Chapter 170: The Eerie Town

"Those towns where evil rituals were held have truly experienced disasters, haven't they?"

Long ago, when they first received this news from Bridger, Rando and Claire had already analyzed that something was definitely amiss in these places. However, after visiting them and finding nothing unusual, and with their arrangements to deal with the Arch-Prelate nearing completion, the two believed the problem would be resolved once the Arch-Prelate was captured, and thus did not investigate further. Now, the hidden troubles had indeed erupted.

"Let's go, let's check out the nearest location!" Rando said in a deep voice.

Claire nodded, reached out, and pointed forward, opening a portal.

Every time he saw Claire pull off this trick, Rando felt a pang of envy. He glanced at the talent [Voidwalker (Purple)] that had been gathering dust in his system for a long time, feeling that its time to take the stage was probably not far away.

The two arrived in a flatland region, right in front of the ruins of a small town. A small stream cut through the town, once its primary source of water, accompanied by what appeared to be abandoned farmland overgrown with weeds due to a long period without cultivation.

wisps of black aura emanated from the town's ruins. Looking closely, the source of these black wisps were the lingering shadows of former town residents wandering about the town.

These shadows appeared translucent, seemingly devoid of self-awareness, endlessly repeating the actions of their lifetimes with blank expressions.

Children were chasing and playing, running back and forth.

Old people sat in rocking chairs basking in the sun—though unfortunately, there were no rocking chairs, only the old men rocking back and forth in mid-air.

Housewives by the downstream of the stream went through the motions of scrubbing laundry, but bizarrely, their hands held nothing at all.

Hunters looked as though they were going hunting, but unable to leave the town, they could only wander aimlessly near the town entrance.

......

A wandering ghost darted over and was caught in Claire's grip.

After a moment, he said with a solemn expression, "It has expanded! The range of activity for these shadows has expanded!"

"Oh?"

"When the town first underwent the anomaly, those hunters couldn't reach the areas where they are currently wandering. The rate of expansion is somewhat fast, and the most crucial thing right now is that we don't know how many locations like this are mutating!"

Rando said, "Anyway, let's first see if these evil ritual towns can be cleansed."

The moment the two stepped into the eerie town, the shadows of all the town residents simultaneously halted their actions and eerily turned their heads toward the two. Due to anatomical angles, some even twisted their heads a full 180 degrees.

The two waited for a moment, realizing that these shadows were merely gazing at them without taking any other action. Exchanging a glance, they began to walk through the ruined town.

Their objective was clear. According to Bridger, the evil rituals typically placed sacrificial offerings in the center of the town. Although the offerings had long since been dug away, that spot was unquestionably the most probable source of the anomaly.

When the two arrived at the small plaza in the center of the town, they saw a blurry, palm-sized phantom floating above a meter-wide pit. It continuously radiated strands of bizarre energy, influencing the entire town and even expanding outward.

"It really is that evil ritual!"

"Let's test whether it can be exorcised first."

After some investigation and experimentation, the two discovered that ordinary elemental power had no effect whatsoever on the blurry phantom. The only forces that worked were light, death, and certain special energies.

'Finger of Death!'

As the Lich made his move, the power of the Finger of Death dispelled the blurry phantom. Deprived of its source, the bizarre energy lost its backing, and the shadows in the town gradually dissipated, along with the black aura which slowly faded away.

......

Just as Rando and Claire were investigating the eerie town, a far greater transformation and turmoil unfolded across the entire world.

Within the empire, a prosperous town had stood for more than two hundred years. Because of its superior geographical location, it had developed rapidly, almost reaching the standards of a small city.

Legend had it that two hundred years ago, this place had suffered an invasion of undead that completely reduced the former town to ruins. The current town had been built upon those original ruins, and it was even more prosperous than before.

Established near a major transportation route, it served as the best supply point for merchants traveling between large cities to buy and sell goods.

Consequently, half of the town's residents made their living by running taverns and inns.

In the center of the town sat a massive tavern, the prime spot for mercenaries escorting merchant caravans to rest and idle while their caravans resupplied. The town mayor also raked in a fortune thanks to the tavern's prime location.

Today, just like any other day, before noon had even arrived, the tavern was already packed to capacity. Mercenaries and adventurers were boasting and competing with one another, while scantily clad waitresses wove between the guests. From time to time, they were groped by unruly patrons, at which point they would respond with flirtatious scolding or feigned anger depending on the guest's looks and the size of the tip.

Behind the bar, the bartender mixed drinks with flashy techniques, and the occasional burst of cheers from below left him very satisfied—after all, that was the exact reason the mayor had hired him at great expense.

"Clang!"

The sound of a tray hitting the floor echoed through the tavern. The patrons paid it little mind; such mishaps were common in a lively tavern.

Quite a few guests looked toward the fallen waitress with interested expressions, wanting to see whether she had simply been clumsy or if some patron was causing trouble. If it was the latter, a good show was about to begin.

Yet the expression on the waitress's face on the floor was one of utter confusion and terror. She completely disregarded the hot, sauce-covered roasted meat that had landed on her body, and even forgot to get up.

Following the waitress's gaze, the patrons realized it wasn't some patron playing a prank that had embarrassed the little waitress. Not far ahead of her, a blurry phantom had appeared out of nowhere.

The tavern fell silent for a beat, and then erupted into a chaotic uproar.

"An undead ghost?!"

"Why is this kind of thing here?!"

"Step back, don't let the ghost possess you!"

"What, are there undead ghosts? Let me see!"

Fortunately, most of the people in the tavern were mercenaries and adventurers, the sort who had seen the world, so a full-blown riot didn't break out.

One adventurer even grew bold enough to step forward, drawing the longsword from his back. A dim grey light washed over the blade as he slashed toward the blurry phantom.

His companions also drew their weapons and stood behind him, looking ready to provide support at a moment's notice.

Many of the onlookers around them did the same, though to avoid misunderstandings, they hurriedly backed away from strangers, instantly dividing the people in the tavern into several small circles.

As the adventurer's sword light swept downward, the crowd shifted from hopeful and expectant to disappointed and confused, because the longsword passed right through the blurry phantom as if it were nothing.

The adventurer doubtfully slashed the longsword through the air a few more times, but the blurry phantom acted as if it didn't exist at all—neither affected nor reacting in the slightest.

"This doesn't seem to be a ghost!"