Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 746 -
Chapter 746: 746
Today is Wednesday, and Shard is following the Witches into the Interstice to deal with the seal on the mountainside. Thus, for safety, he went with “Night Watchman” and “God’s Gift Box.”
Now Mia is being looked after by Dorothy; yesterday’s lesson told Shard that when going on an adventure, it’s best not to bring along that troublesome cat.
After meeting the Old Witch at the Cassandra Auction House with Miss Aphrola, the group, including the Witch’s followers, set off for the mountains.
Although the location of the seal hidden by the Witch Empresses on the mountainside was known, the Witches couldn’t open a passage to the Dreamscape just anywhere to reach the Interstice.
The true “door” was a great distance from the pathway on the mountainside. They would have to walk a long way once they entered the Interstice.
Apart from Shard, the rest of the party were Female Sorcerers of Six Rings and above. To prevent the Power of Death in the Interstice from harming their bodies, Granny Cassandra had acquired, at great cost, several complete branches of Elf Wood. To confirm the correct time, they had not only Shard’s “Time Perception” but also a Poet-Level (Level 5) Relic in the hands of Miss Aphrola’s follower, the “Indestructible Hourglass.”
This Relic was quite famous, along with the “Gravity-Detecting Pebble” and the “Wind-Direction Sensing Flag of the Kingdom of Dilen,” it was known as one of the most useless Poet-Level Relics.
Anyway, once everything was ready, everyone stood together in a woodland clearing amidst falling autumn leaves. Shard was placed in the very center, partly for his protection.
Miss Aphrola took Shard’s left hand, while Granny Cassandra held his right. As the two Grand Witches whispered their Incantation softly, the deep autumn forest scene with falling leaves gradually grew blurry.
It was as if a vividly colored oil painting had been splashed with water; after the colors blurred, everything in the field of view turned into a patchwork of colors. These patches were not fixed; they constantly merged, changed shapes, and altered their hues. This resulted in numerous incredible Illusions appearing before their eyes; within the rich colors there seemed to lurk something indescribable, yet upon closer examination, it appeared to be merely a curious combination of changing color blocks.
Time and space contorted here, as the gate to the Dreamscape was opening. But their destination was not the Dreamscape, so before the space fully shifted, a dense white mist representing the Interstice poured out from between those patches of color.
The fog nearly instantaneously obscured everything before them, and then, as it gradually faded, the monochrome Interstice of Life and Death reappeared before Shard’s eyes.
“Outlander, you have left the world of the Living.”
“You have witnessed miracles, Desecration, Enlightenment, Whisper.”
“Be warned, the Interstice is more averse to the living than before. Even with the protection of the Ever-Youth Leaf, do not remain here for more than 900 days.”
The prompts continued to sound in his ears, and the “900-day” limit served as a reminder to Shard that this place was very different from his last visit. Last time, “she” had said he could stay for a thousand days here. Although it was only a tenth of a difference, for Shard’s soul strength in the Divine Afterglow State, this was already incredibly significant.
Having come from the real world to the Interstice, the surroundings still looked like a forest. However, the reality of autumn leaves scattered everywhere, a golden vista, had turned into a terrifying sight with a Dead Forest standing and mud covering the ground.
It was extremely quiet around, not a single sound to be heard. The sky was enshrouded in gray fog, with nothing but a white expanse of mist visible in the distance. This mist was indeed similar to the real world, as the two were gradually merging.
Upon entering the Interstice, the restoration of an individual’s Spirit and Stamina greatly decreased, with Soul Power being much more prominent than Flesh Power.
So, although Shard felt his breathing slightly labored, it was as if he had Broken Free of shackles, his own power stepping up yet another level.
In contrast, aside from the two Grand Witches, the other Female Sorcerers exhibited various abnormal reactions.
But Sorcerers of Inner Ring and above quickly adapted to the Interstice. After a minor adjustment, with numerous Rings of Fate emerging in the steam, the effects of Arcane Technique and Sorcery for alerting, defending, counterattacking, Reconnaissance, detection, and illumination were orderly deployed around the group.
The two Grand Witches, using the power of Witches, established a huge Dark Gold Ritual Circle. This was the Necromancy “Defensive Necromancy,” but normally it could only be attached to objects like doors. A “Defensive Necromancy” that could surround a crowd and follow them had never been heard of by Shard.
“How are you feeling?”
Before setting out, Miss Aphrola made a point to inquire about Shard’s condition.
“Not bad.”
With the leaf in his mouth, he spoke somewhat indistinctly:
“Better than the normal state.”
Though they had entered the Interstice on Monday, two days ago, the sight of numerous Red Butterflies fluttering around was not at all scary but rather dreamlike.
Yet now, relying solely on the strength of mortals, the Sicarl Mountain within the Interstice was even more frightening than the cities therein. The grotesque Dead Trees in the fog seemed like bones reaching out from the dead underground, while the various forms of Spirits floating in the distance appeared ready to pounce on the living at any moment.
This time, compared to when Shard had ventured into the Interstice by himself, they encountered more attacks. Continuous waves of Lost Souls, drawn to the life force of the living, were then vanquished by the retaliation of the Circle Sorcerers’ Arcane Techniques.
Even for an Inner Ring Sorcerer, it was not easy to destroy these Evil Spirits. The team of over twenty people, along with two Grand Witches, actually spent six Interstice hours to reach the cliff that concealed the entrance.
During this period, even Shard joined the battle, replacing the Female Sorcerers who were exhausted from continuous combat. Despite being of the Low Ring, the Night Watchman he wielded dealt significant damage to the Evil Spirits. Armed with an Angel-Level Relic, he didn’t lag behind his companions; instead, he was able to hold his own in normal combat.
On this six-hour mountain trek, Shard tried to avoid using Moonlight Series Arcane Techniques as much as possible, fighting solely with the Night Watchman instead. The cold weapon combat skills inherited by the sword were thus imparted to Shard through this method. Even after the sword would leave him following the events at Midshire Fort, he had already benefited greatly from it.
“Don’t you get tired?”
With the cliff in sight, Shard rejoined the group from the outskirts. Miss Aphrola watched him suspiciously, as the Witch held a Dark Gold glimmer in her hand, crucial for maintaining the “Repel Undead” incantation. The two Grand Witches were about to enter the deepest part of the Interstice, therefore they had refrained from acting on the way there in favor of enduring their own depletion.
“Not really tired.”
“Are you sure you’re alright? You were even more eager than my Followers when you rushed forward just now.”
“Of course, I’m fine. Oh, Sister Delphine helped me a while ago by allowing the Phoenix’s flames to burn my body to enhance my physical condition.”
Shard replied, to which Miss Aphrola became even more puzzled:
“Being burned by a Phoenix’s flames has such an effect?”
“Doesn’t it? That’s what the stories say.”
“The stories also say that bathing in Dragon Blood can make you stronger,”
the Witch said, echoing what Luviya had once mentioned, as she sized up Shard with a smile:
“But it’s not bad to have a bit more stamina.”
