Spirit Pact Hundred Scenes Record

Chapter 38 The Truth of the Shadows

Before the shadow's warning had even finished, clear sounds came from deep within the forest.

These weren't the previous energy fluctuations or psionic probes, but rather solid physical sounds—the cracking of metal boots crunching on withered branches and leaves, the clinking of armor plates colliding, and brief, hushed commands. The Order's silver-striped knights had clearly broken through the labyrinth created by the ancient tree and were advancing towards the riverbank in battle formation.

The distance is at most three hundred meters.

At the speed of these elite soldiers, they can arrive in three minutes.

Karen and her group are in an extremely bad situation right now.

Karen knelt on one knee, a wave of weakness washing over him after forcibly mobilizing his domain power. His spiritual meridians felt like rubber bands that had been stretched too far and then suddenly released, each heartbeat bringing a sharp, stinging pain. The gold and silver spiritual runes on his right wrist were dull and lifeless, their patterns blurred beyond recognition. The Dawn he held in his arms remained asleep; the cub's life force was even more depleted than his own, and it was unlikely to awaken anytime soon.

Leah leaned against a rock, her face ashen. The wound on her right leg had reopened, and blood soaked through the makeshift bandage, pooling into a small dark red puddle on the ground. The Windwhisper tribe's power came from their resonance with nature, but the continuous high-intensity battles and injuries had severely impaired her psychic perception, making it difficult for her to even maintain basic vigilance.

Grom was in slightly better condition; dwarves were indeed physically robust. But even Grom was panting heavily, barely able to stand by leaning on his warhammer. The wounds on his chest and arms had only been hastily treated, and could easily reopen with even the slightest strenuous activity.

Three people, a comatose cub, and a similarly weak black cat.

Facing at least twenty fully armed Silver Knights, as well as a powerful figure like Roland.

The odds of winning are zero.

"We have to...go now..." Karen struggled to her feet, her legs weak, almost collapsing to her knees again. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stay upright. "Go downstream along the stream...the denser the forest...the better for us..."

"It's too late." The shadowy voice came from beside their feet. The black cat looked up, its silver eyes gazing into the depths of the forest, its pupils shrinking to slits. "They've completed their encirclement. Three directions, six to eight people in each direction, a standard hunting formation. If we move now, we'll only expose our position and be chased like rabbits."

"What do we do then?" Grom growled. "We can't just sit here and wait to die!"

Shadow did not answer immediately.

It was silent for a few seconds, then its silver eyes turned to Karen, and then to the two black stones in Karen's backpack—the core of reason and the purified remains of a heart.

Then, it made a decision.

"Get behind the rocks," Shadow said, his voice unusually calm. "Cover yourselves with moss and fallen leaves, and stay as close to the ground as possible. No matter what happens, don't come out, and don't make a sound."

"What are you going to do?" Karen asked warily.

"Buy time," Shadow replied curtly. "I have a way to distract them, or at least create chaos. But it requires your complete cooperation—stealth, absolute stealth."

Leah and Grom exchanged a glance, both seeing the doubt in each other's eyes. But there was no better choice at the moment. They could only nod and help Karen hide behind the huge rock. Grom used his warhammer to shovel some damp soil and fallen leaves over the three of them, while Leah used her last bit of wind elemental energy to disrupt and spread their aura, creating the illusion that they had already fled in multiple directions.

Shadow watched them hide, then turned to face the direction from which the cult's pursuers had come.

It didn't act immediately, but instead did something else first—

It lowered its head and gently bit its own right front paw.

It wasn't just a simple bite through the skin; it precisely tore through a tiny, normally invisible silver rune at the center of the paw pad. Blood seeped out, not red, but a deep, dark silver that seemed to absorb light.

The shadow pressed its bloodied claws to the ground.

The dark silver blood seeped into the soil, not spreading, but rapidly spreading along some unseen patterns. In just a few seconds, a complex magic circle about five meters in diameter took shape on the ground. The patterns of the magic circle were outlined in dark silver, and at its center was a symbol that Karen had never seen before, seemingly composed of countless overlapping shadows.

The moment the magic circle was completed, the shadow's body began to change.

It doesn't grow bigger slowly, but rather... "unfolds".

