Chapter 767: Howling

Lu Mi thought for a moment and specifically warned:

"Don't forget the 'Four of Swords'."

To be honest, he had almost overlooked Anthony's presence, but he constantly calculated what his teammates were doing and how to coordinate, so he wouldn't truly forget.

When inviting the two "Witches" to Qiabanjie at Saint Milong Restaurant, Lu Mi hadn't remembered Anthony; only after stepping onto the street did he recall having such a teammate—but he couldn't locate the "Hypnotist" using "Psychological Invisibility," so he had to trust Anthony's experience: seeing the rest of the team regroup, he'd surely realize splitting up was no longer advisable and follow on his own.

It has to be said that Anthony's habits from his days as an intelligence dealer blended perfectly with his "psychological invisibility."

Upon hearing Lu Mi's reminder, the "Knight of Swords" replied after two seconds:

"I won't forget."

You seemed to have just forgotten… but the Chastity Sect's demigod probably wouldn't be much affected by Anthony's "Psychological Invisibility"—he wouldn't truly forget Anthony while sending Flandre and Jianna away… If he really did, the Hypnotist's biggest cause of death would surely be that his "Psychological Invisibility" worked too well, causing teammates to forget and ignore him… Lu Mi internally grumbled as the special "Otherworld" before him suddenly changed.

From the direction of Darsh Lake came a deafening roar; gray-white water surged into the sky like a tsunami, and the wilderness, already fused with Lacrey City, began dominating, instantly overtaking multiple squares and streets, pulling Lu Mi—who hadn't truly entered Qiabanjie—inside, while bypassing Flandre and the others.

Osaeto, blessed by the "Great Mother," seemed to have realized she was exposed.

Her choice was to exploit the "Otherworld's" nature, temporarily separating the humans who desecrated the Divine Child from the Chastity Sect's demigods, then using the brief time lag to target Lu Mi and achieve her goal.

Almost simultaneously, Lu Mi—wearing the Eggs family's golden mask and already transformed into an undead—felt his body grow increasingly "heavy," as if multiple cold masses had formed inside him.

The next instant, he saw the blurred human figures on Qiabanjie vanish; behind him, Flandre, Jianna, Ludwig, Lu Jianuo, and possibly Anthony—all gone, as if separated into two different worlds.

The human skulls in various states grew sharper; their eye sockets, burning with pale or dark red flames, turned toward Lu Mi at once.

At the end of Qiabanjie, where the city merged more tightly with the wilderness, countless swaying figures emerged from nowhere and advanced toward him.

They included decaying oxen reduced to patches of pus-dripping fur, giant birds flying low with exposed bones, colossal serpents oozing semi-melted threads from rotting flesh, and mountains of multi-bodied headless skeletons.

Human skulls from all over the city surged rapidly toward Qiabanjie, floating in midair, blotting out the pale, dim, lifeless "sun."

Lu Mi felt as if struck by overwhelming awe—like an undead confronting a higher, more terrifying kind—and froze in place, unable to move.

At that moment, a piercing, agonized howl came from the direction of Darsh Lake.

That terrifying, shrill sound pierced Lu Mi's soul like a spinning drill, plunging him into darkness and knocking him unconscious.

When Lu Mi regained his thoughts and bodily awareness, he found himself halfway along Qiabanjie, beside Ma Liqi, the "Knight of Swords," dressed in a black waistcoat and white shirt.

Around him, crystalline ice had frozen the various human skulls midair, on the ground, and on the surfaces of the gray-white stone buildings.

This dreamlike frozen scene stretched all the way to the wilderness at the city's edge.

Among the advancing undead army, those still decaying monsters shed flesh with wet slaps, leaving only yellow, brown, or bone-white skeletons; those originally just bones sank into the soil, oozing crimson blood not their own, while the vengeful spirits and malevolent souls swelled like balloons, exploding silently into strange ash.

Though Lu Mi didn't understand what had happened, two thoughts arose spontaneously:

Were they all cursed?

Could bone without flesh be cursed to bleed?

Thinking this, Lu Mi couldn't help raising his right hand and wiping it beneath his nose.

He immediately saw faint black stains on his knuckles.

They came from within his body—from blood that had long since stopped flowing.

In that banshee's howl, not only had his soul been wounded, but his undead body, as if struck by physical force, had ruptured capillaries, leaking blackened blood.

How terrifying… Lu Mi now roughly understood what had just occurred:

"Osaeto, from a great distance, unleashed a banshee's howl amplified by the 'Otherworld'—and I passed out immediately?"

