Chapter 785

"Sir, on the mountain... what will happen?"

Although neither Bernhardt nor Xia De had said that word in the conversation just now, the sharp young lady still sensed some things. Seeing that Xia De was truly going to leave, Miss Swift asked with some trepidation.

"Do not worry."

The Outsider patted the shoulder of this young witch with flaxen hair:

"Guard this place well. When I ran all the way here just now, the situation outside was becoming worse. I think the decisive battle should be about to break out soon; you are the person in charge here now."

He smiled and prepared to leave, but was tugged by the sleeve by Miss Swift:

"Just like that vampire said, must you go up the mountain? The road up the mountain is very difficult to walk; souls from various eras have appeared, and the Rift is fully releasing them into our world, regardless of whether those souls are willing."

"I must go."

Xia De walked with his hands behind his back and patted the fishing rod he had been carrying the whole way:

"I must go."

"Then please do not miss them. Longing will draw souls related to you into reality, creating more enemies for you... Good luck."

When he crossed the city again and headed toward the entrance of the Xikar Mountain, the number of undead on the streets was actually much lower than before, but the whisper elements in the thick white fog were even stronger.

The sounds of explosions and roars of unknown origin came from every corner of the city, and the light above the five churches in the city was radiating more and more strongly toward the entire region.

The ritual of the "Mark of the Holy Tree" was nearing completion. In the city that had been sanctified, evil spirits were being rapidly expelled, but this also meant that in the mountainous areas where the power of civilization was thin, the battle would be even more intense.

The "Mark of the Holy Tree" ritual could only be truly completed after expelling all evil spirits in reality, so the battle at this moment should be the decisive battle.

Tracking the red halo, he came from the city to the foot of the mountain and encountered almost no obstruction, but when he approached the mountain forest, the dense mass of souls wandering in the thick white fog was almost comparable to the situation he encountered in the Rift.

The ground in the mountainous area also had traces of rituals, but not every inch of land had the light of divine arts. From time to time, there would be bursts of spiritual light appearing in higher positions in the mountainous area, and abnormal golden thunder would also flash across the high sky above his head from time to time.

Even with the blessing of that Witch Emperor on his body, Xia De still inevitably encountered fierce battles after going up the mountain.

Without divinity in his soul, the sense of emptiness already made his mental state very poor. Without the Nightwatcher in his hand, he could not even use sunlight rays for area attacks.

Although he did not fall into a tide of undead, every step forward wasted more time. Holding two moonlight greatswords, the radiance of the silver moon accompanied Xia De's every step, but the undead rushing out from the dense forest seemed to have no end.

Fortunately, as the silver-white radiance erupted above the mountaintop, the phantom of a giant red rose bloomed in the air.

The massive brass thirteen-ring life ring appeared above the rose phantom. Subsequently, as countless bright red petals drifted toward the mountainous area, the thick fog in the mountainous area actually became much thinner.

Even, when Xia De touched those petals, he actually discovered they were solid. And according to "her" hint, eating these petals could restore consumed spirit and even treat injuries:

"The thirteen-ring sorcerer left to guard reality is Principal Andre Pigman. Sure enough, at a time like this, he would definitely take action."

Xia De looked with awe at the giant rose blooming in the sky. He remembered Grandma Cassandra saying that Professor Pigman had brought a Level 0 relic to support Midhillburg. The three thirteen-rings of the church were all in the Rift, and only this principal of Saint Byrons was in reality:

"Thirteen-ring combined with a Level 0 relic, truly amazing."

These drifting rose petals soon covered the ground. The slight dissipation of the white fog made most of those ferocious undead hide back into the mountain forests sheltered by trees, and the pressure of advancing became much smaller.

But this situation did not last long; the out-of-control Rift soon gained the upper hand again. As the rose in the air disappeared, the white fog surged out again, and Xia De had to face the dense mass of enemies once more:

"No, if this continues, by the time I catch up to them, everything will be too late!"

Just as he was thinking this in his heart, suddenly a bang of a gunshot came from one side of the mountain road, and a familiar figure darted out from the forest.

Wearing the uniform of the Deraerion Royal Army and holding a pistol in his hand, this was a corporal. It was the young corporal who died in front of him when Xia De first entered the Rift, leading him to deliver the relic to the Red Water Camp. (Chapter 600)

The agile soul darted out from the forest, and the transparent bullets sprayed from the weapon in his hand soon attracted the enemies blocking Xia De's path:

"Sir, I will lure them away for you, hurry! Thank you!"

Not even giving Xia De time to thank him, the corporal led the enemies and disappeared into the mountain forest.

Xia De pursed his lips and looked at the dense forest, continuing to advance up the mountain.

As he went deeper into Xikar Mountain, he could perceive the presence of church sorcerers one after another. The appearance of the rose gave them a chance to rest and adjust, but the battle was still incomparably fierce. Figures even flew across the high sky from time to time, and it was unknown whether they were high-ring sorcerers from the church or other organizations.

After Professor Pigman used that Level 0 relic, he did not take action again. Instead, not long after, the traces of divine rituals on the ground in the mountainous area became brighter, and spiritual light and thick fog intertwined, seemingly making a final probe.

Not only church sorcerers, Xia De also heard dense and fierce gunfire. The Deraerion Royal Army, in coordination with the church to blockade the mountain forest, should have also encountered attacks from the undead at this time. Bullets would have no effect on spiritual bodies, but there were more than just spiritual bodies in the mountain; ghouls, zombies, and other solid enemies were their opponents.

The red halo of Grace and Helen first went up the mountain along the main road, but then actually turned into the dense forest. When Xia De entered the forest, vines immediately shot out from the surrounding trees, wrapping around his legs. Only then did Xia De notice in the pitch darkness that these surrounding things were not trees, but the rare undead creature—tree demons.

