Chapter 985 The Longest Night of Bygone Days <TOC> Chapter 987 Canter's Request
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Translator: SumTLMan
Sineva’s barrage of inquiries, oddly, didn’t immediately bear fruit, for the mantle of night had evaporated in that moment.
Previously, they had sensed the nocturnal veil gradually thinning, and with Duchess Bel’s seemingly insignificant stride away from the graveyard, they unknowingly straddled the boundary between night and day.
Now, under a sky drenched in daylight, the darkness was completely absent.
Upon turning around, the Resting Ground was no longer within their line of sight. Instead, they were greeted with the sprawling, desolate Silent Sea.
“We’ve departed?”
“We have indeed!”
Having confirmed their departure from the Resting Ground, everyone present, particularly the apprentices from the Frost Cathedral, breathed a sigh of relief. The graveyard shrouded in darkness had been like a dreadful nightmare to them, one that had mercifully ended.
“Don’t rejoice prematurely,” cautioned Sanders, “The perils beyond might even surpass those within the Resting Ground.” After a pause, he continued, “You mentioned earlier that the Silent Shore is devoid of life. This is not due to the Resting Ground, but because a demon had emerged from the inner layer and made its way to the Demon Monastery.”
“Now, with the Resting Ground making its appearance, the demon will definitely head there. Hence, prepare for battle.”
Sanders’ words hung heavy in the air. Moments later, at the end of the expansive mountain path, an odd group of monsters emerged, as if punctuating Sanders’ grim forecast.
The dangers beyond, indeed, were greater than those within the Resting Ground.
The ensuing battle raged on for two hours. The final foe to emerge was a towering Winter Troll, over ten meters tall — the very demon that had set off for the Demon Monastery.
The troll possessed immense strength, nearly matching that of Sineva prior to her curse.
However, their salvation lay in Sanders’ presence. Recognizing that it could not overcome Sanders, and estimating that wiping out the rest would take a considerable amount of time — time it did not wish to spare from its journey to the Resting Ground — the troll finally ordered their release.
In the end, although no lives were lost in this battle, three of the apprentices had either broken or lost their limbs. The wizards too bore a multitude of injuries.
The extent of their injuries was, indeed, more severe than what they had endured within the Resting Ground.
“So, do you suppose that the previous greatsword knight was pouring all his might into your duel?” Sanders cast a casual glance at Sineva, asserting, “He has consistently matched his strength to your peak performance, with precise calibration, refraining from engaging others while battling you. It’s not that he lacks the audacity, it’s simply a matter of his unwillingness.”
The greatsword knight was once the supreme commander of the Immortal Brigade. When he discovered that Sineva wasn’t bluffing and that the descendants of the Immortal Brigade were allied with him, he was resolute in his decision.
His evenly matched skirmish with Sineva was merely a by-product of his ties with Balalaika.
In the past, he arrived at the Resting Ground carrying the remains of the Immortal Brigade in search of Balalaika. He turned the Immortal Brigade into a truly “immortal” brigade by promising to guard the Resting Ground forever.
Balalaika despised humans; naturally, he dared not defy her. However, his true intention was to buy time and, once Balalaika grew weary, to expel Sineva and others from the Resting Ground.
Unexpectedly, Sanders arrived during that period and struck a deal with Balalaika.
Sanders remarked, “Did you not wonder why Balalaika’s attitude shifted? She’s inherently a merchant, engaging for the sake of profit. Running a shop and conducting business is her real profession.”
“You were the first batch of visitors to the Resting Ground since its reopening. You had nothing profitable to offer and moreover, you were humans — a race she detests. As a result, you experienced what you did.”
However, Balalaika respected the rules of the Resting Ground and did not resort to physical violence. Otherwise, Sineva wouldn’t have been able to wait for his arrival and would have become a fresh corpse in the graveyard.
Sanders’s journey to the Resting Ground marked his alliance with Sineva and instigated a trade with Balalaika. Following the trade, a natural shift occurred in Balalaika’s demeanor.
Half a day later, they successfully departed the Silent Shore.
The subsequent journey, although occasionally blocked by demonic beasts or even demons, was smoothly resolved with Sanders’s help.
Finally, two days later, they arrived at the Howling Plains. From here, they could see the Downfallen Forest at the end of the horizon.
During these two days, Sanders gradually shared some secrets about the Resting Ground and Balalaika.
For instance, Balalaika is also known as the Resurrection Witch. Originally a native of the Abyss, she evolved into a being on par with a demon lord through a twist of fate.
She arrived at the Resting Ground for certain reasons, aiming to resurrect a particular soul.
This soul bore a significance to her that was as profound as the Abyss, and for its sake, Balalaika would not dare to leave the Resting Ground even for a fleeting moment. To resurrect this soul, however, a generous portion of Soul Returning Sand was necessary. Thus, Balalaika opened a tavern in the Resting Ground, specifically designated for trading purposes.
In the spirit of embarking on this business venture, Balalaika set down a series of rules for herself, akin to carving runes of conduct onto a monolithic tablet.
For instance, she would not commit murder within the Resting Ground — a decree issued by her own hand. However, this rule led to a succession of troubles later on, troubles said to be stirred up by a human. This incident engendered a deep-rooted antipathy towards humans within her. Later on, when the Immortal Brigade happened to come along, she opportunistically transformed them into guardians for the tavern, a duty they continue to uphold to this day…
…
Around the perimeter of the Downfallen Forest and the exterior of the Watchtower Fortress, a large number of apprentices were toiling away at missions related to frontline construction.
