The sky, which had only been half-shrouded in twilight a moment ago, suddenly turned completely dark.
At this moment, all of Yiertaya seemed to be gripped by an invisible giant hand; the city appeared to have paused its breathing.
People on the streets stopped in their tracks, those in shops poked their heads out, students in the academy ceased their chatter, and the palace guards grew intensely alert... then everyone looked up at the darkened sky.
A massive, thick expanse of black clouds covered the entire sky without warning, completely blocking out all light and plunging the earth into darkness.
Accompanied by the sobbing, ominous winds rising from all directions, a strong sense of confusion and fear welled up in everyone's hearts.
"What's happening?" Buze asked, leaning slightly closer to Duke Daggs' body in fear.
Before he could finish his sentence, a blood-curdling scream rang out abruptly from within the crowd.
Buze and Duke Daggs turned to look.
It was a member of the public who had been watching the commotion from the roadside, but now he suddenly collapsed, quickly causing a wave of panic.
"What is going on?" Duke Daggs shouted. His voice was loud and powerful, serving as the best sedative at this moment.
He pushed through the bustling crowd and quickly arrived at the side of the fallen man.
When he saw the miserable state of the man on the ground, he couldn't help but freeze.
The man's skin was almost entirely festering, his flesh melting away like ice cream, yet he seemed to still be conscious. He was twitching violently on the ground, his eyes—nearly bulging out of their sockets—staring fixedly at Duke Daggs.
It was as if he were saying: Please save him...
"Lord Duke, he..." A man nearby, wearing a suit and a top hat, looked at the poor wretch and then turned a hopeful gaze toward Duke Daggs, wishing the Duke would lend a helping hand.
He hoped the man could be saved.
But Duke Daggs was utterly helpless.
There was nothing he could do.
"Old man, what's wrong with him?" Buze cried out in surprise. The wretched and horrific sight almost made him vomit up his lunch.
Duke Daggs remained silent.
He desperately wanted to say he didn't know either, but he knew that at a time like this, he could not utter such discouraging words.
Otherwise, the morale of the entire city would collapse into turmoil and chaos.
"Ah—!"
While they were still at a standstill, another abrupt scream rang out from the crowd on the other side.
Everyone's hearts skipped a beat as Duke Daggs instantly turned his head to look.
The person who had collapsed on the other side was a woman dressed in a white gown and an elegant brooch. She was currently slumped in the arms of someone nearby, her mouth wide open, but unable to speak a word.
That well-maintained face aged visibly before everyone's eyes, then slowly began to rot and peel away.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at this unbelievable scene, some even covering their mouths in horror.
But this was not the end. The previous incidents were merely omens of an impending horror. What happened next far exceeded Duke Daggs' imagination.
He watched with his own eyes as the people around him collapsed one by one with raspy voices, suffering the same skin rot and melting flesh. They remained conscious but speechless, forced to watch as their awareness gradually peeled away from their bodies.
The screams rising and falling were like surging waves.
Even the army was affected. Some felt an unbearable itch, their bodies breaking out in red, swollen blisters. They scratched desperately, nearly tearing their own skin to the point of bleeding.
"This... what on earth is happening?" Duke Daggs' face was filled with shock and dread. Even as a king-rank mage, he felt powerless before the scene unfolding in front of him.
"Buze! Buze, how are you?" He suddenly remembered his youngest son, his heart stopping for a moment in fear as he whipped his head toward Buze.
However, although Buze looked slightly pained, he was not suffering as much as the others.
"I'm okay, I just feel a bit uncomfortable," Buze said weakly.
"Old man, what exactly is going on? Is this a plot by the Rubite people?"
Duke Daggs didn't know how to answer.
"No, this is the Plague God's virus. A plague has broken out in the city," a man wearing black clerical robes walked over quickly. It was Priest Luen from the church.
"The Plague God? Are you joking? Why would the Plague God's virus be here?" Duke Daggs looked at him.
"Believe me, as a priest of the Original God Church, my knowledge of the various gods is far deeper than yours!" Priest Luen said with a look of urgency. "This is one hundred percent a plague caused by the Plague God's virus. To stop this plague, we must stop its source!"
"The source? How am I supposed to know where the source of the Plague God's virus is?" Duke Daggs shouted.
"The cultists! Have you forgotten? You said the cultists took His Majesty the King. They must be performing a ritual to revive the Plague God somewhere very close to here!" Priest Luen shouted his judgment amidst the shrill cries surrounding them. "Find the cultists and destroy their ritual to revive the Plague God, otherwise everyone will die!"
"Where are the cultists?" Buze asked his father.
Duke Daggs gritted his teeth. "Axi Town!"
"I have to go to Axi Town to stop them!" he said.
"Then what about the people in the city?" Captain Wilson flew back at this moment, having heard their conversation from a distance.
"Mages can rely on the mana in their bodies to temporarily resist the disease, but commoners... are we just going to watch all the commoners die?" Captain Wilson asked.
Priest Luen raised his hand. "The church has a prescription specifically for the Plague God that can temporarily stabilize the disease in commoners. But there are too many people involved; I need someone to help me oversee the entire city."
Captain Wilson and Duke Daggs exchanged a glance.
"Daggs, the city is in your hands. His Majesty is absent. As the privy minister, it is your responsibility to manage Yiertaya," Captain Wilson said. "I'll handle Axi Town."
Duke Daggs clenched his teeth, but despite his reluctance, he had to agree to the plan.
"Trust me, I can do it." Captain Wilson patted him on the shoulder.
"The lives of everyone in the Katar Kingdom are on your shoulders. You must stop those animals at all costs!" Duke Daggs said solemnly.
Suddenly, he froze slightly and looked around in confusion.
"Where's Buze?"
"Where did Buze go?"
Captain Wilson was jolted by the question. He turned to look at a soldier not far away who had been knocked to the ground after his warhorse was stolen, and then at the gray mane flickering in the distance. He looked toward the city gates in disbelief.
"That boy Buze... he didn't head to Axi Town alone, did he?"
Rate on N.U.
