Black Hearted Mage

The fat dog's stubby paw pointed in the distance, the direction of the Bishop's Courtyard, corresponding to the cardinal's residence marked on the blueprint. That exquisite courtyard, hidden behind the chapel and protected by layers of buildings, was the very core of the entire Dawn Church. Caesars narrowed his eyes, his rough fingers rubbing against the parchment, and his mind quickly sketched out three attack routes.

"A roundabout raid requires passing through at least three sentry posts..." He muttered to himself, biting his thumbnail, the hem of his gray-black cloak fluttering in the wind. "By the time we reach the courtyard, those old foxes will have already fled." Caesars clenched his fists, his knuckles crackling. "You damned dog! Once Master Caesars fills up the Demon Sea, we'll attack directly from within!"

The spire of the Dawn Cathedral shone coldly in the twilight. There stood the Church's most elite troops—the armor of a thousand paladins blended into a silver ocean under the moonlight, the prayers of the Battle Priests powerful enough to shatter city walls, not to mention the high-ranking priests wielding healing arts. Caesars grinned, revealing his sharp white teeth, and crushed a dozen magic crystals in his palm. A surging vortex of magic instantly formed around him, sending fragments falling like snowflakes.

At this moment, the fat dog suddenly pricked up its ears, its wet nose twitching violently, and it anxiously patted its owner's deerskin boots with its front paws, telling him its latest discovery.

"A living thing?"

Caesar paused, biting open the corks of two bottles of blue mana potion and gulping them down. His Adam's apple rolled violently as he swallowed. "Is some unfortunate person imprisoned there? Or..." He narrowed his eyes dangerously, "is there something shameful being kept in the courtyard?"

The fat dog tilted its head in confusion, its drooping ears twitching as it pondered. Caesars gently stroked the runecloth wrapped around the hilt of his dagger, the boiling magic within the sea resonating with his fighting spirit.

Invisibility enveloped Caesars and the fat dog. Caesars lightly leaped from the bell tower and floated down toward the bishop's courtyard. Beside the courtyard's pond, the illusory figures of a man and a dog twisted, as if some terrifying monster were awakening.

The walls of the Bishop's Courtyard stood over six meters high, their gray-black stone walls covered with withered vines, casting sinister shadows in the moonlight. From outside, the clink of metal armor echoed. Three teams of heavily armed paladins, torches in hand, patrolled the area, their heavy footsteps resounding through the still night. In stark contrast, the courtyard within the walls seemed cast under a spell of silence; not even the sound of a falling leaf could be heard. The night watchmen who were supposed to be on duty were nowhere to be seen. Even more eerie, not a single light was on in the entire complex, leaving it as dark as a painting drenched in thick ink.

Caesars stood there like a statue, his fingers trembling slightly beneath his black robe. Dozens of invisible magical tentacles spread out from him. These tentacles, like the most sensitive detectors, meticulously probed every inch of land, every brick and stone. However, the feedback he received made him frown—aside from him and the fat dog, there was no sign of life within a fifty-meter radius.

"Dead dog, do you smell a living person?"

Caesars asked in a low voice, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the magic blade at his waist. He knew that this fat dog's perception range far exceeded his own, and the abnormality in the courtyard at this moment forced him to seek help from this unreliable guy.

The chubby little dog pricked up its ears at the words, its wet nose twitching rapidly in the air. It suddenly raised its head and rhythmically tapped the ground with its short front paws, leaving a few shimmering paw prints on the bluestone slabs—a secret signal between them, indicating that the prey was hiding underground.

Through the magical effects of darkvision, Caesar's eyes shone with a faint blue light. He carefully stepped onto the leaf-strewn cobblestone path, carefully avoiding any pebbles that might make a sound with each step. At the end of the path, the ancient stone temple shone palely in the moonlight, like a huge sarcophagus, quietly awaiting their arrival.

This vast courtyard was eerie. The trees here had been dead for years, leaving only dry trunks and a few rotting branches. There wasn't a single weed in the courtyard, and no living creatures could be found. It felt like a dead place.

