Chapter 1154: Section 1155 Shadowmare Doppelganger
After a moment of silence, Kanter looked down at the completely devastated land below, his eyes filled with emotion.
Even though it was Demon’s city, the process of transforming from prosperity to ruins was always brutal and never beautiful.
“Who could have imagined that Lassudral would become like this in such a short time,” Kanter shook his head, glanced back at Sanders, and noticed that Sanders’s gaze was also directed at the ground, focusing mainly on the Void Tower.
“I plan to take a look at the Void Tower,” Sanders suddenly said.
Kanter frowned, “But now, Fafnir and Komodo are still entangled in conflict, and the Chaotic Energy around doesn’t allow anyone to enter…”
As Kanter was speaking, he noticed the determination in Sanders’s eyes remained unchanged, as if his mind was already made up. Kanter knew his old friend’s character well; once he made a decision, it was difficult to change it.
“It’s not impossible to get there if Lord Monty is willing to take action. He should be able to clear a path,” Kanter said.
Upon hearing this, Sanders suddenly let out a cold snort, “It seems Maher only told you that Angel had an accident, and did not say why Angel had an accident.”
Kanter was stunned for a moment, and in his confusion learned from Sanders about what had happened before.
The smile that was always gentle on Kanter’s face turned gloomy in an instant, “Was it really the work of the Wizard on the floating ice?
Sanders nodded.
“I heard that Lord Monty was going to bestow Angel with Frostmoon’s highest reward. I never expected, not even an hour later, he would change his mind!” Kanter’s face showed indignation. The attacks issued from the floating ice, if not made by Frostmoon, would certainly have been in Monty’s sight. Monty’s failure to stop it meant he was giving tacit consent!
“Change his mind? Not at all. Monty doesn’t care about that reward,” Sanders said coldly.
Monty’s indulgence was definitely a choice made after weighing the pros and cons. As for those pros and cons, they were not for his personal gain but were considering the Frostmoon alliance as a whole for the future.
The matters involved were numerous, ranging from potential threats to personal emotions, and most importantly, the interests of the Witcher Organizations clashing with one another. After assessing all sides, Monty chose to turn a blind eye.
Kanter also considered this point and pondered for a moment, “Since they didn’t attack you directly before but targeted Angel instead, it clearly indicates they fear Angel’s potential and want to cut off the future of Illusion Demon Island. These kinds of underhanded tactics certainly don’t seem like Monty’s style. But Monty’s lack of intervention shows that those who acted are definitely Wizards within the Frostmoon interest community.”
Thinking more carefully, the other party must hate Sanders to the bone, which seemed to leave only two possibilities: Gravity Forest and Song of the Deep Sea.
“It doesn’t matter who it was,” Sanders’s eyes flickered slightly, and Kanter saw a bloodthirsty look flash by, “I will take back what is owed from each of them.
Kanter let out a sigh, hesitated in his heart for a moment, then said softly, “I will help.”
Sanders glanced at Kanter, “No need, this is my personal matter.”
Kanter said no more but continued to ask, “Well then, in the situation where Monty won’t make a move, how do you plan to get to the Void Tower? Forcing your way in could possibly anger the two belligerents who are already seeing red in battle, and if they turn their attack on you, it would be more loss than gain.”
Sanders was silent for a moment, “I want to try… the Shadowmare Doppelganger.”
“The Shadowmare Doppelganger?” Kanter asked, puzzled, “Is this a new spell you have created?”
“A technique under the Nightmare Substitute. However, this technique is the most difficult of all the Nightmare Substitute’s sub-projects. So far, I’ve only completed the basic experiments,” Sanders said, “But now, there’s no other option. I have to try.”
Kanter looked seriously at Sanders. Sanders’s concern for Angel was really growing day by day. In his view, things had not yet reached the worst point, but since Sanders had chosen to try, he naturally wouldn’t stop him.
Kanter nodded, speaking earnestly, “Go ahead with peace of mind, and leave the matters behind to me.”
Sanders smiled, “Thank you.” The matters behind, of course, referred to the malice from the floating ice. It was conceivable that if his attempt caused any issues, those who disliked Sanders would likely make their move in secrecy. However, if Kanter was there, it could serve as a deterrent.
Sanders’s decision was made, he nodded to Kanter and then his gaze turned towards the dark gate of the distant Void Tower. He put on his gloves, adjusted his slightly loose hat due to the strong wind, and with a slight movement of his wand in hand, accompanied by the fierce sound of his cloak, a Nightmare Phantom appeared.
However, this Nightmare Phantom was different from the previous Nightmare Substitutes; it was not emitting black flames but was in a state that was almost white to transparency. Even the flames on its body were semi-transparent, and when light hit it, there was a strong distortion.
Kanter, who had just fought alongside Samantha, thought that this Nightmare looked somewhat like the “Lustrous Nightmare.”
Thinking about it, it seemed right. Samantha’s Glazed Paradise was actually derived from some of Sanders’s ideas, but Samantha had forged her own path.
