I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 630 - 630 629. Focus on results not intentions_1

Chapter 630: 629. Focus on results, not intentions_1 Chapter 630: 629. Focus on results, not intentions_1 “I just now was…”

Stone felt bewildered for a moment, uncertain whether the chaotic, disordered Abandoned Capital shrouded in a night sky that gleamed like glass amid the mire was real, or if the reality was this Storm Villa amidst the sudden storm, with its flashes of lightning and claps of thunder.

“You almost blew your own head off with a gun, luckily Lu Ban arrived just in time.”

Standing by the doorway of the room, Shia said with a somewhat unsightly expression, her armor looked like it had gone through a battle and was somewhat tattered.

“By the way, I almost blasted my own head off with magic too, no big deal.”

“I had a nightmare, heard some words, I’m not very clear, I might have been influenced to some extent…”

Stone quickly came to his senses, realizing that he had clearly been subjected to a mental contamination and attack. In some Foreign Domains, some creatures can affect someone’s emotions, thoughts, and there are other more unique creatures that exist in the form of thoughts within the consciousness of other beings, moving through language and communication, achieving a deeper level of parasitism.

He must have encountered something similar.

Was this the influence of Taoist Crane Cry’s inheritance?

“You experienced hallucinations too?”

Stone looked at Shia.

“Yes, I dreamt of the Demonic Tide in the Black Forest, those monsters… Anyway, all kinds of horrifying things. They were rushing towards me, and I instinctively prepared to use magic, but in reality, I was pointing it at my own head. Not only does this place amplify certain emotions inside us, it also creates illusions to mislead us, confusing our cognition.”

Shia answered.

“You weren’t influenced?”

Stone then glanced at Lu Ban whose wounds on his hands were nearly healed, the spreading grass and plants covered the bullet holes, and the verdancy filled in the flesh.

Lu Ban shook his head.

“I did have a dream, but in the dream, I played rock-paper-scissors with it and it lost, so I wasn’t affected.”

“?”

Hearing Lu Ban’s words, Stone was taken aback.

What does losing at rock-paper-scissors have to do with being unaffected?

“What did you hear?”

Shia spoke again, and before Stone could say anything, she continued.

“The voice sounded just like my own, as if I were talking to myself. It said you might betray us, advised me not to trust you, and tried to entice me to kill you both.”

“…I heard something similar; it wanted me to kill you guys.”

Stone said, recalling those voices that indeed had been very tempting and in such a blurred state of consciousness, he couldn’t tell if they were real or mere delusions, nor could he distinguish whether they were external seductions or his own inner voice.

The most crucial fact was that these thoughts had indeed crossed his mind.

Stone himself was also worried whether Lu Ban and Shia would suspect him, whether they could trust him, and he had indeed considered the possibility of having to kill them if they didn’t trust him.

Not to mention some deeper reflections.

Even the saints have said that a gentleman discusses deeds not thoughts, for there is no perfect person if we consider thoughts.

Deep inside, everyone might have some unknown thoughts that could be insane or vile. Perhaps even the most upright person hides some disagreeable things within, but as long as one acts rightfully, nobody cares.

Stone’s thoughts by his ear seemed to betray his innermost desires, making it hard for him to distinguish between nightmares and reality.

“It appears that this place truly can disturb one’s mind, producing hallucinations, while murmurings emerge by one’s ear.”

Stone thought to himself.

“If we can hear these murmurings, then others must certainly be able to as well.”

Shia immediately added.

“We have been through the pollution of the Foreign Domain and still can hardly snap out of these hallucinations, so ordinary people are likely to be continuously misled, led by the nose, resulting in irreversible actions.”

No sooner had Shia’s words fallen, than a gunshot was heard from the vicinity of a room not far away.

The gunshot, muffled by the thunderous rain, was indistinct, but Shia had already cast a Detection Spell.

The next moment, accompanied by a bit of hesitation, another gunshot followed.

The third and fourth gunshots were even closer together, as if a person, after struggling and hesitating, had finally opened up their heart.

Shia had just arrived at the place where the gunshots erupted.

She saw, amidst a puddle of blood, a servant lying on the ground, her abdomen and chest shot through, already unconscious.

On the other side, Aima was holding her small revolver, looking stupefied as she turned her head around.

“You’re going to die too, you’re all going to die!”

Aima raised the gun, but before she could pull the trigger, she saw Shia raise her hand, and the gun in Aima’s grip was hit by a tremendous force, twisting and dislocating her wrist, and with it, Aima herself was slammed against the corridor wall, passing out.

Shia took away Aima’s revolver and after checking the servant’s injuries, released a healing spell.

Lu Ban and Stone had only just arrived, witnessing the scene of chaos, Stone felt the situation might be much worse than he imagined.

“The ordinary ones are more strongly affected; I’m afraid that even before Soul Summoning Night, they might end up slaughtering each other until none remains.”

“In any case, let’s knock them all out first.”

Lu Ban picked up an ashtray, eager to try.

“?”

Stone looked at the ashtray in Lu Ban’s hands, feeling that something was amiss.

By the time they had found the old butler and ensured that the other servants were not plunged into chaos, the time had already advanced to the early morning of the next day.

The torrential rain was unabated, and the rising sun could not penetrate the clouds, only managing to bring a glimmer of somber light, creating an unsettling sense of loss.

The way down the mountain was still blocked, not to mention any sight of police coming up for a rescue. The lush trees appeared even more sombre in the rain, contributing to the growing melancholy.

Storm Villa’s servants were not many, only twelve, counting the old butler and the cook no more than seventeen. Most of them were found in a state of confusion, and upon questioning, they had not heard any similar murmurings.

Lu Ban speculated that there might be two reasons for this; one was that even if they really heard the murmurings, they might dismiss them as random thoughts or deliberately hide the fact that they had heard them after seeing the condition of this servant.

The other possibility was that not everyone could hear the murmurings, only those whose emotions were greatly affected, or who had already been polluted, could hear them.

Whichever the case, Lu Ban was clear that it must be the influence of something left behind by Taoist Crane Cry, something that, like a true Soul Device, beguiled people’s hearts, controlled their wills, and made them kill each other to complete his own Conjuring ritual.

They had to find that thing as quickly as possible.