Chapter 556: Umbral Wolf

Leiketon's deep, gazing stare made the Umbral Wolf Kotaer, who was manipulating a secret puppet behind him, feel uneasy; he continued to control his secret puppet and said:

"I can sense the aura of Source Fortress on you."

"... and another, a very dangerous feeling."

Leiketon tugged at the corner of his mouth, showing an insincere smile, and calmly said:

"The Umbral Wolf Kotaer? How many layers of historical projection have you wrapped yourself in to create this secret puppet?"

The secret puppet taking the form of a middle‑aged man before him said expressionlessly:

"My spiritual intuition tells me you are dangerous."

"But you couldn't help being curious about the Source Fortress aura on me, so you let the secret puppet observe me repeatedly nearby?"

Leiketon, while echoing the other's words, stimulated the lingering aura from above the Gray Mist on his body and silently recited the honored name "Fool" twice in his mind.

Beikelainde, having assumed a new identity, appeared in this megacity where Klein was busy rebuilding his social circle and enriching his newly prepared persona.

Just after stepping out of the room, a vague babble echoed in his ears, and the image above the Gray Mist resurfaced in his mind, showing the trembling gray mist.

He halted, looked at the butler waiting nearby, and said, "I think I need to change into more presentable, more suitable clothes; please wait for me a while longer."

After speaking, he turned back to the room at an unhurried pace and closed the door behind him.

Once out of the butler's sight, he hurried to the washroom, chanting a spell while stepping backward four paces to ascend above the Gray Mist.

Klein stared at the star before him, continuously contracting and expanding, sending out rings of deep‑red ripples, and was slightly stunned.

The babble at his ears remained vague, making him feel the other was merely uttering meaningless words to trigger the deep‑red star and stir the Gray Mist.

"I, the Fool, am losing face more and more; how is this any different from going door‑to‑door at night with nothing to do?"

Klein complained while his spiritual touch spread to the deep‑red star representing Leiketon.

A tidal burst of light erupted, flooding half the hall, then quickly receded, coalescing into a scene.

In the vision, Leiketon was conversing with a middle‑aged man holding a beast‑skin lantern and wearing a classical court robe out of sync with this era.

As Klein's gaze fell, the middle‑aged man seemed to sense something, suddenly looking up toward the sky as if searching.

At the same time, Klein felt several gazes, some strong, some faint, from various directions staring at him; they searched blindly for a moment, found nothing, and gradually faded.

Above the Gray Mist, Klein paused, suppressing the urge to cut the vision, and stared at the middle‑aged man in the classical robe; up here, he easily saw through the spiritual thread being manipulated on the man's body.

The spiritual thread on his body slanted upward, disappearing into the deep darkness.

Klein tried to widen his view to locate the puppeteer behind the secret puppet; within the range observable via Leiketon's deep‑red star, no puppeteer was visible, only some monsters hidden in darkness that had been transformed into secret puppets.

"The opponent's maximum distance for manipulating the secret puppet exceeds my observational range above the Gray Mist; this is at least a Tier Three Saint, possibly even an angel."

"Could it be the Umbral Wolf that Al mentioned before?"

Klein muttered to himself for a moment, then quickly steadied his mind and watched the dialogue between Leiketon and the other party in the vision.

The secret puppet before Leiketon withdrew its gaze toward the sky and said calmly:

"Stranger Sage, would you be willing to make a deal with me using the aura from Source Fortress?"

Leiketon chuckled lightly and said, "Sure, I only need a Miracle Master trait."

"That's impossible; I have no surplus Miracle Master trait to part with, and the trade is not equivalent."

The middle‑aged man controlled by the Umbral Wolf shook his head outright, rejecting Leiketon's terms; his gaze lingered on the mechanical glove on Leiketon's right hand before speaking again:

"If you require an angelic‑tier trait, I can help you hunt a wandering Profane Speech Elder here."

Leiketon sneered and said:

"Hunting an angel under the True Creator? Then why don't I cooperate with the other side to hunt an Umbral Wolf?"

Kotaer did not get angry at Leiketon's words, at least not through his secret puppet.

The middle‑aged man in a dark classical court robe spoke gently, his voice calm: "I can create an environment that twists the surrounding spacetime; in such a case, he would be completely isolated from the outside, even information could not be exchanged."

