Chapter 443: Sealing The Valley
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
At that moment, the first thing Benjamin did was to turn around and observe the situation in the village. The position they were now at was quite secluded from the village, and it was impossible for someone in the village to know what was going on here. Besides, the surrounding was still quiet, which probably meant that they were still preparing for the attack on Benjamin and his men.
Hence, Benjamin allowed himself to slightly relax. He then moved on to study this strange black shadow.
The ice sealed Luke was already a corpse, and there was no way that he could be able to fake his death; Benjamin took extra steps to make sure that Luke was, in fact, very dead. This ‘Black Hand’ that remained, on the other hand, was swiftly analyzed by both the System and Benjamin. Soon, some results were on the table.
It was like a semi-finished magic, where the dark elements and the spiritual energy was mixed together to form this stubbornly gathered shadow. Luke’s death caused the magic to stay incomplete, but the spiritual energy that was attached to the elements did not disappear, which fueled the existence of this shadow.
From a certain aspect, this was no longer considered to be magic. Instead, it was some sort of elemental anomaly. It was not controlled by anyone, and it did not have any abilities to harm anyone.
However, why would someone’s spiritual energy remain after death? Somehow, Benjamin remembered what happened after Michelle died.
Could it be that the dark elemental magic and the weird culture of cannibalism ultimately caused the formation of a being that was alike to a revenant, which caused Luke’s power to not disperse after such a long time?
So..... There is a ghost around here?
Benjamin felt a chill at the back of his neck.
First, he unfroze the corpse. Luke maintained his posture when he died, and he collapsed stiffly to the ground. His limbs were frozen so badly that on impact, his corpse broke into pieces like a fallen statue. His body shattered, and there was no chance for him to move anymore.
Benjamin, who was hidden under the water bubble, did not feel any attack either. Thus, he canceled his magic after a deep inhale.
There was probably no problem for killing Luke. This shadow was just a mere accident, and it could not do anything anyway. Benjamin tried to clear the smoke, but he realized it was an impossible task. Thus, he just left it there, no longer paying it much attention.
....He should focus on dealing with the rest of the villagers. He turned and ran towards the center of the village, the place where Luke tried very hard to not let him go near.
The village was quiet. The mages were probably gathered at one place. As Benjamin walked forward, a thin mist rose from around him, and it stealthily spread itself towards the surroundings, hiding in the dark and hidden corners.
Benjamin started to stock up on ice in the Space of his Consciousness the second he realized that the mages were cannibalistic. Now, he was like a gigantic freezer which was continuously releasing the arctic cold he saved to the outside.
Soon, he arrived at the vicinity of the place where the three elders lived. As he approached, Benjamin saw a few mages standing guard outside.
"Greetings. I’m here to meet your elders. Do you know where they are? I have a very important message that I need to tell them." Benjamin asked as he walked towards the mages with a welcoming and amicable smile, seeming totally unthreatening.
The mages exchanged a peculiar look. They did not answer Benjamin’s question.
Benjamin pointed at the biggest house. "Are they inside?" He asked.
Still, they remained in silence as they looked at each other.
"Thanks! I’ll go in and see them now." Benjamin smiled and nodded, before ignoring the mages and walked forward towards the house.
Meanwhile, the mages who stood guard outside the house were transformed into ice statues already. They were killed by the ice mist that sneaked to their backs. However, what Benjamin did not realize was that after their deaths, dark elements suddenly gathered around their corpses, which formed the outlines of the numerous shadows.
Benjamin walked straight to the house. When he arrived at the outside of the house, he started to sense the inside of the building.
At that moment, he sensed a concentrated smell of the dark elements. Quite a number of people stood inside the house, and the three elders were positioned right in the middle of them. They faced a weird sculpture and was murmuring something under their breaths. The whole situation looked wicked, as if they were doing some kind of ritual.
Aside from the elders, there were more than 10 mages standing around in the house. The dungeon under the house, on the other hand, was filled to the brim with people. It looked like almost all of the mages in the village now stood inside the dungeon, which made the space that was built wide look small in comparison. However, they just stood there, unmoving like statues, as if they were waiting for something.
After some observation, Benjamin felt that it was time. Thus, he angled his face to the sky, and a piece of snowflake rose from his palm towards the top of the mountain where the moonlight shone. Then, it exploded prettily into the sky like fireworks.
This was the signal for his people.
Immediately, the mages who were waiting in the campsite looked upwards, their faces lit with excitement as they rushed out. Meanwhile, the approximately 10 cannibalistic mages who were stationed outside of the campsite to stand guard looked up too, their faces drained of color once they finally realized that something was wrong.
"Hey, what are you doing...."
As over a hundred mages poured out the the campsite, the cannibalistic mages hastily prepared to retaliate as they misunderstood the intentions of the crowd. They assumed that the mages were coming for them, but it did not take them long to realize that it was not the case.
As the mages ran out of the campsite, they directly flew towards the sky. Layers upon layers of ice and soil walls were summoned, and within a short amount of time, the opening at the top of the mountain was totally sealed!
Shocked, the cannibalistic mages turned their heads to look towards the other entry point at the cave.
That narrow cave was now totally blocked by gravels; it was impossible for people to walk through it.
Yeap, that was the first mission Benjamin gave to the mages: to dominate the entry points to this place.
It was too difficult to predict the outcome of this event, and no matter if they were winning or losing, it was imperative to control the entry and exit points. If the enemies were defeated, controlling the entry points could prevent them from fleeing; if the situation deteriorates, they could escape easily as the soil and ice walls were summoned by them and could be easily controlled.
After all, this was one uncertain battle that Benjamin was leading his men into. He needed to leave an escape route somehow.
After taking control over the entry points, though....
Naturally, the second mission Benjamin gave them was to get rid of the fellas standing guard around the camp.
In that split second, the guarding cannibalistic mages all had a peculiar expression as they were faced with the sudden attack from Benjamin and his men. It was like an eagle who was used to flying and hunting helpless rabbits that turned around and discovered that the rabbit has transformed to become a prickly hedgehog.
They looked shocked, but as the mages in the sky rushed down towards them, their expressions abruptly changed. It was like they were possessed by something; they spread their arms wide simultaneously, without any prompts, their lips pulled wide to form a grin.
Around them, dark elements gurgled into action.