He hesitated for a moment, put down the telescope, and shouted to the monk in charge of defense, "I want to request the use of [that]! We can't fight in this lighting environment!"

In fact, the monks defending this area had already been attempting to cast illumination spells. However, there seemed to be something unusual about the darkness emerging from that mirror. For some reason, the usual illumination spells had become significantly less effective. A spell that had once been powerful enough to illuminate the city walls for dozens of meters was now insufficient to even illuminate the base of the wall.

This brightness is simply not enough to meet the needs of the people of Gond.

The monk hesitated for a moment and sighed, "According to the plan, the magic item provided by Lord Emiya might have a suppressive effect on undead creatures. It should be used as a surprise weapon..."

At this point, he suddenly stopped talking: "Did you hear anything?"

The people of Gond tilted their ears slightly in confusion, and then their expressions became serious.

To be more precise, what reached the top of the city were waves of tiny and noisy sounds.

Steady, clear—as if bones were colliding.

The people of Gond fell silent, lowered their telescopes, and locked onto the end of their field of vision.

To the east of Candlekeep is a road called Lion's Pass. There are no other settlements within dozens of kilometers around it, and only travelers pass by.

And now, Candlekeep welcomes the largest group of guests since its establishment.

It was a blur of gray in the shadows.

The Gond people silently handed the telescope to the monk beside them, put the matchlock gun back on their backs, tore off the cloth covering a wide long tube on the city wall, and began to pour gunpowder into it, saying, "If we don't use it now, it may be too late."

The monk froze for a moment, nearly dropping the telescope. But he quickly made up his mind: "...I understand. Now I have no choice but to trust Mr. Emiya's creation."

**************************************

The liches in the distance were originally casting spells to observe the battle situation on the top of Candlekeep, hoping to confirm the strength of Candlekeep's defense.

Therefore, they became the first undead creatures to witness the brilliant light with their own eyes.

The monks on the city wall took out a tightly wrapped sphere from the supplies. The sphere was wider than a person with outstretched arms, but it seemed so light that it seemed to require no effort to lift it.

Then the spheres revealed their formation.

——It was a transparent crystal ball, with some milky white liquid slowly flowing in the middle of the crystal ball.

Of course, this is not the state in which the crystal ball is truly activated.

The monks chanted the activation words and threw it into the air together.

Suddenly, bright moonlight streamed from the crystal ball. The shadows that had once filled the sky above Candlekeep were driven into hiding by the moonlight, and the dark Candlekeep was instantly as bright as day. Almost instantly, the undead creatures that had been advancing made the same choice: stop, turn, and flee.

This scene was beyond the liches' expectations.

One of the teams even shouted at one of its members, "Isn't that the Companion Moon that Elturgard recently replaced the Companion Sun? Why does Candlekeep have something like that? Aren't all the Elturgard people blocked in the surrounding area?!"

The other teams all asked another question: "Even if Elturgard sent Moon Companion to Candlekeep, that wouldn't matter. The problem is—"

"—Why did five companion moons rise up in Candlekeep at once?!"

"Can magical items of this level be made casually? Are these nerds really that rich?"

**********************************

“…Ha, haha.”

In the original plan, the shadow spirits were naturally going to use their huge advantage in shadows and darkness to inflict heavy damage on Emiya and others in the complex terrain.

But now, Haverfont could only laugh dryly.

At the top of the empty stone cliff, above Emiya and the others, a huge moonlight crystal ball was emitting bright light, dispelling the darkness in the entire cave. Wherever the light reached, the positions of all the shadow spirit ambushes were exposed.

The cold light of the arrow on the bow was also extremely clear.

Only then did Emilia realize that among these shadow spirits, the proportion of archers was surprisingly high—

As expected, they are a team that can ambush Hell Knights in the forest.

"Miss Haverfont," Emilia said seriously, "are you still going to run away? We should have stated in advance that we would not harm prisoners. But prisoners who have escaped are no longer prisoners..."

Before he could finish his words, countless arrows came whistling like a rainstorm.

However, before the rain of steel could hit him, it suddenly changed direction for no apparent reason and embedded itself deeply into the rock.

Fourth-ring protective spell, friendly fire.

Emiya glanced at the shadow spirits' arrows that could penetrate rocks, and narrowed her eyes slightly: "--It seems that we have no choice but to fight."

Fifty-six Tides of the Dead (Part 2)

The Shadow Spirit rescue team's first attack cannot be said to be a success, but it can only be said to be in vain.

The arrows penetrated the stone with great force, and their power was considerable—but unfortunately, an attack that missed its target, no matter how powerful it was, would be of no use.

