As the manor gradually returned to its original state, in the afternoon sun, bright yellow flames appeared on the five monsters transformed by the owners of the manor. But instead of wailing in the flames, they smiled with joy after their spirits returned to normal.
The night was broken, and the sun shone over the long-abandoned manor. Ghosts and mummies floated or crawled out of the mansion one by one, and were burned to ashes in the sun.
The winter afternoon sun shone on his face, and the warm feeling made Shade feel comfortable. He bent down to pick up the suitcase that had fallen into the snow, and then grabbed the Holy Grail that emerged from the ground. This time the rune was memory, which was different from the past.
"I'll take this as a souvenir."
He shook the photo frame in his hand.
At this time, the ogre's limbs regenerated and he stood up in the burning flames; the little monster with a rat tail grew bigger and supported his old father; the two souls that gradually became transparent in the flames hugged each other, and then the little girl still covered her face, but also faced Shad.
A family of five stood together in the flames burning in the void, and the photo frame suddenly cracked in his hand, but fortunately the yellowed old photo was still intact, which was a photo of a family of six.
Old Watson, with a still terrifying look on his face, nodded:
"It's yours... Thank you."
"You're welcome. I didn't come here just to save you."
He waved to the five people as a farewell, then turned his back to them, walked on the snow in the sunshine, crossed the courtyard with one deep step and one shallow step, and came to the fence gate.
The gate had been opened a crack, and Shade even walked sideways through it. He turned around and wanted to close the gate, but when he looked up, he saw the dilapidated manor again, which was so peaceful under the snow and sunshine. The circling crows had flown away at some point, and only a few sparrows that flew from nowhere were perched on the snow.
On the snow in front of the mansion, there was a patch of black ash. And where the family of five had just stood, there was now only a patch of black ash. He looked down at the old photo in his hand, hesitated for a moment, then rolled it up and put it in his pocket.
“It’s so quiet.”
Xia De sighed quietly, then slowly closed the gate, turned around and walked along the slope to the forest path in the cedar forest below:
"Devil, huh..."
He muttered softly, and his figure gradually became blurred in the snow.
It was already three o'clock on Monday afternoon. If Shade wanted to take a carriage back to the city of Randall Valley, he would have to walk along this country road for at least half an hour before he could reach the edge of the city.
The snow was getting heavier, and when Shad was walking downhill in the forest, which was no longer so eerie, and passed the place where he met the three hunter skeletons and fought with the devil, three more people were vaguely seen walking in the wind and snow on the path.
Because of the legend of haunted places and the relic's repelling effect on ordinary people, few people actually come here. Shade was originally curious about who this person was, but when he got closer, he found that the three people opposite were all ring sorcerers.
"Did the two guys I let go just now call for help?"
Xia De, who was in a bad mood at the moment, just wanted to release his bad mood, but unfortunately his guess was wrong. After getting closer, he clearly felt the strong divine breath of the Sun Church on the three people, which was not only the breath of their clothes and their own power, but also the breath of the exorcism items they held.
Because he is so familiar with Yin Luna, Shade, the divine magic of the Church of the Sun, is the most familiar.
"It's a team of ring sorcerers from the Church of the Sun. But it's not a full-strength team. They're probably just here to investigate the situation."
Xia De vaguely understood what was going on, but he did not dodge the opponent, but walked straight towards him. The three people who were walking in the wind and snow on the opposite side discovered him a few seconds later than Xia De, but unfortunately they did not have the same perception ability as Xia De, so they did not know that Xia De was a ring sorcerer.
The two sides soon met on a path in the snow-covered cedar forest. Shade nodded slightly to greet the three people, and the leader, a seventh-ring warlock wearing a brown coat and holding a metal trekking pole-like cane, asked Shade politely:
"Excuse me, is Watson Manor at the end of this road?"
"Yes."
Xia De nodded and told them:
"It will take about ten minutes to walk there. There is a road sign in front of the manor, so you won't make a mistake."
Seeing that Shade had a good attitude and he was walking in the snow with a suitcase without even wearing gloves, and judging from his attire and temperament, Shade did not look like a country villager, the mustachioed seventh-ring warlock asked curiously:
"By the way, where did you come from..."
He glanced behind Shad. The end of the road was Watson Manor, and the two forks that followed led to the countryside farther away. Generally speaking, no one would walk here in this season.
"Oh, me."
Xia De made an expression as if he finally understood what the other party wanted to ask:
"I'm also going to Watson Manor, but I'm one step ahead of you."
