Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon
Chapter 360 - 359 Oracle

Chapter 360: Chapter 359 Oracle

Half an hour later, twenty-two bodies covered with white sheets had been added beside the train. Seeing this scene, Zhang Zhiyuan finally felt the reality of death: players wouldn’t face true death, but these people did not possess the same ability. For them, to die was to truly die, their souls would return to nothingness, never to open their eyes again.

"Hey, you guys come look at this!" Anthony suddenly shouted from the roof of the ninth carriage.

"Can’t you be quiet at a time like this?" Qianyuan Meiko glared at him.

"Would I speak if it weren’t important? Get up here!" the Russian insisted.

Instantly, several warriors leapt from where they stood, directly onto the three-meter-high roof of the carriage. Zhang Zhiyuan also grabbed the external ladder of the carriage and climbed up. Once he reached the top, he could see what the Russian had discovered: the top of this carriage was covered in fresh blood that had been used to write a string of text! The blood was part from the strange birds, and part human... The feathers and human viscera strewn around were the proof.

The text was simple, just three characters.

"Leave quickly."

The people looked at each other, and a chill rose in their hearts, more or less.

Who left these words? And how did they do it under the watchful eyes of everyone?

Although the creatures of the mist were frightening, they were essentially still within the category of beasts, and communication with humans was out of the question. Moreover, judging by the disordered bloodstains and the twisted corpses of the birds, it was clear that their presence here was far from voluntary.

Shandela looked at the misty forest that didn’t have a hint of wind and said softly, "The forest is expelling us..."

...

The train did not continue forward.

Chaoyang, Kokomoqi, Ailuodi, as well as numerous representatives of the exploration team, had all gathered in the first carriage to discuss what to do next.

Owing to the large number of participants, the already narrow carriage seemed particularly crowded. Opinions varied widely among those present, making the scene rather chaotic.

"Your Excellency the Divine Envoy, I think we should set off as quickly as possible, reach the edge of City of Defense before it gets dark, then establish a base and build a defensive line," Mekefa insisted loudly on his viewpoint. "The space in the train is cramped, and it isn’t convenient for the carriages to support each other. Staying on the train is actually to our disadvantage."

The person they referred to as Your Excellency the Divine Envoy was naturally Chaoyang—who had created yet another avatar in order to move with the group. This avatar’s domain of The Divine Country was only maintained within half a meter around him, and even then, it had cost him nearly one hundred thousand wishing power.

If this body was damaged again, his vast store of wishing power would start to run a deficit.

"What do you all think?" Chaoyang looked towards the others.

"I agree with moving forward, but only after evacuating the injured," Elise raised an objection. "Moreover, it’s not necessary for the entire exploration team to go. Most of them are ordinary people, lacking basic combat experience. They can very well return to the outside of the mist area to camp first, and it wouldn’t be too late to enter City of Defense after the Paradise Sect has successfully dispersed the mist."

"Send the exploration team back? Their mission is to enter City of Defense to search for artifacts, how would we fulfill the purpose of this mission without them?" Mekefa immediately objected.

"Even so, we have to send the injured back!" Elise argued forcefully. "There are no conditions here to treat those with serious injuries, and if we make them follow us all the way, these people will all die."

"You’re still so naive," the Blooming Excalibur shook its head, "This is a military mission, and casualties are inevitable. Do you think the warring sides would stop fighting just because some soldiers got injured?"

"But they are not soldiers..."

"Then what do you think they are? Industry experts? The reason why the Luoxia Lord chose these people is that their loss is tolerable! They’re either corrupt foremen or petty thieves locked up in prisons." Mekefa said with a stern face, "Compared to what we’re looking for, their lives are negligible. If you want to inherit your father’s mantle, you’d better learn how to make choices."

Elise opened her mouth but couldn’t muster a retort, obviously struck by his words.

"Won’t you voice your opinion?" Chaoyang asked Kokomoqi through telepathy.

"Yu doesn’t wish to be involved in the quarrels of humans. Whichever side you take, your presence would significantly tip the scales. The issue is, the Latter Divine are not omniscient and omnipotent and can make serious mistakes. There have been cases where predecessors made wrong judgments, leading to the complete annihilation of the tribes they protected. Hence, not making a choice is in fact the best choice," Kokomoqi replied with an undisturbed tone.

"I’m not unfamiliar with the Mist, but this is the first time I’ve encountered a Mist creature capable of flight," Shandela spoke up, "To my knowledge, no exploration team in the entire New Continent has any record of such a creature. Perhaps this foggy region is particularly dangerous. Who can guarantee that if we continue to delve deeper, we won’t encounter even more terrifying monsters? From this perspective, ordinary people in the expedition are nothing but burdens, only holding back our progress, so it’s most sensible to have them return first!"

"Shandela..." Elise looked at her friend.

The latter returned a resolute look, "Besides, Your Excellency the Divine Envoy prepared for this eventuality before we set out. This train has two engines, one at the front and another at the back, both equipped with Moonstone lamps that can disperse the Mist. If we disconnect them in the middle, they can be used as two separate trains. Am I right, Lord Chao?"

"That’s correct," Chaoyang affirmed tersely.

"Then who will escort the injured?" another Royal Guard named Moses asked.

"My men can lend a hand," the man in the red robe stood up.

"Master Yukel, you..."

"The young lady is right. The brand can only alleviate the wounds, not truly heal them," the man said, placing his hand over his chest, "Sending them back to the city now might mean they could all survive. The God of the Hearth would surely not wish to see us save these people only to force them into the jaws of death."

"I think... we should all return, continuing deeper is far from a wise decision..." Leisk, who had been standing by Chaoyang’s side, finally couldn’t help but speak out, "I have a premonition that the warning was not a threat but my lord’s final admonition."

"My lord? Who is this..." Mekefa narrowed his eyes.

"He’s a believer of the Paradise Sect and also my assistant," Chaoyang quickly covered for him, "He must have been scared by the recent battle. My lord has not issued any divine decree."

"What’s going on? Did you sense the call of the Mist God?" Then he asked via the players’ channel, "Be careful not to reveal your identity, the people of Zhaixing City won’t treat your divinity as a true god."

"I apologize, I misspoke," Leisk sobered up, "Before the strange birds attacked, the Fog Horn had rotated half a circle... while in the past, it only spun when my lord gazed upon his followers."

"So, you think these humanoid birds were sent by the Mist God?"

"No... monsters are monsters, unrelated to my lord. And the rotation of the horn was abnormal too; it only made half a turn as if something held it back. So, I can only call it a premonition, not a confirmed judgment. After all, except for the divinities, the horn would never rotate!" He paused, his tone filled with excitement, "And the last time it spun was eight years ago... I have reason to believe that this blood-red admonition is a new divine oracle it has emitted!"