Chapter 1018: 317. Magic Shadow Stabs with a Knife_2
Yes, and not just one way.
The first method is to use Teleportation.
For the escaping Shadow Death Laborers, this is an extravagant hope.
The second method is to take an artificial passage.
The legal artificial passage is at Baldur’s Gate.
There lies a large underground structure called the Dark Abyss, which one can take from ground level down the spiral staircase directly to the Dark Zone.
...
— Baldur’s Gate on ground level, built a subterranean city right beneath the Dark Zone, and the “bridge” connecting the two is the Dark Abyss.
As for the illegal artificial passages, Noland Lee didn’t know where they were; generally, they are dug covertly in the wilderness by outlaw wizards for smuggling trades.
Baldur’s Gate is 900 kilometers west of the Stone Forest…
The Shadow Death Laborers don’t need to eat, drink, or relieve themselves; as long as they cautiously avoid shadow demons, it’s still possible for them to reach that place…
For these Shadow Death Laborers, Noland Lee could only wish them good luck.
As for Xander, well, Noland Lee planned to send him a bit of luck.
About 30-plus kilometers to the southwest of the temporary base.
Noland Lee caught up with the fleeing Xander.
The feature of “Constant Levitation” inherent to ethereal beings allowed Xander to easily navigate complicated terrain.
But his depleted energy and the weakness of his soul after multiple rebirths severely suppressed his floating speed.
When Noland Lee pursued him, he made no effort to conceal the energy fluctuations of “Death Flight.”
Xander clearly sensed the approaching Death Energy and immediately thought of the black-robed figures he had seen in the city.
These black-robed individuals also carried traces of Death Energy!
The Death Clan Wizard who was chasing him could very well be one of the black-robed figures from the city.
A sense of impending doom flooded Xander’s mind.
Seeing that the other’s flying speed far surpassed his own, Xander found a spot to hide himself.
There were many Shadow Death Laborers fleeing ahead of him.
Now, Xander could only pray that the Death Clan Wizard behind him would go after the other laborers instead.
A voice appeared in Xander’s mind, causing his body to shudder violently.
“Listen carefully to what I say…”
Along with the voice in his mind, a magic scroll and a teleportation crystal floated leisurely in front of Xander.
“This is a ‘Slate Layer Traveling Spell Scroll,’ and the accompanying teleportation crystal is linked to Starlight City in the Ulnas Circle. Now, leave this place.”
Xander stared blankly at the scroll and crystal in front of him, a surge of elation at his imminent escape welling up inside him.
He reached out with trembling hands to catch the scroll and crystal, his eyes brimming with emotional tears.
After a brief moment of daze, Xander suddenly remembered Evelyn Thatcher back in the city.
Holding the magic scroll and crystal, he stood up, stepped out of his hiding spot, and looked towards the departing Death Clan Wizard:
“Wait a moment, Your Excellency, I have a companion who has been taken, her name is Evelyn Thatcher, can you…”
Before Xander could finish his sentence, the other cast “Death Flight” and whizzed away, without saying another word. noveldrama
Xander stood frozen in place, clutching the scroll.
After much hesitation, he still tore it open, turning into an earthy brown light that burrowed into the ceiling overhead…
Noland Lee glanced back at the fleeting earthy brown light on the ceiling and chuckled softly to himself.
“Please, whether Evelyn Thatcher got caught or not is none of my business. You should be the one trying to save her, not me. Why would you call out to me?”
Noland Lee shook his head in resignation and returned to his own serious matters.
“Aren’t the lord and deputy mayor of the Upper City Area busy mingling with people from the Soul Shaping Society, too occupied to be disturbed?
“Very well, then I’ll switch from positional warfare to guerrilla tactics, stretching the enemy’s line, forcing them to extend their strategic depth and commit more members of the Vigilance Team to search for my whereabouts.”
“After two to three days of continuous harassment, Lord Sorel will have no choice but to deploy a Nine-Circles strength deputy mayor out of the city to search for the enemy.
“At that time, I will be able to deconstruct the deputy mayor, and figure out exactly what Lord Sorel and the Soul Shaping Society are up to.
“As long as I find the right opportunity and take targeted measures, I should still be able to overrun the City of Exiles and plunder the resources within.”
…
…
At the same time in the City of Exiles.
With the departure of over six thousand Shadow Death Laborers, Lower Town fell into an eerie silence, with only members of the Vigilance Team patrolling the city walls.
Looking up at the inverted triangular structure above, the Upper City Area fixed in the ceiling remained as quiet as ever.
Dense shadow energy formed a magic barrier around the Upper City Area like black clouds, making it difficult for outsiders to glimpse its secrets.
At the very top of this inverted triangular building, there is a magic Grand Hall with a vertical height of over thirty meters.
The Soul Shaping Society had cast a detection spell on the Shadow Death Laborers before they left the city, capturing some whose bodies emitted white light.
Now, all the laborers that had been captured were in the Grand Hall.
They were hamstrung by Magic Hook Locks that could seal the energy flow within their bodies, piercing through their shoulders and necks.
Locked in place like cattle and sheep, they were suspended from the Grand Hall’s ceiling by the magic hook locks.
Several chains imbued with death runes penetrated their heads, chests, and abdomens from front to back, stringing them together and forming a circle around the magic formation on the floor.
Without a doubt, this was a magic ceremony involving many elements such as “pain,” “torment,” and “ethereal beings.”
The Shadow Death Laborers, trapped by the rune chains and magic hook locks, were the sacrificial offerings for this ceremony.