Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 800: Revised: The Meaning of Good Deeds

Chapter 800: Revised -800 The Meaning of Good Deeds

“Sir, on the mountain… what will happen?”

Although Benhart and Shard did not mention the specific word in the earlier conversation, the perceptive young woman still noticed something. Seeing that Shard was really about to leave, Miss Swift asked somewhat timidly.

“Do not worry.”

The outlander patted the shoulder of the young witch with flaxen hair:

“Take good care of this place. When I ran here just now, the situation outside was getting worse. I think the final showdown is about to break out. Now you are the highest person in charge here.”

He smiled and was about to leave, but Miss Swift pulled his sleeve:

“Just like that vampire kind said, must you go up the mountain? The road up the mountain is difficult, souls from various eras have appeared, the Interstice is releasing them into our world, whether those souls are willing or not.”

“I must go.”

Shard carried his hands behind his back and patted the fishing rod he had carried all the way:

“I must go.”

“Then please do not think of home. Longing will draw souls related to you into reality, creating more enemies for you… Good luck.”

When he crossed the city again and headed towards the entrance of Sicarl Mountain, there were surprisingly fewer undead on the streets than before, but the whisper elements in the thick white fog were even stronger.

Explosion sounds and unknown sources of roars came from every corner of the city, and the light above the five churches in the city radiated more strongly across the entire area.

The “Holy Tree Scar” ritual was nearing completion. In the sanctified city, the evil spirits were being driven out rapidly, but this also meant that in the mountainous areas with weaker civilizational power, the battle would be more intense.

The “Holy Tree Scar” ritual requires the expulsion of all evil spirits in reality before it can be truly completed, so the battle at this moment should be the final showdown.

Following the red glow, he reached the foot of the mountain from the city, encountering almost no obstacles. But as he approached the mountain forest, the dense white fog was filled with countless souls, almost comparable to what he encountered in the Interstice. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

The ground in the mountain area also showed traces of the ritual, but not every inch of land was bathed in the light of divine arts. Occasionally, bursts of spiritual light appeared at higher locations in the mountains, and unnatural golden lightning flashed in the high sky.

Even though he had the blessing of the Witch Empress, Shard still inevitably encountered fierce battles after going up the mountain.

Without divinity in his soul, the emptiness had already put his mental state in a very poor condition. Without the Night Watchman, he couldn’t even use Sunlight Ray for area attacks.

Although he did not fall into a tide of undead, each step forward wasted more time. Wielding two Moonlight Greatswords, Silvermoon’s radiance accompanied his every step, but the undead rushing out from the dense forest seemed endless.

Fortunately, with the burst of silver-white light above the mountaintop, the phantom of a giant red rose bloomed in the air.

A massive brass Thirteen-Ring Life Ring appeared above the rose phantom. Then, as countless bright red petals scattered towards the mountain area, the dense fog actually thinned a lot.

When Shard touched those petals, he found that they were solid. And according to “Her” hint, consuming these petals could restore consumed spirit, and even heal injuries:

“The Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer left to guard reality is Mr. Andre Pigman. As expected, he would definitely take action at times like this.”

Shard gazed in awe at the giant blooming rose in the sky. He remembered Granny Cassandra once said that Professor Pigman had brought a Level 0 Relic to support Midshire Fort. The three Thirteen-Ring Sorcerers from the Church were in the Interstice, only the principal of Saint Byrons remained in reality:

“Thirteen Rings combined with a Level 0 Relic, how formidable.”

The scattered rose petals soon covered the ground. The slight dissipation of the white fog forced most of the ferocious undead to retreat back into the forest-covered mountains, greatly reducing the pressure to move forward.

But this situation didn’t last long. The out-of-control Interstice soon regained the upper hand. As the roses in the sky disappeared, the white fog surged back, and Shard had to face the dense enemies again:

“No, if this continues, by the time I catch up to them, it will already be too late!”

As he pondered, suddenly a gunshot rang out from the side of the mountain path, and a familiar figure darted out from the woods.

Wearing the uniform of the Draleon Royal Army and holding a pistol, it was a sergeant. This was the young sergeant who had died in front of Shard when he first entered the Interstice and had asked him to bring the relic to Red Water Camp.

The agile soul darted out of the woods, and the transparent bullets from his weapon quickly attracted the enemies blocking Shard’s path:

“Sir, I’ll draw them away, go quickly! Thank you!”

Without giving Shard any time to thank him, the sergeant led the enemies into the woods and disappeared.

Shard pressed his lips together, looking at the dense forest, and continued to move up the mountain.

As he delved deeper into Sicarl Mountain, he gradually sensed the presence of the Church Ring Sorcerers around him. The appearance of the rose had given them a chance to rest and adjust, but the battle remained extremely fierce. From time to time, figures flew overhead, and he couldn’t tell if they were from the Church or other organizations’ High Ring Sorcerers.

After using that Level 0 Relic, Professor Pigman did not take action again. Instead, the traces of divine arts rituals on the mountain ground became brighter, with spiritual light and dense fog intertwining, seemingly conducting their final test.

Not only were the Church Ring Sorcerers present, but Shard also heard intensive and fierce gunfire. The Draleon Royal Army, in coordination with the Church, was blocking the forest, and they must have encountered an undead attack by now. Bullets had no effect on spiritual bodies, but the forest didn’t only have spiritual bodies. Ghouls, zombies, and other solid enemies were their real opponents.

