BXBX NOVEL Chapter 174 - 174 Illusions of the Past (2)
It was very difficult for the power of the Holy Spirits to take effect in this mist, and the power the Moon Realm Void Sovereigns could project on the Ava State was extremely limited.
Seeing Remides nod and admit the reason why she had summoned the mist, the Tacma Church ascetic reminded her, “Your private use of the governor’s authority to summon the mist might very well cause you to lose your position as governor tomorrow. Be it being defeated by a deity or a mortal, the outcome will be submission.”
“I won’t lose this war without the intervention of gods,” Remides said calmly.
!!
“According to what I’ve learned, even according to the most optimistic calculations, the empire’s expeditionary army is more than three times as strong as Ava State. This is a reality chasm that can’t be easily bridged with courage or strategy.”
Regarding this, the ascetic pointed out the problem.
He wasn’t wrong at all. The population of elves was extremely small. Even if one only calculated the high-end combat strength of both sides, there were only three people in Ava State who had reached the Divine Realm, including Remides. Moreover, one of them was the Phoenix Holy Fire’s fire guardian who couldn’t leave the temple for battle.
As for the empire’s expeditionary army, it was already confirmed that four Divine Realm experts were participating on the surface—not to mention any hidden powerhouses. The most conservative estimate was that at least five Divine Realm powerhouses would participate.
However…
“If you can choose to support Ava State, all of this will be reversed,” Remides said.
Upon hearing her words, an expression that could be called a smile appeared on the ascetic’s face for the first time.
“Miss Shadowmoon, you know the Tacma Church’s doctrine. We never participate directly in any war. Of course, if you’re willing, you can choose to swear an oath and wear a linen robe to join us. When the time comes, the Church can guarantee your safety.”
Remides shook her head and was about to say something when her expression suddenly changed as she turned to look into the distance.
“Dragon?”
…
The dragon disappeared?
William immediately became vigilant when he sensed the disappearance of the black dragon that could have lasted for at least a minute.
An existence that could make an adult black dragon disappear silently was extremely rare in the world. All the existences William could think of now were existences that even he had to spend some effort to kill.
Therefore, what was in this fog?
“Have you encountered this mist in your past trips to Ava State?”
William hurriedly asked Captain Hobbs.
The other party nodded and said, “Ava State means the Nation of Mist in elven language. Mist of this level is a normal phenomenon near Ava State…”
With that said, he revealed an extremely puzzled expression and continued,
“But I’ve never encountered such thick mist so far from Ava State. It will take us at least three to four days more…”
William interrupted him and continued asking, “Then, have you encountered anything strange in such fog?”
“Strange… What do you mean?” the captain asked.
“For example, a huge and blurry outline, a strange sound, a stench… or anything else.”
When William described it, he couldn’t help but think of a famous octopus-headed huge green existence in a fabricated myth with bat wings on its back.
William stopped his train of thought.
This isn’t right.
William’s question made Hobbs fall silent. A few seconds later, he said,
“Although I haven’t encountered it… the elves we do business with did mention something to take note of on a misty day. He told us that if we encounter a ship that’s clearly not the style of this era in the mist, we have to ignore them. Be it the people on that ship crying for help, making threats, or even attacking, we can’t respond at all.”
“Why?” William asked immediately.
Hobbs looked at William and revealed an odd expression.
“This is because if we don’t respond, they will only be illusions, but once we respond, they will become reality to us. Therefore… Everyone, don’t respond to anything related to them. Everyone, do what you need to do now…”
As Hobbs spoke, he lowered his tone and raised his voice. This ensured that the surrounding people could hear him without being suddenly agitated by him.
William pretended to inadvertently turn his head and look behind him when he saw the expression on Captain Hobbs’s face gradually change from strange to fear.
Then, he saw…
A huge warship appeared from the thick mist and sailed side by side beside Whalebone. Compared to it, the medium-sized three-masted sailing ship, Whalebone, was as tiny as a small boat.
As the ship was too tall and was very close to the Whalebone, William had to raise his head and look up to see the Dragon Sword emblem printed on the sail, as well as the huge black dragon that had collapsed on the deck.
It was the black dragon summoned by William through the Divine Realm Illusion spell, True Shadow.
As an existence manifested from illusions, it should have instantly disappeared after death as if it had never existed.
However, its corpse fell to the deck intact.
A man with grayish-white hair and silver-gray eyes stood beside the black dragon’s corpse. He wore a bronze crown and held a ruby sword.
William wasn’t unfamiliar with this person’s image. He had seen this man’s image in countless sculptures, murals, books, and paintings—Terra Riel.
The man who claimed to be his reincarnation was also the founding emperor of the Riel Empire.
As for this huge warship, it was probably the legendary flagship of the imperial navy from 800 years ago, the Crown, which had been destroyed by a huge storm during its last battle against Ava State.
William was captivated by the ship. Hobbs hurried over and placed his hand on William’s shoulder. He said in an exaggerated tone, “Stop staring at the sky. There’s no sun in this misty sky. Hurry up and help drive the wind to accelerate the ship.”
Then, he whispered into William’s ear, “Don’t look at that ship. It’s just an illusion. Just ignore it according to the Ava State elves.”
William’s main body in the Blackwater Swamp had already gone to the Library of the Dead in the Treasure Hall and asked the Archivists to find information about the Ava State fog.
After skipping a long paragraph of descriptions of Fire and Mist myths and legends, William finally found what he was looking for.
The mist in Ava State was a strange magical phenomenon. As long as one was in this mist, illusions of the past would constantly appear. Once witnesses interacted with it, they would change from simple illusions to real illusions for the witnesses—this was especially similar to the principles of Illusion spells.
According to the author’s guess, this might be related to the so-called ancestral souls of the elves. As the first living beings in Currere, they still maintained an inextricable connection with the Realm of Light in the place of creation.