Chapter 1318: Chapter 1318: The Guardian’s Third Appearance
"What? This relic can move?"
The witch uttered the same question as Shard, but after just a moment of surprise, she commanded her summoned entity to deliver a fierce punch to the dark stone statue. After all, for a stone statue, piercing the chest is hardly a fatal injury.
In battles involving Transcendents, the combat isn’t simply about using brute force to attack the opponent. It’s unclear what kind of power the witch imbued into the statue, but the fists it struck out with were enveloped in blazing flames.
At this moment, everyone by the lakeside was staring, slack-jawed, at the confrontation in the center of the lake. Two giant statues, one with hands aflame and the other gripping firm ice, though their movements appeared somewhat slow, the combat between such colossal figures was still incredibly thrilling and unbelievable to normal-sized humans.
"They are followers of the Evil God, Stone Heart Demon!"
Luviya shook the newly acquired Spirit Pendulum, suddenly saying to Shard:
"They meddled with it, not to summon relics, but to grant the statues the ability to move! Followers of the Stone Heart Demon focus on such powers and might indeed be able to influence relics. But what kind of method could directly affect a Keeper of Secrets Level relic?"
This question won’t be answered anytime soon. The two giant statues were battling wildly on the black lake amid snowstorms. Although Miss Benanis’s summoned entity had the advantage in size and was more adept at fighting due to her command, it was a pity that this was merely a technique mastered for just a week, and the hardness of the relic was far beyond that of ordinary stone.
The fight between both sides lasted three minutes. During this time, high-ring sorcerers in the camp across the lake used Arcane Technique multiple times to repair parts of Miss Benanis’s statue, even adding a bone armor using unknown techniques. However, after the booming battle, the giant summoned entity called forth by "Power of the Earth: Summon Statue" regrettably lost, crumbled into pieces, and fell into the nearly blackened lake water.
But this wasn’t without meaning. Given the prefix of "Power of the Earth," the statue seemed to have absorbed some of the black mud from the lake bottom during the fight, and that mud also disappeared along with the statue’s defeat.
Though this purification was highly inefficient, it did manage to serve some purpose.
"But how did Ston Osenfort find out about this? Does he still have connections with cultists... could it be..."
He furrowed his brow slightly, saying to Miss Benanis and Luviya:
"Be careful; something else might appear shortly."
Luviya had already put on that beautiful holy white unicorn hairband, and Shard had noticed Miss Benanis glancing at it several times. Considering the witch’s safety, Shard temporarily lent her his Unicorn Amulet, which puzzled the witch.
"This incident is too large for us to handle; we must let the Church deal with it."
Shard said, his eyes fixed on the statue clutching the ice spear, once again frozen in the snowstorm:
"But we can’t just leave like this. I must go to the center of the lake and use ’Power of the Earth: Healing Aura’ to the fullest once. Whatever happens afterward, we must retreat immediately. This way, we might delay the mad expansion of the earth, allowing the Church’s support to make it in time."
"I’ll go with you. Although you are least affected by the Crazy Earth, it still has some impact. I’ll maintain the Realm of Abundance to help you."
Luviya responded promptly, and Miss Benanis certainly wouldn’t let the two of them take the risk:
"I’ll also..."
"No, you stay at the lake’s edge and summon the statue again to battle the Rain-Prayer Golem. Otherwise, once we approach the lake’s center, we’ll certainly be attacked by the relic."
Shard interrupted her, the witch understanding his arrangement was correct but not assured with only the two of them entering the lake:
"Call over Ciris and the others; my followers will protect you."
"No, they don’t possess the Power of the Earth. Following us would only drain Luviya’s Spirit."
Shard shook his head in refusal, shook off the snowflakes from his shoulders, and as he spoke, the white smoke from his mouth scattered into the night wind like a long dragon, the temperature dropping rapidly:
"No more delays, we depart now."
"No, I can’t let just the two of you go; you both only just reached the Five Rings."
The Blonde Witch grabbed Shard’s wrist, her gaze unwavering:
"I know you’re skilled, but you can’t just take such reckless risks."
Luviya stood by quietly, seemingly sensing something, turning to look behind her.
The Earth Wall summoned earlier had now vanished, the blizzard arrived, and the starry sky and moon were completely obscured behind clouds. Those purple eyes pierced the darkness, seeing someone walking out from the dim woodland:
"Stop arguing; let him go with us."
"Who?"
Shard and Miss Benanis turned together to look behind them, noticing a transparent glowing soul approaching them.
