Night Ranger - Chapter 525-532
The fight in the wilderness was slowly coming to an end.
That Leopard couldn’t escape from the Adjudicators’ encirclement.
After its last struggling attack failed, the Leopard roared and instantly disappeared.
The Cleric sneered, raised his hand and a light green light suddenly shrouded the ground around him!
Divine Spell – Dream Cage!
The Leopard suddenly fell from the sky.
A Paladin ruthlessly rushed over, the longsword in his hand ruthlessly slashing down.
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No blood splashed, but a Hunter Imprint gradually appeared, merging with that man’s palm.
“Good, let’s keep gathering imprints.”
The Cleric faintly smiled, “Oh right, contact Sir Swift.”
“Tell him that the person they have been looking for had already been found and is now going west.”
The other Shrine Paladins froze but didn’t hesitate. One of them used a specific method of the Dream Shrine to carry out the Cleric’s order.
Only Griffin’s expression suddenly changed.
The Cleric looked at the Paladin with a smile that didn’t look like a smile, “Seems like you don’t have enough faith toward our shrine.”
“That man is your friend?”
Griffin clenched his fist, before loosening it again.
He closed his eyes and coldly said, “I was only tasked to help you with this mission. After going through the ritual, you would remove Molly’s curse for me, this was our deal. I don’t need to explain anything else.”
The Cleric laughed, “You are right.”
He then shrugged, “It’s just that some matters are bound to change.”
“I heard this kid offended 1st Divine Servant Ambella, thus, the Dream Shrine would do everything possible to find him as long as he is alive in the Universe.”
“He will then die.”
After saying that, the Cleric’s voice turned murderous.
“Naturally, this isn’t our mission, it’s Dream Guardian Swift and Dream Guardian Wayn’s task. We only need to properly take care of our matter.”
The Cleric had a bright smile on his face.
He waved his hand and nodded at Griffin, “Let’s go, future Dream Paladin.”
Griffin’s eyes twitched, and he took a deep breath with a helpless expression.
…
In the west was a hilly area.
Marvin kept his Stealth activated, this was a very good habit.
In any case, his current skillset allowed him to keep his Stealth while quickly moving forward. The Autumn Hunting Ground was a very dangerous place. Sometimes, even Stealth wouldn’t guarantee that others would be unable to discover you.
Marvin met two monsters on the way.
But he didn’t make a move.
Based on his Perception, these two monsters were shockingly fierce.
They didn’t have Legend characteristics, but their bodies actually exceeded the limits of ordinary Legend Monsters.
Adding the fact that Marvin didn’t know their abilities, he didn’t dare act blindly.
The Dream Shrine group needed a team of Adjudicators to handle a beast with an imprint. Marvin’s heart sank a bit.
He intended to observe these beasts’ habits before making a move.
This was his usual strategy in the game, but he hadn’t put it to use for a while.
After transmigrating, his experience had been his greatest advantage, and it had been reflected by his quick leveling speed.
By making use of information, Marvin was able to overcome many difficult challenges.
But in this territory, his advantage was simply erased.
Marvin found that this Autumn Hunting Ground’s beasts were mostly ancient wilderness monsters described only in ancient books.
It was rumored that the world was originally filled with all kinds of lifeforms. At that time, Feinan and many secondary Planes were still wild and the Plane Will was still growing. The Races fought each other, fighting over the right to survive.
Many Gods fell in the ancient times while fighting these monsters.
Although the beasts in the Autumn Hunting Ground weren’t as powerful as those genuine ancient mythical monsters, those dragged back by the Wilderness God to be raised were definitely not ordinary. Marvin had to be even more careful.
But there was an ominous feeling in his heart.
Doubts kept appearing in his mind, and he wasn’t able to disperse them.
What did that Lich Bandel want to do?
What was the Dream God’s plan?
There seemed to be a huge plot behind the reappearance of the Wilderness Hall. It wasn’t like the previous event in the Dragon God’s Tombl.
At least at that time, Marvin had the help of Professor and the others, and gained a lot of information about the Chromatic Dragons and Evil Dragons.
This time, he was drawn in by accident and felt ignorant and helpless.
That kind of feeling made him very uncomfortable.
Maybe he was already used to the advantage his otherwise wide knowledge provided.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help taking a deep breath. This helped him stay calm.
But at that time, his heart suddenly started beating fast!
A hurried voice echoed in his mind, “Flee quickly!”
Marvin was suddenly startled.
This was Paladin Griffin’s voice.
Marvin raised his head and looked around, still in Stealth, and noticed two quick shadows rushing over.
Dream Guardians!
‘Damn it! They still found me.’
Marvin unhesitantly sprinted away!
Although he didn’t know what happened, he knew his whereabouts had been exposed.
Although Griffin had reminded him, Marvin had already entered the view of the two Dream Guardians.
Marvin knew that his Stealth wouldn’t protect him from those two men’s sight.
He could only pray that the two’s speed wouldn’t be enough to keep up with him with the Legend Laws’ restriction in place.
But reality was cruel.
The two Dream Guardians’ speed was not only not inferior to Marvin’s, they were even slowly catching up to him. Their speed was mainly related to their blessings and it seemed like their blessings had been strengthened after entering the Hunting Ground, just enough to make a difference.
‘Looks like I’m forced to fight.’
Marvin silently took out the Hunting Knife.
He stopped escaping, standing on a hill instead, waiting for his enemies to arrive.
Legendary Weapons couldn’t be used, he hoped that this sharp Hunting Knife would be a surprise to them.
The two Dream Guardians quickly approached, reaching Marvin in a few seconds.
The two sides faced each other across a small river.
Swift’s golden hair looked extremely bright, and he seemed somewhat tired. However, an excited expression had appeared on his face when he looked at Marvin.
“Kid, why aren’t you running?”
Marvin didn’t have time to open his mouth before a sweet sounding voice floated over from the distance.
“Are they your enemies?”
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Editor: Translation Nation
Out of nowhere, the two sides noticed that a beautiful girl was standing between them.
Her silhouette slowly appeared on the small river’s shore, with her back facing the two Dream Guardians and a calm expression on her face.
Marvin felt that this girl was rather familiar.
But he didn’t recognize her.
‘These crimson eyes…’
Marvin seemed to notice something.
But she already inquired once more, “These two are your enemies?”
“Hey,” Swift impatiently said, “Mortal, if you don’t want to die, you better not get involved in our matters.”
“Although I’m not fond of killing women, if you’re thinking of interfering with our orders, hmpf.”
Killing intent flashed in the girl’s eyes. “I understand, they are your enemies.”
Marvin curiously asked, “Who are you?”
The girl tilted her head and suddenly asked back, “Is this important?”
Marvin froze.
This girl who appeared so suddenly seemed very strange.
He laughed a bit before remarking, “How could this not be important? After all, I don’t seem to know you.”
The girl let out a calm “Oh”.
She then disappeared.
The two Guardians on the other side of the river frowned.
Wayn suddenly shouted, “Careful!”
The space around them seemed to distort!
“Didn’t expect you to have a helper, brat!” Swift sneered, still looking composed. “You want to injure me with this level of sneak attack?”
Not only did he not fall back, but he even advanced instead, a green Divine Spell bursting out from his hand.
A large amount of sparkling green light formed an impenetrable barrier.
In that split second, Marvin noticed the space being sealed.
It would prevent any space-shifting skills from working!
‘No good.’
Marvin’s heart sank.
