Chapter 452 The True Image of the Uncertain Mist
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Hobert, having changed his appearance once again, returned to the mountain lodge with Serena. The Wood family quickly greeted them, eager to inquire about the situation. Serena introduced Hobert to her family: "This is my mysticism mentor; I was fortunate to be rescued thanks to him."
"You don't need to worry anymore. As long as my mentor is here, we won't be in any danger."
The two giant gray moths from before had left a significant psychological impact on the family. If it weren't for some plainclothes policemen (Red Gloves) holding them back, they would have already rushed out to search for Serena and leave the lodge.
Of course, that was assuming they could leave.
Hobert turned to Serena and said, "I'll have a proper talk with you later."
He then approached Daly, "How about we make a deal?"
Already feeling overwhelmed, Daly casually asked, "What deal?"
She didn't know how many puppets the Demonic Wolf of Fog had, but since they could form a village, there were likely many.
However, she currently only had two subordinates. The two she sent for reinforcements had not yet returned, and she didn't know how things were on their end.
"I'll personally block those puppets, but the condition is..."
Daly glanced at Hobert, "What is it?"
She initially thought Hobert was joking, but his serious expression suggested otherwise!
Hobert repeated, "I can block those puppets, but the condition is that all the Beyonder characteristics on them belong to me!"
After learning about the "source of corruption," Hobert had a plan to deal with the enemy. If it were corruption from other ancient gods, he wouldn't dare be so arrogant. But against the corruption of the "Uncertain Mist," with the "Nation of Disorder" in hand and within Earth's barrier, this level of corruption was nothing to him!
Daly scrutinized Hobert again, "Don't be reckless!"
Hobert smiled, "Just tell me if you're willing to make this deal with me."
Daly pondered for a moment before saying, "Deal!"
She wasn't confident in leading the tourists away. Leaving aside whether they could escape the barrier mentioned by the Demonic Wolf of Fog, just encountering those puppets during the transfer would be a massacre.
Since this young man carrying an oil painting was so confident, she might as well let him try. It was just some Beyonder characteristics; it wasn't a significant loss for the Church of the Evernight Goddess.
After reaching the agreement, Hobert jumped onto the roof, observing the surroundings.
Daly, on the other hand, was still trying to set up defenses in case Hobert failed to stop the puppets.
In the end, Daly arranged for everyone to gather in the reception hall. The space was large enough, and they only needed to block the side doors and focus on guarding the main entrance.
After settling everyone down, only a few minutes passed before a man in his thirties suddenly appeared in the courtyard. He was expressionless and seemed devoid of any life.
Many tourists thought they were seeing things because the man suddenly appeared in the snow, where there had been nothing before. Soon, everyone sensed something was wrong with him. Even ordinary people could feel that he wasn't a normal human.
The man "flashed" again, appearing in front of the window, startling many of the onlookers, who retreated in fright.
Just as the man was about to "Blink" again, he suddenly looked up at the roof. Hobert jumped down from the roof, "Disorder!"
The man immediately used "Blink" to dodge, but "Disorder" had already locked onto the target, making it impossible to evade even with "Blink."
The man simply disappeared from the courtyard, using "Travel" to avoid "Disorder."
"Disorder" also had an effective range. Once outside that range, Hobert's attack could be avoided.
After this brief exchange, Hobert understood the state of these puppets: they lacked intelligence, relying mainly on instinct to fight. Their senses weren't very sharp; they only noticed me ambushing on the roof when I was a dozen meters away.
This skirmish seemed to herald the start of the puppets' attack. Soon, over a dozen figures darted into the courtyard, some human, some beast-like.
Lightning, holy light, curses, and other attacks rained down on Hobert in the courtyard.
Even with their limited intelligence, Hobert and Daly, along with the other four, were no match for them.
Daly and Leonard in the reception hall were closely watching Hobert, ready to launch a rescue if he was in danger.
Serena was also sweating for her teacher; the enemies seemed very difficult to deal with.
A layer of black shield appeared around Hobert, blocking the first wave of extraordinary attacks.
Then everyone saw Hobert lower his head and begin to pray, seemingly taking a few steps back unconsciously.
