Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 742 - : The Pursuers in the Dense Fog
Chapter 742 -742: The Pursuers in the Dense Fog
The battle may stop at any moment, but it could also last several more hours.
Sensing the danger of this place and the possibility of being swept away by some large-scale attack, Shard now had the thought of retreating even further.
He consciously hid himself in the dense woodland, pondering the reasons and implications of everything he had seen tonight as he gazed into the dense fog.
Once assured of safety, he crouched low and ran towards the depths of the fog with the cat in his arms. Fortunately, the power of the Divine Ritual still lingered on this piece of earth, so there was no need to worry about encountering any Evil Spirits in the mist.
The thick fog made Shard wary of moving too quickly, and he was also thinking about Joey Barton’s situation. Around 7:40 in the evening, hidden in the bushes and concealed by the Illusion Technique, Shard encountered another person running through the fog.
Although the sound was close, it wasn’t directed at Shard; the person ran past him about ten meters away through the woods.
The fog was hazy, but through the leaves, Shard’s eyes still caught sight of a man dressed like a circus jester—tall and thin, wearing a red performance costume, even with a red noseball attached to his nose.
Generally speaking, seeing such a person in the woods at night meant they were not normal, but inconveniently the jester seemed to be just an ordinary person.
“Where did this come from? No, it has nothing to do with me, no need to go out.”
Thinking this, the Outlander carefully stuffed the cat into his embrace to prevent it from making noise and attracting attention.
Although the man dressed as a jester was an ordinary person, his movements in the woodland were very agile, and he disappeared into the fog after a short while.
At the same time, Shard felt a slight burning sensation on his shoulder. Subconsciously covering his right shoulder, he realized that it was the Red Butterfly Brand that was heating up and seemed to be trying to detach itself from his shoulder, and it took Shard considerable effort to suppress it:
“That jester, is he one of the Interstice’s spies sent to Milestone?”
Shard thought in surprise.
This could explain why the Truth Society suddenly called Mr. Barton away; if Joey Barton could see other people’s death dates, then he’d be able to spot those who had died in the past.
He didn’t immediately follow because there were still sounds in the fog-shrouded woods.
A few dozen seconds later, five or six men in black suits caught up, and one of them Shard actually recognized—it was Professor Johnson, the High Ring Sorcerer of the Truth Society, who had killed two comrades and fled from Helen’s grasp in that desolate village.
The men by his side were almost identically dressed and also looked like scholars. They moved through the woods as fast as the wind, obviously using their Supernatural Powers.
“People from the Truth Society? Are they chasing the jester? Did the jester take advantage of the True God Church’s roundup to escape?”
But Shard still didn’t show himself, instead watching as the group disappeared. Soon, a third party came up from behind, and this time it was Mr. Barton himself.
He looked exceedingly haggard and, owing to his slight physical impairment, wasn’t moving swiftly through the woods. It was hard to say whether the jester or Mr. Barton was more frightening in the night woodland. Barton’s peculiar childlike appearance and strange gait would likely make any normal person turn and run.
“Mr. Barton actually ran out?”
This scene shocked Shard even more than the appearance of the spy; based on this afternoon’s situation, the Truth Society was clearly surrounded and ambushed by the True God Church. Yet Mr. Barton, a First Ring Sorcerer, managed to reach this outer perimeter—it was unimaginable.
As Mr. Barton ran, he used Arcane Techniques to restore the trampled branches and fallen leaves in the woods to their original state. Unlike those who ran before him without any regard, he was more afraid of being tracked.
There was blood on him, although minor, tracking him through the dense forest wouldn’t be difficult. Therefore, Shard did not pursue immediately but weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
Narrowing his eyes toward the distance, it took a whole minute before the fourth group caught up. Finally, it was the True God Church’s turn.
It was a fully formed team of Circle Sorcerers from the Sun Church, and Shard even spotted Iluna among them. She wore a women’s hunting outfit suitable for movement, a large Sun Pattern Holy Emblem on her chest, a Judge’s Holy Bell in her left hand, the Cloth Sword coiled around her wrist, and the mirror she had acquired at the Fire Worship Festival secured at her waist.
The group was tracking the prints on the ground, but, due to Mr. Barton’s cover-up, they couldn’t find the direction to proceed in the fog right away.
This wasn’t because the First Ring Sorcerer’s Arcane Technique was that impressive, but rather because the nighttime foggy woodland was not a suitable place for tracking.
“Iluna is here; I must help.”
Thinking this, Shard released the right shoulder that his left hand had been covering. Along with the intensifying burning sensation, a red glow appeared beneath his clothing. Then, a translucent Red Butterfly flew out from under his clothes, its wings fluttering, scattering specks of red light in the air.
“Go quickly!”