Regardless of the circumstances, that girl was helping him. It wouldn’t be good if she was injured by the two Dream Guardians.
But just as he was about to go help her, a strange scene played out.
Under the green light, that girl’s silhouette suddenly appeared, looking a bit sluggish, like she was being blocked by something.
Swift snickered in amusement.
But his grin froze right away.
The girl’s silhouette moved on and passed through the barrier!
Swift paled!
Wayn also failed to react, perhaps because they had been quite confident in the effectiveness of the Divine Spell.
Legend laws were indeed ineffective, but why was the Divine Spell ineffective?
But they had no time to think about it.
The girl was holding short but fierce daggers in her hands. She didn’t look fast, but she had an overbearing rhythm.
She suddenly appeared in front of Swift.
The girl abruptly raised her head and Swift felt numb at the sight!
She was holding a dagger in her mouth!
She looked like a callous machine, emitting an icy aura.
That kind of killing intent… Who knew how many people she had to kill to develop it to that extent?
This simply couldn’t exist in a girl so young.
The Dream Guardians had gone on expeditions to various places for many years, including the Crimson Wasteland, the Abyss Battlefield, and other places to fight. An endless number of lifeforms died at their hands!
But in spite of all that, they couldn’t cultivate such a terrifying killing intent, and were intimidated by the feeling exuded by that girl.
In fact, it wasn’t just them. It even shook Marvin, who had been just about to make a move to help her.
He glanced at his interface and saw that the killing intent had caused a willpower check that didn’t have a range!
Even Marvin, who had very high willpower, had been disturbed.
‘Who is this girl?’
‘Why is she helping me? And why are her pupils… Could it be…? But the age doesn’t match!
Marvin hesitated.
In a flash, the girl was already slashing at Swift.
At that critical moment, the powerful Dream Guardian managed to display his tenacity.
He forcibly passed the willpower check, and although his body was still stiff, he managed to draw his sword and ruthlessly slash back at the girl!
The two of them were too close, and it didn’t look like dodging the blows would be possible.
“Swish!”
This was the sound of a sharp dagger piercing a heart.
Wayn was looking at the girl’s lightning-fast movement, feeling startled and angry.
With phantom-like speed, she pierced Swift’s heart, throat, and the back of his head with the three daggers!
After landing her attack successfully, the girl retreated from the range of the radiance of the two Dream Guardians’ Divine Spell.
She looked coldly at Swift.
That outstanding Dream Guardian could only open his eyes wide as his knees slowly went limp.
He died with a grievance!
This was the best description.
Wayn now had a fearful expression.
“You… You are the Winter Assassin?”
Wayn was so scared that his voice was unsteady!
Winter Assassin was a very famous name in the God Realms!
As one of the founders of the Assassin Alliance, that person had been even more famous than the wretched Shadow Prince!
It was said that he had ambushed a God when he was at his peak!
Although the ambush ultimately failed to kill off the target completely, the God ended up with severe injuries and the God Realm soon collapsed.
There were rumors that the Winter Assassin was colluding with the Anzed Witches and Devils, and that he had obtained an immense power from them.
That was a well-known legend in Feinan. But after setting up the Assassin Alliance, he gradually vanished from sight and retired.
But because of that [God Ambush] event, the God Realms attached a lot of importance to the Winter Assassin.
All kinds of signs suggested that this guy was still alive, just hiding.
Dream Guardians like Swift and Wayn naturally knew a bit about it.
That killing intent could instantly make people feel as if they had stepped into the harshest winter.
It was something that perhaps only the rumored Winter Assassin could accomplish.
After all, in this land, they were powerhouses only second to the Divine Servants!
Facing Wayn’s loss of self-control, the girl turned and surprisingly revealed a very brilliant smile. “What do you think?”
Wayn ground his teeth and looked at Marvin, before looking at Swift’s corpse on the ground. He remained silent and abruptly sprinted away!
Marvin simply looked dumbstruck.
Wasn’t that girl too fierce?
She quickly and efficiently chopped down a Dream Guardian!?
“Who are you in the end? You definitely aren’t the Winter Assassin,” Marvin said, feeling absolutely certain about that.
The girl blinked. “You really don’t recognize me?”
“Sir Masked Twin Blades.”
Isabelle.
Marvin had guessed that it was her, but he still felt a bit shocked when he heard it from her own mouth.
He never expected to be able to meet her in this place.
The little girl he saved from a gang a few months ago had already turned into an adult.
This was too unbelievable.
Before the Great Calamity, Marvin had taken Isabelle to the Assassin Alliance to cultivate her abilities, but he lost track of her.
He was too busy at the time and couldn’t search for the missing girl.
He hadn’t thought that she would receive the Winter Assassin’s personal teachings.
Now that she was alone with Marvin, Isabelle didn’t hide anything and had the Wisp come out.
The poor Winter Assassin not only helped out during the fight, but also exposed his current form to Marvin.
After all, a renowned Legend had been turned into a Wisp by a sinister Witch; that was a huge loss of face.
Fortunately, the Winter Assassin’s mental fortitude was quite good. After all, he had been enduring for so many years.
And he was very fond of Isabelle, so at her wish, he shared many secrets with Marvin.
Marvin remained speechless for a long while after listening.
No wonder Isabelle grew up so quickly… It was a matter of time flow.
…
Time flow was a very wonderful concept.
Each plane’s time flow was different. Marvin had mostly stayed in Feinan, so naturally, there would be differences.
But after Isabelle had been taken in by the Winter Assassin, they stayed in a special space to practice Assassin’s techniques.
Even though only a few months passed in Feinan, she practiced for more than ten years in that space.
She now was a fine and elegant girl.
She was already very different from the child who had been begging for money to save her mother.
The only things that remained unchanged were that serene and dedicated temperament, and those two crimson eyes.
The symbol of the Hammons.
Marvin could only sigh at the wonders of the world as the two met there.
Marvin was quite fond of that small little girl. Maybe all the Hammons were like that. Marvin could see the shadow of that boy he fought alongside before.
Isabelle’s current strength couldn’t be overlooked.
Based on Marvin’s estimations, her strength should certainly be top-tier in Feinan.
Along with the innate gift, Flicker, she simply had peak Assassin talents.
Even Marvin himself didn’t dare say he could beat her.
Of course, she hadn’t even fully shown her true strength here. And killing a Dream Guardian in three blows was definitely on the level of a Plane Guardian.
What had been most impactful in that fight was that suddenly spiking killing intent.
It was that alarmingly resolute will that instantly overwhelmed Swift’s defenses and allowed Isabelle to kill him so easily.
And that killing intent didn’t come from Isabelle herself.
Although her teacher, the Winter Assassin, had been turned into a Wisp by a Witch, making him lose most of his strength, he still kept his killing intent.
Releasing a bit in a fight was enough to deal with most enemies.
After listening to Isabelle’s explanation, Marvin could only sigh at her “main character” build!
Carrying an ancestor with her, that was simply too overpowered.
After inwardly envying her for a moment, a big question popped into Marvin’s mind.
“You used Flicker…”
“Hold on, how much lifespan do you have left?”
His expression became serious.
Isabelle smiled and assured, “Enough to use.”
Marvin frowned. Although Hammons were Innate Assassins, their gift came at a price.
Marvin had looked for water from a Fountain of Youth in order to increase Isabelle’s lifespan.
Even now that she had advanced to Legend rank and her body was very powerful, her vitality still seemed very weak.
