Chapter 768: Protagonists of the Epic

【Gate of Death】 was a sorcery Xia De learned after returning from death, allowing souls who were willing to leave and the caster themselves to pass through. Because it was a one-way passage, Xia De had never thought that one day he would really step into death from here.

He knew Mr. Mathis was watching him, but he did not look back and instead stepped into that crack.

【Outsider, you have stepped into death.】

【Outsider, you have gained a further understanding of "Sleep."】

Cold, trembling...

A moment of nothingness and extreme cold almost made Xia De's consciousness fall into the deepest part again, but he immediately realized that he had reached his destination.

Silent, everything is quiet; the dark moon illuminates all things, and this moment is the end.

Behind him were those two giant stone gates, and at his feet was the weak "Tree's Kiss" bonfire that was almost about to go out. And in front, the massive silver moon was half-sunk at the end of the dark waters. The waters in front seemed endless; just looking at it, a sense of primitive fear welled up in his heart.

Countless white shadows, whose numbers could not be measured, stood with their backs to the narrow beach by the water. They looked up at that lonely, cold dark moon, their bodies flickering as they gradually moved away, advancing toward the silver moon.

It was silent here, and even breathing was not necessary. Quiet and solemn, cold and deep, this place was death itself.

Looking down at his hands, chapped traces were spreading throughout his body, and divine radiance shone through them, protecting Xia De's soul from drifting away.

"Yin Yi Yi Lu Na!"

Taking off his mask, he walked quickly a few steps, came to Yin Yi Yi Lu Na, who was lying on the ground, inserted 【Night Watcher】 into the ground, put down the kerosene lamp containing the Primordial Fire, and then carefully picked up the seventeen-year-old girl.

The dark golden scale floated above her head, protecting her safety, but Yin Yi Yi Lu Na was a living person after all, and she was very unaccustomed to this place.

Looking further into the distance, Joey Barton was sitting sideways on a large rock at the end of the beach, his right hand supporting the stone surface, his left hand hanging down naturally, his two feet not touching the ground because of his short stature. He tilted his head, quietly watching the water in the distance and that dark moon. The dark moon reflected his shadow on the gravel beach, and he seemed completely unaware that Xia De had already arrived.

"You..."

"She is fine. When I pushed open the gate, she wanted to grab me, so she followed in. She also has a great talent for death, plus that dark golden wonderful scale, and the leaf she had put in her mouth in advance, so she did not drift away with those wandering souls."

Joey Barton's voice was very calm.

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na was indeed only temporarily unable to move, but after being held by Xia De, she seemed to be affected by the divine radiance on his body, and her body temperature and breathing frequency were returning to normal. Struggling to open her eyes to look at Xia De, her lips moved and spat out the pale leaf that had lost its effect. Xia De immediately stuffed another one in for her (Note).

The seventeen-year-old girl wanted to speak, but couldn't say anything.

"It's okay, I'll handle the next things."

He said softly and carried Yin Yi Yi Lu Na back to the Tree's Kiss bonfire. Looking at the weak bonfire, he hesitated for a moment, then opened the lamp shade of the kerosene lamp, carefully guided the weak Primordial Fire flame inside, and let the flame fall into the bonfire.

There was no sound, but the bonfire that was about to go out was relit. Even the Qi and physical strength that had completely stagnated and recovered in death had a tendency to recover slowly.

Inserting 【Night Watcher】 beside the bonfire and letting Yin Yi Yi Lu Na sit there holding the sword, Xia De turned and walked toward the end of the beach, coming to Joey Barton's side.

At this time, he could finally see the calm expression on his face. The radiance of the dark moon illuminated the somewhat deformed face of the boy. The middle-aged man looked at those wandering and blurred white shadows, and Xia De didn't know what he was thinking.

"Is this your true appearance? How handsome..."

Joey Barton sighed softly.

"You still haven't given up?"

Xia De asked.

"Yes, it's almost successful."

"Then the you who is talking to me now, is it a clone or the main body?"

"One-third of the main body. I won't put all my eggs in one basket."

"I see."

Suddenly raising his right hand, when it fell, the moonlight greatsword in his hand had already taken shape. Mr. Barton did not dodge. The moonlight greatsword slashed into his shoulder, but it was like hitting an object with an indestructible attribute, having no effect at all.

"Mr. Watson, you really don't understand this place."

"Don't understand what?"

Xia De dissipated the greatsword in his hand and did not feel ashamed of his sneak attack.

"This place is death itself. We who have come here are already dead. You are here, how are you going to kill anyone?"

The tone was still so calm; he was expounding on the facts he had learned.

"Yes, this place is death..."

Xia De nodded and stopped observing Mr. Barton. Instead, he put his hands in his pockets, turned around, and looked at the water surface in front of him and the thousands of wandering souls on the water surface with him.

The tide was not calm; the surging water stopped in front of Xia De's boots, retreated, and then surged again, washing those small stones and pebbles.

"Here, the only thing that can hurt us is entering this water area. Whether it's you or me, if there is no special method, contact with this water surface means we will never come back."

Mr. Barton continued.

"Then, how are you going to find the soul you are looking for here?"

"Coming here, I learned more knowledge and knew more secrets. My wish, my beloved, is right in front."

His thick, deformed hand pointed to the depths of death represented by the dark moon:

"Right here."

"Why not act now?"

"Because I am not complete yet."

As the voice fell, a sound came from behind the two. It was not Yin Yi Yi Lu Na standing up; it was a new guest arriving here.