The eerie, grayish-white stone hall stood in the darkness, its four sides covered in mottled walls and devoid of windows. From afar, it resembled a massive, forgotten sarcophagus, emitting an ominous aura. To enter such a closed building, there were no other entrances besides the two heavy stone doors at the front and back.

Caesars circled the back of the stone hall, his boot soles crushing a few shards of stone. He stood close to the bone-chilling stone wall, slowly raising his leather-gloved right hand and lightly tracing the heavy, ancient stone door. The door was clearly under some kind of restriction. As his magical tendrils spread like a spiderweb, most were blocked by the stone door. Only a few exceptionally strong strands of magic pierced the barrier, glimpsing and exploring the darkness beyond the door.

Surprisingly, the stone gate was still deserted, not even a trace of the night watchman. This was a stone hall without lights and no living people in sight. He felt that this place was more like a tomb.

The heavy stone door remained motionless, evidently completely sealed from the inside with stone. Using his magical tentacles, Caesars discovered that the pile of stone behind the door was at least half a meter high. He fiddled with the interspatial ring on his left index finger, searching rapidly within it. Ordinary lockpicking tools were useless here; only strong acid could silently and without making a loud noise corrode a hole for entry and exit.

With a few dim flashes of light, three gray-green crystal bottles appeared in his palms. The liquid within was uncomfortably thick, with tiny bubbles occasionally rising. This was no ordinary alchemist's potent acid, but rather the dreaded undead rot, said to be able to instantly transform even the tough scales of a dragon. Caesars deftly inserted two of the bottles into the custom-made leather holster at his waist, gently shaking the last one in his hand.

"Dead dog, come here and make a small hole in the stone gate." He ordered in a low voice.

The chubby demon dog twitched its ears at the words. It had witnessed firsthand this horrific liquid corroding a steel golem into smithereens. The demon dog extended its stubby forelimbs, its sharp claws gleaming coldly in the moonlight. It scraped its claws against the stone door's surface, the hard rock falling like soft mud beneath its unique claws. Soon, a perfect half-inch-deep groove appeared in the center of the stone door, and a small pile of fine stone chips lay at its feet.

Looking at the boot-sized fat dog, then at the groove only half a foot off the ground, Caesars almost laughed out loud. Even if such a hole had been corroded, he would crawl in like the fat dog, just as close to the ground as he could. He drew the magic blade from his waist, aimed it at the stone door, and thrust it hard. The tip of the blade penetrated about an inch. He twisted the handle vigorously, and shards of stone fell continuously, making a slight noise.

The small hole dug by the dagger is relatively round, with a slightly downward angle, and can roughly hold half a bottle of undead rot.

Caesars put on a protective mask and gloves and carefully poured the undead rot fluid into the small hole. The strong corrosion emitted a strange "hissing" sound, and a highly toxic gray-white mist quickly rose, corroding the heavy stone door.

The stone cave, originally only an inch in size, was undergoing intense corrosion. With a strange sizzling sound, the walls began to expand outward at a visible speed. Countless tiny pieces of stone fell, and a poisonous white mist drifted out. When the heavy stone door was finally corroded to a hole the size of a bowl, a turbid airflow, carrying an indescribable stench, slowly seeped out.

"Damn it, what the hell is that smell?" Caesars frowned, taking a half step back. A thick, poisonous fog swirled through the cave. Even through the filter layer of his protective mask, the faint stench stubbornly permeated his nostrils. He squinted, trying to see clearly inside the cave, but the swirling fog obscured his vision.

The fat dog suddenly snorted, its nose twitching in the poisonous mist, and then said in an extremely strange voice: "It's a corpse. The stench of decay and burnt food is so terrible!"

The fat demon dog crouched on the ground, its stubby limbs spread out. It slowly closed its eyes, which glowed with an eerie red light, and buried its moist nose deep in the rubble, which was filled with highly toxic substances. The stench was tantamount to torture for its sensitive sense of smell, but within this sickening stench, it caught a hint of a familiar scent—a scent etched in the memory of its race.

Although the fat dog had its eyes tightly closed, the slightest tremor in its body and the unnatural twitching of its nostrils did not escape Caesar's sharp gaze. He was almost certain that the secret buried in this gloomy courtyard must be inextricably linked to the powerful fire energy.

