Mystical Journey
chapter-519

During the time period after that, Garen recouped his strength in the Kingdom for three whole months. During this time, while Cthulhu King left and went outside, Daniela that was currently wielded by Phiroth took the opportunity to quickly mobilize their large-scale forces to massacre Obscuro Society.

Phiroth sent out two semi-detached clone-like subordinates to defeat a few of Obscuro Society’s main bases. Then, war broke out.

Meanwhile, the Secret Technique stone slabs that Cthulhu King agreed to send had all arrived as well, and five Cthulhus had escorted and sent them personally. Garen received them himself as well, and after he had memorized all of them, he sealed them inside the Black Swamp Palace’s secret book cellar.

Seated inside the palace study, Garen looked at the faint, constantly changing dark light screen in front of him. While screens with information from faraway lands were displayed, some of the screens that showed scenes of war, making him Garen furrow his eyebrows slightly.

His fingers tapped against the armrest of his seat gently and rhythmically.

Inside the study, other than himself, Lala and Demon Phoenix were also present.

"Therefore, Phiroth plans to focus on the frontlines in a decisive battle with Obscuro Society?" Garen had thought of the possibility that it would quickly develop to this stage, but he never expected it to happen so soon. Clearly, both Phiroth and Obscuro Society were trying to speed up the war.

Perhaps everyone still thought that Obscuro Society’s Hellgate was still the same peak Form 5 from before, and although the Terraflor Society couple had died in battle, their powers were still mysterious, and unknown to many people. Therefore, it was difficult for outsiders to know the true extent of Hellgate’s powers.

Only Garen knew that Hellgate had now definitely surpassed his limits, achieving unprecedented heights.

That was the peak that no one else had ever achieved before.

He rubbed his temples, the thoughts in his head were still somewhat complicated.

"According to the analysis of the current information, both parties are proceeding with final battle preparations.Nothing is out of the ordinary, and within three days, it will erupt," Lala reported the situation calmly, and no emotional distress could be heard in her voice. Understandably, with the presence of the Ultimate Protection, perhaps all of the inhabitants of the Kovitan protected area possessed the same unfazed attitude.

Garen glanced at her, but did not say anything.

"Then, your subordinate will take her leave." When Lala saw that Garen had not opened his mouth anymore, she bowed and withdrew herself. She had been coming over to report on the situation of the war every day during these past few days.

"Get ready, I’m going to go out for a trip soon," Garen’s voice echoed behind her.

"Yes," replied Lala quickly.

After the room door was closed gently, the study returned to its serene state again.

Seated on the side, Demon Phoenix yawned lazily, and since that person had been sealed for more than a thousand years, she had acquired the habit of sleeping as a method to pass time. Garen guessed that it was the primary reason why her intelligence had not developed all this while.

"Follow me out on my trip. For a few days," said Garen.

"No problem!" quickly answered the Demon Phoenix spiritedly. "Spending the whole day here is really getting boring, no tributes, no sacrifices, nothing at all…" After seeing that Garen’s expression had darkened slightly, she decided not to continue.

This person’s temper had been completely suppressed by Garen, and after a short period of time, she was already mentally used to listening to Garen’s will. From a certain perspective, she was a useful pet and battle power.

****************

Sniff… Hoo…

Sniff… Hoo…

Within the flying carriage in the sky, noises that sounded like the breathing of a terrifying large beast echoed throughout the sky endlessly.

Black mist and waves constantly rippled near the black carriage like living creatures, that surrounding the carriage, and dancing around it.

Within the blue sky, with the carriage as the center, a large black shadow drifted in the surrounding area, like a drop of ink that had spilled into a blue lake, drawing a thick line in the sky.

Inside the carriage, Garen sat in the center, while Demon Phoenix and Phantom guarded the sides, holding water bottle-like narrow-neck bottles in their hands, tipping them sideways occasionally, pouring out a clear sticky liquid.

This liquid dripped on the floor of the carriage, and quickly flowed towards Garen who sat in the center, gathering there.

Garen inhaled large gusts of air into his nostrils constantly, before exhaling again, forming air cyclones of different sizes, while his loud breathing noises drifted out of the carriage.

