Chapter 174: Infiltration

After discussing the matters in the mountains, Silas changed the subject and asked, "How much do you know about the situation in the capital city?"

Cody shook his head. "I'm not too clear about the situation there, but I heard the newly appointed queen has barely managed to maintain the old royal authority. After all, those royal guards are not to be trifled with. However, now that the werewolves created by her brother are still rampaging in the country, public opinion is generally leaning towards the anti-imperial faction. Few of the remaining commoners still support the original royal family. The reason it hasn't collapsed yet is entirely due to the rich foundation of the previous national treasury."

Silas nodded and asked again, "Can people still see her brother leading werewolves rampaging in the country now?"

Cody shook his head. "No, after killing the king and throwing the entire country into chaos, he never appeared again, only leaving behind a large number of werewolves to harm the commoners. I used to live in the capital. Later, after the war broke out, we heard it was very safe here, so we moved here. But what I didn't expect was…"

Speaking of this, Cody's voice choked up, and he lowered his head, saying no more.

Silas nodded slightly. Through Cody's words, he had gained a preliminary understanding of the overall situation here.

"Have you tried to go into the mountains to look for your child?" Silas asked from beside the pillow.

Cody nodded. "I have. I've been there many times, but I was driven back by the patrolling soldiers there. I can feel that if I continue to pester them, not only will I not see my child, but they might even kill me at any time. So, I haven't continued to contact them since."

Hearing this, Silas took a deep breath. "Mr. Huntington, the deal is made. I will help you investigate your son's situation."

"Thank you very much," Cody hurriedly stood up and bowed.

Silas nodded slightly. "Please tell me the location of that cave in detail, as well as your child's age and appearance."

"My child's name is Bieber Huntington, twelve years old, about one meter fifty centimeters tall, not fat nor thin, with golden hair…"

For the next half hour, Cody carefully described his son's appearance and the location of the cave.

After confirming there were no omissions, Silas saw Cody off, took out his pocket watch, and looked at the time. It was already three o'clock in the afternoon.

"I'll act after sunset," Silas thought, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

After going over the entire matter and course of action in his divine mind, Silas found several key points.

First: He couldn't completely follow Cody's route because, in the current situation, Cody's words weren't very trustworthy.

Second: It was highly likely he would face both mystical and physical attacks; he needed to prepare his defenses well.

Third: The situation there was very likely related to those few followers Jean brought back; he needed to be prepared to fight werewolves.

When Silas opened his eyes again, it was already six o'clock.

Sitting up, Silas picked up his backpack, took out some mystical materials, and made two reconnaissance familiars.

After putting away the familiars and confirming there were no problems with his equipment, he changed into a relatively loose black casual outfit and turned to go out.

After a simple dinner that filled him to about sixty percent, Silas gradually disappeared into the darkness under the moonlight.

Silas still followed the route Cody had given him, but his position was shifted about fifty meters to the left.

Although the path forward became much more difficult, it was relatively safer.

Pulling up his collar to cover his face, Silas casually released the familiars, having them scout in a twenty-meter radius around him.

Steadily treading on the relatively steep hillside, Silas moved forward cautiously, like a hunter tracking prey.

After advancing for about twenty minutes, Silas stopped because his familiar sensed someone approaching.

Gradually slowing his breathing, Silas listened carefully to the surrounding sounds.

"Did that outlander merchant contact Cody today?" a somewhat sharp voice came.

"Yes, Cody, anxious to save his son, probably already told that poor fellow this route," another, relatively normal voice came.

"If that merchant is really from the Church, he'll definitely come here. Let's ambush him here now. So what if he's a mystic? One shot to his head, and I don't believe he can survive."

"Yeah, I also think those things are just mystifying. They're just using some chemical reactions and physical means, no different from those magicians. Look at those people inside, all acting mysterious and eccentric, no different from ordinary people. That mad mystic from a few days ago, we riddled him with a volley of bullets just the same."

"Hide well, he should be here soon, I have a feeling!"

Afterward, the entire hillside fell completely silent, with occasional, somewhat abrupt howls in between.

Hiding in a depression on the hillside, Silas closed his eyes. Then, the bell sound in his mind rang out, forming faint ripples that spread outwards.

These ripples were very subtle, an advanced technique Silas had now mastered for controlling the bell sound.

Subtle ripples could prevent mystics of the same level and ordinary people from perceiving any mystical fluctuations or sounds.

Like radar sonar spreading out, two points appeared in the countless circles in Silas's mind.

These two points were located at his one o'clock and four o'clock directions, at distances of 12 meters and 7 meters respectively.

"It seems two people are hiding separately on either side of the road, waiting for me to arrive." After confirming the positions of the two, Silas opened his eyes and fell into thought.

"Do I need to deal with them? In the current situation, I can easily bypass them. But if I'm pursued on the way down the mountain, these two guys could easily cause trouble."

"Let's deal with them, but not to the extent of killing them."

The feeling of killing was not good. Unless absolutely necessary, Silas would not choose to take a human life.

Thinking of this, Silas released the bell sound again. This time, the ripples of the bell sound were larger, and at the same time, Silas activated his Mind Calming Hypnosis ability as a priest.

The people guarding both sides of the road heard a very illusory bell sound in their ears. Then, their bodies swayed, and they leaned against nearby trees, falling asleep.

"They won't wake up for at least two hours; two hours is enough." Silas was no longer a fledgling rookie; he had sufficient confidence in his grasp of mysticism.

Running over and disarming the two, Silas quickly advanced, simultaneously using his familiar to carefully ascertain his surroundings.

After advancing for about another ten minutes, Silas arrived at a relatively gentle slope in the woods and found two large rocks that had rolled down from the mountain.

This was where Cody's son, Bieber, had hidden when he saw the dead people.

Opening his Spirit Vision, Silas scanned the ground with his eyes and clearly saw a large number of mystical traces.

"No runes, no spells. It should be as Cody said; those things passed through here." His eyes followed the mystical traces up the hillside, extending all the way to the other side of a mountain ridge.

"The route is correct." After confirming, Silas continued to advance.

"A large number of dead people… There are many spells that can control corpses on a large scale, but most of them come from the Book of the Dead… Book of the Dead, black-robed people!?" Silas's mind was stunned at this thought.

Because he suddenly remembered an organization he had almost forgotten: the Death Cult.