【Quest Completed: Where Did They Go?】
A translucent notification popped up in her field of vision.
The quest was complete, but looking at the scene inside the dungeon, Rosie couldn't bring herself to smile.
The dungeon wasn't large. A layer of moldy straw was spread in the corner, and a persistent stench hung thick in the air.
The hanging oil lamp on the cell door cast a dim yellow light, revealing a dozen or so women curled up in the corners.
They were still alive, but their condition was hardly different from death.
All of them were skin and bones, their eyes hollow and vacant, offering no reaction to Rosie and Alysia's arrival.
Their clothes were tattered and torn, their exposed skin covered in cuts and wounds of varying depths. Some had already scabbed over, while others were still oozing pale yellow fluid.
New wounds overlapped with old ones, a ghastly sight to behold.
It wasn't hard to imagine what they had been through just by looking at them.
Alysia was crouching in a corner, cradling an emaciated elf in her arms.
The elf's skin was an unhealthy ashen white, her cheekbones jutting out sharply, her eyes sunken deep into their sockets. Her breathing was so shallow that her chest barely rose or fell.
Alysia used one hand to support the back of her neck and gently brushed back her disheveled hair with the other.
“Their vitality has been nearly drained completely, and they’ve been corrupted by blood poison. In a few days, I’m afraid they’ll turn into Ghouls.”
Alysia’s voice reached her, calm, but unnaturally so.
“No wonder the vampires were willing to let us in. In their eyes, these women no longer hold any value.”
Rosie stood in the center of the dungeon, remaining silent for a long moment before letting out a breath.
Still, she found one thing odd—if that was the case, why did the vampires still leave guards here?
Alysia gently placed the elf in her arms back onto the straw mat, stood up, and turned to Rosie. “They need to be cured of the blood poison.”
“How? Do you have a way?” Rosie asked.
“While the divine magic of the Temple of Light cannot restore vitality, it can cleanse the blood poison's corruption. At least it will allow them to live,” Alysia said.
Alysia's gaze shifted to the damp ceiling of the dungeon, as if she could look straight through the layers of stone walls to the battle above.
“The white-robed cleric who entered the castle with the knights should still be up there. I need to find him.”
Rosie followed her gaze to the ceiling, then glanced at the huddled figures in the corners. She had already made up her mind.
“You stay here and watch over them. I'll go.”
Alysia said, “Your commission is already complete. You have no obligation to do this...”
“I’m an adventurer. Usually, I work for money,” Rosie interrupted her. “But occasionally, I feel like doing something good too.”
Without waiting for Alysia to say anything else, she waved a hand and stepped outside.
The elf watched her back, a soft glimmer flickering in her eyes. She spoke softly, “Thank you, Rosie.”
“Don't mention it.”
Rosie didn't turn back, her voice carrying down the passage behind her.
Only after walking out of the dungeon did she pull up the Adventure Guide to check the quest rewards.
【Quest Reward Selectable Trait: Light Armor Proficiency — When equipping light armor, ignore weight, and dodge speed is slightly increased】
【Quest Reward Selectable Trait: Heavy Armor Proficiency — When equipping heavy armor, weight is halved, and it becomes harder to lose balance】
Rosie's gaze paused between the two Traits.
Light Armor Proficiency was certainly good—ignoring weight and boosting dodge speed held high value in combat—but what she needed more right now was the ability to fight head-on.
During the battle just now, the steel plate inside her brigandine armor had blocked a lethal blow for her, the sensation still fresh against her chest.
In the end, she chose the second option without hesitation.
【Trait — Heavy Armor Proficiency active】
Although brigandine armor couldn't compare to a full metal suit, its weight was still considerable.
After Heavy Armor Proficiency took effect, the brigandine armor's physical weight didn't decrease, but the burden Rosie felt was noticeably lightened.
It was like suddenly dropping sandbags during weight training; most of the pressure vanished instantly, making her body feel light and nimble.
“Time to complete an off-script quest.”
She muttered under her breath and quickened her pace toward the stairs leading up.
Stepping back outside, Rosie oriented herself and dashed toward the main castle keep.
Before she had run very far, she bumped into a small squad of soldiers.
There were about a dozen of them, dressed in matching uniform half-plate armor. Some held spears, while others carried crossbows at their waists.
The moment they saw Rosie, they halted. The squad leader at the front rested his hand on his sword hilt and shouted sternly, “Halt! Who goes there?”
Rosie offered no response, simply veering around them and sprinting forward.
The leader froze for a breath before realizing what was happening. Drawing his sword, he roared, “It's an enemy! Loose arrows!”
The soldiers immediately raised their crossbows, pulling the triggers before they even had time to aim properly.
Crossbow bolts whistled as they flew toward Rosie, but she had already started running in a zigzag pattern.