“Don’t look at me like that. Kid.” The Wisp muttered moodily, “I keep trying to restrict her use of her innate abilities, but she doesn’t listen to me.”
“I already spent all I had to maintain her lifespan, but she always said that there was no need for a long life. If there was enough she would use it, what kind of logic is that?”
Marvin looked at Isabelle and sincerely requested, “Innate abilities, can you please not use them if you don’t absolutely need them?”
The Wisp disdainfully said, “She won’t listen to your advice.”
But then, Isabelle agreed with a smile, “Okay.”
The Winter Assassin suddenly exploded!
…
Although meeting a friend in this place was a very gratifying event, Marvin didn’t want to stay in the same place for too long.
The Dream Shrine had many people in the Hunting Ground. If that Wayn let go of his pride and took the initiative to look for the Cleric and those Paladins, then Marvin’s side would likely face great difficulties.
Isabelle killed Swift by taking advantage of the Winter Assassin’s power and her own innate abilities to catch him off-guard.
If he had been focused and less dismissive of her, Isabelle’s attacks would have been less effective.
The two travelled together and quickly moved along.
With the Winter Assassin as a chatterbox, the trip wasn’t lonely.
That person had already lost all his restraints. He didn’t hide anything from Marvin and told everything he knew about this place.
“So you say you came here specifically for Cold Light’s Grasps?”
Marvin was a bit surprised. He originally thought that Isabelle had been dragged in like him, but it turned out that she had taken the initiative of entering the Wilderness Hall.
“Nothing I can do, who told that hateful Witch to say that the only way to remove her Witchcraft was to get hold of Cold Light’s Grasps?”
The Wisp seemed especially helpless as he muttered, “Even if I’m very doubtful of the veracity of her words, who wouldn’t try?”
“Moreover, the daggers are a very powerful Artifact. I was able to ambush even Gods when I was at my peak thanks to this Artifact’s strength. Isabelle needs weapons that suit her strength.”
Marvin nodded.
But he had a strange feeling about the story.
How was this matter related to the Witches?
According to the Winter Assassin, a Witch snatched his Cold Light’s Grasps one day and reached the Crimson Wasteland before leaving the Artifact in the Wilderness Hall.
As for the matter of the Winter Assassin being turned into a wisp by the Witch, it wasn’t too clear.
It’s just that the Witch very “kindly” left him an escape route.
When the Wilderness Hall came into being again because of some insiders, if he managed to get a hold of Cold Light’s Grasps, her Witchcraft would be removed.
“Why did that Witch bring Cold Light’s Grasps inside the Wilderness Hall?” Marvin was a bit curious as he wondered aloud, “Oh right, what was that Witch’s name?”
The Winter Assassin ground his teeth and spat out a name:
“Hathaway.”
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Editor: Translation Nation
Hathaway.
Marvin didn’t think that he would hear this name in the Wilderness Hall’s Autumn Hunting Ground, and furthermore from the mouth of an old monster who had lived for countless years.
At first, he thought that he had misheard. The name mentioned might have only been similar to Hathaway in pronunciation.
So he checked to make sure, and the Winter Assassin confirmed his previous answer.
The witch who turned him into a Wisp was really called Hathaway.
She claimed to be an Anzed and that she was carrying out a very important task, one that was related to the Anzed Witches and their revival. Because it involved the ownership of Cold Light’s Grasps, the Winter Assassin unyieldingly refused her request.
So it ended in a battle.
Tragedy struck, and even the Winter Assassin, who was able to ambush Gods, was defeated under the assault of a series of strange Witchcrafts.
Even though the Winter Assassin didn’t know much about Witchcraft, he was sure that the most important reason for his defeat was that a certain God was helping the Witch from the dark.
The Winter Assassin didn’t know which God it was. After all, his previous [God Ambush] put him on the Gods’ blacklist, it could have been anyone.
He was just certain that Hathaway had been helped by an Ancient God because he had heard Ancient God Language during the fight.
Marvin could hear the unwillingness in the Winter Assassin’s voice when he talked about that battle.
Using his own words, it was “shady”.
As a result of this unfortunate confrontation, he had been cursed for many years. He didn’t even know how much time had passed, but it must have been more than 800 years. The Winter Assassin was a figure from the late 3rd Era, after all. There were still many Gods who had yet to ascend when he had been cursed.
The Assassin Alliance he established was still a relatively loose organization at the time. It didn’t belong to the South Wizard Alliance and was considered the predecessor of the modern Assassin Alliance.
This showed that this matter had happened a very long time ago.
Marvin was thinking, a deep frown on his face.
The Winter Assassin was most active in the late 3rd Era for about sixty years, and Miss Silvermoon’s fall was before that. The Winter Assassin had obtained Cold Light’s Grasps due to chance, becoming their new master.
Afterwards, the Anzed Witch snatched Cold Light’s Grasps away and put the daggers inside the Wilderness Hall.
This was too fishy.
The last time Marvin saw Hathaway, she claimed to be the Witch Queen.
Marvin had a certain understanding of Witchcraft by now. Hathaway’s looping curse was luckily broken thanks to Dark Phoenix, which resulted in her awakening some extraordinary memories. Marvin could more or less understand…
But he couldn’t imagine that Hathaway had lived for a millennium.
Maybe, they were two completely different people?
With this doubt in mind, Marvin tried to confirm the appearance of the Witch who turned the Winter Assassin into a Wisp.
But the Winter Assassin couldn’t remember what that Witch looked like.
Many memories seemed to have been sealed after he fell to the Witchcraft.
While he could remember things about the fight and his defeat, he couldn’t remember any details concerning her appearance.
The Winter Assassin was very depressed about that.
As a Legend active in the late 3rd Era, most people had expected him to ascend, not the wretched Glynos.
He had somehow met a powerful enemy and then been sealed for a millennium. Who wouldn’t be depressed after such an event?
…
Since he couldn’t confirm Hathaway’s appearance, Marvin wasn’t able to figure out more about the matter.
He had a faint feeling that there was an even bigger secret behind the Wilderness Hall’s opening, waiting to be unravelled.
Wilderness Hall, Miss Silvermoon, Lich, Anzed Witch… There was definitely a rational explanation behind everything. Marvin already had some clues, but he still lacked something to tie them together.
Anyways, since he was already in the Hunting Ground, Marvin would definitely take a look at the Wilderness Hall.
After all, it had already been confirmed that the Wilderness God wasn’t the one who opened the Wilderness Hall, but rather a Lich. And from the information obtained back in Holy Light City, Marvin could confirm that Minsk had also entered the Wilderness Hall.
He couldn’t forget that his mission in coming to the Crimson Wasteland was to find that guy.
He might also have an unexpected harvest when entering the Wilderness Hall.
Moreover, the Winter Assassin kept telling Marvin that the Cold Light’s Grasps were important to him and Isabelle. Marvin wouldn’t mind helping out with that.
Although Artifacts were attractive, they were many more.
Cold Light’s Grasps were straight daggers, and although Marvin’s Ruler of the Night class let him use straight daggers effectively as weapons, his expertise in curved daggers was a lot higher in this life. If he had to choose Artifact-level weapons, Cold Light’s Grasps wouldn’t be his first choice.
…
In the following days, Marvin and Isabelle didn’t encounter any dangers thanks to the guidance of the Winter Assassin.
They didn’t meet the Dream Shrine’s group. Perhaps Isabelle’s previous display really frightened Wayn, so he didn’t even dare to come back with help.
Marvin felt very gratified that he could avoid that trouble.