Various defensive measures sprung up from the ground like magic under their watchful eyes.
Any ordinary person arriving here would find it unfathomable that such a massive steel fortress was built within a mere half year, and what’s more, it continued to expand even now…
At a corner near the fortress entrance, a vague shadow loomed, obscuring the situation within. Yet, the evident illusionary fluctuations within the shadow were quite discernible.
“Sigh…” a short and chubby apprentice, standing atop a tower under construction, sighed while looking at the shadow.
“What’s wrong?” A young boy with a ponytail, looking as innocent as a spring morning, asked in confusion.
The chubby apprentice pointed at the shadow, “There.”
“Oh, you mean Lord Like the Night?” The boy with the ponytail looked over, his eyes gleaming with admiration. “Lord Like the Night is truly wise, grasping the essence of supervision! If one uses their naked eye to supervise, there’s no guarantee against slackers hiding in blind spots. However, if one surrounds themselves with a shadow, others won’t know where Lord Like the Night is looking. As a result, they wouldn’t dare to slack off, saving magical energy in the process.”
Upon finishing, the boy with the ponytail appeared rather pleased with himself, adding, “I’m right, aren’t I? You’re worried that Lord Like the Night is currently watching us, aren’t you?”
The chubby apprentice looked at the ponytailed boy with a ‘are you an idiot?’ expression, “I think you might need to check your head.” After saying that, the chubby apprentice glanced at the many apprentices around them, obviously slacking off, and added, “And perhaps your vision, too.”
Under the puzzled gaze of the braided child, the chubby apprentice patted the young man in the white robe standing on his other side, “Popoca, you explain it to him. I feel that the more I talk to him, the more my intelligence seems to drop.”
Popoca shrugged his shoulders, his eyes gentle as he touched the small braid at the back of the child’s head, “Actually, when Lord Like the Night supervises, it’s a time for all of us to slack off… because, he doesn’t really pay attention to us at all.”
The braided child appeared astounded, “Then, what is he doing now?”
“I think I’ve heard someone mention that Lord Like the Night is… playing a game?” the chubby apprentice said.
“Playing a game?” The braided child clearly didn’t comprehend the meaning of these words.
The chubby apprentice pointed at Popoca, “I don’t know, but I remember the last time Lord Like the Night was stuck in the game, he had Popoca help him out.”
Popoca nodded, “That’s right. Lord Like the Night is playing a game called ‘Monument Valley’ in the Illusion Realm.”
“A Illusion Realm game? Monument Valley? What exactly is that?”
Popoca looked towards the fortress gates, his eyes filled with nostalgia, he sighed, “It’s a very interesting game.”
Interesting? Just how interesting? Both the chubby apprentice and the braided child were brimming with curiosity. Even though the chubby apprentice knew what Lord Like the Night was doing, he had no idea what the game was about. Now that “player” Popoca was unexpectedly revealing some details, they hurriedly seized the opportunity to ask more.
“This game is about a little girl named Ida…” Popoca just started to explain when he suddenly paused.
“What happened to Ida?” the braided child asked, puzzled.
But Popoca didn’t reply, instead, he pointed towards the distant Downfallen Forest, “It’s coming.”
Everyone followed his gaze, only to see a huge white bear, resembling a snow mountain, slowly advancing towards the fortress from the depths of the forest.
No apprentice there failed to recognize that white bear. When they first arrived at the Watchtower Fortress, they were carried here by that very bear.
“Duchess Bel?!”
In an instant, news of Duchess Bel’s arrival swept across the fortress. Her presence signified the addition of new “hard-workers” to the fold, and concurrently, it meant the shared workload would allow for the slight easing of their collective burden.
As such, all apprentices welcomed Duchess Bel with joyous expressions.
The chubby apprentice, observing the bustling swarm rushing towards the fortress entrance, suggested to Popoca, “We should join them. If we’re appointed as guides for the new recruits, our days will be significantly easier.”
Assuming the role of guides, they would orientate the newcomers towards acclimatizing with the fortress’ rhythms of life and their respective work scopes. For those who had spent their days toiling laboriously on construction missions, this would be a respite most welcome!
However, Popoca seemed reluctant, or to put it more precisely, he didn’t wish to cross paths with the wizards of Frost Moon.
Nevertheless, the pudgy apprentice didn’t overthink and, with one hand pulling Popoca and the other hand drawing in the braided child, they were dragged towards the bustling fortress entrance without further ado.
The commotion at the fortress entrance finally disturbed Canter, who was deeply engrossed in his game.
“What’s all this ruckus? Can’t you see I’m in the middle of my studies?!” Canter grumbled as he exited the Illusion Realm. He had painstakingly snuck into Sanders’ room during his absence and “borrowed” the Monument of the Strange Ring, hoping to finally conquer the game today, only to get stuck once again.
Being stuck was one thing, but the distracting noise outside was another. Did these rascals genuinely think he was oblivious to their habitual shirking of duties?
Previously, he had been lenient, turning a blind eye to their antics, but now they dared to disturb his “studies”!
Exiting the Illusion Realm, Canter decided it was high time to teach these young ones an unforgettable lesson and, incidentally, to seek some guidance from Popoca.
Yes, merely incidentally.
Chapter 985 The Longest Night of Bygone Days <TOC> Chapter 987 Canter's Request