Crawling Hand

All the doors inside the lord's manor were thick wooden doors. Even pushing one open on an ordinary day took some effort, so there was no way one could simply be blown open by the wind.

Alice reacted extremely quickly. The instant she heard the unusual noise, she shouted, "I'm here. Everyone stay calm and remain where you are."

Only then did her words make the guards realize something was wrong. The chaotic footsteps stopped, and the courtyard instantly fell silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Aaron instinctively looked toward the darkness not far away, toward the places the firelight could not reach.

The shadows and darkness obscured his vision, but he could vaguely sense that something really was there.

By then, Alice had already snatched a torch from one of the attendants. "Everyone put out your torches. Now!"

Perhaps it was the unquestionable authority in her voice, or perhaps it was because of her noble status. The torches went out one after another, and within a few breaths, only the torch in Alice's hand remained lit.

The torch illuminated an extremely limited area. The group had to huddle together just to remain within its light.

"What's the enemy?" Aaron asked instinctively when he saw Alice's actions.

"It's only a possibility." Sart reassured Aaron as he stepped forward several paces almost imperceptibly, taking his place beside him. He already had a small pinch of Spirit Powder clenched in his hand and was murmuring an incantation.

Aaron saw only the Spirit Powder transform into a streak of deep-blue radiance before vanishing entirely into Sart's eyes. The starlight that had previously been only faintly visible in his eyes immediately grew denser.

He had temporarily used the Spirit Powder to construct a simple ritual—Eye of Stars.

The complete Eye of Stars was a ritual that required Astral Stone as its primary material, along with many auxiliary materials such as cat's-eye stone, Awakening Root, and the sap of Shining Root.

Depending on the seer's level and the amount of incense invested, the ritual could grant a person additional spirituality and perception for a period of time, making it easier to notice minute changes.

It was originally an auxiliary ritual that seers performed before conducting large-scale rituals, but it could naturally also be used temporarily to support combat.

The simplified Eye of Stars ritual, performed with reduced incense, was greatly inferior in duration and effect. In return, however, it no longer required a lengthy preparation time.

Within Sart's field of vision, all colors quickly faded away. Light and darkness lost their meaning, leaving behind only the purest, most pristine void.

In this completely unobstructed space, he saw several spots of light of varying sizes and colors around them—that was the souls of their group.

Not far away, he also saw a spot of blackish-purple light.

The instant Sart saw that blackish-purple light, he felt his breathing seize, as though a pair of invisible hands had clamped around his throat.

Fortunately, as an extraordinary being of the Gold Coin Path, Sart's soul was relatively powerful. In the blink of an eye, he broke free from that suffocating sensation.

During that brief contact, Sart saw the other party, and the other party saw him as well.

"An enemy at the Bronze Tier, possibly inclined toward the soul side. It saw me. There's only one of them," Sart shouted to warn Alice.

Alice casually shoved the torch into the hands of the attendant beside her and called out, "The rest of you retreat with the torch. Don't look back!"

She deliberately emphasized the final four words.

Before her voice had even faded, she smoothly drew her longsword and unfastened her shield. Silvery-white light erupted from the sword, covering her entire body in the blink of an eye as she charged alone into the pitch-black darkness.

Only then did Aaron realize that the night around them was unnaturally dense, almost tangible. He could even clearly see the trail Alice left as she passed through the darkness.

Ed glanced at Aaron. Instead of immediately following Alice, he carried his round shield and stood guard beside Aaron and Sart. He lowered his head slightly and vigilantly surveyed his surroundings, allowing the guards to pass in front of him.

Though he was also merely a Bronze Tier Sword Affinity extraordinary being, his rich combat experience allowed him to remain more alert.

Heretical Cultists were skilled at manipulating people's hearts. Since there were still ordinary people here, that meant the enemy was not alone...

The young lady would not be in danger for the time being, but if Aaron and Sart were suddenly attacked, it could lead to serious trouble.

Sure enough!

His judgment had been correct.

When the last guard passed by Aaron, he suddenly swung his one-handed sword at Aaron without warning.

Aaron had not even reacted when he heard a dull clang. Ed's round shield had timely knocked the one-handed sword aside.

With his back to the retreating torch, the guard's expression was completely impossible to see. In the darkness, only two sinister points of red light could be seen.

Ed's face was grim as he shouted, repeating Alice's words, "Don't look back! Hurry and leave!"

The already disorderly footsteps grew even more frantic.

Roar!

Seeing that his ambush had failed, the guard let out an inhuman roar and flung aside the obstructive round shield. His finely crafted one-handed sword tore through the air with a sharp gust before descending once more.

He had now erupted with strength far beyond that of an ordinary person. Unfortunately, his opponent was Ed, a Bronze Tier extraordinary being.

Ed carefully kept his body behind his shield. He swept the guard's sword aside with the shield while thrusting out the one-handed sword in his hand.

Aaron heard a sound resembling a waterskin bursting. Then a warm liquid splashed onto his face, somewhat viscous.

He instinctively wiped his face, only to smell the stench of blood.

Blood?

He froze.

Then a whimper came from across from him. He could see nothing in the darkness, but those two points of red light had vanished.

The crisp clatter of metal hitting the ground and the dull thud of a heavy object falling sounded almost simultaneously.

At that moment, Alice shouted again from not far away, "It's the Crawling Hand! Watch your feet!"

Almost at the same time, Aaron felt the ground beneath his feet begin to writhe like a living creature. He could even sense some inexplicable force beneath the earth forcibly tugging at his ankles.

"Starlight Above, guide my path." Sart appropriately scattered a handful of Spirit Powder and spoke rapidly.

In an instant, the deep-blue points of light drifting through the air ignited. The radiance they released illuminated everything around them, while deep-blue bands of light quickly wrapped around the three of them.

By the light spots Sart had temporarily created, Aaron finally discovered that the ground beneath them had completely transformed at some point. Palms made entirely of mud were tightly gripping his ankles.

He also saw an attendant lying on his back in a pool of blood not far away, while Ed was trying to smash apart the obstructive mud hand with his round shield.

On the other side, Alice shouted again, her voice carrying a hint of surprise. "Careful, it's coming!"

Aaron, however, saw that both of the attendant's palms had been severed cleanly at the elbows. They flew through the air and silently pounced on the completely unaware Ed.

He had just managed to breathe half a sigh of relief when he nearly choked on his next breath. He could only shout hoarsely, "Ed, watch out!"