Facing Kanter’s doubts, Sanders nodded in acknowledgment, “It involves a Fusion of light, shadow, and the Transmutations of spatial tides.”
The original concept of Glazed Paradise was to grasp the refraction of light and tidal energy. However, Samantha did not incorporate tidal energy but instead used Frostmoon alliance’s main power: ice and frost.
“What are you doing now?” Kanter asked curiously, watching the semi-transparent Nightmare. He could see that the transparent flames on the Nightmare were burning in an odd state, causing noticeable changes in the surrounding light and shadows.
Sanders replied, “Waiting for the frequency to resonate.”
Kanter could see the Phantom Shadow gradually changing from semi-transparency to complete transparency and eventually to utter Void. According to Sanders, when it became nothingness, that would be the crucial moment.
This wait was not long, when the Nightmare completely disappeared from Kanter’s line of sight and mental sensing, he turned his gaze to Sanders.
By now, sweat was drenching Sanders’ forehead, and he appeared extremely tense. After some thought, Kanter understood; after all, the Shadowmare Doppelganger had not yet undergone large-scale testing, and now it was being used in battle for the first time.
What Kanter didn’t know was that, in Sanders’ field of vision at this moment, the Nightmare was rushing toward the direction of the Void Tower.
In the beginning, it was manageable, but once the Nightmare entered the zone of Chaotic Energy, every step required precise calculation. Such high-intensity calculations, even for Sanders, caused his eyes to show bloodshot in a short amount of time.
It was not just profuse sweating and bloodshot eyes; Sanders’ body was also continuously oozing blood, and his energy peak kept decaying, looking very tragic.
Sanders’ condition was also noticed by some concerned individuals.
Above the floating ice, several wizards dressed in forest magic robes came to the side of an iceberg. At that time, a blond man was leaning against the iceberg, seemingly dozing off.
When the blond man heard noises by his ear, he slowly opened his eyes.
His eyes were green, tranquil like a serene forest sea.
“Lord Nereus, what do you think? Should we make a move now?”
The blond man was indeed Nereus. His gaze fell on Sanders below. Sanders seemed to sense something but was in such a critical condition that he did not respond. Instead, it was Kanter at his side who swept a chilling glance over.
Nereus frowned slightly and, after a moment of silence, said, “Kanter of the Night, his methods of attack are not impressive, but his Transmutation… is troublesome. Now is not a good time to act.”
When Nereus left it at that, the wizards in front of him could only exchange glances and eventually stepped aside.
Nereus’ gaze still rested on Sanders, but his eyes flickered slightly, “He seems to be headed for the Void Tower… What’s the point of going there? Could it be, has his apprentice not yet died?”
Shortly after Nereus withdrew his threatening gaze, Sanders suddenly announced, “I’m going to try now!”
Kanter had not yet reacted when he saw Sanders’ figure suddenly vanish into thin air.
The Nightmare Substitute was actually a special kind of spatial displacement. However, now that Sanders had disappeared, by all logic, the replaced Nightmare should appear beside them. Kanter, puzzled, wondered why it was not visible?
Or was it that the replaced Nightmare was still a Phantom Shadow?
While Kanter was puzzled, unbeknownst to him, high up on the floating ice, Monty’s forehead beneath his mask twitched. He raised his hand, seemingly intending to do something, but after a long moment, he let it drop.
Sinafa, standing beside Monty, asked in confusion, “Lord Monty, what’s wrong?”
Monty shook his head and did not speak.
But just then, a disturbance suddenly erupted from the floating ice behind them. Sinafa turned sharply, only to see that behind them in the iceberg area, the wizards in forest magic robes had suddenly burst into flames.
“They’re wizards from the Gravity Forest, what’s happening? Is it an enemy attack?”
Sinafa’s brow furrowed. She was about to go and check when Monty suddenly said, “No need to bother, with Nereus there, it will be taken care of.”
Sinafa looked doubtfully in the distance but ultimately heeded Monty’s advice.
After a while, a message came from the floating ice at their backs.
Two wizards from the Gravity Forest had been burnt alive by inextinguishable flames.
Sinafa was still perplexed, but it was Samantha who, looking at the flames that resembled colored glaze, had a thoughtful expression.
…
The frequency of the earth’s tremors was increasing, and signs of collapse had reached the middle stage.
By this time, almost all Demons knew the seriousness of the situation. No demon continued to entangle with the ice floes in the sky; all the demons began to flee and hide.
In itself, the Void Tower in the core area was the most suitable place to hide, but two malevolent deities were fighting here, making it impossible for demons to approach, forcing all demons to either hide at the edges of the core area or fly high in the sky.
In an instant, the entire sky of Lassudral was shrouded with swarming demons.
From a distance, it looked like an overarching cloud of darkness.
Just then, a fiery streak of light suddenly swept by. The black cloud, upon seeing this streak of light, proactively opened a path, even the battling Fafnir and Komodo paused for a moment when they saw the fiery light.
Finally, the fiery light circled around the top of the Void Tower for a while before descending atop the pinnacle of the tower.