The Transmigrated Professor

Chapter 70: The Duke of Famine

"Welcome to the hell一The Castle of the Duke of Famine."

Upon hearing Lahel's introduction, Ray turned around in shock.

"Need I remind you again, we are on the run from Demons. How could you bring us to the doorstep of the one sitting at the top of those hunting us down."

"Relax. We are far enough from the castle that they won't notice our presence. And, anyway, you begged me to find a way to get to Earth. This is it."

"This isn't it. We would be killed by Demons before we can even get close to the castle."

"Shh..." Lahel quickly silenced the furious Ray by placing a finger on his lips. "I have been wandering this place since before you were even born, little boy. I know more about the Dukes than you can even imagine, so trust me when I say I can navigate this place perfectly. The sole reason I have brought us here is because while dangerous, this is also the only safe place for us to find an exit to Earth."

"Dangerous and safe don't belong in the same sentence." Ray tried to explain, but Lahel quickly cut him off.

"Just follow me. You will understand what I mean soon." Without giving Ray a chance to speak, Lahel made his way to the thicket in the distance.

Ray hesitated to follow him, but realizing that there was only barren desert around them, he rushed behind, not wanting to be left alone. "If I die, I am going to haunt you forever."

"Not if I die first." Lahel tuned in, hearing the comment. "In that case, let's keep each other company forever."

After walking for around half an hour, they finally reached the outskirts of the woodland.

Since they didn't use any magic to avoid alerting the "locals", it took them a lot longer to traverse the road, unlike a normal Awakened, who could have covered the distance in minutes.

As Ray examined the groove and its surroundings, he realized he had missed something when he peeked at the place from the distance.

"How are we going to sneak in?" Ray asked Lahel in panic.

The thicket of trees surrounding the timber castle kept squirming around, meshing itself into a sort of barrier, preventing anyone from sneaking in. The only path was a single purposeful trail, leading inside towards the castle一no doubt, guarded like hell.

"Just follow me. And look confident." Sharing just a simple instruction, Lahel walked into the only path woven between the trees.

"Look confident?" Ray asked in confusion but still followed him.

As the two entered, behind them the trees twirled around, blocking their only way of exit.

"I am seriously gonna haunt you, don't forget that."

"Yeah. Yeah, Casper. Let's go."

"You know, for someone who has been stuck here for 70 years, you do know quite a few references from children's books." Ray teased the old-schooler a bit.

"Well, my parents were...let's say, a bit influential. They assigned me tutors for everything, including literature. My literature tutor had an unconventional taste, so I read a wide variety of fiction too."

"Influential parents and unconventional tutors? I guess we both do have something in common." Ray grinned at the unexpected discovery.

"Hmm. Were you the illegitimate one? Your lack of confidence tells me you weren't liked by your father."

"Legitimate. Though the rest is true. My old man definitely didn't like me." Ray explained as they walked between the shifting trees. "What about you?"

"Legitimate here too. Though, I was an only child, so my parents spoiled me rotten. My father even pulled some strings so that I didn't get dragged into the military when they lowered the men's conscription age during the war."