Saying that it was walking wasn’t quite accurate; with each step the unfamiliar man took, the soul would appear more than three meters ahead. Initially far away, within just five or six steps, he was standing in front of the three in the snow and nodded slightly to them:
"Allow me to introduce myself, Johnson Fleming."
"One of the founders of the Stonemason Guild."
Luviya added, sizing him up.
"Guardian of Randall Valley?"
Shard raised his eyebrow, then had new questions arise. He certainly knew the name; it was this gentleman who left a test at the Stonemason Guild, along with the Power of the Earth: Summon Statue and those original share documents. But his soul becoming a Guardian was something from centuries ago when the guild was initially established. According to Shard’s thoughts, these Guardians would frequently cast spells, resulting in their souls being constantly consumed and thus needing generations of Guardians to pass on their roles, so that the group of "Guardians" could continually exist.
However, Johnson Fleming’s appearance clearly did not align with Shard’s assumptions. His soul was not weakened but rather strong, much like Mr. Lathis and Mr. Thomas Granger whom Shard first encountered. This ancient wandering soul hadn’t undergone any inhuman changes due to the abrasion of time and still retained the reason he had when stepping into death.
Only after observing the third Guardian of Randall Valley did Shard finally notice something peculiar about them. Compared to ordinary undead, their strength was simply too powerful...
"I’ll go with you to the center of the lake. With the strength of both of us using Healing Aura, we should be able to purify this area."
The soul glimmering slightly in the snow spoke to Shard, who noticed that the snowflakes gradually blackened wouldn’t touch it at all.
"You Guardians, is it true that each of you can use Healing Aura? Is it standard for you all?"
Shard asked, but the latter merely smiled without answering.
"Then can you explain to us what the situation is with you all?"
Shard asked again, and this time the soul opened its mouth, displaying a thoughtful expression on its quite handsome face:
"Everyone has their own mission; we simply discovered ours. Strong souls like yours and mine have their own enemies. For my own safety, I can’t reveal our situation at the moment, but we are not enemies."
"Who is your enemy?"
Shard asked again, and Johnson Fleming pointed to the center of the lake:
"Tonight, a trap aimed at me was set by my enemy, but I have no choice but to come. Soon, you will know who my enemy is; you are not unfamiliar with that opponent. Strong soul, if we don’t act quickly, it will truly be too late. For this city, for Randall Valley, let’s set off now."
The True God Church’s Divine Ritual light continued to restrain the giant statue within the lake, while sporadic battles were seen on the lakeshore, indicating that the church also noticed the cultists’ presence.
The storm intensified, yet because the polluted muddy water could still be frozen temporarily at the lake’s bottom, with only a small portion seeping out, there was little black shown in the snowflakes. But if it continues for long, then tomorrow morning Randall Valley City is likely to plunge into madness.
Seeing Mr. Fleming’s unwillingness to speak, Shard could only proceed with the important task. Leaving Miss Benanis behind on the shore to summon the statue again when the time was right, Shard, Luviya, and Guardian Fleming ventured toward the center of Eldron Lake.
Before departing, Miss Benanis tossed a ring to Shard:
"Be careful."
The ring was impressively one of the Witch’s Jewelry, a Sage-Level Relic called Witch’s Golden Ring: Left One, capable of amplifying Shard’s power.
Shard showed surprise upon receiving the ring and then put it on his left hand.
The entire lake region now could be viewed as a pollution zone of "Crazy Earth;" even though two living persons and a soul all possessed Water Walking abilities, Shard chose to sprinkle bone powder to summon the worn-out small wooden boat for safety.
Normal wood would rot within seconds after contact with such lake water, but this boat, able to sail even through True Death, was certainly not affected.
Still, Johnson Fleming in his soul state seemed utterly amazed upon seeing the boat. The soul yet to truly depart might have witnessed something on the vessel. He glanced at Shard who was talking to Miss Benanis and then voluntarily boarded the boat.
This small boat, despite having oars and a lantern with dim light positioned at the bow, didn’t need to be rowed. It carried the two living persons and one soul, proceeding through the storm according to Shard’s intention.
At this moment, Luviya had already used Power of the Earth: Abundant Field, the purple-eyed girl sat at the stern, fiddling with her newly acquired Obsidian Pendulum, fondly admiring it. Shard sat at the side of the bow, while Mr. Fleming stood at the bow, gazing at the giant statue. Wind and snow blew against the soul and went straight through it.
In the dark grand lake, the small boat silently headed toward the center.