Chapter 2579

"So what if I'm cowardly? We are infinitely small compared to this world; isn't it correct to fear death?"

Xia De didn't waste any more time on such nonsense:

"What was the method you obtained to detect 'time travelers'?"

"An acorn. Among the relics of that Fifth-Ring mage from the Church of Nature, there was a roasted acorn. After I ate that acorn, I was able to sense people who didn't belong to that time within a certain area nearby for a month.

I waited for a month and didn't wait for anyone, so I drank a bottle of 【Oak's Luck Potion】 bought from the Creekwood Town black market, and only then did I wait for him on the very last day!"

Xia De had also drunk this potion; it was a specialty of the 【Hermits in the Woods】, so it wasn't strange for it to end up in the local black market.

"It's really getting more and more complicated."

The witch on the side waited until Xia De finished asking before she spoke, her beautiful face unable to hide a look of worry:

"This confirms that at least a small number of people in the local Church of Nature have known about the existence of the tree hole since the Creekwood Town era. I just don't know if it's just an isolated case or if this has already become an unspoken fact."

She looked at the surroundings wreathed in black mist:

"The complicated story of the Kaming family that took us a week to figure out now seems to be just a corner of the 'Creekwood Town Story,' and very likely the least important corner."

Seeing her complexion becoming paler, Xia De said with concern:

"Let's end the spellcasting first."

"How should we deal with this priest?"

Miss Artist asked again:

"Wiping his memory will cause the church to come knocking immediately; killing him is even more impossible, as that would lead to big trouble.

But just let him go like this? That's a bit too easy on him. And he knows about Baron Kaming's affairs. Although we don't have a direct connection with the Baron, it's best not to expose his family immediately."

"Then let's wipe his memory. Is it possible to just make him forget the Baron's identity?"

"Of course, but this will attract..."

"It is precisely to attract the church."

Xia De said, knowing she hadn't understood his meaning yet:

"Since it's confirmed that the local Church of Nature has secrets, of course, we must bring in other churches to investigate these secrets. Otherwise, should we just oppose the church by ourselves? I don't think that's necessary.

Making a big scene is the only way to force those hiding behind the scenes to appear. He knows about time travel, and if we leave that bottle of potion behind, it will perfectly prove this story. And although he knows about time travel, he doesn't know too many details; he is truly the best candidate to expose this matter."

"I always feel like you are very skilled at handling these kinds of things."

Miss Winslet nodded, feeling it made sense:

"Indeed, investigating time travelers and time curses will sooner or later bring us into contact with the Chosen. It is also time to let the church enter the game. Our investigation progress is already so far ahead that we don't need to worry about the church affecting us."

She reached out to end the spellcasting of the Wall of Sighs, but her movement paused, and then she turned her head to give Xia De an apologetic look:

"It seems to be out of control."

Boom!

As the priest on the wall was forcibly ejected and fell unconscious, the massive black mist erupted from the crack under the wall like a volcanic eruption. Subsequently, hundreds of undead embedded in the wall reached out their bodies, and with the suddenly colder mist and wind, they reached out their hands toward the two living people outside the wall.

"Ah~"

Flora Winslet let out a small cry again, then naturally hid behind Xia De:

"It seems a bit out of control, but with you here, it will definitely be fine. Be careful, it seems a big one has come out!"

Those undead reaching out could ultimately not completely break free from the restrictions of the "Wall of Sighs," so although they looked terrifying, they couldn't threaten Xia De. At this time, Miss Bell saw that the situation was not right and had already rushed over with the girls. Afterward, everyone saw a huge, miserable green phantom pass through the "Wall of Sighs."

The powerful death energy carried by the huge spirit itself caused more trees in the surrounding woods to rapidly lose their vitality, but it was not in the image of the dead, but rather a skeleton wearing a white bone crown.

"Roar~"

A shrill scream like a whale's cry echoed through the woods with the cold wind. Even though Xia De had the blessing of a thousand souls, the huge vengeful spirit still reached out and pressed toward him the moment it passed through the Wall of Sighs.

"Since we want to make a big scene to attract the local church, this should count as a big scene, right? Miss Bell, take the others and leave first."

The witch also understood Xia De's idea and nodded to her apprentice, who hesitated before turning to lead the others away.

As for the witch herself, she turned into an owl and stood on Xia De's shoulder. The change in her own state caused her to completely lose control of the miracle. Although the "Wall of Sighs" collapsed and no other undead would appear, it also meant that the huge crowned skeleton spirit could not be driven back through the "Wall of Sighs" either:

"This scene is indeed big enough, but can you hold on until the church's squad arrives?"

"Of course, the thing I fear least is the undead!"

