Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 263 The Brilliant Sun

After watching the battle footage of 'The World' defeating Gundyr, there was a moment of silence above the gray fog.

Due to time constraints, the footage they saw was 'edited'.

Even so, they could see why 'The World' was able to defeat Gundyr—

Follow Mr. Fool's instructions strictly.

Although the process was extremely dangerous, the fighting style in 'The World' remained the same from beginning to end:

Raise shield to defend → flank → slash → raise shield to defend → flank → slash, repeating the cycle.

Although this prolonged the battle, making it appear extremely dangerous and difficult, throughout the entire fight, 'The World' seemed to be handling it with ease, and wasn't even injured by Gundyr.

Most importantly, 'The World' never used its extraordinary abilities throughout the entire process!

Using extraordinary abilities in combat is second nature to those who possess extraordinary abilities. When fighting in the dream world, 'The Moon' even abandoned her longsword and fought directly with her Corrosive Claws.

For "Moon," the "Claw of Corrosion," which she had used for over a decade, was more convenient and far sharper than the longsword.

At least that's what he thinks.

In actual combat, however, the Corrosive Claws are far less effective than the Longsword.

Similarly, the fighting styles of the Hermit and the Hanged Man are also like this.

In their view, using extraordinary abilities to fight is undoubtedly more advantageous than wielding an unfamiliar longsword.

So when the Hanged Man first came into contact with Gundyr, he tried to use "flight" to create distance between himself and Gundyr, relying on his aerial advantage to fight with wind blades—and then he was instantly killed by Gundyr's jumping slash.

Even though he learned from his mistakes and stopped foolishly flying in the air as a sitting duck, he still secretly wanted to create distance and use wind blades to whittle down the enemy from afar.

The result was obvious; he hadn't even seen the second stage of Gudako's technique.

The Hermit was slightly better off than him, at least he saw the second stage of Gudako's teachings.

Even before this, none of them thought there was anything wrong with their fighting style. It wasn't until they saw 'The World's' fighting style that they finally realized where the problem lay.

They rely too much on and trust their own extraordinary abilities, while lacking even the most basic trust in the tumbling and parrying in their dreams.

Even with Mr. Fool's hints, one will still instinctively remain skeptical.

After all, no matter how strong their parries and rolls are in the dream, they are not their own; only extraordinary abilities are real.

The style of 'The World'—completely abandoning extraordinary abilities and fighting solely using 'rolling' from the dream world—was undoubtedly beyond their expectations.

"Justice," Audrey thought to herself.

"Should I say they truly are the retinue of Mr. 'The Fool'?"

Although everyone was a member of the Tarot Club and held Mr. Fool in high esteem and trust, the level of trust was clearly hierarchical. Others held back, but only The World followed Mr. Fool's advice without hesitation, making decisions based on it and strictly implementing them.

This is something that others cannot do, and it is the reason why Mr. World was able to succeed.

"Maybe I can give it a try next time."

The Hanged Man's eyes gleamed. There was no reason why he couldn't do what the world could do without extraordinary abilities.

"Don't rush into action, and don't be greedy for a kill."

Suddenly remembering Mr. Fool's advice, "The Hermit" Cattleya murmured to herself.

Although edited, the footage still clearly shows that the world executed those two prompts flawlessly. He would spend a considerable amount of time observing before each battle.

Without attacking, simply rely on blocking and rolling to dodge attacks and memorize Gundyr's attack patterns.

When it came to the actual combat, he would seize every opportunity to attack, but he would only strike once and never strike a second time.

That's why he was able to seemingly narrowly escape Gundyr's counterattacks each time, but in reality, with perfect timing. Even for the "Hermit," this still has some reference value.

Even in a dream, defeating a demigod holds immense significance for them.

The Hanged Man hesitated for two seconds, then asked:

"Mr. 'World,' how many souls will I gain by defeating Gundyr?"

Klein knew what he wanted to ask, and immediately manipulated 'The World' to ask in a hoarse voice:

"Three hundred thousand souls, and I consumed 10 souls to complete the digestion of the potion."

"Ten thousand souls?"

