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There is no sunlight, no moon.

It was as if all the bright colors had been sucked dry by this dry world, leaving only the most vague gray.

After the Arcane Calamity, when the Shadow Weave and the Demonic Weave imploded, Shar used her last chance to escape to the Demiplane of Shadow. Over the decades, she diligently cultivated the land, permanently altering the landscape amidst the world's turmoil, transforming a large portion of the plane into her own private domain.

The City of Ghosts is the beacon of the Shadowless Underworld.

At least that's what the city lord, Tantamut Tantur, or the great arcanist of Shado, thought.

However, while maintaining the lighthouse, he inevitably encountered many troubles.

The shadow spirits who were persuaded by the goddess to join Shar's army were naturally one of them.

This group of shadow spirits are considered natives of the Shadowless Underworld, so although they believe in Shar, they will never bow down to Shado.

Perhaps this was a deliberate move by the goddess—she didn't want another creature within her sphere of influence to be so powerful, second only to the emperor, above all others. Xia Duo had once held this position, but the goddess didn't want it to continue, and her efforts were partially successful.

A group of shadow spirits nominally joined the City of Ghosts, but actually retained considerable autonomy.

So, how should we deal with these corpse-like elves? This question gave Xia Duo a headache.

But now things have taken an unexpected turn.

The current Xia Duo has completely lost his human form.

How to achieve endless life?

Some choose to use youth potions to prolong their lives, while others decide to use prayers to obtain the future at all costs.

Some people fell into the lich, while Shado chose to use the shadow matter of the past to replace his flesh and blood body.

He was once human, though he still considers himself human.

However, no matter who told him, he was now nothing more than a rolling shadow.

However, this rolling shadow still had blurred facial features and was solemnly wearing the complicated robes of the Nether era.

He rarely left the City of Ghosts because he received excellent news.

The elf Halffont, an illusionist so skilled that even he himself was helpless, disappeared into the material plane and never returned.

Havelfont's subordinates no longer dared to go to the material plane alone and had to ask him for help.

Whether Haverfont is dead or alive, and why he didn't return to the Shadowless Underworld in time, are naturally the questions he urgently needs to find answers to.

Shado had no interest in traveling to the material plane immediately—his presence would only irritate his enemies.

However, those who live in the Shadowless Underworld naturally have their own ways.

The Shadowfell Underworld is like a reflection of the material plane.

Changes that occur in the material plane will also be partially reflected in the Shadowfell.

If you only need a relatively vague conclusion, you can simply investigate in the Shadowfell. Traveling to the Material Plane is a last resort.

So, he just observed their ambush site and came to the conclusion: "Haferfont has been defeated. Whether he is dead or alive is unknown."

Ge Wei, who had been following behind Xia Duo, immediately said in dissatisfaction, "Why did you come to this conclusion?"

Xia Duo pointed to the unusually dry yet towering forest to the west: "That's the projection of the Sharptooth Forest."

Then, he pointed at his feet and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, this is your battlefield. Have you found anything?"

Gwei shook her head and walked around the ground a few times, shaking her head in confusion, almost tripping over the difference in the ground: "...I didn't see anything."

"—A large layer of the ground here has been completely shaved off." Shado said calmly, "This means that she was defeated so quickly and efficiently that her enemies even had time to collect all the traces she left behind."

"Her enemies immediately saw through Haffont's extraordinary qualities. After defeating her, they immediately set about investigating the remaining traces here, attempting to decipher the secrets of her illusion."

"Her secret is about to be revealed to the public. Even I'm curious about how she grew into such a powerful illusionist in the barren Shadowfall." At this point, the Lord of the Ghost City paused. "As for her own fate... I'm not sure."

“—What should I do then!?”

What comforted him was that Gwei was indeed a simple warrior - although she held a high status among the shadow spirits of Ghost City, she had no quick wit or strategy.

Shado replied, "I will need your strength as I conquer Candlekeep."

"Does this have anything to do with saving Haverfont?"

"Of course." Xia Duo's figure calmed down, "Not every battle is a life-and-death struggle.

"But this time it is very likely not the case - we have no demands on Candlekeep, so we don't need a complete victory. We just need to have a certain advantage so that we can legitimately ask Candlekeep to exchange prisoners.

"Of course, if you continue to fight on your own, it will be hard to say." Chateau smiled. "Is your willful behavior more important, or is Haverfont more important?"

Gwei just bit her lip and immediately gave the answer: "-Of course Haverfont is important!"

Forty-eight: Transforming Shadow into Reality (I)

[Mr. Asur, are you all safe? ]

This is teleportation - even if everyone uses teleportation together, the result is that when they land, the sky is covered with rain of flowers.

