Perhaps, in that case, Ada might, out of consideration for the deceased Javier, offer some help to Leon and Ashley; otherwise, everything would be off the table.
"So you're saying…"
"As long as I give you the amber sample, you'll be willing to help Leon and Ashley?"
Luis finally understood what Ada meant.
Not only was Luis not angry about Ada stepping on him just now, but he even asked her with a fawning smile.
Alright… Luis admitted he had misunderstood Ada; getting paid for work was indeed very reasonable. In that case… Luis would just give Ada the amber and the serum he had secretly hidden.
Because, looking at their current interaction,
Luis knew Ada wasn't as bad as he imagined; she was just a bit greedy and needed sufficient compensation to act, not the type who would eliminate him immediately after getting the amber sample.
Therefore, Luis was relieved now.
His biggest fear before was that Ada would turn on him and leave immediately after he handed over the amber early.
Now, Ada not only had her own bottom line in how she did things, but also a touch of her own little tsundere side, which was a truly rare trait. He actually saw a tsundere personality in an ice flower—the contrast was quite magical.
"Perhaps…"
In response,
Ada, maintaining her persona as a cool, top-tier female agent, didn't immediately admit it, but instead replied vaguely and ambiguously.
But in reality, if Ada could indeed acquire the amber sample in advance and gain confidence, then at a crucial moment, Ada would still be able to save Leon and Ashley. After all, by then her mission would be complete, and she could wander around if she had nothing else to do, couldn't she?
...
Meanwhile—
Just as Ada and Luis formed a team, and Leon and Ashley also formed a team and began entering the new instance, Salazar Castle, the lone Javier walked forlornly towards the valley.
These people ran too fast; Javier couldn't catch up at all and in a blink of an eye, he didn't know where they had gone.
Javier felt quite helpless, thinking, "How could you bear to leave me here alone? Not even a dog waited for me. Did you really think I was dead?"
"Woof woof woof—!!!"
Just as Javier was thinking he would have to enter the solo instance alone, a sudden excited howl came from one side of the valley pathway.
A white figure rapidly pounced towards Javier. Before Javier could react, he was already knocked to the ground by this white figure. Upon closer inspection, Javier realized it was the White Wolf.
Ah…
At this moment,
Javier felt tears streaming down his face.
It was so rare; not one of the four people in the team believed he was still alive, only his White Wolf still firmly believed its master would return.
Javier was so moved that he wiped all his snot and tears onto the White Wolf's white fur. Javier decided… the female lead of this instance would be you, White Wolf!
You are my true love—
He vowed that when they returned, he would even use the T-Virus and G Virus to transform her into a beast-eared girl!
White Wolf: "Uh… I think it's better not to, Master!"
As for why someone might ask why the White Wolf appeared here, was it really because the White Wolf was loyal enough?
Of course not!
Leon: "Ashley, have you seen Javier's dog?"
Ashley: "Was it that white dog from before? I don't know… I think I saw it leave with Ada and Luis."
Luis: "Ada, have you noticed that something seems to be missing behind us?"
Ada: "What is it…?"
Alright,
Confirmed:
The extremely low-presence White Wolf had apparently been forgotten by everyone, which is why it was forced to be left behind on the mountain road leading to Salazar Castle.
The White Wolf, not knowing which team to follow, naturally could only wait helplessly in place, and then just happened to encounter its master, Javier…
It was simply a miracle…
"Let's go,"
"Even though no one is with me, one man and one dog isn't bad. I'll take you treasure hunting, White Wolf!"
Javier quickly came to terms with it. After feeding the White Wolf some jerky, he gently stroked its head and said. Immediately, the man and the dog, without hesitation, hurried towards Salazar Castle.
Several minutes later—
After traversing through numerous treacherous mountain paths,
Javier and the White Wolf successfully arrived in front of the gate of Salazar Castle. The drawbridge spanning the deep abyss canyon had not been raised despite Ada and Leon's two teams entering first.
Instead, it still spanned the deep abyss canyon, allowing for easy passage, which saved Javier a lot of trouble. At least this way, he wouldn't have to show off his rock-climbing skills.
As Javier looked at the tall ancient castle city built of blue bricks before him, he couldn't help but sigh at how wealthy the Salazar Family in the Middle Ages truly was.
Although time had left mottled traces on the walls, with much moss and climbing plants stubbornly clinging to them,
Even so… the entire city wall had not collapsed or crumbled; instead, it remained sturdy, showing how meticulously its building materials and design were chosen at the time.
It had stood for centuries without falling…
This ancient castle city, in the context of America's less than two-hundred-year history, was already considered a very ancient cultural relic building.
Salazar Castle was not just a single castle, but an entire massive walled city. The actual residence of the Salazar Family was at the back, while the front consisted of very classic Middle Ages city structures.
The third Demon-Sealing Count, fearing that the Plaga parasite would break its seal from underground again, built the castle here to reinforce the seal and guard it for generations.
And out of excessive worry,
The third Demon-Sealing Count spent immense wealth to build the city, enclosing it tightly, even constructing strategic weapons like fortresses, cannons, and trebuchets, making it impregnable.
Even if the Plaga parasite erupted from underground again, it wouldn't be able to escape and harm the world.
However, this approach also depleted a large amount of wealth accumulated by the Salazar Family, leading to immense financial strain for a time, which was only slowly replenished later.
However,
Because of his actions,
Such a magnificent city castle came into being. The rich Middle Ages atmosphere made one feel as if they were truly there, like something out of a movie, which was quite magical.
"But…"
"There are very few enemies, no… I should say there's hardly anyone at all, right?"
Immediately upon entering the city,
Javier noticed something strange, because all the enemies in the city had been completely eliminated; there was no trace of any Plaga parasite infected individuals.