Within a radius of more than ten kilometers in the sky, all of the creatures were scared off by the terrifying breathing noises, making them too afraid to stop within that space.

On the ground below the path of the carriage, within the thick forest, many dark green Giant Lizards crouched down on the ground slowly, releasing frightened humming noises. The Aberrated Giant Hawk and Giant Python that were hunting left at the same time as well, as if they were scared rabbits that were escaping far away.

A few green-skinned humanoid monsters with large protruding bellies raised their heads towards the sky, howling in awe.

After an unknown period of time passed, the sky darkened gradually.

Demon Phoenix and Phantom poured the last drop of liquid out of their bottles, before taking a few steps back, quietly waiting for Garen to receive his power.

The loud breathing noises slowly became quieter, and softer, before disappearing completely.

Garen’s eyes burst open suddenly, and his eyes were like black holes that were pure darkness.

But soon, the darkness disappeared quickly, before his pupils returned to their original light red state.

"I never thought that Skyharp would be able to mix such an effective poisonous solution. It’s really quite amazing…" Garen felt a new poisonous layer forming on his body, while a faint look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

"These two bottles of Colourless Water were made by Big Sister Skyharp with the Three Colored Leaf as its core, and were mixed with nineteen different types of first-rate poisons. Twelve of those poisons came from Snowy Mountain, and the core Three Colored Leaf was a poisonous drug that one of the scholars obtained from the relics. It received a Seven Snake assessment from the system. Truly amazing."

Phantom explained softly.

Demon Phoenix and the others had adapted to the environment of the Black Swamp Palace quickly. After being sealed inside a small corner with no way to get out for more than a thousand years consecutively, they had no way of finding other fellows of the same level to have exchanges with, but now, the moment they encountered a fellow professional of the same level to converse with, their new lives were suddenly like heaven in comparison to their past.

Neither did they have to calculate risks here, nor did they have to worry about being sealed, and anything they wanted would be sent over immediately. Most importantly, once they were aware of the existence of everything else that was stronger than themselves in this world, the mentalities of Demon Phoenix and the others were gradually corrected.

"It’s true that the effect is satisfactory, and it will also benefit our Black Water True Technique practitioners greatly," Garen nodded. "The Colourless Water’s poison had completely fused into the effect of my previous poison, so the Black Water True Technique practitioners, from lower to higher levels, will be able to slowly use the Colourless Waters of different dilutions to train and cleanse themselves. They can use these poisons for their own benefit."

Poisons were another one of the Black Water True Technique’s special killing methods, and would be able to get rid of one’s enemies silently when mixed with activated poison mist, without having to worry about large-scale enemy attacks. Garen could foresee, perhaps in the near future, that these specialized poisons would become the strongest symbols Black Swamp Palace’s strength.

"These poisons could trick the Totem Light’s defense systems as they were originally harmless towards living creatures, but once it integrated with certain substances that grew inside the creature’s body, it would form the most life-threatening and terrifying poison. This was a poison that grew inside living beings, and had no effect on inanimate objects," Phantom explained.

"Living creature poisons?" Garen nodded. "Since it’s like this, my simple poisonous effects will be able to reach new heights." Originally, poisonous corrosion was only effective towards Spiritualized levels and below, but with this current poisonous mix, even Form 4’s would fall victim to this if they were not on guard. Poisonous Spirit Light diffusions were no longer mere decorations.

"Demon Phoenix." Garen remembered something suddenly, and looked towards Demon Phoenix who was daydreaming.

"What?" This person came to her senses quickly.

"You can start preparing your Spirit Light. I’m thinking I'll need it in a short while." Garen instructed.

All existence that had undergone Spiritualization possessed their own special Spirit Light abilities, and Demon Phoenix’s ability was demonizing puppets. Any creature that died within the range of her Spirit Light would stand up again, and after being corroded by her Demon Cloud, would become Demon Phoenix’s puppet subordinates.

