Capítulo 1319: Chapter 1319: The Demon’s Trap

“I think you should know, both the lady on the shore and I are trying to find you.”

Shard suddenly said, gazing at the distant golem’s spirit with a slight nod:

“Yes, and the methods you’ve chosen are correct.”

“Then, since the answer is right in front of me, can you directly tell me about you, about the Guardians?”

Shard asked again, but Mr. Fleming still shook his head:

“I really want to tell you, but for the safety of Randall Valley and for our own safety, I can’t say anything until my enemy is defeated.”

Shard’s eyes stared ahead, already having his own guesses about this. The small boat silently glided across the darkness of the large lake, the Divine Ritual being conducted by the church effectively attracted the golem’s attention, Miss Benanis still didn’t need to summon any thundering sounds. Shard just needed to cautiously steer the small boat and navigate to avoid those huge floating ice blocks:

“You know Mr. Lathis met me, right? At the manor outside the city that time.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Then can you tell me about him? His daughter, Miss Ciris Lathes, misses him very much.”

Mr. Fleming silently looked into the darkness for a long while before saying:

“He’s fine.”

“You know Mr. Thomas Granger once met me, right? He gave me the Power of the Earth: Healing Aura.”

Seeing his reluctance to say more, Shard brought up another person.

“He didn’t give you any Arcane Technique or Sorcery, he just let you come into contact with the power of the Earth, what you learn and gain is entirely up to you.”

Mr. Fleming corrected.

“Alright then, since you don’t want to talk about your matters now, can you help me a bit? How can I enhance the power of Healing Aura in a short time?”

This is not only for better purification of the Earth but also to sink deep enough to the suspected divine location of the Heart of the Earth at the source of the black mud.

Mr. Fleming was willing to give an answer this time:

“You have the blessing of an Old God on you, which greatly enhances the power of the Earth. If you can come into contact again with the forces of an Old God related to the Earth, the Power of the Earth: Healing Aura can be further increased. This is the most effective method.”

“The Old God blessing” refers to the Butterfly God, allowing Shard to cast spells using petals.

“Are there any other methods? Even if the departed Old Gods still have some remaining blessing power, I think the likelihood of encountering them again is very slim.”

“There’s no better way. The accumulation of Earth power itself, like the Earth, requires a long time and solid keystones. Of course, if you can gain deep understanding of the Earth quickly, the power of Sorcery can also be enhanced.”

Understanding any Arcane Technique more deeply can strengthen the effect of the corresponding Arcane Technique.

“There’s no shortcut, after all.”

He wasn’t very disappointed and then asked his final question:

“You can’t contact me too much—is it because of that ancient and evil thing present locally?”

Mr. Fleming, for the first time since boarding the boat, turned to look at him and nodded gently:

“Tonight’s event is exactly its scheme against me. It informed the cultists about what would happen here and polluted the waters of this lake. Later, you’ll see its power manifest. But we have to appear, which is a very clever scheme.”

Shard understood everything:

“‘It’ is collaborating with the cultists? You are hiding from it? Could it be that the cultists who escaped relied on ‘its’ help to hide? Could it be the Dem…”

The two tacitly avoided saying the word “demon.”

“Gentlemen, please keep your voices down, we’re already close enough.”

Luviya suddenly said, holding the Spirit Pendulum Hammer, so Shard and Mr. Fleming stopped talking.

The light trace of the Realm of Abundance rippled across the water, spreading with the ripples as they got closer to the center of the lake, causing frost to form on the water surface until it froze again into ice.

Once confirming the small boat could no longer advance, the three disembarked, stepping onto the solid ice surface. The best casting spot was under the Rain-Prayer Golem because that’s the center of the entire Crazy Earth. Obviously, a better spot is actually beneath the water, but for safety, Shard doesn’t plan to do that.

“Luviya, follow me in a moment.”

Shard instructed the violet-eyed girl, then after confirming with Mr. Fleming that both of them were ready, he took out his Roder Card deck and flipped the first card, which was Genesis: Darkness.

Thus, in Miss Benanis’ hand on the shore, [Genesis: Darkness] automatically disappeared. The witch, understanding that the action had officially begun, immediately summoned the colossus a second time.

The witch’s song-like spell words echoed once more, and the pentagram ritual circle manifested on the water surface for the second time. With a rumbling sound, the colossus rising from the shore launched a second attack toward the [Rain-Prayer Golem] in the center of the lake. Even the church camp on the opposite bank probably guessed something, as their attacks, which were initially just meant to restrain the colossus, became increasingly frequent and intense, with even the divine ritual speeding up.

Seizing the moment when the Rain-Prayer Golem was distracted, Shard and the others immediately braved the snowstorm, advancing along the ice surface toward the center of the lake. The degree to which this place was influenced by [Crazy Earth] was deeper, but fortunately, Luviya continued casting spells to protect the group.

