Crawling Hand

The doors within the City Lord's mansion were all made of heavy wood, requiring considerable effort to push open even on a normal day. There was absolutely no possibility of them being blown open by the wind.

Alice reacted with extreme speed. The moment she heard the strange noise, she immediately shouted, "I'm here, everyone stay calm and stay put."

Her words finally made the guards realize what was happening. The scattered footsteps ceased, and the courtyard instantly returned to silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Aaron subconsciously looked towards the darkness not far away, towards the places the firelight couldn't reach.

Shadows and darkness obscured his vision, but he could vaguely sense that something was indeed there.

At this moment, Alice had already snatched a torch from a guard's hand. "Everyone, extinguish your torches, immediately!"

Perhaps it was the unquestionable authority in her voice, or perhaps it was her noble status, but the torches were extinguished one by one. Within a few breaths, only the torch in Alice's hand remained.

The area illuminated by this single torch was extremely limited. The group huddled together to avoid leaving the circle of light.

"Who is the enemy?" Aaron asked instinctively, seeing Alice's actions.

"It's just a possibility," Sart said, comforting Aaron, but he unintentionally took a few steps forward, standing beside Aaron. He had already clenched a small handful of Spirit Powder in his hand and was quietly reciting a certain incantation.

Aaron only saw the Spirit Powder transform into a stream of brilliant blue light, all of it pouring into Sart's eyes. The starlight, which was only faintly visible in his eyes before, instantly became more concentrated.

He had temporarily constructed a simple ritual using the Spirit Powder: the "Eye of Stars."

The complete version of the Eye of Stars was a ritual that used Star Stone as the main material, along with cat's eyes, awakening roots, and shining roots' sap as many auxiliary materials.

Depending on the Prophet's level and the amount of incense used, the ritual could grant one additional spiritual power and perception for a period of time, making it easier to detect subtle changes.

This was originally an auxiliary ritual for Prophets before conducting large-scale rituals, and it could now be temporarily used to assist in combat.

Although the "Eye of Stars" ritual, with its simplified incense, had a significant reduction in duration and effect, it correspondingly did not require a lengthy preparation time.

In Sart's vision, all colors rapidly faded. Light and darkness lost all meaning, leaving only the purest, most unadulterated void.

And in this unobstructed space, he saw several points of light of varying sizes and colors – those were the souls of their group.

And not far away, he also saw a point of light emitting a dark purple hue.

The instant Sart saw the dark purple point of light, he couldn't help but feel his breath catch, as if a pair of invisible hands were choking his neck.

Fortunately, as a Transcendent of the Gold Coin Path, Sart's soul was relatively strong, and he broke free from this suffocating sensation in the blink of an eye.

In this instant of contact, Sart saw the opponent, and the opponent saw him as well.

"A Bronze Tier enemy, possibly soul-oriented. It saw me. It's alone," Sart loudly warned Alice.

Alice casually handed the torch to a guard beside her and shouted, "The rest of you, follow the torch and retreat! Don't look back!"

She deliberately emphasized the last four words.

Before her words even finished, she drew her longsword, unbuckled her shield, and a silvery light erupted from the sword, instantly covering her entire body. She charged alone into the pitch-black darkness.

It was only then that Aaron realized the night around them was unnaturally dense, as if it had substance. He could even clearly see the traces Alice left as she moved through the night.

Ed glanced at Aaron and, without immediately following Alice, instead used his one-handed shield to protect Aaron and Sart. He lowered his head slightly, warily scanning their surroundings, allowing the guards to pass by him.

Although he was only a Bronze Tier Transcendent of the Sword Affinity, his extensive combat experience made him cautious.

Cultists of heretical cults were adept at manipulating people's minds. Since there were still ordinary people here, it meant the enemy was not alone...

Miss wouldn't be in danger for now, but if Aaron and Sart were suddenly attacked, it could lead to serious trouble.

As expected!

His judgment was correct.

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

Aaron hadn't even had time to react when he heard a dull thud. Ed's one-handed shield had timely parried the one-handed sword.

The guard, with his back to the retreating torch, had an unreadable expression on his face. In the darkness, only two eerie red lights were visible.

Ed's expression darkened, and he loudly repeated Alice's words, "Don't look back! Hurry and leave!"

The previously scattered footsteps became even more chaotic.

"Roar!"

Seeing that his surprise attack had failed, the guard let out an inhuman roar, flung away the bothersome one-handed shield, and his finely crafted one-handed sword brought a sharp gust of wind through the air as he slashed down again.

At this moment, he had unleashed power beyond normal human capabilities, but unfortunately, his opponent was Ed, a Bronze Tier Transcendent.

Ed carefully hid his body behind his shield, parried the guard's longsword with his shield, and simultaneously thrust his own one-handed sword forward.

Aaron only heard a sound like a bursting water skin, followed by something warm and sticky splashing onto his face.

He instinctively wiped his face but smelled the scent of blood.

Blood?

He froze.

Then, a whimpering sound came from the opposite side. He couldn't see anything in the darkness, but the two red lights disappeared.

The crisp sound of metal hitting the ground and the dull thud of something heavy falling occurred almost simultaneously.

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

Almost at the same time, Aaron felt the ground beneath his feet stir as if it were alive. He could even feel an inexplicable force beneath the ground hard at work, pulling at his ankles.

"Starlight above, guide my path," Sart said swiftly, scattering a pinch of Spirit Powder at the opportune moment.

Instantly, all the azure specks drifting in the air ignited, their overflowing radiance illuminating everything around them. Simultaneously, azure light bands rapidly attached themselves to the three of them.

Under the light of the specks Sart had temporarily created, Aaron finally noticed that the ground beneath their feet had completely transformed. Palms made of pure earth were firmly gripping his ankles.

He also saw, not far away, a retainer lying on his back in a pool of blood, while Ed was attempting to smash away the obstructing earthen palms with the one-handed shield he held.

On the other side, Alice shouted again, her voice tinged with a bit of surprise, "Careful, it's coming!"

But Aaron saw that the retainer's two hands had been bizarrely severed at the elbows, flying through the air and silently lunging towards the unaware Ed.

He had just begun to relax, only to choke out, "Ed, watch out!"