[…Probably.] Asur said in the short message, [We're still trying to determine the location… Uh, is that Highhedge Castle? Well, it looks like we're only six kilometers off the mark. We should be able to reach Belgost in an hour.]

But their original purpose, to persuade the Church of Lathander in Belgost to send support... is hard to say.

The Cult of the Rising Sun in Elturgard is perhaps the most heinous heresy to traditional Lathander believers—

Even so, Elturgard is home to one of Lathander's largest churches. Other factions associated with Candlekeep generally have no official ties to the Church of Lathander. In a situation like Candlekeep's current one, where they want help but are unwilling to disclose it, it's even harder to secure reinforcements.

Fenwë led Aimia and her companions out of the arbor. Once they were sure the gates of Candlekeep were within sight, she said with some regret, "...Looking back now, this conflict was actually a premeditated attack. The covenant we made when we last parted must have taken effect too quickly."

Emiya sighed and replied, "--or rather, we are already in the eye of the whirlwind. There is nowhere to hide even if we want to."

Finwë was a druid who had escaped the Church of Shar and worshipped Mystra. Or rather, this day had simply arrived too soon.

Having said that, Emilia hesitated for a moment, but still grabbed Fenwe's hand and said, "Wait a minute, Fenwe, there is one thing I think I shouldn't hide from you - I suggest you go to Candlekeep. There should be someone you want to see there."

Considering Fenwë's age, the goddess of magic she believed in was undoubtedly in Candlekeep.

The lady had been friendly enough to them, and under the circumstances he felt it was not right to conceal the matter from Fenwë—or at least to ask Midnight.

Fenwë tentatively pulled his hand away, then asked in confusion, "Is there anyone I want to see in Candlekeep? My parents died at the hands of the Church of Shar when I was young. I have no one to rely on in this world, and there is almost no one I want to see."

"...Maybe. But her existence is still a secret," Emilia hesitated. "Whether this meeting can finally take place... maybe I need to ask her opinion."

"Ha, then let's talk about it after getting the mysterious man's permission." Fenwei nodded Emya's forehead with a smile. "An archdruid who controls the forest has a lot of magic power, so it won't be too troublesome to travel with him."

After parting with Fenwei, the most special person in their team at the moment finally couldn't help it: "Woo-woo-woo-woo!"

Of course, Haverfont was still tied up and was being pushed on the ground by Elaster.

Her frail body could hardly bear the weight, and she even had difficulty breathing.

"We'll be there soon. Once we hand you over to a reliable jailer, you'll probably be free. I've already told you that you can try to escape, but we can't guarantee that we won't be brutal when we catch you."

"Woo..."

Candlekeep was now under complete martial law, and even the villages outside the city had been completely evacuated. There were no gatekeepers at the massive gates anymore. All the guards had relocated their posts to the towers.

Emya walked to the city gate and shouted, "I am Emya of Lunya. Yesterday, I left Candlekeep to mediate the conflict between the druids and Elturgard. This matter should be reported! Although there were some unexpected events, it is now resolved. Please open the gate and let us in!"

Candle Castle is naturally full of prohibitions at this moment, and it is impossible to enter Candle Castle directly using space-related spells.

However, to his surprise, he heard some chatter and even laughter from the city walls. Then, a familiar, heroic female voice rang out from the tower: "You say you are Emilia from Lunya? What's your proof?"

ha?

Emiya was stunned for a moment, then shouted, "Has Candlekeep encountered any unexpected incidents recently? Have the audit standards become stricter? I was told very clearly when I set out, that I only needed to stand at the city gate and identify myself. It's been less than a day, and you already need more proof?"

The area before the city gate was within the effective range of the Holy Residence spell, where lying was forbidden. Under this premise, simply admitting one's identity should have been sufficient.

Emiya's answer made the questioner want to laugh, but she forced herself to suppress her laughter: "-Yes. Mr. Emiya of Lunya, there is a lady who came to Candlekeep in a hurry and did not bring her own armor and weapons. If you promise to urgently make a set of spare weapons and equipment for her, you can enter Candlekeep."

Along with the voice, the face of the person asking the question appeared on the top of the city wall.

She had silver hair and was youthful and beautiful. She wore a simple cloth robe and had an unconcealable smile on her face.

Storm Silver Hand.

Why was she there at this time and place?! She should have stayed in the inner court as a target of protection!

Emilia almost cried out, but she forced herself to keep a straight face and replied sternly, "I don't know who you are, but I'm sure you're not from Candlekeep, let alone the boss. So please stop joking. Where is the gatekeeper? Please let us in!"

"Ha!" Emilia's serious answer really made Storm Silverhand laugh.

