The pot was quickly placed over the campfire, and Mrs. Marquez cooked the vegetables that Shade brought, and simply sprinkled them with salt. The fire was brighter than when Shade came, and the improvement in his mental state could be effectively reflected through the flames.
The bright firelight could illuminate the faces of everyone huddled in this small shelter, but considering the existence of a terrifying snow mountain evil spirit here, the four faces illuminated by the light seemed somewhat hideous.
"Can't you just leave here?"
"You really don't know?"
Miss Chloe Yin held the cup and sipped the hot tea. Her attitude towards Xia De was obviously much better:
"Only by climbing to the highest peak of the Silver Mountains can we leave this strange area. There is no concept of time here, and the space is extremely chaotic. There are countless ancient evil creatures living here."
After a pause:
“Black tea is very tasteful.”
When her face regained its color, the charm of a witch was almost immediately revealed. The red-gold eyes stared at Xia De, and that familiar look reminded Xia De of many people.
"In addition to the ancient evil, there are countless things in this snowy mountain that mortals cannot imagine. Demons, relics, and even the snowy mountain elves that are said to help the lost will disguise themselves as humans to lend a helping hand to the survivors."
As she spoke, she looked at Shade, who was still warming himself by the fire, and looked around to make sure there were no "magical elves" around her. The "snow mountain elves" she was talking about were not elves like Miss Orlan Nord, but a strange creature similar to a "spirit":
"I am human."
Shade stressed.
"Yes."
Miss Chloe Yin nodded:
"No matter what the purpose is, the three of us must climb to the highest peak of the Silver Mountains. Sir, if you are really here to help us, then use your wisdom to find out who among us is possessed by the evil spirit of the snowy mountains."
The evil spirits and demons that originated from the Third Age were very good at hiding. Even Shade couldn't find them easily. Fortunately, he had other ways:
“Try this.”
He then took out three small glass bottles, which contained Holy Water No. 4 made by Priest Augustus, which was very similar to Holy Water No. 3:
"Drink it. If you are possessed by a demon, you should have a reaction."
He handed the glass bottles to the three people, and Miss Chloe Yin shook the bottles:
"Holy water?"
Shade had not expected that the witches had already heard of holy water in the early Fifth Era.
“That’s a good idea indeed.”
The witch drank the liquid first, and it seemed that there was no reaction. Mrs. Marquez, who was cooking vegetable soup, also drank the holy water, and there was no reaction either. The timid man didn't say anything, but he knew that if he didn't do this, he would definitely be thrown out. But after drinking the liquid, he remained normal.
The wind howled in the mountains, the snow fell heavier, and the four people in the light of the campfire looked at the others in the small space. The shadows of the four people were reflected on the canvas and branches, which made the shadows look extremely terrifying.
In the jumping firelight, Shade also drank the holy water to prove that he was fine. He was very sorry that the Night Watch and the Demon Hunting Seal could not be brought here. No matter how good the demon was at hiding, it could not hide in front of these two relics.
"Ma'am, do you have any ideas?"
Feeling the chill rising again, Xia De asked Miss Chloe Yin again. The young witch shook her head slightly:
"If I had a good idea, we would have solved the problem before you showed up."
After saying this, he hesitated again:
"However, since you just mentioned the winter god, perhaps we can rely on the power of that great one to identify demons."
"You are going to perform a ritual to summon the gods?"
Xia De asked in a low voice, and Miss Chloe Yin immediately shook her head:
"You think too highly of me, don't you? Although I am a believer of that god, I am only at the eleventh level. And do you think I have any decent ritual materials?"
She moved forward a little, getting closer to the campfire. Shade didn't know how long this witch had lived in this snowy mountain. Her hair was messy, her lips were slightly pale, and she looked so miserable that Shade had never seen any other witch before.
"You seem to be thinking of something very disrespectful."
The witch looked at the pot of fragrant vegetable soup:
"We cannot perform the God-summoning ceremony, but we can call for the attention of the gods. This Silver Mountain is very special. In this environment, only a few great ones will respond to the call of mortals. The winter goddess, 'Winter Maiden', is currently the most likely god to be attracted by us."
She asked Mrs. Marquez to serve her a bowl of hot soup:
"The ritual requires a large amount of spirits. I can't perform the ritual, but fortunately I still have you. Under the watchful eyes of that god, the demons will have nowhere to hide."
"How exactly will the ceremony be held?"
Xia De asked immediately. The howling wind suddenly became stronger at this moment. The terrifying "woooo ...
"Glittering snow as an offering."
The witch said softly, her golden eyes looking at the other people in this small space:
"The blood of passion is your guide."
The howling wind that swept across the snowy mountains made her voice even deeper.
"Flawless ice as an altar."
