Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 533 Seems to be an 'Old Friend'

A real night in Edmunds.

As soon as Fafner said that, everyone present realized what he meant.

Clearly, Edmunds was not as calm as they appeared, and considering the Church of the Night, the answer became obvious.

"In short, we need to rest first. Once night truly falls, it won't be as convenient or comfortable as it is now."

Unexpectedly, Fafnir began tearing at the thick bark covering his body; the petrification spell couldn't be resolved without burning.

Every time he tore off a piece, roots would soon spread and grow back on his body.

"You guys tear a few more pieces too."

Victor and Iris silently began tearing off the bark from their bodies, while Li Xia's task was much simpler; he simply removed his 'outer armor' and placed it beside him.

The same goes for Aowu; its dragon egg is practically a bug, and so far, it hasn't encountered anything that can leave a trace on the dragon egg.

Before long, a tall pile of tree bark appeared next to it.

"almost."

Fafner shakily pulled a small flint from his pocket, struck it twice, and the sparks ignited the tinder.

His aged hands picked up the bark and placed it inside, his expression focused and solemn. Faint smoke filled the room, mixed with a fragrance similar to pine needles.

"Fire has been with humankind since ancient times, and the lighting of the first flame signified that we had broken free from ignorance."

No matter how time changes, fire remains constant; it has always been the most important thing to humankind, if not the most important.

The flames gradually grew larger, and Fafner's gray-white eyes reflected the firelight, as if the flames were dancing in his pupils.

"As long as the fire is burning, there is hope!"

Only then did everyone realize that the torn bark was actually fuel. But thinking carefully about the members of the Dark Night Army who used the wood-transforming magic to get here...

Naturally, they wouldn't carry a lot of fuel, so the tree bark that could regenerate infinitely on their body was the best choice, bar none.

"I'll go look for some tools or something, and we can have a good meal together!"

"Iris said cheerfully. She went into the tent and rummaged around for a while. She happily took out a pot and even a blanket."

"It's still quite well-stocked inside, with my blanket that I sleep on at home, and even my favorite book."

Iris suddenly froze, staring blankly at the blanket in her hand that was exactly the same as the one at home, and the bedtime storybook that she had heard countless times as a child but still wanted to continue listening to.

Everyone looked at her, and even those with sensitive minds had serious expressions.

She reached out her hand, and her wrist, which should have been fair and delicate, was covered with dense scars left by burns, and rough bark. When she touched the book, she quickly withdrew it as if she had been burned.

But in the end, hesitantly, he turned the page—'May our daughter Iris live a happy and healthy life forever, like the little princess in the story.'

She seemed to freeze, large tears sliding down her cheeks covered in tree bark.

"Sigh, the last members of the Night Elf Squad who infiltrated Edmons were Iris's parents, right?"
So, everything here was left behind by them?

Xiao Long sighed. Grandpa Long was kind-hearted and had never been able to bear seeing such things.

"Meow"

The kitten also let out a soft meow.

Fafner and Victor remained silent; any words of comfort would have been futile in such a world and in such a setting.

They came here with no intention of leaving alive.

"Forget it, nothing beats giving Simmons a good beating when we see him. Let's eat first."

Little Dragon beckoned with its paws, summoning a thin stream of water from its container, which contained a large amount of pure water, into the pot. Meanwhile, the kitten pulled out a complete set of kitchen utensils.

One of the Palicoes' special skills is cooking; Palico food is something every hunter must eat before setting off.

Xiaotian obediently squatted there and opened his mouth, a small black vortex swirling inside.

The kitten didn't even look at the scraps it cut off and threw them directly into Xiaotian's mouth.

It's a thousand times better than a garbage disposal!
Li Xia and Fafnavikov walked to the window together and looked down at the street through the dirty window.

The fog on the street was getting thicker and thicker. The buildings, which were already resembling Western medieval fantasy buildings, were submerged in the thick fog, which added to their eeriness and mystery.

