The worst thing was that Lin Li realized from Adelo's words that this was not an unchanging cycle. Rather, it had a snowballing effect, and the Undead creatures created by this Gloomy Dark would become increasingly powerful, and one day overpower the restraints of the Gloomy Dark. They'd walk out of the Scar of Death and turn the Blackstone Mountains into the land of the Undead. They might even head down the Blackstone Mountains and attack nearby villages and cities…
If things got to that state, then the Malfa Family would be in for a ride. The Blackstone Mountains were only half a day's journey from Aminya City, and if the Undead creatures left the Blackstone Mountains, their first target would definitely be Aminya City. It'd then be too late, for the Undead creatures were not like the army of the Ledin Kingdom, where negotiation was an option if they could not beat them—once these Undead creatures attacked a city, even the most prosperous one would be turned into ruins overnight.
Aminya City was the root of the Malfa Family's existence, and if it was destroyed, so was the Malfa Family.
The Malfa Family would never allow such a thing to happen, and even though not many things in the world could attract the Legendary-realm Cheyenne, even he was concerned over this matter, and was trying all sorts of ways to stop this tragedy before it became too late.
"Let me think…" Lin Li's mind was in a mess now. He had already sorted out his thoughts earlier, but was now confused again by Adelo's words.
It seemed like this whole thing about the Scar of Death was much more complicated than he had originally thought. Initially, he'd thought that the Gloomy Dark was the ruler of the Scar of Death, and once he had control over the Gloomy Dark, he would be able to control the whole Scar of Death, but that did not seem to be the case anymore.
The altar that Adelo spoke of seemed to be the one that truly controlled the Undead creatures, and it was the true core of the research base. The Gloomy Dark was at most a source of power for the research base, just like Wyrm Magical crystal in the Eternal Furnace.
Lin Li was well aware that the power of the Gloomy Dark was nowhere beneath that of the Wyrm Magical crystal, and that this research base powered by the power of the Gloomy Dark was probably comparable to the Eternal Furnace as well. How could the altar at the center of it be easily destroyed?
And not to forget, there was a powerful being sealed in the research base, one that was able to battle it out with Cheyenne…
"This is so complicated…" Lin Li massaged the place between his brows in anguish as he could not think of a solution at all. In the end, he gritted his teeth, and took out the Holy Light from the Ring of Endless Storm.
Honestly, Lin Li did not want to use the Holy Light at all. It was too dangerous, for once Light and Darkness came in contact, the explosion it'd cause would be comparable to that of Legendary magic's power. Back in the Endless World, the explosion caused by the Holy Light and the Gloomy Dark had blown off nearly half of the Sun Palace. If that happened in the cave now, the dozen of people in the advance party would be blown to bits.
But, he had no other choice…
There were too many Undead creatures in the cave, and every step they took was strenuous. It had been an entire afternoon, but they could not even cover 10 percent of their journey. And this was only the start. Who knew what lay ahead of them? Especially after they entered the research base, unimaginable dangers could await them there—everybody knew that the High Elven aristocrats were sadists. The group could only counter whatever they'd left behind with an even more sadistic method, the Holy Light.
This was all they could do now—they'd blast their way through these Undead creatures using the powerful Holy Light so that they could enter the research base and destroy the altar before getting their hands on the Gloomy Dark.
Lin Li was hell-bent on getting the Gloomy Dark this time!
It was not just because the Gloomy Dark was very powerful…
The Gloomy Dark held something more important to Lin Li.
Coincidence after coincidence from the Daylight Square to the Scar of Death made Lin Li feel something—the seven scattered pieces of the debris of the stars and the Immortal King whose name was the only thing he knew about him were both intricately linked to him. However, he could not say for sure what was the relationship between them. The only thing Lin Li knew was that the only way he could solve this mystery was to find the seven pieces of the debris of the stars as well as the long lost Stars of Fury. The moment this mythical weapon was in his hands once again would probably the moment everything was revealed.
Light filled the cave when the Holy Light was taken out. It was like the sun was rising in the east, finally escaping the restraints of the dark and bringing warmth to the earth. The entire cave lit up suddenly as every corner and crevice of the cave was filled with the Holy aura. All the Undead creatures, be it the brimming Skeletal Warriors or the cowardly Liches, melted like snow in the sun in front of the Holy Light.
"This… this is?" Adelo was stunned. He'd never thought that this unbelievably difficult fight could have been ended in such a way. After all, every Skeletal Warrior here was close to level-10, and the Liches hiding in the black fog were all at least level-16. Even the 20 Death Knights would have a hard time against them.
But they did not even last a second in the face of the Holy Light…
With a sizzle, the world descended into silence.
It was all like a dream. Perhaps even an Archbishop of the Brilliance Shrine would not be able to create such a miracle in this battle.
Adelo was not the only one baffled. Besides Ujfalusi and Norfeller, who had witnessed the power of the Holy Light themselves, everyone was in a daze. Even the 20 Death Knights he had just conquered revealed looks of fear.
And the one who was most surprised was no doubt Rina…
As a Paladin of the Brilliance Shrine, she knew better than anyone else what the ray of light meant. That was Divine Power even stronger than the Great Prophecy. Perhaps even Rosario would not have been able to cleanse all the Undead creatures so easily like this young mage had done.
