Under no circumstances were they allowed to stop, even during two waves of demonic beasts they had to go forward. During the second wave, they even encountered two hybrid beasts, on which Leaves’ shackles didn’t work and without them she was unable to stop the monsters’ assault. A sister who was caught off guard had to pay the price for the group*s overconfidence. She got her neck cut by claws and her blood was spilled over the ground.
When they finally were able to kill all the demonic beasts, they discovered in horror that the sky had gradually darkened. Apparently nightfall would arrive soon. The city in front of them was still visible, but its outline had became more and more blurred over time, seeming as if it gradually disappeared.
According to their past experiences, they had to find a suitable campground and build their camp, but in these desolate lands, the surroundings were completely different compared to the mountains. When looking around, all they could see were flat plains infested with demonic beasts. There wasn’t a single place of safety where they could rest overnight.
“Respected Mentor, we have to withdraw to the foot of the Mountains! Let Scarlet lead us with her red eyes, with her help we might be able to reach the mountains by midnight,” pleaded a witch.
“No!” Cara shouted, “We have spent the whole afternoon walking with nearly no pause just to reach this place. Now when we have already consumed more than half of our stamina, we can no longer maintain the same speed and return. Sisters, we only can press on further! We can truly find the Holy Mountain, and there we can settle down to rest. “
“Then what should we do with Sherry?” asked a witch as she pointed to the ground where Sherry, showing no signs of vitality, laid.
“We have no time to bury her,” Cara shook her head, “Keep her here, the earth will accommodate her.”
Leaves sadly closed her eyes, again another of my sisters is gone, if I were only a little more powerful, she wouldn’t have to die in this desolate land, without a tombstone to tell of her life.
During that time when many sisters couldn’t decide whether they should move forward or retreat, Stone suddenly exclaimed, “Look at the sky, the city is gone!”
Hearing this, Leaves immediately opened her eyes looked up to see the night sky hidden behind a wall of gray-black clouds. The city had disappeared, just as if it had never existed.
Everyone was rooted in their places, and a terrible silence began to befall them.
During the whole time the sun had been up, the city had never vanished …
Leaves suddenly felt a horrible feeling as though her brain were struck by lightning; she remembered the tales told of adventurers, about those fantastic sceneries seen on the sea. Her whole body began to shudder, and she could only whisper, “We have been cheated…” Soon, she shouted, “We have been cheated, that wasn’t the Holy Mountain! What we saw was only a mirage!”
“Mirage?” Cara abruptly turned around, looking somewhat grim and asked with a terror-stricken voice, “What is that?”
“It is something which Lightning often mentioned within her stories. A phenomenon which was often encountered during a sea voyage, but also seen on land, only much rarer. We have seen nothing but an illusion; the real city may be very far away from us, it is even possible that it isn’t in front of us at all! “
“Does this mean that it at least exists and didn’t just disappear?” Cara asked with little hope.
“This …” Leaves took herself some time to answer, “I do not know.”
At this moment, Scarlett suddenly shouted, “Be careful! Something is coming!” with a horrified look on her face, she stared towards the left side of their group.
“Is it a demonic beast?” asked Windseeker as she entered her battle stand, “How many?”
“No …” Scarlett answered and took two steps back in fear, “I don’t know what that is …”
After her voice died down, a shadow suddenly appeared from afar, and directly struck Scarlett with lightning speed. Although Scarlett had been able to clearly see it in the darkness, she was still unable to dodge it– it was just too fast.
Almost within the blink of an eye, it had struck Scarlett on her chest and pierced directly through her, even nailing down some other witches behind her. When it finally stopped, several witches had been impaled, and everyone finally saw what it was.
It was actually a spear.