Now that he was teaming up with Isabelle, he finally wasn’t alone anymore and could easily handle those monsters.
With the Winter Assassin on the side, those monsters’ weak points were glaringly obvious.
They soon had enough Hunter Imprints.
The current Isabelle was not the stubborn and powerless young girl anymore.
She had already become a true Assassin.
In those fights, even though Marvin and the Winter Assassin had convinced her to restrict the use of her innate abilities, she still displayed such a level of prowess that Marvin truly felt fearful.
At such a young age, her Stealth was already reaching the limit and she didn’t seem worse than Marvin, who had already been an Assassin in his previous life.
As for skills, the best Assassin in Feinan’s history was teaching her, so she naturally wouldn’t be lacking.
Marvin felt that if she used her innate talent, he would find it very difficult to evade her assassination, even if he knew it was coming!
Flicker, which ignored all Laws!
It did sound very frightening.
It was also that skill that made the Winter Assassin very envious.
She was now close to her final assessment, and if she completed it, the Winter Assassin would impart his final skill to her.
An outstanding powerhouse like the Winter Assassin still had a skill for her to learn. If it were someone else, they wouldn’t have much to teach the Legend Isabelle.
…
After the two gathered enough Hunter Imprints, their next step was to wait.
Wait for the Wilderness Hall to be truly opened.
According to the Winter Assassin’s guess, it would take three days at most, within three days, the Hunting Ground would be closed.
At that time, people without enough Hunting Imprints would be stuck inside the space and die.
And those with Imprints would leave this place, for the more dangerous Wilderness Hall.
Just as expected, the second day after the duo gathered enough imprints, a shocking rumbling noise came from the depths of the Autumn Hunting Ground, and a huge, bronze gate appeared.
The Lich’s voice echoed once again:
“Being capable of surviving proves that you have the strength to witness history.”
“In that case, please come in.”
“The Wilderness Hall has been opened. Every great performance needs a few spectators, isn’t that so?”
Following the Lich’s voice, some silhouettes appeared in succession in the area.
Marvin felt the dense, bloody aura around them.
All those who survived the hunt were very powerful. They quickly disappeared through the bronze gate.
Marvin estimated that almost a hundred Legends had entered the Hunting Ground, but there were now no more than 20 who were still alive.
Even the powerful Dream Shrine had lost two Paladins.
And it had to be known that they had been working together, making it safer and more efficient for them.
Marvin and Isabelle had been hiding near the bronze gates while silently counting the number of people.
There were 16 Legends there with enough Hunter Imprints, or a total of 18 if Marvin and Isabelle were included.
The others died in the Hunting Ground.
Their bodies most likely melted under the acid rain before being absorbed by that frightening space.
During these two days, there had been a downpour of acid rain every four hours, lasting about ten minutes each time.
Marvin had already confirmed that this was an offering and that this was a sacrificial ground.
There was definitely a bigger danger waiting for them behind the bronze gate.
That Lich set up such a large game and definitely wasn’t just inviting some spectators.
But they had no other choice. They could only follow the path the Lich laid out for them and slowly walk along it.
…
“Let’s go, don’t just look.”
“I can feel that this gate will close soon, you have five minutes at most.” The Winter Assassin urged, “Even if the Lich you talked about has really planned something, do we have another choice?”
Marvin nodded and proceeded through the door with Isabelle.
The space distorted once more.
After their surroundings solidified, they found that they were in a vast temple.
Strange ivy was hanging in the temple.
It seemed different from ordinary plants, having a large amount of barbed tips and a layer of thin, sticky liquid!
The place reeked of blood and had a fanatical atmosphere.
The temple was quite broad. They were in the center, and they could see a red light flickering through the darkness.
They could hear the sound of fighting coming from somewhere in the distance!
– Let’s check it out. –
Marvin used a gesture to signal Isabelle.
Isabelle cooperated and went into Stealth.
The duo communicated with the help of the Wisp and quickly rushed over.
…
In a corner of the temple.
A man wearing a black cloak was calmly standing on the side.
There was a thick fog behind him, and in the depths of the fog, a Two-Headed Bone Dragon could faintly be seen…
At his side was a gorgeous Jade Banshee!
‘It’s really him!’
Now that they had found the mastermind, the situation would be a lot easier to handle.
The soul fire in this guy’s eyes was too distinct, it simply screamed [Lich].
The group fighting in front of him was the Dream Shrine’s party of Adjudicators!
That previously high-spirited Cleric was now in a sorry state.
They had lost two Paladins in the Hunting Ground. With only four Dream Paladins and Paladin Griffin left, as well as the Cleric himself, it would be very difficult to resist the Lich’s attacks… But… that wasn’t the Lich’s attack!
Marvin’s eyes widened.
What was causing them trouble was some cyan ivy!
‘This ivy is problematic.’
As Marvin looked at those crawling vines that were surrounding the group and attacking them frantically, he couldn’t help but feel rather alarmed.
Each stalk of ivy was frighteningly tough, and didn’t break even under the blows from the Paladins’ swords, which had been enchanted with Divine Power.
And their barbs were very powerful.
Marvin could sense that the ivy was gradually absorbing the vitality and Divine Power of the victims!
This ability was too frightening.
‘Hold on… The entire temple is covered with this kind of ivy… No good!’
Just as Marvin thought of this, it was already too late.
He suddenly felt pain in his abdomen!
Two terrifying stalks of ivy had already coiled around his waist without him noticing!
“Aaah!”
Not far from him, Isabelle also let out a soft cry as she was bound by ivy.
She instinctively wanted to use her innate talent to escape, but Marvin signaled her with his eyes.
Isabelle hesitated but ultimately didn’t use her ability and was lifted up by the cyan ivy.
It was the same for Marvin.
The cyan ivy didn’t seem to want to kill them. He took a glance to see what that Lich had planned.
It wasn’t necessarily advantageous to act now.
It would be better to first examine the enemy’s weak point before making a decision.
But upon looking around, Marvin was startled.
The two were dragged into the air by the ivy and kept rising until they reached the ceiling.
At that time, he realized that the ceiling of the temple was filled with people!
These people not only included those Legend powerhouses who had just been fighting in the Hunting Ground. There were also some new faces.
And there were even more dried corpses!
At that time, Marvin’s eyelids couldn’t stop twitching.
A man with closed eyes and a calm expression was hanging from the ceiling.
Marvin recognized him.
‘Half-God Minsk!’ he inwardly shouted.
At that time, the Lich’s gloomy voice came out from below. “I didn’t expect two fishes to escape the net, I almost let you flee.”
“It’s no use though. Since you entered the Wilderness Hall, your end is inevitable.”
“Whether it’s an unknown figure or a follower of the mighty Dream God, everyone will become the audience for this show… Of course, no one can avoid turning into fodder.”
The Lich let out a low laugh. “I’m quite fair, aren’t I?”
“Bandel!”
The Dream Shrine group was apparently the only group that was still able to resist.
But they also seemed to be in a very difficult situation right now.
Marvin could feel that this special crawling vine was continuously siphoning away his vitality, but the process was very slow. With his constitution, he would be able to hold on for a hundred years or so.
But the more serious issue was that the mass of ivy was imbued with another power.
This kind of feeling was like when they had heard the mysterious singing voice outside Holy Light City.
It was like a huge lock was coiled around their bodies, making it very difficult to move.
Naturally, Marvin could still find ways to escape, but he felt that this wasn’t the most suitable moment.