He said, pointing at himself under the three people's vigilant eyes:
"If you had come three or four hours earlier, you would have seen a lot of things. I first encountered undead blocking the road, and then at the gate of the manor, I ran into cultists who believed in the evil god Stoneheart. Later, they entered the manor, expelled the relics, and purified a large number of undead."
He did not mention the demon. He was almost done with it, so there was no need for the church to get involved. He was not worried that the church could not deal with the ancient evil spirit. On the contrary, he was worried that once the church locked on to the other party, with the number of ring warlocks currently transferred to the diocese to deal with the matter of the Chosen One, the demon would die too quickly, and in this way, the doctor and Sister Develyn would not get what they wanted.
However, these people will definitely find some clues in the manor in a while. Using those tiny clues to investigate and hinder the devil's plan, Xia De is happy to see it happen:
"Also, the land there has also fallen into madness, and I have purified it. You can go check it out and report back. Oh, it's a pity that the guardians didn't show up."
By now, the church should have been aware of the "Guardians" group, so when Shad said this, the other party should know what he meant.
"Excuse me, your Excellency is..."
The middle-aged man with the seventh ring asked cautiously, and the fifth and fourth ring warlocks following behind him did not show any hostility. This was the difference between the team of the Orthodox Church and the cultists.
"unimportant."
"But you have the power to purify the mad land."
"Yes, that's because I've come into contact with the Guardian. Let me tell you a piece of information for free. The Guardian can give other people the power of the earth."
Shad said:
"You guys keep going, I'm going back to the city. I'm really looking forward to having a drink in the warm tavern, I'm freezing today."
"Please wait a moment!"
The Seventh Ring Warlock said hurriedly. He didn't think of forcing Shade to stay. After all, the perception of the three of them could not detect whether the person in front of them was a ring warlock or not.
"Anything else?"
"Well... We are a team of ring sorcerers from the Church of the Sun in the Randall Valley Parish. We have been ordered to investigate the matter at Watson Manor. After the incident at Eldron Lake last week, the local Church of the Five Gods discussed and believed that there must be many undiscovered twisted areas in the Randall Valley area. Therefore, we must send people to investigate every suspicious location."
"I know all this. I also know who you are. Otherwise, why would I talk to you?"
Shade said, and then asked:
"Anything else? If not, I have to leave now."
"Wait a moment... Excuse me, are you the man who purified Lake Eldron last Thursday night?"
He asked tentatively, then reached out to his companion. The young fourth-ring warlock handed him a small bottle, which was then handed to Shad.
Holy Water No. 4, the standard material for the church's ring magician team to carry out missions. Although priest Augustus can purchase unlimited supplies, Shade still took it:
"It may be, or it may not be. This question is meaningless."
He pointed behind him:
"But it seems to me that you will be busy for a while. The problem with that manor is big... really big."
He emphasized his tone:
"Although I have cleared up most of the problems, you still have to be careful."
After all, there might still be some demonic power left. If Shade took the Night's Watch and used this ritual sword to cast the "Light Spell", it would be completely purified. But unfortunately, he couldn't bring the sword now:
"Also, the cultists I encountered also came for this manor, but it's a pity they couldn't deal with the relic."
He was in no hurry to leave:
"I've told you so much information, you should tell me something too... Have you found out where the escaped cultists and the Blood Spirit School are hiding? Has the thirteenth ring warlock of the Blood Spirit School, Blood-weeper Hermons, also come to the local area?"
The three of them looked at each other, and the seventh-ring warlock who was still in the lead said:
"This is not some secret information. We haven't found it yet, but at least we can be sure that they are still staying in the local area. As for Hermons, there is no news yet, but we can't rule out that he has entered the Old World again."
Blood-weeper Hermons was injured by the Sunshine Greatsword of the Church of the Sun during the Tobesk Darkness Descent incident at the end of last summer. Half a year should be enough for him to recover from his injuries.
"Of course they are local. Their purpose has not yet been fulfilled. Either to call upon their gods, or to the chosen ones of the earth, or both."
Shade ignored the three people's surprised expressions;
"You see, I don't look like a local either. If I'm not here for the chosen ones, then is this a mysterious high-level sorcerer from out of town? Is it incredible that I know this?"
He waved to the three of them:
"I really have to go back to the city this time. I wish you a smooth operation. The weather is really bad. Also, I'm not a god-caller, so don't make random guesses."
There was so much power left in Watson Manor that Shad was sure that no one could predict him.
As he spoke, Xia De passed by the three people and walked towards the city along the way they came.
"team leader."
The fifth-ring middle-aged man asked the seventh-ring warlock holding a trekking pole, who shook his head slightly. The three of them stood there, watching Shade walk further and further in the snow, then turned around and continued to move towards Watson Manor.