Chapter 766

While taking off his glasses, Lu Mian said in a suppressed voice:

"The target should have already discovered the abnormality on me, but at the same time, Ludwig is also nearby, and there is the 'Mother' aura from that corpse. These two situations combined will inevitably make the target highly vigilant, and it is very likely she will seek reinforcements. You all need to be prepared."

If it were purely just the bloodline of Omebella, Aosaito would think it was the influence of the Law of Convergence that led to encountering someone who had profaned the Son of God. Similarly, if it were purely just the 'Mother' aura of the corpse, she might have developed a sense of caution, or she might have suspected that the process of those corpses returning to the earth had affected the surrounding water sources, causing certain people to be contaminated.

But when the two are added together, in the eyes of anyone who can sense them, there is a major problem.

This can by no means be described as a coincidence; it must be hiding a dangerous trap!

The voice of 'Knight of Swords' Ma Liqi seemed to drift a little further away:

"Preparations have already been made."

Earlier than I could clarify the whole situation and make the corresponding reminders, she sensed the hidden crisis and made preparations? Besides having strong spiritual intuition, her experience is also quite rich... While Lu Mian felt a sense of admiration, he saw Lu Jianuo startled by his actions and low words, and followed him in standing up.

Ludwig did not waste anything; he took the ice cream the two of them had abandoned to his front and ate it happily, completely unconcerned about what might happen next.

Lu Mian's gaze swept across the faces of Lu Jianuo and Ludwig, then shifted to Franca and Jianna, who were also enjoying their post-meal dessert.

He was now thinking about a question:

Should they act together next, or stroll around separately like they did in the morning?

If the previous speculations were indeed roughly consistent with the truth, then the part about using bait to lure out Aosaito should have already ended. What they might face next is a probing attack from that 'Witch King' and her companions.

In this situation, acting together can more effectively receive the protection of the Temperance Faction, without worrying about Aosaito striking first from a less tightly protected area and kidnapping one or two as hostages. But if the attack Aosaito brings is very fierce, causing the Temperance Faction's hidden forces to barely be able to protect themselves for a period of time, then the outcome of gathering together might very well be total annihilation.

Which choice is safer and more reasonable in the current environment is a judgment that the team leader needs to make.

Lu Mian walked slowly toward the restaurant entrance, his thoughts racing as he filtered through the questions he had just considered and the corresponding speculations he had made.

He thought of his own description of the undead kingdom in the Lakre region:

A crude, localized Netherworld.

Netherworld... Lu Mian's eyelids twitched, and he asked in a low voice again:

"Can you see or sense the Netherworld?"

He was asking whether the 'Living Zombies' and 'Wraiths' could discover the Netherworld.

'Knight of Swords' Ma Liqi answered quickly:

"No, unless someone directly opens the door to the Netherworld, or comes from the Netherworld itself, otherwise one can only perceive its existence through some traces.

"It was possible before the Netherworld mutation."

Possible before the Netherworld mutation? Was this inferred from ancient documents? What Lu Mian cared about was not this point, but another matter:

If Aosaito really had initially integrated the local undead kingdom into her own 'Other Shore World', then does her 'Other Shore World' also count as a small-scale Netherworld?

Furthermore, that should be a small-scale Netherworld that cannot yet leave the current region; otherwise, based on Lu Mian's understanding of the 'Other Shore World', Aosaito could completely take her 'Other Shore World' and leave, not needing to remain here.

Of course, it could also be that she has other goals that have not yet been achieved.

Small-scale Netherworld... Lu Mian muttered silently, then turned to walk toward Franca and Jianna, smiling as he said:

"I heard that Qiabanjie has a lot of local character. I wonder if the two beautiful ladies are willing to be my guides?"

Qiabanjie was the starting point where Franca and Jianna felt the temperature drop a little, which meant that they might have encountered Aosaito at Qiabanjie!

In the eyes of nearby customers, this was a blatant dating invitation from Lu Mian, but after Franca and Jianna exchanged glances, they both understood that Lu Mian meant they should act together from now on, and the destination of the action was Qiabanjie.

"Okay." Franca and Jianna smiled in unison and stood up.

This left the surrounding people a bit stunned:

Is it that easy to invite them?

If I had known, I would have gathered the courage to invite them too!

Lu Mian, along with Franca, Jianna, and the others, walked toward Qiabanjie at a steady pace, while seemingly relaxed as they exchanged news about Lakre City.

About two quarter-hours later, they saw the street, which was dominated by local residents.

Gray-white stone houses stood side by side, looking quite rugged but sturdy enough, and outside different houses hung various colored cloth strips made of wool, bringing an exotic feeling that was bright and different from other places outside the Star Fall Continent.

Compared to other streets in Lakre City, there were more local residents here wearing traditional clothing—this refers to the dark red wool robes for men and the brightly colored skirt robes for women.