"Is the firelight okay?"

Li Xia asked softly.

“No problem,” Victor said readily, even though he was unaware of this stronghold and knew little about Edmons.

But this does not prevent him from being a lost soul and a top priest of the Burning Heart Church.

He knew exactly what the runes and formations on the wall were after just one glance.

"The defenses here have been reinforced by successive Night Forces and the Church of Nature who have come here over the decades. At least within this room, absolutely nothing will leak out."

The firelight was also blocked; look at the runes on both sides of the window—those are the runes that obliterate light.

And above the campfire, those are our Heart-Burning Heat Conversion Runes, which can absorb the dissipated heat and convert it into a certain amount of energy.

In other words, starting a fire can make the runes more active, so it's okay.

Li Xia nodded. This was the persistence of the last group of people on the verge of the apocalypse, people who walked on the edge of death, with extraordinary care and caution.

If they say there's no problem, then there's basically no problem.

Fafner looked up at the sky, then at the street outside, and said softly:

"It's almost time."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a deep, loud sound came from afar.

"Clang!!!"

The sound of the bells resounded throughout Edmons in an instant; this was a power that only the extraordinary could possess.

Even in this safe house filled with runes and protective arrays, Li Xia's blood and qi rippled slightly with the sound of the bell.

The rest of the people all let out a muffled groan.

With a whoosh, it pounced over: "Life-Taking Sanskrit Chant?"

As the enormous bells rang throughout the city, Edmons seemed to transform into something extraordinary.

The long-rotten wooden door was pushed open, and the suspicious leather window paper was rolled up, instantly turning the once empty and eerie street into a lively place.

One by one, seemingly normal residents emerged from their dilapidated rooms, smiles on their faces.

Her exquisite clothes looked absurd against the backdrop of the decaying city.

The gazes of the group turned serious. Awoo stretched its neck, unable to comprehend how these people managed to keep their clothes spotless.

"They look"

Awoo wanted to say something, but the next second, horror made its whole body tense up. After the street was filled with people, they suddenly knelt on the ground, their mouths stretched wide open to their ears.

A black, sticky substance wriggled out of its mouth and gradually solidified in the mist into a strange shape resembling a human body.

These bizarre humanoid objects swayed their bodies and emitted strange buzzing sounds in unison.

These buzzing sounds gradually merged together, inexplicably transforming into a sound similar to prayer.

The runes in the room grew brighter, and even the orange flames were somewhat suppressed, causing them to flicker.

"What are you doing?"

After listening for a while, Aowu still couldn't make out anything, so he simply asked the two locals.

"pray!"

Fafner said in a low voice:

"Darkness is disorder; it is merely an instinctive distortion and corruption of the world. But Simmons has sided with darkness, turning the city, which should have gradually decayed over time, into his ranch."

These are all his lambs.

He was given a great deal of mystical power through daily prayer gatherings, and according to intelligence, Simmons relied on this power to improve himself.

I hope that one day I can break free from these shackles, ascend to godhood, and become a god like darkness.

Li Xia and Aowu exchanged a glance. Although they knew very little about local intelligence, the intelligence they possessed was of a higher dimension.

This world does not know what darkness is; it is the Old God, and it is the Old God sucking the world dry, causing this world to constantly weaken.

The inherent rules and information disturbances of the Old Gods cause corruption. As a high-dimensional deity, the Old Gods rarely and deliberately corrupt a person.

They are somewhat like Cthulhu from real-world mythology, but they also possess a certain degree of regularity.

Therefore, Simmons's hope to ascend to godhood and become an existence on par with the old gods was seen as a joke by Li Xia and Aowu.

Even if he ascended to the so-called divine position, he was only promoted to the fourth rank.

It will be stronger than it is now, but that's about it. Compared to the overpowered attribute of the Old Gods, which can adjust their own rank according to the world's rank, it's far inferior.

But the information revealed by Victor and Fafner is still very important.

