Chapter 780: Chapter 26 Royal Family Scandal (5)_3

Orianna added, “Therefore, in the Kingdom, it’s very impolite to invite guests to dark places… because before Shadow Mist City was established, phantoms often lurked in the darkness, and people could only feel at ease when holding a lantern.”

Mo Yuankai recalled the people of the Kingdom walking the night roads with lanterns in hand and realized with sudden clarity. It seemed that this custom had been passed down to the present day, with most people in the Kingdom still maintaining a dislike for darkness.

“When does intense negative emotion arise?”

“When betrayed, when faced with great setbacks… and at the moment of death,” Kerky said with a smile, “you can consider a large portion of them as ghosts if you like, or in the words of your Empire, many phantoms are caused by resentment at work.”

A howl of wild beasts came from the distance, and Mo Yuankai walked quietly, feeling colder the more he thought about it.

This was simply a cursed land. Humans worried about turning into beasts while alive, and their remains might become ghosts after death. Before the Barrier around the capital was established, how difficult must life have been on the island? He remembered that during his research, he had read about a profession called Hunter in the Kingdom and had wondered what they hunted. Now, it seemed that the Hunters’ prey must have been the assorted ghosts lurking in Shadow Mist City. With so many monsters, Knights alone would probably be powerless.

The Kingdom had too many hidden dangers; no wonder Roning Leres worried about the impending Dragon Disaster.

“We’re almost there, Mr. Mo,” Orianna reminded in a low voice. Mo Yuankai looked up and saw the huge clock face beside the bell tower.

The seven bell towers of Supibia were not distributed evenly: three in the Inner City District, one in the palace, and one each in the East District, Blue Church District, and White Stone District. This was Saint George’s Bell Tower in the Blue Church District, accessible via the museum area of Shadow Mist City and then following a path into this place.

The Knight squad on patrol that day had cleared the way for them beforehand, and the three of them were not disturbed by wild beasts. Entering the bell tower through a small door at the bottom, they ascended the winding staircase to the bell chamber above the clock face. The chamber was clean, free of any filth or fog, and a silver bell sat quietly in the center, like a guardian deity securing the peace. Unintentionally, Mo Yuankai’s gaze fell on a row of small silver letters on the wall.

[Holy King, please protect your Kingdom and grant it everlasting peace and prosperity.]

If the Holy King truly had spiritual power, he might want to personally guard this place for you.

Kerky glanced at the clock: “Please, Mr. Mo. You have thirty seconds left; do you know what to do?”

“I repaired it myself, so of course I know~”

Mo Yuankai took out the Barrier core module from the box, which was a chest plate blackened as if scorched. He lifted the chest plate high as the bell was about to ring and placed it in front of the large bell.

“Dong~~!”

At noon, the bell struck twelve. A faint silver glow emanated from the big bell, which, together with the chest plate, started to levitate and tremble.

“Dong~~~!”

A glow flashed across the chest plate, as if scorched by flames. That power seemed to merge into the bell sound, transforming into golden halos that spread out from the bell tower in all directions. Mo Yuankai instantly felt lighter; looking outside, he noticed the fog becoming thinner, and countless phantoms screamed as they took flight, like a swarm of invisible moths scorched by firelight.

“Does this count as a success?”

“My god, this is wonderful!” Orianna exclaimed, jumping with excitement. She quickly composed herself and said, “We need to get back quickly, Mr. Mo, the power of the Holy Fire Armor might alarm those ancient spirits, and if we delay too long, we could face obstruction…”

“…You’re right.”

A rare note of panic crept into Kerky’s voice as she stiffly pointed and said, “…We really need to hurry.”

Mo Yuankai turned in confusion, looking in the direction the mage apprentice was pointing.

He saw a gray mountain.

It rose from the north of the distant city, reaching a peak at its center. The material of the mountain was peculiar, resembling fabric, while the base was as white and polished as a lady’s skin. Yuankai remembered clearly that, upon ascending the stairs earlier, there should have been a twisted forest in the distance, but now a strange mountain range had abruptly replaced the original terrain. At first, he thought it was a special phenomenon of Shadow Mist City, but what followed completely overturned his guess.

The base of the mountain moved. Like a teetering tower in an earthquake, the pristine white base trembled and rose, revealing swathes of bright red tainted with earth. An indescribable warping sound came from afar, like laughter or perhaps a groan. As it happened, the true form of the mountain’s base was unveiled, it was not rock, nor inanimate; it was a “seat,” fair and lustrous, made from human bodies, like flesh!

Countless huge female figures piled upon one another to create this odd throne. As they lifted the gray mountain range, it too moved, extending upwards to take a human shape. The fabric-like mountain fell away like a cloak behind it, and the once highest point became its head. Clusters of crystals emerged on top, dazzling like a crown.

The immense, horrifying creature slowly turned its head to face the bell tower. Mo Yuankai got a glimpse of the true face of the king, whose visage and body were devoid of flesh, only a skeleton clad in a gray battle cloak, its hollow eye sockets unlit, yet as solemn as if a soul resided within.

It was observing. Yuankai realized in an instant. The skeletal monarch was watching him! The terrifying presence made him immediately heighten his alertness, but he remembered that this was Shadow Mist City and not the surface of the country; his mecha was not here!

“Don’t attack, retreat quickly,” Mo Yuankai whispered.

“I’m trying, it’ll be ready soon…!”

Orianna fumbled nervously with a seal in her hand. Mo Yuankai stood before the great bell, silently confronting the King of Skeleton, watching as it approached ever closer to the bell tower. Its movements set off earthquake-like tremors, and countless beasts howled in panic upon the earth.

Kerky’s voice was as light as a feather: “If we don’t run now, we’ll be dead.”

“3 seconds… almost… done!” Orianna grabbed both of their arms, “To the ground!”

Mo Yuankai immediately leaped from the bell tower, seeing the stone tiles of the plaza below flying up as darkness like the night emerged from beneath. The King of Skeletons too moved, stretching out limbs as large as buildings, as if trying to grasp them in its palm.

Mo Yuankai sped up in urgency, pulling the two along and jumping into the earth before they could be captured. Before leaving Shadow Mist City, he heard an elusive call, hoarse and ancient, unclear whether it bore goodwill or malice.

“The offspring of Kong Hua… Son of Desire, stay…”

He couldn’t make out the rest; in a moment, the three stood within the reality of the capital. Nearby, Saint George’s Bell Tower rang out with the noon chimes. The three of them, still unsettled, stood among a group of tourists, like ghosts who had returned from another realm.