Chapter 34: Dark Mood

"He will definitely come back and break through this iceberg. I will have a chance to kill him, and I will strike from behind. The best opportunity for my ambush is that he will never expect it. I must kill him."

A boiling desire to kill churned this cold thought. Talice stepped forward and decapitated the unconscious holy warrior with a single sword strike, dragging the body to a distant place before returning carefully to lay in wait for Knight Tamik.

Whether it's lying in wait or ambushing, she not only understands the essentials, but has also undergone training under Lancelote. However, these techniques were something she wasn't even allowed to think of in her mind before, as they contradicted her beliefs. But now, she had no beliefs or faith left in her heart—only the pure desire to kill.

As expected, everything went just as she had anticipated, even better. Knight Tamik didn't even bother searching for her or the holy warrior's figure. He charged straight in, delivering a powerful strike towards the iceberg. Sensing his full-force blow, which would cause his body and aura to relax, she instinctively struck out. And sure enough, she succeeded.

However, Knight Tamik's final words before death caused a stir in her heart, which had grown as cold and hard as stone. Asa hadn't died. This made her relax emotionally and mentally, and she realized that by doing this, she had actually betrayed Celeste. No matter what Knight Tamik had done, he was, after all, a close confidant of His Holiness the Pope. Talice also vaguely knew that these bloody methods were not the first time Knight Tamik had used them, meaning that these actions had been tacitly approved and endorsed by the Pope. What she had called "judgment" was merely a one-sided excuse.

A rumbling, chaotic noise came from afar. Talice looked up, and a huge twisted form was smashing through the trees, moving towards her. It was a massive body made of insect limbs twisted and combined in an unnatural way, with several giant green sickles swinging, cutting down the trees ahead as if they were mere straw. Three strange heads overlapped and fused, and more than a dozen long, thin legs moved quickly beneath, drawing closer.

If it weren't for the fact that she could see Asa riding atop this nightmarish monster, Talice would have immediately turned to flee. Although she knew Asa hadn't died, and considering the hurried situation with Knight Tamik at the time, it was likely that Asa had gained the upper hand, she never expected him to arrive riding such a massive creature.

Asa was also stunned. The body formed by combining three mantises was incredibly difficult to control. The legs, haphazardly put together, took Asa some effort to manage, and the sheer size of the creature meant he had to continuously chop down trees to make progress. Just when he thought he was too late, he arrived to find Talice standing next to the corpse of Knight Tamik, holding her blood-stained sword.

Talice was still alive, and he let out a sigh of relief. Furthermore, the formidable opponent who had nearly been on par with Lancelote was actually killed by her, someone who had never seemed particularly remarkable. This left him utterly shocked.

Asa froze for a moment before suddenly, without greeting Talice, he jumped down from the mantis-like zombie and ran toward the forest. The direction he was heading in was the same as the one from which the dark, enormous presence was emanating. He knew this creature could not remain exposed for long; it needed to be returned to the pocket where it had been kept submerged in well water from the Sun Well.

But it was already a bit late. Unlike the fleeting appearance it had yesterday, the heavy black aura had now lingered for too long. This presence not only filled the entire Whispering Forest, but continued to spread outward. However, due to the increasing distance, the aura was no longer as noticeable. Only a few particularly sensitive individuals in Airi City had vaguely sensed something was wrong in the direction of the Whispering Forest.

But for some peculiar reasons, distance didn't seem to matter.

In the capital city of Einfast, within the library of the Magic Academy, early in the morning, magic apprentices and trainee priests arrived to borrow books, only to find Old Priest Tom pacing anxiously like an ant on a hot pan. He muttered angrily to himself, occasionally glancing out the window toward the southern direction, completely ignoring the conversations of those around him. A few trainee priests thought the old man might be ill and tried to use white magic to treat him, only to be driven off with a few punches.

After a while, the old priest suddenly froze, looking south again. He sighed in relief, cursed a few words under his breath that no one could hear, and sat back down. He acted as though nothing had happened, leaving the others in the library exchanging confused glances. Some suggested going to find the high priest to see if he was suffering from some form of senility.

Far to the south of the continent, in the Dehya Valley of the Spiral Shadow Mountains, three necromancers had already gathered, listening to the humming sound coming from the highest peak of the mountains.

