Chapter 400 - The Shadow of the Ancient City
Chapter 400: The Shadow of the Ancient City
The fully armed seven-man team walked past Vincent and Dave and headed straight for the ruins of Bright Moon City.
Vincent and Dave stayed where they were for a moment. However, they did not see anyone following behind them. They had no choice but to give up on the idea of waiting for someone to catch up to them. Instead, they turned around and walked toward the ruins of Bright Moon City.
However, before the two of them could walk any further, black gas suddenly erupted from the ruins of the ancient city in front of them. Following that, the black gas turned into a circular barrier and slowly covered the entire ruins from the sky. It seemed like it wanted to envelop the entire ruins within.
Dave could not help but exclaim in surprise, “Not good, someone wants to seal Bright Moon City!”
Vincent hurriedly said, “Then we won’t wait any longer, we’ll go straight in!”
After saying that, Vincent brought Dave and directly jumped into the ruins of Bright Moon City.
At this time, in the ruins of Bright Moon City, dark clouds covered the sun, and the demonic aura was dense. It looked extremely dangerous and cold.
Dave looked at the surrounding environment and said to Vincent, “My vision has been blocked by the demonic aura. However, we Dark Elves can vaguely see the things inside. Can you see the surroundings clearly?”
“Very clearly!”
Vincent nodded. He had already comprehended the Art of Heaven’s Will. Whether it was the demonic energy in the sky or the endless darkness in the underground abyss, they could not block Vincent’s view.
Dave replied with relief, “Then let’s look around. Maybe we’ll find something!”
Vincent nodded and began to walk in the space tunnel along with Dave. They were observing every detail in Bright Moon City.
However, after walking for a long-distance, they discovered that there were only the collapsed houses and intermittent city walls in front of them. They did not see any suspicious signs. As for the seven-man team that had entered Bright Moon City before them, they had also disappeared without a trace. There was not even a footprint left on the ground.
Dave frowned and said, “What’s going on? Why can’t we see anyone?”
Vincent thought for a moment and guessed, “The space tunnel that we’re in and the Elf World are two parallel dimensions, so what we can see here is the original Elf World, which is also the original ruins of Bright Moon City. However, if the demonic aura shrouding the city created another illusory space within Bright Moon City, then it will be impossible for us to see the space unless we leave the space tunnel and enter the demonic aura world of Bright Moon City!”
Dave thought for a moment and said, “Then let’s go in and take a look. If it’s really as you said, then we can at least see who constructed the demonic aura world!”
“Alright!”
Vincent nodded and raised his hand to open the space door. He led Dave into the ruins of Bright Moon City in large strides.
When the two of them stepped onto the ground in Bright Moon City, their feet could not help but sink deep into the soil. However, they could clearly feel that the dark and cracked ground beneath their feet did not have any moisture. The muddy feeling that could cause people to sink was just the rot from the soil itself. It had filled the entire place with a dilapidated aura.
Vincent reminded Dave softly, “Be careful. Mobilize psionic power to wrap your feet and you can walk on this rotten soil!”
Dave nodded. He controlled his psionic power and wrapped his feet according to Vincent’s instructions. As expected, he was able to stand on the soil and walk freely.
Dave said with a frown, “This place is really strange. Moreover, if we continue to move in this manner, it will expend a lot of energy on ourselves!”
Vincent nodded and said, “That’s right. Moreover, at the moment, we are still unable to determine whether this is an illusory space or not. We must be extremely careful. If anything happens, immediately hide in the space tunnel!”
Dave replied, “Understood!”
Vincent turned his head to look at the surrounding space. The ruins in the city were exactly the same as what they had seen in the space tunnel. The only difference was that there were a few straight footprints on the ground. The direction they were heading toward was a great hall at the center of Bright Moon City. It was also the most well-preserved building in the entire city.
“Judging by the specifications of that building, it’s either the City Lord’s mansion or the location of the temple. It seems that the seven-man team walking in front of us must have received accurate information, which is why they are heading there now with full purpose. Then let’s go and take a look!” said Dave.
Vincent nodded. At the same time, he took out a crystal spear from his storage ring and held it in his left hand. He placed his right hand gently on the hilt of his Return Journey of the Dead. He guaranteed that he could use both knife and spear at any time and deal with multiple opponents alone.
After seeing that Vincent was on full alert, Dave pulled out his Inquisitive God of the World. He walked alongside Vincent and slowly approached the central building of Bright Moon City.
When the two of them arrived at the main entrance of the building, they suddenly heard noises coming from inside. Hence, they quickly quickened their pace and walked to the entrance of the main hall to look inside.
What shocked Vincent and Dave was that there were no traces of Dark Elves in the main hall. Instead, there were several large and powerful Black Hole monsters gathered there.
The monsters were all biting each other. Fresh blood and minced meat were flying everywhere. At the same time, there were waves of angry growls and painful groans.
Dave, who was guarding the door, could not help but sigh in surprise, “What’s going on? How did the monsters in the Black Hole world appear in the elves’ territory?”
Vincent was frowning as he counted the number of monsters in the building.
“Four, five, six! Why are there only six? The numbers don’t match?”