The Hanged Man seemed thoughtful, meaning that defeating Gundyr would allow him to fully digest the potion. But the problem was, he hadn't yet gathered the extraordinary ingredients needed to concoct the potion…

At Sequence 5, rare materials are already scarce and difficult to obtain. Furthermore, major powers strictly control these materials, making them very difficult for untrained individuals to acquire.

Although the Hanged Man is a member of the Church of Storms, he was promoted to Sequence 6 without the church's knowledge. He cannot tell the Church how he obtained potion recipes or extraordinary materials.

Therefore, he could only obtain the extraordinary materials needed to advance to Sequence 5 on his own.

of course.

He could also choose to return to the Storm Church and drink another Sequence 6 potion recipe. After digesting the Sequence 6 potion recipe again, and waiting a few more months, he could legitimately obtain the opportunity to advance to Sequence 5 from the Storm Church.

However, this would render all his previous efforts futile, and the Sequence 5 "Ocean Singer" potion recipe, which he had obtained at great cost, meaningless.

Therefore, he had no choice but to go down this path to the end...

The Hanged Man took a deep breath, as if making a firm decision, and said in a deep voice:

"As before, I need the extraordinary attribute of 'Ocean Singer,' or the corresponding extraordinary materials!"

Faced with the deal proposed by the "Hanged Man," everyone else remained silent.

The Hanged Man proposed this deal a long time ago, but it remained unresolved in the Tarot Club for quite some time. After all, it involves Sequence 5, and both extraordinary traits and extraordinary materials are extremely rare and not easy to obtain.

The Hermit, Cattleya, spoke:

"I can keep an eye out for you, but the chances are slim."

She herself is only a Sequence 5, so it's not easy for her to acquire the extraordinary characteristics of a Sequence 5.

The Hanged Man was not surprised by the Hermit's answer and calmly said:

"Just do your best."

Ideally, the Hermit would acquire the Ocean Singer's extraordinary ability; if not...

The Hanged Man's eyes gleamed.

The Church of Storms is headquartered on Pasu Island, but its missionary work extends throughout the entire Kingdom of Rune. For example, the Archbishop of Backlund is "Deep Blue High Priest" Radar Valentine, while the Archbishop of the Rosed Sea is "Sea King" Arne Cortman, both demigods of Ou City.

Even demigods cannot oversee every island and every town. The 'Deep Blue High Priest' will not easily leave Backlund, nor will the 'Sea King' easily leave Bayam.

In the churches on the more 'remote' islands, other bishops would be in charge.

These bishops varied in strength, with the weakest only at Sequence 7 and the strongest even at Sequence 5.

If the Hermit cannot obtain the extraordinary characteristics of the Ocean Singer, he will have no choice but to take the risk and "borrow" them from the bishops of those remote churches.

But this would inevitably offend the Church of Storms.

Although the Hanged Man was never particularly devout to the Lord of Storms, and wouldn't care even if he betrayed the Lord's faith, the Storm Church always punished traitors severely. His betrayal would inevitably incur the hostility of the entire Storm Church, and he might even be hunted down by demigods.

But if it really comes to that, he won't care about anything else!

Klein frowned, seemingly having gleaned something from their conversation. Just as he was about to ask 'The World' to speak, a dazzling light suddenly flashed in his peripheral vision.

The light was so dazzling that it even brightened the gray mist.

Even members of the Tarot Club were drawn to its light, instinctively turning their heads to look in the direction from which it emanated—

Amidst countless crimson stars, a single flame flickers.

At first, it flickered like a candle in the wind, but the light of the flame grew brighter and brighter, obscuring the light emitted by the countless deep red stars, as if a blazing sun was hanging above the gray mist!

Under that dazzling light, which was like the sun, the surrounding gray fog seemed to be dispelled and became incredibly thin!

Klein then realized what was happening, and a thought subconsciously flashed through his mind:

"Ember is back?"

But how did he get back? Where is he now? What does the anomaly above the gray fog signify?

Klein felt a vague unease, sensing that things weren't so simple.

The last time Ember went back to the past and then returned to reality, the commotion was clearly not this exaggerated!