Even modern weapons like handguns struggled to hit a moving target tens of meters away, let alone crossbows.
Unsurprisingly, every bolt missed its mark, leaving the soldiers scrambling in confusion to reload.
By the time they finished winding their strings, Rosie had already vanished around a corner.
She ran past the snow-covered courtyard and through the gloomy passages before finally coming to a halt.
She had reached the main hall of the castle keep.
The main hall's entrance was a massive double-arched gateway, currently thrown wide open. However, the doorway was blocked tight by rows of soldiers clad in full heavy plate armor.
At a rough glance, there were at least a hundred men arranged in several lines. The heavy soldiers at the front held tower shields, with halberds thrusting out through the gaps between the shields to form a grim wall of steel.
“Halt!”
A nobleman dressed in formal attire stood behind the formation, his rapier already unsheathed and pointed at Rosie.
Feathers stuck out from his hat, and a crest hung upon his chest, making him look exceptionally conspicuous on the battlefield.
Rosie reached down and flicked her right hand at her waist. An iron dagger flew from her hand, cutting a brief silver streak through the air before plunging cleanly into the noble's throat.
The nobleman's eyes widened. He wobbled for a second before collapsing backward onto the ground, his feathered hat rolling off.
A sudden wave of commotion broke out among the soldiers.
“An enemy attack from behind!” someone cried out.
“Don't panic! It's just one person! Last rank, step out and take her down!”
Another noble stepped forward, his voice much steadier, quickly pointing his commanding sword at Rosie.
Rosie swept her right hand over her waist again, throwing a second dagger with a sharp whistle.
However, that noble was already prepared. He dodged to the side, allowing the dagger to graze his shoulder before clattering off the heavy armor of the soldier behind him and bouncing onto the floor.
At the same time, the last rank of heavy soldiers turned in unison.
Lowering their halberds, they advanced on Rosie with heavy, synchronized steps.
Their iron boots stomped on the floor with deep, rhythmic booms, resembling a moving wall of iron.
Rosie glanced at the heavy halberdiers crawling forward at a snail's pace and let out a cold sneer.
She changed direction and sprinted toward a nearby staircase.
With heavy soldiers blocking the gate, there were bound to be ranged attackers at higher vantage points responsible for suppression and clearing out targets.
Although she hadn't formally studied military tactics from her previous life, she still understood basic tactical logic.
Sure enough, seeing her run toward higher ground, the nobleman's voice took on a hint of urgency. “Quick, after her!”
However, while these heavy soldiers were armed to the teeth with everything they could need, speed was not one of them.
The noble clearly realized this as well. He wanted to pursue her himself, but looking down at his ornate formal wear, he stopped in his tracks.
Attire like this made even brawling difficult, let alone actual life-or-death fighting.
Going up there would just be suicide.
Yet he had no choice. To keep the knights from suspecting anything initially, none of the nobles could wear armor from the start—that would have been practically announcing to everyone that they were up to something shady.
“You useless fools... get up there and kill her!”
While the noble screamed in powerless fury at the heavy soldiers, Rosie had already accelerated, rapidly widening the gap between them.
With nimble footsteps, Rosie reached the second floor.
The second-floor hallway wrapped around the main hall, allowing a view of the ground floor through the gaps in the handrails.
Just as she had anticipated, twenty to thirty crossbowmen were scattered along the second-floor balcony, shooting heavy crossbows downward.
Rosie scanned the situation below.
In the center of the hall, a white-robed cleric was sustaining a golden light barrier, protecting a small group of people including himself.
The translucent golden barrier covered them like an inverted bowl. Heavy crossbow bolts struck the barrier, sending rippling golden waves across its surface before sliding harmlessly to the floor.
Traces of heavy explosions marked the floor, along with numerous bodies scattered every which way.
Judging by their attire, some were castle guards, and others were Norman Knights. All of them were missing limbs or horribly disfigured, dying gruesome deaths.
The explosion she had heard earlier must have come from here.
Near the main entrance, there were also several corpses.
A few of them wore Norman Knight armor with thick crossbow bolts embedded in their backs.
It was clear these knights had died under the combined assault of halberds and heavy crossbows while trying to break through the shield wall.
Opposite the main entrance stood another tightly shut door. That door was likely barricaded, or the Norman Knights would have tried to force it open.
Rosie pulled back her gaze.
The crossbowmen firing over the balcony railing hadn't yet noticed what was happening behind them.
Their attention was completely focused on the golden barrier in the center of the hall as they intently cranked their heavy crossbow winches, aimed, and fired.
Rosie raised her sword, exhaled silently, and stepped toward the nearest crossbowman.
Time was short. She had to move fast.
Rate on N.U.
