I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 263 - 263 262. Shadow_1

Chapter 263: 262. Shadow_1 Chapter 263: 262. Shadow_1 By the time they left Black Pine Town, it was already afternoon. The slanting sun of late day struggled to penetrate the towering canopy, plunging the forest once again into dimness.

“No one knows exactly what Eternal Night looks like. Some say it’s a mass of shadows, others claim it’s a pitch-black giant wolf, and there are those who believe it to be a man with dark skin, but one thing is certain—if you catch the attention of Eternal Night and its Clan, the shadows will start to wriggle.”

On the way back to Black Fort, the Mage seemed to take an interest in Lu Ban’s words and started discussing information about Eternal Night while riding horseback.

His name was Jonah, a mage sent by Gray Tower to repel the Demonic Tide this time. Having experienced the previous Demonic Tide, he was a veteran.

“The shadows will start to wriggle?”

Lu Ban pretended not to quite understand, but in reality, he wanted Jonah to elaborate.

“In simple terms, if you stand still and your shadow begins to move on its own, it means you’ve already been marked.”

Jonah spoke solemnly.

“That’s why, when facing Eternal Night, we must stay in the light. Only then can we track their movements, and strong sunlight can fend off the attacks of Eternal Night. Therefore, the nights following the start of the Demonic Tide are crucial.”

“How, then, can Eternal Night be killed?”

Lu Ban asked curiously. Birmingham at his side had given up trying to stop him and instead listened intently to Jonah’s explanation.

“Heh, Eternal Night cannot be killed. The leaders of all twelve Demonic Tides are indestructible. Or perhaps, there might not be anyone in this world capable of killing those creatures. Usually, their appearance signifies that all life in the area has been eradicated. In fact, to this day, there are no witness reports of these sources of the Demonic Tide.”

Jonah chuckled wryly in resignation.

“What about Frost then, what does Frost fear?”

Lu Ban was relentless.

Since it cost nothing to ask, he might as well inquire further.

“Frost fears fire and high temperatures. During the defense against a Frost Demonic Tide, the fortress will light stoves. As long as the stove fires don’t go out, Frost would find it hard to breach the fortress. Of course, when Frost arrives, temperatures will drop to unprecedented lows, and common flames will quickly die out. Even with magic, we can only maintain it for a short period. Our objective is to prevent Frost’s Clan from entering the fortress.”

Jonah glanced at the snow on the ground.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, an unknown creature moved in the tree canopy, sending a large amount of snow falling down, landing smack in the middle of the crowd and causing a commotion.

“Cold, cold, cold…”

A chunk of ice had fallen into Birmingham’s collar, making him cry out repeatedly.

While the group laughed at the flustered Forest Rangers, Lu Ban felt something was amiss.

The forest to the left of the road seemed to have deepened significantly more than before.

“Mr. Jonah, doesn’t that area seem a bit off?”

Lu Ban pointed out.

Jonah looked in that direction.

His face swiftly turned ashen.

“Reform the ranks, it’s an ambush.”

He raised his hand and a crystal emitted a strong light, illuminating the entire forest.

Lu Ban saw that, under the intense light, the shadows of the trees grew even more profound. Suddenly, those shadows twitched.

Without any change in the angle of the light’s incidence, these shadows seemed to come alive, shifting on their own.

One shadow contorted and wrapped itself around another tree’s shadow.

The next moment, the tree that had been matched with the shadow looked as if it had been fed through a wood processor, suddenly revealing many deep scratches. Its branches fell, and its leaves drifted down in small pieces.

The shadows were avoiding the strong light.

But the scattering leaves somewhat obscured the light in Jonah’s hand, and Lu Ban watched as the twisted shadow moved from one tree to the next, inching closer to their group.

Hum—

At that moment, another beam of light flared up, cast by another mage.

A third mage also activated a brilliant light, and under the illumination of three beams, those shadows had nowhere to hide, appearing subdued, frozen in place.

“These are the creatures of Eternal Night. How did they bypass the watchtowers to get here?”

Jonah murmured to himself, and at the same time, the commander lifted the torch in his hand.

The flickering fire made the unmoving shadows appear ferocious.

“The outermost sentries didn’t even notice, they might have been captured by the Clan of the Eternal Night in an instant.”

The commander said as he led the team forward, for the moment, under the suppression of the strong light, these shadows could not approach the remaining people.

At this time, Lu Ban noticed that a Forest Ranger standing on the outside, at his feet, the shadow suddenly trembled.

“Your shadow…”

Hearing Lu Ban’s words, the man’s expression froze.

He slowly looked down at his feet.

The people next to the team retreated in horror, moving away from him.

Under the strong light, his shadow still trembled slightly, like a worm about to break out of its cocoon, hatching into a monstrous life.

His expression was beyond terror, filled with despair.

“Don’t move, the Clan of the Eternal Night prefers to attack creatures that run…”

Jonah hadn’t finished speaking.

The man’s skin had already burst open.

As if slashed by an extremely sharp blade, all the skin on his body exploded, his entire being a blur of blood and flesh.

Under the strong light, Lu Ban saw the shadow, accompanied by the shadows left by the spilled blood, rapidly fleeing into the trees.

Thump—

The Forest Ranger fell to the ground, unmoving, already breathless.

Shockingly, as he fell, his flesh disintegrated and scattered, leaving behind nothing but a skeletal frame wrapped in sinew.

And that flesh did not fall onto the snowy ground and was nowhere to be found.

Without a doubt, it had been devoured.

“We need to move quickly, make it into the fortress before night falls.”

Jonah said, raising the strong light high in his hand, directing the team’s way forward.

The team’s pace was fast.

But everyone unconsciously glanced at their own and their companions’ feet.

What had been an insignificant, unremarkable shadow was now like some kind of ticking time bomb, with no one knowing if the shadow at their feet might suddenly come to life, engulfing them whole.

Lu Ban saw Birmingham next to him, pale as a ghost, sweating profusely in the cold weather.

Fortunately, the Clan of the Eternal Night seemed to truly fear the strong light and hadn’t followed them.

After what seemed like an endlessly long march, the patrol team finally arrived at Black Fort.

“Black Fort has spells to detect Demonic Beasts; we don’t need to worry about the Clan of the Eternal Night following us in.”

Jonah offered a word of comfort.

Just as the group was passing through several barriers and entering the interior of Black Fort, another Forest Ranger stiffened.

Under the invisible magic detection, his shadow began to move, like a giant snake trying to entangle him.

With a point of the strong light in Jonah’s hand, the shadow immediately returned to normal.

But in the next moment, the Forest Ranger, just as he began to relax, exploded like a firework, his flesh disappearing into the air.

Only a loose pile of bones remained, falling to the ground.

And the comrades standing beside that Forest Ranger stood trembling, not daring to make any rash moves.

“The only way to eliminate the Clan of the Eternal Night is to expose them to sunlight, completely expose them to sunlight; artificial light can only temporarily slow their movement.”

Jonah sighed.

“And when the Demonic Tide of Eternal Night comes, not even daylight will bring the sun, that is the real Demonic Tide.”