“Yes, it’s those Nuns, and the Witch Council and the Nuns of the Spiritual Cultivation Order have a very good relationship… What kind of expression is that?”
Tifa looked at Xia De suspiciously.
“Actually, I always thought that the Witch Council didn’t have a good relationship with any Ring術士 group.”
Xia De spoke his mind, after all, most of the Witches had strange personalities.
Tifa gave him an annoyed look;
“Her Excellency the Speaker has a wide circle of friends. Why are they here too? It’s strange, but these are friends. Xia De, let’s catch up. But you don’t have to go forward, I’ll go and contact them and ask about the situation here.”
Beyond the area in front of them was Milwood Forest, where the core of the Darkness Domain was located. Obtaining some information now would be very beneficial for their upcoming actions.
Although Tifa had to be near Xia De to move relatively safely in the core area of the Darkness Domain, since those Nuns could also glow, Tifa being temporarily away from Xia De was fine.
The two hurried to catch up. Xia De stopped at a safe distance, and Tifa alone crossed dozens of meters of Darkness to walk towards the moving Nuns.
They were dressed in white robes and black skirts, their steps almost identical as they walked. If encountered at night, Xia De felt they looked more like a group of female ghosts.
Tifa’s appearance alerted the Nuns. Although everyone covered their eyes with blindfolds, this did not seem to affect their perception.
Tifa made a gesture, then took out a pendant from her neck, thus gaining the Nuns’ trust. They conversed in low voices for less than three minutes, after which the Nuns continued on, but judging by their direction, they were not heading towards the forest ahead.
Tifa then turned and returned to Xia De’s side. Judging by her expression, she must have received good news:
“The Nuns saw the young lady half an hour ago and even pointed the way for her!”
“So where is Miss Jialinna now?”
“The forest ahead, but the forest has already been covered by black crystals. At least when they met half an hour ago, the young lady’s condition was still good.”
Tifa pointed forward, and Xia De looked in that direction, clearly seeing giant black stone pillars that seemed to pierce through heaven and earth.
“Is there any news of Darkness?”
“Forty minutes ago, another battle occurred nearby. The Nuns said that the sinner possessed by a demon, in an extremely defiled form, repelled the Dawn Church’s Ring術士 squad that had first caught up, injured one of the High-Ring Sorcerers among them, and then also advanced towards the center of the Domain.”
“So are there any other people nearby?”
“Before we arrived, three other lone High-Ring Sorcerers appeared, but they were all repelled by the Church’s people. Besides that, the Steel Right Hand of the Creation Church should have also gone to the core of the Domain, 20 minutes later than Darkness and ten minutes later than the young lady. Weepers Hermons was indeed being pursued by the Sunlight Greatsword just now. If it weren’t for other matters to deal with, the Church’s two Thirteen Ring Sorcerers would have joined forces to prevent him from leaving.”
Tifa said, walking forward with Xia De. They arrived a bit late, missing the great battle that had occurred here. It seemed everything had already reached its end, and they only had time to watch the finale.
“So what are those Nuns doing here? How does it sound like they’ve been around?”
“I don’t know either.”
Tifa regretfully shook her head:
“They also came for the second Chosen One, but it seems not to kill him. But don’t worry, Sister Tiffany, who is leading the team this time, is only slightly stronger than me, a Seven-Ring Arcanist. They have no intention of continuing to move forward.”
The Nuns had only stayed in this direction and only saw people continuing forward in this direction, so there should be more Ring術士 in the core of the Domain than those they mentioned.
Xia De and Tifa continued to walk forward. The dense Darkness in this location became even thicker, and their bodies could almost feel a tangible sense of oppression.
Priest Augustus’s blessing given to Xia De was being heavily worn down, and Tifa’s condition was also not good. But as long as they didn’t engage in combat, they could still hold on.
The black crystalline particles on the ground became denser and larger. After bidding farewell to the Nuns, they soon saw an old man in a gray robe lying on the ground amidst the crystals.
Upon approaching, they found that he was still alive, but had fallen into a deep sleep. After Xia De turned him over, Tifa recognized him as Mr. Modero, an Eleven-Ring Arcanist of the Peace Church. Although he appeared to have no external injuries, his breathing was very faint.
It was already evening. Xia De used 【Cindy's Silver Moon Gift】 and 【Gluttony's Feast】 to treat him, and Tifa also took out a small bottle of green magic potion. After drinking the potion, Mr. Modero’s eyelids twitched, as if he wanted to open them but couldn’t.
Xia De then leaned his ear close and heard the old man softly murmur a word:
“Vampire.”
“Vampire? The Blood Spirit School is indeed associated with Vampire clans. It seems there is at least one High-Ring Variant ahead.”
