Chapter 278: The Battlefield of a Thousand Years Ago

On the outskirts of Backlund, in a hidden underground space.

Fresh blood was flowing and pooling, having already gathered into a full pool.

Beside the pool stood a very meticulously dressed nobleman and a lady wearing a simple, pure white robe.

Both looked at the blood pool, which emitted a faint, eerie glow, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Your side's sincerity in this cooperation is quite sufficient; we are very satisfied." The lady spoke softly, appearing holy and dignified under the illumination of the blood-red light.

"Then I hope the Despair Lady will provide the promised altar as soon as possible." The nobleman was captivated by that holiness and dignity, his eyes flickering with blatant desire.

Yet, this nobleman also clearly knew how terrifying the Despair Lady before him was, and dared not approach.

The Despair Lady, also known as the Despair Nightingale, was a terrifying Witch who had truly brought despair and destruction to countless people; even real devils could not compare to her.

"Please wait a moment, the altar is already prepared." The Despair Lady gave a definitive answer.

"That's for the best!" The nobleman gave a light huff and retreated, leaving only the Despair Lady to guard the blood pool.

The Despair Lady stepped forward, dark shadows flickering in her eyes, and one after another, wailing Wraiths flew out from behind her, all plunging into the blood pool.

The blood pool was stained with black resentment. The Despair Lady admired the creation before her with satisfaction.

At a certain moment, the Despair Lady looked sharply toward the void, then walked in shock out of the blood pool and into a stone chamber nearby, which was dedicated to the statues of the Witch and the Dream.

Both statues were polished from white bone, warm and smooth like jade, carrying a lustrous sheen.

Beneath the Witch bone statue was a Crystal Ball, which at this moment was emitting a dim, filthy light.

"Trissy... has matured?!" The Despair Lady was shocked and speechless.

This progress exceeded the expectations of everyone in the Witch Sect.

The Despair Lady stepped forward quickly and placed her hands on the Crystal Ball; at this moment, it was as if she heard that scream of Trissy's from within the Spirit World in her ears.

"Seeking but not obtaining..." The Despair Lady's eyes grew dazed as she received a certain revelation from the Crystal Ball.

"Is this the key to maturity? The previous ones were only closer to the 'Original'..."

"The Dream is indeed the only antidote to the 'Original'."

It was unknown how much time had passed when Klein woke up.

"Where is this?" Klein's brain throbbed, but he still insisted on propping up his body.

He looked around by the faint light, seeing only loneliness, with yellow sand covering everything.

"Teleportation isn't reliable either..." Klein took Arrodes out from the sand beside him.

The Arrodes Mirror was currently emitting a faint light; this area bore traces of lightning, and it had been protecting him during the time Klein was in a deep sleep.

"Supreme Master, you have finally awakened! Do you need me to serve you?" Fireworks suddenly exploded on the mirror's surface, expressing the Mirror's ecstasy.

Still the familiar taste... Klein's mood eased slightly, and he nodded gently, asking, "Where is this?"

"This still belongs to the scope of the Spirit World, but I cannot provide specific coordinates for where exactly it is."

Spirit World... Klein frowned; this was truly troublesome.

"Theoretically, such physical regions do not exist in the Spirit World, but in the event of accidents or someone tearing open the Spirit World, some buildings from the Real World can fall into the Spirit World, forming the landscape you see now."

Text continuously appeared on the surface of the Arrodes Mirror; this was an extension of Klein's question.

"Master, what do you think this looks like?"

"A... battlefield." Klein scanned the area; all he saw was yellow sand, but he also discovered some different things.

For example, this...

Klein used his hand to brush away the surface layer of yellow sand and saw a pale skeleton.

Klein was silent for a moment and continued to brush away the surface sand; it was a relatively complete skeleton, and on the skeleton was armor that had already decayed, making it impossible to distinguish which era it was from.

"Which battlefield is this?" Klein asked.

"The Fourth Epoch, the First Imperial War; the two warring parties were the Solomon Empire and the Balam Empire."

Arrodes provided the answer.

Klein's expression did not change, but in reality, his heartbeat skipped a beat.

Looking at this expanse of yellow sand, he felt a dazed sensation as if history had descended into the present.

"The victor of this war was the Solomon Empire, but strangely, after this war, the flourishing Solomon Empire had more than one-third of its territory carved away by the newly risen Trensost Empire."

Klein was, after all, a history graduate, so he knew these basic facts.

"I am very sorry, Master; I did not dare to pry into this war, as it involved many Angels and True Gods."

Klein's footsteps paused, and he nodded thoughtfully; it seemed that many of the so-called mysteries in history books were actually just the struggles between these high-Sequence Beyonders, Angels, and even True Gods.

Klein walked through the yellow sand, gradually approaching the center of this battlefield; the skeletons on the road gradually increased, and many rotted armors and weapons were scattered in the yellow sand.

"Crack!"

Klein was instantly alert and looked toward the source of the sound.

"Roar!" The yellow sand exploded, and a skeleton flickering with black luster rushed toward Klein, brandishing a broken weapon in its hand.

"Bang!" Klein flicked his finger, and an air bullet hit the skeleton's spine, blasting it into two pieces.

The combat power of these skeletons was not even comparable to a Sequence 9; they were more like evil spirits formed in this special environment.

"How should I go back?" Various thoughts swirled in Klein's mind.

There were actually ways to go back; one was through the Phantom Realm. This battlefield had no strong barrier and could not isolate Klein from entering the Phantom Realm. After entering the Phantom Realm, he could contact Beierte through the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society.

The second was through the Tarot Club. Klein was certain that he could now sense the Grey Fog; as long as he performed the Reverse Four Steps, he could go Above the Gray Fog.

"The difficulty lies in the fact that I don't even know where I am!" This was what Klein felt was the trickiest part.

No! Klein suddenly remembered something in his pocket.

Klein took out the Copper Whistle that came from Azik Eggers.

This Copper Whistle could probably help Mr. Azik locate him.

He had always maintained correspondence with this teacher, asking for advice on occult knowledge or simply venting about certain bizarre things he encountered in his life and work.

After graduation, the teacher-student relationship between Klein and Mr. Azik had actually become even closer.

"However... I seem to have been troubling Mr. Azik a bit lately." Klein scratched his head.

"I'll find an opportunity to repay Mr. Azik in the future..." Klein hesitated for a moment, then blew the Copper Whistle.