Miss Luo Yan’s Feet Are Buried With Corpses v3c89

Witch’s Night: Chapter 89 Mana Transfer and Fox Spirit

The year 1327 of the New Era, early.

New Year.

Snowflakes drifted down slowly from the sky. With the conclusion of the Ten Cities Council, the final defensive line of the human alliance had finally taken initial shape.

With Noah as the ultimate fortress, Dragon City as the corresponding second Ember City, and countless mega-cities serving as nodes in this grand network, humanity was prepared to resist the next Calamity Tide.

Although this preparation seemed somewhat absurdly laughable compared to the defense systems of the Old Era.

But this was still the struggle of human civilization to save itself.

The ordinary citizens of the mega-cities didn’t know the severity of the current situation, only that management had become much stricter recently, and even daily travel was a problem.

Because almost every mega-city, depending on its scale, had one or more Holy Knight squads stationed, implementing the strictest militarized management.

The lesson learned from the Church of the End Gods had cost several mega-cities dearly. At this critical juncture, the Twelve Saints didn’t want to see any more variables appear.

The decree from the highest echelon of the Noah Holy Church, the Twelve Saints, was something that all mega-cities couldn’t defy, especially since they had already joined the Ten Cities Council, which meant agreeing to the Noah Holy Church’s intervention in their respective mega-cities.

There were dissenting voices, but they basically didn’t amount to much.

Among the militarized mega-cities, the strictest were undoubtedly Noah and Dragon City.

Their surveillance systems had been implemented down to every resident. Even the slightest sign of connection with the Church of the End Gods would result in being summoned for inspection.

In this oppressive environment, the New Year, usually filled with a cheerful atmosphere, seemed particularly desolate this year.

Noah looked at the empty streets and sighed softly.

“It seems the sight I most looked forward to seeing… still won’t happen…”

Even during Noah’s most difficult times, the New Year had never been this deserted.

Noah didn’t blame the Saints who made these decisions, he just felt it was a pity.

“If Lord Noah wishes, I can have the Holy Knights relax for a day.”

A cold voice sounded, and a dark, tall, graceful figure appeared beside Noah.

“…There’s no need to go to such trouble.”

Noah shook his head. He knew the current situation better; there was no room for error.

Compared to the Church of the End Gods he had witnessed in the past, which could even rival the Saint, the current Church of the End Gods could only hide in a corner, not even daring to confront the Twelve Saints directly.

The difference between the two was too obvious.

But this didn’t mean Noah underestimated the current Church of the End Gods. They possessed the ability to communicate with the Gods, and were, in any case, the most dangerous enemy of human civilization.

After all, man-made disasters were worse than natural ones.

If a single day’s negligence allowed the Church of the End Gods to succeed in some plan, it would be a loss that couldn’t be compensated.

“Mm.”

Shadow didn’t hesitate and nodded.

“How is Miss Luo Yan’s situation?” Noah walked slowly down the road, his hands behind his back, his body stooped. “I’ve already heard that her condition is starting to deteriorate… the demonic power from the ‘Witch of End’ is taking her away from this world.”

Mentioning this, a hint of worry appeared in Shadow’s expression.

She sighed and said, “I’ve searched through all the records, it seems only the ‘Clumsy Flame’ barrier can handle this situation… but it can’t delay it for too long, her life seems to be coming to an end.”

“Just her life?”

Noah stopped walking and murmured softly.

Seeing Noah’s expression at this moment, Shadow suddenly remembered Mister Nine from before, her beautiful eyes widening slightly,

“You, are you thinking of…”

The concept of life force could indeed be transferred to others through a certain ritual, but this ritual was always irreversible.

And it wasn’t like you could transfer as much as you wanted. If that were the case, Shadow and Illusion would have done it long ago.

After giving up one’s life, the only outcome was death, even Mister Nine couldn’t escape this.

Moreover, in the final moments of the Yan City war, Mister Nine touched the limits of humanity, the true ceiling of human strength.

It couldn’t be said that he could rival the true Gods, but shaking them wasn’t a problem.

Even with such power, the final life force Mister Nine gave only delayed Luo Yan’s fate by two or three months.

This showed that the cost-effectiveness of transferring life force to others was extremely low.

