Chapter125

The old master quickly nodded. With the help of the servants patting his back, he barely managed to catch his breath. Then he held a handkerchief, wiping his eyes as he tearfully explained everything to Elara.

It all started with the appearance of the Puppet Sect. It was related to a mine that had been accidentally discovered not long ago on their family's land.

When their family first found the mine in their mountain forest, they hesitated whether to report it to the court.

If they reported it, according to the current harsh tax laws of Plumera State, the mine would be taken away by the court under various excuses. The name would be changed, and the entire surrounding area would also be seized in the name of the so-called "law."

Not only would their family get nothing, but they would also be forced to give up their own land and forest for court development.

Even more than losing property, the biggest fear was that once the court discovered the mine, they would send troops to guard it. Since Anqu Town was located right at the foot of the mountain, it would be taken over as a military base.

Then, with the kind of soldiers currently running wild in Plumera State, who were no better than bandits, once they entered Anqu Town, they would definitely start robbing and abusing the townspeople. It would be no different from inviting wolves into the house.

Mining also required labor. But the soldiers sent by the court would never do it themselves. They would force the people of Anqu Town into hard labor through threats and violence.

Their peaceful lives would be completely destroyed. Fearing this, their family kept delaying and didn't report the mine. They didn't dare to dig it themselves either, since the law demanded that all newly discovered mines be immediately handed over.

If anyone dared to hide it, it was a crime punishable by extermination of the entire family.

But no matter how carefully they tried to hide the discovery, the news still spread.

Half a month ago, it finally attracted the Puppet Sect.

Anqu Town was located at the southeastern border of Plumera State, close to Youdan. So it wasn't a complete surprise that the news leaked across the border.

What they hadn't expected was that the Puppet Sect, which had been hiding in Youdan, would dare to reach into Plumera's territory. They came under the guise of "business talks" but were actually threatening the family to hand over the entire mine.

Of course the old master refused. No matter what, they were citizens of Plumera. Even though the state was now full of chaos and suffering, their family had lived there for generations. He couldn't betray his homeland.

After that, the Puppet Sect first kidnapped his only two grandsons. Then they targeted the young wives and daughters of Anqu Town.

Five days ago, they sent a group of Gu-infected people into town at night and poisoned the entire town. That's what led to the bizarre scene Elara saw when she arrived.

"Noble lady, I beg you! My two grandsons were taken first. The older one is only sixteen, the younger is just nine!"

The old master cried again as he remembered how they were kidnapped. His aged face twisted in grief and tears fell endlessly.

"Especially my youngest grandson. He's had a hard life since birth. When he was just a few months old, a careless servant let a wild wolf from the mountains take him away. We didn't find him until he was three."

"But when we finally got him back, he was no longer like a human child... sob... Later I worked so hard to help him learn how to live like a normal person. But then there was a rebel attack. My little grandson was taken again in the chaos!"

"The second time he was kidnapped, I didn't find him until he was seven. I happened to spot him in a slave market and barely recognized him. Sob... he should have been a treasured young master of our family, yet he never had a proper childhood. It breaks my heart."

"When I brought him back from the slave market, he didn't remember me at all. His whole body was covered in scars and defenses from years of abuse. He was always on guard and wouldn't let anyone near him."

"When I saw him like that, I truly wondered if our ancestors had committed some terrible sin. Why else would fate be so cruel to my grandson and make his life so full of suffering and danger?"

"But even after all that, the heavens still didn't spare him. I brought him home not even two years ago, and now the Puppet Sect has taken him again…"

The old master's face was soaked with tears. He dropped to his knees in front of Elara with a loud thud.

"Noble lady! I beg you! Noble lady! Please save my poor grandson! Our family has never done anything to hurt the people or act unjustly. I don't know why the heavens are so unfair to my poor grandson!"

"I beg you! Please, I'm begging you! If you can bring him and the others back safely, our family will serve you forever without complaint! Please!"

After getting the full situation from the old man, the guards also forced out every bit of information they could from the captured Gu users.

The situation was a bit more complicated than what the old man had explained.

The Puppet Sect had targeted this mining vein not only because of the rare copper, silver, and even gold ores, but also because of a unique flower that only grew deep under this mountain.

This flower had extraordinary effects when used to raise Gu poison. That was why the Puppet Sect wanted to take control of the mining area and use it as their base. From there, they would secretly raise all kinds of puppet creatures and slowly invade the Plumera Kingdom.

Their invasion plan had already been in the works for years.

The Puppet Sect had been hiding in Youdan, but Youdan was too weak. It could only rely on shady sects like the Puppet Sect to expand.

Surrounding Youdan were powerful states like Changpu and Yanyu. Youdan didn't dare provoke them, so it turned its attention to the Plumera Kingdom.

The stretch between the Divine Doctor Valley and Anju Town became the start of their planned invasion.

Luckily, even though the plan had been in motion for years, real action had only started half a month ago.

When Elara arrived, she happened to uncover their operation. Naturally, she wouldn't let these puppet scum run wild inside the Plumera Kingdom.

But after gathering all the information, another urgent problem appeared.

The Puppet Sect had chosen the mining area behind Anju Town as their starting point.

The young wives and daughters they had taken from Anju Town, along with the old man's two grandsons, were all imprisoned at the bottom of the mountain.

To control the invasion and issue orders smoothly, the Puppet Sect had sent one of their four strongest hall masters, second only to the sect leader himself — the Venom Spider.

The Venom Spider lived up to his name. He controlled a Gu Queen called "Web Shroud" and had mastered poison techniques.

He could silently lay out a wide poisonous net in his territory. Anyone who entered would unknowingly fall under his control and become his puppet.

His poison web was extremely powerful. Without strong internal energy to protect the body, even antidote pills couldn't help.

Even those with strong internal energy couldn't stay long, or the poison would slowly seep in and eventually turn them into puppets too.

That was twisted.

Among the people Elara brought, General Qi had three thousand elite soldiers. But military training was different from martial arts. The soldiers were strong in combat but didn't necessarily have strong internal energy.

Even General Qi's personal guards, who were skilled in close combat and body movement, didn't have enough internal strength to be sent into the mine base.

Aside from General Qi's troops and guards, the only ones left were Elara's personal guards.

These guards had strong inner force. Especially the top ten among them — in a world full of martial artists, any one of them could fight off a hundred enemies alone.

From the moment Elara woke up in this world, these guards had been the only ones who stayed by her side unconditionally.

So no matter how strong they were, she didn't want to risk their lives. She wouldn't let them step into danger for nothing.

Frowning and thinking it over, Elara looked up at Oswyn. "Isn't there any medicine that can counter the poison of this 'Web Shroud'?"