‘Bandel? Why does this name sound a bit familiar? That Lich name’s Bandel?’
Marvin held his breath and listened carefully to the discussion.
The Cleric shouted, “I won’t die from a Life-Severing Ivy! My body will resurrect in the Shrine! But your evil deeds here will be told to the Dream God, he won’t forgive you!”
“Give us Cold Light’s Grasps now, and let us leave!”
The Lich sneered, “I know you won’t die. But would that resurrected you still be you?”
“If I’m not wrong, you haven’t died before. After dying for the first time, you’ll turn into a genuine puppet of the Gods.”
“Do you want to have a taste of this feeling?”
The Cleric’s expression became quite ugly.
He glared fiercely at the Lich as he demanded, “How can you open the Wilderness Hall and Autumn Hunting Ground? And why would the Life-Severing Ivies listen to you?”
The Lich shrugged as he gave a non-answer: “As a spectator, you have far too many questions.”
“Look, the others know their places. I said I was very fair, I won’t treat you better just because you are a member of the Dream Shrine.”
“Tie him up. My patience is limited, and the great teacher’s patience is even more limited…”
After saying this, the ivy surrounding the Cleric’s group went crazy and attacked even more frantically.
Countless sharp thorns shot over, and despite the Cleric using several defensive Divine Spells, a Paladin still got caught and was pierced!
That scene looked pretty tragic.
The Legend powerhouses hanging from the ceiling all held their breaths.
They had never been as dispirited as they were now.
This temple had the same stifling limitation to the Legend Laws as the Hunting Ground, and they were caught in an unprecedented predicament.
But compared to that group currently fighting, their treatment was a lot better.
At least they weren’t being surrounded and viciously attacked by the ivy!
Marvin’s expression became a bit unsightly.
He could feel the Lich’s power, which apparently was not affected at all by the restrictions in this place.
And it seemed to be the same for that Jade Banshee.
What was that ivy? Life-Severing Ivy? The name seemed quite straightforward, but could it have a deeper meaning?
At that time, the voice of the Winter Assassin echoed in his ear:
“The Life Severing Ivies are an avatar of the Wilderness God!”
“It was rumored that before the Wilderness God fell, he hid seeds of rebirth, and these seeds were hidden in the Life Severing Ivies.”
“You are stripped of your Legend Laws because the Life Severing Ivies are a power of the Wilderness God. He had an ancient Law’s authority and can erase your Domain’s power. In essence, it’s like you are in a God Realm! Only with permission can you use your Legend Domains!”
Marvin instantly understood.
Although the Wilderness God had yet to resurrect, these Life Severing Ivies were his avatar, and still had some power.
That power was extremely mighty and had the same authority here as Divine Laws. Legend Laws were suppressed under the effect of those Laws.
And the Lich himself was probably not affected because of the Ivies giving him extra authority!
“Damn it, he just said [teacher]… This guy wouldn’t be the disciple of the Wilderness God, right?”
Marvin suddenly recalled that when he was travelling toward that snowy mountain with the adventurers, he had heard them mention something similar.
“I’m afraid he is.”
The Winter Assassin’s voice seemed quite grave as he muttered, “Your decision was right, we wouldn’t be able to gain anything fighting head-on.”
“Damn Witch, she deceived me once again. She clearly said that the Wilderness God wouldn’t resurrect.”
“But look at these Life Severing Ivies. The Wilderness God’s consciousness had already started recovering!”
Marvin’s heart sped up.
He had a really bad feeling this time.
The Wilderness God was a famous Evil God from ancient times. If he truly revived, how many of the Legends here would be able to escape?
He silently made the Wisp notify Isabelle. If there was an opportunity to flee, they would have to flee first.
He knew of Isabelle’s innate talent, and if not for that talent, the Winter Assassin wouldn’t have let her come to the Wilderness Hall.
Very few spaces could truly restrain her.
…
“Aaah!”
The battle below was still ongoing. But one member of the Dream Shrine group seemed to be on his last leg.
Under the persistent attacks from the cyan vines, another Paladin fell.
The Cleric’s face turned green.
These were elites of the Dream Shrine, the main force!
And not only did they fail to see even a shadow of Cold Light’s Grasps, but they also met the Wilderness God’s avatar. This was completely different from the oracle!
He tried communicating with his God, but was unsuccessful.
The Lich’s expression made him shiver.
He didn’t want to die, he didn’t want to die like this in the embrace of a mass of ivy!
Thus, he clenched his teeth before yelling out once again, “Bandel!”
“I have a suggestion!”
The Lich sneered, “Oh? I’m listening?”
The Cleric took a deep breath. “Do you really want to offend the Dream God?”
The Lich asked in a tone dripping with ridicule, “You want me to release you?”
“The Dream Shrine will owe you a favor.” The Cleric looked at the only two remaining Paladins in front of him and at Griffin, who was in a pitiful state, before showing a painful smile. “You win. We give up on Cold Light’s Grasps. As long as you free us, the Dream Shrine won’t pursue the matter with you.”
The Lich’s soulfire flickered, no one knew what he was thinking.
But attacks from the cyan ivy really slowed.
“To be honest, I’m not afraid of offending the Dream God,” the Lich began. The Cleric’s heart turned cold.
The Lich then said, “But when it comes to offending Gods, the fewer the better, right?”
“I can let you leave safely.”
“But one of you is a sacrifice my teacher is very fond of, her flesh is very captivating… She has to stay!”
The Cleric froze. “She? Who?”
The Lich pointed at the sweating Griffin…. At the girl on his back!
Griffin’s expression suddenly changed.
“That little girl… She is very different.”
The Lich laughed. “There is a very impressive treasure in her body. Although it’s hidden by the curse, it cannot escape the Wilderness God’s sense of smell.”
He raised his chin and repeated, “She has to remain. You can take the others away.”
The Cleric glanced at Griffin and unhesitantly made a decision:
“Deal!”
“No!”
Griffin angrily yelled, “How can you sell us out like this?”
The Cleric coldly retorted, “As a follower of God, you should comply with my arrangements.”
“But it doesn’t matter, if you don’t want to hand over this little girl, then just die with her.”
He glanced back at the Lich.
The Lich sneered and opened a way through the cyan ivy.
The Cleric waved his hand and then left with the two wounded Paladins.
Only Paladin Griffin remained of those who had still been putting up a resistance in the corner of the hall.
He looked very lonely.
Countless Life-Severing Ivies were crawling at him from the darkness, looking like snakes preparing to devour someone.
The soul fire in Bandel’s eyes kept throbbing as he muttered, “I didn’t expect the Dream Shrine to have someone like you.”
“Unfortunately, you can only die.”
Then, all the cyan ivy pounced on him.
…
From the ceiling, Marvin could see the surface of the ivy turning scarlet and could sense a great amount of soul power!
“The Wilderness God’s main body is a man-eating crawler plant from ancient times. These Life-Severing Ivies are his avatar.”
“Although he entered a state of fake death, his Divine Law is still covering all of this ivy. If you can’t counteract that Divine Law, your power will be seriously restricted. As long as that is the case, don’t even mention snatching Cold Light’s Grasps, maybe even saving your own life would be difficult.”
The Winter Assassin’s voice was also somewhat anxious as he regretted, “I harmed you this time. Damn Witch, I actually listened to her.”
Marvin silently shook his head.
He could feel the temple’s power. It was exerting a kind of absolute Domain suppression.
Seeing this scene, he knew that he couldn’t wait any longer.
Regardless of how, he had to try.
