The study remained silent for a long time until a faint blue magical glow flickered.
Ophelia quickly turned her gaze to the communication ring on her hand.
"My people have captured several high-ranking members of the Church," Tilis's voice came from the other side of the ring. "But there's no news of Eleya returning to the Church. She's gone missing too."
"Is that so..." Ophelia's mind raced. "Based on our initial assumptions, Eleya could only take him to two places. Either Luo Wei was captured and taken back to the Church, or she brought him to that Blackwater Town."
"Helena and I are currently in the Kingdom of Velen," Tilis said. "Blackwater Town is located in the vast wilderness of western Velen. It's extremely difficult to find from the outside—even the most seasoned hunters could lose their way. Fortunately, I remember that place well. Once we find the Demon Valley, Blackwater Town won't be far."
"After all, you were also there during the incident four years ago," Ophelia murmured.
Since she wasn't skilled in combat, Luo Wei had only taken Tilis, the strongest among them, and Eleya, who was responsible for healing.
"Blackwater Town, Blackwater Town..." She repeated the name under her breath, her eyes filled with deep concern.
Ophelia knew what Blackwater Town meant. Luo Wei had vanished because of that incident four years ago. If Eleya had truly taken him there, then perhaps...
The same helplessness she felt back then might replay itself...
"To be honest, I still can't let go of what happened back then either," Tilis sensed Ophelia's unease. "The monsters hidden in the forests of Blackwater Town are extremely troublesome. But fortunately, I've grown stronger in these four years. I'm ready to face them again."
"Should I pressure the King of Velen? Or send troops to blockade the Demon Valley?" Ophelia asked urgently. "Or maybe I should go there myself?"
"No need. Leave it to us," Tilis replied. "What you need to do now is stay put in the Royal Capital. The situation in Vigna is still unstable—this country needs you."
"I'm sorry to trouble you..." Ophelia's voice carried a hint of guilt. "At such a critical moment, I can only stay at home, unable to help..."
"Who said that?" Tilis chuckled. "Handling the aftermath is already a huge help to everyone. Don't blame yourself. Focus on managing Vigna—I'm sure that's what Luo Wei would want too."
Helena's voice also came through the communication ring.
"Stay strong in the Royal Capital! Leave finding my brother to us! Don't slack off, or all our previous efforts will be wasted!"
Ophelia finally managed a faint smile. "Helena has really grown up..."
"Let's talk later. I—" Tilis's voice suddenly cut off. "Wait, a vampire just approached me..."
Ophelia listened intently.
Tilis's tone suddenly became excited. "We found him! Evelyn has located Luo Wei! We're locking onto the coordinates now and heading there immediately!"
...
Three hours earlier, Blackwater Town.
Luo Wei lit a bonfire in a flat clearing. The flickering flames cast eerie shadows around them, making the twisted corpse of the dark young nearby appear even more grotesque.
After he and Eleya killed the monster, they thoroughly inspected Blackwater Town, and Luo Wei set up several magical traps around the area.
Once night fell, more creatures might emerge from the Black Forest. To survive the night safely, they had to remain vigilant.
The last rays of the setting sun stretched across the land, the rolling wilderness endless except for the stark silhouette of the Black Forest in the distance—an unnatural sight in such a desolate place.
The vegetation in the Black Forest was unnaturally tall, its gnarled roots and sprawling canopies devoid of any natural vitality. The jagged black outlines loomed ominously, giving the entire forest a sinister aura.
Countless dark young dwelled within.
"Reach the heart of the Black Forest, find the temple built by the cultists, and beneath it lies the sealed lair of the Mother of Abundance."
Eleya sat by the bonfire, her face obscured by the dancing flames.
Luo Wei nodded, mentally mapping out tomorrow's route. With his vampiric stealth abilities, he might be able to avoid unnecessary battles...
Just as he was deep in thought, a burst of magical light flashed in the distance.
"The traps have been triggered!" Luo Wei sprang to his feet, eyes fixed on the source of the disturbance.
Soon, rustling noises echoed from the outskirts of Blackwater Town.
"They're coming!"
He exchanged a glance with Eleya before leaping onto the beam of a half-collapsed building.
His vampiric enhancements granted him even sharper night vision than daylight. Luo Wei spotted the writhing tentacles—dark young were swarming in from nearly every direction.
The magical traps he'd placed around the town activated one after another, blue explosions flashing intermittently. This only enraged the creatures further, their shrill, unsettling cries rising in waves.
Eleya's [Holy Purification] took effect simultaneously, stabilizing Luo Wei's rapidly dropping sanity.
Several dark figures lunged toward Luo Wei at terrifying speed. With a flash of crimson, he teleported to another rooftop, chanting incantations before unleashing [Soul Torrent] at the monsters.
He'd learned this spell in Carlton's domain. Luo Wei's mage class had advanced from intermediate to high-tier, granting him significantly greater mana reserves and spell potency.
As he channeled his magic, relentless streams of energy blasted through the creatures, painting the entire town in an eerie blue glow.
Luo Wei fired away without restraint.
Now he understood why the witch favored this spell above all others.
It was brutally efficient.
After reducing one dark young into a squirming pile of flesh, the torrent continued unabated, piercing through an entire row of twisted shadows.
Though he hadn't yet reclaimed Eleya's sealed power, his vampiric abilities more than compensated. Luo Wei felt stronger now than during his first run.
Especially without that damned "anti-magic field" interfering, he could fight at full strength.
His vampiric agility, formidable magic, and assorted supernatural skills allowed him to dart across Blackwater Town's ruins with ease. Despite the overwhelming numbers, the dark young couldn't land a hit on him, while the ground grew littered with their grotesque remains.
But...
As the battle raged on, Luo Wei began to notice something odd.
Why was he the only one doing all the work? Where was his teammate? Where was the holy light??
spital. Good news: I've bound a system. Bad news: I'm still a baby. "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, do not bully the middle-aged for being poor — Divorce Comeback System." "Your marriage may have failed, but your luck in love has never run dry. Your childhood sweetheart, out of contact for twenty years, reappears. Her beauty remains, yet her eyes are brimming with tears." [Listen to the childhood sweetheart's sorrowful story.] Chen Zhi looked down at the diaper he was wearing, then at the little childhood sweetheart crying her heart out beside him, and fell into deep thought. Can anyone relate? I'm having a midlife crisis at an age where even rolling over is a struggle.
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
