Chapter 318: Language! (Part 2)

At the back of the hill at the end of Forest Hill Park, inside a very hidden, narrow cave, Shieler bent down and crawled through the somewhat tight entrance, only to find the space suddenly opened up.

It was a naturally formed cave at the foot of the mountain, but its natural appearance had been modified; on the left stood a workbench and shelves, while on the right lay a jumble of instruments, with a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling of this small cave and a spotlight nearby for illumination.

Peter, walking ahead, removed his mask and introduced the place to the others: "I don't know when it started, but I had this idea that finding a cave to serve as my base would be great. This is indeed a good spot; it's not far from my home, convenient for me to change clothes anytime, and very hidden."

"Indeed," Shi Difen nodded. He looked up, surveying the cave's surroundings, and said, "But I think you need to reinforce the structure here; the bedrock in New York isn't that solid."

"That's the next step in the plan," Peter said while helping Shi Difen subdue the black sleeping bag he was dragging. The sleeping bag kept struggling, with black smoke occasionally billowing out.

Strange stood behind them with his hands on his hips, staring at the sleeping bag and saying, "This thing is a bit too weak."

"It doesn't seem to have been born for combat," Shi Difen said, throwing the sleeping bag onto the ground and frowning. "Just now, neither Peter nor I used even thirty percent of our strength, yet its arm broke."

Shi Difen unzipped the sleeping bag, revealing a skeleton emitting black mist inside. Shi Difen pressed one hand on the skeleton's neck and grabbed one of its ribs with the other, giving it a tug. When that rib snapped, a crisp sound rang out, making Peter shiver.

Strange and Shieler rushed to the location where Peter had discovered the skeleton. Shi Difen went down to help Peter, and the two of them subdued the skeleton together, while Strange opened a portal, returned to Kamar-Taj, and brought back a book related to necromancy.

Shieler also walked over to study the book's contents with Strange. Facing an unfamiliar domain, none of the four had much research experience; Shieler and Strange chose to start with theory, while Shi Difen and Peter planned to proceed directly with experiments.

Shieler discovered that the book Strange was holding recorded many necromancer cases. The mages of Kamar-Taj had stopped numerous actions by these evil necromancers who sought to harm villages and towns, and they had summarized a set of methods to counter them.

After reading the book for a while, Shieler joined the experimental group. Looking at the skeleton, he said, "Let me see... adult female, around fifty years old, has given birth. The cause of death should be abdominal trauma; I initially suspect a car accident. The dominant hand is the right hand. She likely engaged in light manual labor before, possibly a cleaner or a kitchen assistant..."

Shi Difen opened his mouth, very wanting to ask Shieler how he had made those judgments, but at this moment, the atmosphere in the silent cave was already strange enough; there was no need to add more horror stories to enhance the mood.

"We must collect more information on the deceased as samples before we can determine what the necromancer's target is. Since Peter encountered skeletons twice in Forest Hill Cemetery, this mysterious necromancer's next target might still be here. You may need to stake out this location..." Shieler concluded.

"No problem. The supplies in this base are sufficient; even if they run low, I can go buy more. The only thing that worries me is that my uncle and aunt live nearby. My aunt was already frightened by ghost fire last time..." Peter said hesitantly.

What he feared most was his family getting hurt. Shi Difen squatted on the ground, turned to look at Peter, who was also half-squatting, and said, "So, you just need to guard the source of the danger. There won't be a second cemetery nearby for him to carry out these supernatural events."

Thus, Shi Difen and Peter stayed at the base to continue staking out the necromancer who might strike again, while Shieler and Strange returned to Arkham Asylum. After emerging from the portal, Shieler turned and asked Strange, "What do you think?"

"This matter is perhaps more troublesome than imagined," Strange said, his expression somewhat serious. "First, I can confirm that this power itself carries necromantic attributes. That is to say, the source of the power must be related to death."

"Once it touches upon this concept, it becomes particularly tricky. More importantly, just now I tried using white magic to dispel this death power, but perhaps my time studying magic has been too short..."

Strange looked at his hand. A wisp of Bai Guang suddenly appeared in his palm. He said, "This is 'Wrath of White Magic,' the spell most commonly used by novice mages. It comes from the ancient spirits of the stars at the edge of the Eternal Ruins. The cost to wield this power is extremely low, almost negligible, but similarly, it is relatively weak. However, its advantage is that it is easier to control..."

"When I used this power to dispel that dark force, I found it had absolutely no effect, so I switched to another power..."

Another, brighter Bai Guang appeared in Strange's hand, surrounded by some fluttering leaves. He said, "This is the light power of the World Tree, which is closer to us. Although I don't know why this power is weaker than usual, the World Tree's light power, representing vitality and rebirth, should be able to dispel darkness and death..."

"But the result was not successful, was it?"

