Chapter 343: Strong, Not Invincible

Chapter 343: Strong, Not Invincible

They could not stop the spread of this fog. They could only ask the Sanctuary Church for help. Before that, they had to leave this place first. As for using their own bodies to stop the black mist? That was out of the question. One of their members had tried to do just that. The result was that the person was completely swallowed by the black weapon and forcibly transformed into some unknown beast-like state.

Judging from that person’s behavior, the transformed companion seemed to only have physical abnormalities, with nothing else wrong. However, they were almost tricked by this appearance earlier. If not for the Church member holding the Crystal Rod decisively detonating half of it, they would have been completely wiped out by now.

Fortunately, the path through Windwhisper Valley was difficult to travel. But after getting away from the rocky areas, there was still a road. Once they found the road, the two vehicles quickly sped away. These things were much faster than people and had greater endurance. Even though the gray mist ribbons chased closely, they could not intercept them before they rushed out of Windwhisper Valley.

“Phew…” The Church member sitting in the back seat looked at the small remaining piece of Crystal Rod in his hand and let out a long sigh of relief. This amount could only withstand one more outburst from the gray mist ribbons at most. If they had not escaped earlier, they would have been dead… No, turned into those strange unknown monsters. They did not know what was special about those monsters.

After being transformed, even a strong-willed companion could instantly turn against them.

After putting more distance behind them, he checked the injuries on the others. The surviving companions all had many wounds. Strangely, there was no abnormal power lingering around the wounds. It was just like ordinary physical damage. The troublesome ones were the injuries caused by the transformed Wind Dragonflies. Those wounds had strong Wind Element residue. If not removed quickly, they would cause continuous severe damage.

“It’s over…” Gale looked back at Windwhisper Valley behind them. Windwhisper Valley, which originally should not have had any fog, was now shrouded in a gray mist, giving off an indescribable eerie feeling. The Sanctuary Church members in the other vehicle also saw the anomaly in Windwhisper Valley, but no one present could stop it…

Oss stared blankly at an Expansion Pouch in his hand. He never expected that peaceful Windwhisper Valley would become like this. This time, they were lucky to escape in time. Later, if they were unlucky and encountered a similar situation elsewhere, would they still be saved?

He used to think that although the Undying Witch caused a lot of panic, these matters were still too far away from him. He should not be so unlucky as to encounter them. But now, he never felt that a being like a Witch was so close to him. He had concerns, so he was willing to strive. But if he encountered an immovable boulder on the path of striving, then he needed to think carefully, rather than stubbornly crashing into it and dying.

The incident in Windwhisper Valley could be said to be the largest anomalous region discovered by the Sanctuary Church recently. This place immediately received the Church’s highest attention. Even Saintess Deya, who had been transferred from Kaja earlier, changed her original plans and hurried here. At the same time, another famous figure from the Sanctuary Church, Achille, also came here!

Originally, he would not have come here. It was only because the Church members reporting the anomaly in Windwhisper Valley mentioned Oss that he felt it necessary to make a trip here. Regarding this young man, he had been keeping an eye on him. Not only was his younger sister now a member of the Church, but she also actually had a good talent… It could only be said that fate was unpredictable.

If his sister had shown this talent earlier, Oss would probably be a trainee knight or something in the Church now, instead of a Demon Sword Cultist. Do not think a trainee knight is not prestigious enough. Actually, for ordinary newcomers, without several years of seniority, or sufficient strength and character, it is impossible to obtain such a status in a short time.

The world was unpredictable, but now Oss was doing quite well. At least he had not done anything bad. Therefore, the Sanctuary Church’s scrutiny of him had relaxed somewhat. If there really was a problem, was there not his sister? Not that the Sanctuary Church acted dishonorably. They also weighed gains and losses. If Oss really wanted to cause trouble someday, having his sister step in was the most likely way to resolve the matter without major conflict. With such an option, why make things more troublesome?

Additionally, Achille noticed that this kid had exceptionally good luck. In just a few months, he achieved what others could hardly achieve in years. In the past, even if Demon Sword Cultists grew strong quickly, that was only in the early stages. Later, to become stronger, they had to constantly challenge powerful enemies. This destined Demon Sword Cultists to have a large base but not an overflow of high-end combat power.

