Yes, perhaps some people cannot understand. Along the way of their flight, it was not as if there were no forests or prey. How did they end up in a situation where they had to resort to cannibalism?
But on the Terra Continent, the so-called forests and game... are really not something ordinary people can handle.
Even the natives of the Great Redwood Forest, who had settled in South Ridge for hundreds of years, were unable to procure enough game from the lush jungles and, in extreme starvation, had to resort to cannibalism as well.
What’s more for these refugees who were devoid of tools and martial skills?
Ian knew clearly that, in ancient Earth, once such a flight occurred, it often resulted in the tragic outcome where only one out of twenty households survived.
On the run, with bandits and fierce animals by their side, treated as great enemies by the villages and towns they passed, even if some cities wanted to take them in, how many could they accept?
The notion that every inch of South Ridge’s land was soaked in the pioneer’s blood was a romantic notion, but a more practical expression was that every inch of this land had an owner.
And Moqiu, was the ’spoils of war’ that Baron Leyan obtained when he annihilated a settlement of refugees.
A child whose face was unrecognizable, whose legs and right hand had been eaten away, and whose left arm had been hacked at with a knife.
According to the captives, it was Moqiu’s own parents who had offered him up in exchange for food from others, but they were eaten first because they had more flesh.
Moqiu watched with his own eyes as his parents, who had abandoned him, were consumed, while he himself was vivisected, his limbs being chopped off, nearly thrown into a pot to brew soup... If Baron Leyan hadn’t arrived at the last moment, Moqiu would have either been eaten or bled to death.
"Young Master Moqiu’s injuries... are difficult to heal. The master is not short of Talle. He bought many Regeneration Potions for Young Master Moqiu, but, in my memory, these regrown limbs could only be used for a while before they deteriorated and vanished,"
"I originally thought that this was because Young Master Moqiu possessed some peculiar ability, so the Regeneration Potion could not take effect..."
"That conclusion is indeed correct... Actually, the Regeneration Potion simply couldn’t work because Young Master Moqiu truly has a Spirit Energy ability that influences the body, and those limbs that had regrown for Young Master Moqiu..."
Steward Moda came to a secluded corner on the second floor, in front of a pitch-black door, where ’Moqiu’s Room’ was written in a crooked, yet earnest left-handed handwriting.
An odd scent, that of preservatives, wafted out from behind the door.
The old steward could not, and did not dare to, open the door.
Ian, taking a step forward, reached out and forcibly pushed open the door, which had become one with the wall, breaking it off.
Inside the room, rather than calling it a room, it was more like the specimen laboratory of a Bio-Alchemist.
It was full of various ’human body parts’ all soaked in either preservatives or prohibitively expensive Nourishment Extracts.
Nourishment Extracts differed from Spirit Energy Nourishment Extracts, in that they could be derived from any life-bearing plant or biological fluid, but a jar still demanded a price of over a dozen Talle. However, in this room, there were dozens of jars, each filled with all sorts of viscera and limbs, even slices of the brain.
Among them were those of adults, the elderly, and of course... children’s.
Ian’s brow furrowed tight; he could see that some of the ’fresher’ child specimens had not been stored for more than a week.
He thought of the people and children who had gone missing in Gold Leaf Town and the neighboring towns...
In an instant, a flame ignited in the depths of his heart.
It seemed that Moqiu’s ability was related to his lost limbs and the ’body’ itself.
"What the hell is Baron Leyan, that bastard, up to? Vengeful Spirits, memory rewriting, Spirit Energy related to the body, and that Prophet’s Echo Skull... he can’t really be planning to resurrect his own child, can he?"
—Ingredients of the soul, Spirit Energy that records memories, Spirit Energy that reshapes the body, an unknown Spirit Energy, and a skull that creates echoes...
Plus, the Baron’s own severed arm...
It seems that all the elements necessary for resurrection are now in place!
Ian pondered in his heart, but the Radiant Nun next to him warned, "Be careful, suppress your anger, and don’t crush the walls."
"Steward Moda is ordinary; he can’t handle the aftershocks of our power."
Becoming aware of this, Ian turned his head to look at his right hand, clad in a gauntlet, pressed against the wall.
His fingers had sunk deeply into the stone wall, creating five deep holes.
"...I’m sorry, I didn’t notice."
Lifting his hand, dust and debris flowed down from the holes in the stone wall, Ian fell silent for a while and then shook his head, whispering, "It seems that while the mind can be calm, the body still rages."
But what could be done? How could one not be angry?
Whether it was the actions of Moqiu and Yila, or the people who caused them to end up like this.
Or even, this very land itself.
Ian felt a deep... anger for it.
"Let’s go, there’s nothing to see here."
After taking several deep breaths, Ian glanced at Steward Moda, whose body was now teetering.
He knew that this shock was too much for an old steward who had always thought he was taking care of three lovely children.
He and the Radiant Nun exchanged glances, nodding together, and then Ian said, "I know where Miss Linda’s room is. There’s no need for you, Steward Moda, to lead the way... take a rest."
For ordinary people, these scenes were too shocking, in terms of past-life gaming terminology, their SAN points would be nearly depleted.
If this continues, someone really will die.
"No."
But the steward still lifted his head, his gaze somewhat blurry, as if the flesh and blood limbs from Moqiu’s room were still swaying in his mind.
Yet he managed to hold himself together, forcing a smile and said, "I had actually imagined it before—where did the bones and human skin at Young Master Yila’s come from? I had already thought about it..."
"As for Miss Linda... actually, she didn’t need me to go."