Chapter 482: The Mortuary Sea Domain
Chapter 482: The Mortuary Sea Domain
"Be careful, I've encountered soulless ones here. I suspect it's because of this rain," Ren said, his thoughts quickly turning to a warning.
After a moment's consideration, Ren sent a telepathic message and asked, "Lady Maynia, you're familiar with the Ice Sea Demon, Gazar. Do you think these soulless ones are related to him?"
"As far as I know, Gazar doesn't seem to have the ability to imprison or summon soulless ones," Lady Maynia's mature voice replied.
"However, the situation you described does seem a bit like... the Mortuary Sea."
The telepathic message seemed to be disrupted, and Ren could only hear fragments of Maynia's and others' responses.
But he clearly heard the words 'Mortuary Sea'.
"Could it be an incarnation of the Mortuary Sea Goddess?" Ren's mind immediately flashed to the figure of the dark-robed maiden.
"It's very likely!"
"After all, the Sea God Cult's forces were just with the Sea Kraken."
"But according to Lady Maynia, the two should be opposing forces. Why would the Mortuary Sea Goddess, Hela, help Gazar?" Ren furrowed his brows in thought.
However, the appearance of several cold auras around him interrupted his train of thought.
"Huh? Are there more of them?"
Ren looked around and noticed that just a few seconds after he had slain a soulless one, four pale white human-shaped phantoms appeared, approaching him from different directions.
"Swoosh! Swoosh!"
Several white sword lights flashed by!
Ren easily dispatched the four soulless ones with a single strike from his longsword, which had been transformed from a Luminous Ore.
But suddenly, as Ren looked down, he noticed that the rain drops falling on the pale white surface of the longsword were turning into a faint black smoke, evoking a sense of familiarity.
He examined the rain more closely and confirmed that it was indeed black.
Furthermore, when these black raindrops came into contact with the pale white glow of the Luminous Ore, a portion of them turned into faint black smoke, giving off a vaguely familiar feeling.
He hadn't noticed this earlier due to the faint mist surrounding the area.
"This feeling... it's similar to the black water soulless ones created by the Mortuary Sea Goddess, Hela. Could such a large area be under her domain?"
Ren looked up at the sky and his surroundings, his eyes flashing with surprise.
In the center of the battlefield, Gazar, the Ice Sea Demon, who had just released a Crystal Shield, appeared significantly weaker than before.
However, its three massive dragon heads also looked up at the large patch of hazy clouds in the sky, and for the first time, a mix of confusion, surprise, and even a hint of fear could be seen in its multiple vertical pupils.
Although Gazar's inherent ice domain had frozen all the raindrops falling from the sky into ice pellets before they could reach its body, the area around its massive body was now filled with pale white phantoms.
These phantoms floated and moved quickly within the increasingly heavy rain, and the mist made it impossible to discern any details.
But one thing was certain: the number of these soulless ones was increasing.
The same scene was unfolding in the air around Maynia and Reginald.
At that moment, Maynia, riding on the red dragon Tasar, was surrounded by a ring of flames with a diameter of thirty to forty meters, completely shielding her from the rain.
Moreover, due to the flame's control over the rain, Maynia's red wizard robe remained dry, and she hadn't encountered any soulless attacks.
On the other hand, in another part of the sky, Reginald, who was controlling the yellow-brown dragon Ted, had just been attacked by three soulless ones, despite the protective golden cyclone shield around his body.
Although he quickly dispersed them, the number of pale white phantoms floating around him was also increasing.
"Ted, let's break through this rain curtain," Reginald patted the neck of the dragon beneath him and said.
"Roar!"
The yellow-brown dragon soared into the sky. According to common sense, breaking through the cloud layer would allow them to escape the rain.
But strangely, after flying upwards for a while, the dragon Ted still hadn't broken through the cloud layer, and from what could be seen, the distance between the man, the dragon, and the cloud layer remained unchanged.
"This is an extremely special domain."
Reginald, an experienced Dawn Wizard, quickly realized the nature of the problem.
