Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 450 Is everything destined?

An unusually strong noise shook the entire swamp, making the surrounding space seem to tremble. The twisted shadows of the mangroves lurking deep in the fog made low groans. The muddy water underfoot was extremely cold, splashing onto ankles or arms, making people feel a bit chilly.

The strong wind swept the dead branches and leaves destroyed by the artillery fire high into the sky, covering the sky and the sun for a while, making it impossible to see the road ahead. In the dense smoke and dust, Ling Ge, who was running at the end of the team, suddenly stopped and turned his head to cast a hasty glance at the center of the most intense battlefield. He immediately saw a scene that shocked him: dark cracks were all over the night sky, and the hideous scars swallowed up all the surrounding matter, whether it was the branches and sand swept by the strong wind, or the fish and insects and birds that were helpless in the storm... All dead and living things were sucked into those cracks, as if they were swallowed by a giant beast hidden behind the night, and the sound was annihilated in an instant.

In contrast, the cracks were gradually expanding, quickly occupying the entire field of vision, as if they were going to swallow up the entire sky. They were like greedy whales on the seabed, swallowing dozens of tons of seawater every time they ate, swallowing the microorganisms, minerals and marine life in it into their stomachs, and converting them into nutrients to grow their bodies. But if you think you can see substances similar to flesh and organs in those cracks, you are wrong. In fact, there is only endless darkness spreading inside, cutting off people's vision and falling into an empty and silent abyss.

They exuded an empty and vague attraction. Lingge only stared at them for a short while and felt that his soul was about to fall into those cracks, being swallowed, chewed, and decomposed into the remnants of memory until it completely disappeared without a trace.

He looked away in time, and only then did he feel as if he had just struggled to climb out of the water. The few strands of hair on his forehead were wet with sweat and stuck to his skin. He looked at Countess Nevill, who was flying at the front of the team and had stopped and looked back, and asked in a hoarse voice, "What is that?"

Among all the people present, perhaps only this knowledgeable vampire elder could recognize the origin of these cracks.

Nevill stared at the direction of the battlefield in silence. After a few seconds, she spoke: "It was the Grand Inquisitor of the Balance of Order. It looks like she took action personally."

The Grand Judge of the Balance of Order!?

Hearing this, Ling Ge subconsciously said, "Shouldn't she be in Leisenburg?"

Nevile's answer surprised everyone. Even Leticia looked at her grandmother in surprise. She seemed to be unaware of this incident. "When was it? How come I didn't know, grandma?"

"Who knows?" Nevi'er's eyes were inexplicably deep. Unlike Lingge, she, who had crossed the threshold of demigod, could see the existence of those cracks directly, but she also felt an uncomfortable breath lingering around her nose, a looming destruction: "Maybe she felt that this operation was very important, so she returned all the way to the Shikilia Peninsula. As for why the legendary construct mecha, the Scarlet Night Gate, was not there, maybe she was worried that the noise would alert the swamp aliens? You have to know that if the Silver Moon led by Gundaruf is a group of lunatics, then the other swamp aliens are nothing more than a group of cowards who only dare to take advantage of the emptiness inside the Inquisition to seek some shallow benefits for themselves. If you want them to muster up the courage to confront the Scarlet Night Gate head-on, I'm afraid even the temptation of eternal life is not enough."

Besides, the Earth Witch, Feiyemente, did not appear either.

From these five simple words, everyone can hear her unwillingness and powerlessness. Both "Silver-eyed Countess" Nevile and "Thirsty Blood Moon" Wolfgang were the strongest among the aliens in the peninsula at that time. However, they were easily defeated by the Chief Judge, becoming an insignificant part of his glorious record. Nevile was luckier than Wolfgang because she had the power of immortality, so death was not the end, but the shame brought to her by this battle was still engraved in her heart and she never forgot it.

"For many years, the aliens on the peninsula all believed that Gundaruf's brother, the 'thirsty blood moon' Wolfgang, died with me in the endless fighting between the Valenhild family and the Neoersu family during the dark cleansing period. But in fact, Wolfgang is not such a stupid guy who must fight to the death with his enemies. If he wanted to escape, I couldn't force him to stay. Therefore, the real situation is that the noise of our battle attracted the attention of the Inquisition, so the mysterious Grand Inquisitor descended from the sky, and then-"

Nevill was silent for a while, then lowered her voice and squeezed out a few words from between her teeth, "Killed us."