Perhaps giving up the remaining hundred years of one’s life could only buy an extra year or two.

“You’re overthinking it.” Noah glanced at Shadow. “Mister Nine’s remaining candlelight couldn’t save her life, how could I possibly do it?

“To solve her problem, we can only take her to the peak of the Holy Mountain.”

“…But it’s not time yet.”

Shadow’s expression became serious, a rare sight on her face.

“You should know that the peak of the Holy Mountain is extremely dangerous right now. The residual power from the battle of the Gods swirls from the mountainside to the summit. Even ‘Destruction’ level ability users would find it extremely difficult to deal with this power, let alone…”

Luo Yan wasn’t even “Ruin” level, let alone “Destruction” or “Peril.”

The high degree of control she had over her demonic powers made people subconsciously ignore her own strength. Putting aside the demonic powers, her frail body was her biggest weakness.

And in the face of the Gods’ immense power, how much effect could a little demonic power have?

“The Church of the End Gods also knows it’s not time yet, they know just as well as we do.” Noah looked deeply at Shadow. “The Gods aren’t on our side, and besides, among them is the legendary nun Marytis, the only one who has ever reached the peak of the Holy Mountain.

“When it comes to the situation on the peak of the Holy Mountain, the Church of the End Gods might even know more than we do.”

This was an extremely ironic situation. None of the Twelve Saints had ever reached the peak of the Holy Mountain, yet within the Church of the End Gods, there was a legendary nun who had seen the Saint’s remains with her own eyes.

What did Marytis see back then?

Why did she choose to betray humanity afterwards?

The Twelve Saints didn’t know, and didn’t dare to know.

They were also worried that when they, as mortals, witnessed the truth, they would, like Marytis, embrace the Gods.

If even the Twelve Saints betrayed humanity, that would be true despair.

So when Noah planned to go to the peak of the Holy Mountain, the first reaction of all the Saints was collective opposition.

It wasn’t until Noah stated his attitude, that regardless of the final outcome, his life would end on the peak of the Holy Mountain, that he barely persuaded the other Saints.

This seemed somewhat cruel and heartless, but if they didn’t do this…

If even the First Saint betrayed humanity…

Whether for the other Saints or for all of humanity, it would be too tragic.

“Don’t worry, Shadow,” Noah looked at Shadow’s furrowed brows and said gently, “Although I’m just an old bag of bones, dealing with the Calamities on the peak of the Holy Mountain… isn’t a problem.”

“…As you wish.” Shadow lowered her head and said.

Noah twitched the corners of his mouth, seemingly smiling.

But looking at the endless horizon, this smile gradually faded until it disappeared.

It sounded simple…

But how could it possibly be simple?

He didn’t have much confidence, because he was facing the unknown.

…….

“Miss Luo Yan’s deterioration seems a bit fast…”

“A normal phenomenon. Life force will have a sudden acceleration phase during the final stage of decline. The duration of this phase depends on the individual’s own life force.”

Ms. Lana replied. Seeing that Illusion didn’t seem to understand, she continued to explain, “The old man who appeared in the library not long ago, his life force is already approaching the decline phase. In a few more years, his decline will reach an astonishing speed.

“Perhaps one day he still possesses ‘Destruction’ level strength, and the next day he can’t even hold chopsticks steadily.”

“…That exaggerated?”

“This conclusion is derived from comprehensive database analysis, with an error rate of only about one in ten thousand. Please do not raise unnecessary doubts about the pinnacle of Old Era human technology.”

Ms. Lana’s mechanical voice was filled with pride in her own existence, something Illusion had heard many times these past few days.

Every time she showed a hint of doubt, Ms. Lana would sternly refute her doubts and emphasize her identity.

…She seemed quite proud?

But undeniably, Ms. Lana’s judgment about Miss Luo Yan was very accurate.

Illusion sighed softly. The surrounding dreamscape seemed to be separating from the real world. If she hadn’t maintained the illusion to isolate external influences, Miss Luo Yan’s deterioration would only be faster.

During these past few days, Luo Yan had woken up only a handful of times, and she had even begun to lose track of the difference between reality and dreams.

Her meaningless murmurs seemed to carry some kind of indescribable whisper. Illusion couldn’t understand what Luo Yan was saying, and didn’t even know if it was divine script.