(After Sequence 5, Hobert only needed to take three or four procedural steps back to enter the "Nation of Disorder," unlike the larger movements he needed initially.)
Immediately afterward, a tremendous mental pressure appeared in mid-air. Even ordinary tourists without spiritual vision couldn't help but lower their heads, afraid to look outside.
Daly and others saw the figure sitting amidst the swords. It radiated holy light, and its majestic aura filled the air, causing people to lower their heads involuntarily, wanting to submit.
Even Daly lowered her head unconsciously.
Leonard heard a voice only he could hear exclaim, "Solomon?"
That was Pallez's "old boss."
However, the voice then said, "It can't be Him! Trunsoest?"
Because Hobert wasn't using his original face, he wasn't afraid of Daly and the others finding out that he could beseech the "Creator's" attention.
...
Sitting on the "Iron Throne," Hobert immediately saw white mist entwined around the puppets as he projected his power using his astral projection.
Without Hobert even needing to act, this white mist flowed towards the "Creator" on its own!
The puppets seemed to sense something as well, turning their heads to run back.
Hobert reached out and grabbed, accelerating the flow of mist toward himself.
The mist was like the puppets' life force. As the mist gradually disappeared, their movements slowed down, and they eventually fell to the ground, becoming truly abandoned puppets, mere corpses.
Hobert withdrew his power, feeling a sense of foreboding. The palace he had built cracked open from the middle, and he saw the white mist he had absorbed into the "Nation of Disorder" congeal in mid-air.
It formed a phantom wheel-shaped object with a black ring on the outside and chaotic but orderly small black cylinders in the center. Some of these cylinders intersected, while others didn't connect with any other cylinders.
The wheel-shaped object gave a sense of solidity and antiquity, as if it had existed for a very long time, filled with mystery and the unknown.
Its appearance was somewhat similar to the "wheel-shaped space station" Hobert had seen in the Common Era, but Hobert sensed through his spirituality that it wasn't an alien high-tech product. It was the image of the "Uncertain Mist's" main body.
However, what was in the "Nation of Disorder" was just a projection.
Even as just a projection, Hobert felt a tremendous threat. His control over the "Nation of Disorder" seemed to waver.
Therefore, Hobert immediately mobilized the greatest power he could muster to entangle the "Uncertain Mist's" projection. With his efforts, the projection, which didn't have much actual power, was crushed and dissolved in the Nation of Disorder.
In the instant the other party dissolved, Hobert saw two scenes. The first scene was the "Uncertain Mist's" main body appearing on the ocean of a certain planet. The main body, of course, wasn't as illusory as the projection but was very solid.
Dense white mist constantly surrounded and flowed around the "Uncertain Mist," giving a mysterious and powerful feeling.
Even just a scene gave Hobert tremendous pressure. This was the pressure brought about by the difference in position, almost making him kneel before the "Iron Throne."
This scene flashed by, followed by a second scene.
The second scene was a picturesque valley with snow-capped mountains, a magnificent hall on the mountainside, and birds and flowers in the valley. Some villas and residences were scattered throughout the scenic valley.
In the magnificent hall, a grand ritual of sacrifice to the "Uncertain Mist" was being held. In the front row were three people who looked somewhat similar. The person in the middle had perfectly symmetrical features, gray eyes, and black hair, looking like a wax figure.
On the left was a woman with gray eyes and black hair. Her expression was erratic, as if she had difficulty concentrating.
On the right was a young man with black hair. He looked somewhat unruly, as if he didn't want to participate in such a ritual.
This scene also flashed by. Hobert only saw the three people clearly before the scene disappeared.
Hobert checked the situation in the "Nation of Disorder." There was no trace of the "Uncertain Mist" anymore.
Then he "closed" the palace he had built. First, he had a guess about the scene just now: that was equivalent to the projection sending coordinates to its main body before dissolving, but it was sent to Hobert instead.
The scene he just saw was a fragment of the main body's memory held by the projection.
This should be a warning mechanism similar to a projection, telling the main body that there was danger here, or that there was an opportunity.
However, in the special environment of the "Nation of Disorder," such a "warning" couldn't be sent out at all. Even in the real world, similar warnings would be difficult for the "Uncertain Mist" to locate Hobert after being blocked by the barrier.