He swung his sword to cut the vines under his feet, but more vines from all directions shot over continuously.

"Silver Moon!"

The erupting moonlight temporarily repelled the withered vines, but before Xia De could leave, the vines came rolling back again:

"This place has already become a tree demon woodland. No, I cannot waste too much time here."

Suddenly, the sound of wind swept past his ears, and a transparent, dark thing flew out from his side. After landing in the forest, it immediately triggered a violent explosion. Xia De turned around in surprise and saw the agent of the Kingdom of Karsinrik, Professor Higgins, whom he had buried in Xikar Mountain (654).

The spiritual body of the bespectacled linguistics professor held a steam bomb he had gotten from who knows where, quickly throwing it at those tree demons while roaring:

"Gray-headed Eagle, hurry!"

Professor Higgins's soul had been sent directly to death by Xia De at that time and should not have appeared here. What appeared at this moment did not look like a soul, but more like some kind of obsession, just like those shadows that attracted living people to dream into the Rift.

"But Professor..."

"Hurry! Remember, eternal loyalty!"

Professor Higgins's "soul" entangled those tree demons, allowing Xia De to break free from the tree demon woodland and continue to advance deeper into the dense forest.

The red halo did not go up the mountain but instead wandered at the mountainside. At the same time, Xia De keenly noticed that the white fog in the mountains was actually gathering toward the sky above Midhillburg at the foot of the mountain and gradually forming a huge fog cocoon above the city, seemingly gestating something.

Silver-white light cut through the sky, and the principal of Saint Byrons flew toward that white fog cocoon, but this had nothing to do with Xia De for the time being.

The trees in the forest were lush, and Xia De jumped between the branches to move forward in order to save time. But soon he discovered that in the dense white fog, blood-colored traces had actually appeared. As the blood mist permeated the white fog, the traces tracked by 【Blood Echo】 actually became intermittent.

Although they did not disappear completely, in the thick fog at night, it was enough to make Xia De lose his direction:

"Damn it, that ritual is affecting the power of blood."

Xikar Mountain was so large; it was almost impossible to find a lost target in the middle of the night.

But it was also at this moment that a young lady wearing the robes of the Mibao Mechanical Academy slowly walked out of the fog. The transparent spiritual body looked at Xia De and then reached out to point toward the southeast.

Xia De was stunned:

"You are... the one killed by the serial killer Henry Wall (Chapter 629)..."

He hurriedly thanked her and then entered the fog again. Following the direction pointed out by the soul, he indeed saw the traces of Blood Echo again. Continuing forward, every time Xia De lost his target, a new female soul would walk out to continue pointing the way for him.

Their images were close to evil spirits, with their chests and abdomens cut open, revealing transparent internal organs, but their expressions were still gentle.

Although Xia De did not know them, he guessed that they were all innocent people murdered by Henry Wall. At this moment, they were released by the Rift and returned to the world of the living once again.

Xia De had done many things in Mibao this autumn, but he had never thought that he would also be helped by those who had already departed.

He continued to track Grace and Helen, but the direction actually turned toward the foot of the mountain:

"Is this going in circles?"

He followed closely down the mountain in the forest and then realized that his position at this time seemed somewhat familiar. The undead of the victims had all appeared, and no one would come to point the way next, but Xia De had already guessed the destination.

But before he could think too much, a heavy sound appeared in the dense forest ahead, accompanied by the ground trembling slightly. The undead of a heavy-armored headless knight actually walked out from the forest.

This was a member of the 【Headless Knight Order】, a Sage-level relic that attacked the Rift church. At this time, blood-colored thorns were wrapped around his body, as if he were being controlled by the increasingly thick blood mist:

"The vampires are truly well-prepared, actually even utilizing the undead. But I don't have time to tangle with the opponent right now."

He wanted to avoid it, but the undead knight had already caught up. Relying on the characteristics of a spiritual body, the opponent ignored the trees and charged, raising the long sword in his hand and slashing toward Xia De's head—

Clang!

But it was not Xia De's sword that blocked the attack. A familiar figure jumped out from the forest, holding a rapier and blocking the knight in advance, then actively tangled with him.

That was a thin middle-aged man wearing a black formal suit, with a somewhat ridiculous red flower tucked behind his ear. It was Count Darak of Candela, the third nail who had once dueled with Xia De in the fog:

"Mr. Hamilton, hurry and go, I will hold him off!"

Although his body was still thin, his spirit was so healthy.

"Count?!"

"Hurry and leave here, the Rift is gestating the final undead aggregate, and even you cannot defeat it. Hurry and go, find the Church of the True God!"

Saying this, the Count fought the headless knight while moving, and soon disappeared into the fog intertwined with white and blood colors.

The white cocoon above Midhillburg was trembling; the final power of the Rift was about to appear. Although the blood mist that appeared due to the vampire ritual had not spread, the blood color was becoming increasingly thick.

Xia De looked at the departing figure of Count Darak and was speechless for a moment.

Suddenly, a loud noise came from the sky. Looking up, undead in the shape of unknown birds erupted into battle with sorcerers using divine arts and flew all the way into the distance. Just a pitch-black metal fell down as a result, igniting the mountain forest at night.

In the fog, in the fire, in the smoke, the voice in his ears sounded:

【You are not the only good person. Outsider, do not think of this world as so terrible.】

"She" chuckled:

【In this era, you have left deep memories for quite a few people who have departed. It is not fate's arrangement that they happened to reunite with you again tonight. Originally, the living could only enter the Rift by longing for the dead; now, the dead appear in reality and by your side because they remember the living.】

The Outsider remained silent and continued to walk into the increasingly thick blood mist.

【Good deeds may not always have meaning, but at least at this moment, they have meaning, don't they?】