This woman, who had been feeling rather melancholy just a while ago, burst into laughter and couldn't help but pound the walls of the city walls. "Sure enough, a serious person like you is really funny when you tease him! No! I'm serious, you need to make me a set of equipment urgently!"

"..." Emiya asked silently in her heart, [Silver? How is Miss Storm Silverhand doing?]

Yin replied: "The rampaging magic web within her body has finally returned to normal operation. Her strength has also been restored - it's that simple."

【Did you do this? 】

【Guess?】 Yin made a face at him.

This guy Yin has also learned to be vague.

But no matter what, this is great news.

Storm Silverhand is definitely one of the world's top fighters. Her recovery also announced that Candlekeep has finally recovered from its precarious state.

At this moment, Storm Silverhand finally realized something was amiss. "Wait a minute, there were four of you when you left, but why is there one more when you came back? Oh my god, who's that behind you?"

Emiya sighed: “—She is a captive.

"We were originally there to mediate. But we discovered that the so-called friction was nothing more than a misdirection created by illusion. And the instigator of all this is none other than the person behind us. She is an extremely powerful illusionist, a believer and follower of Shar. That's why I used such powerful restraints on her. So, please open the door quickly. She must be treated properly."

Storm Silverhand naturally knew the importance of this matter. The gates of Candlekeep immediately flew open.

Just as Emya was about to take her first step, a message from Imoen arrived from Baldur's Gate in the north: "Emya, bad news. Baldur's Gate has indeed been hit hardest. The combined Elturgard and Baldur's Gate convoy has been attacked by a large number of vampires. Baldur's Gate has been forced to enter combat readiness. If the situation becomes critical, the Elturgard convoy may have to stay in Baldur's Gate with us."

Forty-nine: Transforming Shadow into Reality (Part 2)

[The absolute trouble with this war is that Larloch can use high-level mages as mere soldiers.]

Baldur's Gate had three Grand Dukes. But now, two new Grand Dukes have simply left for Candlekeep, leaving behind only Grand Duke Violet, who was known for her indifference.

However, during this period, Grand Duke Violet unexpectedly demonstrated amazing administrative ability, keeping Baldur's Gate in good order despite various unexpected events. As a result, a rumor has spread throughout Baldur's Gate: Grand Duke Violet's previous indifference to the world was all a disguise. She has actually been observing the entire Baldur's Gate in the dark, and is the purple-robed queen hidden behind the silk curtain.

This conspiracy theory has spread throughout the streets and alleys of Baldur's Gate, leaving Imoen speechless.

Of course, the main reason she was so difficult to handle was that she was truly a high-ranking Harper, with a good grasp of the dark corners of Baldur's Gate. She had only made one mistake in many years.

Although Lunia's Emilia was far away in Candlekeep, she still answered seriously: [If it's really critical...]

"That's not necessary," Imoen replied, flipping through the documents before her. "You got the news from Minsk in Elturgard—the Stone Lord's resurgence is a real boost. Baldur's Gate doesn't need assistance, but it's hard to spare the manpower to help the Elturgard people transport supplies."

Although this ranger was renowned for his bravery, he and his hamster were equally well known for their quarrels.

The distance between Candlekeep and Baldur's Gate was several hundred kilometers. In this situation, the Elturgard convoys were more like sharing a common ground with Baldur's Gate than being intercepted by it.

Nausea.

Fighting Larloch was just disgusting.

Larloch completely uses magical constraints to enslave his subordinates.

Therefore, he didn't care about their life or death at all, and was not afraid of sacrifice at all - even the liches themselves were not afraid!

Their phylacteries were guarded by their colleagues. No one wanted to storm Larloch's lair, where dozens of liches might remain.

Imoen took out the report on the convoy attack and let out a dejected sigh.

The report was very clear: "...We were attacked by at least forty vampires, and we confirmed that they were all official vampires, not just spawn or their leaders. We fought desperately and, with the emergency support of the Flaming Fist, barely managed to repel them."

Imoen looked at the report in her hand and slammed the table in annoyance.

Larloch's power was so strong that most of the time people's attention was focused on the hundreds of liches.

However, liches are never alone. Obviously, liches also have subordinates. Liches use vampires, and vampires also have their own spawn.

With so much subcontracting and piling up, Imoen couldn't imagine what scale of attack Candlekeep would eventually face!

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh. "If the city is truly about to fall, tell me and I'll rush over. Those two noble paladins won't desert. If they die in battle, Baal will be resurrected immediately. I'd rather die with them in Candlekeep."

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【I will try my best to prevent that from happening.】

Emilia replied: [Please rest assured, Candlekeep is not as precarious as you think.]

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