Lady Gloom's voice was still calm. "We are now near Louen, which is a good result. I was waiting for a quiet window in a few days, when there would be a short gap in the energy fluctuations of the Sea of Carnos, and I could open a precise teleportation portal to send you to the nearest place to Asurmen. But something unexpected happened, and the teleportation had to be carried out in advance. I can only guarantee that I can bring you to Sanctum, but I can't determine where you will land. Now you should feel lucky that we are not far from Asurmen. "
Calaxus could sense the confidence in Lady Gloom's tone. "How much do you know about Sanctum?"
Lady Gloom shook her head gently. "I used to know a lot about Sanctum, but since the storm of Chaos, my connection with Sanctum has become quite weak."
The high-ranking monk frowned, but his eyes did not leave Lady Gloom. "Who are you? How do you know so much about Sanctum? "
"It's not like an inquiry, but more like an interrogation," Lady Gloom said faintly, but her tone was emotionless. She pointed to her chest. "There are many things I can't explain to you. There are too many causes and consequences involved, and it will take a lot of time to explain them all. I can only tell you that I will do my best to protect this place because the survival of Sanctum is closely related to me. "
"Are you from Sanctum?" The high-ranking monk seemed to have come to a conclusion. He looked at Lady Gloom suspiciously. "Someone who has left Sanctum and lived in seclusion in the secular world?"
"Sanctum?" Lady Gloom repeated in a low voice. "Probably."
With that, she turned her head away. Apparently, she did not want to continue the topic.
Calaxus also stopped asking questions. The situation was not optimistic, and even a high-ranking monk like him was a little confused. Under such circumstances, every partner was precious, and he should not waste his energy on meaningless questions and arguments.
After observing the surroundings, Hao Ren turned to look at Calaxus. "What kind of place is Louen? How far are we from the sacred mountain of Asurmen? Where should we go next? "
Calaxus looked in a certain direction. "Louen is the nearest big city to Fidelinopolis. There are some small towns between Louen and Fidelinopolis, and the road transportation is very convenient. As for Asurmen … it's in that direction. "
Following the direction of his finger, Hao Ren saw a hazy light and shadow at the end of the horizon. The light was faint and misty, like the lights of a distant city through the mist. If one did not look carefully, they would not be able to see it at all.
"The holy mountain of Asurmen used to be bright. Near Louen, you can see the brilliant light column in the night sky when you look up," Calaxus said bitterly. "But since a few months ago … sigh."
Hao Ren looked in the direction of Asurmen and silently calculated the approximate distance before his eyes fell on the city at the foot of the mountain.
The situation at the Sacred Mountain was unknown, and according to what Lily had told him about the Shadow of Nightmares, he had a feeling that the shadow entrenched in the Theocracy might be beyond everyone's imagination. Under such circumstances, rushing into Fidelinopolis might not be a good idea.
Although the Sanctum investigation team came from this land, they had been away for more than a month. During this month, the Sanctum had undergone tremendous changes, and their intelligence in this regard was quite backward.
In any case, they should gather information first.
"Let's go to the city and ask around," Hao Ren said, pointing down the mountain. "In any case, the Sanctum has been eroded to this extent within a month. Something is definitely wrong."
As the team was about to depart, a church knight suddenly stood up and pointed to the big cage guarded by the bear monsters. "What about this monster? Besides, if the abhumans enter the city … I'm afraid it will cause problems. "
Lily wrinkled her nose when she heard this. But she also knew that the dozens of demonic wolves, bear monsters, and other monsters that she had brought with her would be a walking terror wherever they went. So she just bared her teeth to express her dissatisfaction and did not say anything.
"It makes sense." Hao Ren nodded. "And if we want to go into the city, it's not appropriate to bring everyone with us. Let's do it this way. Lily, let your men camp in the woods outside the city and take the nightmare monster with them. It's best to leave a few church knights with them so that even if they accidentally run into the local patrols, there will be someone to negotiate. The knights are locals, and they know the situation better. "
Calaxus did not object to Hao Ren's "overstepping" arrangement. He nodded. "Very thoughtful. Let's do as you say."