Tifa said with concern, because it was basic common sense that Variant Ring術士 of the same level were stronger than human Ring術士.
“We need to hurry. It seems we really are late. I hope the battle hasn’t ended yet.”
Xia De said.
Continuing forward, they successively saw several other Ring術士 of the Orthodox Church. Two of them had already died, while one could be placed in a state of 【False Immortality】 and recovered from severe injuries after treatment.
Most of the injured had traces of corrosion from 【Human Pus】 on their bodies. Xia De provided emergency aid to the living, but because the Moonlight at his fingertips was severely suppressed, he was unable to successfully dispel the Human Pus.
He could only do what he could, but once this matter was over, the Church should be able to find a way to treat these injured people.
Further on, Ring術士 not belonging to the Church appeared. They were also in a comatose state, and no identity markers were found after checking their belongings. Tifa suspected these were other helpers Weepers had gathered when he went to Tobesk. Since he had long planned to assist Darkness in performing the ritual, there was no reason for him to be alone.
So they were not sure how many enemies were ahead.
The oppressive Darkness made every breath difficult, and the silver light on their bodies and the golden light behind them barely supported their faint vision. At 7:23 PM, Tifa could finally see the black pillar piercing through heaven and earth in the Darkness. Five minutes later, they passed through the empty town covered with black giant crystals and entered the strange and twisted Milwood Forest.
Now, calling it the Crystal Forest was more appropriate.
On the outskirts of the Crystal Forest, Xia De finally saw two High-Ring Sorcerers of the Sun Church, jointly fighting a tall demon.
The demon’s appearance was almost identical to the demon Xia De fought in the cornfield, but it looked even more powerful and could fight by splitting its body organs.
Its seemingly dismembered body floated in the air, drawing power from the dense Darkness, appearing exceptionally terrifying.
Tifa, who knew more information, told Xia De that this was the demon “Servant of Secrets” guarding the Darkness Domain, an mutated individual born from the Servant of Secrets. If it appeared outside, such a demon would require at least two Middle-Ring Arcanists to deal with, and in the Darkness Domain, two High-Ring Sorcerers might not even be able to defeat it.
Bypassing the fighting parties and officially entering the Crystal Forest beneath the giant tree trunks, although the surroundings remained silent, the chaotic elements indicated that there were more Ring術士 in this forest than imagined.
Along the way, there were traces of battle everywhere, because no matter which side wanted to advance, they had to defeat the demons guarding the place.
And at this moment, the ground beneath their feet in this Crystal Forest had completely turned black, and more and more black shadows patrolled around. Their progress was somewhat difficult, and the black scars on the darkness box Tifa was carrying on her back became more numerous, with the four metal amulets almost completely cracking.
Fortunately, Priest Augustus’s blessing helped Xia De see further, allowing them to avoid most battles. The perception ability of the demons living here was stronger than Xia De’s, so when a few demons discovered them, Xia De and Tifa could only be forced to activate the darkness box to evade.
Although this would increase the risk of the relic going out of control, the demons in the Crystal Forest were no longer something they could deal with. This was, after all, the core of an angel-level relic, and even if they could reach it smoothly, the monsters guarding it were not something a Middle-Ring Arcanist and a Low-Ring Arcanist could solve.
But even so, they ultimately failed to pass through the Crystal Forest and reach the central area unscathed.
It wasn’t being stopped by demons, nor was it encountering unexpected Ring術士. When they could faintly see the spiritual light flashing in the center of the forest through the gaps in the crystal trees, the ground beneath their feet suddenly vibrated, and then it was as if the entire world was emitting a mournful scream.
The sound came from all directions, like a giant in the Darkness roaring, or a ferocious beast from before the epoch roaring, but more like a terrifying Evil Spirit wailing in the deep night.
“Be careful, something’s wrong. Could it be that the final decisive battle has already begun ahead?”
Xia De and Tifa supported each other, seeing the deep, thick Darkness in the surrounding space flowing like a trickle towards the center of the Crystal Forest. And the flow of Darkness not only did not restore the surroundings to normal, but instead made the chaotic whisper element even stronger.
At the moment, the silver Moonlight on Xia De’s body was compressed to the extreme, and the four metal amulets tied to Tifa’s waist all shattered. With crackling sounds, the crystals on the surface of the trees and the ground began to spread in all directions.
The spreading crystals clung to all surrounding objects, and naturally, instantly enveloped the two of them.
But due to the light on Xia De’s body, the dark crystals did not climb onto him. However, Tifa’s situation was somewhat dire; when Xia De noticed, Tifa’s legs were already completely encased in the black crystals, and they were almost immediately spreading from her waist to her chest.