As the Rain-Prayer Golem fought the witch’s summoned entity, its movements shattered the freshly frozen ice layer again. But there was no time to worry about that; when they were already close to the stone statue’s feet and moving further would mean risking being caught in the fray, Shard stopped, taking out soil and petals to begin spellcasting.

Luviya, of course, stopped alongside Shard, and Mr. Fleming, initially inclined to advance further, stopped as well upon seeing Shard halt. Being a spirit, he was not afraid of being hit by physical attacks, though he was affected by the whisper element of the relic.

Both scattered soil, and Shard tossed an extra petal. Two Soil Holy Grails almost simultaneously formed under their hands, lowered as if in offering, with a rich, yellow spiritual energy sweeping across the ice surface and spreading downwards into the dark lake water.

However, on the snowstorm-covered lake surface, this spell’s spiritual light was indeed dazzling, especially Mr. Fleming’s summoned illusionary Holy Grail, which emitted spiritual energy like a fountain, illuminating a small area in the lake’s center.

“Be careful, you have been noticed!”

Luviya warned.

Her voice had barely fallen when the giant golem’s attack arrived. Though both hands were locked in a struggle with another stone statue, it still swung its legs forward like stone pillars.

Large sections of the ice layer shattered, and the disaster-like attack was already upon them, but they had anticipated this scenario.

“Please do not resist.”

Mr. Fleming said, and both Shard and Luviya felt as if someone had pushed them. Instinctively taking a step forward, the scene before their eyes changed, and they found themselves at a great height.

Looking closely, they realized they were standing on the shoulder of the witch’s giant summoned entity. This was the method Mr. Lathis had once used to lead Shard away from the manor; it wasn’t spatial movement but rather the earth itself moving.

Mr. Fleming stood before them, facing the blasting snowstorm. From here, the Rain-Prayer Golem no longer appeared so menacing but instead exuded a sense of solemnity and antiquity.

The golem extended its hand to grab them from the stone statue’s shoulder, a palm larger than ten Shards combined swatted downwards, but it was immediately blocked as the stone statue raised a hand. The clash of giant hands made a tremendous sound, and stone shards burst in all directions through the snow and wind.

Amidst the dense snowflakes in the high sky, Shard found it hard to keep his eyes open; only during the Battle of Pantanal had he seen snow this heavy. Then, several Sunlight Guns shot across the lake from the camp on the shore, striking the golem’s arm. The leaping golden thunder slowed the golem’s movements a bit.

Additionally, as Mr. Fleming cast “Healing Aura,” his right spiritual foot stepped onto the giant’s shoulder, and ochre spiritual light immediately spread onto the colossus summoned by the “Power of the Earth.” The golem controlled by the witch became heavier, its previously normal stone surface now appearing as though clad in rock armor. In another deafening clash of fists, it surprisingly didn’t fall behind.

The plan was being executed very smoothly so far.

“Shard, how long will it take to completely purify this place?”

Luviya promptly inquired of Shard, who was focused on spellcasting, as her divination had yielded unfavorable results.

“It’s hard to say; the contamination here isn’t weaker than at the manor last time.”

Shard replied, while Mr. Fleming added:

“At least twelve minutes, the deviation of the earth’s essence is worsening.”

Given the current state, as long as nothing went wrong with Miss Benanis on the shore, Shard consuming the essential oil and holding out for another twelve minutes was not a problem. However, as a diviner, Luviya increasingly sensed something was amiss.

Her purple eyes, seemingly glowing in the darkness, gazed at the distant ice layer below. Even though the ice was almost covered by snow, she noticed it seemed to be turning black:

“Something’s not right.”

Without waiting for Shard and Mr. Fleming to respond, she furrowed her brow and drew her divination cards, her Ring of Fate partially revealed, with the core spirit rune [Fate] shining brightly.

Her frostbitten hands drew two cards amidst the snowstorm:

“Demon.”

“What?”

Shard also looked down, while the “her” in his ear softly reminded him:

“The power truly sown by those cultists is manifesting; look below with [Demon Vision].”

Arcane technique triggered, Shard saw the ice surface transform into stone from another perspective:

“Indeed, the Guardians were always avoiding that demon! This place is actually a trap forced by the demon to make the Guardians appear! And the cultists are its collaborators, regardless of the plan’s success, whether the Guardians appear, this event will definitely cause further changes in the earth! And the demon covets the Guardians’ souls!”

Before Shard could take his next action, the dark power spreading beneath the ice surface touched the colossal Rain-Prayer Golem.

Like blood vessels emerging on its stone surface, black lines spread over the relic from beneath the water. In Shard’s perspective, dense stone spikes covered the relic’s surface. The sudden appearance of demon power induced even stranger changes in the relic, instantly reversing the previously evenly matched situation, where even the witch’s summoned entity held the upper hand.