Chapter 1233: Two Spots
Ever since the war became prolonged, the Loen soldiers had seen
countless unnatural phenomena. It happened so many that they were
somewhat numb to it. However, the scene of the dismembered corpses
crawling up remained a shocking scene. It left them horrified and
confused. They felt as though they were unable to survive the impending
disaster, and would eventually become zombies.
Of course, there was a reason why they were able to maintain their
morale after seeing such unnatural phenomena.
Just as they were feeling extreme fear, a series of chants sounded from
behind them.
"Lacking clothes and food, they have no shelter in the cold.
"...
"The Evernight did not forsake them, but bestowed them with love."[Adapted from Job 24:8, Old Testament.]
The holy and sympathetic prayer reverberated across the entire defense
line, causing the fear in every soldier to quickly dissipate, their
bodies and minds turning tranquil.
Then, a number of the soldiers followed orders and moved out cannons
covered in silver patterns. They adjusted the muzzles and aimed at the
dismembered corpses that were rushing at them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Sparks flew as shells landed in different spots on the battlefield,
exploding and emitting a thick darkness.
The dismembered corpses collapsed, the strength within them vanishing;
otherwise, they were directly destroyed, returning to their eternal
slumber.
The mysterious black-robed man behind the Resistance army raised his
arms upon seeing this, as though he was hugging the crimson moon.
At that moment, his body suddenly turned incorporeal, his body dyed a
faint red as he transformed into a hazy ray of moonlight.
The moonlight shattered instantly, turning into red scales before
dissipating in place.
Moonlight Transformation!
This was a Beyonder power that a Sequence 5 Scarlet Scholar of the
Apothecary pathway possessed. To a Sequence 4 Shaman King, it was almost
instinctive.
And at the spot where the Shaman King had been, a figure quickly
outlined itself.
It was a huge cloth doll. "It" had blonde hair and bright red eyes, and
wore a long black gothic dress with countless mysterious patterns
engraved on it. Swirling around it was sinister vines. Its skin had a
luster that no human should possess.
Reinette Tinekerr!
"She" had used the Staff of the Stars to summon "Herself" back when she
was in perfect condition.
Of course, the Staff of the Stars that was lent to Miss Messenger was
the real one. Klein had brought it back to the real world from above the
gray fog ahead of time.
If that wasn't the case, it would be equivalent to Klein's historical
projection summoning a Staff of the Stars projection; then, the
projection of the Staff of the Stars would summon Reinette Tinekerr in
her peak state. The whole burden would be placed on Fors, causing her
spirituality to be quickly drained.
A solution to this problem was to temporarily lend the actual Staff of
the Stars to Reinette Tinekerr. The draining of spirituality would be
borne by this Ancient Bane.
At the same time, Reinette Tinekerr was probably one of the existences
that were the least afraid of the negative effects of the staff.
As a key representative of the temperance faction, and as a Puppet and a
"cloth doll," "She" could stop unwanted scenes from surfacing in "Her"
mind. And after changing into a concealed state, the Staff of the Stars
could hardly affect "Her" Historical Void projection.
The peak state Reinette Tinekerr had attempted to sneak closer to
directly possess the Rose School of Thought's Shaman King and instantly
end the battle. However, the other party had discovered the danger ahead
of time. Using the moonlight's illumination, he was one step ahead of
the Wraith's possession.
Amidst the crimson glow that enveloped the ground, red scales rapidly
reformed into the black-robed, hooded Rose School of Thought Shaman
King. His eyes were closed eyes tightly, not daring to look at the
Ancient Bane opposite him.
At the same time, on the other side of the battlefield, a figure rapidly
appeared. It was none other than Gehrman Sparrow, who was wearing a
black trench coat and a half top hat. He had a transparent glove on his
left hand as he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.
Scarlet flames rose up from various parts of the battlefield, as if they
were announcing the beginning of a grand performance.
Just as the Shaman King finished reforming, he reached out his left hand
and tore apart the clothes on his chest. At that moment, Reinette
Tinekerr's bright red eyes reflected his figure.
If things went as expected, the Rose School of Thought Shaman King
would've transformed into a rabbit or a goat in the next second. He
would "lose" most of his characteristics and Beyonder powers, but his
body only emitted a faint glow without any change.
His exposed chest revealed a long, thin brown puppet which was embedded
there.
The puppet seemed to grow out of the Shaman King's body, its body
connected to his internal organs. Its eyes and mouth were like
crescents. The surface of its body was grown with dried flowers and
withered grass, giving off an indescribable bizarreness in the
moonlight.
Suddenly, the puppet was dyed red as though it was soaked in blood.
It immediately turned into a pool of mud that surged into the organs of
the Shaman King.
Amidst the mud, an arm stretched out.
Its surface was flowing with a black sticky liquid that kept protruding
out with strange objects. Some were skulls, some had barbed tongues,
while others had three-dimensional eyes.