“Did I hear someone talking bad about me outside?”

An aged voice sounded from outside, and Noah entered with Shadow.

Illusion’s illusion didn’t stop the two of them. After a moment of turbulence in the bizarre scenery, the stooped figure appeared within the illusion.

Shadow followed closely behind, looking nervously and worriedly at the silver-haired girl leaning against the bed. Her frail, sickly state gave her skin a snow-like pallor, and a dreamy mist enveloped her. Miss Luo Yan looked like a princess from a fairy tale.

No, even the most legendary fairy tales couldn’t describe her at this moment.

“It’s just an analysis based on the current situation. If you don’t like hearing it, you can request to block related information.” Ms. Lana said stiffly, “Humans nearing the end of their lives always avoid mentioning related information, I can understand.”

“…I don’t avoid it.”

“Received, do you need further explanation?”

“…But there’s no need to deliberately mention it.”

Noah sometimes wondered what Ms. Lana had experienced over the years, how she seemed to have changed after hundreds of years.

More… human-like?

Could artificial intelligence created in the Old Era also possess something like “human touch”?

Noah shook off this strange thought, composed himself, and looked at Luo Yan on the bed.

Just one glance, and Noah gasped, his wrinkled face twitching, almost losing his composure.

Similar… far too similar…

Last time, when Noah saw Luo Yan, he said she looked like the Witch of Absolute Death, but also not like her.

Similar because their appearances were almost identical, not similar because she didn’t have the divine aura carried by the Witch of Absolute Death.

This divine aura could be said to be the true essence of the Witch of Absolute Death, while her appearance was just a shell.

But the current Luo Yan…

Noah could vaguely sense the aura of the Gods on her, constantly emerging.

This scene inevitably reminded him of the Witch of Absolute Death.

“The situation is indeed urgent to a certain extent,” Noah’s expression turned grim, and he whispered, “Are there no other methods to temporarily maintain her condition?”

“There are…”

Unexpectedly, the one who answered was Illusion.

Illusion looked somewhat awkward, which was unlike her usual self. Even Shadow, who knew her best, widened her eyes, her face filled with unconcealable shock.

Was this still the Illusion she knew?

What had Illusion experienced during these few days with Miss Luo Yan?

Could it be that Miss Luo Yan… to her…

No, no, Miss Luo Yan had clearly been in a half-dreaming state.

Shadow looked at Illusion’s expression, and it suddenly became subtle.

Could this be considered cradle robbing…

Seeing Shadow’s gaze, how could Illusion not know what crooked thoughts this person was having? She rolled her eyes at her and said,

“There is indeed a method, but this method is rather difficult to mention.”

“Mana transfer?”

Shadow said subconsciously.

“Mana… what mana transfer?”

Illusion was stunned for a moment, but quickly ignored Shadow’s interruption and continued,

“The illusion ability I possess can temporarily maintain Luo Yan from being affected by the Gods, but it can’t cope with the gradually deteriorating demonic power within her…”

Before Illusion could finish, Shadow said slyly,

“So you want to inject your illusion power into Miss Luo Yan?”

“Ah? Inject? No… can you please shut up!”

Illusion was interrupted several times, and her carefully cultivated mood dissipated quite a bit.

“So what should be done?” Noah said in a deep voice, his face serious. “Do we need to leave?”

“…No need! It’s not what you think!”

Illusion finally realized what Shadow’s strange words meant and shouted, her cheeks slightly red.

Finally, the reliable Ms. Lana stepped forward, her light blue, flowing figure buzzing,

“To be precise, Illusion’s current ‘illusion’ ability isn’t sufficient to combine with dreams. She needs to borrow the power of her ancestors—undergo atavism, that is, bloodline purification.”

“Atavism?” Shadow scratched her head. “Turn into a monkey?”

“You’re the monkey!”

Illusion’s tone inexplicably weakened.

“To be precise, it’s a certain ‘mythical creature’ from another world,” Ms. Lana continued, “Based on the descriptions in human novels, I believe it can be named—a fox spirit.”

“Hiss, fox spirit? That’s not a good term…”

Shadow looked at Illusion with a strange expression, and Illusion returned a fierce glare.