Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 599 Bastion Castle (4)

"The situation in Bastion Castle is a bit like... the dungeons in Infinite City. Most of the time, they are relatively "mild." As long as you remember a few rules, you can stay in them for a long time. But just like the dungeons in Infinite City, Bastion Castle will suddenly have a dangerous period lasting at least a month every once in a while, just like... a global event. But unlike the global events in the Infinite City dungeons, the situation in Bastion Castle has never been repeated. However, one thing is certain, that is, the time of these dangerous periods is fixed. Under normal circumstances, they will appear twice a year, the first time is in July, and the second time is in November. But the specific day of the month is uncertain, but it will definitely not exceed these two months. It is now the 27th of July, and this time the blockade of Bastion Castle started on July 6th, which means that we have to wait until at least the 8th of August before we can safely enter Bastion Castle."

"What if even if we wait until August and the danger period isn't over by the time we get there?"

"Then I'll have to hold you back. During the dangerous period, severe spatial turbulence will occur near Bastinburg. If I use teleportation at that time, the best case scenario is that I'll be transported to a remote place I've never been to. The worst case scenario is that I'll become part of the energy debris in the spatial turbulence. So I definitely won't enter Bastinburg during the dangerous period. I can't escape."

"Can't we find a safe place within the confines of Bastionburg?"

"I've only been there a few times, and I've never been inside the main castle. Outside the main castle is basically open space, so where is there a safe place? Even if you can get me into the castle, you might be able to survive with your own strength, or at least not die. I don't have that confidence. As I said before, I don't intend to die. So if you want to go to Bastinburg, I'll only be responsible for getting you in, and then I'll immediately return to this base. As for what happens after that, that's not my business. So whether you want to go or not is up to you."

Christina expressed a physical aversion to the idea of ​​entering Bastion immediately. This suggested she wasn't acting, lurking in a trap, but rather harboring a genuine fear of entering Bastion at this time. Christina was crucial to Han Zu's dealings with the Fu Denan family, so Han Zu naturally wouldn't coerce them at this moment. He agreed with Christina's suggestion and planned to wait a few days before heading to Bastion.

"I can wait a few days, but you need to tell me about this dangerous period."

"Like I said, I've only been there a few times, and I only witnessed one critical period. The reason I survived then was, firstly, because Sebastian was also inside Bastinburg for some secret matters that only he knew about, and secondly, because he brought a lot of elite guards with him. During that critical period, apart from Sebastian, me, two people who were probably researchers or scientists, and a few elite soldiers, the rest of the guards, including everyone who failed to evacuate early, all died. Even the crop fields were completely destroyed, and it took months to gradually repair them. I followed the two scientists at the time, hiding on the top floor of a tower inside Bastinburg, so I only saw some of the outside situation from the window. But there was a thick fog outside Bastinburg at the time, so I didn't see much."

"Didn't you say you've never been inside the main castle of Bastinburg? Then what about the tower inside Bastinburg..."

"The tower is located to the right rear of the crop field. It's a separate building, not connected to the main castle. Judging from its internal structure, it should have been used as a watchtower or bell tower, at least that's what it was when it was built."

"Oh, I see. What did you see then?"

"Like I said, the fog was very thick. While I didn't see nothing, I certainly didn't know much. Furthermore, due to the brightness and the influence of Bastinburg's energy, I'm not sure if I really saw anything or if the impact of the energy was an illusion."

"That's no problem. Just tell me everything you know. Tell me as much as you can. We're not leaving just yet anyway, so we still have time."

"Okay, I don't know much, but I can tell you what I saw. But I have to make it clear in advance that some of what I saw might have been hallucinations due to energy, so it doesn't mean that everything I saw was real. I can only tell you what I understand."

"clear."

"Well, I was on the top floor of the tower at the time, and Sebastian said he had something to deal with outside, so he told us all to stay there and not go out. Even if we had to go out for some reason, like it was unsafe here, it was best not to leave the tower. So I..."

According to Christina, in addition to staying in the tower, Sebastian also gave her a task: to keep an eye on one of the researchers. As long as he didn't leave the tower, he could do whatever he wanted, and Christina didn't need to interfere. After that, Sebastian left the top floor of the tower and didn't return until five hours later.

During these five hours, nothing happened in the first three hours. Except for the remaining guards patrolling outside the door on the top floor of the tower, the two researchers or scientists were very quiet. They did not seem to have any energy, so the commotion around Bastion Castle did not affect them.

"Aside from some doubts, those two guys are fine. The top floor of the tower seems to be a safe zone. Sebastian, or someone before him, must have taken care of it. It looks like a study, with some old-fashioned sofas and other things. There are also some small boxes for storing supplies, filled with food and water. There are also toilets and other facilities. These should be prepared by the Ferdinand family to deal with possible situations in Bastinburg. With these things, basic survival is not a problem, but the prerequisite is that the top floor of the tower must be safe."

Although the two researchers were fine, Christina and the guards were not feeling well. The turbulent energy of Bastinburg had a direct impact on their condition, just like the feeling of a severe hangover. Just maintaining normal movements gave them splitting headaches, and they could feel that their own energy was also becoming chaotic under the influence of Bastinburg, and was gradually becoming out of control.