Several corpses lay in many places. They were dressed in linen robes, bald, and held various cold weapons, but all had their throats slit, dead.
These people were house servants who had served the Salazar Family for generations, attaching themselves to the Salazar Family hundreds of years ago. Some served as soldiers guarding the castle, some helped clean up debris, and others held positions assisting in managing the castle.
But ever since the current head of the family, Ramon Salazar, was seduced,
These house servants, who had dedicated themselves to the Salazar Family for generations, completely became host bodies and experimental subjects for the Plaga parasite.
And these house servants were not as numerous as in the game world; they wouldn't be found lurking in every corner of the castle. In reality, there were only a few hundred of them, just enough to maintain the castle's operations. If there were thousands…
That would be completely impossible.
Because you simply cannot imagine how large the amount of food consumed by thousands of people would be. Even if Salazar was very wealthy, he couldn't afford to support so many people.
And on the outskirts of the city,
Javier had already seen dozens of corpses. Judging from the un-dried bloodstains, a fierce battle must have just taken place. The city's pathways were still filled with black smoke and residual flames.
Those things looked like fireballs thrown by trebuchets, and a hole had been blasted open in the central gate, directly facing a dark siege cannon, leaving its mark.
No need to guess,
These must have been the work of Leon and Ashley. At this moment, they had probably already met the owner of this city castle, Ramon Salazar—!
...
And Javier's guess was indeed correct.
After breaking through numerous obstacles, Leon had led Ashley to the castle's inner hall. The hall was adorned with colorful candlelight, a long red carpet covered the floor, and various oil paintings, antique vases, decorative longswords, and shields filled the surroundings, exuding an aristocratic Middle Ages atmosphere.
Before Leon and Ashley could carefully observe their surroundings,
A sudden round of applause echoed: "Clap, clap, clap…"
"Welcome to my castle, Mr. Leon S. Kennedy, and our dear Miss Ashley Graham, daughter of the President of the United States. As the master here, I intend to entertain you well. How was your journey… Did those lowly villagers in the village not lay a hand on our guests?"
"Of course, don't mind them. After all, they are just farmers working in the fields, unable to distinguish between right and wrong, so their actions are inevitably a bit rough, but their intentions are good; they are just unexpectedly enthusiastic and hospitable!"
From the second-floor balcony in the center of the castle's inner hall, footsteps and a sharp voice slowly emerged. It sounded a bit like the quacking of a duck, making one Can't help it want to laugh.
But as the figure gradually approached, Leon and Ashley clearly saw that it was not a duck, but a small dwarf with white hair—
Just lazy, want to rest for a day. Finally, it's the end of the month, no… the end of the year. Thank you to all my brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts, uncles, grandpas, grandmas, great-aunts, and great-uncles for feeding me. Arigato, I'm extremely grateful… I'm off…
Chapter 39: The Goblin Lord
He was dressed in a standard purple noble outfit, with gold-embroidered patterns, an orange-yellow waistcoat, and a ruffled high-collared shirt underneath. He wore leather boots and a bicorne hat, a noble lord's attire.
But the only flaw was that he was a midget, a dwarf, and a very old little dwarf at that…
His height was less than 1.5 meters, just enough for his head to clear the railing of the castle hall's second floor. His skin was pale gray and bloodless, and his cheeks were covered with purplish-red veins, a sign that he had long been infected by the Plaga parasite.
His ears were slightly pointed, not like the legendary elven ears, as his face was not that handsome; instead, they resembled those of a goblin, or what is called a gnome. He had a pointed mouth, monkey-like cheeks, and a face full of wrinkles, like that of an old man.
His hair was also extremely pale, his lips purple, and his eyes held a deep, sinister gaze, like a cunning demon.
And this person…
Was the seventh Demon-Sealing Count of the Salazar Family, the son of the former lord Diego Salazar, Ramon Salazar—
The current eighth-generation city lord, a disgrace among the successive Demon-Sealing Counts. Not only could he not discern the true face of the devil, but he also colluded with the devil, serving it as his master.
If the past Demon-Sealing Counts knew about this, they would probably crawl out of their graves and beat him severely!
As for his strange appearance,
It was Ramon Salazar's inherent congenital disease: insufficient internal hormone secretion, leading to stunted development. Not only could he not develop normally, but he would also age prematurely. This horrifying appearance of a half-old man and a height of only about ten years old seemed very terrifying.
But in reality, Ramon Salazar was only in his twenties…
He was a pitiable yet hateful person.
His own shortcomings led to an intense inferiority complex, which in turn caused extreme jealousy towards everything in the outside world, thus leading him to be lured into the abyss by the devil…!
From this point, we also have to criticize Diego Salazar, Ramon's father. As a lord,
If one of our alt accounts is Waste, why not create more alt accounts? He was a lord after all, what kind of women didn't he have? Why hang himself on a crooked tree?
Now, look what happened,
Not only did the person die, but all the trees died too—
"Who are you?"
"Are you responsible for this kidnapping and the strange condition of the villagers…?!"
Seeing the main culprit appear,
Looking at Ramon Salazar on the second-floor railing of the castle hall, Leon not only felt no fear but instead sternly questioned him without hesitation.
At the same time, his gaze swept to the two tall guards beside him. Next to this small goblin dwarf, there were two tall guards.
Leon estimated them to be at least two meters tall,
Similar in height to the former village chief Mendez.
They wore huge robes, somewhat resembling archbishops of the Middle Ages church. A large red robe and a large black robe were particularly eye-catching, standing side by side like giants, protecting Ramon from behind.
If what was hidden beneath those huge red and black robes were indeed Mendez-level boss guards, then Leon could only pray that their hospitality would be better.