There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone, but Lingge didn't know much about the situation inside the swamp, so he didn't comment. He asked, "You seem to know this chief judge very well?"

"Because I fought her."

"Because I didn't tell you." Never was still looking at the space cracks in the distant sky, with a hint of sarcasm in her eyes, but not at the Chief Judge, but at the guy who was fighting with him, probably Gundalufo. As proud and conceited as he was, he would never know what a terrifying power he was facing, which was not like human power, but a god, a real god.

And it led to an even more serious consequence.

"The Grand Inquisitor killed me personally, there is no doubt about that. But then, the mad dogs of the Balance of Order used their keen sense of smell to catch the traces left after my resurrection and reported the news to the Grand Inquisitor, causing him to write the file of [Eternal Fang] personally. It was from then on that Leticia entered the sight of the Inquisition." Nevill looked at her granddaughter with an apologetic look in her eyes: "This is my negligence. I'm sorry, Leticia."

"It's okay!" The girl shook her head vigorously, and comforted her grandmother seriously: "It doesn't matter to me, as long as grandma is okay. Anyway, I'm very good at hiding. No matter whether it's the mad dog of the Balance of Order or those messy guys, they can't find me!" She said this with a proud tone and straightened her chest, but these words did not seem to comfort Nevile. Instead, a hint of guilt flashed in her eyes again.

After all, it is not a glorious thing to let a little girl live in fear, hide everywhere, and even get used to being hunted by the enemy.

Nevill shook her head, temporarily expelling these redundant thoughts from her mind. She said to Lingge and others, "Since the Chief Judge has taken action, I guess Gundarov won't be able to hold on for too long. Let's leave here quickly."

Linger frowned slightly: "Is the Chief Judge really that powerful?"

He had witnessed with his own eyes how Gundaruf devoured the Sanctuary of Judgment and plunged the Port of Desolate Rain into darkness. The giant wolf, as huge as a mountain, brought an indescribable sense of oppression, and even made people feel like they had seen an ancient monster that only appeared in legends. However, was it vulnerable in front of the Grand Inquisitor?

In response to this question, Nevelle just glanced at him and said calmly, "It took her less than three minutes to kill Wolfgang and me."

And Gundalufu's strength may be stronger than hers, but definitely not much stronger.

Lingge shut his mouth and stopped questioning.

The group quickly made a decision to stop paying attention to the battlefield and continued to move toward the periphery of the swamp. But before leaving, Linger saw Saint Shallia standing there blankly, staring at the dark cracks in the sky, her eyes seemed a little dazed. He stopped when he passed by the girl and asked, "What are you thinking about, Saint Shallia?"

Saint Xia Liya was stunned for a while before she reacted, as if she had just realized that Ling Ge was standing next to her, and murmured: "I don't know, Ling Ge, but I always feel that that power... is very familiar."

Familiar? Was she referring to the power wielded by the Grand Inquisitor?
Come to think of it, I seem to have forgotten to ask Nevile which path the Grand Inquisitor was from. Perhaps he was also from the [Priest] path, so he seemed to be familiar to Saint Shalia, who held the power of destiny.

"Ling Ge." Saint Shallia suddenly looked at him, with a certain silent sorrow and melancholy premonition flashing in her clear golden eyes: "Tell me, is it possible that the chief judge is also..."

"impossible."

Lingge interrupted her without hesitation and said word by word: "It's just your illusion, don't think too much, Saint Xia Liya."

"But……"

But sometimes premonitions are not groundless, but revelations from fate.

Saint Xia Liya wanted to say this, but Ling Ge did not give her a chance to speak, and grabbed her hand: "No matter what it may be, it doesn't matter. The most important thing now is to leave here."

He pulled Saint Charity and chased after his companions who had already left. The shepherdess did not resist and let the young man pull her forward, but she still looked back from time to time, with a sad, sorrowful, and somewhat confused look in her eyes.

Perhaps, all encounters in this world are destined, just as it was destined long ago that she would meet the young man who was holding her hand at the municipal square in Linville City. Tonight, she would also meet another person and understand another truth.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)