My bloodline yearns for progress.

Chapter 86 The Crow Cemetery

But upon hearing Phyllis's shout, Otto didn't turn around. He simply raised his hand, waved, and then walked out of the Adventurers' Guild's gate.

While Otto and Phyllis were chatting, the rain outside had stopped.

The air after the rain was exceptionally fresh, carrying the scent of earth and grass.

The sky remained overcast, with thick clouds, and it looked like it could rain again at any moment.

Otto quickened his pace, heading towards the Jackdaw Cemetery west of Oaktown.

To the west of the town is a range of hills, and the Jackdaw Cemetery is located at the foot of one of them.

Otto walked along the muddy path for about an hour and finally arrived at his destination.

The cemetery is surrounded by a black iron fence, which is rusty and twisted, resembling a row of dried bones, looking particularly eerie under the gloomy sky.

In some places, the fence has broken, revealing dark, gaping holes.

A worn-out wooden plaque hung on the cemetery gate, originally bearing the words "Rest in Peace," but after years of wind and rain, the words were blurred and illegible. Otto could only barely make out the words when he got closer.

"It looks like this place has really been in disrepair for years."

Otto muttered to himself.

He reached out and pushed open the heavy iron gate.

The door hinges emitted a piercing creak, like the wail of some creature, which echoed for a long time in the silent valley.

The moment the iron gate opened, a chilling aura rushed out, mixed with a strong smell of earth and decay.

The smell was like a pile of rotten meat fermenting for months in a dark warehouse, nauseating.

Otto frowned, but didn't pay it any mind.

He placed his hand on the hilt of the iron sword at his waist and carefully walked deeper into the cemetery.

The cemetery was overgrown with waist-high weeds, making it almost impossible to see the original paths.

The tombstones are crooked and leaning, many broken in two, the inscriptions blurred by wind and rain, only some incomplete names and dates can be vaguely seen.

Some tombstones were covered in moss, while others were entwined with vines, suggesting that no one had visited them for many years.

Several black crows landed on the tallest old oak tree in the center of the cemetery, occasionally letting out hoarse cries, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

They looked at Otto, this uninvited guest, with wary eyes, as if guarding this land that belonged to the dead.

As the client stated, this is a cemetery that is almost abandoned.

It seems that Romeo, the missing gravedigger, hasn't taken good care of this place for a long time.

Perhaps it was the neglect of the cemetery that gave the ghosts the opportunity to haunt the area.

Otto took a deep breath, suppressing his discomfort.

He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, carefully observing the movements around him.

His spiritual eye has been activated, and now, with the increase in his level, Otto can also see some sinister auras that ordinary people cannot see.

In his view, the entire cemetery was shrouded in a thin layer of black mist, and the thickest mist was in the northwest corner of the cemetery, where Juliet was buried.

Only after confirming there was no danger did he continue walking deeper into the cemetery.

As darkness fell, night gradually descended.

In the twilight, the distant tombstones became blurry black shadows, like standing ghosts.

Otto walked carefully, his feet occasionally crunching on broken branches and scattered bones.

Some of the skeletons were from animals, and some were from humans; it was unknown from which destroyed graves they had come from.

He could clearly feel a strong and cold resentment permeating the surroundings.

The resentment was like countless cold, venomous snakes, coiling around his ankles and climbing up his calves, sending a chill down his spine.

Even with the protection of the Soul-Purifying Flame, he could still feel the power of that resentment.

Since becoming a Firebringer's Iron Guard, Otto's sensitivity to this sinister aura has become increasingly acute.

He knew he was getting closer and closer to his goal.

At that very moment, a faint, almost imperceptible sound of a woman weeping drifted from the northwest corner of the cemetery.

Otto perked up and immediately strode toward the direction from which the crying was coming.

The crying grew clearer and clearer; it was indeed a woman's voice.

The voice was filled with endless sorrow and despair, as if tears accumulated over a thousand years were pouring out at this moment.

Amid the weeping, there was also the strange sound of heavy iron chains dragging on the ground, which sounded particularly jarring in the silent cemetery.

Otto had experienced many dangerous adventures, and his will had long been tempered.

He showed no stage fright, simply walking calmly through a dense thicket of bushes.

Soon, a newly erected tombstone appeared before his eyes.

This tombstone is much newer than the surrounding ones.

A woman in a white dress stood in front of the tombstone.

Her long, black hair cascaded over her shoulders as she turned her back to Otto.

Her shoulders trembled slightly, and she was completely immersed in an indescribable despair.

The long white dress fluttered gently in the night breeze, making it look as if it were truly floating.

Otto's keen eye for light clearly captured this scene.

He carefully observed the woman before him, but for the time being, he could not sense the strange aura that represented a powerful demon from her. He could only confirm that she was a vengeful spirit with deep resentment.

Her body was semi-transparent, surrounded by a thick layer of black resentment.

Those resentments seemed to have a life of their own, constantly churning around her.

Heavy black chains were locked around her wrists and ankles, the other ends of which were deeply embedded in the ground, connected to something unknown.

Otto slowed his pace and asked in a low voice.

"Is this Miss Juliet?"

The woman stopped crying abruptly upon hearing Otto's voice.

She slowly turned her head.

In that instant, Otto's pupils suddenly contracted.

That wasn't a human face at all.

Her face had no features, only a blurry, constantly writhing mass of flesh.

Her long, jet-black hair moved like seaweed in the air without any wind.

Even without eyes, Otto could feel her staring intently at him.

"Who...who are you?"

A cold voice rang directly in Otto's mind.

The sound wasn't heard through his ears, but rather it entered directly into the depths of his consciousness, carrying a chilling aura.

Otto could even feel his brain tingling slightly.

Otto gripped the iron sword at his waist, watching the ghost before him warily, and said in a deep voice.

"I am Otto, an adventurer from Oak Town, and I belong to the Dragon Slayer Squad."

I have come here so that you may rest in peace.