"Although we all felt very uncomfortable, the effects weren't severe enough to completely disable us. So, for safety's sake, I had the guards stop patrolling and instead guard the top floor of the tower. We weren't going out anyway, and around the fifth hour, our symptoms began to ease, and I realized that the effects of Bastion Castle might be ending. I looked out the window, intending to see the sky to ease my headache, but as I did, I caught a glimpse of something in the fog."

Christina's description of what she saw was very vague. She said the fog outside seemed to be moving on its own. The window frames on the top floor of the tower where she was standing had warped due to age, preventing the windows from closing completely. A gap always remained. The fog would likely be moved by wind, but Christina clearly remembered there was no wind near the window. Christina recalled that the tower was located in a windy spot. If the fog was moving due to wind, she couldn't have failed to notice it from her window. So, she was certain the fog was moving on its own.

"The time at Bastion Castle is slightly different from where we are now, but not by much. If it's noon here, then it's just past noon there at the latest. I remember clearly that we started entering the tower to take shelter around seven or eight in the morning. Four hours later, it was around midnight at the latest, when the sun was at its brightest. Although the ground was covered in layers of fog and very dark, I could still see the clear sky and sunlight from my position on the top floor of the tower. Through the sunlight, I noticed something moving in the fog on the ground. There were many of them, but they were not in a regular pattern, and they looked all kinds of different."

According to Christina's own observations, the fog enveloped a vast area, stretching from the main part of the castle, including the crop fields, all the way to the edge of the forest outside Bastinburg. Within this entire area, for unknown reasons, the mist was thinner in some places, allowing sunlight to dimly penetrate the ground. Yet, while Christina could clearly see numerous moving silhouettes in the mist, not a single footprint remained on the ground where the sun shone.

"If there were only no footprints on the cobblestone road, it would make sense, but it's a bit strange that there are no footprints on the fertile crop fields."

"Have you seen any other clues that make you curious after this?"

"No, the fog grew thicker after that. Staring into it for a long time made the energy in my body more and more agitated. It gave me a severe headache, so I left the window. For the next few dozen minutes, I lay on the sofa in the room on the top floor of the tower. Some time later, Sebastian returned to the top floor. He was injured, but I don't know how serious his injury was, but his expression was serious and he didn't say much. His clothes were also tattered."

"You mentioned before that Sebastian brought a whole guard with him, but when you entered the tower, there were only three or two left. Does that mean those guards died before you entered the tower?"

"I'm not really sure about that. I wasn't with Sebastian when the unusual movement began. In fact, I didn't know that Sebastian would go to Bastinburg that day. I went there to inspect the harvested crops and compare the compiled list with the packed and boxed crops. Before I finished my work, I received a message from Sebastian. He asked me to rush to the first floor of the tower immediately. It was only after I arrived there that I met Sebastian, the remaining guards, and the two researchers."

"Then tell me, what happened after Sebastian returned five hours later?"

"Not much happened, actually. The tower is huge, and the top floor has many rooms. At Sebastian's request, we stayed there for over a month. Since it contained the equipment we'd brought with us, it wouldn't interfere with my work. But Sebastian rarely left his room during that time. When he did, he'd leave the tower directly, though I have no idea where he went. The fog outside was already two stories thick. The guards and I became increasingly uncomfortable with the increasing fog. By the end of the month, we couldn't even move freely. We felt severe symptoms every day. While the headaches didn't get any worse, my body felt heavy as if it were filled with lead, and my spirits were sluggish, leaving me with no interest in anything. Sebastian, while seemingly unaffected, was injured every time he went out, each time becoming more severe. However, he was incredibly strong, and upon returning, he only needed a few hours of rest to recover."

"What about the two scientists who weren't affected by the energy anomaly? How are they?"

"It's strange, but during the month or so we spent atop the tower, they were perfectly fine 99% of the time. By the end, after becoming accustomed to the oppressive feeling, they were even able to help take care of us, and we no longer felt that subtle sense of fear. Sebastian seemed very familiar with the changes in Bastion Castle. He told us that the anomaly should end in a week, which gave us some encouragement. For the first six days, nothing happened, but on the last day, those two researchers suddenly went crazy, smashed through the tower window, and jumped straight into the fog below. Remember, the tower is seven or eight stories high, and they had no special abilities, nor were they wearing any equipment or protective gear. We, including Sebastian himself, were too late to stop them, and we all thought they were doomed, but..."

"That's not the case?"

"That's right. At four o'clock in the afternoon of the last day, as the fog gradually dissipated and contracted toward the interior of Bastion Castle, we actually saw the two researchers through the broken window of the tower. They were standing in the open space between the tower and the crop field, staring straight at our position. Although it was very unsettling, they didn't move towards us. We didn't take it seriously, but we still consciously kept an eye on their direction. But when we heard this, Sebastian suddenly jumped out of bed, walked to the window, pushed us aside, and then used his own ability to mercilessly blast the two researchers in the distance into pieces. His expression was extremely serious. Afterwards, I asked him why, but he didn't say anything. But based on Sebastian's behavior, I guessed that the two researchers must have been in trouble, so serious that Sebastian had no choice but to kill them."