Unlike Garen’s simple poison and corrosive Spirit Light, this Spirit Light possessed a terrifying effect that would become stronger as it was used, and this was especially apparent after the Demon Cloud Puppets were corroded, as their powers would be slightly stronger than before, therefore, although it could only corrode creatures that were Form 4 and below, it was still a frightening ability. This battle method seemed truly evil, and perhaps this was why no one knew the true reason the Great Sage sealed Demon Phoenix in the past.

"How long do you want the Spirit Light to be on standby?"

"Just keep it ready for now, since your Demon Cloud Spirit Light can be charged, wait until we reach our destination and look at the situation before making any moves. What is its longest continuous duration?" Garen asked carefully.

"It depends on the degree of its strength, if the puppets only need to return to their normal level before they died, it can be sustained for a week or so. If you want to strengthen them by fifty percent, they can only last for two consecutive days," answered Demon Phoenix honestly.

"Two days, then." After he spoke, Garen closed his eyes again.

***********

Outside the borders between Daniela and Ender, inside a vast, primitive forest.

Large twisted trees formed long stretches of shade. Within the forest were many tall moss-covered boulders, stacked up against each other and of various sizes, tangled with the roots of the large trees.

Somewhere inside the forest, large greenish boulders and large thick tree roots intertwined with one another, forming a large, round arch, and within the shadows of the arch was a square stone door that was filled with rough old patterns.

A slender figure dressed in a dark green cloak stood beside the stone door with both of his arms wrapped around his chest, while the corner of a dark green longbow was exposed behind his back. His entire face was covered by a green hood, and the top half of his body was hidden within the shadows of the arch, making it difficult to see his face clearly. Only the dark green veil that he wore on his face could be seen, barely exposing two falcon-like green eyes.

The figure leaned against the left side of the stone door, waiting for something.

The noontime sun shone down from the sky, shining through the leaves and falling onto the floor of the forest, occasionally moving slowly while the faint winds blew.

On both sides outside the stone door, were two ashen toad creature stone carvings, both of which had large opened mouths and bulging eyes, as if they were about to spit something out in front of them. A spot of golden light fell on top of the left toad’s head coincidentally.

As time passed, this spot of light moved slowly as well.

The dark green figure’s eyes glared at the spot, as if he were judging the passing of time itself.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the part of the forest near the front of the stone door was whooshed open by the wind.

At once, the light spot on the forest floor moved continuously, in a slightly chaotic manner. It resembled a sea of golden light spots that were moving.

Soon, the wind noises stopped, and another figure appeared in the forest suddenly. This figure was instead clad in a long red robe and wore a silver mask. Both his sleeves and the hem of his robe made it impossible to see his hands or feet, and his entire body seemed to be moving in the wind. As he floated towards the stone door slowly, only the constant crunching noise of the leaves under his feet confirmed that he was, indeed, walking with his feet.

"You've arrived this early?" The red robed man looked towards the green figure beside the stone door suspiciously, his low raspy voice spoke in perfect Daniela language.

"Just slightly earlier than you," answered the green figure faintly in a low, but clear and bright male voice with tones of coldness. "There’s one more left."

"He should be on the way." The red robed man walked towards the toad stone sculpture beside the stone door, unable to stand still.

Both of them stopped speaking for awhile as the sky became lighter and the forest warmed up. A few tiny flying insects constantly flew in between both of them, trying to find some skin that they could suck blood from, but every time they crawled on their bodies, they would instantly be killed by an invisible force, causing them to fall off at once. Soon, there was a small round pile of dead flying insect bodies below their feet.

Suddenly, the male green figure turned his head slowly, looking in the direction of the right side of the forest. On the empty land there, faint black mist had formed abruptly.

The black mist became thicker and thicker, and turned darker, before the entire forest became blurry.

Within the low visibility, a figure in black clothes walked out behind a tree trunk, taking large strides towards the two people outside the stone door.

"Looks like I’m slightly late, Cthulhu King." The black-clothed figure walked out of the black mist, with a similar black mask on his face, clad in a black shirt and long pants that clearly showed his muscular and well-built body, while a round silver buckle was used to fasten his black silk cloak, concealing every trace of his breath.