herself.

From what those folks in the experimental site said earlier, it seems both members of the Throne were conveniently absent, and Liliya is currently leading an assault on their stronghold, so it’s unlikely they would make an appearance anytime soon.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that 【Throne of Immortality】 with twelve legendary figures is very impressive; compared to real world powers, they have sharp combat strength advantages, yet they can never directly confront the might of an entire nation.

Moreover, only a fool would think that the entire City of Courage only has three legendary strongholds or that the United Kingdom couldn’t possibly bring out any hidden trump cards in the legendary domain; the national foundation has never been laid bare.

Thus, this operation would most likely end up fruitless.

While ruminating over this trivial matter, Vilyric didn’t slow her steps at all and soon arrived at another larger iron door.

This thick and heavy door, which ordinary folks could only open with mechanical assistance, is typically used to seal off secret chambers or detain important figures to prevent their escape. The reaction of her marking indicates it’s behind this door.

However, what caught Vilyric’s attention was that this door was actually half ajar, appearing as if someone had hastily left but couldn’t fully close it due to its weight.

Is【Throne of Immortality】 really this careless? Is this really an underground organization that prides itself on secrecy and caution?

Fearing yet another blunder, and since the door wasn’t locked, the Priestess decided to let it slide this time, cautiously pushing it open and proceeding down the short spiral staircase.

The dark, damp stench hit her nose, making Vilyric wrinkle her brow involuntarily.

Although she is quite resistant to such things now, it doesn’t mean she enjoys it.

On the other hand, the Little Dragon Daughter seemed more adaptable; her keen senses immediately locked onto several figures in black cloaks lying on the ground like dreamless salted fish at the far end of the prison corridor.

“Hey Master, looks like someone got ahead of us.”

“…Huh?”

   

---