Like a black flower blooming in an instant, Shadow's body, originally the size of a kitten, rapidly expanded and stretched. The subtle crackling sounds of its bones stretching were clearly audible in the silent forest. Its black fur grew longer and thicker, gleaming with an oily sheen in the sunlight. Its limbs became long and powerful, its claws elongated and curved, their tips gleaming with a cold, metallic light.

three seconds.

Just three seconds.

The shadow transformed from a small black cat no more than half a meter long into a giant black leopard over two meters long and one and a half meters tall at the shoulder.

No, it's not a pure leopard.

Its body shape is indeed like a leopard, smooth, elegant, and full of power. But the details are completely different—the ears are longer and more pointed, with a tuft of silver fur at the tip; the tail forks into three slender tail tips, each with a small silver ring pattern; most striking are its eyes, which are still silver, but the pupils have become vertical slits, and there seems to be a river of stars flowing in the depths of its eyes.

And the aura emanating from it has completely changed.

It was no longer that mysterious, elusive presence, but rather an ancient, majestic, and oppressive feeling, as if it came from the end of time. The surrounding shadows seemed to move closer to it, the sunlight dimmed around it, and even the air became heavy.

Behind the rocks, Karen and her two companions held their breath.

Although they couldn't see the changes in the shadows, they could clearly sense the sudden, immense, and unfamiliar fluctuation of psionic energy. It wasn't the cult's energy, nor the natural psionic energy of the forest, but something... more primordial, more profound.

"What is this..." Leah said in a barely audible whisper.

Karen didn't answer. He stared intently at the crack at the edge of the rock, trying to see what was happening outside. But the moment his spiritual senses touched that unfamiliar spiritual energy, it was as if he had hit an invisible wall and was violently bounced back.

Very competitive.

Outrageously strong.

At this point, the vanguard of the religious order arrived at the riverbank.

Six silver-striped knights spread out in a fan shape, their longswords and staves already activated, silver runes flowing across their armor. Well-trained, they did not advance rashly even on the seemingly deserted riverbank, but instead stopped and scanned their surroundings with detection spells.

"Report, strong residual energy detected," a knight whispered. "Traces of at least a battle between lord-level spirit creatures. And... another unfamiliar high-energy reaction is just ahead."

"Maintain vigilance and advance slowly," the squad leader ordered. "Lord Roland will be here shortly."

The six began to move forward in unison, their swords pointing forward, their staffs ready to unleash spells at any moment.

They walked to the spot where the shadow had stood and stepped over the dark silver magic circle.

Nothing happened.

The knights continued forward, getting closer and closer to the rocks.

Twenty meters. Fifteen meters. Ten meters.

Behind the rocks, Grom gripped his warhammer, Lydia reached for the dagger at her waist, and Karen embraced Dawn, preparing for a desperate fight.

Just then—

The shadows moved.

Instead of leaping out from a hidden place, it... "emerged" directly from the shadows.

Right in the center of the six knights, the shadow on the ground suddenly rose and stretched, its enormous form appearing without warning, like an island rising from the water. Its appearance was silent and without warning, as if it had always been there, only previously unseen.

The knights didn't even have time to react.

The shadow's right forepaw had already been swung out.

It wasn't a pounce, nor a bite, but a more elegant, more deadly move—the claws drew three perfect arcs in the air, each arc precisely grazing a knight's throat.

There was no blood splattering.

There were no screams.

The three knights who were struck only stiffened briefly before collapsing to the ground. There were no external wounds to their throats, but their eyes lost their luster, and their psionic energy completely vanished—the shadow's attack had severed the connection between their life energy and their bodies, killing them instantly.

The remaining three knights finally realized what was happening.

"Enemy attack!" someone roared, his longsword flashing silver as he slashed toward the shadow's neck.

The shadow didn't even dodge.

It merely tilted its head slightly, allowing the longsword to strike its shoulder blade. The moment the blade made contact with the black fur, a burst of sparks erupted—the knight's longsword felt as if it had struck the hardest alloy; a chip appeared in the blade, and the recoil caused the knight's hand to split open.

Shadow turned his head, his silver eyes fixed on the knight.

The knight froze.

