Chapter 313: Language! (2)
At the back of Forest Hillpark, behind a hidden narrow mountain cave, Schiller bent down and entered through the somewhat small entrance of the cave, revealing a spacious interior.
It was a naturally formed cave located at the foot of the mountain. However, the natural appearance had been altered to some extent. On the left side, there was a workbench and shelves, while on the right side, there were various scattered instruments. A light bulb was hanging from the ceiling of this small cave, accompanied by spotlights for illumination.
Peter, who was walking ahead, took off his helmet and introduced the others, "I've had this idea for a while now, thinking that using a cave as my base would be great. This place is really good. It's not far from my home, convenient for changing clothes anytime, and quite hidden."
"Indeed," Steve nodded, looking around the cave. "But I think it's necessary to reinforce the structure here. The mountains in New York aren't that sturdy."
"That's the next plan," Peter replied while helping Steve subdue the struggling black sleeping bag he was dragging. Occasionally, black smoke and ashes would come out of the sleeping bag.
Strange stood with his hands on his hips, behind the others, staring at the sleeping bag. "This thing is excessively weak."
"It doesn't seem to be designed for combat," Steve threw the sleeping bag on the ground and frowned. "Just now, neither Peter nor I used much force, and its arm broke."
Steve unzipped the sleeping bag, revealing a skeleton emitting black smoke inside. Steve held the skeleton's neck with one hand and grabbed one of its ribs with the other, breaking it with a crisp sound, making Peter shudder.
Meanwhile, Strange and Schiller arrived at the scene where Peter discovered the skeleton. While Steve helped Peter, the two of them managed to subdue the skeleton. Strange then opened a portal and went to Kamatage to retrieve a book related to undead magic.
Schiller approached Strange and started studying the content of the book together. Faced with an unfamiliar field, none of the four of them had much expertise. Schiller and Strange chose to start with theory, while Steve and Peter planned to conduct direct experiments.
Schiller noticed that the book Strange was holding recorded many cases of necromancer incidents. The sorcerers of Kamatage had thwarted many of these evil necromancers' attempts to harm villages and towns and had summarized a set of methods to counter them.
After reading the book for a while, Schiller joined the experimental group. He looked at the skeleton and said, "Let me see... It's an adult female, around 50 years old, with a history of childbirth. The cause of death appears to be abdominal trauma, possibly from a car accident. The preferred hand is the right hand, and she was likely engaged in light physical labor before, possibly as a janitor or kitchen assistant."
Steve opened his mouth, wanting to ask Schiller how he made such judgments. However, the atmosphere in the eerie cave was already sufficiently strange, and there was no need to add more horror stories to it.
"We need to collect more information from deceased individuals as samples to determine what the necromancer's targets really are. Since Peter encountered two skeletons in the Forest Hill Cemetery, the mysterious necromancer's next target might still be there. You might need to keep a watch here," Schiller concluded.
"No problem, the supplies in this base are quite sufficient, and even if they're not, I can go buy more. The only thing that worries me is that my uncle and aunt live nearby, and my aunt was already frightened by ghostly lights last time..." Peter hesitated.
He didn't want to see his family getting hurt.
Steve squatted on the ground, turned his head to Peter, who was also half-squatting, and said, "So, all you need to do is guard the source of danger. There won't be another cemetery nearby for him to carry out these paranormal events."
Therefore, Steve and Peter stayed in the base to continue keeping watch for the necromancer who might strike again. Schiller and Strange returned to Arkham Sanatorium. As they came out of the portal, Schiller turned to Strange and asked, "What do you think?"
After speaking, he turned to look at the umbrella in Schiller's hand and asked with some confusion, "The snow has stopped. Why are you carrying an umbrella?"
Schiller cleared the surrounding weeds with the umbrella, making way, while Strange had to step through, allowing the weeds to scratch his expensive pants and shoes. Schiller opened his hand to him, and Strange rolled his eyes, turned around, and continued walking forward.
"While it's possible for him to be hiding in the forest, don't you think we've gone too far?" Schiller called out to Strange after another 20 minutes of walking.
"This should already be far beyond the casting range of you magicians. He can't be hiding in such a distant forest and casting spells on the cemetery."
"I think we're getting close." Strange raised the enchantment compass in his hand. Schiller saw that the compass needle was trembling, as if being influenced by an invisible mysterious power.
Suddenly, the needle stopped with a "thud," and both Schiller and Strange turned their heads in that direction. There was a dense forest there, with the thick foliage blocking all the light in the darkness, making it difficult to see what was behind it.
A faint light emitted from Strange's fingers as he rubbed his eyes. With a flash of radiance, his pupils turned into beast-like vertical slits. Clearly, he had borrowed the power of night vision from some mysterious entity embodying certain beasts.
Schiller, on the other hand, abandoned vision as the invisible mist factor dispersed. The entire world transformed into an incredibly clear three-dimensional model in his mind, much more precise than what the eyes could perceive.
Strange and Schiller continued walking into the forest, but once they deviated from the path, progress became somewhat difficult. In a short distance, the two walked for over ten minutes.
It wasn't until they were completely immersed in the forest that Strange, who was leading the way, exclaimed in surprise. Schiller bent down, avoiding the overhead tree branches. As he walked in, he saw a burnt land surrounded by tall trees in the center of the forest. There was a distinctive mark there, resembling a miniature magic formation.
Strange stopped at the edge of that land and didn't rush forward. Under Schiller's gaze, he calmly reached into his pocket and pulled out... a mobile phone.
"Hello, Sanctum Sanctorum? Yes, it's me, Stephen. I have a pattern here, seemingly left by a demonic deity who controls death and darkness. Can you broadcast it through the universal frequency band in the demonic deity network and see if anyone knows who left this?"
The operator on the other end quickly responded, "The image has been received, and the cosmic signal has been sent out. Currently, there is no response. It may take about ten minutes..."
After ending the call, Strange turned around and proudly showed it to Schiller. "We can't be the only ones helping them, right?"
"Some of the powers intercepted during the Knull invasion event were infused into the underground magic formation in Sanctum Sanctorum by the Ancient One. This magic formation can send magic broadcasts to the universe. The principle is similar to human broadcasting, except that magic is more convenient. We don't need any signal towers or stations..."
"So far, this function has only been used to summon demonic deities for meetings or to deal with neighborhood disputes. But Nick told me he intends to develop an entertainment broadcast program targeting the entire universe. He found a few morally tested directors and screenwriters in prison, and it's about to be prioritized on the schedule..."
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