Above The Sky
Chapter 614 - 614 583 Soul-Binding Pillar 13

614: Chapter 583: Soul-Binding Pillar (1/3) 614: Chapter 583: Soul-Binding Pillar (1/3) “You know our goal is to rescue the dragon?!”

Even in the midst of the charge, Redemption Light still couldn’t help but express her astonishment.

As she spoke, the giant sword in her hand didn’t stop, and with a downward chop, she smashed a Magical Beast’s skull as if crushing garlic, while also scattering two Phantasms into mist, clearly showcasing her fine blade.

Although Redemption Light was a Minos Person, her True Form was that of ‘Fenrir’s Hunt’, a top-tier, superior wolf lineage that amalgamated the strengths of the most formidable hunter inheritances from the northern frontiers of Yanjiang to mold a Highest Level tracker and hunter True Form.

Even at the Second Energy Level, she possessed brute strength unmatched by ordinary Magical Beasts, capable of bursting a triad of tree trunks so thick that three men couldn’t encircle them with a single punch, and eyesight sharp enough to detect a target’s lingering traces instantaneously.

Once Redemption Light entered ‘Hunter Mode’, her physical capacities and tracking abilities would further enhance comprehensively.

Even across distances of over a dozen kilometers, her hunter instincts could still sense a severely injured enemy—and ordinarily, she could even replenish her vitality temporarily by drinking the fresh blood of her foes.

Now, Redemption Light hadn’t entered Hunter Mode, but the process of slaying Phantasms and the various bizarre chimera Magical Beasts was still exhilarating her, her strength ever-increasing and her speed also rising sharply.

“Of course, I know.”

Ian calmly enticed, speaking faintly as he led everyone into the next miniature garden.

Thereafter, without a moment’s hesitation, he immediately charged with everyone towards the next garden—those many rotting corpses and Phantasms that lingered there didn’t even react, standing dumbfounded as Ian led the group past them.

As Ian walked, he said, “Your goal is to rescue the survivors, who doesn’t know Huai Guang’s purpose?”

Beyond that, he didn’t say much, leaving the rest for the others to conjecture about his origins and reasons.

During this conversation, Ian led the Huai Guang Rescue Team through three gardens, and all the Phantasms along the way were, as he had predicted, very weak but annoyingly ‘troublesome’—the kind that would splatter blood when killed and would definitely slow down the progress through fighting them.

“Powerful Phantasms, those underlings of the Deceased Monarch have left, now is the perfect opportunity.”

Ian foresaw every choice, thanking his Seer’s Ability, which became more helpful with more people around.

After all, if danger were to arise, Frost Butterfly might be fine, but with such a large group, it was impossible to avoid all danger and injuries outside of the ‘correct path’.

As long as Ian could find the least dangerous option among all choices, he would definitely be on the right track.

And indeed, it was so.

Under the incredulous gazes of the Huai Guang Rescue Team, Ian moved through the gardens like it was his own home, approaching the laboratory’s central area quicker than any researcher might.

Very soon, they reached their destination.

After crushing another batch of Phantasms, none of which were of the Second Energy Level, the group suddenly found the landscape before them opening up.

This was a peculiar garden, its space unusually vast, covered with plains blanketed by innumerable thorn vines, with only a rugged path leading to the very center of the plains.

And at that center, there were eight pillars erected—precisely nine, but the one in the middle had collapsed for some reason, leaving only the outer circle of eight pillars flickering with soul-light of various colors.

Atop each pillar was imprisoned something that shone with light, indistinct to others, but Ian could see them clearly—these were imprisoned souls.

Individual or collective.

In any case, this was a place of soul-imprisonment.

Strangely enough…

there were no Phantasms here.

Or perhaps there had been, but they were lured away by another group of people—and the person who lured away the Phantasms guarding this place of imprisoned souls was an acquaintance.

“Viscount Awak.”

Ian narrowed his eyes, the Silver Chip analyzing the residual Origin Quality characteristics; he could distinctly sense that it was Viscount Awak who had led his knights to lure away the guards from the place of imprisoned souls…

But why?