‘Although killing that Lich without finding his phylactery is too troublesome, eliminating his body should still be doable.’
Marvin silently gathered his strength.
The Spirit Orb’s skill, [Harvest], had already been filled and could be used anytime.
That skill was particularly effective against souls, so not only could it destroy soulstones, phylacteries, and other similar things, but it should also have a great effect on a Lich’s body.
It could at least eliminate his soul fire.
As for all the ivy, Marvin was thinking of joining forces with Isabelle to handle them, and with the addition of Griffin’s Truth Scale, they had some hope.
Moreover, there were many Legend Powerhouses here. These people didn’t lack fighting ability by any means. They were just pitifully restricted by the ivy.
If he freed them, then with everyone working together, they would have an opportunity to escape.
With all this planned out, he took a deep breath.
The next second, a golden light flashed on the surface of his body.
Shapeshift Sorcerer – Diamond Shape!
Bind Debuff – Immune!
He slipped out of the ivy, nimble like a fish, wordlessly escaping from the binding.
Naturally, he didn’t want to inadvertently alert an enemy, so he left a Paper Clone behind while he entered Stealth.
In any case, he had the Vampires’ Low Flight and the Witchcraft – Flight’s Right, and furthermore, he could walk quickly on the ceiling.
He moved as fast as lightning, quickly arriving at Isabelle’s side. He wanted to help her free herself, but she had already escaped on her own upon seeing Marvin move.
Marvin quickly put a Paper Clone in, and the ivy didn’t react.
Sure enough, he had guessed correctly. Although these Life-Severing Ivies were the avatar of the Wilderness God, his consciousness hadn’t returned yet. They were mostly listening to Lich Bandel’s commands.
The Lich’s attention was now focused on Griffin, so he didn’t notice the two of them getting free.
They silently escaped from the mass of ivy and hurriedly went down the sides of a pillar to reach the floor.
Marvin signalled Isabelle, hinting her to not act rashly. He quietly approached the Lich’s group.
He knew that the Lich had very high Perception and since he had previously been noticed by the ivy, he resolved to be more careful this time.
Thus, while moving he silently, felt for an overlapping part of the Shadow Plane with this world.
This was very dangerous. Although he had the right to move through the Shadow Plane, most stable bridges were built between Feinan and the Shadow Plane. There was some risk of ending up in the limitless void by linking with the Shadow Plane from another world.
But the circumstances were too urgent, so Marvin had to experiment somewhat.
He closed his eyes, and the endless void seemed to be filling his mind.
Then, a familiar node kept jumping out in front of him.
“Found!”
Marvin was overjoyed and entered the Shadow Plane without hesitation.
…
The battle in the temple had become very worrying.
No expression could be seen on the Lich’s skull, but the expression of the Cleric, who was off to the side, was unsightly.
He still remained on guard. Although he had Bandel’s promise, he wouldn’t easily trust a zealot of the Wilderness God.
However, he was greatly shocked by the strength that Griffin showed.
Although he had already known that guy was different, he paled when he learnt the truth.
He even had some regret: If he had known that this guy could release the Truth Scale’s illusion, he might have kept fighting.
But in this place, his prayers didn’t receive any answers, which made him feel weak.
This was something unprecedented for him, after all.
“Fascinating.”
Seeing the cyan ivy turning to dust under the light of the Truth Scale, the Lich actually laughed. “The Truth God has already fallen. It is safe to say that no one should be able to summon the Truth Scale, even if it’s just a shadow.”
“If not for my important task, I might have decided to carefully study it…”
At that time, the Dream God’s Cleric couldn’t help but say, “Bandel, can you let us go now? We already gave her to you.”
The Lich shook his head as he pointed out, “My conditions were for you to hand me that girl, but you didn’t do so, did you?”
“Thus, even if you want to go, sorry, but not now.”
“Wait till after this matter is over and I’ll let you go. My goal is neither to kill everyone, nor to offend the Dream God. You can rest assured.”
The Cleric’s expression grew somewhat unpleasant, but he could only shut his mouth.
But at that time, a roar suddenly echoed through the depths of the temple!
That roar sounded like one of an ancient beast that had awakened after many years and regained its strength.
The whole temple shook as it reverberated.
The ivy flew around chaotically, and the Legend powerhouses still conscious in the ceiling couldn’t help cursing in rage.
The soul fire in the Lich’s eyes flickered. “Teacher is a bit impatient…”
“That’s good, we can end this nonsense early.”
He pointed toward the Truth Scale.
A dull gray light condensed in an instant.
…
In the Truth Scale, the unconscious little girl suddenly opened her eyes.
The Truth Scale that Griffin had strenuously formed seemed to be collapsing.
“Uncle Griffin…”
The sweet sound of the little girl’s voice echoed throughout the entire palace. “Where are we?”
She was apparently startled awake by that frightening roar.
As he struggled to maintain the Truth Scale, Griffin was very pale and his forehead was beaded with sweat.
His Legend Laws had also been stripped, so this Truth Scale summoning had already exhausted all his remaining strength.
And the ivy was continuously absorbing and corroding his power!
He was already unable to breathe.
As for that roar, it was most likely the awakening of the Wilderness God’s consciousness.
He was constantly enduring willpower checks and couldn’t keep supporting himself. He fell to a half-kneeling position.
But even so, he still tightly hugged the little girl in his embrace.
“Woosh!”
The dull gray radiance penetrated the Truth Scale barrier and pierced through Griffin’s shoulder!
He turned gray in an instant, as a great amount of energy started spreading from the wound.
The Truth Scale power was quickly restoring the wound, but it couldn’t completely extinguish the burning negative energy.
The Truth Scale illusion kept weakening, and soon looked like it was about to disappear.
The Lich waved his hand in satisfaction.
“Take her.”
The Two-Headed Dragon walked out of the fog. It didn’t seem to fear the Truth Scale as much under the Lich’s urging.
As Griffin struggled to remain upright, the Truth Scale’s radiance gradually dimmed.
Huge drops of sweat fell down from his forehead, and blood flew out of his wound.
“I’m sorry. I can’t fulfill my promise.”
His voice seemed very bitter as he muttered, “I said I would save you, I said I would protect you, and lift your curse.”
“But I wasn’t able to in the end.”
“I’ll most likely die. I won’t be able to protect you again, Molly.”
The little girl widened her eyes.
She looked very ordinary. Her skin wasn’t very fair, and there were some freckles on her face.
‘But, a great Paladin has to complete his oath.’
‘This is what you and I decided, so regardless of what happens, I can’t give up halfway.’
Griffin’s expression was bitter.
Not far from them, the cyan ivy retreated and the Bone Dragon cruelly approached.
The Legends on the ceiling had grieving expressions.
In such a terrible place, with the power of the Legend Laws stripped from them, they were no different from ordinary people and could only wait to be slaughtered!
This girl was first, maybe they would follow soon?
The Paladin’s body gradually turned stiff.
The Truth Scale’s final light disappeared.
Besides the Paladin, everything else became dull gray. He had already closed his eyes in silence.
In that moment, it felt like all hope had been lost.
Everyone understood that this Paladin had already reached the end of his life.
The Life-Severing Ivies had already exhausted too much of his power, and the Lich’s Finger of Death was more powerful thanks to the buff of the Wilderness God. The negative energies kept spreading through his wounds and kept giving him Death Checks.
In the end, he fell to the ground.
All the Holy Power shrank like a tide.
This might have been the most powerful Paladin of the Truth God in the entire Universe, but his life ended there.
