With a "boom!", the elevator seemed to stop. Then it started moving again, but this time the direction of travel had changed.
“It’s not going down anymore.” Eugenie identified the direction based on centrifugal force. “It’s taking us west.”
"Baron Taylor has nothing to say." Moore's voice came from the darkness. "As you can see, I did have some thoughts about her in the past, but that didn't happen... Anyway, they are all old things."
No one likes to have their wounds exposed, but on the one hand, this wound is no longer that painful, and on the other hand, he knows that now is the most critical stage to gain the trust of this group of people, and he'd better sacrifice some of his own feelings to achieve his goal.
So, in the following description, he tried to introduce Baron Taylor to everyone as simply as possible.
"Windsor-Taylor was born into a hereditary baron family. His father was disabled while serving in the army, so he passed the barony to her not long after he came back."
"She was only 13 years old at the time and didn't understand anything. She was often on the verge of collapse when she was alone because of the internal and external pressures."
"And I—I've been observing her since the day I moved in. It might be because we are close in age... Don't think I'm funny when I say this, but there really isn't anyone else of the same age in the mansion."
"You showed up in front of her," Hitzfeld said.
This was the tone of an affirmative sentence... Moore nodded: "Yes, I showed up."
"At first, I hid behind the statue and used a disguised voice to answer her questions. She thought it was the Taylor family ancestor appearing, so I warned her not to reveal my presence to anyone."
"But she was so smart. You can't imagine how a child could be so cunning at that stage... Anyway, she used chili powder to force me out and forced me to tell her some things about me and my father."
"Did you make a prophecy?" Hitzfeld asked him.
“Not at first.”
"But you said you were Sally, the Time Dragon."
"Yes."
"What's her reaction?"
"She didn't react much." Moore shook his head. "She was a little surprised at first, but soon she found it boring."
"why."
"Maybe it's because we can't turn into real dragons... She also grew up listening to the legend of the Three Dragon Guards. In her fantasy, the most mysterious time dragons are simply human-dragon hybrids with muscular bodies and hard dragon scales."
Hitzfeld half frowned, the corners of his lips slightly stretched.
Is it an illusion? This Windsor-Taylor's hobby seems a little unusual.
"My father didn't restrict me too much at the time, so we quickly became good friends." Moore continued to describe, "I taught her to write poetry, and she taught me to paint... That was my childhood, and I imagined that time would stay there forever."
"Is she dead?" Jerry asked timidly.
In her opinion, no matter how beautiful this dream-like relationship was, in reality, today, that mansion had already proved what the fate of the Taylor family would be.
"Her father worked at the branch of Hot Springs University after retirement. Influenced by the old baron, she told me more than once that she wanted to be a historian."
Moore did not answer her directly, but said something completely different.
But everyone else realized that if it was Sarah's ambition, there would be nothing wrong with it, but this was Talignan, a place where you had to worry about being shot when walking on the street or staying in a regular hotel.
Nobility? Title? I'm afraid it has no value in the eyes of those thugs.
So the moment they made this gentle choice - rather than actively picking up a gun and embracing violence - the Taylor family's fate was sealed.
The subsequent development was just as they had guessed: some people soon came to them and asked Taylor to join their forces.
The title of a hereditary baron is quite valuable, and many industries can avoid taxes by being registered under Taylor's name.
But the Taylor family certainly didn't want to do that. This achievement was earned by their ancestors with their bones and blood on the battlefield. They couldn't just surrender to the gang.
"The Deathly Hallows Party hadn't risen yet at that time, but the situation in Metz was even more chaotic than it is now." Moore said calmly, "You can understand this, right? With the Deathly Hallows Party, those lowest-level villains at least had people to restrain them, but it was complete chaos back then. They were lawless and did whatever they wanted all day long!"
Amid the hum of gears, Hitzfeld remained silent.
She knew that the next step should be the key point.
"The old baron began to write letters to those with whom he thought he still had a relationship."
Sure enough, Moore began to read incoherently.
"But those people either didn't want to help after hearing about the situation, or were too far away... They couldn't find any help."
"This was a real surprise. They didn't expect the threat from the gangs to be so serious, and Taylor came to me for help at this time."
"She knew that I was the Time Dragon and knew the power behind the Sally family... so she begged me to step forward and use my identity to seek help from the Hot Spring Territory."
"I want to agree." He said stiffly.
"But my father wouldn't allow it."
“Then we fell out.”
"She thinks the Sallys are a bunch of selfish cowards who only care about protecting themselves in everything they do."
"I used to resent my father for this, but I would make the same decision now."
"……That's it."
After the story was told, the atmosphere became somewhat dead silent for a moment.
He didn't say directly what happened to the Taylor family in the end, but even the mansion was renamed and owned by a new person...presumably they couldn't escape being killed and silenced.
"You are not the only victims."
Xia Yibing's voice came from the darkness.
"Hopefully, this sacrifice will be worth it."
The others considered whether or not to offer comfort, but Moore didn't care.
"Your trust in me is the greatest value." He said, "I am sure that the 'heir' is among you. You must help Talignan overcome this crisis!"
"Let's talk about this later~" Xia Yibing skillfully changed the topic.
"After all, we only know you among the Three Dragon Guards, and even Mace hasn't left yet..."
During the conversation, the elevator stalled again.
This time it started to rise, and after a few minutes it got completely stuck and could not move.
A few people tentatively came out, lit matches and looked around, and initially guessed that they were trapped in a small wooden house.
This was not a serious restriction. Soon, they found the door of the wooden house, fumbled to open it, and looked up to see a large lush jungle.
"This is Houhu Lake," said Eugenie.