Could it be… Rina suddenly thought of that meeting—that time when Rosario had used three Great Prophecy spells.
"Till now, the only thing I know is that he is in the Breezy Plains, and is around 20 years old. He is also a mage…"
That was what His Holiness Rosario had said…
Could it be that this self-deprecating guy who spends all his time with Undead creatures is the Son of the Holy Light that His Holiness Rosario spoke of, the only incarnation of the Holy Light on earth? Rina stared at Lin Li for a long while, feeling incredulous. As they spent more time together, Rina gained a deeper understanding of this young mage that her teacher thought highly of. Honestly speaking, she had to admit that this fellow was not as infuriating as she'd thought. At least he did act like a true Paladin when Black Clouds Town was attacked by the Crimson Python.
Of course, that did not mean that Rina agreed with his ways. For example, she could not stand the fact that he had two Undead creatures as servants. She had received the teachings of the Holy Light since she was young, and could not accept the fact that a human had two Undead creatures serving him.
Rina found it absolutely insane that a human with two Undead creatures as servants was the Son of the Holy Light that Rosario spoke of and the only incarnation of the Holy Light on earth. It was even recorded in the writings of the Brilliance Shrine.
If this was what the incarnation of the Holy Light was, he was better off insane…
But Rosario's words rang true in her ears, and so was the Holy Light she had just seen. She could not refute this; all of a sudden, the young and beautiful Paladin was at a loss. After she debated with herself for some time, the decision she made was to ask her teacher Englos about this after she returned.
The sudden appearance of the Holy Light cleansed the world in a moment, and there was no longer any trace of black fog before them, nor a sign of any Undead creature. There was only a long and dark tunnel leading to God knew where…
Without the hindrance posed by the Undead creatures, the speed at which the advance party moved became faster, and they had already gone through the windy and complicated network of tunnels.
Then, there was nothing but empty space in front of them…
This had to be the mountain's belly—all they could see was a vast empty space as though they were looking at an endless plain. The walls surrounding them were shockingly smooth and glossy. There would be intricate and mysterious carvings on these smooth walls every dozen meters or so, just as though they held some mystical powers. Anyone would know that these walls were not shaped by nature—there was no way nature could have created something like that or leave such smooth and glossy walls.
And the ones who did this were of course the High Elven aristocrats 1,300 years ago.
"How grand…" Lin Li looked from afar, and could not help but feel awed. Carvings aside, this huge granite wall would have taken a lot of manpower and time to polish until it was so smooth and glossy. The High Elven aristocrats were sadists indeed—such a strict sense of perfectionism could only be described as that. Even an eerie cave used to house a simply built research lab had to be done so perfectly.
"The altar is just ahead…" Adelo stopped before the smooth walls. "But be careful, my teacher said that the Undead creatures here are different from the ones outside…"
"Mm-hm." Lin Li nodded his head. While there were no bones around, and no disgusting stench of decay, Lin Li felt an aura of danger in the air. The Holy Light in the Ring of Endless Storm was also going berserk—just like it had when it'd first met the Gloomy Dark in the Well of the Sun.
This feeling of impending danger made Lin Li tense up. His mental strength was pushed to its limit as the Warlock's Eyes continued to scan around for any suspicious signs.
The 20 Death Knights summoned their Shapeshifters again as they spread incredibly cautiously around the advance party, forming a defensive formation. Adelo's right hand remained in his pocket as he held tightly onto the Teleportation Scroll that could save his life. Nobody knew better than him how dangerous this seemingly quiet place was. Even his teacher Cheyenne had said that if he met any danger here, he could immediately use the Teleportation Scroll to escape.
Almost everybody was tense as nobody knew what kind of dangers lay before them. The only thing they could do was to remain on guard so that they could react quickly once they met any danger.
This tension continued for a long time until they saw a glimmer of light in the darkness.
"There is the altar!" When he saw the light, Adelo's furrowed brows relaxed at last. After two grueling days and countless close fights, he had finally found the altar hidden in the mountains. Even though Adelo was a dignified person, he could not help expressing his joy and happiness.
…So much so that he forgot that he was in the perilous Scar of Death.
"Be careful!" Lin Li's expression changed almost at the same time, for he heard a familiar sound…
Just as Adelo quickened his steps to run towards the light, a strong wind started blowing in the air, and everybody felt as though they had been thrown into a pile of bones. The strong stench of decay the wind carried was like that of countless corpses piled together.
"My God…" Adelo looked up in shock, and the look of happiness on his face froze…
A large being swept past in the air, and its huge wings spread, covering everyone in its shadow. In his shock, Adelo seemed to have heard a long growl, and saw ice blue flames fall from the sky. In a second, all he saw was a world of blue lights…
Only when the icy blue flames fell from the sky did Adelo realize that it was a Humerus Wyrm…
But it was all too late.
The flame of a Humerus Wyrm was comparable to Legendary magic in power, and once he was hit, he would crack instantly even if he was made of steel.
All of this happened too quickly. Adelo had been lost in happiness, and had never thought that there would be a real Humerus Wyrm hidden in this dark. Moreover, this Humerus Wyrm was incredibly sinister, creeping up on them without a sound before attacking.
This is it… As the icy blue flames fell, that was the only thought in Adelo's mind.