novelraw Chapter 571: The Approaching Strange Fog
Chapter 571: The Approaching Strange Fog
“Will they bring the things out?”
“Of course not... There could be an anomaly hiding in the house.”
“So they’re just going to burn the whole street?”
“What other choice is there?”
“What a waste... Why did the fire go out?!”
Under the watchful eyes of the two frightened observers, the raging flames in the distance suddenly vanished, plunging the street into darkness.
“What happened... Ow!”
The guard who had just been complaining about the cold suddenly raised a hand, but his helmet blocked him from touching his face.
“What’s wrong with you?” his partner asked, alarmed. The extinguished fire in the distance had filled him with a sense of dread. On the deserted street, not even the glow of the streetlamps and the curtained windows of the houses could offer him any feeling of safety.
“Probably just cold, I don’t feel so good,” the guard replied, waving a dismissive hand. The burning sensation on his face quickly subsided. “But more importantly... what happened on Fifth Street?”“That’s none of our business. Our job is to guard this section...”
“We should back up a little. I have a bad feeling about this...”
His partner tightened his grip on his cold spear, peering tensely into the darkness. When he got no reply, he turned in surprise—the other guard was trembling strangely, his head tilted back. From beneath his helmet, a face as gaunt as a skull emerged, covered in a fine white fuzz.
“Tell Erin...” he mumbled incoherently, and then pitched forward.
Thud!
The guard collapsed to the ground. From the gaps in his armor, countless white dandelions burst forth.
Clatter!
The other guard dropped his spear.
He knew, of course, what this was! Clutching his head, he bolted toward the dark and silent Fifth Street. His desperate scream echoed down the road.
“The anomaly has broken out!!!”
...
“Who wrote this?”
“There’s no signature.”
There was nothing on the scrap of paper except for the warning.
Anna remained silent, waiting for Lu Li’s decision.
As he clutched the note and considered his options, the view outside the window suddenly darkened. The sky, once tinged crimson by the glow of the fire, was now hidden behind the clouds.
“We’re retreating to the abandoned farm outside the city,” Lu Li said.
A few kilometers from Ellen Royal City lay an abandoned farm. Lu Li intended to take shelter there and observe the situation in the city. If things took a turn for the worse, he would have to forgo the Exorcist Council and leave the Main Continent.
Anna picked up the suitcase and the lamp, pushed the wheelchair, and woke Lilia in the next room.
Lilia hadn't been sleeping anyway. Upon hearing that Ellen Royal City might be under attack by an anomaly, she agreed to leave with Lu Li.
Downstairs in the hotel lobby, a few guests and a clerk were crowded around the window, peering outside.
Their arrival went unnoticed until Anna unlatched the bolt and opened the hotel door.
A light fog enveloped the street, making the light from the streetlamps dim and hazy. The street was deserted, with only a few carriages parked by the curb.
“The strange fog...” Anna whispered, her brow furrowing.
“What are you doing?!”
One of the guests recognized the fog and shouted, begging Anna to close the door.
Anna ignored them, wheeled Lu Li out of the hotel, and stepped onto the street with Lilia, paying no mind to their cries of “It’s dangerous out there, come back!”
Slam!
The hotel door slammed shut behind them, and the bolt clicked into place.
“The strange fog shouldn't have appeared this quickly...” Anna muttered. The situation was worse than they had anticipated.
Sitting in his wheelchair, Lu Li held up the Beacon. If anything approached them in the fog, he would light the expensive lamp.
No longer hiding her abilities, Anna lifted a stunned Lilia and soared into the air, heading toward the city wall.
They flew over the wall. From the fog below, they could hear the shouts and hurried footsteps of the city guards.
They were closing the city gates.
Just as they were a few dozen meters away from Ellen Royal City, flames suddenly erupted along the top of the city wall, pushing back the encroaching fog.
Lu Li turned back to look at the wall. Above it, where the sky met the fire, he thought he saw an inverted Ellen Royal City, just as majestic but shrouded in impenetrable darkness. It hung like a mirage over the city, impossibly close...
But as soon as they moved farther from the wall, the vision vanished into the fog.
Lu Li averted his gaze and looked down. With the gates closed, the fog had enveloped the people and wagons waiting outside, plunging them into chaos. The long line of fire along the wall had become a mere ball of light.
“Let’s go down,” Lu Li said.
Without asking why, Anna descended with Lu Li and Lilia in front of the caravan. The people on the ground had already spotted the “monsters” coming down from the sky and backed away with cries of alarm, clearing a large space.
Only one exorcist recognized the emblem on Lu Li’s chest and cautiously asked, “Are you from the city?”
“An anomaly is running rampant in Ellen Royal City. The gates are closed,” Lu Li answered, and before the exorcist could say anything, he continued, “There’s a farm a few kilometers from here. I’m going to take shelter there from the strange fog. You’d be wise to go there as well and wait until dawn.”
“So it really is the strange fog...” the exorcist muttered and turned back to Lu Li. “Of course. But please, wait a moment while I inform the others and these people.”
The exorcists accompanying the caravan didn't yet know what had happened in the city.
Lu Li nodded and watched as the exorcist walked toward the caravan.
The people were no longer afraid, but they still didn't dare approach Lu Li, merely watching with curiosity from a distance.
Lilia was curious too, but she seemed to have guessed something and remained silent.
“Did you notice something?” Anna asked quietly.
She had noticed that Lu Li kept looking up at the sky above Ellen Royal City.
Lu Li nodded and told Anna about the mirage of the inverted city he had seen.
Anna hadn’t sensed anything, but she didn’t doubt Lu Li’s words. If he said he saw it, then it was real.
Their darkest conspiracy theory was being confirmed: whether it was a plot by the Spirit Exterminators Association or not, the anomalies were indeed targeting this city and tomorrow’s Exorcist Council.
Soon, the exorcist and three of his companions returned to Lu Li and reported that they were ready to head to the farm, along with a small group of people from the caravan.
Most, however, trusted in the thousand-year history of the royal city, despite the emerging problem. It wasn't that they didn't believe Lu Li. Their faith in the city was something akin to a religion—if even one of the most magnificent and greatest cities of human civilization couldn't stand against the anomalies, what future was there for humanity?
Lu Li, Anna, and Lilia boarded an empty carriage and rode at the head of the group, leading the way. A few points of light detached from the long line of fire and followed them.
Rico Farm. In the middle of flat, soft fields stood several low wooden houses.
Under the direction of the exorcists and guards, the people from the caravan unloaded their wagons, piled their belongings in the middle of the farm, and then used the empty carriages to block the road.
In the central yard of the farm, they lit a large bonfire, bright enough to be seen from several kilometers away, and the fog receded. It made them conspicuous, but it also kept them safe. At least, the entities that followed the strange fog did not venture beyond its borders.