Pale Wraith (Please Read On)

"Whew—finally made it!"

Lincon walked atop the Ancient Maple Guardian's shoulder, raising the oil lamp in his right hand as he silently watched Li Zhouhai, whom he had just saved, below.

At that moment, Li Zhouhai was staring at him with a gaze full of shock and astonishment.

In fact, it was not just Li Zhouhai. Almost everyone's eyes were focused on Lincon.

Of course, most of that was thanks to the Ancient Maple Guardian beneath him.

But regardless, his arrival lifted the hearts of Li Zhouhai's group, who had fallen into despair, if only slightly.

Li Zhouhai finally came to his senses and shouted, "Are you the master of the shelter nearby?"

Lincon gave the sturdy old man a surprised glance and raised his hand.

"Follow me."

He had the Ancient Maple Guardian grab a dead tree from nearby. After inscribing a Purification Rune onto it with the oil lamp's flame, Lincon opened the lampshade and used Purifying Fire to ignite the tree.

Whoosh~

Under the influence of the candle wax, the Purifying Fire quickly ignited the entire crown of the dead tree.

The dry, moistureless branches only made the blaze burn more fiercely.

The dead tree now resembled an enormous torch. The roaring Purifying Fire drove back the darkness and sent the low-level Dark Creatures swiftly retreating into the shadows.

A tremendous light suddenly rose from the darkness like a sun. Everyone watched the scene, their gazes fixed on the figure standing atop the giant tree man's shoulder.

This person was like a beam of light appearing before them, forcefully reviving what had been a hopeless situation.

Amid the crowd, a woman held a small child in her arms. The flames of that enormous torch reflected in her pupils.

The fire was so bright and pure. It dispelled the chill of Dark Erosion and pulled people back from the shadow of death.

As she watched, tears streamed from the woman's eyes.

Just moments ago, a Dark Creature had appeared beside her and was about to take her life.

Then this dazzling light had risen, startling the Dark Creature into fleeing at once.

Those Dark Creatures seemed to loathe the firelight. Even the Black Insects struck far less frequently.

The young child opened his eyes in his mother's arms and asked softly, "Mom, is that the sun?"

The woman smiled but did not explain. She merely stepped forward with even greater resolve.

She did not know who that person was, but anyone who came to save them after darkness had fully descended had already surpassed most people of this era.

At that moment, simply looking at that figure's back filled her heart with an inexplicable sense of safety.

Perhaps this person really could lead them out of the darkness alive.

Naturally, Lincon, who was at the very front, could not sense the thoughts of those behind him.

Right now, he only wanted to get everyone back to the fortress as quickly as possible.

Sitting on the Ancient Maple Guardian's shoulder allowed him to see farther than Li Zhouhai and the others.

Beyond the reach of the firelight, many Dark Creatures whose forms could not be made out were gathering.

They slowly surged toward the crowd.

Although the light produced by Purifying Fire could fend off attacks from some low-level Dark Creatures, it would not last forever.

As the surrounding darkness continued to encroach, the light was gradually being compressed.

Moreover, the Purification Rune he had just inscribed was nowhere near enough to sustain the flames. Lincon had to invest more mental power and continue inscribing the Purification Rune.

The crowd moved very slowly, so Lincon had no choice but to make the Ancient Maple Guardian slow down as well.

There were still several kilometers to the fortress. Reaching it safely would be extremely difficult.

Lincon looked back and saw that the Dark Creature the Ancient Maple Guardian had punched into mush was slowly regaining its shape.

Pale arms stretched out one after another as it pursued them like some grotesque alien creature.

"There's more than one D-Rank Anomaly Calamity in this darkness!"

Lincon's expression turned grim as he called down to Li Zhouhai, "Can you make your people move faster? It would be best if we can reach the fortress within half an hour."

Li Zhouhai gritted his teeth and had Guan Teng lead some people to the rear to urge everyone onward.

Of the thousand-plus people from before, only a few hundred remained. Most were women and children, so increasing their speed would likely be difficult.

Yet to Li Zhouhai's surprise, whether because of Guan Teng and the others or something else, the entire group moved faster than he had expected.

However, Lincon glanced around, and the urgency in his heart only grew stronger.

Maintaining such a wide range of Purifying Fire consumed an enormous amount of mental power. Besides, the Weird Calamities and Anomaly Calamities in the darkness were not merely watching from the sidelines; from time to time, they attempted to step into the range of the Purifying Fire.

If his mental power ran dry or the Purifying Fire went out before they reached Longwind Fortress...

Not only Li Zhouhai and the others, but Lincon himself would probably die here as well.

After all, quite a few Dark Creatures had already been drawn here by their group.

Under Lincon's lead, the group walked for more than ten minutes.

During that stretch, time seemed to drag on endlessly. Everyone gritted their teeth and persevered.

Lincon kept rubbing his brow, trying to ease the mental strain.

But just then, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a Pale Wraith slowly emerging from the edge of the distant woods.

The instant he saw the Pale Wraith, Lincon's hair stood on end. He suddenly roared at the people below.

"Run!"

Li Zhouhai did not understand why, but when he saw Lincon's tightly furrowed brow and bloodshot eyes, he immediately acted.

He quickened his pace first and began to run, taking the lead.

With those in front running and everyone having heard Lincon's shout, no one dared hesitate. They clenched their teeth and ran for their lives.

The crowd descended into chaos once more, with the faster runners and slower runners nearly splitting into two groups.

Lincon had to guide the group's pace while remaining wary of the Pale Wraith.

However, the Pale Wraith was even faster than he had imagined. It covered more than ten meters in a single step, almost as if it were teleporting.

Before long, it entered the range illuminated by the Purifying Fire.

"Sizzle..."

The instant the Pale Wraith appeared, the Purifying Fire began to sway violently, and its burning speed abruptly increased.

At the same time, the range of the firelight visibly shrank.

By then, Longwind Fortress had faintly appeared within the glow cast by the Purifying Fire.

Outside the walls, the sprawling Sunshine Sunflower Sea formed a band of light that shielded Longwind Fortress from the darkness.

When those at the front saw this, they could not help speeding up again.

The light formed by the Sunshine Sunflower Sea was not particularly strong, but it was enough to let them see the road ahead.

Thus, some people ignored the warning and stepped beyond the firelight's reach.

But not long after one of them left the range of the firelight, a tentacle shot out from the surrounding darkness and instantly dragged him inside.

The people ahead stopped in their tracks at once.

"Don't stop! As long as you don't leave the firelight, you'll be fine!" Lincon shouted.

He looked at the dead tree clutched by the Ancient Maple Guardian. Only a small section of the roots remained.

Fortunately, everyone had already crossed the Sunshine Sunflower Sea one after another and begun entering the fortress.

But at that very moment, an intense malice, seemingly tangible, surged forth and whipped up a violent gale.

The Pale Wraith slowly raised its head.

In an instant, heaven and earth darkened.