The higher the combat power, as long as they still had ambition, they would constantly face various risks. Greater risks meant more deaths. Demon Sword Cultists were also human. As for Oss, he was ambitious. The enemies he faced were always very “precise.” They could bring him great pressure but never truly crush him.

In the past, any member of his team could easily defeat Oss. Now, Oss could fight three at once. This kind of luck was really something else. Besides, Oss always managed to discover hidden things. Using him as a basis, Achille discovered much information on targets the Sanctuary Church was tracking. Among them, several involved Oss himself without his knowledge. This information even included details about a Witch.

Even if some were outdated, they were still leads. Investigating further could always reveal something. After all, Witches planning something over several decades was normal.

Take this unknown anomaly, for example. After investigating many anomaly sites, it was found that the longest-lasting changes there had persisted for nearly a hundred years! It was just that, back then, these anomalies were dormant, so no one noticed anything wrong. Now, with a starting point, so many unusual locations had been uncovered.

Oss was also involved in this anomaly in Windwhisper Valley. Even if it was not closely related to him, he was still present here. Achille thought that if not for other matters delaying him earlier and if he had continued focusing on Oss, they might have discovered something wrong in Windwhisper Valley in advance.

Unfortunately, it was too late for any of that now.

Arriving at Windwhisper Valley, Oss looked at the gray mist shrouding the valley. The environment here was somewhat like Stone Forest, but it exuded a different kind of dangerous aura. “This is troublesome.”

Achille knew well what creatures were in Windwhisper Valley. No less than four hundred Wind Dragonflies lived there. It was said earlier that one hundred Wind Dragonflies gathering could stir up a storm more powerful than High-Rank Wind Element Magic. Four hundred… while the power might not quadruple, the endurance was more than four times greater. Wind Dragonflies’ abilities were more like Talents, so their consumption was very low.

From the reports of members who encountered the anomaly, the transformed Wind Dragonflies still possessed their original Talents, and the power was even enhanced! If all the Wind Dragonflies in the canyon were transformed, even if this was an important stronghold of the Undying Witch, clearing it out would become extremely troublesome.

“Should I go test it first?” Deya stood at the entrance of the Sanctuary Church’s already established Campsite, looking toward Windwhisper Valley. The area was completely sealed off. With the Sanctuary Church keeping watch, no fool would cause trouble at this time. After all, this was directly related to a Witch. If someone caused trouble and the Sanctuary Church labeled them as colluding with a Witch… even though the Sanctuary Church seemed to have no history of smearing people.

But precisely because of that, no one wanted to do it. Having no black history meant that if they really wanted to trade on their credibility, it would be simply too easy!

“We cannot do that. The situation there is unclear… it might be a trap set by the Undying Witch.” Achille said. Deya’s Saintess status in the Church was like that of a highly-ranked special operative… a combatant, not a decorative piece. In some battles, she even had to charge to the front lines. With her strength, doing so would not be too dangerous, but that depended on the situation.

The current situation was unclear. Being reckless had its benefits. If it was an empty fort strategy, charging in would be a huge gain. But what if it was a real trap?

Currently, Deya was the only serving Saintess in the Sanctuary Church. Losing her would not be good. Not that Saintesses were scarce to that extent. Saintesses appeared according to the times. In the era when Witches were everywhere, the Sanctuary Church had many Saintesses. Why was there only one Saintess now?

The reason was simple. Saintesses did not have overly long lives. According to records of Saintesses, apart from those who died, the longest-lived Saintess did not reach three hundred years. Normal powerful individuals, if they reached the strength level of a Saintess, would have a lifespan of at least two thousand years. It could be said that powerful individuals at this level basically never died of old age; most died due to accidents.

Saintesses remained unchanged in appearance until death. Was this also a kind of “blessing”?

“But should we just leave it like this?” Deya said.

“Currently, it is difficult to handle… Over four hundred Wind Dragonflies attacking together would not be pleasant for you either, right?”

“…She really knows how to plan.” Deya slightly frowned. Wind Dragonflies joining forces could stir up storms, but that did not mean they only did that. Their unique wind-control Talent allowed them to perform other concentrated attacks when combined. The combined attack of four hundred Wind Dragonflies would not only be difficult for her but also make some Witches feel very uncomfortable!

Being strong did not mean being invincible.