The campfire that was still heating the vegetable soup suddenly became dim, and the light around it quickly weakened. Before the darkness really fell, Shade heard the last sentence:
"A mortal's wish is the most sincere call."
careful.
The whispers in his ears and the danger he instinctively sensed together prompted Shade to twist his body subconsciously. Something like a bullet with huge kinetic energy brushed past Shade's cheek. Just as Shade lit up the silver light on his fingertips, the firelight came on again, and all three people except Shade fell down.
The witch covered her chest, half-closed her eyes and leaned against the big rock. The bowl of soup was knocked over and scarlet blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. Mrs. Marquez, who was originally cooking vegetable soup, lay directly on the ground with her eyes closed, and it was unknown whether she was dead or alive. The cowering man covered his eyes and wailed softly, and blood flowed from under his hands, along his cheeks and toward his chin.
This at least shows that he is not dumb.
Everyone was injured, except Xia De. He turned around to look for the marks on the rag behind him where the bullet-like object had penetrated, but surprisingly found that the rag was intact.
The rekindled bonfire illuminated four people with different expressions, and four strange black shadows were swaying in the wind and snow.
"I think, Miss Chloe Yin, you won't doubt me?"
Xia De whispered in the wind. Miss Chloe Yin shook her head slightly, then coughed loudly. The blood fell on the shallow snow layer on the ground, blooming like a red plum blossom:
"It wants us to distrust each other. Although this method is effective, it is too low-level. I won't be fooled by it."
"Then I will go and prepare for the ceremony."
She was about to take action, but Miss Chloe Yin shook her head miserably:
"How could I understand the ritual of calling on the gods? I am just a shallow believer, not a priest of the gods. The Zalas Academy requires that the official members must have passed the probation period, and they cannot be clergy. I just wanted it to take action, so that it would reveal its flaws. What a pity, it was too fast, and I didn't notice anything."
"I didn't find anything either."
Xia De immediately said "honestly":
"Yeah, it was really fast."
As a light laugh was heard by my ear, silver moonlight flashed across my fingertips.
The bright moonlight struck Mrs. Marquez who was lying on the ground, but a second before the moonlight hit the target, billowing black smoke flew out from the middle-aged woman's facial features, blocking Shade's casual attack like a round shield.
Miss Chloë Yin moved almost immediately in the direction of Shade, and the timid young man huddled up into a ball, as if he wished he could turn into an ant.
Mrs. Marquez sat up straight and opened her eyes, with scarlet light flashing in them. The power of the evil spirit of the snow mountain affected everything around it, and the warm red flame turned black.
At this moment, the strong wind finally overturned the "shelter" behind the big rock. As the branches and cloth were swept into the thick and dark sky by the strong wind, the mortals were completely exposed to the snowy mountains in the blizzard.
In just a few seconds, the originally dry ground was completely covered with snow, and the warmth and sense of security in the small shelter were all gone.
"Moonlight Greatsword!"
The black mist from the middle-aged woman's facial features turned into wriggling tentacles and rolled towards the three normal people. Xia De grabbed the silver-white sword in the wind and snow, and split the dense group of tentacles made of black mist in front of Miss Chloe Yin's slightly shocked eyes:
"Why didn't the snowy mountain freeze your soul? Why was your spell casting so fast?"
At this time, the black mist that seemed to be the demon's body completely left Mrs. Marquez's body, and after a spin, it rushed towards Shade's face. He rolled in the snow to avoid the black mist, and as he stood up, his left hand slashed out moonlight:
"Silver Moon Slash."
Above the vast snow-capped mountains, the silver moonlight disappeared in the wind and snow, and the black fog was forced to bypass Xia De who was climbing up from the snow.
It did not attack the witch, nor did it care about the timid man. It circled above Shad's head. Both Shad and Miss Chloe Yin could hear the wild laughter coming faintly in the wind.
"Miss Chloe Yin, don't get close, I have a way to deal with it!"
Shade exclaimed as he climbed out of the snow and stood up straight.
The soul is connected to the elements, the elements absorb the spirituality, and the spirituality affects reality. The whistle sounded, the bells echoed, and a thick steam mist appeared behind him, enough to melt the large layer of snow behind him.
The shadow of the huge life ring kept approaching from the depths of the steam mist, until a life ring radiating four-color spiritual light appeared behind Shade. The huge brass wheel slowly rotated, even making the wind warm.
The sun-like spiritual light shone in all directions, and the slightly glowing snow surface reflected the light, as if Shade was standing in the light. Even though the simple shelter had been destroyed, the short witch felt an inexplicable sense of security when she saw the scene in front of her. The frozen power in her body seemed to melt in the light. The arrival of this strange man made the snowy mountain even stranger.