The forest, which should have been dark and decaying, was now filled with the Red Light of Twilight. Where it was intense, it burned like fire, yet it also carried an unavoidable sense of its fading glory and irreversible decline.
Derrick Berg, holding the " Unshadowed Crucifix " formed from pure light, walked slowly in front. To his left and behind was Colin Iliad, the " Demon Hunter " with gray hair, holding two straight swords. To his right and behind was Heim, the "Half-Giant" wielding the " Roar of the Thunder God " giant Heim. This " Half-Giant " who was over two meters tall was ready to exchange the sealed Sealed Artifact he controlled with Derrick at any time.
The light emanating from the " Unshadowed Crucifix " grew increasingly dim here, as if the Sun had sunk below the horizon, leaving only a golden afterglow.
Of course, none of the people in City of Silver had ever seen a similar scene before; they could only imagine it based on descriptions in ancient texts. Similarly, today was the first time they had ever witnessed what Twilight was like.
Ugh!
As the exploration team ventured deeper, the wind began to whisper through the almost frozen, Forest of Decay, as if countless creatures were weeping in the depths.
However, Derrick and the others did not feel any wind blowing on them at all.
Ugh!
The wind grew stronger and stronger, more and more soul-stirring. Derrick suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck, which made his hair stand on end and his body and mind go cold.
Normally, at this moment, a person's instinct would be to hunch their neck, raise their arms to block behind them, and half-turn their body to observe the situation and prepare for an attack. But Derrick did not do this because in a dangerous environment, recklessly turning one's head often leads to extremely terrible things. Moreover, he had his chief and teammates behind him, and he fully trusted that they could respond in time, entrusting his life to them.
With a whoosh, a silver blade coiled with tiny electric snakes flew past Derrick's neck, disappearing into the Twilight with a blurry, Distortion silhouette.
At the same time, the " Unshadowed Crucifix " was stimulated by something and suddenly broke free from its dim and gloomy state, allowing the light it emitted to become bright and pure again.
As dawn broke over the surrounding area, indescribable black shadows emerged one after another in the Dawn light, only to quickly disappear.
Once everything had calmed down, Derrick gazed ahead and asked in bewilderment:
"What are these? They don't look like Wraith, Specter, or Evil Spirit..."
" The Demon Hunter " Colin looked around and slowly began to speak:
"A certain residual aura... it seems to have merged with the power of Twilight, causing a certain mutation."
Never seen such Monster before... Derrick tightened his grip on the " Unshadowed Crucifix," moving his other finger, which hadn't been pricked, onto the thorns.
Thanks to the targeted abilities of " Unshadowed Crucifix," the exploration team made relatively smooth progress. Before long, they arrived deep in the Forest of Decay, where they could vaguely see distant cliffs and orange-red clouds through the trees.
The damage here isn't too severe yet; branches and leaves dangle in mid-air, blocking the frozen Twilight and instantly darkening the surroundings.
After carefully navigating around this area, Derrick's eyes suddenly lit up as he saw two standing, grayish-white, mottled stone tablets.
Before he could observe closely, the rays of Twilight light shining through the gaps in the branches and leaves simultaneously underwent strange refraction, intertwining and coalescing into a gigantic figure nearly ten meters tall.
The figure was very blurry, containing an ancient and unchanging meaning, like a reflection cast from the age of mythology.
Its skin was grayish-blue, and it wore silver-gray armor stained with blood-like spots. There was a ray of light on its face that resembled the setting sun, which seemed to be a manifestation of its eyes. Its mere existence caused the surrounding trees and even the void to bend, and everything began to decay uncontrollably.
Witnessing this scene, for no apparent reason, everyone present had the same thought:
" Giant King, the Ancient God Ormir!"
Joshua, Heim, Antillna, and other members of the exploration team began to develop granules on their skin, gradually revealing a grayish-blue hue. Between their eyebrows, flesh seemed to writhe, as if some Monster was about to emerge.
They simultaneously entered a state close to spiraling out of control.
They hadn't even seen the Mythical Creature Form yet; they had only approached the figure when they began to show signs of losing control, which grew increasingly severe.
Derrick Berg was relatively better off, because the pure light of the " Unshadowed Crucifix " enveloped him, bringing a sense of warmth and allowing him to briefly resist the erosion of decay.
At this moment, Colin Iliad had already bent down, carrying two straight swords coated with ointment, and was rushing towards that terrifying figure at a speed that created a hurricane.
However, this " Demon Hunter " did not charge in a straight line. He used a unique footwork, swaying his body from side to side, approaching the enemy in a wavy pattern.
The enormous figure standing in the Twilight looked at everything with eyes like the setting sun, without the slightest emotional fluctuation, like a sculpted stone statue.
