Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 765 - : The Mountain City Dancing with Evil Spirits

Chapter 765 -765: The Mountain City Dancing with Evil Spirits

On Monday afternoon, Dr. Schneider was busy. When Shard arrived by carriage, the doctor was counseling a patient who had recently been suffering from severe insomnia. However, he still took the time to meet with Shard.

Dr. Schneider charged for psychological consultation by the duration, so he was well-versed in the methods of hypnosis used to treat insomnia caused by psychological illnesses.

Shard didn’t conceal what he intended to do, he just didn’t mention that he had accepted the commission from the witches.

After listening, the doctor frowned and shook his head gently:

“If it isn’t necessary, I wouldn’t recommend you undertake such a dangerous task.

But since you have already decided, I won’t interfere with your choice. It’s better to be careful. I don’t have any advice to give you since I have never been to the Interstice of Life and Death you mentioned. Indeed, you cannot carry relics into dreams, but I do have a way to prevent you from being so distressed… Wait a moment.”

He asked Shard to wait in the reception room and left the room.

It was quite a while before the doctor returned, holding a black crystal pendant. The black cord, crafted with exquisite artisanship, was connected to a gold hook at the top of the crystal using a sailor’s knot. The crystal was hexagonal and flat, unremarkable at first glance. On the flat surface of the crystal, Spell Words written in Demonic language were inscribed. The twisted symbols, even at a mere glance, emitted a sense of corruption:

“This is an ‘Demon Amulet’ I crafted myself. When you enter dreams, hold it in your hand, and you will be able to use some of the demon’s power in the dream.”

The doctor handed the pendant to Shard, then added:

“Don’t worry, using this power won’t corrupt your soul. However, any soul harmed by this power might be corrupted by the demon power, so make sure no one sees you using it… or rather, make sure it’s not seen that it’s you using it.”

If Shard and the doctor didn’t share such a deep friendship, the doctor would never have produced such an item. Because it was evidence, clear evidence of the doctor’s involvement with demons.

Shard understood the risks the doctor was taking:

“I will be cautious. Doctor, how many Gold Pounds do I need to pay you?”

“No need, you took me to vanquish the Flame Demon last time, and I haven’t formally thanked you yet. If you really want to thank me, the next time you encounter a demon…”

He paused, then immediately shook his head:

“You better not encounter demons anymore, those creatures are not meant for humans to deal with. Anyway, be careful in the dream, I hope your entrusted friends can truly ensure your safety.”

Since the doctor could provide Shard with demon power in his dreams, Priest Augustus should also be able to provide him with the Death Angel’s power. But the priest had already followed the church’s team into Sicarl Mountain, and Shard couldn’t find him, so he had no chance to use both the powers of demons and angels at the same time.

Seeing that there was still time, having handled the matters in Tobesk, Shard then went to meet Iluna at Midshire Fort. Iluna had not gone to the mountains; she would stay in the city’s Nature Chapel, responsible for the core part of the ritual.

As the ritual approached, meeting Iluna in Sun Cathedral wasn’t easy either. After a brief meeting with Shard, Iluna also learned what Shard was about to do. Although she was worried just like Luviya, she reassured him with confidence and reminded him to be cautious.

“The ritual will take place either tomorrow evening or the evening after. When the ritual ends, I’ll return to Tobesk by Steam Hover Zeppelin, and probably see you in Tobesk by the weekend.”

The seventeen-year-old girl looked very pleased:

“Shard, when I get back, let’s go out to eat with Luviya and then see an opera. Although the scenery in Midshire Fort is nice, it’s boring to prepare the ritual in the cathedral all day or accompany the squad to clear evil spirits in the city. I’ve encountered more evil spirits recently than I have since I left the Papacy at the end of my training period.”

“Don’t talk like that before the dangerous things are over.”

Shard admonished, and Iluna nodded:

“Then, take care. However, Truth Society’s localized influence has been eradicated, and the vampire kind confirmed to not be entering the city area. Now that the Academy and the Church are collaborating, I can’t think of any oversights, besides the unexpected Joey Barton.”

Because she could not foresee any potential oversights, the upcoming events were fraught with risks.

After bidding farewell to Iluna, Shard went to the Midshire Fort Post Office. Due to the city-wide fog and City Hall’s curfew at night, the post office was scarcely attended. Although the people living there did not know what would happen next, they had understood from the mist that continued for a whole week that something unusual was happening.

Everyone looked anxious; the local newspaper sold in the post office also reminded citizens not to go to mountainous areas in the next two days and to keep windows and doors tightly shut after nightfall. Even when Shard was inquiring for news, he had heard rumors about the ghost disturbances in the post office the previous night.

The church had already sent people to handle it this morning, and people were prohibited from discussing the details of the incident. Even those who did not believe in ghosts had to admit that Midshire Fort was becoming increasingly strange.