The massive Spiral Shadow Mountains abruptly rose near the Dehya Valley, towering into the clouds. The peak of the mountain was oddly shaped, rising from a base several dozen miles in diameter to a peak that looked like a needlepoint when viewed from below. From that needle-like summit, a faint humming sound emanated, a sound that could seemingly penetrate the souls of the three necromancers. They could also sense the presence coming from the distant northeastern direction, a presence that was just as intimately connected to them.

The faces of the three necromancers were grave. The sound and the presence resonated with a mark branded deep within their souls, as if signaling the inevitable fate they could not escape as necromancers.

"Did this day finally come... I've been hiding in the Eastern Continent for over a decade, and I didn't expect to run into this as soon as I returned," Stephen said with a bitter smile.

"You don't need to worry. This doesn't necessarily mean anything. Perhaps it was just an accident by the esteemed Sandru..." one of the necromancers said, his voice dry.

"I wasn't worried in the first place. What's meant to come will come. Accepting fate is, after all, the noble and elegant duty of us necromancers. We won't interfere," Stephen shrugged. "What we should worry about are the other ill-intentioned people."

It wasn't long before the humming sound from the peak ceased. The three necromancers exchanged strange glances, and simultaneously, they felt the wave from afar disappear as well.

"Could it really just be an accident by Sandru?" Stephen muttered. He lowered his head to take a sip of tea, but found that the intricately carved wooden tea cup he was holding had already been crushed to pieces in his grip, with the tea evaporated due to his unconscious magical aura.

A wailing sound, like that of a ghost, echoed from a nearby cave. This cave had once been the meditation room of the Dehya Valley, but had temporarily been converted into a prison. Normally, there were no sounds coming from inside, and most had almost forgotten about its existence. But now, this eerie sound suddenly emerged, reminding everyone of its presence.

The sound was already unpleasant, but after reverberating through the hundreds of meters of cave, it became even more strange, as if all the spirits of the Spiral Shadow Mountains were gathered in there, holding a wild celebration. Yet, the three necromancers knew it was laughter, and they knew exactly who was making it.

"This crazy woman. She's the one who caused all this trouble," one of the necromancers frowned, spitting out in a rather uncouth manner.

Celeste, Radiant Castle, the Pope's Study Room.

His Holiness the Pope stood by the window, gazing toward the east with a grim expression. Cardinal Adra was present as well, his face equally clouded, with a hint of fear showing through.

Lancelote, standing behind the Pope, had a slightly better expression than the two of them. He glanced out toward the eastern horizon, then returned his gaze to the Pope and the Cardinal, letting out a quiet sigh to himself.

Alrasia, Cardinal Inham's Room.

A palace attendant bowed as he reported: "Your Excellency, Queen Catherine has been waiting for you in the palace for quite some time."

"I know. You may return now. I'll go shortly," came the distracted response from Cardinal Inham. His voice was absent-minded, as though he wasn't fully focused.

The attendant shot a glaring look at the door, as if trying to pierce through it with his eyes and reprimand the distracted Cardinal. Even the previous strict and authoritative Cardinal Aescher had never been so dismissive of Her Majesty the Queen's invitation. Despite his anger, the attendant had no choice but to retreat obediently.

Why has Her Majesty the Queen suddenly become more favorable toward the Church? This Cardinal Inham has only just arrived... His appearance is rather too handsome for a clergyman, isn't it? Could it be that the Queen is influenced by that...?

Slap.

The attendant, frustrated with himself for having such disrespectful thoughts, slapped his own cheek to rid himself of them. A few priests nearby gave him strange looks as his face turned red and swollen. He hurriedly bowed his head and started to walk away quickly.

At that moment, Cardinal Inham was unaware of the gossip surrounding him. He hadn't even thought about his visit to the palace. Instead, he stood by the window, gazing toward the east, his expression fluctuating between worry and joy.

After spending the entire morning, the mess in the Whispering Forest had finally been cleared. The iceberg, the magical traps, the massive blood-stained ritual circle, and the elven corpses were all gone. Apart from the lingering sorrow on the faces of the elves, it was as though nothing had happened in the forest.

The one with the darkest expression was Ruya. With the life force from the World Tree leaf sustaining her, she hadn't been harmed despite being frozen in the massive iceberg for some time. However, as the leader, she had witnessed two close calls with disaster in just one day within the Whispering Forest. Her mood was understandably dark.