He wasn't frightened, but literally "frozen"—a thin layer of black ice crystals rapidly covered his body, starting from his sword-wielding hand, spreading to his arms, shoulders, chest… and finally his entire body. Two seconds later, he became a black ice sculpture, frozen in place, still in the sword-wielding pose.

Upon seeing this, the other two knights turned and fled without hesitation, while simultaneously firing red flares into the sky—a distress signal.

The shadow did not pursue.

It simply raised its right front paw and gently placed it on the ground.

The dark silver magic circle on the ground suddenly lit up.

It doesn't emit light, but rather "absorbs light".

Centered on the magic circle, the light within a fifty-meter radius began to distort and dim, as if swallowed by an invisible black hole. The forest instantly transformed from bright daylight into an eerie twilight, and then into near-night darkness. Only the dark silver patterns of the magic circle itself emitted a faint but clear light in the absolute darkness.

The two fleeing knights had run less than twenty meters when they found themselves engulfed in pure darkness. They couldn't see the path beneath their feet, the surrounding trees, or even their own hands. Fear made them scream in terror, but their voices were swallowed by the darkness and carried only a few meters.

The shadow slowly walked towards one of them.

In the absolute darkness, its silver eyes were the only source of light. The knight saw those eyes approaching, getting closer and closer, and he frantically swung his longsword, but he only struck air.

The shadow stopped in front of him, raised its claws, and gently pressed them against his chest.

The knight's movements came to an abrupt halt.

He looked down and saw that there was no wound on his chest, but the silver runes inside his armor were rapidly dimming and extinguishing. Like a light bulb whose battery had been drained, they dimmed layer by layer. Finally, the runes disappeared completely, and the knight felt all his strength drain away. His legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground.

Shadow used the same method to take down another knight.

The whole process took less than a minute.

All six elite silver-striped knights were wiped out.

There were no fierce battles, no dazzling magical clashes, only precise, efficient, and ruthless killings.

The shadow stood in the middle of the riverbank, its massive body appearing even more majestic in the gradually recovering light. It flicked its tail, the three tips tracing silver trails in the air. Then, it raised its head and looked into the depths of the forest.

There, more presences are rapidly approaching.

Roland has arrived.

And it's not just Roland.

Shadow's ears twitched slightly, catching at least thirty different footsteps, as well as three particularly powerful psionic fluctuations—besides Roland, there were two other beings whose strength was no less than his.

"Finally... they're all here," Shadow said in a low voice, his voice no longer the thought that echoed directly in his mind, but a real, deep, resonant beastly language. "Good. Saves me the trouble of searching for them one by one."

It took a deep breath, and the black fur on its body began to move without wind. Dark silver patterns emerged beneath its fur, like lava flowing beneath its skin. The surrounding shadows converged on it again, this time more actively, more surging, as if the shadows of the entire forest were responding to its call.

Karen saw all of this through a crack behind the rock.

His heart was pounding, not from fear, but from... the upheaval of his understanding.

shadow.

This is a black cat that is always mysterious, speaks with sarcasm, but will help in crucial moments.

Their true identity is such a terrifying existence.

Who exactly is it?

Why are you following them?

Why is it only now that their true power is being revealed?

Countless questions churned in Karen's mind, but he knew now was not the time to ask.

Because an even bigger battle is about to begin.

Deep in the forest, a silver figure rushed out first.

It was Roland.

He was still wearing the standard armor of a silver-patterned knight, but the longsword in his hand had changed—it was no longer the standard silver sword, but a longsword with a slender blade, entirely black, with silver runes flowing only along the edge of the blade. A constantly pulsating dark red gem was inlaid in the hilt, the exact same color as the remnants of the spirit world.

Roland's gaze swept over the six corpses on the riverbank, over the two black ice sculptures, and finally settled on Shadow.

His expression showed no anger or surprise, only a cold, almost fanatical focus.

"As expected..." Roland began, his voice still calm, but the suppressed emotions within made the air heavy. "The Shadow Guardian. A legendary ancient being who fought alongside the first Guardian and disappeared during the First Spirit War. The Order has been searching for you for three hundred years, but we never expected you to have been hiding in the Emerald Forest, disguised as a cat."

Shadow did not deny it.

It simply looked at Roland, at the black longsword in Roland's hand, and at the dark red gem on the hilt.