Hobert could make such a guess based on Farbauti's experience fighting the "Mother Tree of Desire." If every move Farbauti made could be watched by the "Mother Tree of Desire," then the "Devil Monarch" would have fallen long ago.
Also, the two scenes were very crucial information, but now wasn't the time to consider these things. There were still many people outside looking at him expectantly, so Hobert immediately returned to the real world, pretending to say, "Praise the Creator!"
Then he used the "Spirit Wine Glass" to arrange the dozen or so puppets that had turned into corpses in a row and accelerated the extraction of the Beyonder characteristics within them.
Four or five seconds later, the puppets lined up to send the Beyonder characteristics or extraordinary materials into Hobert's hands.
There were a total of ten Beyonder characteristics and four extraordinary materials.
The Beyonder characteristics of the four extraordinary creatures that were turned into puppets by the Demonic Wolf of Fog were basically in a certain part of their bodies. Hobert could easily sense the parts with Beyonder characteristics with his spirituality and have them dig out the characteristic parts themselves.
The only flaw was that Hobert didn't bring enough containers today and couldn't collect some of the spiritual materials on them.
After Hobert collected all the spoils, Daly and Leonard came out of the hall to avoid causing unnecessary misunderstandings.
Hobert smiled, "I told you, I can solve these puppets myself."
Daly smiled. Who would have thought that this "young man carrying an oil painting" could beseech the help of a god-like existence: "According to our previous agreement, if there are no gains in this mission, we will also give you a reward."
Hobert wasn't greedy, "No, I've already gotten what I wanted just now. I don't need your reward."
"These are two different things. What you gained just now was our deal and doesn't belong to our previously agreed mission," Daly said generously to win over the young man. If possible, she would use the reward to attract him and wait until her own demigod arrived.
After all, in the eyes of official Beyonders, all hidden existences other than the seven orthodox gods are evil gods.
And those hidden existences didn't disappoint official Beyonders, often showing enough madness and evil.
So Daly planned to arrest the young man when she was confident.
Hobert smiled, "I don't want the reward. You guys do what you need to do. I'm going to talk to my student alone."
Daly secretly felt it was a pity, "Okay, the Church of the Evernight Goddess will remember the contribution you made today."
For Hobert, this problem was easy to solve, but for Daly and the others, it was difficult. They were even prepared to sacrifice themselves here.
After all, that was a Demonic Wolf of Fog's puppet, and there might be a demigod-level opponent among them.
Just then, a scream came from the crowd. Someone suddenly fell to the ground. The moisture in his limbs was quickly drained, but his stomach quickly bulged.
Finally, his limbs became as dry as dead wood, and his body and head were like a fat worm, rolling around on the ground, constantly shouting, "Save me, save me..."
Seeing that the other party's mutation was irreversible, Leonard directly shot him, ending his pain.
The process of ordinary people being polluted and turning into monsters is irreversible. Killing him was a relief for him.
The people around were so frightened that they were about to scatter and flee, but Daly immediately said, "Gather around me. I will pray for the power of the Goddess to dispel the evil power in your bodies!"
Everyone seemed to have found a backbone and gathered around Daly.
With Leonard's assistance, Daly quickly prepared the altar and then prayed for the Goddess's power: "The Evernight Goddess stands higher than the cosmos and more eternal than eternity; You are the Lady of Crimson, the Mother of Concealment, the Empress of Misfortune and Horror, the Mistress of Repose and Silence.
"Your devout believers beseech Your attention.
"We pray that You will save these innocent people around the altar and eliminate the corruption in our bodies."
While chanting the prayer, she burned the corresponding essential oils and herbs. The altar was filled with a sense of tranquility.
After the prayer was completed, a surge of profound peace descended, making the surrounding tourists feel as if they were in the dead of night, on the verge of falling asleep.
A cup of coffee next to the altar suddenly tipped over, and the coffee-colored liquid flowed like it was alive to the center of the altar, forming letters one by one.
Having performed so many rituals, this was the first time that Daly had encountered such a situation.
The coffee ultimately formed a sentence: Let Hobert eliminate your corruption; he has already received my blessing in advance.
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