Shard whispered in the direction of Iluna, and, strangely, the Red Butterfly seemed to understand and flew out of the Illusion Technique’s range, heading towards the churchgoers.
“Miss Beyas!”
The full squad of the True God Church had their own defined responsibilities. The Circle Sorcerer in charge of scouting ahead soon spotted the red shadow in the thick fog. As it drew closer, emerging from the white mist, it turned out to be a transparent Red Butterfly.
“Red Butterfly?”
The Red Butterfly stopped not far from them and then moved back and forth, as if wanting them to follow in the fog. But out of caution, the group did not immediately follow, and even Iluna seemed hesitant.
Hidden in the bushes, Shard shook his head, dispelled the Illusion Technique, and gently patted Mia on the head.
“Meow~”
The faint meow did not carry far in the woods, and, since they were on the outskirts of a city, no one would find it odd even if they heard it.
Iluna’s ears twitched. She looked around suspiciously at the dense fog, her face revealing an epiphany, and then pointed towards the Red Butterfly:
“Follow it, it’s leading the way for us.”
None of the others questioned Iluna’s decision, so they followed the transparent Red Butterfly into the distance.
“Make sure not to make any noise later.”
From behind a tree, Shard whispered to the cat cradled in his palms. Crouching, Mia widened her amber eyes and obediently nodded. Shard then placed her on his shoulder. After confirming that no one else appeared in the fog, he followed into the thick mist.
After passing through the private woodland belonging to the local nobility, they arrived at the lake at the foot of the mountain. Shard had seen this lake on the sand table at Red Water Camp. The creek that originated from Summit Lake gathered here at the foot of the mountain into this lake, connecting with nearby water systems. The lake, known as “Bena Lake,” was bordered by woodland on one side and two small hills on the other.
Perhaps due to the moisture, much of the fog near the lake had dissipated. The moon, positioned perfectly between the hills, reflected its tri-colored moonlight on the lake’s surface, making the glimmering waves even more tangible.
By the time Shard followed the churchgoers to the lake’s edge, the battle had already begun.
The battleground was atop the lake’s surface, where someone had used an Arcane Technique to freeze the water on a large scale. Everyone was standing on the ice, and the combatants were none other than a common Jester and three Circle Sorcerers from the Truth Society.
“Hee hee ha ha ha…”
The jumbled laughter became clearer as Shard neared the edge of the woodland. The Jester was still not a Circle Sorcerer, but the concentration of Whisper Element on him far exceeded that of most Relics Shard had seen.
Upon the moonlit lake, he laughed wildly as his shadow grew faint until it disappeared. Behind him sprouted two extra arms, each holding a Roder Card, a red nose, a black knife, and an antiquated matchlock gun.
The maniacal laughter even cracked the ice. Accompanying the laughter, his moonlit figure disappeared and reappeared, revealing his ability for Spatial Movement.
Shard had not engaged with him directly, so he could not assess the danger level, but the Circle Sorcerers of the Truth Society, even those who had manifested their Rings of Fate, were still being outmatched by their opponent. Of course, this also had to do with their levels.
Only one of them was from the Inner Ring, while the others were from the Low Ring. And the professor who was originally a High Ring Sorcerer, his Brass Life Ring now bore rust resembling the Red Butterfly Brand. Clearly, Helen had let him escape without worrying that he could cause any further trouble.
The Jester’s hand seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of Roder Cards, firing them all around like a machine gun, with no one daring to touch the cursed cards. The thrown red nose would cause anything it touched to crumble like a jigsaw puzzle; the black knife was extraordinarily sharp, able to fling black blade lights and even severing the Spiritual Weapon in the hand of the High Ring Sorcerer; and the matchlock gun was so exaggerated, that although it took over 20 seconds to reload, when it fired, even a Rift appeared in space.
“So a ‘nail’ who knows their own identity is this terrifying…”
Shard felt extremely relieved that the woman in the desolate village hadn’t had a chance to reveal her power before being captured. And considering the fewer the nails left, the stronger the remaining nails’ power, he feared the upcoming events would be more difficult.
By then, Iluna and her group had followed the Red Butterfly to the lakeside, and of course, those on the lake had noticed them.
Without needing the three from the Truth Society to lead the Jester towards them, the Jester surprisingly split apart under the moonlight himself. His body swelled, and then out of the repulsive black sludge, two identical Jesters split apart from the bloated body, one to the left and one to the right.
One continued to battle the Truth Society, while the other appeared beside Iluna amidst wild laughter:
“You’re all going to die!”
The Holy Bell chimed gently as Iluna responded with her Sunlight Gun.
The scene grew even more chaotic, the Jester seemingly able to adjust his strength based on the number of opponents facing him. He managed not to be at a disadvantage even when fighting a whole team of Circle Sorcerers by himself.