This evening, before the post office closed, was the last chance to send letters to Red Water Camp in the mountains. Shard sent the amulets for repelling evil spirits and a letter cautioning safety to Captain Lades. The captain was certainly involved in the church’s action to seal the woods, and Shard hoped that one of the few ordinary human friends he had in this world would remain safe in this affair.

Stepping out of the post office into the dense fog, Shard clearly understood that despite the church’s thorough preparations, there would undoubtedly be some that were sacrificed. The church could only minimize the loss, but what the eventual outcome for Midshire Fort City would be, even the most skilled diviner couldn’t clarify at this moment:

“I was unprepared before Tobesk Night of Divine Descent, just apprehensive before Daknis entered the Dark Realm. This time, the situation seems even worse, do the stories of The Chosen always end in disaster…”

Before leaving Tobesk, Mia had already been temporarily placed under the care of Dorothy, so after leaving the post office and finding a carriage, he went directly to the witch’s manor to have dinner with Miss Aphrola.

The coachman who took Shard to the manor was also quite desolate; he planned to take a two-day break after dropping off Shard. Even without any income at home, working in such weather was untenable. From him, Shard learned about the evil spirit that appeared in the city every evening, randomly boarding a carriage since last Wednesday. Since then, four coachmen had gone missing, their bodies later found in the Sicarl Mountain.

Such incidents were no longer a rarity in the fog-enshrouded Midshire Fort City.

With time to spare in the evening, Miss Aphrola and Shard sparred a few moves in the vast basement of the manor. Shard was no match for the witch, even though she deliberately suppressed the power of her arcane techniques and sorcery, and he gained no upper hand.

Miss Aphrola wanted to test Shard’s current combat style and afterward provided him with many suggestions.

From midnight to two o’clock in the morning, the two spent their time in the study. For a small part of the time, Miss Aphrola talked about the scenery of Southern Nation Carsonrick, but most of the time they analyzed the situation in Midshire Fort together. freēwēbnovel.com

The witch believed that even if the sealing ceremony of the “Holy Tree Scar” succeeded, the severe tremors and resistance during the interstice could still result in a three or even four-digit number of casualties in the city. She was not being alarmist, and sadly, this was deemed the best possible outcome they could foresee.

At two in the morning, Miss Aphrola and Shard took a carriage to the Cassandra Auction House in Milestone City Center through the dense night fog.

The deep autumn night was already chilling, and the thick fog emanating from the interstice made the entire city seem as if it had plunged into deep sleep. Besides Shard, the witch, and the female coachman on the carriage, there were also Miss Aphrola’s maid and an accompanying sixth-tier female sorcerer.

Shard chatted sporadically with Miss Aphrola about cat-raising tips, while his eyes lingered on the fog-enshrouded night.

As they turned left on Elmwood Street into Constantin Commerce Street, the carriage suddenly stopped.

The witch frowned, and at that moment the coachman’s voice came:

“Miss, there’s a little girl standing on the road ahead.”

“There’s a more than ninety percent chance it’s an evil spirit,”

said Miss Aphrola, stepping down from the carriage with Shard.

The carriage had lanterns hanging on both the front and back, but their light, like that of the gas lamps along the road, only made the white fog slightly glow. In the thick fog ahead, the dim silhouette of a small girl was intermittently visible. She stood motionless in the middle of the road, and even the coachman swinging the lantern could not drive her aside.

“There have been frequent ghost sightings reported locally, and the citizens are avoiding traveling at night for fear of encountering such situations,”

Miss Aphrola explained to Shard, then instructed him not to move as she intended to handle the matter personally:

“It’s not very strong. We’re in a hurry, you don’t need to come over.”

The silhouette of the witch in her long dress entered the fog and quickly vanished, while the girl’s figure still stood in the middle of the road.

Shard raised an eyebrow and looked at the coachman, who shrugged indicating that Shard need not worry.

Indeed, just seconds later, golden light illuminated the thick fog ahead. Accompanied by a dull roar, all fell silent.

The girl’s figure disappeared, and Miss Aphrola came back, showing no signs of combat:

“Let’s go, hopefully, we won’t encounter any more road-blocking evil spirits.”

“What did that evil spirit want to do?”

Back in the carriage, Shard asked curiously.

“She asked me where her mother was,”

replied the witch, sitting across from Shard, her body leaning against the soft cushions on the carriage wall:

“Souls always have various grievances and fixations, but sympathizing with them only turns one into a fool. Those who should leave cannot stay, many just don’t understand this.”

“So, do you think I can convince Joey Barton to give up on resurrecting the dead?”

Shard asked, to which Miss Aphrola laughed lightly:

“Some people just can’t let go; they need to come to that realization on their own, not through someone else’s persuasion. Shard, you know the answer yourself, don’t you?”

The sound of hooves tapping could not travel far, and soon the carriage vanished into the dense fog. In the deep of the night, evil spirits lurked in the city, and church squads rushed through the shadows. The moon, as beautiful and serene as ever, hung in the sky, yet this moon, for a short while, could not illuminate the fog-covered Mountain City.