Abomination Suah!
This Rose School of Thought's leader, an existence at Sequence 1, had
crossed the vast distance and descended with the help of prior
arrangements!
That evil aura instantly caused the surrounding members of the Rose
School of Thought and supporting members to either die, mutate, or
wildly attack their comrades. Apart from the Shaman King, no one was
spared.
West Balam, in a port city.
Shaman King Klarman, who wielded the highest authority here, stood at
the top floor of a cathedral that once belonged to the Church of
Evernight as he looked down at the sparsely-lit city.
In a house not far away, Emlyn White glanced at the doll-like Sharron
and took out a bronze box with many ruby gems embedded in it.
Inside the box was an eyeball-shaped glass sphere. It was a Sealed
Artifact which Emlyn had requested from the Sanguine, known as the
Vision of White---an artifact of the Sun domain.
It was very effective at dealing with the Mutant pathway's demigods and
Shaman Kings. It could even be considered able to restrain them in
certain aspects.
Of course, it wouldn't feel any sense of pity and kindness just because
Emlyn and Sharron were Beyonders on its side.
Upon seeing Sharron nod slightly to indicate that there were no
problems, Emlyn's body phased away as the moonlight that shone into the
room, and he disintegrated into a series of colorful red scales.
At the apex of the nearby cathedral, Klarman was pacing back and forth
with his puffy, black-and-white hair. He sneered at the city's
Nighthawks and Mandated Punishers for moving the Loen citizens and all
the Sealed Artifacts away ahead of time.
*If the group consisted only of Beyonders, it wouldn't be impossible to
escape, but with so many ordinary people, how can you effectively move
without being noticed? There's no need for me to send people to track
you. Simply locking down the surrounding docks and food supplies is
enough to break you down without my interference...*
As he muttered silently to himself, this Shaman King, who had been
active in the Southern Continent since the early Fifth Epoch and was
even suspected to be dead, cast his gaze out the window and stared at
the crimson moon high in the sky.
Previously, the abnormal phenomenon of the "crimson moon turning white"
made Klarman feel the anger of the Primordial Moon. He had always felt
uneasy and disturbed.
He had become a Primordial Moon believer over time while researching
natural interactions, secret deeds, and other mysterious knowledge.
Normally, it was relatively easy for a Shaman King to live a thousand
years, but later on, his physical condition waned---an irreversible form
of aging and the decay of his Spirit Body. Therefore, 1,200 years was
commonly the natural limit of Shaman Kings and Sanguine Earls. To
continue living, one could only rely on various methods to survive. For
example, sealing oneself and sleeping in a coffin deep within a castle.
Klarman was nearly 1400 years old and still brimming with energy. He
didn't need to limit his movements, because he had received the
Primordial Moon's blessings.
This was also the reason why he had disappeared for so many years.
Later on, he received a revelation from the Primordial Moon and joined
the Rose School of Thought.
In this aspect, Klarman always had his suspicions. Sometimes, he
believed that the Mother Tree of Desire and the Primordial Moon were one
entity. They were different sides of the same great existence. Yet,
there were other times when he felt that the Mother Tree of Desire and
the Primordial Moon were not only different, but there was also a deep
conflict between them.
This resulted in the Primordial Moon believers not getting enough
attention when they later joined the Rose School of Thought. Apart from
receiving some bestowments in the form of items, they were placed in
noncritical positions.
Just as Klarman was focused on sensing the crimson moon in an attempt to
gain a revelation, the crimson moonlight that fell onto the cathedral's
bell tower had pure red scales of light appear as they gathered
together. It then manifested into Emlyn White who wore a tuxedo and a
bow tie.
Behind this Sanguine, a thick black gas emanated, forming a pair of
illusory bat wings.
Emlyn had already consumed the corresponding potion to remove his scent
and spirituality fluctuations, allowing him to approach his target in
secret.
Of course, he was up against a demigod, a Sequence 4 demigod of the same
pathway. Even if he was fully prepared, he didn't dare get too close, or
else he would easily be discovered.
Looking at the window where Shaman King Klarman was, he examined the
projection on the glass for a second. Emlyn White opened the bronze box
with the rubies embedded in it, and he used his black velvet-gloved left
hand to pick up the Vision of White.
His expression twisted as he experienced the pain that came from being
exposed to the blazing sun.
Suppressing the pain, Emlyn pushed the eyeball-shaped glass sphere to
his right eye.
All the buildings in front of him had suddenly disappeared from his
vision, leaving only shadows of cold, crimson, or fallen evil.
Among them, there was a figure that was like a huge black whirlpool that
was crazily devouring the light around it, causing his body to become
distorted.
This was Emlyn's target, the ancient Shaman King, Klarman.
A ray of light immediately lit up, condensing into a scorching, blinding
light. It shot out from the Vision of White and went straight for the
figure behind the glass window.