When Vincent finished counting the number of monsters, he could not help but sigh in confusion.
Dave immediately asked, “Do you think that these monsters were formed by that seven-man team? But what kind of ability is this? Moreover, if it was that team of Dark Elves, why would they kill each other?”
Vincent could not help but frown and said, “I can’t explain it clearly, but there must be a connection between the seven-man team that had disappeared and the six monsters that had suddenly appeared!”
Just as Vincent finished speaking, he suddenly felt a figure rushing over to him rapidly, but there was nothing in front of Vincent’s eyes.
Vincent shouted lightly and wave his weapon in front of him and Dave.
“Be careful!”
Vincent did not trust his own eyes at that very moment. Any premonition of danger was worth being on guard against!
Immediately after that, Vincent felt a huge tremor from the spear in his hand. It was obvious that he had blocked an attack, but he did not hear any sounds of weapons colliding, nor did he hear any strange sounds.
Vincent did not have the time to think too much at that moment. He hooked the spear in his left hand across Dave’s waist and the both of them retreated rapidly. At the same time, he pulled out the Return Journey of the Dead from his waist using his right hand and slashed forward with all his might.
“Weng!”
The sound of weapons clashing against each other came from the blade once again. At the same time, Vincent also felt that the figure that was rushing toward him had stopped. He did not continue to chase after him.
After taking a few steps back, Vincent and Dave stopped together.
Dave asked with a confused look, “What exactly happened?”
Vincent frowned and said, “The seventh one, I found it!”
Dave looked around vigilantly and asked Vincent in an anxious tone, “What? Seventh one? What did you find?”
Vincent walked in front of Dave. He held a spear in his left hand and a knife in his right. He shielded Dave behind him and slowly closed his eyes. He said, “My guess was right. There are indeed seven monsters in the hall. To be precise, it’s the seven-man team! However, when we stepped into the hall that was enveloped by the demonic aura, we were blinded by some special power! Therefore, in our eyes, six of the seven-man team had turned into monsters, and the last man had become invisible. We couldn’t sense any traces related to him, including his aura, movement, and voice… They were all blocked by this invisible power. I was able to sense his tracks just now because of the special ability that the Art of Heaven’s Will had given me. Because of it, I am able to communicate with heaven and earth. Otherwise, the two of us would have been separated by now!”
At this moment, Dave, who was behind him, suddenly hesitated to speak.
“Vincent, you…”
Vincent was currently closing his eyes because he wanted to sense the position of the seventh figure in the hall. After confirming that the other party had not chased them out of the building, he slowly opened his eyes and turned to look at Dave behind him.
However, the moment he turned around, Vincent instantly widened his eyes, because the person behind him was not Dave, but Andre, who had already turned into a demon!
At such a close distance, Vincent could even see all the gullies on the surface of the demon’s body, as well as all the details on the terrifying and evil face of the demon.
Just as Vincent felt his hair stand on end, Andre, who was standing face to face with him, also widened his eyes in fear, as if he was about to launch an attack on him.
At this moment, Vincent suddenly thought of something and hurriedly asked, “Dave?”
When Andre heard Vincent’s voice, the nervous expression on his face suddenly relaxed as he said, “Vincent, it’s me!”
“F*ck!”
Vincent could not help but swear at that moment. Not only did the appearance of the seven-man team in the building change, but even Dave’s appearance had changed along with them. Moreover, he had transformed into the appearance of Andre that Vincent was most afraid of!
If Vincent had not seen through the strange things in Bright Moon City, he would have pulled out his sword and chopped off Dave’s head!
Dave, who had reacquainted himself with Vincent, could not help but ask, “Did my appearance change?”
After hearing Dave’s perturbed tone, Vincent could not help but nod and say, “You have changed. I believe that in your eyes, I should also have changed my appearance!”
“Yes!”
Dave nodded with a slightly sobbing tone.
Vincent frowned and asked in return, “Who am I?”
Dave sighed helplessly, “My father!”
Vincent cursed again, “F*ck!”
Dave could not help but ask, “Don’t tell me that in your eyes, I am also…”
Vincent did not wait for Dave to finish speaking and nodded, “That’s right! It’s also your father, and it’s in the shape of a demon!”
Vincent remembered that Dave had never seen Andre’s appearance after he became a demon. Therefore, if Dave could recognize him as his father, it meant that he must still look like a Dark Elf in his eyes. Compared to Dave’s demonic appearance before Vincent, it was already much easier to bear.
Dave sighed softly, “Now at least it means that the demonic aura here should be related to my father!”
Vincent said helplessly, “Not necessarily. At least the changes we have seen so far are all from our own memories. I can’t conclude that I saw Andre. This array may not be set up by Andre unless the one standing in front of me is Andre himself!”
At this time, Dave, who already looked like Andre from the Demon Race, could not help but become a little embarrassed as he said, “Don’t joke around at this time. It’s so gloomy! What I want to say is, if this array was really set up by my father, then wouldn’t we have already been discovered by him?”
