One-Eyed Monster

Finding Yuga was not a simple task. With less than a third of Kadi’s network lines left, there was no guarantee Yuga would be found among the remaining ones.

”I don’t understand. Is Yuga really that important?” Kadi remained confused. He thought Yuga held the key to resolving their predicament and was thus puzzled by the focus on him.

What Kadi didn’t know was that Kuren and the others were merely trying to confirm their hypothesis.

If this hypothesis could indeed be confirmed, they would have a glimmer of hope, though it seemed very faint.

During their search, they continuously discussed various possibilities. They could neither see nor touch the Dark Force, so they could only speculate. This made things rather difficult for them.

This was especially true for Kadi, who was a man of action; he felt tormented at this moment. Even though he sometimes gained a sense of accomplishment from participating in Kuren’s discussions, he still felt unsatisfied if he hadn’t fought.

Kadi yearned for a fight. His bones itched for action, but he couldn’t find an opponent.

Their initial confrontation with the Little Black Hands eventually led to finding their true forms, and they unexpectedly became friends. His chance for a fight vanished.

He wondered where the Little Black Hands had run off to; they were now silent and undetectable.

At this moment, the displaced Spirits, including the Little Black Hands, were all astounded, hardly believing what was happening before their eyes. However, they were ultimately not the focus of attention; neither side considered them to be of significant importance. Even Kadi only remembered them at this particular moment.

Kadi wondered why these Little Black Hands couldn’t communicate via the Ant Connection Spell. If they could be brought in, things would surely become more interesting.

However, this was only his idea, and turning it into action would require many conditions.

They were still following Igor’s plan: find everyone, attempt to communicate, and establish their counterattack faction.

In reality, this faction had been established long ago. The only problem was that its members were now being individually isolated by the enemy, who seemed to be using a divide-and-conquer strategy against them.

As for why Kuren and Stan Sol hadn’t been subjected to the Dark Force’s telepathic attacks, they would have to find the answers themselves.

They had so much time to search here due to several conditions. Primarily, it was because of the relentless, individual resistance of their comrades. While this resistance seemed inexplicable, it effectively slowed the Dark Force’s advance.

Kadi and the others had certainly felt this. At the end of every network line was a Soldier combating an invisible enemy in their own unique way.

Whenever he saw such scenes, Kadi felt distraught. This was especially true when he observed Kevin repeatedly slashing his sword at the enemy. His throat grew hoarse from shouting encouragement; he desperately wanted to help Kevin but could only observe, unable to participate, as this was merely his Spirit Vision.

The arrival of Kuren and the others did help Kadi share some of the burden; at least he no longer needed to rack his brains. Once Kadi returned to the role he excelled at, he accomplished everything swiftly.

Therefore, they were quickly approaching the end of searching through the remaining third of the network lines.

One of the line’s ends was completely empty. Kuren could sense the Great Mentor’s Spirit Power but couldn’t trace where he had gone. They even saw the entity formed by the Dark Force’s telepathic attack still searching for something there…

Strangely enough, this Dark Force consciousness couldn’t detect them, allowing them to observe the situation closely.

Their conclusion was that the Great Mentor was likely unharmed. How could someone who created the World Setting Technique be defeated by something like a telepathic attack? The Great Mentor must have been drawn away by something else. As for what it was, they could only guess.

The Great Mentor might have discovered something unusual. Hence, he left his Spirit Power here as a warning to those who arrived: ”Danger ahead. Do not enter. Wait for my return.”

This method of communication was unique to the Great Mentor. Kuren was worried, but he also knew that at this moment, rather than fretting about the Great Mentor, it was more important to work with Kadi to overcome their current predicament.

The invader was no longer a simple Dark Wizard; it wasn’t an exaggeration to describe it as the entire Dark Force.

The Dark Force. Perhaps this was the first time the creatures of Guru Mountain had faced it directly.

Not long after leaving the network line connected to the Great Mentor, they found Yuga.

Yuga had summoned a Wind Elemental, which was wreaking havoc everywhere.

Initially, upon seeing this, Kuren and Stan Sol’s hearts sank. Seeing Yuga attacking everywhere with the Wind Elemental made them think their speculation had been incorrect.

However, after observing for a while longer, they gradually realized Yuga’s attacks seemed aimless, more like a sweeping search.

Seeing Kuren and the others, Yuga was taken aback. He had never expected this to happen. After being isolated, he realized he had been fighting alone.

”How did you…?” Yuga recalled the Wind Elemental and stared, puzzled, at the three before him.

”You can communicate with us?” Kadi was surprised to find another like himself.

”Is that strange?” Yuga felt it was perfectly normal.

”This isn’t the real world!” Kuren quickly explained, thinking Yuga might still be disoriented.

”Huh?” As expected, Yuga didn’t understand what this place was.

”This is a space created by the Dark Force’s telepathic attack on our minds,” Kuren quickly explained.

”A telepathic attack? The Dark Force?” Yuga pondered. As a Wizard, he was well-versed in such spiritual attacks. ”Could it be that their method of attack is to banish someone?”

Hearing Yuga use the word ”banish,” Kuren and Stan Sol sighed in relief; it seemed their hypothesis was validated.

Yuga hadn’t been attacked here either.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have assumed the enemy had banished him.

Kadi naturally understood what ”banishment” meant, but there was one thing he couldn’t figure out.

”If you weren’t fighting the Dark Force, why were you attacking so ferociously just now?” Kadi was curious. Yuga had clearly been fighting here, so why did he suddenly imply no one was present?

”That was a carpet search. I thought the enemy had to be nearby. Now that I’ve heard what you said, I understand. The Dark Force is using a spiritual attack.”

Stan Sol and Kuren’s expressions grew solemn. Since their hypothesis was confirmed, they had reached a critical moment. No more words were needed; as seasoned Soldiers, they instantly understood each other’s intentions.