Chapter 211

Chapter 208: Statue

Looking at the goddess statue before her, Dorothy thought to herself, and began carefully observing the specific details of the goddess statue. She first focused her gaze on its head.

‘The break in the head seems quite fresh, very different from the rest of the broken parts. It must have been done recently. Moreover, the material used for this spider head carving is clearly different from that of the body of the goddess statue. These two parts are definitely not one piece.’

‘So, this goddess statue and the spider head carving should be two separate works, merely forcibly joined together. The head of the goddess statue was cut off and replaced with this spider head, and this should have happened not long ago. It’s very likely that the Eight Pinnacle Nest did this.’

While observing, Dorothy analyzed, and suddenly she had a slight understanding of why the Eight Pinnacle Nest wanted to control this ruin.

‘The Eight Pinnacle Nest spent effort corrupting the Secret Knowledge Society, using their convenience within the school to find the entrance to the ruins. Their main goal might be the altar hidden inside these ruins.

‘They cut off the head of this goddess statue and replaced it with a spider. I don’t know what significance this has, and judging by the current situation, the strange events in Razor Mountain may also be related to them.’

Dorothy continued thinking, now suspecting whether there might be some connection between this goddess statue and the Star Number Repair Association. So she kept holding the lamp, circling around the statue, carefully observing to try and find any clues.

‘The style of this altar… seems somewhat similar to the Radiant Church’s church style. Could this statue be related to the Radiant Church? Could she be a statue of the Holy Mother?

‘No, I’ve seen many depictions and statues of the Holy Mother, usually of mature and plump women. Although this statue only shows the body part, its figure leans towards being slender. Especially, the chest compared to the Holy Mother statue is too different; overall, it seems more youthful. And generally, sculptures and paintings of life do not use mirrors, so this might be a youthful goddess.’

Dorothy continued analyzing the statue in front of her when she noticed something unusual on one of the walls nearby.

On that wall, amidst the mottled surface, there was a place where a black cloth hung very prominently. Looking around, there were no other such additional things hanging on the walls elsewhere.

‘A piece of cloth?’

Seeing that piece of cloth, Dorothy felt puzzled, then took out her magic box to summon a human zombie puppet and instructed it to go check the black cloth.

‘It seems new, as if those guys just hung it up. Are they trying to cover something?’

Thinking this, Dorothy controlled the zombie puppet to slowly lift the cloth.

Then, in front of Dorothy appeared a cracked brick wall. At one corner of the brick wall, a small area of bricks had fallen off, revealing a second layer of wall behind it, which was engraved with intersecting characters.

‘There’s something behind this brick wall? This brick wall was built afterward to cover what was originally engraved on the wall?’

Seeing this, Dorothy’s eyes lit up. She then controlled the zombie puppet to pull away the black cloth and began slowly removing the loose bricks. Soon, many bricks were removed, and the engraved characters they covered gradually came into view.

These were two segments of text carved into the wall, corresponding translations of each other. One was in Prit language, while the other Dorothy unexpectedly recognized—it was Imperial language!

During her encounter with Lu Ke, Dorothy had obtained an Imperial language translation book from Audric. That translation book was also in Imperial language, and it recorded poems praising a king called the “King of Light,” who united allies, drove out evil gods and demons, and established the empire.

Now, the writing on the wall was also in Imperial language like the poem. The author who wrote the “King of Light” poem and the one who carved the words on the wall might share something in common.

Next, Dorothy began seriously reading the carved content on the wall. Fortunately, it seemed that someone had later carved a Prit language translation next to it, allowing Dorothy to understand.

After a brief scan, Dorothy realized this was a farewell message.

…

“It’s over, all the altars and churches on the island have been closed and taken over.

“Whether public or secret. Whether in towns or in the wilderness. Even this one, established in the ancient ruins for training and meditation…

“According to the agreement, the faith in the goddess will completely withdraw from the three islands. If we wish to continue following the goddess, we must leave our homeland and go far east.

“I am reluctant to leave here, this is my homeland, but for the sake of the goddess, I must forsake everything. I have already made a vow before the Mirror Moon.

“O people of Prytania, please do not fear. Though we, the servants of the goddess, will depart far away, the goddess’s favor will remain on this land.”

…

North of King Campus, North Pine Forest.

Among the number of nights, the cruel and bloody battle was nearing its end. Thistle and A Ming’s team was no match for the well-prepared hunters. Under perfect ambush conditions, their collapse was rapid.

Soon, Thistle’s subordinates were all wiped out, and his colleague A Ming was decapitated during the battle with the hunter captain, dying instantly. He himself was injured.

At this moment, Thistle was fleeing through the dark forest with his wounded body, now fighting alone with all his might. The hunting team was closely pursuing him from behind.

Under the captain’s leadership, the hunters pursued their prey, one black shadow after another flashed through the forest, the fleeing silhouette getting closer.

Thistle was a Black Tier “Shadow” extraordinary being, theoretically possessing impressive speed. However, his injuries were hampering him, preventing him from giving his all.

“d*mn… Black Dogs…”

Feeling the footsteps closing in, Thistle could only grit his teeth and desperately accelerate, but this did not help create distance.

A hunting team captain and several members ran at the forefront, seeing the approaching prey. A smile formed behind his mask, and he gripped a small stone kn*fe tightly in his hand.

Just as this wind sorcerer captain was about to use a wind blade to strike down the prey, a dense sound emerged from the dark forest. Amidst rustling noises, a large group of bats suddenly appeared from the woods, swooping down on the hunters.

“Get away!”

The captain immediately warned his team members, then swung his stone kn*fe, creating a strong wind to disperse the bats, creating space for his team to dodge.

However, three hunters were caught unprepared and were instantly swallowed by the swarm of bats, enveloped in darkness, struggling on the ground and screaming in pain.

“Ah!!”

After just five or six seconds, the struggles stopped. The bats flew away, leaving behind three bodies full of bl**d holes, then flying collectively in one direction.

In front of everyone’s eyes, these tiny bats converged and in an instant condensed into a human form.

When the bats disappeared, a tall, thin man with bald head, pointed ears, pale skin, dark circles under his eyes, and prominent cheekbones stood on the ground. His hands were clasped behind his back, his bl**d-red eyes coldly scanning the surroundings.

“Claudius!”

Seeing the man appear, Thistle exclaimed joyfully, while the hunting team captain tightened his fists with a serious expression.

“White Chalk… Vampire…”

…

Today is still a double chapter release. There have been some fluctuations in my schedule recently, please bear with me.