Molly stood in front of his body, apparently not understanding what had happened.
“Uncle Griffin. Wake up quickly.”
She poked Griffin’s already frozen face, her eyes blinking.
Then, the Bone Dragon behind her abruptly bit down!
In the pitch-black darkness, a shadow stood in front of Marvin.
It was because of her sudden appearance that Marvin wasn’t able to act to help the Paladin.
He stood in the Shadow Plane with his fists firmly clenched, helplessly watching the Paladin as he died from the Lich’s negative energy ray.
“Why did you do that?”
He looked at the shadow before his eyes.
There was some surprise on his face. Although he had been prepared for unexpected occurrences, he found it quite jarring to see her in this place.
Hathaway.
Hathaway seemed a lot more mature compared to last time they had met.
She was also a lot taller. It could be seen that the flow of time for her was very unusual.
“Do you want to throw away your life?”
Hathaway still was unperturbed. After her rebirth, her character had changed greatly.
Although there was a great power in her body, and even if she was doing all she could to hide it, Marvin could still feel it.
It seemed like she could explode anytime.
“I can’t just stay here and do nothing!”
Marvin struggled hard, but couldn’t get rid of the binding effect.
In fact, he had managed to enter the Shadow Plane and was about to rush out when Hathaway suddenly appeared and stopped him.
He wasn’t surprised that she could enter the Shadow Plane, as it wasn’t a very difficult place to enter for an Anzed Witch. But he found the extent to which she could use Witchcraft in the Shadow Plane rather unexpected.
It had to be known that because of the Shadow Plane’s unique nature, most skills and spells were unusable here.
It could only be assumed that the Witchcraft system was above the Shadow Plane’s Laws, which caught Marvin unprepared.
…
“You have more important things to do.”
Hathaway glanced at him, then glanced at the Lich in the temple before slowly saying, “At that time, you said that you would help me if I needed you.”
Marvin froze.
Hathaway continued, “Throwing your life away now certainly wouldn’t help you repay me.”
“Thus, I stopped you.”
“Moreover, you are simply unable to withstand the Wilderness God’s power. It seems like you want to save the little girl and that Paladin, but I can tell you with certainty that under the watch of the Wilderness God, it’s impossible for you to do this.”
Wilderness God?
Marvin’s mind sank, could that guy have really recovered already?
He looked at Hathaway and asked, “What exactly do you know? What did you appear here now?”
Hathaway didn’t answer, and instead just calmly watched what was happening.
She frowned, apparently thinking of something.
Marvin began to feel fidgety.
This feeling of being unable to do anything was really uncomfortable. Even if he knew Hathaway had no malicious intent, he also couldn’t help looking with sorrow at Griffin and Molly dying in front of him. Moreover, Isabelle was still there. They had agreed to attack together, but then he disappeared, so who knew what Isabelle would do!
…
In the temple, under everyone’s sorrowful gazes, the Bone Dragon viciously bit down on the completely defenseless Molly and swallowed her in its stomach in one bite.
Rumble!
The Two-Headed Bone Dragon raised his neck and let out a loud burp.
A black fog rose up, and the pitiful little girl completely disappeared before everyone’s eyes.
“Good work, Puppy.”
The Lich let out a laugh, “Leave first, leave this to me.”
Under the Lich’s order, the Two-Headed Bone Dragon and the Jade Banshee disappeared in a fog of darkness.
During the process, Isabelle, who had been hiding on the side, held her breath.
She had countless opportunities to try to save the girl, but the Winter Assassin had forcibly stopped her.
She also was a very cool-headed person and knew that she might not have been able to grasp those opportunities and ultimately chose to clench her teeth and endure.
‘What about Sir Marvin? Where did he go?’
A storm appeared in the girl’s ever-peaceful heart.
Because she had been discovered by the Life-Severing Ivy before, she used the Winter Assassin’s most powerful hiding skill, [Assimilation].
Her body twisted around the pillar and looked like another stalk of the cyan ivy.
Even her aura was a perfect copy of the ivy!
Marvin had clearly told her that he would be making a move first.
She might not necessarily listen to others, but she would definitely comply with Marvin’s requests!
Because he was Masked Twin Blades.
…
“You can release us now,” the Dream Shrine’s Cleric harshly said.
He didn’t feel too great.
The others in the temple either had been restrained by Life-Severing Ivies or were dead.
After the death of the Paladin, there were only three people left.
The Lich turned and laughed while looking at the three of them. “Okay, I’ll send you on your way.”
Then, a flame shone in the darkness.
A fierce aura stabbed from behind!
“Roar!”
The frightening roar echoed behind the three followers of the Dream God and seemed to rip apart their eardrums.
The Cleric had a bad feeling and immediately brandished his scepter, wanting to use a few defensive Divine Spells.
The two Paladins readied their swords in self-defense.
But next second, a scorching heat flooded through their bodies.
The Legends bound to the ceiling could clearly the scene of the three being attacked by extremely small flames.
The flames flew out from within the layers of ivy and possessed shocking energy and leapt onto their bodies.
In that instant, their Divine Spells became ineffective.
The terrifying flame went through their clothes and burnt their skin, before continuing deeper to work on the bones, turning them into a pile of powder.
It only took mere moments.
Those who witnessed the scene felt cold sweat trickling down their backs.
“Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!”
The flames stopped burning, but didn’t disappear.
In the depths of the temple, ivy kept moving around, as if hesitating.
The Lich took a step forward, smiling. “Rest assured, respected Teacher, I’ll definitely bring you back from the endless darkness.”
“Please believe me.”
Who was he talking to?
Could it really be the Wilderness God?
Soon, the answer was revealed, the cyan ivies kept moving around before finally, a thick vine appeared.
At the end of the vine was a huge flower, and its petals looked as if they were made of fire.
In the core of the flower was a man’s face made of flames!
That face looked as is all the evils in the world had been mixed together.
Its expression was distorted. It roared, apparently trying to say something.
Those present couldn’t understand the language.
But its every word made people shiver.
This wasn’t the power of his eloquence, but the power of the language!
Ancient God Language.
“Heavens, the Wilderness God will truly resurrect!”
“Damnit, how could I have believed those rumors?”
“This was that Lich’s plot. We are done for, if the Wilderness God resurrects, the entire Crimson Wasteland might become his food!”
The Legend all showed expressions of despair.
They were just vulnerable mortals without their Legend powers and simply couldn’t resist the Life-Severing Ivies.
Moreover, they could feel that after this blazing face appeared, the Life-Severing Ivies became more excited.
The vitality drain sped up!
At that time, a person who had been hanging inertly from the ceiling opened his eyes!
…
“I want those petals.”
In the Shadow Plane, Hathaway pointed at the throbbing petals on the edge, with an excited expression on her face.
“This is the Wilderness God’s avatar. Although he doesn’t have the consciousness of the main body, he is still very powerful. But rest assured, he’ll leave soon.”
“It’s not that easy for Bandel to resurrect the Wilderness God. The Wilderness God struggled at death’s door for so many years, preserving a spark in order to ignite his Divine Fire. Afterwards, he would need a great amount of power to support himself, which is also why so many Legend powerhouses have been tricked to come here. This isn’t the end of the sacrificial ground.”
“Do you see those people and low level Divine Servants on the ceiling? The Wilderness God didn’t kill them because he knew he would return one day.”
Marvin frowned as he acknowledged, “Those are his nourishment.”
Hathaway nodded, while pointing at Marvin. “You also are.”
