Chapter 1889: Stronghold

The monsters wandering around the inn became fewer and fewer. Finally, with an invisible ripple sweeping from the basement to the entire building, and then sweeping around the building along the forest floor that was inexplicably turning red, those monsters attracted by the souls and flesh of living people finally stopped their steps in a daze and continued to wander in the surrounding forest.

As long as it was ensured that there weren't too many monsters around, the inn itself could once again use its powerful effect of concealing itself. And without a steady stream of reinforcements, the remaining monsters lurking in the forest near the inn were also all cleared away.

Without the ability of "High-Efficiency Spatial Perception" like Xia De, once lost in the mist, even if it was just ten steps away from the inn, it was possible to never be able to return. Therefore, only Xia De went deep into the mist alone to clear out those monsters wandering in the shadows, and only he saw most clearly what exactly those things wandering in a daze on the island were.

The dark night, thick fog, and rain obscured most of the details. The things lurking and wandering between the grass leaves and tree trunks didn't have completely identical appearances, but they indeed had similar details and the same eerie and misplaced feeling produced by their constituent forms.

Those things that could change color according to the environment mostly possessed characteristics of several different animals. These animal characteristics were arranged and combined in a way that didn't conform to biological characteristics at all. Xia De even saw countless mouse tails emerging from a slender duck neck.

Besides animal characteristics, fragmentation and the sulfur smell unique to demons were also characteristics of these things. Therefore, it wasn't hard to guess that these things were most likely the non-conforming creatures manufactured in Laplace Klein Howard's human alchemy experiments over hundreds of years. Now that they were discarded on the island, they had instead become the best barrier.

Squeak, squeak, squeak~

Hundreds of thin, long rat tails, like fine threads spat out by a spider, surged toward Xia De under the cover of the sound of rain. Xia De raised his hand to grasp a handful of rainwater, condensed it into ice, and threw it forward, slashing out a streak of moonlight again in a tilted arc amidst the sound of an explosion.

Such a battle didn't last long. After confirming that the nearby monsters had basically disappeared, he retreated back into the inn along with the female spellcasters, but Xia De didn't stay:

"The ladies who went out with me just now, please rest first, others are responsible for vigilance. I'm going to see for myself how far it is from the shore."

When Xia De went deep into the mist alone to clear those monsters just now, he vaguely heard the sound of water hitting the shore in the rain. This seemed to indicate that the location of the inn wasn't far from the shore. And if he could successfully find the road to the shore, it would be very convenient for the Great Witches to arrive next.

As for the missing Megan, there was no need to worry too much for now. Since among the thirteen keys closely related to the "Edwards Ascension Ritual," one was still with Xia De, the ritual definitely hadn't started yet. Of course, he couldn't deliberately stall until the reinforcements arrived.

Since the Diviner could take away one of the two keys silently, he certainly had a way to take away this one. His actions had to be fast.

"I'll go with you. If the road is identified, someone needs to stay in the inn to record it."

Tifa said, and said something to the people behind her. Subsequently, another girl wearing a black and white manservant dress handed over a lead box. Inside the box were some colored powders with traces of whisper elements:

"Relic derivatives, can mark the road in thick fog, but can only be used for short distances."

Xia De really had no reason to refute the reason she gave, and others didn't want Xia De to go deep into the mist alone.

"Alright, follow me closely. In this fog, as long as you lose your way by one step, don't think about coming back for a short time."

He reached out and held Tifa's hand, and then felt for some reason, the eyes of all the female spellcasters present were focused on their hands.

"Xia De, be careful on the road."

Princess Lei Qianya and Duoluoqian, who knew their strength was insufficient, held hands and watched the two move away at the door, while Ajielina stood behind them holding the cat, her silent appearance making no one understand her mood.

Xia De and Tifa left from the edge of the inn where the firelight could illuminate, holding hands like this, and walked into the forest along the direction where Xia De vaguely heard the sound of water just now. Xia De, who had six rings, didn't have the ability to avoid rain, but Tifa, who had eight rings, did. She really followed closely behind Xia De. Xia De didn't even need to look back to hear her breathing.

"The last time we walked in a dangerous area like this was late last summer, in the dark domain."

The manservant lady's voice entered his ears. Xia De nodded gently, his eyes still looking forward, relying on vision, inspiration, and high-efficiency spatial perception to find a way out and avoid enemies in the eerie dense forest on a rainy night:

"At that time, the dark domain engulfed the southern suburbs of Tobesk. I was anxious to find that Diviner, but ventured deep into the darkness, only to arrive at this lady's manor first."