Haverfonte had just landed at this moment. She observed for a moment and immediately shouted, "Retreat!"

This great illusionist obviously held a very high position in the team. As soon as she opened her mouth, the other shadow spirits almost immediately dragged her away into the dungeon, leaving behind Emilia and the others who were still slowly falling.

Mars had already summoned his Pegasus. The terrain here was barely large enough to support the Pegasus's wings. He asked Emilia, "...Shall I go after them?"

"...We'll go after her," Emiya replied. "The most crucial point is that we can't split our forces here. Our goal is to prevent her from joining the battle above. A great illusionist like Halffont is too suited to large-scale battlefields."

*************

The Shadow Spirits hadn't delayed their rescue for days, naturally, not just because they'd lingered in the City of Ghosts. They moved relentlessly through the crypts with ease, clearly having spent the last few days familiarizing themselves with the terrain. Even Halffont couldn't help but marvel, "...Earthquake spells don't have that wide a range. How did you find my location?"

The earthquake spell had almost perfectly timed the collapse of the basement where Haverfont was, a scene that even caught Haverfont by surprise. She didn't believe it was pure luck.

"Uh..." Her fellow tribesmen clearly didn't want to discuss the details of this matter. They all looked embarrassed and turned their heads away, trying to gloss over the whole incident. "We tricked Candlekeep once and observed that the area beneath the Emerald Door was the only place with no exit. As for how we got into Candlekeep... we can only say that even if Candlekeep is sealed off, there are always some things that need to be discharged. Please don't ask for more details."

Haverfont was stunned for a moment, then a look of gratitude crossed his face: "...Thanks for your hard work."

After calming down, she said, "Next, we have two options: We can retreat directly and return to the City of Ghosts. In this case, we will definitely be sent into battle again. The enemy we encounter will definitely be the strongest who dare to force their way into the City of Ghosts. Secondly, we can fight these new guards in this crypt for a while. The casualties should be much smaller. I would choose the second one."

Shadow Spirit had no objection. The question was how to fight.

Haverfont recalled the battle with Emiya and the others, and then his eyes slowly lit up. "Wait a minute, this team is actually quite amazing. It left a very deep impression on me the first time I met it."

"Strong? Very capable?" Gwei, the sharpshooter who destroyed Haverfont's handcuffs with one arrow and was also in the team, asked curiously.

"No, half of them are not in a fighting state at all, as if they are here to watch!" Haverfont clapped his hands.

"The silver-haired human girl and the petite dwarf in their team appear to be following closely, but in reality, they have almost no combat responsibilities. While the team members ahead are tense, these two are relaxed, as if they're just sightseeing. They're completely unguarded, completely different from the other members. In that case, let's start with these two!"

"We will split into two groups. I will lead them in the front and attract their attention. Gwei, you lead the other half. Find a long and complex cave. Use earthquake magic to separate their group. Then you will immediately attack the two little girls. It is best to capture them alive so that we can take the initiative—"

She paused, gritted her teeth, and said, "If those two are unexpectedly strong and we can't capture them alive, we can kill them!"

At that moment, a small team hurriedly arrived at the not-so-spacious open space. "...Very strange! Lord Haverfont, that team is almost rushing straight towards us. They must have some means of tracking us!"

Haverfont was silent for a moment, gritted his teeth, and sent a short message to the distance: [We need help.]

*****************************

By the time Emiya and the others landed, the shadow spirits had vanished without a trace. Emiya shook her head. Fortunately, Storm Silverhand had gifted them some secret techniques some time ago.

Among them, there happens to be a spell that is very suitable for the current situation.

"…Muirella's map. Target: Halffont. Reference points: Emerald Gate of Candlekeep, Seeker's Inn outside Candlekeep."

This spell, invented by a student of the eldest of the Seven Sisters, can be said to be the ultimate answer to the same-plane search spell: it constructs four points of light in the caster's mind. These four points of light are the caster himself, the target of the caster's search, and two places the caster has visited.

This triangulation-like spell can determine the target's exact location qualitatively and, to a certain extent, quantitatively. If cast a few times, changing the reference point, it can theoretically locate anyone on the same plane. It's arguably countless times more powerful than biological location spells.

It's a pity that Emilia did not participate in the previous expedition into the dungeon, otherwise he would have immediately helped you find Haverfont's location.

But now...

Emiya relied on the location of Candlekeep and the inn outside Candlekeep to find her way in this dark dungeon.

Then, you can also find the location of Haverfontein.

If Haverfont and the others chose to escape from the dungeon, they would be able to discover it in time and would not be foolishly looking for enemies that did not exist in the dungeon.

"Keep up with the team, don't fall behind—follow me!"

