Chapter 153

Chapter 153: The Beginning of Hostilities

“Mr. Lu Ke.”

On the small hill west of Igewent, facing the “figure” taking shape within the magical array, Oswan and Godfrey both bowed respectfully and said.

The gray and white “figure” did not immediately respond to the two but began mechanically moving its limbs as if adapting to something. As it adapted, its movements became smoother until it eventually moved naturally like a normal person.

Then, he directed his sight without whites or pupils towards the brightly lit school in the distance and slowly spoke.

“Have you… found him?”

The “figure” named Lu Ke said this, seemingly because of extremely abnormal vocal organs. His voice was dry and worn out, harsh and unpleasant, like it was scraped out with sandpaper.

“Yes, after days of investigation, we can confirm that your great enemy is in that school over there. He should be disguised as the principal of that school and is now inside!”

Facing the present Lu Ke, Oswan said with utmost certainty. Lu Ke then looked at the school in the distance for a moment before opening his mouth.

Then, over ten intangible wails of the undead burst out from Lu Ke’s mouth. They flew around in the air for a while before returning to wrap around Lu Ke and the other two. Following this, these ghosts carried them off the ground, lifting them into the sky and flying towards the distant school. Before they were lifted up, Oswan and Godfrey did not forget to bring their suitcases along.

After flying a certain distance in the night, the three finally reached the school’s airspace. Just as they were preparing to hover above and observe the situation below, suddenly, those originally carrying the three began wailing and darting around uncontrollably, causing the three to lose control and start falling.

Faced with such a situation, Oswan and Godfrey couldn’t help but panic, while Lu Ke gently waved his hand, regaining control of the group of ghosts, making them carry everyone down slowly, eventually landing on the ground in the open area at the center of the campus.

After landing, Godfrey and Oswan began observing the surroundings. At this moment, they noticed that the entire campus corridor and buildings were brightly lit, with exquisite stone sculptures decorating various places, adding a rich artistic atmosphere to the nighttime campus, yet there was an eerie feeling hidden within.

Godfrey and Oswan were surprised to find sounds coming from all directions. There were discussions in the corridors, lectures in classrooms, chasing and playing on the grounds… All the usual sounds of the school were present, but there was no one.

Whether in the corridors, classrooms, or grounds, although the sounds echoed, there was no one in sight. The bustling sounds combined with the empty campus created a strange scene.

Looking at the surroundings, Godfrey and Oswan were stunned. They had originally thought that with lights and sounds, the school should be operating normally as usual, so why was it like this? This unusual scene made them feel a bit uneasy.

“Why are there no students? Shouldn’t they all be in class at this time? Why are there only sounds?” Oswan said in astonishment, looking at the scene before him. At this moment, a slightly old voice replied to him.

“I gave those children tonight off as a holiday to entertain guests. For old friends, this is proper etiquette.”

Godfrey and Oswan turned their heads in surprise towards the direction of the voice, and then they saw a figure slowly walking out from behind the porch. He had white hair, wore a work cap, and had sleeves on, dressed in dusty work clothes, with a smile on his face, squinting eyes, and holding a small music box. This was Audric.

In the astonished gaze of Godfrey and Oswan, Audric slowly walked into the open area and then turned off the music box in his hand, causing the vibrant sounds of the campus to abruptly stop.

This music box belonged to Audric’s extraordinary item, with the attribute of “Shadow.” Audric had used it during a gathering to record the disguised voice of Dorothy and then played it back, finally confirming the newly enrolled Dorothy at St. Amanda School and conducting some tests.

Now, Audric used this extraordinary item to record the sounds of the entire school at night and recreated them in this deserted campus, confusing Godfrey and Oswan’s judgment.

“It’s been a long time, Gray Hill. You still love to play tricks.”

At this moment, Lu Ke also looked at Audric and said with a dry and harsh voice, while Audric responded easily.

“You’re not much different; you still don’t like showing yourself in person. Let me guess, is it one of your bones? I think it’s the pelvis bone,” Audric said with a touch of humor, smiling at Lu Ke. Lu Ke responded coldly.

“Hmph, I don’t have time for your pointless jokes. Hand over the item immediately, and maybe I’ll show mercy and not use your soul as fuel.”

“Hehe… Seems like you’re quite confident. Do you really believe that just by relying on a bone clone, you can defeat me in my workshop?” Audric said with his usual smile, while Lu Ke replied disdainfully.

“Just a failed advancement to Gold who was counterattacked. What’s wrong with that? The spirituality in your body might not even exceed that of black earth. What do you have to fight with me?”

“Then… let’s give it a try…”

As he spoke, Audric put his hands behind his back, his squinted eyes slightly opened, revealing a sharp gaze.

“Boom!”

Suddenly, the ground under Lu Ke exploded, and a pair of rocky hands emerged from it, tightly grabbing Lu Ke’s body. At the same time, the entire open area began to tremble, and cracks started forming in the surrounding ten square meters of ground, separating from the rest of the school.

Then, this section of ground began to rapidly sink downward like an elevator, carrying Audric and Lu Ke and others standing on it.

“Now that I’m the principal of this school, breaking everything would be bad. We’ve prepared our battlefield below. Let’s go together.”

Standing on the rapidly sinking ground, Audric said slowly. At the same time, the topmost layer of ground began to slowly close like a lid. Facing such a scene, Lu Ke remained silent. He turned his head and looked at Godfrey and Oswan, who were panicked and disoriented.

Lu Ke controlled the ghosts to drag the two up and throw them upward. Before the overhead cover closed completely, he sent the two back to the ground. Then the cover fully closed, completely isolating the underground and ground levels where Audric and Lu Ke were located.

Returning to the quiet campus, looking at the peaceful surroundings and the night sky above, Godfrey and Oswan felt bewildered.

“Mr. Lu Ke… went underground with that old man? Are they going to fight there?”

Oswan muttered, organizing the events that had just occurred. Suddenly, the ground trembled, and the surrounding buildings and structures shook slightly.

Then, the tremors from below continued one after another, as if there were enormous forces colliding beneath.

“We can’t interfere with their battle, so… Mr. Lu Ke sent us up?”

Godfrey muttered, looking at the scene before him. Just then, unexpected changes occurred around them.

Accompanied by the trembling from below, a beautifully carved half-body stone statue on the side of the corridor suddenly developed extremely fine cracks and then crumbled into fine dust, scattering onto the ground.

Then, like a contagion, this phenomenon appeared repeatedly. The stone statues decorating the surroundings suddenly turned to dust without any warning. Looking at the scene, Godfrey and Oswan felt puzzled.

What was happening? Why did these stone statues suddenly turn to dust?

Just then, a bald ghost emerged from underground, flying in front of Godfrey and Oswan and speaking the words of Lu Ke.

“Quick… destroy all the stone statues you can see above! Destroy them before that guy absorbs their spirituality!”