Recalling the past, Xia De's suppressed mood improved a bit. After this, Tifa didn't speak again, as if she really just wanted to let Xia De relax.

The atmosphere of this island was very different from the central island of Green Lake that existed in reality. Walking in the darkness on a rainy night, even if he could avoid the rain, the slippery and sticky feeling in the air still felt like a dead person stretching out a long tongue to lick his skin constantly.

Xia De knew this description was very strange, but he just had this feeling. The feeling of needing to subconsciously bend down and carefully hold his breath while walking in the rain already explained how strange this place was.

Fortunately, Tifa was always behind him. The unique and pleasant perfume on the manservant lady could be considered one of the few things that could make Xia De feel happy on this rainy night.

His hearing was quite good, and the sound of water just now wasn't an illusion. Soon, the sound of water became louder and louder. The two passed through the forest and saw the forest path that was very similar to the real island but even more eerie. Walking forward along the forest path, the beach and the pier appeared at the edge of the island.

That dilapidated pier was not the most terrifying scene in this pitch-black, rainy night. Beyond the pier, turbid green lake water slapped against the shore in wave after wave. There were no reefs at all on the surface of the normal Green Lake, but right now, surrounding the island, all sorts of strange black reefs, like indescribable, weird existences from ancient mythology, were densely scattered everywhere on the visible water surface.

The surface of the reefs had an astonishing number of extremely fine holes. As the wind blew in the rain, they emitted sharp whistling sounds that made people even more uneasy. And looking further away, there was only abyss-like, terrifying, and creepy darkness in the depths of the night, rain curtain, and clouds.

The lake water continued to hit, and the sound of splashing rain and whistling became clearer. As the wind brushed against his skin, small particles appeared on his skin along with the change of mood. This scene, which had both strange sounds and colors, made even Xia De feel incomparable chill:

"Damn it!"

He rarely said a dirty word that wasn't civilized, and immediately moved his gaze away. As for Tifa behind him, although the manservant lady's arm was trembling slightly, she still maintained the decency of a manservant leader:

"Is this the shore?"

She asked softly with her eyes closed.

"Yes, corresponding to the pier when I landed on the island many times. This place is simply like the hell that villains would arrive at after death in stories..."

Xia De also said softly, holding 【Night Watchman】 with one hand, and then used "Moonlight Greatsword" to leave a glowing mark on the ground. The sand under his feet was red, and the eerie color made the scene on the shore even more bizarre.

As for leaving a mark, it was in the hope of guiding the Witches who didn't know when they could arrive here.

The two didn't delay time and returned the same way immediately. They were still holding hands, and Tifa didn't forget to scatter those colored powders along the way. The naked eye couldn't observe the scattered powder, but the special lenses in the Witches' hands could see it.

When they returned to the inn in the forest clearing, the good news that this place wasn't far from the shore also made the girls in the inn very excited. Xia De even drew a simple map containing the inn, the forest path, and the shore based on "High-Efficiency Spatial Perception."

According to the map calculation, as long as they didn't encounter accidents in the fog, the Great Witches landing on the island could find this place within five minutes.

"Alright, continue to arrange the plan. I will set off alone to go deep into the island. Tifa, Haili, I leave this place to you. Miss Deket, you understand spatial power the best here, please confirm whether you can find the passage between this inn and the inn in Green Lake City. If what we encountered is really spatial replication, then there should be a passage connecting two identical spaces."

The three female spellcasters nodded together.

Xia De said to Duoluoqian and Princess Lei Qianya again:

"I don't know what will happen in a while, but please absolutely, absolutely don't leave the inn. You promised me you would follow my arrangements."

They also nodded gently. Xia De touched Little Mia in Ajielina's arms, refused the umbrella brought by Tifa, picked up 【Night Watchman】, and prepared to leave.

But Tifa called Xia De again and took out a triangular metal spell from her pocket:

"Don't forget this."

This was the "Return Spell" made by Miss Sylvia. Because the production materials were hard to find, making it required a lot of time and energy, and the spell could only take effect at close range, so Xia De remembered that there weren't many finished products in total.

Witch apprentices like Tifa and Haili each had a spell, and Xia De also had one. For Ajielina's safety, Miss Galina even gave the little princess one, plus the three kept in the inn for backup, which meant there were seven spells in this inn at this moment. ===== CHAPTER 1890 =====