Although this underground cave is complicated, it is not too winding. It is just that there are too many forks in the road and it is easy to get lost.

The process was even smoother than they had imagined. They even encountered a few shadow spirits along the way. These shadow spirit warriors were no match for the well-prepared paladins and priests.

In just one encounter, the Shadow Spirit's bow was split into two pieces by Mars' Holy Avenger. One of the Shadow Spirit warriors was hit hard in the face by the broken bowstring, leaving a striking red mark on his face.

"We won't say anything." Even so, the shadow spirits who had been tied up tightly said almost the same thing.

"You'd better tell me," Emiya said. "The fighting in Candlekeep is probably raging right now. If you're unwilling to lead the way, you'll be a burden. We can't take you with us, but we can't just let you go either. The only option left is to leave you here. Whether your allies can rescue you before you starve to death is not our business."

Sig even added, "The good news is, you may not die of hunger and thirst—if you had eaten and drunk enough before coming here, you might have drowned in your own urine."

Being randomly left to die in such a place with no identifiable road signs is naturally a very deterrent outcome.

Several shadow spirits dodged each other's gazes for a moment, then glanced at each other before someone finally said, "...We only know of one previous base. We don't know if the others are still there."

"So, you were abandoned?"

“No,” the shadow spirits replied, “but your actions might be discovered by others. Then you would be in vain.”

"……lead the way."

Shadow Spirit's familiarity with the underground passages greatly surprised Emilia.

At most, they would briefly observe the terrain and then choose the direction among the forks in the road without hesitation. There was never any disagreement among them.

Emiya didn't say anything, but just kept an eye on the distance between him and Haverfont.

The distance between the Emerald Gate and the inn was several kilometers, but now the distance between him and Haverfont was much smaller than that.

And the light spot in Haverfontein has not moved for a long time.

However, he soon realized that something was wrong.

From the moment the shadow spirits chose a narrow path, the passage ahead grew increasingly narrower, from being wide enough for several people to becoming difficult for even one person to pass. Seeing the shadow spirits ahead of them having to turn sideways to pass, Emiya stopped and said, "We can't get through this path."

The shadow spirits turned around with difficulty and said, "Of course the camp should be safe and hidden... Who would set up camp in the open? You asked us to lead the way, but now that we've found the camp, you refuse to enter! We have to go there anyway!"

That's the truth, but this passage is a bit too narrow.

In short, not only would Mars and his Pegasus, the largest of all, have trouble getting through, but even Emilia and Elaster would probably have trouble getting through. However, Sig and Silver would probably have no problem.

Of course, they could try to widen this pathway a bit.

The problem is that the distance between them and Haverford is a little too close.

Now, any movement might alarm Haverfonte.

In this situation, if they didn't dare to take the risk, they might as well just return to Candlekeep.

However, this passage looked too much like a trap, and there was no way he could force his way forward.

This is a dilemma.

Elastrid observed the narrow path for a moment, then shook her head firmly. "...No, the risk is too great. I don't recommend going in like this."

If this was a trap, and they were ambushed when they were having difficulty moving, the entire team would be destroyed here.

Emiya hesitated silently in front of the cave for a while, and finally narrowed her eyes slightly, untied the dimensional hole at her waist, and laid it on the nearby stone wall, revealing large chunks of steel and the shells that had already been filled.

"——A masterpiece of genius." As he whispered, steel quietly flowed in the dark cave, and in the blink of an eye, it was cast into a dark cannon on the ground.

——Aiming precisely in the direction where Haverfont is at the moment.

"...Mars, please move the cannonball with the fuse out." Emilia said as she loaded the gunpowder into the barrel, "Yin, prepare the disintegration technique."

"After the fuse is lit, the two of us will use Disintegration to clear a path, and then the entire team will evacuate here using the Anywhere Door. As for how many people are still alive on the other side of the wall after this shot, it all depends on their luck."

At this moment, a faint female voice sounded behind Emilia and the others: "Ah, young people of Candlekeep, do you mind if I join your party?"

Emiya felt as if her soul was frozen.

He turned around.

Behind them was a huge dark green dragon head.

——The Ghost Dragon Milim.

Milim, the ghost dragon that had disappeared after the battle with Larloch, unexpectedly returned to Candlekeep at this time.

Fifty-seven Tides of the Dead (Part 3) Farewell Milim

In this entire continent, when it comes to knowing this crypt better than Milim, no creature is more familiar with it than Milim.

This silver dragon, which had been dead for hundreds of years, was exiled underground by Candlekeep. During this long time, she not only searched for a way to lift the seal, but also roamed in the dungeons.

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