The corruption and distortion of the Old Gods didn't happen that quickly. Just like the Griggan race, they persisted for so long, turning themselves into half-plant, half-human monsters, but eventually they had to move to another place because they couldn't survive there anymore.

However, the Black Star was created by Simmons through his own voluntary sacrifice to darkness, turning everyone in the world into this monster, all for the sake of achieving his own 'godhood'.

Even after experiencing so many worlds, this seems to be the first time I've encountered someone so beastly.

The prayers outside grew louder and louder, and the strange bell tolled again.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! ————"

Fafner listened intently, then suddenly his expression changed drastically, and he abruptly turned around and said urgently:
"Quickly! Put out the fire!"

Although Iris and Black Charcoal, who were gathered around the campfire, had no idea what had happened, they reacted very quickly.

Just as Iris stood up, Xiaotian rushed forward, opened his mouth, and swallowed the entire campfire in one gulp.

Then he squatted down to the side, his mouth bulging, occasionally letting out a spark and a wisp of smoke.

"I remember it bit me in the mouth like this in Ogan."

Iris lowered her hand, but immediately shifted her attention, walking to the window as well, and asked in a low voice:
"what happened?"

"The bell tolls seven times, Simmons is on his way."

Fafner also whispered the information that the intelligence agent had risked his life to retrieve:

"Simmons usually stays in the palace in the center of Edmunds, but occasionally he will tour Edmunds with his followers."

The intelligence officer believed this was due to instability caused by faith in some areas, and he was tasked with addressing it.

Victor and Li Xia were both taken aback, but at the same time, a certain possibility came to mind:
"So, is Simmons' trip an opportunity? Can we ambush him halfway through his journey after he leaves his base?"

"It's very difficult—very difficult."

Fafner shook his head:
"Simmons didn't come out alone; he brought a large retinue of servants, none of whom had transformed into monsters."

No, it should be said that although it has become a monster, it is not an unconscious monster like the residents, but has retained a certain degree of consciousness.

This is a special treatment Simmons gives to his followers.

Attacking Simmons under these circumstances would be tantamount to suicide.

Awoo glanced at the monsters outside, who were clearly starting to stir, and nodded in agreement:
"That's true. Too many people on the other side is a problem, but it's all bad. At least we can see what this son of a bitch Simmons is really like."

The room fell silent again, and several people stood by the window, cautiously observing the outside world.

After an unknown amount of time, the distant sky finally began to show signs of movement.

Like a dark cloud gradually approaching, several enormous winged monsters flapped their wings, dragging equally massive ships, flying in from the distant sky as if cruising on the sea.

The large ship was surrounded by black-armored knights riding on small winged monsters like a swarm of bees.

"That's a really damn grand display."

Awoo complained in the team channel, which drew unanimous agreement from the cat and dog.

"Boss, we seem to be a bit powerless against sheer numbers. Shouldn't we think of a solution?"

Human wave tactics have always been an extremely ruthless tactic, requiring little expenditure but simply a large number of people.

It's simple yet easy to use, since energy and stamina are limited, even for the most enduring apostles like Li Xia.

You can only fight a few hundred apostles of your own rank at most. The higher the rank, the greater the gap between apostles, and the more apostles of the same rank you can fight. But this is only the third rank.

"Yes, we really need to think of a way to reach the fourth level."

Li Xia replied silently, but his gaze was fixed on the giant ship that was getting closer and closer.

Seeing their leader's expression, the three little ones fell silent and stared at Simmons's car as well.

Their eyesight was already very good; it was mainly the fog permeating the city that obscured their vision, otherwise they should have been able to see quite clearly.

But as they got closer, even the fog could no longer obscure their vision.

The figure shrouded in a black robe and wearing a huge, magnificent crown on his head was none other than Simmons.

But beside him was a figure in a magnificent white dress, with an extremely slender figure.
"Ok?"

Li Xia and the three little ones all looked thoughtful.

Why does it look so familiar?

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

(End of this chapter)