Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 592

Chapter 592: Chapter 591: Heading to a Deeper Level Chapter 592: Chapter 591: Heading to a Deeper Level “Did you hear anything?”

On a natural trail deep in the forest, Sherry suddenly stopped walking, muttering with a touch of paranoia.

“I didn't hear anything, but I smelled it… that distinct 'stench',” Agatha stopped beside Sherry, her voice low and full of disgust, “Not just one, but mixed with the foul sense of chaos and stupidity, and a pure and blind urge to destruct…”

“It looks like those 'old acquaintances' really came again,” Sherry grumbled, “They are really tireless. What on earth is in 'The Dream of the Nameless' that they care so much about? Is the so-called 'Primordial Blueprint' that attractive?”

Agatha didn't speak but lowered her body to carefully sense the lingering smells around–scents left by the Heretics and the Profound Demons.

She found something familiar among those smells.

“The Heretic named 'Richard' is among them,” she suddenly raised her head and declared.

“That guy dared to come back?” Sherry's eyes widened in surprise, “After being smashed like that last time, I thought that he at least had to lie down in the real world for a while…”

Agatha shook her head, “It seems like they made sufficient preparations for 'entering dreams', possessing enough mental protection. The injuries they suffer in the Dreamscape don't cause too much impact on reality… Which makes sense, after all, they organized so many people to enter The Dream of the Nameless, they must have a thorough understanding of how this place operates.”

Sherry frowned, “Are they still nearby?”

“They left a while ago,” Agatha judged cautiously, “The scent of the Profound Demons is fading fast, but it's hard to say how far they are from here now–Sherry, we need to be careful. That 'Richard' is also there, he recognizes you, and last time's trick won't work a second time.”

Sherry's expression tensed up immediately, and she quickly checked the surroundings, then turned to Agatha and seriously said, “Then should we just find a place to hide here? Wait for daybreak in the real world–after all, this forest is so big, that group of Heretics shouldn't backtrack.”

“I wouldn't recommend that, don't forget the strange and dangerous 'Corrosion' phenomenon–it can happen suddenly and spread quickly,” Agatha shook her head, “There's no safe corner here, the only possible safe zone would perhaps be inside that so-called 'Silent Wall', we need to find that 'wall'.”

As she spoke, she raised her head and looked towards a certain direction deep in the forest, “Those Heretics are also looking for the 'Silent Wall', we could follow them from a distance, as long as we stay well-hidden, we have the upper hand.”

“Tch, alright, I was just saying,” Sherry clicked her tongue, resignedly saying, “Let's go then, just make sure not to get too close to that bunch of Heretics.”

Agatha nodded and once more carefully confirmed the direction indicated by the lingering scents in the air, then moved forward–except, after only taking one step, she suddenly stopped again and quickly whispered, “Watch out, someone's approaching!”

Almost at the same moment Agatha's words fell, Sherry heard the sudden footsteps nearby–as if someone had appeared out of thin air, Sherry's body tensed up instantly, and then she turned her head sharply towards the direction of the sound, her hand clutching tightly at her chains.

A tall elf girl appeared in Sherry's line of sight.

She was dressed in an oddly styled light armor that looked like some kind of hunting gear convenient for moving through the forest, reinforced at key points, with locks of light-gold hair like sunlight, and faintly glowing blue threads woven among them–while in her hand was a strangely shaped weapon, like a combination of a spear and a battleaxe…

Upon seeing the elf girl who appeared as if out of nowhere, Sherry was momentarily taken aback, and in those one or two seconds of stupor, the elf girl took a step towards her.

“Didn't you receive the order to retreat? Why are you still outside the wall?”

Hearing the other's voice, Sherry opened her mouth, the sudden turn of events leaving her a bit flustered, but she quickly got a grip and her acting skills and observation came into play, “Ah, I… got lost, I was just about to head to the Silent Wall.”

The unfamiliar elf girl didn't seem to notice Sherry's brief moment of nervousness, nor did she show any unusual expression at the sight of the ghastly and terrifying Agatha, who couldn't hide in time due to the sudden incident. She naturally nodded at Sherry and Agatha and said, “You and your companion are in an active area of 'Corrosion', this place is not safe–fortunately you ran into me, a Ranger.”

As she said this, she used her poleaxe to point in a direction in the forest, “Come with me, I'll take you to the Silent Wall.”

“Ah… okay.” Sherry hesitated a bit, then quickly reacted, while calling the captain in the depth of her consciousness, she dragged Agatha to follow the elf girl's steps.

