Chapter 58: Evil Spirit

The World Scar.

That is the name of the Great Rift that appeared above the Broken Lands.

Among all methods of Magic observation, that massive rift is like a wound on the world, greedily absorbing all the Chaos Magic Wind that appears, and for reasons unknown, it dissipates within that locked space.

This is a matter of extreme terror. Even when the Winds of Magic are used, they only lower the concentration in the surrounding area, rather than causing the Winds of Magic themselves to dissipate entirely. But over at the World Scar, the presence of the Winds of Magic is simply a blank void. An unimaginable existence has devoured it all.

Wizards believe this should be a rare natural phenomenon, like a tear in the world.

But only now, standing beneath that massive wound, can one truly feel the greatness of that natural force, and the insignificance of one's own power.

What they must do is wage war against the master of this World Scar, that coward who blasphemed the Goddess and blasphemed the meaning of war. What they must do is tear all those wizard tricks to shreds and return everything to the starting point.

"My lord, we have found the Dengludian."

"You have already found it?"

"Yes, right at the edge of the world where that wound has stretched out, there are very obvious traces."

Wearing a pale blue woven cloak, the attendant, who served as both navigator and attendant wizard, lowered their head humbly, only the sapphire at their fingertips refracting a light that felt somewhat irritating.

"Our vanguard has already sent word; that side should be the result of the rift caused by the World Scar and the bombardment of the Winds of Magic. We saw many similar gaps, but they were all covered in reefs and rubble; only the largest opening at the edge can barely support us in making a landing."

"The Broken Lands are full of towering cliffs everywhere; this is recorded in the logs, my lord. If Lord Joshua did not lie, I fear the beach Lord Joshua saw is the only landing point in the entire Broken Lands."

"Are we to risk making a landing in such a place?"

The attendant wizard bowed, as obedient as ever.

But for some reason, looking at that azure-colored individual, Gede felt a sense of irritation in his heart and waved his hand with some dissatisfaction.

"Fine, no need to say more. Since it is a newly appeared area, then go there. Although that bastard Joshua is a piece of trash, it is almost certain that the Archwizard has set traps there. And since you can confirm this is a newly appeared region, it will serve perfectly as a forward position for ambushing the sinners."

"But, my lord, although we have not found any artificial traces, stationing ourselves at the junction of the Chaos Wasteland is a dangerous act in itself; we are very likely to encounter some problems—"

"I said, speed is the essence of war; get over there for me now!"

"…Your will, my lord."

The attendant wizard bowed respectfully and loyally executed Gede's will.

But somehow, Gede felt somewhat unhappy and felt a bit dizzy. He shook his massive head with great dissatisfaction, puffed out a cloud of black smoke, walked out of the room to look at the positions set up on the beach, and felt countless fires of rage and irritability surging in his heart.

He did not notice that the transition was so smooth and seamless, as if several days of time had simply vanished from his mind. Gede just walked irritably on the beach, looking at the surrounding structures, his heart burning with rage.

Why not attack yet? Why not go and kill those pieces of trash? Why on earth are they still stationed here? All kinds of confusion and questions tangled in his brain, eventually turning into a doubt that was only natural for Gede Knight.

Why is he still here? 'Am I... afraid of something?'

A flash of light streaked through his mind like lightning, and Gede looked sharply toward the cliff. In that instant, a bolt of golden lightning streaked across the night sky, emitting a terrifying explosion.

"What... is that?"

With just a fleeting glance, Gede branded an unimaginable figure onto his retina.

It was a giant monster.

No, it could also be a Human, but it felt like a twisted giant monster.

At least Gede felt that the guy was likely not much of a person. Although in Gede's cognition, he had become huge due to the support of his faith and Dao, the figure seen in that flicker was even more horrifying.

It was about the same height as him, yet compared to the rotting, thin armor on Gede's body, the primitive steel armor that looked like tree bark worn by that horrifying thing was simply like a city wall. A pair of eerie, pale blue fluorescent lights seeped out from the helmet, which was nearly dozens of centimeters thick, staring at Gede like a nightmare.

And after the light of the golden lightning flashed, Gede subconsciously shook his head and looked toward the cliff again, but saw no figure.

…Was it a hallucination? Was it some hallucination he saw? Gede subconsciously turned to look at the various tiny buildings in the darkness and issued a question to his soldiers.

"Hey, did you just see a giant monster on the cliff?"

"No, my lord."

The soldiers in the shadows lowered their heads and said submissively: "We only saw you, my lord, suddenly look toward the cliff, and then you froze. There is nothing there."

"Say that again?! Did you not see the monster on that cliffhead?!"

"My lord, there is simply nothing there."

The soldier slowly raised their head, a blank face with no features turning toward the instantly stiffened Gede, and a voice of grievance issued from that skin-covered face.

"Because we also cannot see anything, my lord. This is the end you led us to; how can you ask us what we see? We have long since been blind; what could we possibly see?"

'Boom!!!'

Looking at that horrifying soldier, Gede's hair stood on end, and in the next instant, he felt as if something had been brought by that thunderous light.

He could not care about the featureless soldiers anymore and subconsciously turned to draw his weapon.

He was afraid.

In this inexplicable, grotesque world, Gede felt a tremor from the bottom of his heart. So much so that he didn't even see the visitor clearly before letting out a sharp, woman-like shriek.

"Who goes there?!"

'...'

That evil spirit, that huge, unimaginable evil spirit, was carrying a giant poleaxe comparable to the houses they had built, riding a terrifying monster two people tall, standing quietly behind him, overlooking his army.

Two points of deep, pale blue light flickered behind the armor, and the deep brown great shield, which was even taller and thicker than a whole person, was like a buckler in its hand. That terrifying aura even made the red-eyed Gede Knight subconsciously forget to breathe, looking with some terror at the giant beast standing in the center of the camp.

"Giant Tree Knight. Here to offer greetings."

A muffled voice came from within the giant steel beast, and it raised that massive poleaxe high toward the sky with one hand.

'Boom!!!'

Accompanied by a thunderous roar, golden lightning struck the monster's body instantly, wrapping the terrifying giant beast, which was at least five meters tall, in golden lightning from head to toe.

And in this dark storm, the poleaxe, wreathed in golden lightning, swept mercilessly across their army under the gaze of Gede Knight, whose eyes were splitting with rage. In just an instant, Gede Knight felt the world roll over, with only countless blood-red mud blooming on the reefs on the ground.

In Gede Knight's already hazy consciousness, only the disdainful voice remained amidst the thunderous roar of the lightning.

"... Traitors."

"I am not a traitor! You are!"

Accompanied by a miserable howl, Gede sat up abruptly from the bed, gasping for air, looking at everything around him with trepidation.

"…You seem to have had that nightmare again, my lord."

The wizard's attendant with azure eyes sat by the bedside, rubbing an azure crystal, and lit a candle.

In this pitch-black night, this trusted servant humbly bowed to the panting Gede Knight, their two glowing eyes possessing a magical quality, and said in a soft voice:

"This is already the third day; if you do not mind, may I interpret the dream for you?"

(End of this chapter)