Grace and Helen’s red glow first followed the main road up the mountain but then veered into the dense forest. When Shard entered the forest, vines immediately shot out from the surrounding trees, entangling his legs. In the darkness, Shard noticed that these weren’t ordinary trees but rare undead creatures—tree demons.

He slashed the vines at his feet, but more vines kept coming from all directions.

“Silvermoon!”

The erupting moonlight temporarily drove off the dead vines, but before Shard could leave, the vines came back again:

“This place has become a forest of tree demons. No, I can’t waste too much time here.”

Suddenly, a whooshing sound passed by his ears, and a transparent black object flew out from beside him. After landing in the forest, it immediately triggered a violent explosion. Shard turned around in surprise and saw Higgins, the agent of the Kingdom of Carsonrick, whom he had buried in Sicarl Mountain.

The linguistics professor’s spiritual body, holding a steam bomb of unknown origin, swiftly threw it at the tree demons while shouting:

“Grey-headed eagle, run!”

Professor Higgins’ soul, having been sent to death directly by Shard, should not appear here. At this moment, it seemed less like a soul and more like a kind of obsession, similar to those shadows that lure the living into the interstice in their dreams.

“But, Professor…”

“Run! Remember, eternal loyalty!”

Professor Higgins’ “soul” entangled the tree demons, allowing Shard to escape from the forest of tree demons and continue deeper into the dense forest.

The red glow did not ascend the mountain but instead lingered around the midsection. Meanwhile, Shard keenly noticed that the white mist in the mountains was gathering above Midshire Fort below, gradually forming a giant mist cocoon over the city, as if nurturing something.

The silver glow pierced the sky as the principal of Saint Byrons flew towards the giant mist cocoon, though this had nothing to do with Shard for now.

The trees in the forest were dense, and Shard leaped through the branches to save time. But soon he found that in the thick white mist appeared traces of blood. As the blood mist seeped into the white mist, the traces that the Echo of Blood was tracking became intermittent.

Though not completely disappearing, it was enough to make Shard lose his direction in the dense mist of the night:

“Damn, that ritual is affecting the power of the blood.”

Sicarl Mountain was so vast that finding a lost target in the dead of night was almost impossible.

But at this moment, a young lady in a Milestone Mechanical Academy robe slowly walked out of the mist. The transparent spiritual body looked at Shard, then raised a hand to point southeast.

Shard was stunned:

“You are… murdered by the serial killer Henry Val (Chapter 629)…”

He hurriedly thanked her and then re-entered the mist. Following the direction pointed out by the spirit, he indeed saw the traces of the Echo of Blood again. Continuing onward, whenever Shard lost his target, a new female spirit would emerge, continuing to guide his direction.

Their appearance resembled evil spirits, with their chest and abdomen torn open, exposing transparent internal organs, but their expressions remained gentle.

Though Shard did not know them, he guessed they were all innocent victims murdered by Henry Val. Released from the interstice, they had returned to the world of the living.

Last autumn in Milestone, Shard had done many things, but he never imagined that he would be aided by those who had already departed.

Continuing to track Grace and Helen, he found the direction leading downhill:

“Are we going in circles?”

He followed the path down the mountain through the forest and then realized that the location seemed somewhat familiar. The spirits of the victims had all appeared; no one would come to guide him further, but Shard already guessed the destination.

However, before he could think more, a heavy sound came from the dense forest ahead, accompanied by a slight tremor in the ground. The armored headless knight’s undead walked out of the forest.

This was a member of the Headless Horsemen Guild, a Sage-Level Relic that had attacked the Interstice Chapel. Now entwined with blood-colored brambles, it seemed controlled by the increasingly dense blood mist:

“The vampire kind’s preparations are indeed thorough, even utilizing the undead. But I have no time to get entangled with them now.”

Wanting to avoid the confrontation, Shard was stopped by the charging undead knight. The knight, leveraging its spiritual body traits, charged through the trees, raising its longsword to slash at Shard’s head——

Clang!

But it was not Shard’s sword that blocked the attack. A familiar figure leaped out from the forest, wielding a rapier to deflect the knight’s blow and then engaged in combat with it.

It was a lean middle-aged man, dressed in a black formal suit, with a rather comical red flower behind his ear. It was Earl Dalark of Candela, the Third Nail who had once dueled with Shard in the mist:

“Mr. Hamilton, quickly leave, I’ll hold him off!”

Though his body was still lean, his spirit was so vigorous.

“Earl?!”

“Leave now, the interstice is birthing the final undead aggregation, even you can’t oppose it. Go, find the True God Church!”

With that, the Earl fought the headless knight while walking away, soon disappearing in the interwoven white and blood-red mist.

Above Midshire Fort, the giant white cocoon shivered, with the final force of the interstice about to emerge; the blood mist created by the vampire ritual did not spread, but the crimson glow intensified.

Looking at the departing Earl Dalark, Shard found himself momentarily tongue-tied.

Suddenly, a loud noise echoed from the sky. Looking up, he saw unidentified bird-like undead battling Ring Sorcerers using Divine Arts, clashing as they flew further away. A piece of black metal fell, igniting the woods below.

In the mist, in the fire, in the smoke, a voice rang in his ears:

[You’re not the only good person. Outlander, don’t think of this world as so awful.]

“She” chuckled lightly:

[In this era, you have left a deep impression on many who have passed. Their reencounter with you tonight is no coincidence of fate. Originally, the living’s longing for the deceased lets one enter the interstice; now, the deceased’s memory of the living has brought them to reality, to your side.]

The Outlander remained silent, moving into the thickening blood mist.

[Good deeds don’t always have meaning, but at least now they do, right?]