Steam Old Days: The Extraordinary Begins with a Corpse Collector

Chapter 101 Advancing into the Dark Oak Forest (Seeking first subscriptions and continued reading)

"Hey guys, get moving! The team's leaving first thing tomorrow morning!"

Barkley stood in the courtyard, directing the servants to unload all the boxes from the carriage.

He had one of the wooden crates pried open.

The box was filled with dry hay.

But when the servant parted the top layer of dry grass, several neatly arranged brand-new rifles were revealed in front of everyone.

The grip is made of dark brown oak, and the barrel, crafted from brass, features a unique hexagonal shape.

Barkley then took out a palm-sized magazine from the box, which was filled with bright yellow bullets.

He loaded the bullets, pulled the bolt, and then fired the gun into the air.

Bang bang bang!

With three gunshots, the bullets burst from the barrel, and the hot cartridge cases flew out of the ejection port and fell to the ground.

Barkley looked at the gun in his hand and nodded in satisfaction. Then he ordered his men to carry it away along with the wooden crate.

All of this was clearly seen by Lyndon and Cecilia, who were on the second floor, through the window.

"What kind of gun is that? It sounds pretty powerful."

"The Howell Model 17 rifle, manufactured by the Howell Arms Factory, magazine-fed, with a capacity of ten rounds," Lyndon said.

"How do you know so much?" Cecilia looked at Lyndon with a puzzled expression.

Lyndon wanted to say that he had seen it in the foggy city, but considering that he was now Philip, he said that he had heard his teacher describe it.

Cecilia nodded upon hearing this and did not pursue the matter further.

"Is this all they're using to deal with the Dream Moth?"

"Yes, by coating the bullet tip with silver and then soaking it in a magic potion, it can effectively kill aliens or superhumans."

"You know about this too?" Cecilia's gaze toward Lyndon grew increasingly strange.

She suddenly felt that the man in front of her knew too much.

Lyndon touched his nose guiltily: "I know a little, I know a little."

Cecilia stared at Lyndon's expression suspiciously, then suddenly changed the subject: "How's your memorization of mental arcane spells coming along?"

'

Lyndon was very confident about it: "It's not difficult at all, I've already memorized it all."

"Okay, that's good."

Cecilia didn't say much; she was well aware of Lyndon's strength.

When Cecilia was teaching him the secret arts of Nicholas, she had already seen Lyndon's extraordinary talent.

What would take an ordinary person a long time to memorize, he could memorize perfectly after just a few simple recitations.

In particular, Lyndon was quite adept at using spiritual power.

Even a pastor who has undergone long-term training probably wouldn't be as adept at using it as Lyndon.

"Get some rest. We're heading into Dark Oak Forest tomorrow."

Cecilia left Lyndon's room after saying that and went back to her own.

Lyndon glanced at the bustling downstairs, took a bottle of potion from his pocket, and gulped it down.

Meanwhile, in Viscount William's study, Viscount William was giving Ryder a final dressing-down.

Viscount William sat upright in his seat, looking at the weapons list presented by his men, his gaze falling on Ryder.

"Mr. Ryder, for tomorrow's operation, I've spent a lot of money to purchase a batch of brand-new equipment from Fog City. It's all top-of-the-line stuff right now. I'm also entrusting one of my personal guard squads to you. You shouldn't let me down again, right?"

Ryder immediately knelt on one knee, clenched his fist, and pressed it against his chest.

"I swear on my life, I will never let Viscount William down!"

At that moment, Barkley knocked on the door and came in.

Seeing this, Viscount William waved for Ryder to go out first.

After Ryder left, Barkley stepped forward and said, "Sir, the twenty Howell 17 rifles, four hundred silver-tipped brass bullets, twenty pieces of black-scale leather armor, ten ether communicators, and twenty fine steel machetes ordered from Fog City have all been delivered, not a single item missing."

"In addition, seventeen more guards have already been assigned."

Viscount William nodded in satisfaction and said, "Barkley, you did a great job."

"You flatter me, sir," Barkley said humbly. "By the way, sir, there is one more thing I need to inform you of."

"What is it?"

Viscount William said, taking a cigar from the box.

"The identity of the commissioner sent by the Fog City has been confirmed. His name is Mike Milley, and his father is the Earl of Milley in Yorkshire. Mike's current position is Chief Commissioner of the Financial Inspectorate of the Home Office. He is here to audit taxes."

Such a identity sounds intimidating at first glance, but Viscount William showed no sign of panic on his face.

He calmly cut open and lit the cigar.

Barkley then asked, "What do we need to prepare?"

Viscount William glanced at Barkley, took a few puffs of his cigar, and exhaled the smoke.

Then Viscount William smiled faintly, spread his palms, and said in a serious tone, "Of course we will prepare, prepare all the account books and our sincerest courtesy."

"Relax, Barkley. Nobody can find fault with our books, so let those officials be afraid. We just need to do what we're supposed to do, like completely eradicating those despicable heretics."

"Yes, sir." Barkley bowed and left the room.

The next day, when the sun shone brightly on Sutcliffe Estate, the scene inside was quite different.

Seventeen burly men, fully armed, stood in the middle of the courtyard, their faces expressionless, displaying only extreme indifference.

Viscount William and Butler Barkley personally escorted Lyndon, Cecilia, and Ryder away from the manor.

All three of them wore black scale leather armor purchased by Viscount William.

These leather armors are made from the skin of the black-scaled serpent, and wearing them can protect you from harm to the greatest extent possible.

"Gentlemen, I will await your triumphant return at the manor," Viscount William said, opening his arms wide.

"Viscount, please rest assured, we will definitely succeed this time!" Ryder declared first.

Then, Lyndon and Cecilia said to Viscount William, "While we aren't entirely confident in defeating the Dreammoth, we will still do our utmost!"

After saying this, the three mounted their horses and led the Viscount's seventeen guards toward Dark Oak Forest.

Along the way, apart from Lyndon and Cecilia exchanging some words, everyone else, including Ryder, remained silent.

The atmosphere in the team was extremely oppressive.

It was as if everyone was facing a desperate situation where nine out of ten would die.

This gave Cecilia a bad feeling, and she whispered to Lyndon, "I don't know why, but I have a feeling something bad is going to happen."

Linden comforted him, "Don't be afraid. After all, we're facing a mid-level mutant. It's understandable that we're nervous and scared."

Despite saying that, Cecilia was still uneasy.

At that moment, Lyndon reached out and took Cecilia's hand.

"Don't worry, I'm here, you'll be fine."

Lyndon's eyes were resolute, and his tone was firm and powerful.

His warmth reached Cecilia's hands, and his large palms did indeed give Cecilia a sense of peace.

She looked into Lyndon's beautiful brown eyes and nodded.

The two encouraged each other and followed the group to the Mill Bridge.

Ryder immediately stepped forward and presented the credentials provided by Viscount William.

After confirming that everything was correct, Crown, who was guarding the stone bridge, opened the way for him.

The group continued onward toward the Dark Oak Forest.

After traveling for some time, Ryder suddenly reined in his horse and stopped, staring intently at a high mountain ahead.

High mountains are shrouded in mist, and tall trees stand close together, their dense canopies blocking out the sun.

Then Ryder said coldly, "Dark Oak Forest, we've arrived."

"