They set off toward the direction of the “Silent Wall”, through the natural trail covered with dead branches and fallen leaves, over the rough open spaces between the woods, gradually moving deeper into the forest.

The elf girl with the unique weapon led the way, speaking very little as they went.

This certainly didn't help in gathering information, so Sherry had to take the initiative to break the silence. After thinking for a moment, she asked, “By the way, what's your name?”

The elf girl suddenly stopped, turned her head to look earnestly into Sherry's eyes. After two or three seconds, she quietly said, “My name is Xilin–hope you can remember my name.”

Sherry's eyes widened.

Amidst the boundless darkness and thick fog, on the odd and silent “Homeloss”, Duncan, who was sitting at the navigation table conversing with “Goat-head”, suddenly paused, stopping the conversation between them.

He frowned slightly, as if listening to distant sounds, his expression rapidly changing from confusion to thoughtfulness.

The “goat head” on the table had no reaction to Duncan's sudden pause–once Duncan stopped speaking, it also quieted down, showing neither question nor any tendency to express itself.

This “goat head” that appeared on the peculiar Homeloss was like a response machine trapped between sleep and wakefulness; other than initially greeting, it rarely reacted so long as Duncan didn't speak to it.

Duncan glanced at the goat head.

In the end, the goat head never clarified what “Saslouka has been dead for a long time” really meant. It just monotonously repeated the phrase, as if its thoughts were stuck on that piece of “information.”

After a moment of hesitation, Duncan stood up from his chair and walked toward the antique oval mirror not far away.

The goat head on the navigation desk slowly turned its head, silently tracking Duncan's movements with its gaze, but still said nothing–its silent stare thus became especially chilling.

However, by now, Duncan could more or less ignore the eerie aspects of the suspicious goat head. He walked straight up to the mirror and knocked on its surface.

Agatha's figure almost immediately appeared on the mirror.

Duncan closely watched the gaze from behind, feeling the change of atmosphere in the captain's room–but the suspicious goat head had no reaction to Agatha's appearance, as if it couldn't see her at all.

“Captain,” Agatha in the mirror also cautiously glanced at the goat head's direction, and after confirming that it truly had no reaction, she relaxed and nodded to Duncan.

“Sherry and Adog encountered another 'Xilin' in the forest,” Duncan replied to Agatha's greeting, then quickly got to the point.

Agatha's mouth opened slightly, her expression one of astonishment for a moment, then she quickly realized, “Then Miss Lucricia on that side…”

Duncan nodded, “She's still with 'Xilin'.”

The two fell into a brief silence through the mirror, as neither obviously had any idea what to do next.

After a while, Agatha took a deep breath, breaking the silence, “Captain, I've made some discoveries myself.”

Duncan instinctively lowered his voice, “What did you discover?”

Agatha in the mirror raised her hand silently, pointing towards the deepest part of the captain's room–the wooden door that led to the captain's quarters.

“Just now, while you were conversing with the goat head, I shifted through the various mirrors aboard Homeloss. The positions and images reflected in all the mirrors showed no difference from the real Homeloss, except for inside there… I was blocked by a strange 'barrier'.”

Duncan immediately looked towards the door of the captain's quarters, listening to Agatha's description, his eyes growing serious.

After a moment of thought, he walked towards the door.

On the navigation desk, the black goat head carved from wood once again creaked and stirred, a pair of profound and murky pitch-black eyeballs tracking Duncan's movements.

Duncan grasped the doorknob, but instead of pushing the door open, he turned back to look at the goat head on the table–after locking eyes for a moment, he finally spoke in a heavy voice, “What is inside there?”

“I don't know,” the goat head slowly said.

“May I go in?”

“I don't know,” the goat head repeated as if on cue.

“…If I go in, what will happen?”

“I don't know,” the suspicious goat head seemed to only repeat this one sentence eternally.

Regardless, it appeared to have no intention of stopping him.

Duncan finally gave a deep look in the direction of the goat head, then withdrew his gaze, looking at the door in front of him that was all too familiar, took a deep breath, and forcefully turned the handle.

Behind the door, a space unfolded, chaotic and overlapping, as if myriad abstract lines were repeatedly rendered and layered upon one another.

Duncan stood still in front of the door, observing the scene within the “room”– amidst those chaotic, superimposed abstract lines, he could still faintly make out some objects: a bed, a desk, a window, walls.

Yet all these things were distorted, as though they were recklessly reassembled in the mind of someone delirious, and then manifested in an upside-down dreamscape–none of their original, normal appearances could be discerned!

Chapter end

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