The Back Lake bordered the estate, but was much larger, and connected to the Winden River in the west, and they should be right on the shore by now.
Looking carefully from the woods, I could indeed vaguely see a ripple of light. The Houhu Lake should be just ahead.
They began to discuss what to do next, when the sound of hoofbeats was heard in the jungle.
Looking up, I saw more than a dozen horsemen appearing on the slope in the southeast direction, and the one leading them was Russell.
Russell waved at them, waving his hand vigorously to signal them to come over.
"People you know?"
Eugenie looked at Hitzfeld.
But strangely, Hitzfeld, the little purple-haired girl and the woman with a ponytail all had very serious expressions, and did not show any joy of reunion at all.
"We do know each other." Hitzfeld nodded.
"But it's not him, I can't say for sure."
Chapter 40: Anatomy
"What's wrong! You guys!"
As Russell rode closer with these people, instead of being greeted, he saw several people hiding behind a fence, pointing various guns at him.
Eugenie also kept looking back at the few people. He couldn't understand what Hitzfeld's last sentence meant.
What does "I do know him, but I can't really explain" mean?
Knowing someone is knowing someone, and not knowing someone is not knowing someone. How can this be considered bad? Could it be that they doubt—
Various images of himself as Niang-Polis emerged in the young man's mind. His face changed slightly and he began to feel nauseous around his head.
Ah... So they thought it was strange that their companion happened to be in this position to meet them, and they suspected that the face was fake...
But I can do this because of the blood of the Hutenwood tree demon... I want to make it so realistic that I can fill the target's entire body with seeds and catalyze their growth and germination.
After that, he would absorb the essence of the flesh and blood of the disguised target's corpse. When they were thoroughly nourished, they would blossom and bear fruit, and grow the layer of leather he needed.
It sounds bloody and horrible, but Eugenie swears that he has never used this ability to do anything bad. And in his many years of experience, he has never heard of anyone else having a similar ability...who can make the disguise so realistic.
"We'll know after a simple verification." Sixus muttered softly, then raised his head and raised his voice: "Don't move!"
Russell pulled the horse's head and it stopped at the periphery without moving.
"Tell me what is written in the letter we sent you."
"A request for help." Russell's face showed little expression. "That's a request for help. You analyzed the current situation and determined that they needed a backup plan, so you asked me to find a way to contact the Three Dragon Guards family... That's about it."
Sixus lowered his head and cursed, and the tension on his face dissipated a little.
That was exactly what was written in the letter, no problem. And that mechanical expressionless face was also very familiar, she thought the person coming should be Russell.
But Xia Yibing still felt suspicious...mainly because she had been observing Hitzfeld and found that the girl's expression had not changed from beginning to end.
It was solemn, as if facing a formidable enemy. And every time Hitzfeld made this expression, nothing good would happen. Her intuition was always very good.
"How do you know we are here?" The woman held the Ur rifle and tried her best to aim at the other party's head, while continuing to question, "We don't even know where we came from, how could you find this place?"
"We haven't been here since the beginning, have we?" Russell frowned, took out his pocket watch and took a look. "... I don't think you guys just came out. I just happened to find you while searching all the way here."
"But why did you come here to search?" Xia Yibing was still insistent. "The letter clearly said that we were in the County Magistrate's Mansion. Shouldn't you go there to rescue them?"
"I have my own information channels, so I naturally know that something happened in the County Magistrate's Mansion." Russell nodded, "Then I contacted the local person in charge of the Deka Chamber of Commerce, and he gave me advice and told me to look here in the direction of Houhu Lake."
Everything sounds flawless.
Xia Yibing's breathing relaxed slightly.
The Deka Chamber of Commerce should be referring to the Deka family of the Hot Spring Territory and the Hot Spring Dragon.
The man who could make Eugenie Copperfield swear allegiance to death, Kaloni, is the leader of this family. It seems that he is very capable. He may have inquired about the situation of the mansion a long time ago and may know the exit of the secret passage.
"We are running out of time." Russell reminded her, "Although this is Houhu, it is not too far from the manor. It is impossible for us to mobilize so many people to conceal our whereabouts. They may come at any time."
"So what are your plans for next?"
"You are too obvious in the wild. I will have some people dismount and stay here for you. You can ride your empty horses and put on your cloaks and go back with me. Then tonight there will be a caravan from Deka heading to Kerge. You can just blend in. By the time they find you, it will be too late."
"..." Xia Yibing was in a fierce ideological struggle. She glanced at Hitzfeld again and found that the girl was still frowning.
"Aisun?" Xia Yibing called her softly, wanting to seek advice from the girl, "Why don't we just do as he says..."
Hitzfeld remained indifferent.
Perhaps he was annoyed by the verification process, so Russell simply took off his right glove, used his body to block the view of his companions behind him, and once again showed them his unique mechanical arm.
"It can only be him!" Sixus stood up excitedly, "He's still standing there, let him in!"
"Don't be impatient--" Hitzfeld finally spoke. She suddenly stood up when everyone was most unprepared, and her one eye looked at Russell across more than ten meters.
"If you are really him, tell me--" she cried, "how did you lose your right hand?"
What kind of problem is this?
Sixus was almost amused.
That’s the iconic mechanical arm. With something like this, how can they still not explain how the original right hand was lost?
She grinned at the mechanic, expecting him to give a quick answer.
But a second passed.
Five seconds passed.
Sixus... and the others watched "Russell" riding on the horse motionless, and felt a chill rising in their hearts.
"Russell Igor!" Sixus couldn't stand it anymore. She pointed her gun at him and said, "You—"
"boom!"
The sound of gunfire broke the silence of the jungle.
Sixus only felt a soft body knocking her down.
