Chapter 144: Chapter 143: Disorder (14)_1
“Together?”
Facing the Baroness’s interrogation, Fu Qian showed not a hint of embarrassment at being caught out and instead pointed off into the distance.
Having appeared so timely, he must have been watching this spot all along, clearly aware of her intentions—there was no need for pretense.
The Baroness hadn’t expected Fu Qian to be so forthright and was momentarily stunned.
“Didn’t you hear what the Priest said? It’s extremely dangerous!”
“I know, but at times like these, shouldn’t we grasp at every little hope?”
Fu Qian smiled at her.
“Don’t you think so too? Or are you telling me you’ve abandoned everything else to stakeout here, just to catch me?”
“Regardless, I am going, unless you want to lock me up down below again.”
“Let’s go.”
The Baroness was silent for a moment, seemingly hesitant to insist, but ultimately she sighed heavily.
“The tunnel has been blocked off for a long time. We need to find another way.”
…
“I was born in the current town as well, so I have no memories of the old city.”
In the darkness, the Baroness led the way, speaking in a low voice.
“My knowledge of that place is limited to some written records and the oral accounts from my elders.”
“But even the limited information is enough to show that it is extremely dangerous. You must listen to me later on.”
“Understood.”
The Baroness obviously came prepared, taking hardly any time to identify the direction.
The two moved swiftly through the foliage, soon feeling a sharp drop in temperature.
Frost could already be seen on the leaves and rocks around them.
Fu Qian thought to himself, grateful for his earlier level up; otherwise, he might not have been able to withstand the cold.
Just as he was contemplating, the Baroness ahead suddenly signaled for him to stop.
“Be careful—”
She surveyed the surroundings with caution, as if she had noticed something, then suddenly spoke out to warn him.
Before her words could fade, Fu Qian also heard gusts of howling wind.
The next moment, a vast expanse of white enveloped them, everything turned into a frozen tundra with visibility plummeting.
Indeed, it was nothing short of a natural disaster!
Fighting against the bone-chilling cold that seemed capable of freezing the soul, Fu Qian remembered the Priest’s words.
A golden halo burst forth from the Baroness, engulfing both herself and Fu Qian within it.
The cold and the blizzard were kept at bay, their body heat swiftly returning.
“How is this possible…”
But the Baroness’s complexion was visibly poor.
“What’s wrong?”
Fu Qian glanced at her.
“We shouldn’t even be in its range yet. It seems the blizzard’s affected area has expanded, which is not a good sign.”
The Baroness shook her head, her expression even graver.
“Are you sure you want to continue? It might be more dangerous ahead than we thought.”
“As if you’d stop if I said we should turn back.”
Without waiting for her to finish, Fu Qian responded directly.
“Let’s keep going.”
“All right then.”
With Fu Qian so resolute, the Baroness didn’t dawdle and continued onwards.
It was evident that the disaster’s expanding reach worried her—she no longer had the energy to probe him.
They continued through the storm, and soon their surroundings turned into a world of snow and ice; all they could see was a uniform expanse of white, almost devoid of any other color.
There was also not a hint of life!
Above their heads, there was a faint trace of a spectrum, but it, too, was indescribably dim.
“Found it!”
The Baroness ahead suddenly cried out.
Fu Qian heard this and took two steps forward, only to find that under his feet, there was no longer broken stones and white snow but something akin to ceramic tiles.
And looming ahead, indistinct in the shadows, were several straight spires.
“Are we on the rooftops now?”
Fu Qian came to the realization and said to the Baroness.
“It seems this place is almost completely buried!”
“Yes.”
The lifelessness before them darkened the Baroness’s voice.
After a brief observation of their surroundings, she took the lead and dashed straight for the tallest spire.
Fu Qian had no choice but to struggle against the blizzard and follow her.
Even though most of it was buried, one could still make out the scale of this place. It was much larger than the current town, and one could imagine its former glory.
“Hurry up.”
The Baroness stood beside the spire, already waving and calling out.
By the time Fu Qian caught up, a dazzling orb of light had already gathered in her hand and slammed into the side of the spire.
Crash!
Shards of ice scattered everywhere, and the colored tiles burst into the air, revealing a gap large enough for a person to pass through.
The Baroness jumped down without saying a word, not even signaling to Fu Qian.
She clearly was in a foul mood!
Fu Qian sighed to himself and followed her down.
Descending rapidly along the crossbeams, the Baroness constantly shot out specks of light from her hand, illuminating the surroundings.
Fu Qian observed as he descended; the structure was clearly similar to the church in town, albeit even larger.
He quickly caught up to the Baroness and saw her looking down at her feet.
There was no floor, just a thick layer of ice and snow; they must be standing midair inside the church.
Even within the building’s interior, the majority was buried beneath the heavy snow and ice.
Considering the church was the tallest structure from the outside and it was buried like this, you didn’t even need to think about the state of the rest.
Searching for anything in such a place was virtually impossible.
The Baroness, silent and head bowed, did not speak; Fu Qian continued his own observations, when the next moment he heard a faint, unusual noise.
It sounded like the clanking of metal plates, coming from above their heads.
“Above!”
Realizing what it meant, Fu Qian called out in warning.
The distracted Baroness jerked to alertness, and as she looked up, she collided with a dark figure descending from the heavens.
A resplendent glow rose to meet the dark figure just in time, as the Baroness took the opportunity to flip to one side.
In the light, the true identity of the assailant was revealed.
It was actually a tall figure completely shrouded in Armor.
There were still Guards in a place like this?
Fu Qian was momentarily surprised.
This Guard was clearly jumping down from somewhere above, probably startled by the Baroness and him.
The Baroness appeared both shocked and puzzled, watching as the attacker raised his long sword again.
The next moment, a phantom hammer forged of converging starlight struck hard upon the heavy Armor.
The assailant crashed to the ground, his helmet flying off to the side.
However, to their astonishment, the inside was empty.
Had the Armor become sentient?
Fu Qian irresponsibly speculated from the sidelines, as the headless Armor managed to stand up again.
The next moment, a mass of pitch-black, tar-like substance began to slowly emerge from the collar of the Armor.
Ah!
Witnessing the scene, the usually composed Baroness’s face twisted in horror, and she let out a trembling shriek.
Endless light burst forth from her, illuminating the entire structure.