The group of people completed the assignment outside the city at the foot of the mountain. All the abhumans were on standby in the woods outside the city. The monster, which Lily named "smoked meat," was also detained in the temporary camp. Several church knights and an assistant bishop stayed in the camp, while the others went to the city with Hao Ren to check out the situation. The two groups of people kept in touch with the magic stone of communication.
The city of Louen was quiet and eerie at night.
A gust of chaotic wind blew in all directions, bringing with it a chill. This chill seemed to be able to slowly seep into one's bones. Even if one was wearing thick clothes, one could still feel the chill spreading on one's skin. There was almost no one in the streets of the city. The doors of the buildings on both sides of the street were all closed. Dim lights shone from behind the cloudy windows, and the flickering lights seemed to reflect uneasy shadows. According to the folklore of the sanctum, every household was used to hanging a small lamp on both sides of their door, regardless of whether they were rich or poor. At this moment, all the small lamps were lit. But these decorations, which used to fill the city with vitality in the past, looked particularly strange at this moment. The small lamps were dim, and the wicks inside seemed to be distorted by a strong magnetic field. The dim yellow light was tinged with dark red, like dirty blood.
This abnormal phenomenon seemed to indicate that the dark magic from the Sea of Carnos had begun to invade the material world, and this sacred land was gradually turning into a seedbed of dark power.
The group walked on a deserted street. Along the way, they couldn't find any passersby that they could inquire about the situation. Hao Ren frowned. The strange atmosphere in the city seemed familiar. He had felt similar atmosphere in many mysterious realms full of death and twisted power.
But this atmosphere appeared in a sacred place blessed by the goddess of creation, a place that was full of divine power a few months ago.
Was the evil giant Lockmarton about to break through the prison gate?
The flagstone road on the street had a strange damp and greasy feeling. Walking on it, the soles of their shoes kept making a disgusting sticky sound. The sky was also drizzling. Hao Ren stretched out his hand and saw some black liquid falling on his fingertips. But the liquid began to evaporate the moment it touched his skin. In the blink of an eye, there was nothing left.
When the 'raindrops' fell on Lily, they had a similar phenomenon. But when they fell on others, they did not dissipate as quickly.
Apparently, these raindrops were also the product of dark magic projection in the material world.
Only Lady Gloom noticed this detail. Her eyes seemed to linger on Hao Ren and Lily for a moment before she looked away.
"Even if the Light of Asurmen has gone out, it should not be like this," Calaxus whispered. "This land has been immersed in sacred energy for 10,000 years. It has been sanctified. Even if the Chaos attacks, it will not contaminate this place in such a short time."
Hao Ren looked at the street in front of him. "There are almost no pedestrians in the city."
They continued to move forward. Occasionally, one or two figures would flash by in the dark streets, but these figures only flashed by, so fast that it was almost like an illusion. Some knights shouted to stop the pedestrians running in the distance, but their shouts seemed to frighten the pedestrians even more. Often, the other party would disappear into the complicated streets in a flash, never to be found again.
Louen was an ancient city with intricate streets and alleys, as well as countless dark alleys and corners that even the locals could not identify. Now, there seemed to be countless pairs of eyes hiding in every dark corner, and even the brave knights of the Church could not help but feel suspicious.
Finally, Calaxus gave up on the pedestrians on the street. He came to a house and knocked on the door.
The house was lit, but there was no sound. After the high-ranking monk knocked on the door for a long time, Hao Ren finally heard some voices coming from inside.
Someone approached the door, and then a hoarse, low, and alert voice came from inside. "Who is it?"
"Monks and knights from Fidelinopolis," Calaxus said loudly. "Please open the door. We mean no harm. We just want to find a place to rest."
"There is no place to rest here," the voice in the house became hoarse and alert. "It's getting dark. You have to find another place."
"This is not the Louen people I know." A monk next to Hao Ren shook his head. "I was born in a village near Louen. The people of this city are known for their hospitality. They never refuse guests who ask for help. Even if they can't help, they should at least open the door and hand you a cup of hot water."
"Dark magic may have begun to affect the minds of the local residents," another monk muttered. "I don't know how many people can help us under this situation."
While talking, Calaxus had already exchanged a few words with the people in the house, but all his requests were coldly rejected by the people inside. The owner of the house was even unwilling to open the door to talk to the high-ranking monk face to face. It was as if a terrible plague was wandering on the street outside, and anyone who opened the door would be infected.
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