"Exactly. This means the rank of this power is not low; it is not something a novice mage can deal with. Although I inherited part of the white magic power from Vishanti from my master, the Ancient One, I have not used it lightly."

Strange frowned. He sat down on the sofa and said, "Once two powers of opposite attributes but equal strength collide, it could trigger very large fluctuations. Peter and Shi Difen have no magic resistance; they may not be able to withstand the impact."

"Then what do you plan to..."

"Alright, after all, I am the successor of the Sorcerer Supreme. I cannot stand idly by while an unknown power wreaks havoc in my territory without doing anything. I think we must go to that cemetery again, find another specimen, and then find a sufficiently safe place to conduct experiments..."

Shieler thought for a moment but did not refute Strange's use of the word "we."

He turned to look at the umbrella placed beside his desk. This was the new umbrella he had brought over from the DC world.

To obtain a powerful, indestructible umbrella that never needed replacement, Shieler felt it necessary to make the cursed fetus trapped inside the umbrella more formidable, so that it would protect his umbrella.

Although he did not know the exact relationship between darkness, death, and curses, their attributes sounded similar, so perhaps they could be fused.

Thus, Shieler and Strange went to Forest Hill Cemetery again. Strange had enchanted a compass, and they followed the direction the compass pointed, hoping to find a location where the dark energy was most concentrated.

The environment in American cemeteries is generally good, and Forest Hill Cemetery is no exception. It is part of Forest Hill Park itself. On weekends or holidays, many people even come to the cemetery to take walks or rest on the lawn. However, the enchanted compass led the two of them gradually away from the cemetery and deeper into the forest.

"This is not strange. Necromancers also need a hiding place. He couldn't possibly build a house in the park, so he must be hiding in the forest," Strange deduced.

Having spoken, he turned to look at the umbrella Shieler was holding and asked, puzzled, "The snow has stopped. What are you doing with the umbrella?"

Shieler used the umbrella to push aside the surrounding weeds, clearing a path effortlessly, while Strange could only trudge forward, letting those weeds scratch his expensive trouser legs and leather shoes. Shieler spread his hands toward him. Strange pouted, turned around, and continued walking forward.

"Although he might be hiding in the forest, don't you think we've gone a bit too far?" After walking for about twenty more minutes, Shieler called out to stop Strange.

"This should be far beyond the casting range of your mages, right? He couldn't possibly be hiding this far in the forest to cast spells on the cemetery."

"I think we are already very close," Strange said, holding up the enchanted compass in his hand. Shieler saw that the compass needle was trembling continuously, as if influenced by an invisible mysterious force.

Suddenly, the needle stopped with a "Deng!" Shieler and Strange both turned to look in that direction. There was a dense forest there; the thick leaves blocked all light in the darkness of night, making it impossible to see clearly what lay behind.

Strange's fingers glowed faintly. He rubbed them over his eyes. With a flash of light, his pupils turned into beast-like vertical slits. Clearly, he had borrowed the power of night vision from some mysterious entity that could transform into a beast.

As for Shieler, he abandoned his vision. Invisible gray fog factors scattered, and the entire world became an incredibly clear three-dimensional model in his mind, which was far more accurate than what could be seen with the eyes alone.

Strange and Shieler continued walking into the woods, but once they left the path, progress became somewhat difficult. In just a short stretch of road, the two of them walked for another ten-plus minutes.

Only after completely entering that forest did Strange, who had walked in first, let out a cry of surprise. Shieler bent down to avoid the branches overhead. When he walked in, he saw in the center of the forest, surrounded by tall trees, a patch of scorched earth. There was a special mark left there, somewhat resembling a miniature magic array.

Strange stopped at the edge of that patch of land, not rashly advancing. Under Shieler's gaze, he calmly reached into his pocket and pulled out... a mobile phone.

"Hello, Sanctum Sanctorum? Yes, it's me, Shi Difen. I have an image here that seems to have been left by some demon god controlling death and dark power. Please broadcast it to the Demon God Network on the universal frequency and see if anyone knows who left it?"

loubiqu.

The operator on the other end replied quickly: "The image has been received. The cosmic signal has been sent. Currently, there is no response. It is estimated that a wait of about ten minutes may be required..."

After hanging up the phone, Strange turned to show Shieler with no small amount of pride: "We can't just be the ones helping them, right?"

"During the last invasion by Knull, some of the intercepted power was infused by the Ancient One into the magic array beneath the Sanctum Sanctorum. This magic array can broadcast magic to the universe. The principle is similar to human radio broadcasting, except magic is more convenient; we don't need to rely on any signal towers or base stations..."

"So far, this function has only been used to convene meetings for the Demon Gods or resolve some neighborhood disputes. But Nick told me he intends to develop an entertainment broadcast program for the entire universe. He has found a few directors and screenwriters in prison whose moral standards have been tested, and this is about to be put on the agenda..."