He slowed down the dragon Ted, knowing that if they couldn't break through, they needed to conserve their strength.
"Such a vast domain, could it be the domain of the Umbra Sea Goddess?"
Recalling the word 'Mortuary Sea' from Menya's previous message, Reginald couldn't help but make a connection, and his face changed color in the next second.
However, he quickly shook his head and muttered to himself, "No, it must be the power of a projection or some legendary item left behind that's creating this domain."
"But even at this level, it's still troublesome." Reginald muttered as he looked around once more.
At this moment, the girl and the dragon seemed completely isolated within the dim rain curtain.
Compared to several Epic-level Strongmen.
At this moment, Rebecca and her companions were in an even more dire situation.
"Rebecca, the interference is too strong, activate the special communication channel!" Benito said as he controlled the Ajax Automaton.
"Benito, did you encounter that ghostly thing too?"
"I'm certain that thing is an undead! It managed to penetrate the automaton and enter my control room. Oh, heavens! What should we do?" In the special channel, Aldo's voice was filled with fear and panic.
"Stay calm, Aldo. There aren't many of them, and as a Crystal Peak Stage 3 Wizard, you shouldn't have any trouble dealing with them." Rebecca's clear voice came through.
"Not many? There were at least seven or eight wraiths that rushed into the control room just now, and you're telling me there aren't many?" Aldo screamed.
"I can't hold on anymore! I have to run!"
"We can only survive by getting out of this rain curtain!" At this moment, he no longer cared about maintaining his composure in front of the girl he admired.
As he spoke, Aldo controlled the Ajax Automaton with its broken arm and quickly ran towards the outskirts.
But after a while, he screamed again:
"How is this possible! I can't get out!"
"We're trapped! We can't get out! Rebecca, Benito, help us!"
"Don't move, Aldo. Didn't you notice? When you were running around just now, the number of wraiths surrounding you was obviously much greater than on our side."
Rebecca spoke with a tone of frustration.
"I feel like your disturbance of this mist seems to be attracting the attention of the wraiths!" Benito's calm voice also came through the special channel.
"What! So that's how it is!" Aldo cursed.
"But right now, there are at least dozens of wraiths around me. If I don't move, these wraiths will rush into the control room."
"What should I do? What should I do?"
"Damn it, think of something quickly!"
Aldo was feeling desperate. If he didn't move, dozens of wraiths with varying strengths would rush into the control room, and even as a Crystal Peak Stage 3 Wizard, he would most likely be unable to withstand them.
The control room was too small to dodge, leaving him no choice but to take the hits.
However, if he continued to run, he would attract more wraiths, and soon, the number of wraiths would increase to a terrifying level. Eventually, some wraiths would also rush into the control room while he was running.
He found himself in a dilemma, caught between a rock and a hard place.
Outside the rain curtain, in the distant sky, a group of high-ranking officers aboard the Federation's giant airship stared at the large patch of grayish-black clouds that obscured the center of the battlefield.
At first, most of them thought it was a natural phenomenon.
But after two or three minutes, many of them began to sense something amiss.
The wizard apprentices responsible for communication, unable to reach Saint-Tirion, Rebecca, and the others within the rain curtain, confirmed their suspicions.
"These clouds are suspicious!"
"Have you noticed how these clouds formed?"
"No, I've been focused on the battle between our forces and the Ice Sea Demon Gazar."
"Me too."
Many high-ranking officers began whispering among themselves.
They needed to understand the origin of these clouds to identify who had unleashed them and take measures at the source.
"Report! The scout dirigible has entered the rain curtain and has lost contact." A messenger reported.
This caused Senator Bertrand's brows to furrow once more.
Including him, none of the present officers had anticipated that even with victory in sight, such an unexpected turn of events could occur.
"Have we found the origin of these clouds yet?" Bertrand asked in a deep voice.
Who was this enemy?
Where were they?
The lack of information made the decision-makers feel extremely uneasy.
"Report, I believe I just saw those clouds drifting in from the direction of the Fadil Mountains.