Marvin shrugged. He was different from the others, he still had some cards in his hand. He also wouldn’t mind trying to call for his Archdevil grandfather’s help in a matter of life and death. The Wilderness God might be very troublesome, but a figure in charge of the Nine Hells was on the same level as the peak figures of the Universe.
Although Marvin didn’t want to have too many connections with him while he was still weak, if he was pushed against the wall, he wouldn’t mind trying.
In any case, the Crimson Wasteland wasn’t Feinan, so summoning an Archdevil here wouldn’t put the people in Feinan in a terrible situation.
But he didn’t say those words, and only calmly asked Hathaway, “What do I need to do?”
Hathaway wordlessly handed a jar to Marvin.
…
In the temple, the Lich began to discuss with that flaming face.
The flaming face and the Lich eventually came to a compromise. It jumped out from the petals and turned into an extremely small flame before falling into a palm-sized oil lamp in the Lich’s hand.
That oil lamp looked simple and quite ordinary, but only a treasure could hold such an exceedingly hot flame.
“I’ll leave it here for you.”
The Lich spoke gleefully toward the darkness, “I hope that when you return, you’ll become even more powerful and give Teacher the most perfect body.”
The next second, he reached out grabbed at the void.
“Woosh!”
Isabelle, still hiding at the edge of the pillar, had been seen through once again and was directly caught by the Lich.
“Another gifted young girl.”
The Lich softly said, “I’m in a good mood, so I’ll let you return from the audience free of charge.”
Following his laughter, the two disappeared from the temple, and the entire temple started shaking!
Countless Life-Severing Ivies split open, revealing their bloody mouths, and ruthlessly pounce toward the “nourishment” on the ceiling!
The great number of Life-Severing Ivies made the bound powerhouses lose hope.
The cyan ivy tightened around their bodies, speeding up the rate of vitality absorption. The victims became weaker and weaker.
But at that time, a loud and powerful voice echoed, “Everyone! The Legend Laws are back!”
The Legends all froze in surprise and looked toward the origin of the voice.
It was a clean looking man with limpid eyes. There were a few stalks of ivy on his body, but he soon struggled free.
“Minsk!”
“It’s actually Minsk! I saw a portrait of him before! So he didn’t die!”
They were all startled for a moment before regaining their wits. Since Minsk could free himself from the ivy, they should also be able to!
After all, even though Minsk was strong, he had been trapped in the Wilderness Hall for so many years. His strength should have already been seriously reduced.
If he was right about the Legend Laws recovering, then these people had the confidence to break free from the Life-Severing Ivies.
All kinds of light burst from the ceiling. The trapped Legends all used their own methods to attempt to free themselves.
After trying it out, everyone found that Minsk was indeed right, and the Legend Laws were truly restored!
But their expressions then became very unsightly.
Under the mass of ivy, the flower with flaming petals approached.
Although the man’s face had already disappeared from it, the flower still had a horrifying power.
It rushed over from the side, its petals spinning like a Grim Reaper’s scythe as it pounced onto one of the Legends that was still extricating himself.
The latter failed to dodge and was swallowed by the flower!
The flame kept burning as the screams of the Legend burst out from within the flower. But the flower quickly finished digesting him and then aimed at the next target.
The ivies continued pouncing at the Legends with their bloody mouths open.
They were trying to drag those guys to the flower!
But the process was much more difficult now. Without the Legend Laws, the Legends would have been trampled upon, but now that the Legend Laws were effective again, they were much harder to handle.
There was a Barbarian who forcibly tore apart two Life-Severing Ivies that were biting at him as he cut a path out of the battlefield.
With his renewed power, he was able to harden his body to resist attacks.
“Haaaa!” the Barbarian bellowed while breaking the ivy surrounding him.
“Woosh!”
He dropped nimbly to the ground.
Anger could be seen on his face as curses were still coming out of his mouth. “That piece of shit Bandel, I’ll kill him…”
But before he finished talking, flames burst out behind him!
“Fighting back is only making things harder for you.”
“You are my rations!”
That flower pounced at him with a shriek, and the Barbarian was instantly consumed by the conflagration!
Even with the Legend Laws, he still couldn’t resist!
That flower was the most important part of the Wilderness God’s avatar!
Sharp teeth spread on the edges of the petals and with the help of the fire, they revolved like a circular saw, cutting the Barbarian in two.
“Gulp.”
The loud swallowing sound, the blazing petals, and the barbed ivy created an appallingly hellish scene. The hope that had just risen from the Legends’ hearts had suddenly died down.
Although most of them had freed themselves from their bindings, they still didn’t have the ability to escape the temple!
Their power was also recovering very slowly.
Moreover, a few unlucky ones had already been torn apart by the ivy and delivered to the flower. They were devoured and turned into nutriment.
Those who managed to safely reach the ground began to gather around Minsk.
But their surroundings were filled with Life-Severing Ivies!
And there was still that highly threatening flower of flame!
The whispers of the Wilderness God’s avatar kept echoing in their ears:
“You have no way out! You can only become my food!”
Minsk’s face sank, and he looked a bit weak. When the mass of ivy rushed down, they would surely break the temporary defensive line. But at that time, a low chant began to echo from above.
Minsk’s eyes shone as he apparently remembered something.
Following this chant, the movement of the cyan ivy slowed, becoming very sluggish.
Everyone looked at the girl that had appeared, feeling stunned.
Hathaway was there with her face covered. She wore a very pointy hat and a purple mantle.
Her voice was soft and gentle, but her chant carried a power that couldn’t be resisted.
‘Ancient God Language, no… This is Anzed Language…’
‘Witchcraft?’
Minsk took a deep breath.
A faint light appeared in his eyes as he thought, ‘The events of that year, they were really related to the Anzed Witches. The agreement between the Moon Goddess and them… is it the agreed time?’
Others were just thankful for the intervention.
Hathaway’s appearance helped them greatly, blocking and weakening almost all of the Life-Severing Ivies.
Most of the remaining Legends were either extremely strong powerhouses like Minsk who had suffered years of torture but still had a certain amount of strength, or those who just joined the Wilderness Hall who hadn’t lost much of their power yet. They were still able to fight.
As long as they had an opportunity, they would be able to gather their strength and fight back.
“Woosh!”
Sword shadows flashed, spells were thrown.
Soon, the powerhouses coordinated and annihilated a great amount of cyan ivy.
The fiery flower seemed extremely angry that its prey was fighting back.
The flames soared, nearly burning all the ivy around it.
“Who are you?! Why are you able to suppress my power?” the evil flower growled. “You dare to steal the power from the great Wilderness God!”
“Steal?” Hathaway sneered, “Solog, after sleeping for so many years, have you forgotten who the biggest thief of all is?!”
“After stealing the Anzed’s power, haven’t you ever thought that one day, this power that doesn’t belong to you might leave you?”
“Today is the day of reckoning!”
After saying this, her chant became even louder.
An illusion appeared behind her body.
In the illusion, countless women wearing long Witch dresses were kneeling on the ground, worshipping piously.
The Witches were facing a pitch-black field, and in the center, a flower sprang up out of the ground and blossomed!
Every petal of that flower was a different color.
…
The chanting of the illusory Witches echoed across the hall.
Everyone could feel that it was attenuating the power of the cyan ivy.
“No… This is my power!” bellowed the Wilderness God.
At that time, a shadow silently appeared behind the blazing flower.
He was holding a jar in his hand, his movements very graceful.