Because they were near Subspace, Viscount Awak and his knights had grown much stronger, even surpassing their true abilities, and the battle they had with Ian and Tres in the real world was incomparable.

But why would they do such a thing?

Instead of protecting the researchers of Duke of Sorin, why have they come here to steal souls?

Or is it because Viscount Awak and his group stole one of the nine pillars of souls that the ‘Deceased Monarch’ went as far as fighting with the researchers of Duke of Sorin despite his grievous, unhealed injuries?

Ian’s heart was filled with doubts, yet he indeed saw no danger in this place.

He turned his head and said to the astonished Huai Guang followers behind him, “I think, this is where the souls of our respective targets are imprisoned.”

“Something is not quite right here.

I’ll take the lead.

Those who want to follow me, follow.

Those who prefer to observe cautiously, please do so as you wish.”

With those words, without waiting for anyone to reply, the Ghost Valley Knight turned around and dashed rapidly down the rugged path toward the center of the Thorn Plains.

Before long, Ian had reached his destination.

The first thing he saw was Sio.

Of the eight pillars, only two had a single soul bound to them.

One was indeed the curled up figure of Sio, whose dragon soul was not quite discernible.

The other was surprisingly the body of Lubeck.

The former mercenary leader of Harrison Port, Lubeck, although having reached the peak of the First Power Level seven or eight years ago, could not break through to the Second Energy Level due to a lack of inheritance and resources.

Initially, Ian thought that Lubeck might rise to the Second Energy Level with the support of the Huai Guang Church and become a Holy Hall Enforcer akin to Glorious Sword and Redemption Light.

But before receiving permission to advance, Lubeck returned to the Mountain People for some reason unknown to Ian and forged some relation with the Dragon Worship Cult and even Sio, the scion of the True Dragon.

And then…

he was confined here.

And he actually had a soul?

But why was his entire body here?

Ian put aside this question for the moment; saving one more person wasn’t an issue, and there would be plenty of time later for questions.

What mattered now was to see how to rescue Sio.

The nine Soul-Binding Pillars in the center of the Thorn Plains bound the souls of ‘Sio,’ ‘Lubeck,’ ‘Fae,’ ‘Avian,’ ‘Beasts,’ ‘Insects,’ ‘Plants,’ and ‘Intangible Entities.’

At first, Ian didn’t understand, but soon he figured out the trick, “Interesting…

there are some fungi among the intangible entities.

They actually have souls too, twining around different types of fungal filaments…”

“Thus, the entities entwined on the Soul-Binding Pillars must be ‘birds from the animal kingdom,’ ‘mammals from the animal kingdom,’ ‘insects from the animal kingdom,’ ‘the Plant Kingdom,’ and ‘the Fungus Kingdom.'”

“However, Fae and True Dragons are separate from all these categories—they do not belong to any of the above classifications, thus they are listed separately.

There’s only Sio for True Dragons, and for Fae, it must be the friends of Hua’an and Miss Morphia…

but there are as many as eleven fairy souls?”

Ian was somewhat surprised; he did not expect the Awak laboratory to be so bold as to capture more than ten fae.

If a few fae perished or even lost contact, while it would cause a stir in Falling Star City, the reaction wouldn’t be too severe.

After all, in this eerie land of Terra, silent disappearances are hardly unusual; who knows if it’s the work of some peculiar labyrinth or monster.

But with more than seven or eight missing, the larger fae communities would definitely react and attempt to search and find them.

In essence, the Awak laboratory, for the sake of experimentation, was apparently disregarding the future!

Ian somewhat understood why the various factions were so anxious; it seemed they planned to complete their scheme and then withdraw immediately, leaving all the blame and pots of sin on others.

Of course, what confounded Ian the most, and what he couldn’t explain, was the categorization of Lubeck.

He…

was also independent from all other life forms listed above, occupying a Soul-Binding Pillar with a soul…

no, a body, all by himself?

Why was that?