Suddenly, the light on its face flickered.
It immediately crouched down and slammed its fists heavily into the ground.
Bang!
The earth shook violently, cracking open a fissure that caused Derrick and the others to lose their balance and stumble, nearly falling.
But " Demon Hunter " Colin leaped up first, soaring more than ten meters into the air, and from his superior position, he slashed out with his twin swords.
At that moment, the figure, seemingly from mythology, pulled a phantom giant sword formed from the light of Twilight from the crack in the earth and swung it forward with a mighty swing.
Storm of Light suddenly formed, sweeping towards " Demon Hunter " Colin and his companions, including Derrick.
Wherever this vast expanse of light passed, trees withered, soil turned to sand, and everything irreversibly entered a path of decay.
Bang!
The Storm brewing at Twilight was blocked by an invisible wall, causing the entire forest to tremble.
At some point, Elder Lovia, the " Shepherd," appeared to Derrick's side, with a tall, illusory figure covered in silver armor standing in front of her.
The figure with blood-red eyes knelt on one knee and planted a phantom giant sword into the ground, creating an exceptionally solid, invisible wall.
when!
At this moment, " Demon Hunter " Colin's two straight swords also struck the nearly ten-meter-tall, colossal figure with the aura of an ancient god, unleashing countless wildly unrestrained bolts of lightning.
Amidst the chaotic flashes of silver, the terrifying figure remained unharmed, only its silver-gray armor, covered in blood-like stains, dimmed slightly.
Using the force of the rebound, Colin leaped up again, flipped in mid-air, and launched another attack.
Within the decaying domain, he dared not unleash the Mythical Creature Form, for that might be irreversible.
Seeing that the phantom from mythology had been blocked, Derrick hurriedly followed the sudden tremor and heat of the " Unshadowed Crucifix " in his palm and pressed his fingers hard onto a sharp spike.
His blood, mingled with pain, surged into the cross, and a vibrant, clear light burst forth, soaring into the air before plunging downwards, instantly enveloping the figure clad in silver-gray armor, whose eyes resembled miniature sunsets.
In the sacred, solemn, and pure light, the enormous and illusory figure froze, remained motionless, as if it had encountered its natural nemesis, and the silver-gray armor stained with the light of Twilight even showed signs of melting away.
Seizing the opportunity, the Evil Spirit Rider in front of Elder Lovia, the " Shepherd," drew the illusory greatsword that had been plunged into the ground, and with silver slits appearing and disappearing, instantly slashed at the enemy.
" The Demon Hunter " Colin's two straight swords, like the rising sun bursting forth, covered the head of the ancient figure from above.
Joshua, Heim, and the others did not hesitate and each launched their strongest attacks.
After three rounds, the illusory figure that seemed to have traveled through time and space finally began to disintegrate, breaking into burning Red Light spots.
" Demon Hunter " Colin landed on the ground, looked at the scene, and after a moment's consideration, said:
"It should be the remaining guardian will of the Giant King that has merged with the environment here over the years, giving it a certain power and form, and it belongs to a kind of Evil Spirit."
What secret is hidden here...?
Upon hearing the chief's words, everyone turned their gaze forward to the spot where the terrifying phantom had blocked their view, and the atmosphere became quite tense.
Fortunately, it was just Evil Spirit, restrained by the " Unshadowed Crucifix "... It was only a remnant of its will, with almost no power. Even after thousands of years, it was still so terrifying. What would a true ancient god be like...? Uh, why does He have such a strong will to protect this place? Is it because His parents are buried here? Derrick breathed a sigh of relief, and with doubt and curiosity, followed the chief and the others closer to the two tombstones.
Phew... I don't need to do anything... I have to say, this " Unshadowed Crucifix " is really useful in the " Giant King's Court," so useful that I even doubt if this was Adam's purpose... Above the Gray Fog, Klein also breathed a sigh of relief and lowered the raised " Sea God Scepter " a little.
He then turned his gaze to the place that the Giant King's will still protect after thousands of years.
The first thing that caught his eye was two weathered, ancient tombstones, each inscribed with the words "Father" and "Mother" in Jotun.
They contain a mysterious power that can mobilize the forces of nature, allowing people to intuitively experience an emotion that blends longing, sadness, pain, and guilt upon seeing them, unconsciously infecting them and causing their spirits to plummet.
Behind the stone tablet was a tomb, but it had been destroyed, revealing two dark coffins underneath.
The coffin lid was lifted by someone, as if to confirm something, which bathed the two gray-white skeletons inside in the light that pierced through the branches and leaves, turning them a blood-red color.
Both skeletons were in human form, one no more than 1.9 meters tall and the other no more than 1.8 meters tall.