Turning to look, another Joey Barton appeared in front of the 【Gate of Death】. Compared to the first one who was intact, he looked much more wretched; his right hand was missing, and his body was covered with various strange scars. Even half of his head had been shaved off, but he was still alive.

The second Joey Barton seemed to have completely known about the things here, crossed the bonfire, walked toward Joey Barton on the stone on the shore, and merged with him.

Xia De could not stop this process, but he noticed that someone had come to this place with Mr. Barton; it was that familiar old priest.

Priest Lat Augustus frowned as he looked at the scene in front of him:

"Really, I'm so old, why do I have to participate in such things?"

He walked to the side of the bonfire, then sat down carefully while holding the ground, stretched out his hand to face the bonfire, as if wanting to warm himself.

"Priest Augustus?"

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na, who had recovered a little, asked in a low voice, because she had a leaf in her mouth, so her voice was a bit strange:

"You are..."

Priest Augustus was a very prestigious old priest in the Tobesk diocese; even heretics knew him.

"Good evening, oh, Miss Beiyasi. I was originally participating in the ritual at the summit, and then Joey Barton hit his way up. He was seriously injured by the church's three Thirteenth-Tier Shushi, but he still fell into the rift at the summit with his last breath. I originally wanted to stop him, and then I was unlucky and followed him in... Well, I followed him in voluntarily; I couldn't watch him do bad things."

The priest shrugged his shoulders:

"Relax a little, wait for Xia De to solve this matter. Although I don't know what the detective wants to do, he has always had a way... What kind of fire is this? It's really warm."

"I'm actually very curious."

At the end of the beach, the two men looking at the dark moon and the distant wandering souls were still talking:

"Why is it that no matter which of the three passages you enter from, you can see the 【Gate of Death】."

Xia De asked softly.

"It's not just through the Ringed Sect; no matter what method you use or what means you use to enter here, it's actually the same. Because that 【Gate of Death】 is indeed the only correct passage to enter this beach, except for the normal process of death. Therefore, theoretically speaking, the passage at the foot of the mountain is indeed the most stable."

Joey Barton answered. This knowledge probably came from the identity of the Chosen One.

"Then do you know that the 'Trace of the Holy Tree' ritual is nearly complete, and now none of us can get out?"

Xia De asked again. Joey Barton hesitated for a moment:

"I don't know, but after seeing her, there will always be a way."

Xia De shook his head, knowing that he could absolutely not persuade the person in front of him.

They didn't continue to speak, but looked at the distance of the silent dark water surface together, watching the flickering white shadows appear, advance, and disappear at the end of the field of vision.

"What do you think of this moon?"

Xia De suddenly said again. Mr. Barton did not give an answer immediately. He listened carefully, and then spoke:

"After the ancient gods left, for some reason, the dark moon that should have guided death here also disappeared. But now it has appeared again. Perhaps, just like me, the Chosen One who deeply mastered the power of the moon is also carrying out his own epic."

Xia De shook his head. This dark moon appeared because the priest invaded his dream, and the moonlight on the wilderness in his dream shone into death. But he couldn't be the Chosen One; Luweiya had said this many times.

"This moon is really beautiful. The moon, death, two most fundamental powers, are displayed here, stabilizing the rules of death, ensuring that all living beings have a death. If, if the dark moon could have appeared two eras earlier, perhaps the life and death Ringed Sect in Midhillburg would not have expanded so fast."

While speaking, a sound came from behind again.

The third Joey Barton appeared. Except for the high-degree burns, his legs were cut off at the root, his eyes were dug out, his nose and ears were shaved off, and even his mouth was sewn with cursed black thread.

After appearing, he lay directly on the ground and then crawled hard toward the end of the beach. The power of the curse was blooming on him; that was the witches' curse. At the same time, Xia De also noticed that his chest was glowing, as if there was an unquenchable fire burning his heart.

Even when the third Mr. Barton merged with Joey Barton on the stone beside Xia De, the latter still covered his heart and made an expression of unbearable pain.

And the appearance of the third Joey Barton brought a new Shushi for the third time.

Sister Delage was still so calm, wearing that gray-black silk nun's robe, with a shawl of the same color on her shoulders. The silver crown-style eye mask bound her silver-gray hair beside her ears, and that long hair was braided into a complex style behind her, almost reaching her waist.

Her hands were folded and naturally placed in front of her chest, her head slightly lowered, but the eye mask still reflected the light of that dark moon.

Flames, crimson flames, were appearing bit by bit on the nun's body. At first glance, it looked as if she were being set ablaze, but then it became clear that fiery red cracks were covering her, and not just her skin—even the hem of her dress and the tips of her hair glowed with the light of flames. As the violently erupting flames gradually subsided, embers drifted out from the cracks until the afterglow of the First Flame stabilized completely, protecting her so she could remain in this place for a long time.

Although wearing an eye mask, Sister Delage could still "see" everything.

She first nodded slightly to Xia De, who turned his head at the end of the beach, and then walked to the side of the "Tree's Kiss" bonfire. It was not sitting on the ground like Priest Augustus, nor was it sitting sideways leaning on 【Night Watcher】 like Yin Yi Yi Lu Na. The nun moved a stone and then sat on the stone.

From the initial era to the present, this was probably the day with the largest number of living people here.

PS1: There were two leaves in hand when setting off. Now one has been given to Yin Yi Yi Lu Na, and one is left.

PS2: By the bonfire, three people are sitting in different postures. The scene of the two men in the distance looking at the half-sunk dark moon actually has the texture of an oil painting. *** **CHAPTER 769: Price and Punishment**