"A replica of the Devouring Blade," Shadow said, his voice laced with undisguised sarcasm. "You can't even replicate one-tenth of the original's power, so you can only use fragments of spirit world remnants as your energy core? How pathetic."

Roland's eyes turned cold: "That's enough to deal with you."

He raised his longsword, its tip pointing at the shadows. The dark red gem on the hilt suddenly lit up, and a vast amount of corrupting energy surged from it, spreading along the runes on the blade. The black blade began to grow and deform, its surface revealing countless tiny, eye-like structures.

"In the name of Azure Flame, purify all heresy!" Roland roared, slashing down with his longsword.

It wasn't a physical strike, but a crescent-shaped, dark red sword aura composed of pure polluting energy. Wherever the sword aura passed, the ground was corroded into deep trenches, the surrounding trees withered and carbonized rapidly, and even the air became polluted.

The shadow did not take the hit head-on.

Its body once again merged into the shadows, disappearing from its original spot and reappearing ten meters to Roland's left the next second. Its three forked tails simultaneously rose, the silver rings at the tips lighting up and emitting three thin, hair-like silver beams.

The light did not shine on Roland, but rather on the space around him.

Chi Chi Chi -!

Three soft sounds.

The space around Roland suddenly "froze." Not that it became solid, but rather that the spatial structure was temporarily locked, forming an invisible cage. Roland's movements slowed noticeably, as if he were trapped in sticky glue.

"A mere trick." Roland scoffed, his left hand forming a complex hand seal. The silver spirit runes on his chest burst forth with dazzling light, resonating with the dark red gem on the sword hilt.

Click—!

The spatial cage was forcibly shattered.

The moment Roland broke free of his restraints, the shadow pounced upon him. A massive claw slammed down with the force to tear through space, its tip gleaming coldly, sending chills down one's spine.

Roland raised his sword to parry.

The deafening clang of claws clashing with the sword was like a thunderclap. The shockwave ripped up the surrounding ground, uprooted trees, and sent streams tumbling into the air before raining down. The shadowy figure was thrown back several meters, and several fine cracks appeared on the surface of its claws—the replica of the Devouring Blade did indeed possess the ability to harm it.

Roland wasn't doing well either. His hand was split open, and blood flowed down his wrist, staining the hilt of his sword. But the fanaticism in his eyes was even stronger.

"As expected of the Shadow Guardian... even with his power not fully recovered, he could withstand the Devouring Blade..." Roland panted, but a smile played on his lips. "But how much longer can you hold out?"

Behind him, two more powerful auras finally arrived.

Two middle-aged men, both dressed in silver-patterned armor but with more ornate designs and more complex runes, emerged from the forest. One carried a staff with a constantly spinning silver crystal embedded in its tip; the other was empty-handed, but wore metal gauntlets covered in spikes.

"Roland, do you need help?" the cane-wielder asked, his voice gentle but his eyes cold.

"Perfect timing," Roland said. "Let's attack together. If we capture the Shadow Guardian alive, the High Priest's plan can be completed ten years ahead of schedule."

The three people formed a triangle, surrounding the shadows.

Shadow glanced around, a hint of seriousness flashing in his silver eyes.

Its current condition is indeed poor. The outburst just now consumed too much of its power, and sealing the remnants of the spirit realm has severely weakened it. It can barely cope with Roland alone, but with two other powerful opponents of the same level added to the mix...

The odds of winning are very low.

But it did not back down.

Instead, it took a step forward, its massive body lowering slightly as if pouncing.

"Three hundred years..." Shadow said in a low voice, "The Azure Flame Order still likes to bully the weak with numbers. Very well, let me see if you juniors have improved after three hundred years."

The moment the words left his mouth, the battle erupted once more.

This time, it's a real, all-out fight to the death.

Behind the rock, Karen clenched her fist.

He knew that Shadow wouldn't last long.

He had to do something.

But in his current state, going out would only be suicide.

What should I do?

Just as he was extremely anxious, Xi Guang in his arms suddenly moved.

The cub's eyes slowly opened a crack.

The fierce battle outside was reflected in his amber pupils.

It also reflected Karen's anxious face.

Xi Guang opened her mouth and let out a weak but clear cry:

"Waaah..."