Two minutes later, the thick stone doorway finally dissolved into a jagged hole under the strong acid. Caesars inspected the hole, confirming it was large enough for him to pass through. He quickly removed his magic cloak and pulled out a red leather robe from his space ring. This robe was meticulously tanned from the hide of the giant red snakes of the Grand Canyon. It was not only light and soft, but also resistant to the fiercest flames. As he fastened the final buckle, Caesars took a deep breath, bent down, and entered the ominous cave.

The chubby dog ​​took short, quick steps, following closely behind Caesars. Its bloated body was surprisingly agile. Its glowing red eyes were like two searchlights, casting an eerie scarlet glow in the dim corridor, staining the mottled walls and floor with a layer of blood.

"You dead dog, lead the way. Let's find the food you need!" Caesars said in a low voice, his right hand unconsciously reaching for the alchemical potions at his waist. He deftly inserted several fluorescent potions into the leather holster on his belt, while his left hand gripped an oval alchemical bomb tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the pressure. The unease in the air made the hairs on his back stand on end.

The fat dog's wet nose twitched, and it panted heavily. It sometimes stopped, sometimes quickened its pace, following the faint scent. Caesars glanced around warily. The long, narrow corridor was lined with rotten wooden boxes and broken pottery jars. The torches on the walls had long been extinguished, leaving only the red light from the fat dog's eyes to illuminate it.

As they went deeper, the sickening stench of decay grew stronger, like the smell of days-rotting flesh mixed with the scent of burning. Suddenly, the fat dog stopped and let out a low whimper. Not far ahead, a shrunken corpse lay in a twisted position in the middle of the corridor. The leather armor on the corpse was dry and cracked, and the exposed skin was a strange grayish-white, as if all moisture had been drained away. Most terrifying was the huge hole in the breastplate, the edges showing charred burn marks. Through the hole, one could clearly see the sternum and ribs broken inward, ruptured by some terrifying force.

Caesars stared at the pierced corpse, his knuckles unconsciously clenching. He knew full well that a full-strength blow might shatter the sternum, but it would never be like this—a fist that penetrated the tough composite leather armor and then, without losing momentum, pierced the entire chest cavity, completely shattering bone and muscle tissue. This destructive power was beyond the reach of human physical capabilities.

He noticed that all of his internal organs were unnaturally carbonized, yet strangely intact—except for his heart. In the cavity where the left chest should have been located, between the third and fourth intercostal spaces, only a few charred blood vessel stumps remained. Some creature had taken the heart, plucking it like overripe fruit.

"Woo..." The fat dog suddenly stood up, its glossy black nose twitching rapidly at the wound. Without hesitation, it plunged its front paws into the corpse's chest. As its paws touched the broken ribs, a smile broke out on its face. Glistening saliva dripped from its fangs, reflecting an eerie silver gleam in the red light. It tapped its paw against its furry chest, telling Caesars not to worry: prey of this caliber was the very delicacy it had been waiting for.

The wet nose suddenly turned to the northeast, and the fat dog's muscles instantly tensed. It was no longer clumsy, but its fleshy body became extremely flexible and it walked forward quickly.

Caesars walked through the dark corridor, and the room ahead suddenly opened up. A stone hall, roughly ten meters square, appeared before him. The stone slabs on the floor had long been broken and crumbled, and the cracks were filled with years of dust. Surprisingly, the lingering stench had completely disappeared, replaced by a dry heat.

A dark cave entrance suddenly appeared in the center of the stone chamber. The stones around it were irregularly jagged, as if torn apart by some immense force. Waves of warm air surged up from the bottom of the cave, carrying a distinct scent of sulfur.

Kaisas squatted down, his fingertips stroking the cracked stone slabs on the ground. These slabs were engraved with vague magic runes, and the edges still had the rust of hinges - this was clearly the stone door to the underground secret room.

At that moment, the fat dog, always cautious, suddenly became excited. Its short, thick tail swung back and forth like a pendulum, and without hesitation, it stretched out its short legs and slid down the spiral stone steps into the depths of the cave. The surface of the stone steps glowed with an eerie dark red, as if baked by the heat of the earth for years.