What exactly is going on?

Klein frowned, while the members of the Tarot Club were even more puzzled, instinctively turning their gazes to Mr. Fool at the head of the table, trying to get an answer from him.

Unfortunately, Mr. Fool was equally bewildered and had no idea what had happened.

But Klein reacted quickly; he knew what he should do now.

"Has it started?"

The Fool murmured softly, and before anyone else could think, he slowly spoke:

This gathering has now come to an end.

As soon as he finished speaking, "Justice" and the others were "sent" out of the gray fog and back to reality.

Meanwhile, the "Fool" at the head of the table conjured up paper and pen the moment everyone else disappeared, and wrote down the corresponding divination statements:

"The location of the embers."

-

Inside Earl Hall's luxurious villa in Queens.

In Audrey's room on the second floor, the young girl on the luxurious bed opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling above her head with deep confusion in her eyes:

"When to start?"

What exactly did Mr. Fool mean by his last words? Was he, or rather, were they plotting something? And what did that "sun" represent?

Audrey looked around the empty room, then whispered:

"Kalura, are you there?"

The room was silent, and Audrey's questions went unanswered.

Karula appears to have left the room.

-

On the main peak of the Ammanda Mountains, snowflakes fell like feathers, covering the earth in a white coat, creating a silver-white landscape.

Night had not yet fallen, and the cold, red moon had not yet replaced the sun.

But even on this snow-covered summit, the sunlight still couldn't penetrate the falling snowflakes, offering no warmth whatsoever.

The Gothic black church with its pointed spire stood alone in the snow-covered mountains, facing a precipice beyond which lay a cemetery. All around was a vast expanse of white, utterly silent.

In the center of the cemetery, a bonfire with a spiral sword stuck in it burned quietly.

No matter how fierce the storms, snow, and rain were, they did not affect the burning of the campfire in the slightest.

Even though it looks so faint, like a candle flickering in the wind.

Yet it seems to contain the power of the gods, allowing that faint flame to burn eternally!

Snapped!

Suddenly, flames shot up, accompanied by a crackling sound like burning wood. And the rising flames coalesced around the campfire, forming a figure.

He wore molten and twisted armor, with a tattered cloak billowing behind him, resembling a forlorn knight.

Good evening, Your Excellency.

A gentle voice sounded in his ear.

Ember turned around and looked in the direction of the tranquil church.

A woman stood quietly at the entrance of the cemetery, her dark eyes fixed on him.

Her features were quite ordinary. She wore a simple long robe, tied with a bark belt, and had long, black hair hanging down. She was barefoot and unshoes.

Ember recognized her; she was Ariana, the Abbess of the Night Monastery, the leader of the ascetics, the Hidden Servant, and an angel on earth.

Yu Jin nodded slightly in return, saying:

Good evening, Ms. Ariana.

"If it's convenient, I'd like to go to the world of painting now."

Ariana whispered:

"As you wish, Your Excellency, please follow me."

This wasn't the first time she'd heard this request, nor was it the first time she'd responded to it.

Because the goddess had already given a heads-up about this.

Yu Jin glanced at the campfire behind him, then looked away.

Silently following behind Ariana, we passed through the tranquil church and entered the Night Monastery.

It was a sacred and magnificent church, and everyone who came here was amazed by its exquisite design.

But when Ember first saw it, a hint of nostalgia flashed in his eyes.

He had some very precious memories here.

After ascending a series of stone steps and bypassing the massive stone monument, we arrived at the church entrance.

The tightly closed door was decorated with intricate patterns, and in the center of the two door panels on the left and right was a guardian nun holding a long spear.

On either side of the gate, there is a sculpture covered in snow, standing with a long spear in its hand.

Rumble!

Ariana stood in front of the church door, gently waved, and with a huge roar, the door slowly opened.

The corridor, illuminated by candlelight, came into view, with numerous stone statues of knights kneeling on one knee, clad in armor and wearing hoods, on both sides of the corridor.

Both knights held long spears in their right hands, pointing them diagonally forward, as if they were lining up to welcome their master.

(End of this chapter)