"That provides a certain covert effect, useful for shielding against the True Creator's gaze," Leiketon moved his right hand with the mechanical glove, the faint violet glow in his eyes deepening; a suitable astonishment flashed on his face before he said knowingly:

"Mysterious Secret Realm? That should be an ability only a Tier One Mysterious Secret Attendant possesses."

"You probably haven't been promoted yet; A Meng is in the Divine Abandoned Land. If a Mysterious Secret Attendant appeared here, he wouldn't be unresponsive, even if you pose almost no threat to him."

"So you have a Mysterious Secret Attendant trait, or perhaps you can summon historical images of Antigonus and Freigra from the cracks of history?"

In front of him, the middle‑aged man in the classical robe showed a rare change of expression, surprisingly scanning Leiketon up and down before slowly speaking:

"You know this path well; if I couldn't be sure you're truly alive, I would even suspect you're a secret puppet controlled by Source Fortress."

After a two‑second pause, he suddenly wore an enlightened expression and said:

"I just felt a spying gaze but couldn't see who it was; now the one truly communicating with me is the one who wields Source Fortress, or perhaps Source Fortress itself?"

Above the Gray Mist, Klein's expression turned odd for a moment. The speculation made some sense, but I am merely a spectator sitting above the Gray Mist.

As thoughts surged, he reached forward with his right hand, intending to transmit the locations of the secret puppets he had found to Leiketon; halfway through, he suddenly halted.

He thought, changed direction, picked up the strange crown stained with rust and blood on the table beside his right hand, and using the link forged by the deep‑red star, established a spiritual communication between himself and Leiketon, transmitting the hidden secret puppet locations deep in the darkness.

At the same time he asked himself:

"The one manipulating these secret puppets behind the scenes is the Umbral Wolf Kotaer?"

Leiketon's inner voice quickly reached his mind:

"Yes, it. It likely noticed the disturbance I created earlier, then sensed the Source Fortress aura on me within the Gray Mist."

"Do you need a Spirit Worm? Since we've met, we can't leave empty‑handed."

That. Saying so isn't a problem, but the other side is a living angel, already addressable as 'He'; aren't you looking down too much on this Umbral Wolf? Klein couldn't help muttering two resentful thoughts in his mind.

Immediately, Leiketon's inner voice echoed in his mind:

"Is it possible I can hear?"

Klein's expression froze for a moment, then he shifted the topic, saying:

"What is a Spirit Worm? Also, since the other is an angel of the Diviner path, won't our loud scheming be discovered?"

"The Sage already possesses some covert abilities, which is why it didn't notice your gaze earlier."

Lei Kedun answered Klein's doubts in his mind while slowly shaking his head at the "Murk Demon Wolf" waiting for his reply ahead.

I feel you lack sincerity, and moreover, I and the 'True Creator' are still maintaining a cooperative relationship.

At the end of his words, his voice became very slow, his body like a rusty old machine that ran poorly, his movements and thoughts slowing in sync.

This state lasted only an instant, and he suddenly became illusory, together with his spirit-body lines turning into a state of nonexistence.

Don't use paper angels; I can't conceal it, it will leave traces that it can catch. In his mind he warned Ke Lai En, he quickly gathered his focus, and his right hand wearing a mechanical glove lightly rubbed once.

In silence, pure and clear light burst forth, illuminating every corner, turning this place into one utterly devoid of darkness, with not a trace of shadow, where nothing could hide—a realm of no darkness.

All monsters hidden in the darkness that had been transformed into puppets revealed themselves, becoming extremely conspicuous in Lei Kedun's eyes.

As soon as the light appeared, Lei Kedun again fell into a state of sluggish thought, stiff body, and slow movements; the "Murk Demon Wolf" again tried to control his spirit-body lines.

In the pure and clear light, a creature with a human body, bird head, hands and wings combined, somewhat like a harpy, flew up into midair, emitting a sharp, hoarse sound from its mouth:

"I wish: darkness descends."

Thick, deep darkness like a flood engulfed the surroundings, swallowing all light and sound, plunging the area into a deathly silence.

In the pure, lightless darkness, Lei Kedun sensed the lingering aura of the Night Goddess gathering and stirring.

(End of chapter)