"And the Chastity Sect's demigods, before the 'Otherworld' expanded to me, attached themselves to me as vengeful spirits, thereby being pulled instantly into the 'Otherworld'? Then they took control of my body and used their abilities to eliminate the flood of human skulls and the undead army?"

"The 'Knight of Swords' also attached himself to me—so now he's here in the 'Otherworld'?"

After piecing together his experience, Lu Mi gained a clearer, more accurate understanding of the demigods' terror:

"Osaeto, whose rank is unknown but certainly lacks an angel's status, unleashed just one banshee's howl—and I collapsed, lost combat ability, and took over ten seconds to wake up… If not for the Chastity Sect's demigods, those ten seconds would've been enough for Osaeto to kill me ten times over…"

"This isn't comparable to painted demigods. Facing a true demigod, if I don't seize the initiative, I won't even have time to draw the 'Sword of Courage' or activate 'Desire Embodiment'!"

"Even activating shadows to take damage won't be fast enough—unless I'd anticipated it in advance…"

Amid swirling thoughts, Lu Mi regained control of his body.

Then he heard the "Knight of Swords," Ma Liqi, whisper:

"Osaeto has retreated; she's likely at Darsh Lake."

"We still don't know what aid she requested."

"Darsh Lake?" Lu Mi asked, slightly startled.

That calm, beautiful, sacred lake?

Still, it made sense—mining across the Lacrey region had deliberately avoided Darsh Lake, leaving it untouched by pollution…

The "Knight of Swords" observed his surroundings but didn't immediately sprint toward the wilderness or Darsh Lake.

He nodded slightly and said:

"Darsh Lake itself has unique properties, linked in some way to the fallen 'God of Death.' The reason Lacrey could establish this small undead realm was precisely because of Darsh Lake."

"Back then, that original Baelang Empire official used the 'Undead' skull stored in the 'God of Death' temple, then, leveraging his 'Gatekeeper' ability, opened a gate to the Underworld and fixed it onto the 'Undead' skull, preventing it from closing quickly—ensuring a constant trickle of Underworld aura leaked out."

"The 'Undead's' skull? Can the 'Undead' die?" Lu Mi asked instinctively.

The "Knight of Swords" began walking toward the edge of the frozen world.

He glanced at Lu Mi and said:

"The 'Undead' is merely Sequence 4 on the 'God of Death' path—they can be killed."

I see… Lu Mi gave a barely perceptible nod.

The "Knight of Swords" continued:

"The leaking Underworld aura, the 'Undead' skull's nature, and Darsh Lake's uniqueness together sustained this undead realm, drawing the souls of dead creatures here, where they gradually withered…"

After hearing this, Lu Mi paused, stunned:

"You know this undead realm so well…"

The "Knight of Swords" replied:

"The 'Rose Sect' has ruled here for over a thousand years—aside from Darsh Lake's uniqueness, everything else was long ago uncovered."

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner?" Lu Mi blurted out.

If you'd told me earlier, I might've guessed part of Osaeto's goal sooner!

"At first, we didn't connect Osaeto to the undead realm, so the relevant intelligence wasn't included in the data," the "Knight of Swords" explained. "Afterward, whenever you asked, I answered—but I didn't elaborate. Explanation is itself a desire, and must be restrained."

"…" Lu Mi suddenly understood how Flandre felt every time he began, "This story starts with me and Lady Hela at the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring.'"

As they spoke, Lu Mi and Ma Liqi reached the city's edge—the boundary between the frozen world and the desolate wilderness.

Lu Mi instinctively glanced at the thick ice encasing the gray buildings and, through the mirror effect, was startled to see two blurred figures inside each of his eyes:

One wearing a small black cap and matching court gown; the other headless, draped in a dark, intricately patterned, sinister long dress.

Immediately after, Lu Mi noticed several translucent-ringed insects crawling in and out around the edge of his mouth—yet he felt nothing.

…………

At the entrance of Qiabanjie, Flandre, Jianna, and the others felt a sudden chill sweep over them as Lu Mi vanished from sight.

Before they could exchange information or react, a voice—mellow yet ethereal, like a dream—echoed beside their ears:

"I'll send you back to Trill first."

Flandre, Jianna, Lu Jianuo, and the others instinctively turned—and found beside them a young man they hadn't noticed before.

He wore a white shirt and a thin black overcoat, had black hair and green eyes, radiating dark-night elegance, and wore red gloves on both hands.

PS: Tomorrow's monthly ticket first bonus update means two chapters~

(End of Chapter)