A lookout, dressed as a sergeant, spoke with a tense tone.
The audience consisted of high-ranking officers, and normally, this sergeant had no right to speak.
However, he had just inadvertently witnessed the gloomy cloud drifting over from the Fadil Mountains.
He recalled the cloud's peculiar speed, seemingly slow yet fast, as if it had reached its current position in the blink of an eye.
The crowd followed his gaze.
"Huh? Isn't that the place where the Ice Sea Demon, Gazrian, initially escaped from?"
"What secrets could be hiding over there?"
"Your Excellency, I'll go and investigate." The young officer who had previously stood out stepped forward, volunteering.
"Good! Deploy two medium-sized airships to accompany you. Hurry and investigate the situation." Vice-Speaker Bertrand, after a brief moment of thought, nodded.
Whether there was a situation or not, an investigation would reveal the truth.
Besides, there were no other leads to trace the origin of this strange cloud.
Meanwhile, on a small hill in the Fadil Mountains.
The Dark-Robed Maiden, whose body had been solid, was now gradually becoming translucent once more, seemingly due to the immense energy expenditure from her recent spell.
At this moment, within the Occult Array, the Sea God Cult followers who had slit their wrists were pale, devoid of any blood color.
The others also appeared listless.
Evidently, the activation of this array came at a cost.
The Dark-Robed Maiden stared at the distant cloud and rain curtain, seemingly able to see through the curtain and observe what was within.
"This red-clad Dragon descendant has decent strength, but to break through the domain's seal, they still fall short."
".
"As for that detestable human boy, he's far from capable!" The Dark-Robed Maiden's beautiful eyes pierced through the rain curtain, briefly resting on Ren, as if recalling unpleasant memories, causing her to snort coldly.
"The only one capable of breaking through the domain should be Gazrian."
"However, if he does so, he'll become significantly weakened again. Having him under my command would make things much easier."
"But if he doesn't break through, he'll be like these human elites, gradually weakened by my Mortuary Sea Domain."
"These believers can't hold on for much longer. They're too weak." Umbra Sea Goddess Hela, in the form of the Dark-Robed Maiden, turned to look at the believers who were supporting the array with all their might, her eyes filled with disdain.
"It won't be long now, just a little while longer."
Within the rain curtain.
Ren had effortlessly slain three groups of wraiths, and he felt a peculiar chill, as if it permeated everything, seeping into his body.
It was different from the cold of Gazrian's ice.
This chill had a damp, clammy feel to it.
"The power of my spells has been affected, reduced by about half."
"The surrounding metallic energy particles don't seem to have changed much. This decrease seems to be related to psi and physical influences."
"Is this the effect of the domain?" Ren's expression turned thoughtful.
During the recent battle, he had used Metal Shapeshifting once more, immediately noticing subtle changes.
"It's been less than ten minutes since then. If this situation continues, I fear my condition will deteriorate further, as if my body is being corroded."
Ren quickly grasped the complexity of the problem.
At this moment, he couldn't leave, nor could he contact anyone else.
After his rapid movement, he realized the number of wraiths had increased significantly.
So, Ren returned to his original position.
From this spot, he was just over a hundred meters away from Gazrian.
Perhaps due to the effort of isolating Gazrian, the only thing Ren could vaguely make out was the massive body of the Ice Sea Demon, Gazrian, lying motionless ahead.
Large chunks of ice crystals were scattered around it.
However, Ren couldn't sense any energy fluctuations from Gazrian.
"Does this domain also have the effect of isolating energy fluctuations?"
"Indeed, if it didn't, we would've found each other by now." Ren nodded slightly, thinking to himself.
"If that's the case, then..."
"Not only does this domain contain numerous wraiths, but it also gradually weakens those within, and on top of that, it has an incredibly powerful isolating effect. It's truly formidable."
"However, this also presents me with an opportunity... to unleash a series of Dawn Kill spells without fear of being discovered."
"I won't have to worry about others finding me."
Ren glanced at the Ice Sea Demon once more, a glint flashing in his eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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