As he spoke, the crowned skeleton spirit had already leaned down and opened its mouth toward Xia De. The miserable green light cast a green hue on Xia De and the owl lady, and the death mist, which had a lethal infectious quality to living beings, had already sprayed down a step ahead.

Xia De joined his index fingers together and pointed upward:

"Sunlight Ray!"

The ray emitted from his fingers converged into a beam. That slender beam of light looked weak, but it easily passed through the black mist and blasted into the huge evil spirit's mouth. Amidst a shrill scream in the gale, the evil spirit retreated, but immediately, the bone crown on its head emitted light, allowing it to recover rapidly.

"A very good choice; the power of the sun does indeed restrain the undead."

The owl on his shoulder commented:

"This miracle of yours is... wait, this is not a miracle, this is a Witch's Secret Art!"

She spread her wings and flapped them against Xia De's cheek, though it didn't hurt at all:

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, stop for a second, what is going on? How do you know a Witch's Secret Art? Why didn't you tell me about this? Your immunity to our curses and your ability to learn Secret Arts are two different concepts. What exactly did Miss Jia Lin Na do to you?"

"Don't move around! I'll explain it to you later!"

As he said this, he threw a silver thunderbolt upward. A thunderclap boomed in the daytime, echoing through most of the woods. Immediately, Xia De, acting on the principle of making a big scene, raised his hand and flung out five large fireballs in the autumn woods, where the dry ground was full of fallen leaves.

Although this tall and strange undead was indeed stronger than the one Xia De encountered on the verge of life and death in Mid-Hill Fort last autumn, Xia De was no longer the same person he was last autumn.

The series of thunderclaps first caught the attention of nearby loggers and villagers, and by the time the people on the train brought the bad news that "the forest is burning" to the city, a joint squad composed of the local Dawn Church and the Sun Church had already rushed to the scene.

The powerful undead appearing in the forest was as conspicuous as a Little Mia appearing among a group of black cats.

By the time the twenty-person squad, led by two High-Ring mages, appeared in good condition near the battlefield, what they saw was the terrifying white-bone vengeful spirit, locked by two chains that were pitch-black and chilling to the bone even under the sunlight, trapped in the forest being swallowed by the fire.

The firelight had already reddened half the sky. The struggling vengeful spirit made the two Great Sin chains clatter, but as the seven Great Sin runes flickered with ghostly light in turn, it couldn't move at all.

Another silver thunderbolt exploded in the scorched clearing at the center of the fire. In the firelight, the man with an owl standing on his shoulder flicked his wrist violently, and the blood-red whip, thicker than a tree trunk, lashed directly onto the vengeful spirit:

"Soul Lash!"

The shrill scream was enough to make anyone with a firm will fall into a nightmare tonight; the howling sound even made the forest tremble a few times.

Taking advantage of the weakness of the vengeful spirit trapped by the forest fire and the chains, the Ring Mages saw the man fly into the air—the owl was flapping its wings, desperately pulling him upward.

After Xia De's position was higher than the white-bone vengeful spirit, he faced the sun in the sky, which seemed to be dyed red by the firelight, and said:

"Praise the Moon!"

"Coo-coo~"

The owl wanted to remind Xia De that he had said the wrong thing, but Xia De's figure had already carried it, passing through the vengeful spirit's body along with the silver-white thunder. After a loud boom, the explosion completely leveled the surrounding area. By the time the smoke and dust dissipated, the black death mist that had shrouded the vicinity had also dispersed.

The vengeful spirit stood on the scorched earth, maintaining the posture of howling at the sky. Silver thunder splashed across the surface of its miserable green spirit body, causing its body to twitch constantly.

A huge Black Moon rune appeared on the ground, and immediately after letting out one last scream, the vengeful spirit was completely annihilated in the power of the Black Moon.

Even with two High-Ring mages leading, the twenty-person Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi squad didn't dare to rush into the battlefield immediately after seeing this scene.

The sea of fire surrounded the huge Black Moon rune that lingered on the ground. Xia De, as the victor, stood up and stretched his shoulders. Although the chubby Miss Owl, who was swaying on his shoulder, really wanted to say, "Finally saw the miracle Dannister taught you," she didn't find it appropriate to speak at this moment.

While standing up, Xia De grabbed Father Francois by the collar and dragged him up as well. He plucked a hair from him, tucked it into a paper doll, wrote his name on the doll, and then took out the syringe given by the doctor to extract the "Sin."

【Outlander, you have gained insight into "Cowardice."】

The pitch-black fluid was injected into the paper doll. Unlike the paper doll from Friday, this one had more of the texture of human skin. Although Xia De couldn't clearly say how much "Cowardice" it contained, it was certainly no less than 1.1 units.

Miss Owl saw this scene up close, and the filthy power even made her feel a bit nauseous:

"What kind of method is this again?"