Vincent turned his head and looked around. He said in a deep voice, “Now that I think about it, this array was originally set up to trap the seven-man team. But the two of us took the initiative to enter because of curiosity. Even if we were discovered, there’s nothing we can do. At worst, we can just face him head-on! As long as he dares to appear in front of me, I guarantee that I can beat him until he pisses his pants!”
Dave could not help but be at a loss for words. He looked at Vincent and said hesitantly, “You, you don’t talk anymore! What if he can hear you?”
Vincent waved the knife and spear in his hand and said with a confident smile, “It’s best if he can hear me. However, if he can hear me and still doesn’t dare to appear in front of me, then it means that the person behind this is definitely a coward!”
After seeing that Vincent was getting more and more ridiculous, Dave could not help but change the topic and said, “Since the current formation is to trap the seven-man team inside, the unexpected intervention of the two of us is also an unknown variable for the individual who set up the formation. He probably has no idea how to deal with us at the moment. We might as well take this opportunity to do our business!”
Vincent turned to look into the depths of the hall where the roars continued. He frowned and asked, “What business? Are we not going to care about the lives of the seven individuals?”
Dave frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, “If we want to save them now, we have to remove the formation here. If we want to remove this formation, we have to find my father and defeat him. The best way to find my father now is to find traces of…”
Dave suddenly stopped mid-sentence. He seemed to hesitate for a long time and could not continue.
Vincent suddenly turned to look at Dave and revealed an appreciative smile. He said, “Your analysis is not bad! Then what should we look for if we want to find your father?”
Dave said snappily, “You’re asking the obvious! Now we can only use the method we used to enter this place to leave and explore deep underground. Maybe we can find my father’s figure there!”
Vincent nodded and said, “That’s a good idea, but we can’t ignore the seven of them inside. I think we should split up! You go and explore underground, I’ll think of a way to save the seven of them!”
Dave looked at Vincent’s expression and suddenly became a little embarrassed. However, in the end, he still nodded and said, “Alright then!”
Vincent smiled slightly and turned around to walk toward the gate of the tall building again. At the same time, he closed his eyes and carefully sensed all the movements around him.
However, this time, Vincent did not feel anyone rushing in front of him. On the contrary, a figure behind him was getting closer and closer!
Vincent suddenly stopped and turned his head to look behind him. He found that it was Dave, who had transformed into demon Andre. He was the one who had been following behind him.
Vincent asked with a frown, “Why are you still following me? Didn’t we agree to split up?”
Dave smiled helplessly and said, “I’d better go with you. If there’s any danger, we can also look after each other!”
“Oh, really?”
Vincent’s lips curled into a teasing smile and asked in return, “Do you want to look after me? Or do you not know how to use the method we used when we came in?”
At that moment, Dave’s expression was full of shock as he quickly explained, “What do you mean? Do you think I would forget such a powerful method?”
Vincent’s right leg moved backward slightly as he bent his body downward. He held a spear using his left hand and another knife behind him. He acted as if he was preparing to attack. He sneered and said, “Then tell me, what is the name of this method? Who taught you this method?”
Dave’s expression became extremely ugly, but he soon relaxed. He smiled and sighed, “I really don’t know what the name is, but I think it must have been you who taught him, right?”
Vincent’s eyes narrowed, and his hands holding the spear and knife tightened unconsciously because the figure in front of him was not the same Dave who had transformed into Andre, but the real Andre himself!
However, Vincent still did not know when Andre had replaced Dave. Was it when he had blocked Dave behind him, or when he had left the time-space tunnel with Dave?
The corner of Andre’s mouth twitched, and he let out a monster-like laugh. His voice was rough as he said, “Your guess was right. This formation was set up by me in order to kill the seven-man team. However, I didn’t expect that the moment the formation was formed, I would suddenly discover that you and Dave had appeared here. You two even used a method that I had never seen before. Therefore, I changed my mind at the last minute and used the fate of the seven-man team to lure the two of you into the trap. I thought that the time to replace Dave was very suitable, but I didn’t expect you to notice it!”
Vincent sneered and said, “First of all, Dave doesn’t know you that well, and he definitely wouldn’t say that you were the one who set up this formation! Secondly, when Dave and I were working together, he would never say so much, let alone take the initiative to teach me how to do things!”
Andre was startled after hearing what Vincent had said. He then laughed loudly and said in a deep voice, “I see! We were curious about how much he has changed recently. So, it was you who secretly taught him. It was also you who destroyed my spell formation in Hell’s Rose, right? To be able to freely switch back and forth between the identities of a Dark Elf and Fire Elf, it seems that you are not an elf at all. Instead, you are a foreigner who had barged in from the Black Hole!”
Vincent was secretly shocked. He believed that he did not have any similarities with his current self in Hell’s Rose, and he did not reveal any flaws in his words. However, how could Andre have noticed all of this?
As Dave’s whereabouts were unknown, and Andre’s body clearly had some special abilities, Vincent could only feel the pressure doubling upon him. He could not help but take a deep breath to quickly calm himself down. He opened his mouth and said, “I’ll ask you again, where is Dave?”
“Wait until you can survive!”
Andre sneered. At the same time, he had already opened his arms, and the demonic aura in his entire body suddenly increased!