Likewise, they also carried more skull amulets with different decorations. Some presented their own mottled and yellowish-brown appearance, wearing wigs made of woven wool; some were painted in different colors like purple, green, and red; some had caramel-colored East Bairam tobacco stuffed between their teeth; some were white as bone, appearing like jade, with pitch-black eye sockets, and insects crawling in and out.

Lu Mian stood at the entrance of Qiabanjie, not rushing forward, but stopping, and signaling Franca, Jianna, and the others to stay as far behind him as possible.

Immediately after, he took something out of his 'Traveler's Bag'.

It was a golden mask with white or black paint around the eyes and facial area.

That was the Aiges family mask personally crafted by the 'God of Death'!

Lu Mian felt that since this pure gold mask was originally crafted to help the living sense and enter the Netherworld, and came directly from the 'God of Death' who dominates death and the Netherworld, then today, when the Netherworld has mutated and hidden itself, wearing it might allow him to discover things related to the Netherworld within a certain range, and the local undead kingdom in the Lakre region is equivalent to a small, crude Netherworld.

If the local undead kingdom really has merged with Aosaito's 'Other Shore World', then 'seeing' it is equivalent to 'seeing' that 'Other Shore World', and seeing the 'Witch King' Aosaito!

Lu Mian did not hesitate and put the Aiges family's golden mask on his face.

His aura quickly turned cold and gradually went silent; his body instantly became icy, losing the feeling of being alive, and his blood stopped flowing.

Through this golden mask, Lu Mian felt the surroundings dim, various colors faded to a certain extent, and the temperature became a little colder.

Apart from that, everything was normal.

"Is this the world in the eyes of the undead? I haven't found any trace of that undead kingdom... Has merging with the 'Other Shore World' made it hide even deeper? Hmm, I can directly sense the Spirit Realm, yet I can't discover the Netherworld... No wonder one needs to wait for an opportunity to enter the Netherworld, rather than being able to locate it and 'teleport' there directly after wearing the Aiges family mask..." Lu Mian muttered to himself silently, not giving up on his original guess, and attempted to trigger the residual aura of the 'Blood Emperor'.

And his purpose in triggering the residual aura of Alista Tudor was to make the seal left by the 'Nether Daoist' stand out.

This powerhouse from the world of Franca and the others was clearly related to the three pathways of 'Death', 'Darkness', and 'Warrior', and according to Madam 'Magician', He might have also been in contact with the crazed 'God of Death' and reached some agreements. The seal He left behind might be able to enhance the Aiges family mask to a certain extent.

With a slight stinging pain in the palm of his right hand and the emergence of an icy, rotting sensation, the scene before Lu Mian's eyes suddenly changed.

On the entire Qiabanjie, those cloth strips hanging on the walls all lost their color and became gray and dim, while the people walking here became inexplicably blurry, as if separated by a thick, dense fog.

But the skull amulets on their bodies were exceptionally clear, and their colors appeared even richer by contrast.

Lu Mian also saw that within the pitch-black, hollow eye sockets of those human skulls, pale or dark red flames ignited instantly, flickering and emitting a cold, dead, and silent meaning.

At this moment, Lu Mian knew he had 'seen' the undead kingdom of the Lakre region.

It overlapped with the entire Lakre region; undead wandered in the dark, while humans lived in the light!

Lu Mian stood at the edge of the undead kingdom, not trying to walk inside, searching for traces of the existence of the 'Other Shore World' from a certain distance.

He saw a huge dark cloud covering the sky in the direction of Dalsh Lake, saw human skulls floating in mid-air on the street, with phantom images of children appearing in their burning eye sockets, and saw the wilderness beneath the high mountains seeming to spread directly over, merging with the city, indistinguishable from each other.

As expected... Lu Mian immediately had a clear realization:

Aosaito is in this 'Other Shore World' that has merged with the undead kingdom!

With this realization, the first thought that flashed through Lu Mian's mind was:

My mission ends here. Next, I will lend the Aiges family's golden mask to the 'Knight of Swords' and the Temperance Faction, let them figure out how to organize personnel to enter this 'Other Shore World' and fight Aosaito, while we return to Trier to avoid the potential danger.

On second thought, Lu Mian realized this wouldn't work.

Because if there is only the Aiges family's golden mask without the 'Nether Daoist's' seal, even if a 'Wraith' wears it, they cannot directly 'see' Aosaito's mutated 'Other Shore World'!

Vaguely, Lu Mian thought of a possibility.

He said in a deep voice to 'Knight of Swords' Ma Liqi, who was hiding nearby:

"I've discovered Aosaito's 'Other Shore World'. You all take 'Holy Grail Two' and the others to a safe place first, then possess me in the form of a Wraith. I will take you into that 'Other Shore World'!"

"Okay." The slightly illusory voice of the 'Knight of Swords' carried a hint of irrepressible joy and malice.

That was directed at Aosaito.

(End of chapter)